Chapter 36: Interested In Remaining Disinterested
1961Page 4,780 of 5,444
In mid-November 1961, Manohar Sakhare and his wife Mona, Kusum Mohkam Singh and other staunch lovers of Delhi wrote to Adi about their idea to set up an information booth with Baba literature at the Indian Industries Fair, soon to be inaugurated in Delhi. Adi consulted Baba about it, who gave his approval, and a parcel of pamphlets and books was sent. Many came to know of Baba through their efforts, which also proved a catalyst for their counterparts in America during the World's Fair in New York in 1964.
During Baba's stay in Guruprasad in 1960, several lovers from Hamirpur expressed their desire to have a life-size marble statue made of Baba, and to house it in a mandir (temple) built for it in the village of Nauranga. Baba acceded to their wish, but at the same time warned against making his statue a focus of empty ceremonial worship, reminding them of what he had often said regarding temples and ceremonies, that the real house of God is the heart, and the real worship is that service done in love to one's fellow beings.
Over the next year and a half, the temple and statue were built, but the unveiling of the statue was not to take place until the annual mela (fair) held in Nauranga from 25–27 November 1961. For that purpose, Baba sent Adi and Maharani Shantadevi to Nauranga. Meherdas was also sent from Meherazad with several of Baba's old personal articles (a much-used coat, a pair of sandals, an old cricket bat, a letter in Baba's handwriting dated back in 1922, a curl of his golden-brown hair from his younger days, and other items) to be exhibited in the temple for the lovers to bow down to and thereby take darshan. The main function was held on the 26th of November. The building where the statue was to be housed had been named Meher Mandir (Meher Temple), but sending a telegram that day, Baba changed the name to Meher Dham (House of Meher).
Baba sent word to them that no ceremonies or rituals should be performed in the temple — no ringing of bells or puja — and that people should take darshan of the statue as if they were taking Baba's darshan in person. He also ordered that over the entrance of Meher Dham, should be written in large letters — carved in stone, not painted on boards — so that pilgrims might read it before entering: