In this world, there are Mard-e-Khuda — real lovers of God. They have actually become the very dust of the feet of the Beloved. But from one lakh of such persons, only one, after cycles, realizes God.
Love cannot be created by doing arti, performing puja, garlanding or other traditional forms of worship. Hafiz says:
"Love cannot be produced through rites, rituals and ceremonies.
Nothing of the sort creates love. It should be gained as a love-gift."
What is the gift of love? It means my pleasure to give you just a glimpse of my Reality. No sooner do you experience it than you are set on fire with love. Suppose Vinoo has never seen a woman, although he has read all about women, love, et cetera. He has learned everything, but has not seen. If by chance he comes face to face with a beautiful woman, what is his condition? He craves and desires to embrace the beauty, and as long as his desire remains unfulfilled, it will go on increasing.
Baba spoke to the Marathi group about Kaikobad's heightened experiences and remarked:
It is but natural for Kaikobad to love me because he has had certain experiences, and unless I give the gift of my glimpse, you cannot have that love for me, although I am telling you so often to love me. All this I have been repeatedly saying age after age. Unless I give you that gift, you will not be able to love me.
There is one thing greater than love, and that is obedience. But greater than love and obedience is surrender, completely surrendering everything — body, mind, soul — at the feet of the Master. There are volumes written on this subject, but no one has surrendered to me as I want. You surrender everything, but you have no control over your mind, which you cannot surrender. No sooner do you surrender it than this whole play vanishes!
The difference between love, obedience and surrender is that love seeks the will of the Beloved, obedience performs the will of the Beloved, and surrender resigns to the will of the Beloved. Love is a gift of God to man, obedience is the gift of the Sadguru to man and surrender is the gift of man to the Sadguru.
Now we are talking about such high things. I am explaining all these high things to you, but it is all superficial. Why? Because what I say, I myself hear through your ears. I am eternally free in me; I am eternally bound in you. There is only I, nothing like "you." It is only me everywhere. In you, I am bound. You are sitting before me, you see me with your eyes, you see the landscape outside, the crops, the range of hills. I say you all are dreaming. But you do not believe it!