… The true lover has no interest in places or things of this world. For him, each breath that he draws reveals a new world to him. Only those eyes which have intense longing for the sight of the Beloved can have some idea of the secret of that “intoxication” which the Beloved’s eyes impart.
– Meher Baba [8 June 1963, Lord Meher p. 5025]
https://www.lordmeher.org/rev/index.jsp
… I believe in self-control, not in coercion. Coercion is based on oppression, and results in fear and hatred. Self-control requires courage and may be induced by love. We will do many things for those whom we love which we would not ordinarily do — which we would not ordinarily have the strength of mind and power to do. How many habits have we been able to break through love which we would never have the strength to break without love? And when the love is universal love, all habits which are detrimental, either to the individual or to the social order, will be dissolved in its light.
– Meher Baba [19 May 1932, Lord Meher p. 1411]
Ye Jo Halka Halka – A very Rare (First ever recorded) Version.
https://youtu.be/UCCA-tsJLpA
Ye Jo Halka Halka – Recorded Version.
https://youtu.be/3R1eUfVxOGI
Ye Jo Halka Halka
Live recorded at Wallace Lawly Centre Birmingham
3rd November 1983
https://youtu.be/IROccWiBT-A
(1)
साक़ी की हर निगाह पे बलखा के पी गया
लहरों से खेलता हुआ लहरा के पी गया
ऐ रहमत-ए-तमाम मिरी हर ख़ता मुआफ़
मैं इंतिहा-ए-शौक़ में घबरा के पी गया
पीता बग़ैर इज़्न ये कब थी मेरी मजाल
दर-पर्दा चश्म-ए-यार की शह पा के पी गया
ज़ाहिद! ये मेरी शोख़ी-ए-रिन्दाना देखना
रहमत को बातों बातों में बहला के पी गया
शिकस्त-ए-तौबा [Ghazal of Repentance]
(Saqi Ki Har Nigah Pe)
https://meherbabasongslyrics.wordpress.com/shikast-e-tauba/
(2)
ऊदी ऊदी घटाएँ आती हैं
मुतरिबों की नवाएँ आती हैं
किसके गेसू खुलें हैं सावन में
महकी महकी हवाएँ आती हैं
आओ सेहन-ए-चमन में रक़्स करें
साज़ ले कर घटाएँ आती हैं
देख कर उनकी अँखणियों को अदम
मैकदों को हयाएँ आती हैं
(3)
पास रहता है दूर रहता है
कोई दिल में ज़रूर रहता है
जब से देखा है उन की आंखों को
हल्का हल्का सुरूर रहता है
ऐसे रहते हैं वो मेरे दिल में
जैसे ज़ुल्मत में नूर रहता है
अब अदम का ये हाल है हर वक्त
मस्त रहता है चूर रहता है
ये जो हल्का हल्का सुरूर है
ये तेरी नज़र का कसूर है
के शराब पीना सिखा दिया
(4)
साकिया क्या पिला दिया तूने
पीते पीते जला दिया तूने
ना खबर अपनी है ना आलम की
मस्त-ओ-बेखुद बना दिया तूने
ये जो हल्का हल्का सुरूर है
ये तेरी नज़र का कसूर है
के शराब पीना सिखा दिया
तेरे प्यार ने तेरी चाह ने
तेरी बहकी बहकी निगाह ने
मुझे इक शराबी बना दिया
(5)
शराब कैसी खुमार कैसा
ये सुब तुम्हारी नवाज़िशें हैं
पिलाई है किस नज़र से तूने
के मुझको अपनी ख़बर नहीं है
तेरी बहकी बहकी निगाह ने
मुझे इक शराबी बना दिया
(6)
मेरी बादानोशी के वास्ते
कोई कैद-ए-जाम-ओ-सुबू नहीं
मुझे कैफ रहता है हर घड़ी
ये तेरी निगाह की बात है बस
तेरी बहकी बहकी निगाह ने
मुझे इक शराबी बना दिया
(7)
तेरे करम का भला क्या शुमार है साकी
जिसे भी देखा वो महव-ए-खुमार है साकी
वो बादानोश हूँ मौत-ओ-हयात का जिसकी
तेरी नज़र पे ही दार-ओ-मदार है साकी
रहे ना कोई भी महरूम तेरे मस्तों में
के मयकदे का परवरदिगार है साकी
वो कौन है जो तेरे मयकदे से बच निकला
तेरी नज़र का तो आलम शिकार है साकी
तेरी बहकी बहकी निगाह ने
मुझे इक शराबी बना दिया
( 8 )
ये कैसा जाम-ए-मोहब्बत पिला दिया तूने
के दिल में हुस्न का नक्शा जमा दिया तूने
तेरी अता के तसद्दुक तेरी नज़र के निसार
मैं क्या था और क्या बना दिया तूने
तेरी बहकी बहकी निगाह ने
मुझे इक शराबी बना दिया
(9)
सारा जहान मस्त जहाँ का निज़ाम मस्त
दिन मस्त रात मस्त सहर मस्त शाम मस्त
खुम मस्त शीशा मस्त सब मस्त जाम मस्त
है तेरी चश्म-ए-मस्त से हर ख़ास-ओ-आम मस्त
यूँ तो साकी हर तरह की तेरे मैखाने में है
वो भी थोड़ी सी जो इन आँखो के पैमाने में है
सब समझता हूँ तेरी इश्वा-गरी ऐ साकी
काम करती है नज़र नाम है पैमाने का
तेरी बहकी बहकी निगाह ने
मुझे इक शराबी बना दिया
यूँ तो साकी, मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
(10)
लहरा के झूम झूम के ला मुस्कुरा के ला
फूलों के रस में चाँद की किरणें मिला के ला
