The waters of a river are for the use of the populace. The containers the people bring to fill with water are large or small according to their needs. In the same way, the Sadgurus have come down to this world for the sake of duty and only to give, in true charity, from the vast and inexhaustible store of unbounded Bliss, Knowledge, and Experience they are Master of. They are the storehouses of Knowledge and unlimited blessings. Those who have merit can come to them and take as much as their containers can contain.
Ramchandra Gadekar, who was staying in Meherabad at the time, had recently taken his college exams. On 31 May, Baba informed him, "You have failed in your exam!" The young man was crestfallen and tears welled up in his eyes. To console him, Baba called for sweets and distributing them among all, declared, "This is to celebrate Gadekar's failure in his exams!" But moments later, news was brought from Ahmednagar that Gadekar had actually passed his tests. Gadekar's unhappiness turned into a smile of relief.
At tea time in the girls' school later that day, Baba explained the meaning behind the Indian custom of offering a coconut to saints and holy personalities:
The coconut can be divided into four parts: three outer coverings and the water inside. Each represents something different. The outermost fibrous hair symbolizes the gross body. The hard husk or shell symbolizes the subtle body. The kernel or white portion inside symbolizes the mind. The water inside symbolizes God-realization.
There are four steps in taking the water out of the coconut. The first is to remove the fibers; the second is to crack the shell; the third is to open the kernel; and the fourth is to extract the water. When opening a coconut, people usually resort to such ordinary, slow, successive actions. But at the time of ceremonial and sacred occasions when the water is sprinkled in worship, the whole coconut is smashed to pieces in one stroke against a wall or the floor.
Each of the four steps has a spiritual significance. The act of taking the fibers off the coconut can be compared to the act of discarding the body and its gross sanskaras. However, with the elimination of the gross body, the subtle body becomes active. The subtle body is like the hard coconut shell that is then smashed.