In reference to Naval's recent visit to Babajan, the Master continued:
Naval went to Babajan and told her that he had come from me, whereupon Babajan replied, "He is my shopkeeper." This means that Babajan is the source of all the spiritual force working at present, and I am her sole agent whose "warehouse" is full of untold treasures. She then composed and recited this rhyme:
My shop is not located in any building or world; My world consists of only Yezdan or Merwan!1
Dr. Karkal invited Baba, the mandali, and some of the boys for tea on Saturday, 12 June 1926, but Baba arrived suddenly at his residence at nine o'clock, before everything was ready. Baba did not wish to wait and distributed whatever treats had already been prepared. Tea was hurriedly made, which Baba served to everyone.
He remarked to Karkal, "See how speedily everything is over."
Dr. Karkal replied, "Baba, you hold the key."
In response, Baba observed:
The key to the world is only one, but it is in the hands of the five Perfect Masters. For example, a safe has only one key and no other key can unlock it. The five Perfect Masters control the safe [the world]. One Master is the keeper of the key, without which the safe cannot be opened. The second guards the safe which cannot be opened without his prior consent. The third is the one who alone has the authority to use the key to unlock the safe. The fourth is the one who has the right to distribute the riches in the safe. And the fifth Master is the one who has the power to authorize the distribution. Thus there is only one key to the world, equally shared among the five Masters.
The five Perfect Masters, plus the 51 other God-realized souls [majzoobs and Jivanmuktas] control the key.2 These 51 are members of the parliament of the five Perfect Masters. Fifty-one plus five equals 56; this number 56 never changes. Each of the Perfect Masters has a circle and each circle consists of twelve members. In this way does the game of the world go on and on. All this I am telling you is a secret.
Baba went to the circus late that afternoon with ten of the mandali. But after going all the way to Ahmednagar and watching the performances for only fifteen minutes, Baba stood up and said it was time to leave.
Footnotes
- 1.Meri dookan, jeedhar na makan, na jahan/Magar jahan, fakt Yezdan ya Merwan!
- 2.A Jivanmukta is a soul who is liberated (attained mukti) but still incarnate; a seventh-plane God-realized soul who is without duty to the universe. He bestows the grace of Realization upon one other person before he dies. There are three majzoobs alive at any period of time, and there are 48 such Jivanmuktas (or Shivatmas), along with the five Sadgurus or Qutubs, thus always making a total of 56 God-realized souls on earth at all times. When a Perfect Master drops the body either he bestows Realization upon one of his chief disciples and transforms him into a Perfect Master, or one of the majzoobs or Jivanmuktas takes his place as a living Perfect Master in control of the affairs of the universe.