ChaptersChapter 17Page 2,503

Chapter 17: Meetings & Darshans

1945Page 2,503 of 5,444
Eruch requested that the attendant allow his "elder brother" to meet Bansi Baba ahead of schedule, as they had to return to Bankura. Baba and the men were led upstairs to a dimly lit room. At one end of the room, the yogi was seated on a kind of throne, with one foot resting on a footstool. He appeared very still, as if he were a statue, and the mandali felt the atmosphere filled with peace. Bansi Baba was naked to the waist, his head covered by a brown turban, a short dhoti covering his legs, and costly sandals lying nearby.
He was very thin, and Baba later described him to Don, "His body appeared to be mere bone wrapped in skin that looked like wax, but with not one wrinkle."
No one really knew how old he was, but some of his followers said he was 250 years old at that time.
This ancient yogi was truly remarkable; the bliss and love that he radiated in that semi-dark room made him an unforgettable personality.
After the contact, Baba returned to Bankura and happily remarked to the mandali, "Bansi Baba is a really good soul. All the trouble we took to reach him was amply justified."
They left Bankura at 12:45 P.M. on the 16th by train for Balasore, which they reached at 8:30 that night. Baba contacted the mast known as Bengali Baba . It was said that he had previously sat naked in one place in Balasore for twelve years without moving, eating what was offered or having nothing. When Baba contacted Bengali Baba he was by then an old man, who at that time wore clothes and wandered about the town. Baba liked him and remarked that he was a good mast.
Baba also contacted Data Saheb , an advanced soul, who was much revered in Balasore. An old man, he was contacted at night by Baba, and had to be awakened from his sleep for this purpose.
Baba and the men left early the next morning, Wednesday, 17 October 1945, for Bhadrakh. They arrived at seven o'clock, and contacted the mast Bengali Chacha in the village of Lokashal. It was raining that day, and Baba and the mandali got soaked. They left at eight the same evening by train for Cuttuck.
Arriving in Cuttuck at 3:00 A.M. on the 18th, they went to rest at a dak bungalow.
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