Part III
THE WORK OF THE MAN-GOD

GOD-REALISATION is the endless end of creation and the timeless consummation and fructification of intelligent and unbinding Karma. Souls who have not realised God are still in the domain of duality, and their dealings of mutual give and take in different fields create the chains of Karmic debts and dues from which there is no escape. Free and unbinding give and take The Man-God however dwells in the consciousness of unity, and all that he does, not only does not bind him, but contributes towards the emancipation of others who are still in ignorance. For the Man-God there is none who is excluded from his own being. He sees himself in everyone, and since all that he does springs from the consciousness of non-duality, he can freely give and freely take without creating bindings for himself or others.
Contact with Man-God beneficial to all If a person accepts without reserve from the bounty which the Man-God showers, he creates a link which will stand by him until he attains the goal of freedom and God-realisation. If a person serves the Man-God, offering all his life and posses-
sions in his service, he creates a link which will augment his spiritual progress by inviting upon himself the grace and help of the Man-God. In fact, even opposition to the work of the Man-God often turns out to be a beginning of development which imperceptibly leads a person Godward because, while opposing the work of the Man-God, the soul is establishing a link and a contact with him. Thus everyone who voluntarily or involuntarily comes into the orbit of his activities becomes, in some way, the recipient of a spiritual push.
The work of the Man-God in the universe is fundamentally different from the kind of thing on which most priests set their hearts. Man-God and priests Most priests of established religions attach too much importance to external forms, rituals and conformity. Since they themselves are not free from selfishness, narrowness or ignorance, they exploit the weak and the credulous by holding before them the fear of hell or the hope of heaven. The Man-God, on the other hand, has entered forever into the eternal life of love, purity, universality and understanding. He is therefore concerned only with the things that really matter and which eventually bring about the inner unfoldment of spirit in all whom he helps. Those who are themselves in ignorance may, out of self-delusion or deliberate selfishness, use the same language as that of the Man-God, and they may try to imitate the Man-God in many of the external things associated with the life of the Man-God. But they cannot, by the very nature of their spiritual limitations, really imitate the Man-God in possessing perfect understanding, experiencing infinite bliss or wielding unlimited power. These attributes belong to the Man-God by virtue of his having attained unity with God.