Once there happened to be very touching episode in rail travel in year 1942. Baba stopped in Secunderabad briefly for mast work and then continued by train. A touching incident occurred on the train between Secunderabad and Sholapur. Baba was traveling incognito by third class, dressed in ordinary clothes, wearing a Kashmiri-type fur hat and dark sunglasses. The train was so packed that the only way to enter the compartment was through the windows. At one station, an old Muslim with a white flowing beard came running up to their compartment, holding up a five-year-old boy, pleading with the passengers to take him inside. Those inside began protesting, saying it was impossible since they were already so crowded. As the train whistle sounded, the old man became desperate and shouted, “For God’s sake, take the child in!”
At this point, Baba ordered the mandali to help the man and lift the boy inside. Amidst loud arguments with their fellow passengers, the mandali did as they were told, brought the boy in through the window, and sat him down next to Baba. The old man ran to the next compartment, and held on to a railing as the train started. At each stop, he would come back to see that the boy was all right.
Observing the old man’s anxiety, Baba ordered the mandali to make room for the man inside. After much trouble and more vociferous complaints from the other passengers, the mandali succeeded in pulling the man in through the window. He squeezed in next to Baba and put the boy on his lap.
In the course of conversation with the old Muslim, the mandali learned he was from Gulbarga, and asked, as was their habit, if he knew any masts or saints thereabouts. The man was surprised by their question and asked, “Why do you ask about saints? People go to a saint with two distinct objects: either for obtaining wealth and prosperity, or for God. Which do you seek?”
Eruch explained, “We are Parsis from Ahmednagar, but spiritually-minded and interested in saints.”
Hearing that they hailed from Ahmednagar, the old man reproached them, “What? You say you are Parsis from Ahmednagar and you do not even know about your own great saint who lives near there, named Meher Baba? Why are you running after others?”
The mandali, in order to avoid disclosing Baba’s identity, had to pretend they knew nothing about Meher Baba, and casually asked who he was.
The man laughed derisively at their ignorance, and chided, “Why he is a very, very great saint of a high order. He is worshiped by thousands of all communities. I can’t believe you have never heard of him! I myself have been to see him at His ashram at Meherabad twice, but was not fortunate enough to have His darshan. Once, He was away in a foreign country, and once He was in seclusion. But I am determined to pay My respects to Him before I die,” he added, “and take my whole family to him.
“At least once in my lifetime, I must have the good fortune of seeing Him. I strongly suggest you go to Him if you are interested in spiritual personalities.”
At this point, the train stopped at Gulbarga, and the Muslim got down, thanking them for making room for himself and the boy. After he had left, Baba asked if they had any of His photographs with them. Eruch pulled a copy of Meher Baba Journal from his bedding roll. Baba bowed His head to His own photograph, and sent Eruch with the journal to give to the man, with these words, “Tell him who his companion on the train has been, and that I bless him and his family.
Now there is no need for him to visit Meherabad.
Eruch caught the old man outside the station as he was about to board a Tonga and handed him the journal. When the old man saw Meher Baba’s picture in it, and Eruch revealed Baba’s identity to him, he exploded in anger. He loudly abused Eruch for having kept it a secret all this time. Eruch tried to explain the Master’s reasons for not seeing anyone and traveling incognito, saying, “You are so blessed to have journeyed with Him for an hour when hundreds of His followers thirst for His darshan, which He does not allow even for a moment.”
But the man would not listen, and cursed Eruch and his entire “younger generation.” The man explained how restless he had felt in the other compartment, and that was why he kept returning to theirs, somehow irresistibly drawn to be near Baba after having longed for His darshan for so many years.
Eruch ran back to catch the train, and the old man ran after him. Eruch jumped on board. The man saw Baba leaning out of the window, without his dark glasses and hat, as if waiting for him. The old man bowed his head to Him, and Baba placed His hand on his head in blessing as the train pulled away.
In December 1943, an Irani came to Meherabad and wanted to place Rs.500 at Baba’s feet. Baba did not accept the money, but the man entreated him again; so Baba motioned to him to give it to Eruch, remarking, “You (Eruch) must hand over this amount to a family who is very poor, but who cannot beg. You will come to know the whereabouts of such a family in a natural way.”
