Three Incredible Weeks With Meher Baba

De Simple Silence.

Between September 7^th and September 10^th, 1954, twenty^[1] Western men, disciples and devotees of the Perfect Master, Meher Baba, arrived in Bombay. They came from Europe, Australia and America. Their ages ranged from 25 to 80. Their occupations varied widely. There were several literary men ; a petroleum chemist ; an interior decorator ; an importer-and- exporter ; a postaI officer ; a luggage instructor ; a buyer for an antique shop in London ; a town planner ; an economist. On September 11^th we set out for Ahmednagar in two buses which had been chartered by Meherji Karkaria and Nariman Dadachanji ; two of Baba’s intimate disciples from Bombay, who also accompanied the Western group to Ahmednagar. There we met two more devotees from England who had arrived earlier.

It had been planned for the Western visitors to stay in the houses of a number of Baba’s disciples in Ahmednagar, but Baba finally concluded that it would be better and easier for them and for Him to have them all together under one roof. So He decided on an unprecedented move. Upon the hill at Meherabad was the large two-story stone house which had served for years as a retreat for Baba’s secluded women disciples. Baba had been the only man to set foot in the retreat, with the exception of Dr. Nilkanth, a Hindu disciple, who, being a physician, was called for consultation when needed. Baba decided that the retreat should now be used for the Western men, who were accordingly conducted there late in the evening of September 11^th.

The upper story had been converted into a dormitory, where 20 iron beds, with springs, mattresses, sheets, pillows, blankets and mosquito nets, were ranged along the sides of the large room. (The Eastern men in the ashram below slept on bedding-rolls stretched out on the stone floor). There were several dressing tables and a number of wardrobes for clothing. A bath towel and a face towel were provided for each visitor. In addition to the dormitory there were two rooms on the ground floor, with accommodations for several men. Also on the ground floor was a large community lounge.

Back of the house was a refectory with three tables stretched lengthwise, end to end, under a corrugated iron roof. Here the meals were served by three men waiters. A little beyond were the kitchens, where a cook and two or more assistants functioned ; five bathrooms, three washstands with soap and running cold water and mirrors for shaving ; and five toilets. Early in the morning buckets half-full of steaming hot water were brought by several men servants to the bathroom as required, where they were mixed with running cold water from taps on the wall. Soap and a large cup for dipping and pouring stood on a shelf above.

The meals were nourishing, varied, and delicious. For breakfast there was fruit, cereal, eggs, toast, butter, marmalade, cheese, milk, tea, coffee. The luncheons and dinners were equally sumptuous. Our clothes were laundered, pressed or cleaned as it became necessary. Our outgoing mail was posted for us and our incoming mail was delivered to us. Medicines were supplied for those who needed them.

In charge of all these arrangements were Sarosh Irani and his charming wife Viloo. Sarosh provided everything, from cigarettes to station wagons, and assisted by his most efficient secretary, Savak Damania, attended to all our necessary government papers and other bureaucratic red tape. Viloo was busy from early morning until late at night, planning our menus, securing supplies, supervising the preparation and the cooking of the food. In all this she was ably assisted by Savak Kotwal, who stayed at the retreat with us and saw that everything ran smoothly. Savak rose at 4 a.m., awakened the servants at 4 :30, and retired after we did, which was usually by 10 :30 p.m., although some of us were occasionally working until midnight. The sanitary arrangements and our general health were in charge of Dr. Donkin who came up every morning with sprays of various kinds and insecticides and other necessary supplies.

Nothing that could reasonably contribute to our comfort or well- being was overlooked. Baba proved Himself to be a perfect host as well as a Perfect Master.

What follows is a day-by-day account of what happened externally, from the morning of September 12^th to the evening of September 30^th, when we left Meherabad for Bombay and our Journey home. Actually, what happened externally was only important as a manifestation of the loving care with which we were treated by Baba on down to the humblest of the servants. Even the teaching that Baba gave us, on which He spent hours of careful exposition, was relatively unimportant. Actually, it was a diversion intended to satisfy our intellects while Baba worked on the deeper levels of our consciousness. As Baba said, during a relatively small darshan program which He gave on the afternoon of September 26^th, to take care of some 2,500^[2] people who had missed the large mass darshan of the 12^th, « No explanations or discourses can compare with this personal contact. » And we, for some reason known only to Baba, were privileged to live in intimate association with Him for three wonderful weeks !

Contents 1 Sunday, September 12 2 Tuesday, September 14 3 Thursday, September 16 4 Friday, September 24 5 Friday, September 24 — Afternoon 6 Sunday, September 26 7 Monday, September 27, 1954 8 Thursday, September 30 9 To Feel Me All The Time 10 He Alone Exists 11 Now They All Love Me And Recognize Me 12 Baba Paid His Homage To The Tomb 13 He Is Called A "Qutub" 14 References

[modifier] Sunday, September 12

Meher Baba’s Last Mass Darshan

In response to Meher Baba’s invitation to attend His important meetings at Meherabad in September, 1954, we eighteen^[3] men disciples and devotees of Baba from Europe, Australia and America arrived at Meherabad late in the evening of September 11^th.

Arising early in the morning of the 12^th, we were transported shortly after eight o’clock to Wadia Park in Ahmednagar, where Baba’s Last Mass Darshan was to be held. On our arrival at the gaily decorated park, we were led to the huge pandal, or tent without sides, which had been erected especially for the occasion. Some 10,000 people had already arrived, and were seated both in the pandal and beside it, the men on one side, the women on the other, as is the custom in India. Sarosh Irani, who was elected Mayor of Ahmednagar while he was in the United States with Baba in 1952, greeted us warmly and conducted us to the platform at the end of the tent where Baba was to be seated during the darshan, introducing us to Swami Sahajanand Bharathi, the leader of the Congress Party from the Ahmednagar District ; Mr. P.R. Kanawade, Member of Parliament from the Ahmednagar District, and Mr. K.G. Pardeshi, the present Mayor of Ahmednagar, all of whom were later to make addresses in honor of Baba. Also on the platform were fourteen women disciples of Baba’s second Master, Upasni Maharaj, who had come from Sakori, led by Upasni’s favorite disciple, Godavri Mai, who is now in charge of His ashram there ; the Jessawalla and the Deshmukh families from Nagpur ; several of Baba’s devotees from Southern India ; and several of Baba’s Mandali.

Precisely at nine o’clock Baba arrived. Giving the impression of infinite, yet completely controlled power, He strode to the platform, spelled out on His alphabet-board,

« Not as man to man, but as God to God, I bow down to you, so as to save you the trouble of bowing down to Me. »

Descending the steps to the edge of the platform while this announcement was being broadcast over a public address system in English and Marathi, Baba prostrated Himself before the assembled multitude.

Mounting the steps again, He spelled out on His board,

« To make you all share My feeling of being one with you and one of you, I sit down beside you. »

While this was being broadcast, Baba descended from the platform and sat first amont the men, and then among the women.

Returning to the platform, He washed the feet of seven poor men, after which He gave to each a gift of 51 rupees, saying,

« As each one of you is in one way or another, an Incarnation of God, I feel happy to bow down to you and to lay at your feet this Dev-Dakshana. »

Dev-Dakshana is a gift offered to a Perfect Master or to a deity.

Baba then resumed His seat on the platform, and the following two messages by Him were broadcast in English and Marathi.

I

If you were to ask me why I do not speak, I would say I am not silent, and that I speak more eloquently through gestures and the alphabet board.

If you were to ask me why I do not talk, I would say mostly for three reasons. Firstly, I feel that through you all I am talking eternally. Secondly, to relieve the boredom of talking incessantly through your forms, I keep silence in my personal physical form. And thirdly, because all talk in itself is idle talk. Lectures, messages, statements, discourses of any kind, spiritual or otherwise, imparted through utterances or writings, is just idle talk when not acted upon or lived up to.

If you were to ask when I will break my silence, I would say, when I feel like uttering the only real Word that was spoken in the beginningless beginning, as that Word alone is worth uttering. The time for the breaking of my outward silence to utter that Word, is very near.

When a person tells others « Be good », he conveys to his hearers the feeling that he is good and they are not. When he says « Be brave, honest and pure », he conveys to his hearers the feeling that the speaker himself is all that, while they are cowards, dishonest and unclean.

To love God in the most practical way is to love our fellow beings. If we feel for others in the same way as we feel for our own dear ones, we love God.

If instead of seeing faults in others we look within ourselves we are loving God.

If instead of robbing others to help ourselves, we rob ourselves to help others, we are loving God.

If we suffer in the suffering of others, and feel happy in the happiness of others, we are loving God.

If instead of worrying over our own misfortunes, we think of ourselves more fortunate than many, many others, we are loving God.

If we endure our lot with patience and contentment, accepting it as His Will, we are loving God.

To love God as He ought to be loved, we must live for God and die for God, knowing that the goal of all life is to love God, and find Him as our own Self.

II

When I say I am the Avatar, there are a few who feel happy, some who feel shocked, and many who hearing me claim this, would take me for a hypocrite, a fraud, a supreme egoist, or just mad. If I were to say every one of you is an Avatar, a few would be tickled, and many would consider it a blasphemy or a joke. The fact that God being One, Indivisible and equally in us all, we can be nought else but one, is too much for the duality-conscious mind to accept. Yet each of us is what the other is. I know I am the Avatar in every sense of the word, and that each one of you is an Avatar in one sense or the other.

It is an unalterable and universally recognized fact since time immemorial that God knows everything. God does everything, and that nothing happens but by the Will of God. Therefore it is God who makes me say I am the Avatar, and that each one of you is an Avatar. Again, it is He Who is tickled through some, and through others is shocked. It is God Who acts, and God Who reacts. It is He Who scoffs, and He Who responds. He is the Creator, the Producer, the Actor and the Audience in His own Divine Play.

Next, came seven speeches eulogizing Baba ; the performance of Arti by six young women in light-blue saris, waving camphor lamps ; bhajans, or devotional songs, by native musicians ; and a repetition of the Arti by R.K. Gadekar, one of Baba’s disciples from Poona.

