Nothing beyond infinity

Lyon, France. Though we have a yoga house here, the Margis deemed it unfit for Baba’s stay. Instead, they arranged a hotel suite for Him.

Baba hammered His words into Dada Ramananda. “Have I come here to stay in a hotel? Am I a bag of luggage to be stored away between darshans?

Nonsense!” He steamed. “You are the culprit here. You approved the schedule and all the facilities. See to our shifting to the jagriti (yoga house) immediately.

I shall not unpack my bag here.”

I felt bad because it was not really Ramanandaji’s fault.

“But, Baba, there is no attached bath for you there. It will be highly inconvenient.”

“It will be highly inconvenient, highly inconvenient,” He mimicked in a high falsetto. “I am not here for a vacation! I am here to work and be with the Margis. If we are not out of here in five minutes…” and His voice trailed off into a mumble.

It was a fact that there was no attached bathroom for Him in the yoga house. Setting up a portable toilet next to His room solved part of the problem. For bathing, however, He had to walk through almost all the other rooms to reach the bathroom near the front door. Margis and workers were of course sitting everywhere. Considering that He takes a full bath at least three times a day, this was indeed an inconvenience. Yet Baba’s mood could not have been sweeter.

Two days later. The Didi in charge of His kitchen handed me a basket this morning containing three thermos jugs—water, juice and milk. Because I was extremely busy preparing for the field walk, I passed the basket to one of the security volunteers, and requested him to bring it to the car.

During the field walk. Baba drank nothing. After returning. He requested milk. Moments later, a distraught Ramanandaji came to me. “What did you do to the milk?” “Nothing. What’s the matter?”

“When I offered a cup of it to Baba, He smelled it and said. ‘It’s gone sour.’ I’ve seen this sort of thing before. It happens only when the food or drink for Baba is handled carelessly—disrespectfully.”

“But I think Didi, myself and the guard were all meticulous.”

“It was a great problem. When Baba refused the milk, I suggested that another cup would be prepared. But He said. It will violate our time schedule. So leave it.’ This is very, very bad. That’s why I want to find the cause. You have to check it and report to me within thirty minutes.”

Unable to imagine the cause, I spoke to Didi and the guard, but both claimed their behavior had been proper. I sat down to think. A minute later, the guard came back, saying,

“Dada, do you think that anything might have happened because of where I put the basket?”

“What? Didn’t you carry it directly out to the car after I gave it to you?”

“Yes, but no, well in fact, as I was bringing it out the door, I remembered my hat. I put the basket down near the door, and ran back to fetch my hat. But it was only a minute, Dadaji.”

“Show me exactly where you put it.”

He pointed to the dusty area packed with everyone’s shoes.

I understood, and went to Ramanandaji.

“This is surely the explanation,” He said.

“Will you tell Baba?”

“What for? He knows everything. Rather He caused this incident to happen just to teach you.”

During the darshan, Baba said, “Suppose that a gentleman is undergoing fasting and secretly in a closed room he takes chocolate. The man says to himself, ‘No one will know! Nobody will know!”’

At this moment one brother abruptly exclaimed, “Oh Baba!”

Baba continued, “Not so—his unit cognition will know that I’ve taken chocolate, and similarly the Cosmic Father will also know that in a particular room that unit body takes chocolate secretly. That unit body is still thinking, ‘The fact that I took chocolate on fasting day is not known to anybody.’ It’s known to everybody, nothing is secret.

“Now suppose Anchala is thinking like this: ‘This night I will not join general darshan and I will sing Baba Nam Kevalam just on the footpath.’ But Anchala’s thought waves will be known to the Supreme Father also. The Supreme Father says, ‘Ohh! Anchala is thinking like this. Issue a banning order saying Anchala won’t be allowed to attend general darshan.’ Nothing is secret.”

Afterward I asked the brother why he had reacted so suddenly to Baba’s words about chocolate.

“Because He described what happened to me and the exact words I was thinking on the last fasting day.”

Following the darshan, Baba said, “Everything in this universe is the mental creation of the Supreme progenitor. As long as His mind is there, you are within His mind. He cannot say, ‘Get out, get out of here! I don’t want to see your face!’ He cannot say this. Because in that case you can ask Him, ‘Oh Lord, You say, “Get out!”, then where am I to go? It would be within Your mind.” 1

Now Anchala said, “Oh!”

Baba looked at her, continuing, ‘“And, Lord, if You say, “Get out! Go beyond the periphery of My mind”, then certainly. Oh Lord, You are not infinite. Because there is something beyond Your mind. So just to maintain the prestige and dignity of Your name. You are to tolerate what I do and what I think. And that’s why it is Your duty to guide me. Iam Your son, I am Your daughter. I am to do according to Your dictates.’”