REMINISCENCES –

I. THE LOVER AND THE BELOVED

From a tape of Eruch, recorded by Charles Morton, 1979

Baba would always emphasize love. He would say the whole creation is sustained by love. Whatever happens, it is because of love. If there is a squabble between the Mandali, it is because of love. If there is a war, even a world war, it is because of love. Everything and anything that happens — it is all because of love. All Baba wanted us to do is to love Him. The secret of spirituality while He is in our midst, while God is here in human form, is to love Him. What else can be done but to love Him, because what is God after all but love? God in human form is love personified.

One day Baba was telling this to a huge crowd — that all He wanted was for us to love Him. One man stands up and says, "But how should we love You?" So back comes the answer immediately: - "Well, did you ask Me how you started loving your wife? How did begin to love your wife?" Then Baba, the compassionate Father, begins to enlarge the whole theme of loving Him. He says that in this world a man falls in love with a woman after seeing her first: her ravishing beauty, her charm, or whatever, and he makes her his beloved. No sooner does he fall in love with her, than he begins to think of her, he goes mad thinking of her -- no matter where he is or what he is doing — in his office, in his house, working, falling asleep, he goes on thinking of her. This happens in worldly love. First he has to see the woman, then fall in love with her and then remember her. But in spiritual love, in divine love, it's just the opposite, Baba says, "If you want to fall in love with Me, if you want to love Me, you have to begin with remembering Me. So start remembering Me now." That is what he told the man.

But how to remember Him? It's easy, Baba says. "Now you have seen Me, you can remember Me. If you have not seen Me, then have a picture of Me, visualize something about Me, have a photo, a card, or picture on your wall, in your living room, even in your bathroom," Baba says, "They will remind you to remember Me. That's how you begin to remember Me. Then when your whole place is covered with pictures, when your whole body has all these buttons! — they remind you to remember Me. Even your clock is set to remember Me: 12 noon, - yes, O Baba, Baba! It's time now to remember You!" All these help.

But then your mind, Baba says, is not satisfied with just these reminders to remember Him continually. You want something more, more particular, more forceful. So you try to find out how Baba lived, what He did, His life, His likes and dislikes and so on. You start reading about Him, you go through all the books, all the libraries. These too, are reminders of your remembering Him in addition to all your photos and pictures. Even then, your mind is not satisfied.

“So," Baba continued, "What happens to the man who has gone so far to remember Me!" He seeks different ways and means: his mind now craves to get close with those who have lived with Him, who were close to Him, he travels long distances to contact them, to ask them questions about Baba. So he passes his hours in remembering Baba, hearing about how He lived, how He related to individuals, to crowds, groups. He consumes this information and feels happy — for so long. Then he wants more, he visits big centers like Meherazad, Meherabad, Avatar's Abode, Myrtle Beach. He wanders about, going to this place and that; and what happens next? The more he remembers Baba, automatically the less he thinks of himself, even as he goes about his work, his family affairs. Seeing his children at play, he remembers the child that Baba was, seeing the beauty of his wife, he recalls Baba's beauty. He sees the beauty of the creation all around him.