Baba then reiterated and further explained about the human weaknesses of the previous six Avatars:
All Avatars had one weakness. Perfection includes imperfection too, so even Avatars have one weakness. Zoroaster was attacked in the back by his enemy while he was praying. When he was stabbed with a dagger, just before he died, he flung his rosary at the man who was the cause of his death, and the murderer, it is said, caught on fire and was burnt instantly. This was weakness on the part of Zoroaster — the instinct for self-preservation is so strong.
Ram denounced his beloved wife, Sita, even though she was pure in heart and mind and proved herself so after her return from Sri Lanka.1 Thus Ram bowed to his subjects' opinions and thereby kept his throne. This he should not have done.
Arjuna was with Krishna all the time and took him only as an intimate friend. During the battle of Mahabharat when Arjuna declined to fight against his kith and kin, in spite of being ordered by Krishna to do so, Krishna unveiled to him his Virat Swarup [Universal Body containing all cosmic forms] to make Arjuna obey him. This Krishna should not have done.
Buddha explained to his lovers that the goal of life was nirvan; but he did not reveal and explain to his lovers the three states beyond nirvan, like majzoobiyat, sulukiyat and Qutubiyat, which follow nirvan. This was Buddha's weakness. [He should have told the people of the "I Am God" state (nirvikalp).]
Christ, with all power, knowledge and bliss at his command, should not have cried out from pain when he was crucified on the cross: "O Father! Why hast Thou forsaken me!"
Lastly, Muhammad did not reveal to the people that he was God in human form.2 He professed that he was only a Prophet or the Messenger of God, thus establishing a separateness from God when he knew he was God in human form. He should have declared that he was the God-Man, at least just before his death.
Baba then said very seriously, "I, too, have my one weakness. Undoubtedly I am the Avatar, and so undoubtedly I have my weakness."
As everyone strained their ears, eager to know what his weakness was, he continued, "One of my weaknesses is that I tolerate having you all around me. But my real weakness I will reveal when I come again after 700 years! When we are all together, I will tell you once again of the weaknesses of the Avatars, and add: 'And Meher Baba had this weakness ...' "
Footnotes
- 1.It was falsely claimed that Sita had been raped by Ravana.
- 2.There were reportedly 144,000 followers of Muhammad in Medina the day the Prophet died in 632.