DISCOURSES Volume II - Avatar Meher Baba Trust

130 DISCOURSESlike the desperate attempts of a man to break through the walls ofhis prison, than like the idle speculative activity that is involved informing "opinions" about the strength of the different parts of theprison-walls, or about what may be visible after breaking into theopen.In spiritual life, even a sincere mistake taken seriously mayhave more value than half-hearted allegiance to theoretical orformal truth. The practical purpose in the specialized forms ofPractical purposemay over-rideformal truthmeditation must sometimes prevail even at thecost of formal and theoretical truth. Thus,while concentrating on a particular formula orform, no other formula or form can be allowedaccess to the mind although, intrinsically, this other formula orform may have the same or even greater spiritual importance. If anaspirant has been meditating upon one Master, he has to excludefrom his mind all ideas of any other Masters, though these Mastersmay be as perfect as the Master on whom he is meditating. In thesame way, intensive thinking might be as helpful in achieving thegoal as the process of making the mind blank.As a rule, mixing up of the specialised forms of meditationis not desirable, though theoretically they may equally be directedtowards different aspects of the Truth. The task of bring-Function of generalmeditationing together the different facets of the Truthand building up a whole and complete viewof life is attempted by general meditation, inwhich thought is free, comprehensive and receptive to all aspectsof the Truth. Such general meditation has its own value andjustification. General meditation is helpful before specialisedforms of meditation as well as after trying them, but it cannot takethe place of specialised forms of meditation because these have adifferent purpose and