THE GOD-MAN The Life, Journeys and Work of Meher Baba with an ...

432 THE GOD-MANthat Baba does it for his own reasons, not by any means because of the matter in hand .... I definitely feel thatthe dust up yesterday has brought me a lot closer to him, although it is not funny to be ticked-off and made tolook an ass. I suppose it is all done in love. All these Masters have abuse upon their tongues and love in theirhearts.30/3/40. I get the impression that he no longer takes the trouble to be extra nice to me, to flatter me, buttreats me much more like the other mandali, which is really a big compliment; for to work for Baba and notto be praised or thanked is the best.To the mandali are added others who live normal lives at their homes, devotees and lovers who acceptspecific orders from time to time, and at any time, receiving the teaching and living by it. These disciples arefound in almost every country of the world, without, however, as I shall explain, there being any attempt toestablish an organization, or 'movement'.All who come into contact with Baba, either personally or through others, are welcomed with greatwarmth; there is no bar as to sex, religion, race, color, caste or anything else. It is noticeable, however, thatdifficulties are soon likely to arise and a certain amount of discouragement appears. The farther off peopleare the less this is felt, of course, and many thousands of devotees know nothing of it whatever; but thenearer a person gets to Baba the more it becomes apparent. It is never a matter of money, for Baba does notask for money, and, except for special purposes on occasion, does not permit his disciples to do so. He does,however, look for acceptance of the unexpected. He is never, however, rude to his devotees, as Zen mastersoften are. He is strict and severe, insisting upon scrupulous attention to every detail of his instructions. Thenearer to him the more exacting he is, only their love for him enable the mandali to bear the pressure of hispresence. He has great patience, but when he gets impatient he says it is to enable them to be patient! Baba'spraises and flattery are for those who are not near. He may sometimes deliberately inflate the ego of afollower, making him think he is important. If he makes marked signs of approval, it is likely to be awarning of distance from him. To be specific, it is impossible to be close to him without suffering loss ofself-complacency and self-esteem; should any part of either survive, it indicates that one is not so near tohim as one supposed.Indeed, it is not too much to say that Baba needs to lose disciples if he can. He must shake them off ifthey can be made to go. It will be seen from the record that, from the start, Baba has constantly faced his