Morality 1

MORALITY

Meher Baba

... Control your mind, live a pure and clean life, discard desires, and follow a Master who is God-realised. Then alone you will be safe.

22 June 1926,
Meherabad,
LM3 p818

Beware of what will happen to you if you are proud.

28 June 1928, Toka, to
K.J. Dastur, LM3 p1064

Even a little salt spoils an entire pail of fresh milk. So also, the virtues of a man are nullified by a streak of pride in his character.

29 June 1928,
Toka,
to K.J. Dastur,
LM3 p1064

... I have to see that these youngsters of today, who are the men of tomorrow, are taught morals, and are fully roused to a sense of duty. Without morality, whatever they are taught - even if they are clever and pass first in their class - has no value.

June 1929,
Meherabad,
about boys from Arangaon village,
LM4 p1166

I must ask all aspirants to remember once and for all, that if they are desirous of rapid progress and quick enlightenment, they should live up to the following four laws:

1. If possible, observe celibacy. If already married, keep as little sexual intercourse with your partner as possible. Consider, if you are a man, all other women as your sisters; if you are a woman, all other men as your brothers.

2. Avoid all animal food, except milk and the products of milk. Don't partake of even eggs.

3. Avoid all intoxicating drugs and drinks. Tea is not an intoxicant, provided it is weak. But be moderate in your habit of tea drinking.

4. Curb yourself, and never give way to anger. Whenever you fly into a passion, you contract red sanskaras, which are the worst of all.

February 1930,
Ms 2:2 p8

James Douglas: Is there evil in the world?

Baba: No, there is nothing like evil.

Douglas: What do you mean?

Baba: There is nothing except bliss everywhere.

Douglas: How could that be?

Baba: In reality, that is the case.

Douglas: Then how would you explain the thousand and one evils in the world, such as theft, murder, rape, treachery, dishonesty, immorality, torture? Can these wickednesses not be considered as evils?

Baba: Not necessarily.

Douglas: Then what do you call them? What are these to be considered?

Baba: They are more or less of a degree of good itself.

Douglas: Oh God, how wonderful. Why couldn't the poets and metaphysicians have explained it in such a straightforward and intelligible manner?

Baba: As I have said, there is nothing but bliss in the world. What the world calls evil is an extremely lower aspect of good.

Douglas: Of course, of course. How easy. Why the people of the world cannot understand such a simple thing is surprising. Could you enlighten us as to when the world will understand this simple truth?

Baba: When its angle of vision has changed.

Douglas: But when?

Baba: It is going on internally.

9 April 1932,
London,
interview with James Douglas,
LM5 p1560-1561

... Courage is a great virtue, but it may, if misapplied, become a vice. So it is with love, the mainspring of our lives, which may lead to the heights of Realisation or to the depths of despair.

No better example can be given of the two polarities of love and their effects than that of Mary Magdalen before and after meeting Jesus. Between these two extremes are many kinds of love, all of which are good, but some of which are better than others.

I use the terms 'good' and 'better' simply to designate the degree of liberation which they lead to or confer. Even the love which expresses through physical desire is good to the extent that it frees one from the thralldom of personal likes and dislikes, and makes one want to serve the beloved above all other things...

Creed, ritual, dogma, the conventional ideas of heaven and hell and sin are perversions of the truth, and confuse and bewilder rather than clarifying and inspiring.

1 June 1932,
Beverly Hills, California,
Me p99-100.
Also LM5 p1657-1658

Revenge follows hatred, and forgiveness follows love. Without love, none can cultivate the noble habit of forgetting and forgiving. You forgive a wrong done to you in the same measure in which you love the wrongdoer.

You can counteract a disease only by its antidote. Love is the only antidote to hatred. When you feel like hating a man, try to remind yourself that he is a form of your own self.

There is greater valour in conquering the heart of a single enemy than in gaining victory over the bodies of thousands of enemies. The mind is capable of turning the bitterest enemy into the sweetest friend by constantly thinking well (charitably) of him.

Jealousy is not born of love, but of petty-mindedness, and dies simultaneously with the death of petty-mindedness.

Love resembles death in that it annihilates snobbery, vulgarity, and all distinctions.

Upon the altar of humility we must offer our prayers to God. Humility is spiritually of greater worth than devotion. It is easier to be devout than to be humble, but devotion in many instances proves to be a stepping-stone to humility.

A man becomes wise by practising, not by preaching virtue. Ability in advising others about virtue is no proof of saintliness, nor is it a mark of wisdom.

If a so-called religious leader comes forth and proclaims that marriages between brothers and sisters are quite lawful, he will immediately have a large following. But if a God-realised personage proclaims that renunciation is indispensible to the attainment of Truth, only a few will care to follow him.

God reveals himself only to that mind which is entirely devoid of egoism and egotism.

We cannot witness even the threshold of the divine Path until we have conquered greed, anger and lust. The worst sinners are better than hypocritical saints.

There is no obstacle which cannot eventually be overcome by the genuine spiritual aspirant.

A lustful man, no matter what good qualities he may possess, cannot move along the spiritual Path. He is like a cart with one wheel.

Do not get disheartened and alarmed when adversity, calamity or misfortunes pour in upon you. Thank God, for he has thereby given you the opportunity of acquiring forbearance and fortitude. Those who have acquired the power of bearing with adversities can easily enter the spiritual Path.

Beware of pride, not only because it is hydra-headed, but because it is deceptive. So deceptive is it that, more often than not, it puts on the apparel of humility.

Do not try to find excuses or extenuating circumstances for your misdeeds. Unless you repent of your wickedness, you cannot improve. To attempt to justify your misdeeds is to smother your conscience and to make virtues out of vices.

Take good care of your body, but do not be a slave to it. If you think constantly of its welfare, you are like the miser who thinks constantly of his gold.

Vegetarian food and milk assist the development of the divine nature in man, whereas eggs, meat, alcoholic drinks and fish tend to excite the animal nature in man.

Never think that by helping another you have put him under any obligation to you. On the contrary, believe that the recipient of your generosity gives you an opportunity to serve yourself.

From the materialistic standpoint, it may seem cowardly to forsake the world, but it requires great heroism to lead the spiritual life.

Many young persons of today think that they are wise when they are only proud, and clever when they are only self-conscious.

It is the mind that makes us slaves to worldly desires. The mind also can enable us to become the masters of destiny and to realise the supreme self.

The chief props and agents of Maya are kama, krodh and lobh (lust, anger and greed). Unless and until you subjugate them, it is impossible for you to enter upon the Path that leads to union with God.

If worldly desires and anger take hold of your mind, then no matter how much you may practise tapa-yapa (austerity and asceticism) and meditation, you are still entangled in the toils of Maya. Maya is the source of all worries, anxieties and troubles.

