Meher Message Volume One Number Eight Alt

R.N. B 2520

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AUGUST, l 9 29

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EDITOR

~AI~f{USfH~U JAftiSfiEDJI DASTUR, M.A., LL.B., THE DISCIPLE OF HIS DIVINE MAJESTY,

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!;_ ANNAS FIVE

SADGURU MEHER BABA

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(l)

Joyful

News

To Shri Meher Baba's Hundreds of Thousands of .Devotees the World over.

HIQHL Y INTERSTINQ AND INSTRUCTIVE BOOKLETS IN QUJRATHI AND MARATHI LANQU~QES .

ARE BEING

WRITTEN

ON BHAGWAN SHRI MEHER

BABA

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(2)

PROCURE FOR _U_S_ _ l<'I VE NE-W SUBSCRIBE RS A ND WE W ILL G IVE YO U A FRE E COPY O F THE NE WER T ESTA ME NT,

THH.EE NEW SUBSCRIBERS AN D W E W ILL GIVE YOU A FREE COPY OF THE GROUP PH O T O OF SHRI MEHER BABA, 1-!A ZARAT BABA JAN AND SHRI UPASANJ MA'i-!ARAJ.

SAKORINA SADGURU (IN T HE GUJA R ATI LANGUAGE)

Vol. II .

(First volume out of pr int) By BAILY J. IRANI

and SORABJI M. DES AI.

T his is the only Biography in the G uj arat i lang uage of Shri Upasani M aharaj .

Price Rs. 3 only.

Can be had of BAILY J. IRANI, Meherabad, Ahmednagar

(3)

The Special

'' GI'I'A-NUMHER" of the KAL Y AN

The Kalyan (an illu stra ted Hindi Spiritual Monthly) will shortly enter the 4th year of its existence with a special "Shri Bhagavad-Gita Number" which will be out on the 1st Aug. 1929. It will contain excellent essays and choice articles from various pious Mahatmas, learned Philosophers, and eminent Writers versed in different languages and belonging to diverse nationalities; both foreign and Indian. Its perusal. we are confident, will bring home to the reader's mind that the " Gita" is the best and most useful of the Scriptures of the world, and the salvation of the world is ensured if it is faithfully acted upon. Efforts are being made to make this number highly attractive, instructive and exhaustive in every respect. An uncommon collection like the one forth coming has perhaps never, to our knowledge, appeared in Hindi before. The schedule of its contributors will be found to include in itself the writers of almost all faiths, regardless of caste, creed and colour, so as to . render this work, as¡ intended, of universal worth.

Pictures, both plain and coloured, will be its speciality. It will contain some 400 pages and over 125 pictures. It will as well contain several superb verses depicting different ideas inspired by the Gita.

Price for single copies of this N umb~r will be Rs . .

2-8, but to those who will have sent in advance Rs. 4-2, its annual subscription including the registration fee, it ¡will be sent in the ordinary course.

THE MANAGER The ' Kalyan ' Gorakpur.

(4)

CON'l'ENTS SAYINGS OF HIS DIVINE MA.Jl,S'l'Y SADGUIW

~llWER

BABA

GOD, GRKATOR AND CREATION Iv

By The Divine Lord, Shri Sarlguru .Meher

Bab~

2

ON THE MIND's WADERING IN MAYA

By Shri Sadguru ~feher· Ba.ba The Editorial : PLANES AND SAINTS V

'9 11

YOU'LL KNOW MEHER BABA 'l'HE LORD

By the Editor

l8

THE OLD AND THE .NEW

By Sadhu C. L~ik . THE EDITQR 'S DIARY

.19 21

THE DOCTRINE OF REINCARNATION III

By His Holiness Chhota Baba

35

'l'HE 'l'RUE FIGHT

By Sister Mary Treumann (of Esthonia)

37

A PRAYER IN ABSENCE

By Leland J.

Berry

Js

TO THE BLESSED LORD, SHRI MEHER BABA

By Meredith Starr

39

IN SHRI MEHER BABA's TENT

By. Sister Margaret Rose

40

SOMEWHAT SHOCKING, BU'l' QUITE 'l'RUE

41

THOUGHTS SUBLIME

44 47

SPIRITUAL ANECDO'l'ES

Our Serial Story: FROM DEGRADATION '1'0 REALIZATION

By The Ediwr REVIEWS

49 65

(4)

CON'l'ENTS SAYINGS OF HIS DIVINE MA.Jl,S'l'Y SADGUIW

~llWER

BABA

GOD, GRKATOR AND CREATION Iv

By The Divine Lord, Shri Sarlguru .Meher

Bab~

2

ON THE MIND's WADERING IN MAYA

By Shri Sadguru ~feher· Ba.ba The Editorial : PLANES AND SAINTS V

'9 11

YOU'LL KNOW MEHER BABA 'l'HE LORD

By the Editor

l8

THE OLD AND THE .NEW

By Sadhu C. L~ik . THE EDITQR 'S DIARY

.19 21

THE DOCTRINE OF REINCARNATION III

By His Holiness Chhota Baba

35

'l'HE 'l'RUE FIGHT

By Sister Mary Treumann (of Esthonia)

37

A PRAYER IN ABSENCE

By Leland J.

Berry

Js

TO THE BLESSED LORD, SHRI MEHER BABA

By Meredith Starr

39

IN SHRI MEHER BABA's TENT

By. Sister Margaret Rose

40

SOMEWHAT SHOCKING, BU'l' QUITE 'l'RUE

41

THOUGHTS SUBLIME

44 47

SPIRITUAL ANECDO'l'ES

Our Serial Story: FROM DEGRADATION '1'0 REALIZATION

By The Ediwr REVIEWS

49 65

A R emcwkctl!Zc Boo!.: in Connection with S orne Spi,'i,tual l Vo·ri,:ings nf !Hl.ZH.RIH MEf:I ER Bl\Bl\ 1011l sh01·tly (Jr; p1oblislwcl .

~ob'$ ltttd

mhrobs

() 1·:

~ i ll t

1i ·ght $

By A. K. AB DULLA. ~~;...,...-- ;.­

CON T E NTS Chapte•· Chapter I Love Sparks xi T he Fi r~t W onderfu l E scape n T he Gem of an I nstituti on X JI Truth T ells I II The H ero XII I The I nvi t nble Reaction IV Th e Div ine Lift i xiv T wo Ma sters Meet · xv Th e T ransference t o T oke. v All Aflame vi Beyon d th e Gross I xn Th e :Mission to the W est vii T he Devil's Work J xvii Hi story Repeated viii Th e Resu lt lxVI!I 'l' he Second Bid for Freedom IX Snatched Away XI X T he Chapter of Ma ny E vent s x Si x Day s of Separation xx Love Triumph s Ag ain X XI F r es h Flow of Spir itu ali ty xxii The P u lsating I mpulse xx iu The Messengers of Lo,·e X X ! \' The Strange · End of a Strange Story

I

One hundr ed and sixty-nine pages of living spintual roma.nce of a throbbing hw rt, with f our art-pctge illustr cttions.

MO ULA NA MAZHARUL HAQUE. wri(es in the foreward to thi s b ook : " Thi s b oo k is a p_rose-poem wherein th e D iv ine L ove manif ests itself in its d e epest significatio'n:,_ .. · God -L ove is th e th eme of this w ork and one h as to tun e himself \v ith th e Infi nite to b ehold th e supe rb p anora ma of e xqu isite be auty and Infi ni te Love di splayed in Hi s cr e a tion- . A messag e of God-Love is be ing given to the wo rl d th roug h the instrum ent ality of His H olines$ M eh e r Sab a . .. . . Th e b ook is w el l-written and is sure to appeal to the read ing pu b lic. I commend it to th oug htfu l read ers.''

.

Price Re. 1.

W ILL BE H A D OF T HE PU BLISH E R . N . N . SATHA, AT~br~T Cotto n

P1·ess, Ahmednaget?' City (Deccan )

THE

1"iEH ER 1'1ESSAGE Vol. I]

August, 1929

[No. 8

S~Ll.Y l ~GS

OJ<' HIS DIVINE .NlAJ l~ STY HADG URU MEHER BABA

(36) He is indeed a brave man, who in times of ad . .·e.rsity feels the happiness of prosperity, and though oppre,ssed on aH sides remains calm and does not lose his mental bala11ce.

(37) If the mind is i'egarded as a hand and the body as _a spoon, the difference between the Shivatman (God-realized person:) and the jivat.man (unenlightened person) comes to this: the former eats only with the aid of the ' spoon, ' the latter with the aid of the ' spoon ' as we~l as ' the hand ' and thereby spoils both.

(38 ) Yogis (spiritually semi-advanced aspirants) see Truth through multi-coloured glasses ; but there is :no glass at all with Sadgurus and they need none, for they are Truth-incarnate.

(39) The superhuman powers, which the yogis possess, are not really their own, for they are borrowed by them from Sadgurus, whose powers are their own ; moreover the yogis have to make tremendous efforts in order to exercise them, whereas the Sadgurus exercise them automaticaliy, whenever the need_ to do so arises. .

(40) Miracles, whether performed by perfect 1\'Iasters or t:· yogis, are mere illusions in comparison with the .everlasting Truth, and are no more substantial than the shadow of this 1.1odd.

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Though t het·e a l'e milli o ns of nom [na ! fot·ms t hro ugh which the sot:! has to pass before it can inc::u·;w tc in the human form , ye t, strictly spea kin g, there is only one fo nn, viz. the human form , f l'om the beginning to t he end. And why ? Just beca use the hu man fc rm is iatent in ali t he pl'eViOUS forms, including the electron ; but in order that the hun-:.an form may be compieteiy manifested, the soul has to pass thro ugh all the different 8ountless forms. In other woPcls, the different fcrms in the mineral, vegetable and a nimai kingdoms are no t hing but the human form in its latent state , which becomes completely manifested a s a human body in a human being.

Let it be carefully noted that the latent human form takes four straight turns and afterwards one inverse turn-in a il five tums-before it becomes completely ma nifested. In ordei· to underst and t hese fiv e turns, we must gla nce at some of the species.

~~CREATOR

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Stoac- i:; the fll'St impol't~.r~t fal'In which is visible to the naked c_ye. E.vs l'y stone has eyes, nose, mouth, ha nds and feet, in i'<:.ct a comi:Ietc boc\y, exactly like t he h:.~man body, but a:: it is compact to the l2..st degree, it is c;:tn~mcl~' latei1t in ibi s tern:. It is iike the cioth doll, which -can be made to resemble ~m uneven piece of ~;tone, whe;1 i~ is c:u;cfuily folC:.ed up. With the evolution ;·pom t!w ston~ these impel'Ceptible compact parts of its body begin getting unfolded. ln the metal kingdom they ai'e still invisible to· the naked eye, but in the ;vegetabi_e Kingdom 1;he cl'ude manifestation of the latent hum':-n form is ps~'ceptibie, to some extent.

The comp::.-ct tatent human fm•m in the stone evolves with the head going underneath the ground and the feet risi!1g up-gradually becoming 'upside down' in the ve.;e: tai.H~ ki?1gdom with the head completely underncz.. th the g:·ct~nd and the feet straight up, as is the case with a tree. The t:"ee fo!'in is THE FIRST TURN of the com!1a.GS late;1t !n:.rua r.~. fom1. Observe a tree :.::cu·efuliy. The mesh of root~ ::>.re the hairs on the head of t:1e ti·ee ; the mcatl: is there, tbcmgh latent, and so it is not seen by the n aked eye. 1JIJ::tter ancl manure a re given to the t;.·ees, in ol'del.' that they may drink and eat , at their b')ttoms and not on theil' taps, for their ra ouths c>.l'e Bnderne<tth tho g:•otm.d. The enth•e portion. from thl'oat upwa.l'ds, of the body of every tree stands out on t he ground. The lowest visible portion of the · tn~ nk is the tlm}<tt of t.he tree, and the remaining trunk . is its main bod.y. The bigger br<mches :>.re its hands and feet, and the smaller branches are t"he fingers of its · hands and feet Of course many trees have more than four big branches, though man has only two hands and and. two feet ; and mo1'e than twenty small branches,

compact laten t human fo;'m is fmmrl to be so mew l ~at erect and the third turn is cn m.plet e::t Once ~ga in through varicus changes t h e compact lat ent human ¡;'onn tr. kes 'fHE f OURT H

T UR i~ .

with

face downwa rds, in the shape of a c!â&#x20AC;˘a b. From the fourth turn the feet i'emain in a corn pressed form till the inverse turn takes place. THE FIFTH TURN takes place in the kangaroo form, and it is inverse because the head begins rising up and manifesting itself. ¡The principal manifestations o f the latent human form, in the ani~al kingdom , are those of the kangaroo, the dog and the monkey. The kangaroo is the . first animal form in which the soul incarnate3 after passing through the last bird form, and that is why its front two legs are so very small. With further progress the feet begin to get higher and higher, as in bears, lions, etc. (but the eyes remain turned downwards) till in the dog form, the latent human form can actually sit on its hind legs. The last stepping stone,_ which helps the latent human form in completely manifesting itself is the monkey. The fifth turn is, therefore, completed in the human form, which is the complete manifestation of the same form that was latent in electron and in the course of manifestation appe~red as countless different forms in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms .

