In the subtle world, every ounce of energy counts. In the mental world, the force of every thought counts. In the Beyond State, only God counts, and in the realm of the God-Men, everything counts as nothing and nothing counts as everything.
God does not listen to the language of the tongue, which constitutes japa, zikra, mantras and devotional songs.1 He does not listen to the language of the mind, which constitutes meditation, concentration and thoughts about God. He listens only to the language of the heart which constitutes love.
So love God and become free in this very life. This love can be expressed in various ways, ultimately resulting in Union with God. The practical way for the common man to express this love, whilst attending to everyday life's duties, is to speak lovingly, think lovingly and act lovingly toward all mankind irrespective of caste, creed and position, taking God to be present in each and everyone.
At the Darbar-e-Khas meeting in Dhanauri, Baba had stated that he would do further work with the help of the mandali. Eruch asked Baba, "What constitutes a member of your mandali? Who are the mandali?"
Baba answered, "By mandali I mean those who have been with me for several years, but ask for nothing. At present, Kumar is in the mandali. In short, I would say that the mandali means those whose intimacy I feel."
Baba illustrated: "Suppose I smoked. Then I would feel absolutely 100 percent comfortable to do so with my intimate ones."
Continuing, Baba spelled out, "They are those intimate ones who all along and even now are prepared to sacrifice their all in all for me. The one who gives his life to me, who listens to me and is ready to obey me, who does not ask for any kind of reward, nor care for the result, whether he is ruined or he prospers, who takes my pleasure as his pleasure, but at the same time whose intimacy I also feel, such a one is a mandali member."
Eruch then asked, "Does one have the right to call himself one of the mandali if he himself feels intimate with you, regardless of the period of his connection with you, whether one year or 30 years?"
"Only if you find me intimate with him," Baba replied, adding, "Take Elcha [Mistry] of Dehra Dun. I feel absolutely free with him, but if he is not prepared to sacrifice all, then he is not in the mandali."
Footnotes
- 1.Zikra or zikr is an Arabic word meaning remembering. In this sense, remembering God in the form of a religious ceremony or act of devotion, which is commonly practiced by various religious orders of fakirs or dervishes in Mohammedan countries.