Baba explained to them in detail the theme of creation, reincarnation, the planes and God-realization. It was all quite novel for these men and they found it difficult to portray everything in the way Baba wished.
Baba liked both Drake and Kraft, commenting that Kraft was "honest and sincere." Initially, Kraft was skeptical about Baba, but after their first meeting he came away shaken. He described to Pascal, "There was a tremendous power emanating from that man!" Kraft found it impossible to say no to Baba and was engaged to collaborate on a script. There were two separate film stories: one by Vollmoeller and Kraft, titled This Man David ; the other by Vollmoeller, titled How It Happened . The idea about the airplane and its passengers ( Perfection ) was discarded for the time being.
Because of this film work, Baba met with a number of motion picture executives, directors, producers and managers from different studios, including Joseph von Sternberg.1 It was found difficult to blend the material aspect of production with the spiritual theme in an instructive and interesting presentation that the public would find appealing. Although the various persons concerned came to see Meher Baba strictly on business, they were all deeply impressed with his divine personality and spiritual glow. They would invite Baba to their homes, and he consented to a few.
Baba also visited Paramount, Universal (3 January 1935), Fox (4 January) and Warner Brothers studios where he met many celebrities, including the French singer Maurice Chevalier, and was photographed with actress Alice Faye. At Fox Studio, the Oklahoma humorist Will Rogers conversed with Baba for a few minutes about Gandhi and Eastern philosophy, and said he would come and see Baba if he visited India.2 Baba also saw several films in Hollywood, one of which was Imitation of Life at the Pantages Theater on Hollywood Boulevard near Vine Street.
During Baba's absence, Malcolm and Jean had passed through difficult times and endured financial hardships. Jean asked Baba whether these times were meant to test their resilience and develop their capacity to endure suffering for his sake.
"Yes," Baba replied, "you must be able to face disappointment, criticism and negative forces with perfect calm and inner poise. And you must submit yourself at all times to the will of God."
It was Baba's first Christmas in the West, as he pointed out to Will and Mary Backett in England in the following letter from Hollywood, summarizing the frustrations of raising money for the film project:
Footnotes
- 1.Karl Vollmoeller and von Sternberg had worked together in Germany before coming to America. Vollmoeller had also been one of the writers on the von Sternberg/Marlene Dietrich film The Blue Angel. Von Sternberg had met Baba in Hollywood in 1932.
- 2.Will Rogers never had the opportunity to visit India. He died in a plane crash eight months after meeting Baba. "At his death, Will Rogers was considered the most loved of all Americans. His 1935 funeral in California was believed to be the biggest turnout of mourners [estimated at 150,000] since the death of Abraham Lincoln." (Will Rogers Ranch Overview, California State Parks.)