Sam Kerawala's vacation ended at this time, and he flew to Egypt, where he joined the ship M. V. Parvati Jayanti. From there, the ship sailed for Bombay. When Sam had met Baba at Meherazad a few months earlier, Baba emphatically ordered him to inform Baba where he would be on 21 February 1968, and the information was to reach Baba at least three or four days prior to the 21st. This was the first time that Baba ever gave him such an order, and it came at a time when Baba was in very strict seclusion, and all correspondence had been totally stopped.
“”But Baba had stated, "The rule does not apply to Sam. Sam must, without fail, inform me of his whereabouts on that day."
Accordingly, on 18 February Sam sent Baba a cable, saying that he was on his way to Bombay and also wishing him all love and homage on his birthday. Sam's ship entered the Atlantic Ocean the following day. There were severe gale winds, sleet and rain squalls and visibility was extremely poor. They were not able to fix the exact position of the ship and thus had drifted much nearer to the coast than their calculations had indicated.
On 21 February, at 8:30 A.M., Sam's ship ran aground on a rocky shoal, and from then until about 8:30 P.M. that night, the ship took a heavy pounding due to the rough seas. Fortunately that night, at the time of the high tide, they were able to unground the vessel, and they slowly limped into the port of Casablanca in Morocco, where the shipping company's personnel and insurance agents boarded the ship. While the cargo was being unloaded, it was noticed that three to four metal plates on the ship's hull had come loose, with all the rivets broken. The crew was surprised that the plates had stayed in place, and had allowed the ship to sail nearly 70 miles under its own steam. The ship was later found to be irreparable and declared a total loss.
Sam knew that it was Baba's hand which had saved them and sent all the details to him in a letter from Casablanca.
“”In reply, Baba cabled: "Your birthday cable and letter received. Don't worry. My love blessing to you and all on Parvati Jayanti . Meher Baba from seclusion."
From 20 February 1968, Baba stopped his morning session of seclusion work in mandali hall because of the upcoming birthday celebrations. The next day, he dictated a circular that was forwarded to Adi, and was typed, printed and mailed throughout the world twelve days later on 4 March:
