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I MEDER GAzETTE " ME HE R ASRAMAM " : (Saidapet, Madras)
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A Bi- monthly review devoted to the Propagation of S ri Babaji 's Message a nd of Universal Brotherhood Through Meher League. NOV EM BER- D E CEM BER 1936
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SRI MEHER S A B A
T hat is real service \V here there is no thought of self at all. ' SRI ME!-IE R BABA .
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~~ Subscription : An nua l, Inla nd Re I. Foreign 2 sh . or 50 cents w ith postage. S ingle copy 3 as . or 6 cents.
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CONTENTS PA GE 111 Sayings of Sri Sadguru Meher Baba 111 About the Master The Rahuri Pha5 e, The 'Mad ' Ashra m, by B ro F. H. Dadachanji 112 114 Biogra phy of Sri Meber Ba ba Mothe r D r. Besant 116 116 Maha tma Gand bij i Editorial : T he people's party 11 6 P ractical L essons on yoga , by Swa mi S ri S ivanandj i 118 T he wisdom of the Vedas , bv Sjt . Dharmadev a 11 9 \\' bat is mystici sm ? ll 9 T be Mun da ka Upan ishad 121 The advantages of a vegetari an diet 123 Saida pet Muni cipality 124 Though ts for the month 125 The H arijan page 126 Meher Asram a m 126 T he Ch ildren Page 126 From the Master · 127 Members of Meber Leagu e 127 Meher L eag ue 127 O ur exchange 128
THE MEHER GAZETTE Editor : C.
v. Sarnpa th
Aiyanga r,
' Late of Madras J udicial Sen.> ice)
RAT ES OF ANNUAL SUBSCRIPT ION Inland : Re 1 (inclusive of postage) F oreign: T wo shillings (incl usive of postage) S ingle Copy 3 as. Subscript ioltS should be remitted in advance to C. V. RAMANUJ ACHARL U , Treasurer, Meh er Asramam , SAI D APET, (Mad ras' .
Editor's Address :
66, 3rd Cross Road, SANKARAPURAM, Bangalore City Madras Presidency.
THE
MEHER GAZETTE A Bi-monthly review devoted to the Propagation of Sri Babaji's Message and of Universal Brotherhood Through Meher League. Vol. V]
NOVEMBER - -DECEMB E R 1936
[No . 5
SAYINGS OF SRI SADGURU MEHER BABA 66 67 68 69 70
Lust craves for animal satisfaction. Love longs for spir itual blissTit-for-tat is Maya's work. To return love for hatred and enmity is divinity. It is easier to fo rgive thau to forget.
ABOUT THE MASTER The dear Master was in Rahuri in Hi s Ashram of the Mad and Masts . Arrangements have l)ee n made for the stay of His \Vestern devotees at the Nasik Retreat . At the requ est of His devotees a visit to the west has become necessary . His iteuerary is : October
November
24th 25th 26th 29th 1st
Fly from Karachi arrive Baghdad ) Leave Baghdad , Con sta11tinopl e [ London J
Return journey same route. the end of November next.
