"Let us ask pardon of God for our misunderstandings, for unnecessarily hurting the feelings of others, for our faults. May God give you all one per cent of the infinite Patience Baba has! Let us ask God's pardon! Now, one by one, embrace me."

Slowly we formed a line and one by one embraced Baba, who had risen and was standing by the table. O the divine mercy of that tender embrace, that wipes away sins known and unknown, confessed and unconfessed! This was the last embrace, for tomorrow he would not permit any. Now that the "storm" was over, Baba seemed to he in a happy mood and there was a twinkle in his eye.

Kitty Davy relates how, in order to prepare Baba's lunch, she had slipped out before the meeting was over and missed the prayer and embrace. Baba then reminded her that he had not asked us to cook and be preoccupied all the time but to be with him as much as possible. He then forgave her and gave her the embrace she had missed.

The momentous meeting had delayed our scheduled trip to Muir Woods to which Baba had acceded at the suggestion of the Shaws. While we went ahead in the bus, riding over the Golden Gate bridge and up the hairpin turns of Mt. Tamalpais, Baba visited the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harb. He went through all the rooms, and then distributed a prasad of fruit to those present. He sat for a moment in Joseph's favorite chair.

How happy we were when Baba finally arrived, and with his long stride led the way into the redwood forest, the children flocking around him, hanging on to his arm like bright birds. Baba paused for a moment before a giant redwood over 1,800 years old and sat down in a hollow of the huge trunk. He closed his eyes for a moment, and it seemed the living Buddha had returned and was seated under the sacred Bo tree. He called the tree to the attention of the mandali, when he rose. Another thought went through my head . . . perhaps he had liberated the living soul from this ancient tree-form and in another life it would enter a higher form. Baba's eyes swung to mine as if in answer.

He then asked Kitty when lunch was scheduled, and on hearing we were late, signaled for our return. Back in his room, he told us all, as we gathered at his command, that from now on there would be no embraces, or goodbyes. Those missing from this gathering were to be called at once, and I went in search of two.