[Tavern-Talk] HEART TALK: William Donkin's Diaries 10

Fri Jan 18 02:31:35 GMT 2008

HEART TALK - Donkin's Diaries: Tenth Installment

13/2/40

Baba has just ordered Nilu to be buried up to the neck in a hole in
the garden in The Links; also he asked us if honey in water is good
for one - Baba thinks he will live on it when he goes on fast in his
hut on Feb 23rd for an unspecified time.

On Sunday Padri and others came back from the site with the news of a
big fight with the contractors there - they are trying to use bad
stuff and Navroji won't let them do it; so they are losing money.

Baba says the quarrel must be settled as follows -  "Make it, break
it, but don't shake it. " He also says he is sure we will only shake
it. So the work may be slowed up a bit. As it is the drainage scheme,
pump and tank have been postponed till May.

It looks as if Baba will stay here, but till when no-one knows - save
Baba - Vishnu thinks that he must stay because so much money is tied
up here in the scheme, and others think he must stay because of the
opposition: if he walked off now it would be a fatal step, they say.
Certainly, the locals are a cool lot as far as Baba goes - they don't
seem to care about him at all.

16/2/40

To-day Baba has broken with the contractors, after a long meeting with
them this morning at which all were present who are helping the
building work - but not Baba.

At 2:00 pm we all went over to Baba and the meeting decided to
terminate the contract with the Mysore Engineering Co. and carry on
with the building ourselves. Baba says in June some go to Byramangala
and some men stay at 4 Palace Road.

Baba and women go to Meherabad June to October and then come to
Byramangala, when accommodation will be ready for all.

Most think this is a sign that Baba will leave with all of us for
Meherabad in June or before - and this is his way of starting the
move; first bomb has burst.

At the end of this meeting we heard of Ghani's reply to Col Irani's
lecture, quite good - Baba gave me an orange for 2 corrections in
grammar I made. He made me return 2 others I won because Elizabeth
discovered faults I had missed.

Baba very cheery about the row, and doesn't mind it at all - in fact
he seems pleased - I suppose it's his wangle anyhow - he wanted it -
and got it - as he always does.

I did an operation for extravasion of urine to-day, and a suprapubic
cystostomy the other day.

19/2/40

Yesterday, although it was Baba's birthday [according to Parsi
calendar] was not very exciting. We all went over to the Links at 8:30
am in clean clothes, and paid our respects to Baba in his hut, and he
pushed us out after 5 minutes; then recalled us all and told us that
it was not the contractor's fault that the contract was broken with
them, but because of Baba's own spiritual reasons. It was not
Navroji's fault and not the contractor's fault, but, said Baba
jokingly, if anybody's fault it was Masa's, as he, having nothing to
do with the building work, told Baba that all this quarrelling must end.

Baba told us nothing exciting about the coming year of his life.

However he was looking radiantly noble, with hair let down for once,
and really glistening, he was a fine sight to look at, his phenomenal
strength of character, and his sort of mysterious spiritual beauty and
radiance very much visible as he sat on his couch.

Baba's face in repose is such a fusion of spiritual bliss and serenity
and a sort of dragging sadness which gives such dignity and grandeur:
his face really surpasses all scenery of nature, both in its amazing
hold on the onlooker and in its rapid changes of mood.

This morning I asked Baba a few things and told him my father seems to
be grumbling a bit at my staying in India, and Baba said don't worry,
in a few months the world will be in such chaos that everyone will
forget everything.

22/2/40

Baba has been living on milk only for the last 2 days, and tomorrow
his fast on honey and water begins. If he gets ill on that no doubt
Nilu and I will get it in the neck for saying it was O.K. when he
asked us the other day.

Baba seems in a good mood these days. This morning he started, by way
of a joke, a 'Mast' restaurant at the Links, giving us all free cups
of tea with the Masts, who eat and drink at all hours of the day, and
Baba panders to their slightest whim.

This evening I drove the women out in the bus, with Baba in
Elizabeth's car, to the park, Lal Bagh, and Eagle Rock.

War news seems very dull these days, though everyone seems to expect
things to begin in March: Baba doesn't seem to mention the war these days.

