When Abraham Lincoln, the great American President, announced the liberation of the Negroes from their slavery and ordered the removal of chains from their bodies and persons, they wept out of fright because they were afraid of their emancipation and of the outside world that lay beyond their chains so long, and for which they had an unknown fear. Something of that psychology clings to every man who refuses to make a change, a change which is vital for the true freedom of the human soul. This is the real import in the assertion of Meher Baba that when he utters the Word, there will be terrific destruction of almost three-fourths of the world and the humanity. Why should it be so, is the interrogation in many minds. The answer is plain. The first answer is that the immediate impact of breaking fetters is what is called destruction. Without destruction, no creation is possible. The reference to three-fourths of the world and the humanity is only metaphorical to indicate that the majority who are impervious to the spiritual character of the human creation, who love bondage more than freedom, will feel the impact. The blessed minority of culture, which is either tuned or attempting to tune with the Infinite, will not and cannot be destroyed, for after all, it is they who will be focusing through Meher Baba's Word to make the yet-unspoken message of their life spoken through Him.

The debate about Silence and 'uttering the Word' is an ancient debate. There is fundamentally no antagonism between Silence and the Word. The antagonism that we see is only apparent. The Word seeks the Silence and the Silence seeks the Word. The origin of all words is Silence. Its invariable end is also Silence. From Silence we come. To Silence we go. The interregnum is the Word. Paradoxically enough, we live in a world silenced and in Silence worded. No creation is possible without a sound. No destruction is possible without a sound. No life or existence is possible without a sound. This planet of ours, this earth, is speeding at a furious speed through the unknown firmaments of space. It is going through great resistance of environment, atmosphere and stratosphere. This tremendous speed and this resistance are producing sound. But how many of us ever hear the sound of that tremendous speed? Not only we do not hear, but we do not even realize the momentum of that speed and we do not even realize that we are moving. Now, what shall we call this state of cosmic experience—silence or sound? To mankind generally, the sound, the speed and the movement of this earth are unknown and unfelt and therefore are silent and static. What is this due to? It is due to encrustation of our sensibility, sensitiveness and spiritual awareness. It is not that earth is not producing any sound. But we do not hear it. Equally true, it is not that Meher Baba is not uttering the Word. He is always speaking, but we do not hear.