Month of When They Begin The Beguine [30th Apr 2015] 31st Jan 1969.
Avg.Hariprasad
Beloved Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai
Month of WHEN THEY BEGIN THE BEGUINE
[Song of Eternal Meaning]
{April 2015}
30th Apr 2015
[31st Jan 1969]
Eruch recalled that Baba had instructed the mandali several times:
"Wherever I may drop my body, bring it to Meherabad and place it in the samadhi."
Eruch also remembered that Baba had told him to play the record of the Cole Porter song Begin the Beguine when he dropped his body.
Dr. Ginde suggested that Baba's body should be moved to Meherabad within six hours. Mehera and the other women wanted to keep Baba's body at Meherazad.
Mani argued with Ginde, "Baba had once told me that if he goes into a coma some day and becomes unconscious, he would revive after seven days."
Dr. Ginde explained, "But this is not a coma. The heart of a person in a coma continues to beat, and his respiration and pulse do not stop. Baba is not in a coma."
Mani did not agree and continued to argue. It was suggested that Baba's body should be kept in mandali hall at lower Meherabad for three days. Ginde explained that it would be difficult to move a decomposed body to the crypt after three days.
Eruch then said, "As ordered by Baba, his body should be taken to his samadhi at Meherabad."
All of the mandali, including the women, eventually concurred, and Mehera and Mani requested that the body be kept at Meherazad until five o'clock that evening.
Dr. Ginde then suddenly asked, "Where is the crypt? What is the floor made of?" When he was told that the floor was of stone, he said that the flooring would have to be removed.
Padri left for Meherabad to see that the stone slabs at the bottom of the crypt were excavated.
Chhagan was sent to Ahmednagar to have a wooden board made on which Baba's body would be placed inside the crypt. Don was to have a wooden coffin made, which would be placed over Baba.
Meanwhile at Meherazad, Baba's surgical bed was straightened to a horizontal position. Baba's sadra and chaddi (boxer shorts) were changed, and it was decided not to give Baba a bath, as he had been averse to bathing and had not taken a bath for almost two years. Despite that, his body was always fresh and fragrant. Baba's body was wrapped from his shoulders to his toes in the two sheets that were on his bed. On the carpet near Baba's bed a sheet of plastic was placed and over it a bedspread. Baba was gently lifted by the men and placed on the quilt. He was again wrapped in the quilt, plastic and carpet. A checkered white and pink scarf was tied around his head and under his chin. The women brought a hot-water bag to place on Baba, thinking he would revive. They were still not able to believe that Baba was truly gone.
Meanwhile, Don left to bring an ambulance from Booth Hospital, and Adi went back to town to send the telegram to all parts of India and the world. While the record Begin the Beguine was being played several times, Don arrived with the ambulance. Eruch told Mani to get her movie camera and take a film. Baba's body was lifted on a stretcher, and Eruch, Bhau and Aloba brought it from his room to mandali hall, where it was placed on Baba's aluminum bed. There, all of the mandali and the servants took Baba's darshan. Baba was physically bidding farewell to Meherazad. Every leaf and blossom was full of gloom. Yet everything was being done in a courageous manner.
Mehera wept on behalf of the entire universe, as tears from all creation fell from her eyes. Goher and Naja also cried continuously, but Mani and the men remained resolutely dry-eyed.
The stretcher carrying Baba's body was placed inside the ambulance on the seat, and Eruch and Bhau sat next to it. A loud cry of "Avatar Meher Baba ki jai!" was raised and, physically leaving Meherazad forever, the Beloved's form was driven to Meherabad. Both the men and women mandali followed in cars. The body of the Ancient One quietly passed through the town of Ahmednagar without anyone having an inkling of it.
The ambulance reached Meherabad at about 6:00 P.M., and Padri sat in front next to the driver to guide him up the hill to the Tomb. Slowly the ambulance drove up Meherabad Hill, as the sun of the Divine One's life on earth was setting and the Moon of a new beginning rose in the evening sky.
The ambulance stopped opposite Baba's Tin Cabin, and the stretcher was lifted from it and placed inside the cabin just opposite the door. Mani brought the record player and played Begin the Beguine inside the cabin. ***
At seven o'clock that evening, Padri announced that the stone flooring of the crypt had been removed and its bottom dug one foot deeper. The Tomb was ready. The activity had alerted the villagers that something had happened, and the news that Meher Baba had dropped his body spread quickly.
Amidst cries of "Avatar Meher Baba ki jai!" the stretcher was lifted and carried from the cabin to the entrance of the Tomb. Baba was taken inside on the stretcher head first and placed on the side of the crypt. The wooden plank on which Baba was to be placed was first lowered inside. Eruch placed three stone slabs that had been removed from the crypt's floor under the board, where Baba's head would be placed. The plank was therefore at a slant with Baba's head raised about four inches.
Baba's body was lifted with the carpet on which it lay. With loud declarations of "Avatar Meher Baba ki jai!" the carpet was lowered onto the board, with Baba's head to the north and his feet at the steps leading down to the crypt. A pillow was placed under his head. Baba's hair was gently brushed. The scarf wrapped round his head and over his ears and chin was rearranged. The bedsheets wrapped around him were folded neatly, and then blocks of ice were put in the space between the wooden board and the crypt wall.
***Afterwards, the ambulance itself went out of commission and had to be replaced. The trip it made to Meherabad was its last. The stretcher which carried Baba's body is still preserved in the Tin Cabin on the hill ***
The ice surrounded Baba on all sides and yet did not touch his body. A garland was put around Baba's head, and with his eyelids closed, he appeared, at first glance, to be sleeping peacefully. It was starting to get dark so a Petromax lantern was hung in the Tomb. Strains of Begin the Beguinewafted from inside his final resting place.
[LordMEHER Pg.5404/5/6/7]
-Mehera Meher School of Awakening