क्यों जा रही है रूठ के रंगीन ये बहार
जा एक मरतबा इसे फिर वरगला के ला
सागर शिकन है शैख़ बलानोश की नज़र
शीशे को ज़ेर-ए-दामन-ए-रंगी छुपा के ला
कहते हैं उम्रें रफ़्ता कभी लौटती नहीं
जा मैकदे से मेरी जवानी उठा के ला
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
(11)
मैंने माना जनाब पीता हूँ
बखुदा बेहिसाब पीता हूँ
लोग लोगों का खून पीते हैं
मैं तो फिर भी शराब पीता हूँ
मैंने माना जनाब पीता हूँ
ज़िन्दगी का अज़ाब पीता हूँ
बन के खाना खराब पीता हूँ
रोज़े महशर हिसाब हो न सके
इसलिये बेहिसाब पीता हूँ
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
(12)
जाम है माहताब है साकी
सारा मौसम शराब है साकी
बाज़ लम्हात ऐसे होते हैं
जिनमें पीना सवाब है साकी
साकी मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
(13)
अच्छी पी ली ख़राब पी ली
थी आग मिसाल-ए-हबाब पी ली
आदत है अब तो नशा ना कैफ
पानी ना पिया शराब पी ली
नशा ईमान होता है, सुराही दीन होती है
जवानी की इबादत किस क़दर रंगीन होती है
तुम्हारा हुस्न अगर बेनक़ाब हो जाये
हर एक चेहरा खुदा की किताब हो जाये
जो कायदे से न हो तो फज़ूल है सजदा
अदब के साथ खता भी सवाब हो जाये
शराबियों को अक़ीदत है इस क़दर तुम से
जो तुम पिला दो तो पानी शराब हो जाये
जो तुम पिला दो तो पानी शराब हो जाये
दिल उसका नमाज़ी बन जाये
आँख उसकी गुलाबी हो जाये
जिस को तू मोहब्बत से देखे
साक़ी वो शराबी हो जाये
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
मेरे साकी साकी मेरे साकी
(14)
यूँ तो साकी हर तरह की तेरे मैखाने में है
वो भी थोड़ी सी जो इन आँखो के पैमाने में है
सब समझता हूँ तेरी इश्वा-गरी ऐ साकी
काम करती है नज़र नाम है पैमाने का
तेरी बहकी बहकी निगाह ने
मुझे इक शराबी बना दिया
(15)
मैं अज़ल से बन्दा-ए-इश्क हूँ
मुझे ज़ोहद-ओ-कुफ्र का ग़म नहीं
मेरे सर को दर तेरा मिल गया
मुझे अब तलाश-ए-हरम नहीं
मेरी बंदगी है वो बंदगी
जो ब-कैद-ए-दैर-ओ-हरम नहीं
(जो रहीन-ए-दैर-ओ-हरम नहीं)
मेरा इक नज़र तुम्हें देखना
बखुदा नमाज़ से कम नहीं
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
(16)
तेरा नाम लूँ जुबाँ से,
मैं तेरा नाम लूँ , तेरा तेरा नाम
तेरा नाम तेरा नाम तेरा नाम
तेरा नाम तेरा नाम तेरा नाम
तेरा नाम नाम नाम नाम तेरा
तेरा नाम नाम नाम नाम तेरा
तेरा नाम लूँ जुबाँ से, तेरे आगे सर झुका दूँ
मेरा इश्क कह रहा है, मैं तुझे खुदा बना दूँ
तेरा नाम मेरे लब पर, मेरा तज़करा है घर घर
मुझे भूल जाए दुनिया, मैं अगर तुझे भुला दूँ
मेरे दिल में बस रहे हैं, तेरे बेपनाह जलवे
न हो जिस में नूर तेरा, वो चराग ही बुझा दूँ
तेरी दिल्लगी के सदके तेरे संगदिली के कुर्बां
मेरे ग़म पे हँसने वाले तुझे कौन सी दुआ दूँ
क़यामत में तेरा दाग-ए-मोहब्बत लेके उठूंगा
मेरे ग़म पे हँसने वाले तुझे कौन सी दुआ दूँ
मेरे ग़म पे हँसने वाले तुझे कौन सी दुआ दूँ
मेरे ग़म पे हँसने वाले तुझे कौन सी दुआ दूँ
(17)
ज़ुल्फ़ रुख से हटा के बात करो
रात को दिन बना के बात करो
मैकदे के चराग़ मद्दम हैं
ज़रा आंखें उठा के बात करो
फूल कुछ चाहिए हुज़ूर हमें
तुम ज़रा मुस्कुरा के बात करो
ये भी अंदाज़े गुफ़्तगू है कोई
जब करो दिल दुखा के बात करो
मैं सदके तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
(18)
ज़रा अपनी शोखी तो देखिये
लिये ज़ुल्फ़ ख़मशुदा हाथ में
मेरे पास आये दबे दबे
मुझे सांप कह के डरा दिया
बस तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
(19)
दिल की तलब है और तमन्ना है जान की
क्या मेहेरबानियाँ हैं मेरे मेहेरबान की
नाज़ुक मज़ाज हो न कोई यार की तरह
खिंचता है बात बात पे तलवार की तरह
दिल मुफ्त चाहता है मगर सब के सामने
क़ीमत लगा रहा है खरीदार की तरह
मैं सदके सदके
तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
तेरी दिल्लगी के मैं सदके
तेरी दिल्लगी के सदके तेरे संगदिली के कुर्बां
मेरे ग़म पे हँसने वाले तुझे कौन सी दुआ दूँ
(20)
क़यामत में तेरा दाग़-ए-मुहब्बत लेकर उठूँगा
तेरी तस्वीर उस दम भी कलेजे से लगी होगी क्यूंकि
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
तेरा प्यार है मेरी जिंदगी
तेरी याद है मेरी बंदगी
तेरा प्यार है बस मेरी जिंदगी
(21)
लेकर तुम्हारा नाम जहाँ सर झुका दिया
मैंने उसी दयार को काबा बना दिया
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
न नमाज़ आती है मुझको, न वजू आता है
सजदा कर लेता हूँ, जब सामने तू आता है
क्योंकि बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
