Colonel Irani was to continue spreading the worst kind of false propaganda against Baba for almost 35 years. But this enmity and opposition was a medium for the Master's inner work, because many people came to know about Baba through the Colonel's articles. Although the information given was erroneous, it stirred curiosity in many people, eventually inspiring them to meet Meher Baba for themselves. When they had his darshan, they were greeted with the sweet nectar of his loving presence. In many Iranis and Parsis, a firm faith in Meher Baba's divinity awakened and they later became his staunch followers.
So a great work was done through the Colonel's opposition and people eventually saw what beneficial results manifested. Viewed from this perspective, Colonel Irani unknowingly served Meher Baba tremendously.
Baba even remarked about him, "The Colonel is fortunate to be remembering me — no matter how."
Meanwhile, Baba's mother, too, faced continuous ridicule and scorn by the Zoroastrian community in Poona. Wherever she went, she was treated with derision, and those of her friends and neighbors who admired her were silent in her defense out of fear that they too would be shunned by the close-knit community. Memo did not stay closeted inside, but would attend plays and concerts, which she greatly enjoyed. One Irani woman bribed one of Memo's neighbors and asked him to knock on her door late at night, just to trouble her. Memo thought it was a drunk or a thief and took Mani to her sister-in-law Piroja's house.1
Throughout India, one finds many sadhus or sanyasis who renounce the world and wander on pilgrimage, begging for alms. In reference to sanyas [renunciation of the ephemeral world], on the morning of 21 September 1926, Baba remarked:
He who is a coward materially turns into a hero on the spiritual path. Perhaps you think that compared to materialism, renunciation is easy, but it is most difficult. Only those who want to "die" should decide on renunciation.
External renunciation has no meaning. It must be internal. If there is no longing to renounce the self, there can be no love for God.
Afterward, the mandali reminisced about traveling in Gujarat with Baba a few years before, their previous journeys on foot, and other tours. Some suggested another foot journey to let the new ones among them have the same experience. Baba mentioned that he would undertake another journey on the condition that no one carry any money and each maintain himself by begging.
Footnotes
- 1.According to Mani, Sheriar's sister Piroja returned to live in Iran where she passed away in the early 1930s. Mani's sister-in-law Perinmai said Piroja never married. Dowla Masi's husband Faredon Masa also passed away in the early 1930s, after being paralyzed for a few years.