From Peshawar, Baba proceeded to "No Man's Land," the barren region that borders Afghanistan, to sit in seclusion for a few days, as he had previously outlined. Baidul and Kaka kept watch during Baba's work. Baba and the men then traveled back to Lahore, where he met the women mandali (Mehera, Mani, Meheru and Rano) and the other men (Krishna, Nilu, Venkoba Rao and Vishnu), who had left Srinagar on the 26th of September.1
Habibullah Baig had also come with them to Lahore and desired to remain with Baba.
Baba explained to Habibullah, in no uncertain terms, "It is extremely hard to live with me. Those who are with me tread on thorns."
"I would like to stay with you, nonetheless," Habibullah assured him.
But Baba advised, "Your father is old. Look after him instead."
With Habibullah's agreement to this, Baba arranged a monthly stipend for Habibullah's family, and sent him back to Srinagar. Habibullah did not give up, however, and years later came to see Baba in Ahmednagar.
From Lahore, Baba proceeded to Agra, arriving at midnight on the 30th. Baidul and Keki Desai had been sent to Agra a week before to secure accommodations, which they did at the Agra Hotel on Cariappa Road. In Agra, Baba contacted five masts on 2 October 1944. The most advanced among them was Raja Nam , also called Mahatma , who lived alone in a small fortress-like hut isolated from human contact in the sandy wastes of the Jumna riverbed.
The following afternoon, Baba, Baidul and Kaka left Agra on the Punjab Mail for Delhi. They had dinner at Keki Desai's house, where they spent the night. The next day around noon, accompanied by Keki, they left Delhi by train for Mathura, where several masts were contacted, including the greatest in the area, Inayatulla , a sixth-plane saint and the spiritual chargeman of Mathura. This saint was a very tiny old man, quite naked, who loved sweets.
After completing his mast work in Mathura, Baba returned to Delhi the same evening and again had dinner and rested at Keki Desai's. At 7:45 A.M. on 5 October, Baba, Kaka, Baidul and Keki left Delhi by the Peshawar Express for Panipat, where Baba recontacted certain masts. After finishing his work, he boarded the Bombay Express that evening. Keki got down at the Delhi station, where his wife Dhun, as instructed, had brought food, which Baba and the men took with them for their journey to Agra.
Footnotes
- 1.Baba may have traveled back to Rawalpindi, rather than Lahore; his itinerary is uncertain.