Lord Meher, 3rd ed., Part 4

978 Pages·2017·6.62 MB·English

by  Bhau Kalchuri

Lord Meher online (third edition with
corrections)
updated as of 7 December 2017

Part 4: October 1955 – 1969

BHAU KALCHURI

Chapter 28: 1955 MEHERABAD SAHAVAS
Chapter 29: BRIEF DARSHANS and SECLUSIONS
Chapter 30: 1956 TRIP TO THE WEST
Chapter 31: BLOOD ON INDIAN SOIL
Chapter 32: 1958 MEHERABAD SAHAVAS
Chapter 33: WESTERN SAHAVAS, 1958
Chapter 34: TOTAL SECLUSION
Chapter 35: GURUPRASAD, 1960
Chapter 36: INTERESTED IN REMAINING DISINTERESTED
Chapter 37: EAST-WEST GATHERING
Chapter 38: GURUPRASAD GARDEN, 1963
Chapter 39: NO DRUGS
Chapter 40: AGE WEEPS AGAIN

Chapter 28: 1955 MEHERABAD SAHAVAS

THE GUJARATI SAHAVAS
Preparations in Meherabad for the first of four sahavas programs were in the final stages. On
Thursday, 27 October 1955, Baba had been driven to Meherazad from Satara, and from the following day,
he began visiting Meherabad daily. Tents for sleeping and for the meetings were erected. A separate
dining pandal, with tables and chairs, was pitched for serving tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cooking
arrangements were the responsibility of Chhagan and Shahastrabudhe (of Mahabaleshwar), aided by Nana
Kher, Bal Natu, Dr. Kanakadandi (of Eluru), Rangole, Dhiraj Parmar (Rama Kalchuri’s brother), Minoo
Kharas, Adi Dubash and Kohiyar Satarawala. Workers from Arangaon Village were hired as additional
help.
Pendu was very particular about the arrangements, especially the food for the gathering. Free
transportation from the Ahmednagar railway station to Meherabad was also provided. Vishnu and Bal
Natu were to keep accounts; Bhau was to look after the lovers' accommodations, food and the general
tidiness of the area; Aloba was in charge of seeing that hot water for baths was ready early each morning;
Nilu and Don had duties as the camp's doctors; Kishan Singh and Feram Workingboxwala were told to
write down Baba's utterances at the meetings; and Adi, while looking after his office in Ahmednagar,
with Waman Padale's help, also helped oversee sahavas arrangements, as did Ramjoo. Eruch was
constantly with Baba to interpret Baba's signs and gestures. All of the other mandali, besides Baba's
brother Jalbhai, Sadashiv Patil, Nariman and Meherjee, were occupied in one way or another day and
night, and of course Baba was overseeing every detail.
Age saw that Meher-abad lived up to its name and was “flourishing” in all its glory. “The rays of
the Beloved's wine penetrated every heart, turning Meherabad into a divine tavern.” Yet, despite the
provision for all conveniences and outward rest — and a heightened sense of anticipation at the good
fortune to enjoy the company of their Beloved — an inner restlessness and uneasiness prevailed among
those who attended the programs, which only pilgrims on the Path can experience.
On Tuesday, 1 November 1955, Francis Brabazon from Australia and Don Stevens from America
arrived in Bombay. Irene Conybeare had also been invited and all three were brought to Meherazad by
Meherjee on the evening of the 2nd. Francis had met Baba three years before in America, and this was his
third trip to India. (He had been with Baba during the Andhra darshan program and had also attended the
1954 men's meeting.) To participate in the sahavas activities, he had come to India for 40 days. For Don
Stevens, this was his first trip to India. Don, a Sufi, had also met Baba in America in 1952. He had missed
the meeting in September 1954 due to illness, so he had come to India to attend the sahavas for about ten
days. Both men were accommodated in a small room (in what later became the library) on Meherabad
Hill, and Savak Kotwal looked after their food, which Sarosh would send from his bungalow in
Ahmednagar. Adi Jr. and his wife Franey would eat with them and assist in any way they could. Francis,
however, wished to stay in lower Meherabad with the other men, so after Don Stevens left, Francis moved
down the hill. Irene was accommodated at Meherazad for one night.
Baba came to see the two Westerners on the hill on the 3rd along with Irene. Adi Sr. arrived with
Dr. Deshmukh, who was introduced to Irene. A copy of God Speaks was given to Irene to present to Dr.
S. Radhakrishnan, the Vice-President of India, taking a promise from him to read the entire book. Irene
was then driven back to Bombay, from which she left for Delhi to spend the winter with friends.

