Baba had not yet had an opportunity to meet the close lovers and Center workers individually, so they were directed to gather in the hall after the arti. The arti was sung in a solemn and love-drenched atmosphere, after which Baba went back to the Center. Some of the public followed him inside, but they were informed that Baba wished to meet only his lovers and workers.
In the hall, Baba asked, "Does Pandoba attend the Center meetings?"1
The reply was that he attended sometimes.
"As he has such a big parivar [family]," Baba teased, "his absence is forgiven."
After meeting his Ahmednagar lovers, Baba entered his car, which left for Meherazad amidst the usual vociferous acclamations. In Meherazad, he escorted the lovers from Andhra around the garden and pointed out Seclusion Hill. As he did so, Baba folded his hands, joined them to his forehead and bowed his head in salutation toward the hill — a symbol of his Universal work. He motioned to the lovers from Andhra to do likewise. The group subsequently left Ahmednagar and returned to Andhra.
Somehow, Daulat Singh's son Upkar missed going to Meherazad, so Baba permitted him to come the next morning.
One day, in reference to Bhau's play Divya Leela , Baba remarked, "The play is wonderful, but some songs should be included in it."
"But who will write them?" Bhau inquired.
"Suggest someone."
"What about Keshav?"
"Good idea," Baba replied. But, after a few minutes, he observed, "The songs should be according to the context, and Keshav does not know what the play is about ... Why don't you write the songs?"
"But I don't know anything about writing songs!" Bhau protested.
"When I asked you to write a play, you said, 'I don't know how to write plays,' and now again, you are repeating the same thing. Stop repeating this."
So, Bhau wrote five songs and sent them to be included in Divya Leela.
A few days later, Baba told him, "The other day you composed five good songs. Now I want you to compose more."
Much to his own surprise, Bhau continued composing songs, and in 20 days, he had written more than 100. They, too, were printed in a book which Baba titled Meher Jyoti (The Flame of Meher). Baba liked the songs and instructed that they be sent to Rustom Kaka, and ordered him to sing them every week at the Ahmednagar Center. Bhau had never written devotional songs in his life (he had studied chemistry, agriculture and law in college), and his abilities in these literary pursuits were all due to Baba's encouragement, inspiration and inner help.
Footnotes
- 1.Pandoba Deshmukh died on 17 August 1964.