Agnes Baron Remembers Meher Baba's 1956 Visit
Agnes Baron
Agnes Baron, Meher Mount co-founder and lifetime caretaker, describes Avatar Meher Baba's 1956 visit.
She takes filmmakers Irwin and Edwin Luck on a tour of the property, including Baba's Tree and the 'Baba Room' where Meher Baba gave darshan (His blessing) on August 2, 1956.
The 14:56-minute film was made in 1970 and has been restored. However, the sound is still difficult in some places. It’s easiest to watch the video and get the flavor of Agnes Baron’s personality while reading along from the transcript below.
Agnes Baron described Avatar Meher Baba’s 1956 visit to Meher Mount. Filmed in 1970 by Irwin and Edwin Luck. 14:65 minutes.
Transcript for the Film: Agnes Baron Remembers Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit
Sam Ervin: Look at it.
Agnes: (Laughter) That is a tree, a deodar tree that was planted on one of Baba’s birthdays. And it's very slow grower and…
Unidentified male voice: Just like us.
Agnes: Yes, it's slow grower like…like them, says Tim. [It was] very small when Baba saw it. I can't remember how old it really is. And you can't tell by the height because the deer nipped it when it was, it was about five-feet high. So that it now… I really don't know how high it really should be.
Well, those are [oaks] and of course they live thousands of years. And I told Baba I had planted a Sequoia tree and that I had… that I would have a rendezvous with Him in 700 years when He came back, and He just grinned and waved His finger.
That one is uh um… that one is um … It’s free…
Ah! Well kids, you know, as the saying goes with every weed you pull that’s one sanskara [karmic impression] that you pop up isn't it? Doesn't that feel good?
Unidentified female voice: Who first told you that?
Agnes: Don’t you get a thrill? Ah, God (laughter)! No, but that's an old saying.
(Young adults continue to pull weeds.) (No sound.)
01:30 — Agnes Continues on the Walk at Meher Mount
Agnes: Baba commented on, you know, every tree, every blade of grass pratically… What is this? What's that? In His usual manner of terrific interest in even the smallest thing, you know.
01:55 — Agnes Pointing to the Woody Station Wagon
When I drove Baba from Los Angeles in that rather battered, now battered station wagon um, I opened the door, Baba was still seated there. I opened the door from my side and um, well, Kali came bouncing up. She was a beautiful half collie and, um, um, shepherd.
And I opened the door and said, “Baba, meet the spirit of Meher Mount, Kali.” And so, Baba reached across and she came into the car and lifted her head up to Him, you know, with that laughing sort of face. And He put His hand on her head – very gently, very sweetly – and just, you know, looked at her very… for the longest time, and then finally said that now that she had been touched by the Avatar she would be a human being in the next life (laughter.) And the dog looked as if she really understood this. She was so sweet. She sat there with her mouth open and just gazing right at Him. It was very sweet.
02:51 — Agnes at Baba’s Tree
AGNES BARON under Baba’s Tree demonstrating where Avatar Meher Baba sat on August 2, 1956. (Screen Shot: Irwin Luck, 1970)
Well, all right. Baba and I were here and He’s still hanging onto my arm, and I said, “Here’s your tree Baba. And I've let the limbs come down so they would enclose it. And um… I think it's a very loving little temple, isn't it?”
And He… So, I came in with Him and He walked over and I, um, I stayed about halfway through. And He walked over right to this spot and there He sat down. And He squatted here like this (Agnes sits on the ground.)
And just then the others came panting up to the doorway and they were rushing forward, and He said… He went very sternly, “No! no!” and pushed them back, I mean, with His hand waving them back. And, um, and they stood there in a circle. And He sat here very, very silently, very solemnly. And you just, you know, you just felt worlds moving, worlds moving… But very, very seriously for about five minutes before He got up and then rejoined them.
And I don't think anyone else came in. I don't know why but He made a big issue of no one following Him in. And made “No!” …just looked around. You could tell by His expression that He loved it. And I think He did make that typical gesture; the beauty of it.
