In Readiness for Baba

If you were on the Center in the 1960s or 70s, you might have seen a brown station wagon slip through the trees and stop at a nearby cabin. A small, white haired and slightly bent woman would have gotten out and painstakingly, step by step, made her way inside. This was Elizabeth Chapin Patterson, founder of the Center, beloved pillar of the local community, unswerving and exemplary lover of Meher Baba. She was checking the cabin to make sure the family coming to stay there had everything they needed—enough pillows, un-scuffed chairs, the right number of forks.

Elizabeth, daughter of the celebrated benefactor of Myrtle Beach, Simeon Chapin, learned of Meher Baba through a letter from Jean Adriel. Soon after, on November 17, 1931, Jean telephoned Elizabeth and said, “Meher Baba wants to see you.” Elizabeth drove from New York City to meet Baba in Harmon, New York that very day. Of the meeting, Elizabeth wrote “…The feeling was one of familiarity, like meeting a friend in a foreign land—a friend whom one has known well since childhood, only since that earlier period the appearance has changed … I can only liken [being in His presence] to being seated by a quiet pool at the base of a great mountain with only the sense of peace in nature, newly born. This feeling has never left me.” [1]

Elizabeth went to live with Baba in India in the 1930s and early 1940s, then founded Meher Center in the mid 1940s along with Norina Matchabelli. For the rest of her life, she served as administrator of the Center, keeping it “100% in readiness for Baba.” [2] This meant not only tireless preparation for the arrival of Baba’s physical form, but for His arrival in the hearts of His lovers, decade after decade. Elizabeth was a constant source of calm, practical decisions; the final stop for difficult visitors or situations; the quiet and thoughtful listener who made new guests light up by recognizing Baba in their story; and the meticulous and painstaking guardian of each cabin because “How can a family enjoy their retreat if they don’t have enough forks?” [3]

As Charles Haynes, who knew and loved Elizabeth since he was a child, put it: “Observing her closely over the years, I came to realize that Elizabeth did whatever she undertook for Meher Baba, large or small, as though everything depended on her actions, while simultaneously remembering that she did nothing. To put it another way, she always did her best, putting Baba first in all things while leaving the results entirely to Him.” [4]

How does a person become like Elizabeth Patterson? A question that only Baba could answer, but one that led me back to the 1930s and 40s when Elizabeth lived with Baba and traveled with Him and His other disciples throughout India. Even in those days, Elizabeth’s love shone through the details. “To give you an example,” described Baba’s sister, Mani, “we all had enamel mugs and plates that we carried wherever we went … Nadine’s cup was so chipped, there was little of the enamel to be seen. Before we knew it, there was a new one by her plate. Elizabeth had quietly gotten a new one, put it there, and taken away the old one. It was never spoken of.” Mani hated the heavy, cheap blankets that the women typically used, so for her birthday, Elizabeth found her a very light one. “It was like a wish fulfilled,” described Mani. “It was so precious that [to protect it] I had it covered in a sari. She did things like that.” [5]

In her writing about these early days with Baba, Elizabeth, as was typical of her, rarely mentioned the hardships of being with the Master, focusing instead on the majesty of His work. But Mani gives us a rare and poignant glimpse of Baba’s work on Elizabeth. All her life, Elizabeth hated getting up early. One morning in Lonavala in 1942, during their bus journey throughout India, Baba had woken everyone up in the wee hours of the morning as usual, and the women were getting ready to embark: Rano was preparing to stack luggage on the bus, Kitty was bringing tea, Mani bustling back and forth. Baba was walking through the room with His alphabet board under one arm when He stopped suddenly. Mani followed His gaze to Elizabeth, who was sitting hunched over a cup of tea. Teardrops were falling into her cup.

Baba snapped His fingers, “What is this?”

“I’m not crying, Baba,” said Elizabeth.

Baba went to her, took her head to His chest. “You know, Elizabeth,” He said to her, “From those I love, I take away everything.” Then His tone shifted. “And I give them blood pressure, arthritis, lumbago …” Baba continued with a long list of ailments. Elizabeth laughed. [6]

Elizabeth wrote of that journey, “… Our spiritual training was continuous and only the setting changed. The Master Director assigned the roles, and each played their own according to their capacities.” In that same passage, she quoted St. Theresa: “If obedience employs you in outward things, know that even if you are in the kitchen, our Lord moves amidst the pots and pans, helping us both within and without.” She finishes in her own words: “Whatsoever the duty, the first step in the field of service is to think of others more than oneself; and the last step is to truly love all others more than oneself. Christ, who had completely transcended the ego, gave love to those who crucified Him. This is the state of perfection.” [7] [1] Lord Meher, Online Edition, by Bhau Kalchuri, pp. 1314-1315
[2] The Day Becomes the Answer: Wit and Wisdom of Elizabeth, disciple of Meher Baba, by Charles Haynes, p. xvii
[3] The Day Becomes the Answer: Wit and Wisdom of Elizabeth, disciple of Meher Baba, by Charles Haynes, p.18
[4] The Day Becomes the Answer: Wit and Wisdom of Elizabeth, disciple of Meher Baba, by Charles Haynes, p. ix
[5] Mehera Meher, by David Fenster, p. 31
[6] Mehera Meher, by David Fenster, p. 32
[7] “Spiritual Journey with a Modern Guru (Blue Bus Tour),” by Elizabeth Patterson, from Treasures from the Meher Baba Journals, p. 111