In Persia, the mystical poet Hafiz referred to Divine Love as wine. And he would often write about having the tavern keeper (The Divine Beloved) fill his glass (his heart) with this wine.

But a glass (the heart) can’t be filled with wine (divine love) if it is filled with something else (desires). So to get the full benefit of this inner experience, Hafiz wrote in poetical ways of letting go of desires. That is the meaning of Jesus’ words, “Leave all and follow me.” It’s one thing to say you follow Jesus; it’s another to have your heart focused on Him and Him alone. That is the real intoxication of the inner path. If you are a Buddhist, you would want to empty your heart of everything except Buddha. If you are a Hindu, you would empty your heart of everything except Rama and Krishna. If you are a Muslim, you would focus every breath on Mohammed. The intoxication is the same because the wine is the same – the divine love of the Avatar.

Years ago I had an assistant at the Los Angeles Times who was in a new age group that chanted for things. They would chant for new cars, for new relationships, for new jobs, for money. It was a very outer-results oriented type of chanting. And one night she asked me to go with her to one of these gatherings after work and I said OK.

When we arrived, I was introduced to the group as a follower of Meher Baba. I don’t know if any of them had any idea who Meher Baba was or what it meant to follow Meher Baba, but one man there, who seemed like the leader of the group, asked me this:

“What have you gained from following Meher Baba?”

I answered, “It is not what I have gained from following Meher Baba, it is what I have lost.”

With a bit of disdain in his voice, he said, “We are into reality here.”

And I answered, “Let’s define reality.” He got very angry as if I had insulted him. No insult was intended, just an invitation to take an honest, objective look at what reality was.

To me, reality is self-existent. It is not dependent on any external circumstance. Love and bliss are everywhere. The finest wine is always being poured. If you don’t have any of this fine wine in your glass, it is not the bartender’s fault. It’s because your glass (your heart) is still too full of the cheap stuff.

If you want to really get intoxicated with the very best wine, empty your glass. Hafiz would never mislead you.