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69

 

"You, brothers and sisters, you have been to Guruprasad, where He gave His love year after year, where He is sleeping now for 700 years. You have been to Meherazad where He has dropped His body, and to this house that He created and blessed.

 

"Blessed indeed are those who have His darshan . . . If we have darshan once, we need nothing else. But I hope you have His Real Darshan . . .some of you, at least one of you! If a few of you carry His love back to the West, I am sure this world will be served, but we have to have His Real Darshan, and carry His real love. It is time to be grateful. A few of you have been embraced by Him, kissed by Him, fed by Him, drank from His hands, ate from His hands. I tell everyone in Poona, from the West, North, East, South, everyone—those of us who have been blessed by His physical contact,—it is for us to spread the fragrance of His love.

 

"He called a few of us in His bedroom and gave us a bottle of sweet drink, he asked us, each of us, 'Why have I done this now?' Each one told his interpretation . . . 'Many are dying of thirst . . . or need spiritual help'. Some said, 'Baba gave His love to us, let us go out of this room and spread the fragrance of His love to the world.'

 

"That time has come. You have come here and you have honored His invitation to Guruprasad, Meherabad, Meherazad, Poona Center — but have you found Him? The same drama was enacted ages ago, in the time of Krishna — how he lived, danced among His lovers, giving His love; then the gopis asked; 'through which lane has My Beloved gone?' From April 10, 1969, I have seen the same drama being enacted at Guruprasad; — lovers going from room to room, looking for Beloved; — but He can be found here, in our own hearts. Meher Baba was a human being, so we might see His beauty, have insight, see God . . .If we would have His Darshan we must bow down to Him in each one, black, yellow, white, green. But He has disappeared like Krishna; we are searching every street. When we look here (touching his heart) we will find Him, we will hear the Word made flesh, we will have the Real Darshan. He has come and done His job and gone.

 

"Beloved brothers and sisters, you have given us inexpressible joy. It has fulfilled all our wishes of life."

 

* * *

 

More music follows: He's Got The Whole World In His Hands, and . . . Begin the Beguine because Baba had often asked for it to be played . . .then, we all join in Hank Mindlin's Western Arti. "Mira" dances and places a pink garland on Baba's picture. The children of Madhusudan sing How We Love Baba. Madhusudan says they love Baba not because He is the Godman, but because He gives them chocolates! A group of children sing 'Let Us Go to Meher Baba's durbar where we will get peace and happiness." A new group do a marching song, taking Baba's Name. The boys march, the girls sing, they seem to cover miles, without moving! Najoo Kotwala sings next, a little boy and girl do an Indian farmer's harvest dance; it was performed before Baba who liked it very much. Two more children recite the Master's prayer, the Repentance Prayer. Dr. Deshmukh rises and says: "Truth is His Daaman. Take Baba's Truth with You!" A real jam-session Arti ends this East-West Baba Meeting, and we walk out into soft starlight, down a narrow dirt lane, to the eternal buses, shouting a last "AVATAR MEHER BABA KI JAI!"

 

We were up at 3 A.M. the next morning. Breakfast of tea, Indian toast, our last mango! Good-bye to dear Dr. Donkin, and we walk to the Railroad Station past the sleeping beggars, to board the Deccan Queen, guided as ever by loving volunteers, many of whom joined us on the trip back to Bombay. In the afternoon, each of us 'did our own thing'—for some, this was just resting in the hotels,—others shopped or 'sightsaw ' in the over—100 degree heat. At 4 P.M. many of us visited the Bombay Baba Center, where another East-West feast of music, bhajans, took place. I was invited with several others to have dinner with Dr. Ram Ginde at the Wellington Club. A delightful occasion that ended on a jarring note: news that one of our darshaners was suddenly taken ill. We had to leave Jay Falk in India! Bombay Airport . . . and 154 lovers of Baba, loaded down with love, memories, fatigue, an entire Poona Music Shop (154 sitars, alone), and, who knows? A bit of the 'Real Darshan' in their hearts, left India at 1 A.M. Baba time.

 

JAI BABA!

 

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