SAFE AND SOUND AT HIS FEET

 
When Baba would come over from the women's quarters to be with the men in mandali hall, Peter the cocker spaniel would follow Him with his ears flopping. Baba would sit on His chair, Eruch would come in with the mail and the other mandali would come and sit in their usual places. Peter would be at Baba's feet and after a while he would lie down. He would feel so relaxed, so trusting, so happy to be with Baba, that he would go to sleep.

After going to sleep, he had a habit of snoring and he snored like a human. I remember once in Baba's room, when I was reading a book to Baba, suddenly in the midst of the reading I heard this snore. I couldn't believe it. Which one of us was doing that? We were in front of Baba. But everyone was wide awake and then from under the chair we heard another snore ... it was Peter.

Just inside the door of mandali hall two bells were kept. When the bigger bell was rung we knew that Goher was wanted by Baba, and when the smaller bell was rung we knew that it was for me.

One day when the little bell rang, I came running. Baba, with a twinkle in His eye and a mocked helplessness, said, "Look at Peter." There was Peter lying down very happy and snoring away.

I laughed and said, "Baba shall I take him away?"

He said, "No, no." So I went back to my work.

A few moments later the little bell rang again. This time Peter was not only fast asleep, but he was having a dream, and it was a very exciting dream. He was so excited in his sleep that he was making noises with his mouth and his paws were going so many cycles to the second! He was so excited that he was frowning. If he had been any other sort of dog his ears would have been up, but being a cocker his ears came altogether over his eyes and gave him a Carol Lombard look.

Baba said, "Peter thinks that he is chasing some wild animal or that some wild animal is chasing him, and that he is going over mountains or through deserts, that he is going through so much, yet really he is not. All the time he is lying safe and sound at My feet."

I said, "Oh yes, Baba!" It was only afterwards that I realised what a wonderful discourse it was. Even while we are thinking that we are going through so much, that we are striving, and suffering, Baba tells us not to worry because He knows that we are safe and sound at His feet. He doesn't tell us not to worry in the sense that a doctor would tell a patient. It is not advice.

When Baba said a thing it was with the authority of supreme knowledge, knowing everything. So when He says be happy, don't worry, He knows that there is no reason to worry.

For instance, when I read a book to Baba (and Baba being all-knowing would appear unknowing, because He would play the game perfectly) — when I was reading a book usually He would have me stop at a very critical juncture — where Pauline was hanging over the cliff or something, and we didn't know if the train would be going over her or not — and we were told not to look to see what happened ... not to look further to find out.

Baba would then ask me, "Do you think there will be a happy ending?"

I would say, "Well Baba, we can't look, so we will know tomorrow."

But then Baba always liked a happy ending, That is because His story, the story of His creation, has a happy ending. We are simply going through chapters. But somebody who has read the book and who knows the end, can very authoritatively say, "Don't worry, don't worry!" while you are in the midst of a chapter which is terrible.

So whenever we go through something that seems so difficult, so disagreeable, don't worry, remember it is only a chapter ... the next chapter may be different. When the end of the story comes, the story is finished. So, we might as well enjoy the story while we are in it too.