Eruch Jessawala, Susan Paul

Eruch Jessawalla

Eruch Jessawalla

Eruch Jessawalla

Eruch recounts how Meher Baba repeatedly asked him to express his love for Him, emphasizing the importance of love over God-realization. Eruch reflects on how he and the mandali took their time with Baba for granted, realizing the depth of His love only after His passing. He expresses a desire to be with Baba again, valuing the experience of being with Him over achieving God-realization.

Omniscience, according to Baba, means being infinite and eternal, encompassing all that is. It implies not only knowing everything, but that there is nothing to know as He is Infinite Eternal.

Mohammad advises a young man, who is the son of a thief, to continue his father’s vocation but to always do justice, speak the truth, and attend prayers. The young man, following Mohammad’s advice, robs a mansion but returns some of the stolen gold, believing it to be unjust. The mansion owner, impressed by the young man’s honesty and prayer, marries off his daughter to him, making him the owner of the mansion.

Mohammad, who had multiple wives, always remembered his first wife, Khadija. Aisha, his youngest wife, was jealous of Mohammad’s love for Khadija and asked him if he loved her the most. Mohammad, to demonstrate his love for all his wives, secretly gave each of them a gold ring, telling Aisha that the recipient of the ring was the one he loved the most. So she was happy with that.

Mohammad, who loves dates, was approached by an old woman and her grandson, who loved dates too much. Mohammad told them to return in a month, later explaining to his mandali that he would stop eating dates for a month to have a better impact on the grandson in a month when he told him to stop eating dates.

Meher Baba described four types of obedience: patriotic obedience of soldiers, paid obedience of servants, compulsory obedience of slaves, and willing obedience of lovers. He further explained that willing obedience has stages, from using common sense to complete obedience for the pleasure of the Beloved. The highest form is absolute obedience, exemplified by Kalyan’s unquestioning obedience to his Master, Kabir, when it led to Kalyan experiencing darkness despite the sun shining.

During a gathering, Baba expressed His dissatisfaction with the material offerings He received, stating that He, as the sustainer and provider, lacked nothing. Instead, He revealed that what He truly needed from His followers was their imperfections, as offering them would lead to their liberation and His own. Baba emphasized the importance of giving one’s imperfections to Him, allowing for gradual release from them.

Meher Baba instructed his followers to tell people that “Meher Baba says He is God in human form,” rather than stating it as their own belief. This instruction emphasized the importance of conveying Baba’s own words rather than personal interpretations.

A pilgrim asks about a quote attributed to Mani, stating that a strand of the Avatar’s hair is worth a billion suns. Eruch clarifies that the quote is from Tagore and refers to a strand of Mohammad’s hair housed in the Hazrat Bal Mosque, which has caused conflict and violence. Eruch humorously compares the reverence for the hair to the care given to Baba’s hair.

Eruch recounts the story of Thecla, a disciple of Saint Paul who was martyred for her faith. He emphasizes that Jesus’ fame stems from His willingness to be crucified despite His divine power, rather than His miracles.

Two stories were recounted from a 1959 gathering with Baba. The first story emphasized the value of obedience, illustrating that true action comes from following the Master’s will rather than one’s own. The second story depicted a man who worked hard despite hating his job, driven by the desire to earn enough money to eventually stop working.

There was confusion about how to explain Meher Baba’s identity to the public. Meher Baba advised his followers to answer that he is the one who provokes the question of his identity within you, the Being of all beings.