Baba replied, "I have always been with you, all the while since you first met me last year. You will work for me. You have close, deep connections with me and, for that reason, you were the only person with me when the film was being taken last evening."1
During this visit, the newspapers were having a field day, printing articles daily about the Indian Messiah . Some sent reporters to interview and photograph him.2
James Douglas, 64, a well-known writer and editor of the London Sunday Express (specializing in religious articles) and a friend of Purdom, prepared a lengthy questionnaire containing many "trick" questions meant to test Baba. He thought: "It would be much better to approach Meher Baba without prior intimation, as he will thereby be caught off guard and unable to prepare answers to my questions. I will expose him to the public, so that they may not be entrapped, and will be cautious of other so-called Indian mystics!"
He therefore appeared at Russell Road on Saturday, 9 April 1932 quite unexpectedly. Baba was on the first floor and was about to go out to visit the poorer sections of London. The trip was arranged already and cars were waiting. Baba wore English clothes when going out, but he would wear his Indian attire of a sadra and cotton pants at the Davys' home.
James Douglas was met at the door and told that Baba was about to leave the house. He was requested to make an appointment and to come back the next day. But Douglas said, "I only want to see him for a minute."
Baba was informed and, surprisingly, he consented to see the reporter. Baba removed his trousers and sat in his room in a dressing gown and a blue silk scarf around his neck. When Douglas came up, he stood on the threshold, looking here and there. Chanji was with Baba to read the alphabet board and invited Douglas to enter. Something overcame Douglas. He seemed startled. He stepped inside toward Baba with difficulty. He later related that it was as if an electric shock had penetrated his body. He was sweating and frequently wiped his brow. It was quite chilly at the time and strange to see someone perspiring.
Chanji invited him inside again. Douglas tried to speak, but his lips only quivered slightly.
Footnotes
- 1.Baba's sign for Charles Purdom was his hand to his chin, which was also his gesture for a rishi or wise man.
- 2.Among the British newspapers that printed articles and photographs of Baba were: The Star, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Mail, The Daily Herald, The Evening Standard, The Manchester Guardian.