The mandali had been shocked when the Hazrat Babajan School was suddenly torn down, and they felt that, if the newly proposed school came into being, it too would eventually be demolished. For this reason, they remained disinterested.
At 5:30 in the morning on 11 February, Baba set out on foot with the mandali for Akolner to attend the wedding of Chhagan's sister-in-law, Sumati.
When it was time to start, Baba directed Chhagan, "You walk ahead and lead. I will follow you," but Chhagan refused.
Baba warned him, "Remember, take care. Do not be dragged away by maya's flood."
Baba then addressed the mandali as a whole, although they realized later it was actually a hint to Chhagan, "There is no mard among the mandali — no real man such as this spiritual line requires. This path is very, very hard, fraught with so many and such varied difficulties that it would take a man of iron with a heart of stone to withstand its trials."
When Baba reached the house of Chhagan's wife's uncle, no special seat had been arranged for Baba, and he sat quietly in a corner on an ordinary chair. As per Hindu custom, Chhagan had been married as a child in an arranged marriage years before, but since he was staying with Baba, he had never lived with his wife, who was still quite young. At Akolner, Chhagan's relatives confronted him about this, asking contemptuously, "Don't you love your wife? Why did you marry her if you did not want to be with her? How will you benefit by following this Bua [saint]?"
Chhagan's wife Shanta had been staying with her parents, and her father Trimbak Badve was upset at this. As soon as Badve saw Baba, he began abusing him terribly. "How dare you separate a husband from his wife. You are not a saint; you are bogus!"
Such harsh accusations were voiced by others at the wedding reception, as well. Baba ignored them and responded with a silent smile. When the ceremony was over, Baba indicated that he wished to leave and none of the people even folded their hands to him when he left. Chhagan, surprisingly, remained behind with his in-laws rather than leave with Baba and the mandali.
On the way back to Meherabad, Baba quoted the proverb, "The path of Truth is not a bed of roses" and commented:
The path of Truth is indeed not a bed of roses, and there are hardly any who can stand the severe trials imposed by the guru, much less succeed in them.