Baba had agreed to give darshan in Poona at the end of December, and Eruch was sent there in advance. Eruch had had no time to look for such a family in Ahmednagar, but when he went to Poona, taking the Rs.500 with him, he began his search. One day he was sitting in a shop sipping sugarcane juice. He overheard some of the other customers talking among themselves. One said, “What wonder of God that the very rich have become the very poorest, and the very poorest have become the very richest.”
The shopkeeper nodded in agreement and said, “I know of a man in Bhor who is most faithful. Previously, he had a good job as a head-clerk. But he was fired from his job. He was not afraid to pursue justice, and had a reputation for being absolutely honest. His superior, who would always accept bribes, was jealous of him and somehow downgraded him, making him a pauper. The poor man has two daughters of marriageable age, but he is now penniless, without proper food and clothing.”
After the customers left, Eruch took down the man’s name and address and went to the town of Bhor. When he reached the house and saw the family in their miserable condition, his heart reached out to them. The daughters wore tattered clothing, and their small house was in a dilapidated condition. Seeing Eruch, the daughters were afraid, as he was dressed in khaki, and they thought he was a military officer or policeman. One daughter burst out, “We have done nothing wrong; for God’s sake, leave us alone.”
Eruch calmed her, “Don’t be afraid, sister; I have come to help you. My elder brother has sent me to give you aid.”
The other daughter pleaded, “My father is unemployed. He is out at the moment but will return at night. Please come tomorrow as we won’t be able to pay the debts.”
“I have not come to collect any debts,” Eruch tried to explain. “I have come to present him with a gift from my elder brother. Please tell your father to be here tomorrow.”
Eruch returned to Poona, and the next day went back to Bhor where he met the father. He informed him of his mission and the man asked, “Who has sent you?”
Eruch could not reveal Baba’s name. “By the guidance of God, my elder brother has sent me. Oblige us by accepting the money.” Eruch then touched the man’s feet according to Baba’s instructions, and handed him the money.
The man wept and disclosed, “Brother, Had you not come today, I would not have been alive tomorrow! I had decided to commit suicide. How long am I to continue carrying the load of these marriageable girls when I am up to my neck in debt? You can see for yourself our condition. We badly need clothes and other goods. But God is the Ocean of mercy! It is for our own good that He has kept us this way.”
Folding his hands to the devout man, Eruch left. Such was Beloved Baba’s play! He is the Protector of everyone at every moment, and nothing is hidden from him!
In 1944, one day, Baba sent a telegram to Eruch in Poona telling him to come to Pimpalgaon. When he arrived, Baba instructed him to sleep close to Him in His room. Eruch did not believe in ghosts, and although Baba had explained to him many times about disembodied spirits, he found the whole idea hard to swallow.
That night, as Eruch was sleeping, he woke up and felt some heavy pressure on his chest, as if someone were sitting on his chest trying to choke him, although he could see no one. He struggled to free himself from the invisible intruder, but was unable to and could not utter a sound. He tossed and turned on the floor, sweating profusely, and Baba watched the struggle from his bed. After a short time, the spirit departed, and Baba asked, “Now, do you believe in ghosts?”
Eruch had learned his lesson and said, “I certainly do now.” The next day, he was sent back to Poona. Baba had called him only to give him this experience. (Lord Meher-p-2404/05-1944)
One particularly significant contact in Rishikesh was a highly advanced soul called Jala Tapasvi. This great yogi wore a green kafni and sat on the roof of a ruined temple which had once stood on an island in the Ganges River but was now submerged. When Kaka and Eruch first went to him, they introduced themselves as Parsis from Bombay, and the yogi at once asked, “How are things there?”
“There are constant riots and disturbances,” Eruch replied.
Jala Tapasvi surprised them by stating: “It is natural and indeed inevitable.
It is all the work of the Avatar, who is now in form.
“How can we find the Avatar?” Eruch asked.
