Although Babajan had a mysterious, indirect way of speaking — making cryptic remarks that were confusing to a listener — she would talk to Merwan in a normal manner and once even told him in detail about her early life in Baluchistan.1
It was also rare for Babajan to allow anyone to touch her person — even to bow at her feet or kiss her hand — yet she would tell Merwan to scratch or massage her back during the hours he was with her. When she would mutter, "Enough," he would stop and depart for home around midnight. By that time, Merwan's fingers were so cramped it would be difficult for him to straighten them.
Merwan would lie in bed, but his eyes would remain wide open; he still was not sleeping. By four o'clock in the morning, he would be up, walking about the house. As dawn rose over the city of Poona, he would start melodiously singing the Zoroastrian monajats — as he had done throughout his childhood.
As Merwan was coming down to regain his human consciousness, he started eating twice a day and took either tea or coffee in the morning. The quantity of food he consumed, however, was still insufficient to sustain a normal man. Naturally, his mother was quite happy that he had started eating something regularly, though she was concerned about his weight.
Once a month, Merwan would travel to Shirdi to meet Sai Baba for a few moments, then stay with Upasni Maharaj at the Khandoba Temple for a few days. At times he would have Behramji accompany him; at other times Khodu would join him. However, he always stayed alone with Upasni in the temple.2
During Merwan's visits, Upasni Maharaj revealed in detail to him about Zoroaster's life, the mission and divinity of the Persian Prophet. According to the teachings of the Zoroastrian priests, Zoroaster was one of many "messengers" of God. Upasni explained that the Zoroastrian rites and ceremonies had little to do with Zoroaster's true mission. From the esoteric knowledge passed down by Upasni, Merwan now accepted Zoroaster to be the Avatar — the Incarnation of God Himself in human form.
In this respect, Merwan would later repeat this couplet from Kabir:
Both guru and Govind [God] stand before you; to whom should you bow?
Bow to the guru's grace which has shown you Govind!
Footnotes
- 1.Whenever speaking about Babajan, Baba always referred to her as "The Emperor."
- 2.Jamshed also accompanied Merwan to Shirdi once.