At that time it was bright and sunny; there were no clouds in the sky. But within a short interval, rain began to fall and continued for over an hour, and again at night.
Baba's maternal aunt Banu Masi arrived at Meherabad from Karachi on 13 June. She met with her two sons, Merwan and Homi, who were studying in the Meher Ashram school and felt happy to find them doing well. She left for Bombay in the evening. Dhake returned to his duties that day.
Nusserwanji Bharucha was again brought before Baba on the 12th and 13th of June, as his peculiar behavior had continued.
Baba told him, "Although your outbursts have nothing to do with spirituality, since you are sincere, have suffered, and long for the Truth, I will see to your spiritual advancement. Meanwhile, contain yourself. Otherwise, you make others unhappy, while to 'make others happy' is the chief point of the teachings of all great Masters, including Zoroaster himself."
Baba allowed the old man to stay at Meherabad for a few days, placing him in Chanji's charge.
The next day, Baba ordered Rustom and Raosaheb to accompany him to Meher Ashram every evening at eight o'clock from the 1st of July, as Baba said he wanted to begin dictating discourses to the students on spiritual subjects. Rustom was to translate the explanations into Marathi and Gujarati, and Raosaheb into Persian.
When one of the mandali eagerly referred to the possible arrival at Meherabad of some well-known and affluent Poona Zoroastrians, Baba did not show much interest in drawing such persons to him, and commented:
Wait and see what happens. Many prominent people, leaders, and celebrities will come to me in the course of time. It will happen at the right moment, without their being specially invited or promised this and that [benefit]. Why worry about it now? Anybody — whether a somebody or a nobody — who comes of his or her own accord is welcome here.
Publicity and fame are not the true standards to judge those who are really great. Mere political and social workers generally become so famous as to be looked upon by the world as great men and celebrities. But there are thousands and thousands of real workers and silent sufferers more wonderful and greater than a thousand [Mahatma] Gandhis and [Vallabhbhai] Patels put together, who remain comparatively unknown to the world.1
Footnotes
- 1.Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950) was a political leader in the Indian National Congress. With Mahatma Gandhi, Patel helped negotiate India's independence from Britain in 1947 and served as deputy prime minister until his death.