However, He knows how to create, preserve, and destroy the creation. How is this? When you blow up a balloon, your eyes are on the inflating of the balloon, and so you look at that and not at yourself. In the same way, the eyes of Ishwar are fixed on His creation and not on Himself.
Adjoining the north wall of Baba's underground crypt-cabin on Meherabad Hill, six small cells made of tatta were constructed in a row. Baba called the humble structure the Sadhak Ashram. It was established on the morning of Friday, 2 December 1927, when Baba instructed Gopal Swamy, Shankarnath, Sheriar Mehrabanpur, K. K. Manekar, and Gulabsha each to occupy a room. (One room was kept vacant.) The five men were ordered to meditate and to fast on liquids. They were not to step out of the rooms on any condition, even for going to the toilet. They were given bedpans and Vishnu was assigned the duty of cleaning these. Sidhu was assigned the duty of bringing the men milk and water each day.
Just two days after the Sadhak Ashram was opened, the play of the Master's wine began. Gopal Swamy was the first to be overcome. He suddenly started crying and went on for almost three hours without stopping! Baba's only comment was: "This is a good sign." Later, each of the other four men were deeply affected and had profound inner experiences.
At three in the afternoon on 4 December, Baba discoursed about the different religions of the world:
Who gave all these different religions? The Avatars! Why have they done so? To establish principles for people and to bring people to the point where their faces are turned toward God. Muhammad and Buddha both gave different precepts, but each according to the circumstances and mentality of the people of the time.
Baba then drew a diagram of the spiritual path through the planes and described the various Sufi stages leading to union with God: Haqiqat (Realization), marefat (inner knowledge), tariqat (inner sight) and shariat (outwardly following religious customs).
He elaborated with the following analogies:
Take the example of water, for instance: To think that there is water without ever having seen or tasted it is shariat. To begin digging a well to [strike] and see water is tariqat. After going sufficiently underground and finding water — this seeing is marefat. Actually drinking water is haqiqat.