But the Master and his disciples were hard to fathom and to please for someone with limited faith and understanding like Ganna, as can be seen from these passages from her memoirs:
Owing to Baba's extreme restlessness — more than curious for a mystic — and to the fact that as hostess I had much of the actual work to do to make fourteen people comfortable during their overnight stay, I could not register my thoughts and I did not allow my feelings to interfere with the hausfrau [housewife] work. I was busy every second, running from the kitchen to Baba's disciples, from the garage to the housekeeper who complained that our cook had lost her head — while my secretary in the meantime was suspended on the telephone for the Master's orders.
With this rush, nervousness, lack of serenity, I could not help having the clear impression that Baba was an exceptionally capricious prima donna and his disciples were playing the part of the typical enslaved accompanist, secretary and maids, while Norina Matchabelli acted the role of the Italian! All were extremely excited and scared to death of displeasing Baba ... They waited at his door like a dog sitting on the floor, on the stairs in order to respond more quickly at his call. And when a call came, they rushed in so quickly in military style that I trembled for any of my antiques that might be in their way.
Hardly had they started breakfast than, with a half-consumed piece of toast in their mouths, they rushed to answer their Master. The brioches actually had to be warmed six times before they got a chance to finish their coffee. The luncheon hour was changed eight times, the first order having been for one o'clock. But we ate at half-past eleven and for this reason the food was scarcely up to Galluis standards, for my chef could not possibly have prepared this complicated vegetarian menu with her usual finesse at an hour's notice, the last change of time having come through just after eleven o'clock. And the cause of all this trouble was that Baba wanted to go to the movies to see his favorite entertainment — a gay musical comedy picturing the life of Florenz Ziegfeld [ The Great Ziegfeld ].
[After Baba left, at midnight] when I finally got to my room I stayed there for three long days to recuperate from that hectic, unhealthy, under-the-knout [whip] holy life.