(Nov. 1934) Walter and Hedi Mertens arrived from Switzerland to meet with Baba. Walter was intellectually inclined (1) and, on one occasion, he and Charles Purdom asked Baba a few questions.
About knowledge, Baba explained, “Man has all the nourishment to make him strong, but out of ignorance, he is eating things that do not make him strong, but fat! This metaphor contains all the teachings of the world. What is lacking is the knowledge of the heart.”
One of them then asked Baba, “What is jealousy?”
Baba spelled out, “Jealousy comes from a poverty of the heart and is essentially selfish.”
When asked the difference between lust and love, Baba explained in simple terms, “Lust is nothing else but the desire for self happiness. Love is desire for the happiness of others.”
They asked, “What do you want of man?”
“The Realization of the Self through love,” Baba replied.
After being asked what he required of his close followers, Baba responded, “To follow my instructions faithfully, in order to achieve the same goal – Realization of the Self through love.”
To their query on how to increase love, Baba directed them, “By thinking more of the suffering of others instead of your own suffering. This is the shortest way.”
They asked, “Should one be more of an idealist than a materialist?”
Baba answered, “To be merely an idealist is hopeless; to be merely a materialist is also hopeless. It is necessary to create a balance between the two.”
(1) Walter Mertens knew Carl Jung and had undergone psychoanalysis with the famous psychiatrist.
Lord Meher, Original ed., Bhau Kalchuri, Vol. 6, pp. 1924 – 1925.