All the links in the chain of evoiution will be clearly understood, when we shall go into details and exa- . mine the chief genera with their noteworthy species ; but before we do so let us understand the growth of sanskaras which would facilitate the comprehending of form evolution.

Carefully bear in mind the following table :

GOD, GH.!,: ATOH. A ND C HI~ATION

compact latent human fo;'m is fmmrl to be somewhat erect and the third turn is cn m.plete::t Once 2.gain through various changes the compact la t ent hu ma a 'l"onn tr.kes 'fH E fO URT H TU R ~~ . with face downwa rds, in the sh a pe of a c!'a b. From the fourth tul'n the feet i'emain in a corn pressed fo rm till the inverse turn takes place. THE FIFTH TURN takes place in the kangaroo form, and it is inverse because the head begins rising up and manifesting itself. ·The principal manifestations o f the latent human form, in the ani~al kingdom , are those of the kangaroo , the dog and the monkey. The kangaroo is the • first animal form in which the soul incarnate3 after passing through the last bird form, and that is why its front two legs are so very small. With further progress the feet begin to get higher and higher, as in bears, lions, etc. (but the eyes remain turned downwards) till in the dog form, the latent human form can actually sit on its hind legs. The last stepping stone, which helps the latent human form in completely manifesting itself is the monkey. The fifth turn is, therefore, completed in the human form, which is the complete manifestation of the same form that was latent in electron and in the course of manifestation appe~red as countless different forms in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms . · All the .links in the chain of evoiution will be clearly understood, when we shall go into details and examine the chief genera with their noteworthy species ; but before we do so let us understand the growth of sanskaras which would facilitate the comprehending of form ·evolution.

Carefully bear in mind the following table :

,.. )

T HE

Ml~ HEH ~ 1I~SSAGE

1

2

Infi nite At man (= Soul ) in stone form is almost unconscious and has most finite sanskaras.

Infinite Atman in vegetable form is sub-conscious and has finite sanskaras.

3 Infinite Atman in animal form is less sub-conscious and has less finite sanskaras.

Infinite Atman in human form is conscious and has infinite sanskaras.

From the above table it will be seen that Atman remains the same-Infinite throughout, but it gets full knowing of or consciousness of ignorance= universe, in the human form. As already stated more than once, in order to know the Self, consciousness must remain, but ignorance = universe must vanish, i. e., all the sanskaras ¡ must be destroyed. In a way this implies reverting to the stone state, while keeping the human form ¡and full con- . sciousness. A God-l'ealized person, whether conscious of the universe or not, resembles a stone, in so far as he has¡no desires, and, so far as he himself is concerned, he does not mind whether he is worshipped or kicked, revered or hated, though he cannot help pityingthose who

GO D , CH I<A T OJ{ A:\: J) CH E AT JO:--; abuse h im or maltl'cat h im, fot路, by so d oin g , tbey ~\ !'e unco nscio usly i n ft i ct i ~g inj u r y up on them sel ves

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Desires and thoughts are sanskaras in the subtle form , and actions are sanskaras in the gross form. The mind uses or works out the sanskaras through the instrumentality of the subtle and gross bodies. It is because of the sanskara s that the mind is solely bent upon using them, and so the Atman finds it impossible to use the consciousness to know itself. But if j;he sanskaras are wiped out consciously, the Atman then would begin perceiving the Truth and the mind will not be engrossed in external things. It follows, therefore, that in 路 order to realize or consciously identify itself with the Truth, the seeing must remain, but the things seen must vanish; consciousness must remain but the mind must go ; or one must become like a stone in the above-

mentioned respects, wnite retaining the human form. In order to bec<Jme so , one must not allow one's desires and thoughts to translate into actions, and thus keep the :nind in check. This check amount.s to reverting to the stone state, white retair. ing the form of the human body.

In the ligh: of the above, the readers will find it easy to understand Shri Kabirji's terse advice : " If the mind goes back, let it go ; but don't let go the body." The various creeds, miscal!ed religions, which some Godrealized persons established for common folks, aim, to some extent, at bringing about the above check. Observing the shcm:at or ritual of a creed means keeping the mind in check. ¡ However one never reaches the goal or . becomes even an ordinary mystic, by merely obeserving the shariat, for the check becomes complete after not only entering upon but advancing, at least to some extent, along the tMi!J1I.at or the spiritual path. In order to renounce desires completely one needs some personal experience of the tcw¡iquat or the gift from a Sadguru in the shape. of divin-e love. ( To ue cant inur;d )

]:,'RRAT Ull:f In th e Diviue L ord Shri Meher Baba's Speech on C(mH;iousuess. publi:;hed in th e las t issue of The llfehe?'

M~essctge, the word Self, on page 8, linJ 4, where subconscious state is explained, was printed by mistake, instead of the word, universe. Let it be noted that Atillan in the sub-eonsciou s Htate is F<emi-conf'cio'..ls of the universe, and totally uu eouscio ul5 of the :Self.

. FJ:A U.:11EN D:;

THI ~ ~~P1 Hl T UAL

SP EECH ES 0 1<' H IS

D l\' I NJ~ l\('\.JESTY SADGPHU

:M EHEH BAB A

(B) On

1'HE

l\IIN L's

WA NDERI NG IN

MAYA

ThB lezs you think of worldly maya, the better ; for the more you think of it, the greater becomes your anxiety fo r its enjoyment. This anxiety is the refuse that penetr".tes your ·mind, and it stands in the way of Self-1·ealization. Hever allow yomself to be. anxious for sense-e:J.joyment, and consider your physical body a coat v1hich your spirit has temporarily put on. Neither worry about nor fear any mundane thing, for the universe itself is a creation of imagination.

You have within you. r Seif, the Paramatman, the planes, the planets and the entire universe, but you do not know it. They a1•e within you, but you do not see them there, for you see only without and not the Real .

Self within. You a1•e so much enmeshed in this material attraction of ma ya that you are unable to ttn·n yom• eyes away from it. Your gross consciousness is false, but you regard it as real ; the dense world is an illusion, but you consider it a reality of realities.

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The mse world is li ke a cinema show. So long as the film is being screeried, you Pegard ali the events that happen on the screen a s PeaL If you ha ppen to see t here~a rogu8_o£}p t•essing a n innocent child or woma n , you will forget th a t you are at a theatre, you will enter into the feelings of that child or woman, and will greatly be relieved if that child or woman is rescued by some hero, whom you will doubtless applaud. The moment the show is over, you realize that it was but a picture you were feeling for and getting excited over. It was but a dream, · a creation of imagination. In the same way, when you will come into contact with the supersensual worlds, you will think of human existence and dense world. You are all acting your pa rts on the stage of this world, and it is only when the play of the present nature of your life will be over that you will realize that this world is but a mirage and that gross consciousness is not real.

The maya is too powerful 'to allow your mind to be attracted by anything else. But with the grace of a real Saint or a perfect Master, you can turn your eyes away from it and towar ds Paramatman. It is the Sadguru's duty not only to turn the eyes of His disciples away from the illusion of the dense world, but also to remove all the obstacles so as to keep the way quite clear for them to proceed straight towards the goal of Self-realization.

EDITOHJ A !.~

P L .\:\ L0 A \" D !::3 A l?\TS V* T he D i·vine Lonl /~ih1 · i Jl1eher ]J(dJa'8 Jl1anij'estcttion as mi A ·ca,t(w m· A l Vor ld-P1·op het Any S adg uru can, even after his circle duty has been perfon;ned, make a fit person God~reali z ed, but he cannot bring him ba ck t o the consciousness of the universe.

In other words, he can make a per;;ou, who is outside of his inner circle, only a Mujzub or Paramahamsa, and never a Salik or Jivanmukta, a Kutub or S adguru. But there is an excdption to this rul e. In the Avataric period, an Avatar can not only make persons, who have no connection with his inner circle, God-realized, but also can restore to th em their gross and subtle coneciousne ss. BesiJes the twelve members of His inner circle, Shri Krishna, as the age in which He lived was Avataric and He was an A vatar, made no less than seventeen persons, of whom one was a bey of scar cely eleven summers, God-realized and brought them back to the consciousness of the universe.

The A vataric period approaches, when the bestiality of mankind r ages and the standard of morality is lowered.

Nearly seven hundred y ears h ave elapsed since the termination of the last A vataric period; and- tha next one will beg in in a fe'w y ear aand will las t for a bout seven hundred years. *One will understand this last of the series of articles on Planes aad Saints, even if one has not read the precedin g one.3. So no one need hesitate to r ead it.

8D rTORIAL

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\¥e have already·rema rked that Sadgurus rarely perform great tniracle·s oefore the public. But during Avataric periods, the Avatars think it their duty to perform mir:wlc"'. Needless to ~my that they will on no account (ro so for a ny se lfi sh purpose of their own, but will do so onl y for the good of humanity. Even wheu he was suffering from the pangs of intense hunger, Jesus the Christ flatly refused to turn stones into breads, but only after a few days, at the Cana wed. ding; he turned water into grape juice miscalled wine.

If the faith of people in God is likely to increase, if they are likely· to become less carnally-minded and .more spiritually inclined by seeing great miracles, the Avatars take it upon themselves to perform them.

In the f•wthcorning Avataric period, His Divine Majesty Meher Baba will act as an Avatar. This Avataric period will begin simultaneously with the beginning of the next war. The last war has not proved to be, as was so confidently predicted by political mandarins as well as by statesmen, the war that would end war. The conferences, pacts, ententes cordiales; the League of Nations, and what not, will prove to be utterly helpless in preventing another world war from taki~g place. At the critical moment the entire machinery of the Le ague of Nations will break down, and the dogs of war will be let loose. The next war, to be · sure, will be far bloodier than the last war, and it will begin to be 'i\'aged within a few years. In about the middle of the war, the Divine Lord, Shri Meher Baba, \Vho stands infinitely more than head and shoulders above ordinary mortals, v.·ill manifest Himself as the Avatar of the p·resent age. The savagery of the war will then be at its climax, and the various nations of the world will

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THE MEllER ME:SSAGE

then be the most bloodthit:sty of one another ; but ~-he brutality of the participators in the war will begin t o decrease as soon as the Di vine Lord will manifest Himself as an Avatar. In other word><, simultaneously with Hifl Divine ivhjesty';; manifestation as a worldProphet, the ¡war will go ou becoming less an d le ss bloody, and it will be by the instrumentality of His Divine Majesty -that it will be brought to an end, and peace will be established en earth on a firm basis.

A great Mahometan Pir, who recently entet~ed into the final samadhi, is reported to have said to his disciples, a couple of years ago: ''Another war will take place in near future; but it will be a very lucky war, for, when rivers of blood will be flowing in various parts of the world, a great S aint, Who is young and \Vho does not open Hi s mouth to utter a single word, as He at present holds peace, will appear before humanity as the greatest Prophet the world has ever seen." We need not say that the Saint, alluded to by the Mahometan Pir, -is His ¡ Divine Majesty Meher Baba.

The whole world will be t aken by storm when the Divine Lord, Shri Meher B aba, will appear before the world as an Avatar. The miracles, such as, raising the dead find restoring sight t o the blind, which His Divine Majesty will perform, will stagger the imagination of worldly-minded persons and will serve to administer a severe shock to the perverse ment!:!.lity of the various nations of the world. His sublime teachings will ,ma~e the orthodox fanatics of every creed hide their he ads in shame, and nobody will then say : "My religion is .the best and the Prophet in whom I believe was the only real Prophet of God." The Divine Lord will be al-

J1~ D IT OR l A L

15

most un iversally r ega rded as not me rely a Chr ist or a B uddha but as a 'M e ssiah. Though g re at, wonderfully g re at was th e work t hat was accomplished by Shri K rishna, ~:-'b rd Zor oHHte r, L ord B uddha, Jesus the Christ, and H azarat Mahome t , it will almost sink into i nsignificance befor e t he wor k that Y azdan Shri Meher B aba ¡will do.

Bnt while thinking of His Divine Majef:lty's future work, let us not forget-let us not be so foolish and ungrateful al'l to forg et~the g reat services which He has already reQ.dared to humanity. Though a Sadguru in ordinary time s does not generally make any effort to perform a great miracle, yet a number of miracles, through his blessing!:! or g r ace, are performed quite automatically. A man in utter misery is driven to call upon a Sadguru ; he worships him and requests him to t ake pity tm him and relieve him from his misery.

