It was Baba's strict order that the mandali not be alone with the Western women outside of his presence, and vice versa.
(Baba once warned the men in regard to the women, "Not too near and not too far.")
While Minta was sitting in the kitchen, Baba came looking for her and immediately took both Pendu and Kaka to task in Gujarati.
Pendu argued, "Baba, it is not our fault! We told her to leave, but she would not listen."
Baba was very angry and replied, "You know my order. If she would not leave, you should have left! Why were you talking to her? Couldn't you ignore her?"
Baba severely reproved them. Minta admitted it was her fault and they were not to blame. Baba left the kitchen with her.
Later that night at dinner, referring to the incident, Adi Jr. said to Baba, "We have been with you for years and you still do not trust us — you still have no faith in us? Tod enters the girls' rooms every day and talks with them, but you don't say anything to him."
Baba called the Westerners to the dining table and explained to them about obedience:
"Look at my mandali. They always do as I tell them. They would not break my order even if their lives depended on it. They labor day and night to please me. But when you cannot be attentive to such a small thing as not to be alone with them, what sort of love do you have?
"These boys, my mandali, know how to obey me, and you think I don't trust them? I trust them 100 percent. I want you to learn how to obey my orders. Compared to my mandali in this, you are nowhere!"
Baba's rebuke left a deep impression upon the Westerners. They were to understand that the Song cannot be sung to any random tune. It can be sung only to the tune set to obedience to the Beloved.
On Monday, 17 July 1933, a German poet came to see Baba. Explaining to him about freedom, Baba narrated the following tale that ended with a few riddles, to which Baba did not reveal the answers:
There were two birds, a male and a female, who were always together. They were quite independent and would fly wherever they liked. They were always free, but they did not know what "freedom" was.
One day a man caught them both and put them in a cage. The male bird began beating his wings against the bars of the cage, hoping he could force his way out. But he gradually lost all his feathers.