Mani and Meheru needed surgery, and they were operated upon in Hyderabad, with Goher in constant attendance. Rano prepared breakfast for all the women, and washed Baba's clothes. These were duties which Meheru had been doing until she had fallen ill. Mehera attended to Baba's personal work. Naja cooked the meals, and Kitty helped her. Mani's condition became serious, so Baba would make Rano phone the hospital often, inquiring about her.
On Tuesday, 31 July 1951, certain instructions were issued and sent to the following five close lovers:
Meherjee Karkaria (of Bombay): On October 16, 1951, be at the Udwada fire-temple along with a poor Parsi from the area.
Keki Desai (of Delhi): On October 16, 1951, be at Khwaja Saheb [Mu'inuddin Chishti]'s tomb in Ajmer with a poor Muslim from the area.
Was Deo Kain (of Delhi): On October 16, 1951, be at Krishna's temple in Mathura with a poor Hindu of Mathura.
Gaya Prasad Khare (of Rath): On October 16, 1951, be at the Buddha temple in Sarnath with a poor Buddhist or Jain from Sarnath or Benares.
Vishwanath Haldankar (of Kolhapur): On October 16, 1951, be at the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier in Goa with a poor Christian of Goa.
The five men were further instructed:
Both you and the local poor person should observe a fast (tea and water may be taken as many times as desired) for 24 hours from the morning of October 16, and recite the prayer (to be given) in the designated places.
Both take a bath on October 16 before the prayers. Both can recite the prayer in the language of your choice.
The poor person should be paid the sum of Rs.101.
You can leave the place on October 16 after the prayers have been recited by yourself and the poor person.
Underscoring the importance of the work he was giving them, Baba urged them, "Do the duty at any cost."
Baba wished to go into seclusion, and he issued these five specific points for the selection of a suitable spot:
"The place must be away from the city.
"It should either be on a hill or close to the sea.
"It should have a small village nearby.
"It should have a spiritual history.
"It should have a vast expanse on at least one side, so that I may move about freely without being disturbed."