Next, Marion asked some of the other disciples to give Baba a moment of greeting. Ivy Duce, as usual, was ready with a funny story . . . about the ship's captain who tried to quiet a nervous passenger during a storm at sea by saying: "Madame, we are in the hands of God." "O dear," she replied, "has it come to that!"

"Fortunately," Ivy continued, "it has come to that a long time ago for us, and fortunately we are in the hands of God."

Fred Winterfeldt took the mike and welcomed Baba "from the bottom of our hearts," ending with an Indian "ki jai!"

Elizabeth Patterson said that in America, we all were a little crazy, giving after-dinner speeches before dinner like this. She said that unlike Indian songs, which are almost entirely spiritual, American songs were rather crazy, but the popular song, "This is the day we have waited for, this is the day for which we were born," expressed our feelings of today. She added: "In loving Baba as Compassionate Father, we can love all mankind as His children. We welcome Baba with all our hearts."

Don Stevens said: "Trying to welcome Baba is impossible. It must be telegraphed from heart to heart. In India in 1954, at the Sahavas Meetings, Baba said, 'It is the love of My devotees in the West which draws Me again.' And we say, it is You who sustain us by Your Love."

Darwin Shaw spoke of having through the years seen innumerable examples of Baba's kindnesses to every living thing, and how grateful we all were to Him for interrupting His seclusion to come to us.

Baba's response to these loving greetings and the welcome He felt in all our hearts, was given by Eruch, who spoke each word of Baba's into the microphone like a precious pearl:

"I feel very happy to be with you all today. It is your devotion that has made Me come to the West during the period of My seclusion. If anything ever touches My Universal Heart, it is love. I have crossed the limited earthly oceans to bring to you all the limitless and shoreless Ocean of Divine Love. Those who do not dare to love Me, seek safety on the shores. You who love Me, are swimming in this Divine Ocean. Love Me more and more till you get drowned in Me. Dive deep and you will gain the priceless pearl of Infinite Oneness."