[By MR Dhakephalkar]
We were going to Delhi from Madras by Grand Truck Express. It was a long journey and on the way Baba encouraged us to entertain Him with stories, talks or skits just to pass time.
Baba said that He had a year in His mind. In that year a very great event would take place and the whole universe would receive a shock thereby. The year might be anything between 1950 and 1999 and the one who gave the exact year in His mind would receive a five-rupee note as reward. Everyone made a try for it and Baba would say, “No, not that.”
When my time came I said, “1969.”
Baba at once said, “Exactly, you are right. I have fixed up that year in my mind. How did you come to it that I have that year in my mind?”
“Even now I don’t know what is there in your mind. Perhaps you want to give me the prize and have therefore confirmed my conjecture,” I submitted.
“No, it is not so; you must have come to this year by some thinking and what is it?” enquired Baba.
“Baba, you like numbers 1, 7 and 9 and consider them to be important. Figures 1 and 9 were already supplied to you by others. By figure I mean the sum total of all the numbers. I have arrived at the figure 7 by adding all the digits in 1969,” I said. The prize was given to me.
On the 31st January, 1969, when Baba dropped His body, I recalled to my mind this incident and then realised the significance Baba had attached to the year 1969 and the great event that would give a shock to the whole world was the dropping of His body.
This was how He suggested the year of dropping His body.
— In the company of Avatar Meher Baba (MR Dhakephalkar), p115
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Source of the article: http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/dropyear.html