बस मेरी जिंदगी
मेरी जिंदगी तेरा प्यार है
मेरी जिंदगी तेरी याद है
मेरी बंदगी तेरा प्यार है
तेरा प्यार है मेरी जिंदगी
तेरी याद है मेरी बंदगी
जो तेरी ख़ुशी वो मेरी ख़ुशी
ये मेरे जुनूँ का है मोजिज़ा
जहाँ अपने सर को झुका दिया
वहाँ मैंने काबा बना दिया
(22)
कभी मेरे सामने आइये
मूसा नहीं हूँ मैं मुझे ताबे नज़र भी है पर
कभी मेरे सामने आइये
वो तूर ही था जो जल गया था
वो कलीम ही थे जो गिर पड़े थे
मैं अब भी सीना सफ़र हूँ लेकिन
कभी मेरे सामने आइये
मैं मूसा नहीं जो गिर जाऊँ
मुझे गिर के सम्भलना आता है
कभी मेरे सामने आइये
कभी मेरे सामने आइये
मुझे अपना जलवा दिखाइये
मेरे दिल की प्यास बुझाइये
ये है कैसा प्यार बताइये
जो कहा नकाब उठाइये
तो ज़रा सा जलवा दिखा दिया
(23)
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
उम्र भर पछताओगे तुम मुझे ठुकराने के बाद
किस पे तोड़ोगे सितम फिर मेरे मिट जाने के बाद, अच्छा
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
ये अदाएँ बेनियाजी तुझे बेवफा मुबारिक
मगर ऐसी बेरुखी क्या जो सलाम तक ना पहुँचे
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
मैंने उन के सामने अव्वल तो ख़ंजर रख दिया
फिर कलेजा रख दिया, दिल रख दिया, सर रख दिया
और अर्ज़ किया, मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
(24)
मैंने कहा मिज़्गाँ हैं ये उसने कहा ये तीर है
मैंने कहा अबरू हैं ये उसने कहा शमशीर है
मैंने कहा चेहरे पे क्यों बलखाती है ज़ुल्फ़ें थोथा
उसने कहा ये आशिक़ों के वास्ते ज़ंजीर हैं
मैंने कहा फुरक़त में तेरी जान पे खेला हूँ मैं
उसने कहा ज़िंदा रहा ये भी तेरी तक़दीर है
मैंने तुम को दिल दिया, तुम ने मुझे रुसवा किया
मैंने तुम से क्या किया और तुम ने मुझसे क्या किया, अच्छा
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
(25)
दिल जलो से दिल लगी अच्छी नहीं
रोने वालो से हँसी अच्छी नहीं
दिल लगी ही दिल लगी में दिल गया
दिल लगाने का नतीजा मिल गया
मैं तो रोता हूँ की मेरा दिल गया
तुम क्यों हँस्ते हो तुम्हे क्या मिल गया
अच्छा, मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
(26)
जितना जी चाहे सताओ वक़्त है
बेकसों पर मुस्कुराओ वक़्त है
देख लेना मैं न तड़पूँगा ज़हीर
शौक से खंजर चलाओ वक़्त है
मेरी वफायें याद करोगे रोओगे फरियाद करोगे
मुझको तो बरबाद किया है और किसे बरबाद करोगे
आकर भी नाशाद किया है जाकर भी नाशाद करोगे
तेरा ज़ुल्म नहीं है शामिल गर मेरी बरबादी में
तेरी आँखे भीग रही हैं क्यों मेरे अफ़साने से
पर ये तो बता दो मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
(27)
जो पूछा के किस तरह होती है बारिश
जबीं से पसीने की बूँदें गिरा दीं
जो पूछा के किस तरह गिरती है बिजली
निगाहें मिलाईं मिला कर झुका दीं
जो पूछा शब-ओ-रोज़ मिलते हैं कैसे
तो चहरे पे अपने वो जुल्फें गिरा दीं
जो पूछा के नगमों में जादू है कैसा
तो मीठे तकल्लुम में बातें सुना दीं
जो अपनी तमन्नाओं का हाल पूछा
तो जलती हुई चंद शम्में बुझा दीं
मैं कहता रह गया खता-ए-मोहब्बत की अच्छी सज़ा दी
मेरे दिल की दुनिया बना कर मिटा दी, अच्छा फिर
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
कुछ ऐसी क़ातिल निगाहों में ढल गए
अरमान-ए-आरज़ू के जनाज़े निकल गए
किस्मत फिरी तो फिर गए अहबाब इस तरह
देखा हमें तो दूर से रस्ता बदल गए
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
(28)
मेरे बाद किसको सताओगे
मुझे किस तरह से मिटाओगे
कहाँ जा के तीर चलाओगे
मेरी दोस्ती की बलाएँ लो
मुझे हाथ उठा कर दुआएं दो,
तुम्हें एक कातिल बना दिया
(29)
मुझे देखो ख्वाहिश-ए-जान-ए-जाँ
मैं वही हूँ अनवर-ए-नीम जाँ
तुम्हें इतना होश था जब कहाँ
न चलाओ इस तरह तुम जुबाँ
करो मेरा शुक्रिया मेहेरबाँ
तुम्हें बात करना सिखा दिया
करो मेरा शुक्रिया मेहेरबाँ
तुम्हें बात करना सिखा दिया
करो मेरा शुक्रिया मेहेरबाँ
तुम्हें बात करना सिखा दिया
तुम्हें बात करना सिखा दिया, सिखा दिया, सिखा दिया
करो मेरा शुक्रिया मेहेरबाँ
तुम्हें बात करना सिखा दिया
करो मेरा शुक्रिया मेहेरबाँ
तुम्हें बात करना सिखा दिया
ये जो हल्का हल्का सुरूर है
ये तेरी नज़र का कसूर है
के शराब पीना सिखा दिया …
——-
Wine and Love
THE EVERYTHING AND THE NOTHING, page 2
by Meher Baba
The Sufi Master-poets often compare love with wine. Wine is the most fitting figure for love because both intoxicate. But while wine causes self-forgetfulness, love leads to Self-realization.
