Baba was in quite a happy mood, and whenever he approached the companions he would distribute chocolates or dried fruit. He was one with them, and those who had experienced the Manzil-e-Meem days, more than 25 years before in 1922, enjoyed the same atmosphere of God living as man among them.
Baba encouraged the mandali to "have no fear" about anything. But on some, such as Adi Sr., Baba had put an enormous strain in the months leading up to the New Life. The dissolution of so many private arrangements and the legal transferring of different responsibilities regarding various business and land transactions placed a heavy burden on the mandali. Adi Sr. had had no sleep the night before leaving, having been up until 4:00 A.M. signing power of attorney agreements. As he recorded worriedly in his diary on 16 October 1949: "Baba allows us to smoke, relax, have 'no fear' about anything, and complete relegation of the past to the past. But I am depressed with the thought of Gulmai [his mother], the Meher Publications office, my servant boys, added to the nervous strain of the two months preparation prior to the start [of the New Life] in breathless speed."
That night in Supa, Baba rested by reclining on a dining table. Eruch slept at his side, as Anna 104 kept watch. The next morning, Baba went to the companions in a very bright mood, and asked how they had slept. All replied they had slept well.
Smiling, Baba remarked, "I slept better than I've ever slept before!"
For the first time in many years, Baba said, unburdened by all his previous "responsibilities," he had been able to fall asleep and sleep well.
But then, at night someone looking for a place to sleep, had pulled and knocked on Baba's door. The noise startled Baba from his slumber, and not used to resting at such a height as a table, he tumbled off. Fortunately, he broke the fall with his palms and was unhurt. The rest of the night he slept soundly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ghani interjected, "As thanksgiving for Nilu's safety, ten rupees' worth of sweets was permitted; now, since Baba is also saved, the celebration should be all the more!" In response, Baba sanctioned Rs.21 toward the purchase of sweets once they reached Sirur. Nilu was very happy. Had he been allowed to subsist on a daily diet of sweets, he would have done so!