While going on this pilgrimage, he had inwardly repeated Baba's name, and his penance earned him a heartfelt embrace from the God-Man.
The mandali were lodged at Bhavani Prasad's house in Hamirpur.
At suppertime, Baba came and sat down on the floor with them, whereupon he asked, "Oh, you still haven't finished your food? Never mind; eat slowly, but be ready to leave soon. Take your time and have your fill, but do not delay."
Glancing at Nana Kher, Baba jocularly referred to his plodding manner by saying, "He won't finish until tomorrow!"
Admonishing Pankhraj, he asked, "Why thrust food so hurriedly and forcefully into your mouth? Eat less, but more often."
Thus, Baba was at his contradictory best. He wanted everyone to be served with all the items of food, yet at the same time, was in a hurry for them to finish eating.
Observing this, the local people began laughing, and Baba remarked, "I feed their bodies, but starve their minds!"
Referring to Hamirpur, at one point he disclosed: "In one of my previous advents, I stayed in this area."1
When Baba went to Pukar's home in Hamirpur, he became quite serious and stood perfectly still. His mood seemed to still the surroundings also. Only his fingers moved as he worked intensely. After a while, the chirping of a bird put a sudden end to the quietude, and Baba returned to his normal self.
In Hamirpur, a pundit named Matra Dutta Shastri came in close contact with Baba. He was an orthodox Brahmin, well-versed in the scriptures. He had come with a view to deriding Baba; but, seeing him, his heart underwent a miraculous change, and he bowed his head at Baba's feet and remained dedicated forever.
Another "scholarly" devotee was Madan Mohan Agrawal of Agra. He had helped prepare the five religious models carved from alabaster that Baba had used during the Manonash phase, and finally met Baba for the first time in Hamirpur. Madan had thoroughly studied the Ramayana by Valmiki, but only understood, at Baba's feet, the true meaning of this great epic — by finding Ram incarnate and becoming his follower.
Another of Meher Baba's messages given at this time was on "Miracles and Spiritual Healing":
When people suffer physically or mentally, individually or collectively, they want immediate relief from that suffering. All over the world, man's strife is subject to the opposites of pain and pleasure.
Footnotes
- 1.This may be in reference to Lord Ram's period of exile in the jungles.