… Wherever I go, people flock about me by the hundreds and thousands. That kind of love is not what I want. Whether people worship or vilify me, I remain what I am. Whether the whole world believes in God or denies Him, God always remains God. I look forward to the love which enables the individual to obey me, so that he may find me and eventually become me.
Therefore I do not want merely crowds to be attracted towards me. I want really sincere souls. I do not necessarily wait for them to come to me. I often go to them. I can — and do — do my own work. You can — and should — share it too.
It is easy to collect crowds, and it is easy for crowds to collect. My greatness cannot be established in the crowds and through the crowds, but even a few with love can make the masses feel my greatness, and keep the greatness established in their hearts. One single person who really loves me can move the whole world.
There is no one here, including myself, who can so love me. If all of you became my real lovers, we would need several more worlds for all of you to work in for me.
My work for you does not consist in your going around beating a big drum for me. Love needs no propaganda.
– Meher Baba [November 1955]
जिन्हें मैं ढूँढता था आसमानों में ज़मीनों में
वो निकले मेरे ज़ुल्मतख़ाना-ए-दिल के मकीनों में
महीने वस्ल के घड़ियों की सूरत उड़ते जाते हैं
मगर घड़ियाँ जुदाई की गुज़रती हैं महीनों में
मुझे रोकेगा तू ऐ नाख़ुदा क्या ग़र्क़ होने से
कि जिन को डूबना है डूब जाते हैं सफ़ीनों में
मोहब्बत के लिये दिल ढूँढ कोई टूटने वाला
ये वो मय है जिसे रखते हैं नाज़ुक आबगीनों में
ख़मोश ऐ दिल भरी महफिल में चिल्लाना नहीं अच्छा
अदब पहला क़रीना है मुहब्बत के क़रीनों में
तमन्ना दर्द-ए-दिल की हो तो कर ख़िदमत फ़क़ीरों की
नहीं मिलता ये गौहर बादशाहों के ख़ज़ीनों में
न पूछ इन ख़िर्क़ापोशों की इरादत हो तो देख उनको
यदे-बैज़ा लिए बैठे हैं ज़ालिम आस्तीनों में
कभी अपना भी नज़्ज़ारा किया है तूने ऐ मजनूँ
कि लैला की तरह तू भी तो है महमिल-नशीनों में
अगर कुछ आशना होता मज़ाक़-ए-जब्हासाई से
तो संगे-आस्ताने-काबा जा मिलता जबीनों से
जला सकती है शम्म-ए-कुश्ता को मौज-ए-नफ़स उन की
इलाही क्या छुपा होता है अहल-ए-दिल के सीनों में
किसी ऐसे शरर से फूँक अपने ख़िरमने-दिल को
कि ख़ुर्शीदे-क़यामत भी हो तेरे ख़ोश्हचीनों में
छुपाया हुस्न को अपने कलीमुल्लाह से जिस ने
वही नाज़-आफ़रीं है जल्वा-पैरा नाज़नीनों में
हक़ीक़त अपनी आँखों पर नुमायाँ जब हुई अपनी
मकाँ निकला हमारे ख़ाना-ए-दिल के मकीनों में
तरसती है निगाह-ए-ना-रसा जिस के नज़ारे को
वो रौनक़ अंजुमन की है उन्हीं ख़ल्वत-गज़ीनों में
सरापा हुस्न बन जाता है जिस के हुस्न का आ’शिक़
भला ऐ दिल हसीं ऐसा भी है कोई हसीनों में
फड़क उठा कोई तेरी अदा-ए-मा-अ’रफ़ना पर
तिरा रुत्बा रहा बढ़ चढ़ के सब नाज़-आफ़रीनों में
नुमायाँ हो के दिखला दे कभी इनको जमाल अपना
बहुत मुद्दत से चर्चे हैं तेरे बारीक बीनों के
बुरा समझूँ उन्हें मुझ से तो ऐसा हो नहीं सकता
कि मैं ख़ुद भी तो हूँ ‘इक़बाल’ अपने नुक्ताचीनों में
Jinhein Mein Dhoondhta Tha
by Jagjit Singh
https://youtu.be/MqApxxT3sjw
October-November 1950,
… During Baba’s whirlwind tour, he traveled by train and bus, as well as on foot, contacting masts, sadhus, saints, needy middle-class families and the poor in Bihar, Bengal, Orissa, Nepal, Madras, Hyderabad and Bombay provinces.
