MEHERABAD DIARY Judy Stephens

#135 22 to 30 June 2011 Jai Meher Baba to you all! Wednesday 22 June, 2011. I arrived at Meherabad in the late afternoon from the USA. I had been in the States visiting my family for the past two months. One daughter, Mehera, lives in California. The other daughter, Rabia, lives in New York. My brother lives in Texas and is a Baba lover since the 1960's. So, I was all over the place. While I was in New York I was walking my daughter's dog, Buddy, along the Hudson River when Buddy pulled one way, I pulled the other way, and the 'flip-flops' I had on caused my right foot to turn in such a way that I broke the outer bone. So, I spent the rest of my visit getting about with this huge removable, felcro strapped foot support. But, the interesting part is the Pediatrist was very interested in my life in India with Meher Baba. He asked if there might be a need for a 'foot specialist'? I said 'of course', and he said he would like to come and offer service. I told him I would connect him up with our medical team, and gave him my email address. After resting for a few hours in a hotel in Pune, I bought food at Dorabji's and headed to Meherabad. First stop, the Samadhi. Oh what a lovely sight! Not only did my sight feast on seeing the Samadhi, but my heart felt such peace and joy! So many changes are taking place all over Meherabad. At the Samadhi there is now permanent farsi stone flooring for the extended portico. There is also the low green-netting fence that begins from where you take off your shoes and then continues behind the Samadhi and then joins the a green netting on Mani's side. There is a double gate in the very back of the Samadhi for pilgrims to have access to the back window of the Samadhi without having to go in from the front area. Also, this back way has access between Mehera's shrine to Mani's shrine, and no longer will the pilgrims have to go past the front of the Samadhi doors once they have come out from taking darshan. In the past when the back area was blocked there was always a traffic jam in front of the Samadhi doors as pilgrims went from Mehera's shrine to Mani's shrine, while pilgrims were also going into and out of the Samadhi. Little by little there are changes at the Samadhi to accommodate the ever-increasing number of pilgrims. In fact, all of Meherabad seems to be in this mode of preparing for the future. In Lower Meherabad, across the road from the Dhuni, there is now a fence just like the one along the road on the Dhuni side. Thursday 23 June. I was up by 2:00 am from jetlag. At 5:20 am my neighbor and I walked up to the Samadhi for darshan. After the doors were opened I took darshan, and then I continued walking toward the Meher Pilgrim Retreat for exercise. I am getting quite good at walking with this 'big foot'. I usually walk a couple of miles a day. Later in the morning I went to the DSP (Dept. Superintendent of Police) to check in. I was reminded I needed a letter from the Trust as well as six passport photos since I had returned with my new 5-year multi entry residency visa. I went home and slept for several hours, woke for a few hours, and then back to bed by 6:00 PM to sleep some more. Friday 24 June. I went up the hill for early darshan and then the walk to the MPR and back home. The weather is so cool in the mornings that it is a treat to be out walking. We have had very little rain I have been told, only one good rain in late May. Everything is green from that good rain, but if the monsoon doesn't start soon there will be problems. Saturday 25 June. I went up the hill for early darshan and then my walk. When I reached the area of trees on the way to the MPR, a small deer bounded across the path and went a short ways into the trees. I just stopped and enjoyed looking at it. The deer here are small and beautiful to look at. I didn't want to frighten the deer so I continued my walk. There are a lot of young adults here who are attending the International Young Adult Sahavas (YAS). They are staying in Hostel-C. Every year during their ten-day Sahavas they spend time on service projects. Rocky, the woman who is in charge of the projects, called me and we arranged the time for Sunday morning to clean Baba's Room Cabin. Since I only just returned from the States, as well as having a broken foot, we decided only six of the Sahavasee could help clean Baba's Cabin Room. We will clean it the same as we do every morning, this way the young adults can see how it is done. We set the time for the cleaning on Sunday at 10:30 AM. Sunday 26 June. After my morning darshan at the Samadhi and walk to the MPR and home, I once again went back to sleep for a couple of hours. I had such bad jetlag that I had to have four cups of coffee in order to get ready to go up the hill for the cleaning with the Sahavasees. I put everything I needed in my car and then tried to start it — no luck. This was the first time I had any problem with my car. I had already driven it into Ahmednagar twice with no problem. Some of the men who are working on the Nurses' Quarters gave me a push and the car started. They told me to park facing down the hill when I go up the hill to the Samadhi. I met the Sahavasees and I shared with them a little history of Baba's Room Cabin before we started cleaning. We went to the cabinet on the portico of the Samadhi to get a broom and the cloth bag that has two of the cleaning cloths for Baba's photos. Steve Myhro was supervising some work that was going on at the portico. I asked what they were doing? He said they were putting in a gutter on the tin cover to drain the rainwater away from where the pilgrims stand. This is on the same side as the new expanded area of the portico. After the Sahavasees finished cleaning I took all the supplies to my car and tried to start it. No luck. I went back to where Steve and the workers were and they said they would help me in a few minutes, as they were finishing up. They had to give my car a push and I drove home with some of the workers in the car to make sure I made it safely. Monday 27 June. I went up the hill early for morning darshan at the Samadhi and then on my walk to the MPR and back. On the way back it began to lightly drizzle. Not enough to get very wet. When Sulu, my domestic help, arrived I showed her my water cooler on the front verandah. There was a very bad smell coming from it. We put it on the verandah and emptied all the water. We could not find where the smell was coming from, so I got a mirror and flashlight and we saw something in the fan — it must have been a dead lizard. I called one of the workers and he will have someone come tomorrow and remove the fan and clean it. I rested in my room for a couple of hours and then called a rickshaw to take me to the Trust to pick up the letter the DSP needed. When I got to the DSP there were five other residents there. After I got back home I called Parog, the man who fixes a lot of residents cars. He worked for Muruti dealers and does good work. He sent two guys to check my car. They found my battery was the problem. Since the battery is the original and my car is maybe nine years old, having the car sit with no one to start the car for two months may have caused the problem. Anyway, later Parog said they were having trouble charging my battery — it wouldn't hold the charge. So, if by tomorrow it still won't charge he will bring a new battery for my car. I have a few dents in my car from being hit by a motorcycle just before I left for the States, so Parog will give me an estimate of the bodywork required. Tuesday 28 June. I went up the hill early to take darshan when the Samadhi doors opened. Then I went for a walk to the MPR and back to my room. Parog's worker came by with a new battery, as the old one didn't hold a charge. I rested most of the day. Wednesday 29 June. I was up the hill early for darshan at the Samadhi. I then walked to the MPR and back to my room. I was happy to have my car back for the day so I could run some errands. I bought batteries for my camera and drove to the Page house to take photos of the work that was done while I was in the States. I want to send the photos by Internet to the Pages so they too can see how much has been done on their house. I also had an appointment with Joshi, the contractor, to go over upcoming work. Some day the house will be finished! Thursday 30 June. I was up the hill early for darshan at the Samadhi. Then I went for my walk to the MPR and home again. Parog, the mechanic, picked up my car around 9:00 am and he said I should have it back by Saturday. He is going to fix the dents in my car and have it painted. He is an honest man and does good work. I only have a few more days left and I will no longer have to wear the 'big boot' for my broken foot. It will have been six weeks and all the healing of the bone done. I can start wearing regular shoes. At evening Arti the saddest news was announced. Shridhar Kelkar, one of our Trustees, had received a phone call that his son was just killed in an automobile accident in Pune. My heart goes out to Shridhar. He got the phone call that all parents pray they will never get. May Beloved Baba give Shridhar the strength to endure this pain, Judy