A crowd had collected at the gate of the ashram for there was the Mast "Twelve-Coat," (Baracoat), squatting on the ground, waiting for Baba's return. Some one had given him a cigarette. When he was asked in Hindi, "Who is Baba?" he replied, "Baba is my God." What wonderful eyes he had. One of the Mandali leaned over and flipped the lapels of his ragged jackets one by one . . . twelve indeed!

For a few moments we sat and chatted in the Mandali quarters and drank the delicious spring water provided for us . . . the only good drink of water I had in all India. One Easterner had filled a pop bottle to take back home as "holy water." Adi rather smiled at this and said, "Only Baba counts.”

At midday we had a fabulous luncheon, again at the home of Sarosh Irani, of spicy dishes ending with a sweet liquid "pretzel" for dessert. From here we drove to the Avatar Meher Baba's Ahmednagar Center where arti and discussion of Baba's teaching takes places each Saturday evening. Baba Himself opened the Center on October 26. We were treated to beautiful prayers chanted by a young Indian girl before Baba's photo. "O Meher Baba, Thou art everlasting and the Avatar of this Age. O Meher Baba, beyond words and deeds, may I surrender to You and think of You only.” This was followed by a song, “One who has the Real Darshan becomes You. It is not possible to know You through ordinary consciousness.”  Then she performed the arti ceremony while a rainbow spotlight slowly changed the colors of her jasmine headdress.

We filed out to make a quick tour of Adi’s office and storeroom, where a treasury of Baba-documents is filed — but alas! not in American-style fireproof cabinets. How I longed to stay right there and "dig"!

Our first stop in Baba's old ashram at Meherbad was the great Hall near the men's quarters, which I recognized from accounts of the "New Life Phase," for here it was in 1949 that Baba announced His momentous decision to give up the Old Life and all its "impedimenta," including this whole ashram. Here was His gadi or seat; the desk on which He wrote the great book which no one has read, to be published after His death; a box containing relics of Hazrat Babajan — her hair, a molar tooth, some coins, and her shawl. Here too, was the last alphabet board used by Baba before He gave up this mode of communication in 1954; and the sheet on which the Mandali stood to take their vow of the New Life.* Many precious Baba photos, large and small, lined the walls; some were those I had made long ago for Norina and Elizabeth.

*See the booklet, “The Great Seclusion."