Do not be angry with him who backbites you, but be pleased, for thereby he serves you by diminishing the load of your sanskaras. Also pity him, because he increases his own load of sanskaras.

In order to enter upon the divine Path, it is necessary to purify the mind, to abstain entirely from carnal pleasures or sense enjoyments, and to love truth. He is a real aspirant who escapes the snares of Maya, speaks the truth, holds by the truth, and seeks truth only.

To be virtuous out of vanity is little better than to be vicious out of perversity.

As a tree is judged, not by the size, but by the quality of its fruits, so a man's worth should be judged, not by his talents, but by the use he makes of them.

Mere description of a medicine will not cure you of any disease, nor will mere hearing about saints make you saintly. To be cured, you must take medicine, and to become saintly, you must practise virtue.

The virtue that is the outcome of vanity is not real virtue. The valor that is prompted by desperation is not real courage.

Humanity should be considered the greatest test of civilisation. He who is devoid of humanity should be considered a barbarian. Though a man may be very learned, very up to date in the worldy routine of life, and advanced in scientific knowledge, yet if he lacks humanity, he is still a barbarian.

Even as copper is glossed by tamarind, so a wicked man can be polished by a true saint. But even as tamarind cannot make copper glossy without friction, so a saint can do nothing for a wicked man unless he comes into contact with him.

Do nothing even to please me, or the world, against the dictates of your own conscience. Unhesitatingly do what you think to be right and proper, despite the opposition of the world. Let your mind be firm as a rock that resists strong blasts of wind from all sides.

No matter what vicious qualities you may be possessed of, you should neither hesitate to come, nor feel any shame in coming before me. I am for all. The wicked have as much right to approach me as the virtuous. Indeed, my main concern is to improve the vicious.

before 1933,
Sa p8, 9, 11, 14-19,
23, 25-28, 34-36, 40-41
Each paragraph is a separate quote

It is good for mankind, rather essential, to adhere to religious and moral principles and observe religious bindings. But for the spiritual Path, they are unnecessary...

According to the moral code of the world, one's word or promise is considered by mankind to be sacred. But he who has gone beyond time, space, cause and effect is not limited by anything...

All those who care for name and fame and worldly success, fearing criticism and scandal, are only ordinary human beings. They want to preserve their prestige at any cost. Their 'name' alone matters to them, above money, life and everything else.

10 October 1933,
London, to Herbert Davy,
LM5 p1820-1821

Q. When a person is surrounded on all sides by untoward circumstances and difficulties, without any avenue of escape, would he or she be justified in doing something which would ordinarily be termed undesirable or indecent?

Baba: It is justifiable for a person in such circumstances to do anything, provided there is no personal self-interest or pleasure involved. For example if, in order to pick up a silver coin from a pile of excrement, a person soils his hand and then washes it, he cannot be blamed for doing so. He dirties his hand with a certain purpose in mind, and washes it after his objective is achieved. It is no sin.

Here is another example. Suppose a man is facing adverse circumstances on all sides. His family is starving, and one member is on his deathbed. The man has no wherewithal to provide nourishment or medicine for his dying relative, and is quite helpless. In this case, if the man has to resort to undesirable or even illicit means to save the life of another, without any thought for himself or his own happiness, he is justified in doing so. He is forced to do it to save the lives of others out of selfless motives.

In brief, this means that however wicked an action may seem to be, it should not be judged on the basis of the world's standards of morality, but purely on the underlying motives. This is the spiritual point of view or standard of judgement, however shocking or absurd it may seem to the worldly-minded.

11 October 1933,
London, to a woman visitor,
LM5 p1821-1822

Q. Is life a battle?

Baba: Yes, it is a battle, and if rightly fought, would bring infinite anand (bliss).

Q. Why should it be a battle?

Baba: Necessarily, otherwise existence would be a drag. If there is no darkness, one cannot appreciate light. If there is no ignorance, one cannot appreciate knowledge. They can't exist without the other. Both are essential on the opposite poles.

Q. Why is there so much evil in the world?

Baba: It is as one takes it. In reality, there is nothing but God, good and bliss. But because of ignorance, man doesn't see it, and takes the different degrees of expressions of good as evil. Even so, it is essential for the eradication of duality. Passing through different phases and experiences of this duality, man evolves in consciousness and understanding of the one reality, which alone exists.

Q. But what I mean to say is, there are certain periods or epochs when this evil is at its height, and people who were eager to know Truth and were trying to find it do not understand why evil should spread throughout the world to such an alarming extent.

Baba: These are the real periods which clearly show signs of the real burning point approaching... When evil predominates, it is a sure sign of the good that is coming. It must rise to its highest before it is eradicated and destroyed root and branch. The various signs of evil which are at present in vogue all over the world are preceding an era of good that is to immediately follow.

Q. Do you think it will lead to that?

Baba: Sure. It will and must. It is a law - law of duality, good and evil, light and dark, knowledge and ignorance. Two forces working in opposites for the attainment of unity. And there are always good souls who help humanity through their good thoughts, words and actions.

Q. But they are few.

Baba: Yes, but these few do a great deal in helping humanity through these good thoughts and acts. And at certain times leaders do appear for the salvation of humanity when the world is in the phase of evil and degradation. Such a time is approaching, and the world will find its leader that it now seeks.

1930s? A p43-44

Q. If God is in everything, why is this evil prevalent in the world... this sort of disproportion?

Baba: God is one, infinite, and as you now said, is in everything. But this good and evil, virtue and vice, suffering and happiness, are all apparent and not real. It is a delusion, and yet it is necessary and serves its purpose. It is through this duality of good and evil that one has to realise the oneness (infinity). This duality is the medium because, in reality, bad is not bad as you (the world) think. It is a degree of goodness.

For instance love and hatred, though opposite in terms, when carried to the extreme both have the same result. You feel surprised, but I will explain. Suppose A loves me extremely. It means he thinks constantly of nothing else but me, and is perfectly lost in me. Now there is B, who hates me extremely. His extreme hatred makes him think of me always, though in the other way, and is all the while absorbed in me and continually thinks of me. Thus love and hatred, though poles apart apparently, have the same result in their extremes. So good and evil are necessary to know what oneness (reality) is.

A bird, free from its very birth and never caged, does not know what freedom really is, because it has always been free, that is, in the same condition from its very birth. If it is once caged, that is, the condition reversed, and let free again later on, then alone will it know and appreciate the value and meaning of freedom. The cage therefore becomes the medium for the bird to realise freedom.

Q. Why all this misconception about duality in all things?

Baba: It is not misconception, because in reality only one exists. What appears as two (duality) is delusion due to ignorance. Once this delusion about the apparent duality of all things disappears, there remains nothing but one infinite existence. You are Perfect, but you are not yet conscious of it due to the darkness of ignorance. Yet this apparent ignorance is the necessary process to get that consciousness of Perfection. Realise the one indivisible unity everywhere and in everything, and help others... Everyone is Christ, but very few can become Jesus.

