Two days later, Adi phoned from Ahmednagar, saying that Baba was putting a stop to all visitors from 16 August, and wished to remain undisturbed until the end of 1967. Therefore, he said, Rick's meeting had been moved up to the 15th, at nine o'clock in the morning.
Rick's first thought was: "Oh, here goes Baba, changing plans like he always does. I'll probably get word tomorrow that he had changed the meeting to yesterday, with Baba wondering why I wasn't there!"
Rick arrived in Poona by train at 5:30 A.M. on Monday, 15 August 1966. Adi had driven Sheela to Poona for a doctor's appointment the previous day, so he, Sheela and Bhavsar met Rick at the train station and Rick rode with them to Ahmednagar. Rick was given breakfast at Sarosh's home. "Baba is very particular about time," Adi told him (as Adi settled in for a second helping, Rick wryly recalled). "But don't worry," Adi continued, "he will blame me , not you, if we are late for your nine o'clock meeting."
Adi drove him the nine miles to Meherazad precisely on time, and Rick was taken inside the hall, where Baba smilingly embraced him. In his words, Rick later described those first moments with the Beloved:
As I leaned over to lay my heart onto my Heart I glanced into his light-flashing eyes — moment of Sun-brightness, moment of wordless joy, moment of moments in the arms of God!
[Baba kissed Rick on the forehead.]
I did not clearly recall for about two weeks that Baba had kissed me on the forehead — it was so gentle, so natural. I had just embraced him for the first time in this life, though it was as if he were my oldest friend, beaming, radiating joy as I entered his arms. As I came closer into his tight hug, suddenly a voice came into my mind: "Stop! Don't waste this time — look at him!" So I turned my eyes a fraction of an inch, from dazedly looking over his shoulder to looking into his eyes six inches away, flashing light. Surely the men sitting nearby on the floor saw him let the light flash out of his eyes into my own.
Rick sat down on the floor across from Baba, and the following exchange took place: