True Devotion

Robert and Lorna Rouse in 2002

It was either December 1993 or January 1994 when I first visited Avatar's Abode with Sylvia, whom I would later marry. We had just finished a ten day Vipassana meditation retreat at Pomona and thought we'd try to find the Abode as it was not far away. We drove in fairly early in the morning and there was nobody about but it felt like the Garden of Eden. 

Unknowingly, we waited outside Baba's house for someone to arrive. That someone turned out to be Lorna Rouse, who was surprised to find a couple of people on the property at such an early hour. As John Grant describes it in his book "Practical Spirituality", this is what happened back in August of 1958 as described by Robert Rouse: 

At 1:00 p.m. we gathered at the house to say farewell to Baba. He called Robert and Lorna Rouse to see Him privately. He said that He was going now and Robert was to come to Sydney with Him. He told Lorna that He was going away now and to look after His house. He gave her the key and said that after He left, His house was to be locked up and everyone was to go right away from it, and be nowhere near it.

By this Baba meant those attending the Sahavas at the time were to keep away from it. Long term, it was intended as a place of pilgrimage. So here was Lorna, almost thirty five years later, still looking after His house. Baba had allowed the Rouses to live at Avatar's Abode after his departure. When we met her, she was bringing flowers to place in Baba's room. Lorna was the very first Baba person that Sylvia and I met. 

It was only through reading John Grant's book that we become aware of Baba's visit to Queensland is 1958. Sylvia had come across the book in The University of Western Sydney's library. I've written in detail about how the two of us came to Baba (see below):

Lorna died on the 19th February, 2004. I'm fairly sure that Robert outlived his wife. Here are some more photos of Lorna taken from this site.

Lorna when young

Photo taken by Rada Rouse in mid 70's

Rada was the daughter who Lorna was pregnant with when Baba visited Australia in 1956, so she must be around 64 years old now. Anyway, in this post I'm just commemorating Lorna and her devoted service to Baba over the years following his return to India.