Within two hours all the replies were in Baba's hands. They contained a few surprises. Jal Kerawalla, whom Baba wanted as an Arrangementwala, noted "Yes" on his copy of the conditions. Baba had this mistake rectified before going to eat. Jal accepted Baba's wish, and after offering a special prayer, he was freed to continue serving in his present job.
Baba also appeared surprised at Padri's decision of "No." The mandali too were surprised. Some speculated that Padri had come to some sort of limit of his endurance, and he realized that joining the New Life was going to be a very taxing thing. As Meherwan Jessawala explained, "Padri had passed through many such 'new lives' with Baba in his old days, and he knew the rigors of what was coming, so probably he must have felt that he wouldn't be able to please Baba as he would want to, so better to say 'No' than to be a burden to him. In any case, Padri's saying 'No' was a great surprise to everybody, including Baba himself. Although, of course, Baba being all knowing knew what was to come, but on our level he was both surprised and a bit disappointed."
Baba remarked, "I wished [Padri] to accompany me, and his negative reply has pained me. But at the same time I am glad, as Padri is one of the four pillars of Meherabad; and seeing that the other three pillars [Pendu, Vishnu and Adi Sr.] are coming with me, in case of their 'falling' [dying], at least one will be left standing!"
Padri himself, years later, stated that he was doing what Baba wanted him to do. Baba had instructed him to stay behind to look after the Meherabad property. "It was a prearranged drama staged by the Master himself," Padri revealed. "[Baba] called me beforehand and told me privately what I was to say and do. When the time came, I performed as he asked and merely acted out my part. That is all there was to it."
Referring to Gadekar and Deshmukh, and others in that category, who had written "No," Baba remarked, "May God always keep Gadekar in my heart."
About Deshmukh he commented, "Deshmukh will always be near and dear to me."
Bal Natu, the schoolteacher from Kurduwadi, was one who wrote "Yes." Bal had decided to give up his job to accompany Baba, but he had suffered from tuberculosis and, from a health standpoint, was not physically fit for such a life of hardships and privations. He was therefore freed from his decision.
Pandoba Deshmukh (one of the early teachers at Meherabad) also wrote "Yes," but he had a large family and could make no provision for their maintenance while he was away. Pandoba's name too was deleted.