Be immersed for a moment in the Ocean of God,
and do not think
That a single hair of your head will be wetted
by the waters of the Seven Seas.
If the face of God be the object of your gaze;
There is no doubt that from henceforth
you will be a possessor of Wisdom.
When the foundations of your existence are destroyed,
Think not that the house of your heart
will be demolished.
O Hafiz! If in your head there is the desire
for Union with the Beloved,
You must become as the dust before the door
of those who discern spiritual things.1
Baba then instructed that preparations be made to leave. Someone had presented him with a stuffed koala bear, which he handed to Joan Le Page to give to her two-year-old daughter, Jenny. Just before Baba was to go to the airport that night, fireworks were set off in Baba's honor outside the house. Rockets flared and shells burst into the sky.
Baba came out of the house, looked up in wonder, then brusquely turned back into the house, declaring, "What are they doing this for? They will cause a fire!"2
Two minutes later, in the dark all the men were rushing down into the bush with buckets of water to put out the bush fire that had indeed started. After this incident, everyone then left for the airport to bid farewell to Baba and the mandali.
While Baba was at Meher House, he once asked Bill for some lemonade or lemon soda. Bill brought a cold bottle for him which Baba kept near the radiator. After it had gotten warm and flat he drank it. At the airport while waiting (their plane was delayed), Baba asked for a bottle of orange juice. Bill went in search of one which was not cool, but failed to find a warm can. So buying a cold one, he went to the lavatory and held it in the wash basin and ran hot water over it to heat it. After all of his labor of love to bring warm juice for Baba, Baba hardly took one sip and then passed it to Bill to finish — which he did with difficulty!
Baba having now come and stayed at Meher House, Bill felt it should be left solely for Baba's use and that his family should live elsewhere. So as Baba was leaving to go to the airport, he expressed this to Baba. Baba affirmed that the house had been given in love by Francis and accepted in love by Baba, but Bill should continue as its caretaker. He and his family should live in the house, but it was never to be sold.
Footnotes
- 1.See page 4657 for Baba's translation of a few of these couplets by Hafiz.
- 2.Meher House at the time was surrounded by bushland and brush fires were a constant threat, as they are in Australia generally.