The behaviour of the drunkard and the lover are similar; each disregards the world’s standards of conduct and each is indifferent to the opinion of the world. But there are worlds of difference between the course and the goal of the two: the one leads to subterranean darkness and denial; the other gives wings to the soul for its flight to freedom.
The drunkenness of the drunkard begins with a glass of wine which elates his spirit and loosens his affections and gives him a new view of life that promises a forgetfulness from his daily worries. He goes on from a glass to two glasses, to a bottle; from companionship to isolation, from forgetfulness to oblivion— oblivion, which in Reality, is the Original State of God, but which, with the drunkard, is an empty stupor—and he sleeps in a bed or a gutter. And he awakens in a dawn of futility, an object of disgust and ridicule to the world.
The lover’s drunkenness begins with a drop of God’s love which makes him forget the world. The more he drinks the closer he draws to his Beloved, and the more unworthy he feels of the Beloved’s love; and he longs to sacrifice his very life at his Beloved’s feet. He, too, does not know whether he sleeps on a bed or in a gutter, and becomes an object of ridicule to the world; but he rests in bliss, and God the Beloved takes care of his body and neither the elements nor disease can touch it.
One out of many such lovers sees God face to face. His longing becomes infinite; he is like a fish thrown up on the beach, leaping and squirming to regain the ocean. He sees God everywhere and in everything, but he cannot find the gate of union. The Wine that he drinks turns into Fire in which he continuously burns in blissful agony. And the Fire eventually becomes the Ocean of Infinite Consciousness in which he drowns.
https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Everything_r.pdf
The Wine-seller
THE EVERYTHING AND THE NOTHING, page 27
by Meher Baba
Sufi poets use the figure of wine and its effects to describe the Way of Love and the condition of the lover. Saqi is the wine-seller, Rind is the customer and Maikhana is the wine-shop. Saqi-ul-Irshad is the vintner who makes and wholesales wine – the Wineseller to the wine-sellers.
As in the world there are many wine-shops where new and unracked, and even adulterated, wine is sold for a small price, and which brings madness upon those who drink it and destroys their bodies and minds, so on the Spiritual Path there are saqis who have not let the wine of love they have got from the Saqi-ul-Irshad mature, but have used it straightway themselves to obtain the intoxication of cheap(तुच्छ, ओछा) spiritual experiences, and even added pure spirits to it to increase its potency; and they sell it to anyone for the coins of small services.
And again, as there are wine-shops where only good vintage-wine is stocked for connoisseurs, so there are Saqis who are saints and perfect saints (walis and pirs) who have the mature wine of love for God alone, the price they have paid for which is the sacrifice of all that is near and dear; and this price they, in their turn, require from those who go to them.
Among those who have paid this price through many lives, one has the rare fortune to be invited by the Saqi-ul-Irshad to visit his cellar. And he gives this one a little glass from his special cask, and this overpowers him completely and he becomes merged with God. And out of many such intimates he makes one as himself – a Saqi-ul-Irshad.
The Saqi-ul-Irshad is the Qutub, the Perfect Master, who is the Pivot of the Universe. He is All-power and has the authority to use it as he wills. He never gives one intoxication (masti), but causes one to see God face to face, and some he makes one with God. As Hafiz says:
One who is Saqi-ul-Irshad can, with his mere glance or wish transform dust into the alchemy-stone that transmutes base metal into gold.
And sometimes it happens that there is one who has served the Saqi-ul- Irshad faithfully in previous lives and now has not even the price of the cheapest wine, and the Master remembers him and calls him and gives him the little drink of the Wine which gives Realization, and, perhaps, makes him a Saqi-ul-Irshad.
vintner: wine merchant
racking: long process of filtering the wine
connoisseur: an expert judge in matters of taste
vintage:श्रेष्ठ
cellar: वाइन का गोदाम
Naaz and Niaz (shama and parvana, candle and moth):
February 1954,
… The next morning, Friday, 26 February 1954, at eight o’clock, Baba informed Ramjoo he wanted to dictate something about the Sufi terms naaz and niaz, and asked for Kishan Singh, who was not present but doing some work where the mandali were staying. Baba complained, “Whenever I get the urge to say something important, things go wrong; either the microphone does not work, disturbances take place, the persons concerned are not present. Something always comes in my way!”
After fifteen minutes, however, Kishan Singh joined the group at Baba’s residence, whereupon Baba dictated:
Today, I want to explain naaz and niaz. In olden days, Sufis always stressed this point about naaz and niaz, shama and parvana [candle and moth]. Later on, these terms became so common that every Muslim poet, big or small, started using them.
Now, naaz literally means nakhra, coquetry, hard to please, never satisfied, and is said to be one of the chief attributes of the Beloved. Sufis refer to God and Perfect Masters as the perfect personification of naaz — always full of naaz. Why? Because they are independent and indifferent, beparvah — no care for anything, completely detached.
Now, you might think that God, Who is the source of everything, and the Sadgurus, who are God personified, how could they be beparvah? It sounds absurd. It is because God is absolutely independent and indifferent.
Niaz means to dance to every naaz [whim, outrageous demand] of the Beloved, to his every mood. Niaz does not mean obedience, but surrenderance.
To carry out the nakhra of God and the Sadgurus is a great thing. It means to dance to every tune of the Beloved, who is absolutely independent and indifferent. So also is God. And a lover of God is dependent on every whim of the Beloved. It sounds absurd that a Sadguru is indifferent and independent, and his lover is totally dependent — dependent not on the Sadguru, but on every independent nakhra of the Sadguru. But this is so.
