Baba Bumps His Head

Maharajji stayed at Dada's house on Church lane during the winter months, his 'winter camp' as it was called. During this time, Maharajji was calling me 'Driver', and I carried the keys to the Volkswagon bus with me all the time. I secretly hoped that one day I'd have the opportunity to drive Maharajji somewhere. Sure enough, as soon as I walked in Dada's door one afternoon, Maharajji asked me if I had the keys. When i told him I did, he said, "Let's go."

We walked out of the house and up to the VW bus. Dada was holding Maharajji's hand and opened the passenger door for him. The seat was high so he kind of threw himself onto it, and as he did, he bashed his head on the door frame really hard. I started freaking out, shouting, "Dada ! did you see that ?"

As he closed the door for Maharajji, Dada looked at me and simply said, "He did it on purpose. Now drive."

That's devotion! You see, in Dada's world, everything that happened was Maharajji's doing, and anything that Maharajji did, he did purposely. He accepted everything as Maharajji's prasad, His offering. If someone arrived, it was because Maharajji had called him. If someone left, it was because Maharajji sent him away.

By the time I met him, Dada was a 'fully baked' devotee and had no doubt that Maharajji was God in human form. That may seem a little extreme to most Westerners, but for Dada it was Maharajji's world, and everything and evryone danced to His tune.

On the devotional path, to be completely immersed in the Loving Presence is called surrender. We don't 'do' surrender, it happens as we ripen in love. Surrender is the same as being fully in the moment. Maharajji used to say, "Guru, God and Self are one." To truly be HERE means we are residing in that awareness. We deal with whatever comes from THAT place, seeing and accepting everything as is. Surrender is the goal of the path of devotion. For me, surrender means being lost in love.

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