Then came the main event of the program, the darshan and the giving of prasad, which means « a gift from God, » to what seemed like an endless procession of men, women and children, flowing for eight hours past Baba, who had seated Himself on the lower edge of the platform, and who gave to each who passed a handful of sweetmeats, while they tried to touch His feet either with their heads or with their hands. The multitude, which had gathered early in the morning, was continually being augmented by new arrivals, even after Baba had left, with kirtans^[4] being sung until ten o’clock at night, and by the time the program was concluded, 60,000 people had received their « gift from God. »

The swiftly flowing stream of humanity that wound past Baba was at first smooth and orderly in its rhythm, a graceful procession of women in colorful saris, lovingly presenting their children to their beloved Master.

Towards noon the orderly flow of women and children was interrupted by a gigantic tidal wave of turbaned men, who, impatient for their turn, pressed forward on their side to the edge of the platform, in spite of all efforts by the Ahmednagar police and Baba’s Mandali to restrain them. It seemed, for a few minutes, as if they would inundate Baba. The din was terrific, both on the floor and on the platform, where exhortations by Sarosh, Pardeshi and others for the men to return to their places were shouted into the microphone and broadcast throughout the huge pandal. Finally, Baba mounted His seat on the platform and motioned for them to go back, which they reluctantly did, and the stream flowed on again in swift but orderly fashion.

As the procession continued, Baba would now and then pat some child on the cheek, some man or woman on the head, or recall some woman who had been pushed ahead before He could give her prasad. In the early afternoon His right hand grew so weary that He started giving out the sweets with His left. When some of His disciples asked Him to rest, He replied, « This is My rest. » Every so often He would glance about the platform at us, sometimes smiling, sometimes gesticulating, as the occasion seemed to warrant.

At three o’clock He left the platform and was away for fifteen minutes at another part of the park, where 20,000 poor people who were being fed by Him, were seated, waiting for Him to begin their repast, which consisted of wheat grains with curry- sauce, served on large leaf plates. They would not think of eating until Baba first partook of their food.

Seated alongside of Baba on the edge of the platform all during the darshan was Gadejai Maharaj, an elderly saint^[5] who is highly respected throughout India. Every so often loving exchanges would take place between Baba and Gadejai, and occasionally incidents would occur which seemed to amuse them highly. One woman, who evidently believed in collecting as many blessings as possible while she could, having touched Baba’s feet and received her « gift from God, » tried also to touch Gadejai’s feet as she passed him. Gadejai drew himself up in displeasure, but Baba smiled and Gadejai softened.

One of the most extraordinary features of the program was the appearance on the platform, in the late afternoon, of those women disciples of Baba who had heretofore been in seclusion—their first appearance in public.

It was wonderful to see again many of Baba’s closest disciples, whom we had met and come to love either on previous visits to India or when they accompanied Baba on His journeys to the West, and to meet for the first time some of His devotees from southern India, all of whom contributed considerably to that strange, but marvelous dissolving process which always takes place when one is with Baba.

The last glimpse we had of Baba as He left the park was one in which He was seated on the top of an automobile, bowing in every direction to crowds of people reluctant to let Him go. He had seated Himself first on the hood, giving darshan to late- comers, but the press grew too great, and He retreated to the top, and the car moved slowly out of the park with the Avatar in a distinctly novel position.

For all of us this last « Mass Darshan » of Baba will be a memorable event which will grow in significance as we grow in understanding. We are grateful to Baba for having made it possible for us to participate in it.

The « Times of India » reported the event as follows :

Sri Meher Baba Blesses 15,000 Followers

DAY-LONG CEREMONY HELD AT AHMEDNAGAR

Ahmednagar, September 12. Sri Meher Baba, the 61-year old Indian mystic who claims to be an ‘avatar’ of God, blessed a congregation of more than 15,000 of his followers, at a solemn ceremony, here today.

He said : « May the spark of my divine love implant in your hearts a deep longing for the love of God. »

The vast gathering, which included his disciples from America, England, Australia and Switzerland, swelled to more than 25,000 towards the evening.

The disciples listened in reverential silence to the message read out to them on the occasion of Meher Baba’s public darshan to his followers in Ahmednagar for the first time in 25 years.

In the message, he enjoined on them : « Live not in ignorance. Do not waste your precious life-span in differentiating between, and judging your fellowmen, but learn to long for the love of God. Be pure and simple, and love all, because all are one. »

Sri Meher Baba, who began his work of awakening the public at Ahmednagar 40 years ago, told his followers : « Spare no pains to help others. Seek no other reward than the gift of divine love. »

Sri Meher Baba, whose mission is to change the world, has not uttered a word for the last 29 years and has written nothing except his signature in the last 27 years.

For conveying his thoughts and ideas, he uses a board on which the English alphabet is inscribed.

In his message today, he observed : « If you were to ask me when I will break my silence, I would say, it will be when I feel like uttering the only real word that was spoken in the beginning, as that word is worth uttering. The time for breaking my outward silence to utter that word is very near. »

Sri Meher Baba normally lives in seclusion but he has travelled round the world three times. He has visited England and the continent ten times.

Among those present at the congregation today were 20 disciples of Meher Baba from abroad, including Mr. C.B. Purdom, British author and journalist, Mr. Malcolm Schloss, author and poet, and Mr. Frank S. Hendrick, American author, and Mr. Francis Brabazon, noted Australian poet, Shri Gadejai Maharaja, a spiritual leader with a considerable following in Maharashtra, was also present.

« PERFECT MASTER »

On his arrival at Wadia Park where the ceremony which lasted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. was held, Sri Meher Baba prostrated before the congregation « not as man to man but God to God, » so as to save them the trouble of bowing down to him.

A unique function, which formed an important part of the day- long ceremony, was the washing of the feet of seven poor octogenarians from all religions, by Meher Baba himself.

The ceremony began with a welcome speech by Mr. Sarosh K. Irani, chairman of the reception committee.

It was followed by the presentation of a civic address by the Ahmednagar municipality. Speeches in appreciation of Meher Baba’s work of awakening the people to the unity of spiritual knowledge and love were made, among others by Swami Sahajanand Bharati, president of the Ahmednagar District Congress Committee, Mr. P.R. Kanavade, M.P., Mr. T.S. Bharade, M.L.A., and Mr. N.E. Navie, a former M.L.C.

There was a scramble when Meher Baba began distributing prasad to his devotees and followers.

This program continued for about five hours and terminated in the evening.

Sri Meher Baba has convened a meeting of his followers from all over the world on September 29 and 30 at Meherabad, in Ahmednagar, to explain to them his future program « before giving up his physical body. »

Kishansingh Pardeshi, President of the Ahmednagar Borough Municipality, gave a speech dedicated to « Shri Sadguru Meher Baba, »—translated as follows :

Most Adorable Shri Meher Baba, After a lapse of nearly 25 years, we, the people of the District of Ahmednagar, feel fortunate for being blessed by your august darshan. And, on behalf of all the inhabitants of this District, I have the great privilege to welcome you whole-heartedly on this occasion when you have blessed us all through your great love and your holy darshan.

Generation after generation, this land of ours—the abode of great Saints and Sages—has become blessed. This plateau of the Deccan has ever added to the glory of Bharat through its spiritual heritage and enlightening literature. Shri Dnyaneshwar of Newasa, Shri Changdev, Shri Sai Baba, Shri Upasani Maharaj of Kopargaon, Shri Mahipat of Rahuri, Shri Dinkar Swami of Pathardi, Shri Eknath of Shevgaon-Paithan, all of them hail from this District of Ahmednagar which is indeed blessed with spiritual atmosphere. And today, at this place, we feel that the treasure of all the accumulated spiritual heritage of this land of the Deccan has been laid bare before us through your public darshan.

Poona is the birthplace of Baba, and there Baba had his education. Again in Poona, at the time of his education, Baba had the first real darshan of Babajan. It was that close contact of Babajan that bestowed on Baba his Godhood. Shri Upasni Baba’s close contact in the District of Ahmednagar made Baba realise his eternal Godhood. Since then, Baba’s life became exceptionally supernatural ; and since then, he began to reveal the Truth to all his devotees that it is possible for the soul to become one with the Over-Soul. All these years, Baba has stressed that the goal of life is to gain the grace of Perfect Masters, and to attain God-Realization.

It has become a common experience of many that though you have observed long years of silence, yet the spark of your Divine flame illumines the lives of many, and that too, just through mere darshan of your personality.

You are imparting the same spiritual knowledge which the Avatars of the past did impart ; and all along, you have been emphasizing the same precept of the past that we should annihilate the bindings of the body-life, and realize the eternal « Oneness » in the « many. »

Your only one message to the world is, « It is possible, through love, for man to become God, and when God becomes man, it is due to His love for His beings. Therefore, love God and you will find that your own self is nothing but God. » Universal brotherhood, equality and love been your three chief pointers to the world.

In order to awaken humanity, and to make mankind love God, you have not spared yourself to travel far and wide. You have paid frequent visits to Europe and America, and you have not left out any province in Bharat unvisited. Even while you had your headquarters at Ahmednagar, your help always reached the poor. Your work for the upliftment of the down-trodden untouchables, your work with the mad- men and the lepers, and all your different activities in many other spheres have set at work for the spiritual cause, both men and women of different nationalities ; and of all castes and creeds all over the world ; and you have filled the heart of many a family with joy and bliss through your personal contacts during your travels.

Your ever-peaceful, and your ever-smiling face, and your ever-bright eyes, full of spiritual radiance, are sufficient to fill any man with joy, and to make him pay homage at your feet on taking your darshan.

We, the people of Ahmednagar, feel grateful to you today for your grace that grants us this public darshan in the open, because we know that the Grace of the Perfect Master alone can emancipate all of us from the grip of our own ignorance.

« Grace of Masters is that Light which illumines the aspirants. »

It is only your love for the people of this District that has made you shower your grace upon us all today to grant this unique opportunity of the open darshan to the public.

On behalf of men and women of this District, I most humbly bow down while offering this address to you with all devotion.

