The Inward Journey

“External journeys are from place to place … the real journey is the inward journey.”
-Meher Baba at the East-West Gathering, quoted by Darwin Shaw

Diving into the lives of Baba’s close ones is like diving into the deep seas to find treasure. It is not always easy but is always rewarding. Where does one begin? And is there ever an end? Sometimes the answer lies in chasing the essence of a particular disciple to uncover a unique story. In Darwin Shaw’s case, that essence appears to be his inner connectedness with the Avatar throughout his life – even before he heard of Him, met Him and dedicated his life to Him.

Having grown up in the simplicity of the early twentieth century in rural surroundings, Darwin was a contemplative child who felt a strong inward connection with Christ. As a young man, he wrote, “I had been intuitively feeling that the Second Coming of Christ would take place very soon, and I felt that wherever he appeared I would know about it and somehow get to him.”

In the spring of 1932, Darwin spotted a small article in the Schenectady Gazette about Meher Baba leaving Bombay with a group of disciples bound for England and America. That was all it took for the spark to light. Darwin checked the paper every day thereafter and followed Baba’s journey until He made it to America. “On the day I read the last item, he came to me in the spirit … his presence was unmistakably clear. It was that same familiar presence of Christ that had been a natural part of my life from the time I was a small child.”

While Darwin just missed seeing Baba in 1932, when he did meet Him in 1934 with his wife Jeanne, by then his life was already His. Even though he would not see Baba again for a long time, that first meeting could not be more powerful. “Baba looked … into my eyes. He went to work right away: I felt that he was looking over my inner consciousness and at the same time planting seeds for future work that I would be doing for him.”

And work he did. Charged as one of the key players in the development of Meher Center, Darwin accompanied Elizabeth on her first trip to Myrtle Beach to ask her father about acquiring the property. In 1948, while Elizabeth and Norina were with Baba in India, under Baba’s direction, Darwin took a leave of absence from work for one year and relocated to Youpon Dunes (Elizabeth Patterson’s house) with his wife and three children. During this time, he worked painstakingly on the drainage project to deal with the mosquito issue and conducted a land use survey along with other road and building projects.

Most of his close friends in Baba were called to be with Him in India as Darwin waited to see the Beloved again. Damien Triouleyre, who spent a lot of time with Darwin, says, “Those eighteen years were full of sadness and a burden of sorts for him, but later in his life he reflected on what a blessing they were in creating a deep longing for the Beloved.”

1952 was a joyous reunion between the family and Baba. At the Lagoon Cabin, Baba said, “They worked hard at the Center. Every inch of the Center is full of their love—Elizabeth, Norina and the Shaws.” On the same visit, Darwin received a confirmation about the validity of his inner contact with Baba. During his one-year work at the Center, Darwin would stand at the spot upon which Baba’s house was to be built and look eastwards toward India as if in communion with Baba. When he was with Baba at His house, Baba stopped and motioned toward the East confirming to Darwin that He did indeed receive his loving remembrances. The Shaws returned to the Center for each of Baba’s subsequent visits.

At the ‘Three Incredible Weeks’ in 1954, in India, Darwin had more good fortune to be in Baba’s intimate company. On one of those precious afternoons on Meherabad Hill, Baba revealed a slight glimpse of His Godhood. “I gazed at Baba, transfixed with the beauty of his love, and my love for him deepened into adoration. Then as I watched with intoxicated astonishment, veil after veil fell away from his lovely face, and I was able to journey into his Kingly Being.”

It is obvious that Darwin’s inner journey with the Avatar was awakened and pruned in mystical scopes. Those who heard him in person, and now we who read or listen to him talk, can sense that he shared not only the memory of being with Baba but was living Baba’s timeless presence. “His entire journey had culminated into something very simple: a natural, effortless companionship with Baba,” says Jeff Wolverton.

Baba said that his early lovers were picked by Him even before His birth, based on their age-old contact with Him. So, while they may have appeared ordinary to the world, they were indeed hidden gems. “Darwin was a sweet older gentleman—very innocent, very childlike, but there was always a twinkle in his eye, as if he was a holder of a secret,” says Laura Smith who knew Darwin as a young adult. The nudging question remains: what was the secret?

Perhaps Jeff Wolverton has the answer, “I always teased him that he was like Clark Kent, no one knew what he was capable of, until he started talking about Baba.”

References: As Only God Can Love, by Darwin Shaw