by train
He is e xpec ted to return to India by
Gossip is the henchman of lrumour and icandal¡
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THE MEHER GAZETTE
THE RAHURI PHASE THE 'MAD' ASHRAM \By Bro F . JI . Dadaclwnji ) [Continued from page 99] Before concluding this biographical sketch, I may as well men tion the latest phase of Shri Meher Baba's a c tivitic ~. Shri Baba, for sometime past was heard to remark very frequent ly to the mandali at Meherabad that H e wanted perfect peace a~d seclusion so that He would be taking no personal interest in the daily routine and life of the Ashrams at Meherabad and elsewhere · It is always very interesting that when He is on the eve of evolv ing a new plan or usher ing in a new phase of activity, he initiates the idea in a very nonchalant way and then after a whi le, the s ubject gathers import and urgency to the exclusion of everything else. Emergency meetings of consultation with the important members of the mandali are held, even many times a day, to thrash out the idea and chalk out a programme. At one such meeting, Baba gave out, what he termed, Hi s 'five-year plan' of retirement from acti ve and personal parti cipation ia Ashram life. In order to keep l.he A~hrams at different centres in India functioning in a normal way and also to ensure ma intenance to individuals and familie;; dependent on Him, He created a trust, consisting of a panel of trustees entrusted with duties and functions ac::cording to their apt itude and calibre - All the mo veable and immoveable properties of Ashrams and retreats at different centres are vested in the above trust, which had also at its di s posal s ufficient funds to meet stipends to individuals, the rec urring expenditure of the Ashram life, for a period covering fi ve years. E ven the recently acquired ex tensi ve prcperty at Nasik valued at R upees forty-thou sand, inclusive of all additions and extensions such as quarters and blocks of di fferent types and dimensions, intended to house and accommodate \V e ~ tern di sciples, is incorporated in the trust referred to· Tile idea behind all this arrange· ment was to enable Baba to have more time and leisure to inaugurate an altogether new and impo(tant phase of spiritual activity, sin ce Baba would have us beleive that the time for universal spiritual upheaval was very near ahead· The trust mentioned above has already started functioning from the 5th of August 1936, and the very ne x t day Baba, with a few select members of the mandal i, remo ved to Ra bun, a town 25 miles from Meherabad , on the road between Ahmednag::n and Nasik. Gossip! has all the_ blindness of a bat·
THE RAHURI PHASE
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Although the reader has be.:ome fairly acquainted with Baba's different activities and is by now prepared for surprises, the new activity at Rahuri i.> very intere!'ting. It must have been noticed that at an early stage of His spiritual activities, He was concerned with raw materials in the shape of boys and children ; and in order to attract them primary and secondary schools were opened at Meherabad. These institutions formed the background for the time being for Baba's spiritual workings and when the purpose was served, they were naturally scrapped . The second stage was in connection with the grown-ups the adult minds and average intellects. For them, festive and ceremonial occasions such as 'bhajans ', feasts, birthdays of Masters and Saint!', and other religious holidays were utilised. On such ()ccasions Baba was personally worshipped by the crowd. The poor, the diseased, the let:ers, were often bathed, feasted and clothed. And now the material that ¡Baba is handling at Rahuri is quite of a different character. The requisition is out for a good number of mad, 'mast' (spiritually intoxicated) people to be gathered at Rahuri, for which purpose a few members of the mandali have been specially deputed. This special, and accord ing to Baba, very important work has turned out to be a severe test of endurance and patience for those put on the job. The conditions pertaining to the select ion, imposed by Baba, tends to make the whole work very expensive and precarious. The conditions are that the persons selected should have no relations and responsibilities, and that they should be perfectly non-violent. Until now the workers have succeeded in importing into Rahuri about a dozen such people, of whom half the number has already been sent away, these not coming up to Baba's standard and conditions of selection. These mad or ' Mast ' people are attended to by Baba personally in the matter of their meals, bath and clothing etc. A few of the mandali are detained to keep guard lest these people stray away. It is a sight to see Baba humouring, bathing, and feeding these people. Baba's stay at Rahuri is marked by complete seclusion. No interviews are granted; No 'darshan' is allowed. During weekdays, Wednesday is set apart for a trip to Nasik by car, to return the same evening, and Thursday is reserved for a trip to Meherabad.
They...that govern must make least noise.
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THE MEHER GAZETTE BIOGRAPHY OF SHRI MEHER BABA (continued from page 97)
CHAPTER XIII (The re-incarnations of the Master) When a few disciples of Sriji including myself were with Him in Bro Khan Bahadur B. D. Pudumji'5 residence in Bombay, we saw a beautiful life size painting of Sivaji and his· sword, preserved with care and reverence by our brother· We were then told by Sri Babaji himself that He was Sivaji in that birth, which was His last but one birth, It will therefore be interesting to know something about 're-incarnation', and the last two lives of the Master. A sensible Englishman writes " When so many people. are pessimists, having little trust in man or God ; when so many drift along lazily, or rm:h along madly hunting after a success of small importance (which, when achieved. proves to be failure), there is urgent need of a theory offering us reasons for trust in God and man, and motives for sensible work, at once both energetic and calm· The first step is to feel hopeful The second 5tep is to feel responsible-" He thrn says that the theory of reincarnation " is likely to give us a sense of infinite hope and of infinite responsibil ity; it is likely to rna~ us helpers of ourselves and of others, if we assume it to be a certain established fact, and act accordingly." To every thinking mind it is clear that the soul in the body manifests itself in connection with the material universe using this body as its vehicle, and the soul itself has a separate existence. \\'hen we say that 'life is short' we mean that the life of the body is short. The soul does not die-it is immortal. It was why Lord Sri Krishna impressed on his disciple Arjuna that the wise grieve neither for the living nor the dead (2-11 ). This; earth life is given to us for the purpose of progress, and for the unfoldment of the powers of the embodied soul. Lord Sri Krishna says 'As are childhood, youth, and old age, in this body, to the embodied soul, so also is the attaining of another body. Wise souls ( Dhiraha) are not deluded in this matter' (2-13). Our life here is o&ly a day at school, and nobody will be sorry when he is pro~noted from one class to another• He is dead so far as The best of all governments is that which teaches us to govern ourselves·
BIOGRAPHY OF SHl\1 MEHER BABA
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his lower class is concerned, but he lives in the higher class with all his · experiences of his lower class· A person on the Path understands three important points : " i ii iii
Nothing short of absolute perfection is expected of him in regard to this development• All power with regard to it is in his own hands• He has all eternity before him in which to attain this perfection, but the sooner it is gained, the happier and more useful will he be."