1930s? A p57-58

Poverty is no sin.

1930s, London, A p59

... Always be honest in your dealings. It is better to be honest and to suffer, than to be dishonest and enjoy life.

27 September 1934,
Meherabad
to Nadirshaw Irani,
LM6 p19179

As good is necessary, likewise bad is also necessary - just as positive and negative. Both are essential for action and evolution.

If only good were to prevail everywhere, life would end.

Both good or bad done to the extreme would lead to Self-realisation. For instance, absolute evil with no trace of good, or absolute good with no trace of bad at all - both are equally conducive to the attainment of the goal of Self-realisation.

If this is so, naturally it can be asked,'Why is good preferable to bad?' Both good and bad are zero, being non-existent for those who are God-realised. Both are terms of duality. But the Masters and Avatars give preference and advocate good over bad. This is only because good is really, spiritually speaking, easy for reaching the goal; though apparently, materially speaking, it is the reverse.

For example, bad is apparently easy - difficult, really. But the underlying principle in life being spiritual progress - true existence - comes against the material progress which is only apparent and not real. Thus the Masters advocate good, being truly easy for mankind, as the better course to follow for true progress in the march of life to the goal of Realisation.

Another reason for preferring and advocating good is that in evil, although apparently easy, while thinking about and actually committing a bad act, there is always a sort of torture to the mind, which invariably happens after committing the act. For instance, illicit sex or murder.

Whereas in good, which though (is) apparently difficult, there is nothing of the kind - no torture to the mind. On the contrary, there is a constant feeling of a sort of happiness, not only in thinking but also in doing a good act, although it is always more difficult apparently to do good rather than bad.

Besides, pursuing the course of doing bad to the extreme would not succeed or endure until the end. A man's body, however bold, indifferent, healthy and robust, would not be able to withstand prolonged indulgence in bad vices - such as lust, drinking liquor, or violence to the extreme.

27 April 1936,
Mysore,
LM6 p2004
to his men Mandali

To be frank and fair is a quality and characteristic of persons who are honest, and have the courage to openly say out what they feel, rather than to keep things in the heart, or say things behind people's backs. Some take pride in that quality of being frightfully frank, and hate those who do not say out things as openly.

Yet there are times when one has to discriminate. Sometimes things spoken with the best of intentions totally spoil the case, if said when silence would serve the purpose for the time being.

A person sensitive and of quick temperament would probably misunderstand words spoken with the best of intentions, if said when he is not in a mood to listen. Such a person might fly into a rage, become overexcited, and be prejudiced against the best of friends or well-wishers. He thereby loses the benefit of the advice and words of wisdom that would have done him good if said in quieter moments when he would have understood their import and even appreciated it. Therefore it is not always the words and things, however frankly said, that matter, but the right time and the way they are put.

Silence, even though misunderstood for diplomacy or hypocrisy, would serve the purpose better ultimately than the best of the glorifying quality of being frightfully frank. Sometimes the best of qualities which mankind glorifies are the worst of defects, if not used discriminately at the proper moment.

11 March 1937,
Nasik?
LM6 p2128
to his men Mandali

There is always a struggle between the spirit and the flesh, and the soul witnesses the struggle. If the spirit succumbs to the flesh easily, without protesting, then there is no hope. If the spirit gives in after struggling, there is hope. But if the spirit wins over the flesh, victory is eternal. Yet it is the struggle itself that gives Perfection. So let us struggle now.

10 May 1937,
Nasik, LM6 p2177
to his Western followers at Nasik

Anything that forms itself into a habit loses its freshness, sincerity and enthusiasm - even repentance. If you every day become weak, and repent for having been weak, in the end you find your only weakness has been repenting. Only love remains ever fresh.

10 May 1937,
Nasik,
LM6 p2179
to his Western followers at Nasik

Q. If after the best use of the intellect, a man comes to the conclusion that God does not exist, should he not stick to his conclusion?

Baba: As long as the conclusion does not lead you to moral evil, it does not matter. Such conclusion is an instance of the veiling of the truth by the operation of the intellect. When the time is ripe, The truth is gradually unveiled.

before November 1938,
Tr p199,
also MJ Nov. 1938

Being good is a good binding. You must either be good or bad. Bad is like bound wrists. Good is like bound feet. Kabir writes beautifully about this: "Good keeps your hands free, so that you can even unbind your feet."

Be good - it pays. Bad makes you mad. Good takes you to God. And the best way to become good is to serve others and try to make others happy.

The climax of good is loving. Bad is anger, getting excited. Good is forgiving. Biting is bad, but to be bit is good. If you offer your cheek, knowing you could easily wring their neck, that is excellent.

26 January 1939,
Agra, India,
Gl Feb. 1994, p6-7

Remember that the first step in spirituality is not to speak ill of others. All human beings have weaknesses and faults. Yet they are all God in their being. Until they become Realised, they have their imperfections. Therefore, before trying to find faults in others and speaking ill of them, try to find your own weaknesses, and correct those.

27 January 1940,
Bangalore,
LM7 p2506

The conditions that prevail in the world today are the cause of its suffering. But this misery and suffering are not for its emancipation. Only love can achieve that. The worst of sinners, after undergoing untold privations, have turned into the greatest of saints. Even a sinner worse than Hitler can become a saint. If a man such as Hitler were really to feel what he has done, and repent for it, then it would be greatness on his part.

All this is the play of the mind. The mind goes one way, and it keeps on going. Hitler thinks that what he does is absolutely right, that he is doing justice for Germany. Mussolini thinks what he is now doing for Italy, compared to its former suffering, is quite good. With these thoughts, for their one right, they feel justified to commit millions of wrongs.

The more the gains now, the more the intoxication for still more. Drunkards, when they get drunk, challenge, 'Come one, come all!' It's not the drunkards who say it, but their intoxication. Thus, out of sheer hostility, the more wrongs done, the more the repentance.

7 July 1940,
Ranchi,
LM7 p2579

It is most difficult not to backbite. Still, the more you try, the more you help me. It is very easy to say that she is bad. but when one is bad, then to feel she is not bad is most difficult. To take food once a day is easy, but to think well of others is real help. Even if just one of you does it, I shall be happy. Criticism is in everyone's blood, and it is real self-control not to indulge in it.

Suppose you are having three slices of bread and butter, and Nadia takes one slice and eats it. What would you say? You would think her mean. But if you offer her another slice sincerely, and say she is nice, that is something great and uplifting.

15 July 1940,
Ranchi,
LM7 p2589
to his women disciples,
about an order he gave them not to backbite for a year

If you do not get angry, you are a stone. If you get angry and cannot control it, you are an animal. If you get angry and can control it, you are an angel, a saint. It is going against one's nature and habit that helps. Not getting angry will not help. You must not express it. Impotence is no help...

