Leaving Istanbul by train on Wednesday, 14 October 1931, at 5:35 P.M. Baba arrived in Milan two days later, on the afternoon of the 16th at 5:30. Enid was to meet them at the station, but as she did not show up, Baba went to her apartment. Very apologetically, Enid expressed regret for her delay and took them to the Albergo Imperiale , where she had made reservations for nine days in rooms on the tenth floor.1 Enid took them to a vegetarian restaurant for dinner.
The next afternoon, Baba went by bus to the Certosa Monastery, about an hour's drive outside the city. He liked the place very much, as it was quiet and solitary. He had a complete look throughout the monastery. Baba liked the individual meditation cells the best. He sat on one of the verandahs facing an open courtyard for half an hour, and praised the spiritual atmosphere.
Unlike at other public places, Baba was not in a hurry to leave, and his former morose mood since arriving in Milan, Chanji noted, now seemed changed. There (and later), Baba explained about his spiritual work to Enid and a friend of hers named Theo, who had accompanied them:
It is absolutely impossible for an ordinary man to understand my work. With my Universal mind, I work [on an unlimited scale] for the universe; to understand what I do is not within the bounds of human intellect. I always work for the universe and not for myself. Why would I need to work for myself? I do my work through various mediums. With that object in mind, I visit places, see different sights, or go to plays, films, and do a hundred and one other things. But I don't enjoy movies or the theater as you do — I make them the medium of my inner spiritual work. My every breath does this work constantly, while outwardly you find me doing nothing [special]. You cannot grasp the internal mystery.
I have to do great work for the welfare of humanity — it is my Universal duty. Times are critical and due to [certain crises], my responsibility has increased in proportion to the circumstances and prevailing conditions. I am the Emperor of the spiritual kingdom and every second receive [inner] "reports" and messages from every corner of the universe. Because of the troublesome times we are facing, I am inwardly receiving only distressing reports, such as the conflict between China and Japan.
Footnotes
- 1.Three rooms had been booked: 122, 123, 124 — one for Baba and Ali, and one each for Chanji and Meredith. (Baba wanted Meredith to share a room, so they would not have to spend unnecessarily, but Meredith had refused.)