Upon this close observation, my recognition ceased, but as he smilingly motioned me to sit by him on the orange-colored divan, I still felt completely at ease and at home with him. His silence did not seem strange or awkward. Baba's smile is so disarming and puts one so at ease. I was unconscious of any personality dividing us, either of his or mine.
I can only liken [being in his presence] to being seated by a quiet pool at the base of a great mountain with only the sense of peace in nature, newly born.1 This feeling has never left me.
Baba dictated (Meredith reading the board) that he was pleased to see her. Elizabeth replied, "I am trying to remember where I have seen you before."
Meredith interjected, " 'Remembrance' happens to many people who meet Baba for the first time, as they are old 'contacts' from previous lives." Meredith then inquired if Elizabeth had any questions to ask Baba. Elizabeth told Baba about one of her oldest and dearest friends, Elsie Saltus Munds, 34, whom she had known since their boarding school days together. Elsie had met Baba on the 15th in the city, but she was quite ill from a nervous breakdown. Baba assured Elizabeth there was no need to worry, Elsie would recover. Elizabeth should leave the matter to him and bring Elsie the next time she came to Harmon.
Elizabeth, then more relaxed, began to ask questions. "Now my many questions tumbled out," she later related, "and Baba smiled comprehendingly. I had the impression of receiving his answer directly in my mind, while the communication through his fast moving finger on the board seemed like an echo as it was read out by Meredith."
After ten minutes, Elizabeth's initial interview was over. She shook hands with Baba, later saying, "I left so happy that, on descending the stairs, my feet did not seem to touch them and I felt as light as joy itself!"
Elizabeth had come only for the Master's blessing but, upon seeing Baba, she was caught. By simply coming into Baba's physical contact, Elizabeth once said, "I gained life ."
Three days later, Schatz Weicker called to ask Elizabeth to return to Harmon. She agreed and brought Elsie with her.2
From the very first day of Baba's arrival in America, each of those staying at the Harmon Retreat was called individually to sit in silence with the Master for three minutes. Invariably, tears would well up from inside them and many felt the atmosphere pervaded with bliss. About those rare moments with Baba, Malcolm recollected:
Footnotes
- 1.The London Forum (The Occult Review), September 1934, "A Modern Meeting of Master and Chela" by Elizabeth Patterson, p. 189. (Later reprinted in Meher Baba Journal, February 1940.)
- 2.Elsie Saltus Munds was the daughter of Edgar Saltus, an acclaimed 20 th century author, who became a Theosophist.