… It is this “forgetfulness” which arouses in the lover the unallayed pangs of separation and consumes him in the ever growing fires of this incomparable love from which he emerges in the image of his Beloved in triumphant and eternal unity.
– Meher Baba
… “Divine love is absolutely strange! Beatings are given, as well as affection shown. The way to the Path is totally different. Effulgence is there, but also ‘fire.’ Indifference from the Master devastates, but beatings from him act like a magnet!”
– Meher Baba
आज इस शान से गुलशन में बहार आयी है
खार तो खार है फूलों को भी आराम नहीं
जब पड़ावत गुलिस्ताँ पे तो खूँ मैंने दिया
अब बहार आयी तो कहते हैं तेरा काम नहीं
भूलने वाले से कोई कह दे ज़रा
इस तरह याद आने से क्या फायदा
क्यों छोड़ा तुमने साथ हमारा जवाब दो
खामोश किस लिये हो खुदारा जवाब दो
मौसम भी इतनी जल्द बदलता नहीं तो फिर
बदला है कैसे रंग तुम्हारा जवाब दो
भूलने वाले से कोई कह दे ज़रा
इस तरह याद आने से क्या फायदा
दिल धड़कने का सबब याद आया
वो तेरी याद थी अब याद आया
साया-ए-गुल में बैठकर ‘नासिर’
हम बहुत रोए वो जब याद आया
भूलने वाले से कोई कह दे ज़रा
इस तरह याद आने से क्या फायदा
मेरी वफ़ाएँ याद करोगे
रो रो के फ़रियाद करोगे
मुझको तो बर्बाद किया है
अब किसे बर्बाद करोगे
हम भी हँसेंगे तुम पर एक दिन
तुम भी कभी फ़रियाद करोगे
भूलने वाले से कोई कह दे ज़रा
इस तरह याद आने से क्या फायदा
जब मेरे दिल की दुनिया बसाते नहीं
फिर ख़यालों में आने से क्या फायदा
अर्ज़-ओ-समा कहाँ तेरी वुसअत को पा सके
मेरा ही दिल वो है कि जहाँ तू समा सके
जब मेरे दिल की दुनिया बसाते नहीं
फिर ख़यालों में आने से क्या फायदा
मेरे पास से गुजर कर मेरा हाल तक ना पूछा
मैं ये कैसे मान जाऊं के वो दूर जाकर रोए
जब मेरे दिल की दुनिया बसाते नहीं
फिर ख़यालों में आने से क्या फायदा
चार तिनके जलाकर तुम्हें क्या मिला
मिट सका ना ज़माने से मेरा निशां
मुझपे बिजली गिराओ तो जाने सही
आशियां को जलाने से क्या फ़ायदा
क्या कहूँ आपसे कितनी उम्मीद थी
आप क्या बदले दुनिया बदलती गई
आसरा देके दिल तूने तोड़ा मेरा
इस तरह अब सताने से क्या फ़ायदा
पहले दिल को बुराई से कर पाक तू,
फ़िर ख़ुलूस-ए-अक़ीदत से कर जुस्तजू
ऐसे सजदों से अल्लाह मिलता नहीं,
हर जगह सर झुकाने से क्या फायदा
इबादत वो क्या जिसमें खुद्दारियां हों
वो सजदा ही क्या जिसमें पाबंदियाँ हों
ऐसे सजदों से अल्लाह मिलता नहीं
हर जगह सर झुकाने से क्या फायदा
अगर न हो सामने कोई सूरत
नमाज़ बेसूद खाम सजदे
ऐसे सजदों से अल्लाह मिलता नहीं
हर जगह सर झुकाने से क्या फायदा
जो मैं सर-ब-सज्दा हुआ कभी तो ज़मीं से आने लगी सदा
तेरा दिल तो है सनम-आश्ना तुझे क्या मिलेगा नमाज़ में
ऐसे सजदों से अल्लाह मिलता नहीं
हर जगह सर झुकाने से क्या फायदा
जुबां से कह भी दिया ला-इलाहा तो क्या हासिल
दिल-ओ-निगाह मुस्लमाँ नहीं तो कुछ भी नहीं
ऐसे सजदों से अल्लाह मिलता नहीं
हर जगह सर झुकाने से क्या फायदा
तूने मूसा को नाहक ये तकलीफ दी
लुत्फ़ आता अगर याद करते मुझे
जिनकी आँखों में ताब-ए-नज़ारा नहीं
उनको जलवा दिखाने से क्या फ़ायदा
लाख समझाया तुझ को मगर ऐ ‘शमीम’
तेरी होशियारी आखिर न काम आ सकी
आँख मिलती गई, राज़ खुलते गए
अब हकीकत छुपाने से क्या फायदा
बात करता भी तो मैं करता कहाँ से पहले
राज़ कुछ राज़ न था राज़-ए-निहाँ से पहले
आँख मिलती गई राज़ खुलते गए
अब हकीकत छुपाने से क्या फायदा
उनसे रस्ते में मुलाक़ात हुई
जिससे डरते थे वही बात हुई
आँख मिलती गई राज़ खुलते गए
