Meher Baba's Life & Travels
1938-41 : BLUE BUS TOURS
1938 - 18 Dec. 1939 to 28 Nov. 1941
COMING SOON
First Visit to Dehra Dun
1941
Because of the unavailability of accommodation in Karachi, Pappa Jessawala and Savak Kotwal were asked to look for residences in Dehra Dun. Pappa and Savak arrived there from Meherabad on 3 April, and contacted Keki Nalavala. Keki had not yet met Baba, but he had come to know about him from Keki Desai of Delhi. Keki Nalavala helped Pappa and Savak look for vacant bungalows, and when they found one they informed Baba in Quetta.
Thus, the Karachi plan was canceled, and preparations were made for going to Dehra Dun. It was decided to go as far as Lahore by train, so the Blue Bus and Elizabeth's car were sent there by rail. Pappa and Savak were told to meet the group in Lahore, and Pappa was also instructed to find and keep a boy ready for Baba to work with when he arrived in Lahore.
A third class railway compartment was reserved, and after finishing his work in Quetta, Baba left for Lahore with the entire group on Monday, 7 April 1941. After two scorching nights and a day on the train traveling through the desert regions, they reached Lahore at ten o'clock on the morning of the 9th. Pappa and Nilu, who had been sent three days ahead, received them.
Lord Meher on-line p.2208
1941 continued...
Baba did not stay in Lahore. Alighting from the train, he immediately left for Dehra Dun in the Buick, while the others followed in the Blue Bus. Since Eruch had been sent back to Bangalore, Pappa now drove the bus with Nilu as his assistant and Elizabeth drove the car. The other men mandali proceeded to Dehra Dun by train with Chatti Baba. On the way, Baba contacted a mast in Amritsar and two other masts in Khanna.
Pappa was not a good driver ("the worst I ever met," Nilu recorded), and there were frequent mechanical failures. More problems arose. After they fixed the bus in Ludhiana, a windstorm broke out and raised clouds of dust for more than an hour, dangerously impairing visibility. Fortunately a few showers of rain fell and soon settled the dust.
Baba and the group spent the night in the dak bungalow at Khanna, and reached Dehra Dun the next afternoon, the 10th of April.
Reaching Dehra Dun, Baba occupied himself with mast work. He contacted some in the town, and brought some to his bungalow, called Sushila Bhawan at No. 1 Laxmi Rd in Dalanwala.
Lord Meher on-line p.2209
According to schedule, on the 15th, he stopped fasting on fruits and began his fast on tea. A separate house was rented to house the masts, where Baba remained in strict seclusion for a week, from the 22nd of April. During this time, he did not even see the women mandali, and was fasting on only water. He worked with Chatti Baba and also with masts brought by Baidul and Pappa.
Baba had fasted many times before, but this month-long fast considerably weakened his health. Kaka had been away for a few days and arrived on the 26th of April; Chanji, Deshmukh and Norina came to see Baba on the 28th, after their lecture tour. Chanji discussed various matters with Baba for a few hours, and then returned to Bombay as instructed with Nadine (who had some work there).
His seclusion over, Baba broke his fast on Tuesday, 29 April 1941. He sat with the men until midnight on the 28th, after which he gave each a teaspoonful of orange juice. Afterwards, he drank one cup himself. For two days, Baba remained on fruit juice, and on the 30th, drank some boiled spinach soup. On 1 May Baba began eating rice and dal once a day.
Lord Meher on-line p.2210-11
ELIZABETH PATTERSON NORINA MATCHABELLI NADINE TOLSTOY CHATTI BABA
1941 continued....
One of Krishna's (Nair) responsibilities was bringing the milk to Dehra Dun from a nearby village. One day he slipped alongside the road and fell into the river, and was swept away by the swift current. At the exact moment he was struggling for his life, Baba, who was in Dehra Dun, grabbed Nilu's hand, gesturing, "Be careful. You might fall down!" Nilu could not understand why Baba had caught hold of his hand, and said so. Krishna was rescued by some passersby. When he returned to Dehra Dun and narrated this incident, the men understood the significance of Baba's remark.
In the intense tropical summer heat, Baba left Dehra Dun for Ajmer on Saturday, 2 May 1941, accompanied by Kaka, Baidul and Gustadji. In Ajmer, Baba again contacted the majzoob Chacha, the special masts Lakhan Shah and Qabristanwala (Socrates) and other masts. A bungalow in Ajmer (where Baba had decided to move), was rented at this time. Baba and the men returned to Dehra Dun on the 9th.
On Monday, 12 May, at 4:30 A.M., Baba was driven to Rishikesh, 30 miles away in the foothills of the Himalayas, the famous "abode of saints and sages." He went with all the women in a hired bus. Nilu, Kaka and Vishnu accompanied them. While returning to Dehra Dun late that night, Baba remarked: "You have seen spiritual India with a Spiritual Master! Of all the places of pilgrimage in India, I like Rishikesh the best, because, from all parts of India, visitors and even residents are here only for meditating on God and renouncing the world. It is one of the best places in the world for its spiritual atmosphere."
After staying for a month, Baba left Dehra Dun with most of the group in the early morning of Thursday, 15 May 1941, at 5:00 A.M. Elizabeth drove the car, as usual, but this time, Kaka and Nilu traveled with Baba in the car. Ajmer is 560 miles from Dehra Dun, and the group halted first at Ghaziabad for two hours to have their lunch.
- After arriving in Ajmer
As instructed, Norina, Elizabeth and Nadine left Ajmer on Tuesday, 27 May 1941 to do the Master's work of finding a property for establishing a center in America.
* 3 years later, the Meher Spiritual Center was established in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Lord Meher on-line p.2213-5
Majzoob CHACHA LAKHAN SHAH MAST
