He continued:
I had a center at Toka, 40 miles from Ahmednagar. There were many boys there in the center. There is a book about it [ Sobs and Throbs ]. A separate section was for the boys. The men mandali were also there, and the women mandali, each in a separate section. It was a very big colony, about 500 people altogether. And I used to stay in the big table. Some of you have seen the Table house at Meherabad. There is a small cabin underneath the table, and at that time, I used to live in it. For days together, I used to remain on fast, sometimes only on plain water, sometimes taking coffee. Of course, I was not in seclusion. At that time, I would allow people to come near me. They used to come just for my darshan, as we say in India, to see and to meet me, to receive my blessings and love. I used to be very active, although remaining there in the cabin under the table.
Once it so happened that a man with a beard came there, dressed in a yellow robe, with beads and a long rosary in his hand. In India you find many like that — hermits. We call them mahatmas, sadhus: the sign is a long beard, a long robe, a rosary and a necklace of beads. He came to me and said, "Baba, I surrender to you." As he approached me, he prostrated himself and said, "All that I have, I surrender to you."
I said, "All right, good," then he left.
The next day, he came again with his wife and seven children and he said, "Baba, here is all that I have. I surrender them to you!"
As the group smiled at the story, Baba ended:
The poor fellow was starving. He could not earn anything to feed his family. In India, the sign for those who are on the spiritual path is that they surrender tun , mun and dhun — body, mind and life. He knew that when one approaches a spiritually perfect Master, it is customary simply to say, "I surrender all," that is body, mind and possessions. So I said, "All right, I am pleased," and the next day, he brings me all his possessions.