They would visit the homes of the poor in advance, exhorting them to accept the gift. People found it hard to believe, because at that time it was difficult even to buy grain. Consequently, many were reluctant to come. Others spread false rumors that it was all a cruel hoax. The already troublesome task for the mandali was thus made even more difficult.
The third distribution function was held at Paithan on Saturday, 18 March 1944. Baba had gone there on the 14th with Adi Sr. and Jalbhai, and over the five-day period he was there, almost 3,000 persons were given grain.1 The mandali went from house to house distributing coupons, requesting people to avail themselves of the opportunity. Baba himself personally oversaw the charitable work.
Baba continued his mast work, simultaneously with these distributions to the poor. In the town of Bir, he contacted a half-mad, half-mast on the street called Chandu Mian , but the mast refused to move to a more private venue for contact. After waiting for more than two hours, Baba left disappointed. A mastani named Shanti Bai was found sleeping on a verandah, but here too a crowd gathered and would not disperse despite repeated requests. The mastani became frightened when the mandali closed the doors. The mastani was much revered by the local women in Bir, who would bathe, clothe and feed her, and sometimes she wore a beautiful sari instead of dirty clothes. Shanti Bai was usually found with five to six dogs about her, and like most masts who loved dogs, she always fed the dogs before she ate.
A mast named Maulvi Abdul Wahab was found in Paithan, and brought for contact to Aurangabad . Baba liked this rather unusual character. Odd as it may sound, this mast was employed as a schoolteacher, though he did not teach any particular subject. He would only exhort the students to repeat: "There is no God but the One God," and urge them to pray to Him. This mast was quite revered and an attendant was provided by the state authorities to bring him once a day to the school to sign the register there. He actually drew a salary which the government turned over to his wife, and a small portion to a shopkeeper who provided meals for the mast.
Abdul Wahab must have been formerly educated and initiated in Sufi lore, because during his contact he clearly explained to Baba and Baidul in articulate language that he had once been absorbed in a majzoob-like state, and had written some notes about his spiritual experiences. He further explained, in clear terms, that his present consciousness fluctuated between sometimes being salik-like and sometimes majzoob-like.
Footnotes
- 1.Kaka, Eruch, Baidul and Chanji arrived separately.