For those attending the sahavas, Baba dictated instructions to be read carefully, and which were
posted on bulletin boards in the lower Meherabad hall. They were as follows:
Directions Given By Meher Baba, November 1955
Particularly for the participants of the sahavas weeks, and in general for all connected with
Baba. I want you to read carefully and absorb these directions, as well as the other items arranged
alongside, namely:
1. The framed gist of the Circular No. 25 of 1 May 1955.
2. The two charts on God and Love [done by Rano].
3. The list of donations for the sahavas weeks [made by various Indian devotees].
No one, and that also includes those who have come for the sahavas, should under any
circumstances — either directly or indirectly — ask me for favors, rewards, money, jobs, health or other
material things, not even for spiritual gain. The best is not to ask for anything. If anything at all is to be
asked for, then first one should ponder whether one has the required degree of determination and courage
to ask for the love of Baba. If one has that much determination and courage, one should be ready to
surrender so completely as literally to give up and let go of everything — body, mind and heart. And, the
self should be able to remain alive and dead simultaneously.
To all of you who believe and feel that I am the Avatar, I say that there is no need at all to ask
me for anything, because I must know best when and what to do for one and all, and what to give to one
and all.
Your faith and belief demand then that you should feel happy to be resigned equally to
whatever comes from me or whatever is taken away by me. As and when I bless anyone with peace and
plenty, money and children, name and fame, et cetera, he and others should not feel elated at this. Their
concern should be only to keep their minds and hearts focused on what they believe me to be, the one
Reality.
If I am free to give as I wish, I must also remain free to take away as and when I deem it best, in
any way and at any time. That also means that as and when I take anything away from anyone, he should
not raise a cry, because his concern must likewise remain focused on my Reality and not on the thing I
take away.
From the Beginning of all Beginnings I have been saying, I say it now, and to the End of Ends I
will say it, that he who loves God becomes God.
It is a fact that I have come among you. One of these days, the whole world will come to realize
how I have come, where I have come from and the purpose of my coming. I repeat once again that I have
come neither to establish panths [groups] and jaats [classes] nor to establish mandirs [temples], masjids
[mosques], churches and ashrams in the world. I have come to receive the beauty and give the blessings
of love. All else but God is illusion— whether rites, rituals or ceremonies in the name of religion, worldly
possessions, family, money or one's own physical body. All else but God is illusion.
In response to my call to one and all to leave all and come to me, some have come. A few have
responded for the sake of spiritual enlightenment, others to gain peace and escape from worldly strife and
entanglements, while a few have come through their love for me to find me as I am. Those who have
come to me have naturally become dependent upon me, but in spite of that, I, as Baba, remain free and
independent.
I have been seeing to their requirements with the money which has been coming and going in
the spirit of love. I accept with love what is offered to me with love, and I also disburse it out of love. I
neither obtain money through miracles nor am I connected with any moneymaking business. There are
those who have offered what they can spare, and there are those who have dedicated their all to me and to
my cause of love, unmindful of money for the sake of money.
According to the conditions laid down by Baba to his lovers and devotees in Life Circular No. 25,
Baba continued:
Under the existing conditions of no promises from me, no bindings upon me and no
undertakings by me, my dependents must also be made to feel quite free of their material dependence
upon me. Thus, they will be able to maintain a pure relationship of love for the sake of love.
I now wish to be outwardly what I always am inwardly: living solely in love, for love and with
love. In that spirit, the whole world could live with me irrespective of whether or not there happened to be
any provision for food and shelter for the "todays" as well as for the "tomorrows." As it is, I am free and
no bindings touch me, but I should also be free of the need to bother about arrangements for others. I now
want love to reign supreme outwardly, as it always does inwardly in me.
How can one explain love? There are as many ways of explaining love and obedience as there
are men. There can thus be no end to the understanding of them except through obedience based on love,
and through love itself. All great saints, teachers and Masters say the same thing in one way or another
when the emphasis is laid on love for the sake of love, or failing that, on obedience in the cause of love.
For spontaneous surrender, the heart must, so to speak, be worn on one's sleeve. One must be
ever ready to place one's neck under the ever-sharp knife of command of the Beloved, and the head
should figuratively be detached in order that it might be completely surrendered at the Master's feet.
Obedience should be so complete that one's concern with it makes one as much awake to possibilities as it
makes one deaf to impossibilities — as envisaged by the poet [Hafiz]:
I was tied to a raft and thrown into the ocean;
Then I was warned to be careful not to let my robe get wet.1
Yet, all this does not and cannot explain the required degree of continued readiness for love and
obedience to love. In fact, one of the three reasons for this sahavas is to help you grasp what love and
obedience really mean.
You must have such a clear picture in your minds of this sahavas as to forget completely such
things as declarations, messages and discourses by me. This is not an occasion for the fulfillment or the
making and breaking of past and future promises. You have got to remove from your minds any picture of
me upon a dais and you sitting before me — as has been the experience of most of you present here.
I want you to be with me, near me and before me in an entirely different atmosphere, so that
you can freely breathe the air of my personal presence. We must be together as intimately as if we were
living under the same roof for no purpose other than that of living with each other and for each other.

