But several of the men had been lax in carrying out his instruction, so he decided to punish them. Using a cane, he struck the hands of Behramji and those men who had failed to do what he had ordered. Afterward, those who received the caning complained that they had been punished unjustly since Behramji had failed to convey Baba's instructions to them. So Baba convened a meeting at eleven o'clock that morning, issuing this statement:
After this incident, the activities in Meherabad will go on in the following manner: If any of the mandali are found to be at the slightest fault either in obeying me or carrying out their duties, besides giving them ten strokes, I will also strike myself ten times. Naturally, you would not like this. So keeping in mind the strictness required in following my orders, give your candid opinion about the following four proposals:
1 . Either continue the Meherabad activities by faithfully following my behests without any pretexts or excuses, or put a stop to the activities once and for all and bring an end to our stay here.
2 . In case you do not agree to the above, would you agree to be with me for the next four months and work as hard as during the labor period of ghamela yoga? Remember you would be made to pass through very bitter experiences and you would get nothing from me except food and clothes as usual.
3 . Or as an alternative, would you prefer to go back to your homes and find some employment or resume your previous occupations? In that case, I might proceed to different foreign countries with a selected few.
4 . Or would you accompany me on a journey by maintaining yourselves on begged food?
A long discussion ensued. The mandali entreated Baba to forgive their shortcomings and to let things continue as they were.
Baba reemphasized, "Try to obey me and stick to me. I am tired of seeing my orders frequently disobeyed. It pains me."
The mandali agreed, saying, "We will try our best in following your orders. And we are willing to accept any punishment inflicted for our errors and mistakes."
Baba warned them, "Remember, you will have to face untold difficulties. Your heads and hearts will begin to whirl!"
"It doesn't matter. We will try to control ourselves. We will stay with you no matter what happens."