Mira was a Hindu born around 1498 in the village of Kurkhi, Rajasthan. She was married to a Rajasthan king, but she was so absorbed in devotion to Krishna, she had no attachment to her husband (who was killed in a battle when Mira was in her late twenties) or to his kingdom. She would compose songs in praise of Krishna and then leave the palace to sing them to the common people. The new king and his family considered it degrading, but she did not care.
Once, the royal family was so upset they plotted to kill her. They placed a cobra in Mira's flower basket. When she opened the basket to garland Krishna's statue, the cobra had been transformed into flowers. In another attempt to murder her, they gave her a glass dosed with poison. She drank it saying Krishna's name and the poison turned to nectar. Thus, they began to realize Mira was no ordinary person and was protected by Krishna.
Years passed and Mira's absorption became all-consuming. One day she left the palace and did not return. Singing Krishna's praises, she walked far until she reached Vrindavan, the sacred place of Krishna and the gopis, and remained there. When she did not return, the king searched far and wide. He finally found her, absorbed in her ecstatic vision of Krishna. Many people recognized that she was a genuine saint and stayed near her, and the king and his family became her followers.
Baba was to have departed for England on the 18th of October 1934, but he postponed his trip and booked passage a month later. He went to Poona on Thursday morning, 1 November, accompanied by Adi Sr., Jalbhai, Chanji and Vishnu. Adi was driving and Baba sat next to him in the front seat. It had rained heavily the night before and after driving 40 miles, near Loni the car skidded across the wet, slick road. As the car was careening out of control, Baba pressed Adi's left hand on the steering wheel three times. The car came to an immediate stop, just ten feet from a large pile of wood in front of a small stone hut. A serious accident had been averted due to Baba's intervention. Baba had gone to Poona especially to meet his mother Memo. He wished Adi Jr. to accompany him to America, but Memo was unwilling to allow it.