The difficult part of the trip was in finding once-prosperous families who had now fallen on hard times. Baba wished to help such families, who, due to adverse circumstances, had become resourceless, but who out of shame and modesty would not express it. They refused to beg, although they were desperately in need of help.
… On one occasion, Baba was sitting at a place in Madras, when he suddenly gestured that he felt thirsty. He sent Eruch to buy coconut water. While doing so, Eruch overheard some people discussing an unfortunate family. Eruch asked a paanwala if he knew of any needy families in the area.
The paan-seller informed him, “In Gudur there is a family who was once quite well-to-do, but they are now in such a miserable condition they cannot even afford food and clothing. The man used to be a wealthy merchant and was having a palatial bungalow constructed. Suddenly his business plummeted and the building contractor, taking advantage of his situation, began looting him. The result was the contractor himself became the owner of the building, and the family now occupies a tiny hut, where they live in squalor.”
Eruch repeated the story to Baba, and Baba became anxious to proceed immediately to Gudur. Two hours later, they caught the first train there. When they arrived, Eruch went ahead from the station to find the family. He came to a large house and knocked on the door. A well-dressed man appeared, and Eruch asked for the man whose name he had taken from the shopkeeper. “I am that man!” the head of the household replied. This surprised Eruch, and he thought the search had been in vain.
Still, he said, “I have heard that the former owner of this house was once very wealthy but is now a pauper. My elder brother has come to render him some help.” The owner did not reply, but his young son who had been standing behind him said that the man he wanted resided in a hut in a nearby alley. The man Eruch had been talking with was the person who had taken over the house from its original owner. Surprisingly, their names were almost the same.
The boy showed Eruch to the other man’s hut. It was Diwali, the colorful festival of lights, but outside the hut, not even one light burned. Eruch tapped on the door of the hovel, and a young girl in a tattered sari cautiously opened it. It was dark inside. Only a tiny light flickered in front of a glass case housing a tall idol of Lord Krishna which, even in his destitution, the man had saved. The poor man was sick and lay on a cot in the corner. His wife was seated on another cot in the one-room shack. The girl had been praying to Krishna. Eruch inquired of the girl about the man, and she quietly answered, “He is my father, but he is ill. My mother too is indisposed. Why have you come here?”
“I came to know about your father’s plight, and my elder brother has come to help him,” Eruch explained.
“We have nothing with which to repay a loan.”
“This is not a loan,” Eruch quickly explained. “My elder brother wants to give a gift of love, and if your father accepts it he will oblige us.”
The girl burst into tears. She turned to the statue of Krishna and uttered: “My Krishna, my beloved Krishna — how merciful you are! I have only just prayed to you and you have answered so soon. You are merciful, my Lord, most merciful!”
At this, Eruch’s heart too was full, and tears came to his eyes. Eruch told the girl, “My elder brother always first washes the feet of the receiver and then lays his forehead on them. Warm some water; meanwhile, I will bring him from the train station.”
Eruch went back to the station and, accompanied by Baba and Pendu, led them to the hut. Baba washed and put his head on the man’s feet, handing him Rs.500. The girl was overcome and wept. “My Krishna, my Krishna,” she continued to cry. “My merciful Krishna!”
Age too was touched. “Krishna was present in physical form — but the Lord did not linger!” Finishing his work, Baba immediately departed by tonga. After some distance, it was discovered that Baba’s coat had been left behind in the hut. But Baba indicated to Eruch and Pendu, “Forget about it! Let my coat stay with them. I am extremely happy with the work that has been done.”
… After experiencing severe privations doing this work, Baba and his men arrived in Bombay on 25 November 1950. They had literally traversed the entire country, traveling in all directions — to Bihar and Nepal in the north, Calcutta in the east, Hyderabad and Madras in the south, and Bombay in the west. Thus, working day and night for a month, 33 families were helped, 250 poor persons were given money, 119 masts, 23 saints and 21 sadhus were contacted. At every town or village, Baba and his companions got off the conveyance in which they traveled, either train or bus, to contact the poor, the masts and saints.
To reach poor families in Madhupur, Baba even traveled by tonga and returned in an ox cart. Because of the high flood waters, no other means of travel was possible.
The hardships and travails undergone in contacting the masts cannot be imagined. The masts were scattered in places that were most difficult to reach, and Baba preferred to contact them when there were no crowds near them. So contacts were mostly made at night, and navigating the lanes and alleys in strange villages proved very difficult. To journey constantly, day and night, searching for masts in strange places without rest would break the strongest and healthiest of men. But Baba’s sweet, pleasing smile was a source of enthusiasm and inspiration to his companions. Baba would not allow them to become discouraged or disappointed, and would keep them cheerful by his humor, despite the privations they underwent day and night. Above all, it was the pouring out of his love wherever he went that sustained his companions and enabled them to keep pace with him.
