The railway line that passes between Upper and lower Meherabad had trains jammed with followers from Bombay and Andhra halting there. During the seven days, as the trains went past, their drivers would give a long whistle saluting the crowd devoted to the Avatar of the Age.
There was no electricity in Meherabad then, but sufficient illumination was provided. The ancient lamp of God was lighting the way for His pilgrims, as a full moon shone in the winter night sky the entire week. When Chinta Sarvarao and Majety Ramamohan Rao of Vijayawada arrived on the 1st, they arranged for a generator, and a ring of fluorescent lights encircled the Tomb.1 A makeshift white cloth awning stretched over bamboo poles was erected in front of the Tomb to give a little shade from the scorching sun to those waiting to take darshan during the day. On the cement platform outside the samadhi different bhajan parties sang from the depths of their hearts.2
"Only one common language was spoken," Age recorded, "the language of Love and Unity. Duality was being burned in the fire of its anguish. Was this not the echo of the Word Beloved Baba was to utter, and which would continue to echo from each lover's heart? Baba's silence was breaking in their hearts and would continue to break as more hearts awakened to his love."
In Adi Sr.'s words: "It takes time for Meher Baba's Word to penetrate the universe."
Several thousand people arrived during this week, from near and far. The first to arrive among the Westerners was Don Stevens on 2 February. Soon after came Harry Kenmore, Adi Jr. and Delia DeLeon. Rick Chapman, Allan Cohen and Aneece Hassen arrived on the 6th, and Irwin and Edward Luck arrived at Meherabad the next morning, the 7th. They were all accommodated at Viloo Villa, Sarosh and Viloo's home.
Although pilgrims would arrive weeping, for many their grief would be transformed into joy upon seeing Baba. Some became emotional and wept bitterly. Raosaheb Afseri, who used to control the Prem Ashram boys in their ecstatic outbursts, lost control over his own heart. Weeping, Raosaheb began knocking his head against the stone walls of the Tomb and had to be restrained. Baba once told him he would die only after Baba dropped his body. He cried, "Take me now, take me now!"
Some fainted and had to be carried away. Krishna Nair arrived at midnight on the 31st, and walked the several miles to Meherabad from the Ahmednagar railway station. When he saw Baba's body, he began crying and lost consciousness.
Footnotes
- 1.Adi Sr. had cabled Chinta Sarvarao and Majety Ramamohan Rao to purchase a generator, which they did for Rs.5,000 in Ahmednagar. The electricity was provided until the morning of 12 February 1969.
- 2.The platform was where the Sadhak Ashram meditation cells had been built. The unused structure was later dismantled.