The next day, when they informed Baba what happened, he wryly commented, "There is one thing I like about you Western disciples — your courage!"
Baba did confirm, however, that there was a ghost in the villa. Baba's bedroom was at the back of the house on the first floor. There was a staircase attached to his room which led to the ground floor and out of the villa. Once at midnight while Kaka was on nightwatch, Baba suddenly got up and, without putting on his sandals or taking a flashlight, left the room, descended the staircase in the pitch-dark and disappeared. Kaka followed him, but sensing that Baba was doing some work, he waited at the bottom of the staircase. Baba soon reappeared and returned to his room.
Kaka asked him why he had done this in the middle of the night, and Baba explained, "There was a spirit here that was haunting this house. He was a good man, but he disrespected and defied God and therefore he has not had a human body for about 500 years. Today I released him so he can take a human form once again."1
Minta again asked Baba if she could stay the night in his room, as she had done in Santa Margherita, but Baba did not allow it this time.
An Italian boy named Albertino, the son of one of the estate workers, was brought to Altachiara to stay near Baba during this visit. Soon after, Baba decided on a short trip to Rome, and Norina, Elizabeth, Minta, Kitty, Herbert, Pendu, Chanji, and the boys Dadu and Tino were to accompany him. Before departing, Baba asked those staying behind to prepare some humorous skits for his amusement when he returned.
At midnight, 6 July 1933, Elizabeth drove Baba to the station and the train left at 12:30. Baba was feeling terribly indisposed before entering his compartment, but by the time they arrived in Rome at 8:15 A.M., he felt all right. Physical illness always seemed to precede any of Baba's important spiritual work.
They stayed at the Hotel Elyseé , where Baba informed Norina, "I want to contact people who are searching for Truth, but I will see them today only. Arrange for interviews with them at three o'clock this afternoon."
After breakfast, Baba was driven around the seven hills of Rome, and later all went to the Vatican to see Saint Peter's Basilica. Baba was wearing a French beret to hide his hair and he did not wish to remove it, which was required to enter the church. He therefore walked around inside surrounded by the group, concealing his appearance so he was able to keep his hat on. Baba walked all the way into the great church and stood in the center beneath its dome; turning to face all four directions, he made signs in the air.
Footnotes
- 1.A ghost is the spirit of a person who has committed suicide and remains disembodied and suspended in the astral sphere for centuries. Such ghosts must find a body to possess in order to spend their remaining gross sanskaras. It is one aspect of the work of the Sadgurus and the Avatar to liberate such spirits and allow them to reincarnate again, proceeding in the normal process of the assimilation of human consciousness.