Chapter 36: Interested In Remaining Disinterested
1961Page 4,755 of 5,444
Life went on like that until Ann reached the point where she almost could not stand to be with anyone who had met Baba, when she had not. Then came the Family Letter of May 1961, informing about the relaxation in Baba's seclusion and the two-week period of darshan. However, by the time Mani's letter was received in America, one week had already expired. Ann's first reaction was of absolute panic. She was frantic. She felt strongly that this would be her only opportunity. She had no money saved, but Liz and Ginny came to her rescue by offering to pay for her trip, not as a loan but as a gift. The next morning, Ann booked her flight.
Baba had mentioned in the circular of 5 May that he did not wish his lovers living at long distances to come, incurring so much expense. So before Ann departed, she sent a cable to Baba: "No distance too great, no expense too high," and she gave the date and time of her arrival. Fred Winterfeldt had also decided to go, but Ann was not about to wait for anyone, and she flew for India on 25 May. Filled with joy for Ann, her friends saw her off at the airport. At last she would be meeting the beloved God-Man.
Ann had been told to telephone Mani at Guruprasad from the Napier Hotel in Poona. When she arrived on Saturday, 27 May 1961, Eruch came on the phone to say, "Baba says to stay at your hotel and rest. Someone will come to pick you up between 3:00 and 3:30 P.M." At three o'clock Meherjee drove her to Guruprasad. Ann got out of the car, and when she stood up, the front doors were open and there was Baba seated at the back of the hall. Even from that distance of about 75 feet she could see his eyes. Then suddenly all she could see were his eyes! Ann later related:
Baba's eyes filled that room. There were shafts of light coming from behind his eyes. I thought: If he drops his eyes, I'll drown in that light. Then everything went back to normal.
I went running up the steps, past Meherjee, and when I stepped into the hall, I felt again the same wave of love that I had felt at Myrtle Beach, only so much stronger that it stopped me in my tracks and my knees started shaking. Baba looked at me and smiled. He held out his arms saying, "Come on!"