No one understands that I do not do anything without cause. Whatever I do, I do for the benefit of others.
Don said, "Forgive me, Baba. I thought you were being cruel. I was wrong." Baba embraced him and also Nilu.
During the Bangalore stay Rano, under Baba's direction, continued her work on the Ten Circles painting which she had begun a few years before in Nasik. She had also begun another large painting of Baba wearing a turban. One day in January, when she was finishing this painting, she somehow did not feel satisfied with the expression in Baba's eyes. Baba happened to come to her room right at that moment and Rano expressed her quandary. Baba himself picked up a brush, mixed some color and dabbed a bit on the left eye in the painting, instantly improving the expression!
"Now don't touch it!" he declared.1
Baba left Bangalore at 7:30 A.M. on Monday, 15 January 1940 on a short visit to Hassan. He rode in Elizabeth's car with Mehera, Mani and Khorshed; Jalbhai drove an Auburn with a few of the Westerners; and the rest of the women's group, along with Kaka and Eruch, went in the Blue Bus, which Don drove. Baba and the women arrived at 12:30 P.M. and stayed in a dak bungalow. Gustadji and Pappa Jessawala had gone a day earlier to make separate arrangements for the men and women.
The following day, Baba led the women up the mountain at Sravanabelagola and showed them the magnificent 59-foot tall statue of Gomateswara, a Jain saint. The next morning, they visited Belur and Halebid where they saw an ancient temple.
On the 18th, Baba directed that they drive up the steep mountain of Baba Budan , though Baba was not feeling well and had diarrhea. Don was driving the bus and, though the ascent was difficult, he did not lose courage and drove on. Baba had visited Baba Budan once before in 1936 and was now showing the area and shrine to the women.
About his daily outings with them, Baba remarked, "I have come for my work, and you have no idea what duty I am fulfilling here. These places have a spiritual atmosphere and my presence will give it a push."
In Hassan, the children — Sarwar, Meheru and Meherwan — went out to eat tamarinds one day. Khorshed reported this to Baba.
Footnotes
- 1.The painting, titled The Beloved, now hangs in the Meherabad Museum.