On 20 March, Ghani Baba was persuaded by his brother to meet Meher Baba. Ghani Baba had protested coming, but when he was taken upstairs he was overcome and became very reverent, bowing to Baba, who gave him prasad.
After he had gone, Baba explained, "Those saliks like him who are advanced, particularly those with powers, cannot approach me. I am too powerful for them. Their powers would be withdrawn; therefore, they usually do not come to me. Ghani Baba is good. He knows me a little. He is in the line [on the Path] and more advanced than Mastan."1
Rustom, Naoroji, and Kaka Baria arrived from Bombay late that night.
On Friday, 21 March 1930, Baba traveled to Sholapur in a bus with eleven of the mandali to grace the wedding of Anna 104's nephew, Malaya Jakkal. Among those going with Baba were Padri, Beheram, and Chhagan; Chanji was ordered to stay in Nasik and look after the two boys, Bhiwa and Chander; Rustom was ill in bed; and Adi and Pendu also remained in Nasik.
The next day, Baba blessed the couple and gave darshan to thousands who had gathered. One unique feature of his visit was that during the marriage ceremony Baba remained seated like a yogi, wearing only his chaddis (long boxer shorts).
Leaving Sholapur on 23 March, Baba proceeded to Pandharpur where he stayed for four hours. He then left for Panchgani, via Satara and Wai, where he spent the night. His host in Panchgani was the principal of the Hindu High School, Kalemama's son-in-law Raosaheb M. V. Pandit and his family who welcomed Baba heartily. Baba appreciated Pandit's efforts and praised the family's devotion. Baba granted darshan to the students and then departed. After dropping off Kaka Shahane in Ahmednagar and Vishnu in Kopargaon, Baba returned to Nasik at 2:00 P.M. on 25 March, and went to see Mehera and the other women mandali.
Two persons had been waiting for Baba to return, and met him the next day, Arjun's brother Bala Supekar of Poona and the sanyasi from Toka, Shankar Pate. Pate had been on a long begging tour, but now wished to work. Baba instructed Chanji to discuss it with Rustom. Dhake, Kalemama, Shroff and Marquis also had interviews with Baba. Arti was performed every night at 8:00 P.M. at Gyas Manzil, and visitors were permitted to attend. Afterwards, they were told to leave and a private "meeting" (usually games, music, etc.) was held with the mandali and boys.
Footnotes
- 1.The mast Mastan was stationed on one of the subtle planes.