From Ajmer, Baba with the six mandali arrived in Baroda on the 16th. There he again communed with Chambu Shah . This time the mast did not call Baba back and forth, but wanted two new lungis and also a shirt. These were procured and handed to him by Baba. Chambu Shah put them on, after stripping off his old, dirty clothes, and giving them to Baba to wear. Later that day, Baba did wear the mast's clothes, and then put them carefully in his suitcase.1
After this contact, Baba and the mandali traveled to Cambay, where Baba contacted a high mast named Rehman Shah and another called Bapu Kharaowala . Leaving Cambay, Baba proceeded to Viramgam, where he worked with Ahmed Mastan on the 17th. They found the naked mast playing in a pond of water.
From Viramgam Baba left for Morvi in Saurashtra, where on 18 November, he sat with a very great mast, known as Majzoob Ali Shah . Baba went to him at eleven o'clock at night. Upon seeing him the saintly mast exclaimed, "He is a real fakir! He is a real fakir!"2
When people approached Majzoob Ali Shah, they saw at first a short, fat man, with long white hair and a white beard. He was seated by the train station of Morvi, surrounded by scrapped rail wagons, and at times would open a water tap and let it pour water out onto the ground or over his feet. However, anyone who came close to this mast would soon be captured by his shining countenance and, forgetting his rough appearance, would only be aware that they were in the presence of some tremendous personality. As one of the mandali described him, the mast's bearing was so impressive, there was no other word to describe him other than "kingly."
Majzoob Ali Shah was a king, but not of this world. This jamali mast of regal bearing shared some of his mash of bread and water with Baba and Baidul, and then became restless and started pacing back and forth. He did this for two hours and at last sat down. He ordered Baba's men to move away from where he was sitting, and instructed Baba to bring fresh dates worth one paisa (penny) and give half to him. Three or four were brought, and Baba gave half to Majzoob Ali Shah. He then sat alone with him for contact and the inner work.
It was later learned that Majzoob Ali Shah had been exiled from his homeland in Bhuj, the capital of Kutch (Rajasthan) . The reason for his exile was that he attracted such crowds around him in Kutch that the authorities feared that he would become a menace to civil order. After he was forcibly deported from his home, he wandered in India and eventually settled in Morvi, where again his tremendous "kingly" personality attracted people from all over Saurashtra state.
Footnotes
- 1.When Baba returned to Meherazad, he put these things from the mast carefully in the trunk that contained Chambu Shah's other clothes given to him previously. During one phase, Baba kept this tin box of Chambu Shah's clothes with him in his room wherever he stayed.
- 2.Fakir has a literal meaning of one who has taken a vow of poverty, and also of one who has renounced the world, a man leading a holy life solely dedicated to God. But in Sufi literature, the word fakir also means one who is spiritually perfect, known as a Qutub.