Now the second aspect is most wonderful. We just now talked of God and the Sadguru’s independent nature. That “nature” is of the Infinite Reality; but the Sadguru has taken a form of illusion. In the form of a Sadguru, God, with His full indifference and infinity behind Him, takes the cloak of illusion. Now what happens is, that as soon as this illusory garb [the body] is worn, the Sadguru takes upon himself all the sufferings of the whole universe, [which are] caused by ignorance, which is the basis of illusion.
Now I will explain the paradox of why a Sadguru or the Avatar, who enjoys infinite bliss, is said to be simultaneously suffering infinitely.
When I say, “Deshmukh, no one in the whole universe suffers like me,” he smiles and replies, “Baba, how can you, who are the source of bliss, ever suffer?” The Sadguru has put on this cloak of illusion. Why? To make others enmeshed in illusion become infinite like him. He sees the suffering of others — the lepers, the lame, those who need money, others who want a son. He hears their cries: “Save us, save us from this suffering!”
He sees all this with the cloak of illusion he has taken upon himself; but, with the eternal infinite bliss as his background, he experiences that all that suffering is nothing. It is just ignorance. So he does not pay attention to their illusory suffering. He wants the sufferers to really suffer, and in this Real Suffering he wants them to burn their illusory suffering — meaning, to undergo those sufferings [for God] which will burn their false lives.
But how to do it? How to create in them the Real Suffering? So through his cloak of illusion, the Sadguru suffers the most. He wants to burn the false life of others; therefore, he burns his cloak of illusion which he has worn for others. He becomes like a candle, and as soon as the candle starts burning, moths gather around it. The candle goes on burning and burning, and thousands of moths burn in it. Thus he suffers for others and makes others suffer for him.
Baba concluded: “In this way, by wearing the cloak of illusion, the God-Man plays the dual role of suffering and making others suffer. But that suffering liberates them.”
[Lord Meher pp. 3480-3482]
August 1926,
… Zoroaster’s birthday was celebrated on 15 August 1926. Baba sometimes explained about the past Avatars to the mandali. On the 16th, he revealed about Prophet Muhammad:
Infidels knocked out the teeth of Prophet Muhammad and he did not let out even a single sigh! As Masters, our ways are quite opposite to the ways of the world. We outwardly harass those who love us, and we do nothing to those who despise us. We nourish our enemies and kill our friends! Muhammad was one of us and his teeth were broken by stones. Look at what happened to Jesus — he was crucified. We crush the eyeballs of our lovers underneath our heels and ignore our foes. We mercilessly tyrannize our lovers and even murder them. But no one has the right or the daring to ask us why we do it.
[When one is in contact with a Sadguru], yoga is meaningless and totally useless. What is the use of fasting for even 100 years to attain God? What is the use of dying a physical death for God? Just remember my one instruction: Remain bowed — submit to my wish. You have to become like the dust beneath my feet.
Do not desire occult powers; they are obstacles on the Path. Take a spider, for instance. It is all right as long as it remains still, but the moment it starts weaving a web, it gets so entrapped it cannot free itself. The more it tries, the more entangled it becomes in its own web.
[Lord Meher p. 698]
9 December 1962,
… I am the Avatar of this Age. Next year [1963] is a very critical year. See that my daaman does not slip from your hands then. Hafiz says:
Do not try for Realization because even to try for it is sheer madness.
Have only one madness — to become as dust at the feet of the Perfect Master.
To become dust means to completely surrender your heart and mind so that you are, as it were, already dead. There is no shanti [peace of mind] on this Path. If you want peace of mind, then you can get it elsewhere, and in other ways. You can go for pleasant long walks in nature or listen to soothing music, or take sedatives, or go to saints or sadhus. But here is not the place to come for it, for if you come to me, remember that the spiritual path is full of hardships and sufferings. While at other places, you can get peace of mind, for they know nothing about the Path. Hafiz says:
He who does not surrender to a Perfect Master cannot attain God.
There is thus only one remedy — hold fast to the Perfect Master’s daaman
even if you feel that he is going to drop you into a pit!
Hafiz says, forego all prayer to God! Pray only to the Perfect Master! Hold fast to his daaman and you will realize God.
– Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 4897]
May 1939,
… Dr. Ghani was also active in giving public lectures about Baba, especially to his fellow Muslims. Baba wrote to him about this in a letter dated 3 May 1939:
I am pleased about your lecturing on 4th and 5th in Ahmednagar, and I am sure you will [make] reference to your Baba and not give me excuses that it was not the opportune time and occasion. You might say that the Mohammedans might not like it; if so, why attend the meetings of people who do not approve of your Master being the Prophet of the Age.
I hope you will be brave and, taking the proffered opportunity, prove that you are worthy of my love. If you disappoint me, you will disappoint yourself.
[Lord Meher p. 2008]
8 May 1960,
… a visitor requested that Meher Baba give him his blessings. Baba replied:
It is very easy for me to give blessings.
It is very difficult for me to give love.
It is very, very rare for me to bestow grace. Why?
It is very easy for me to give blessings, because you are eager to receive them. The necessary receptivity is already there. But it is not so with love, because no one really wants to receive it as it should be received. The “warmth” of love is so unbearable that one who receives it has his whole being “blistered” and “blasted!” If you withstand this, your heart becomes clean. Then it is filled with love.
The one who receives my love is completely ruined in the eyes of the world. To receive love, you have to lose everything — even your own self! You have to give up all desires to such an extent that you become dead to yourself and the world. Then you are eligible to receive love. Rarely has one the longing to receive love. I am the Ocean of love. I am ready to give love to such a one, but where is the one to receive it? No one is ready, as he should always be, to receive love.
As for my grace, I bestow it when I get the whim to do so. Grace means grace, and it is perfectly independent of merits and demerits. When grace descends, instantaneously you become what you ever are — God. But this is very rare.
