They were accommodated in four trolleys, with Baba accompanying them. After seeing them safely to Toka, Baba returned to Meherabad by noon and again started for Toka with the teachers, the men mandali, and the family groups (of Kaka Shahane, Kisan, Ramjoo, and Chhagan).
In Toka, the women mandali, the children, teachers and families, consisting of nearly 500 persons, settled in their new quarters, although the men mandali had to spend the night in the open as their temporary quarters were still being constructed. Rustom, Padri, Pendu, and Pesu, with a few of the children, had stayed behind in Meherabad to see to the transport of the remaining trunks and baggage.
As the Lord departed, Age looked back and saw Meherabad weeping. A feeling of depression descended like a fog on its deserted fields and hill. The dhuni's ash lamented the separation, the Jhopdi's walls ached with the suffering of his silence, the flowers stopped smiling, the birds ceased flying, and the breeze lost all interest in blowing. Everything of nature and man, every wine-soaked particle of Meherabad, longed to know only one thing: "Why has the Beloved shifted his headquarters? Where has he gone? Without his presence all is dry and without interest. Were you displeased with us, O Lord of Creation, to abandon us, leaving us weeping in sorrow?"
But the Beloved had not forgotten Meherabad. He had taken its devotion along with him, for as soon as he arrived in Toka, Baba named the new ashram Meherabad . The wind carried this news southwards and, hearing it, Meherabad felt happy — knowing its memory was secure in the Beloved's infinite heart.
The tears of Meherabad seemed to reach Baba at Toka, for on the first night of their stay, rain began falling. The mandali went without sleep, as they spent the whole night moving the grain and other provisions out of the rain. Baba, with his usual lightning speed, helped in the labors, assisting the women and supervising the men.
After a sleepless night, the men were so tired they thought, "Is this really happening or are we dreaming?" Baba's movements were so rapid that the men had to run to keep pace with him. This first night was quite stressful for the mandali, who were already exhausted from the arduous two-week period spent making the necessary arrangements for leaving Meherabad. Under Baba's direction, they had to provide accommodation for everyone, make provision for food, see to the studies of the boys, and attend to the many other details of the evacuation and relocation.
