DISCOURSES & TALKS BY MEHER BABA

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A GOD-REALIZED PERFECT MASTER & A YOGI

30 August, 1927

Baba was discoursing frequently during August. During one occasion, on 30 August, Baba explained the difference between the powers of a God-realized Master and a yogi:

Miracles are generally attributed to Avatars, Sadgurus, or Realized human beings, while occult powers belong to yogis. The former is the outcome of extremely high and unselfish motives, while for the latter the mainspring is invariably the worst kind of selfishness. An Avatar or Sadguru performs miracles when he intends to give a general push to the world toward spirituality, but a yogi generally enacts his supernatural powers to serve his own ends.

For example, a child is tightly holding a parrot by the neck to the point of strangling it. Now in order to save the bird's life it will not be advisable to try to snatch it from the hands of its young captor, because there is the chance of his tightening his grasp. The child must therefore be offered a coin, which will induce him to let go of the parrot. In this instance, the offering of the coin represents performing a miracle, and rescuing the parrot from the child's grip means saving the mind from ignorance and maya's grip. Such is the way of Avatars and Sadgurus. However, if a yogi sees a very beautiful woman and desires her, he will materialize gold jewelry in order to attract her. Obviously there is a world of difference between the motives of the Avatar or Sadguru and those of a yogi.

Lord Meher On-line page 839

Lord Meher Vol.3 p.958