FOOLING BABA

 
The lesson of obedience is one we humans apparently have to learn over and over. And if one sincerely wants to obey Baba, absolute honesty is necessary. It may be possible to fool the world, but it is not possible to fool Him. I learned this lesson through an incident having to do with keeping a fast.

From time to time we used to receive circulars from Baba giving specific orders for His lovers all over the world. There was a time when He wanted us all to keep silence for a month. Another time a circular came saying that husbands and wives should live together as brothers and sisters for three months; then He extended the time to six months, then to a year.

And during these periods other circulars would come with orders for fasting, sometimes just for twenty-four hours. But once a request came that men should fast for twenty-one days and women for five. Of course, the five days were not compulsory — but that was Baba's wish. It was for us to decide whether or not to obey, and in this case He had left the choice to us. We could fast for one day or for five.

When the circular arrived, I decided I would fast for all five days. I got through the first day successfully, and the second day as well, continuing to perform my job. At that time I was teaching private English lessons to foreign diplomats. On the third day one of my students, not knowing that I was fasting, offered me a plate of delicious-looking cakes. It was two days after Christmas, and she had made them herself. "Please, Mrs. Dubash, try these cakes," she said, excusing herself and leaving the room for a few minutes.

So there I was, all alone in the room, with the plate of cakes in front of me, tempting me. They made my mouth water, and I couldn't keep my eyes off them. "How delicious they look," I said to myself. "I must have one — no one will know that I have eaten it. There is no one here to witness this act, so I can still say that I fasted for five days."

I reached out and picked up a cake — and immediately dropped it back on the plate. "Who is it I am trying to fool?" I thought, "Meher Baba? God Almighty?" And with that thought, the crucial moment passed and, with it, the temptation.

What had stopped me from falling prey to temptation? I had felt Baba's presence, and I remembered that the fasting I had undertaken was to please Him. I had to teach my class for an hour in that room with the cakes still there, but they no longer held any attraction for me.

Nothing, however, escapes the All-knowing. One year later at Christmas, the same student brought to the same room a tray of cakes she had made, and they looked just as tempting as the cakes had looked the year before. She put the tray on my desk and said, "Please help yourself, Mrs. Dubash."

Now this time I was not fasting, so I happily stretched out my hand, selected one, and took a big bite. It was the worst cake I had ever tasted! I had a whole mouthful. I couldn't swallow it, and I couldn't spit it out. Again I felt Baba's presence. "Okay, Baba," I thought, "I've learned my lesson. Now please give me an out so that I can spit this cake somewhere." But Baba just left me to my own resources, as I tried to gulp it down. He wouldn't let me off lightly for having even thought of trying to fool Him.