NO RETURN TO THE ANIMAL FORM

 
In the summer of 1959 Baba was staying at Guruprasad in Poona. My school had a long vacation, and Baba permitted me to stay with Him for six weeks. On some afternoons He visited Bindra House, where the Jessawalas resided, and the mandali used to accompany Him.

Previously Baba had advised a maidservant of the Jessawalas to give up the habit of petty thefts. Finding that she had again succumbed to the same weakness, He called her near. The delightful expression on His face vanished and with a stern look He gestured; "If you commit a theft again, you will be born as a pig in your next life."

In India pigs are regarded as the filthiest of animals. The very thought of becoming a pig greatly upset her, and with an expression full of remorse she promised never to repeat her old habit.

As soon as the girl left to do some household work, Baba's face looked aglow, with a glitter of delight about it. He turned to the mandali standing near Him, including Francis Brabazon, who had recently come from Australia for an indefinite stay with Baba. With a sparkle in His eyes, He quickly gestured, "Once you get a human body, there is no retrogression, no returning to the animal form."

Without further comment He changed the subject.