4933 1963
Chapter 38: Guruprasad Garden, 1963
Meherazad, 1963
On Sunday morning, 24 March 1963 at 8:30 A.M., Baba left Meherazad for Poona with the women and men mandali. Kaka stayed at Meherazad; Kaikobad was sent to Meherabad; and Baidul stayed with his family in Poona. Adi drove Baba in the DeSoto, making brief halts at Sarosh Motor Works and Akbar Press, where Baba met his lovers. At the Ahmednagar railway crossing, Baba moved to Meherjee's car.
On the way to Poona, Baba had the car stopped. He used his commode, behind a makeshift screen erected by the mandali by the side of the road. But as he stepped out and stood for a moment by the door, a black car which had been behind them for some time drew up in front. A man alighted and with joined hands walked straight to Baba. Adi stopped him, but Baba motioned that it was all right. As the man bowed down, he explained, "I saw you last in Toka 35 years ago, and I cannot tell you my joy at the unexpected blessing of this chance meeting on the road." Baba smiled and gestured that he too was happy about it. The actual reason for Baba having stopped at that particular time and place then became apparent.
Joseph and Kari Harb were staying at the Napier Hotel in Poona. But Joseph had been very ill for several weeks with gall bladder trouble, and his health had recently taken a serious turn. He had been told that he needed to have an operation. Alu Khambatta had been deputed to help look after him. The day Baba arrived at Guruprasad, Joseph and Kari came to see him. Baba advised Joseph to proceed with the surgery. Baba emphasized to him repeatedly, "I am the only Reality. All else that seems real is illusion. I am God, 100 percent so! There is nothing besides me. Therefore, think only of me and constantly repeat my name. If you were to drop your body this instant, this alone will be of use to you."
During his stay in Guruprasad that year, as usual Sadashiv Patil, Meherjee, Baba's brothers Jalbhai and Beheram, his three nephews Sheroo, Rustom and Sohrab, Jehangu Sukhadwalla, Meherwan Jessawala and Zal Aidoon were allowed to visit daily. Jehangu and Meherwan could come only when they had time off from their jobs. The Poona Center workers were allowed to visit occasionally. Sadashiv, Ramakrishnan, Shinde and others desired a separate building for the Poona Center, and Baba permitted them to build one. The new building was a daily topic of discussion. The construction work had begun and Baba took an active interest in it.
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