"But it is a mangy, diseased animal;
you'll have to bathe it," Baba spelled out. "You
haven't left your fine home and everything else to come and serve a
dog!"
"But it is now your dog, Baba!"
Gaimai answered correctly.
Gesturing to Mansari, Baba pointed to his ear,
conveying, "Did you hear what she said? Learn from this!"
The Hindu festival of Rang Panchmi was
celebrated in the P.W.D. bungalow. The women dressed Baba as Krishna and
they, including the Westerners, dressed as gopis. Baba took part in the
celebration, urging them to dance and spraying them with the traditional
colored water. It was as if Lord Krishna had descended and was playing
with his beloved gopis once again! Age marveled at the enchanting sight. "The Beloved was imparting Wine to the thirsty world by
entertaining his gopis!"
Friday, 19 August 1938 was celebrated as Lord
Krishna's birthday and Baba narrated the story of Krishna and the
Pandavas to the Westerners.
He ended with these remarks: "The fun
of it all is that you who stay with me, who are with me all day, feel I
am one of you, so the importance of reverence is naturally nullified,
and in its place comes either love or ordinary familiarity. Now, if it
is love, you are unconsciously trying to become like me, but if it is
only familiarity, then you are trying to make me like you. So love, and
then you will become like me."
During this period, Padri once brought a qawaal
to the P.W.D. bungalow to meet Baba. Baba met with him for a while and
the man said, "How great is my luck that I have met you today. I
wish someday to compose ghazals and sing them before you,
Hazrat."
Baba replied, "If you want to sing, sing now
as I am in the mood to listen to music."
But the man said, "Hazrat, forgive me; now
is the time for my namaz . I must leave or I'll be
late."
Baba motioned, "Then go and offer your
prayers."
The qawaal left to go to the mosque and Baba
caustically remarked, "People don't want God, they want namaz ! What can poor God do? God wants to give them God ,
but they want to pray!"
Age too lamented, "Formless God had taken
form, but not everyone who prayed to God recognized Him in
form!"