Now he had truly "joined" Baba! The Father of the Nation was guided by and had come to the Father of Creation!
Meher Baba had previously stated that Mahatma Gandhi had a greater destiny than leading India free from British rule, that he was destined to work for the whole world as a God-realized soul.
In 1927, Baba had told the mandali: "Gandhi is doing all this with the best of intentions and therefore will realize God in his third life after this."
However, after Mahatma Gandhi's death, people began speaking of him as an "Avatar." Aurobindo Ghose also paid warm tribute to the fallen leader. In response to all this talk about Gandhi, on 14 February Baba issued the following statement, asking each of the mandali to write down their comments.
Those who are confused, used or diffused are refused! And with such people, Baba is not amused!
Everything is happening according to the Divine Plan, and now it is going to be a test for God, the world, me and you.
Aurobindo is a political Hindu yogi of the sixth plane. He is a real advanced saint and a good soul, but not having realized God, he still thinks of politics and Mother India. He called Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Rama Tirtha "Avatars," and it would not have been surprising if he had called his political saintly friend [Gandhi] names or paid him tributes as suited him — from "Avatar" downwards to "political opportunist."
As for Gandhi, he was surely one of the greatest men of the world, and a saint because of his sufferings, sacrifices and love for the nation and love for God. But to call Gandhi an Avatar is emotional trash and sentimental nonsense! One who always waited for the "inner voice" to guide him cannot be an Avatar, because the Avatar is "Voice" itself. One confessing of his Himalayan blunders and of being occasionally in darkness, weak and imperfect cannot be the Avatar. The Avatar is all-knowledge, all-power, all-bliss, all-perfection!
The truth of the situation is that Gandhi never claimed Avatarship for himself, nor even sainthood; and this enhances his greatness all the more.
Even Jinnah [the leader of Pakistan] is considered by the Muslims as the savior of Islam. After his death — which is in the near future — he will also be acclaimed by the Muslim world as Imam Mehdi, the Muslim Avatar.1
Footnotes
- 1.True to Meher Baba's words, Mohammed Ali Jinnah died eight months later, in September 1948.