THE BEAUTY OF MY CREATURES

 
One particular darshan here in Mandali Hall, Meherazad, I still vividly recall. The crowd entering was tightly pressing as each person eagerly came forth to greet their Lord. My seat, a usual, was across from Baba near the window, and the chair near the door was the seat of the Lord. Visitors would come through the door at the front, and after having darshan, they would pass out through the gate-door at the rear of the Hall. Sometimes Baba would allow people to sit down in the hall, but many times they would simply be standing with the hall completely packed. A sort of aisle-way would exist in front of Baba, and the queue of people would come in and greet Him, and go on through and out the back.

Naturally, when so many people would be standing like that I could not see to read Baba's gestures. What I would always do in such cases was to stand up in the same spot where I would normally sit, leaning back against the window-sill for support, while craning my head around and over the crowd to be able to read Baba's gestures. Inevitably I would keep my position in that manner through any such gatherings.

At one point during this darshan program, in walked an extraordinarily beautiful woman. My gaze, of course, was on Baba at the time, because He was relating Himself, and gesturing to the person who was before Him. Just at the moment this woman entered, however, my eyes turned toward the doorway and fell upon her. I found her to be stunningly beautiful, such a veritable vision of beauty, in fact, that I immediately found myself attracted to her beauty. As she approached and stood before Baba, my mind said, "My, what a beauty she is — a very attractive young woman, indeed!" You know how the mind is — it works so fast, and all these thoughts occurred in a blink.

As this young woman stood before Him, Baba was giving His love to her and patting her cheek. She then bowed down and started to leave. Just as she began to move away, Baba caught hold of her hand and stopped her. She looked up at Him and smiles. Baba then turned her face to me and said, "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Yes, Baba, she is really beautiful," I admitted. Then again He repeated, "See how beautiful she is?" and I again responded, "Yes, Baba, indeed she is."

The young woman was very embarrassed, of course, with all the crowd standing there hearing this exchange. I looked from her to Baba, and immediately I understood what was going on between Baba and me, with His simultaneously open yet very private response to the thoughts in my mind just seconds earlier. The point He then made, however, was not meant just for me but for us all. And look at the fun of His ways — had it not been for this episode, how could I have the opportunity to recall and relate His very telling and significant statement for you all now?

With the darshan queue momentarily stopped and all attention diverted to this young woman, Baba asked her age. She replied, and it happened that she was only a budding teenager, so coy and shy. Baba once again exclaimed, "How beautiful she is! But looking at her, people admire her beauty and forget me, the Creator of that beauty. I am the Eternal Beauty! It is My beauty which is reflected in her. What will happen to her in the years to come? Within sixty years she will be covered with wrinkles and people will pass her by without the slightest interest in looking at her. For the moment, however, all must certainly agree that she is dazzlingly beautiful!"

Baba then turned to us and said, "I want you all to admire the beauty that has been reflected in each human being, but at the same time, remember that I am the very Source of Beauty, and that it is nothing else but an infinitesimal fraction of My own Eternal Beauty which you admire in others. If you do that, there is no harm in admiring the beauty of My creatures. The beauty of creation is meant for you all — everything in creation is meant to serve as nothing less than a constant reminder for you to remember Me. If you remember Me through the beauty of My creatures, how wonderful it would be! But if, instead, you dwell on their beauty and forget Me the Source of that beauty, beware!"