Lord Meher, p.2948,2952,2955
https://www.lordmeher.org/rev/index.jsp?pageBase=page.jsp&nextPage=2948
June 1930,
… A telegram arrived from Sampath Aiyangar, saying that he was not able to find a place for Baba’s seclusion in the south. Despite this disappointing news, Baba went with the group of men and boys from Srinagar to Jammu by taxi at seven in the morning on Saturday, 28 June 1930.
There were now three men and three boys as Baba’s companions: Chanji, Raosaheb, Vishnu, Ali Akbar, Tulsi, and Adam; Baba had decided to leave Rehman behind. The journey was scenic but not pleasant because it was terribly hot. And there were so many mountainous curves that all, including Baba, felt dizzy.
At two in the afternoon, the taxi got a flat tire. While standing under a tree, Baba surprised all by suddenly motioning to Raosaheb to persuade Adam to go back home. Raosaheb tried, but the unhappy boy did not want to leave. Adam was taken with them to Jammu where he was again told to go home and given train fare. But the clever lad stealthily followed Baba’s party to Sialkot, traveling in another train compartment. Baba spotted him. With much difficulty, Raosaheb managed to persuade Adam to go back to Srinagar.
Along the return journey, Tulsi was dropped off in Lahore where the boy had originally joined the group. He also showed his unhappiness when leaving Baba. While at the railway station, Baba noticed another boy standing on the platform, and he sent Vishnu to bring him. The boy seemed thrilled to be seated next to the silent stranger. However, Baba took the boy only as far as Manmad and then sent him back to Lahore.
On the train traveling from Lahore to Amritsar, a 53-year-old Muslim man in the compartment was also visibly drawn to Baba. He kept gazing steadily at Baba, who was patting the new boy seated beside him. After some time, Baba looked straight at him and dictated through one of the mandali, “My friend, there is nothing but bliss everywhere.”
“Maybe for you, Sir,” the man replied, “but not for us.”
Baba answered, “You complain because you cannot see it, but I tell you there is nothing but bliss all around. I see it; I experience it every moment.”
The man then said, “I have experienced nothing but misery, conflict and suffering in the world. I have never known happiness and am quite disgusted with my life.”
“This is because of ignorance,” Baba explained. “You have no experience of real bliss. You run after the shadow, losing the substance. You mistook happiness for eating, making money, and in pleasures and enjoyments, which are fleeting, false and transitory. Not only that, they take you further away from the real bliss which is everlasting.”
“But, where can I find that bliss?” asked the man. “And how does one find it?”
“That is exactly the point!” Baba exclaimed. “Now you are asking and desiring something real. Let your desire be only to find this bliss, to find Truth and to find God. Continuously have this longing and you will achieve it. You will find the path to achieve it, and someone will surely show it to you.”
“Would you show it to me?” the man pleaded. “Would you help me?”
“Certainly, with the greatest pleasure. That is what I want to do. That is my work; that is my mission. I will show you what real bliss is only if you do as I say, and I will not tell you to do something too difficult for you. It is so easy, if you only take it to heart. I will then see to the rest.
“Every morning, very early, spare only five minutes for this. Seek a place, aloof and alone, and try to meditate, thinking, ‘God is One; He is everywhere and there is nothing but Him.’ Do this for only five minutes daily. I will see that you experience something. You will see some light, and then you will be satisfied and proceed on the Path.”
The man was visibly relieved of his misery, and felt joy from meeting the Master and accepting his advice. Baba’s simple explanation made him experience that life was again worth living. The feeling of renewed enthusiasm for life had not been conveyed through words; it had been imparted internally.
The mandali found out that the person had tried many different spiritual austerities and was searching for a Master, but after years he had grown dejected and depressed. When he met Baba in the train, he was contemplating suicide. Baba not only saved his life, but inspired him to continue in his quest. This individual was none other than the celebrated Indian poet Muhammad Iqbal.
Baba and the mandali arrived in Ahmednagar near noon on Wednesday, 2 July 1930 and proceeded to Meherabad by tongas.
https://www.lordmeher.org/rev/index.jsp?pageBase=page.jsp&nextPage=1187
April 1938,
… Previously, in 1930 while traveling by train from Lahore to Amritsar, Baba and the mandali had struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger who appeared to be in despair. After their talk, however, the man was much heartened and grateful to Baba for his advice. The person turned out to be none other than Muhammad Iqbal, the celebrated Indian poet and philosopher. Iqbal was a towering figure among pre-independence Muslim intellectuals, and it was therefore with much sadness that Ramjoo and Ghani heard the news of Iqbal’s passing on 21 April 1938 at the age of 61.
