That Fateful Day (Page 1 of 3)

Baba sat in the Nash beside Elizabeth. Mehera, Meheru and Baba’s sister, Mani were seated in the back. Following them was a station wagon being driven by Sarosh Irani, with passengers Dr. Goher Irani, Kitty Davy, Delia DeLeon and Rano Galey. They spent the first few days sightseeing, spending nights in Columbia, South Carolina and Murphy, North Carolina.

The Prague Clinic photographed by one of Meher Baba’s disciples in 1952. It was here that Dr. Burleson treated Meher Baba and His injured mandali members.

On May 23, they visited Ruby Falls, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and spent that night at the Pond Crest Motor court in the Ozark Mountains. Baba and the Eastern women stayed at the motel and dined on bread and milk. Sarosh and the Western women were sent out to a small restaurant. The next morning they arose early as usual, and Baba again sent Sarosh and the Western women out to eat while he stayed with Mehera, Meheru, Mani and Goher.

Kitty Davy would later write, “I think of Baba, knowing what was to happen before the day was over, spending the last few hours with that small, close group whom He had known since they were children and who had loved Him for so many years, finding in their presence the comfort and love He so much needed in that fateful hour.”

After breakfast the group stood waiting in front of the motel for Baba’s signal to get into the cars. But Baba delayed the start, standing for a long time on His doorstep. Kitty remembers, “He was sad, withdrawn and unusually still.” There were no last minute questions, no hurry to be off. Finally after ten minutes, He walked to the car with the Eastern women.

The Emergency room at the Prague Clinic, photographed by Kendal Jackson in 1992, is exactly the way it was in 1952.

As He had many times before, Baba admonished Sarosh to follow closely and not lose sight of the lead car. Referring to an occasion earlier in the trip when He had been forced to wait for the station wagon in the intense heat, Baba warned, “If this happens again I will not forgive you.” When Sarosh asked if his group might stop along the way for drinks, Baba answered, “Yes, but do not linger.”

They had driven only a short distance when Baba had Elizabeth stop the car. He got out and paced up and down the right side of the road without explanation. Delia Deleon remembers, “He seemed very depressed and haggard. He walked ahead with his head bent, seeming very far away.”

Later, Sarosh and his passengers stopped in a small town for coffee and cold drinks. “We then put on speed to meet Baba at the appointed place,” Delia recalls. “We could see no sign of His car and were beginning to get worried. It was about 10:05 a.m. We heard an exclamation of alarm from Sarosh. We turned our heads to the right. At first we could not take in what had happened; we could not see clearly from the car. We saw people standing ‘round Baba who seemed to be lying on the ground. The women were lying in various directions.’ Sarosh exclaimed, “Oh God, there’s been an accident.”

“With lightning speed we jumped out of the car and rushed forward. The anguish of that moment in unforgettable…Baba’s face with blood pouring from His head, the extraordinary expression on Baba’s face, His eyes just staring straight ahead as if into unfathomable distances. He made no sound or sign… just lay there motionless…Elizabeth was in the car, doubled over the wheel. Her first question had been, “Is He alive?’”
The rain that had made the road so slippery also made the road’s shoulder soft and muddy, cushioning the impact of Baba and the Indian women.

A local farmer heard the terrible sound of the collision and rushed to cover the victims with blankets. The farmer’s wife was so distraught by the sight of the victims that she retreated back inside her house.
The first car to pass was that of a man who was taking his wife to the Prague clinic, seven miles away, to have a baby. He summoned a pair of ambulances to the scene.