As Age related, "Many were attracted towards the
outer beauty of the Park; but they lacked the courage to bear the hardships and
storms therein. The Gardener keeps such hearty birds in his Woodland who want to
build nests there. Those who come only for a stroll through it — just to
see the Garden's sights and return to their nests outside — are not
permitted to remain. Many birds frequent the Beloved's Sanctuary, but only a
few are fit to reside there!"
In the background, brooding, Meredith Starr was still
perturbed with Baba because, after so much publicity, Baba did not break his
silence in America. Neither Meredith nor Margaret Starr came to see Baba during
this stay in London, nor did Baba go to the Devonshire Retreat in Combe
Martin.1 Their connection was outwardly severed, though Meredith infrequently wrote to
Baba. "Give me either the £ 400 you owe me or
illumination!" Meredith once wrote, "Otherwise, I will leave you and
expose you as a fraud!" When one of these letters came, Baba had it read
out to the group, passed it around for them to see and threw his hands up to
show how hopeless some situations were.
Exasperated, he spelled out on the
board, "The West!"
Baba's relationship with Meredith Starr and the
varying reactions were merely the outward aspects. No one can say what was going
on inside or what work Baba was doing. Bound to the universe and by Universal
duty from the beginning of creation to the end, the Avatar is connected with one
and all, as he himself is everything and everyone! In his indivisible existence,
he is all-pervasive and never "leaves" anyone — no matter how
despicable their behavior may be. This is the Avatar's greatness — and
his only "weakness." He has compassion for all and cannot harm
anyone!
After a week in London, Baba bid farewell to his close
ones and proceeded to Zurich, on Wednesday, 14 December 1932.2 Besides the
mandali, accompanying him were Norina, Elizabeth, Enid and Quentin.
The group arrived in Zurich the next day. Hedi and Walter
Mertens and Otto Haas-Heye were Baba's hosts. German-born Otto Haas-Heye,
53, was an established fashion and theatrical costume designer, and a good
friend of Norina's first husband Karl Vollmoeller. Otto had founded the
Zurich Art and Model School in a few large, wood-paneled rooms on the first
floor of a building above the Italian Consulate.3 He arranged a
reception there for Baba, who met with various people that day from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00
P.M. and from 3:00 to 7:00 P.M., after which he walked by the lake for
an hour.
Footnotes
- 1.The Devonshire Retreat was disbanded and sold a year and a half later.
- 2.After landing at Calais, Baba may have traveled through Belgium on his way to Switzerland, as a visa for Belgium had been obtained in London two days before.
- 3.The design school was located at Hirschengraben 22.