Pure love does not admit the bindings of caste and creed;
The thought of the Beloved does not leave my mind1
Love does not care for wealth, power, wisdom and skill;
King and beggar stand on the same level in the sacred court of love.
Everyone cannot dare to play the game of love.
In fact, the bargain of love is a very hard job.2
The lovers of God have to put up cheerfully with a hundred-and-one
Misfortunes in the shape of destitution, dishonor, and oppression.
Despair, helplessness, defamation and a thousand other obstacles
Come in the way, and have to be overcome before reaching the goal of love.3
Notwithstanding the most valuable services rendered to humanity,
The holy Prophet Zoroaster had in the end to succumb to the sword of his enemy.4
The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross for treading along the path of love
While Mansur had to give his life on the gallows for taking the same course.5
The foundation of the religion of Mazdiyasni [Zoroastrianism] has also been based on love
While the holy Prophet Zoroaster has effected a love-knot in the zunnar [sacred thread of Hindus].6
The holy Prophet Zoroaster gave the proof of his love for Truth
By preaching to the world to be true and sincere in word, thought and deed
Oh Prophet Zoroaster, it is my prayer in the court of Ahuramazda
That He may impart love to thy followers.
Regarding his personal hygiene, Baba would shave daily, but in 1922 he started letting his hair grow long and would not have it cut. Normally, he would wear only a cotton shirt, pants and the kamli coat, with a kerchief wrapped around his head. When going out in public, he would sometimes wear a Turkish fez.
During this period, it was not permissible to touch his body unless he so instructed. The Master would not bathe himself; Adi and Ghani were ordered to bathe him. Adi would carry buckets of water up the stairs for his bath. Baba would sit in his underwear as they poured water over him and rubbed his body. They would then leave the room, and he would change into clean clothes.
Baba started chewing paan and tobacco in Kasba Peth, and he chewed it excessively during his stay with Upasni Maharaj at Sakori.
Footnotes
- 1.The religion of love is to keep always the thought of the Beloved before the mind's eye.
- 2.Love is not child's play or a cheap bargain. As Hafiz says, "The shrine of love is situated on the height that cannot be reached by wisdom. One whose life is in his hand (i.e., one ready to give his life) only succeeds in kissing the threshold of that shrine."
- 3.The lover has to accept with good grace the incessant attacks and volleys of defamatory remarks that are hurled upon him by the people of all castes and creeds, while he (the lover) has no right to return a blow for a blow. The lover reaches the goal only when he passes through all these difficulties successfully.
- 4.Prophet Zoroaster who left no stone unturned in his efforts to lead mankind towards the Divine Path, suffered innumerable hardships at the hands of the people and eventually had to fall victim to the sword of his enemy.
- 5.Ed. Note: Although a Perfect Master, Mansur al-Hallaj (858–913) is considered a controversial figure in Islamic mysticism, because of his declaration that he was God, " Anal Haq! " and for his public preaching of having attained union with God, for which he was tortured and killed by the civil authorities in Baghdad.
- 6.A comparison between the kusti of the Zoroastrians to the zunnar of the Hindus.