foremost (in their own way, it must be said), they were not, with one or two exceptions, the types that harmonized readily.

However, Baba, the Knower of all, the Creator of all, knowing us so much better than we knew ourselves, knew what to expect. Dr. Donkin has truly said. regarding clashes that occur: "These are a definite aspect of Baba's inner work, for the energy manifested by those present is used by him as well as the incident being a training ground for those taking part."

There is a saying too, of the Abbé de Tourville, as far back as the 17th century : "Things go wrong in order to show us that it is God's Will that we should change them."

Also, I would add that as Baba works for the elimination of the individual ego, he releases that inexhaustible divine energy in the soul, and life takes on universal momentum; event follows event, crisis follows crisis and thus Baba's work is hastened.

Baba wanted us to learn to live in harmony with one another. All had to learn how to give in, not only on personal matters, but also on national—and the national ego is often stronger than the individual ego.

Let us see now how Baba dealt with the various types assembled at Nasik "Meher Retreat." How often he had to humor our less worthy qualities! Listen to Baba's explanation given us January 1st, 1937:

"Love for a Perfect Master, however deep and devotional it may be, does not necessarily affect the original nature of a person because, despite apparent superficial changes, the individual nature remains the same up to the 7th Plane. On the 7th plane there is no individual mind, therefore, no individual nature. This nature is so powerful that it continually strives to assert itself, and being inherently beyond one's control, even influences the expression of pure love by often assuming irritating and embarrassing forms. So to keep the love of my disciples for me unalloyed, I have to humor less noble qualities of human nature, such as jealousy, pride, etc. Otherwise, there is always the danger of these qualities gaining supremacy over love and changing it into a feeling of opposition — thus creating hindrances in my work."

From the very beginning, Baba gave us what so many wanted and asked for—discourses. The first was at Bhandardara on December 17th, 1936,