Baba called Pophali to him. Adi Sr., Deshmukh, Vibhuti, Ramjoo, Ghani and Vishnu were present. Baba was seated on a carpet on the floor of the Rahuri Cabin. Those invited had been told that to bow down to Baba, to touch his feet or to fold hands in obeisance was forbidden.
Pophali came and stood before his Master and Baba complimented him, "I am pleased with you and the work being done by the Saoner Center."
After asking about his family, profession and so on, Baba asked, "What do you want? What do you expect from me?"
"I expect nothing material from you," Pophali sincerely replied. "I have enough. I have come for your help in Self-Realization. That is all."
"But to what extent are you prepared to pay its price?"
"I am ready for any sacrifice you may order."
"The kind of sacrifice you are talking about is very difficult for a man who is the sole support of his family as you are. If I ordered you to leave your family to its fate, or to fast for an indefinite period, live in seclusion, become a sanyasi, jump in a well or in a fire — or give you any other orders of whatever type — are you prepared to obey them?"
"Baba, I will gladly obey your orders whatever they may be. But I want to journey on the Path with full consciousness [as a salik], not as a mast!"
Baba was pleased and assured him, "I am very happy with you. Don't worry about anything. Attend the meeting and return home and work as usual. My orders will come at the proper time. I will help you in your spiritual progress and give you what you want."
Another new follower was Pritam Singh Sahni. He was a successful businessman running a thriving trade in Thailand. Once on Buddha's birthday, the local Buddhist people paid him much respect and greatly honored him. Pritam Singh questioned them, "Why are you felicitating me on this day?" And they replied, "You come from the land where our Lord Buddha was born."
This answer moved him deeply and lifted a veil from his mind. He thought: "What a pity that I know nothing about Buddha, although I come from India; and here these people are worshiping him so devoutly. My whole mind is obsessed with making money, and yet these people revere me as someone spiritual."