At that Rustom became even more upset, so finally Baba explained to him. "I have trust in you, and I know that whether we strike water or not, your faith in Me will remain the same. But that man’s faith doesn't count, because it is connected only with whether or not he gets water. Had he not found water, he would no longer have faith in Me. This is the difference between you and him - that man I cannot trust, but I can trust you." Hearing this, Rustom was very pleased and felt reassured. Only when a disciple remains faithful to his Master under all circumstances - favorable or otherwise - can he be said to possess real faith!

from Poems To Avatar Meher Baba. Edited by B. Leet, S. Klein. Soft cover, ill., $6.00 Manifestation, Inc.

Just To Love Him: Talks & Essays About Meher Baba by Adi K. Irani. Soft cover, 140 pp.,

$8.95. Sheriar Press.

What did you write to Baba in your letter?

ADI: Ahh, that is a very good question.

If I had been given that chance much earlier in my life with Meher Baba, I would have said, "I want this, I want that, I want God-realization, I want to become an important man, I want to become your chargeman," and so forth. But later on Meher Baba made us forget all about those things, so we did not have those desires.

I wrote in my letter, "Dear Baba - I want to be born again and again in this world if I get a chance to be of service to You." That was all. He was very happy with it. You see, that is even greater than God-realization which one could want for himself. However high the aspiration for God-realization, it is a selfish one. The very condition of getting God-realization is to become desireless. Even if you have a desire for realization, it nullifies the condition for becoming God-realized.

In the old days we wanted God-realization and all that. But later on Baba made us understand that we should not desire it, but try to find out if we were deserving. Instead we went on desiring - we did out whether we were deserving - and it was something like putting the cart before the horse. It will not work. First be deserving, and then desire.

How can I be deserving? I think if I want to become a master I should first become the perfect servant. That is why Baba said that "Mastery in Servitude" is to be written on His tomb. If one wants to become a master without becoming a servant, it is not possible. There are persons who are very fond of becoming masters, but there are very few who want to become servants.