ChaptersChapter 7Page 939

Chapter 7: Toka

1928Page 939 of 5,444
He remembered well the Master's warning given to him four years before during a walking trip in South India, "Never become a Baba!"
On the 19th of June, a swing was erected near Baba's seat where he would sit and rock himself. Since moving to Toka, the mandali observed almost constant changes in Baba's moods. One moment he would look pleased and the next furious; one moment he would be solemn and the next his usual genial self.
On Wednesday, 20 June 1928, the mandali moved into their new Makan quarters, which were finally ready for occupancy. Baily described their accommodations: "Amidst the small and large trees were scattered, small and larger houses made out of bricks and sand, divided into two or three groups. According to convenience some houses had five to seven mandali staying and in some twelve to fifteen." A brick room for Baba had also been constructed.
Borker had come on his usual Wednesday visit that day with Angal.
In the evening Baba ordered tea for all in honor of the mandali moving into their new quarters. A chapter titled "The Master and His Greatness" was read out from the book Some Hours of Meditation , by T. Alexander. Angal translated it into Marathi and Raosaheb into Persian. While it was being read, one of the boys, Abbas Khan, collapsed after (in his own words) "being dazzled by a powerful light."
On the 21st, Baba played cricket with the boys for the first time since moving to Toka. Dhake was living in Toka with his wife, Kashibai, in the family quarters along with the other teachers, some distance away from the mandali's residence. That morning, Vishnu had gone to Dhake's room for tea.
When Baba found out about their meeting, he berated Vishnu and Dhake and then ordered the mandali, "None should enter the family quarters or the compound of the women mandali."
A notice was prepared to this effect and handed out to every person to read. From that day on, Meherjee and Ramjoo were appointed to keep watch near the women's quarters from two in the afternoon until eight at night.
Whenever Baba visited the women mandali, the Prem Ashram boys would follow him and try to bring him back to their side. The boys would not leave him alone, even though the women were given very few occasions to be with Baba privately. One day, when Baba was sitting with the women, the boys appeared on the scene.
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