near Me. Now others will want to put up their hands too!” (Laughter).

Baba enquired about the work at the Centers. He then said in the State of Andhra there were about 72 Centers, and all His lovers from places all over India want to come to Him here, and if by some miracle He were to change their circumstances, the population of Poona would be doubled. But, His lovers are very poor; they all love Him and they compete with each other in working for Him. Baba then jokingly remarked that in spite of their circumstances if one prints a calendar, another prints a larger one; if one feeds a hundred poor, another feeds a thousand, and so on. The condition of His lovers in the district of Hamirpur is very different. When Baba went to a village there some years ago in a car, the villagers had never seen a car before! They had to improvise a road. They joined hearts and hands and tried to give Baba all the conveniences they thought of, such as oil lamps, an improvised bed, hot bath, etc.—they had seen these things done at the Meherabad Sahavas. When they saw Baba for the first time in their village they were overwhelmed. They are all so poor—all over the district—and yet so rich in love of Baba. They feel the statue of Baba which they erected a year ago is not a statue, it is Baba Himself. That is what is meant by having Baba as one's constant companion. That is why their love always makes Baba very happy.

 

November 1—Afternoon Session

We adjourned to our several hotels, reconvening under the sun-struck cloth pandal of Guruprasad. At 2:40 p.m. Baba appeared on the platform to shouts of  “Avatar Meher Baba ki jai," as the entire audience stood, about 5,000 Eastern and Western Lovers of Baba. About 1,000 were from Andhra State, and Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh. The Westerners were seated at the front, men on one side and women on the other. On the platform with Baba were seated Yogi Shuddhanand Bharati, the Maharani Shanta Devi of Baroda, the young boy Balak Bhagavan, the four interpreters, and also Adi K. Irani and Eruch Jessawala. Eruch conveyed Baba's greeting:

"Baba wants me to convey to you all that He is very happy that you are here. Your love has brought you here but it is really Baba 's love that has drawn you to Him for this gathering.”

This was translated at once into Hindi, Marathi, and Telegu by separate interpreters. Dr. Kenmore then stood and after embracing Baba, recited the Master’s Prayer in English. At the close Baba said, "Your prayer has made a few feel that God is present here. May My love make you feel one day that God is in everyone.”