Here, Dhake interjected, "There is no question of conviction for those of us who have accepted you once and for all, because our acceptance is absolute."
In response, Baba commented at length:
It is all for the best if that acceptance remains unshaken under all circumstances. The world, in general, accepts the existence of God, without caring much about the reasons for believing so. It is a fact also that there are a few in the world who do see God as He is to be seen, and fewer still who do know God as He really is to be known.
I have already warned you of the dark cloud that I clearly see hovering over me. I have been referring to it in one way or another for many years. In fact, only the shape of things changes every time I come, and that is why I say the same things again and again in different ways. At the time of Jesus, I uttered many warnings, yet none could grasp in advance about my crucifixion.
The dark cloud is very, very near to bursting, and I have to take the whole force of it upon myself. You can have no idea of what that will mean for me. It will be like hell itself bursting upon me on Earth! Be resolved to hold fast to my daaman even when this cloud bursts. You will, thereby, share in my work.
Let me tell you the tale of the mast and the mullah [Muslim priest]. The mast, his consciousness focused upon the intimate nearness of his Beloved God, was virtually oblivious to everything else. The mullah, since he could not understand this mast's state, would pester the mast with learned parroting, and eventually became so exasperated that one day he cursed the mast, saying that he would go to hell.
The mast happened to hear and understand exactly what had been said and retorted that the mullah's heaven contained everything except God! But that since God was everywhere, he would be quite happy in hell, where he might share his Beloved's sufferings.
Look at the weapons of destruction science has evolved. Nation accuses nation of preparations for war, and the world catastrophe might come without warning at any moment. World events reflect the results of my inner working. At the time of [Noah and] the flood, hell was let loose in the world. Scientists and statesmen now solemnly declare that if total war comes, the whole world may perish. They are just echoing me, but the whole world cannot perish because I have to come down again after 700 years.