Back at the retreat, Baba gathered the Westerners and commented about the trip:
“”"You all know what an excellent climber I am; you have seen me in Italy. In China, Herbert challenged me to climb a certain place and see who got there first. I did and won. Yet today you observed me climbing up slowly, so as to keep pace with the others who could not climb so well. Outsiders who did not know might think that Baba was a slow climber. Although I am spiritually first, I held back to give those not so spiritually advanced a helping hand. That is why I am so often misunderstood in my human aspect.
"Was the climb a strain for you all? Because next time we have to climb up to the temples, which are higher than the caves."
On another occasion, Baba did take the Westerners to the temples. On that outing, he pointed to a temple and remarked,
“”"True sanctity does not lie in the dead walls of brick and stone, or even in the waters of the sacred rivers, but in the living beings who fill the environment with the fire of their devotion, love and worship, and in the great spiritual forces released by the Masters during their stay here."
Baba wished the group to begin visiting Meherabad every Friday. In Nasik on 11 January 1937, he asked the Western women,
“”"I want you all to tell me honestly whether it will be a strain for you to come to Meherabad one day a week. You must leave here at 5:00 A.M. Will that suit you?"
All agreed to go.
On the 13th, Jean was severely burned when a pot of boiling water overturned on her lap. She and Malcolm were then left behind at Nasik when the others went to Meherabad two days later on the 15th. The group left Nasik at five in the morning and arrived in Rahuri at 8:30, where Baba was waiting for them. Their day-visits to Meherabad were especially happy times when the gopis of the East and those of the West surrounded their Lord.
Jean, however, was feeling depressed. On 18 January, Baba came to see her privately. He reassured her that, though the burn was painful, its results would be beneficial.
