Elizabeth and Ivy were allowed to enter customs and greet him. They were the two official representatives of the two spiritual organizations sponsoring his visit; Elizabeth represented the Universal Spiritual League of America, Ivy represented Sufism Reoriented. The other people had to wait outside the barrier for 45 minutes until Baba and his mandali were cleared through customs. They were thrilled to see Baba pacing back and forth, walking unencumbered.
At last, Baba emerged and was overwhelmed by the effusiveness of their welcome. He embraced each one individually and was garlanded with red, white and blue flowers by Filis Frederick. To Carrie Ben Shammai of Israel, who was meeting Baba for the first time, he appeared "as an angel having descended from heaven."
To Peter Saul, 20, one of Margaret Craske's dance students, also meeting Baba for the first time, "His radiance was just extraordinary. It made everything else go away. Everything became a blur, visually and aurally. I was standing next to Miss Craske. When she and Baba greeted each other, it was like a river overflowing its banks, splashing over. I was absolutely stunned."
Seeing this unusual display of love and affection, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the United Nations asked, "Who is he? Is he a spiritual leader? When he came out of customs, he came to each and every one of you. How fascinating! Of all the people I have met, high priests and dignitaries all over the world, I have never seen anyone, such as he did, go forward to greet everyone , hug everyone individually. He didn't overlook one of you."
Baba proceeded to the Florsheims' waiting convertible with the four mandali. The top was raised and lowered several times to allow those with cameras to record Baba's first moments in America. Trucks, cars and taxis were held up behind Baba's car. A policeman came to investigate, and Andy Muir, usually mild-mannered, shouted at him, "Tell them to wait, don't you know who this is?"
Taken aback, the policeman shouted to the next one, "Let them wait!" to the amusement of all.
Baba was driven to the Hotel Delmonico at 59th Street and Park Avenue, followed by his lovers, and was immediately taken up to his room on the eighth floor. Marion Florsheim, however, had gone off with the keys to Baba's suite, and since she was the chairman of the reception committee, Baba did not enter until she returned.