To: All Dear Ones
By email:
Date: December 16, 2001
Subject: Footnotes and Asides to Bhau's Triumphant Andhra Tour

BELOVED AVATAR MEHER BABA KI JAI!

From Shiva:

I can’t really add anything of substance to Bhau’s own account of his October visit to Andhra Pradesh, but being fortunate enough to accompany him, I wanted to share a few footnotes and asides to his tour.

The major impression which lingers was finding Bhau in a glorious mood, full of humor and fire. He was far more robust than when I last saw him in June, and according to Dr. Anne, all of his health numbers remain in a good range. For better or worse, the health of Mandali members doesn’t seem to obey the same laws of physiology that govern everyone else, so I should not have been astonished to find the same man whom, last March, we were not sure would survive a trip from Ahmednagar to Poona, now on a grueling speaking tour that would tax a man half his age. Unless Bhau was allowed to speak six hours a day about his life with Meher Baba and other spiritual matters, he felt frustrated. (No wonder his name, "Ver Singh” means "Brave Lion,” and Baba's sign for him was "Lion.” Until he was allowed to deliver his daily quota of Baba-inspired messages and anecdotes, he did seem to pace like a caged lion!)

Like everyone, I was extremely apprehensive about flying during these unsettled times, but once past the security checkpoint (which meant virtually disrobing beneath a detector set off by pens, a floppy disk, belt snaps, even magnetic strips on credit cards) and actually on board the plane, I was delighted to find the flight the smoothest I’d ever had to India. All the cabin crew seemed genuinely grateful anyone had dared to fly and went out of their way to ensure that all the passengers were comfortable.

Many Westerners have written Bhau about whether or not to cancel their pilgrimages, and though he reiterates that, as in all things, one should follow their own conscience, he also notes that no one has had any trouble whatsoever on their flights because of the international situation.

Because of the scare they feel from seeing the September 11th tragedy at the World Trade Center (New York), the Pentagon (Washington), and the crash of the plane in Pennsylvania, and also because of deteriorating economic circumstances, pilgrims have stopped coming to India. Only a few of them are to be found at the Pilgrim Center. This has never occurred before, but due to the world and economic situations, it is happening. The fixed expenses of running Meherabad, Meherazad and the Trust Compound, however, continue regardless of whether pilgrims come or not. In addition, the Finance Minister is bent upon lowering the interest on bank deposits, and thus the interest rates on them is declining and declining. This has become a problem for the Trust. Also, because of the economic situation, the Trust is not receiving donations to maintain its activities and pay the workers, who are demanding more and more wages and benefits.

Even though Beloved Baba referred to Andhra as His "head,” the warm-heartedness of the Hyderabad Baba lovers was remarkable. An enormous number of people, (see list of names below, compiled by Hyderabad stalwart Balaji #2), toiled behind the scenes from sunup to sundown to insure that all the programs flowed smoothly, and that we and all those attending the program felt welcome. (In my case, Phaninath Dheram and his nephew Gopi and their wives thoughtfully took me under their wings.) In Srirangapatnam, Mukku Laksminarayana arranged to have over 10,000 meals served to attendees.

And fortunately for us Westerners, since Telugu is the native language of Hyderabad, which Bhau does not speak, he delivered his talks in English, which were subsequently translated into Telugu, often by B. Ramakistiah.

Many people mentioned that Hyderabad was the mast capital of the world. Bhau said that though he does not recall Baba actually making the statement as such, there certainly were a lot of masts in Hyderabad.

The Jubilee Hills Centre consists of two buildings at the top of a rock-strewn hill, a four-storey building with kitchens, meeting rooms, and pilgrim accommodations and underground storage. Across the way is a beautiful ovoid meeting hall, set like the prow of a giant stone ship sailing out of the hillside. The Centre even has its own arborist, Dr. Venkata Swamy, who has been industriously planting seedlings all around the compound. One day soon leafy pleasantness will envelope the complex. Surrounding the Centre are striking assemblages of boulders, perched precariously one atop another. Especially at twilight, one could easily imagine the topmost stones to be naughty fourth-plane yogis, laboriously working their way back up the evolutionary ladder.

When the Centre was first proposed, the area was very rural and remote. Now, like so many other nexuses of Baba-activity, the surrounding neighborhood has become posh and trendy. A Baba-lover and ex-Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Bhaskara Rao, lives nearby, and the current Chief Minister also has his residence within a mile of the Centre.

Several people also mentioned that the land on which the Centre was built had been owned by one Kutumba Rao. He was a communist who had no time or dealings with any organized religion. But when a delegation of Hyderabad Baba lovers approached him, Kutumba Rao was so moved by the delegates’ obvious spirit of brotherhood, despite their differences in caste and economic circumstances, that he generously donated all the land necessary.

