Chapter 36: Interested In Remaining Disinterested
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Look at Peter; he denied Jesus! Desperation made his mind deny, but in his heart, Peter knew that Jesus was what he was — Christ. The ordinary man never loses faith. He is as one who climbs up a mountain a certain distance, experiencing cold and difficulty in breathing, and returns to the foot of the mountain. But the scientific mind goes on up the mountain until its heart freezes and dies. But this mind is becoming so staggered by the vastness still beyond it, that it will be forced to admit the hopelessness of its quest and turn to God, the Reality.
At the end of April, Khorshed joined the women in Guruprasad, until the end of their stay in Poona. Baba would occasionally call her mother, Soonamasi, to stay in Bindra House for a few days, but in later years, because of her poor health, Baba indicated it was best that Soonamasi remain in Bombay. Arnavaz, Nargis and Alu Khambatta visited on the 25th.
A meeting was held of 30 volunteer workers on 1 May to discuss arrangements for the upcoming East-West Gathering. Deshmukh, who had arrived from Nagpur, was also present.
Another meeting was held on Sunday, 6 May 1962, and that same day about 150 close ones from Poona and Bombay gathered to hear three professional musicians of the All India Radio station in Poona. Golwalkar played the sarangi, Kamat the tabla and Laxman Waze the sitar. It was a stirring performance. When Baba commented to them that their performance was the best, Golwalkar said, "It is solely due to your presence, for we have never played so well before." Baba embraced each of them. Baba did not usually enjoy a solely instrumental performance, but he did that day.
Quite unexpectedly, Dr. Harry Kenmore arrived in Poona on 7 May 1962. He telephoned Guruprasad from the Napier Hotel and Eruch picked up the phone. Surprised to hear Kenmore's voice, Eruch asked from where he was speaking. When Kenmore bellowed that he was in Poona, Eruch laughed as he thought he was calling from New York City, as he frequently would do. Kenmore stayed in Poona for two weeks and was allowed to visit Guruprasad daily to be with Baba and the mandali.
Deshmukh would perform kirtans for Baba each day. Francis would sometimes get irritated because so much was recited in Indian languages, which he could not understand. So one day he suggested that Deshmukh perform kirtans in English, and Deshmukh began composing some.