Baba embraced everyone and instructed them to go back to their homes immediately. Gadekar began weeping, and Baba lovingly said goodbye to him. Baba embraced Ena and Clarice and said he would send for them the next morning.
Coming out of the room, Clarice told the mandali, "I have never seen anything so eloquent as Baba's gestures. I have never been as touched by the ballet, the theater, music or painting as I was by seeing him. I have never, until today, met any person to whom I could say I will unquestionably do anything you say."
Ena Lemmon summed up her meeting with Baba: "It was the greatest experience of my life. I am completely satisfied, highly delighted."
The editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India, an Irishman named C. R. Mandy, arrived. Irene Conybeare introduced him to Baba. Mandy was very happy to meet Baba and said that he had some color pictures of the Poona darshan (taken by Dadu), and that if he could have an article about the program he would publish it along with the photographs.1 Deshmukh volunteered to send a brief article the next day.
At 7:00 P.M., Baba and the mandali had their meals, and Arnavaz and Katie left to spend the night at Arnavaz's family's home in Dadar.
Earlier in the day, Deshmukh had requested, "Grant me divine knowledge, Baba!"
Baba replied, "I will!"
While they were eating dinner, Baba served Deshmukh and Arnavaz's father Naoroji a piece of fish, although both were strict vegetarians. Taking it as Baba's prasad, however, they did full justice to it.
Afterwards, Baba prohibited them from touching non-vegetarian food in the future, and said to Deshmukh, "To obey me is the greatest knowledge, and I am pleased with you."2
The next morning, Tuesday, 7 February 1956, Baba called the two Australian women to Ashiana, where he told them:
Be happy in any conditions and don't worry about anything. If the whole world rocks, don't rock with it! And particularly don't worry about thoughts. If you want to alter anything, start with actions. Why? Because thoughts belong to the mental world, and you have no control over them unless you are established on the mental plane. But you can control your actions.
[To Clarice] For example, you are married and you may love another man. That is all right; don't worry about it at all, but don't act out your love except with your husband.
Footnotes
- 1.The account was published in the 11 March 1956 issue.
- 2.Naoroji and Chanji's father had also been a vegetarian, and Baba had likewise ordered him to have a piece of fish, shortly before he passed away.