[modifier] Tuesday, September 14

After our day of rest yesterday, Baba arrived early in the morning of the 14^th. The first thing He did was to embrace each of us in turn, after which He said that He would embrace us only today,otherwise His heart could not stand it. He then led us into the refectory and asked us to introduce ourselves, as there were some among us whom He was meeting outwardly for the first time. The group included Will Backett, Charles Purdom, and Fred Marks from England ; Max Haefliger from Switzerland ; Philippe DuPuis from France ; Francis Brabazon, Bill LePage and John Ballantyne from Australia ; Malcolm Schloss, John Bass, Darwin Shaw, Fred Winterfeldt, Frank Eaton, Lud Dimpfl, Joseph Harb, Fred Frey, Frank Hendricks, and Dana Field from America. After the introductions, He embraced us each again. Then He took up His alphabet board, which Eruch Jessawalla read for Him.

« Today I have three points that I wish to convey to you. The first is that I want you to be completely natural and absolutely frank. If the food does not agree with you, say so. If there is anything you don’t like, say so. If your health is not good, say so. Sarosh and Viloo are in charge here. Tell them. If they can possibly change it, they will do so. If they can’t change it, they will say ‘yes’ and that will be that.

« Don^[6] is in charge of your health. If you have any difficulty of any kind, tell him. You must take care to keep yourself in good health, because the meetings on the 29^th and 30^th will be very important, and you must be in good shape to absorb everything that will be given.

« The second point is this : while you are here, from now until you leave, I want you to forget everything about Europe, America, and Australia, and think only of Baba and what you are experiencing here. If you only had a glimpse of what I really am, you would forget yourself completely and be conscious only of God. So, while you are here, try to forget Europe, America, and Australia, and be conscious only of what you experience here.

« The third point is this : these meetings on the 29^th and 30^th are very important. They will be the last meetings I will hold before I give up the body. There will be about a thousand present, from all over India and Pakistan—all workers for Baba. Everything I say will be spontaneous, and someone should take down every word, because there will be no prepared text, and it will be vitally important. I will tell you why I am here, what I have done, what I shall still do, and what will happen in seven hundred years. After all, you have all come a great distance to attend these meetings, and I want you to receive as much as you possibly can from them. Then, when they are over, I want you to go home as quickly and directly as possible, so that you can carry with you, still fresh, what you have received. »

Baba then told us to get our sun-hats and come with Him. First He led us to the tomb, which He had built for Himself, which is located on the side of the hut in which He spent twelve months in seclusion years ago, taking only coffee twice daily. Later He told us how, twice daily, a thermos bottle full of coffee had been ordered sent to Him from the ashram below. It was brought by a young boy, but each day, when the bottle arrived it was only half full. So Baba sent word for them to send Him a full bottle. Still, every day only half a bottle arrived. Finally, when the seclusion had ended, Baba sent for the woman in charge of the arrangements and asked her why she had sent Him only a half- bottle instead of a full one. She protested that she had always sent a full one. Baba then sent for the boy, who confessed that every day, half-way up the hill, he had grown tired, and had drunk half the coffee. Fortunately, Baba had not required even the half that was sent to Him. In fact, He was so strong, when He came out of seclusion, that 15 men of the Mandali, lined up one in back of another, could not push Baba one inch.

The inside of the tomb has been decorated with lovely murals by Helen Dahm of Switzerland. Then Baba led us outside and showed us the tombs of His mother and father, of Nonny Gayley, and of Nadia Tolstoy, stopping on the way to show us another room where He had shut Himself up many years ago for months, not seeing anyone, and only communicating with one of the Mandali through a small slit in the wall.

From here He led us down the hill at a brisk pace to the men’s ashram, stopping once to ask Will Backett if He was walking too fast for him, and resuming at a slower pace even though Will replied in the negative. At the foot of the hill on the road into town, a bus full of natives had seen Baba descending the hill, and had stopped to pay their respects to Him ; and other Hindus, men and women, from nearby, had also congregated to greet Him. As we entered the grounds of the ashram, a private bus drove up and fourteen of Upasni’s women disciples from Sakori descended, and all of us entered the ashram, where the women prostrated themselves in turn before Baba, taking the dust of His feet. One of them was Godavri Mai, who, Baba said, was Upasni Maharaj’s favorite disciple, and was now in charge of Upasni’s ashram in Sakori, where thirty of Upasni’s women disciples were now living. Second in command at Sakori was a gracious, elderly gray-haired woman, who was nicknamed « Jiji. »

Baba, through Eruch, spoke to us and to them. One of the most important things He said was, « I am the One Reality. »

Next Baba led us out to the little wooden hut, on legs, so small that one could not stand up straight inside of it, where He spent a number of months in seclusion in 1925, writing the account of His spiritual experience, which no one so far has seen. Adi said that this was not God Speaks, but a separate manuscript, which is now in a vault in a bank in Bombay.

Alongside this is Baba’s Dhuni, or sacred fire. Vishnu, one of Baba’s Mandali told us of the drought in 1927, which was so severe that in desperation the villagers came to Baba imploring Him to send them rain ; whereupon Baba lit the Dhuni, and by the time the villagers had returned to their village, which was close by, it was raining.

« They call it a miracle, » said Baba, « but it was only a coincidence. I will perform only one miracle—when I speak the One Word—The Divine Word. That will really be a miracle. »

Then He led us to another hut nearby, which we were told was the first into which He had retired in seclusion.

From here He led us back up the hill to our present quarters, motioning the women to take it in leisurely fashion. He stopped once on the way up and gathered the Western group about Him under a tree, throwing stones in oblique directions, which we were supposed to catch. As we continued up the hill, He bent down several times to pick up stones which He threw into the fields. On our arrival at the retreat, He took the women up the steps to see our quarters, then led them into the tomb, and to the room where He had rested in seclusion, after which He sent them back, advising them that He would come with us one day soon to Sakori.

Then He led the Western group into the lounge underneath our dormitory and told us, through Adi, that in the early days there was no door leading into this room—there was only the window which is now above the door—and that He used to let Himself in through the window, close it after Him, and stay there in seclusion for periods of time.

Then Baba moved over to the divan and began conversing with us, through the alphabet board of course, with Eruch and Adi translating. He stressed again the idea of our being perfectly natural and frank with Him.

« I am your Master, » He said, « but I am also your friend. I am one of you and one with you. »

Then He said that He would come to see us everyday between now and the 27^th, unless the rains made the roads impassable, or unless He caught cold—« from one of you, » He added jocularly. He would explain many things, He said, about the Spiritual Path, and Realization, and about His work, and what we could do to help Him in it, and He said that everything should be taken down, and then Purdom and Malcolm will get it into shape for publication. The rest could play, in the afternoon and evening, but Purdom and Malcolm would have to work. However, everyone was to be present every day between 9 and 12 :30 while He was with us, so that each would receive as much as possible of what He had to give.

Then He said that Realization came, not through the intellect, but through the heart ; from loving God and seeing God in and through everything. He spoke of the three kinds of conviction that both the Sufis and the Vedantists define. The first is intellectual conviction, which is arrived at through reason and logic, as a result of which one is convinced that God is. The second is conviction by sight and when one gets this, one sees God everywhere in everything, as clearly as one would see external objects, but with the inner eye. One is then free from all doubts, and experiences But the real conviction, continued, is when one becomes God. Then one knows that only God exists, and that one and all are God. It is only when one gets this conviction that one really knows Baba.

« I am one with you on every level, but you know this only when the ego and intellect do not interfere. Then Baba appears as He is.

« I am what I am, whether the world bows down to Me, or whether it turns against Me ; it does not matter. It is no one’s fault.

« To know Baba is not a matter of eating Indian sweets. One has to die to oneself to know Me. It is not just a joke—this Love. »

« Be happy, and forget everything except what you experience here. The meeting on the 29^th and 30^th will be unique, and it will be lasting in its effect. Until then, don’t worry about anything ; be cheerful, be honest, and look after your health. Then after the meeting is over I want you to go back directly to your destination and to take back intact the atmosphere of the meeting. »

Baba then asked each of us to say something. Malcolm quoted one of the songs of Kabir, which ran, « Where is the need for words when Love has made drunken the heart ? »

John Bass said, « I really don’t know what to say. My mind is a blank. »

« To be blank is an excellent thing, » Baba replied.

Lud Dimpfl was next, and he said something about being tongue-tied, ending with, « And we sit here like a bundle of sticks ! »

Baba smiled, and replied, « Say ‘I’, not ‘we.’ »

Lud thought Baba was displeased with him, and said something to that effect. He was greatly distressed. Baba reassured him.

« I love you, and I will never be displeased. Speak from your heart. If you hide what you feel, you will not be honest. I love you for being honest. I really love you. Say whatever you feel, but say ‘I’ not ‘we.’ Do you feel happy ? »

Lud said he did, and Baba asked, what else was necessary ?

Philippe told how deeply impressed he was with Baba’s darshan on the 12^th, and said something to the effect that it must have been a great strain on His body.

« Before I drop My body, » Baba replied, »I will again go through violent attacks on the body. What has to happen will happen and I will gladly undergo all this for the sake of humanity. My only happiness lies in making people understand, not through the mind, but through experience, that God alone is the Beloved for Whom we exist. In the meeting, I will make this clear as never before, and any of you who are strong enough to carry out that message will do My work. It is only for this meeting that I have called you. »

Joseph Harb, said something to the effect that it was a privilege and a great joy to be here with Baba, and that he hoped he would be made a fit instrument to carry on the work.

Fred Winterfeldt said that when the heart is full, the mouth runs over ; that he could scarcely believe that he was really here ; and asked by what grace we could attain to the love which Baba described.

Frank Eaton spoke of being deeply impressed by the fellowship of Baba’s disciples. Bill LePage and John Ballantyne said something that escaped recording, but it evoked from Baba a profound comment.

« One who wants nothing, gets everything, » He said. « Nothing means nothing, and one who wants nothing, is never disappointed. »

He asked Malcolm if this were not so, and received an affirmative reply. Then He turned to Francis Brabazon, whose remarks also escaped recording, but in response Baba quoted a verse from Hafiz, which runs as follows :

« Do not ask for union with God, and do not bewail separation. Seek only the Will of the Beloved. »

« Before I met My Beloved in union, » Baba continued, « I lost everything ego, mind, and lower consciousness ; but thank God I did not lose My sense of humor. That is why I appear amongst you on your level. »

Darwin Shaw said something that reminded Baba of an incident in New York in 1952, and asked Darwin if he remembered what had happened to Keith MacGaffey and himself in the Bronx Zoo.

