SELF-EFFACEMENT CONTAINS THE SPIRITUAL PATH

 
Meher Baba says in effect, "Be patient. I shall take you blindfolded, and I shall give you the inner strength to withstand the ups and downs of your mind and the ups and downs of the events of the world that have impact on your mind. Rely on Me only and I shall do your work." But for that you should have conviction which is even greater than faith.

Where will I get this conviction? Baba says learn to do nothing. You have been doing too many things. To try to do nothing is more difficult than doing everything. It is not possible for us to do nothing. But for us doing nothing means not doing anything by our own volition.

Leave it to Him. Be guided by Him all the time. This does not mean that I do not use my free will, but I use it to remember Him and surrender to Him; then He does everything. And how shall I be guided by Him? I do not understand if the guidance comes from Meher Baba or if it is created by myself. For this situation, Meher Baba has given a message which is so beautiful, so simple and practical:

Think thoughts you would not hesitate to think in My presence.
Speak words you would not hesitate to speak in My presence.
And do things you would not hesitate to do in My presence.

That is all — the problem is solved.

I should visualize Him before me. Then whatever thoughts I think, I can ask myself, "Would I ever think these thoughts when He is present before me?" I will get an answer. If my conscience alone tells me that this thought would be completely and fully endorsed by Meher Baba — that it will be liked by Him — then there is no objection in my thinking that thought as long as I want.

There are certain thoughts, I am sure, that He would not like, so I do not think about them. Similarly with speech. I may utter a word and ask myself if He would like it. If He likes it, then I would go on saying it. If He would not like it, then I should give it up.

Most important are the actions. If I feel His presence before me, would I dare do this? If my conscience says no, then I can't do it. If it says yes, then I do it, whatever the action is.

The thought of good or bad should be relegated to the corner of your mind. Ask yourself a question most honestly, and if your heart really says yes, then do whatever it is. But you should be very honest in your asking and listening.

It all boils down to this: self-effacement contains the spiritual path but the spiritual path does not contain self-effacement. If we go through the spiritual path there are a lot of dangers, and we may not be able to go to the end of our journey. But if we go blindfolded under the guidance of our Master who is Perfect, and try our best to exercise self-effacement, then we are absolutely safe.