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202 SPIRIT AND THE MIND
I took over our bedroom. My wife really loved that: paper, pencils, erasers all over the place. She could hardly find a place to sleep. Words came pouring out and I couldn’t think of anything else but Baba.
RETREATING INTO INNER LIFE
The awakening is glorious—but even so, the road is not easy. Being unmade leaves one vulnerable as a child. It is here in this vulnerable stage, where it is so easy to make mistakes and look foolish, that one feels Baba’s protection so clearly. For without it one would surely fail. Courage to face fear, steadiness, and Baba’s omnipresent protection—this is the recipe for success. Let me tell you of my mistakes and impending doom—and then being saved at the last moment, which deepened confidence in the higher self.
Soon after meeting Baba I put a meditation and devotional room in my office—right next to the waiting room. Bad judgment. A paper- thin wall separated the two rooms. One day as a patient was sitting in the waiting room, in whisked Indra Devi, one of Sai Baba’s most ardent devotees, and with a joyful smile said, “Let’s have bhajans.” “Fine with me, I’m ready any time,” I replied happily—and then in my best professional and respectable posture went to the door of the waiting room and said, “I’ll be just a few minutes late, something has come up that needs attention and I’ll be with you soon.” Then into the devotional room we sprang with drum and clanker in hand, and in ecstasy sang our hearts out, clapping and yelling and singing like fervent fanatic devotees.
When I came to my senses and looked at my watch I saw that 15 minutes had elapsed. Tapping Indra Devi on the shoulder, I motioned that it was time to stop. And when I opened the door to the waiting room all I could see was an open door to the outside and the breeze gently blowing through an empty room. Completely empty: dematerialization.
A young graduate chemistry student came to see me. He had difficulty communicating with parents who were cold and aloof. As a result he became somewhat hardened and defiant of authority, tending to keep himself distant from people and hence prone to depression. Feelings about parents can easily be transferred to the therapist and such a client may become angry and defiant. It was at a time of my early developing relationship with Sai Baba and I was attempting to put into practice his teaching about the so-hum


































































































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