Ivy Duce, 53, was surprised when Rabia named her as the next Murshida of the Sufi Order. She felt she did not have the spiritual illumination necessary to work as a true Murshida. Nor did she feel capable or qualified to assume the temporal responsibilities of directing the Sufi Order. In turmoil after Rabia's death, all Ivy could think about was traveling to India to see Baba. She decided that she had to carry out Rabia Martin's original design: to lay the future of Sufism in America at Meher Baba's feet. This she was determined to do. Ivy had been in correspondence with Baba and intended to ask him to appoint an authentic, illumined teacher for the Sufi Order, "perhaps someone from the East" who could come to America and put the Order on a stable basis. But Baba had other plans. Baba granted her permission to meet him in India, and on Wednesday, 7 January 1948, Ivy and her eighteen-year-old daughter Charmian arrived in Pimpalgaon.

Meherjee (whom Ivy had met in America where Meherjee had traveled on business) brought them in his car from Bombay at 3:00 P.M., and Baba met with them in Ratanshah Gyara's cabin, where he usually rested at night. Ghani was reading the alphabet board. Don, Meherjee and Adi Sr. were also present during the interview. Upon seeing Baba, Ivy wept and her first meeting led to a lifetime of surrender and service at her Beloved's feet. She later wrote:

Never had I seen such eyes before — I did not have any idea that such eyes could exist — and yet, here I was looking straight into them through a mist of tears. I scarcely noted that they were brown, very large, keenly intelligent, flashing, expressive, for they had another quality that intrigued and tantalized me as I sat before him.