When we arrived at Meherabad, Baba was here, in his room [at lower Meherabad] discussing things with the mandali. His face and physique seemed to have undergone a great change, as he looked so lean and pulled down. Quite a contrast to how we saw him last on the 16th at Dhond, though he was not quite well even then.
And when we saw him taken up on the hill on an easy chair lifted by the mandali, it was no small surprise.1 His condition looked really serious. Although he is "all-powerful" and "all-knowing," one could easily see from his expression, the weak condition, the terrible strain he was passing through, and the suffering he was undergoing. To what great inner working this may be attributed, one could scarcely imagine. One thing is certain: He has been suffering terribly ever since Hollywood, and added to it the fast that he undertook and sleepless nights.
Ramjoo had a private meeting with Baba on 21 February, and returned to Nasik in the afternoon. Baba was considering moving to Nasik with the women, so on the 25th a portion of "the zoo" (the rabbits) were brought down the hill and given to Sarosh. Baba's health was slightly better that day; his expression seemed brighter and he walked a little with the help of a stick.
Adi Sr.'s sister Dolly was still being kept secluded at lower Meherabad. On the 25th Adi was sent to Sakori with Kalingad to ask Maharaj if Dolly could stay there until she got better, rather than at Meherabad, but Maharaj had left for Aurangabad.
On 1 March 1935, Rusi Pop came to see Baba in the morning along with Padri's mother Freiny Masi, with whom Baba had a long talk about her illness. Baba assured her she would recover and instructed her to go to Poona and, for 40 days, to place ashes from his dhuni on Babajan's tomb.2 Sadashiv Patil came in the afternoon, and Vishnu, Chanji, and Rao were also called up the hill.
Buasaheb came from Poona on 2 March, but Baba sent him back after giving him certain instructions. Aga Ali arrived the next day and again expressed his desire to remain with Baba, who prevailed upon the youth to return to Bombay and sent him home.3
Footnotes
- 1.Baba was spending the nights on the hill then.
- 2.Freiny Masi had had a very close personal connection with Babajan in the 1920s.
- 3.This is the last recorded personal contact between Baba and Aga Ali, although over the next several years Ali wrote several letters to Baba. It is not known what became of him.