Baba at first severely reproached him, saying, "I am very disappointed in you. You are a first-class fool!"
But then, Baba agreed that he should return immediately to Switzerland and arranged it so that Max could leave Meherabad the same evening for Bombay.
Baba reassured him, "Dear Max, whether you love me or not, you are mine and I will always love you."1
When Fred Winterfeldt entered the semi-dark room for his interview, Baba stood up and came forward; Fred saw Baba getting bigger and bigger. All the misdeeds and selfish acts he had done in his life suddenly rushed into his mind. He burst into tears and thought: "Here you are in front of Baba — the Avatar, God — and you are crying like a baby!" He criticized himself but could not stop.
Baba comforted him, saying, "Just let it flow; too much has been bottled up within you."
During his private interview, Baba told Fred: "I am the Highest of the High, and being such, I say with divine truth: To love me is not easy, but to obey me is.
Darwin Shaw had never met Eruch, and at the beginning of his interview, Baba introduced them. Eruch was interpreting and, pointing to himself, said, "Darwin, this is Eruch."
Turning to Eruch, Baba stated, "This is Darwin; he is one of my dearest ones."
Baba's simple declaration had a profound effect upon Darwin. At that moment, "Baba somehow pulled back more of the veil and revealed himself," Darwin described. Falling into Baba's arms, Darwin "felt a great wave of love and experienced bliss." He continued:
It was beyond my wildest dreams. One [can]not describe the sweetness, the tender beauty of his love that was radiant within. In a letter, when we were living in Myrtle Beach, Baba had called me his chosen disciple. I never fully believed it. Now, when Baba called me one of his dearest ones, it just broke me up. I looked at him through tears and asked, "How can you say that?" Baba became sober and said, "I do not humor you."
Darwin had brought a white scarf for Baba. He had put the small package on the table and now picked it up, feeling it to be so inadequate.
Humbly, he handed it to Baba who quickly responded, "You yourself are the greatest gift you could have brought. You are God's gift to me."
Footnotes
- 1.Nilu was instructed to accompany Max to Bombay.