PERFECTLY HUMAN

 
Once, Avatar Meher Baba was asked, "What is the most difficult thing in spiritual life?" With a disarming smile, He responded, "To be perfectly human." Characteristically, this simple and spontaneous reply is also very profound. Perhaps it holds the key to understanding the life of the Avatar Himself.

For the Avatar, the God-Man, the Christ, while completely God, is also "perfectly" human. Hence, His life and statements often puzzle those who have preconceived ideas of spirituality and spiritual life.

For one thing, Avatar Meher Baba had a lively sense of humor. While with a group of His close ones, He once spelled out on His alphabet board, "Before I met My Beloved in Union, I lost everything — ego, mind, lower consciousness — but thank God, I did not lose my sense of humor! That is why I appear amongst you, on your level."

Another time, referring to the Avatar's life, Baba described it as a, "Life of God in essence and that of a man in actions." The "essence" of Meher Baba's life was His inner work of giving a spiritual push to all humanity. His "actions" included, not only His service to the poor, the sick and the afflicted, but also jokes, skits, outings, and humorous movies. A master story teller Himself, He always enjoyed listening when anyone had a good story to tell. And, sometimes after His spiritual work in seclusion, He would ask one of His disciples to tell Him some jokes or a story.