He had almost reached Ahmednagar when a friend of his family recognized him and held him captive, sending a telegram to his father. Haji Muhammad left Bombay immediately and came to take Ali back before he could reach Toka.
On Wednesday, 12 September 1928, Baba embraced all the boys except Ali Akbar. The boy could not bear this and began crying, resolving to go away, but soon Baba comforted him and he quieted down. It was the pain of Baba's indifference that Ali Akbar could not bear. The boy was to learn that love flourishes and is nourished and strengthened by the pain of the Beloved's arrows.
During this period, Baba dictated this riddle in rhyming Gujarati: "The inside is like Bomanji's oven; outside is the confluence of the Ganga and Jamuna [Yamuna rivers]. It is like wax fighting with steel; helpless, yet how obstinate!"1
When no one could guess the answer, Baba explained that it was Ali Akbar and that the riddle described him well.
Zoroaster's birthday was celebrated on the 13th. Surprisingly, Baba showed no interest in joining the cricket match played that day and, as mentioned, began a long liquid fast then. At night a very funny play was enacted which pleased Baba immensely and brought him out of his sullen mood.
Since Krishna's birthday the week before, Baba had been suffering abdominal pains from being lifted up and down in the gaadi when his empty stomach was so extremely sensitive due to the prolonged fast. He was also in pain from having fallen from the gaadi into the thicket. These physical discomforts had no doubt contributed to Baba's moodiness.
The following day, the children wished to have Baba taken around the ashram in the rickshaw, and to please them, Baba tolerated the ride. But the constant jolts on the rough terrain only increased his stomach pain, and he was then unable even to drink water. That night there was no talk or discussion after the arti at nine o'clock. Keeping the boys at a distance, Baba leaned his head back on the gaadi and closed his eyes. All were ordered to go to sleep quietly.
Baba looked very sad the next day. Despite his ill health, he tolerated the boys' constant botherations throughout the day, which did not allow him to take the rest he so desperately needed. In the evening Baba sent the boys for a walk and instructed them to keep silence and speak only after they returned.
Footnotes
- 1.Ander Bomanji ki bhatthi/ Bahar Ganga Jamuna ekatthi./ Momki lohese lattha latthi/ Ajez lekin kitna hatthi!