[Lord Meher p. 4674]
… The time is rapidly approaching when a tidal wave will rise in the ocean of grace. Then the usual process by which the water in the rivers flows into the ocean will be reversed and the ocean water will rush through the river beds. Be prepared to receive this overflow of grace.
– Meher Baba (November 1955)
LISTEN, HUMANITY, page 52
https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ListenHumanity.pdf
Love others as you would love yourself and all that is yours.
Fortunate are they whose love is tested by misfortunes.
Love demands that the lover sacrifice for the Beloved.
– Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 4237]
BLESSINGS OF A PERFECT MASTER
… Once Baba very good humouredly remarked that:
“People coming to see me almost always ask me to pray for them. These simple souls do not know that Masters neither bless nor curse anyone. The fulfilment of their worldly desires from approaching a divine personality, is in direct proportion to the faith they bring towards him and their prayers are answered by the divine Shaktis (Tajalliat — Powers) active around him.
A Perfect Master (Sadguru) works in the spiritual domain, while the Mahatmas (those on the Path) can be said to bless for it is their spoken word that brings about the desired result.
When approaching a Perfect Master with the object of deriving material benefit, one should rather request him for his curse, because such an one’s blessing, if at all he spends it in a particular case, is likely to uproot him from his worldly surroundings with a view to making him one like himself.”
TWENTY YEARS WITH MEHER BABA, p. 92,
by Dr. Abdul Ghani Munsif
https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Twenty-Years-with-Meher-Baba-1.pdf
April-May 1922,
… Meher Baba told the following story about a Perfect Master:
A Sadguru once set out with his disciples for begging. He approached a rich merchant, who instead of giving alms, shouted abuses and obscenities. Nevertheless, the Sadguru blessed him, saying, ‘Your profits will double.’
The Sadguru then approached another wealthier merchant, who mistreated him even more badly. He, however, blessed this man, saying, ‘Your profits will quadruple.’
Then the Sadguru, with his disciples, approached the shop of a poor old man, who received them with reverence, and offered whatever he could provide from his meager store. The old shopkeeper had only one son, whom he loved dearly.
Before leaving, the Sadguru cursed him: ‘By the power of God, I pray that your son dies soon.’ The next day the son was found dead.
When the Sadguru’s disciples found this out, they were bewildered by their Master’s behavior. The only man who had received them with humble reverence had been cursed, not blessed.
Afterward, the Sadguru explained: ‘Both merchants were immersed in the mire of worldliness, and did not want to be extricated. For that reason, I had to submerge them even more in the mire of the world by my blessings, so that one day they will cry to be pulled out. The poor shopkeeper was spiritually inclined. However his love for his son was much too binding. It was an obstruction to the old man’s progress on the Path. The son was, unknowingly, a thorn in his father’s side, and so I opened the door to the Path by removing his son. Now you tell me, who was blessed and who was cursed?’
When Baba finished this story, the truth about Jamboo dawned on everyone present. His “curse” was in reality a blessing. As a consequence, Jamboo overcame his grief and became profoundly closer to Baba from that time on, remaining surrendered to the Master’s will.
[Lord Meher p. 280]
Love is a gift from God to man, and when this gift is bestowed it kills the lover — it makes him dead to the world — and he lives forever in his Beloved. But he undergoes such terrible pangs of separation which none but a lover can pass through. In this love one has to burn. But if his plight is made known to others, it is an insult to the Beloved.
– Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 3304]
Suffering is the keynote to spiritual life. Sadgurus and the Avatar never avoid suffering, either their own or their mandali, by doing miracles. They suffer themselves and let their mandali suffer too!”
-Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 1854]
… On the morning after the accident, 3 December 1956, although in tremendous pain, Baba said:
The Hungarians suffered much in their recent struggle [against the Russians]. Many were lying wounded and helpless on the roads, away from their loved ones and from care or relief from pain. At least I am lying on a bed, with the care of good doctors and the love of all my lovers present and absent.
A few days before, Baba had remarked:
Nobody suffers in vain, for true freedom is spiritual freedom, and suffering is a ladder towards it. Man unknowingly suffers for God, and God knowingly suffers for man.
Vishnu (who was very close to Nilu) and Sadashiv Patil took Nilu’s body by car to Meherabad that day, where it was cremated. Nilu’s ashes were later buried at lower Meherabad, near the dhuni. Baba observed, “Nilu was particularly fortunate to have breathed his last in my physical proximity, and it is as he would have wanted it.”
[Lord Meher p. 4135]
… I am the Source of Infinite Bliss. To draw you to me and to make you realize that you are Bliss Itself, I come amidst you and suffer infinite agony.
– Meher Baba
THE EVERYTHING AND THE NOTHING, p. 48
… My greatness does not lie in performing miracles. My greatness lies in suffering for the universe, because I love all.
-Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 3608]
… “If people tell you that Baba has performed this or that miracle, let the story go in one ear and out the other. My greatness does not lie in performing miracles. My greatness lies in suffering for humanity, because I love all.”
[Lord Meher p. 4442]
… The greater the helplessness, the greater can and should be the dependence upon God for His help, which is ever more ready than are the sincere and earnest wishes for it.
-Meher Baba
Listen Humanity, page 177
https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ListenHumanity.pdf
… Know you all that if I am the Highest of the High, my role demands that I strip you of all your possessions and wants, consume all your desires and make you desireless rather than satisfy your desires. Sadhus, saints, yogis and walis can give you what you want; but I take away your wants and free you from attachments, and liberate you from the bondage of ignorance. I am the One to take, not the One to give what you want or as you want.
– Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 3394]
July 1931,
… The next day Baba began a fast. He was joined in the fast by Buasaheb, Baidul and Aga Ali, which all broke four days later on Friday evening, 10 July — the sixth anniversary of the Master’s silence. Pilamai performed Baba’s arti that day.
The mayor of Karachi, Jamshed Mehta, again came to see Baba. He told Baba that he found himself surrounded by difficulties with no immediate solution. Baba stated:
That is not bad news; that is very good news! You are lucky to have so many hardships. The fact is there are no hardships, because everything in the world is one big zero! I see and experience this every moment.
