At one point, Baba repeated to them the same thing he had stated to the Ahmednagar group: "My time is near, so hold firmly to my daaman."
Waman, Feram, Bhasker and Adi were called to Meherazad at 9:00 A.M. on 20 November 1967. As he had done several times before, Baba had Eruch read out a list of his departed lovers.1 The mandali recalled the names of a few persons who had been left out. After Eruch had read the entire list, a one-line prayer dictated by Baba was then recited before him:
O God, grant these departed lovers of mine their just rewards in proportion to their love, service, faith and honesty.
Baba commented, "From tomorrow, my seclusion will become stricter." He added, "On 21 February 1968 [the day his seclusion was to end], something very grave and momentous will happen."
At 9:45 A.M. on 21 November, Baba dictated this prayer:
I invoke God's blessings on my lovers who will have dropped their bodies by the time I drop mine that they have their places near me according to their faith, love and service.
And I invoke God's blessings on my lovers who will still be in their bodies when I have dropped mine according to their faith, love and service.
And I invoke God's grace on the few I have in mind to realize me as I am.
Baba sent Chhagan as his representative to the annual melas (fairs) held at the end of November 1967 in Hamirpur (Meherpuri), Mahewa (Meherastana) and Nauranga (Meher Dham). Bhau was told to write a speech in Hindi for Chhagan to deliver. Before Chhagan departed on the journey, Baba called him to Meherazad and asked him to read the speech. Baba also sent for the women mandali, who came and listened outside the window of mandali hall behind a curtain. Chhagan read Bhau's speech and sang a few songs so well that Baba was immensely pleased and gave him a hearty embrace.
Footnotes
- 1.See Appendix D for the list of departed ones. As other close ones passed on, Baba added their names, such as: Gustadji, Vishnu, Daulatmai (Mehera's mother), Gulmai, Rustom (Gulmai's son), Nilu, Pappa Jessawala, Norina, Gabriel Pascal, Malcolm Schloss, Terry Duce (Ivy's husband), Will and Mary Backett, Charles Purdom, Douglas Eve, Warren Healy (who printed literature about Baba in America), Beryl Williams.