In the West, too, there are men rendering such service.1 One is a doctor in charge of a leper asylum. He is always with the lepers and so engrossed in his work that he has no time to think about himself. He does not know who Meher Baba is.
Such persons can do selfless service, but even they cannot come near me. Why? It is because the mind is there. The most subtle thought creates binding, and this prevents them from knowing Baba. Despite this, as soon as such persons drop their bodies they come to me because their thought is not for themselves but for advancing and improving on their work. And so they come to me.
Baba then said, "After five minutes, go out for half an hour to ease yourselves. From tomorrow, no such explanations or talks. We will be together, playing, joking. Remember one thing: God is all-merciful. He is eternally in bliss. He cannot forgive one thing, and that is posing. Being a scoundrel, if one pretends to be a saint, God will not forgive it."
After the break, Baba continued:
You will find God Speaks a unique book. Never before have such things been disclosed by me. You will understand through your mind the why and wherefore of your being. After reading it, do not pretend that you are God. Unless and until you have had experience, it is nothing.
If you love me, say it; if you don't, say this too openly. If you feel Baba to be the Avatar and God, say so; if you can't, then tell the world that I am not the Avatar. I will be happy. Both are mine. Don't be a hypocrite!
Baba then summed up the program for the next day: what he had explained to the Gujarati group would be read out to them from Ramjoo's notes, and the same thing would be repeated to the two remaining groups.
I am not satisfied with the work of conveying my message of love to the outside world. This work should be done according to my wish. This I emphasized to the Gujarati group, and I will also mention it to the other groups. Also, I do not like the disagreement among the workers themselves and want to settle this question once and for all.
Footnotes
- 1.Baba was referring to Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965), the German doctor, Christian missionary and religious philosopher, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.