SOMETHING MYSTICAL WAS TAKING PLACE

 
Although Baba's body never showed any sign of deterioration, the mandali decided that on the seventh day the crypt should be closed. The atmosphere of grief had become so suffocating that we could no longer postpone the inevitable moment of Baba's interment. It was 7th February, the date of Baba's birthday that year according to the Zoroastrian calendar.

As His precious body was covered, it seemed as if the very essence which had sustained our lives was being ripped away from us. We cried silently, knowing Baba wanted us to accept what had happened. Beloved Baba was our heart and soul, our only light, and we all felt lost but, like machines, we continued with whatever tasks needed to be done.

Even though He had dropped His physical body, Baba was still asking for our complete resignation, expecting us to surrender to His wish, even at this time of helplessness and hopelessness. We were orphans now, yet in all our anguish Baba's gentle, loving hands were ever on us.

Later we heard stories from Baba lovers around the world of unusual events occurring at the time Baba dropped His body, but the most amazing was the account we read in the papers of the heavy rainfall in Mecca, ordinarily a desert. Muslims on pilgrimage were unable to approach the flooded Kaaba for seven days, 1st February until 7th February, the exact time that Beloved Baba's body was lying in state.

In His compassion Baba arranged everything in a way that helped us to carry on, however slowly. After He dropped His body, telegrammes and phone calls kept coming in from the groups that Baba had contacted, everyone wanting to know whether the plans that He had made for the darshan in Poona would be carried out. We began to remember and discuss the various comments Baba had made prior to 31st January.

When, because of His health, the mandali had wanted Baba to cancel the darshan, He had said, "The darshan programme must take place. It should not be cancelled." He then asked, "Is it all right if I give darshan lying down?" He had also said, "In March we will march to Poona."

Putting all these statements together was like doing a puzzle, all of us having different parts which fit together to make a whole picture. By the end of February it was clear to us that the darshan Baba had scheduled for April to June, 1969, should be held despite His physical absence.

During this time I had a dream from which I awoke overcome with emotion. In the dream I was standing in a doorway watching Baba and Mehera. She was coming down a staircase, walking toward Baba, who entered through another door. He extended His hands, saying, "Come, Mehera, and we will do the prayers."

Because Baba was no longer in the body, Mehera hesitated, as if wondering how she could touch Him. Baba extended His hands toward hers until their fingertips were touching, and her whole countenance suddenly changed. I could see Baba pouring a transparent liquid from His hands into Mehera's. From the expression on her face it was clear that her whole being was undergoing a transformation, that something mystical was taking place.