After His mast contacts, Baba went to a small railway station near Calcutta on the night of 1st April, to proceed via the mail train to Hardwar. The station was crowded, and to get seats in third class with all their baggage was impossible. So it was decided that Baba, with Eruch, should travel with the baggage by first class, and Gustadji, Chhagan, Kaka and Baidul by third class. Eruch was serving as Baba’s personal attendant then and so was to be by His side at all times.
Gustadji conveyed, “I will help by loading the luggage in the compartment,” and so he too was taken with Baba into first class.
When the train arrived at the platform, there was the usual scramble for accommodation, and Eruch efficiently made Baba sit in the first-class coupé and briskly loaded their luggage inside. Thereafter, by flashlight, he signaled the other mandali at the other end of the platform that all was well and that he was boarding the train. The train started and Eruch began arranging the luggage in the small compartment. After a few minutes, Baba asked Eruch what happened to Gustadji. Eruch looked throughout the train and, failing to find him, thought he had been left behind. He replied, “He must be back on the platform. What should we do now?”
“Don’t worry,” Baba gestured.
“But he is old and on silence,” Eruch protested. “He’ll have a hell of a time making himself understood.”
“From the next station, send a wire to the stationmaster and Chhagan will go back and bring him,” Baba ordered.
A noise like the squeaking of a rat was heard and Eruch switched on his flashlight but could not discern anything in the darkness. In those days the trains had no electric lights and the compartments were dark at night. Again the sound was heard and Eruch searched their compartment but found nothing. Noticing that there was an empty seat, he thought that perhaps a fellow passenger had gone to the lavatory, but he could not locate the latrine. He then realized that the toilet door was completely covered by their baggage. He began shifting the luggage and Baba asked, “Why are you doing that?”
“The door to the lavatory is blocked,” Eruch replied. “It is just possible the other passenger is inside.”
Eruch moved the obstructing luggage away, and to his surprise found Gustadji sitting inside. Baba chided Gustadji, “Wherever you go, you always go to the toilet first. How much urine do you pass in a day? You came along to help load the luggage and you instead get locked in the loo!”
Gustadji replied, “The urge to piddle was uncontrollable. Had I helped with the bags I would have stained my pants.” And Baba and Eruch could only laugh at Gustadji’s serious expression.
In Haridwar, when Baba was to contact other masts, His gaze fell upon an old man dressed in rags. Baba sent Baidul to elicit information from him about the whereabouts of masts, and on Baidul’s return they walked off. But the old man was magnetically drawn to Baba, and followed them down the street.
On Baba’s instructions, Eruch asked him the reason why he was following them. The old man replied, “I am in search of a guru, because Kabir has said that without the help of a guru, God is not experienced! I am now old and afraid I may pass away without realizing Paramatma.” Looking at Baba, he continued, “In you I see the man fit to guide me on the Path.”
Baba smiled and, speaking through Eruch, advised the man, “Try to love God more and more — so much so that you feel like a fish out of the ocean whose only desire is to return to the ocean.”
As usual, whenever Baba would arrive in a village or small town, a crowd gathered to have a look at the strangers. As Eruch was busy talking with a devotee, a man with a palsied arm stood next to him and put his other arm lightly around Eruch’s shoulder in a gesture of friendship — or so Eruch thought. Eruch was carrying a wad of ten-rupee notes in his upper pocket, and though he did not see the act, he heard a crisp sound, turned quickly and saw the man holding two notes in his hand. Because of the crowd, Eruch did not say anything, but he caught a firm hold of the man’s wrist and dragged him behind the house, determined to give him a few hard slaps for picking his pocket. He raised his arm to strike him when suddenly someone caught his arm from behind.
Turning around, he saw it was Baba.
“What are you doing?” Baba gestured.
“This rascal pinched Rs.20 from my pocket!” Eruch responded.
Baba looked at the man. “Did you do that?” He caught hold of his earlobe (the usual punishment for children) and, pinching it, warned him, “Never, never do that again!”