Although Maya doesn't exist, she certainly was up to exceptional mischief in Andhra. The Friday night preceding our arrival, to protest the war in Afghanistan, worshippers at a local mosque went on a rampage, going so far as to yank bricks from the building itself to hurl at policemen, who in turn, had entered it without bothering to remove their shoes.

Even worse, there was a bus strike that prevented many less well-off Baba lovers from attending Bhau’s talks. One day Bhau repeated a remark that Baba had made about Gandhi, that the Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movements, the strikes Gandhi was calling, would set a very bad precedent for India. Baba foretold that this habit of work stoppages would become engrained in the culture of the country. Indeed, this prediction unfortunately seems to be coming true.

A cyclone (hurricane) in the Bay of Bengal resulted in massive flooding in southern Andhra Pradesh. But it diminished to delightfully cool breezes and mercifully overcast skies by the time it reached Hyderabad. This made the trek up to Baba's Manonash Cave and Bhau's subsequent talk on the barren rock tolerable even to Westerners. (Dr. Anne had once visited the cave in March, when there was not a blade of grass on the hillside, and by 8:30 a.m., the sun was unbearable). During Bhau’s talk, it began sprinkling to the extent that many umbrellas sprouted. Some variety of lemon verbena grew in the grassy area on the hillside below, and when the sun emerged, a delicious citrusy fragrance emanated through the multitude gathered for Bhau’s talk.

On the way to the Cave is the tomb of a Muslim saint, Baba Fakrudeen, and a pond built into a natural depression in a rock. Whenever a person from a nearby village is believed to be possessed by an evil spirit, the family brings them up the hill, dunks them in the pond, and takes them to the saint's tomb, believing that the individual will be cured after they pay their respects.

The Manonash Cave is not very large, more of a space under the overhang of an enormous boulder, really. It’s now painted white, and a brick wall built has been constructed at the opening. There is barely room to stand up. But as with Baba’s cave in Assisi, you have the sense of mighty and unimaginable spiritual effort transpiring inside.

On this tour, there were several themes that Bhau seemed to return to again and again during his talks: The New Life, with particular attention to Baba’s Manonash work in Andhra; the need for Baba workers to remained focussed on Baba, to cooperate with each other and not let vanity or other people’s opinions influence them. One night, Bhau gave an astonishing virtuoso performance, an oral encapsulation of the entirety of GOD SPEAKS. Perhaps some day if we’re lucky, the tape will be transcribed. Another issue that Bhau dealt with extensively was the problems caused by false gurus, especially those who claim some sort of connection to, or spiritual status granted by Baba.

As always, every day Bhau would make some offhand remark which would cause you to look at the world in a new light or answer some question that had puzzled you for years.

For instance, one day he related an incident that occurred at Meherazad A man who had read GOD SPEAKS asked Meher Baba if Satya Sai Baba [not Shirdi Sai Baba, Meher Baba's own master] was on the fourth plane because Satya Sai Baba was capable of materializing sacred ash, wristwatches, etc. According to Bhau, Baba did not say "yes,” and He did not say "no.” The man departed and subsequently informed people that Satya Sai Baba was on the fourth plane. Later that night, before Baba went to bed, He mentioned to Bhau that Satya Sai Baba was not on the fourth plane but in fact was a "tantrik,” i.e., someone who had acquired occult powers.

Bhau also mentioned an incident that occurred during his tour of Andhra in 1955, when Baba went to Hyderabad to contact masts. When they passed through the little town of Nilgunda, Baba would stop at a roadside hotel [restaurant]. And what a hotel it was! Not a single cup or saucer matched and every single one of them was cracked and chipped besides. All the tables and benches were rickety, but this was the hotel where Baba liked to stop.

“When we passed through Nilgunda,” Bhau said, “Baba asked Eruch to stop the car at the hotel, where tea was brought to Him. One young boy was sitting under a tree.”

Baba was signing to Bhau about His tea, but Bhau could not understand what Baba wanted. “Do you want sugar? More tea?”

The young boy was watching with interest, and at last he called out, “Milk. He’s saying that he wants more milk.”

Pleased to be at last understood, Baba indicated for Eruch to fetch more milk. He said to Bhau, “You have been with me for so long, and you still don’t understand My gestures. But this young boy knew immediately what I wanted.”

Bhau was very upset and wondered how did that boy come to know what Baba had wanted.

Again, on the way from Hyderabad, they again stopped at the Nilgunda hotel. Bhau was very worried, but fortunately this stop passed without incident.

Only later did Bhau come to know that underneath His saucer, where Bhau could not see but the young boy could, Baba was pantomiming the gestures of milking a cow. The only reason Baba stopped at this hotel was to make contact with this young boy.

As with all of Bhau’s tours, there are so many images, so too many memories. Sunrise over the Godvari River as the train chugged across the long railway span. Gurukulam, now a bucolic field of palm trees, where Baba conducted His famous workers meeting. The life-sized bronze statue of Baba at Meherstan. The undercurrent of festivity as everyone prepared for Divali, the Hindu festival of lights, though, of course, this year it was tempered by the tragedies of 9-11 and subsequent world events.

