First Day of the Pilgrim Season - Baba's Sweet Gift!

Meherazad Gates, waiting to open for His Lovers!!

The new pilgrim season (2013-2014) started with a whisper of His Love, no big bangs here!  It was a small group of eastern and western pilgrims who came to visit His Meherazad, on Tuesday, 2 July 2013.  The day was truly filled with Baba's Love and also His perfect sense of timing.  I will give you a short-ish account of what the day brought us. 

Meherwan (Jessawala) had just had cataract surgery and was a big concerned how he would cope with the day, so for him it was a gift from Baba that the group was an intimate one.  After greeting all the people who came on the bus, we went in to Mandali Hall around 11.00 AM.  Paul Liboiron, Davana, Lorraine, Meherwan and I went in and sat down and started talking.  

Meherwan Jessawala with two young pilgrims.

Meherwan reminisced about how Baba would always want the family to ask Him about everything.  Once in 1968 (November), his eldest uncle Meherjee (the one Baba said would see His TRUE form 2 minutes before he died) was very unwell.  Gaimummy wanted to see her brother so Meherwan and she came to Akbar Press to visit.  Of course, Baba came to know through Eruch that this was happening, so He called Meherwan to the Trust Office.  There Baba was seated in the car, and He met Meherwan, then told him to get in beside Him, and come to Meherazad for a longer visit.  Once at Meherazad, Baba scolded Meherwan, demanding to know with whose permission he and his mother had come to Nagar.  Did they think they could just do what they pleased?  WHY hadn't Baba been asked?  And so on and so forth.  Obedience - that is what it was all about with Beloved Baba.

The talk turned to the rains or lack thereof.  At this time a family from Hamirpur came into Mandali Hall.  The husband and his mother sat at the far wall near the door, but the wife came right into the middle of the seating area and sat facing Baba's chair.  Talk went on around her, and the talk was about gratitude.  Lorraine said that she found it helped her to stop a persistent, negative thought by constantly thanking Baba for letting her have that thought so she could remember Him.  Meherwan said that Baba didn't like them to say "Thank You" to Him.  Davana added that Eruch had said that because everything is because of Him, even our very breath is because He allows it, we cannot say "Thank You".  How many things are you going to thank Baba for??  Rather, we are BEHOLDEN to Him for our very existences.  However, Lorraine recalled that the women Mandali always reminded them to thank Baba constantly.  We decided that it was what felt right to each that we needed to follow, there was not a "One fits all" rule about this or anything else to do with Baba. 

At this point Meherwan decided that the Hamirpur family should be included, so he asked them if they understood English, and they didn't.  So I was deputed to translate.  Hearing the conversation the wife (her name was Meher Jyoti) said that Baba had just answered the main question she had!!  Her family always said say thank you to Baba for this and that, but she felt that there was no need, He already knew that He gave everything, and this was a bone of contention. And here Baba had given her the answer!  And her family was there to witness it. Then the question turned to whether it was OK to ask Baba for things - following on from the story of how Rustom Irani (Meheru's dad) was upset because Baba gave rain to the villagers but not water to Meherabad, which was suffering from acute water shortage. Again Meher Jyoti said "My question!" She was always wondering if it was OK to ask Baba for things or to trust Him to give what He wanted and take away what He wanted. This was amazing for her, the only two questions that had been really bothering her had been answered by Baba. By this time we had a group from Andhra also sitting with us, and Meherwan was talking about using the mind and using the heart, which was appropriate for the Andhra lovers because Baba had originally spoken about this in Andhra - Just love Baba and accept Him and His orders without question. There is no end to questions, if Baba answers one question, a hundred more arise to take its place. Better to just be in His presence and experience Baba with and within our hearts.  (Davana Brown and I were reading the blog together and she and I noticed I'd left this paragraph incomplete, so here it is, now completed!)

Over on the women's side it had been a gentle day too. People went and visited Baba's room, sat on the veranda and generally just enjoyed being back in His home.  Wish you were all here too!  Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!!

Meherwan Jessawala at Baba's Chair, Mandali Hall, Meherazad.