Chapter IV Aspirants

God to Man and Man to God
The discourses of Meher Baba
Edited by C. B. Purdom
London, Victor Gollancz LTD, 1955

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Chapter IV

ASPIRANTS AND GOD REALIZED
BEINGS

BEFORE GOD REALIZATION advanced
aspirants pass through states of consciousness that are akin
to the state of God realization. For example, Mad Masts and
saints of the higher planes are completely desireless and
immersed in the joy of God intoxication:

since their only concern is God,
they become the recipients of the happiness that is
characteristic of the God state. They have no beloved except
God. They have no longing except for God. For them, God is
the only reality. They are unattached except to God, and
remain unaffected by pleasures and pains. They are happy
because they are face to face with the Divine
Beloved.

Different states of
aspirants

Advanced aspirants not only
participate in some of the privi leges of the divine state,
they also possess occult powers and per ceptions. They
belong to different types according to the kind of powers
they possess. For example, on the first plane, the aspirant
sees lights and colours, smells perfumes and hears the music
of the subtle world. Those who advance further see and hear
at any distance. Some see the entire physical world as
mirage. Some take a new body immediately after death. Some
have such control over the physical world that they can
change their bodies at will; they are called Abdals in Sufi
tradition. But all these achievements pertain to the
phenomenal world; the field of their powers is itself a
domain of illusion, and the apparent miracles they perform
do not in themselves mean that they are nearer to the God
state.

In their consciousness, too,
aspirants belong to various types, get intoxicated with
extraordinary powers, and in the temptation of using them
have a long pause in their Godward march; they get held up
in the consciousness of the intermediate planes. There are
some who become dazed, confused and self deluded. There some
who get caught up in a coma. There are some who with
difficulty try to come down to physical consciousness by
repeating e physical action or an identical sentence a
number of times. ere are some who, in their God
intoxication, are so indifferent the life of the physical
world that their external behaviour pears to be that of mad
persons; and there are some who cross e path while
performing their worldly duties.

Owing to their exalted states of
consciousness, some advanced aspirants are adorable but
their state is in no way comparable to at of God realized
persons, either in respect of the spiritual duty and
perfection of their inward state of consciousness, or in
respect of their powers. All aspirants to the sixth plane,
are limited by finite consciousness, and are in the domain
of duality illusion. They are mostly happy, due to their
communion with God. For some, the joy of the inward
companionship of the Divine Beloved is so great that they
become unbalanced in behaviour, and in their unsubdued state
of God intoxication may abuse people, throw stones at them
or behave like ghosts. Their state is described as that of
the Unmatta. Owing to the exuberance of uncontrolled
joy in inward contact with the Divine Beloved, they are
regardless of worldly standards or values, and owing to the
fearlessness which comes to them through complete detachment
they may often allow themselves such self expression as
would be mistaken for exaggerated idiosyncrasies.

Poise comes on the seventh
plane

Only when the soul attains God
realization on the seventh plane does it get full control
over its joy. Only with realization does the unlimited
happiness, which is eternally his, in no way unbalance a
person, for he is now perman~ntly established in non
duality. No longer for him is the extravagance of newly
found love. The occasional unsettlement due to the on flow
of increasing joy at the closer proximity of God is also
over because he is now inseparably united with him. He is
lost in the Divine Beloved and merged into him, for he is
one with the infinite ocean of unbounded
happiness.

The happiness entered into by the
God realized person is un conditioned and self sustained,
eternally the same, without ebb and flow. He has arrived at
certainty and equanimity. The

are some who get caught up in a
coma. There are some who with difficulty try to come down to
physical consciousness by repeating some physical action or
an identical sentence a number of times. There are some who,
in their God intoxication, are so indifferent to the life of
the physical world that their external behaviour appears to
be that of mad persons; and there are some who cross the
path while performing their worldly duties.

Owing to their exalted states of
consciousness, some advanced aspirants are adorable but
their state is in no way comparable to that of God realized
persons, either in respect of the spiritual beauty and
perfection of their inward state of consciousness, or in
respect of their powers. All aspirants to the sixth plane,
are limited by finite consciousness, and are in the domain
of duality and illusion. They are mostly happy, due to their
communion with God. For some, the joy of the inward
companionship of the Divine Beloved is so great that they
become unbalanced in behaviour, and in their unsubdued state
of God intoxication may abuse people, throw stones at them
or behave like ghosts. Their state is described as that of
the Unmatta. Owing to the exuberance of uncontrolled joy in
inward contact with the Divine Beloved, they are regardless
of worldly standards or values, and owing to the
fearlessness which comes to them through complete detachment
they may often allow themselves such self expression as
would be mistaken for exaggerated idiosyncrasies.

Poise comes on the seventh
plane

Only when the soul attains God
realization on the seventh plane does it get full control
over its joy. Only with realization does the unlimited
happiness, which is eternally his, in no way unbalance a
person, for he is now permanently established in non
duality. No longer for him is the extravagance of newly
found love. The occasional unsettlement due to the on flow
of increasing joy at the closer proximity of God is also
over because he is now inseparably united with him. He is
lost in the Divine Beloved and merged into him, for he is
one with the infinite ocean of unbounded
happiness.

The happiness entered into by the
God realized person is un conditioned and self sustained,
eternally the same, without ebb and flow. He has arrived at
certainty and equanimity. The happiness of the saints is
born of proximity to and intimacy with the Divine Beloved,
who, however, remains an externalized Another. In the
happiness of the God realized there is no duality. The
happiness of the saints is derivative; the happiness of the
God realized is self grounded. The happiness of the saints
is that of the outpouring of the divine grace; the happiness
of the God realized is the divine grace itself.

Differences in relation to the
universe

When a person attains God
realization, he has infinite power, knowledge and bliss. The
intrinsic characteristics of inner realiza tion are the same
in all the God realized, irrespective of the differences
that give rise to distinguishable types. These differ ences
are extrinsic, belonging not to the relation with God but to
the relation with the universe; they do not constitute
degrees of spiritual status between the God realized, who
are all perfect. Yet these differences exist only from the
point of view of the observer; they do not exist for the God
realized themselves, who are one with each other and with
all existence.

From the point of view of the
outward creation, however, the differences between the God
realized are not only definite but worth noting. After God
realization, some souls drop their bodies, and remain
eternally immersed in God consciousness. For them, God is
the only reality and the entire universe is zero. They are
so completely identified with the impersonal Truth that they
have no direct link with the world of forms.

Majzubs

Some God realized souls retain their
gross, subtle and mental bodies; but in their absorption of
God consciousness are totally unconscious of the existence
of their bodies. Other souls continue to see their bodies
and treat them as persons incarnate, but these bodies exist
only from the point of view of the observer. Such God
realized persons are called Majzubs, in Sufi terminology.
The Majzubs do not use their bodies consciously, because
their consciousness is wholly directed towards God, it is
not turned toward their bodies or the universe. For them,
their bodies as well as the world of forms have no
existence, so there can be no question of their using their
bodies in the world of forms. However, though the Majzubs do
not use their bodies consciously, they are necessarily the
centres for the radiation of the constant overflow of the
infinite bliss, knowledge and love, and those who revere
these bodies derive spiritual benefit from this radiation of
divinity.

Some God realized persons have the
awareness of the existence of others who are in bondage. But
they know these souls to be forms of the Paramatman and that
they are one day destined to have knowledge, they remain
indifferent to the provisional and changing lot of those who
are in bondage. They know that just as they themselves have
realized God, these also will realize him. They are in no
hurry to speed up the God realization of those who are in
bondage, for they take no active interest in the time
processes of creation.

God Men

Some of the God realized not only
possess God consciousness but are conscious of creation and
their bodies. They take an active interest in those who are
in bondage and use their own bodies consciously for working
in creation, so as to help others in their God ward march.
Such a God realized one is called Sadguru of the universe,
and everyone high or low, good or bad, is at the same
distance from him. In the Sufi tradition, this centre is
called Kutub. Through Kutub the universe is
controlled.

Avatar

The God realized one who first
emerges through evolution as the God man and helps others in
bondage is known as the Avatar. Sadguru and Avatar have
complete God consciousness, plus full consciousness of the
gross, subtle, and mental worlds simultaneously, and have no
difficulty in retaining normal human consciousness; but the
Paramhansa and Jivanmukta, who have no duty to perform, have
at times great difficulty in keeping their consciousness
normal, and have to compel their minds to come towards
material things an activities; they may ask for food or pull
their hair or slap themselves to remain in the body. The
Avatar has no difficulty in retaining normal consciousness
at all times. He does not have to resort to physical
activities in order to keep in the physical
world.

In fundamental characteristics of
consciousness the Avatar is like other God men. None retains
a finite and limited mind because after merging in the
Infinite the mind becomes universal. The God man as well as
the Avatar never loses God consciousness, although engaged
in activities in relation to the creation. Both work through
the universal mind when they desire to help
others.

God to Man and Man to God
The discoures of Meher Baba

Chapters

1 – The New
Humanity
2 – The Search for God
3 –
God
– Realization
4 –
Aspirants
and God Realized Beings
5 –
The
State of the God Man
6 – The
Work of the God Man
7 – Avatar
8 –
9

A short
history of the book

1967 expanded release of God to Man and
Man to God entitled The Discourses (Online
edition)