Yoga means control, which is more difficult than cutting off your arms and giving up your eye. When Christ said give your other cheek to be slapped, it means control. But the world thinks that if you get slapped and don't get excited, you are either a coward or shameless. Innocent and fair criticism does not hurt, and is good, but it is quite rare. What I mean by talking ill of others is when you criticise and it hurts. It hurts when you criticise excitedly, out of anger. When you criticise with love and kindness, how can it hurt?

Gautama Buddha gave twelve orders to his Circle members, the first of which was to guard against looking at a woman. He meant for none of his disciples to risk being enveloped in lust in the slightest, and to be saved by not even looking at any woman. He knew that this would give rise to one weakness in his disciples - of always being nervous when in the company of women - but Buddha knew that this weakness was better than the risk.

Any remark or criticism that does not hurt is good. Have fun, joke, humor, but do not hurt anyone and talk back. If you point out the shortcomings of others lovingly, without any feelings of hate or animosity, it is all right. Even arguing with love is permitted. Try your utmost to help me, which you can do by acting according to my wish. Sacrifice your sweet habit of hurting others. Fight to overcome lust, anger and greed. To control is not to do that which you have been used to doing.

As my work is based on my own supreme sacrifice, it will make your sacrifices for me by following my order easy. If you fail once, do not give up, but try again. If you succeed once, you wil have helped me a lot. If you fail nine times and win once, that too helps.

If a man feels hot, is feverish, is hungry or is ill, he gets excited and angry. If you have a toothache, you are more apt to become excited about something than otherwise. Compared to a toothache, lust, anger and greed are most horrible diseases. Try to free yourselves from them. There is no compromise in spirituality. Every desire is to be extirpated 100%. It is either yes or no.

25 July 1940,
Meherabad,
to his women disciples,
LM7 p2593-2594

This war is a big drama. There is the hero, heroine, villain, all playing their parts in the drama.

It is not Hitler's fault if he is playing the villain in God's drama. It's good he is acting his part well.

I like villains, heroes, angels, devils, anyone who acts their parts perfectly.

25 July 1940,
Meherabad,
to his women disciples,
LM7 p2594

On July 25, 1940, at Meherabad, Meher Baba told his women Mandali:

I will give you your orders tomorrow. I know you will follow all of them, except the one of not criticising and speaking ill of others. That is one you won't be able to obey.

I have been observing you all the past few days. I do not care if you do not obey, but if you do you will help me. If you do not, you are of no help. The only hope -- which is only one percent -- is that from August first, you might try your best.

Everybody fights, and as far as this order is concerned, all are hopeless. Try your best to overcome it. Your fighting is all childish and has no sense. If you try, you will control, but trying means thinking of me.

I will be visiting once a week to see you for a few hours, and if later I go to a nearby mountain, still I will come once a week. The first hour of my visits I will spend with the Eastern women in this house, so that Mehera will also be satisfied by seeing me. Then I will call you all and talk with you for a few hours. Each will have a duty, and you must do it with all your heart.

If you do not get angry, you are a stone. If you get angry and cannot control it, you are an animal. If you get angry and can control it, you are an angel, a saint.

It is going against one's nature and habit that helps. Not getting angry will not help. You must not express it. Impotence is no help.

If you think of me, these orders will go easy for you.

Yoga means control, which is more difficult than cutting off your arms and giving up your eye.

When Christ said, 'Give your other cheek to be slapped,' it means control. But the world thinks that if you get slapped and don't get excited, you are either a coward or shameless.

Innocent and fair criticism does not hurt and is good, but it is quite rare. What I mean by talking ill of others is when you criticise and it hurts. It hurts when you criticise excitedly, out of anger. When you criticise with love and kindness, how can it hurt?

Gautama Buddha gave twelve orders to his Circle members, the first of which was to guard against looking at a woman. He meant for none of his disciples to risk being enveloped in lust in the slightest, and to be saved by not even looking at any woman.

He knew that this would give rise to one weakness in his disciples -- of always being nervous when in the company of women -- but Buddha knew that this weakness was better than the risk.

Any remark or criticism that does not hurt is good. Have fun, joke, humor, but do not hurt anyone and talk back.

If you point out the shortcomings of others lovingly, without any feeling of hate or animosity, it is all right. Even arguing with love is permitted.

Try your utmost to help me, which you can do by acting according to my wish. Sacrifice your sweet habit of hurting others. Fight to overcome lust, anger and greed. To control is not to do that which you have been used to doing.

As my work is based on my own supreme sacrifice, it will make your sacrifices for me by following my order easy.

If you fail once, do not give up, but try again. If you succeed once, you will have helped me a lot. If you fail nine times and win once, that too helps.

If a man feels hot, is feverish, is hungry or is ill, he gets excited and angry. If you have a toothache, you are more apt to become excited about something than otherwise. Compared to a toothache, lust, anger and greed are most horrible diseases. Try to free yourselves from them.

There is no question of compromise in spirituality. Every desire is to be extirpated one hundred percent. It is either 'yes' or 'no.'

Meher Baba,
25 July 1940,
Meherabad
to his women disciples,
LM7 p2593-2594

The difference in good and bad is so subtle. Good for one person is bad for others. Hitler really thinks he is doing good, but his good is bad for others.

22 August 1940,
Meherabad,
LM7 p2602

Someone asked Hafez what spirituality meant, and he answered in one ode:

Unless you go against your lower self

you cannot unite with your higher self.

Now what is the lower self? That which makes you think you are small, that which makes you feel that you are not satisfied, not happy, that which makes others see you as small. So the meaning of going against the lower self is to transform this in quite the opposite direction. Be that which makes you look big, and which makes others see you as big. Remain pleased and contented, happy and satisfied. When you are displeased, unhappy or upset and moody, it is your lower self asserting itself.

People always put the blame for their dissatisfaction and suffering on others. But the fact is, when one suffers, it is one's own fault...

If you are firm, nothing will upset you. If you try, you will surely have it. I do not want any repression, but I do want transformation. I never for one moment said that you must not get angry. Don't be confused. You must get angry when the occasion arises. But at once you must get it out of your head. If you are not hungry, to fast has no meaning.

I have told you this story before. Prophet Muhammad once told his chief apostle, Ali, 'If you want to know me, try your utmost to control your anger and transform it into love.

The very next day someone challenged Ali to a fight. Ali fought him and won. He brought the man down and sat on his chest.

The man spat right in Ali's face (the worst insult to a Muslim), and Ali got so angry he raised his dagger to kill him. But then Ali remembered what Muhammad had said, and so instead he kissed him, and let him go.

Now if he had not gotten angry, he would not have had the opportunity to control himself.

