All were given such freedom of speech to such an extent that even matters pertaining to Baba were permitted — if anyone felt reason to complain against him, about his orders and opinions, or if anyone felt hurt by him. All such issues and anything else could be openly and frankly brought up in the Gutta.
Quite often the discussions would lead to heated arguments, and whenever the situation seemed to be getting out of control, Baba would intervene and, bringing the house to order, would settle the issue. At other times, Baba would sit quietly, enjoying all the proceedings with a smile on his face. After the discussions, Baba would give his own opinion and there would be further discussion on that and the matter would be put to vote for the majority decision. At times, when Baba was not in favor of the majority decision, he was obliged to give his final vote, and everybody had to obey it.
There were two rules of this Gutta that were to be always followed. The first was that irrespective of how excited or angry one may become during the course of the discussions, deliberations, arguments, etc., one should refrain from using unparliamentary and abusive language. One should not use words that were insulting, hurtful, or humiliating to others. Under no circumstances should such heated arguments be allowed to take a serious turn. No trace or vestige of ill-feeling should be retained in the heart, nor should one create enmity with another. The second rule was that any matters discussed and decisions arrived at, or thoughts and ideas exchanged within the Gutta should not be mentioned outside the Gutta.
On Saturday, 13 January, the Master described to the mandali a dream he had had the previous night:
I was traveling with the mandali by train. From the opposite direction, a long funeral procession was coming. On inquiry, I learned that this was Babajan's funeral. At Poona, I got down from the train and went to Char Bawdi. There I saw Babajan lying down, surrounded by a large crowd, wailing and shouting that she had died. I passed my hand over Babajan's face, and she rose!
I told her that people thought she was dead and gone, and her only reply was, "Yes, that's right — I really am dead!"
While listening, Abdur Rehman burst out laughing, and Baba asked him the reason.