Beloved Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!

Trust Office
Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India
Friday, 15th November, 2002

From Bhau:

After Baba met with His second accident and was staying in Pune, Dada Vaswani sent a message inviting Him to visit the Saint Mira School, also in Pune. (He was a saintly person, and though his official name was Sadhu Vaswani, his followers would call him Dada Vaswani.). Baba accepted this invitation and went to visit the school, where Dada Vaswani received Him very lovingly. During his lifetime, the school became a college, and after he expired, his nephew, Jasan Vaswani, became head of the institution (the school and the college).

When he met Baba, Jasan asked when he would get God Realization.

Baba said to Jasan, "There is only one real question 'WHO AM I?' And there is only one real answer, 'I AM GOD.' But in between this real question and the real answer, there are innumerable false answers to the real question. Therefore, unless you find the real answer, how will you get God Realization? To find the real answer, you have to love God and nothing but God."

Baba lovers found out about Baba's visit, and they came to the Saint Mira School in the thousands! Baba's program was in the hall. All of those people were just waiting and waiting in the school compound outside the hall. Then Baba announced that He would sit on the veranda and meet them. There were thousands!

When Baba was leaving for the school, He had asked the Mandali members to remain very close to Him, as a lot of people would be rushing Him. When we were on the veranda, we stood very close to Baba. People started coming to Him, one after another.

But when people thought that they would not be able to see Baba, they all made a rush towards Him.

Someone from the institution informed the police. The police came and took those who were standing near Baba, one after another!

There was one very amusing incident regarding our Shatrughana Kumar [Amrit's father]. He had joined Baba during the New Life, when Baba was in his village.

And how did he join Baba?

India had been under British rule, and the Indians had started their fight for independence. Kumar was a revolutionary and had been sentenced to prison for nine years.

The other political prisoners would pray to God morning and evening for release from the jail. But Kumar was an atheist, and he would laugh at them. He would say, "Where is your God? You must depend upon your own strength. Don't become a coward!"

He was also inciting the other prisoners to break the rules of the prison, to do anything. So then he was given rigorous imprisonment [Note to Americans = solitary confinement]. In the summer, he was forced to sit on the tin roof from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The roof had become like fire, very hot. He would be burnt in the sun, and he would shed tears. How to escape this plight? One day, when he was burning in the sun, he was thinking, "Why not one day, I should pray to God?"

Kumar decided that when he got down from the roof, he would take a bath and pray to God for release from the jail.

At 4:00 p.m., he got down and took a bath. He thought that he should pray, but because he never prayed, he felt confused about how to address God. So he thought, "Why not pray to God in the modern way?"

So he said, "Mr. God, if You exist, release me from this jail by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. If I'm released from jail by then, I promise You that I will dedicate my life to You."

And what happened?

The next day, early in the morning, the jailer came and said to Kumar, "Sign here."

Kumar asked, "Why? What is this?"

"You are released from jail," the jailer replied.

Then Kumar remembered: "Oh! Mr. God released me. He heard my prayer. I must go and dedicate my life to Him!"

After his release, Kumar went back to his village, Dehra Dhun. He was thinking, "Where is God and how to dedicate my life to Him?"

One day Kumar was sitting in a chair, cigar in his mouth, coffee cup on the table beside him and a newspaper in hand. He was reading the newspaper, smoking and drinking coffee, when two persons appeared, Keki Desai and his friend Balakram. Kumar asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"We need a piece of land here," they replied.

"A piece of land?" Kumar asked

"Yes," said Keki.

"For what?

"Our Brother is coming with a party to visit the Kumbha Mela. And therefore, in order to stay near the party, we want a piece of land "

(The Kumbha Mela is a religious festival held every twelve years at one of four sites, each near a sacred river. During Baba's New Life, the Kumbha Mela was being held at a place called Hardiwar. When the Avatar comes in human form, He becomes the servant of everyone, and He serves them. Baba needed a place to stay nearby the Kumbha Mela, and every day He would go to the festival. By taking the darshan of sadhus and mahatmas, He would do His work. He would bow down to those sadhus and mahatmas and give them presents, but they would not know who Baba was.)

Kumar said, " What is there for me? I will give you a piece of land. When do you need it?"

And the two men replied, "Within a week."

"Within a week? I can give it to you today."

Kumar showed them the piece of land. They liked it and sent a telegram to Beloved Baba.

Baba said, "Go ahead and purchase that piece of land. Construct cottages there for Me, and separately, for the men and women Mandali."

So they purchased the land. Kumar took upon himself the responsibility of constructing the cottages. When Baba went there, He would not see anyone. But fortunately, when Kumar looked at Him from a distance, he said to himself, "Oh! Here is Mr. God!"

And he accepted Baba.

It is a long story, but I want to cut it short.

Afterwards, wherever Baba would be, when Baba would call him, Kumar would join Him and stay with Him. During mass darshan programs, Baba made Kumar the "Commander-in-Chief." All the volunteers and Mandali members would be in Kumar's army. He would make them all parade at 6:00 a.m.: "Left! Right! Left! Right!"

And everyone had to obey! Everywhere Baba went during mass darshan programs, thousands of people would come. It would be very difficult for the Commander-in-Chief to regularize the queue, so that each person could approach Baba and take prasad. Kumar was very, very happy that Baba made him the Commander-in-Chief. Even Mandali members were asked to join his army! So he was very proud of what a job he had gotten. He was above everyone, and that was the cause of his happiness.

In a two-year period, Baba went twice to Andhra Pradhesh, Uttar Pradesh (Hamirpur District) and Maharashtra. The Commander-in-Chief was there to regularize the darshan programs.

Now when Dada Vaswani, the saintly person, invited Baba to his institution, Baba went there. The Commander-in-Chief also accompanied Him. Because Baba had met with an accident and fractured His hip joint, He was not able to walk. We were standing near Him so that nobody could come and embrace Him tightly.

But thousands of people had come from all over India, and there was a big rush. So someone at the institution informed the police. The police came, and because Kumar was holding the crowd in check, the police thought that he was the mischief monger! They caught hold of him.

The Commander-in-Chief said, "I am with Baba!"

"Yes. We know you are 'with Baba," the police replied. "Come with us!"

So they took Kumar outside the building. Two police constables were appointed to see that he remained sitting in one place. When I saw that the police were taking the Commander-in-Chief, I just smiled. "Just see the plight of that Commander-in-Chief!"

Baba looked at me, and after two minutes, He said, "Go and announce that I will see each person here, even if I have to stay up until midnight. They should not make any rush, but come to Me, one by one."

After I made this announcement, as I was coming back to Baba, the police caught hold of me and threw me like pumpkin! Good that there were people who caught me and prevented me from falling. Then I could understand why, that when I was smiling at the Commander-in-Chief's plight, Baba just looked at me. Now what was my plight? Worse than the Commander-in-Chief's!

So this is the story of what happened when Baba went to visit Dada Vaswani's institution. I don't know what Vaswani must have felt. For the first time, he saw thousands of people coming from all over India to see Baba after His accident.

After Dada Vaswani's death, Inlaks Hospital was opened, and nowadays it is running very well.

With all love and Jai Baba to you,

In His Love and Service,

Bhau

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