Baba sent the group away and called about 20 of the workers of the Eluru Meher Center to his room.
He told them, "I say with my divine authority that I am God."
He repeated his statement, "I declare with my divine authority that I am God."
Then he concluded, "I am God in human form. I alone am real; all else is illusion. Love me from the depths of your hearts."
Baba then departed to give darshan in two nearby villages. Along the way, he had the car stopped and approached a tongawala, who was resting under a tree with his horse. This man had been ferrying lovers to Subba Rao's garden for Baba's darshan, but being a Muslim, he had been offended one day when one devotee had informed him that Meher Baba was Khuda — a Persian name for God (the Supreme Being). Now Baba was standing before him.
Although Baba had already eaten breakfast, he told the man (through Eruch) that he was hungry and wished to share in his meager meal. Knowing the man's heart had been hurt, at one point Baba asked him what he was thinking, and the Muslim replied, "Baba, your followers say you are Khuda."
Making a play on words, Baba replied in Hindi: " My Khuda hu; isliay my khud aya hu ," meaning, "I am God; that is why I have come to you personally."1
The man was so moved, he prostrated on the ground, weeping in front of Baba for some time.
That afternoon, Baba granted interviews in Eluru to those from North India who were to leave soon. Several persons felt sad at the thought of their departure.
Baba comforted them, "If you have love for me, distance or being away from my physical presence does not matter. I am in you, and the Universal Mind can give anything, to anyone, at any time. Just follow these instructions: love me; do not deceive; don't commit misdeeds. I will be with you."
Baba reminded the entire mandali to stay awake that night.
"Beware, don't sleep," he gestured.
After the interviews, Baba paid more house visits. Ranga Rao read out the names of those to be visited.
As Baba stood up to go, he joked, "In the beginning, I was told that, at the most, there would be about 19 house visits in Eluru, but now it seems that the number will soon reach 90!"
Footnotes
- 1.This humble tongawala became one of Baba's lovers and years later died at Meherabad during an Amartithi celebration.