Dadi Kerawala had been posted to a remote village of Ajra, between Belgaum and Kolhapur. During this mast trip, Baba stopped and had lunch there. Dadi's mother Banumasi and his cousin Roshan Satha were staying with him.
Baba returned to Satara on the afternoon of 3 May, and looked very tired after a long stretch of driving. He went directly to Judge's Bungalow, where he stayed in seclusion for an entire week.
Baba moved back to Grafton on Wednesday, 9 May 1956 and, after remaining there for three days, he again moved back to Judge's Bungalow for another week. During May, Baba would alternate between these two bungalows, staying in Grafton for three days and then for a week in Judge's Bungalow.
From the evening of the 9th, Baba fasted for 24 hours without even water. Mehera joined him in the fast. The rest of the men and women mandali were also instructed to fast but they were permitted to drink water.
A Sikh spiritual leader named Kirpal Singh had met Baba in New Delhi in November 1952. On occasion, Baba would remark that Kirpal Singh was a genuine saint and very dear to him. Of all the saints and yogis in India, Baba would say that there were seven who were very dear to him and he always mentioned Kirpal Singh's name as one of them.
The saint had visited America in June 1955, and Ivy Duce had met him.1 Kirpal Singh wrote to his followers in India, "The head of Meher Baba's movement came to me for an interview today and I had a long talk with her — she has invited me to a meeting of Meher Baba's followers, so I have promised to do so."
Some months after Kirpal Singh returned to India, Burjor Gai of Delhi was sent a copy of God Speaks to give to him, and at this meeting the saint expressed his desire to have Baba's darshan again, since he would be going to Poona which was not far from Satara. Baba gave his permission. Soon after, Kirpal Singh arrived in Kalyan (near Bombay). On 14 May, Eruch was sent to fix the time for his meeting, along with this message: "Meher Baba has instructed me to tell you, 'You are my dear child.' " The humble saint was very happy to hear this, and listened attentively as Eruch narrated events from Baba's life.
Footnotes
- 1.Jean Adriel had also met Kirpal Singh and become his disciple.