That does not mean that you should go on kissing each other when you are angry...

Neither of the extremes is good - those who do not get excited, and those who very quickly lose their temper. But they are great who, though excited, control their temper...

To become excited and to express it is the easiest thing on earth. But to control anger is a great thing.

5 September 1940,
Meherabad
LM7 p2606-2607

Sanskaras must balance perfectly. This cannot be done by a mathematical process, or it would be easy. Good and bad sanskaras are both bindings. If you have good sanskaras, you may take birth as a great, rich man. With bad sanskaras, you may be born as a miserable leper, and so on. But you cannot get freedom without a Master. You do not know how many bad sanskaras you have, and how many good ones you need. But the Perfect Master knows, and he will work with you to balance them.

Once when Buddha was not yet unveiled, God-conscious - after he had renounced his kingdom, wife and child, and had gone into the forest, where he remained doing penance and fasting - he encountered an old woman who was advanced on the Path. She told him that he was bound more than ever before. Before they were fetters of iron, now they were of gold, but both were binding all the same. Then she told him the secret.

Good and bad are mere terms. Hitler sincerely thinks he is doing good, and the world thinks he is doing bad. What is good for him is bad for the world. Good and bad are just man-made expressions. Real freedom can only be obtained when you give up all desires. You have to renounce them all to attain freedom...

There was a man who was a great murderer. In his life he murdered 99 people. One day he felt very depressed and sick of it all. So he went to the Buddha and frankly and openly confessed before him all his crimes, adding that he was feeling most dejected and wanted to end it all. The Buddha told him to go and sit by the side of a certain road and think of him. The murderer did so. Years passed.

One day, while he was sitting there thinking of the Buddha, a rider came by, stopped before him, and told him to move aside. The man refused, and the rider started lashing him with his whip. Instantly reverting back to his old ways, the man pulled the rider from his horse and stabbed him. He killed him. However, at that very moment, the man realised God.

The rider was carrying on his person a message from one king to another ordering the death of one hundred spies. By saving the exact number of lives that he had murdered, his good and bad sanskaras balanced. The man, of course, did not know all this, and was only thus saved by the Buddha because the Master knew.

Therefore, if you obey implicitly and unquestioningly, you win, because, whereas your conception is limited, the Master knows all, and gives you just what is best for you.

13 October 1940,
Meherabad,
LM7 p2622-2623

Good actions lead to good results, and bad actions lead to bad results.

It is through the systematic connection between cause and effect in the world of values that the moral order of the universe is sustained. If the law of karma were to be subject to any relaxation, reversals or exceptions, and if it were not strictly applicable in the domain of values, there would be no moral order in the universe. And if there is no moral order in the universe, human existence would be precarious from the point of view of the attainment of values.

In the universe where there is no moral order, human endeavor would be perpetually fraught with doubt and uncertainty. There cannot be any serious pursuit of values if there is no assured connection between means and ends, and if the law of karma can be set aside. The inflexibility of the law of karma is a condition of significant action. Significant human action would be utterly impossible if the law of karma could be safely ignored or flouted.

In being inviolable, the law of karma is like the other laws of nature. However, the rigorousness of the operation of karmic laws does not come to the soul as the oppressiveness of some external and blind power, but as something which is involved in the rationality of the scheme of life. Karmic determination is the condition of true responsibility. It means that man will reap as he sows. What a person gathers by way of his experience is invariably connected with what he does.

If a person has done an evil turn to someone, he must receive the penalty for it, and welcome the evil rebounding upon himself. And if he has done a good turn to someone, he must also receive the reward for it, and enjoy the good rebounding upon himself. What he does for another he has also done for himself, although it may take time for him to realise that this is exactly so. The law of karma might be said to be an expression of justice, or a reflection of the unity of life in the world of duality.

1941?
India,
Di v4 p91-92

Man's conception of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable goes on evolving and changing according to the nature of desires which happen to be dominant at any particular moment. But as long as there is in his mind any kind of desire, he is impelled to appraise his experience in relation to that desire, and divide it into two parts, the one contributing towards its fulfillment, and therefore acceptable, and the other tending to prevent its fulfillment, and therefore unacceptable. Instead of meeting life and all that it brings without expectation, entanglement or shirking, the mind creates a standard whereby it divides life into opposites, one of which is regarded as acceptable, and the other as not acceptable.

Of the opposites created by the human mind, the division between good and bad is spiritually most significant. It is based upon man's desire to be free from the limitation of all desires. Those experiences and actions which increase the fetters of desire are bad. And those experiences and desires which tend to emancipate the mind from the limiting desires are good. But since good experiences and actions also exist in relation to a desire, they also bind, just in the same way as bad experiences and actions. All binding can truly disappear only when all desires disappear. And therefore true freedom comes when good and bad balance each other, and get so merged in each other, that they leave no room for any choice by the limited self of desire...

But whether a person happens to be good or bad at any given time is dependent upon the inexorable operation of his sanskaras. From this point of view, the sinner and the saint are both what they are according to the laws operative in the universe. They have both the same beginning and the same end. The sinner need not have the stigma of eternal degradation, and the saint need not have the pride for his moral attainments.

No one, howsoever saintly he may be, has attained the heights of moral virtues except after a life of moral failings. And no one is so bad as not to be able to improve and become good. Everyone, however depraved he may be, can gradually become better and better, until he becomes the best example for all mankind.

There is always hope for everyone. None is utterly lost, and none need despair. But it remains true that the way to divinity lies through the renunciation of the evil in favor of the good.

1942? Di v5 p28-30

There is nothing such as good or evil. From a moral standpoint, this difference exists so that the affairs of the world may be conducted according to limitations imposed by society. But from the spiritual standpoint, both are bindings.

Standards of good and bad are established according to contemporary standards that may vary with time and circumstance. Also in spirituality, very often what is understood to be good by the masses is, from the spiritual point of view, bad. And what is understood as bad by the masses is often good from the spiritual point of view.

For example, robbery is bad by general standards. But suppose there is an extremely destitute pregnant woman. She has nothing to eat, and because of her condition, death is certain. A man sees her, has pity on her, but he himself has no money and is unable to help. Consequently he steals money and uses it to feed the woman, but it is bad that he stole for the purpose. Yet because of the bad act, he could also perform the good one.

Also, by general standards, beating others is bad. But if you beat someone with the motive of correcting his life, and do so without malice and without anger, this beating is a blessing to him. The bad beating is then good. Three actions are bad: lust, anger and greed. And among these, anger is the worst.

May or June 1942,
India,
LM8 p2798

Truth indeed is the best principle or rule of life. In practical life, however, while adhering to this noble principle, adjustments are at times essential and justified, especially in cases where such adjustments contribute to the cause of benefit to others.

