ChaptersChapter 10Page 1,338

Chapter 10: The West Learns To Sing

1931Page 1,338 of 5,444
Baba never indicated anything specific about Meredith's behavior; but with this small hint, he cleared the air and the group then knew that he wanted them to conduct themselves in a more natural manner.
at the Eiffel Tower, 13 December 1931 seated: Zilla Cluse, Baba, Margaret Starr, John Cousins standing: Chanji, Kitty Davy, Agha Ali, Meredith Starr, Margaret Craske, Kim Tolhurst and Delia DeLeon
One day, Margaret was emboldened to ask Baba, "When you were young, before you were Realized, did you know, or did you have any feeling, that there was something ahead for you, something that you were destined to do?"
Baba replied candidly, "No, not really. But I was in a way different from other people. I never knew desire."
Baba and the group had their photograph taken at the Eiffel Tower that day and strolled along the Seine. Over the course of two days, Baba met a few interested local seekers (some of whom Malcolm had contacted in advance) and visited the Louvre (museum), the Arc de Triomphe and the Cathedral of Notre Dame and drove down the Champs Élysées. At the Galléries Lafayette department store Baba bought a new coat. On the evening of the 13th, they went to the Madeleine Cinema to see the movie Trader Horn .
After they returned to the hotel, Baba sat until midnight in the room Kitty and Zilla were occupying. Meanwhile in another bedroom, something strange was transpiring. When Delia and Kim overheard Baba indicate to Meredith that there were forces of black magic about in Paris, they thought: "We must protect Baba from all these evil influences." In Kim's words, here is what they did:
Delia and I, two pious little princesses, sat up all night, praying and singing psalms and hymns. We were terribly proud of ourselves when we told Baba the next morning. Of course, he was very sweet about it. Margaret thought we were quite cuckoo, which indeed we were. We were really so ridiculous, but it was done out of love.
On 15 December 1931, Baba and the group went in a Rolls-Royce to the magnificent Palace of Versailles, in a suburb outside of Paris. They saw the Hall of Mirrors where the treaty of Versailles was signed, ending the First World War. Then they went through the rest of the palace and saw Marie Antoinette's suite. In the gardens, the younger ones skipped happily in a line holding hands. Afterward, they had tea in a café where Delia accidentally spilled her cup on the tablecloth, much to the amusement of Baba. During that night, their last with Baba, they stayed at the hotel. Baba played tiddlywinks, carrom and marbles with Ali, and the two other children, John and Zilla.
These chosen ones enjoyed the freedom of Baba's unrestricted atmosphere for a week and derived the utmost benefit from his company. In Paris, Baba explained for the first time to the English group about reincarnation, evolution and involution.
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