He instructed that the gaadi be placed in his palanquin and taken in a procession in the evening.
A game of cricket was played by the mandali later on, with Jalbhai and Rustom as the captains of the two teams. Baba played on both sides. In the evening a long procession danced its way up Meherabad Hill amidst music and singing. On the hill, puja was performed and Baba's arti was sung again. The mandali in turns then carried Baba down the hill to Sai Darbar in a "chair" made by holding their hands together. Baba spent some time with the women in their quarters, before retiring on the hill for the night at 9:30. A meeting of the Circle Committee was held, and it was decided that Naval become Rustom's assistant superintendent.
Ghani and Ramjoo arrived at Meherabad the following day, Sunday, 17 October 1926. Baba was informed that a rabid dog was spotted wandering about the property. He ordered that it should be poisoned, but added that precautions should be taken to make certain that no other dog or animal consume the poison.
One evening an old man showed up for Baba's darshan. It was evident that he was not well and Baba received him compassionately. When Baba inquired about his health, the man avoided the topic and only expressed his great joy at meeting the Master. Baba arranged for his medical treatment, however, and kept him in Upasni Serai for the night. Baba went to see him three or four times during the night, and the last time Baba went, it seemed as if the old man had been waiting for his arrival. Opening his eyes, he looked at Baba for a long time until he was satisfied. His eyes were full of tears as Baba placed his hand on his forehead. Moments later, the man breathed his last.
"He had specially come to see me," Baba remarked. "His journey is now over."
The next morning, Baba covered the body with his own sheet and the last rites were performed in his presence at Meherabad. Baba helped lower the body into its grave, threw earth on it and then scattered flowers over it.
On 18 October, at five in the afternoon, Baba went with fourteen of the mandali to Bhingar, a suburb two miles outside Ahmednagar, to give darshan. A large, boisterous crowd had gathered and Nath Madhav performed puja.1 The gathering was so large that there was a sudden rush for darshan, and the crowd became unmanageable despite the mandali's efforts to maintain order.
Footnotes
- 1.This is not Nath Madhav, the author from Bombay (whom Baba had selected to write Upasni Maharaj's biography in Marathi), but someone else, perhaps a priest from Bhingar.