“No one knows Him,” the yogi said, “but He is already born. I know it. He moves amongst humanity incognito, unknown. People like Gandhi, the great men of the world, the so-called leaders, may be famous and even worshiped by mankind, but they are mere playthings in the hands of the Avatar. They are like kites, the strings of which are held firmly in the Avatar’s grasp, and he controls them as he wishes.
“Hitler shook the world — everyone says so. But it is the Avatar who worked through him.”
“When will the Avatar manifest?”
“After 22 years (1968). These wars and disturbances will continue until then, and three-quarters of humanity will be wiped out! This narakwasi (hell-like) world will continue, and then a swargawasi (heaven-like) world will be born. For how can people of hell co-exist with the residents of heaven? Seventy-five percent of the present world will perish and the remaining one-fourth will be absorbed in the qualities of a New World, where peace and happiness will reign.”
Jala Tapasvi concluded: “Like other Avatars before Him, He will be ridiculed by the majority of people, and His real fame will only spread after His death when He will be recognized and worshiped as the Savior.”
As usual, Eruch and Kaka had not once referred to Meher Baba, but when Jala Tapasvi later saw Baba in a house in Rishikesh, he cried out: “The Avatar has come!” Baba was happy with the contact.
There were many strange characters in Rishikesh, but one whose name is not recorded is noteworthy, though contact with Him was not to Baba’s satisfaction. He was a foreboding, strange recluse who was well known but whose whereabouts in Rishikesh no one dared to divulge for fear of being cursed. Eruch, after much inquiry, found this recluse who had closeted himself in a hut on the riverbank in Rishikesh. When the recluse asked who he was bringing, Eruch replied, “My father.” Baba arrived, but the contact was not to his liking, because during it the recluse pestered Baba with inane questions such as, “How many sons besides this one (Eruch) do you have?” As a young man this seeker was said to have wandered through the jungles for years living only on leaves and roots before settling in Rishikesh. He was emaciated since he ate only one chapatti and a little dal daily; nevertheless he was a forbidding character if angered.
In one event during 1947,
Meherjee thought Baba would as usual travel in a third-class compartment, which was always overcrowded and would make the long journey particularly uncomfortable in the intense summer weather. He asked Baba if he could reserve a clean, first-class, air-conditioned compartment for Him and the mandali, and after much persuasion, Baba had relented. Baba sat in the cool compartment for a while, and then asked Eruch, “Don’t you feel cold in here? I feel very chilly.” The mandali were enjoying the journey for a change, but they asked Baba what He wanted. He instructed, “Go and tell the conductor to turn the air conditioning down a bit. Otherwise, you will all catch colds.”
So Eruch approached the conductor, but the conductor replied, “Nothing can be done about it. It is on automatic; the temperature cannot be adjusted manually.”
Eruch returned and informed Baba, who asked, “Can’t they turn it off? Quick, go tell him to turn it off.”
Eruch left, and the conductor turned the air conditioning off. Because the compartment was air-conditioned, it was airtight, without any external vents, fans or operable windows. It was the month of April, and the heat became intense. Without the air conditioning, the compartment soon turned into an oven!
Eruch felt so uncomfortable that he took off his clothes. The air was so stifling that everyone felt as though they were about to suffocate. Baba, on the other hand, was quite comfortable, and did not seem in the least affected.
Eruch thought: “Compared to this, third class is much better. At least it is airy.”
Meherjee had purchased first-class tickets for Baba’s comfort, but now he regretted doing so as the “comfort” turned into the severest discomfort imaginable. Thereafter, no one ever mentioned air conditioning to Baba again.
Baba and the mandali spent the night at the railway station, as they were to leave early the following morning. Here a memorable incident took place. Baba and the men would always carry their bedding rolls with them, and at the station they spread them out on the ground at the end of the stone platform. One of the mandali was to keep awake on night watch, but that night the sentry must have been feeling drowsy, because all of a sudden Baba started shaking Eruch awake.
