Experience at Radio City Music Hall
by Michael Rosenberg
This past Tuesday, January 19, 2010, my wife and I went to Radio City Music Hall to hear a concert by a group called Swell Season. As we entered the hall I was flooded with memories of past shows and movies I saw here as a child. Our tickets were on the upper mezzanine and as we walked to our seats I began to feel Baba’s presence and remembered reading that Baba had been here in 1952 after his car accident. The hall is tremendous, seating over 6000 people. Radio City was, and is, the largest indoor theater in the world. Baba said he did his best work in large gatherings, stadiums and theaters where he laid his cables while all were focused on whatever event was taking place. All of this “work” that Baba did had to do with his eventual Manifestation. Ever since Baba threw his net over me some twenty plus years ago I’ve been struggling with the concept and meaning of Baba breaking his silence and his manifestation. I guess I am one of his lovers who expects a switch to be turned on elevating the consciousness of all creation, a thought that is often intellectually absurd even to me; I mean, during his life Baba broke his promises not his silence. Still the heart leaves all reason behind.
Sitting in the upper mezzanine we could hardly see the faces of the band, still I can’t remember a more intimate concert. Song after song an undeniable feeling of love was filling the hall as the distance between the group and audience seemed to diminish. I’ve been to many concerts over the years with the greatest groups but never experienced a communal feeling of love as strong as this . . . 6000 people becoming one. I sat back immersed in his love and kept thinking of Baba sitting with his leg outstretched in a cast working his magic all those many years ago.
A few days after the concert I remembered reading about Baba’s visit to Radio City Music Hall in Darwin Shaw’s book As Only God Can Love. On page 140 Darwin writes that Baba and the women had seats in the mezzanine balcony. He goes on to write, “The movie was Charlie’s Aunt with Ray Bolger, and it was hilarious.The stage show included the ‘Rockettes,’ who are famous for their high-kicking synchronized line dancing. We stayed through the whole show, which was unusual for Baba.” Darwin continues, “I enjoyed the show very much but I realized that this was an occasion when I could let my heart go in loving Baba.”
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