Max Haefliger said, « I don’t understand anything about you, but I like your people. »

« That means you don’t like Me ? » asked Baba.

Max said something about liking Baba sometimes.

« So you like My people all the time, » said Baba, « And you like Me sometimes. »

Fred Frey said that he was up in a cloud ; that Baba was just what he had expected ; that he felt warmed inwardly by Baba’s people ; and that if he could bring Baba’s love back to America it would make him most happy.

Will Backett said that his heart had echoed everything that had already been said, and that of course he was blissfully happy to be with Baba.

Charles Purdom said, « When you were speaking about the three types of conviction, I was reminded about what Jesus said in relation to seeing God—that only the pure in heart can see God. Would you explain that to us sometime ? »

Baba promised that He would explain from tomorrow on. Then He turned again to Max. « Max, you don’t like Me, » He said. « Anyway, I like you all the same, all the time. » Baba then repeated what He had said before, and elaborated on it.

« Before I met My Beloved in union—I lost everything, ego, mind, and lower consciousness, but thank God, I did not lose my sense of humor. That is why I appear amongst you like this, on your level. Yogis, saints, sadgurus in India you will usually find in meditation, with long beards. You would not be allowed in their presence with shoes on, or smoking, but with Me you can do all these things because I am one with you and one of you. From tomorrow I will work in order that this visit of yours will not be merely a picnic or a sightseeing trek. »

Baba then turned to a description of the three types of lovers of God. « The first type, » He said, « is the mast, who loves and knows only God. He loses all consciousness of self, of body, of the world. Whether it rains or shines, whether it is winter or summer, it is all the same to him. Only God exists for him. He is dead to himself and to the world. He exists no longer as an individual, for, after thus annihilating himself, he becomes one with God, the source of infinite love.

« The second type of lover is one who lives in the world, attends to all worldly duties one hundred per cent, yet all the time in his heart he knows that this is temporary, that only God exists, and he loves Him internally, without anyone knowing it.

« The third type, which is the highest, is very rare. Here the lover surrenders completely to the Christ, to the Avatar, to the God-Man. He lives, not for himself, but for the Master. This is the highest type of lover. Unless you have such love, just to criticize and judge will take you nowhere. »

Baba then sent us to luncheon, and later joined us there, sitting first at one end of the table, and then at the other. He questioned each of us as to whether the food was to our liking, and received unanimous expressions of approbation. Then He took up His alphabet board.

« I wonder if you understand how fortunate you are to have Me with you in this way ? Think of those people at the darshan on the 12^th, who fought so to have a chance to touch My feet for just a fleeting second ; who wanted so earnestly to receive prasad, which means ‘a gift of God.’

« They are the ones who really love Me. The others, the social people, the political people, the intellectual people, they make their speeches and they leave the platform. »

« In Andhra for fifteen days we had two or three darshan programs every day, with thousands of people coming from surrounding villages in bullock-carts and on foot. They would not understand your being here with Me this way. In India, they have traditions. As I told you before, yogis, saints and sadgurus are supposed to be sitting in silent meditation, with long beards. You could not make effective contact with them. Remember always that I am your Master, but that I am also your friend ; that I am one with you, and one of you. Therefore you can be completely natural with Me, and tell Me frankly whatever is in your mind.

« When I am with sadhus, no one is more serious than I am. When I am with children, I play marbles with them. I am in all, and one with all. That is why I can automatically adapt Myself to all kinds of people, and meet them where they are. »

[modifier] Thursday, September 16

We arose early this morning and left at 7 a.m. for Pimpalgaon. On our arrival there, Baba led us first to the room where Kaikobad Dastur stayed, and introduced us all to him. For twelve years, he told us, Kaikobad has meditated in accordance with Baba’s instructions. He repeats Baba’s name a hundred thousand times a day. He observes regular watches every three hours, day and night, for meditation, and spends most of his time in seclusion. Baba had Kaikobad himself tell us how he sometimes sees stars, suns and moons coming out of himself. When the moon is in his head, everything is peaceful and he can enjoy the peace and bliss of the experience. When the sun is in his head, it is very difficult for him to maintain consciousness, and he often loses it.

Baba then led us to Kaka Baria’s room and introduced him to those who had not yet met him, explaining that he was the Manager at Pimpalgaon, that his table was always cluttered with papers, because he had so much work to do, and that he had taken care of the garden when Baba and the girls were abroad in 1952. Baba said that it was Kaka who had named this place, « Meher Azad, » and explained that « Azad » means free, whereas « Abad » means flourishing.

Baba then led us to His own room, and told us that in the Man- o-nash period^[7] He worked very hard here for the whole world ; that He had come out of the Man-o-nash period pale, thin and exhausted—as if something had been sucked out of Him. It was very rare for Him, he continued, to be in this condition. It had happened to Him once at Angarishi, on a mountain in the Central Provinces, where the rishis used to meditate, and where He had spent some time in a cave in seclusion. Kaka added that in the Man-o-nash period Baba seemed to want to open the door and step out of the universe.

Next, Baba showed us the body of the blue bus in which He had travelled all over India, and which had been set on a concrete base for Him to sit in during His seclusion in the Man-o-nash period. Baba had also sat in seclusion in this bus during His forty days’ fast in 1949.

Baba then introduced us to to Gustadji, who had been with Baba ever since Upasni Maharaj told Baba that He was the Avatar, and instructed Gustadji to follow Baba and do as He said. Gustadji has been on silence now for 27 years, in accordance with Baba’s instructions.

Baba next showed us the asbestos cabin that had been made out of two cabins that were on the top of the hill at Pimpalgaon, and in which Baba used to retire during the Man-o-nash period in the daytime. He remarked that He now sleeps there sometimes, and showed us His bed, which consisted of a thin mat and a hard pillow, stretched over the stone floor.

Baba then led us to His « Mast-work » room, a stone building about ten feet square.

« I always use this room for a particular kind of work, known to Me only. Ramjoo lives here now. »

Then Baba had Eruch tell us of an incident that occurred during the Man-o-nash period, which had something to do with conflicting orders. Baba was in this stone room, in seclusion, and Eruch, who was on guard during the night, was told not to open the door unless Baba clapped. He was sitting outside on the ground with a lantern and a torch. At 2 a.m. a snake tried to slide under the door of the cabin. Eruch held him fast by the tail with his torch. Just then Baba clapped. If Eruch had obeyed His instructions to open the door immediately, the snake could have entered. So Eruch waited and, fortunately, in a few minutes the snake decided to go elsewhere. But when Eruch entered the cabin, Baba wanted to know why he hadn’t obeyed His orders to come immediately when He clapped. Eruch explained, and Baba smiled.

« And I always say, » Baba remarked in conclusion, when there are conflicting orders, always obey the first order. »

Then Baba had the boys tell a story of Gustadji’s experience with conflicting orders. Baba had been with some of the Mandali to the Girnar mountains for mast-work. Baidul, whom Baba calls the mast expert, and who can, according to Baba, « smell » a mast, finds them or takes them to Baba, or Baba to them, as Baba may wish. Baidul had located a mast at Girnar, and Baba had come there late at night with a number of the Mandali. The only light they had were some small lamps. They had been moving about for days, from one place to another, sleeping in railway stations, and this night, Baba had decided that they would sleep near the shrine of a Mohammedan saint. They found a small room for Baba, outside of which there was a concrete bench, on which one or the other of the Mandali sat keeping watch. For the last 25 years, wherever Baba rests at night, a watchman is posted outside. Sometimes one man watches all night, sometimes the boys work in shifts. So, this night they sat in shifts on a concrete bench. Baba’s instructions were for them to sit there, to awaken each other in turn, and to allow no noise, not even the least, to disturb Him. Sometimes even mosquitoes and flies in flight disturb Him.

At 3 a.m. it was Gustadji’s turn to be on watch. All of them had travelled all day, without rest or relaxation ; without even having an opportunity to attend to their elimination. From 3 a.m. to 4 a.m., the boys have discovered, Baba usually rests completely, and if they have to attend to anything like elimination, this is usually the safe time to do it. So Gustadji decided that he would try. He was in this unfamiliar place, in almost complete darkness, so he had to grope his way to what he thought would be a good spot to urinate. He had just opened his robe and raised his foot to step off the other side of the bench, when Baba clapped. He rearranged his robe as quickly as he could and went to Baba, who inquired why he was late, and instructed him to sit down and not to move. Later, Baba asked the time and gave Gustadji permission to go. When Gustadji got outside and started again to relieve his discomfort, the sky was clear and Gustadji was amazed to find that just beyond the place where he had raised his foot, was a big lake into which he would have fallen if Baba had not clapped—and, Gustadji being on silence, could not have called for assistance and would probably have drowned.

Baba then led us through the garden, which was lovely, and gave every evidence of being well cared for, to the house where the ladies’ quarters were. Rano and Goher met us in the garden, and explained that the house had originally been a rest-house for engineers who were working on the reservoir. The house provided a complete contrast to the men’s quarters. They had been primitive ; these, for India, were comfortably furnished. We were shown first to the room occupied by Mehera and Mani, neither of whom were present. Rano explained that Mehera and the other girls were mainly responsible for the well-kept garden. Here we were shown pictures of Manzil-e-Meem ; a chart of the Hierarchy of the Saints ; Babawadi, or the school that Baba had for orphans years ago, where they were educated and fed. Then Baba produced several albums of photographs of Himself, which, since there was not time for us to go through them thoroughly at Pimpalgaon, He entrusted to Lud, for us to view at Meherabad at our leisure. He also entrusted to Lud some small boxes in which locks of Baba’s hair were kept. These had been cut when He was thirty years old, and were reddish gold in color. People now make lockets and brooches with Baba’s hair.

Baba then led the way to the upper floor, and as we passed through the hall, we noticed a beautiful painting of a winged white horse by Marguerite Poley, of California.

