"In a few days," he replied.
"Will you pass?" asked Baba.
"Of course," Meherwan assured him.
Eruch interrupted, "He has not studied at all, Baba! He has not had time. So how can he pass?"
Therefore, Baba ordered Meherwan, "All right, now start studying."
Only four or five days were left, but Meherwan concentrated and passed his final exam.
The Thade family resided in Poona. Although the three brothers Laxmikant, Kisan and Narendra had met Baba, their mother and sister had not. One day, while they were walking along the road, looking at Guruprasad and knowing Baba was inside, Baba suddenly came out on the verandah, enabling the whole family to see him from a distance.
On 30 March, Baba sat in seclusion at these five different locations in Poona: in the Pataleshwar Cave near Jangli Maharaj Temple; at a spot near Chaturshringi Temple; by the side of a tomb near that temple; near the Parsi Tower of Silence; and near a Christian cemetery.
During each brief seclusion, Eruch, Pendu and Baidul carried a white sheet, spread it over the place where Baba was to sit, and kept watch.
On Sunday, 1 April 1951, Baba went to Baba House, where his brother Beheram and his family were residing. There, Baba entered the room where, after being unveiled by Babajan, he used to knock his head on the stone floor. As instructed beforehand, Beheram and his family were in another part of the house. As an added precaution that no one should see him, the three servant-companions held up a white sheet to shield Baba as he walked to his room. After his seclusion work in the room, Baba left without meeting any of the family. This was the sixth place of seclusion.
On 6 April, with the women, Baba proceeded in Adi Sr.'s car to Alandi, about 20 miles outside of Poona, to the tomb and temple of Sadguru Dnyaneshwar.1 After sitting in seclusion at Dnyaneshwar's shrine for some time, Baba was driven back to Poona.
Besides doing seclusion work at these seven places, Baba also contacted a few masts in Poona. On the 7th, Baba returned to Mahabaleshwar with the entire group (including Naja), where his seclusion continued.
On the way to Mahabaleshwar, Adi stopped the car briefly at Bindra House to pick up their lunch. It was the first time since the start of the New Life that Gaimai and her daughter, Manu, had seen Baba. Pappa Jessawala had seen Baba at the Mahabaleshwar meeting the year before, and with Meherwan recently at Guruprasad.
Footnotes
- 1.Born in the 13th century, Dnyaneshwar was, according to Baba, the youngest Sadguru ever to have lived. He was in his teens when he became Perfect. Before he was 20, he had his disciples bury him alive at Alandi. Dnyaneshwar is considered the "Supreme Interpreter of the Gita." Until his time, the Gita had been read only in Sanskrit, but in a state of divine inspiration and illumination, he rewrote the entire book in Marathi.