"Mysore has become an eyesore!" Baba joked. "And we all wish to leave here as soon as possible."

The men asked why he tolerated all the bother, looking after every small detail and, therefore, putting himself to so much trouble.

Baba replied at length:

My duty is to take you out of the clutches of maya and, while I do this, I have to face opposition from maya who does not wish me to do it. Why? It is automatic according to the law of "reaction". Maya does not intentionally do it, but it happens automatically. The more I try to release people from her clutches, the more she tries to draw them into her net and create opposition!

It is according to the law of resistance and reaction. Maya is like a bat. Once a bat sticks to your ear, it will not let go easily. It might let go if left alone for hours, if you patiently wait and do not disturb or touch it. But once you try to remove it forcibly, it will hold on all the more tightly. And if you exert strength to pull the bat off, it will come — but with your ear in its claws!

Or you can compare maya to the lizard which sticks to the wall. If you try to remove it, it holds on even tighter. This is the law which cannot be avoided, and what cannot be cured must be endured! That is why all the great saints, Masters and Avatars suffer so terribly. The opposition differs in degree according to the nature of the work and duty assigned to the Masters.

Even Sadgurus, such as Sai Baba, Babajan and Upasni Maharaj, do not have as much opposition as I have. It is because their duties are confined to only certain spheres and not as widely universal in aspect as mine. For instance, Sai Baba would drink wine and eat meat, quite oblivious to the impression it would create on others, because his work was not as varied and worldwide as mine. He simply did his work of blessing all who came for his darshan. His field of activity was not as vast as mine with ashrams, programs and innumerable schemes. Hence, he did not care who came to him or what impression they would have of his particular action. Yet influential people and men of learning, such as Dixit, [G. S.] Khaparde and others, came to him and worshiped him.