If the S adguru, after noticing the man's sanskaras, belie ves that it is¡ necess11.ry for him to suffer and that he will be doing, from the spiritual standpoint, 'disservice to him by r elieving him from misery, he will do nothing for that man ; but if he arrives at a contrary conclusion, he will heartily wish that the man may be freed from his misery . -As the h earty wish of a .S adg uru is always fulfilled, the misery of th at man will automatically disappear, either all at once or gradually . Then again those , who come into close contact '~ith a S adg ur u, as well as those, who h ave sound fait h in him , automatically get wonderful experiences. T h e automatic miracles of the Divine L ord, Rhri Meher B aba, number not merely by hundreds but by thousands. Thousands of persons have been benefitted, in some way or other, .at the hands _of His

16

T H E MEHEH .MESSAGE

Divine .Majesty. Then ugaiu H is .0 ivin e Majest y ha::; sometimes been compell ed t o uwke u ~ e uf Hi s extraordinarily ~> u pe rhu mii n . powe r s in orde r to Ha ve t he lives of Hi1:1 disciple s-=-as, for in&tau ce, last y ear, He brought au automobile , ,\,hich was occupie d by Himself and a fe w of His disciples, aud which was rushi ng backwards iuto a ditch, just near the Bhor Ghat, t o a de ad st op.

Moreover, by exercising His mind-J.: eadi ng powers, He has prevented a number of person s, who, either from matetial or from spiritual causes, were tired of their lives, from committing suicide. But quite apart from the benefits, that cannot be estimated and that He has rendered by His miracles, automatic as well as nonautomatic, to thousands of persons, in order to appreciate Him just a little, one has only to think or the services that He has rendered to thousands of persons in other respects. Of the various princely sums of money, voluntarily laid at His feet by His well-to-do disciples, the Divine Lord has¡ not unoften refused point blank t o accept a single pie . A nd when He does condescend to accept mone y , how di1::.interestedly He makes use of it ! Leading the life of a genuine Sannyasin, the Divine L ord, Shri Meher B aba, h as spent or caused to be spent, lacs and lacs of rupees in feedin g the poor, clothing the naked, and educating the children of the poor . \Ve can underst and the ment ality of a materialistic per son, if h e refuses to regard Shri M:eh er Baba as a Sadguru. But what are we to think of the person who refuses t o consider His Divine . :M_ajesty a philanthropist? Are we wrong in regarding 'lii~ or h er as a hopele ss idiot or a shameless liar? The ¡service that the Divine L ord h as rendered by performing the lowest manual work must also be appreciated

E DI TOR I AL

17

by all per3011R, Wh O a re n0 t Snobs, fanaticR, Or madcaps. It ia a fashiou .'vith ed ucated Ind ians t o decry all

·manual work , a ud · t o r egard. th e wor k of scourin g vesBe ls or re~u ()\· in g r efm;e as simply men ial. In order to set a n eve r-to-l> e~fo r g e tta ble example t o these snobs the Divine L ord · has not unoften unhesitatingly performed everi the so-called most menial work. As a humanitarian the Divine Lord has rendered no mean service. Dead aginst animal sacrifice He h as· com minded His devotee s .never to kill any animals on any day, and He may justly be said t o h ave saved the lives of thousands of innocent dumb creatures. Though He • is above sanskaras and so no fo od can t aint Him, in order to set an example to others He has been a strict vegetarian, and He may justly be said t o have converted hundreds of me at eaters into strict vegetarians.

But apart even fr om all the above services, can anyone, who is not lunatic or a fanatic, dare to depreciate the . immeasurable spiritual good {hat the Divine Lord has ~one to thousands of persons'? He has reclaimed a number of persons from their lives of low degradation ~ He has converted a number of atheists into worshippers c£ Himself and God. His sublix:ne philosophy has . proved t o be the shore of refuge t o hundreds of spiritually shipwrecked persons. . He has given deliverance to several captives of benighted fanaticism, and His 11plendid teachings ~1ay justly be said to h ave averted a number ofso-called religious riots from taking place in this Dountry. He h as rescued not a few persons from the bondage of maya and from the shackles of mind. ~He ' has shown the spiritual path to many a person.

He h as sown the seeds of Divine love in the ferhle hearts of several persons, and He has effe_c ted the

Tl,{E ME:HEH )!fESSAGE

IS

almost c ~ mplete Ralvation of a l\1ahornetan youth --His Holiness Chhota Baba--by advancing hili! Wi far HS the Aixth stage of cosmic consciousne ss .

May His Divine Majesty Meher Baba live lu11g!

May His sublime teachings prove to be th e ;;ml>ror.;i/1. of the spiritually hun gry and the nec..:ta r ufthe spiritually thirsty! May He term inate the uight of fa natici;;m and bring in the day of tolerance ! And may He convert thousands of sinners into saiuts !

Om T at Sat, Om! Om

YOU'LL KNO\V

Om!

Om!

MEHER BABA THE LORD ( By The Editor )

If pure, quite pure is your mind's Aow, .If you can touch your heart's right chord, If never hot and cold you blow, You'll know Meher Baba the Lord.

If you don't hold your mind in cage, If you know well to cross I ust's ford If mad you're not at saints to ra ge, , You' ll know M ehe r Baba the

Lord.

If oft on Him you medita te, If longings low with zeal you ward, _ If you His name ingeminate, You'll know Meher Baba th e Lord.

If you're not drugg ed by th e sense-world If blazed you writhe on love's strange sw'ard If Godw ards you by grace a re hurled, ' You'll know Meher Baba th e Lord

THE OLD AND THE N'E\V ( By Saclhu C. J:e/1-The R ?!ss?.(tn Dl.n:Jt,ist . nnJ

.Mystic)

My last visit to Dakshineshwar Temple suggested to me a comparison between that historical spot .and Meh_erabad, or, to put it into o:her words, between ' Sri Ramakrishna and Shri Meher Baba. Both were and are Perfect MaRters and held acd hold the key to the whole Universe in their hand. Sri Ramakrishna was ¡ quite illiterate and spoke hardly three words of English, whereas Shri Meher Baba has the advantage of college education and speaks half a dozen languages. The Master at Dakshineshwar was a high caste Brahmin and had to some extent observe the Shasrtic rules, whereas our beloved Shri Ba?a, thofi:gh taking birth in a Zoroastrian family, is cosmopolitan through and through.

Through rigorous Sadhanas Shri Ramakrishna fourd, that all religions were like pearls on a string, but the. Avatar of Meherabad is the living embodiment of the ¡ Universal religion or the religion of Love and the heart, which appeals to all and knows nothing of castes, creeds or race, embracing tl)e whole of humanity.

To me Sri Ramakrishna seems to be the last spiritual representative of the old India of the -Vedas, Upanishad:J, Puranas, Shastras and Bhagavad Gita ; that India or era which has outlived its time and of necessity must give way to a more cosmopolitan spirit of universal brotherhood and unity. Hinduism after all

20

THE .:VIEI-IER . :MESSAGE

is ooe of t he ma ny istui-l a ucl a8 ouch upholds the spirit of separate ness. Bu t ' th e fin al goal lies in unity , wher e all J i:;ti nctioug must vtwish a nd man learns t o see in his neia0 h bo ur a brot her a nd ul ti ma telv his own Se lf. . ::>ri Ramakris h na, t he rep resen ta tive of olcl l nd ia, observed the- r ituals -of t he or th ouox Hindu, wh er ea,.; the mission of our beloved Mas t er is t o free I ndi a fr om the misery of all ext ern al ce re mo nie s or, t o use the words of Swami Vivekananda; of this kitchen-pot relig ion of observances. P a ndits may arg ue a nd quote S c ript~res and ir1dulge in metaphysical subtleties to confuse the minds of others, l;mt the simple fact rem'lins, that unity is the ultimate goal, in S atchitaua.nda there is that One without a se cond a nd all that cre ate s a sense of separateness b'e tween man and man, must sooner or later give way to the Oneness pervading the whole Universe. In that sense Sri R amakrishna repre sents the old India of castes and creeds and Shri Me her B a ba the approaching new era of universality a nd a co3mo politan spirit, which condemns no reli g ion, neither upholds a ny special reli crion a nd throucrh L ove Divin e e mbraces the whole ' 0 0 of humanity. The il1aster of the new age lives in the hearts of His devote es and gi ve.s them a direct spiritual ble.ssing without a ny M antra or 'g errna.' No staff, no homa fire is needed fo r such spiritual initi "Ltion, free from all Sannyasa.formalities. u

T H E E D ITOR'S DI A RY

OH THE NE 'N t5 A B OU T THE :MASTER, Y AZDAN SHR I

SADGURU MEHER

B ABA

( 20eth June- lOth J uly )

[ From 15t h till 19th J une I was in Bombay.

N" ot hing - notew orthy happened durin g my absence.]

20eth June. Mr. R. K. G adekar, who passed in the B. A . Examination of the Bombay U niversity, t h is year, is one of the moRt sincere devotee s of the Holy Master. In a letter to me Mr. G adekar writes : '' I am glad t o write t o you .th at I have passed in the B. A. examinatio n by t he grace of Shri B aba. I am the first member of the Chamar community to be a graduate. In t his I give vent to my inner fee lings in connection with my succe ss . Let me tell you that I do not make any exagge r ati on in st at ing t hat I passed in this ~x am i­ nation wit h at least GO p. c. help of our B aba and 40 p. c. labour of mine . .To make this clear let tne give one 'or t wo point s. In the first place our beloved :Nfaster gave me fi nancial help , without which I could . ne ver have .· appear ed in the E xam. I n the second place , as I was ill-prepar ed for t h e E xam. , I had t o make plenty of auess-work after uttering His nam e regardin-g the que:tions that might be set in var ious papers·

22

TI-IE MEIIEH :\Il~SSAGE

On exam ination days I lo oked througl1 ce rtain portions, and fortunately many questions were put from '~ h oHe portions. However I was not sati:;fied with tuy ~v ~ rk ~u English papers, and I had a ve ry grelit fe:tr of f;u ltrig Ul English. So \\'hen, afte r the E.:-;:am., Shri Baba asked me as to how -l had fared in the Ex rw1., I t old Him plainly that my En!Slish papers would scarcely be considered passable: Thereupon He asked me whether I had remembered Him and implored His help before setting my pen to paper on examination days. I replied in the affirmative, and no sooner did I reply than l:Ie said to· me, ' Doi?-'t you worry 1 you will surely pass.'

And thanks to His grace, passed I have and have become a graduate."

The ·Holy Master devoted most of the time at His disposal to the Premashram boys.

21st June. I reeeived an interesting post -card from Madras written by Mr. K. S. Srinivasan. In the course of it he writes : " I was once hunting after in this material world for my sense enjoy ment, and never found the real happine ss. Now I can safely and courageously proclaim to the worldly-minded that by the help of a Sadguru like our beloved Master Shri Meher Baba one can enter the thre shold of the Divine Lord without any disappointment whatsoever, as my-self is feeling the truth of it. This is all due to the divine grace of my Master. His Lordship has turned a new leaf in my life, and so I dedicate my body and soul at the feet of my beloved :M.aster, Shri ·.Me her Baba.

Though I am far off, I feel his secret divine power working in me and turning my life to the path that leads to Self-realization."

The Holy Master imparted spiritual instruction

THE EDITORS DIARY

23

to the Pre!ll· d H·a:n IJ,JV" both in the morning and the evening.

22nd Ju11e. Th~ H"lv }\{aster fed the Prem· ashram boy" on ~-;[>irit:u:d ];nowleclge, in the morning frolll eight to twelve. ln the evening He explained a few Hpiritual point; to about half a dozen disciples.

Speaking on the baneful influence of lust, the Divine Lord allegorically said : "There was once a fight between breathing and lus.t; breathing was defeated, a11;d so mind entered the lists. A terrible fight took place betwe.en mind and lust; mind was not so easy to be defeated, but in the end lust came off with flying colours. Then eoul challenged lust to fight with it. · The cha~lenge was acceptd, and lust began fighting with soul. The result of the fight was that this time lust was defeated-so completely that it has never since again tried to conquey soul."

23rd June. A post-card from Sadhuji C. Leik, which I received tod!1y, info~·ms me that Sadhuji reached Calcutta on the 16th of this month. He does not hope to do much work in the city of palaces, as its atmosphere repels him ; and so he leaves it for Benares as early as possible.

The Holy Master's activities were confined to the Premashram.