अब हकीकत छुपाने से क्या फायदा
इश्क़ के राज़-ए-निहाँ शरह-ए-बयाँ तक पहुँचे
आँख से दिल में गए दिल से जुबाँ तक पहुँचे
आँख मिलती गई राज़ खुलते गए
अब हकीकत छुपाने से क्या फायदा
Bhoolne Wale Se Koi Kah De Zara
https://youtu.be/tx_TPnBEXNI
https://www.rekhta.org/ghazals/bhuulne-vaale-se-koii-kah-de-zaraa-is-tarah-yaad-aane-se-kyaa-faaeda-shamim-dehlvi-ghazals?lang=hi
THE REAL GIFT by Meher Baba
What is meant by the “real gift?”
If a gift is to be real, then both the giver and receiver of the gift must forget the transaction completely. To forget completely would mean that the giver should not feel he has given, and the receiver should not know he has received. If the giver does not forget, then he has obligated the receiver; and if the receiver does not forget, he experiences a sense of obligation towards the giver. The real gift of love bestowed on man comes from God alone, and remembrance is absent in both the One who gives and the one who receives. Because of this complete forgetfulness man can strive eternally to love God, and God remains the eternal Beloved for mankind.
How can God, Who is omniscient, forget? Because unless he “forgets,” the gift He bestows upon man cannot be the real gift that it is. Man, too, is left in ignorance of the operation of this gift, through which he ultimately realizes his Godhood.
When the Omniscient bestows the real gift of love, He manifests His complete forgetfulness of it by apparently becoming callous towards His lovers. Hence the untold sufferings on the path of love that are experienced by the lovers of God, as also the unimaginable pangs of separation felt by them for their only Beloved, God.
Because God is omniscient and knows the real meaning of the real gift, He becomes callous towards His lover who, absorbed in the profound depth of God’s love, becomes oblivious that he loves Him and that it is a gift from Him, and hence loves Him ever more intensely.
It is this “forgetfulness” which arouses in the lover the unallayed pangs of separation and consumes him in the ever growing fires of this incomparable love from which he emerges in the image of his Beloved in triumphant and eternal unity.
LIFE AT ITS BEST, pp. 11-13
https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Life.pdf
13 January 1963,
… Bhikubhai had been instructed to bring the well-known bhajan singer of Poona, Gajanan Watve, to sing. Knowing Baba enjoyed ghazals the most, Watve had specially learned some. At one point, explaining about divine love, Baba observed:
Divine love is the gift of God to man. It can be compared with the grace of the Sadguru which enables man to realize God in a flash. The true lover of God [Mard-e-Khuda] is he whose whole life has become like dust. The agony of love is so dear to him that, although it burns him to ashes, he will not part with it for anything! Though it may make him an outcast from society, a stranger to sleep, hunger and comfort, he prizes this blissful torture above all things in creation. Only God can implant this divine love in the human heart.