As fhe late Dr. Besant said " Evolution consists of an evolving life, passing from form to form as it evoh·es, and storing up in itself the experience gained through the forms; the reincarnation of the human soul is not the introduction of a new princi pie into evolution, but the adaptation of the universal principle to meet the conditions rendered necessary by the individualization of the continuously evolving life." Life is continuous. As the Gita says . " As a man removes worn-out clothes, and puts on new ones, the embodied soul casts off worn-out bodies and enters new ones.'' Are we sorry when . we remove dirty worn·out garments? No. We will be quite happy in our new garments pro"ided we took care to see they were carefully stitched : But it is clear that there is no change in the real man (soul) who wears the garment. The soul goes on till it exhausts all experiences, the outcome of desires. This is the story of him who desires ( 1ti nu Kamayamanaha - Brihad-aranyako-panishad.) Then what is reincarmation. It is the re-embodiment of the soul in thi~ world of samsara over and over again as long as it has desires. Mr. Eustace Miles notes some of the limitations of this theory or proposition. "i
li does not tell us how long an interval elapses between one life and another, whether 150 years or only a minute·
ii
The theory is open to serious objections, especially to the possibility or certainty of exceptions; for instance, when the disciples asked Jesus whether a certain man had been born blind because of his own mistakes made in previous Jives (for be could not have made them in this life, if be had been born blind!) or because of his parents' mistakes, Jesus did not say that the two theories were generally All good government must begin in the home•
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THE MEHER GAZETTE absurd; he said that in this case there was a different expianation." There is another point also to be considered ; iii
Whether human beings may become re· incarnated as minerals, plants or animals. (To be continued)
MOTHER Dr. BESANT I pay homage to Mother Besant. her sayings :
Let us meditate on some of
When a man has seen the One, the very desire for the things of the Eenses dies out in him. 11
Remember that all difficulties constitute opportunities for the would-be occultist.
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Never lower your ideal; that is fatal.
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You must be true all through and it is not easy to make oneself so in thought and word and deed.
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Your thought ought always to result in action. a rule.
Make that
MAHATMA GANDHIJI He is the noblest man living. In the words of Shakespeare,-" His life is gentle, and the elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, ' This is a man !" Our homage to him.
EDITORIAL THE PEOPLE'S PARTY
(1) Mr· P. T - Rajan, the Development minister, in his speech which he recently made in Mangalore is reported to have stated," Ignoring the People's party, which had a tumulious birth the previcus evening, there were two parties in the field, the Justice and the It is useless to make good laws for bad people•
EDITORIAL.
THE PEOPLE'S PARTY
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Congress·" The italics are mine. It is to be regretted that a responsible minister should in dP.spair use words that he does not understand. ' Tumultous' means riotous, uproarious, violent. disturbed· It is common knowledge under what conditions, and in what circumstances the minister's party came into existence. Verily the epithet may appropriately be applied to it. The leader of the People's Party is, if we may ·s ay so, a Raja Rishi. This is no flattery as we do not stand under any obligations to him . This part of the Country wanted a leader who bad the courage to !'ay " Politics divorced from a high moral purpose becomes theyaltry squabbl e for power in which humanity can feel no interest ·" We do not think that the other leaders have the courage to say so- There was absolutely no tumult, no communal commotion, no physical disturbance, and no outpouring of billingsgate when this muchwanted party came into existence. Our friend the minister may ignore The this party : but every patriotic Indian cannot afford to i~ re it. party will take our friend's curse as a benediction; for we can ignore his curse.
