Ghani had learned to listen to his old friend and took his words seriously. From that day on, he began sweeping the dispensary. Things did change after months of doing such work, although not as Ghani had expected.
Baba expressed a wish to visit Mandwa, and asked Munshiji to telegraph certain persons in Poona and Lonavla and invite them to join him on the journey. Before leaving Bombay, Baba's omniscience was demonstrated one morning at Munshiji's, when Baba was busy meeting visitors. Far away, a few of the close men were joking with each other in an off-color manner (something they would never do in Baba's presence). Suddenly, someone came running towards them with a message from Baba: "Stop all this nonsensical talk at once and feel ashamed for talking in this way. If you have nothing better to talk about, leave this place at once and never show your faces to me again!" It was an object lesson for the early disciples to be conscious of their conversations and actions, even when not in Baba's presence.
On Monday, 23 January 1922, Baba, Munshiji, Gustadji, Baily, Ghani, Dalvi, Lateef, and Abdulla Haroon Jaffer left on a coastal steamer from Bombay to Mandwa.1 Just before departure, two Muslim friends, S. M. Usman and Jaffer's brother-in-law, Ramjoo Abdulla, arrived on board. Usman had been invited and felt inclined to invite Ramjoo, who had previously seen Baba several times, but who had not had the opportunity of being with him for more than a few moments.
The group of men carried baskets filled with sweets, fruit, chutney and bread. As the steamer chugged out of the harbor, Baba started distributing some of the refreshments, and all were in a jovial mood. Gazing at the receding city, one of the men began to extol life in Bombay — its magnificent buildings, its landmarks and beautiful shoreline — and Baba also praised its grandeur. But he then posed this question, "Is it the sight which is great, or the seer?"
A debate ensued among the men. Baba shed light on various angles of spiritual ideas which stimulated new perceptions in their minds.
After an hour they disembarked at Mandwa and walked to the bungalow that Dalvi had reserved. After settling in, some went out for a stroll around the town. Ramjoo was a strict Muslim and he found a quiet place where he began offering namaz (prayers). When Ramjoo returned to the bungalow, he found Baba in an irritated mood.
Footnotes
- 1.Lateef was a Muslim school friend of Baba's who worked for some time at the Poona racecourse but by this time was living in Bombay. (His name was also spelled as Latiff.) Abdulla Jaffer was Ramjoo's brother-in-law, a justice of the peace and a member of the Poona Municipal Corporation.