ANITA VIEILLARD
BABA'S LOVING CLOWN

Compiled from talks given by Anita Vieillard at Meher Spiritual Center in 1982, 1987, and 1988, and at the L.A. Silence Day Sahavas in 1982.

 
The group used to take lovely walks with Baba when they were in Portofino. On one of these walks, Baba decided to take a narrow path along the seaside cliffs. Anita and three others went with Him. They reached a point where the path had given way. Baba and an Indian boy were able to jump past it, but when Herbert Davy and Vivienne tried, they got stuck and were left clinging to a shrub and a tree, with a probably fatal drop to the sea beneath them. Anita, seeing Herbert and Vivienne's predicament, just stayed where she was and sat on a small rock, looking out at the sea. She thought to herself, "Well, if Baba is who He is, nothing will happen. And if it does, I won't die a coward." She kept reciting, "A coward dies a thousand deaths, a hero only one," over and over in her mind. ¹

Then suddenly Pendu arrived with a rope to pull each one up. And when Anita was pulled up and she saw Baba, it was an amazing sight. He was clapping his hands and facing the sun, and His clothes appeared brilliantly white, and somehow He was transfigured into a vision of perfect beauty. "... the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. No picture, nothing can ever give me the beauty that I saw." ²

Later, in October 1933, Baba said Anita was to go to an art school in Zurich while the rest of the group continued on to Spain. Anita protested, "Baba, Switzerland is such a small place, and so far away." Baba said, "You're going to Switzerland. It will be lovely for you." When the time came for her to leave she was heartbroken and cried her heart out, but there was no changing it. Baba escorted her into a taxi and He put His head in and indicated to her not to cry. The taxi man looked at Anita and said, "Mademoiselle, don't cry, you'll see your father again." ¹

At first she didn't like it at the school in Zurich, but after a while she made friends and came to enjoy life in Switzerland.

Baba visited Zurich in July 1934. When Baba went to do inner work in seclusion on Fallenfluh mountain, He asked Anita to stay behind and rest in bed and fast until He returned. When He returned, she was astonished at His appearance. "It was simply glorious. When Baba arrived I looked at Him and I said, 'Baba, what authority You have.' He had such authority; He was so radiant. And Baba said to me, 'Yes, but real authority means having great responsibilities.'" ¹

Later, Baba instructed Anita to go to Paris and continue her art studies there, and wait until Baba called her to come to India. But when the call finally came, it was to meet Him in Cannes in August 1937.

In Paris she had met her future husband, Roger Vieillard. Roger studied line engraving at the same art school that Anita attended, and he also worked and was a tennis champion. She had told Roger about Baba, so Roger accompanied Anita to Cannes to meet Him. Roger was very impressed with Baba. In later years he translated Baba's Discourses into French.

In Cannes, those with Baba stayed in two separate houses. Anita stayed in the house where the women were, which was at a higher elevation than the other house. Baba would often appear tired when He came to visit them, and they would put together little entertainments for Him. Anita said it was like waiting for your father to come home from work. And when He did, He'd be tired, so you'd want to give Him comfort and lighten His burden. You'd want to be very joyful and happy, to lift His spirits. When visiting the ladies, Baba would say, "Here is heaven. Below is hell." ¹