The lover continually burns within himself in the fire of divine love. But the wonder is, that despite leading such a life of consummation, the real lover keeps it hidden within himself as an invaluable treasure. He does not want to give it up. His burning within is blissful, although in its fire he ultimately becomes the very dust!
Even such heroes don’t obtain my grace. Out of millions, only a rare one gets this nazar, this grace. This Path is not for the weak and the faint-hearted! Where even the Mard-e-Khuda is unsuccessful [in gaining my grace], what to say of you people here? My nazar is always there on all of you, but it is an entirely different nazar, a different grace from the Grace which makes one realize the Self in a fraction of a second.
Lord Meher, p. 4908
https://www.lordmeher.org/rev/index.jsp?pageBase=page.jsp&nextPage=4908
4 November 1952,
… Pointing to his ring finger, Baba remarked about masts, “Masts are jewels. They work for me and share my spiritual work. They are a great help to me. In April, they will be hailed for their work and help to me.”
Baba recalled some masts who had undergone the most severe type of penance, and then stated:
In the whole world, there are one lakh men of God — Mard-e-Khuda. These, with their lives on their sleeves and complete control over mind, strive for God-realization. After a number of ages, one among them gets God-realization. This is not extreme pessimism but optimism. Is not Vedanta full of statements such as “I am God!”? We are all God; this is a fact. Is it not optimism?
Lord Meher, p. 3159
23 March 1953,
… Others inquired about the state of mind of those saints and masts who are continuously in love with God. Baba explained:
For those who come to the gate of love it is torture. The pangs of separation from Beloved God are so intense that only heroes can undergo it, and yet they seek no relief. Only he who suffers from the pain of longing can know it, and when it reaches its zenith, union with the Beloved is achieved.
Lovers of God are called Mard-e-Khuda. When one loves God, the only longing and continual thirst is for union with God. “I want to see you, my Beloved” is the constant cry of this mad lover. Circumstances do not touch this lover. Nothing upsets him. People may call him mad, may make him suffer untold hardships, but his only outlook on life is to see God. Heat and cold, disease and difficulties, are not even thought by him.
But the love of the worldly who are absorbed day and night in the thought of God while discharging their daily duties is even greater than the love of a Mard-e-Khuda! Such people are never bound by anything. They do everything, yet simultaneously do nothing!
Lord Meher, p. 3297
June 1929,
… Soon after Baba’s return from Quetta at the end of May, he began keeping aloof from the boys, especially Aga Ali, and he would not allow them to join him up the hill or for walks. This upset them, and as a result, they would not obey Raosaheb. However, Baba’s physical aloofness was meant to enhance the boys’ close inner contact with him. Through this separation, they would learn to follow the Beloved’s wishes and prove worthy of his love.
Baba commented on 22 June, “Divine love is absolutely strange! Beatings are given, as well as affection shown. The way to the Path is totally different. Effulgence is there, but also ‘fire.’ Indifference from the Master devastates, but beatings from him act like a magnet!”
A few weeks passed and Baba stopped seeing the boys or calling them to him. This caused unprecedented anguish in them. On 17 June, although it was against strict orders to do so, Ali Akbar quietly went and stood weeping by the crypt-cabin. Baba came out, and embraced and kissed him. Ali Akbar pleaded for Baba’s permission to be in his presence. Thereafter, Baba allowed him to come for two hours daily for ten days — but on the condition that Ali keep it a secret.
All the temporary structures on the hill were dismantled on 17 June and the furniture taken to the Family Quarters, where the Prem Ashram was now located. From 21 June, Baba began teaching the four Prem Ashram boys from 8:00 to 11:00 A.M., and his personal attention lightened their spirits. On Baba’s instructions, Jalbhai began giving them music lessons, and Baba started cooking their meals with the help of two of the boys.
Later in June, Baba mentioned going out on tour and, in his absence, finding employment for the Arangaon boys: “They should be taught to work in a printing press or how to drive a motor vehicle. But 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 morals, whatever they are taught — even if they are clever and pass in first class — has no value.”
Lord Meher, p. 1034
Meher Songs 