1Darmiyane qahre darya, takhta bandam karda-ee
Baad mi gu-ee kay, daaman ter makun hoshyar baash.
Do not look forward to any functions, meetings, timetables, programs, agendas or any cut-and-
dried plans. You have simply to be near me all the time that I remain with you, playing, sitting, walking,
joking, discussing serious things or listening to stories. I want you to live with me the day-to-day life I
normally lead.
You are not expected to read, study, meditate or pray, but to feel at home with me as naturally
and unreservedly as you would do at home in the midst of your own family and friends. I want you to be
your natural selves, putting aside all the superficial niceties one usually assumes in social life. Being in
my company, watching me and being watched by me, you will automatically learn and unlearn a lot,
which no amount of teaching can convey. In short, there are three reasons for this sahavas program:
First: To give you my closest company in order to bring out the oneness between us.
Second: To help you understand love and obedience, and to make you imbibe these twin aspects
of the nectar of the infinite existence behind all life.
Third: To show you how to do my work of spreading love.
However much I may explain, you cannot have a true idea of the enormous strain on my
physical body in these last twelve months. To say the least, I am utterly exhausted physically, yet I intend
to exert myself further for the whole sahavas month in order to impress thoroughly upon you certain
points. There are points which I have got to drive in deeper and deeper, not only for you all, who are able
to be near me physically, but for all others, also, who love me and obey me, as well as for other reasons
which are not apparent here and now. These points you will have to grasp through the three reasons of the
sahavas, as given above.
Therefore, during the seven days, above everything else, forget your worries, comforts,
discomforts, home and business affairs. In short, forget about everything concerning your daily life except
your present life here with me. As I have stated, I have offered this sahavas at the cost of additional
physical exertion for me, because of all who love me and obey me, including those who are physically
absent.
The only explanations you should expect from me during the sahavas will be on [four points]:
Love;
Obedience;
Work of spreading my love;
Freedom from the apparent binding of those dependent on me.
I want you all to take particular note that I would feel happy if each one of you not only
possessed but read and digested God Speaks from the first to the last page, as the last book of its kind by
me. I will, likewise, be happy if those among you who can possibly do so will see that this work is
translated and made available in as many languages as possible for those who cannot read and understand
English.

