Gulmai was staying at Upper Meherabad at this time and when Memo visited there would inevitably be strife between these two women — Shireenmai the material mother and Gulmai the spiritual mother. On one occasion (19 October 1938), Adi Sr. noted in his diary: "Shireenmai as usual becomes jealous of Gulmai, and Baba is so much troubled by the situation. He suffers."
But oftentimes, among the men and women mandali, Baba would create rivalries so that the "rubbish" in their minds would come out in the open and be swept away. Such conflicts were a part of Baba's work to eliminate the ego and lead his followers along the path toward Truth.
On one occasion in September 1938, Baba explained to the women about detachment, stating:
I am in all — in both big and petty things. All are nothing, so why give importance to anything? I take as much enjoyment in looking after the mad, being with the mandali, ordering my agents, looking after the great Universal work, as in bringing eggs to Hedi and mail for you all. You cannot escape petty things, because everything except God is petty. What you can do is to be detached. Use the petty things, but know they are petty and so remain unattached to them.
For example, false teeth are for eating; they are attached in your mouth. You know they are false and you can take them out; attached and detached, you make use of them.
The dirty body, which I call the walking latrine, is used for the soul to realize itself. Can you escape from it? You cannot escape its perspiration, so what you do is wash away the sweat. But if all day you go on brooding, "Why do I perspire? I must not perspire," it is of no use. You cannot escape, but you can become detached.
On 2 September, when explaining to the women about love, Baba narrated this story about the ancient Persian king Mahmud Gaznavi:
Gaznavi had a slave named Ayaz, who loved him very much. He obeyed the king in every detail and carried out all his behests. Ayaz had no care for his own life and, to keep Gaznavi happy, would do anything.
But, because the king loved Ayaz more, the other courtiers were jealous and could not tolerate the king's expression of love for his slave.