Morality 2

MORALITY

Book Two

"Sin and virtue, good and bad, heaven and hell are all bindings, because they are transitory and illusory states. But such truths cannot be mentioned in the outside world, because most of mankind lacks the preparedness and understanding to digest such knowledge.

"If some things are revealed, instead of being enlightened, people may fumble more in the darkness of their ignorance. Instead of making a good impression, if such things are not properly explained, the outside world would have a very distorted impression about the things I reveal to you."

Meher Baba, August 1928, Toka, LM3 p1076

"The first time Baba went to America, Sayyed Ali went with him. Baba took all of us elders to himself. He pricked our fingers with a needle, and blood came out. He rubbed it in the palm of his own hand.

"He said, 'This is your signature you have given me. You should not smoke, you should not drink, and you should not go after other people's wives and daughters. You shouldn't tell lies, and you shouldn't cheat anybody, and you should be honest.'

"We went to see them off when their boat was leaving for America. Baba had given us orders to go back to Iran then. He told me to be with my old father and mother, and with my wife and children."

Shahriar Mehrabanpur, RD p583 (1931)

Visiting Isfahan, Persia in October, 1929, Baba was told that some local people knew of his presence there, and even had lockets with his picture pinned to their coats. He had previously ordered the Mandali not to tell anyone who he was. Baba asked them, 'How did they know I was here? Who gave them the lockets?'

Sayyed and Hussain, two boys who were working for the Mandali as servants, were questioned. They denied telling anyone of Baba's presence. Eventually they admitted that they had told people. Baba took them aside and dictated,

"Never tell a lie, even if you have to die because of something you have done. Wherever you may be, either in the world or with me, never lie."

He made them promise, and then embraced them."

(LM4 p1237)

In Meshed, Persia, in June, 1931, Baba went for a walk with three of the Mandali. Two women prostitutes followed them. When they reached where they were staying, Baba invited them inside and asked what they wanted. He took off the head-covering he had worn in the street (to prevent being recognised) so the women could see his face.

Both women began to cry, and asked him, "Oh holy one, how can we make up for our sins? Our lives have been so immoral. We are beyond salvation."

Baba replied, "A holy one is like the ocean. It is so vast that whether you throw dirt or sandalwood into it, it assimilates both, leaving its waters as pure as before. In the same way, the holy one also takes upon himself the good and bad of both the virtuous and the sinful, merging them in his ocean. In this way even the worst of sinners is purified. So from now on, avoid your present way of living, and accept it that you have been forgiven and made pure."

(PM p155-156 and LM4 p1370-1371)

"The Parsis defame me and call me shaitan - devil - simply because I do not eat meat and fish. I don't drink liquor, and have never been to a brothel. Their definition of a Parsi is that he should be a non-vegetarian, drink wine, and lead an immoral life, while at the same time wearing the religious symbols of the sadra and kusti, visiting the fire temple, and paying heed to the priests. Thus by their behavior, they themselves have become devils, in fact."

to Mahatma Gandhi, 8 September 1931,
on board the ship Rajputana en route
to Marseilles, France, LM4 p1396

At a large gathering in his honor in Beverly Hills, California, June 1, 1932, Baba beckoned a young woman at the other end of the room to come meet him. She hesitated. Norina and Elizabeth encouraged her to come and shake hands with Baba. The woman asked, "How can I touch him?"

Norina answered, "Why not? All can meet Baba."

With tears in her eyes, the woman said, "But I am a sinner. How can I touch a holy being like him?

Baba went to her and passed his hand over her head and shoulders. She started weeping. Baba told her,

"I am the purest of the pure. I can purify the worst sinner. You have understood your mistakes and acknowledged them faithfully in the presence of others, and so you are forgiven. This penance from the depths of your heart is adequate, and you are now cleansed. Now don't fear in the least, and don't repeat your past mistakes. I give you my blessings."

Baba embraced her. Later, when he was about to leave, Baba put his hand on the woman's head and told her,

"You have received forgiveness for everything. Forget the past and don't worry at all." She pressed her eyes to Baba's hand and kissed it.

