HEARTS THAT ARE BROKEN

 
In 1955, my wife, Kecha, and I read the book, God Speaks by Meher Baba. It was a gift to us from a friend, but the conviction that Meher Baba is God in human form was Baba's gift to us. Since then, Baba has made it very clear to me that my work is to make my conviction about Him visible in my daily life. He has helped me in endless ways to understand that the more I try to obey Him, the more I will experience His presence. Two dreams, in particular, have given me that priceless experience of His intimate presence.

For a long time after coming to Baba, I had wanted to have a ring made which would have the highest meaning for me. So when I lost my college ring, I had a gold ring made, beautifully engraved with the "Mastery in Servitude - Avatar Meher Baba" emblem, surrounded by the symbols of the world's six great religions.

The ring was beautifully made and I cherished it because of its meaning. Seldom was I unaware of it. But one day, not long after acquiring it, I was swimming in the ocean at Virginia Beach. When I came out of the water to resume reading the legal material I had brought with me, I was suddenly shocked to realize that the ring was gone. It had slipped off my finger into the ocean. I was very upset at this loss because of the significance the ring held for me.

Several nights later, Baba appeared in my dream and with anguish I asked, "Baba, why did I lose my ring?"

Baba looked into my eyes with great tenderness and said, "Henry, you need Me — not My symbols!"

I was no longer concerned about the loss of my ring. On the contrary, I was deeply grateful to Baba for giving me this valuable experience.

In 1969, I lost something even more important to me than my ring — I lost the physical form of the God-Man. Although Baba had constantly emphasized to us the importance of finding Him within, His form was so beautiful that I had become dependent upon His physical contact and external guidance. When Baba dropped His body, the emptiness I experienced was so vast and painful that I felt as if the light had gone out of the world. Creation had lost its meaning.

Shortly after this staggering event, Baba appeared in my dream and I asked, "Are the hearts of Your close ones broken?"

Baba replied, "Hearts that are filled with love, when broken, only pour out more love."