On the 19th, all were ordered to leave Meherabad after having personal meetings with Baba. Kaikhushru Masa wanted to return to Bombay, where he had worldly responsibilities to fulfill, but Baba persuaded him to remain at Meherabad.
On 20 February, a telegram was received from Aga Ali's father, Haji Muhammad, who refused to give his signature to the agreement and demanded that his son return home.
The news upset Baba, who remarked sharply, "If Ali goes, everything goes! I will come out of seclusion and close the school."
Jamshed Khan was sent to Bombay to reason with the father and bring him to Meherabad.1 (Baba also agreed to pay off the father's debts.) Eventually, Ali was allowed to stay in Meherabad.
On the 21st, Baba stated, "If this case of Aga Ali is settled, all will be well; the ashram will flourish. All castes, even foreigners, will come. If not, all will be upset. I will go after Ali and do the work even there [in Bombay], staying near him if I have to."
Baba explained to the mandali that the reason he was so concerned about Ali was that "Ali has some great link [connection] with me and with the 'making' [advancement] of three to four other boys. Besides, the seed of Divine Love has already been planted in this boy by me. If not properly nourished and taken care of, it would seriously affect the boy. He will either go mad or leave his body. At the very least, he won't be able to apply his mind in worldly affairs."
A few days later, Baba said, "The making of the boys is a special thing for the world to see. It has nothing to do with the circle."
On the 22nd, other Muslim parents came from Bombay and removed three more boys from the ashram. They claimed that they did not like their sons bowing down to Meher Baba, which was against their religion. (Ironically, one of them was almost persuaded to remain in Meherabad to teach Islamic religious tenets to the Muslim children, and he was even offered the same salary per month [Rs.150] which he was presently earning. However, he did not accept Baba's offer as he had never taught before.)
On the 23rd, Ali's father sent his business partner to bring his son back to Bombay, but the partner left when the importance of Ali's remaining in the school was impressed upon him and when he saw how well Ali was being treated.
Footnotes
- 1.Four Persian boys from Shiraz had arrived that morning. Three were permitted to stay at Meherabad and the oldest was taken to Bombay with Jamshed Khan, where he obtained a job.