This may be compared to a goods [freight] train chugging along very slowly. The Avatars and Perfect Masters carry their special disciples with them by express trains and thus give them Realization and free them from the ceaseless rounds of births and deaths. This good fortune is reserved for the very few of the inner circle. To those individuals who are inclined toward following bhakti and seva marga [devotion and service], the Masters have shown the path of selfless service and repetition of God's name. And for the world at large, they have pointed to the path of observing rituals and ceremonies. But all these religious customs and rituals given by the Masters are full of deep meaning. The Hindus' tal-bhajan [singing of bhajans to the accompaniment of ringing bells] and the namaz [prayers] of the Muslims are nothing but methods that do away with sanskaras, the greatest obstacle in the path of God-realization.
For example, take the kusti or sacred thread of the Zoroastrians. The three knots of this sacred thread signify the three basic principles of Zoroastrians: good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. Now what is the deep significance of jerking or shaking the kusti before it is worn each day? It symbolizes the throwing off of the dust [sanskaras] collected on the thread since the previous day. But the kusti must be done sincerely and wholeheartedly. Otherwise, thousands of kustis done out of sheer habit with prayers murmured mechanically are of absolutely no avail. Similarly, the Hindus' bhajan singing and the Muslims' namaz are a means to focus the mind on one object — God. They were given by the sages with the express purpose of diverting our minds from the worries of the world and concentrating our minds on our one Lord.
You can keep on jumping here and there, uttering "Tukaram, Tukaram" for a thousand years, and it will all be of no use. For it is not the chanting or the ringing of the tal-bhajan that the devas or gods or saints require. It is your bhakti [devotion], your love, that is needed, not mere mechanical murmuring with your mind and the heart running continually towards worldly ideals.
On the afternoon of Thursday, 3 June 1926, something happened which upset Baba and he threatened to leave Meherabad by himself. Later in the evening, he explained to the mandali:
Listen to me and remember this much: I do not feel bad about someone who is dying or who even dies, but if you disobey me, it pains me greatly.