We were first taken to Baba’s own room, which opens out on the verandah. It was a large simple room, with a wooden bed, where Baba sometimes sleeps. The other rooms were shown to us in turn.

Baba then led us out of the house and up the hill where the cabins used to be into which He used to retire either for mast- work or for seclusion. He explained that the hill was not far from Gorakhnath, where Krishna used to play with the Gopis, and it was also near Khandoba’s temple.

On the way up the hill Baba followed His recent custom of throwing four stones. He led us first to the flat place, just below the top of the hill, where one of the cabins had been during His seclusion and mast-work. This was the one where the Mandali had stayed during the day-time. Then all of us, except Will Backett and Charles Purdom, whom Baba ordered to wait, followed Baba up to the summit where the other cabin had been—the one in which He had retired, and in which He did His mast-work.

Then Baba led the way down the hill and into the patio of the house, where we all gathered around Him.

« If you are not in trim, you are likely to feel this in your legs for two days, » He said.

« You are all really fortunate to have come with Me on the hill, with My leading the way. That is a very dear piece of land, that hill. When I was there I fasted on only very weak tea. The hill is now barren, but a time will come when there will be much construction there by My disciples. »

Baba then told us to sit quietly for five minutes, when we would have fruit juice to drink. Baba then referred again to the pictures of Himself and the locks of hair which He had entrusted to Lud, and told him again to show them to us at Meherabad and return them.

« Some of them, » interjected Fred Winterfeldt.

« All of them, » rejoined Baba, « and more. They will come back with your love. »

While we were having fruit juice, reference was made to the various places where Baba had retired in seclusion at different times—Mount Abu, Rishikesh, Hardwar, Angarishi, Panchgani, Khuldabad and Meherabad, all were mentioned.

Then came the most moving event of the day. One of the girls appeared with a large shawl, which she carefully opened. Out of this, she drew an old patched coat, originally brown but practically covered with patches of blue and black. Baba told us that this was the most sacred of His possessions. He had worn it steadily for eight years from 1921 on. This included His period of seclusion in the « jhopdi » in 1922.

« What it has in it will be revealed after I drop the body. Then thousands and thousands of men and women will come to worship. »

Next an ancient pair of sandals were produced and, following this, a white robe.

« These are the sandals and the robe that I wore when I wore that coat, » Baba said. « The sandals were discarded when I first went up the hill at Meherabad. »

Eruch then told us that after Baba had stopped wearing this coat, He used to change his clothes frequently and then would give them away, but these things Baba would not part with. We were also told that these things were produced today for the first time in many years. Even the Mandali had not seen them for a long time.

Baba then asked us how we felt, and said that He would see us between 9 and 9 :30 a.m. tomorrow at Meherabad.

« So what would be best, » He said just before we left, « would be for you from now on to play with Baba’s Love. You have only fifteen days more now to absorb Baba. After you leave, you will be free. You can play, work, be with your family and children as much as you want ; but here, now, try to absorb as much of Baba as you can. What I would like, in short, is for you to take Me with you when you go back. »

Baba then inquired whether we were getting hungry, and asked what we had had for dinner yesterday. Then He embraced us, and sent us back to Meherabad hill.

[modifier] Friday, September 24

Baba arrives at 10 a.m. on foot, pale and worn, but smiling.

« No more explanations today, » he said. « It is the last day of My coming here. Today we will drink together. This is not the Last Supper, but the Last Drink, and I am happy that at least from among you all no one will sell Me, though someone has to do that job. My physical end is going to be a violent one. I am the Ancient One, and you will all love Me more and more after My body is dropped, and will see Me as I really am. Today I won’t explain anything ; what is there to explain ?

« You all say, ‘Yes Baba,’ but do not do.

« My ways are so unfathomable that sometimes I too can not fathom them. »

He refers to the photographs. « This is not Baba. If you had but a glimpse of Me as I am, you would lose consciousness. Love me and you will be loving God. And God is to be loved honestly. The slightest hypocrisy or dishonesty keeps you far away from God. God our Beloved is here now in you all, Who knows what you will think tomorrow. He is all Knowledge, and when we love Him honestly, He becomes one with us. It is not that we have to become one with Him, but He becomes one with us. My last message to you, dear ones, is to love God, and you will find I am one with God. »

There was an interval for interviews.

On returning, Baba looked at a photograph of Himself as a young man and said, « I love Him very much. » Baba sent for the drinks. He said the poor have little food, and those at Assam and elsewhere suffer from the floods. « I am in all, and I am in Eternal Bliss, because of God, and in everlasting suffering, through these souls. I want to make people not only food-minded, but God- minded. That is why I have called these meetings.

« I am infinitely restless, and infinitely at peace simultaneously.

« Jesus, being God and omnipotent, allowed Himself to be helpless, humiliated and crucified. He knew it all, because He had planned it all, long ago, and He did it for all. But to have the right result, He had to experience the helplessness and the suffering. Do not think that because He was all-powerful, He did not suffer the humiliation and the crucifixion, or it would not then have had the desired effect. Some people think that because I am one with God, My body is not affected by anything. At times, so as not to hurt their feelings, I have to behave as though I do not feel cold or the sun.

Someone came and sat by me when full of cold, and thought ‘as Baba is God, this can not affect Him.’ But I am on the human level, and must behave as on the human level. So when I saw she had cold and fever, I also saw that she would not like it if I turned away, so I held My breath.

The first time I was in London, it was drizzling and cold, and everyone was wearing warm clothes, and they wanted Me to be filmed in these thin clothes, thinking it did not matter to Me. So I had to feel cheerful and I afterwards sent for a warm coat. All the Mandali know that when Meherabad was in full swing with asylums, hospitals, etc., I was very thin ; and when I discarded the old coat of Mine, I used to go about supervising and being cheerful with everyone, and being everywhere, and used to keep fit. Even now I feel fit, but I think I shall catch cold from you all. »

The fruit drinks were brought in and put before Baba, only the Westerners remaining, except Eruch. The doors were shut ; there was silence. Baba said, « for one minute close your eyes and ask God, Who is the innermost Self of us all, to help us to love Him honestly. » He then sipped from each glass, and handed a glass to each one. « Drink slowly, » He said. When all had finished, the doors were opened, the Mandali came in and had a glass each, not sipped by Baba.

He got up and said, « Now we will all go to the dome. » We visited the dome, the graves and Baba’s room, and afterward Baba sat with us under a tree. Then He went down the hill, taking only an Indian boy with Him.

[modifier] Friday, September 24 — Afternoon

At 2 :30 p.m. on the afternoon of September 24^th, Baba returned from the men’s ashram and gathered us together for several group photographs which, as a group, we had requested permission to have taken with Him. A professional photographer from Ahmednagar was present, and photographs were taken in the field alongside the house, in front of Baba’s tomb and alongside the tomb, in front of the little meditation cubicles which had been used by some of Baba’s Mandali years ago, during one of His seclusions.

At 2 :45 p.m. Baba led us all down the hill to the men’s ashram, where we were joined by the Mandali living there, and a number of Baba’s disciples and devotees from various parts of India. When we had all gathered about Baba in the large hall, Baba had Vishnu recite Upasni Maharaj’s « Praise of the Ten Avatars. » Then one of His devotees from Madras, M. Ramalinga Shastri, read in Sanskrit that passage from the Bhagavad Gita in which Krishna says : « Age after age, from time immemorial, for the destruction of ignorance, for the preservation of Truth, I have taken human form. »

When he had finished Baba said, « You say this as if you were swimming in mid-ocean and attacked by sharks. » Then Baba continued wryly, « I have created everything, and yet I don’t know Sanskrit. I just nod My head as if I knew. » Evidently He considers Persian, English, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu and Marathi adequate to serve Him in this incarnation.

Baba then called another of His disciples from the ashram, Sidhu Kamble, and asked him to sing a devotional song, which Sidhu did with varied inflection and appropriate gestures, which Baba translated, at least in part, with occasional comments.

« One who loves, » it ran, « can not talk about living, and my Beloved seems not to care for me. When my heart was drawn by the locks of my Beloved, I thought the locks were very near, but now I have walked all my life, until my feet are full of blisters, and they are still far from me. »

Here Baba interjected, « Baba also is so near, and yet so far ! »

Then the song continued. « When the lips of separation tried to touch the cup of Union, hundreds and hundreds of lovers were burned, » at which Baba applauded.

After this He arose, and led us to the Dhuni nearby, where blocks and shavings of sandalwood had been heaped and covered with ghee (clarified butter), and about which a crowd of Arangaon villagers had gathered, waiting for Baba to light the Dhuni and begin the ceremonies which they had planned as a mark of their devotion to Him. Following the lighting of the Dhuni came the performance of arti by the headman of Arangaon and several women, who also garlanded Baba and took the dust of His feet. Then an elderly native with an elephant horn mounted the platform on which the Dhuni is situated, and was embraced warmly by Baba who invited him to blow the ancient horn.

This was apparently a signal for the procession from the Dhuni to the village to begin, and it was led by men dancers from the village, who performed a harvest dance to the accompaniment of drums, bells and chains, with an occasional blast from the elephant horn. All the way along the road from the Dhuni to the village, which is about a quarter of a mile, men, women and children who had been waiting by the Dhuni and at the edge of the road, pressed forward, trying to touch Baba and, if possible, to take the dust of His feet.

Arangaon is a sixteenth-century small walled town, now fallen into almost complete decay. It still contains evidence of the prosperity it once enjoyed, in the wood- carving and color-decoration surviving in the ruined temple and other buildings, for the countryside was then much more fertile than it is now. The present population of about 2,000 lives in the ruins. The Western Gateway still stands with the shrine of the Monkey God, the protector of the town, outside it. Arriving at the village, we found throngs of men, women and children crowding the narrow streets in anticipation of Baba’s visit.

