Quito

Master arrived in Quito at 1 p.m. on 18th December, to a wildly enthusiastic greeting from about 500 Satsangis at the airport, many of whom were weeping for joy. Master was taken to the Colon Hotel, where excellent accommodations had been provided for Him. All of the meetings of all types were held right at the Hotel, which was very convenient for Him and for the dear ones.

Among the initiates who came to see Him on this, His first South American stop, were a busload of devotees from Cuenca, who had hired a bus and driven all night to arrive on time, and then turned the bus over for the convenience of the 35 initiates who had flown in on the same plane with the Master; six initiates from Guayaquil; five from Lima, Peru; and a delegation from Cochabamba, Bolivia, including the Bolivian Representative. Due to the extreme distance involved, it was not possible for the Brazilian Satsangis to come; but they got together and sent one dear one from Sao Paulo to represent them at Master’s Feet. There were also seven Satsangis from Colombia, where Master was going next; but they could not wait until He got there.

During His stay here, Master had many interviews, including one with a leading Spiritualist of the area; magazine reporters; and local initiates, including those from Quito and those from outlying areas.

On 20th December at 12 noon, Master visited the site of a new Ashram at Cumbaya, near Quito, where a building is already under construction. He said, as He had previously on a number of similar occasions, that it is very easy to start something but very difficult to maintain it.

On the same day, 20th December, at 4 p.m., initiation was scheduled. Such a very large number of people applied, however, that it was not possible to process them all in time. So the Master initiated 192 persons at this time; and the following day, 21st December, 73 more were initiated. That same day He left Quito for Bogota, Colombia.1

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Note: 1) At this point, Gyani Ji’s notes end; the Editor is grateful to others who accompanied the Master for the information that follows.