For example, suppose a person is wrongly convicted of a serious crime like murder. All circumstantial evidence goes against him, and the wrongful conviction entails the death penalty. But someone turns up and says something that disproves the serious charge - for example, saying that the accused was, at the time of the crime, actually seen elsewhere, or with himself, or some place other than where the actual action took place. This statement might save the life of a man wrongly accused and convicted to be hanged, and to that end, even if something untrue may have to be said, it is absolutely justified. In that case it is no falsehood at all.

A pious man of straight principles, allowing an innocent man to be thus hanged on circumstantial evidence, when a few words from him might have saved his very life and proved his innocence, is under these circumstances worse than a man of no principles, or even a considered vagabond who has the spontaneous spirit to come forward at such a critical moment and give evidence, even false, that would save the life of an innocent man being sentenced to death. The former is a confused idea for mere idealists, who have neither the spirit nor grit for real action when needed, and who cherish their ideals only for selfish ends. Whereas one who has no principles, but has the spirit of action whenever needed, even to rush into fire for the sake of others, is worth a thousand idealists put together. What is the worth or use, however sublime, which does not inspire one to action for the benefit or service of others?

6 June 1943,
Ahmednagar,
LM8 p2893

There are always two aspects of divinity, perpetually and eternally active in the affairs of the world. The destructive aspect of divinity as expressed in Persian means self-glorification, and the constructive aspect of divinity is called in Persian self-beautitude. The aspect of self-glorification by God, when it gets palpably active, entails suffering and destruction on a colossal scale, as we see it today. The aspect of divine self-beautitude, when it asserts itself, brings in its wake peace and plenty.

In the aspect of self-glorification, divinity repels itself through its own creation, and in the aspect of self-beautitude, divinity attracts or loves itself through its own creation. The former is a negative method, and the latter is a positive method, and both these methods ultimately are instruments of divine wisdom to rouse humanity to their divine heritage, which is Self-realisation.

3 November 1944,
Nagpur,
Me p71-72

Standards of good and bad are established according to contemporary standards that may vary with time and circumstance. In spirituality, very often what is understood to be good by the masses is, from the spiritual point of view, bad. And what is understood as bad by the masses is often good from the spiritual point of view. For example, robbery is bad by general standards, but if one robs to help some starving mother who has just given birth to a child, it is good. Also, by general standards, beating others is bad. But if you beat someone with the motive of correcting his life, and do so without malice and without anger, this beating is a blessed virtue.

From general standards of society, religion, health, morality and so forth, cleanliness of body and mind are indispensible. It is, however, very easy to keep the body clean; but cleanliness of mind is very difficult indeed. The more one gets attached to bodily cleanliness for merely selfish reasons, the less are the chances of having a clean mind. If, however, one is given up wholly to mental cleanliness, which means becoming free from low, selfish, impure desires and thoughts of lust, greed, anger, backbiting, etc., the less is one's mind attached to bodily needs and bodily cleanliness.

before 1948, Wa p33

Don't worry about anything... Faithfully discharge all your earthly duties. Always be honest in everything, and do not tell even little white lies, because God cannot live in a heart where there is hypocrisy.

Don't expect anything to be easy. Life will be full of problems, and the world even more so.

In fact, in years to come, the world will reach a zenith of anti-God thinking, immorality, lust and greed. because the ending of a vast cycle of cycles is taking place. But after the climax, a new era of real brotherly love will be ushered in by God, who knows all that is going on.

January 1948,
Meherazad
to Ivy Duce,
LM10 p3230

Toni Roothbert: In this country, unfortunately, the youth are not taught about spirituality. A youth does not even get ethical education.

Baba: Yes, but be sure these very youths who know not of God, but know only to eat, drink, be merry and do lustful actions, will soon get the shock of their lives, and know that only loving God is real life.

16 May 1952,
Myrtle Beach
LM11 p3823

Another version of the same quote

(Note that this version attributes two lines to Baba that in the other version are spoken by Toni Roothbert):

In this country at present, unfortunately, the youth is not taught spirituality. Youth is not even given ethical education. But be sure that these very youths who know not of God, but know only to eat, drink, be merry and do lustful actions, will soon get the shock of their lives, and know that loving God is life, real life, the goal of life.

16 May 1952,
Myrtle Beach
to Toni Roothbert,
GG3 p42

We have to be honest in our thoughts and deeds. God wants us to be absolutely honest. It is better not to believe in God than to pose as one who loves God. Only when we become honest can we find God, even while attending to our duties, because then we feel detached. I give you my love and blessings for the attainment of this honesty.

23 March 1953,
Dehra Dun,
to members of the Defense Accounts Department, BG p5

Everyone is an atheist until he finds God by actual experience. It is better to be an atheist and be honest in words and deeds than to pose as a lover of God and lead a dishonest life. God is independent. He needs no worship. He only needs that we be honest.

23 March 1953,
Dehra Dun,
to an atheist, BG p6

Baba: Whatever you have to say today, tell me in five minutes. And whatever you say, speak honestly.

Harish Chander Kochar: Free me of my mental anxieties, and permit me to stay with you, as the world is a fraud, and I do not wish to live in it. People ridicule me for my simplicity, and I will die one day because of it. Permit me to be present here daily when you are discoursing to the Mandali.

Baba: Those invited to the discourses will be stopped from tomorrow. My lovers who were coming for work will also be prevented from coming.

You do not know about God and the Path. If people act dishonestly with us, if people create difficulties for us, if people deceive us, and yet we remain honest, we are very fortunate; because these deceivers, our so-called enemies. are our friends. They wash off our weaknesses, our sins, and make our path clear toward God. They do not deceive us, but they help us and deceive themselves.

First, remain honest at all costs, and under any circumstances.

Second, in business disputes, take all necessary legal steps as advised, and try your best, but not with a feeling of bitterness. I will help you internally.

Third: love me more and more.

(Kochar asked for strength to follow these instructions.)

Baba replied, 'Whenever I give instructions to anyone, I also at the same time give him the strength to carry them out.'

23 March 1953,
Dehra Dun,
to Harish Chander Kochar,
LM 12 p4101-4102

Another version:

You don't know God and the Path. If people act dishonestly with us, if people create difficulties for us, if people deceive us, and yet we remain honest, we are very fortunate; because these deceivers or our so-called enemies are our friends. They wash away our sins and weaknesses and make our path clear toward God. They do not deceive us; they help us and deceive themselves.

BG p7

Modesty is weakness. Humility is strength. A world of difference, therefore, exists between the two. The moment you say, 'Baba, it is not my ego,' 'I say in all humility,' this very expression is ego. Even if in your mind you feel that 'I am humble,' this feeling is egotistic.

Now, what is the difficulty? If, in true honesty, you want to express true humility, then some obstacle at once appears. It may be the thought of what others would think about you. Even if, with all your honesty, you express humility, such a thought may come.

