“I particularly wanted to have a free day here….” – Avatar Meher Baba
Margaret Magnus
By Margaret Magnus
“It will be your love that will lure me back,” Meher Baba told His Western followers in 1952 when He visited the United States and, then again, whenever anyone traveled to India, Adele Wolkin remembered. [1]
“So, apparently our love was strong enough to lure Him back in 1956,” Adele added. [2]
ADELE WOLKIN describing Avatar Meher Baba's 1956 day at Meher Mount during the 50th Anniversary Celebration at Meher Mount.
“When the news reached us that Baba might come to the West in 1956, a great many hopes were raised that the visit might actually happen,” Darwin Shaw said in his book, As Only God Can Love. “Then came the news outlining Baba’s plans to come to the West in the summer of 1956.” [3]
On July 16, 1956, Meher Baba and four of His men mandali – Eruch Jessawala, Vinayak Nilkantha 'Nilu" Godse (also known as Dr. Nilu), Adi K. Irani (also known as Adi Sr.), and Meherjee Karkaria – left Bombay on Air India Flight 103 for Europe. [4]
On that world trip — from July 16 to August 19 — Meher Baba visited: London; New York City; the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, SC; Washington, DC; Los Angeles; Meher Mount in Ojai; San Francisco; and Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.
He circled the globe in 30 days, flew 30,000 miles, and crossed five continents.
THE HOLLYWOOD ROOSEVELT HOTEL in the 1960s. Avatar Meher Baba stayed here for three nights in 1956.
During the three-day stop in Southern California, Meher Baba went to Meher Mount on August 2, 1956.
After Meher Baba arrived at the Los Angeles airport at about 6:00 a.m. on July 31, 1956, He was taken to the centrally located Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel for His stay. [5]
During the first two days in Los Angeles, personal interviews were set, including one with the Los Angeles Times. [6]
“Many, many people came, even off the street, after reading about Meher Baba in the newspaper or through some other connection,” remembered Leatrice Johnston who traveled with Him from New York to California. [7]
“And the rest of us didn’t have the private times with Baba that we had had previously,” she continued. “We tried to be as close to the reception room as possible, and every time Baba went hither and yon, we were always there to see Him.” [8]
AVATAR MEHER BABA during an interview with the Los Angeles Times during His 1956 stay in Los Angeles.
“Baba took note of this,” she continued, “and He said He wanted to give us time with Him. And that would be coming up to Meher Mount.” [9]
“We had all spent so much money to be there with him, but there was not time [in Los Angeles], with all the appointments,” said Darwin. “But, he said, he wanted to be with us all” at Meher Mount. [10]
“Thursday, August 2, was a day we had all been looking forward to, a day when Baba would be free of interviews, when we could all be more closely with him in the beautiful setting of Meher Mount,” Darwin continued. [11]
“Everyone was in a happy mood for the day’s outing.” [12]
At one point during the day, Meher Baba gathered everyone and said, “Do not expect any discourse from me today. Yesterday, I told you all that you would play and feel relaxed [here]. [13]
“In Los Angeles, there was no time for you all to sit near me as you are doing today, for so many people came there, and I was so busy. Therefore, I wanted to particularly to have a [free] day here.” [14]
Early after their arrival, Filis Frederick remembers Meher Baba calling “this one and that one for private ‘darshan.’ When our turn came, He told us how lucky we were to be with Him so closely, for in India, those who are ready to give us their lives for Him have to file past Him to see Him, and the crowds are so immense, that they have time only for a glance or a touch from Him before someone pushes them from behind.” [15]
“He called each of us to Him, saying, ‘This is the last embrace for a long time,’" she said. [16]
AVATAR MEHER BABA (blue coat) at Meher Mount on August 2, 1956. (Photo: Darwin Shaw, Meher Nazar Publications)
Later in the day, Meher Baba said to the group, “This afternoon you all have a chance to laugh and feel relaxed. Baba also has a chance to relax here for five minutes. You had no chance in New York; at Myrtle Beach, little chance; in Los Angeles, none. But here today we feel relaxed, happy.
“I come down to your level so that we can laugh and be free together, but don't forget at the same time that I am the Highest of the High.” [17]
“So, we had this absolutely delightful afternoon here, the late morning and afternoon,” said Leatrice. Meher Baba didn’t stay too long after lunch. The group lingered on for a little while before making the long journey back to Los Angeles. [18]
“To me, it’s a very memorable and a special time we spent with Baba here on these wonderful grounds where He walked all over here,” Leatrice added. [19]
Footnotes
[1] Adele Wolkin, “Adele Wolkin – Meher Mount 1996,” YouTube video, 24:54 minutes, the AMBCSC Archives in concert with the Meher Baba Library Oral History Archive Project, minute 0:40, accessed October 23, 2021.
[2] Wolkin, ibid., accessed October 23, 2021.
[3] Darwin C. Shaw, As Only God Can Love: A Lifetime of Companionship with Meher Baba (North Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Foundation, 2003), pg. 317. (c)Darwin C. Shaw.
[4] Bhau Kalchuri, Lord Meher: The Biography of Avatar of the Age Meher Baba, Online Edition, pg. 3970, accessed online on October 12, 2021. © Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust.
[5] Shaw, op.cit., pg. 384.
[6] “The Los Angeles Times Interviews Meher Baba – 1956,” Meher Mount Story Blog, August 16, 2014.
[7] Leatrice Shaw Johnston, “Leatrice Johnson Shaw – Meher Mount 1996,” YouTube video, 34:17 minutes, the AMBCSC Archives in concert with the Meher Baba Library Oral History Archive Project, minute 6:34, accessed October 23, 2021.
[8] Johnston, ibid., accessed October 23, 2021.
[9] Johnston, ibid., accessed October 23, 2021.
[10] Shaw, op.cit., pg. 390.
[11] Shaw, ibid., pg. 391.
[12] Shaw, ibid., pg. 391.
[13] Kalchuri, op.cit., pg. 4068, accessed October 25, 2021.
[14] Kalchuri, ibid., pg. 4068, accessed October 25, 2021.
[15] Filis Frederick, “Journey of the Heart,” The Awakener magazine online, Volume 5, Number 2, Winter-Spring 1958, pg. 17, accessed online on October 23, 2021.
[16] Frederick, op.cit., pg. 17, accessed October 24, 2021.
[17] Frederick, ibid., pg. 18, accessed October 24, 2021.
[18] Johnston, minute 14:48, accessed online October 23, 2021.
[19] Johnston, minute 14:48, accessed online October 23, 2021.