"All of you remember one thing: After the 15th of February you may contribute if you wish; save now for the journey so that you can attend the meeting. From now on try to save to attend the meeting if you are invited, so that you can afford the fares and so forth. Do not think of giving to Baba now."

Eruch continued: "When Baba goes into seclusion in India, He locks Himself up in a room; the doors and windows are all locked and there is hardly a breath of air. If Baba permits someone to remain with Him, then the one who remains feels absolutely suffocated. But Baba sits all day like that, closed and locked in. Baba says the whole world is nearer to Him when He is in seclusion."

Don Stevens then got up and read us three messages of the Master, "The Binding Past," "The Law of Karma," and "Freedom from Opposites." As he finished, Baba clapped His hands. Elizabeth had fallen asleep, so Baba asked Don to read them over again, and then explain what they meant. One message emphasized that the past cannot be changed and is like a "frozen lake," but it continues to mold the present and the future of the limited "I." Another, that after so-called death, we experience "heaven" and "hell."

"Do you understand it?" Baba gestured. Don nodded. "Baba says He has not understood it," Eruch interpreted. As the laughter died down, Baba continued:

"Where is heaven and where is hell? Don, you explain."

Don replied: "As I understand it, these are illusory states, which exist only in the mind. They have no reality; they are part of illusion."

Baba said: "When I was young, about thirteen years of age, I met an Irani gentleman, a very stout, strong, healthy man, and two or three other friends of his. They called to me and made me sit near them. I was just a child. One Irani was preparing the Indian Bhang, a certain concoction that brings one intoxication. The three were enjoying their drink. One Irani was clever and had known my father, Sheriarji. So he called me over and made me sit near him. He had taken a lot to drink and was telling the others in a lively voice, 'I am in heaven today.'

"I enjoyed their talk. Then he got up, the others also, and they started