In modesty, you are constantly pestered with thoughts of your correct behavior, to such an extent that an inferiority complex is created in you, which is not strength but weakness.

No sooner is humility given an expression, it is no longer humility. It is humbug to give expression to humility. A life of humility is to be lived spontaneously, which should not give rise to any thought, either of modesty or humility.

For example, think of cleaning a latrine. And when you actually clean it, you begin to get the stink of the filth. Whereas a regular scavenger, whose life is to clean latrines, is immune to the stink.

Similarly, a person who expresses humility is like the person who feels the stink when cleaning a latrine. Whereas the person who lives the life of humility is like that scavenger, who is not only immune to the stink, but is absolutely unmindful of the public opinion or reaction to what he does, because he lives the life of a scavenger.

To try to be humble is also humbug. You must be so natural that your life be humility personified, which is then strength. Only God and Perfect Masters can live such a life. They are the only ones who are really humble.

So what you are, you are to express unmindful of public opinion or reaction. Be natural. If you are dishonest, don't hide yourself behind the curtain of honesty. That, however, does not mean that you should be dishonest. What I want to say is that you must be most natural, rather than hypocrite.

25 February 1954,
Andhra, India,
AD p66

We are all, in a way, hypocrites, inasmuch as we always try to justify ourselves, right or wrong.

According to the Vedantists and the Sufis, God does everything. Everything is done according to his will and in accordance with his laws. In a way, that is all right. But, being short of the truth, the whole of it is not right. And the lack of truth is the lack of experience behind the assertions.

Without having gained the actual experience, to act according to facts of experience is not only silly -- like a tutored parrot expressing love to a girl -- but such assertions, based on mere reasoning and logic, lead to lust and dust. The reactions of the actions based on such 'ignorance of knowledge' are too terrible to contemplate, apart from other consequences like lunacy or nervous breakdown.

Bhakti marg (the path of devotion), which is the sum and substance of every religion, makes us frigidly rigid over 'right is right' and 'wrong is wrong,' leading to a dry-as-dust, brittle and boring attitude of the mind.

Under yoga practices the experiencing of different kinds of temporary samadhis brings forgetfulness of Reality and causes the yogi to lose sight of the goal itself. By jap-tap and chilla-kashi he is entrapped in novel but nonetheless limited powers that eventually prove a boomerang for his mind.

1950s? Aw 10:4 p 4-5
Also PL p35-36

What is good and what is bad? There was a thief who used to steal, and therefore he was pointed out as being bad. One day the thief went to a house to rob it, but there he found a woman in great pain, just about to give birth to a child. She was all alone, so instead of robbing her house, the thief helped her to deliver the baby, and made her comfortable. Then he went out to steal food and clothing for the woman. He stayed with her until he knew that she was all right. He then went on his way, and continued to steal from others.

Well now, what do you think of this man? Is he bad or is he good? You could call him bad because he is a thief, but then he did a good turn, and you could call him good. So there is nothing like good or bad. But there are things I don't like... lust, greed and anger, and anger is the worst...

Between 1946 and 1958,
Bombay,
GO p234-235

Strength begets humility, whereas modesty bespeaks weakness. Only he who is truly great can be really humble. When, in the firm knowledge of it, a man admits his true greatness, it is, in itself, an expression of humility. He accepts his greatness as most natural, and is expressing merely what he is, just as a man would not hesitate to admit to himself and others the fact of his being man.

For a truly great man, who knows himself to be truly great, to deny his greatness would be to belittle what he indubitably is. For whereas modesty is the basis of guise, true greatness is free from camouflage. On the other hand, when a man expresses a greatness he knows or feels he does not possess, he is the greatest hypocrite.

Honest is the man who is not great, and knowing and feeling this, firmly and frankly states that he is not great. There are more than a few who are not great, yet assume a humility in the genuine belief in their own worth. Through words and actions they express repeatedly their humbleness, professing to be servants of humanity.

True humility is not acquired by merely donning a garb of humility. True humility spontaneously and continually emanates from the strength of the truly great. Voicing one's humbleness does not make one humble. For all that a parrot may utter, 'I am a man,' it does not make it so. Better the absence of greatness than the establishing of a false greatness by assumed humility. Not only do these efforts at humility on man's part not express strength, they are, on the contrary, expressions of modesty born of weakness, which springs from a lack of knowledge of the truth of reality.

Beware of modesty. Modesty, under the cloak of humility, invariably leads one into the clutches of self-deception. Modesty breeds egoism, and man eventually succumbs to pride through assumed humility. The greatest greatness and the greatest humility go hand in hand, naturally and without effort...

Live not in ignorance. Do not waste your precious lifespan in differentiating and judging your fellow men, but learn to long for the love of God. Even in the midst of your worldly activities, live only to find and realise your true identity with your beloved God.

Be pure and simple, and love all because all are one. Live a sincere life. Be natural, and be honest with yourself. Honesty will guard you against false modesty, and will give you the strength of true humility.

Spare no pains to help others. Seek no other reward than the gift of divine love. Yearn for this gift sincerely and intensely, and I promise in the name of my divine honesty, that I will give you much more than you yearn for.

I give you all my blessing that the spark of my divine love may implant in your hearts the deep longing for the love of God.

12 September 1954,
Ahmednagar
Gl Feb. 1994, p4-5

With me, none can live what the world considers a moral life. Here we are concerned with spirituality, not morals. A spiritual life is not ruled nor bound by any principles. The sanskaras of each one are different, and so the behavior and temperament of everyone are different.

In a virtuous life, evil is supressed and good surfaces, but the evil is still there. The bad sanskaras remain and have to be worked out, if not in this life, then in the next, or the one after.

In the spiritual life, both good and bad sanskaras express themselves, and both get nullified. A spiritual life leads one toward naturalness, whereas a virtuous life, in the guise of humility, inflates the ego and perpetuates it.

A spiritual life, though, is only led under the guidance and orders of the Avatar or Perfect Master, who knows the pulse of everyone, and treats everyone according to his own particular malady...

People of the world act according to moral standards and socially acceptable behavior. But the Avatar or Sadguru deals with everyone according to his or her sanskaras. Thus spiritual life is totally different, and cannot be judged on the basis of morality, ethics, or any principle.

1955,
Meherabad,
unpublished

Q. Have you heard of an American evangelist by the name of Billy Graham? Have you met and spoken with him?

Baba: No.

Q. Have you heard of his work?

Baba: I know.

Q. Can you tell us what you think of his work?

Baba: Any work done in the name of God or Lord Jesus is a good work. But it must be done sincerely, honestly, without taking any pride in it, without wanting to profit through it.

