After a visit with his family, Baba visited the Abdullas', where he ate dinner. The couple had been having difficulties in their marriage and Baba sorted things out. He and the mandali returned to Meherabad late that same night, driving very slowly in the pouring rain.
At Meherabad, Baba held a meeting on the 4th about the running of Meherabad while he was away. He had considered shifting the women to Nasik (he even went to look at suitable bungalows there) and disbanding the mandali, but in the end he decided to have everyone remain at Meherabad until he returned. Padri and Pendu were given charge of looking after the men and Pilamai the women, with Gulmai acting as an intermediary.
Durgabai's son Raghunath Karmarkar met Baba that day and informed him that Upasni Maharaj had transferred many valuables to Godavri's name and had even given Godavri's lawful "husband" seven or eight thousand rupees to allow her to continue staying in his ashram. Raghunath, though humble in nature, was confused by Maharaj's statements to him that "lust" had arisen in him (Maharaj). Baba explained the situation to him, saying while he was against Maharaj's tendency to lionize Godavri, to the extent of asking others to take her darshan, he was neither in favor nor against Maharaj's way of working. He suggested Maharaj form a trust and transfer his property to it.
Later, Baba commented:
The news of Durgabai's break-off with Maharaj about four years back, together with her indulgence to harm Maharaj by helping a clique formed in Kopargaon, is as astounding as it is painful. A satsang of 25 years could not overcome a paroxysm of rage caused by jealousy and greed. [Convincing] her own son [to go against Maharaj, she has] succumbed at last to the promptings of her lower nature.
Meanwhile the defamation case concerning Upasni Maharaj was proceeding, and he was called to give testimony in an Ahmednagar court on 26 October. The prosecution's witness failed to turn up and the proceedings were adjourned until the following day. Maharaj spent that night at Khushru Quarters. Godavri gave evidence on the 28th, after which Maharaj and the kanyas departed for Sakori at 4 P.M.1
Before leaving for Europe, Baba sent the following message for his lovers to be published in The Meher Gazette : "Those who are united in love know no separation. Wherever I am, wherever you are, I am always with you!"
On Thursday, 15 November 1934, Baba boarded the SS Tuscania in Bombay to set sail for Europe.
Footnotes
- 1.Maharaj came again to Khushru Quarters on 10 December 1934, when he stopped there for two hours on his way to Hyderabad. The court case was not settled until a year later, when Maharaj was found guilty under the Devadasi Act of marrying young girls to an idol. Maharaj was fined Rs.100, but the verdict was appealed and later overturned.