He added that it was not an issue of earning money, but that each should do his job faithfully and honestly. Baidul and Padri were soon employed in a teashop at a salary of Rs.20 per month. The others continued to search for work during the day. On 20 November Baba went with a few of the mandali to Cliffton Beach, then walked back to Halt Ho in the hot sun. It was observed that he was moving about in the extreme heat, perhaps in sympathy with those still seeking employment.
The next day Ghani frankly asked Baba's permission to return to Poona, and Baba allowed him, saying, "You may come back whenever you wish."
Ghani was disgusted and tired of the uncertainty pertaining to the proposed trip to Persia.
Baba was not seeing any of his followers in Karachi. But one day, curiously, Sarosh's older brother Dinshaw, who had recently moved to Karachi, came and talked casually with the Master for two hours, though he was not a devotee.1
Meanwhile, Naval Talati had been instructed to inquire about obtaining passports from Bombay for Baba and the men. When he went to the Persian Consulate to sign the passports on behalf of Baba and the mandali, the consul casually told him, "Except for Meher Baba, all the others must come in person and sign the papers in my presence before I will endorse their passports. Meher Baba's presence is not necessary because he recently came to see me and told me he would send his passport with someone for my signature, to which I agreed."
This strange incident occurred on 17 November 1923, while Baba was in Karachi. When the mandali were informed of this, through Vajifdar's letter, they were greatly surprised, since the Master had been out of Bombay for a month and a half and had never been to the Persian Consulate.
After a few days, all the mandali were employed in Karachi except Ramjoo, and Baba ordered him to sweep the floors of the bungalow every day until he found a job. After attending to this work in the morning, Ramjoo was ordered to go out in search of employment.
No one knew that the Master had a different plan and was conspiring with Baily to carry it out.
On the morning of the 22nd of November, he told the mandali, "Now we should all leave at once for Poona."
Footnotes
- 1.Dinshaw was married to Goher and Katie's mother's sister Soona.