Another structure of temporary rooms was erected to the west of the dharamshala building, where Nilu and a few others stayed. Most of the mandali continued to sleep on the floor of the long hall of their quarters, the possessions of each one in a small trunk at the head of each one's bedding roll.
On 3 June, the Westerners visited Meherabad and spent the night. They returned to Nasik the next day late at night, except Sam Cohen, who was allowed to stay behind and help the mandali in the mad ashram for about ten days. Manekar from Dhulia had also come.
On Sunday, 6 June, Baba's childhood friend Baily visited Meherabad. For his own reasons, Baba kept Baily aloof externally, but all knew that Baba loved him dearly. Baba was bathing Mohammed, assisted by Sam and Swamiji, when Baily arrived. Mohammed was standing nude, refusing to wear his kafni.
Baba commented, "Among the entire group of inmates here, only four are on the Path, and Mohammed is one of them."
Later that day, Baba was driven to Nasik with Chanji and Sarosh. Rustom followed in his car with two of his sons.
On 8 June, Baba explained to the Western group:
All that smells good is not good. When you direct the mind then there is no worry. But this is very difficult. After all, what does it matter?
When the mind stops consciously, there is unfathomable bliss. One cannot describe that bliss.1 [That state] is not Realization, but one step before it.
The human mind works fast. An uncontrolled mind plays havoc with one's soul.2 But [teasing Delia] your uncontrolled mind plays havoc with my hair.
My mind is like the ocean, bad and good, and all the filth and good of the universe is absorbed in it. You think good thoughts, I absorb it. You think bad thoughts, I absorb it. Like water in a small pool, if the filth seeps into it, it pollutes the water. But if these good and bad thoughts become absorbed in the ocean, they are just washed away because the ocean is so tremendous. Your limited mind becomes stagnant with a few bad thoughts, but even universal bad thoughts cannot affect my ocean-like mind.
Baba had decided to start sending certain persons back to Europe during the first week of June 1937. Will and Mary Backett were sent to Bombay first.
Footnotes
- 1.Baba was referring to the state of nirvana; in Sufism this divine state of annihilation or vacuum is called fana-fillah.
- 2.As previously noted, Delia and Margaret would, at times, comb Baba's hair and massage his scalp as he dictated from the alphabet board to the group.