He made a few new contacts but spent most of his time with those familiar and devoted to him. In the evenings, Baba usually went to a movie. (On one occasion, he saw The Iron Duke .) Phonograph records were also played in the downstairs hall at Hygeia House.
Baba was mainly preoccupied with arranging his trip to America. On 30 November he obtained United States visas for himself and the mandali and had passage booked across the Atlantic and train tickets from New York to California. Because of this work, he hardly had any time left to see people or give interviews. But a reception was held for him on Saturday, 1 December 1934 at the office of the Circle Editorial Committee with about 70 of his devotees and other interested persons.
Walter and Hedi Mertens arrived from Switzerland to meet Baba. Walter was intellectually inclined and, on one occasion, he and Charles Purdom asked Baba a few questions.1
About knowledge, Baba explained, "Man has all the nourishment to make him strong, but out of ignorance, he is eating things that do not make him strong, but fat! This metaphor contains all the teachings of the world. What is lacking is the knowledge of the heart."
One of them then asked, "What is jealousy?"
Baba spelled out, "Jealousy comes from a poverty of the heart and is essentially selfish."
"What is the difference between lust and love?"
"Lust is nothing else but the desire for self-happiness. Love is desire for the happiness of others."
"What do you want of man?"
"The realization of the Self through love."
"What do you require of your close followers?"
"To follow my instructions faithfully, in order to achieve the same goal — realization of the Self through love."
"How can one increase love?"
"By thinking more of the suffering of others instead of your own suffering. This is the shortest way."
"Should one be more of an idealist than a materialist?"
"To be merely an idealist is hopeless; to be merely a materialist is also hopeless. It is necessary to create a balance between the two."
Norina cabled from New York on 3 December 1934 again informing Baba that his presence was essential to the film projects. On the 4th, Quentin met with Baba and promised that he would assist Margaret with the spirit dances. Originally, Margaret and Quentin were to have accompanied Baba to choreograph these dance sequences, but now Quentin was unsure if he could go since he was about to start another job.
Footnotes
- 1.Walter Mertens knew Carl Jung and had undergone psychoanalysis with the famous psychiatrist. (Walter's father had married Carl Jung's wife's cousin. Kitty once asked Baba if there had been anyone in the West whom he had wished to contact but had been unable to do so, and Baba replied, "Carl Jung." Years later, Irene Conybeare sent Jung a copy of The Wayfarers. Jung responded that he had heard quite a bit about Meher Baba many years before [from Norina].)