DISCOURSES & TALKS BY MEHER BABA

DRESSING

14 July 1929

Likewise, mark my mode and taste for dressing. I wore that black [kamli] coat with a hundred patches for years. I also wore the chappals [made by Kanhoba Rao Gadekar] until the last moment when their original material had been totally replaced. And now you see that I have had a new coat sewn and wear it with new shoes and stockings, keeping myself well-dressed, spruce, and tip-top — quite the reverse of what I had been doing. And who knows, perhaps I may one day give up all these clothes and remain only in a langoti, or even stark naked!

No one can tell.

Sadgurus and Perfect Masters, even though Realized, have their own ways of living and working. Babajan prefers to be well-covered in a long robe, even putting rings around her fingers; Narayan Maharaj lives in right royal fashion like a king; Upasni Maharaj remains naked except for a gunny sack wrapped around his waist. So each one maintains some definite mode for a long time.

My style is quite different. I often change my food and attire, and there are reasons behind it. Even this external mode of living has connection with my inner working for the world.