And um, He did not climb the tree as someone last week announced that they had heard that He'd, you know, He'd climb this tree. He certainly did not (laughter.) Children do, they love it.
I think He commented about the cables that came… and I explained that they had been …that the farmer who was here was, planned to hold up limbs. And I was very concerned because the weight was so heavy that I decided to let the limbs come down to the ground and, and rest, which they have. And over the years, you see, it makes a complete little enclosure, a perfect little temple.
05:02 — Baba’s Tree & Views from Avatar’s Point; Agnes Talks about the Drive from Hollywood to Meher Mount
Baba said that…(unintelligible) … extraordinary (unintelligible) …whatever was in His presence, and at that moment, was terribly important, you know, microcosm, microcosm…(unintelligible) …leaning out of the window and pointing to this and pointing to that and very animated.
He turned around and talked to the mandali [close disciples] and they were gesturing on and talking and boasting as if they were, you know, big… Land deals planting it, you know, subdivide it, [and] do things. I mean, that was the excitement and the interest that He always followed… and making comments and comparisons between India and this, and this looks like so and so.
So, it was really, really fantastic the whole trip in. Everything that we came to He had to have a description of no matter what it was. I got to the point where I was even telling Him [about] the geographical layers (laughter); all about the formations of mountains. Nothing, nothing missed His interest at all.
And um, then the mandali would say something and I would say something and there’d be big excitement. Boom! You know? This is perfect, pretty much for the day, the entire trip in. He just didn’t sit solemnly… Most people would drive by to what He was seeing. Baba was always 100% with you, no matter what the situation, the most mundane.
But the whole way, you see that val… (unintelligible)… the valley that we drove through coming from Los Angeles. And it is, it's rural. And they have the famous citrus, the Limonera of California, the largest … I think it’s….well, probably in the world. So we drove through, just, you know, orchard after orchard and very rich, beautiful. It really is.
06:57 — Agnes in the ‘Baba Room’ of the Guesthouse
You always have to remember that your words come back to haunt you. And in my first letter to Baba, before I met Him, there were a lot of greedy, graspy people trying to get a hold of Meher Mount; very ruthless. And I became very indignant and very protective.
So, I thought, “I’d have to help Baba.” And so I said, “Baba, I’ll hang on to Meher Mount for you through hell, fire and damnation.” And that’s exactly what He's doing (laughter.) So, you have to be very careful what you say to Him (laughter.) Always, (laughter) ‘cause there’s no escaping after it. That's the only explanation I have for, for all the ups and downs and the, you know…
So, on one of the occasions when Baba called me over He was looking very solemn and very impressive as only Baba can look. And He stood, probably diametrically in the middle. And one of the mandali was here. I can’t remember whether it was Eruch [Jessawala] or Adi [K. Irani]. And Baba said, “I want Agni to know that I love Meher Mount very, very much.” And then, of course, that typical gesture of “very, very much. I am very happy.” And He really beamed, I mean, He just glows. He’d been very tired with the trip from Myrtle Beach to Washington to LA. and just gestured, “very, very happy.’’ And He looked it.
And then He said, “And I want her to know that Meher Mount has a very spiritual atmosphere.” And of course, I made my usual wisecrack, I don’t know what it was. He stared at me and repeated, “A very spiritual atmosphere.”
Then…I think I went out… and um, this repeated throughout the day. I think I was always right back in again for some other event.
And on another occasion, He was in here alone sitting in that chair which is in that same position and He called, “Charmian!, Charmian!” She was already here. [Charmian Duce Knowles]
And He said, “You have a camera with you?”
She said “yes.”
So He said, “I want Agnes to have a special memento of this day.” He said, “You take a picture.”
So we were sitting there and I came in and knelt down by His side, and she took two good colored pictures which I cherish very much even now.
But He was all throughout the day... He was doing these fantastic, these really wonderful…these personal little gestures, that, you know, that He always does to make one person particularly happy.
