THE GOD-MAN The Life, Journeys and Work of Meher Baba with an ...

112 THE GOD-MANwere now alive with birds whose song was deafening - as if in memory of St Francis they seemedto throng around us - butterflies and moths lit on our hands. The sun rose higher and even in thedeep shade the heat was great.At midday I heard sounds from inside the cave, and forgetting not to look I saw through theleaves of the saplings Baba standing with his eyes shut and facing the sun - he made strangehumming sounds; not daring to look again I lay quiet. At one o'clock he clapped his hands, welifted the branches from the entrance - taking the board he spelt out directions, telling Kaka to goto Assisi and telling the other two to be with him at 5.30 p.m.; I was to call him at 5.30 p.m.:Baba had a dazed look in his eyes and there was no sign of recognition. No one disturbed thepeace of the woods, but from time to time peasants called to each other or sang snatches of song.The others arrived, and at 5.30 I called Baba without touching him. He spelt out on the board,'How fortunate you are to be the first to speak to me after all this'. He seemed to have greatdifficulty in coming down from his recent state of consciousness, and it was a greatstruggle for him to return to the normal. He called us all into the cave and we sat around him. (Hewould pause from time to time to pass his hand over his forehead as if he suffered from a severeheadache, and then continue.) He began to give us certain instructions and tell us what plans hadbeen decided on for future work. After nearly an hour's talk, we broke our fast at 6.30 p.m.On the 18th Baba and the party went to Venice, where he gave a discourse on the spiritualsignificance of St Mark's; on the 20th he sailed in the Ausonia for Alexandria, the Englishdisciples returning home, one to Florence, others to China. A stay of five days was made inEgypt, Baba visiting the Pyramids and the Coptic church at Cairo.What interest he has in the Pyramids he kept to himself, but he said that the Coptic Churchcontained a cave where Joseph and Mary stayed on their flight from Herod: to visit this cave washis object in going to Egypt. The custodian of the church made some difficulty about opening thecave, but Baba insisted, and he spent some time there. Bombay was reached at the beginning ofSeptember, and Baba went straight to Nasik.FOURTH VISIT TO EUROPE, 1932-1933.In the early winter Baba sent certain of his disciples to travel through Germany, Austria, Italy,and Hungary, and others to China and