(LM5 p1659)

Herbert Davy: You promise to speak, but you do not do it. What will the world think of you? Baba: "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. I am beyond all principles, bindings, laws and matters pertaining to worldly duties. I am Perfect, and there is no restraint or binding for me. I have broken all barriers, and I have gone beyond all laws.

"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. For him there is no such thing as bondage. The infinite cannot be bound by anything finite, however sublime the aim may be. This means that one cannot limit the limitless.

"For this reason, and without your asking, I give you promises, and your aim will be fulfilled at the proper time. But I also know that a promise can be a time-serving device. It is not meant for fulfillment, but necessitated by circumstances. It is a demand of the situation, and so I do not care for its resultant reaction.

"Therefore I do not worry about the world's criticism, or its terrible slander and harm to my work for not keeping my promise. I purposely create and court such opposing reactions and nurture them. Such an opposition is required for my work, to give it a greater punch. I am beyond praise and slander, and they do not affect me in the least.

"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.

"I am the Truth. No amount of voluminous praise will raise me higher, nor can any carping criticism pull me down. I am what I am, and will ever be so. Whatever I do, I do for my work, which encompasses and sees to the welfare of all."

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

Meher Baba gave his women disciples a list of orders they were to follow till August 1941. He asked them each to sign a written promise to obey them. Then he said (using the alphabet board):

"I am certain all the outside devotees will follow the orders, but I have not the slightest hope of you all - my inner circle. For the next twenty days, you must keep your mood at its best. Under any circumstances and conditions, you are not to get excited, not to have moods, but always to be happy and smiling. This is the greatest help to me.

"People join the war, fight, get wounded, and suffer untold hardships - but that is easy in comparison. To keep your best mood in every situation, never to be upset or sad, to speak gently and lovingly, never using a harsh word, not to get excited when someone steals your chapati, but to say from the bottom of your heart, 'May Baba bless you,' - that is really difficult.

"To control the self is more difficult than walking on fire or glass. It is easy to win a war of nations, but most difficult to win your own self. It is the only real thing on this path. To keep a calm head, tolerate and swallow everything. The Sufis call it zabta.

"My mother helps me the most now. She gives ample opportunities to me and to others to control themselves. You have won the greatest war when you win yourself. When Shireenmai comes, you will have more opportunities of controlling yourselves. For example, I feel like murdering her sometimes, yet I embrace her lovingly. You should do the same."

26 January 1941, Jaipur, LM7 p2657

Turekar came to Meherabad to see Meher Baba in March, 1948. He worked as police sub-inspector, and had been to visit Baba many times. Baba asked him, 'Do you take bribes?'

Turekar answered, 'Yes, Baba.'

Baba told him, 'You have been in my contact for so many years, and still you accept bribes? Such corruption is not at all good. Give it up completely.'

Turekar promised to stop taking bribes.

9 March 1948, Meherabad, LM9 p3255-3256

"I witnessed a man who came before Baba in Myrtle Beach in 1952. Ivy Duce brought this man. He was giving a lot of talks on spirituality. He was very respected all over Europe, a very important man.

"I was the interpreter, and was dumbfounded when Baba asked him the following question. I thought he would ask him a question about his work, about his understanding of the Avatar, or something else, but Baba asked him directly, 'Are you involved with a woman?'

"He was a very truthful and honest man. He said, 'Yes, Baba, I am.'

"Then Baba said, 'Then what is the good of your talking about spirituality? Will you do one thing?'

"He replied, 'Yes, I shall try. I don't promise.'

"'All right,' Baba said. 'Give up this business of bangles.' (Bangles signified woman or women in Baba's gestures.)

"'I will try,' the man said.

"That was in 1952. Baba went again in 1956. This man came also and saw him again. Baba again asked him about this, and he replied, 'I am still very much in the world.'

"Baba said, 'What is the good of your giving talks? Give up this hypocrisy.'"

