Charlotte
The Master and His party reached Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina, at about 10 p.m. on 1st October, 1972, and was greeted by several hundred dear ones at the airport, many of whom had driven down from Washington the day before. The Master met them all and was then driven to the home of Mr Charles Fulcher, the local group leader, where He stayed during the four days at Charlotte. Meditations were held each morning, darshan sessions each afternoon, and public lectures each evening at Southpark Auditorium and the Myers Park Baptist Church.
On the afternoon of 3rd October many of the initiates who were travelling with the Master assembled outside His house and sang devotional hymns and sat in meditation. The Master was busy attending to foreign correspondence, but when He saw them gathered there, He left His work and came out to be with them, much to their great delight. The Master answered a few questions and spoke on Love. He said that Love is innate; that everyone loves and wants to be loved. If we develop Love for the Master, He will love us in a much greater degree. In reality, the Master teaches us how to love, just as a mother teaches her son. The Love should be from the innermost depth of the heart. The Master then told a beautiful story from His own life:
Once the Great Master Baba Sawan Singh – His Master – went to Dharamshala, a hill station in India, for about three months. Everyone was anxiously waiting for His return, when He decided to stay another three months! No one could help. Then He – Kirpal Singh – wrote a short letter to His Master, saying,
We hoped to see our Master with the arrival of Basant (spring). It is now Bas-ant (end of spring), and You have not come …
There was such a loving entreaty in the letter that the Great Master embraced the letter, cancelled His program, and returned.
On 4th October, the Master was invited to speak at the University of North Carolina, and gave a talk to the students and others from 12 to 1 p.m. in a very big hall filled to capacity. He spoke on the inevitability of death and the necessity of Universal Love.
That afternoon at 5, the dear ones again assembled in large numbers outside of the house where Master was staying. The account of this beautiful session has been published separately.1
The following morning, 5th October, the Master gave Naam to 22 persons at His residence at 9 a.m. Earlier He had put the initiates in meditation at Southpark Auditorium. That afternoon at 2 He gave a farewell message to the dear ones, and stressed the importance of attending their local Satsangs, as when more than one sit in His remembrance, He is there. He also urged them to keep their bodies clean, and be regular in their meditations. A little later He left for the airport, where a special room was reserved for Him and His children so that they could sit together. At 6 p.m. His plane left for Philadelphia.
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Footnote: 1) See ‘Darshan in North Carolina,’ Sat Sandesh, November 1972.