Baba started giving two hours of nightwatch duty to Bhau in Mahabaleshwar. Krishna would be on watch from 9:00 P.M. to 4:00 A.M., and Bhau from 4:00 to 6:00 A.M. At six o'clock, Rano would come for half an hour. At the time, those on duty had to sit outside Baba's room and be alert and watchful; only when Baba clapped did they enter his room. When their duty was over, they were to lock Baba's room from outside and then leave, handing the key to their replacement.
One night Krishna locked Baba's room and forgot to tell Bhau where he had put the key. Shortly, Baba clapped, and Bhau frantically searched for the key. There was a window which Bhau pushed open and looked inside. Baba gestured for him to come in but Bhau replied, "The room is locked."
Baba again signaled, indicating that he should open the door and come in at once, because Baba wanted to urinate. Bhau replied that he could not find the key, and Baba gestured that he was quite useless and that he was to sit back down. Baba himself got up and took the pan to pass urine. Due to these frantic, tense moments, Bhau was perspiring even in the winter cold.
The episode did not end here. Krishna had told Bhau that he should tell Rano that Baba wanted to be awakened between 6:30 and 7:00 A.M. When Rano came Bhau gave her the information, but she counter-questioned, "Am I to wake him at 6:30 or 7:00?"
Puzzled, Bhau hesitated then replied, "At seven."
When Baba came to the mandali's quarters at eight, he teased Bhau, "I fail to comprehend how you passed your M.A.! You have no sense at all."
He then informed the others what had happened during the night, and the other men had a good laugh.
After Baba returned to Mahabaleshwar, he called Kishan Singh and Kumar from Dehra Dun. They arrived on the evening of 25 January. For the tour, Baba dictated the message "Existence Is Substance and Life Is Shadow":
Existence is Eternal, whereas Life is perishable.
Comparatively, Existence is what his body is to man, and Life is as the cloth that covers the body. The same body changes clothes according to the seasons, time and circumstances, just as the One and Eternal Existence is always there throughout the countless and varied aspects of Life.