In its wrath, it brought about disturbances in another way: Tumultuous whirlwinds occurred day and night, and dust blew everywhere!"
The mandali had never before witnessed such winds in August. For the watchmen to sit in the tiny cabins on the four corners of Meherabad Hill became impossible. The tin sheet roof of the mast ashram rattled and created a nerve-racking uproar, disturbing Baba terribly.
He sent word, confirming, "Maya is working against me."
Baba saw none of the mandali during this period. Vishnu would go to him every morning for fifteen minutes and, using the alphabet board, Baba would give him instructions through the window-like opening of the cage. Vishnu could only see Baba's fingers moving speedily across the board, and no other part of his body. But although unseen, in addition, Baba would cover his face with a cloth to completely hide his features. Krishna would come to sweep his room, but Baba would go into another adjoining room when he came.
Baba was fasting at the time on a small amount of rice and dal taken once a day. After some days, the fasting, his work, and the howling winds and rattling din of the roof day and night, considerably affected his health. When Vishnu went to Baba in the morning for instructions, as Baba dictated orders on the board, he would feel so weak he would have to sit and rest every few minutes before continuing.
Baba stayed in the cage-room like this for a week and then shifted to the "Dome" (Tomb) on Thursday, 7 August 1941, where he remained for five days doing his Universal work. When Baba left the mast ashram to walk to the Tomb, he completely covered his face with a cloth and instructed everyone to clear the area, thus maintaining his seclusion.
The inclement weather continued. Being disturbed in the Tomb also, Baba moved to the nearby Tin Cabin on the hill five days later, on 12 August. But here too he was disturbed. More so, because Chatti Baba brought his things to the cabin the same day and took possession of it! This unusual behavior necessitated Baba's retiring to another room for the night, which he found inconvenient.
Before going into seclusion, Baba had indicated that he would move the location of his seclusion away from Meherabad by mid-October, and would relax his seclusion for fifteen days to move at that time.