Adi K. Irani, JT p137
(Adi told this story during a public talk, so Baba's words are approximate, as Adi remembered them)

"Our hosts would completely turn their homes over to Baba for his disposal. You had the feeling that at a word from Baba, these new lovers of his would have jumped into a fire for him... Where we were staying there was a berry tree... And it was that season, November, when the tree was full of berries. Not only was the tree full, but the ground was also covered with the berries, because they were so ripe they were falling off the tree. Now Gustadji was with us, and he happened to be walking by, and he picked up a berry from the ground and ate it, and this was followed suit by the other Mandali who were with him... Baba came to know of this. And Baba was not pleased, in fact he was very upset.

'What are you all doing,' Baba demanded.

'Baba,' the Mandali replied, 'we were just eating some berries that had fallen.'

'Did you have permission to eat these berries?'

'But Baba, they had fallen to the ground, and we were just picking them up.'

'You should have asked first,' Baba insisted. 'Who owns this tree?'

"It turned out to be our host, so Baba said to call him. And Baba had all of the Mandali and our host and his family come into the room with him, and it was obvious from one glance that Baba had not called everyone together for some sweet words on love. On the contrary, Baba was fiery. And he began to upbraid Gustadji for stealing the berries. When the host heard this, he got very upset, and tried to pacify Baba.

'Baba,' he said, 'I am yours. This house is yours, and even the berry tree is yours. The Mandali are also yours. So the berries they ate belong to you, not to me.'

"... Baba continued, 'Yes, the whole creation is mine. And yet the world's laws must be followed. It is not right in the world to take something that does not belong to you without the permission of the owner. This is true in the world. And it applies even more so with those who are living with me. They should not think they are above such laws.'

"... He stood and joined his hands together, and on behalf of his Mandali, Baba asked the host's forgiveness."

Eruch Jessawala, TH p6-8 (1950s, Hamipur)

"For long periods Meher Baba did not permit anyone longing to meet him to come to Meherazad where he lived. We always pleaded with Baba to allow his lovers this permission, but the result would always be the same. They would be called only when Baba wanted them to come, and I could never understand this.

"One day, however, Baba permitted a certain man to visit him. This person expressed excessive devotion to Baba, and pretty much enacted a show in Baba's presence. In my heart I could see through the entire act, since I knew that the man was an absolute scoundrel, but I did not mention anything to Baba. The man came on several occasions after that, and each time he effusively put on an act of love and devotion, which to the onlookers smacked of play-acting. Finally, when I could not take it any more, and the visitor had left, I told Baba that the man was a thorough scoundrel, and that he was merely putting on an act of love and devotion. Baba simply said,

"'Yes, I know he does. You are looking at only his shadow, but I see his substance. He may be a scoundrel, but he has the potential to be a real lover of God. You see him as bad, but you don't know how far he had to come to be only this bad.'"

Eruch Jessawala, AO p132 (after 1948?)

"I saw a man come to Meher Baba, the worst scoundrel, and Meher Baba said, 'You are a very nice man. But try to be better and best.'

"What would that man gain if Baba said that he was a bad man, and so forth?"

Adi K. Irani, JT p128
(Adi told this story during a public talk, so Baba's words are approximate, as Adi remembered them.)

"Be honest. Never tell lies. Whatever happens, never tell lies."

Meher Baba, 28 February 1954, Rajamundry,
Andhra, at a school for boys, AD p91

"Once Baba even said that that for each penny one raised wrongfully in his name, one would have to take a million births."

Eruch Jessawala, TH p8

"... Baba said the Ten Commandments are merely the outward form of inner rules which are inherent in all people. It is not that God came to Moses and handed him a tablet with these rules on them. God has inscribed these rules on the tablet of every person's heart. That is the real significance of the story of the Ten Commandments."

Eruch Jessawala, DH p18

"Blessed are those who stick to Truth through thick and thin.

Blessed more are those who do not laugh at those who sin."

Meher Baba, 1967, Meherazad, OL
(from Eruch's notebook?)

In Persian, Jelal means self-glorification and Jemal means self-beautitude. These are the same terms used for the temperaments of masts and Perfect Masters.

For more on good and evil, see the chapter 'Good and Evil' in Discourses (p61-66 in the seventh edition) and Be p55-58.

Morality Book One

Index - Book Two