Baba’s fragrance was exquisite. At first I thought that he had special exotic colognes, but later I was told that Baba’s fragrance was his own natural smell.
Jim sat at his feet and Baba asked him, “Do you know Richard Alpert?”
Jim said, “I know of him but I don’t know him personally.”
“He has just written me a letter in which he has promised to stop taking LSD. I am happy that Richard is going to stop taking drugs. You too should not take drugs.”
Jim had himself decided to stop taking drugs about eight months prior to meeting Baba, though he hadn’t mentioned this. When Baba referred to drugs, Jim later recollected:
I knew at that moment that my soul was transparent to Baba and that he could see all my activities, my strengths and my weaknesses, without my having to tell him. However, I felt bathed in his love as if it supported me. I knew that I could entrust my soul to Baba. And this feeling of being able to trust Baba gave me great sustenance.
Next Baba asked, “Did you see Robert Dreyfuss before you left America?”
“No,” Jim said, “I didn’t,” and he explained that he had left before Robert returned.
Baba asked about Diana, “Where is she now?”
Jim said, “She returned to her work in south India.”
Baba said, “That’s good, but you are far more fortunate.”
Baba then asked, “Have you readStay With God by Francis Brabazon?”
When Jim replied that he hadn’t, Baba asked him to turn around to meet Francis who was sitting at the back of the room with the other mandali. Baba introduced them and told Jim to read Stay With God. At one point during the interview when Jim was looking at Eruch as he translated Baba’s gestures, Baba said, “Look at me, not at him.”
By this time, Jim was getting somewhat impatient:
I had expected Baba to give me some very serious, heavy lessons. I did not expect him to make pleasantries about people whom I knew and people back in America. After all, I could always think about those people any other time during the rest of my life. Why was Baba spending this precious five minutes talking about other people? Why wasn’t Baba talking about serious spiritual matters? In the back of my mind I had expected Baba to discourse to me about the rigors of the spiritual path and to tell me that I was very young and inexperienced. I expected him to tell me that I should return to America and to assume normal responsibilities there. I had prepared myself for a stern lesson on the seriousness of trying to follow the Avatar and on how difficult such a task was.
But Baba was giving me the lesson that I needed, and he was giving it by his example rather than his words. He was showing me something which he always tells us, that the most practical way to love God is through loving our fellow beings. He was showing me that in my desire to receive serious spiritual lessons, I was still being self-centered, and he was showing me that the cure for selfishness was involvement with other people and concern for them.
–www.lordmeher.org,p6441