AGNES BARON (seated) with Avatar Meher Baba in the ‘Baba Room’ at Meher Mount on August 2, 1956. (Photo: Charmian Duce Knowles)
09:42 — Agnes Describing the ‘Baba Room’ of the Guesthouse
This is Baba’s Room. We called it that from the very beginning. And it had been set aside in the early days as a meditation center. Not too many people want…were interested in meditation. They said, “Baba isn't interested in it.” So it finally became just a general room where people met.
But on Baba’s visit we brought Him here and this is where He was with the mandali when He wanted to … Well, He didn't particularly want to be alone. But this is where He, where He stayed most of the day. And He had told me… He told one of the mandali to announce that I was to be…that this was my day and that I was to be with Him every minute of the time. But as things worked out, I had to be over at the main house as much as here. So periodically, one of the mandali would dash up and say, “Hurry up! Hurry up! Baba wants to see you. Baba wants to see you.” So I'd come back and there was always some big event.
10:42 — Agnes Describing Her Plans for the Trip to San Francisco
In the afternoon, He and Adi and I, and one of the [other] mandali were here alone. And I thought this was the time to break the news to Him that I was not going to San Francisco in the airplane. That I thought it'd be much more feasible to drive up in my station wagon. And He really exploded to that. He went through all this show of indignation and “What? What? You're not going to…you're not going to come with us?”
I said, “Oh yes Baba, and Adi is coming with me.” (Laughter) Baba really hit the ceiling. (Laughter)
“What? Adi? My mandali? My mandali deserting me?”
And Adi just, you know, he faded out. He just hid behind Baba and I said, “Baba, what's wrong? What's wrong?” And so, then Baba was very annoyed, very indignant with me.
And why I kept persevering, I don't know. But I said, “Well, I have to Baba because I have some books to take up for Ivy [Duce] and I have to have transportation to come back.” I was making all these big arguments.
And so He said, “You can’t go alone. You can’t go alone.”
And I said, “Well, no, that's why I wanted Adi.”
He said, “Out of the question! Out of the question!” So, you know, with gestures. So then He [asked], “With whom are you going? So this went right down the line.
I had Lud Dimpfl first, and then He called him in. And He said, “No, you have things to do” Then He called… um, then I got Bea Dimpfl, and He said, “You don't feel well, do you? Your eyes aren't very good. You can't drive, can you?”
So He, He frustrated every attempt I made, and I became more and more stubborn. I was determined I was going to drive up. And Baba kept saying, “But you can't go alone. You can’t go alone.”
And I said, “Well, yeah, but I'll find someone.” So this went on and on and then finally He brought Dana [Field] in. And I said, um, “Dana has never driven up there before.” I said, “Impossible! Impossible! He’ll lose the way.”
Finally, we left it that way until we got to Los Angeles. And then a very interesting thing happened. Mike, I can't recall his last name, was a young boy who was had been engaged to a young girl on the trip. And Baba broke the engagement in this room. And He said, “No, she is not for you. She is marrying…” and I think it was a friend of Mike’s. And of course, Mike was brokenhearted, [but] none of us knew about it. But when I got to Los Angeles that afternoon [sic] the mandali called me and said, “Baba wants you…Mike to drive up with you to San Francisco.”
But the interesting thing was that all the way in and when I drove Baba, back in the station wagon, He made Adi get out of the front seat. And He said, He implied, that He wanted to be there in the front seat alone with me. And so Adi sat in the back, leaned over and did the interpreting. And Baba put His hand on my head and very seriously said, “Drive very carefully. Very, very carefully.” I told Baba, “I’m going only 45, I’m crawling already. What do you mean drive carefully?” And so He frowned, you know, impatiently, pretending to be impatient with me. And then Adi said, ‘“No Agnes, He means, you know, when you go to San Francisco.” I said “Oh, that.” Well, there had been no arrangements made and I was rather puzzled. And three times He repeated that all the way into L.A. He put his hand out and repeat…
What does Baba say? I mean, He doesn't say “yes”, He doesn't say “no.” He just, you know, He just beams and smiles and that's all there is to it. I mean, He plays, you know, He plays odd little games with us.