Therefore, only Don should go forward to meet the Westerners, and either Ghani, Adi, Nilu, Eruch, Pendu or Vishnu should explain things to Indians. The rest of you, if asked anything about the New Life, should refer the questioner to the said named companions.
If asked by anyone as to why Meher Baba still observes silence, you should say, "It is his personal and individual desire."
If asked as to why you do certain things, say, "Although we are Meher Baba's companions on an equal footing, yet we have to obey him implicitly, by virtue of our arrangement with him. He is not only our friend and companion, but he is like our elder brother, too."
If asked about the New Life, speak about such general but important things such as no darshan, no blessings, no grace, the begging, langoti and labor phases.
If asked as to what Baba does, you can say, "He works and begs like any of us." For other details, they should be referred to the New Phase booklet, which can be had from the Ahmednagar office. You should behave toward the visitors with all kindness and humility. Under no circumstances should you lose your temper or get irritated over their questions — [whether they be] regular, irregular or provocative.
At this point, Baba spontaneously dictated the following lines to Ghani (in Urdu):
We do not bother in the least what others think of us;
Our sole preoccupation is suffering and nothing else.
It is Allah for the Muslims, and Ram for the Hindus;
Night is the same as day, and morning the same as evening
And the only currency in Abdul Ghani's pockets is that of poverty!
In the evening, discussing the New Life begging phase to start after 1 January, Baba further decided: "You can, if offered without asking, accept ghee, kerosene, tea, sugar, firewood, chillum pipes, tobacco, matches and fire."
The main topic of discussion the following day, Monday, 7 November 1949, centered on publication of a booklet on the New Life and its objectives to contend with and avoid lengthy explanations to visitors. Some men were in favor of the proposal, some not. In the course of discussing the idea, Baba clarified the following points with an analogy of constructing a building:
The New Life — which may be said to have begun on October 16, 1949 — has three stages.
The first is from October 16 to December 31.