(2) The Hon. Nawab Mirza Yar Jung Bahadur, the Chief Justice ~f the Hyderabad High Court and Chairman of the Temperance Committee in his broadcast speech said: "Four crores of rupees were !'unk by the people of this state in the purchase of this wasteful and unnecessary luxury in one year. How much it would have affected the earning capacity and the economic condition of those who wasted this money, and how much of pain, misery and moral degradation it WO;J'd have brought in its trail could onl~ ! imagir>ed," This observation applies to the condition of one Stat ~. But it equally applies to the whole of India. Islam prohibits drink: and it is a follow~r of Islam that had the courage to speak the drink-Truth. \Viii our ministers meditate on this observation for at least ten minutes a day ?
(3) Mr. T. I. Mardy, ex-M.P. and former Secretary of India ParliaCommittee in the course of a radio talk on Birth Control, said, "If India has the moral courage to reject artificial methods and has not the will power to control sexuality by natural methods then India must at once set about it to enforce the only practicable alternative to birth men~ary
Public sentiment is more than law·
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THE MEHER GAZETTE
control, That is, India must abolish her mass illiteracy, enforce effective primary education full and free for all boys and girls as a birthright; and at the same time carry out nation-wide rural upliftment as these two reforms must go hand in glove." No better advice can be given to Indians and their ministers at this critical period of their history. \iVithout mass education nothing is possible. But under our present ministers there is nothing like mass education: On the other hand even primary education in Madras pFesidency is made very costly and it is only rich man's business · \Ve have personal experience of this un· fortunate affair·
PRACTICAL LESSONS ON YOGA S wami Sri Sivrnumdji. (Continued from page 100) 11 WiJl.power is more powerful than thought-power. power is soul-power (Atma Bhal). The will-power of a vVestern tist is less powerful than the will-power of an Eastern Yogi or a There is a tinge of impurity (selfishness or desire for power) occultist.
WiJJ. occul· Jnani. in an
12 Thought is a mental force. It is a force like gravitation, cohesion or attraction, but it is a higher r ower. Gravitation etc belong to the physical plane· Gravitation is a gross fmce· · Thought is a subtle force . Soul-power belongs to Atmic plane· It is the highest power. 13 Ethical power that is obtained by the practice of yama and moral virtues, is more powerful than intellectual power· Soul-power is more powerful than ethical power. Gandhiji has ethical power. But Sri Sankara and Yajnavalkya had soul -power through self·realisation (Atma Jnana). man.
14 An intellectual giant or a philosopher may be an immoral But an ethical or spiritual man can never, never be immoral.
15 Create a protecting aura around you, which will not allow evil thought from outside to enter the mind. This can be done by auto suggestion, will-power, strong imagination, pranayama, prayer and meditation . Think "I have created an auric shell around me· No evil thoughts can affect me now · I am quite safe ." It is to self-government that we owe what we are•
WISDOM OF THE VEDAS
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16 Just as there are steps in the ascending stair-case, so also there are steps in yogic samadhi¡ Savitarka, nirvitarka, &avichara, nilvir.hara, sananda, sasmita are all steps in the ladder of yoga. One has to master all these lower samadhis before he reaches the final asamprajnata samadhi. (To be continued.)
