Secrets of Divine Working

Again, the saint could not contain himself and asked, “Why did you repair that wall for the villagers who did not even give alms to us? You have done this ‘labour of love’ for nothing. For so much labour in the village, we would easily have got sufficient remuneration to procure food and allay our hunger.” To this, the angel replied:: “You have again asked a question in spite of your having promised merely to observe and keep quiet.

It is no use divulging the ‘secrets of God’s ways’ prematurely. It requires the ‘greatness’ and ‘patience of God to understand His working.

You have tried to pry into ‘God’s secrets’, which you must not divulge. It’s now time for us to part. But never mind. Before we part, I will explain to you the reasons for my deeds.”

1. “The boatman is a poor pious man. When I took away a side-plank of the boat from a prominent place in its framework, I knew that a king of robbers was approaching in that direction. This robber-king was collecting new and efficient boats to carry on his plunders, and whenever he saw a good boat, he would snatch it away from the owners. However, he left untouched any boats which were in a broken and dilapidated condition.
                       I took away a huge side-plank in order that the boat may look uninviting. Otherwise, the pious and poor boatman would be relieved of the only means of his livelihood.
2. Now the Arab youth whom I killed was notorious and vicious. If he had lived, he would not only have perpetrated heinous crimes, but would surely have brought upon his pious parents an agonizing blasphemy, which they in no way merited.
              It was the ‘will of divine providence’ that I should kill this Arab youth in order to save him from further ‘sins’, and SAVE HIS PARENTS from the suffering of ‘undeserved ill-fame’.
3. Now coming to the repairs of the wall. Be it known to you that one pious man has kept buried under it, his valuable treasure with a desire that it may be of use to his sons. But, it is ‘God’s will’ that his sons must get that treasure when they grow up and that no one else should get it.
              If the dilapidated wall had further fallen, the treasure was in danger of being exposed to the sight of the wicked villagers, who would surely have taken possession of that treasure for themselves.

Rest assured that all I did– which was your special privilege to observe– was NOT ON MY OWN ACCORD or INITIATIVE but by the ‘orders of our Divine Father’ whose real greatness even we as angels can only partially understand.

‘God’s ways’ might be inscrutable to the world, but His love for the world is unbounded, and His justice is unfailing.”

With these words the angel parted, leaving the saint in deep contemplation. And, the saint decided to live in complete resignation to ‘God’s will’ even when his limited intellect could not understand its real meaning.

Those with “unclouded vision” see the significance of all that ‘life’ brings, in terms of the irresistible ‘law of truth’. They accept ‘life’ as it is without bitterness or dissatisfaction. For them, the truth which they ‘see’ and ‘realize’ is enough. It stands fully self-justified.

The Masters often are full of praise for the ‘value’ and ‘glory’ of that truth which they have realized. They say to the worldly-minded persons:: “Truth alone has value. Leave all your false pursuits and attain the truth for yourself, even as we have realized it. There is no need for you to despair, and no excuse for your postponing the effort to get at the Truth.”

This is just like some wealthy man who would press all poverty-stricken persons to earn money and encourage them by his own example. The praise which a wealthy-man showers on ‘wealth’ stands justified, because it actuates the poor people to become industrious and themselves become rich.
   Similarly, the praise which the Master bestows upon the supreme value of ‘God-realization’ also stands justified because it inspires and encourages others to ‘seek’ and ‘strive’ for the highest state. They praise ‘God-realization’ to encourage others who are in bondage and not for themselves.

The world sometimes praises wealthy persons. But really speaking, it is not praising these ‘persons’ but only their ‘wealth.’ In the same way, the world praises the Masters, who are stationed in the highest truth. But in doing so, the world is not really praising the Masters themselves, but only the ‘truth’ which they have.
  There is no reason for the world to begrudge their praise. So far as the Masters themselves are concerned, they accept praise and blame with the same equanimity. For them, ‘praise’ and ‘blame’ are alike. They are supremely indifferent to both, being keen only about their ‘divine duty’ of helping men to attain the truth by renouncing all cravings.

When the ‘mind of man’ becomes conscious of its enslavement to the ‘dispositional cravings’ to which it is subject, there arises a new force– the “spiritual aspiration” to realize that unlimited state which is like ‘conscious sleep’.
  Such ‘aspiration’ is like a breeze that creates fire by union with other things. The generation of this dynamically creative energy is symbolized by the rising flame of consciousness. Therefore, ‘worship’ and ‘prayer’ are offered to “fire” in many religions. God as the Sun of Light can never be realized except through the aspirational fire of striving consciousness.

The Masters are constantly fanning the fire of ‘spiritual aspiration’. This is ‘true worship’ and ‘consecration of life’ to God as Truth. The “divine task” of the Masters is inscrutable for those who wish to understand it in terms of the world because– it directly counterbalances the ‘dispositional inclinations’ by which the world is rigorously driven.

‘Divine working’ sometimes appears ruthless and inexplicable. Its significance cannot be understood by those who are immersed in the world.

–    Meher Baba