On the 20th, Don is to go to Sarnath to see the bungalow there and give his opinion as to the feasibility and possibility of a ten-day stay there for the langoti-life training.
The begging-training at Benares will be introduced by my going out with some companions to beg at Dr. Nath's and Dr. Khare's residences on the 24th and 25th at ten o'clock each morning. Khare's family should be ready at Nath's place on the 25th, as I cannot go as far as the university, where the latter stays.
The 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th of November are the dates on which the companions are to go out begging in pairs. How to beg and what to say will be explained on the 20th.
For personal shopping in the bazaar, from tomorrow [the 18th], you can go out from noon to 5:00 P.M.
Baba directed Ghani and Adi to prepare a list of the activities from the 18th to the 30th of November with dates and exact timings. As permitted, the companions in groups of four went sightseeing to the ghats along the Ganges River. Pendu and Mani had contracted flu, and they were attended to by the doctors.
Every evening Baba would go for a walk with Ghani. Humorously, Baba ordered Ghani to greet him each morning Pathan-fashion, but with a slight change of the wording, which made it: " Sthadaymashay, Khawrdemashay, Joday, Tagday, Khushhalay, Kalemashay, Salamay. "
Baba would also tease Nilu by calling him Negro or Black Devil because of his dark complexion, and if Nilu got upset Baba would enjoy it more, calling him a pig. At other times, Baba affectionately called him Kala Deo , which means Black Angel.
Before retiring every night, Baba ordered Ghani to sing these lines in Urdu:
Old life has passed in different ways; Today has also passed somehow; Tomorrow be damned — who cares!1
At one point, Baba dictated this prayer for the companions to recite:
I am not the body, I am not the mind; I am not this, I am not that. I am nothing but a living lie of that Truth that is me; And unless the lie is dead, the Truth cannot be [known].
On Friday, 18 November 1949, the owner of the bungalow was noticed walking about in the garden with the gardener. Seeing them, Baba became displeased. It was his order that during the period of his stay, no one should step into the area.
Footnotes
- 1.Eruch translated these lines in his personal "prayer book" as: Yesterday passed by somehow; Today passes by thus. To hell with tomorrow — who cares!