24th June. One of the most zealous devotees of the Holy Master is Mr. Rustam Beht:am Irani of Poona, who was formerly a well-known share- broker ·a nd business man of Bombay. He ever and anon comes here to wo1·ship the Holy Master. Today he came here with his two sons whose Navjote ceremony was performed in Poona the other day. In the afternoon he narrated to me a pleasant experience of his.

He said to me, " From the beginning of this year I

2.! .

THE ME.HER MESSAGE

had been wonyiug about the Na:1.:jute ceremony of my Ao us, a:; l could not afford t o spe :ld the nece ;:;sary sum of mone y which the ceremony r eq uired on account of my poverty. Last time when I waÂť here, I _uroached the subject to our b?loved Baba an d asked Hm1 aÂť to when I should get their Navjote ceremony performed.

To my utter surprise, which was mixed with slight consternation, Shri Baba, replied, 'As soon as you go to Poona beain makina preparation for it and don't w,orry ' 0 0 about anything.' Well, as Shri Baba asked me not to worry about anything, I naturally did not like to speak to Him about iny inability to defray the necessary expensea for the ceremony. As He commanded me to make preparation for it, I was bound by duty to do so.

But how to tide over my financial difficulties was the burning question with me. I tried to carry out Shri Baba's order, and even fixed the day for my sons' Navjote ceremony. On the very day on which I intended to call upon the Poona Dastur with a view to making arrangements for the ceremony, there came to my place an Irani Dastur from Bombay, who is my dietant relative. I had not seen him for the last many years, and I did not even dream of his visit to my house. It was wholly unexpected, and I was ov_erjoyed at it, for I expected him to initiat.e my sons into the Zoroastrian creed for a trivial sum of money When I asked him what had brought him to my house, he replied, ' For no particular reason. Something prompted me to come to you, and well, I have come, though I had no'G money enough to cover my travelling expenses.' On the following day, before the members of my family, he performed the Navjote ceremony of my sons, for which he took from me only Rs. 10. So,

THl~

EDlT()J:fS DIAHY

:2.5

you see , by hi,; fi ncl ~l e n and urtexpeded \路i sit to my honse, 1 was <'aved a l.ot of ex.pen~o a.ud also a lot of trouble." And the n _\ '[r. Irani ;1(1ded with tear;; of j oy in h is eyes, "Ou~路 IJo lo ved Baba a:-;ked me not to worry abo ut anything, and I rww se e that 1 ought not to have worried. A s H e de cisively ;;aid like t;hat, I ought to have believed th at something or ~omebody was sure to turn up to my advantage, and somebody did." rhe Holy Mas ter' s activities were confined to the Premashram.

25th June. 路 In a letter written from Benares, Sadhu C. Leik inforru3 me that from Calcutta he went 'to Benares and write>~, "I go here daily to the ghats for a bath in the Ganges and for a talk with aspirants, but very few ask me questions. The Pundits expounding the scriptures, as I saw them in October last, are not to be seen on the ghats. The ghats are mostly deserted by the intell!gent cl~ss ; barbers and priests only dwell there to fleece the pilgrims, who seek the purification ceremony to be performed. My host tells me that he iH disg usted with the bargaining spirit of the Brahmin prie sta, ready to fleece the poor pilgrims to the last pie and then send him off."

The Holy Master explained a few spiritual -points to a couple of grown-ups in the morning. .In the after路 noon and in the eve ning He devoted most of His time to the Premashrarn boys. _ 26th June. A tragic event happened today in the morning. One of the best Premashtam boys, Master Vasant B. Kimbahune was forcibly taken away by his unwise father to his house. The father said that he wanted to give his son good secular education and so

2G

THE :MEHER

M E ~SA G E

he t ook hi lll a way , clesuite th e boy 's t otal r elu ctance .

Th e boy 's spiritual cond it io n is such t hat It will sim ply be in1 possible for hi ri1 to r emain Repa rate fr om his Belove d (S hri :VI ellfT .f hha ) a uci t o C t'll lll wo rl dly ku owleci 0ae in to his mind . T he fath er wil l soo n fi nd h imself . defeated in t he worl dly purpose with wh ich he t oo k a way his son from th ia holy place . A s surely as night follow s the da)' , the boy will run aw ay from his father's place to r eturn to his ·Be loved , at the first opportunity.

The H oly M aster left His durbar with a few of his disciple s, in the aftern oon, with a view to going t •) Nasik.

28th June. The Holy Master returned today from N asik at about 11 a.m. In the evening he impart ed spi1:itual instruction t o the Premashram boys.

29th June. In a letter which he wrote in Benares and which I received t o- day, S adhu C. Leik asserts : " Banares is au orthodox city and the seat of Sanskrit le arning. M ost of the people whom I have met do not t ake much i ntere st in what I would like t o tell t h em . The y ar e satisfi ed with their book-learning and show little intere st for things outside of their scriptures. Most of the Swamis and ~ a dhu s here are self- centre d, as my host t ells me. They a re jealous of one another about in vitations by h ouseholders,· and the prie sts fleece the pilgrims, who com e he1~e for purification .... M y host is all kindn ess, broad-minded as a Hi ndu B rahmin, and is dio;guste d with the Brahmin priests of this place .... One of the- re asons why I have not got much success here is that the S adhus have their barcr0 aining withhou' e. cr eat ed h ere ' thr oucrh 0 holder s and competition amongst thembelve s a bad reput atio. n for all san nvasius."

Proce edincr further ' Sadhuj·: J 0

THE EDlTOH'S DIAHY

27

to Hee more and more that the (lechre ,; , '' I be<rin u India in it;;; pre sent . coud itinn IIIU<lt give way to a new era, where untouchability , kitchen pot reli giou [lnd all tlte external cere nwnials 11u longer exist; and Hindu 8 and MuhornedattR and Christian s and Parsis li ve, as the mctnduli of the disciples of our beloved Maste r at :Mellent.bad, in one common brotherhood.

Our beloved Shri Baba is teaching and will teach India a. hig her ideal instead uf clingiug to time-worn traditions of bygo ne ages. The pundits and Brahmins of Benares show so plainly that they belong to a bygone age."

From eight to eleven in the morning the Holy Master gave the benefit of His company to the Pramashram ~oys. In the evE~ning He explained some spiritual points to a few g rown-ups. A number of persons came here today to revere Him ; but, as the Lord declared Himself inaccessible, they had to go away without seeing Him. 30eth June. The Holy .Master's activities were confined to the Premashram. Swami Rajeswarananda, who is the editor of ' Peace ' and vice-president of Sri Santi Asram of the Godavari District, came here in the evening, with a view to seeing the Meherashram and revering the Holy Master.

1st July. In the morning Swami Rajeswarananda was fortunate in t aking darshana of the Holy Master. The Holy Master embraced him and told him to continue his noble work. Afterwards _His Holiness said about him to a disciple: " His state is good, and many will be benefitted at his hands." Swamiji left this place at 10 a. m.

The Holy Master devoted most of the time at His disposal to the Premashram boys.

zs .

~r!lE

)11(J[ _l~l-l

~IESSAGE

2nd J~lty. A!rs . ~::t r \":tr ?~a~:.: erw a n Irani, the sister of ?v1r. Hu ~tattt !rani, referred to ahove, h ad . Leen sufl"e riu g frnru 19 11 till almost n ow from a pai11ful di .-e: ~.,;c. 'rh o dm:tors \\"hom sh e h acl called up on, (;o ulJ !J()t prop e rl y diagnose t h e di sease, but all of them definitely said that it could not be cured, and H~o u g h th ey preHcribed UJedi c ine ~, they said that tho medicines wouhl not cure her but would serve to abate li.er pain to soille extent. Sc.~rce­ ly a .day passed, duriu g the se twelve years, when she --did n_ot take medicine. A mc>nth ago, her brother brought her to .this h oly place. The Divine Lord Shri Meher Baba, gazed at her for a minute and then • said to _her brother, " Don't yon \von·y. She will be cured.'· In cases of serious malady the Divine Lord sometimes asks the perso ns concerned to take some particular mecliciue, but in the above case His Divine Majesty diclnot pre scribe any medicine, but asked Mrs. Irani to take home 'yith her. the silcred ashes from His holy dhuni and to Bwallow a fe~ particles of tho;~ a.shes eve1;yd"a y, till she was cuted, early in the morning immediately after getting up. She did as Hhe was told.

Her brother, who ca:ne h ere today, said to me with tears in his eyes, '' ;· ~he h as alrea dy been completely cured; she has be come a zealous devotee of Shri Meher Baba, and utters His h oly name hundreds-Df times every · . day.' " Just imag ine, dear re aders, Mrs. Irani was seriously . ill for t~v e lve long years, every day of which she used to t a ke some medicines. H e r doctors pronounced her diseas\ol uncurable. She came here only a month ago. The ' Divine Lord, Shri Me her Baba silently blessinO" her ' b ' definitely said that she would be restored to sound

THE ED ITOlt'S DI AHY heallh, only if she partook of eve rydny in the morning a few p?.rticles of the¡ sacred asheE> of His holy dhuni .

Mrs. lrarJi did as she was told, and Rhe is now in the pink of health. - E\'e ry man , who iH not a hypocrite or a luuatie, will adlllit that .Mn-;. Ira ni's cure may justly be called miraculous, and it was becauRe tha g race of His Divine .Majesty descended upon her that she has been cured . ~1ira c ulous al so was the cure of Mrs. Iran i's daugh tet\ .Miss Lahl lrani. L ast year she suffered from a pe culia-r mulady, which was mpposed by some to be the outco me of black magic Haid to have been practised _upon her by som e one. She was taken to various doctors, hakims and sadhus, but none of them cured her, and some of them actually aggravated her malady. At last when her condition seem ed to be hope less, her relative .:VIr. Rustaru B. Irani told Shri Meher B aba about her case at the end of October last, when He was at Toka.

The Hol y .Master toJcl him n{)t to worry at all about her and command ed him to bring her to His durbar.

Mr_ Rustam carri ed out the command. The Holy Master, immediatel y afte r merely casting a glance at her, told Mr. Ru st <:tm that a particular ( I don't remember the llame ) injection should be administered to h~r, and ~he should ~wa llow a few particles of the sacred ashes of His holy clhuni everyday in th e morning, till she was cure d. Mr. Rustam ap pli ed these remedies to her, and she began slowly but surely a nd steadily re covering> and now she is in the pink ofhealth.

Hundreds of disease-ridden person s h ave been cured at the hand s of the Divine Lord Shri Meher Baba. The above two persons have been very recently cured and tha t is why I h ave acquainted my readers

30

THE

~1EHEH

~1ESSAGE

with their miraeulou\'1 r ecove ry to health. VVhat have those wretche d P arsi" of ignoble mentalit y, wh o re· cently had the stupidity to criticize the Divine L ord, to say about th o above two cases'! Sense dup eJ as they are, they cannot understand spiritual probleUJs; materialistic as they are, they cannot comprehend the spirituality that r adiates from the Divine Lord, Shri Meher Baba; bet:1ieged on all sides by the illusions of gross consciousness as they are, they cannot even apprehend His spiritual positition; cynical or fana· tical as they are, they cannot believe in his Divinity; proud and selfish as they are, they cannot appreciate His goodness and nobility ; but, surely, as they are not idiots, they can at least understand the miracles that took place in the above-mentioned cases. And so I once again a&k, " What have they to say about these wonderful phenomena ?"

A well-to-do Parsi gentleman of Ahrnednagar came here today, not with .a view to revering the Master, but, as he said, in order to ask questions. He asked a Mahometan disciple a number of questions, all of which were worldly and a few of which were positively vulgar.

Among other que stions he asked, " What does Meher Baba eat? Who cooks food for Him ?" Strange, ;;trange is the mentality of some Parsis. ln the morning as well as in the evening the Holy Master imparted spiritual instruction to the Premashrarn boys.

3rd July. Mr. M. R. V. Sarma, the Hon. Sec· retary to the South Indian Association of Benares City in a letter which I received today, writes : '' You will feel extremely glad to h ear from me that I was very fortunate in having come into contact with Sadhu Leik

THE EDITOR'S DIARY

31

of the .Meherashram during his stay here ....... Sadhuji's wants were very ft)w, with which even a poor man could supply him very easily. We admire his undisturbed calwness, which I myself would state that I have never seen experienced by anyb ody, during my forty years' lite . . He left this place for Hrishikesh this morning_ ( 30eth June), after imparting the blessing of the Master to me, and I feel more and more enlightened inwardly that \~hich I am unable to express:' The Holy MaE>ter's activities were confined to the Premashram.

4th July: The Holy Master imparted divine lore to the Premashram boys in the lllt)rning, as well as in the .evening.