The Gujarati-speaking group, consisting of 97 lovers from Bombay, Poona, Surat, Navsari, Bajwa,
Delhi, Dehra Dun and Karachi, arrived in Meherabad on the 3rd, and Baba began his sahavas with them
the following day.
On the first day of the sahavas, Friday, 4 November 1955, Eruch drove Baba and Kaka Baria from
Meherazad to Meherabad. On the way, they picked up Meherjee Mama Satha at Akbar Press. While they
were traveling, a buffalo suddenly turned in front of them and Eruch hit the brakes. The car swerved and
was narrowly saved from plunging into a ditch by the side of the road.
Baba asked, "Who took my name?"
Eruch said, "I was speaking with you so, for me, there was no question of taking your name."
Kaka said his attention was focused on looking after Baba's personal belongings, and Meherjee
Mama replied that since he was traveling in the same car as Baba, there was no need for him to repeat his
name.
Baba reminded them, "Remember to always take my name when anything untoward is about to
happen."
Baba arrived in Meherabad at 8:20 A.M. and he was received with loud acclamations. Baba took his
seat in the meeting pandal and inquired about the visitors' health, food and rest. He also asked if all had
read the posted instructions and looked at Rano's chart God Is Reality And All Else Is Illusion.2 (Baba had
the Directions re-fixed after not being satisfied with the original placement.) He then remarked, "I had no
sleep at all last night."
After embracing most of those gathered, Baba began by explaining the meaning of sahavas:
The meaning of sahavas is physical proximity, to meet one another, mingling together like
members of the same family. But my staying with you and your staying with me do not mean the same
thing. For ages past, Baba is with everyone; but here, you all have to be with Baba and forget everything
else. Thoughts may come and thoughts may go. We cannot control or check them. How to control them?
By losing yourselves, trying to be engrossed in Baba's “sahavas” [company], so that they may come and
go automatically without your being conscious of them.
Do this much for six days. For at least six days, forget all your prestige, knowledge and
spirituality. Try to observe the minutest details and analyze what takes place here. I want your hearts to be
clean and open for me to step in. One most important point is to forget your difficulties — family,
financial, health, et cetera — and only concentrate on Baba's love. Do not expect miracles. Do not think
that by coming here you will solve all your difficulties, and your troubles will be over. I have nothing to
do with such things. I have no key for such problems. Do not hope for blessings to become healthy and
wealthy. If you think you have come for the betterment of your health, you will on the contrary lose it. I
have come [descended from the Highest State] to bestow my love on you all. The rest is all illusion. Do
not expect anything except my love.
There is a vast amount of literature on love, but to attain love is not easy. Very, very few find it.
If you were really loving me you would not be here, because in that case your true love would have made
you realize my Real State. Listen to what I say and don’t think like a philosopher! There is no curtain
between you and me. The only curtain is you, yourself.
What is meant by "you, yourself”? When you feel hungry, you say, "I am hungry," when unwell
you say, "I am sick," and so on. This I is the curtain or veil. Once this curtain disappears, you realize the
unity of life — you realize that you yourself are That. It is due to this curtain of ego that we are involved
in so many difficulties.
How to remove this curtain? Millions of births do not remove it. You all feel that I am THAT,
but you are not conscious of my Real State. The reason is, you do not love me in the way you should.
For these six days, I want all of you to be in my constant company, on the same basis of
intimacy as the mandali, and to observe my day-to-day activities. No one truly loves Baba, not even from
among the mandali, although the mandali have been with me for years together. They are prepared on a
mere sign from me to lay down their very lives at my feet; but they have not the sort of love I want. They
are with me, though without love. Had they that love there would have been nothing for them to obey,
because they would become One. But for obedience to be greater than love, it must be 100 percent.
Explaining a couplet of Hafiz, where the Master says obedience is just obedience, there is no
questioning, Baba added:
You should be slaves of the Master, obeying even without thinking. If I order anyone to kill his
child, he should obey me without having even a single thought about the deed.
I have explained so much; now, will your conscience accept obedience to me? Are your hearts
ready to obey? Worldly people come, garland and worship me, and seek my blessings. I have not come
for that. I mean this for all — the mandali, as well as you all who are near me today. To bow down to me,
to perform my arti, to worship me is not what I have come for. These acts are all good with saints. With
me it is different, it will not do. I expect more.
Why have you been called here? I have come to receive your love and I wish you to obey me
literally, so that you may have the conscious experience of me. If that be not your purpose, then you have
come on a sort of picnic! I want to say everything today, so that we may be free hereafter. It is Baba's
living experience that there is only One Reality, and all else is illusion. What is all this that we see and
experience? Our staying here, my giving you explanations, even my being the Avatar is all a dream.
Every day, you are dreaming; every day, you wake up and experience the same dream over and over
again.
You are all sleeping, and in your sleep you dream of me. I tell you that you are dreaming, and
you reply, "Baba, you are here, we see you; how could it be a dream?" But whatever you are experiencing
here is all a dream. When you wake up in Reality, you will experience that all this was a dream.

