Mother's Chronicles (Book 2)

10

Mural at Pau

The Morissets did not simply wander about admiring the chateaux and churches of old; they also worked. They worked to add some beauty to a small church in France.

One day Mother fell to talking about religions in general, and about some of the priests she had met. Which reminded her of a priest at Pau, Soubielle.

"Oh, yes! I remember. In Pau lived a cure, a good man. He was an artist and wanted to have his church decorated."

Pau is a town in the south-west of France. It nestles in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, on the river Pau's bank. We have seen that Marguerite de Navarre used to welcome the Humanists there, in her chateau.

The church was actually "a very small cathedral

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which the priest wished to get decorated. He asked a local anarchist to do it. This anarchist was a great artist, and he knew both Andre's father and me. He said to the priest, 'I recommend those people to do the painting.' He himself was decorating some murals. There were some eight panels, I think. 'For the painting I recommend these people, because they are true artists.' So I worked on one of the panels. The church was dedicated to Saint James of Compostella."

Saint James the Greater, as he is usually known, was the elder brother of Saint John. He was one of those privileged to be admitted to the room where Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus to life. He was also one of the three apostles, along with St Peter and St John, who accompanied Jesus when he retired to the mountain in the spring of A.D. 29, and witnessed the transfiguration of Christ. Apostle of Spain, his body reposes at Compostella in Spain, it is claimed, which has become one of the great pilgrimage centres of Christendom. In art, St James is sometimes portrayed with a sword.

"He played a part in Spain's history." Mother described the story they painted. "He had appeared

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during a battle between the Christians and the Moors and, because he appeared, the Moors were vanquished. He was magnificent! He had appeared in a golden light, on a white horse —almost like Kalki here."

According to Indian tradition, KALKI will be the tenth and the last incarnation of Vishnu. From age to age, Vishnu the Godhead descends directly into the stuff of humanity and takes up its moulds and assumes human nature, to assist humanity in its evolutionary ascent. Kalki will appear riding a white, two-winged Horse, holding a discus in one hand and, in the other, a sword like a flaming comet. He will slay Kali,¹ the Iron Age, and reestablish the Age of Truth.

"All the slain Moors were at the bottom," Mother specified, "and I painted the slain or the struggling Moors, the reason being," she smiled, "that I could not climb to the top of the ladder to paint, it was much too difficult! So I painted what was at the bottom. Anyway, everything went off well, we had brought paints to the church and kept them handy. Naturally, the priest then received us and, along with the anar-

1. Kali is the presiding deity of the Iron Age, and should not be confused with Kali, the goddess.

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The mural at Pau

chist, invited us to dinner. He was so nice! Oh, a real good man. I was already a vegetarian, and I didn't drink either. So he scolded me very gently, saying, 'But all this is given to us by Our Lord, so why don't you take it!'. . . I found him charming, he was charming. Whenever he looked at the paintings he would pat Morisset on the shoulder and tell him (Morisset was an unbeliever), 'Say whatever you like' (with the accent of southern France), 'Say whatever you like, but you know Our Lord, otherwise you could never have painted like that!' Well, there you are." Mother smiled at Satprem.

In this church at Pau, the alert visitor can still see these murals. Look for the signature: H. Morisset, 1898.

Mother concluded her interview: "In short, I have known people everywhere, I have been everywhere, I have seen everything, I have heard everything. ... It was so strange, so strange. And not done on purpose, but just because . . . the Lord willed it.

"So many experiences.

"There, my child, I must be off now, I have talked in torrents!"

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