Once tested by the Avatar or Sadguru, the devotee will feel as if he is about to die! It is terrible; this path of God is the harshest and most insurmountable thing possible. Still, don’t worry and don’t lose hope. Good times are ahead and after these difficulties, quietude and comfort await you.
Terrible suffering is the sign of happiness and peace to come.
Great heat denotes the coming of rain. Great suffering and intense sorrow indicate that happiness is about to dawn. Anything beyond your capacity will necessarily change your capacity, because so long as everything is within your limits, you don’t know what is beyond them. And everything concerning God and God-realization is beyond limit! So in this way, great suffering and being plagued with terrible problems are beneficial.
People pray to me to solve their difficulties, saying that they love me, but there is a vast difference between love and prayer. In Persian, to pray means to beg, to want, to desire something — even the blessings of God. But when a person really loves, he gives himself over to his Beloved completely. This is true love. In that, there is no begging, no wanting, and no room for desires. Only the longing to unite with the Beloved remains.
Love means the renunciation of the self; prayer means selfishness, no matter how high the prayer may be. So there is a vast difference between the two!
[Lord Meher p. 1228]
… Love means suffering and pain for oneself, and happiness for others. To the giver, it is suffering without malice or hatred. To the receiver, it is a blessing without obligation.
-Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 2574]
… The light of love is not free from its fire of sacrifices. In fact, like heat and light, love and sacrifice, so to say, go hand in hand. The true spirit of sacrifice that springs spontaneously does not and cannot reserve itself for particular objects and special occasions.
– Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 2591]
December 1962,
… Baba then said:
From tomorrow, I will have to suffer a lot. Why and how can I suffer when I am the Ocean of Power, Knowledge and Bliss? God has infinite power, infinite knowledge, infinite bliss. The Avatar is God Himself incarnate on earth as man. During his ministry as the Avatar, he uses only infinite knowledge. He does not make use of his infinite power and infinite bliss. This is because God incarnates as man and goes through universal suffering and helplessness in order to emancipate mankind from its ignorance [and] its own suffering and helplessness.
If the Avatar were to use his infinite power, how could he experience helplessness? If the Avatar were to use his infinite bliss, how could he suffer? Therefore, he does not use either his infinite bliss or his infinite power. Such is his infinite love and compassion for creation!
Jesus Christ, who had infinite power, let himself become helpless and suffered the humiliation of letting the people beat him, spit on him and jeer at him. He suffered crucifixion on the cross, but he did not help himself with the power and bliss that were his. Instead, he cried out: “Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?” He said it to himself, of course, for he was one with God the Father.
Again and again, God takes human form to suffer for his creation. I am that One. Like you, I have a body and mind, and so I feel hunger and thirst, heat and cold, et cetera. But I also have the Universal Body and Universal Mind and, therefore, your individual suffering is nothing compared to my eternal, infinite universal suffering! I have infinite knowledge. I do not have to use my mind in order to know — I just know! I do use my infinite knowledge. But, although I have infinite bliss and infinite power, I do not use them. Were I to make use of the bliss that is at my beck and call, how could my suffering be suffering? And of what benefit would it be to mankind? I also do not use my infinite power. Were I to use it, how would I remain helpless? I remain infinitely helpless because, while having infinite power at my command, I do not use it. I shall use it only when I break my silence to give a universal spiritual awakening. And when I drop this body, I shall use my bliss for 700 years until my next advent.
Hold fast to me so that I will take you where I go; otherwise, you will be lost. I am the Emperor. If you belong to me, you will have access to the infinite treasure that is mine! But if, instead, you go after the guards and servants of the palace (saints and sadhus), it is sheer folly on your part!
I suffer mentally and physically. My mental suffering is more intense. I suffer spiritually because I see and feel myself bound in you by your ignorance, and so I suffer. Blessed is he who holds on firmly to my daaman! In no previous Avataric period have I disclosed these secrets, because the time was not right for it then. At present, science has advanced by leaps and bounds, the anti-God element is also at its maximum, and so why should not spirituality also be at its maximum?
[Lord Meher p. 4897]
January 1957,
Vishnu Chavan also came to meet Baba. Although he had been in Baba’s contact for years, Baba did not see him. In fact, none of the Poona lovers were permitted to see Baba, since he was still in seclusion.
But Chavan persisted and sent word to Baba that he did not desire anything except his blessing. So, for the purpose of receiving his blessing, Baba instructed him to go to Meherabad.
This episode with Chavan proved to be a profound story.
On the appointed date, Chavan went to Meherabad and then came to Meherazad, where Baba was staying.
Baba warned him,
“To digest my blessing is infinitely difficult. You do not understand the meaning of it. You do not know what it is. You will have to face tremendous hardships.
Do you know what my grace means?
You will be stripped of everything you own! You will be on the streets! Those who dare to seek and are privileged to receive my grace are stripped of everything. They have no roof over their heads. They wear only loincloths.”
Baba again warned him,
“Great courage is required to assimilate my blessing. So don’t ask for it. Ask for something else.”
“I only want your blessing,” Chavan insisted.
Baba then solemnly motioned,
“All right, take it. I give you my blessing.” And with it, Chavan left to return to Poona.
In a short time, true to Baba’s words, he fell on very hard times and gradually life got worse and worse. Chavan was married with a few children. Some months after this meeting, he found himself homeless and penniless.
For some time, he and his family lived in the local Gadge Maharaj dharamshala in Poona. After a while, they were forced to vacate, and Turekar (a policeman) took pity on them and allowed them to stay in a storeroom at his bungalow.
Months passed. Chavan, unable to bear the conditions of his life brought on by Baba’s “blessing,” contemplated suicide.
By chance he met Eruch on a street and disclosed what had happened to him. The news reached Baba, and Chavan was called to Guruprasad.
