Baba sent Gaimai, Manu, Meheru, Meherwan and Eruch back to Bangalore on 14 January along with Gulamasi Satha and Sarwar. Eruch was ordered to help Ghani and Adi Sr. with the mass distribution of the Seven Realities message. Meheru and Naggu were sent back to Nasik.
Baba left Jaipur later the same day at four o'clock, with Gustadji and Savak (who had joined him from Meherabad), for a mast tour of Gujarat, Kathiawar and the Girnar Mountains. Kaka joined them at Ahmedabad, and Baba contacted masts there and at Rajkot, Morvi, Junagadh, Jamnagar and Dwarka.
Two masts were particularly interesting. In Rajkot, Baba contacted a saintly mast whom he called Makkhiwala Baba. He was a strange but good mast who had sat for years in one particular spot. Horrible as it may sound, his body was covered with thousands of flies ( makkhi) so one could barely see the figure of the man for the numerous flies on him, and hence his nickname.
In Jamnagar, Baba communed with the spiritual chargeman of the area, named Coatwalla Baba . This great mast wore several coats and never removed his clothing. He lived isolated in a cemetery. When Baba met with him for the second time near a forested area, the saint wept loudly before Baba and shouted in a heartbreaking cry, full of anguish, "I have found God in the wilds!"1
During this tour in Rajkot one day, while Baba was sitting on a commode having a bowel movement, Savak was nearby and thought to himself: "If I eat Baba's excreta, I will surely make great progress on the Path." Savak was quite new in the Master's circle and had gotten this peculiar idea from a book he had read about Upasni Maharaj performing such an act.2
When Baba was through, he called Savak and instructed him in a warning tone, "Clean this commode thoroughly, but remember: Don't let even a speck of excrement touch your hands. Use a brush. If even a speck touches you, you will turn into a leper!"
Savak was dumbfounded, and his wish to perform such a penance remained unfulfilled. Baba had read his thoughts, and Savak learned that it was best to carry out the Master's wishes and not try to "gain" something on his own!
Baba returned to Jaipur on Friday, 24 January 1941 and described his trip to the women mandali:
Footnotes
- 1." Junglemein khuda mil gaya! "
- 2.Such an act on the part of Upasni Maharaj was connected with his state of coming down after he was God-realized by Sai Baba.