Symbols of the world's religions

               

UNUSUAL OCCURRENCES

Mani S. Irani

 
Arnavaz described the following incident: She was out on the terrace hanging out the laundry when her servant excitedly told her to look up. And indeed the sky was worth looking at. In the clear sky round the bright sun could be seen a big grey circle with a rainbow-like outer rim of three colors, light brown, yellow and greyish blue. Excitedly she called out to Katie and Narriman, who also agreed they had never seen the like of this before. Remembering to look at the time, she noted it was 12:15 noon of Sunday the thirteenth. For an hour longer they could see the circle, then the colors gradually diffused.

This reminded Arnavaz of the incident in Guruprasad on May 13. In the early morning before five we woke up to look at a very beautiful sight. In the west we could see the crescent moon and at it tip was a large bright star. And this recalls two unusual incidences witnessed by Baba lovers in Mombasa who related them to us when they came to Guruprasad for the darshan.

For three consecutive evenings the people of Mombasa saw a star attached in a similar way to the crescent moon, and around them was a bright halo which they described as being red in color. What is more, the star and the moon were in the same position relative to each other when they set, with the halo around. This occurred at the time of the new moon before January 31. I am sure Ivy will be most interested to hear of this.

The other event occurred on January 31 at noon (at Mombasa). Out of a clear sky there was a brilliant, almost blinding flash of lightning, followed by a terrific clap of thunder the like of which they had never experienced. They thought an atom bomb must have burst or the end of the world was at hand. Immediately following this, everything went dark as though night had descended on the city and this lasted for ten whole minutes. Everyone was scared and Baba lovers felt that something that had never happened was about to happen.

You know that it is the life ambition of every devout Muslim to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. At the time of beloved Baba's dropping his body, the pilgrimage was at its height and Muslims from all parts of the world were converging on Mecca. But this year during this period from January 31 onwards, it rained so heavily for eight days and there was such a flood that no one, not event he strongest or tallest, could approach the Ka'aba to pay homage, and this is spite of frantic endeavor to try and drain off the waters.

It was as though the elements were saying that this was no longer the true place of pilgrimage. For during these eight days beloved Baba's body was lying in state at Meherabad and thousands of his lovers were flocking there to for darshan. For many it was a first darshan. What a coincidence! Never in the fourteen hundred years since the Advent of Muhammad has this every happened.

The following also occurred on January 31:

It being Friday evening, Baba lovers of Teheran were gathered at the Center — Friday being their day of meeting. The Maulavi (Muslim priest, who is an ardent Baba lover) stood up as usual, facing the others, to say a few words. But instead of speaking, he stood gazing fixedly at something the others could not see, and then quite unexpectedly he fell to the ground.

After coming to he told of his experience. He saw a shaft of light and on the light he saw Baba in his sadhra, and Baba was rising upwards. In a flash he remembered Baba's words, to hold fast to his daaman, and he rushed to do so before the daaman was out of reach. Grasping the daaman, he felt himself being lifted and rising higher and higher the thought came to him, "Suppose my hold on Baba's daaman is not firm enough — suppose it should slip from my grasp!" The moment he had this doubt he felt himself falling, and there he was flat on the ground.

So remember to clasp his daaman and never let it slip, for though it may not always be easy, he has in his compassion and his love given us the strength to hold fast.

 

HOW A MASTER WORKS, pp. 695-697, Ivy O. Duce
1975 © Sufism Reoriented, Inc.

               

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