THE WISDOM OF THE VEDAS: VEDIC YAJNAS AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES By Sjt Dharmadeva Siddhantalankara (Hons) (Continued from paie 101) It is generally believed that Lord Gautama Buddha was the first to ra1se his voice against animal sacrifices: But it is significant that in the Brahman Dhammik Sutta speaking about the practices of the ancient Brahmans he emphatically stated that they never u~ed to kill animals in the yagnas and their sacrifices were quite non-violent. It was only in the reign of a king Ikshwaku that they became greedy, interpolated Ver!!es in the ancient books sanctioning animal sacrifices and began to perform them with the result that the number of diseases rose up from 3 to 101. It is clear therefore that even according to Lord Buddha the Vedas did not sanction animal .sacrifices nor the ancient Brahmins practise them. It is the duty of every right-thinking person, therefore, to condemn them strongly and to cultivate the spirit of service and sacrifice, performing benevolent actions selflessly with the object of bringing about the welfare of the whole world. [Finis]
WHAT IS MYSTICISM? By Mr. R. R. Khanna, M.Sc. (Continued from page 102) Let us revert to the question " What is mysticism " ? A mystic is a human being who has fallen in love with God¡ A mystic usually He sees God gets the first vision of God through some human form. operating through some Personality. To begin with, this Personality may be the spiritual presence of some Great Soul, who left the body years ago; it may some living Personality, still in human form. In
be
He that would govern others, first should be the master of himself.
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THE MEHER GAZETTE
either case the seeker sees Divinity operating through one Personality· His mind is filled with love and emotions bordering on madness, in bondage to this Personality, whom I shall call the Master· The seeker now feels the influence of a new magic spell, stronger than anything he bas experienced before; a nt:w life of joy and bliss comes to him, so different from tbe sordid material life of selfishness and pain with which he w~s familiar before. He now shrinks from his old surroundings, having found something new and attractive- Human beings get attached to one such Master by strong bonds of love unknown to ordinary mortals. This bondage has no sex appeal whatsoever; it is a union of the hearts. The coming together of the seeker and the Master !n human form is pleasanter to them than all the joys of heaven, whereas their separation brings the pain of hell. Their exchange of glances is worth more to them than kingdoms. Friends of the seeker are unable to appreciate this queer phenomenon. They are unable to see Divinity in the Master. But the seeker and the Master understand each other as nobody else can. "What is Mystic:ism?" The laws which govern the lives of the Master and the seeker, initheir spiritual relationship, their experiences on the path, their eventual spiritual union, their services to humanity, should in my opinion be termed Mysticism. Prof. N. N. Sen Gupta, Head of the Department of Philosophy at the Lucknow University, once delivered an extension lecture on "The Psychology of Mysticism", at which I had the privilege to be present. The professor brought with him a large bundle of books to prove to the audiencb, by quotations frcm the texts, that (1)
(2)
Mystics have been kuown among all religions. Mystics have been known in ali countries and in all ages; in as well as comparatively modern times.
pre-~1istoric
(3)
The experiences of these mystics have been found to be fundamentally similar; although philosophers have found it con~enient to divide them into six stages of mystic evolution.
It is not my purpose to reproduce that instructive lecture, but I must say, that it gave me great pleasure to learn (from the evidence of books) that fundamental unity of mysticism runs through all religions, through all countries and through all known times of which record is a\·ailable. For documentary evidence, I am grateful to Prof. Sen Gupta. It was not surprising to me, however, that the relationship of man with God
Cicero calls gratitude the mother of vir.tues•
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WHAT IS MYSTICISM?
should be governed by some laws, which remain fundamentally the same through all ages, and through all countries. "w-hat are the experiences of a mystic? " This is a very large question and I would refer the reader to the biographies of mystics of his own religion. However, a brief answer can be given by asking. another question; what are the experiences of a lover? You would say, the first observation-; indicate too much concentration on one per~;on, lack of interest in others, comparativ"' negligence of ordinary duties, sacrifices for the beloved beyond all sense of proportion, and several other features which appear rather silly to the onlookers ! Exactly I A mystic also goes through all that, but his beloved is Divinity. Another difference is that the bond of relationship is infinitely · stronger in this case and the sacrifices called for are very much greater. You might ask "What is the use of making all these sacrifices? " I wond·e r what answer you would have got if you had addressed this question to Prahlad or Majnun. A lover does not sper.ulate in the share market for profit or loss. He just loves· Why does he love? Because he· cannot help it. He is mad; but he loves his own madness. He cannot be explained by reac:on and logic, and rejoices in this sphere, which is really beyond the region of reason or logic. What is the purpose of mystic's life? In reply may I ask what is the purpose of a human lover ? The answer is; they both seek union with the beloved. In one case, the beloved is mortal and in the other case, the Beloved is eternal. Union with the beloved brings 'blills' to the lover's heart in both cases. In one case, however, love is followed by separation when the beloved leaves the mortal frame. In the other case ' the human soul obtains union with the Divine soul, (with luck) and there is no fear of separation even in death · The intervening stages are painful in the extreme but are well-known in romance and history as the trials of. lovers. T~e path of true love, whether human or divine, does not run smoothly. The greater the sacrifices involved the greater the prize. (to be contiuued)
