There he washed and laid his head on the feet of 600 men and women. To 583 of them he handed bundles of grain and cloth, and gave 50 people one rupee each and two persons two rupees each.
Thus the third phase of Meher Baba's work at this time was completed. More than 4,000 poor or destitute villagers had personally benefited by the God-Man's touch.
During this period, Eruch's cousin Dadi Kerawala, 20, received his bachelor degree in agriculture, and came to Baba one day. He asked, "What should I do now?"
"Do my farming," Baba replied.
Dadi did not understand and inquired, "How?"
"Go to Mandla and farm the land at my center there. By doing this you will learn how my farming is done," Baba instructed.
Baba sent him to Mandla with Sohrabji Vakil of Surat. By cultivating the farmland there for a year, Dadi came to understand what Baba had meant. Baba would continually pester him by sending frequent instructions, which he had to act upon immediately. Only then did he grasp that to follow Baba's behests at all times is doing his "farming."
On Tuesday, 9 March 1948, Gadekar brought Shankar Turekar, 40, to Meherabad to see Baba. Turekar had been in Baba's contact since the Nasik days when, along with Minoo Kharas, he used to visit Baba often. With them were three other persons from Poona. Their names were Bapusaheb Shinde, Laxman Ramchandra Kamble, 29, and Bal Dhavle. They had found out about Baba through Gadekar (who had been transferred to Poona) and two of them were meeting him for the first time. (Shinde had met Baba two years before.)
Baba asked each man, "How many children do you have?"
Every man except Kamble replied.
Baba turned to him and inquired, "Why are you silent? Don't you have any children?"
Kamble replied, "No, Baba, I do not."
"Do you want one?" Baba asked.
"If you so wish to grant us one," he replied.
Baba handed him a coconut and stated, "Give up all thoughts of children and only think of me. You will have my prasad."
Turekar was a police sub-inspector who was not averse to accepting graft.
Baba asked him, "Do you take bribes?"
"Yes, Baba," he admitted candidly.
"You have been in my contact for so many years and still you accept bribes? Such corruption is not at all good. Give it up completely."
Turekar accepted Baba's wish and promised to change.