"But you have no need to sleep, so where's the difficulty? We [mortals] have to worry about lack of sleep."
Baba ended their meeting, indicating to Gandhi, "I shall inform you when I return."
Gandhi said, "Absolutely! Thank you."
"And, if possible, I will see you."
"Please do so. I will be very happy."
Baba then asked, "From here, when and where will you proceed?"
Gandhi answered, "I am here [in England] until the end of October, then I will leave. I have to meet Romain Rolland [in Switzerland]. I have also had an invitation to visit Berlin. If possible, I will go on to Turkey, but there is no invitation from there. I intend to visit Egypt and Palestine also."1
"Do go to Palestine," Baba urged.
"I am thinking of going there. From Port Said, the ship has to pass by there. Time permitting, I will go to Palestine. I will be here for only ten or twelve days after you return. Would you see me then?"
"All right. On my return I shall inform you before I come and then we will meet. Now I take your leave. Are you anxious to go somewhere?"
"Yes, I do have to go out. Because you were coming, Baba, I waited for you."
While Baba was departing, Gandhi stood up and offered namaskars to Baba — salutations with joined hands. Bidding farewell, Gandhi shook hands with Chanji and Rustom. Gandhi was especially happy to have seen Baba, as that day was his 62nd birthday.
After this meeting with Mahatma Gandhi, Baba returned to the Davys' house. This would be Baba's last night with his English followers; he was to leave the next morning for Istanbul, Turkey.
Before Baba departed, one of the maids named Elsie wished to meet alone with him. Baba permitted it. Elsie accepted Baba's loving embrace and said, "You are a wonderful gentleman! I love you so much! Do you love me?" Nodding yes, Baba indicated that she had a very good heart and this made Elsie happy. Another maid, Edna Brain, was also attracted to Baba and served him wholeheartedly.
Much to her consternation, Kitty's sister May Cluse continued to weep sorrowfully. That evening, she wept with her head on Baba's shoulder for two hours and then caught hold of his feet. She kept kissing them and touching them with her forehead and cheeks.
Footnotes
- 1.Romain Rolland (1866–1944) was a French author and pacifist. He wrote biographies of the German composer Beethoven, the Italian artist Michelangelo, the Russian author Leo Tolstoy and, in 1924, Mahatma Gandhi. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1915. In 1929, he wrote a biography of Ramakrishna, the Sadguru of Calcutta.