Eruch awoke, startled. “What’s the matter?” Baba pointed to a man sleeping beside them. The man had slipped under their blanket and was effectively using it to hide himself. Eruch shook him and asked, “Who are you?” But as soon as Eruch touched him, the man jumped up and ran away. When he did, the police were heard loudly blowing their whistles and chasing after him. The man was a thief and had slipped in between them seeking to disappear from the police.
Unknowingly, the thief had sought God’s protection — and even if he was later caught, he had already had Baba’s shelter!
Baba left for Baroda on the morning of Wednesday, 29 October 1947, and another amusing incident occurred on the train. Baba, Baidul, Eruch and Gustadji found themselves in a small third-class compartment which was empty. Everyone was pleased at this lucky turn of events, as whenever possible Baba preferred to have the compartment to Him so that He could relax and express Himself uninhibitedly through gestures, without being concerned about drawing attention to Him. But unfortunately, just as the train pulled out of the station, a Congress leader stepped in.
Baba was not at all pleased to have a stranger in their midst and motioned to Eruch to get rid of him. Eruch pleaded, “Sir, the next halt is only ten or fifteen minutes away. When it comes will you please oblige us by finding a seat in another compartment?
The train is not crowded and we would prefer to be alone. We are traveling a long distance and are tired.”
“Why, is this compartment reserved?” he asked.
“No, it is not,” Eruch replied. “But we prefer to spread out, and you will be equally comfortable in another compartment.”
The man became arrogant and rude, and began arguing loudly, refusing to move. Baba signaled, “Stop arguing with him. Just observe silence, talk with each other through signs and laugh uproariously. If he asks you anything, ignore him.”
Gustadji, who was under orders not to converse in sign language while traveling, to avoid attracting attention, was now freed of this longstanding restriction, and he plunged into animated “conversation.” Baidul and Eruch were familiar with his signs, and they also began using them and laughing loudly.
The politician looked puzzled and asked Eruch, “Where are you going?” Eruch looked at him and turned away without replying. He asked Baidul, and he too turned his face. “Where do you live?” the man questioned; but no one paid any attention to him and they kept up their sign language among themselves.
At the next stop, probably thinking he was in the midst of a bunch of lunatics, the man rose to leave the compartment, and summoned a coolie to remove his luggage.
Baba gestured to Eruch to shake his hand, thank him and help him out. So Eruch got up and helped the man down with his trunks and bid him farewell with a “Thank you.”
They settled back to resume their journey in privacy, and Baba remarked, “Serves him right!”
Once Baba sent Eruch for certain work to Ahmednagar, asking him to return to Pimpalgaon by seven that evening. When Eruch had not returned by that time, Baba became restless. He would send Krishna every two minutes to see whether he had arrived. Baba was very uneasy and got angry with Krishna for no apparent reason.
Eruch had been late in leaving Ahmednagar and was driving swiftly toward Meherazad. On the way, he found the nallah (riverbed) flooded due to the monsoon rains, and cars and buses were stuck there. Paying no attention to the warnings not to cross the canal, Eruch plunged the car through the stream. He managed to drive across, though he got completely soaked. He arrived safely at Meherazad, and as soon as he drove in the compound, Baba calmed down. Eruch was called, and Baba asked him, “Why are you late?”
Eruch was weeping. He said, “Baba, I forgot.”
“Why didn’t you forget yourself?” Baba fumed. “Why did you forget My order? If you die, I will have to answer to Pappa!”
Once, Baba asked Krishna, “How do you find Eruch?”
Krishna replied, “He is a very good man.”
Baba stated, “He is not only very good, he is a gem!”
India and Pakistan had been partitioned, and civil chaos, riots, mayhem and confusion were rocking the country. It was no time to be traveling. Hindus and Muslims were massacring one another indiscriminately. Many had been slaughtered in trains. At times, train compartments were full of corpses being taken to distant places for burial or cremation.
In 1948, Baba, Lord of Creation chose to travel at this time for His work. From Raigarh, Baba proceeded to Calcutta. They caught the first train to Dacca, at that time the capital of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). But when they reached the Pakistani frontier station of Ranaghat, Baba got down and announced that He was returning to Calcutta. The mandali were astonished. He was going back after having just left! Baba’s original intention had been to contact masts in Dacca, but who can grasp the Master’s inner work? His inner work was complete the moment He set foot on Pakistani soil and there was no need to go further.
