Once in Dharwar, Krishna was fifteen minutes late in bringing water, as he was feeling drowsy and had overslept.
Baba was waiting for him at the gate, and when Krishna came he was angry with him and scolded, "I don't want to see your black face ever again!1 How many times have I told you to be honest and regular in your duty, but you don't pay the slightest attention to my words. However much one may water seeds on a stone, there is no hope of their taking root. And you are like a stone!"
On another occasion, Baba went for an outing with the women and directed Krishna to be on watch at the gate until his return, and not to enter the women's bungalow. There were four maid servants from Meherabad in the bungalow — Lakshi, Bhami, Rakhma and Tani. At one point, a snake was seen in the house and Rakhma called Krishna to kill it, but he refused to leave his post.
When Baba heard about it on his return — the women servants had complained about Krishna — Baba asked him, "Why didn't you kill the snake?"
Krishna replied, "Your order was not to leave the gate. How could I go to the house?"
Baba then asked, "Had there been a fire in the house, would you have gone?"
Krishna said, "No."
Baba corrected him, remarking, "I would have been very pleased had you followed the order in this way. However, you did not obey for the sake of obeying me. On the contrary, you were irritated at my order not to leave the gate. That is why, although outwardly you obeyed, you have not obeyed me and have instead given vent to your anger."
Baba added, "It was on account of your being in such a bad mood that the snake came in the first place. Now if you want to please me, find the snake and kill it."
At first, Krishna could not find it, but after three-quarters of an hour he saw the snake crawl out of the window of the women's house. He called Baba and told him, but by that time the snake had disappeared, and Baba indicated to let it go. This was unusual because Baba's standing order to the mandali was that whenever a snake was seen, it was to be killed.
Footnotes
- 1.Black face is a colloquial expression relating to someone's dark thoughts, not skin color (similar to when someone is said to be in a black mood).