automatons but masters of their destiny which they can shape and mold according to will. And this means that human beings, having passed through all the travails of lower evolutionary processes, should insist upon the reward thereof, which is "Spiritual Birth" this very life, and not rest content with a promise in the hereafter.

No sooner does one recoil on himself and is eager and anxious to elicit replies to interrogative introspection, 'whither and whence', surely such an one may be said to have had "Spiritual Birth".

This poise of mind once gained, automatically and unknowingly brings about a readjustment of material surroundings and the man finds himself in harmony and at peace with the world. Conservatism, intolerance, pride and selfishness will fall away. Everything will put on a new meaning and assume a purpose. Sinner and saint will appear to be waves differing in size and magnitude on the surface of the same ocean, a natural outcome of forces in the universe, governed by time, space and causation. The saint has neither the pride of place, nor the sinner of stigma of eternal degradation. Nobody is utterly lost and nobody need despair.

My panacea to the worried world is the effort on its part to get an answer to the questions 'Whither and Whence'.

The knowledge that all have the same beginning and the same end, with life on earth a happy interlude, will go a long way in making brotherhood of Man a reality on earth and this in turn will strike at the root of narrow exploitation. I bless you all for the realization of this, the aim of life.

"When the eyes are turned inward in full consciousness, then this eye (pointing to the center of the forehead) opens, and then only the internal is seen. This is insight. Then Union is sought.

"Now you long for Union, but without seeing the One with Whom you want to be united. When the eyes turn inward and this eye opens you see the One you long for and long still more ardently for Union. Turning the eyes inward cannot be done mechanically. It can be done by a surgeon performing an operation, but then you are not conscious and the eye does not open. It is impossible.

"It is done in less than a second by the Master. You see the Self. Everything turns — as different as anything.

Mary Backett said: "Baba, you once said that everything was illusion until one reaches the seventh plane and attains full Union with God. Why do we have to bother with the intermediate planes?"

Baba explained: "Union is real, but one has to go through the planes, even if it is for a second. When a Sadguru or Avatar wishes, He can raise you to the seventh plane in a second, but still in that second you have to pass through the whole six planes. If an Avatar or Sadguru does not help, and if only an advanced soul helps, then one stays in the first plane for a long period, and in the second, and the third, and so on. The soul thinks that each plane is the end as it comes to it. Each is so alluring. There is no desire to go further.

"Garrett says he would like to stay forever near the Taj Mahal. It is so beautiful. The first plane is like that. And unless a Master helps you, you can go no further."