Surprised, Maharaj said, "At this time of night? You can bathe them in the morning."
“”Baba stated, "All right, I agree. But you should also agree to what I say. Give us permission to leave tomorrow after bathing the lepers."
Maharaj accepted, and thus a compromise was struck between Maharaj and his "Vithoba."
Amidst acclamations of his Jai, Baba and Maharaj left the riverbank at 12:45 A.M. As the car approached the dharamshala, Maharaj folded his hands, turned to Baba and said, "I am too old now to do any more work; if you keep me with you I will not be a burden to you. A few bhakris and one kafni are all that I need." Baba, touched and amused by his petition, warmly embraced him.
Gadge Maharaj also requested that Baba visit his other dharamshala meant especially for Harijans, and Baba promised he would go there in the morning when he visited the leper colony.
“”After Maharaj got down and they had driven off, Baba told the mandali, "No one but I can understand the real meaning behind Maharaj's words. Maharaj is indeed a perfect saint, in the real sense of the word."
Baba and the mandali returned to the school where the other lovers had already collected. Baba asked for tea, but took only one or two sips.
“”He then said: "I love Gadge Maharaj dearly; he is truly a great saint. Now that our meeting has taken place, he will soon drop his body and come to me to enjoy eternal bliss."
Baba also stated: "You all must remember one thing, and that is that whatever I have declared in my Final Declaration will assuredly come to pass."
Reiterating the main points of the Declaration, Baba added, "I want all my lovers to inform others of this Declaration and spread my message of love to all four corners of the land!"
Gadekar said, "When we speak about the destruction of three-fourths of the world, the rich and intellectuals ridicule us, whereas the poor believe us and emphatically say the world will come to an end."
“”Baba was amused by this and replied, "The poor and depressed derive a sort of relief on hearing about it in the hope and belief that the destruction of the world will automatically destroy with it their own suffering and poverty. They believe it, not because I say so, but because conditions have brought them to such a state that out of selfishness they would consider it to be a comfort and relief toward their own salvation. It is only natural that the rich and intellectuals ridicule it. They are not to blame. It is not their fault. When you who love me and have had such close contact with me do not understand my Final Declaration, then it is absurd to expect others to understand or believe it."
