Babu Ramprasad, of Nauranga, came with a sculptor from Jaipur. He requested that Baba sit for the man, and Ramprasad's love made Baba consent.
Although Baba would occasionally sit for him, at the same time he would "complain," "What sort of love do I have? This is a bother; yet, I cannot disappoint the love of my lovers."
Sunday, 15 May 1960, was another day of public darshan in Poona and many people came from 7:30 until 11:00 A.M. A large group of men and women from Hamirpur entered Guruprasad, singing songs in Baba's praise.
Nusserwan Satha had been working several years for a social service organization he helped establish called Friends of the Depressed League.1 When he came to Guruprasad once, Baba told him:
One should dedicate his life to the service of the downtrodden, serve God in the abandoned and the depressed ones. The so-called depressed class is very dear to me. About 35 years ago at Meherabad, I used to bathe, feed and dress the Harijan [Untouchable] children. I used to clean even their latrines.
Recently, one very good thing happened in Hamirpur District. My lovers, irrespective of class, color or creed, gathered at a Sarsai at the invitation of a sweeper and lived there as one Baba-family. Through their love for me they achieved what so many others could not achieve in years.
To one devotee who regularly worshiped Baba's picture, Baba stated, "Continue with the puja [worship] of my picture wholeheartedly until you can do it in your own heart. Love Baba more and more until you see me within you."
A Sanskrit scholar came one day and chanted some hymns of Sankaracharya.
Baba stated, "Don't translate the lines. It is not necessary. I like to listen to the naad [sound, chant] of the hymns. It pleases me, because it has come out of me."
Meanwhile in Meherabad, Bhau's daughter, Sheela, had fallen ill with measles, and Padri informed Baba about it. Baba asked Bhau if he wanted to go see her. Bhau replied, "What good would it do for me to go? I do not wish to leave my duty here." Bhau did not go, and in a few days Padri sent word that Sheela had recovered.
Baba remarked to Bhau, "Had you gone, Sheela would have died."
Footnotes
- 1.Nusserwan Satha (Eruch's maternal uncle) was a former associate of Mahatma Gandhi during India's independence movement.