You do not have the slightest notion of what I will do now. So just continue doing your work according to my wish and do not worry.
The subject then turned to different types of food and Baba made the following remarks:
There are three things that are very good for increasing and purifying the blood: pomegranates, grapes, and tomatoes; but grapes have one defect, they create acidity. Okra is good for people with waist pain. Potatoes give strength, but can cause an upset stomach. Lentils are good; beans, squash, cabbage, and cauliflower are not nourishing, but are tasty. Eggplant is the worst. To eat eggplant is to commit suicide because it actually shatters the blood, which in the form of water causes "discharge" [mucus]. Radishes create gas but they are good for the intestines. Tomatoes are the best for the blood. Methi [fenugreek leaves] and sooa [dill] are also very good.
Rustom jokingly interjected, "Chicken is good because it has no sanskaras."
"We are not talking of sanskaras, but of the quality of things," Baba corrected. Then he continued:
Among non-vegetarian food, fish is the best for the brain because it contains phosphorus. Eggs too are good, but are hard to digest. Among all food, milk is the best because nothing is killed in obtaining it. The next best are vegetables because life in them is not fully developed. The worst impressions lie in non-vegetarian food. By eating meat a person at once contacts animal sanskaras which stimulate anger and lust.
The give-and-take of sanskaras depends on the attitude of the mind, i.e. if you do a certain action with good intentions, you catch good sansakaras, and if with bad intentions, bad sanskaras ... When you go on a hunt, you kill an animal for the sake of sport and enjoyment. You therefore take its bad sanskaras. But suppose you are going through a forest and a wild animal attacks you. In order to defend yourself, you kill it. In that case, you do not catch any sanskaras.
That is why, without attracting sanskaras, you may destroy the lives of bugs, mosquitoes, scorpions, et cetera, which cause injury to humanity. You may kill the serpent which comes to bite you; but you must not kill the serpent which you happen to see in a jungle while taking a walk.
About the early morning meditation some had been instructed to follow, Baba explained:
The best time for meditation is between 3:00 and 5:00 A.M. Why? (This is a secret.) There is some connection between the sun and the universe, and in order to meditate one must cross the solar [astral] planes. In order to give a push to the devotees, Sadgurus especially stand in the points of those planes and the universe between 3:00 and 5:00 A.M. No Sadguru has ever explained it so clearly.
The day before, Baba had shown Jalbhai a spot underneath a tree where he directed him to construct a dhuni, ordering a tin shed to be built over it. Jalbhai prepared everything in one day, and Baba came to inspect it on the 11th, accompanied by Baidul, Raosaheb, Chanji, Meherjee and Chhagan. Summoning the boys, Baba had them sit down around him. He then explained:
Listen carefully to what I have to say. It is for you that I am sitting inside [in seclusion] and working. Therefore, while I am working, there should be no disturbance at all. If I am disturbed, you will not progress; if I am not disturbed, I will see that you advance on the Path.
Nowadays your education and study have been stopped. This is a problem as there is opposition against me in the newspapers and elsewhere. If one of your fathers comes here and finds that you are not studying, he will think otherwise and take you away. The village headman is also keeping his eyes on us to satisfy the public outcries, and if the police come they will discover that you are not studying.