Meher Baba is the direct descent of God on earth as the Avatar—God incarnate as man — sought by all pursuers of spiritual knowledge. Baba is God — and God is everything. He is the Giver of the Law, as stated in the Sacred Books: "I am the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer." It is His Law that governs this universe and it is guided by His Divine Will. His infinite mercy and unbounded Love eternally nourishes the universe. He sows the seeds of Divine Love in our hearts to bring spiritual awakening. He is the infinite ocean of Love, deeper than the deepest mind, and its shores are shallow enough not to overwhelm the mind of a child.

One may ask "Is humanity ready and willing to listen to Him now?" Of course that depends on individual awareness. Jeremiah, the Prophet of old, told us what God has always said: "You shall seek Me and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your hearts."

Silently, with His great compassion attentive to the suffering humanity, the Avatar suffers for all of us, and He atones for us through His Divine Mercy. Sinners are Baba's liabilities, saints are His assets. The greatest sin is ignorance. To remove this ignorance one must become receptive to the wisdom and love of the Ancient One. The Sufi saints have always said, "True knowledge is but one point, but the ignorant have multiplied it."

Sinners can become saints if they have the courage and sincerity to invite a drastic and complete change of heart. Baba's love for one and all is the same. It is a definite fact that His pleasure is to grace humanity with His Love Divine, to awaken us all and help us to attain the real knowledge and love. Baba says: "God alone is Real, and the goal of life is to be united with Him through Love!"

Baba is silent to our external senses, but the thundering grace of His Divine Love in the hearts of His lovers is soul-stirring, and not mere physical thrills and chills. His message of Love that awakens humanity is full of grace; essentially He will redeem the world to God's real purpose.

I repeat Baba's words: "God alone is Real and the goal of life is to be united with Him through Love!" This must be our utterance on this special and solemn occasion of the 68th anniversary of Avatar Meher Baba's present physical manifestation.

The living Avatar of this age — Meher Baba—tells us that man should