Remembrances

In 1970 when Maharaj Charan Singh came to Pasadena, California while on tour in the USA, the planning committee thought it would be a good idea to hold informal coffee sessions with the Master. This would allow for smaller groups of people to be in the same room as the Master and afford him the opportunity to walk about and mingle with the sangat.

A lovely hotel, the Huntington-Sheraton, was chosen for its ambience. It was felt that Master would feel comfortable in such a setting. The hotel provided a charming room in which to hold the coffee sessions. Master came in, had a cup of coffee and moved about the room. Great pains had been taken to prepare satsangis in terms of behaviour in the presence of the Master. People were to wait for him to come to them and not go after him or try to push their way into his presence. Everyone was very well-behaved and disciplined, allowing Master to move as he wished.

Two elderly satsangi ladies were sitting at the side of the room next to each other. Master walked over to where they were sitting and literally pushed his way in between the two ladies, so that he was sitting between them, next to each one. A perfect lesson in how he comes to us when he so wills it.

After the first coffee session, the Master was asked if he liked the arrangement and would like to repeat it for the next few days. His surprising reply was, “Every day is a different day.” And that was precisely how it turned out for the next few days. Each day was done differently.

On the same visit, the Master, the representative and his secretary took the elevator from the headquarters room down to the lobby. The car stopped at a floor and an elderly satsangi lady came in. Hazur was standing to the side of the elevator so that he could not be seen as the doors opened. The lady stepped in and immediately saw Master. She looked out to her friend who was coming toward the elevator and urged her to hurry up. “It’s all right,” her friend replied, “I’ll just wait for the next one.”