So, according to His wish, they entered a small carriage adjacent to the engine. It was completely empty and Baba was in an exceptionally good mood, apparently because of some success in his inner work. But alongside the good mood was the inevitable strain of working, and so he suggested, “To lessen the burden, let’s play cards; but see that no one enters our compartment.”
They began playing, and at the next stop when Eruch got down, he saw that the other compartments were rapidly filling and there was now the danger that others would enter theirs and intrude upon their privacy. He drew Baba’s attention to this, saying, “It’s time we roll up our bedding and prepare for the rush.” But Baba gestured to him not to worry.
Before they arrived at the next station, Baba remarked, “I will lie down like this,” and He stretched out on the wooden bench covering Himself from head to toe with a sheet.
Keeping motionless, He looked like a corpse. After they arrived at the station, passengers rushed to enter their compartment. Eruch stood by Baba’s “body” with folded hands and a mournful look on his face, and the people thought that someone had recently died. Regretfully, they backed out of the compartment, not wishing to have as a traveling companion a dead body rotting in the heat. They naturally assumed that a Pakistani had been murdered and that his relatives were taking his body somewhere for burial.
The train began moving out of the station and the “corpse” rose from the dead and gestured, “Good trick, wasn’t it?” In truth, Meher Baba was a living corpse; Avatars and Sadgurus are “dead” to the world at all times!
They returned to Calcutta at 7:30 that evening, and began to inquire about checking into a hotel. This was not as simple as it sounds. While returning on the train Baba had stipulated that he wished to have a room at the end of a corridor, and in addition there should be a vacant room between his room and the mandali’s. After a long, tiring search they found a hotelkeeper at the Great Eastern Hotel who agreed to these conditions.
They settled in, but at midnight Baba complained of noise coming from a nearby workshop. Chhagan was keeping night watch and Baba directed him to tell Eruch to go down and ask the men to stop working, because his elder brother, who was “sick,” needed quiet. The workers agreed to stop and Eruch returned. But in an hour, Baba complained to Eruch, “There’s noise coming from the next room. Go see if the manager has broken his promise and allowed someone to stay in it.”
Again Eruch went down the five flights of stairs, and indeed the manager had allowed two unexpected late arrivals to occupy the empty room. “After all, you are not paying for it,” he reasoned. Baba was displeased but directed Eruch to go tell the couple to make as little noise as possible.
After a few minutes someone knocked on Baba’s door. Eruch opened it and found a hotel waiter with ice water. He had mistaken their room for the couple’s next door. This too irritated Baba. He scolded Eruch, “This is the last straw! I cannot bear all this commotion. Couldn’t you find one decent hotel in all of Calcutta? We must move to another hotel that is quiet.
Again Eruch went down the five flights of stairs, and indeed the manager had allowed two unexpected late arrivals to occupy the empty room. “After all, you are not paying for it,” he reasoned. Baba was displeased but directed Eruch to go tell the couple to make as little noise as possible.
I cannot work in this atmosphere with these constant disturbances.”
Eruch woke up the other mandali and everyone started packing. Eruch had more to do than the others, since he had to pack Baba’s personal belongings such as his clothes, towel, soap, razor, et cetera, as well as his own. When he was in the middle of packing, Gustadji came over and started asking him questions — by making hand signs, since he was on silence. Eruch felt annoyed but answered as best (and briefly) as he could.
They found another hotel and checked in, but again Baba began complaining of noise and stated they should go somewhere else. “There will be noise in or around any hotel in the city,” Eruch said. “If you want a quiet place we will have to go to the suburbs.”
Baba agreed. “We’ll have to go by train,” Eruch pointed out, “and to go to the station we will have to hire a tonga or taxi. They will charge us a high price, as it is the middle of the night.”
But Baba replied, “It does not matter; we’ll go by train.”
So once more, Eruch had to pack everything, and with the luggage they proceeded to the train station — some half asleep. They reached the suburb of Howrah and checked into a secluded hotel. Baba liked it and Eruch again started to unpack his things.
