purpose is served. I have to put up a big fight with Maya—not to destroy it but to make you aware of its nothingness. The moment you fail to obey me implicitly, it tightens its grip over you and you fail to carry out the duties as assigned to you. This adds to my present suffering.

"In God there is no such thing as confusion—God is infinite Bliss and Honesty. In illusion there is misery, confusion, chaos. As the eternal Redeemer of humanity, I am at the junction of Reality and Illusion, simultaneously experiencing the infinite Bliss of Reality and the suffering of Illusion. With Reality on the one hand and Illusion on the other, I constantly experience as it were, a pull on either side. This is My crucifixion. I do not ever let go My hold on Reality. Imagine for instance that the pull of illusion becomes too great, what would happen? My 'arm' would be pulled out of its socket, but I remain what I AM."

“The Infinite alone exists, and is Real; the finite is passing and is false.

“The Original Whim in the Beyond caused the apparent descent of the Infinite into the realm of the seeming finite. This is the Divine Mystery and Divine Game in which Infinite Consciousness forever plays with and on all levels of finite consciousness.

"I am Infinite Consciousness, interpenetrating and transcending all states of limited consciousness. The most primal or the most final category of consciousness—say a stone or a saint—is equidistant from Me. So I am equally approachable to all. I am the Way.

"Unflinching loyalty to the Way is the real remedy for the impressioned consciousness to become free. Some of My lovers, owing to fluctuating faith, fail to understand this and run hither and thither for Freedom. So, at times, I seem to take special interest in them. It becomes a retrieving game, born of life-giving Love.

"Seeing this, a thought may arise in the minds of some—'Why is Baba so keen about them?' A simple simile of a child playing with its so many inanimate toys, will help you understand this. A child plays with its toys. Out of the many toys, it has some favorite toys, too; and yet, among the favorite ones, one is so dear to it that it won't part with it, even during sleeping hours. In the case of a child, all this seems natural.