He cited the example of Upasni Maharaj, who watered mango trees in Sakori with his own hands.1
In Arangaon, an old villager named Abbaji Patel had been on his deathbed for three or four days, suffering intensely. On 4 May his relatives came to request that Baba relieve the old man of his suffering.
Baba consoled them, replying, "He will not die until he sees me. I will come tomorrow."
But Baba became busy that day and went to Arangaon two days later, on the 6th. He saw the dying man at six o'clock in the evening and ordered that he be given tea. No sooner had Baba returned to Meherabad than word came that the man had died.
Baba paid a quick one-day visit to Nasik on 9 May, and Memo arrived at Meherabad at 3:30 P.M. on the 10th to see Baba, and stayed a few days.
Sailor Mama was operating a tea stall next to Circle Cinema. On the 11th, he was given certain restrictions by Baba regarding his expenses, which made Sailor become very angry. The tense situation over the general ashram finances was relieved when a cable from Norina in Berlin was received, saying that a friend of Elizabeth's in New York had arranged for $15,000 towards Baba's expenses to travel to the West and for the film work.
Every afternoon or evening during this period, Baba would listen to Raosaheb read the Persian poetry of the Perfect Master Shams-e-Tabriz for about half an hour, at which time he instructed that no one should disturb him. Baba also enjoyed listening to Rumi's poetry, which is characterized by a depth of feeling or ecstasy and beautiful imagery.
Baba once praised Rumi as one of the greatest minds of all mystical or spiritual literature, remarking, "Rumi had more brains than all the pandits [philosophers, scholars, priests] of today put together!"
Buasaheb was once reading to Baba from Rumi's Divan-e-Shams , describing the Beloved's beauty. Baba had just bathed and was sitting in the Mess Quarters, having his nails trimmed. Padri at one point noticed Baba's chest become flushed, his face turn pink and his eyes red. "Baba's eyelids drooped as he was enjoying the intoxication of his own beauty," Padri surmised. It was one of the rare times, Padri added, that he felt Baba was not totally "there" in the gross world.
After listening to Raosaheb's readings, Baba would play a game of seven tiles with the mandali. In this popular Indian game, seven stones or small tiles are piled one on top of another.
Footnotes
- 1.Kalingad had built a fountain, which Baba praised, and when Baba returned from the West, Kalingad was put in charge of the garden.