Gustadji agreed. Merwan Seth paid for the mattress and it was given to her. That very first night, Babajan roamed throughout the streets of Poona with Gustadji following behind her carrying the mattress on his head. Then it started raining. The mattress became heavier and heavier as the rain soaked it. Babajan made Gustadji stand with it on his head to dry, saying it was very precious because her "son" Merwan had given it to her. After a few days, the mattress rotted and was discarded, much to Gustadji's relief.
Gustadji's story is unique, as he was a devoted seeker and had a close association with three of the Perfect Masters of the Age — Sai Baba, Upasni Maharaj and Babajan. He was to become Merwan Seth's closest companion. Gustadji was born in the village of Hansot in Gujarat on 20 February 1890. When he was about seven, he was sent to live with his aunt in Bombay for his education, but he quit school when he was in the third standard. He had no interest in academics but was fascinated by the lives of saints and Perfect Masters. His father died in 1905, and Gustadji started doing a variety of jobs, first working in the Indian government's excise department overseeing a liquor distillery's warehouse, and later for private companies. However, Gustadji could not keep a job for long.
Gustadji once saw Sai Baba's photograph and was drawn to learn more about the Master. During a visit with his brother at Deolali near Nasik, his brother proposed a visit to Shirdi, and they went. Gustadji's brother managed a toddyshop, and Gustadji began helping in the business. From 1910 onward Gustadji visited Sai Baba occasionally. When he moved back to Bombay, he was employed by Mr. A. B. Mehta as an assistant in his photographic studio. But from Gustadji's first visit to Sai Baba, his heart was never in his work again. He felt more and more drawn to stay at Shirdi with the old fakir. He visited Sai Baba every month, sometimes staying four days and once for as long as 20 days. At Shirdi, Gustadji also associated with Upasni Maharaj and would visit Maharaj at the Khandoba Temple. As related, it was during April 1917, while he was working for A. B. Mehta, when he first met Merwan at Sion in Bombay.1
By 1918, Gustadji had been made the manager of a liquor store in Bombay, also owned by A. B. Mehta. After a few months at this new job, Gustadji fell seriously ill and had to quit. He was invited by Sai Baba to move to Shirdi, which he did. Upasni Maharaj had moved to Sakori and Gustadji would visit him there.
Footnotes
- 1.Gustadji recalled that he had seen Merwan at Shirdi in December 1915 when Sai Baba declared that Merwan was Parvardigar, but he did not meet him at that time.