Some might have been thinking that Baba was giving preferential treatment to rich and important persons.
One day, while sitting on the front verandah of Guruprasad, Baba remarked, "To me a maharani [queen] and a mehtrani [toilet sweeper] are the same."
By sheer "coincidence," that afternoon when Baba was giving darshan, on one side of him was seated the Maharani of Baroda and on the other side was a poor mehtrani.1
On Saturday, 11 May 1963, a woman came with a garland for Baba.
Baba commented to those gathered near him, "She was once very rich, but her relatives have illegally deprived her of her property. She went to court and had to face 83 lawsuits against her. In spite of such mental and financial trouble, it is her good fortune that she has still stuck to me."
Baba advised her to leave all her troubles to him and wait and watch for the result.
That day, Dr. Ram Ginde arrived from Bombay and brought grapes for Baba, who distributed them to the gathering.
He then asked Eruch's sister, Manu Jessawala, to sing a few bhajans. In spite of not having practiced for a long time, she sang and also played the harmonium well.
The topic shifted to experiences on the planes, about which Baba said:
On the fifth plane, the pilgrim experiences a little of the celestial music [ anhad naad ] which he feels is coming out of himself. On the sixth plane, he sees God everywhere as glorious Effulgence. It is on this plane that the lover pines for Union with the Beloved; but to attain Union with God is not easy. Once Union is achieved, everything becomes endless, boundless and continuous. From that sublime state, I have come down to your level.
Babajan often used to remark about my having come down from the exalted state to get myself bound here. Now that I have accepted to be bound, I have to come and go every 700 to 1400 years.
Baba further explained:
Law holds illusion; love takes you beyond illusion. When God descends in human form, he controls the laws and abides by them, but gives love to all. He is the Master of the Law, whereas you are the slaves of it. You are addicted to maya, just as you are addicted to many things in illusion. You may be able to overcome these addictions, but to break through the addiction to maya requires the Master's grace.
Footnotes
- 1.In India at that time, few homes had indoor plumbing, so a certain low caste of uneducated persons would clean the toilets and sweep the gutters in the streets filled with human waste and garbage.