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Jesus' real work was that of Saviour, that is, to save man from his sin, which is explained in various ways, but his work none-the-less remains a mystery. Why did he spend so much of his time alone? We don't know. The same with Baba. It is the essence of the God-Man's teaching that the soul cannot become the "new man" out of its own resources. The soul needs divine help, which is available if asked for and with that help or grace, freely given out of the bounty of God, the soul can establish itself and the spirit take possession. This is possible only if one divests oneself of everything: all desires and possessions, claims and attachments, and becomes nothing. Jesus made this very clear; and that is what Baba does.

 

One other characteristic of Baba is his silence, which seems characteristic of God-Men. How much of Jesus' presence is wrapped in silence! It is possible that silence is their greatest characteristic; and some God-Men may never announce themselves. Unless they do, of course, we certainly can never know them. Those who do announce themselves accept a special burden, not only of misunderstanding but of the sin of mankind. That is why they come, to bear the sin, to bring about reconciliation in the divided soul of man. But the announcement brings a heavier burden. I think parallels to this will be found in the life of Gautama Buddha.

 

There are differences between Jesus and Baba. The most obvious is that of age; Baba has lived to over 70, while Jesus was killed at about 32. Baba says he is not establishing a new religion or movement, while Jesus is thought to have created a Church. For myself, I think there is some doubt about Jesus' intentions. He undoubtedly wanted his followers to witness to him after his leaving the earth; indeed, he sent some of them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God while he was alive. The New Testament gives evidence of the establishment of the Church, because it was itself the creation of the Church; we have the New Testament because it was preserved by the Church; it is the work of the Church.

 

But to what extent the Church expressed Jesus' intention, is to me a matter of some doubt. Certainly a society of those who believed in what Jesus stood for had to be formed, so that we may suppose the Church to be inevitable. Will this be followed with Baba and shall we have a Baba Church? A Church inevitably has dogma and doctrine, rules and regulation, organizations and officers, and those who exercise authority. This almost without fail brings about division and disputes, heresies and conflict, and at the end the Church comes to exist for the sake of itself and its survival. I do not think a Baba Church to be necessary for the existing religions

 

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