Chapter 36: Interested In Remaining Disinterested
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Another who lingered on in Poona was Dr. Moorty of Calcutta. He would keep watch at the gates of Guruprasad from morning to evening with the hope that if someone happened to come by and be allowed inside, he would follow and thus be able to see Baba again.
Baba made Aloba sit on the verandah and told him, "If Moorty comes inside, stop him at a distance."
Moorty would accept the mail from the postman at the gates and bring it in, but Aloba would run and take it from him. If Moorty came with the excuse of conveying some message or information, Aloba would ask what it was.
Vishnu's cousins, Vishwanath Haldankar and his wife Indu, came to Guruprasad one day. Moorty thought this was his chance to cross the gate. Happily he entered the precincts to give the news, but Aloba stopped Moorty and he himself went to inform Vishnu.
Hearing Aloba, Pendu came outside to the gates and explained to the couple about the restrictions against darshan. They insisted on seeing Baba. Becoming fed up with their resistance, Pendu returned inside and the Haldankars sat down under a tree. Moorty was anticipating that surely Baba would call them. But after waiting a few hours, the couple became frustrated and left. Vishnu, too, did not come out to see them and Moorty lost his chance.1 Still he waited patiently near the gates two or three days, trying to devise a means of entry. All his efforts were in vain. Worn down, he returned to Kharagpur, realizing it was far wiser to obey Baba's behests and come only when called.
Godavri Mai of Sakori, however, was permitted to visit Baba at Guruprasad for fifteen minutes on Tuesday, 13 June, at 6:15 P.M., with four of her kanyas. S. N. Tipnis accompanied them. Godavri's health was not good and Baba advised her about her medical treatment.
A Baba lover named K. Rangarao passed away at this time. Chari informed Baba and requested a message for a gathering in the man's honor. Baba dictated this reply to Eruch on 11 June:
"Life and death do not affect an ardent worker of Baba, for he who
loves Baba lives to die in his cause and abides in the One who is
Existence infinite and eternal."
Footnotes
- 1.Later, the couple was permitted to meet Vishnu, Pendu and Eruch in relation to problems involving the Belgaum land in Baba's name. Before coming to Guruprasad, Baba had signed a power of attorney to Vishnu to deal with the property. (The property had previously been registered in Mehera's name.) The Haldankars were fighting with Vishnu over the property, and at one point faced a trespassing suit from a neighboring factory. Ramjoo was enlisted to help resolve the matter.