Chapter 30: 1956 Trip To The West
Group Meeting at Myrtle Beach
1956Page 4,046 of 5,444
Baba himself at one point went looking for shells. Filis recalled: "We walked behind him on the sand, with the broad expanse of ocean glittering in the early morning sunlight, as happy and carefree as children beside a beloved father."
Toward the end, Fred Winterfeldt remarked to Baba, "The perfect shell is not to be found; it is like spiritual perfection — it can only be found when we drop this shell of a body." He then picked up a lovely double-shell and gave it to Baba. Baba solemnly broke it in half and gave one half to Ella and the other to Fred.
Baba walked slowly with the group back to the Center at 8:00 A.M. The bus from town had just arrived, and those on it were crestfallen to learn they had missed the morning walk with the Master. After pacing for a few moments, Baba settled himself in a wicker chair under a pine tree, and everyone sat facing him for the meeting of groups that had been postponed from the night before. Hilda De Long had placed a gardenia on Baba's breakfast tray, and Baba now wore it on his blue jacket. Baba began by stating:
Last evening, I told John Bass and others that in India there are 100 different groups. Each has a group head, and all work for the love of me. All love me. The group heads are responsible for the work the group does. In India, in the different groups, there are different castes, different religions, those of different economic status. There are Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus — but all love Baba. All want to work for me and spread my message of Love and Truth. Muslims work in their own localities to bring Muslims; Parsis and Christians do the same thing. Here I have been hearing for a long time about the two groups in the United States, but there has been some misunderstanding. What is the difficulty?
John Bass, head of the Monday Night group in New York, stood and said, "At times, Baba, there is a tendency to unite or try to attract each other's members."
Baba turned to Ivy, head of Sufism Reoriented, and asked, "Ivy, are you happy? How do you feel?" As she nodded he said, "Fine. Are you ready for a nice fight? How do you feel?"