Shri Babaji Maharaj would say: “When He, who is Infinite Love, sends some apparent affliction upon us, there is always a hidden secret behind it which is revealed at its proper time. The Ocean of Nectar can give nothing but life. What else can God send to us except His Love? When Lord Krishna shattered the earthern pots of the gopis–the milkmaids–it was out of Love, and when he distributed butter to the cowherds that was also his love.
“Since He loves us, we must also learn to love Him. His love is evident in the world around us. He has given us the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars, the atmosphere and the earth; he has given us our relatives, our food, fruits, flowers and a multitude of attractive things, too numerous to even enumerate. He has given us our five senses, our bodies, eyes, ears etc., so that we may look upon this world and derive happiness from it.
“But what have we given Him in return for His Love? Nothing. We have given our hearts to the attractive things of the world which he has created, and we have forgotten Him.
“A time comes when He wishes to draw us close to Himself with His love. And to do this He gives us things that are even more beautiful and comforting so that we may look upon them and think of Him. But, alas! We use these beautiful things and then set them aside, and soon forget that they were from Him.
“Then comes a time when His Love for us becomes so overpowering that He has no alternative except to pull us towards Him with Force. But when we experience this Force of His attraction we are afraid. We forget that we must give him our hearts in return for all that He has given us. We fail to understand His Love in the magnetic force that comes from Him to draw us towards Him. We do not understand that the afflictions he has sent upon us are meant for our awakening. But all the same if we find that we do not have the strength to bear the afflictions He has sent, then we must weep before Him, and pray to Him, and surely he will find another, more bearable, means of awakening us. Or else He shall do whatever He thinks is best for us.”