From time to time, I will take you to interesting places and beautiful caves in the hills near Nasik where rishis used to reside and meditate. But until my birthday, I do not want you to go out without my permission. You may feel confined, but it is for your own benefit. The visits to Meherabad and Rahuri start from the 5th of January.
On my birthday I will give grain and a piece of cloth to 15,000 people. All of you will have to contribute in the work of packaging the bundles.
The next day, Baba explained about his work:
Remember about keeping time. In the Beyond state, time and space are nil — nonexistent. In the sphere of duality, time, space, cause and effect exist. Therefore, when I work in the sphere of duality for the upliftment of humanity, I am bound superficially by time and space. Consequently, I may also appear limited at times, but in reality, I continually experience Oneness and the infinite state of the Beyond.
I work at fixed times for my circle, but for the universe, no time is fixed. When I work for those in duality, time counts. So when I ask you to abide by time it means you have the benefit of working for the circle. Always I give the mandali a fixed time to do certain things.
Sailing aboard the Rawalpindi , Kitty, Margaret, Delia, Tom, along with Will and Mary arrived in Bombay from London at 5:30 in the evening on 24 December 1936. They were met at the dock by Chanji and about 50 Bombay lovers and after a night's rest were escorted to Nasik, reaching there at noon Christmas Day. Baba personally led the group to the Sarzat building and assigned rooms to each. Kitty, Delia, Margaret, Tom, Malcolm, Jean, Will, Mary, Nadine, Garrett and later Ruano were each given a single room. One room was kept vacant as an editorial office for Garrett and Malcolm. Norina and Elizabeth shared a room in the main Manzil bungalow not far from Sarzat, where Rano and Nonny had their own rooms. Baba had a private room and a bath in an adjacent, attached building. The Eastern mandali had quarters elsewhere, and Freiny, Rustom and their children stayed in a small cottage near the main bungalow.
The same day, T. A. Raman, an editor of the newspaper the Evening News of India, interviewed Norina, Nadine and Garrett. He had also approached Baba with several questions the previous day. Raman commented that there was too much "so-called spirituality" in India. The following is his conversation with Baba:
Raman cynically said to Baba, "What we need in India is a holiday from things of the spirit!"
Baba answered with a smile, spelling out, "I will not give a holiday, but permanently retire the forms and rituals of different religions on which India blames half her troubles."
"What then is your philosophy about?"
"I have no philosophy."
"If you have no new philosophy to preach, what is your job?"