5th July. The Premashram boys took up most of the tiffie at the dispo1:;al of the Master. At night the boy, Mr. Vat~ant, referred to above, came herewith his relatives. Without telling his mother or anyone be left his house, which i~ situated in the village of J amkhed, fifty-six miles from Arangaon, yesterday, at about 4 p. rn., on foot. Late in the evening he found himself near the village of Asbti, where he passed the night in a temple. He left the village early in the morning on foot. By the nightfall he covered nearly forty miles and came to Ahmednagar at 8 p. m. As he was dead tired, he went to the house ot a Parsi disciple of the Holy Master. The boy did not expect that he would be troubled by his relatives ; but alas ! they had come to the city in an omnibus, and found him at the disciple's house. They intended to take him back to Jamkhed, but the boy insisted on seeing his Beloved, ths Holy Master, for a few minutes, if not more. So they all came here at night. The boy's mother did not

32 .

THE .MEl [l£H i\IESSAGE

like to lea\·e him ~u th e Hol y Master's care, and so He had to ask the ~JOY t o go b;~ek \Yith his mother.

The !llother is worldly-Luindod, aml does not under~:~tand the spiritua.l ;.:tate ~,f tl1o i> oy, tlwugh she admit~:~ that "he is lllacl after 1\1ehor B <tkt." ln a ;;hort time she will learn that as he is wad after ..Me her Baba, his proper place . is Premashrmu and not her house in Jamkhed. The soon~r she comes to reason, the bett<3r for her as well as fot her son . . 6th July. In a letter to me, Sadhu C. Leik informs me that the naine of the Esthonian lady, whose articles appear· in The Meher ~Message is Mise Mary Trenmann and not Miss Mary Treamann, as has so often been printed. I am extremely sorry for the mistake, but I am quite sure Sister .Mary Trenmann will pardon me for it.

The Holy Master expressed His intention to go, in no distant future, to the Himalayas, and stay there for a few days, with.a few disciples. There is no doubt that if he goes there, all the spiritual aspirants who are atayirig there will be immensely pleased, and doubtless some of them will be benefitted at His hands. Let my readers take it as truth that there are no perfect Masters on the Himalayas. The teachings of a _ certain sooiety, which teaches its adherents to believe in and communicate with the so-called Masters of the Himala- · yas are absolutely misleading. Doubtless, there are a number of spiritual 'aspirants there, and some . of them have advanced as far as the fourth plane and a few as far as the fifth .plane; but to be sure, there is not a single God-realized or a spiritually perfect Master there. That is why I say that yogis and other spiritual aspirants on the Himalayas will shed tears of love and their joy will

'l~HE

EDITOR'S DIARY

33

rnow no bounds, wheb they will come into physical con-

1

tact with the Divine Lord, Shri Meher Baba. 'the Premashram lambs took a lion's share of the tillle at the disposal of the Divine Shepherd.

7th July. I received an interestincro letter from Esthouia, written by Sister Mary Treumann. In the course of it Miss Ti路eumann writes : "Your Magazine, The Meher Message, does路much good to humanity, as it ac. quaints them with the teachings of Shri Sadguru M'e her Baba, Whom I regard as the greatest Master in our age. My. greatest wish is once to see Him. Perhaps it shall be fulfilled one day." Most probably it shall be fulfilled.

The Divine Lord fed the Premashram boys on the divine lore in the morning and evening.

8th July. The Premashram lambs got a lion's share of the time at the disposal of the Holy Shepherd.

9th July. I received the first letter of Sadhu C. Leik from Rikhi:kesh, where he intends to stay for about a couple of months. In the course of it Sadhuji writes : " My intention iR to remain here for two months and work among the hundreds of Sadhus living here . . The third month I shall pass on the homeward journey via Lahore, Delhi, etc. 1 shall try to pass a week at Hardwar before going up to Lahore. I am comfortably settled here in a dharmshala, -where Swami Advaitananda ( barriflter and president of the Rikhi kesh Committee ) and I are the only inmates. I had a 路 letter of introduction to him from Narayan Swami of Lucknow, a direct disciple of Swami Ram Tirtha .... Yeeterda] an aged Sannyasin prostrated before me on the Ganges be11.ch, washed my feet and body, took water from under my feet and drank it. This touching humi路

34

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THE MEHER MESSAGE

lity a nd simplicity¡ of faith will surely eam him Me her Baba's spe cial blessing. He touched io. reverence our beloved Master's locket on my breast. Another Swami. made ?Wn_ociskm¡, as I sat watching the Sadhus living up for bhilcsluc at the Chettar. His eyes \Yere beaming up with ananda. I blessed him in ~hri Baba's name, he spoke fluent English. Of course many sadhus are more or less orthodox, prejudiced, self-centred, proud of their Sanskrit learning, and in our Baba's words, only shim swaml.s. Only a few genuine ones did I see among the hundreds who came there for their daily food. Many look quite worldly and have adopted the sadhu life out of idleness. I wrote a short article on Realization for a local Hindi paper at the request of a clerk of the Chetta'l', who is so obliging to me, 10th July. The Holy Master, with about a dozen of His disciples, left Meherabad, early in the morning, with a view to to':lring a ~ew parts of the country.

THE DOCTRIN E OF H EINC ARN AT ION III ( Bv His H olines.'f Chhotct B aba (A bdulla R. Avazi) ;)

Turning t o the posit ive side of this subject ,wa find a most valid . an d certain proof of the theory in considering the ma nne r in which we gain kn owledge. How do we gal.n kno wledge ? And how do we understand that such and such a thing really is what we call it by such a nd such a name ? Suppose I go t o a friend's house a nd see a Persian carpet there . A s soon as I sea it, I kn ow that it is a carp et . H ow do I know it? A s soon as I see t h e car pet, a ne'w wave of impression ( a visi''ll of t he carpet) come s upon me. I refer it t o my mind-to one of t h e many pigeon-holes in my mind where my past experience s ar e pigeon-h oled already; and if I find any such impressions mark ed t he r e any time before, I add that t o them and I am sat isfied. I know t h at it is a carpe t and that is a ll. This st ate of t he mind is what we call knowledge. If I go t o an- engineering shop and see various instruments, I would not understand th eir ut ilit y and would not re cognize any of t h em.

For there are no such gr oups of impressions in my mind for the new one s t o be added t o t he m, and immediately I would become dissatisfie d. I would not gr as p t hose thinas a nd this st at e of mind is what is known as Igno"' ' ranee.

THE MER ER MESSAGE

3G

Knowledge, therfore, is gained through experience, the sanskaras of which are not destroyed wi ~h the death of the body._ Every babe, that sees the light of this world brirwR with it some fund of knowledge, i:! Ome past experiences, one of the commonest of which is the general dread of death. The fear of death and various other instincts of grown-ups as well as babes are the result of past experiences.

The law of heredity does not ISO against the doctrine of re-incarnation. As a matter of fact the doctrine goes, to explain the law of heredity, inasmuch as an individual soul, seeking rebirth, is a.ttracted to that couple whose tastes do not differ much from his.

Disbelief in this doctrine drives many a man to believe in predestination of the worst type, whereas belief in it gives many men solace in their misery. The doctrine teaches us the law of sowing and reaping, and convinces us that we ourselves are the makers of our own destiny. '

t'?

.._ _,

THE TRUE FIGHT ( Siste1' l.fa~路y Tn~wnwnn ( of E sthonict))

'I he phraseabout the struaale for existence has be':>b come quite a byword. For do we not see that in the whole Nature there is that continuous, tenacious struggle? One living beil)g tries to assert itself in the preser::ce of others. Many are ascribing this struggle for existence even to man. But are we then to place ourselves upon the same level with animals and plants ?

This cannot be. Within each one of us there arisee at times, even though not always, a longing for the imperishable, divine. It is a longing to rise above the petty, limited of the every day changeableness. And we feel then that the term of the struggle for existence cannot be appliedito us. What is after all this mere existence, this one, brief, perishing life ~ We get then a premonition, that this life is only a shadow play, without any real existence. And our longing for the B.eal becomes more intense. We feel then that we have not to fight for the mere existence, but must fight out the hard battle for the life eternal. What路 was law for the evolutio~ of form, is no longer law in the spiritual. The law of the spiritual ascent is Sacrifice. No one can spiritually grow witho utsacrificing. We must sacrifice ourselves so as to rise inwa~路ly. There is no other possibility. The law of the sp" 路it is the ,sacrificing of the_ little ' l '. He. who wants to preserve his life, cannot grow spiritually. All Sadgurus of all ages have taught

THE MEHER MESSAGE

38

this and are sti ll t e:;tch iu g it to day. N ot fi gh t fo r one's ow n ex ist e nce but t he sacrificing one's own life is the law of the spirit. By g iving up everythin g , losi ng all, shall we attain to_t he ~n bsta n ce of all. N ay , we ourselves shall become the ~m b st<l n ce itself.

The r ight of the mig htier is in the external evolution , but the_law o f the inner unfoldment i.s sacrifice of one's own self. The .servant of all here is the greatest.

A PRAYER IN ABSENCE (Leland J. B erry (of Birmingham)) 1

Lead him back to me, 0 Lord!

Faithfully direct him, In the daily war of life, Streng then and prote ct him !

2

Make him good and strong, 0 Lord !

From evil ways withhold him, Guide and comfort him with-.prayer Till my arms enfold him !

3

Bring him safely home, 0 -Lord, Thro' all stre ss that grieves him, Show him all Thy mercy, 0 Lord, Till my soul receives him.

TO THE BLESS ED LOHD, SHRI MEHER BABA ( By Me?"Cdith StarT ) Night and day I pr:. y to Thee, Baba, s~t my spirit free From the bonds of space and time, Free to seek Thy Star sublime Where the rays of all the suns ¡Come to pay there orisons0 Thou bright and Morning Star, Beam upon me from afar, Draw my yearning spirit hence From the fleeting realms of sense, Bathe my soul in Baba's light, Star of love and pure delight.

Light of Life that glows for ever In the hour of Love's endeavours I Star of Truth, wh~se rays reveal All the secrets of th wheel That turns through ay and night through life And d eath , and c ange, and peace and strife.

Star of Truth, whose rays unite All the children of the light.

Day and night I pray to Thee, Baba, set my spirit free, _ Free to seek Thy Star sublime, Free from space and free from time Free fo bring Thy love to birth In the hard heart of the earth; Free to bring Thy truth to men, That they turn to thee again.

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THE _M EHEH

~{ESSAGE

Night and day I pray to Thee Baba, ·set my spirit free!

Hear ,my deep despairing cry : "Com e, Covind a, or I die-" 0 my life, my love, my light, Rend the veil and give me sight!

I lie in loneliest agony Here in the dust, and cry to Thee Hear my la~t despairing cry : "Come·, Covinda, or I die-"

r

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IN SHRI !viEHER BABA'S TENT ( By Sister .111argaret Ross)

In Baba 's tent amid simplicity A myriad, myriad silver stars are seen, And little lizards in humility, Peep happily the latticed bars between Althouyh his couch i.s empty to my sight His gracious Presence ever fills the air, My heart is conscious of such rare delight, Perhaps bee a use He leaves His blessings there.

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~ U :\ [ E

W l-L\ T ::1li OC K I \ (~. B l r T

q lJ IT I~ T H U E

A g l ~ n ce at the histo ry of t he l\{uslillls will de a rly de monst rate ho w our Hociety luis from t ime t o time r epressed the intelle ctu\:11 awakeuiu g of our people. No free-thinker was safe in the hands of the society. 'The college of juritJt s pla ced und e r the ban of heresy the rati onalists and philosophers who made the name of Muslims glorious 'in the anuals of the world.' ( Amir Ali).

Al Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd were declared beyond the pale of Islam, though the y themselves claime.d to be Moslems. Caliph Al Mamun, the philosopher Calif of Islam, was declared the commander of the faithle ss.

Caliph Al Mustanjid under t he influence of theologians publicly burnt at Bagdad the encyclopredia of the ' pure brethren.' U oder Cali ph Al Qadir everyone w ~:u:> declared an infidel who held the view that the K or an was created. Gre at est poets of Islam did not escape the death sentences pass ed by the ulax.a .... This posit ion clearly explains our intellectual backwardne8s.

Vv e have no toleration of ideas and freedom of discussion.among us. So our commuuity lacks the first principle of intellectu:J.llife. We cannot dcubt, we cannot quest ion, for the r etribution is unfailing and severe.

Nazi1¡uddin A hmed.

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B ut the appeal of Christianity of today, as in Jesus' time, mu.st progre ss from what it has to offer men to what it asks men to offer it. M en approach the Church wit h a Stock Exchange attitude, asking, 'What has the

'{'HE ME HER .MESSAGE

42

Church to offer ? ' And the Church answers with a Stock Exchange attitude, li sti ng the securities and the ltlarket t'al ue s it has to se ll. This is not the true Christian appeal. · Je.~u s d:d describe His mission as an invitatition to a feast. But he rd so called it a crusade of redemption.

