WHAT MATTERED MOST WAS OBEYING BABA

 
A year later [1949] Baba sent a circular all over the world asking that His disciples observe silence for one month in July while He stayed in seclusion in the old Blue Bus for forty days, from the last week of June until 31st July.

Baba called Nariman and me to spend this time in Meherazad. It was relatively easy for us to keep silence in Baba's atmosphere, but His order was much more difficult for those trying to do their jobs and carry out their routines in the world. My father and Nargis had to run the household in Bombay, do the shopping, and manage all the daily chores in complete silence. It was particularly difficult for my sister Roda to look after her one and a half month old baby Merwan, her husband Jim, and her aged father-in-law without being able to say a word. But what mattered most was obeying Baba.

My three brothers, Huma, Dara and Nozer, were in their teens and still in school, but they stayed home during the month of silence. Naturally, they were too young and restless to sit in the house, so they went out for movies and played games like hockey and football with their friends. At first their friends played jokes on them, but when they realized how serious my brothers were about keeping silence, they began to respect and admire them for such a difficult feat and would go out of their way to be helpful....

To remain silent in the company of the residents of Meherazad was a very different experience. Peace pervaded every moment of that month as we silently moved through our daily chores. Since I was not residing there permanently, I had no regular duties, so Mehera gave me the jobs of watering the garden and cutting and sewing pieces to make a patchwork quilt.

At the end of forty days Baba sent for all the mandali at Meherabad and Ahmednagar to be in Meherazad to break their silence when He came out of seclusion on 1st August. We all gathered near the Blue Bus, where Baba had four of the mandali recite prayers from the Zoroastrian, Hindu, Muslim and Christian religions, and then we all broke our silence by saying "Amen" in our own languages.

After the prayers we women went with Baba to the main bungalow. The month of observing silence had held many beautiful moments for me, including the moment it ended. That whole day I felt joyful, and when I walked I felt as though I were floating above the ground.