Meanwhile, not finding them in the house, Baba sent Elizabeth in her car to look for them. Her car got stuck in a muddy pothole, necessitating her to hire some men to push it out. When Kitty and Rano returned, Baba asked where they had been. "To church," Kitty replied. Rano added, "I had no intention of going, but I went to give Kitty company."
Baba spelled out to Kitty, "Since you are so fond of going to church, go every Sunday!"
"I've learned my lesson today," she said. "I'll never set foot in another church again!"
"No, no," Baba emphatically told her, "You must go every Sunday! Everything you need is there! You have nothing to gain by staying here and being with me."
"Forgive me, Baba. I will never do it again."
"Is it proper to go without my permission?" Baba asked.
Crying now, Kitty answered, "It was a mistake on my part. I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Baba pardoned her and gave her a kiss, taking away the pain of his scolding.
On another occasion, Rano and Kitty were feeling quite depressed. Baba was so preoccupied in Panchgani with mast and other work, they hardly saw him they felt. One day Baba came and asked the women to tell him what was on their minds. Rano and Kitty expressed their feelings.
To console them, Baba said, "If I do not withdraw myself physically from you from time to time, you will not feel me here [pointing to the heart], and it is there that I want you to feel my presence."
Baba went to Satara with Elizabeth on 19 April, to look at possible locations for the new ashram. Arnavaz and Nargis arrived from Bombay on the 21st and began staying with the other women at Dilkhusha. Arnavaz was not well and returned to Bombay after a week or so.
Previously, in 1930 while traveling by train from Lahore to Amritsar, Baba and the mandali had struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger who appeared to be in despair. After their talk, however, the man was much heartened and grateful to Baba for his advice. The person turned out to be none other than Muhammad Iqbal, the celebrated Indian poet and philosopher. Iqbal was a towering figure among pre-independence Muslim intellectuals, and it was therefore with much sadness that Ramjoo and Ghani heard the news of Iqbal's passing on 21 April 1938 at the age of 61.