Dawn was just breaking when Gustadji approached Eruch and began making hand signs in front of his face. The day’s — and night’s — weary labor had shortened the fuse on Eruch’s temper and he angrily exploded, “Am I supposed to unpack Baba’s things or read your damn signs? My God, I am trapped between two dumb mutes!”
Baba had just entered the room and heard his remark. He demanded, “Am I dumb?”
Pointing to Gustadji, Baba said, “He may be dumb, but I am not!”
Eruch apologized but lamented, “The whole night has passed unpacking and packing our things. It is good I have the strength to do it. But how in the hell am I supposed to understand Gustadji’s signs in the dark? He has time to make signs only when I am preoccupied with something else. One person who does not talk is enough for me.”
Referring to Gustadji, Eruch remarked, “I do not like having to attend to this other dumb mute!”
“Why do you repeat ‘dumb mute’?” Baba asked. “He who can speak but does not is not dumb!
Nearby a policeman was observing this odd exchange and became suspicious. He asked everyone to accompany him to the police station. Eruch asked what they had done wrong. “This man is not speaking but making signals and I am suspicious of him. You’ll have to come with me to the station to be interrogated.” The policeman thought there were some secret coded messages being passed between Baba and Gustadji by signs. Due to the bitter relations between India and Pakistan at the time, even the smallest, most trivial incidents were viewed with apprehension.On 1st April 1948, when Baba was out looking for masts on Mukamma Ghat in Batanagar, an amusing incident took place. Baba was conversing with Baidul, Chhagan, Eruch, Gustadji and Kaka. As Gustadji was keeping silence, he was “talking” with his fingers, and Eruch, who was the most adept at putting his gestures into words, was interpreting for Baba. Because Gustadji had enjoyed a bumper breakfast that morning, he was in a good mood and his fingers moved rapidly.
Eruch assured him, “We are Parsis, and this person is dumb and therefore was speaking through signs.”
Gustadji’s feelings were pricked by this repeated remark and he gestured to Eruch, “Why do you always call me ‘dumb’? Am I dumb or observing silence?”
Eruch did not pay any attention to him and continued talking with the officer, but Baba snapped at Eruch, “What is he saying, what is he saying? Why don’t you tell Me what Gustadji is saying?”
When the policeman saw that there were two “dumb” persons in their group, he became even more suspicious! Eruch, with difficulty, persuaded him of their innocence and the man left.
Now an argument ensued between Eruch and Gustadji. Gustadji asked again, “Why do you always call me dumb?”
“Had I not said you were dumb, you would have been locked up in jail!”
Eruch explained.
“So what?” Gustadji said. “That would have been better than being insulted!”
Baba continued goading Gustadji and at the same time demanding that Eruch interpret his gestures. Finally, Eruch got so exasperated he told Gustadji, “Pardon me; henceforth I will never call you dumb again.”
But this was not the end of their confrontation. Baba continued to encourage Gustadji to keep on talking, and he went on making more and more signs which Eruch not only had to “listen” to, but also interpret and repeat. At last Eruch got so fed up with Baba siding with Gustadji, that he exploded in sheer anger and said something disrespectful to Baba.
After a little while, Baba asked, “Do you know how much you have pained Me?”
Eruch had cooled down and answered, “I did not mean it. Others have used much stronger language than I did. You did not feel so pained then.”
“You have no idea how much you have shocked My heart! Listen to this story and you will realize why I feel so deeply hurt.” Baba then recounted:
A woman in a village once cohabitated with a man who was not her husband and the people came to know of it. It was the custom then to punish such a crime by making the adulteress sit in a circle. Every villager would then pick up a stone and strike her.
The woman was made to sit in the town square and the villagers began stoning her one by one. When the woman’s daughter’s turn came, she could not bring herself to stone her own mother. Instead, she picked up a rose and threw it at her.
But the rose wounded the woman much more than all the stones combined, because it came from her daughter, one whom she dearly loved and had raised so tenderly.
Similarly, others’ “stones” do not hurt me as deeply as your rose.