"And Take Me With You" - Avatar Meher Baba
“Thursday, August 2, was a day we had all been looking forward to," remembered Darwin Shaw, "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.”
At 4:00 a.m. on the morning of August 2, 1956, preparations were made to drive Avatar Meher Baba the 85 miles from the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles to Meher Mount in Ojai.
Two buses were chartered to bring 150 of His followers along with Him. After the group arrived, Meher Baba called everyone into the 'Baba Room' of the guesthouse.
AVATAR MEHER BABA (blue coat) leads the group to the guesthouse at Meher Mount where He gave darshan (the grace of being in His presence) in the ‘Baba Room.’ (Photo: Darwin Shaw, August 2, 1956. (c) Meher Nazar Publications. Used with permission.)
“…we all went inside and sat wherever we could, all sort of crowded around Baba, but in a comfortable way,” Darwin Shaw continued. “Baba sat where everyone could see him. He seemed very relaxed and happy to be among his lovers.”
Later, Meher Baba told the group to go outside…
“Now, go out and see the view and try to love Baba through nature. This is all due to my love. This whole creation, this nature, all the beauty you see, all came out of me.”
And as the group was leaving, He added, “And take me with you.”
AVATAR MEHER BABA (blue coat) is leaving the guesthouse (hidden behind the main house) for a tour of Meher Mount. Beside Him in the white blouse and orange skirt is co-founder and caretaker Agnes Baron. (Photo: Darwin Shaw, August 2, 1956. (c) Meher Nazar Publications. Used with permission.)
Jeanne Shaw, who was with Meher Baba that day, was particularly moved by His last comment to take Him with her. She described her feelings and her precious experience that day in her diary:
“I was especially impressed with Baba’s saying ‘Take me with you.’ It was like an order, so I began to imagine that Baba was walking along with me.
“I began to mentally converse with Baba. ‘It’s still a bit foggy out, Baba, and the view still isn’t clear… Oh, there’s a big beautiful tree over there, Baba. I’d love to see you sitting under it.’
“Then, as I walked on, I heard people coming from the direction of the house. Turning around, I was surprised to see Baba, followed by several people, rapidly walking toward the big tree.
“Right away I wondered, ‘Is he going to sit under the tree? Did he hear me say that I’d like to see him sitting under the tree?’
BABA'S TREE in the distance as seen in the 1970s. It is sitting on the brow of the mountain now called Avatar's Point. This view is somewhat similar to the one Jeanne Shaw describes in her story of Avatar Meher Baba’s day at Meher Mount in 1956. (Photo: Sam Ervin)
“I started walking toward Baba and the tree, but the crowd moved in front of Baba, and I couldn’t see if he was actually sitting under the tree, but it appeared that he was. [Baba actually was sitting under the tree.]
“The crowd started to move away, and I was afraid I wouldn’t get there before Baba left. To my surprise, Baba waited and motioned for me to come to him.
“When I reached Baba’s side, he reached over and most lovingly kissed my cheek. As Baba and the others moved on, I remained there for a while, completely overwhelmed by the sweetness of Baba’s love.
“It was so wonderful that all I could do was to seek out a quiet place and sit there by myself in a state of great bliss. I don’t know how long I sat there. Time and place seemed to fade into the background, and I was taken over completely by Baba’s precious love and bliss.
WALKING TOWARD BABA'S TREE with Avatar Meher Baba (blue coat) and caretaker and co-founder Agnes Baron (white blouse and orange skirt). (Photo: Darwin Shaw, August 2, 1956. (c) Meher Nazar Publications. Used with permission.)
“After a while, I began to get hungry and realized that it must be long past lunchtime. I hurried to the house and found only a crust of bread left, but it tasted like manna from heaven.
“Quite some time later, when thinking over this wonderful experience with Baba, it dawned on me that in kissing my cheek, Baba was acknowledging and expressing his approval of my obedience. I really had tried to quite literally ‘take him with me.’”
“We also walked around outside with Baba and enjoyed his company in a very relaxed and intimate way,” added Darwin Shaw.
“We were ever mindful of who Baba was and how fortunate we were to be with him.”
Source
Darwin C. Shaw, As Only God Can Love: A Lifetime of Companionship with Meher Baba (North Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Foundation), pp. 395-396. © 2003 Darwin C. Shaw. Used by permission.