Consequently, Baba was the only one continuously moving about on the soft sand, while the mandali remained stationary and joined him only when he came to their particular area.
Baba moved about, bowing down, getting up with inexhaustible energy. Not only was he moving from place to place, he also had to bend down to touch the feet of the hundreds of sadhus who were found, some lying down, some squatting, some themselves walking about, and some in small huts with narrow, low doorways. Baba did this work continuously for five hours until eleven o'clock, and then went back to the hotel.
After a late breakfast and about two hours of rest, he took the mandali to the village of Naini, five miles from Allahabad, where he contacted a great mast of the sixth plane called Qadir Mian , who wielded fourth-plane powers.1 They found the utterly naked saint a rather forbidding figure with a long, dark face, sitting on a cot inside a dark room where a fire was burning (despite the heat). The saint was known to be exceedingly fond of tea, and Baba had instructed the men to bring tea for him in a large tea kettle.
Seeing them at his door, Qadir Mian, who was in a mild disposition, rose from his bed and graciously received them, as if he had been expecting them all along. He took the kettle from Baidul and placed it on the fire, telling the mandali to be seated on his cot. He bade Baba to sit separately in a corner of the room. While pretending to talk generally to the men about their health, and pouring tea for all, he was stealing significant glances at Baba. Both the mast and Baba appeared radiantly happy in the small, darkened room. Age observed, "Baba and the mast were conversing through their eyes, but none could understand their conversation."
After spending half an hour with Qadir Mian, Baba returned with the men to Allahabad, and proceeded straight to the mela grounds. He began his work of bowing to sadhu after sadhu from six in the evening, and it continued for three hours. By then, he had exceeded the set figure of having touched the feet of 7,000 sadhus. Baba chose to contact them at their prayer times in the morning and evening, and at the large camps where free food was distributed, because at those times hundreds of sadhus collected together and could be contacted easily in large batches.
Footnotes
- 1.Saints can wield the miraculous powers of the fourth plane without any danger. This Muslim saint was also called Cha Saheb, because of his fondness for tea (chai). Baba had contacted him previously, in October 1941.