is dead; but he has become dust beneath the feet of his Beloved God. He is my beloved child. Even he who has become like dust does not know my real state. Some of the Sahavasees have already seen him. He is not mad; but looks like it. He is also childlike. If you make him stand up, he will remain standing 'till you make him sit down again. His mind does not function like the mind of an ordinary human being; and yet his mind is not blank. Intense love and longing for God has made him like dust. This mast does not belong to this world, though he is in it. This does not mean that I want you all to become like him; with your present normal mental state; I want you to love me as much as possible.

Baba said: "This reminds me of Mahavira* about whom many books are written and whose teachings became the foundation of Jainism. For fifteen years Mahavira behaved just like this mast. People thought him mad and stoned him; children teased him, dogs barked at him. But later he regained normal consciousness and became a Perfect Master."

•  Saint and sinner, high and low, rich and poor, healthy and sick, man and woman, young and old, beautiful and ugly are all equal in my eyes. Why? Because I am in everyone. None should hesitate to come to me, meet me and embrace me with love.

• At one stage Baba differentiated between Bhakti (devotion) and love. Baba said: Consummation of bhakti (devotion) is love. When one's bhakti is at its zenith, one begins to love really Baba. And when love burns the lover, i.e., when love is intense, there remains no curtain between the lover and the Beloved God. Pointing at all the sahavasees, Baba remarked: But you all should not take it for granted that you are in this stage of love. It is for very few to annihilate their very self to merge in me.

So I say, love me more and more. Times are difficult; my daaman might slip out of your hands. I think within one year this body will drop. Do not miss this opportunity. With a clear conscience love me sincerely and help those in need. I am eternal.

One thing is definite: I love you more than you love me. Out of your love for me you have come long distances for my sahavas. I know each and everything about my work done by you in Andhra and elsewhere. There is no need to bring anything to my ears. What the Action Committee has

* Mahavira Vardhama