death. This is the only way that most men can be prepared for the surrender of their egos. We are forced by such dire circumstances to realize the futility of all human activity. And then having prepared us for the inescapability of surrender, the Avatar can give us something worthy of our surrender. Only when we are emptied of our worldly concerns can we receive His love and His grace.

What does the coming of Baba mean to those who are suffering? Baba says that he has come to give a spiritual push to all creatures in the universe. Whether He will or will not is beyond my capacity to judge. What He says implies that by doling out suffering to people, He is cutting short their path to the final goal of creation, which is the experience of infinite bliss. What this can mean to those who are suffering and/or who are ignorant of Baba's design, I cannot say. If we trust Baba, then we trust that He has wisdom greater than our own. And we trust that He is safely guiding even those who are acutely suffering. But this seems small consolation to them at the time of their tragedy.

What does the coming of the Avatar mean to children? We can tell about those who come in contact with Baba Himself from the expression on their faces, when Baba sits them in his lap or lovingly embraces Him [sic, them]. But it means also that the stories with which we fill their young ears, stories about love, joy, truth, courage, gentleness, honesty, and humility, are not impossible hallucinations, poetic delusions, or unlivable dreams but instead the tales of real heroes, champions whose Master is Baba. The children have something to strive for, to make their smiles real and their fingers reach out for in love. They have something and someone to trust, and the joy of knowing that they are watched over, even when they sleep.

Why does Baba permit Himself to go unrecognized by the masses, even though He comes to give them a spiritual push? As He says: "I come for the many, but I am for the few." We can take it that although all creatures will benefit by His coming, only a few will take full advantage of His coming, that is realize Him. Baba is very patient. After all, He has an eternity to wait, and, since He knows the outcome of the game, can rest in the thought that it all comes out for the best. As Francis Brabazon has put it in his moving and eloquent poem, Stay With God:   (p. 24)

       Like the chap who had two valuable pots, dirty. One he gave

       To one man to clean, the other to another man. One back

       The next day, shining, but the temper gone out of the metal;

       The other returned after forty days of careful cleaning also

       Shining, and useful. It takes time to scour pots or grow tomatoes;

       It takes a lot of time to clean out a man's heart and grow love in him

       So that as well as being bright with God he can be useful to men.

It takes a long time to prepare men for the reception of God. As they have "grown up" in the process of the evolution or consciousness, they