The next day, they were to visit Baba in Panchgani, but they were so preoccupied with other matters to be discussed that when they arrived they completely forgot about Iqbal’s demise. But, pointing to one of the hairs on his head, the first thing Baba dictated on the board to them were the Urdu words, “Mera ek baal gaya,” meaning, “I have lost one of my hairs.” For some moments Ramjoo and Ghani looked blank, and it was only when Baba repeated what he had dictated and added, “Don’t you fellows understand?” that they caught Baba’s use of the words ek baal (one hair) rhyming with Iqbal. Baba had expressed his sense of loss, but also the insignificance of it by comparing it to the loss of a hair.
https://www.lordmeher.org/rev/index.jsp?pageBase=page.jsp&nextPage=1916
November 1955, Meherabad,
… Wherever I go, people flock about me by the hundreds and thousands. That kind of love is not what I want. Whether people worship or vilify me, I remain what I am. Whether the whole world believes in God or denies Him, God always remains God. I look forward to the love which enables the individual to obey me, so that he may find me and eventually become me.
Therefore I do not want merely crowds to be attracted towards me. I want really sincere souls. I do not necessarily wait for them to come to me. I often go to them. I can — and do — do my own work. You can — and should — share it too.
It is easy to collect crowds, and it is easy for crowds to collect. My greatness cannot be established in the crowds and through the crowds, but even a few with love can make the masses feel my greatness, and keep the greatness established in their hearts. One single person who really loves me can move the whole world.
There is no one here, including myself, who can so love me. If all of you became my real lovers, we would need several more worlds for all of you to work in for me.
My work for you does not consist in your going around beating a big drum for me. Love needs no propaganda.
You need love yourself in order to propagate love among others. To spread my love among the people, you have to make them understand me as you understand me. For that you have to bring them to love me as you love me, and that means you have to cause them to feel my love as you feel it. The best way is to show others by your own example how much you love me.
The world is too full of preachers and teachers. Never forget that I have not come to teach, and I need no preachers.
In the intimate spirit of the sahvas I must be free and frank with you and tell you whatever I feel like saying. Why shout to others, ‘Baba says God is the only reality and all else is illusion’, when you yourself cannot help whispering to me about your own illusions? There are doubtless many among you here who are sincere and painstaking in your efforts to explain my message to one and all, that they should ignore illusion and awaken to reality.
Yet these sincere workers do not hesitate to bring to my attention their own tales of illusory woes and worries, such as, ‘Baba, I am short of money’, ‘My wife is not in good health’, ‘I am about to lose my job’, ‘There is trouble in my business’, and so on.
Would it be truthful for one of these to tell others, ‘Baba says, “Do not worry about illusory things. God knows everything and God does everything”‘? Why preach at all what you yourself cannot put into practice? If you do not find yourself free of falsehood, envy, slander, backbiting and hatred, and if you find in yourself lack of love and consideration for others, then instead of telling others, ‘Baba says this’ and ‘Baba says that’, you had best keep quiet and not show your face to those whom you would like to win over to me.
Suppose one of my followers is speaking before a gathering and trying to tell them that Baba is reality and all else is illusion. Suppose that just then a telegram is given to him which tells of a bus accident in which all of his family have been killed. If, in spite of the tragedy and pain of what has happened, he continues to speak with greater conviction, then he has achieved real authority to speak about me and my teachings.
You win the right to tell others what you first accept in letter and spirit for yourself. Show outwardly only what you have won inwardly.
There is no doubt, for example, that I am the Avatar, the Ancient One, but how do you know that I am He? You say so mainly because I say so. I say so based on my own living experience of being That. But for you it is just a belief until you become me. Suppose your belief is wrong?
What I want to impress upon you is this: never give a twist to what you feel deep down in your own hearts. If you feel I am the Avatar, say openly, “Baba is the Avatar.” If you feel I am a fraud, do not hesitate to say, “Baba is a fraud.” I remain unaffected by praise or abuse. If you speak what you feel to be true, you have the force of truth to make others accept truth.
– Meher Baba
LISTEN, HUMANITY, page 70-73
https://www.avatarmeherbabatrust.org/Book_Files/ListenHumanity.pdf
http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/bestway.html
Meher Songs 