Leaving his business, Pritam Singh returned to India and began longing for the darshan of the "living Buddha." He visited several sadhus and saints, but was never satisfied. He had heard of Meher Baba in 1936, and read a few of his books, but darshan being unavailable, he had had to wait six years before he could meet the one his heart had recognized. On the 27th of December, his wish was fulfilled.
Pritam vividly recalled that first meeting:
I followed Adi Sr. in a state of immense joy, my heart full of [Baba's] love, my eyes full of joyous tears, running toward the Lord of my heart, who had made me his, long before.
One step in the hut, I was face to face with my beloved Baba, who was reclining. I saw his brilliant face shining as a full moon, more beautiful than any face I had ever seen before. His two beautiful eyes, as wide and deep as an ocean, pierced my heart and kissed my soul. His graceful smile confirmed forever that I belonged to him and him alone.
I was lost in him for a while, and then Adi took my hand and bade me sit beside him. Baba looked at me and the happiness of my millions of lives cannot equal the bliss of that one moment with Baba. Baba held my hand, drew me to his heart, gave me a warm embrace and made me aware that I was in the lap of the God-Mother, drinking deep from the well of his love.
Baba asked, "What do you wish for?" Before Pritam Singh could speak in reply, Baba dictated on the board, "I know what you want. For you, words are unnecessary."
And then Baba embraced him once again.
A large tent filled with chairs for the men had been erected near the railway tracks. At one end of the tent was a platform on which Baba's gaadi had been placed. The platform had green carpeting on it, and the gaadi was covered that day in yellow silk. The general meeting convened at nine o'clock on the morning of 27 December 1942. Baba's opening remarks were read out to the men in four languages: by Adi Sr. in English, Chanji in Gujarati, Ghani in Urdu, and Vishnu in Marathi:
I have my own reasons for the work that is going to be done by me in the very near future. I know the nature of the work and the seriousness of the instructions. Out of nearly five to six hundred followers, I have called only you few.