Rev. Ralph W. Lockman.

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We all deplore the lack of progress-it might even be cidled degene ration-from which we have been suffering· for centu.ries. An orthodox Hindu statesman, Sir T. Madhavrao, said half a century ago that there . was no society which suffered so much from self-inflicted evils as the Hindu society. The causes are patent: extreme conservatism, lack of perspective, reluctance to face realities, attempts to work round difficulties by metaphysical casuistry and legal subtleties, inability to adapt ourselves to altered environment, stubborn pride in the past, with insufficient th ought of present and future~all these are the r oot causes 1 And it is not merely from the Shastris and the Pandits but too often from those least ven;ed iu our ancient laws that the outcry proceeds of sacrilege aud religion in danger, whenever any proposal of reform is mooted, Justice Madgavkar.

Our boasting in regard to the ( British ) Empire disregards the plain teaching of the Holy 'Vrit, and invite s just punishment. I confe ss to grave foreboding€ concerning the keeping of Empire D ay. We apparentlJ think th at a braggart should rule the world. TherE is every r eason to try t o purify the Empire frorr the sins still defiling its government. England it

TRUE

S OMEWHAT SHOCK I NG BUT

43

becoming t orpid, a nd gaining a r eputatiou for unchast ity.

Surely a g reat u1:.1 tio'nal hu miliati on lie s before us.

Where fore , I oppose¡ t he vau ity of Em pire D ay rejoi cing.

L ord W ,illiam Cecil.

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A ll t houghtful and conscientious ( Parsi ) pr iests would desire t o g ive true r elig ious help to layme n by t heir ministrations. The se prie sts, however, are not free t o act according t o their judgment a nd conscie iwe , but are bound down by old unreasonable custom, merely to re cite portions of the fragments of A vesta writings, however inappropriate , unsuitable and unmeaning those old re citations may be. The priests cannot make selections t o pronounce appropriate prayers. Their minds and hearts remain blank, dull and repellant, There is no desire to conve y by their mispronounced ut terance s any noble t eachin g, exhortation, moral pre aching ¡ or ser mon to their hearers or to utter prayer s and supplications that have appropriate sense in th em.

N . D. K hanclalavala.

THOTJGHTS SUBLD1E

True Hinduism does not consist in the mere observance of forms and ceremonies, and in the following of the rules of eating, drinking-and marriage, which implies orthodoxy at the present time. It implies; the recognition of the One in all, and not the religion of Don't-touchism and exclusive privileges of the higher castus. Buddhajs teachings, on the other hand, should no~ be confounded with t.he corrupt form of Buddhism with its Tantric practices, intricate philosophies, gigantic temples and elaborate rituals. Judged in their true spirit the goal of Hinduism and Buddh_ism is one.

Advaita Mukti or Buddhist Nirvana means the negation of all limitations.

Dr. Rhys Davids.

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Such is the true spirit of Islam! Universalism is its key-note; unity of God its s0le slogan; brotherhood of man its cardinal tenet; a will to conquer( if subjugated ) its refreshing inspiration. The rest is the creation of the ology and not the essentials of Islam ..

S. Khuda Buksh.

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Perhaps this is to be India's contribution to the future: to reinterpret to the world the values that are tv be found in Spirit, that Industry and Money Marts and Tran&portation and Material Progress are useful

THOU G HTS SUBLIME servants but only as means to the Surnrnu.m Bonum, the fatherh ood of God arid the Brotherhood of Man. The Bev. E. S. Johnson.

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.:\lora! que sti om have no boundaries. The world of today is steadily re veliling itself to be a world of identical moral interest s. If we exploit abroad, the downfall of the exploited will eventually become our own downfall.

Bishop Charles H. Brent.

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For years together my heart longed for the precious cup of king J amshed, but fouc.d out later on that it aspired for something that it alreadv had.

Hafiz.

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Unless a man. w the course of his reons of evolutions, becomes 'as perf~ct as his Father in heaven,' nay attains the stage of !Hhvara, it is not possible for him to know anything about It .... In the Pra-Brahma a centre of consciousness if'~ formed which is designated as l shvara. This conditione d Brahma, Logos of the soul, is the only Supreme R eality for the embodied beings. " By devotion alone He is known as He is." .. -... That is one of the reasons why Lord Gautama_Buddha never indulged in any metaphy sical polemic, nor did he ever preach to the people a bout God or soul-things that are more understood b_y Self-realization -than by verbal discourse and hair- splitting controversy. When the preliminary conditions, name ly the acquisition of virtues and cultivation of moral a nd spiritual qualifications, are fulfilled to the letter, the mind is controlled, desire is

THE MEHER ' MESSAGE

46

pacified, the e~e of the ~oul th at vouchsafes this light, does not remain long -fast-sealed.

M. H. Syecl B.A. , L.T.

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Not to. know The e is mise ry, To k~ow Thee iR bliss ; In starlii, winds and flowers I hug Thee and kiss; I know ·Thee, I know Thee, 0 Love!

Swami Ram T1"rtha.

'S ince time began, the human race has been hunting foi· help to. bear its misfortunes, to improve con~ ditions, to alleviate pain and disease, but ever seeking relief from without. We are just beginning to find that the.help we have been crying for and looking for is inside and not outside of us. The power to obtain anything we need or ever can want is within us awaiting release, awaiting opportunity for expression.

Dr. 0. S . Marden.

A man who does me a wrong injures himself; what, then, shall I do myself a further wrong by injuring him~ Epictetus.

It is physica1ly impossible for a well-educated, intellectual or brave man to make mon!'ly the chief obiect of his thoughts.

R us ku~n. · .J True contentment depends not on what we have: a tub was large enough for Diocrenes but a world was too littl~ for Alexander. b '

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Agar.

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SHIHITUAT~

ANECDOTES

The great Baha'u'llah was much harassed by the Shah of Persia and the Sultan of Turkey. First he was banished from Persia to Bagdad, then to Constantinople, then to Adrianople, but his mission went en and he remained undaunted. Finally the King and the Sultan con sulted together and said, "We have banished Baha'~'llah from place to place, but each . time he is exiled his cause is more widely extended,his proclamation increases in power, and day by day his lamp is becoming brighter. This is due to the fact that we have exiled him to large cities and populous centres. Therefore we will now send him to a penal colony as a prisoner so that all may know he is the associate of murderers, robbel's and criminals; in a short time he and his followers shall perish." So the Sultan of Turkey banished him to Syria and imprisoned him in the fortre ss of Akka. But imprisonment was no inconvenience to the dauntless heart of Baha:'u'llah.

He had sacrificed all earthly possessions and imprisonment was no loss to him. He wrote to the Sultan, ''Verily, thou didst incarcera te and make me a prisoner.

Dost thou imag ine that imprisonment is a loss to me, is a humiliation to me? This imprisonment is a glory for me beca use it is in the pathway of God. I have not committed any crime. It is for the sake of God that I have ':eceived this ordeal. Therefore I am very happy. I am exceedingly joyous."

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.THE

48

MEHEH MESSAGE

"'When Athen·s was governed by thirty ty cants, Socrates was suuuuoued to the senate-h ou;;e , and ordered to go with ;.;ome other personA they named, to seize one Leon, a wan of rank and fortune, whom they det(n·rnined-to put out of tl:e way, that they might enjoy his estate. Thifi commission Socrates :ftatly refused, and gave his reasons for refusal. '' I will never willingly assist an unjust act,'' said he. Chericles sharply replied, "Dost thou think, Socrates, to talk alWays in this high style and . not to suffer ?" ''Far from it," ret?rted Socrates, '' 1 expect to suffer a thousand ills, but none so great as to act unjustly."

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Constantine the Great, in order to reclaim a miser took a lance and marked out a space of ground of the' size of the human body, and told him, •'Add heap to heap, accumulate riches upon riches, extend the bounds of your possessions, conquer the whole world, and in a few days such a spot as this will be all you have."

Does it not shame you to mingle blood with nature's beneficent fruits? Other animals, such as lions . and tigers, you call ferocious, whereas you come behind them in no species of barbarity. To them murder is the only means of sustenance, whe~eas to you it is superfluous luxury and crime.

Plutarch.

Ol!H SFHJA f o .'11 D ln¡

FHO \ f

DEG JL\.D A TU ):\

CHAPTER

T(l

HEALIZ ATION

III

Of the memb ers of t he sterner sex, who attended Shri Madha vrao Ma haraj 's se rm on and who were squatted on the ca r pete d Hoor, on the right ha nd side of the S adguru, in thre e rO\\¡s, each consisting of fifteen, the one , with whom we a re concerned the most, was a Brahmin y outh of not more than four or fi ve and twenty years of age, nam ed Vv a man De shp?.nde A gymnast as he w as, he wa:> squ a re-sh ould ered, broad- chested, vigorous a nd heavy . He was of little more than medium h eig ht, and his skin was of the colour of wheat flour devoid of bra n. The cast of his deep-lined features was rema rk able : h is f ace was moderately broad, his for ehead was neithe r too high nor too narrow, his eyebrows were quite oubta ndi ng, a nd his nose was somewha t acquiliu e. D es pite h is commonplace ey es, his strong j a w, his r ed lips a nd his small moust ache combined t o g ive him an air of dign ity to his appe arance.

Wama n Deshpa ud e was se ldom to be seen in national costume. Eve n t o the B apat Ashram he was not at a ll a bashed t o come in Europe a n morning dress.

He was fairl y well edu uat ed, t o use the word in its nar-

50

T HE .J1 E 1H:H . .:\ IES::J A G E

r ow se nse. H e prid ed hi iJJ.-;elf o1 1 l> e in g an inle ll ec tu:d, tlw urrh he wu:; not ·c :-;: Lra ord iil <H ih· iut elli ge :1t. 'L 10:·uo ughl y Europeanized 11, Gr "J' iu~ wl C 1·/, Gnn a~d1 e wa:-;, h e w:1:-< neit h er c;a:-; t e-lJuLmd nor cu:-; toin-buu•I•l. ll e h ad e:bt utl' t he sacrec! t hread a m! Il l > loug er wore the s!oc?M l; , Priest'! a re calle d t h e cu::> tu uiait:-; of r elig iou; lJut be cause he h ad fouud a numb er of pries ts selfish and avaricious, he believed that all talk of religion was fatuou s flap doo dle. San nyas ins are .supposed to b~ leading the lives of renun ciation ; but because he had detected hypocri sy in some of the S anoyasios he had come across, he convinced himself that most of them were fraud s. H e believed neitl1er in God nor in ~ atan, neither in he aven nor in hell, neither in soul nor in immortality. He was a materialist of materialist s and a cynic of cynics. He was a wor!:l hipper of Voltaire , and he had committed a number of defiuitions from his master's P ocket Theology to memory , without properly underst anding the_ spirit which prom ted the French philosopher t o be a cy nic:. Did any one talk of God '!

D e8hpa nd e,true t o hi s ma8te r, would at once assert that it '.vas a ·word sy noymous with priests and the factotum of theologians . Did anyone t alk of morality? Deshpande on the spur of the moment would say, ' 'It consi.st s of. many praye rs, much devotio n, belief, zeal, gloom, malice and idleness." Did anyone talk of saints ?- Ou the iustant Deshpande would acquaint him with Voltaire's opinion.

He laughed at the spirit ual traditions ()f this Aryavarta ; h e considered the Rish is either hyp ocrites or fools ; he regarded Hinduism as a for ei::lt full of the briers of misbeliefs and m eaningless d ogma s ; he looked upon all 1:"3anat anists and Vedantists as fanatics or visionaries sunk in the abyr:s of ig norance or superstition; he reso1

Fg0:-.1

DEG~ADATIO)l"

TO REALIZATION

51

lutely refused to belieYe in the spiritual nature of man; nod he COIJRigned God to what has been called the limbo lf History's melancholy uierllorieE>. Because cannibal isiJI was rwaetised \\'hell agricul turc wa~ not developed' and bec:mse- the institution of slavery was once lauded to the Hkies and later on condemned to the last degree, he had jmnped to the rash and ridiculous conclusion that morality depended on the changing socio-economic conditions and that moral principles had nothing to do with the spiritual nature and inner voice of man.

Just as in the Dark Ages anybody who knew how to write his name passed for a learned man amongst illiterate people, so in the first three quarters of the nineteenth century in India, men like \V am an Deshpande passed for bold reformers amongst Europeanized fellahs.

His flatterers called Deshpande a smasher of shams and humbug~, but his enemies justly called him a proud swollen-headed rascal. His character was, indeed, quite in contrast to the dignity of his· personality. Born with a silverspoon in his mouth, he never knew the pangs of poverty. Though he had wasted away the family estates, he was still rolling in riches. Gambling was his occupation, and in various kinds of gambling he was a past ma~ter.