THE MUNDAKA UPANISHAD-SECOND MUNDAKA . SECOND CHAPTER (Continued from page 104) 1 This sel1-effulgent Brahman is in the cavity {of the heart of all creatures) and is said to be moving there. He is the highest (g~e~t) goal. He is the support of all. In Him all that moves, breathes and Gratitude is. the most capital of all duties·
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THE MEHER GAZETTE
closes the eyes is fixed. Know that He is the Sat (Para Brahman) and A-sat (the phenomenal universe~. He is to be adored. He is the best and beyond the intellect of all beings. [The Sruti clearly says that the eternal Brahman is the higbe~t to · be adored. The person on the Path is told that it cannot be known by the intellect of ordinary men. The person on the Path is the Sruti's child (Somya-chapter, mantra 10 ). . It can be realised only by the person mentioned in mantra 10. By intellect alone the Para Brahman cannot be understood. It must be realised says this mantra. How it can be realised is the subject matter of the following mantrams.] 2 That which is luminous, that which is more subtle than the subtlest, in which all the worlds !lnd their inhabitants are fixed-That is the imperishable Brahman. That is Prana, speech and Mind. That is Truth and that is immortal. Oh sowmya, know that it should be realised (veddavyam= should be pierced) by concentration of the mind (Viddi). [It is only by control of the mind and realizing the universal One-ness that one can understand That. One should realise that there is one life; by control of speech we can realise the Oneness; by feeling Universal brotherhood the Mind can realise the immortal Truth. All the5e arrows are necessary to the aspirant archer who desires to hit the mark. This is the process.] 3 Taking as his bow the great weapon of the Upanishad, fix on it the arrow, sharpened by devotion. Oh beloved, , Having drawn it with the mind fixed on it (Brahman), know that the aim is that imperishable Brahman. [With mind fixed on Oneness realize the imperishable Onenessthe Brahman. This idea is more clearly explained in the next mantram.] 4 The · Pranava (OM) is the bow; the atma is the arrow; And the Brahman is said to be the aim. This aim 5hall be pierced by him whose attention is fixed on it. Then he will become of the same nature as the Brahman like the arrow (the arrow gets into the aim which it pierced). [The word 'Apramattena' carefully, with attention fixed on it-is very important. By 'discrimination ' we have to understand the sat and a -sat and fix our mind on the sat. If this is not done the aspirant belo\•ed cannot hit the mark. vVithout control of the mind amidst excitement it is not possible to realise One-ness. Unless we conquer Grateful and good are synonymous terms·
ADVANTAGES OF A VEGETARIAN DIET
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the flesh-matter, control of the mind is absolutely impossible. Persons who want stimulants (coffee, tea, tobacco, alchohol etc) to do any work and cannot control the mind quite independently can never hope to have any results spiritually. Persons who are victims to stimulants are therefore doomed. It is through bad habits that nerves are weakened. It is true that the poisonou3 stimulants stimulate the nerves temporarily. That they are useless and dangerous is clear from the fact that soon after depression is produced, and the victim wants the stimulant again. Such a person can never control the mind. The weak nerves must be strengthened by natural methods-taking well-regulated food and exercise and shastraic medicine~, when absolutely necessary. ] (To be continued)
THE ADVANTAGES OF A VEGETARIAN DIET (Continued from page 105) 6
l t is a non-stimulating diet.
Henry s. Salt says " It cannot be mere accident that vegetarians are almost invariably abstainers from alcohol and tobacco. Flesheating and alcoholism are closely allied, and that the drink cra\·e diec; a natural death when a stimulating diet is withdrawn," The question of birth control becomes very difficult in the case of those who take stimulating-meat-food. To them mindl control is absolutely impossible. 7 On economical and physiological grounds vegetarian diet must be preferred to meat-food - For very good reasons Swami Dayanand Saraswati condemns meat-eating- He says that Ahimsa (Harm lessness) is the first virtue that a spiritual aspirant should possess. He quotes from scriptures to show that the killing of animals for food is a great sin. A vegetarian diet is therefore a satvic and therefore a spiritual diet· Dr. F- Hartman says: "It will be plain to every one who investigates the laws of the higher life, that the loading of the human organism with animal substances will not facilitate its penetration by the light of the divine spirit. The first !:tep to the acqni;;ition of spiritual refi1;1e· mentis the abandonment of animal food. 8
It is certainly a preventive and curative diet. He enjoys much who is thankful for little.
