There had been a number of robberies in the area recently, and the people of the tiny village took Baidul to be a bandit as, in many ways, he resembled a husky Pathan. The townsfolk informed the police, who wanted to arrest Baidul and the party of weary, unshaven, dirty individuals (whose clothing was by now soiled). Eruch went and talked with the police inspector, and convinced him they were Zoroastrians and meant no harm.
The inspector believed him and let Baidul go. Baba contacted the old mast Abdulla Saheb twice, and returned to Hyderabad the next day, the 16th, again covering 25 miles by bullock cart.
As Age noted, "A mast tour with Meher Baba was no leisurely trip, for the hunting down of almost every mast, whether it be in a back alley, desert, jungle, mountains, a cemetery, or the filthiest of hovels, meant many mentally and physically exhausting hours of torturous travel, with a minimum of rest and food. No doubt, the masts were Meher Baba's true lovers, but finding them — and then persuading them to submit to his personal contact — was unimaginably difficult and painstaking, and could break the bravest of hearts and most courageous of spirits of his mandali.
"It was only the Avatar who could do such work, as he alone knew the secrets of the masts' lives and the longing of their hearts."
Baba departed Hyderabad for Meherabad by train with Adi Sr. on 22 May 1945 to attend the scheduled meeting. Most the men and all of the women mandali stayed in Hyderabad. Sarosh met Baba at Manmad and drove him in his car to Meherabad.
According to instructions, those invited arrived in Meherabad on the 23rd, and Baba gave them individual interviews. Called to the meeting were the following 40 men: Fourteen of the mandali: Adi Sr., Annasaheb Kale, Chhagan, Eruch, Ghani, Gustadji, Kaikobad, Kalemama, Murli, Padri, Pendu, Sailor, Savak and Jalbhai. Twenty-two other men: Babadas, Dattu Mehendarge, Dr. Deshmukh, Dhake, Daulat Singh, Gadekar, Homi Bhatena, Kuppuswami, Jal Kerawalla, Manekar, Manek Mehta, Meherjee Satha, Nariman Dadachanji, Pandoba, Pappa Jessawala, Piloo Satha, Pophali, Ramjoo, Sadashiv Patil, Sarosh, Vibhuti and Adi Jr.1
Feram Workingboxwala was told to keep a record of the proceedings in shorthand. The two-day meeting was held in the Mess Quarters (old dharamshala building) in lower Meherabad. It began at 8:00 A.M. on Thursday, 24 May 1945, when Baba briefly outlined the schedule for the next two days. The meetings would be held for three hours in the morning, while in the evenings Baba would give private interviews. He then stated:
Footnotes
- 1.Four of the mandali — Baidul, Kaka, Nilu and Vishnu — were included among the men, but they stayed in Hyderabad and did not attend the meeting.