»Avatar Meher Baba Maharaj ki Jai ! » rose from their lips in a grand chorus of welcome, and they pressed forward to garland Baba and prostrate themselves at His feet. In no time He was covered with garlands of jasmine and roses, which he kept on for hours, in spite of the intense afternoon heat. He led us in turn through temples and houses, introducing us to various families of His devotees, including so-called « untouchables, » with comments on their poverty, on His love for them, and on their devotion for Him, all of which were abundantly evident. He had said to us in the morning that He was giving us the « Last Drink » instead of the « Last Supper. » This procession through Arangaon village reminded some of us of Jesus walking through the Galilean villages with the people crowding upon Him, touching Him, and bringing their children to Him.

At every turn our hearts were warmed by simple, natural, spontaneous expressions of genuine love, both human and divine. It seemed as if a river of love were losing itself in an ocean of love, and only boundless love existed. Incident after incident occurred which touched us deeply. In one of the simple, crude houses into which Baba led us, a very old man prostrated himself full length on the dirt floor in front of Baba, sobbing with devotion. Baba lifted him gently, and embraced him. In the crowded streets, as Baba moved forward, followed by throngs of people, women set down their children at the side of the street and dashed out to touch His feet as He passed. One had a garland that she wanted to present, and desperately tried to reach Him without success, until He turned, stopped, and reached out His hand, and accepted it, moving swiftly on again.

After about an hour and a half of successive visiting, garlanding, and giving darshan, Baba gathered us around Him in a small enclosure, where three young girls danced for Him to the accompaniment of music from an harmonium, bells and drums. Following this, Baba gave prasad and darshan to about 200 people. Then the procession through the town was resumed, with Baba leading us into the quarters of the untouchables, and finally to the houses occupied by some of the families of the Mandali, where coconuts were broken at His feet, darshan was given, more garlands were placed around His neck.

At one point, referring to the untouchables, Baba remarked, « These poor people are ordinarily not allowed to move among the rest of society, » to which Joseph Harb replied, « Well, it seems to me as if they were now moving in the best of society, » meaning Baba’s company, of course.

Everywhere we moved, in spite of Baba’s pre-occupation with these deeply devoted villagers, His continuous solicitude for the welfare of the Western group was constantly made manifest. He would stop every once in a while to be sure that we were all close to Him. We were reminded to watch our heads while entering low doorways ; we were not to stumble over piles of stones, or water-drains ; and once Baba ordered a boy to stand on a tree-stump in the middle of the road so that we should not trip over it. There was no limit to His love or His solicitude, nor of His ability freely to express them.

At about six o’clock, Baba ordered us back to the men’s ashram to wait for Him, while He went to visit the patients in a tuberculosis hospital nearby. When He returned, He gathered us about Him in the large hall and ordered us each to take two tablets of Anacin and quinine before retiring, as a precaution against malaria, some cases of which, He said, had arisen in the village. The He gave us each what He said would have to be His last personal embrace, as from that time He would be unable to see us privately again. It was the crowning moment of what will always be a gloriously memorable day.

[modifier] Sunday, September 26

Baba decided several days ago to give darshan to those of Ahmednagar and the vicinity who had not been able to be present at the large darshan gathering of the 12^th. A platform and a seat were accordingly erected in the patio of the Khushroo Quarters, where Adi Irani lives and where Meher Publication Office is, and alongside of which the Sarosh Motor Works is located. We were ordered to be present at 3 :30 p.m., when the program was scheduled to begin.

When we arrived, there were crowds of men, women and children waiting outside the compound. We were led to Baba by Adi, and He embraced each of us in turn. Then He seated Ben Hayman, Frank Hendricks and Charles Purdom alongside Him on the platform, and motioned for the rest of us to range ourselves about Him on the ground. Ben and Frank had been delayed in coming to India, and had not seen the darshan on the 12^th. Also on the platform back of Baba were Eruch, Mr. Jessawala, Krishna, Kaka, Kumar, Goolmai, Dr. P. Natrajan, John Spiers, and Bal Dhavale who had come to take motion pictures of the occasion.

Soon a stream of women in varicolored saris was flowing past Baba at the rate of 45 a minute, many of them leading or carrying children. All castes, creeds and religions were represented in the crowd, and all stages of material circumstances. At various times Baba sat on the seat, on the platform, on the step leading to the platform, and on the ground, and at least once He stood on the platform for a period of time.

The women and children were followed by the men, old, middle-aged, and young, with varicolored turbans and flowing robes, At one time, Baba spelled out on His board, « No explanations or discourses can compare with this personal contact. I feel that I am in all. It is Baba bowing down to Baba. »

Those who passed Him sometimes touched His feet with their heads, sometimes with their hands. Some brought garlands, which they placed around His neck. Some, at intervals, were only allowed to fold their hand and bow before Him. Some brought money which they were not permitted to leave.

At one point, a poor woman placed a pice, a coin which, at present rate of exchange, is worth about a third of a cent, on Baba’s left foot. For a while, Baba left it there. It has been His custom, for many years, not to touch money. Later, He turned His foot, the coin fell off, He covered it with gravel, and sat for a long time in complete absorption, gazing at the spot where the coin lay. After a while, He stood up, still in His mood of abstraction. His eyes fixed on the gravel where the coin was buried. Baba had a very serious expression on His face. What He was thinking we could not know.

Occasionally Baba would give special attention to various children who passed Him in the line, drawing them to Him for a special embrace. Usually they were children with large, luminous eyes. Perhaps Baba saw in them future saints or Masters.

One old man in a red turban and a flowing white beard came back for a second darshan. The police wanted to move him on, but Baba held him and embraced him warmly, placing one of His garlands around his neck. Occasionally He would give a garland to some woman or child who passed. « I love them all, » He said at one time, « big, small, high, low, rich, poor, all. » And again, « I am whatever anyone takes Me to be. »

At one time Baba motioned all of us to move out of the sun and sit closer to Him in the shade. At another time He called Frank Eaton and John Bass to sit beside Him, as they would then be more comfortable. Occasionally He would bend down, pick up a stone, and throw it to one of the Western group.

At a quarter to six, the queue of waiting people was still long, and Sarosh tried to persuade Baba to stay another quarter or half an hour, but Baba this time was adamant, although He was highly amused, and at six o’clock promptly He left, instructing us to return at once to Meherabad. Our last glimpse of Baba showed Him seated on top of His automobile, giving mass darshan to all those who had not been able to come before six. As we drove off we heard shouts of « Shri Sadguru Meher Baba Maharaj ki Jai » as Baba left for Pimpalgaon.

[modifier] Monday, September 27, 1954

Baba came in the morning, unexpectedly, when several of the group were not present. He said He did not want to come as He had to deal with other things ; but the women had presents they wanted Him to give with His own hands, and to distribute photographs to which He had put His signature.

Mr. K. Hitaker, the Japanese, was called and told that from 12 mid-day until six o’clock tomorrow evening, he was to keep silence, to think of Baba and to read the messages.

Baba then explained what was to happen on the 29^th and 30^th. On the first day there were to be group talks and interviews, and we should come down to mix with the company and chat with them, but there was no need to stay there. We must, however, be there at 8 :45 a.m. On the 30^th, we were to be there at 8 :45 a.m. and come away only when He said so.

He then distributed the presents and photographs, and said, « To all you meet and see, give My love — the only thing worth receiving. » He said to Mr. Hitaker, « You may become one of My chief workers in spreading My work in Japan and in other places, but you must first absorb Me and feel that you love Me. To tell others what we don’t feel ourselves is hypocrisy. So feel, then speak with conviction. I will help you for I am in you. For the last seven nights, I had no rest, but I am happy. » He then embraced everyone and went away.

On June 6^th, 1954, a circular had been sent out to to those interested in Baba « as Baba, » inviting them to the momentous meetings on the 29^th and 30^th. The first seven points are of interest :

Life Circular No. 18 Issued June 6, 1954

MEETING AT MEHERABAD 29^th and 30^th September 1954

(Exclusively for males above the age of 16)

1. Avatar Meher Baba desires to meet at Meherabad (Ahmednagar) on 29^th and 30^th Sept. 1954 his close disciples, devotees, associates and all those who love him, irrespective of whether at any time they saw him or did not see him.

2. Only those who are genuinely interested in Baba as « Baba, » or in his work need take the trouble of getting benefitted by his presence and getting a true understanding of his work.

3. In the meeting or meetings that will be held at Meherabad as above, Baba wants to make absolutely clear certain most important points, regarding his present incarnation and his work in this life. Just as the Rajamundry meeting in Andhra State called for his work and workers and was the first and last of its kind, so also this Meherabad Meeting will be the first and the last of its kind before he gives up his present physical body.

4. With the exception of Mass Darshan programme that will be held on 12^th September 1954 at Ahmednagar proper, when he may give a message or messages, the above Meherabad meeting occasion will be the last for him to give message or messages.

5. Amongst the many phases of Baba’s work, the one that signifies the act of giving messages will be discontinued from the beginning of October 1954 onwards. They will veritably and literally be stopped.

6. All those (males above the age of 16) who decide to go and attend the Meherabad meeting should fill in the Acceptance Form provided herewith, sign and send it, so as to reach Adi K. Irani not later than 1^st August 1954.

7. All those who decide to attend the meeting should individually send as dakshana rupees twenty-two (Rs.22/ — ) by a money order to Adi K. Irani to reach him not later than 1^st August 1954.

NOTE : No one should bring with him female devotees. No one should bring with him male devotees below the age of 16. They will not be permitted to enter Meherabad.

[modifier] Thursday, September 30

The day was cool and cloudy, with a little sun, but no rain. Instructions had been given previously that none of the devotees was to go up the hill. The crowd of men, over 900, was waiting for Baba at the railroad tracks, and when Baba appeared at 9 a.m., they made a path for Him to pass through. He then led the whole company up the hill. When they arrived outside the ashram they all rested, and Baba sat under a tree near the gate, looking down the hill. He allowed pictures to be taken of Himself and the crowd, then led the way to the tomb, after explaining through Eruch, Kaka, and two other men in four different languages, that He wanted the assembled men to see the tomb, His last resting-place. Baba then got up and went to the tomb. All sat outside and Baba repeated what He had already said to us about the tomb. Also He told about the boy who drank half the coffee that was sent to Him during seclusion, and said, « For one complete year I took the prasad of that boy. » The boy’s name was Laher.

