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First Lesson 177
by my side.” Wanting to beef up the numbers a b i t , I added the two women and said, “Four, Baba.”
“Good—and how’s the patient?”
I was perplexed. Did Baba mix me up with someone else? “What patient, Swami?” Then Dr. H. poked me and whispered, “You know, N.S. back at the hotel.”
I was stunned. Although I had seen evidence of Baba’s omniscience many times, when it happens out of the blue and you’re least expecting it, it is absolutely beyond belief. He appears to be so much like you and me that when he nonchalantly reveals his obvious and breathtaking omniscience, it is overwhelming. I felt a bit unnerved, became somewhat unbalanced and started to teeter back and forth. “Oh, Baba-she had a problem.”
With a broad smile and great love he said, “Yes, I know—the stomach.”
He materialized vibuthi and poured it into my hand. By this time I had lost my bearings. I said, “For me, Baba?” and began to eat it.
“No, no,” he said, “for the patient. Bring them all tomorrow and I’ll see them.”
I was completely unmade—overcome by the moment. After I’d sat down, Dr. H. leaned over and said, “You know, I was watching him very closely. I hadn’t told you, but I’m a magician and I understand sleight-of-hand. But he materialized that ash right in front of my eyes—and I swear, I don’t believe it’s a trick. I don’t know how he did it.”
“Yes, that’s right,” I mumbled.
Back at the hotel I quickly found N.S. and gave her the vibuthi. She was thrilled to think that Baba not only knew who she was, but had administered to her pain. She ate it immediately and the next morning she was fine.
From the start we had good luck, being admitted to the vestibule of Baba’s residence, where only a few are allowed. We saw Baba come and go and meet visitors, and at times he stopped for a brief word. But for the most part it was waiting in silence—thrown back into our own inner world. I love this time of simple quiet, charged by the periodic exciting contact with Baba. But my friends weren’t used to this stillness and began to feel a bit edgy.
At the end of the first day we were invited into the main house


































































































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