On the third day, Eruch was more cautious. Cycling home from school, he saw Baba from a distance and thought: "There he is again ; he'll spoil my evening fun." To avoid Baba, Eruch quietly entered the house through the back door. After having a snack and changing clothes, he went out. Eruch did not want to spend his free time being with Baba, preferring instead to participate in football matches with his school teammates.
When he returned, Gaimai asked why he had not come home from school that day. Eruch explained that he had been home, but snuck off to play. Gaimai scolded him, "This is not good. You don't realize how blessed you are. Baba was waiting a long time for you. He is Zoroaster!" she exclaimed. "He is our Prophet returned! Do you not know that?"
Although religious by nature, Eruch was skeptical of what his mother said and remained unimpressed by his mother's words. Eruch had more of an interest in Jesus, having attended a Roman Catholic school in Nagpur. He did not yet realize that all Avatars are one and the same. Eruch thought to himself: "How much better it would have been if I had been born at the time of Jesus. I would love to have been by his side. Will that day ever come for me?" Little did he know that Christ had heard his longing and was waiting to play with him each day.
Sometimes at night while sitting on their respective beds, Baba and Aga Ali would have fun by throwing pillows at one another. When Gaimai saw this, she was shocked and corrected Ali, "Have some respect for Baba; don't behave like this with him!"
Baba intervened and, in turn, corrected Gaimai, "The boy does it to please me, and to keep my pleasure is to respect me. If, despite my telling him to do so, he did not, that would be showing disrespect for me."
This sort of familiarity with Ali had its effect on Eruch; it taught him to be frank and open-hearted with Baba at all times.
On one occasion, Baba opened Eruch's clothes trunk.
He took out a shirt and pair of pants, held them up to examine them and motioned to Gaimai, "I must have clothes like this prepared for Aga Ali."
Gaimai immediately sent for her tailor, a Gujarati man who was very old and partially blind. Baba himself explained to the old man about sewing suits for Ali, and Gaimai gave him silk fabric that had been meant for Eruch.1
Footnotes
- 1.Aga Ali needed clothes for his upcoming trip with Baba to the West, but Baba did not reveal this to anyone at the time.