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THE MEHER GAZETTE
Sir B . W. Richardson said "Jn respect to the propagation of disease it seems just to declare that the dauger is much less and much more easily preventible on the vegetarian than on the animal diet. " Dr. A. P. Buchan prohibited animal focd in cases of consumption• In large meat-eatiug countries cancer mortality is very high. Vegetarians who are true brahmacharis and brahmacbarinees keep sound health till old age. (To be continued)
SAIDAPET MUNICIPALITY (Olla podrida)
[Continued from page 107]
(1) I am very happy to state that the Government was pleased to allow the appeal of the Head master of the Municipal Boys' school setting aside the iniquitous order of the so-called majority in the Council against him. Thus almost all the important objections I bad taken in my dissenting note to the unworkable budget passed by the so-called majority were upheld by the Government· Will the' ]arks' (The Cabal) now at least get commonsense and like t~e Ostrich bury their heads in shame ?
(2) An open letter to Mr. P. Jayachaudra Naidu garu B. A. & n.L., the lucky Vice-Chairman. My dear brother, (In Law) May I remind you of the very interesting fable " The Fox and the Goat ·" A fo x and a goat were very thirsty and got down into a well to drink. They drank as much as they wanted. The goat then bleated " How can we get out of this? " The cunning fox said " stand upon your hind legs with your fore feet against the wall. I shall climb up to your horns, and then jump out and draw you after me." The simple goat did as he was bidden, and the fox sprang out of the well. It then laughed and said "you fool, if you had half as much brain as you have beard, you would have bethought yourself how to get out of the well before you got in. The poor goat upbraided and pleased by You are an turns, but the fox ran away." You understand the simile. A grateful mind is both a great and a happy mind·
125
SAIDAPET MUNICIPALITY
adept in making simple folks change from one side to the other, these not knowing bow they are taken in. They change as .one side or the other happens to suit their need! Sane people understand all this, and it ill becomes a budding lawyer to chuckle over this performance · Secrecy will not help any public worker. Says Johnson "where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off." It is a crime to do a thing under the rose in public affairs. A straight line is shortest in morals as well as in geometry, says Rabel. My dear friend, prefer loss before unjust gain : for that brings grief but once ; this forever (Chilo).
(3) ''The whole of Saidapet is anxiously wa1tmg to see what this Council is going to do in this very important matter. Is it going to discharge its duty fearlessly and conscientiously, or going to break the hearts of helpless men and bring disgrace on this already ;credited body ? Dear brothers, my last appeal to you is this ; Let us I walked away give up our discred itable prejudices in this matter· from the committee because I sincerely felt that it committed the most egregious mistake i!l recommending the slaughter of the teachers even after they were told that the matter was under correspondence with the Government. I am sure that the ·paternal Government will help the teachers because they cannot afford to be as heartless as the Committee. Do not be inconsistent and make yourself the laughing stock of the sensible world . Rise to the occ:asion, reject the cftrocious recommendation of the Committee· " After my speech almost all the Councillors were in favour of the resolution. It was at this phychological mcment the Chairman adjourned the meeting to the next day for obv ious reasons· (To be continued)
THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH 1. He enjoys much who is thankful for little; a grateful mind is both a great and a happy mind. Seeker. 2. 0 Lord , who lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness. Shakespeare•
He who received a benefit should never forget it.
126
THE MEHER GAZETTE
THE HARIJAN PAGE It is a thonsar.d pities that the Caste Disabilities Bill of Rao Bahadur M. C. Rajah could n ot become law w ithout delay. The Bill only aimed at ensuring th'it our brothers and s isters of the so-called depressed classes would be treated like human beings . Only a few misguided so-called Sanatanists were against the Bill. Still they make much noise, and the present government seems to be afraid of them ! It is cowardice, We have no doubt that if a plebiscite were taken the Bill will be supported by an o verwhelming maj r;rity· If fallen India wishes to rise (it is not too late ye t) the three cur s es of mass illiteracy, drink and untouchability must di sappear. VV1ll this millennium come?
