Baba had even written out the lines and given them to
Baily (which Baily intended to use as the dedication page of a book he wrote in
Gujarati about Baba's life, although the book was never published):
I am He whom I love, and He whom I love is I. We are two spirits dwelling in one body. If thou seest me, thou seest Him, And if thou seest Him, thou seest us both!1
Pendu had been coughing for many days and, on the 7th,
Dr. Sathe prescribed some medicine for him. Baba's brother Beheram, who was
the compounder, mistakenly added some hydrochloric acid while mixing the
medicine. When Pendu swallowed the mixture, he felt as if his throat were on
fire, and his condition became serious. Baba immediately had Adi drive Pendu to
Sassoon Hospital in Poona, Nusserwan and Dr. Sathe accompanied them. The doctors
there were prepared to operate on Pendu's throat.
When this news was conveyed to Baba, he lost his temper
and began flinging things about. His terrible mood lasted for half an hour
before he became calm again. The next day, 8 January, a telegram was received that Pendu's
operation had been averted. Nothing serious had happened except that the painful
burning sensation continued. Beheram did not disclose his mistake but Baba found
out about it later.
Pendu recovered and returned to Meherabad a week
later.
Because of Baba's announced walking tour,
preparations began on Saturday, 12 January 1929, for sending away most of the
boys of both the Meher and Prem Ashram. Telegrams were sent to the boys'
parents or guardians, informing them the school was closing.
Aga Ali's father was the first to arrive the next day
to take his son home. Baba had warned, "If Ali goes, all go." and this
seemed to be happening. All but four of the boys (Aga Ali, Ali Akbar, Vasant,
and Shapur) departed for their homes later the same day. Even the Persian boys
were sent back to Iran with Raosaheb. These boys were especially heartbroken,
and clung to Baba's feet and wept at the time of departure. Watching them
leave, Baba remarked to Ramjoo, "You can now see that the closing of the
ashram has some connection with [Aga] Ali."
On Tuesday, 15 January 1929, Baba left Meherabad with a
group of eighteen.2 Chanji was sent to Bombay in connection with some
publishing work (perhaps the Gujarati booklet defending Baba). Pendu, who was
being sent north to Quetta to work with Rusi Irani, departed with Chanji.3 Dastur also
went to Bombay.
Footnotes
- 1.Meher Baba quoted the English translation from the Arabic, translated by R. J. Nicholson. This couplet is from a ghazal by Rumi, in which he quotes the first ghazal of Al-Hallaj's Divan.
- 2.Those traveling with Baba were: Ali Akbar, Baidul, Jalbhai, Beheram, Buasaheb, Chhagan, Dara, Faram, Gustadji, Karim, Manekar, Masaji, Pesu, Pleader, Rustom Dinyar, Mehrabanpur, Subnis and Vishnu.
- 3.Pendu and Chanji stopped in Poona, where they met Babu Cyclewalla and had Babajan's darshan. Later, in Bombay, they contacted Kaka Baria, according to Baba's instructions.