From Poona: Sadashiv Patil, Jalbhai, Beheram, Meherjee, Bhavsar, Dadi Kerawala, Subhash Pokale, Ramakrishnan, Soman, Madhusudan, Kamble, Shankar Rao Doiphode and Meherwan Jessawala.1
From Andhra: Kutumba Sastri and Swami Satyaprakash.
From Navsari: Hoshang Bharucha.
From Bombay: Sorabji Siganporia and Kishinchand Gajwani.
From Delhi: Amar Singh Saigal.
From Hamirpur: Keshav Nigam and Pukar.
Outside the hall, Eruch announced the following instructions to the group before they entered: "Baba wants you all not to bow down to him; he will not grant anyone a private interview; he will not accept garlands or gifts. You should go in and sit down, but not on the red carpet [in front of Baba, so that they would be at least five feet away from Baba]."
As Dr. Hoshang Bharucha walked in, Baba asked him, "How do I look?"
Dr. Bharucha felt that he had lost weight and the strain of his work was obvious from how his face looked.
As the others entered, Baba motioned them to be seated.
He joked, "You all look hale and hearty while I am losing weight! Pukar looks as if he's on the point of bursting!"
After inquiring about their health, Baba began:
It is now 8:30 A.M. and we should end this meeting by 10:30. Listen to all that Eruch will read out and then discuss the points. You are permitted to take notes. I want you to tell others what you hear from me, but no one should write to the West about today's meeting. Today's talk will be in English. We will not waste time translating it for the benefit of only two persons here; one of them can understand a little English [Kamble], while the other is hard of hearing [Sadashiv Patil] and so it will not make any difference to him whether Eruch speaks in English or Marathi.
Explaining his purpose, Baba continued:
First, I will explain about my work done during the past eighteen months of my seclusion. No doubt you people and my lovers everywhere have been wondering why, when my period of intense work in seclusion has finished, I have still not allowed my lovers to see me.
The strain of that eighteen months' work was tremendous. I used to sit alone in my room for several hours each day, while complete silence was imposed on the mandali and none of them were allowed to enter the room during those hours of the day. The strain was not in the work itself, although I was working on all planes of consciousness, but in keeping my link with the gross plane. To keep this link I had to continuously hammer my right thigh with my fist.
Footnotes
- 1.Subhash D. Pokale, 23, had seen Baba for the first time at Bund Garden in 1963 and thereafter became active in the Poona Center group. He was an amateur journalist and wrote many articles for different Marathi newspapers. Shankar Rao Genoji Doiphode was a devoted cobbler, who had hand-stitched special chappals for Baba of soft suede leather. Others who were invited to the meeting, but who may not have been able to attend, included: Jehangu Sukhadwalla, Bhikubhai, Dinshaw Irani, Kisan and Narendra Thade, Krishna Bundellu, Dinkar Pote, Prabhakar Whavale, Turekar, Ali Ramjoo, Mudaliar and Rashid (Ghani's nephew).