But on no account must you fully stretch your body parallel to the ground when you are asleep or even when you are fully awake, so that your head touches the ground or the thing on which you are sitting or resting.
5. You must not read anything or write anything during the entire period. You can make the barest minimum of gestures to persons attending on you for conveying your thoughts regarding your requirements.
6. You can freely take water throughout the entire period. Even if you do not feel thirsty, you must take sips of water occasionally and thus keep the throat always moist. You must take a minimum of one cup and can take a maximum of two cups of tea at a time once in 24 hours. The tea must be prepared in the proportion of one cup of milk and one cup of tea and then taken. Those who do not desire to take tea must take only one cup of milk instead.
7. Every day at 12:00 noon, you must take one teaspoonful of Maclean's Stomach Powder in a glassful of water.1
8. For the first two days after completing the duty, that is, on the 22nd and 23rd of February, you must take only fruit juice, as and when you like. Sugar may be added, if and as required.
9. On the third day after completing the duty, that is, on the 24th, before starting to take solid food, you must feed well one poor man after first bowing down to him. Both while bowing down and feeding the poor man, you must feel as if you are bowing down to and feeding Baba. You can then start taking solid food in the form of soft rice, dal, buttermilk, et cetera. You must eat only such solid food that day. From the next day onwards, you can commence taking food as usual.
Note: You must not, on any account, question or bother Baba in any manner nor correspond with him on the subject before the commencement of the duty. Even if you happen to fall ill before the commencing date and time, you must start and finish the duty according to the schedule. Secondly, you must do the duty wholeheartedly without any doubt or fear whatsoever and with 100 percent love for Baba.
Cowas Vesuna of Navsari also wanted to fast, and Baba asked him,
"Would you feel bad if I do not permit you to?"
Footnotes
- 1.Maclean's Stomach Powder was a popular indigestion remedy.