2 January 1935 was Minta's birthday and chicken and ice cream and cake were served. Baba gave her a scarf and Minta presented Baba with an electric razor, which Adi began using to shave Baba.
That day, through Nonny, the wife of the famous director Cecil B. DeMille came for an interview and expressed her desire for her husband, who had met Baba at Pickfair, to meet Baba again.1
Although Cecil B. DeMille's second meeting with Baba never took place, William J. Hurlbut, 51, a well-known screenplay writer, who adapted Imitation of Life , came to see Baba on the 4th.2 Hurlbut found it difficult to articulate his question of how he could live in the world, attend to his job and be spiritual at the same time.
Baba understood what he meant, clarifying, "You mean spirituality made practical ..."
"Yes, that is exactly it," Hurlbut interrupted.
Baba assured him, "It is very easy, very simple. Its very simplicity makes it very difficult."
"Is it really? How strange!" Hurlbut said.
"People's ideas about God and spirituality are so far-fetched, fantastic and funny!"
"I call my highest ideal, 'Life Substance.' I don't want to call it God, for that would be connected with the rigid church diction and dogmas, and my belief and ideal are greater. So 'Life Substance,' whatever it is."
Baba replied, "Names and terms do not matter. It is the feeling that counts."
"What then should I do to feel, as you say, and get a glimpse of it if I do not go deeper into it?"
"I will explain. For a man of your position in life, it is all right in a civilized country of modern ideals and age, to live as you do always keeping your mind toward higher aspirations. To speak frankly, you are spiritual without being conscious of it."
"Am I really?"
"Yes. I know you are really more spiritual than you yourself know, and there is still much more you could do. I will explain it to you."
Baba then gave him instructions to concentrate on a particular thought for a number of minutes every day.
Miss Carena Shields met Baba the same day. She was an intelligent, bold young archaeologist who had spent time with native tribes in southern Mexico who practiced mystical, occult traditions. Like Hurlbut, she too felt conflicted.
Baba reiterated: "In the West too are sincere souls who seek the Truth. There is an awakening even in the West toward a life behind all this [gross world]. But it is difficult to reconcile the two — material and spiritual living. I know how you feel, and tell you that you shouldn't feel disappointed with this situation or conflict, as you say.
"You must always remember that in spirituality, it is not the intellect and external life that matters, but it is the feelings and inner experiences that count. You can live in the world, do all your duties, and yet be spiritual. You should not run away from the world, nor shirk your duties towards your own and others. Live in the world doing all your legitimate duties, but keep your mind always toward the goal. Have a longing for inner life and experiences, and it will surely come to you gradually.
Constance Collier, 57, a Hollywood movie actress and drama teacher, came to see Baba at the house on Camino Palmero on Sunday, 6 January 1935. She was having trouble with failing eyesight and Baba gave her a meditation to do, which he said would help her both physically and spiritually. She said to him, "I have hundreds of friends, but not one could be called a true one. I feel so alone."
Baba gestured to her, "I am your friend — a real one."
"Yes, I believe you are. I do not feel alone since I have known you. Please remember me."
Footnotes
- 1.Cecil B. DeMille's sister-in-law, Mrs. William DeMille, met Baba a few weeks earlier, at the Shelton Hotel in New York on 14 December 1934.
- 2.Hurlbut had known Norina in New York in the late 1920s. He wrote the screenplay for Bride of Frankenstein, also.