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

THE FIRST TEN YEARS 91Here is a typical example of what love can do. Look at this man ... a poor merchant in thisplace, with no great influence, yet he managed to approach the highest government official here... This is no small work and service! All this he did unasked and of his own accord and withouteven telling us a word about it. Such service, so selflessly and spontaneously done, with no hopeof a reward except my blessing, must succeed, and he did succeed. Why?because of the lovewhich inspired him to do it, and for the sake of the love he put into it to make it a success. Hedeserves my blessing. He is blessed And now look at these two who have lived with me for years,they hesitated and thought a thousand thoughts and plans as to how to do it best! All right now,you two, give up your worrying, and go with this man to the British Consul and give him theletter.They acted accordingly, and in the biting cold, which made them shiver to the bone,unaccustomed to the climate, they delivered the letter. After a restless night they got up at four inthe morning and started packing in preparation to go to the station, as they were ordered to do thenight before, and to wait there for the visas rather than in the rest-house and make a rush at thelast moment. They were to call at the office at 8 a.m., when, the Consul had said, he would givehis final reply after thinking over the matter during the night. They went and waited at theentrance from seven-thirty in the cold wind.The Consul had been annoyed, but the four visits to his house and the explanations given him,as instructed by Baba, had the desired effect, and he considered their case to be a special one.Although he could not ignore the Governor's letter, they feared it might offend rather thanpersuade him, and they saw that he did feel a bit put out, probably disliking the dictatorial tone ofthe letter. He came to the office at eight o'clock (on Sunday, which was unusual), sat down at histable, resting his head in his hands as if in a dilemma. Here was a request by a party of over adozen men of different classes (a party of ascetics, as he believed) desiring to cross over thePersian frontier into British India. If he made a mistake and they were proved to be politicalagitators, communists in disguise (and communists were rampant), how could he explain what hehad done? So he was eventually informed of Baba's identity as a Master and of the others as hisdisciples, and he felt he could not detain them any longer for further inquiries. He took the risk,and after a few minutes' deliberation, sitting in the same position with his head in his hands, hecalled for his clerk and instructed him to prepare the visas immediately, so that they mightproceed by the