DISCOURSES & TALKS BY MEHER BABA

 

LOVE  FOR  GOD

 

 

 

 25 November, 1927

 

Baba discoursed to the ashram boys about love for God:

 

God is within you and you have to search for Him within. But how can you search? By trying to create love for Him in your heart. Once a person's feet are firmly set on the path, he progresses toward the Goal. Love can be compared to hunger in the following manner: Let hunger symbolize love. Thoughts of eating food symbolize constant thoughts of God. Trying to obtain food may be compared to restlessness and intense longing for God. The help of a mother or a cook symbolizes the help of a Sadguru, and actually eating a meal symbolizes attaining God-realization.

 

Just as appetite is necessary before one takes food, so love must be created before one can realize God. Once the appetite is there, thoughts of eating begin to come incessantly. Similarly, when love for God is produced, one begins to think continuously of Him. In both cases, striving begins — a hungry boy seeks food and a lover searches for the Beloved. The consequent labors bring the former in contact with his mother or a cook and the latter into the realm of a Master. In the due course of time, both achieve their respective goals.

This is a befitting example, but it is, after all, only an example. Love is not as easy to create as appetite, and a Master is not so quickly found as a cook!

 

How will you create love? Instead of crying for love, you must shed your blood for the Beloved! This is love — the highest state of love. Is anyone among you like that? No one! But don't worry, try.

 

Love is the stepping stone towards God-realization. Once it is produced in you, you will naturally begin to think upon God and nothing else, which will again lead you to superhuman strivings in seeing and becoming one with it. Otherwise, the awakened love will give you no peace! It will continually goad you to action in achieving the Goal!

And so, even after many disappointments, sufferings and strivings, one is sure to come into the orbit of a Master and with his help reach the Goal.

 

Hence, after all, the first and foremost thing is love, which results through intense longing enthusiasm and impulses. The momentary flashes of impulses and enthusiasm in the course of time become second nature. Then the continuous or frequent thoughts gradually produce a longing, which when intensified, changes into love.

 

Lord Meher On-line page 859-860

Lord Meher Vol.3 p.979