Chavan came and prostrated before Baba. Baba lovingly inquired about his family and then stated, “When you first came to me, I warned you that courage was needed to assimilate my blessing. You do not have that courage. Now, what do you want?”
“Baba, help me. The landlord evicted me and my family from our house and removed all our possessions. I don’t have a single paisa (penny) with me, and the children are starving.”
“All right. I will take back my blessing and give you some monetary help. But always be honest and do not forget me.”
Baba asked Nariman to give Chavan a hundred rupees, and Chavan took the money and left, pleased.
The following year, when Baba was again in Poona, he asked K. K. Ramakrishnan,
“Do you know Vishnu Chavan? Have you asked for or taken any money from him (for the Poona Centre work)? I know you are mad with your Centre project.”
Ramakrishnan told Baba, “Yes, I know him. He appears to be a big man now. He has gotten the job as the Bombay agent of an industrial or mercantile company and has become quite rich. He lives behind the railway station and goes everywhere by taxi. But I have not asked him for a donation. His wife sends two rupees to the Centre every month. That is all they give.”
Baba warned Ramakrishnan not to take any money from Chavan. “It is all right if you accept one or two rupees for the Centre work, but no large sum of money, even if he gives it on his own. Beware.”
Again, some time passed. One day in Guruprasad, when Maharani Shantadevi was sitting by Baba, Chavan arrived in a very sad mood. Baba instructed him in Gujarati to tell the truth and asked what was troubling him. Not really telling the truth, Chavan professed innocence and left.
But soon afterwards, he was arrested and sentenced to prison for fraud. Despite having failed to follow Baba’s advice about remaining honest,
Baba lovingly saw to the welfare of Chavan’s wife and children while he was in prison, and thereby Chavan learned an invaluable lesson in following the Master’s orders.
A similar incident involved Vadrevu Ramarao, a South Indian Baba lover who was living in Bilaspur working for Indian Railways. Charges were brought against him for stealing railway property. When he visited Baba he too professed his innocence. Baba told him not to worry, if he had done nothing illegal. “Truth will always prevail,” Baba stated. “My nazar is on you. Now go home and relax. Nothing will happen to you.”
But Ramarao was tried, found guilty and sentenced to several years in prison. When he was in prison, Baba asked his lovers to look after the maintenance of Ramarao’s family. Upon release, Ramarao came to see Baba, and Baba asked him again, “Tell me the truth. Did you commit the theft?” He finally admitted his guilt. “I told you that Truth will always prevail,” Baba said. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth the last time when you came?”
Baba tweaked his ears and admonished him, “I forgive you, but never do so again.”
[Lord Meher p. 4142]
“I am the Universal Thief! I steal the hearts of all!”
“If I don’t steal your hearts, how would you remember me?”
– Meher Baba
[Lord Meher p. 4035]
[Lord Meher p. 2462]
8 June 1963,
… Lata Limaye sang another ghazal, and Baba explained a few lines:
On the inner journey, there are seven planes of consciousness, and every plane has its muqam [abode] and manzil [destination]. The lover says: “I am making an effort to make my heart pure, but I do not expect any reward. I feel that all life is meaningless, and now the fear of death has also gone away!”
In love there is no fear. For those who are earnest, the path and the goal become the same. Therefore, continue trying.
Baba added, “Hafiz consoles the lover that if all efforts fail in bringing him to the Beloved, the lover should leave everything to the Beloved’s Will.”
Adi played the harmonium and sang a ghazal, and Baba explained its meaning:
Those who step into the domain of love think that they have reached the destination. God alone knows what a foolish thought that is. Hafiz says that at first, when he placed his feet on the “beach,” he thought he had already got the “Pearl.” But little did he know that he had to face the waves, the storms and the whirlpools, and dive deep into the Ocean before getting the Pearl.
The lover says: “I experience the parched desert of separation as an ocean of water, for I have grown so much in love that I quench my thirst by thirst itself!”
Hafiz says:
You yourself are the veil between yourself and God.
Remove your self and you will realize God.
This is as difficult as sleeping soundly and yet remaining fully conscious. This impossibility becomes a possibility by my nazar [grace].
On the slightest indication or hint from his Beloved, the lover gives all that he possesses in this world and in the next. The only thing he considers his own is his love for his Beloved.
At this point, Harry Kenmore was asked to recite the Master’s and Repentance prayers. Baba then went to the side room and discussed certain matters with the mandali for a short time. Later, he continued the explanation of the ghazal that Adi sang:
The true lover has no interest in places or things of this world. For him, each breath that he draws reveals a new world to him. Only those eyes which have intense longing for the sight of the Beloved can have some idea of the secret of that “intoxication” which the Beloved’s eyes impart.
One who is not advanced on the path and gives tall talks on Wine and the Wine jug cannot fathom the knowledge of the Master, who knows from the beginningless beginning the secrets of the Wine and the jug of Wine!
Those who are raw in love do not know of the pain they give to the Beloved. That love which gives the slightest bit of burden to the Beloved is not love.
[Lord Meher p. 5024]
… I recommend education, not coercion, to introduce reforms. Changes affecting the will of the people can never be brought about by legislature alone. The consciousness of the people must be transformed. They must be made to want something better than what they have. No one has as yet, however, gone to the root of the prohibition question. The problem is not whether prohibition should be maintained or modified or discontinued. People will continue to drink under any of those circumstances. The real problem is why they drink, and what would satisfy them instead of liquor.
There is no question but that those who drink habitually do so in order to experience release. They want something that will lift them out of their crystallization of thought and action, and free them, if, only for the moment, for original expression. That the fact of this method of obtaining release may not be the best one does not concern them – they know no other as yet. If they could be made to realise that the liberation that they seek could be more easily and more completely attained by the control of thought and desire they would certainly practise that control instead of drinking. I will teach many how to free themselves from drink.
– Meher Baba [1932]
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Meher Songs 