The 40-foot tall cutout of Baba in His pink sadra at the Srirangapatnam Centre, sweetly gazing over a statue of Hanuman almost as high. The Avatar Meher Baba Rajahmundry Center, a cozy living room in the home of the late Sri K. Subrahmanyam. The scrums [a rugby term for the huddle of players struggling with each other to gain possession of the ball] of Baba lovers on the already overcrowded train platforms who came to greet Bhau or wish him their Jai Baba farewells.

Though a full accounting of any Bhau tour would take volumes and volumes and still remain incomplete, I’d like to share one last quintessential Bhau incident, an episode which demonstrates both his inventiveness and delightfully mischievous sense of humor.

Sleeping compartments on Indian trains consist of two upper berths (which fold up) and two lower berths facing each other. Across the aisle, perpendicular to the sleeping compartment, are an upper and lower berth. We could only obtain tickets for three of the berths of the compartment, while I was wedged in at the opposite end of the coach. The fourth berth in the compartment was occupied by an Indian man who did not want to switch with me under any circumstance. As Bhau, Dr. Anne and Max were seated in the compartment with the Indian man, Bhau took Max to task for some imagined shortcoming. Max sat there silently, while Bhau, as they say in the West, reamed him up one side and down the other. The Indian man’s eyes grew wider and wider with each new reprimand by Bhau. When I again asked the Indian if he would like to switch berths, he immediately jumped up and grabbed his belongings, giving us all a good chuckle as he fled down the aisle.

With all love in the Beloved,

Shiva (Lynwood)
Brooklyn, New York
15th December, 2001

Ps. Balaji #2 recently emailed: “Mr. T. Patmanabham from Kakinada told me that after Sri Bhauji's visit, many new people are coming to the Centre's weekly gatherings. The organizers are receiving many enquiries, and a lot of people are showing much interest in knowing about Baba.

In addition, after Sri Bhauji's visit to Hyderabad, I found the younger generation working with renovated energy. Possessed by real enthusiasm, Baba lovers are coming forward with concrete proposals for developing the Centre.

Pray Beloved Avatar Meher Baba for our dear Bahuji's good health and longevity in His Service!”

Among the many people who contributed to make Bhau's trip a success are the following. Please forgive any omissions:

In Hyderabad, Lakshmi and Manju prepared scrumptious and medically correct meals for Bhau, and in Rajamundry, Bhau’s Mothers Anu and Bharti performed the same service.

Also at Hyderabad: Avatar Meher Baba Andhra Center, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad Managing Committee; the Baba lovers of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and Chinta Saibaba, president Andhra center.

At Avatar Meher Baba Rajahmundry Center: Mrs. K. Kalyani (chairperson) and her family, Prasad Raju (Kakinada) and T. Padmanabham (Kakinada). K. Narayana Rao and his family arranged food for Bhauji, and Mallikarjuna Sharma arranged transport for Baba lovers. Madhu and Kishore (Managing Director SITI-Cable) arranged for the local TV station to broadcast Bhauji’s talks.

At Kovvur: Koduri Prasad and family, the son of Koduri Krishna Rao who constucted Meherstan at Kovvur after obtaining permission from Beloved Baba, Anasuyamma and family plus many Baba lovers from Kovvur.

At Srirangapatnam: The late Retalla Suryanarayana Murthy's sons, Narasimha Murthy, R.S.N. Murthy and brothers, who played major roles in financing Bhauji’s tour and sponsored the entire arrangements at Srirangapatnam. M. Lakshminarayana took care of all food arrangements for the programs (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Many volunteers from various Meher Baba Centers worked very hard to make this shavas a great success.

Finally, we have to specially mention A. Janardhan Rao from Avatar Meher Baba Nizamabad Center.

P.S. Coming on December 20th, a Christmas message from Bhau, and following that a new “Awakening” -- A House of Sanskaras Without Ventilators, Windows or Doors.

P.P.S. If you would like to read Bhau’s previous "Awakenings” but missed out on them, you can find those sent out prior to the 29th of June posted at www.JaiBaba.com. Recently, many people have been profoundly moved by the insight and sense of premonition of Bhau’s “Awakening” of 15th May, When that Time Comes, Nobody Will Know What to Do and What Not to Do. You might want to re-read it.

P.P.P.S. If you are not receiving these "Awakenings” directly but would like to, please send an email to shiva2001@indiatimes.com with "Add My Name to the List” in the subject line. No need to put anything in the body of the message. If you have added your name to the list but are still not receiving these mailings, your mailbox might be full. There is also the possibility that either you or your service provider is blocking messages from this name/domain. Please modify your filters accordingly or supply an alternate email address.