The time is coming54
When I came to America, after only eight or nine months Lily was inspired to make shirts for me. She was a seamstress once upon a time. Afterwards she worked on a loom in the Ashram factory. It was run by a lady in the Ashram. So, Lily sent me four shirts with matching dhotis. The colours were gold, blue and gerua.I said to her, “I cannot wear these. I cannot!”
She said, “You must and you must wear them!”
I said, “Why do I have to wear this kind of thing? In India I used to wear white. Why do I have to wear all kinds of colours? They will not look nice on me, and I will be embarrassed.”
She said, “No, you have to wear them. I have sent them. You must wear them.”
She had sent dhotis and Punjabi tops, which I call shirts. She made them herself.
Then she said, “Do you not remember that Swami-ji was always wearing gerua?55 His turban was gerua; everything was gerua.”
I said, “He gave lectures! I cannot give lectures.”
She said, “The time is coming for you also to give lectures, so you must wear all these things that I have sent for you. Dhotis and shirts you must wear, and colours you must wear.”
Her request is always a command — nothing short of a command! So I started wearing these colourful Indian garments because Lily was the one who first sent them to me from India. She was the one who sewed them. At her request, at her behest, I started wearing these coloured shirts and dhotis. Otherwise, I would have worn only white dhotis. Nowadays I have so many coloured garments! To fulfil her wish I did not wear only white.