I went out to the site at Byramangala on Monday afternoon, with Baba's
permission; so far it looks O.K., the highest wall about 4 feet high.

28/2/40

Baba started his fast last Friday 23rd, and has been on honey, water,
and lemon juice only since then. He is staying in the Mast Ashram, all
of we men seeing him daily, but no women. He feeds the masts daily,
and will not rest, although he fasts. To-day he seems very tired, he
washed the masts as well as fed them, and massaged the fat old 6th
planer all over. This evening Baba has vague pain in shoulders and
neck and stomach, and teases Nilu and I because we don't tell him what
is wrong with him; as a patient, he is hopeless!

He said to Nilu and I the other day that before March 3rd something
extraordinary, amazing, and surprising will happen! He thought
Hitler's latest speech childish, like a schoolboy's bragging when he's afraid.

Because I have put on a little bit of a stomach since I came here Baba
has ordered me to do 14 bends and stretches every morning to lessen my paunch.

Nilu has given Baba a couple of enemas since his fast began, one last
Saturday, and one this morning, to get rid of some of the gas and
accumulated faeces; today's result was good, Nilu says: I was at the
hospital, so didn't see.

29/2/40

This morning Nilu and I went over to Baba at 7:00 am; he had painful
shoulder and back, and a pimple on his nose, and he asked us the
reason for it all, teasing us, calling us hopeless. To-day, he has
been on water only. At 10:00 am Nilu and I put hot packs on Baba's
back to relieve the pain; this evening this was O.K.

Last evening, Baba did a very good mimic of Nilu loitering into Baba's
hut to get his board; Baba, in spite of his fast, still has energy
enough to tease us all.

This morning he says he has held things up till March 10th, so the
astounding happening is postponed. Tomorrow he goes on milk, orange,
and lettuce, once a day each respectively, till March 10th.

6/3/40

Last night a new plan has been started by Baba. On March 10th Pendu,
Homy [Kharmen Masin's son] and Byramshaw go off to Mandla Jabalpur to
Baba's estate there of 5 acres, and build a hut there, slightly sunk
floor style, like the place on the hill at Meherabad. This is to be
completed in 2 months, then they return to Meherabad; thereafter Pendu
and Padri, and Adi and Nilu take it in turns to go to Byramangala to
supervise the building there, while Baba stays at Meherabad.

Baba leaves here at end of April for Meherabad, taking about 2 or 3
weeks travelling, visiting places of interest on the way. I hope I
shall be driving the bus then.

Dr Ghani got back on Sunday evening, and has had returned to him 3 out
of 5 houses which a debtor had taken from him.

It appears that Dr Ghani ran into debt some 12 years ago and by a
trick the man to whom he owed some 16,000 rupees got a lien on Ghani's
entire property worth about 60,000 rupees. On the evening of the very
day that this land was taken by him, the money lender and his wife
were murdered in their house. Naturally, suspicion fell on Dr Ghani,
but nothing could be proved as he was with Baba at the time. In fact,
due to all this debt business Dr Ghani ran to drink, and one night
went out to a lake to commit suicide and cursed all the saints in
Christendom, including Baba.

Next day Baba came to Ghani, and told him, I heard you calling me last
night, and ever since then Ghani has lived permanently with Baba.

When he went home to Poona for 10 days last week the son of the money
lender gave back Dr Ghani 3/5 of his property, as he felt his father
had been unjust, and perhaps the son is a bit superstitious and afraid
of getting killed too!

There was a bit of a dust-up because before Ghani left Baba made him
sign a document witnessed by Jal Kerawalla and Adi, that Baba would
wring his neck if he didn't get back by March 1st, and he was 3 days late.

6/3/40

This evening we all went to Baba's room in the Mast Ashram at the
Links to settle how the collection of money in celebration of Dr
Ghani's new found wealth should be spent. After a good deal of teasing
and humorous back-chat between us all and Baba, ice cream for Baba and
the ladies, and Pilau and pastries and ices for we men.

Baba also made Dr Ghani make a speech about Jal Kerawala as it was he
who had resented Jal's majesterial attitude most, and remarked upon
it. Ghani acquitted himself quite well.

Baba very pleased with the enlargement of himself when fasting taken by Padri.

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

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