At about 5:15 P.M., the card game was stopped, and Baba gave this explanation about fana, baqa and the Sadguru or Qutub’s state. He began by quoting this line of Shams-e-Tabriz: “It needs cycles after cycles for just one advanced soul to realize God.”
And at present, what do you find in India? The word Sadguru, which really means a man who has become God and who lives the life of God, is used very loosely. In towns and cities, you invariably find persons who are referred to as Sadgurus. Is it so cheap an experience, so common a state? The state of man becoming one with God and simultaneously One with all in creation!
The term saint, sant in vernacular, is generally used for persons whose dress and conduct differ from a common man and who lead a life of prayer and devotion. The word sat means real or, in common usage, good. Therefore, a man of good conduct and with a lifestyle different from the normal man is treated as a saint, particularly by the villagers. The fun [irony] is even those, who are honored with such titles, rarely realize the meaning that these words signify.
Those who have the necessary courage to tread the spiritual path are not many. People talk too lightly about spirituality. The spiritual path, in fact, is far above what they could possibly conceive. It is a matter of experiencing. To be on the Path is to become gradually dead to one’s material and mental existence. This process proves very trying for the fickle and the worldly-minded people who lack fidelity of heart. The Path leading to sainthood is not easy.
-www.lordmeher.org, p4805
July, 1962; Guruprasad