2 Refer to God Speaks, pages 164-166.
A child is born and as he grows, his consciousness also increases. From childhood to youth,
middle age and old age, but not a thought occurs to him as to from where and for what he has taken birth.
Births after births pass in this way. He only thinks of worldly things, never about the Real thing. Rarely
does someone become really awake. This dream is far too long. Hafiz says thousands of lovers out of love
for God are rolling in the dust, but hardly one realizes Him. It requires cycles upon cycles for a man to get
enlightened. Books say that even after eons, [only] one finds God. But this is the time when those who
obey me will realize me.
It is important to obey me cheerfully. If that is not possible, at least obey. If I tell Raosaheb to
kill his son, and if he does not do it cheerfully but does it anyway, still he would find me. Search your
own hearts and see whether you are prepared for such obedience. If your conscience is not prepared for it,
then what should you do?
Everything is the play of the mind. If I wish, I could make the harmonium start playing itself.
People would take me for God and would be ready to surrender themselves to me. But this would not be
dedication to me, but to the playing of the harmonium. If a dead child is made alive, people are ready to
obey — but this obedience would be to resurrecting the child.
Ravikant Rawal of Surat described how he had once witnessed a lover succeed in invoking rain by
taking Meher Baba's name at a particular place during a drought. In response, Baba commented:
We need not doubt what he says, he has seen it with his own eyes; but the fact remains, I did
not know about it and I did nothing in that connection.
Nozar [Dadachanji] loved me. His family loves me; they did not grieve when he died but
obeyed my will.
You all somehow feel that I am someone really great, but you have no conscious experience.
There will not be greatness in your obedience after knowing me. But it is really great to obey me when
not knowing my True Self. Mind will revolt against such obedience.
Kaikobad Dastur has some experiences and derives anand [bliss]. He says he knows who I am.
If I tell him to cut his family to pieces, he will do it cheerfully because he knows Baba is something. But
obedience without consciously knowing me will make you greater than me. Whatever I say, I say in all
sincerity. It is impossible to obey me literally. Were I in your place, it would be difficult for me to obey.
So, what should I say about obeying me without knowing my Real State!
If obedience is impossible, then there is another way — purifying the heart. There are three
ways: the first is obedience; the second is purifying the heart; and the third is selfless service [seva].
To cleanse our hearts is very difficult. How to do that? It is not in renunciating the world and
leading a secluded life. While leading a worldly life, you can cleanse your hearts. Suppose you become
angry, you have bad thoughts. What to do? The thing to do is to let the thoughts come and go. Do not
check them. To become angry sometimes is in a way good. You get excited, and if you do not express
your excitement, you get an opportunity to consider why you got angry. You get lustful thoughts. They
will come. Let them come. But do not express them through actions. There is no credit if thoughts do not
come. They will come. But you should not check them. Through the evolution of consciousness through
the lower stages [of animals], the human mind is subject to anger, lust and greed because of the
impressions. It is due to these impressions that we get these thoughts. You can check them temporarily,
but they are sure to express themselves. And these impressions express or spend themselves through
thoughts. But if you commit actions, you create bindings. Yet this binding is in the Nothing [illusion].
Everything is zero.
Suddenly you become angry, and if you do not express the anger, what will happen? Your mind
gets angry but your heart should not know about it. For that there is a way, and that is of no expression —
not to express thoughts. As soon as you get angry, immediately remember Baba, and your heart will not
be affected by your anger. Do the same with lustful thoughts. Remember Baba wholeheartedly. This is the
greatest thing. It is not child's play to remember me when you are excited. Suppose you forget to
remember me. Then there is the third way — seva [selfless service]. If you cannot obey Baba, cleanse
your hearts; if you get angry, remember Baba.
Hearts are not purified by following the external practices of religion. This is the essence of the
three principles of Zoroaster.3 Baba himself enunciated these principles during Zoroaster's Avatarhood.
These precepts are good thoughts, good words and good deeds. While doing the kusti [sacred thread], it
should be done sincerely. A single impure thought means we are not worshiping God but offering
worship to the thought.
I remember an incident of my childhood. My mother was insisting on my going to the fire-
temple once, while I wanted to play marbles and fly kites. On her insistence I went to the fire-temple, and
taking the Avesta [Zoroastrian holy book] I just skipped over its pages contenting myself that I had

3 Most of those who attended the Gujarati sahavas were Zoroastrians.
prayed. But if you want to pray to God, do it sincerely. I did my duty to placate my mother, but it was
devoid of pleasure. Better not to perform ceremonies and offer prayers, but if you want to do these, do
them sincerely.
If even selfless service is hard to do, there is yet another way, and that is to remember me
always. If you cannot even do this, then at least remember to remember me before breathing your last.
But for that you will have to start remembering me from today because, if not, at the last moment you will
not be able to.
Now this is enough for today. I will explain the remaining two points in the Directions [on the
notice board] tomorrow. Then for three or four days we will be free to live a free life.
Baba asked Kohiyar to repeat the prayer Banam-e-Yezdan (In the Name of God Almighty) which
Kohiyar did in a melodious voice. Baba also had its English translation explained. At about 10:30 A.M.
the Navsari bhajan mandali sang devotional songs until the gathering adjourned for lunch at eleven
o'clock.
After lunch, at 12:30 P.M. Baba called to the hall in lower Meherabad all those who were not
resting. Baba was taking long, swift strides back and forth inside from north to east. Before more bhajan
singing began, Ravikant Rawal narrated a story of four clever thieves.
In response, Baba remarked, "The five greatest thieves [Perfect Masters] who live in the world steal
people's hearts and also periodically steal me from my Highest State."
About an hour later, Baba gave darshan to hundreds of Arangaon villagers. Most were family
members of the workers hired for the sahavas month. Men, women and children came from the village to
the meeting tent, singing and dancing in a long procession. They were told not to touch Baba's feet but
just to file past touching only his seat on the raised platform. Baba quickly took his own darshan first, by
touching his feet with his right hand and then touching his hand to his forehead. Before the villagers could
start taking darshan, Godavri Mai of Sakori arrived. Baba had her seated beside him on a chair. The
program began, and Baba accepted the many garlands and coconuts the villagers had brought in offering
and handed prasad to each one. Godavri Mai then left and Baba walked back to the hall.
When all had joined him there, he stated:
From each group I want one man who will fast for 21 days from the 15th of February, remain
only on water and continuously repeat my name. It is nothing great to remain on water for 21 days; many
have fasted like this for longer periods. But to remain at one place and continuously repeat my name loud
enough so that only the one saying it can hear it is really very difficult.
Even for Baba it is difficult!
Baba asked those courageous enough to do this fast to stand up. A few stood and Baba selected
five: Hoshang Bharucha, Minoo Kharas, Burjor Mehta, Eruch Karadia and Minoo Khambatta. Baba
instructed them:
For 21 days stay at one place, eat and drink nothing except water, take Baba's name half-
audibly and never sleep. 4I will give further instructions later on. God is deaf. If you repeat my name
mentally, I will not hear it as I am also deaf! Come what may, whether you fall ill or there are other
difficulties, follow faithfully and stick to what I have told you.
Baba smilingly asked the assembly, "Will you allow me to leave early for Meherazad at 5:00 P.M.?"
All cried loudly in one voice, "NO!"
"All right," said Baba, "I will respect your wish ... I will not go at five but at 4:30!"
Shouts of protest erupted and at last it was settled that Baba would leave at 5:30 P.M. Actually,
Baba was to scheduled to leave at six o'clock, so with his usual shrewdness he managed to shorten his
stay by half an hour, and at the same time keep everyone pleased.
Baba then touched on the publication of God Speaks in America. With hand gestures, speaking in
Gujarati, he observed:

