To: All Dear Ones
By email:
Subject: Bhau's "Awakening" of 13th June -- Krishna's Gopis, Baba's Arjuna Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!

Last night [Wednesday, 13th June], Beloved Baba reminded me of the story of Krishna and Narad. I dozed for five to ten minutes, then once again I heard Baba's silence voice.

"Do you remember when I had been to Andhra in 1954 to give a mass darshan program, and what happened when I was talking at the workers' group meeting?

I did not remember the answer to the question that Baba was asking.

"Because they were working for Me, others would feel jealous, and they were talking about jealousy. At the workers' group meeting, I remembered one story, when I was Krishna.

"I told them, when I was Krishna, I would love My Gopis (women disciples). The Gopis were living in Vrandavan, and I was in Mathura with My men disciples. I would always praise My women Mandali (Gopis) for their love. The men Mandali would feel very jealous. I would praise the women Mandali more and more, and the men Mandali would become more and more jealous of the Gopis.

"One day, I told the men Mandali, 'I am suffering from a severe headache. It is unbearable. Do something for Me.'

"The men Mandali said, 'Lord, should we call the doctor?'

"I [as Krishna] said to them, 'No doctor can give Me any relief. Only if the dust under the feet of My lover is applied on My forehead, I will get relief.'

"They all said, 'Such a sin we cannot commit. You are our Lord. How can we put the dust under our feet on Your forehead? It is a great sin. We cannot do this.'

"And I said to them, 'This will provide the only relief. I can't bear this pain. If you want to help Me, do this.'

"They could not accept it.

"Then I said, 'One of you go to Vrandavan and tell My Gopis. If they give you the dust under their feet, bring it to Me and apply it.'

"'The Lord is suffering from severe headache,' he said.

"'And you did not do anything to give Him relief?' the Gopis exclaimed.

"'The Lord said that nothing would help Him. Only if the dust under the feet of His lover is applied to His forehead, will He get relief.'

"As soon as the Gopis heard this, they said, 'Take please! Please take! And give this to Him.' Every one of the Gopis took the dust from under their feet to give to My male disciple.

"'This is a great sin,' he replied. 'If the dust under your feet is applied to the forehead of your Lord, it will be very sinful.'

"'We don't care if we become sinners,' the Gopis replied. 'We are ready to suffer and suffer for this. But we want that our Lord should get relief.'

Baba then said to me, "This is called 'to seek the pleasure of the Beloved.' Why did I love My Gopis so much? Because they would seek My pleasure.

"In 1925, when I was staying at Meherabad, there was one Arjuna. I loved him very much, because he was very obedient. Every one of the Mandali was jealous of him. He was illiterate. He could only give his thumb impression [on documents], and I made him director of education. Qualified teachers were all under him, and they were very jealous. When I would eat, I would ask him to sit by My side, and I would give My food to him.

"All the Mandali members were very jealous of him. They were thinking, 'This illiterate person was made director of education, and Baba loves him so much. Though we also love Him, He doesn't love us as he loves Arjuna.'

"One day, in 1925, I went to the school for an inspection. I found some mistake committed by Vishnu (one of the Mandali). I got very much upset with him and also became very angry. I had a stick in My hand. After some time, I said to Vishnu, 'Vishnu, I got angry. That is not good for Me. You take this stick and beat Me thrice on My hand.' And I held out My hand for Vishnu to do so.

"Vishnu said, 'You are my Master, and I am Your disciple. I cannot do this.'

"'But your Master is asking you to do this,' I said to him. 'You must obey.'

"'I cannot commit such a sin,' protested Vishnu. 'If you insist that I should, I will leave You. I will go away.'

"Then I called Rustom, who had been appointed the manager of Meherabad. I asked him the same thing.

"Rustom said, 'If you ask me to commit such a sin, I will jump in the well and die.'

"'This is My order. You must obey.'

"'I cannot commit such a sin,' Rustom repeated. I would rather jump in the well and die.'

"Arjuna was working somewhere else, so I sent for him. When he came, I said to him, 'Take this stick, and beat Me thrice on My hand.'

"Without a second thought, Arjuna did so.

"Then I said to Vishnu and Rustom, 'Do you know why I love Arjuna so much? Because He pleases Me. Whatever I say, he does. You people just think about your own orthodox ideas. It does not mean that you should beat Me. But whatever I say to you, you must do it in order to please Me. This is called obedience, and obedience always pleases the Beloved. There is no question of sin or virtue. It is the matter of pleasing Me.'

"Why do I give so much importance to obedience? Because obedience you can carry out. Love is the grace of God, and it is not easy to have. When you obey, you also receive the aroma of love from Me. Lust, anger, hatred, backbiting, slander and every type of low desire -- how can you be free from all these? It is only through obedience that you can be free from them. If you have obedience, you can also have love.

"I have been telling and telling you that I am the Ocean. If you put perfume in the Ocean, the water of the Ocean will not be perfumed. If you put in stool, the water of the Ocean will not stink. I can absorb good and bad both. So you must not hesitate to offer Me your low desires as well as good desires.

"In 1953," Baba continued in His silent voice, "I had been to Nagpur to give a mass darshan program. I stayed with Nana Kher. Nana Kher had a brother who was married. His brother's wife was named Aasha. One night, when the food was served, there was no chutney. Aasha would make very good chutney, so I asked Nana's mother why the chutney was not there.

"'Aasha has her period,' answered Nana's mother. 'So, for four days, she cannot touch anything. She keeps away. It is not possible for her to make chutney.'

"I said to Aasha's mother, 'I want chutney. Without chutney, I cannot eat. What is it to Me whether she has her period? I am the Ocean. I can absorb everything. There is nothing good and bad for Me. So tell Aasha to make chutney for Me, and then I will eat.'

"Aasha made the chutney, and I ate.

"So remember this, I am the Ocean, Infinite Ocean. And the waves are always active in Me. So offer your sins and your virtues to Me, and I will make you pure. Do not hesitate. I come down on earth for this purpose, and that is why I embrace the sinners as well as the saints. Everyone can approach Me, whether you are rich or poor. Whether you are a king or a beggar. Whether you are a man or a woman, illiterate or literate. I am accessible to every one. I'm for all, because I am everyone and everything. You all belong to Me. And I belong to you.

Never forget this fact: I am your compassionate father."

Bhau
Trust Office
Ahmednagar, MS, India
Thursday, 14th June, 2001

Note from Bhau: I also want to mention that this treatment of women during their periods was very common in India previously, but is much less so nowadays.

Additional Note: In 1926, Baba went to Bombay along with Arjuna and other men disciples. In Lonavla, Arjuna fell ill. Though all medical treatment was given to him, he died.

Ps. Coming soon: Two new "Awakenings" from Bhau: Prasad for the Priest Class followed by Suffocation by a Seven-Color Curtain.

Pps. If you are not receiving these "Awakenings" directly but would like to, please send an email to shiva2001@indiatimes.com with "Add My Name to the List" in the subject line. No need to put anything in the body of the message.