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“How old are you?”
“Eighteen, Sir,” I responded.
“Do your parents know you are here?” he inquired.
“It’s all right, Sir,” I assured him.
Touching my forehead with his hand in a gesture of blessing, he murmured,
“That's good. I'll talk with you again.”
On Sunday morning I attended the service at the Self-Realization Church of
All Religions (as it was then named) on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, CA.
Master led the congregation in a responsive prayer, read a few verses from the
Bhagavad Gita and The New Testament, and added a brief commentary. An
interlude of devotional chanting and silent meditation preceded his sermon-
lesson, which lasted about an hour. During his forth-right, extemporaneous talk,
he shared interesting anecdotes, mentioned some saints he had known, described
some of his personal experiences, and exhorted everyone to be dedicated to the
spiritual path until they were Self- and God-realized. He then asked everyone to
stand up, raise their hands, and chant Om with him three times "for the healing
of the body, mind, and soul." While many people gathered around Master to
talk with him and receive his blessing, Myrna Brown, one of his secretaries,
approached me. “Master will see you after he has seen the others who have
appointments with him,” she said. “I'll let you know when he's ready.”
Late that afternoon, I was taken to a small room next to the stage and altar
area in the temple. Master, sitting on a small couch, motioned for me to sit beside
him. In a barely audible tone, he asked, “What can I do for you?”
“I want to be your disciple, Sir,” I responded.
He seemed pleased. “This is not a path of escapism, you know,” he quietly
informed me.
“I know that, Sir,” I told him.
He asked about my health. When I assured him that I felt well, he said, “Let's
see,” and felt my pulse at the wrist. A few moments later, he murmured, “Yes, you
are all right.”
He then said, “You can stay.” He told me to read only his writings and some
scriptures during the first year, to attend to duties that would be assigned to me,
and to meditate regularly. As he touched my forehead, his concluding words
were, “Read a little. Meditate more. Think of God all the time.”
During the first two months that I was with Master, I became increasingly
aware of a deeper relationship that was being established between us. Although
he had not yet formally accepted me as his disciple, he related to me as he did
to his disciples. I experienced direct transmission of knowledge from him, and
was sometimes able to intuit his thoughts and anticipate his comments before