One more further exception was Harry Kenmore. Harry arrived in Poona from New York on the evening of 19 June 1964, and stayed for a week at the Wellesley Hotel. He was permitted to visit Guruprasad each day.1 On one occasion, Baba remarked to Kenmore about his suffering:
"I carry the Universal burden, and I suffer physically, mentally and spiritually. My physical suffering is seen by those around me. My mental suffering is intense, infinite. As for my spiritual suffering, it is ad infinitum. When I break my silence, it will be the end of suffering."
In late June — as seen by those around him — Baba began experiencing severe back pain on his right side. Baba was advised to consult Dr. Grant and he agreed, but refused to have an X-ray taken. On 30 June, Baba had more diagnostic blood tests done for blood sugar and cholesterol. After finding the urea level high, Dr. Grant diagnosed that the pain was renal. Protein was cut out of Baba's diet, and after they returned to Meherazad, the pain lessened.
During the past two years, Baba had suffered three attacks of severe renal colic, and twice he passed stones the size of a grain of wheat. Baba was also wearing the special cervical collar for some part of each day for his neck pain, and he would occasionally allow Goher to give him fomentations to give him some relief.
Baba, along with the women and men mandali, was to leave for Meherazad on 1 July 1964, and his Poona lovers were overjoyed to learn that they would be allowed to gather in Bund Garden to bid him farewell. The weather added to their good fortune, since the monsoon had begun, and rain had fallen day and night for the week before Baba's departure. This had made it impossible for them to assemble at Bund Garden, so instead they were called to Guruprasad early on the morning of the 1st.
Pendu, Bhau and Aloba were busy loading the trucks with luggage, and because of the throng of lovers present, it was difficult for them to carry the baggage to the trucks. The lovers and devotees were seated before Baba on all sides, blocking their way. It was a wonderful scene. On the one hand, Baba was repeatedly telling Pendu to hurry up, and on the other he was smiling, happily seated among his lovers — while Madhusudan sang a song and the arti!
Footnotes
- 1.Harry had telephoned from New York on 23 May 1964 and spoken for 20 minutes (at an exorbitant rate in those days), just to chat and convey his love to Baba.