[Tavern-Talk] HEART TALK: William Donkin's Diaries 4

Thu Dec 6 13:38:28 GMT 2007

HEART TALK - Donkin's Diaries: Fourth Installment

21/9/39

To-day Baba starts his  "plan ", which he says is going to be very
drastic. Elizabeth tells me he told someone that from to-day he takes
personal charge of the war.

But he will still come daily to wash and feed the masts, who arrived
from Meherabad two days ago. He has said that he will become like the
early Meherabad days, very wild and strict - I like him that way.

The purchase of the land for the centre goes on apace. Chanji goes out
daily to the site laden with thousands of rupees.

Baba is hard on Russia, and says they are a dirty lot, but he does not
let on what will happen yet, and whether Germany and Russia will unite.

Yesterday the taxi Chanji and Ayengar were in hit a little boy - he is
in hospital - but seems O.K.: they thought they had killed him at first.

25/9/39

A letter came yesterday from Jehangir in Bombay, saying he was staying
with his wife and not going out as a sannyasin. Baba told us before he
would remain in Bombay: his letter was read to all of us, as he was so
full of assurances of obedience before he left. He said he longed for
God, but Baba told us he (Baba) knew that he really longed
unconsciously for his wife.

Baba yesterday was talking to Byramshaw about his not throwing up his
responsibility of his family, now he had joined Baba. He said no-one
must expect to get happiness from others, but be happy in himself, and
that to give love with expectation of return was Maya, and real love
gave and asked for no return.

Baba says Hitler must now do as Stalin says - he is very stupid Baba
says, and Stalin is cunning. Baba the other day was rather peeved with
Congress's long winded statement - he said they should have said
simply -  "we will help Britain in the full confidence that at the
conclusion of the war, we will be given our full freedom. " This, Baba
said, was no time for bargaining.

Baba says developments will take place in a few days in the
international situation.

Baba now washes and shaves 5 mad people every day, Mohammed is done
every day, as he is the favourite - he is really a lot saner now.

28/9/39

Chandri was in agony yesterday at the hospital, so they decided to
operate; I watched. Uterus was found v. large, and a hysterectomy was
done - inside were found twins - both boys - about 3 months from
conception: one was dead, the other O.K. Imagine our surprise.

When I told Baba he laughed - but as he had directly asked Chandri if
she had had intercourse - she is a widow - and she had said no, he was
very angry that she had not been honest with him. She will get the
sack when she recovers.

Yesterday afternoon Baba Nilu and I went to see Chandri in hospital,
Baba rushed upstairs, saw her for 2 minutes, and then rushed out
again, everyone agog looking at him, house surgeon, patients and all.
Chandri has not yet been told she was found pregnant. I can't help
thinking she may have been trying to abort herself too, but I'm afraid
now she can't have any more children: if she had told us, a
hysterectomy would not have been done!

The land purchase is complete now, and Ayengar returns to-day to Madras.

Baba is now locked in his room between 6:00 and 8:00 am, and 11:30 am
and 1:00 pm, when we must not go round to his house, and all the
others in the Links must keep deadly quiet, no-one being allowed in
the room above him: the windows are all pasted over with green paper,
so no-one can see inside.

1/10/39

Mohammed is really very childish: this morning he told Baba with pride
that he has had a big motion, and he asked Baba to decide where he
might be allowed to empty his bladder. Baba chose the place, Mohammed
quibbling over a yard this way or that.

Baba says the next month will contain more surprises good and bad as
far as the war is concerned. He says Hitler was foolish to have made
the Russian pact, as he is now under Stalin's thumb.

Baba washed about 7 mad to-day - he cleans their latrine daily.
Elizabeth, at Baba's suggestion, is to add 6 hens and a cock to her Zoo.

The new ashram is to be called  "The Meher Baba Universal Spiritual
Centre. " At Chanji's suggestion  "Shri " was omitted and Ashram
replaced by Centre, as both these words are Hindu. While arguing about
  "Shri ", Baba suggested he might be called 'The Meher Baba' - he
liked his bit of fun, does Baba.

6/10/39

Baba has been rather ill during the last few days: he was like this
before the start of the war. So it may be the war will take a turn for
the worse shortly.

Two days ago I went and saw Lt Col Hance, the boss of the Bowring
Hospital here, and he is allowing me to get some operative practice in
his hospital. He said 200,000 Russian troops were massing on the other
side of Afghanistan, according to wireless reports, which looks bad
for India. Baba says there will be more surprises this month in the
war - it is, he says, all chalked out. Hance thought he might ask me
out to dinner one day to meet General Norton who is a mountaineer, but
on asking Baba, he said play marbles, or golf, or talk, and walk with
him, but don't eat with him.

Last night, Nilu told me a story or two of the early days. It appears
at Manzil-e-Meem in Bombay in 1922 or so Adi Senior used to get a hard
time of it from Baba; every day Baba used to throw his bedding into
the street, telling him to clear out and that he didn't want him there
- but Adi stuck on.

Also in those early days everyone in the household was made to write
in their own blood that they promised to abstain from sexual
intercourse. There were also a lot of other instructions which had to
be kept. Every day nearly, Baba would place a notice up that some
instructions of his had been disobeyed, and the culprit was to come
and confess. One day a notice was put up by Baba that a very serious
breach of orders had occurred, and the culprit must come forward and
confess; no-one came forward; next day another notice saying the
culprit must come forward; no-one came. Next day Baba called to him a
dhobi who was among them, and who had promised to refrain from
intercourse, and got out of him that he had had intercourse 3 days
previously. Baba was very very angry, and struck the man, and cursed
him with leprosy. The dhobi soon developed leprosy, and now he is at
Meherabad, begging Baba daily for mercy. Baba now gives him extra
money, and feeds him - but he is still a leper: it just shows how
dangerous it is to disobey Baba.

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Jai Beloved Baba!
Archives Team
Avatar Meher Baba P.P.C. Trust

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