4 Subsequently, Baba rescinded the order of not sleeping, and reduced the amount of time from 21 days to
seven days.
God Speaks will soon be available. It is a unique book. I have explained many things there; still
I will briefly explain in a way so that you may all understand it.
From eternity we are all one. We do not know it; we are not conscious of it. But in eternity we
are a limitless ocean. We are all drops of this ocean.
What happens daily? From our waking state, we go to sleep. Before entering sound sleep, we
pass through the dream state. Before awakening, we pass through the same thing — from deep sleep to
dream state and from dream to waking state. When you sleep soundly, you forget everything; nothing
exists for you. That is the Original State. We pass through this state daily and wake up — after passing
through the dream state — in yet another dream state, this gross world.
What to do now? Something should be done about this daily entering our Original State and
waking in this dream state. In our original [sound sleep] state there is Unity, but we become conscious of
duality when waking up. This original [sound sleep] state is of no use. We must wake up consciously in
the Original State, and then alone will we experience that we are One.
That is the state of Eternal Bliss. Before this bliss, what was there? Only this Eternal Bliss. It is
all bliss and bliss. To be conscious of our Original State, the state of Oneness, consciously is dnyan —
Knowledge: it is Power, it is Bliss. This state comes after manonash — annihilation of the mind. To gain
this experience, one must become the very dust under the Master's feet.
I alone exist. How to become dust under my feet? There is only one panacea — by obeying me
implicitly. To do what I say. One should become the very dust! Even I have not that courage. But there
are a real few in the world lost in the ecstasy of divine love.
If you cannot obey me, then have my constant remembrance. If that is not possible, then at least
before you breathe your last, utter my name. In his last moments, Nozar took my name. My brother
Jamshed did the same — Jal Kerawalla, Meheru Damania [Eruch’s sister] and others. It is only heroes
who surrender to me in their physical form. The Arangaon villagers came seeking my blessings for their
worldly desires and departed. I have not come for that. I have come for a few elect, although I have to see
to the whole world, too. I have come so that you can experience me in your physical bodies.
I derived divine bliss from Babajan. After that, for nine months I passed through unspeakable
spiritual agony [to gain normal consciousness]; it was simply unbearable. To get relief I used to knock my
head against walls so furiously that they began to crack! In fact, there is no suffering as such. When the
Five bring me down, they draw the veil over me. Babajan removed that veil. I remained in that state for
nine months and then gained gross consciousness. At the moment, I am experiencing both infinite bliss
and infinite suffering simultaneously, and once I drop the body, there is only bliss and bliss because
nothing exists except bliss.
From ages past I have been coming, so how old I must be! Think of yourselves. You too are
coming from ages past, and you are the same in spite of that. In reality, no one comes or goes; no one is
born or dies. To experience that, we must free ourselves from bondage. After playing lingocha [seven
tiles] earlier in the day, I remembered all this.
Baba then departed for Meherazad.

