So even in the fifth plane one finds it difficult, and the Master has to bring it around in this way. And the fun of it all is that 'til one attains the seventh plane of consciousness it is all illusion; just as all this appears real, in the same way up to the sixth plane it appears real, but it is not real.

There was one Wali who, when he wanted to keep his mind down, would repeat the same sentences over and over. In our magazine I will describe each and every state of men on the Path, their peculiarities, etc.

Talk at Meher Ashram, Nasik, January 9, 1937

"Kabir once said:

"Only he and I understand the deep underlying meaning of this couplet. What he means, actually, is this:

‘One cannot start running at full speed; one must gather momentum and gradually increase the speed.'

'If one is to be stained with a spiritual color, one must be stained gradually. The color takes time to penetrate; for it to become deep and rich, it must be applied gradually.’

'The mind which has been sleeping the sleep of ignorance for ages, can only gradually awakened to knowledge.'

"Mind has become used to seeing only outwardly. For ages it has concentrated on outer things. It has lost itself in a maze of external causes and effects. That is why the mind is limited. It sees only externals. If the mind were to be turned inward — if it could see only a little within — it would behold the Limitless One Itself. "

Here Baba placed before him, in a row, the following objects:

"This (the box) is the Infinite Self which is within everybody. This (the bowl) is the individual mind with the ego at its back. The unawakened individual mind (the bowl turned towards the case) faces and sees only the gross body. It does not see the subtle body (the pen.)

"The ego, through the individual mind (the bowl turned towards the case and bottle) now faces the physical world through the physical body. It is not conscious of anything behind it, that is, the Infinite (the box); it sees only the gross body (the case) and the physical world (the bottle). The ego eats, sees and enjoys the gross world with or through the gross body. It is satisfied as long as everything that happens in the gross world is in accordance with its desires. If something happens that thwarts its desires it becomes dissatisfied. (The bowl, turned towards the bottle, and away from the box).

"This limited ego, the egotistical mind, does not see the Infinite at its back. For ages it has been used to seeing only that which is external, the gross world. It has never been used to seeing the Infinite Itself. Yet the gross body, if it dies, is replaced with another gross body; but the Infinite is there all the time.