In a few instances, the lover by his self-efforts enters the first plane. In very few instances, a lover may come up even to the sixth plane by his self-efforts.1 Then, just a glance from a Perfect Master on such a one gives him Realization. If a lover holds fast to the daaman of one of the five Perfect Masters, [the Perfect Master] can give him Realization in a flash. And it is no joke to hold on to a Perfect Master's daaman.
I am the Avatar of this Age. Next year [1963] is a very critical year. See that my daaman does not slip from your hands then. Hafiz says:
Do not try for Realization because even to try for it is sheer madness.
Have only one madness — to become as dust at the feet of the Perfect Master.
To become dust means to completely surrender your heart and mind so that you are, as it were, already dead. There is no shanti [peace of mind] on this Path. If you want peace of mind, then you can get it elsewhere, and in other ways. You can go for pleasant long walks in nature or listen to soothing music, or take sedatives, or go to saints or sadhus. But here is not the place to come for it, for if you come to me, remember that the spiritual path is full of hardships and sufferings. While at other places, you can get peace of mind, for they know nothing about the Path. Hafiz says:
He who does not surrender to a Perfect Master cannot attain God.
There is thus only one remedy — hold fast to the Perfect Master's daaman
even if you feel that he is going to drop you into a pit!
Hafiz says, forego all prayer to God! Pray only to the Perfect Master! Hold fast to his daaman and you will realize God.
Baba then said:
From tomorrow, I will have to suffer a lot. Why and how can I suffer when I am the Ocean of Power, Knowledge and Bliss? God has infinite power, infinite knowledge, infinite bliss. The Avatar is God Himself incarnate on Earth as man. During his ministry as the Avatar, he uses only infinite knowledge. He does not make use of his infinite power and infinite bliss. This is because God incarnates as man and goes through universal suffering and helplessness in order to emancipate mankind from its ignorance [and] its own suffering and helplessness.
Footnotes
- 1.Such a rare one was the sixth-plane saint Aurobindo Ghose, who by his own superhuman efforts attained the sight of God.