We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But once a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for conversation, more readings, songs, quotes - you never know what treasures will be uncovered! Dear folks of Baba, We are now on the final chapter of Darwin Shaw’s classic book, Effort and Grace, entitled, The Treasure in Our Hands, on page 116. Here he speaks of the “beatific vision” which is our d...
We have some informal chat after every arti, the "post-arti party"! But once a week, Jeff Wolverton joins us for some serious mining of the spiritual depths. Join us for conversation, more readings, songs, quotes - you never know what treasures will be uncovered!
Dear folks of Baba,
We are now on the final chapter of Darwin Shaw’s classic book, Effort and Grace, entitled, The Treasure in Our Hands, on page 116. Here he speaks of the “beatific vision” which is our destiny after all our efforts and Baba’s grace. It is a glimpse into the very essence of His Being. Darwin was insistent that it is not a future attainment, but is available and is happening right in this very moment. It is a shift from the passing present (representing the past/present/future paradigm) into the experience of the timeless present—which Baba calls the Eternal Now. I remember someone once saying to Darwin, that in recounting his times with Baba, he seemed to be re-living those magnificent experiences. Darwin was quick to say that he was not re-living these experiences with Baba, he was living them! Later, in speaking with him, he conveyed to me that Baba’s life took place in time, but also it is always taking place in timelessness. Any period of His life can be accessed as a living experience if we can let go of our attachment to seeing things always through the lens of time. As Darwin would affirm, we have not missed seeing Baba. He can be seen right now as He was in the past and most importantly, He is relating so personally to us right now in our hearts.
There is an experience that Darwin shared with us a number of times, although it did not appear fully in his writings. It took place in 1954 during what became known as the Three Incredible Weeks when Baba invited some seventeen men as His guests in Meherabad. The men had Baba's intimate company during this time, and on one occasion while they were gathered in what is now known as the Museum Room, Baba was dictating a message on the alphabet board. At one point, Bill LePage was deeply moved by a very poignant expression on Baba’s face, one of “ineffable sadness”. With tears in his eyes, these words came to him, “He is seeking only to be given a home in each heart.” Bill longed for Baba to just hold that expression but He continued dictating on His board.
However, not long after, Baba suddenly stopped and asked the men to look at Him for five minutes. Instantly, Baba assumed the exact expression that Bill was longing to see. Meanwhile, here is what Darwin shared with us during those five minutes. As he was looking at Baba, veils upon veils began to drop away from his inner vision and Baba became more radiant, and from radiant to splendor and from splendor to effulgence. Gradually, Baba’s form dissolved into an ocean of Divine Love! Darwin would say, “You can actually see Divine Love!” After this beatific vision, very gradually, Baba’s form reappeared and He was again sitting in the room right before them. From God in human form to the formless infinity of God and back to His form—in five minutes!
Darwin would share that eventually the eye of the soul opens, and it is possible to see Baba face-to-face. This is the treasure awaiting us. All our efforts and Baba’s grace one day will clear away the inner veils that hide the sight of HIs living presence in this very moment. To see Him is to be drenched in Divine Love. Baba has said that He is more eager for this culminating moment than we are, and He lovingly provides the ongoing inspiration behind all our efforts. This is the inner path that Darwin shares in this book, Effort and Grace, which is one of the major approaches that ends in Baba’s arms. All the veils that impeded the flow of our intrinsic love fall away and we become who we always were—Divine Love itself.
Rumi has said, “If the door of your soul were to open for an instant, you would see that the heart of every existent thing is your intimate friend.” In the end, this door is no longer open for just an instant, but for eternity!
If there is time, it would be so touching to hear from you what Darwin’s book has opened up and inspired in you.
In His love, Jeff
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