The next day, Saturday, 5 November 1955, Baba returned to Meherabad at about 7:30 A.M. On his
arrival each day he would first meet with Pendu, Padri and Vishnu in his cabin (opposite the hall).
Although these three and the other mandali in charge of arrangements (Chhagan, Bhau, and others) could
not be near Baba during the meetings because of their duties, they were given Wine of a different sort —
a vintage full of pain! While the out-of-town lovers were enjoying only the delights of the Wineshop, not
a day passed when Baba did not take these mandali members to task. And when they emerged from the
cabin at the conclusion of these early morning sessions with Baba, they had to wear a smile on their lips
to convey to others how pleased they were with their share.
At about 8:15 A.M. Baba entered the Meherabad Hall. He greeted everyone present, stating, "Those
whom I did not embrace yesterday should now come forward to be embraced." Among those who lined
up were Dr. Deshmukh and Bal Natu, who hoped for a second embrace. Baba embraced the former after
pointing out to him that he had already been embraced the previous morning and refused to embrace the
latter for the second time, remarking, "That way I will have to embrace one and all once again."
Afterwards, when Baba asked Deshmukh about his fountain pen, everybody came to know that Baba had
quietly filched it from Deshmukh's pocket while embracing him!
To Homi Desai of Lahore, Baba remarked, "You have come to Meherabad after a long time."
Baba explained to those attending the sahavas:
Those having a cold should sit at a distance so that I might not catch it. Some of you might ask
how, being the Avatar, I could catch cold. You might as well ask why I should get hungry or need rest!
I remember an incident which occurred in England years ago. With me at the time were Chanji,
Ghani, Adi, Kaka Baria and Rustom. The Westerners had deep love for me and wanted to take my photo.
I had no idea they would make me stand outside in the bitter cold! But they wanted to take the picture in
my natural dress and I could not refuse. They did not imagine I would catch cold. They were under the
impression that the Avatar was immune from illness. In the days of Manzil-e-Meem, even in wintertime I
would move about only in a sadra. Meherabad too was quite cold in those days. The Westerners made me
stand in the open. I cannot describe how cold I was feeling. And to take different poses, I was made to
move from one place to another.
This morning I had a fight with Pendu in my room before I came to the hall. Pendu has been
bearing the brunt of planning, executing, and maintaining the various arrangements necessary for the
sahavas program. Originally, it was decided to invite only 150 participants every week at the total
estimated cost of Rs.20,000, and to spend Rs.10,000 on the four programs for the poor during the whole
month of sahavas.
I had agreed with Pendu not to let any changes be made in the original plan. But letters and
telegrams soon began pouring in, and the number of participants began to swell as the appeals were
irresistible. My lovers in Andhra have proved themselves real workers in my cause. My name has become
a household word in many parts there. The same is the case with those who love and work for me in
Hamirpur District in U.P. [Uttar Pradesh], where men, women and children go about singing songs of
praise for me in the course of their daily life, whether they are working in the fields, at home, on their job,
or while going to school.
The Maharashtrian group also has reached more than 250. Many lovers were left out, so we had
to accept them. I am telling you this because of our being in sahavas, on an intimate footing as members
of one family. When the number reached 200, Pendu protested. From Rs.10,000, Pendu came down to
Rs.5,000 for the poor programs. Now the issue of permits is stopped. I explained to Pendu that those
attending the sahavas are coming from long distances and are workers and lovers. Now in one case the
number may reach 300. With the increase in numbers, among other things, Pendu must also get the
dormitory pandal extended and to obtain more cots, blankets, pillows, et cetera, in advance. The figure for
the poor has come down to Rs.1,000.
See how help comes automatically. Nozar has come to me, but he left Rs.1,000 to me. This
brings the total to 2,000. Last year I had been to Andhra on a darshan tour. The reception committee had
collected funds for that purpose. After deducting expenses of Baba's tour, the reception committee saved
Rs.1,200. They offered it toward the sahavas. I did not want any strings attached to the offer. So the South
Indian devotees' reception committee's contribution of 1,000 brings the total for the poor to 3,000. Now
we must please Pendu and try to knock out an additional 1,000 from him. That would make Rs.4,000 in
all.
Baba had Pendu called, and said that he wanted at least Rs.1,000 from each group for the poor
account. Baba joked, "If the funds are insufficient for the last Maharashtrian group, they will have to live
on chutney-bhakar [meaning, cheap food] for the week. I will discourse on some spiritual matters, and
they will be so pleased they will gladly agree to be satisfied with only chutney and bhakar. I know the
trick."
Everyone laughed and Pendu accepted this. Baba allowed him to extend the sleeping
accommodations on condition that Baba’s sahavas work in the hall was not disturbed.
Addressing the group Baba stated:
Tomorrow we have the poor program from nine to ten o'clock in the morning. Yesterday we
dealt with two points — love and obedience. Today we will take up "binding." I am always free. But as
soon as I come down, I get myself bound. Think how great must be your luck. Those who thirst for God, I
do not appear before, whereas you have my sahavas! So take the fullest advantage of this opportunity.
I am the Highest of the High and the lowest of the low. The intermediary state is of talking,
joking, playing. What you see is only my physical body. I am also with those in the first plane, in the
second plane, up to the seventh plane. In the same way, I am everywhere, with and in everything and