MEHER ASRAMAM Saidapet, Madras. Members of Meher L~ague may assemble here and spend some time in meditation . They meditate and practise the virtue of Tolera11ce inN ovember and M agna11imity in Dcce·m ber. 2. Earnest spiritual aspirants may go to the a "ramam and spend some time in that qniet place.
THE CHILDREN PAGE Master A. K . Kasthuri (reading in form IV, B of St Joseph's Indian High School, 130\ngalore) sends me ten "things never to do" [from the Children 's Encyclopedia]
I. Never cross the road immediately in front of a vehicle, though there may seem plenty of time to spare.
z.
Never
run
into
the road
without first
looking
in both
directions. 3. Never hesitate after starting to cross the road, nor step back when the driver of a v~hicle probably thinks you are goi!Jg on· 4.
Never cycle between two vehicles; they may close m upon
5.
Never pretend to stab people with a knife.
youThey may move
and be hurt· He who bestows should never remember it·
127
MEHER LEAGUE 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Never Never Never Never Never
stand too near the edge of a river or canal. run about with an open knife or knitting needles. put knitting-needles or crochet-hooks in the pocket. pull a chair from under anyone about to sit down. leave anything, such as a brush or pail, on the stairs.
(To be continued)
FROM THE MASTER 29-10 36· To-day we received a letter from Karachi, dated 23rd October, from Bro Dadachanji, where in he says," ...... At the moment of His departure Babaji wishes to convey to all His dear bhaktas in India His Love and Blessings ...... "
MEMBERS OF MEHER LEAGUE BROTHERS
397 398 399 400 401
Swami Atmananda. C· M. Paripurn::tm · T. M. Vijiarangam Pillai . C. Govindachari. A. Srihari Raman.
N. B.-We regret to record the death of brother C. Govinda Chari· May his soul rest in peace·
MEHER LEAGUE When His Holiness Sri Sadguru Meher Babaji graced Saidapet with His Presence the following resolutions, among others, were passed in His immediate presence:1. That a League called "Meher League" be formed with the object of promoting Universal Brotherhood. 11. That all persons, who are aged 15 and above might become members of the League. 111. That the only condition for becoming a member is that he or she should undertake in writing to promote Universal Brotherhood in thought, word and deed.
He only is great who has the habits of greatness•
128
T HE MEHER G AZET T E
iv. That the Leag ue should spread the message of our Divine Lord Meher Babaj i vi z, Universal B rotherhood. H is Holiness S ri Me her Babaji is the patron of the League. President : C. V. Sampath lyangar, Vice -Presid ent: M. Vadi velu Mudali ar, Treasurer : C. V. R amanujacharlu. S ecretaries : V. T . La'kshmi, M.A. L .T ., M.R.A.S . K. s. Srinivasan . [ N . B.-Those who wish to join Meh er L eague may apply to :C. V. Sampat h Aiyangar, 66, 3rd Cross Road, Sankarapuram, Ba ngalore Ci ty . [ N . H.- All members are requested to inform the Ed itor of their change of address, if any . E d. ]
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IMPORTANT SPIRITUAL BOOKS I SRI MEHER BABA H is P hil osophy and Teachings ( 120 pagEs with a Charm ing Art illustration) By A. K . Abdulla. Price 12 annas only, postage extra. ) II SRI MEHER BABA The Perfect Ma, ter Q uestion s and Answ ers (Publ ished b y th f' Circ lP. Ed itorial Committee, London) Price 6 pence (6 annas), postage extra. III THE SAYINGS OF SRI MEHER BABA ( With notes and a glos!'ary) Published bv the Circle Ed itorial Committee, London Price 3 pence (3 a.nna.s), postage extra. Apply toR. K. s. Iran i, Meher Asramam, Meherabad, Ahmednagar, India. or Meher Asramam, Saidapet, Madras, India.
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Printed by Mr. B. C. Hanumaiya at the Vokkaligara Sangha Press, B. C ~ty. Edited-and ·Published by Mr. C. V. Sampath Aiyeogar, the President ofMeher 'League, 66, 3rd Cross Road, Saokarapuram , Bangalore City.