He explained that the boarded-up window on the south side was formerly open, and during the period He was there, He sometimes put His legs outside, and the boys of the Prem Ashram used to gather to take darshan. That was where the boy Chota Baba got his great spiritual experience ; he was unconscious of the gross world for three days. « I had Pleader locked up in a small room here for two and a half years when he had milk only, and was given the order to keep silence and not to write. May God one day make him realize that Baba is the only Reality, the Highest of the High. When Pleader was locked up, a cobra came and hung over his head, but he did not move or call because of Baba’s order. The cobra was there for three days and used to drink his milk. Then the one who brought the milk saw the cobra, informed the Mandali, one of whom came and killed the cobra. My Mandali who have been staying with Me for years would lay down their lives at My bidding. »

Baba said there was no time to visit the place where He sat for months in complete seclusion, only communicating with the Mandali through a slit in the wall, but He pointed out where it was. The company then visited the tomb one by one. He then called the Western group to have a photograph taken, inquired from each about his health, and told them to go to the pandal to get good seats.

All then returned to the pandal, and at 9 :30 a.m. Baba entered the tent, mounted the platform and took His seat on the couch. Before He entered, the company was instructed not to rise on His entrance. He sat on the couch and looked at the company.

He said : « Before I give My Final Declaration, I want to say a few words regarding other matters. After the meeting, I shall leave promptly. All who want to get the full benefit of this meeting, and return home with the atmosphere of this place, I wish them to go directly after the meeting to their destination. If Baba-lovers from the North or the South want to stay at Bombay or other places, it would mean that they had not come to Baba only, but to talk or to play or to attend to their own affairs, so I want all to return to their destinations at once. One devotee from Jubbulpore has asked if he might go to Panchgani and has been told that he must return home, and afterwards to Panchgani if he wants to. »

Baba said : « Before the Declaration, I will say a few words about My Masters. Today, during both sessions, I shall be precise in what I want to convey to you. » He then asked for the men from Sakori, five of whom came on to the platform and sat down. He said : « What I am, what I was, and what I will be as the Ancient One is always due to the five Perfect Masters of the Age. Sai Baba, Upasni Maharaj, Babajan, Tajuddin Baba and Narayan Maharaj — these are the five Perfect Masters of this Age for Me. »

He interrupted one of the interpreters to say to him that he appeared excited and confused, « because you think I am going to drop this body, » continued Baba ; « but I am not going to drop the body today ! » Baba then went on. « Only Maharaj and Babajan, in less than a millionth of a second, made Me realize that I am God ; and in the period of seven years, Upasni Maharaj gave me the Divine Knowledge that I am the Avatar. Before Maharaj dropped His body, We physically met in a secluded place. » At this point Baba again called the translator to account and asked him to repeat only the words he spelt out on the board and not to interpret them. He went on : « And before I drop My body, I had to meet Him, so I went to Sakori and down to His shrine and told Him, ‘You know I am the Ancient One.’ »

Baba again interrupted the translator and replaced him with another. He went on : « Maharaj was Perfection personified. At the head of the Sakori Ashram is Godavri Mai, whom I call ‘Yashoda.’^[8] She is a unique female personality and loves Me beyond words, and to Me she is the dearest of the dear. Today you will be shown the pictures of My visit to Sakori so that you may feel you too were there. »

Baba then introduced the Sakori men. He first asked Yeshwantrao to rise, and said : « He is the link between Maharaj and Merwan. » Mr. Wagh then stood up and Baba said : « This is Mr. Wagh, who has for years faithfully and honestly carried out the office work and the arrangements at Sakori Ashram ; he can be called one of the few main pillars of Sakori. » Mr. Vasant Deshmukh stood up and Baba said : « Here is Sakori’s high priest ; even his priesthood will not save Me from the violent death. » Mr. Purandhare stood up and Baba said : « This old Hindu father loves God wholeheartedly and longs for God, at Sakori, near the feet of Maharaj. » The Sakori men then left the platform.

Baba said : « Now please pay attention, be wide awake, not drowsy. Since I stopped speaking, and also stopped writing, except for My signature, when essential, I carried on with this alphabet board all these years of My Silence. From the 7^th of October, 1954, I will give up this board too, and I won’t make signs with My fingers, like Gustadji, to convey thoughts. From the 7^th of October, I shall not be speaking, writing, or using the board, or making signs with My fingers. I shall be as if withdrawing within Myself. This is because now at last the so-long-promised and repeatedly promised time of breaking My Silence is very near. From the 7^th October, 1954, I shall completely retire from My present activities. There will be no mass darshan, no programs, no meetings, no messages, nor correspondence. Take this seriously and do not write to Me from the 7^th October, as I shall pay no attention to letters. I shall go with Gadejai Maharaj when he takes Me to Pandharpur, if he has the fortune to do this, as I shall drop this body soon. The Mandali have asked me today to say in a few words exactly and precisely what will happen to Me. So I tell you, note it down :

« In October at Satara, I shall be appearing to lead a retired, normal life, eating, taking walks, and so on ; but there will be no use of the board and other things from 7^th October, as I have told you. By the end of April, 1955, I shall definitely drop this body. During the six months, November, December, January, February, March and April, three phases of the Avatar-life will manifest themselves. First, a very strange and serious disease will attack this body, which will be the cause of My humiliation that I have been speaking about. Secondly, the humiliation will end in the sudden breaking of My Silence, and My uttering that Word which only God can utter. Thirdly, Glorification will replace humiliation. All the pent-up Infinity in Me will splash and spread over the Universe. »

Baba then called for Donkin and said to him that what followed was important, that he must grasp it and convey it over the microphone. Donkin then spoke the following : « Baba wants to use a simile about the atom bomb. Just as an atom bomb, which in itself is so small, when exploded, causes tremendous havoc, so, when He breaks His Silence, the universal spiritual upheaval that will take place will be something that no one can describe. It will happen in a second, at a time when nobody expects it. Just as when an earthquake takes place suddenly, when no one is ready, and no one can do anything, but everyone in the affected area feels it, so the breaking of My Silence will create a spiritual upheaval and everyone will feel it in his heart.

« And, unbelievable as it may seem, My universal Glorification will not be manifested very near My physical Presence, wherever I may then be. At the time of My Glorification, all will feel it throughout the world, but those who are around Me will not be affected. They who will be there will not be merely disinterested in Baba, they will actually be hostile. For example, I may then be in Poona, with no one from the Mandali near Me, but thirty or forty of the hostile group may be there, and they will not feel this Glorification and upheaval. All the rest of the world will feel it. No one of My Mandali or lovers will be near Me when I am beaten and finally stabbed.

« Yet I never die. I am always the Ancient One. You should all remember that God alone is real and all else is illusion.

« Your attending this meeting and hearing in precise and definite terms about these happenings will be worth it if all of you, or if some of you, or at least a few of you, spread the message of My love to others. »

The above was heard in deep silence. Baba then said that from 3 o’clock, His Final Declaration would be read in all the four languages, and that from 5 o’clock, all would be free to depart and that all must depart by tomorrow noon. After lunch, all would have the opportunity to look at the Sakori pictures. They were asked not to try to embrace Baba as He left, or to garland Him, or to ask Him for anything. He asked the Western group to go up the hill and to come down again at 3 p.m.

At 2 :40 p.m. when everyone had assembled, Baba was outside the pandal and entered at 2 :50 p.m., taking His seat. The company was told not to rise. He then asked for five young men and said to them : « You asked for this, so I give you ten minutes. » They then sang a hymn to Baba. Baba expressed great appreciation in gestures, and sent them back to their seats.

At 3 o’clock precisely, Eruch read Baba’s Final Declaration.^[9] The Declaration and the four translations were received in complete silence. There was not a single movement from any of the company. During the reading of the first translation, one of the Mandali, sitting in the first row, appeared to be asleep. Baba noticed him and sent Eruch to him to waken him and bring him on to the platform where Baba spoke to him and made him stand until all the translations were finished. Baba had Padri pat His back four times while the second version was read. Once He gesticulated for a glass of water which was brought to Him. He listened attentively to a very eloquent and dramatic reading. During the third reading, Baba was quieter, and expressed approval to Eruch, while the reading continued. Deshmukh read the fourth version, and Baba asked Eruch if everyone could hear clearly. Baba sat on the edge of the couch, then moved on to the steps. Then Baba distributed prasad ; the assembly broke up, and Baba went away.

It should be added that the arrangements for the meetings, all of which had to be improvised, were most efficiently carried through by Pendu and Padri. There was hot water for everyone, and good food was provided. An emergency electric light supply was fitted throughout the pandal and the other buildings, operated form the Meherabad flour mill for the villagers. The comfort of everybody was attended to, and the Mandali worked extremely hard for days to make sure that everything went off without a hitch. Transport facilities were provided to and from the Ahmednagar station to Meherabad, supervised by Vishnu and Dattu, and train accommodation was looked after by Chinchawade.

Thus was brought to a close the most remarkable experience of our lives. The Western group found the Indian devotees most friendly and had many good talks with them. A large proportion of the devotees were young men, but there were young and old, and men of every type, a large assembly of deeply interested men. The quietness and orderly behavior of everyone throughout the two days was impressive ; and simplicity, sincerity, absence of display and intense seriousness were notable characteristics. That Baba was in control throughout was certain, but so lightly and unobtrusively that it was hardly to be noticed.

The Western group left Meherabad on the hill in the evening from Ahmednagar for Bombay, where they dispersed to their homes during the following few days.

[modifier] To Feel Me All The Time

When we breathe we don’t pay attention to breathing ; it is automatic, as in sound sleep. Breathing is our constant companion, but we do not pay attention to it.

Just as we put on night clothes and go to sleep without paying attention to the clothes, and in the morning put off the night clothes and put on our day clothes without paying attention to them, except for a moment or two, so I am with you all the time, but you do not pay attention.

How to pay attention, I may explain another time. You cannot feel Me because I am there all the time ; I will show you how to feel Me all the time.