everybody. Everything and everybody is equidistant from me. Gradually people come in my contact, they
get intimately connected with me and dedicate everything. They become entirely dependent on me. This
process is repeated in every Avataric period. What I have been telling you will have to be repeated before
each of the other three groups. I will keep back nothing.
As I said, this process goes on age after age. Those who are dear to me depend upon me. For
my work I have to give them orders. Dependence increases day by day. In my every incarnation it is the
same case. Formerly in Meherabad we had several institutions. I spend money when I have it on such
establishments and dissolve them when there is no money. Nothing is permanent with me. Elsewhere in
the world it is different. The heart of my every lover is my ashram. Gifts of love I accept with love and
disburse with love. But from now on I want to free myself from all these self-imposed bindings. The time
is drawing near. Do not take anything as promises. I am free from promises, and I have a habit of
promising one day and forgetting the next.
From the 15th of February 1956, I want to be far away from all these bindings. I have important
work to do. I have to make provisions for those who depend upon me for one full year. I have a plan for
it. I am thinking of enjoying such complete freedom from these self-imposed bindings that I do not even
want any correspondence, nor to see the faces of those who all the time stay near me. I am thinking of
such things. I am also thinking of an exclusive program for women. There are letters and telegrams to this
effect from many women. This epidemic of darshan is now spreading far and wide. It is not practical to
call women and children here. I am thinking of a two-day program at each place exclusively for women.
There are also rumors about my traveling to America. A flying visit of a few days only. Nothing certain
or anything definite yet. From next February 15 I am going to keep myself aloof from the mandali. I have
two months — December and January — in hand to arrange for my dependents. I want to visit different
places in India; I might even travel to the West.
Now about the fourth point, spreading Baba's message of love. The workers in Andhra have
practically covered almost all the villages there. In Hamirpur District of Uttar Pradesh it is also the case.
All men, women and children know Baba and love Baba. There were one or two villages opposed to this
work, but some chamatkar [miracle] made them rally round Baba's cause. On the Nagpur side Deshmukh,
Nana Kher, Pophali — and on the Delhi and Dehra Dun side, Kishan Singh — are looking after this work.
Practically in all parts of India, my lovers are doing their best to spread Baba's message of love.
But these Parsis! I feel that when I was Jesus, the Parsis were Jews. The Jews were the cause of
my crucifixion. Now I am a Zoroastrian and these Parsis remind me of those old days. No doubt there is a
big group among them who do love me, and that love compensates for the other group's indifference.
Wherever I go in India, people in the thousands flock around me. This is not the sort of love I
want. What I want to say is, how will you spread my love, convey my love to people, make them love me,
make them understand who I am — how will you do all this? For that, first of all, you all should be my
lovers. When you go and tell others about me, and when you say "Baba says this," you have to explain
everything. To speak the truth, not to slander others, not to envy others, not to have hatred, not to make
others suffer — all this you will have to tell them. You will say Baba says this. But you will be able to say
these things only if your own conscience is clean. Only then do you effect some change in the mentality
of people and turn their love toward Baba.
If you are not pure in heart, it is better not to show your face to them and utter a single word.
Keep mum. I am unaffected whether the world worships me or vilifies me. My state of the Highest of the
High will not change. With your own example show all that you yourselves are my lovers. Even a single
lover can do a lot of work for me if he is a real lover — a sincere worker. He can change the whole world.
If all of you could be that, you would change the entire face of the universe. I know there are many who
talk about me sincerely, try to explain to others about me — but they themselves bring their tales of woe
before me. This is hypocrisy! In this sahavas we are on intimate terms, and so I am telling you all this. I
must say what I feel like saying. This finishes with the fourth point.
Baba continued:
Another point: After I discarded my alphabet board, you all know how I convey my thoughts.
[Eruch explained that the mandali try to grasp Baba's gestures and repeat what he means.] God Speaks
was dictated on the board. It is a good book. There was a review from an American philosopher. Another
review has come to hand from one Dr. Schroeder [a Protestant theologian]. Don Stevens and others in
America are connected with publishing and printing this work. To impress the American public with the
value of the book, Don and others want to take a film of me dictating on the board for television so that
millions may see me. They want to show how Baba has dictated it. So many films have been taken
previously, but this one will be a 24mm film for television. This television scene for the book's review
will be helpful. It will be good publicity. Don asked me to use my alphabet board for a while. As you
know, I have thrown it away as of 7 October 1954. But for this book, I have promised that I will use it.
My nature is to promise today and break it tomorrow. This is from ages past. There will be no dictation of
the sort. I will put my finger on one letter of the alphabet board.
Don Stevens interjected, "The American public is so shrewd, Baba, that that will have very little
effect."
Thereupon, Baba agreed to use the alphabet board the next day for a few minutes, solely for the
purpose of taking the film. He said, "I will spell out only this sentence: 'I have given up the use of the