So lucky was he that somehow he alwl:lys won, and not once in his life had he contracted a debt of honour. Material prosperity C·1mbined with a keen intellect had turned his head. That he should be proud and swollen-headed was not at all surpt·ising. Neither was it strange that his armour of character was full of conspicuous gaps. An advocate of tree love, he never hesita:ed to enjoy himself by swimming in the spring of carnal indulgence. He had readily listened to the song of the sirens, and it was not in the nature of things that

THE MEHER YiESSAGE he should aive. a wide berth to their shore. Those who knew him ~vere very glad that he was still a bachelor.

Had he married, there was 110 doubt that he would have made a hell of the- life of his wife. His parents had passed a way' before he was ten, and ~s he had not allowed any of his . rebtives to goveru h1m, none had dared to entangle him in the meshes of wedlock. But he had no intention of remaining a single man. As a matter of fact he had· already what is called fallen in love with a Brahmin girl, and he had made up his; mind to make her his wife. That girl was none else than Rukmini Devi,,whom I have already had the honour to introduce to my readers.

Deshpande was no doubt, to some extent, acquainted with the obstacles that lay in his path. On the strength of distant relationship he had twice called upon the Devi with a view to wooing her right in accordance with the Western fashion, but on both occasions he had been humiliatingly snubbed by her. However, the snubbings, which he had received, had, instead of appeasing his passion for her, only stimulated it. Instead of driving him to despair, they had only served to engender excitement in him. At the very sight of Rukmini Devi he used to forget himself; for, on seeing her, his pulse beat faster, his blood ran quicker, and ·his face · took on a somewhat crimson hue. The yery fact that waves of extraordinary feelings swept over him, whenever he caught sight of her, imbued him with the conviction that she was meant for him, and that luck, as usual, would come to his assistance to crown his efforts whether fair or foul, with success. To him it was unthin~able that fate, which had always been so freindly to htm would go out of its way to make the rest of his

FRO:\{ DEGRADATION TO REALIZATION

53

life sour. He l.>rushed aside all feuril of failure in his object as soon as they att11.cked him. To be sure, there was no alloy of apprehension iu the gold of his confidence in success. He kuew that she was dead acorainst marriage, Lut, a·s she wa.'l a disciple of .i\Iadha vrao Maharaj and was oLGying Him in every matter, he thought that all he had to do was to bend the Sadguru to his will.

As he was · unaware· of the Sadguru's powers and regarded Him as a simple-mindei God-haunted Sadhu, he took it to be an e1vly task to bring him under. And even ·if the une~pected happened and the Sadguru did not liaten to the voice of his reason, he, Waman Deshpande, the hero of Europeanized Hindus, would on no Mcount give her up, for had ha not once for all woven her into the texture of his life ? What mattered it, if she did not and would not care for him ? What mattered it, if he failed to make a Juliet out of her ~ He only wanted to win her and have her for his wife, all to· himlilelf. He did not condescend to trouble his mind with the natural thought that by forcing her to marry him against her will, he would be bringing the entire fabric of her happiness down with a crash. He loved her as a beef-eater loves cows. Just as a beef-eater, owing to the love. that he bears for cows, does not hesitate to take their lives, so Deshpande, on account of his passion for Rukrriini Devi, was not reluctant to take all happiness out of her.

On the occasion in question Deshpande was not · at all listening to the sermon of the Sadguru, many of Whose remarks applied to him to a degree, as he regar~ed his own will-o'-the-wisp chasing to be of cardinal importance. As Rukmini Devi was only a few yards away from him, how can he resist the temptation of

5-1

THE l\IbHtR MESSAGE

frequentl y r-:tealing g lan ces nt h er ? H ow was it possible for him to attend t o wh:1t he cal led the g ibberish of the Sadcru ru ? \Vh v·. he re<rarJed t he teachinsrs of the t'"> t"'l '-' Sadguru uc; specnhtive ja rgo n lwrn of God- haunted mind, a nd w ea. ui ng lesc; Y;Jpours bom of n1 or bid fancy!

It was therefore foolish ou t he part of a nyo ue to expect him t~ lend his ears to t he Sadguru,- the more 1:'0, as she, on whom he do ted, Whf:l so near him.

His ey es, in a fine frenzy r olling , did glance, no.~ like Shake speare's poet from heaven to earth, from earth to heavE;ln, but from Rukli1ini Devi to anyone else, from anyone else to Hukmini Devi. He seemed to be restle ss to the last degree, a nd, were it not for the fact that he_did not actually exhibit some depraved appetite, one might h ave suppose d that he was suffering from lycanthrophy.

Shri Sadguru Madhavrao M aharaj knew very well why W an:.an De shpaode used to come there a nd what Deshpa nde thought of Him. But he never drove him out, for He wc.toted to draw him gradually towards Him~ elf. He never condemned him, for He wa8 well acq uainted with the cau8es of hi8 perverse meutality.

D e:shpan de had been connected with Him in pat> t lives an d so He meant to effect a r evolution in his mentalityand turn the course of his life in a new and hec.tlthy channel. He once went so far as to say- to a few of his disciple s : '' D on't de nour.ce him as a ba:,e depraved · fellow pas t pray iu g for. He is intoxicated with the wine of the continuouf.l run of good lclCk, and so it is but n:ttural that he should ·behave like a pride-drunken man.

W·h en he will be sober, he will be all right; and, to be sur e, suffe1:ing will make him sober. He is not really hea rtless, though he see ms to be so. His intellect ha~ •I

'

FR0.\'1 D l£GRA DATION TO RE . \.LIZA.TION 55 de pressed but uot cru shed his heart. \Vhen misery will bele ag ure him - and it surely ,,·ill , ai-l h e is fettered with mi<le ry -draw iu-g bond,;-- hi " int e lle c t will losen its

hold ou his h ea r t. A ,., !-louu as h e will all o w hiH heart to rule him; my t; pell will fall up ou him a nd he will re spond to it eag er] y . You will all see this, r.u y children.

Don't hate him, but pity him and pray for his salvation."

J m;t beside Waman Deshpande was squatted a a Mahometau youth, who was his friend and who bore the name of Ebrahim Pirkhan. The only child of his parents, who he~:d passed away soon after he was twelve, he had been spoilt by them. As a child he had never been repremanded by them, though he had played many a · monkey trick and had proved himself to be a nuisance to his neighbonrs, for the simple reason that they did not like to see the smile fade from his lips.

Had he been well taken care of, had good notions been instilled into his mind at a time when his mind was receptive to impressions and his character was in the process of formation, he would have been quite a different man from what he was when our story opens. He was not, indeed, an atheist like Deshpande, but he did not follow the tenets of Hazarat Mahomet's creed. He talked much about his creed, was always ready .to fight for it, and occasionally spoke of dying for it, jf need be; but alas he was not livinba for it! One of the chief ' ' comm andments of Islam is never to drink any intoxicant, but Pirkhan was extremely fond of the -beastly English beer. Seldom a day passed when he did not quaff it, but just before putting the glass to his lips, he wculd invariably say, '' Haram, I-Iaram, Kateer! "* And immediately after drinking it to the dregs, he would more loudly speak, " Allah- 0 - Akbar,"t firmly be*It is sinfnl, very siaful !

tGod is gr eat .

55

THE MEHEH .MESSAGE

Jievir.g that by uttering Allah'~ name he was mitigating his sin, if not quite '''1i8l1ing it off. But his fondne bs for beer was not his only drawback. The spring of his mind and heart was defiled with the filth of concupiscence, and he had allo\\:ed himself to becollle one of those who would etick at nothing in order to serve their own ends.

His avarice knew no boundA, aud so whenever a chance presented itse!f of making mouey, be it never: so vile and sordid, he would invariably Apring at it with eagerness and enthusiasm worthy of a better cause. Money was the chief object of his thoughts. He had tried his hand at many a job, but a rolling stone gathers DO moss; and so finally he had taken to the art of burglary, which quite fitted in with his restless nature and which he had reduced to (or developed into ?) a science. There was no doubt as to his skill as a burglar, and there was also no doubt as to the good opinion he had formed about himself. He regarded burglary as a sport, a lucrative sport if you like, but a sport. after all, and nothing else, just as those gentle.men who go about to kill innocent birds and animals regard hunting as a sport, a cruel sport if you like, but a sport after all, and nothing else.

Waman Deshpande did not at all dislika Pirkhan on account of his profession and his opinion about him was that he was a gentleman cracksman. Just as De&hpande was lucky at gambling, so Pirkhan was lucky at burglary.

Of course burglary is somewhat more dangerous than . gambling, and twice Pirkhan might ha.ve been arrested and been made Her Majesty's guest, were it not for the f1tct that he had a friend in an Englishman who held a responsibie post in the police force at Poona and who was not at all averse to being bribed on a large scale.

The name which the Englishman bore was Arthur

FHOllf DEGJ.i,ADATION TO REALIZATION 57 Petch, with who:;e .t1'I'O dnughter:-~ { acquainted my re aders in the second.chapter.

The only foreign er tunong the male auditors was an Euglislunao, who was about twenty-seven years old and whose rHune was \Villiam Cope. He was a fairly good-looking but so1uewhat sleepy-headed youth. He was carefully listening to the sermon of the Sadguru; indeed, he always us~ d to hear Him with breathless attention, for he regarded him as a genuine Saint or a perfect Master. Like ateel to the magnet he was drawn to him. His coming into contact with Shri Madhavrao had proved tq be the turning-point of his life, for his â&#x20AC;˘ outlook on life was already changed to a considerable extent. ¡ He was far less worldly-minded than before; considered as he did the spiritual life the real life, he yearned for spiritual insight and he hungered for immersing himself in the deep waters of meditation. His character was spotless, and he was fit for the spiritual life. His mind was of that type which delights in soaring into the spiritual spheres of thinking. As he had no wife and no children to look after and as he lived simply, he had not to worry about money. He was generally seen with a debonair smile on his face, but so nervous was he that he always looked like one who had lost his way in a fog. Modest and nervous as he was, it was not strange that crafty persons should take advantage of his weakness and profit at his expense. He had the misfortune of being a nephew to -Arthur Petch, the police inspector. The cunning uncle used to lord over him and to interfere with him needlessly. Scarcely when he was twenty-five, Arthur Fetch had taken a promise from him that he would after a few years marry his daughter, Evelyn. Cope had given the promise un-

58

THE

1'vii~HElt

.Ml~SSAGE

hesitatingly, but now t h ~tt hi s outl()ok on life was <.; h ~J.ng ed, he did not wish to !ll l.i lT.)'- Fort unately there " ' ,J.S no form ~t l encraaement, but still he \I'LL::> troubled over the o n . mat te r. His uncle, he knew, had set his heart upon marry ing h-im t o Evelyn, and would not voluntarily releasd him from the promise. He had resolved to refer the matter oue day to the Sadguru, and to abide by His decision.

Among those who were squatted in the secoQd row were two ordinary-looking but spirited Kshatriya. youths.

They. were sons of the same parents a nd their faces were so much alike that one might regard them as twins, though one was older by one year than the other. The name of the elder brother was Narayan Bhopatk~r and that of the younger brother, Vishnu.