[modifier] He Alone Exists

Sitting in the swing (« jhula ») is derived from Krishna. His mother rocked Him in a cradle. The Gopis made Him sit on a swing. It is now customary for Perfect Masters to sit so. This is not to keep them awake, but is a sort of lullaby : « Krishna, now sleep and don’t make trouble »—that is what is meant. Krishna was very mischievous, full of practical jokes, and used to make trouble. Christ and Buddha had other ways. I think I am a mixture of all. Babajan was active and had bright eyes, and even at the age of 125 She was extremely active. She always sat under the tree, rain or shine. You could feel love flowing freely from Her. She once told the group there, « I have so made this Son of Mine that one day He will make the whole world dance around His fingers. »

There was no talk of money then, people just came for darshan. If anyone asked for anything, She got out a stick. Always She stroked Her left arm. I can’t explain why, but She did it purposely. She used to walk fast, and at 85 She would run fast. Years ago the Mandali had to run or use their bicycles to keep up with Me. She gave Me divine bliss ; Sai Baba gave Me divine power ; Upasni Maharaj gave Me divine knowledge.

To sum up, we have to feel in our heart of hearts that only God is real, that He alone exists, that He is in us all, that He alone is to be loved : God and God alone.

[modifier] Now They All Love Me And Recognize Me

When I was in the superconscious state (it is called superconscious, which sounds foreign to Me, rather like the ‘Superman’), this consciousness was of God. In that state, I was drawn to Shirdi near Sai Baba. When Sai Baba wanted to move His bowels, people would take Him in procession with a band and pipes. He was worthy of all that. He might stay there for an hour and the procession and band would return with Him to His seat. The first day I was drawn there, I had bloodshot eyes, and had had no sleep for days ; and I laid down My head on His feet as He was walking in procession. He cried loudly, « Parvardigar » !’ meaning, ‘You are God !’ After saying that, He pointed in the direction where Upasni Maharaj sat.

I went to Upasni Maharaj, where He sat, thin and weak, and as

soon as He saw Me, He picked up a stone and hit Me on the forehead, and instantaneously I recovered normal consciousness. Then I went with Him to Sakori, and stayed seven years. Sakori was not then as you see it. It was still wasteland, with a small hut for Upasni Maharaj. There was a woman there, an old lady called Durgamai, who loved Maharaj and Myself equally. People gathered there, mostly Brahmins, for Maharaj was Brahmin by birth...

People began to come pouring in for His darshan, mostly Brahmins. A structure was erected and a Brahmin atmosphere prevailed. Maharaj and I used to sit together every day, and the Brahmins got jealous. ‘Why is this Zoroastrian so favored by Maharaj ?’ they asked. Maharaj gradually gave hints of My divinity. Few could swallow this, many resented it, but our daily sittings continued. They built a Hindu temple there and performed the usual ceremonies. Then one day Maharaj declared to all the Mandali that Merwan is now Perfect...

From that day I did not go to Sakori. And from that time the Hindu atmosphere increased. Maharaj encouraged them to be jealous of Me, and to be bitter, and to hurt Me. But Maharaj told Durgamai and Yeshwantrao that Merwan is now « Malik » [owner] of the Universe. When the Brahmins heard Me called « Malik », they wanted to kill Me. We were both unaffected by all this.

Then Godavri came ; and Maharaj said, ‘I do not want this Brahmin atmosphere of men,’ and He began to gather girls of pure character who wanted to love God only. The novices are dressed in white and are called Kanyas.

Later on Maharaj sent word by Adi’s mother Gulmai, ‘Soon I will drop this body, so tell Merwan to come to see Me.’ I said I would not set foot in Sakori, so a meeting was arranged elsewhere in a hut. We embraced each other and I put My head under His foot. He said, ‘You are Adishakti [The Supreme Power]. Again He started weeping, and said to me, ‘Keep your eye on Sakori.’ Then we both went away, and three to four months later, Maharaj dropped His body, and Godavri was given charge of the nuns. Godavri was in on the secret all the time, but never said a word about me. But the atmosphere there was Hindu, with their ceremonies. I have come to destroy in the world all rites and ceremonies that are superficial. Godavri loved Me in secret. The men there made it appear that I was not the spiritual heir of Maharaj, only of Babajan, and spread the news that Godavri was in charge of the ashram and Maharaj’s spiritual heir. Poor girl, she is so good, a wonderful soul among women. She was in a fix, but her good nature kept her going.

Then My disciples increased and the Sakori Brahmins got more and more annoyed, like the disciples of John the Baptist. Then a miracle happened... all due to Godavri. Her loving influence overcame the Brahmin atmosphere. She at last saw Me at ‘Nagar and asked Me to come once to Sakori. As I had promised Maharaj I would keep an eye on Sakori, I took the occasion of Yeshwantrao’s house warming to go.

Godavri welcomed Me, placed her head on My feet, garlanded Me, and placed Me on the swing where Maharaj used to sit... I embraced all the group and they all melted. Godavri showed her love so clearly that the entire atmosphere cleared. As you saw at the darshan on the 12^th of September, Godavri and the men were there. Now they all love Me and recognize Me as the Avatar.

[modifier] Baba Paid His Homage To The Tomb

Baba said : « This old man was God incarnate. I said at My last visit here that I would not again stop in Sakori. But I remembered that He had once said that visitors would come here from other lands to do devotion, and to fulfil this I had to come and bring you dear ones here. Now My work here is finished. After the meeting of the 29^th and 30^th [September, 1954], the following three months will be for My final work, to break My silence, to manifest, and the to die a violent death, all in quick succession. You should all bow down at Maharaj’s Samadhi. I am the Ancient One. When he threw that stone at Me, I knew I was the Ancient One. »

What Baba said first in English was translated into Marathi. Arti was sung by the women, which included a dwarf woman. Baba said, « You all can have no idea how happy I am here. Godavri is the Mother here and all are her companions. She met Maharaj when two and a half year old ; He put her on His lap and said, ‘All this belongs to you.’ They all live a life dedicated to My Master. I love her most dearly. The nuns are dressed in yellow saris and the candidates in white. »

Bhajan sung by the women at Sakori

The Master tells His disciples that ‘My Name is God Some call Me Ram and some Shyam (Krishna) In the world I am the object of worship and I am also the worshipper At times I am the Giver and at times I am the beggar I am everywhere and yet I belong to no place.’

(translated freely by Nariman Dadachanji, September 25, 1954)

Upasni Maharaj was a tall, heavy man and usually was naked, except for a gunny cloth and sandals when going out. For His last fourteen months and twelve days, He lived in a bamboo cage and took nothing but coffee once a day. The cage was about 3’ x 3 ½’ so that he could not lie down. He died in a room shown to us. On a stone over the doorway to the room there is engraved Maharaj’s will. The room contains the couch on which He died.

Baba paid His homage to the tomb, and one after another the members of the group did the same under Baba’s guidance, kneeling down and kissing the stone.

[modifier] He Is Called A "Qutub"

Today I will explain about trance and inner sight — Samadhi. Trance, which the Sufis term "Haal" and Vedantists term "Bhav," is just a momentary ecstasy which, in the true spiritual sense, has no great value. During this state of Haal one feels unconscious of his surroundings and of his own body, but is conscious of an overpowering force of bliss pouring in on his soul. As soon as this Bhav ends, he is just his ordinary self. There are four different types of Samadhi — Yoga Samadhi, Tantrika Samadhi, Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Sahaj Samadhi.

Yoga Samadhi and Tantrika Samadhi have no importance, spiritually. In these Samadhis, one feels at peace with everything and everyone, and finally finds his mind still, but as soon as this Samadhi is over, he is again his ordinary self. Most Yogis, after these Samadhis, feel the strain of illusion even more. It is like taking intoxicants; one feels in harmony with everything for a while, but when the intoxication is over, one gets a headache. So, Yoga Samadhi, Tantrika Samadhi are like getting drunk completely. One feels like an emperor, as if one could do anything; but as soon as it is over, one feels the stress and strain again.

In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, which the Sufis call "Fana," and which means passing away from selfhood to the union with God, the soul identifies itself with God. This Samadhi is the real Samadhi, Fana. Here one becomes God. God's Knowledge is his knowledge, God's Bliss is his bliss, God's Power is his power, God's Beauty is his beauty. During this Samadhi, he has no consciousness of body, energy, mind, universe, but is only conscious of the Self as God. Very, very few, it is said, get this Nirvikalpa Samadhi, and these few only rarely.

It is said: "After cycles and cycles, one gets Fana." This one is then called "Fana-fillah," or one who has been made one with God. Very few such regain normal consciousness; but one who does regain normal consciousness has Sahaj Samadhi. To have Sahaj Samadhi means that spontaneously and simultaneously one is always in Nirvikalpa Samadhi, and yet is also fully conscious of the universe. Such a one, when he speaks, eats, moves about, plays, or does anything, is enjoying Nirvikalpa Samadhi all the time. He is called a "Qutub" which, in Persian, means the Center of everything — the pivot. He is now on every plane of consciousness, one with God, even on the level of an ant, and simultaneously he is functioning in the gross, subtle and mental worlds; yet he is above everything. Sahaj Samadhi means effortless Oneness. It is as simple and automatic as moving the hands or winking the eyelids.

Tomorrow, if you remind Me — I don't promise — I will tell you how, when thinking of Me, you can still do everything you need to do in the world. This is not Sahaj Samadhi, but Sahaj Dhyan. Even while eating, drinking, working, while looking at motion pictures, or attending to your business, you will still feel that Baba is with you. This is Sahaj Dhyan.

[modifier] References

1. ↑ ^{21, counting Zandor Markey who came for the Last Meeting.}
2. ↑ ^{Darwin Shaw gives 8,000 as the figure}
3. ↑ ^{Two arrived later}
4. ↑ ^{Devotional songs.}
5. ↑ ^{Baba said he was on the 6th plane.}
6. ↑ ^{Dr. William Donkin}
7. ↑ ^{October 1951 -- February 1952}
8. ↑ ^{Mother of Krishna.}
9. ↑ ^{The Final Declaration will be posted tomorrow, along with The Explanatory Notes on the Final Declaration.}

Charles Purdom and Malcolm Schloss. Published by Sheriar Press. © 1979 AMBPPCT