23 July 1956,
New York,
in answer to a reporter's
questions at a press conference,
Aw 4:3 p18

Good as well as evil are impressional products of the evolutionary momentum. They come into conflict with each other, and as such are to be recognised as separate groups of forces. Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, each in his own way symbolises the forces of evil. However, it is a mistake to think that evil is an irreducible active force by itself. Both good and evil are abstractions, and have to be seen in their true perspective as inevitable phases in the subhuman and human evolution.

Evil is the lingering relic of earlier good. Some impressional tendencies, which were necessary and inevitable at a particular phase, are carried over to the higher phase of evolution, and they persist in their existence due to inertia. They hinder harmonious functioning in the new context, and appear as evil.

Good as well as evil have an undeniable relationship with the circumstances. No judgement can be passed on the goodness or other aspect of any action without considering the concrete context in which the judgement is called for. An act which is normally undeniably evil may, under special circumstances, be not only defensible but praiseworthy.

Take for example the following exceptional case. Suppose a mother has given birth to a baby and has not her own milk to feed it. The baby has to be fed on cow's milk, which is very difficult to obtain. A neighbor may have some cow's milk, but the mother knows that he will not part with it for money or for any philanthropic consideration, even though he does not need it himself. Under such circumstances, if a person steals the cow's milk and feeds it to the newborn baby in order to keep it alive, the act of stealing is in this case not only justifiable but definitely good.

Of course an exception of this type does not make stealing a good act under all circumstances. Normally stealing continues to be evil, but in the exceptional case above it has become good. The illustration proves how considerations of good or evil must, in their very nature, be dependent upon circumstances in all the variety of detail which obtains in concrete situations. Good is relative to a concrete context of actual circumstances, and so is evil. But for many practical purposes certain trends of action have to be classified as good, while other trends of action have to be classified as evil.

Everything happens according to divine will, and it is a mistake to think that God has a rival in the form of a devil. Accentuation of the forces for good is necessary for releasing divine life in its fulness. But evil itself often plays an important part in accentuating the forces for good, and it becomes an inevitable shadow or counterpart of the good. Like other opposites of experience, good and evil are also, in a sense, opposites which have to be withstood and transcended. One has to rise above the duality of good and evil, and accept life in its totality, in which they appear as abstractions. Life is to be seen and lived in its indivisible integrity.

Nevertheless, there is an important factor in the opposites of good and evil. Evil is to all appearance the converse of good, yet at the same time it is capable of being converted into good. Thus, generally speaking, the path lies from evil to good, and then from good to God, who is beyond both good and evil.

If any suffering comes to a Perfect Master or Avatar, it should not be interpreted as a temporary victory of evil. It happens by divine will, and is a form of divine compassion. He voluntarily takes upon himself the suffering of others in order to redeem those who are engulfed in gnawing cravings, unrelieved hatred and unabated jealousies.

1956? Be p55-58

Spiritual unfoldment takes place through experience of such opposites as pleasure and pain, success and failure, virtue and vice. Both extremes are equally necessary for the fulfillment of life, although they appear to be direct opposites of each other.

In fact, from a larger point of view, the opposites of experience turn out to be complementaries rather than contraries. They appear to be clashing incompatibles only for the mind that cannot transcend them. They are like diametrically opposite points on the circumference of a circle. If you pursue any point on the circumference, the path through it will necessarily lead to its diametrically opposite point. And the path from this opposite point again returns to the starting point. Movement between the opposites is as endless as movement in a circle...

If an action does not have the wholehearted support of the innermost being of a person, it is quick in inviting its opposite. If, however, an action has had the wholehearted support of the innermost being, it can evade deflection as long as it does not gather in its train some other things which strike a note of discord within the innermost being. The way to transcend the alternation between fractional opposites is to steer one's own life so as to make it a true and complete expression of the innermost being.

Nevertheless, until the entire accumulated self of a person comes into complete harmony with the one divine self within, the law of opposites inevitably comes to his help, whether he consciously wants it or not...

The law of opposites does not function through arithmetical or mechanical calculus, but through the requirements of karmic adjustments, and a supreme need for full and free unfoldment of life in every form. Alternation between the palatable and unpalatable opposites is a game of see-saw which must continue until arrival at a dynamic poise, which is beyond the opposites, and which is the unhampered expression of the unalloyed eternal.

1956? Be p58-67

Be angry with none but your weakness. Hate none but your lustful self. Be greedy to own more and more wealth of tolerance and justice. Let your temptation be to tempt me with your love in order to receive my grace. Wage war against your desires, and Godhood will be your victory.

1958?
pamphlet 'Sayings by Meher Baba, 1958

Start learning to love God by beginning to love those whom you cannot. You will find that in serving others, you are serving yourself. The more you remember others with kindness and generosity, the less you remember yourself. And the less you remember yourself, the more you forget yourself. And when you completely forget yourself, you find me as the source of all love.

Give up parrotry in all its aspects. Start practising whatever you truly feel to be true and justly to be just. Do not make a show of your faith and beliefs. You have not to give up your religion, but to give up clinging to the outer husk of mere ritual and ceremonies. To get to the fundamental core of truth underlying all religions, reach beyond religion...

Instead of making truth the vital breath of life, man compromises by making over and over again a mechanical religion of it - a handy staff to lean on in times of adversity, a soothing balm for his conscience, or as a tradition to be followed in the footsteps of the past.

Man's inability to live God's words makes them a mockery. How many Christians follow Christ's teaching to 'turn the other cheek,' or 'to love thy neighbor as thyself'? How many Muslims follow Muhammad's precept to 'hold God above everything else'? How many Hindus 'bear the torch of righteousness at all cost'? How many Buddhists live the 'life of pure compassion' expounded by Buddha? How many Zoroastrians 'think truly, speak truly, act truly'?

God's truth cannot be ignored; and thus by mankind's ignorance and weakness a tremendous adverse reaction is produced - and the world finds itself in a cauldron of suffering through wars, hate, conflicting ideologies, and natures's rebellion in the form of floods, famines, earthquakes and other disasters. Ultimately, when the apex is reached, God manifests anew in human form to guide mankind to the destruction of its self-created evil, that it may be re-established in the divine truth...

10 July 1958, Meherabad
from a pamphlet entitled:
"Meher Baba's Universal Message,
God Alone Is, Personal Message" p5-7
Another version: EN p72-75

Love and understanding never condemn, but seek to help and encourage. Men and women have departed from the custom and laws of Truth and goodness, but God never condemns us or turns us from his door. So we should not condemn even those who condemn us.

1960, Poona, AO p170

On the spiritual Path, hypocrisy is the only sin. Be honest.

1960, Poona, Aw 22:1 p40

When your mind and heart get clean, one embrace from a Perfect Master is enough.

1960, Poona, Aw 22:1 p40

Don't waste your life in judging others.

GO p234

Morality Book Two

Index - Book One