He was standing at the foot of the steps leading to the front door, dressed in a thin white gown, a short, furry coat and a pink turban; and he was looking at the house very quietly. He passed in through the door and gave me a smile in passing…
A little later I went in to see him. I was very nervous, and did not know how to address him, but as soon as I entered the room I was completely won over by the love which seemed to permeate his whole personality. He spelt out on the alphabet board, ‘It was your love that brought me.’ …
Of the four days which I spent in Devonshire with him and the group, it is difficult to write. The whole time was invested with a dream-like quality of pure love, timelessness and great beauty.
Margaret Craske
1931, London Sourced from Avatar, by Jean Adriel, page134
As we entered the room, Baba sprang up with the agility, power and grace that characterize all his movements and quickly came forward. He then beckoned for me to sit beside him and took my hand with such a gentle touch.
Immediately, I felt a great upliftment of consciousness such as I had never experienced before with anyone. I had been searching and reading deeply for many years, and knew that I had now found the Master and that the long search was over.
Baba gave me more, far more in the space of three minutes than I had gained in 30 years of earnest seeking, or through others, because I experienced the tangible, definite gift of grace and divine love that he bestowed, whereas others could only talk about it. I knew who Baba was.
Mary Backett
1932, London
Sourced from Lord Meher Online Edition, page 1383, “The West Learns to Sing”.
I sat next to Baba at the London Coliseum, but he took very little notice of me. I was shy and nervous at first, and could not find my bearings. I felt as if someone had taken a hammer and knocked me over the head. I was stunned with the wonder of Baba. From just seeing him, nothing else existed for me. From first sight, I had implicit faith and trust in him. I asked no questions. I wanted nothing from him. I felt I had to love him as Jesus was loved by his apostles. I therefore gave my life into his keeping and knew that my search was at an end.
I was stunned with the wonder and beauty of him. I had seen his face before in my dreams; the eyes were startling in their beauty; the face seemed of luminous honey-color, framed by a halo of long dark hair. His hands were most noticeable; they were strong, slim and sensitive…
During the week of his stay in London, I saw him every day. Time and place seemed not to exist. Everyone and everything faded from my mind except Baba. He alone seemed real – the perfect human being. Compared to him, everyone seemed like a shadow. He drew me irresistibly; his love melted me, and his humor and charm attracted me. His silence was more potent than words.
Delia DeLeon
London, 1931 Sourced variously from Lord Meher Online Edition, page 1277, “The West Learns to Sing” and Avatar by Jean Adriel, page 135-136
“We arrived in Meherabad and entered the building that is now the dharamshala. Baba was awaiting us, seated on a couch, and we sat around Him in a semicircle. From the moment I walked into the room, my eyes were fixed on Baba. He was dressed in a white sadra, and His shining dark brown hair flowed to His shoulders. His radiant face fascinated me. I knew nothing about who Baba was; I didn’t even know His name, but I sat gazing at Him with wonder and He entered the very core of my heart. My young mind had no questions and did not try to understand who He was. The impact Beloved Baba had on me was so strong that today the memory of first meeting Him is still fresh and alive.” [pages 6-7]
Arnavaz Dadachanji
Bombay 1927 From Arnavaz Dadachanji, Gift of God, Beloved Books, 1996, page 6-7 (available from Sheriar Books)
Meher Baba’s humor and wit is subtle and to the point; He will lift the lower moods in laughter and fun, making everybody light and alert, free from heaviness and limitations of self-consciousness. His greatest words of truth become alive, sparkling in wit and inspiration. In His subtle way He stirs the joyous qualities in human nature and changes one’s moods accordingly. He likes cheerfulness as a sign of real, free response to Him. In all of life, in beauty and humor, in ugliness and misery, in richness or poverty, He is the One in each heart — in joy or sorrow.
Countess Nadine Tolstoy in Meher Baba Journal, December 1939 (excerpted from Treasures from the Meher Baba Journals, 1938-1942 Compiled and edited by Jane Barry Haynes, Sheriar Press 1980. Book available from Sheriar Books.)