As Baba had been scheduled to leave at ten the following morning, no programs had been planned in Kolhapur. But that morning, the principal of a nearby high school, W. D. Topkhane, met Baba and requested that he visit his institution. Baba agreed, and went there at 8:30 A.M. He spoke to the students, teachers, and staff about various aspects of the spiritual life — divine experience, love, grace, and renunciation of the ego. Topkhane and the vice-principal, G. Y. Dixit, expressed their deep devotion to the Master, and Baba was very pleased with their efforts to emphasize to their students the importance of spirituality over politics and careers.
Topkhane introduced a swami to Baba who had once been a high-ranking member of the prestigious Indian Civil Service. The swami had adopted the path of selfless service, renouncing a distinguished career. Baba expressed his pleasure at meeting the swami and remarked to him:
It is good that you have renounced everything, but even after renouncing all, the I is there. And to gain Knowledge, this I has to be totally uprooted. Even the greatest material self-sacrifice does not make this I disappear. The mind says, "I did this. I did that. I do good for others." When the mind dies, all desires vanish; but the mind lasts until the end. To achieve God-realization, this I must go once and for all.
Baban Shahane (Kaka's son and one of the original students of Meher Ashram) had Baba's darshan here also. Addressing Vinayak Damodar Karnataki, 24, a student and friend of Baban's brother Mohan, Baba stated:
Dedicate your life to this school by renouncing your self; but let there not be even a thought that you are doing this or that for others. Only then will the I gradually diminish.
Appear for the bachelor of science examination and try to obtain the degree, but do not feel glad if you pass or disappointed if you fail. Success and failure should be equal in your eyes. Supposing you pass, do not think, "Now that I have passed, I will be able to render better service than if I had failed." This is not desirable. The I must not be there; there should not be ambition. Except [the existence of] bliss, there is nothing else anywhere in creation.
Baba then asked Vinayak what he was thinking. "I want to get a master's degree," the young man replied. "My parents have repeatedly been after me to do this."