"That is my plan. For example, one thorn here, one thorn there, can be of no use. When scattered they only prick. But thorns put together can make a hedge that no one can enter. The same scattered thorns can become a source of protection when formed into a hedge. Similarly, all weaknesses put together can form a tower of strength."1
Just before leaving for the place of darshan, Baba casually reminisced:
When I was studying in Deccan College, I had a friend named Ramnath who was fond of reading books about the lives of saints. We were great friends, and one day Ramnath gave me a book to read on the life of Buddha. While going through it, I came across the passage where Buddha had said that when he comes again in physical body, his name would be Maitreya [Lord of Mercy]. I had not gone to Babajan yet. But after reading the passage I thought, or rather spontaneously felt, that I was the same "Mercy" to which Buddha referred.
Thereafter, Upasni Maharaj revealed to me that I was the Avatar. Babajan also told me one day, "O my son, you will make the whole world dance to your tune!" But today, I definitely know that I am That . My name, Meher, means mercy!
Changing the topic, at three o'clock, Baba explained to the workers:
Modesty is weakness, but humility is strength. A world of difference, therefore, exists between the two. The moment you say, "I say in all humility," the very expression is the expression of the ego in you. Even if in your mind you feel that you are humble, this feeling is egoistic.
The difficulty does not end even if with true honesty you try to express true humility. An obstacle, such as the thought as to what others may think of your expression of humility, is bound to come. In modesty, you are constantly pestered with thoughts about your correct behavior to such an extent that an inferiority complex is self-created in you, and that is not strength but weakness.
No sooner humility is given an expression, it is no longer humility. It is humbug to give deliberate expression to humility. The life of humility is to be lived spontaneously, and it should not give rise to any thoughts either about humility or about modesty. For example, suppose you undertake to clean a latrine but when you actually begin to do so, you cannot help smelling the stink, whereas a sweeper who cleans them all his life will remain unaffected by the stench.
Footnotes
- 1.The meaning of putting weaknesses together is that when one becomes aware of one's weaknesses and they are not put into action, then one builds control and becomes "a tower of strength."