Norina was friendly with Einstein's stepdaughter Margot. Norina once described her meeting with Einstein:
It was through the courtesy of Professor Lüders, a famous professor of Sanskrit at the University of Berlin, that I had the unusual chance of visiting Einstein. I say unusual, because he hates inquisitive visitors of any kind, unless their purpose for coming is of direct interest and value to him. Professor Lüders, who graciously intended to give hospitality to Baba in Berlin, arranged the meeting within twelve hours' notice. The word Baba, I suppose, magically opened the door for the visit, as I personally had no excuse to make myself interesting.1
The next day at two in the afternoon, I stood before the door of "the most intelligent man in the world." Through the glass door of his very modernistic bungalow at Caputh, I could see him, sitting before a pile of manuscripts on a narrow table in his office and writing intensely. When the bell rang, he got up and opened the door.
Our meeting immediately became intimate and warm. He said, "My daughter loves you very much and I know you by reputation. I hear through Luders that you have to tell me something about a great spiritual man." This rather direct way of addressing the key point of my visit put me at ease. Within a few seconds, Baba was the topic of conversation.
It is very difficult to repeat Einstein's dialectic literally. It was very subtle, sophisticated and intricate. The first point that seemed to puzzle him most was: How is it possible for a man who is silent to influence others? He said, "Everything I have achieved with my science, in my philosophy, was through the power of thought expressed by language. What can he touch in other individuals but the mind? Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Plato — they left words in the mind of man. And these words created thought and thoughts make man!"
"Has man ever realized the innate God within him, has he ever experienced the Truth through books, words, or schools of thought?" was my quiet answer.
He looked somewhat wondrous, but reverent, at the age-old statement that God Is — He is to be realized. After a few moments of silent concentration, he continued, "How do you recognize such a man? Was Jesus a popular figure in his time?"
Footnotes
- 1.Heinrich Lüders (1869–1943) had met Baba previously. Afterwards, Baba had sent Sampath Aiyangar, editor of The Meher Gazette, to contact him in Berlin to further sow the seed of Baba's message of love and truth.