Elizabeth replied, "Christ."

"What does it mean?" Baba asked.

One woman replied, "To conquer desire."

Another replied, "To annihilate the lower self."

Elizabeth answered, "To quote the words of the saint: 'Let not my will be done, but Thine.' "

Baba nodded in approval and stated that Elizabeth's was the nearest to being correct. He explained in detail:

It means three things in one: first, love God so much that you forget yourself; second, sacrifice your carnal desires for the soul; and third, complete resignation to God's will.

And when you love too much, you do forget yourself. Now how to do that practically? Love for other things like men, women, cars, dogs, et cetera, comes spontaneously. It is no gift, but spontaneity; it is natural. Loving God comes by practice and by process to a certain point. But loving God most is a gift. To love Baba, you need to think of Baba. If you think of Baba, you do not think of yourself. The more you think of Baba, the less you think of yourself. So, to love God so much that you forget yourself means that you think of God so much that you can no longer think of yourself! By thinking continually, you become what you think of deeply. The mind makes one [become] what one thinks of deeply.

If you think of Baba all the time, you cannot think of yourself. If you don't think of me, you will remain unmoved. Only when Rano thinks of Nonny does she feel bad. When she doesn't think of her mother, there is no feeling.

Yet another meditation class has opened in Poona, called The Mother's Lodge. These meditation classes do not impart love. Meditation creates peace, not love. Thinking brings about love when done continually and deeply. In meditation, you try to stop thinking. The stoppage gives peace. But to love, you must think of the Beloved! If your mind becomes still, your Beloved does not exist anymore. Then how can there be love where there is no Beloved?

This is a very important point, this differentiation. When you meditate, you try to forget everything, even yourself. In loving, you forget everything and self, but you remember the Beloved! In real and perfect meditation, which is rare, you forget your body, yourself and everything else. In loving you also forget self, body and everything, but you remember the Beloved!