Like Dhake, Nisal resided at his home in Ahmednagar, but came to Meherabad daily. But at the insistence of his family, Nisal stopped coming to Meherabad from the 26th. Baba was not pleased, but at the same time, he assured the mandali that Nisal would return, which he did after a few weeks. Nusserwan also was not willing to give up politics, so he ceased to have any connection with the new school proposal.
On 26 March, Baba ordered each of the mandali to remind him to attend the wedding the following evening of a former policeman's daughter. The man had come to Meherabad especially to invite Baba a few days before.
The man's story was very touching. He had developed leprosy, lost his job and fell into great financial trouble. Seeking help in his dire situation, he had pleaded to the Shankaracharya priest and to Mahatma Gandhi, but he found no help from either of them.1 As a last resort, he came to see Meher Baba. He explained that his daughter was of marriageable age, but that it was extremely difficult to find a man willing to marry into the family of a leper. Baba's compassion was shown as he helped to arrange her wedding and gave money for her dowry.
The next day, the mandali reminded Baba about the wedding, and Baba went to Ahmednagar with six men to attend the ceremony. The policeman was deeply moved by seeing Baba, and the marriage was joyously performed before him. The poor man cried out, "O Lord! Only your grace has brought about this happy event. Otherwise, who would have married the daughter of a leper?"
Baba replied, "In your ugly cage resides a beautiful soul. Only I can see its beauty. Do not worry about your condition. You have nothing to fear."
After the ceremony Baba and the mandali went to Kaka Shahane's for tea. There, a stout, robust sadhu approached Baba, begging for money to go to Hardwar by train. Baba said:
The meaning of a sadhu is one who performs spiritual practices with the object of controlling the mind. But since you are unable to keep your mind under control, what do you expect to gain by going to Hardwar? If you want to go into the Himalayas overpowered with love for God, then go on foot enduring hardships for the sake of realizing God.
Footnotes
- 1.The Shankaracharya of Hindus is a high-ranking religious office similar to the Catholic Pope.