God in our own image.

"He who knows everything displaces nothing. To each one I appear to be what he thinks I am". Meher Baba.

I have had Lol Benbow staying and working on the re-wiring of my house before I let it out and go to India. We often discuss our lives with Baba in between his work of wiring and mine of sorting and packing. We were talking about how different people interact with Baba. Lol kept talking about someone not 'falling into line' with Baba's teaching. I was trying to understand how anyone could 'fall into line'. What did this mean, exactly?

There is no right or wrong way to be with Baba, in my opinion. We all make God in our own image. My Baba is like me, shares my sense of humour and is able to argue with me because He is mine. As long as He and I are 'We' and not 'One' this will happen. I used to find it really hard to identify with Baba as presented by my ex-husband. His Baba was judgemental, critical and punishing. It does not mean he loved Baba less. We just loved different Babas.

When God made us 'in His image', He probably didn't count on the infinite variations of Him we'd bring into being!! Hindus have the concept of 'Ishta Devta' or 'Preferred Diety'. They pick one out of the pantheon of Gods and Godesses that populate the Hindu Divinity (each being a manifestation of one aspect of the Divine, who is 'One') that matches their nature or need, to worship. But don't we do the same thing? He is all things to all people. Next time someone tries to push their Baba, remember to love Him as the One in all, and accept that they made Him in their own image.

It's the fish that is important, not the hook.

There was a time when there were many individuals who arrived at Meherabad through a man called David Cousins. He would send his followers to Meherabad to be with Meher Baba. They were lovely people, but they were followers of David Cousins. They were at Meherabad to get a spiritual push, so we were told.

A while after they started coming David Cousins visited Meherabad. He went to Meherazad as part of his visit, but though Eruch was speaking in Mandali Hall, he and his group walked around the periphery of Meherazad and went up Seclusion Hill, then came down, went to Baba's room and left.

Eruch was asked about this, also people coming to Baba through Nan Umrigar (author of Sounds of Silence and an automatic writer, whose son Carl died in a riding accident, and who introduced her to Baba through the medium of automatic writing), and asked if their spiritual progress was in any impeded by the 'occult' introduction to Him.

Eruch laughed and asked, is anyone here a fisherman? Several of the westerners said that they fished as a hobby. Eruch said, "Do you use the same hook and bait for all types of fish?" They replied that they would use different hooks and lures for different fish. Eruch then explained that Baba was the Divine Fisherman, fishing for our souls. Because we are all different, one hook does not catch all. Baba uses whichever hook he needs to catch a particular fish. Once the fish is caught, the hook has served it's purpose and is no longer relevant. With Baba, Eruch explained, it's the fish that is important, not the hook. All He wants to do is catch us, His fish. Do any of you remember Janet Luck singing 'Divine Fisherman'? Writing this reminded me of Janet, whom I loved dearly - she was one of my many sisters in Baba. If I close my eyes and open my inner ears, I can hear her lovely voice singing, 'There once was a grand Fisherman, a-sailing on the sea. He caught a million fish in His net and then He set them free.' Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai.

Old fashioned roses.

Two years ago, when my sister Dolly visited me for the first time in 20 years we went to the local garden centre and bought an old fashioned rose. In India these roses are called 'Gauthi Gulab' i.e. 'Native Roses'. The tag on the plant called mine 'Persian Rose'. Whatever the name, they were Baba's favourite. He loved the scent and the colour, which matched His favourite pink coat. This story is posted in the same colour. After two years of not too much action, this year the rose bush is covered with fragrant, pink blossoms. It brought to mind the time when Beloved Baba dropped His body.

There was some concern about getting enough flowers to lay over His form as it rested in the crypt at Meherabad. But suddenly, all the flower farms in and around Ahmednagar overflowed with these roses. There was no shortage of the fragrant blooms to cover His body. It was as if the rose bushes knew that this was their opportunity to be of service to the Highest of the High, and made an all-out effort to do just that.

For seven days the flowers came in by the bagfuls, and were offered as blooms, garlands, jalis (a woven 'sheet' of roses) in the Tomb. In those days there were meditation cabins alongside the Tomb, where now the graves of Mani and the other women are. The cabins were crammed with the flowers and we used to take the roses as they came off Baba's body and preserve them. We took them home and made 'gulkand', which is a kind of rose preserve, and we ate this for years after - His final Prasad. Mansari too made gulkand which she would dole out from time to time. Others dried the flowers, and kept them as family treasures. After His body was interred the flowers stopped blossoming as suddenly as they had begun.

Meher Baba did not perform miracles. Miracles happened around Him. The roses were nature's way of paying a final homage to His physical form, and what a beautiful tribute it was!!!

Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai.