At noon on the 25th, Baba spontaneously composed this poem:
To be born in a church is a blessing, To die in it is a curse. In the company of a Master, Who hopelessness can nurse?
Five years before, in 1940, Baba had stated, "Mussolini will eventually be killed violently; Hitler will commit suicide."
In April 1945, Mussolini was attempting to escape to Switzerland, when he was captured and killed by Italian partisans. His body was brought to Milan where it was hung upside down for public viewing at a petrol (gasoline) station.
On Tuesday, 1 May 1945, Ali Shah was sent back to Ahmednagar, and Baba began a ten-day fast on water mixed with Glucose D for seven days, and water and orange juice on the final two days. The same day, his close disciples throughout India also fasted for a day, according to the circular issued in March. Despite fasting, Baba continued to go out into the city for mast contacts. As they had so many times before, the mandali realized the significance of Baba's work with Ali Shah and his fast, when they heard on the radio on May 1st that Adolf Hitler had committed suicide the day before, knowing Berlin was about to be captured by the Allies.1 Later, Baba expressed his disappointment that Hitler had killed himself and had not faced the consequences of his actions, as the other Nazi leaders were forced to do.
Kishan Singh, of Rawalpindi, 44, had first heard of Meher Baba in 1933. He had tried to meet Baba in Dehra Dun in May of 1941, but by the time he got there, Baba had left. He began corresponding with Baba through Adi Sr., and longed for his darshan. He had been called to the meeting in May, scheduled for the 24th, but as it coincided with some official work he had to attend to, he found it impossible to get leave.
Finally on 3 May 1945, Kishan arrived in Hyderabad, determined to have Baba's darshan after all these years. He did not know Baba's address, but after much searching through the city, a tonga driver brought him to the mandali's residence, where he encountered Vishnu. Vishnu greeted him with strong words: "Baba is not seeing anyone. He is fasting. Now you should leave."
Kishan was not so easily dissuaded, replying, "Baba himself has created this restlessness in my heart for his darshan, and I won't leave without his darshan."
Footnotes
- 1.This refers to the Nazis who were tried and hanged at Nuremberg for war crimes. Instead of committing suicide, it would have benefited Adolf Hitler had he stood trial before the world and faced the consequences of his actions.