The mandali stepped forward to bow to Maharaj, and a few of Maharaj's mandali got off the train and bowed to Baba. After a few minutes, Narayan signaled to Baba, "Should I go?" And Baba waved back for him to leave. It was as if the whole incident was prearranged. As soon as Narayan settled in his compartment, the train started up again. Narayan's disciples reported that no obstruction was found, and the conductors and engineer were wondering why the train had come to a sudden halt. Narayan only smiled.
It was later noticed that whenever Narayan Maharaj passed through Ahmednagar by train, it would invariably stop near Arangaon for an unscheduled brief halt, and Narayan would ask his disciples if they were at Arangaon. To their surprise, they would see Meherabad Hill out of the window. After a few moments, the train would mysteriously start up again.
On Sunday, 29 August 1926, Baba and the mandali went to Bhisti Bagh , a garden in Ahmednagar.1 They then visited a center for destitute persons, where they had tea. One blind boy, who regularly came to Meherabad for Baba's darshan, was living at the center, and Baba promised to restore his sight when Baba started speaking again.
A tailor named Murlidhar from Lonavla had recently begun staying at Meherabad. On the 29th, there was a dispute between him and Behramji, who thought Murlidhar was doing his work improperly. Behramji was so upset that he ordered Murlidhar to leave. Murlidhar went and sat under a tree until the afternoon, but eventually he went to Baba to complain about Behramji.
Baba remarked to the other mandali present, "Both are guilty. By stopping his sewing work and leaving the shop, Murlidhar broke my order, as I had told him to stitch the clothes. Despite Behramji's threat, he should not have stopped working. Of course, it would have been different if Behramji had thrown him out of the shop!"
Baba then warned Behramji not to dismiss anyone from work without his consent, reminding him to report any breach of his orders directly to him.
On 31 August, Krishna's birthday was celebrated with a procession from the village at 10:00 A.M. and prasad distribution and dances by the boys at Sai Darbar. At 2:00 P.M., during a private meeting with a few of the mandali at the school, Baba declared that he intended to discontinue his one-meal-a-day fast, informing the mandali that he would remain on either tea, milk, or coffee only.
Footnotes
- 1.Bhisti Bagh, located in the Lal Taki area of Ahmednagar, is now called Machi Bagh.