Baba visited the mandali's cottage for the first time on 25 March, and also met a few individuals who had been repeatedly requesting to meet him. All others were informed that Baba's darshan would be available every Thursday from 4:00 to 5:00 P.M.
In Panchgani each of the women was ordered to meditate for a certain period each day. Baba took the women on several outings to Mahabaleshwar, and he showed them Shivaji's fortress at Pratapgarh, as well, on the 28th. Since there had been unseasonable rain and thunderstorms recently, the day before the outing, Baba discussed in detail contingency plans with the mandali. In too much detail, it appears, from what Chanji wrote:
Although the weather is all the time cloudy and it rained heavily, Baba didn't give up the idea [of going to Pratapgarh] but rather tenaciously stuck to it. He devised means and alternatives, in case it rained tomorrow, before or even after they leave here for Pratapgarh, adjusting the days' program according to the whims of the sultry weather. The minute details about all these arrangements that he bothered about the whole day would drive anyone crazy!
But on the 28th, the weather tuned out to be clear, and Baba went to the ancient fort with the women, leaving at 5:00 A.M. and returning at six in the evening. Kaka had been sent with Pleader to Benares, and he returned alone to Panchgani the same afternoon and reported to Baba. Adi Sr. also arrived that day from Nasik, where he had been urgently called to help deal with Freiny's troubled state of mind.
After Kaka informed Baba at length that Pleader had stuck to Baba's orders, despite facing terrible, severe mental and physical anguish, Baba commented, "More is still to come. This is not all he will have to undergo."
To the mandali, Pleader had proved his mettle, and they could only admire his fortitude and courage in withstanding all the hardships Kaka described.1
On the 28th, a five-foot-long snake was seen outside the women's kitchen with a sparrow in its mouth. Baba was called, and he came with a few of the men. One man struck the snake on its back, and it released the sparrow which flew away. Baba gave the final killing blow, crushing its head.
Later in the evening after dinner, he remarked about snakes, "Unless a snake is killed by a human being, it remains always a snake. Never leave a snake wounded, as it takes a long time for it to die. Once wounded, a snake will always remain near you to be killed outright."
Footnotes
- 1.Pleader stayed in Benares, obeying Baba's orders to beg, and returned to Meherabad in late May 1938.