The following story is another illustration of the spirit in which the lover is to serve the Beloved. Â Such a degree of self-denial, sometimes expected of the servant, is attainable by very few lovers.
For several months in 1959, when I was staying at Meherazad, I suffered from an acute case of fistula. I was given frequent injections, and despite excellent medical care, I continued to experience a constant throbbing pain.
During this period, I would be on duty with Baba from six in the evening until four in the morning. One night, when I was in extreme pain, Baba asked me to press His body, which meant massaging His feet, arms, legs, etc.
To do this, I sat on a stool next to the bed and leaned over to massage Him. As I was massaging Him, Baba would slowly, almost imperceptibly, roll over to the other side of the bed, causing me to have to lean way over to reach Him.
This awkward position greatly accentuated the acute pain I was already feeling. And then, when I would move the stool around to the other side of the bed, Baba would again roll-over again, very, very gradually, and again I would suffer terribly.
It went on like this for hours! All the time, I knew that Baba was doing this deliberately, and I became very annoyed, I thought to myself, “people say God is All-Merciful. They don’t know He’s all-cruel! Here He’s deliberately rolling over in bed. He doesn’t even know the excruciating pain I’m experiencing.”
Suddenly, Baba asked me what I was thinking. I was so annoyed I did not want to answer. I just said, “Nothing, Baba.”
Baba persisted, “So you think you are obliging me by serving me like this? On the contrary, I am obliging you  by giving you the opportunity of serving me. The service of the slave is such that if I were to cut you to pieces, you should not utter a word!. When you are rendering real service, you don’t grumble or complain – you don’t even feel any pain, but you feel happy to serve the Beloved. You willingly bear any amount of pain without complaint in order to please the Beloved. Remember this, in order to become infinitely merciful, I have to become infinitely cruel. This is just the beginning of real service, and yet you are grumbling.”
This story illustrates the spirit of love with which one should serve the Beloved. The lover should have this attitude of self-denial and self-sacrifice in mind when he or she adopts any of the plans of the New Life. If the lover suffers for the Beloved, he will free himself of bondage, but when he suffers for himself or  the world due to selfish desires, he invites further binding.
P 717 “Meher Baba’s New Life” Bhau Kalchuri
Â