“”Paramananda had brought a bottle of honey for the Master and after he presented it to him, Baba dictated, "There is nothing but for one, infinite Existence, and I am one with it. I continuously enjoy eternal bliss and see myself in everything and in everyone.
"Mere intellectual conviction is not enough. Reality is a matter of illumination, inner sight and experience. All this is within you; but for that, 'death' is necessary — to become dead to maya in order to be born in Reality."
After hearing this, Paramananda put the several books that he had written about spiritual knowledge on a nearby table. The monk had intended to present them to Baba but realized the foolishness of his idea. He said, "Even though I have philosophy and may be able to explain things to others, all these [books] are worthless pieces of paper unless Infinity is experienced." Humbly he said, "This I have not attained. I require a Sadguru like you, Baba, and your grace. I bow before you. Push me forward, Baba!"
Paramananda then prostrated himself before Baba, who placed his hand on the man's head, blessing him. The monk then turned to his students and said, "One can never attain spiritual perfection without a guru. Meher Baba, being a Perfect Master, finds the content of these books playthings. What we discuss with the intellect, this bliss Baba is constantly experiencing." Paramananda was an accepted spiritual leader of several hundred American Vedantists. By declaring this, his followers understood the spiritual status of Meher Baba.
Thomas Watson and his wife Elizabeth met Baba at 3:00 P.M., but Watson was unresponsive. "Baba didn't have the slightest effect on my emotions, as he did when I first met him in England," Watson noted in his diary. About Malcolm, Jean and Mary Antin's devotion, Watson wrote: "They are perfectly infatuated with [Baba], and they say that all who meet him have the same emotional reaction. It seems like hypnotism."
Cath Gardner wanted to turn over to the Master her 100-acre wooded estate in Greenfield, New Hampshire to use as a retreat. The property was near to her Hancock farm where Malcolm and Jean had stayed. Baba liked the idea and was driven there (about 80 miles) to see both places on Monday, 23 November 1931. It was a beautiful spot surrounded by mountains and meadows. The Hancock property had an old farmhouse with ten rooms.