Both were zealous devotees of Madhavrao Maharaj, and though they had not surrendered at His feet, they oft used to call upon him with a view to worshipping Him and attending His sermons The ¡brothers heartily loved each other; but, owing to differences of opinions on religious as well as political subjects, which they were fond of discussing with each other, they at times used to quarrel witB. each other. However, though they exchanged high words in the heat of debate, they never actually came . to blows. Narayan was a S ~J. natanist and Vishnu was almost a Brahmo; moreover, though they ardently loved their country, Narayan was pro-British and anti-French, whereas Vishnu was pro-French and anti-British. That morning when they came to the Bapat Ashram, it was evident from the hue of their faces that a dispute had taken place between them. It had all been the elder brother's fault. Knowing well how his brother felt f01 the systematic oppressio? of Ireland by England, hE

.FROM DEG~ADATION TO REALIZATION

59

drew his brother's attention t o the fact th at in the July of that very year the bill for the Disestablishment of the Iri5h Church had be co me law and would soon take efl'ect. aml theu h ~ iudi:-;c ree tly added : '' You cannot de ny for once at le w-;t that it is out of their love of justi ce that the Englsh h ave rendered this service to the Irish." '' Justice ? And service '! What are you talkir;,g of, my d.ear brother ? " thundered Vishnu. " ~tudy dispassionately the hist ory of this what the Irish call alien Church, and you cannot help coming to the conclusion that till ·now the English had been committing a monstrous pieca of injustice to their neighbours, the h :ish. Lord Macaulay was not aRoman Catho· lie, but he regarded the E8tablished Church of Ireland as most absurd, and he did not lose any opportunity of informing his countrymen that every foreign writer on British affairs, whether European or .~Ameri­ can, whether Prote_s tant or. Catholic, whether conserva· tive or liberal, whether pro-English or pro-Irish, ever mentioned the Church of Ireland without expressing his amazement that such an establishment should exist among reasonable people. You talk of Englishmen's love of justice. Was it because of their love of justice that they so long refused to disestablish the · Church?- · In 18 45, in the House of Commons, Mr._Ward proposed the ~tmendment to the Maynooth College Bill that it was the opinion of the House that any provision to be made for the purposes of the bill ought to be taken from thfl funds then applicable to ecclesiastical purposes in Ire· Lord Macaulay vehemently supported this amendut, and in the speech which he delivered I remember ,o have read: ' I give my vote from my heart and soul

GO

THE ?viEHE1t' ~IE SSAG E

for the ame ndm e nt of IllY huno urabl e fri end. He calls on us to rn ake to Irefanc i' a co nce sRion, which oug~1t in justice to have been 'ru ade lou;..; 11gu, twd which may be made with g race and dignity eYe u IIOII' . I well know t,hat you will r efn;<e tu 1nake it uow. l know as well that you will make it hereafter. You will make it as every conce ssion to Ireland has been made.' The amendment, my deal: brother, was rejectecl by nearly 325 votes to less than 150, and you can not deny that Macaulay's prediction has been fulfilled." ¡ " But do you mean to say that tardy justice is injustice ? " asked. Narayan. " No," retorted Vishnu; '' but there is no question ¡ of justice at all in this bill for the Disestablishment of the Irish Church. This bill has been passed not out of a sense of justice, but merely with a view to placating the Irish. The British Parliament has passed this bill, just because they feared that if they did not, there would be more dangerous rebellions in Ireland. Mr. Gladstone himself admitted 't hat the Fenian outrages had been in part due to the existence of the alien Church, and therefore the bill appeared to him to be the first step towards allaying discontent in Ireland. It is my firm conviction, N arayan, that just as to the American War the Irish Parliament owed its independence, and t o the French Revolutionary War the Irish .

Roman Catholics owed the elective franchise, so to the fear of dangerous rebellions in Ireland,_ entertained by the English, the Irish owe this Church bill." '' And to what do we owe our religious liberty ~ Are we not morally bound to be grateful to the British for this liberty ? " asked Narayan. " I, for one, am not at all grateful to them for it,"

FROM DEGR.ADATION TO HEALIZATION

61

repl ied Vishnu, " knowin g, a s J Ju, that it is not out of justice or tolera"nce, bubir11ply owing to fear that otherwise they would lose their Elllpire in India, that the British ha ve allowed us th iR lilJe rty of worr-;hip. 'Vhy, had they sh ow n the audac:ity to interfere with our religion, their rule iu thiR country would have lasted just for half a dozen_hours- to be sure for not more than six hours ! Dou't think, Narayan, that Englishmen have any respect for our religion. Most of them have nothing but contempt for it, imbued as they are with foolish notionl') of Christianity." '' That is true; but have not also most Frenchmen nothing but contempt for Hinduism? The religious views of -most ChristianA, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant, are extremely narrow and shallow. But whereas the British, be it said to their credit, know how to act from enlightened self-interest, your dear French people, though they are more selfish than the British, are so stupid that they do not know even that much." " The more, Narayan, you talk about the stupidity of the French people, the more you are liable to exhibit your ignorance. There is not a more sensible and more intelliaent nation in the West than the French, and b ' your dear British people are notorious throughout the wide world for their muddle-headedness, just as much as for their rudeness and vanity. The French have not the ability to grab other people's land ~s the . British have; they do not kno\v the art of dividing and ruling subject nations as the British know; they may not be possessing such administrative ability as the British posse ~s ; they are more ple/J,sure-seeking and may not be less selfish than the British; but, to be sure, they are

6 ·7 ~

.

THE

~I E HER

:\I ES ':3 AGE

not so hypocritica l a<;; the British.

H ad the French

conq ~u·ed I udia. it ·i, po;;sible th;lt the y might ha'e

pro,ed t o be bnu gla rs, and it i" probabl e th at t hey mig ht ha\·e go\·e rof9d it 'in thei r own inte re sts; but , surel y , the y at least \\· ould not h ~~\-e bee n so h:·poc ritical aR t rJ style themseh·es tr1~stce:< of hdi, r, as your dear Englishmen have the. effrontery to sty le thewselves.

Trustees of }nclic,, indeed; Barely three per cent of the people know how t o read and write ; thousand;; of people die of star.vation every year; millions of people are groaning bene~th the weight of taxation; a nd yet every year the alien Government spends millions of rupees for the upkeep of huge armies, not for our sake, but for the benefit of the whole British Empire . We are bled white, so that it may be possible for our white masters to gratify their imperialiastic greed. And still they ask us to regard them as their rrw-bap." * This eloquent and patriotic effusion of Vishnu reduced his brother, to ::lome extent, to a nonplus; but gathering his wits, Narayan asked him jocularly but bitterly ah,ays t o carry with him a fl ag of France. '' It is not ne cessary for me to do so,'' ret orted Vishnu with some indignation ; " but why don't you get a Union Jack tattooe d right on your forehead ? " They would have exchanged mo1·e high words than these : but fortunatelyat this stage of t he ir debate, they approached the Bapat Ashram and so none spoke a word more.

7 \ \ e ha>e nothing to do, so far a& our story is con. cerned , "ith any other male a uditor; but still I cannot re sist the tempt ation of drawing the attention of my readers to an aged Brahmin who was squatted in the third row. He seemed t o have outli>ed the vigour of

FROM: DEGRADA TIO}; T O REAL IZ A TION 63 his body as we llll :l of hi's 1ni nd. Age was certa inl y sitting heavily upon hi s sho ul de rs, an d it was probabl y coming in the way of hi ~ earn ing mone y in his professionlie was a J'l1~?·o h·it,* a nd h e kn ew 1nor e h ow to ea rn H e was not ava111 oney th an to be sp iri bual ly- lllinded. rici ous, but he had a la rg e fa mil y t o support and a ten year s-old girl t o -ma rry . It is not-, therefore, quite unnatural that he should · th ink more of silver than of Shiva, and more of gold th a n of God. He was trying his level best to lend his ea rs to the S adguru ; bot the fact that the fatqer of the boy, who was to marry his daughter, had demanded from him a large sum of money by way of dowry, which he simply could not afford to give owing to his poverty , was haunting his mind like a nightmare. " Shiva ! Shiva ! " he oft whispered to himself, preventing the tears with great difficulty from running down his cheeks. " How shall I get so much money ? And if I don't, what will be come of my daughter ? '' As amon g the Parsis, so among the Hindus, the evil of the dowry system is prevalent. Custom requires that a Hindu father must not allow his daughter toremain unmarried, a nd that, whatever be his financial condition, h e must g ive to the bridegroom or hi~ father as dowry, some property or a sum of mo ney, as fixed by them prior t o marriage. W hat a pity it is -that the evils of the dowry system ar e not properly re alized by Hindu social reformers ! Tha nks t o it the news ofa female child's birth is not welccome in many Hindu familie s.

The more poor a famil y is, the more unwelcome it is .

Owina ,.., t o this cust om ' howmany Hindu fa :::::ilies are load • Vendo r of sacred t h read.

64

T~E

MEHER MESSAGE

ed with debts '? How¡ many g irls burn themselvss to save the honour of their poor parent;.;? how many marriages does it wreck?. How many tender hearts does it . brea::C? howmany Hiudu families have been driven to be converted i'nto Christianity or Mahometanism ? Oh! who can guage the. evils that flow in various ways from this custom? Hindu youths, awake and do not turn marriage into a financial bargain I Hindu social reformers, arise and concentrate your efforts with a vi~w to rooting out this custom that saps the vitality of your great community!,

( To be continued )

Corrigendum

. In the first chapter of our Serial Story, instead of statmg that fifty-two ladies were present to hear the sermon of the Sadguru, it was erroneously st~ted that thirty-five were present.

MUSIC OF THE SPHERES by Ruth Halcyone- P. 0. Box 576 Sonoma, Califnrnia. U.S.A.

ln this dainty-looki.nabook the authoress has baiven 0 selections frow over 2~5 messages, which she allege~ to have 路r eceived in writing since August 22, 1924, at Halcyan woodt.. .

We have already warned our readers not to confus.e spiritualism with spirituality. Those, who have realized with their dense body that they are not mere body and mind but spirits, aud that the spiritual life is the real life, are spiritually-minded; but those who communicate with the spirits of the ' dead ' are spiritists. A man or a woman may be a spiritist without at all being spi-ritually-minded. As a路 matte1路 of fact those who communicate with the spirits of the 'dead' are not spiritu'llly-minded; for, if one iH spiritually-minded, one is more or less enlightened, and or.e, who is more or less enlightened, will consider it both childish and wrong to communicate with the spirits of the' dead.' The. notion that almost every person, after shuffling off his mortal coil, acquires profound wisdom and kno\vledge of the Truth is fantastic and is born of nescience. The idea that almost every spirit of the' dead' is eager to communicate with and render help to the mortals of this earth is eq'lally fantastic and is born of the wish that is father to one's thought. 路without entering upon and advancing along the spiritual path, with one's gross body one can never achieve one';; salvation. Talking with a

l ' H E l\'[ l~HEJ{ l\I ESSAG E spirit devo id of de nse body is cltild 'o; play , co wpar ~:: d t o be coll\ing a mys tic. Those ig noramuses, with wh om the so-call ed hi 0CY}tl_..,v ci ,¡ilize J t;o untri es of the We st abound, a re evid e ut!y li ving iu a fool'8 paradise, if t hey believe that they will ac hi e\re the ir .,alvation by cornmun icating with the spirit:> of th e 'dead.'

N eedless to say t ha t we do not regard all the phenomena of spiritism as fraudulent. But med~ ums must guard againt th e pof-'s ibility of spirit personations.

In the book under consid e ration the enthusiastic authoress has published two me ssage s which she claims to have re ceived from Swami Vivekananda. Taking into considera tion the fact of the revered Swamiji's spiritual perfection, which He achieved with His gross body throuah the grace of His M aster, Shri Ramakrishna 0 ' we cannot e ven for a moment bring ourselves to believe that those messag es are His. We assure the authoress that those messages are not His, but of some other spirit that had the r ascality to pose as the spirit of the revered Swamiji.

A . Booklet in Telugu on 1'lw Blessed Lord, Shri M eher B aba Swami Tatwa nanda, of Sri Sanatan Ashram, Krapa, Guntur Dt., write s t o us : "-Taking up your kind suggestion, y ou made in the last issue of The M eher Message I a m going t o print a pamphlet, â&#x20AC;˘Life of Shri Meher Baba,' in Telug u, the district vernacular language ... I am doing this with the help of some friend s here, who are be coming interested in Shri Baba's personality." We he artily wish the Swamiji brilliant success in his noble work.

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:X IV

Accidents Everywhere are on the inc rea se. Prom pt med ical a tten dance cann ot be had a lwa y s . H beboves every one t o k now how t o r end er to in jured person s imm ediate t em po rary as si stanc e or F irs t Aid in a sci entific w a y , by m a king use of materia ls at h a n d in ca ses s uch as bleAding, br oken bo nes, dro wning. snake¡ bite, burns. poisom ng, epile psy . suo -stroke, fa in t in g . suffoc a t ion , convuls ion, foreig n bodi es in t he ey e, ear, t hroa t & c .. till m edica l aid is so ught. Th e H oo' hle Dr. U. Rama R ao's book " Firs t Aid 10 A cc ide nt ~ " teac hes you how t o r en der " First Aid ". Many precio us lives are los t eve r y y ear fo r want of " F irst Ai d." So get a copy t o-day and k now bow to sav e people fro m terrible ago ny or inju ry or eve n life itself.

Non -tec hnica l la n g ua ge : profusely ill ustr at'e d. T be book bas un dergon e s evera l ed1t 1ons run ni ng in t o sev eral t hou sands of copies. Doctors s peak btgb ly.

G overnmen ts, Railw a ys, Mines. l ndu s t r 1al concer ns.

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XV

The Bombay Humanitarian League Aims and objects of the League :( a) T o adopt means for pr otect ing a ni mals as well as birds and fish from all kinds of cruelty .

. (b ) To educate public opinion regarding the advan· t~·es of veg·etari an diet from the poi nts of view of health , economy and mercy. ( e ) T o appeal to the authorities as well as to the people to disconti nue cruel fashions and ceremonies.

( cl ) 'l'o take up str ictly non-political questions of human \Velfare.

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XVI

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