Jal, his face drained of color, behaved as if there was no pain and for some moments did not move his hand. The skin started to burn, but Jal did not feel any pain! He stared at his hand in amazement. The moment Jal slightly moved his hand, Merwan Seth picked up the fiery coal with his bare hands and placed it in the afarganyu. Merwan ordered Jamshed to take Jal outside in the compound and pour the entire contents of the inkpot onto Jal's palm, then take Jal to Dr. Seldana, their family doctor, for bandaging.
Baily had noticed that the moment he placed the coal on Jal's palm, Merwan Seth's face had turned pale. Merwan clenched both hands tightly as if he himself were undergoing the pain and suffering. This was the real reason Jal had felt no pain.
Shireenmai was cooking in the kitchen but was unaware of what had transpired. When anyone asked about the bandage on Jal's hand, all agreed to say that whilst Jal was lighting a match, the matchbox had accidentally caught fire in his palm.
One version of this incident states that Jal had to be hospitalized for several days at Sassoon Hospital for treatment due to the seriousness of the burn. Merwan Seth visited him often, and Jal's heart was profoundly touched by the love his elder brother showered on him. Later he confessed, "Merog, my ego is smashed. You are truly God! I was a fool to doubt you. Forgive me." Mysteriously, whenever Merwan visited Jal in the hospital or Jal was in his presence, the excruciating pain in Jal's hand would completely disappear. But as soon as Merwan left, the pain would return in its full intensity.
As Jal related years later:
When [the coal] came out, I became unconscious. I was taken to hospital — but during those moments when the coal was on my palm I didn't feel the pain at all as if it was a piece of paper, and that was a miracle. Baba used to visit me in the hospital. The pain was terrible, and a huge blister formed and it had to be cut with scissors. During the weeks it took to heal, I was wondering why did I allow Baba to test me by burning my right hand unnecessarily? I couldn't understand it. And then I dreamt of Baba ... (I had had one or two dreams of Baba before in visions of bright light and it penetrated to my heart.) He came walking in my dreams — I had some experiences in the daytime also — and I felt his divinity.1
Footnotes
- 1.The Awakener, Vol. 13, No. 1 & 2, p. 38.