Sarosh and Viloo agreed and left by car, arriving in Dehra Dun on the 21st. The inauguration ceremony coincided with the date of Baba's first public darshan in Dehra Dun in 1953, and each year a mela is held in memory of that occasion. The Master's Prayer was recited in Hindi by Prakashwati over the radio, and Baba listened to it at Meherazad. Baba's statue was also unveiled.
Many lovers and devotees came to Dehra Dun for the opening ceremony, and Sarosh conveyed this message from Baba:
Give my love to all those moths who have gathered to burn in the flame of Meher Glory and, having burned themselves completely, are anxious to reach my Dham [Abode].
Sarosh and Viloo also visited Meher Mafi in Dehra Dun, where Baba had stayed during the New Life. This telegram was sent there by Baba:
Give my love to my prem bhikhus [devotees] at Meher Mafi, and ask them to fill the purse of their hearts with the treasures of my love.
Formerly this village was known as Manjri Mafi, but Kumar had had the name officially changed to Meher Mafi, and it is still known by this name to this day.
On the 23rd (the day of the inauguration of Meher Dham), something unusual occurred at Meherazad. Baba bowed at Adi's feet seven times and instructed him to go to Shirdi once during the three months Baba would be at Guruprasad, bow down at Sai Baba's samadhi, and repeat mentally, "These seven bows are from Meher Baba."1
Kumar was kept busy at this time, not only by the visitors to his home in Meher Mafi, but also in dealing with an unscrupulous former disciple of Baba named Krishnaji. Krishnaji had behaved improperly in Satara toward Bhau and the other men, and had left Baba in 1956 when Baba stopped pampering him. In 1962 Krishnaji settled in Delhi and claimed to be Meher Baba's chargeman. He had adopted silence and had told others (via an alphabet board) that he was doing so because of Baba's orders. His antics in Baba's name were solely to attract a following, and he had been posturing in this way for more than a year. Reports of his behavior were sent to Baba by Was Deo Kain and Manohar and Mona Sakhare. At one point, Eruch wrote to Kumar:
...To permit Krishnaji to continue to fool innocent people knowingly is most undesirable. Each blasphemous attitude of a person like Krishnaji in the name of Meher Baba cannot be tolerated any longer under the very noses of the lovers of Baba, as the stench has now become too nauseating.
Footnotes
- 1.Adi went to Shirdi and did as instructed on 12 May 1964.