Baba turned back to Eruch and motioned, “Give him back the money. It is meant for those who need it. Had he not needed it, why would he have stolen it?” Eruch hesitated, but Baba repeated, “Go on, give it to him!”
Baba would not permit the mandali to open any of the windows or ventilators, because his sensitive sinuses could not bear the slightest draft. When their small compartment grew unbearably hot, Eruch took off all his clothes. He began gasping for air in the stifling coach and looked like a naked mast covered with sweat. The compartment became like the black hell hole of Calcutta!
Baba appeared to be sleeping, and Eruch took the opportunity to go to the toilet, where he turned on the tap. He was so desperate for a bit of fresh air, he stuck his head down the “toilet” – a hole open to the tracks beneath the train — to breathe. When he returned, Baba had covered himself with blankets and still seemed to be resting, oblivious to the heat.
On Monday, 22nd September 1947, Baba left Baroda for Ahmedabad. The train compartment was extremely crowded and Baidul had to sit on the floor by the door. When the train halted at Nadiad, Baidul moved in front of the exit. Suddenly, someone pushed the door open, but as the compartment was already overflowing, Baidul quickly closed it, pushing the man out.
The man slipped and nearly fell, but was not injured.
Two policemen appeared and told Eruch, “Come out at once; you are under arrest.” Eruch looked incredulous and asked what he had done. “You pushed the mayor out of the train!”
“Who says I pushed him?” Eruch demanded, “And why was the mayor trying to enter from an exit door”? He should have come through the proper entrance. Let him prove I pushed him out.”
The mayor appeared and addressed the other passengers: “Brothers and sisters, you are all witnesses of what happened. This man threw me out! Judge for yourselves. Let there be no injustice done. Let not barbarism triumph by giving your testimony.”
Eruch spoke in his defense: “Fellow passengers, you know that there has been rain, and there is mud everywhere. Had the distinguished mayor really fallen, his clothing would have gotten dirty. Look for yourselves. His clothes are quite clean without a spot on them. You may come to your own conclusion.”
The mayor indignantly sat in another compartment and the two policemen entered Baba’s compartment — already holding 84 passengers but designed for only 50. The train started as the policemen began collecting statements from everyone. It went on the whole night and when the train arrived in Ahmedabad, Baba and the mandali got down — with the charge against Eruch still unsubstantiated.
After completing his mast work in Ahmedabad, on the evening of the 23rd, Baba went to the station to catch a train for Mount Abu. Since there was plenty of time before the train was due to arrive and Baba was completely exhausted, he wished to rest for a while. However, the platform was full of people, so he could not rest there.
Baba climbed the railway bridge to see if he could find a quiet spot on which to lie down. He noticed a garden nearby, and when Eruch went to check it out, he found that it was a public works storehouse. Eruch asked the watchman for permission for them to rest in the shade a while, but he said, “This is a restricted area; no one is allowed inside.”
Entreatingly, Eruch told him, “We only want to lie underneath a tree before our train comes. I promise we will not be in your way. We are very tired and will leave after a few hour’s rest.”
The watchman reluctantly agreed and Eruch gave him a generous tip.
Baba and the men carried their luggage to the garden and spread themselves out in the cool shade under a tree. Baba washed his face and hands. The men, after taking off their clothes, went to sleep. Since it was very hot at the time, they all slept in their underpants. Soon after, the official storekeeper himself showed up and asked the watchman, “Who are those people and why did you allow them to camp inside? Who will be responsible if anything is stolen?” The watchman implored his pardon, but harshly reprimanding him, the official said, “Your service terminates as of tomorrow. You’re fired!”
Baba was listening to all this and he woke Eruch and said, “Go and find out what the trouble is.” Eruch ran half-naked to the guard, but the official had already left.
The watchman told him everything and Eruch consoled him, saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll do something.” Eruch, still in his boxers, then went to see the official storekeeper in the dak bungalow and told him in English, “It was not the watchman’s fault. We were wrong to seek shelter here. He at first refused us entrance, but we persuaded him to relent.
“I am the son of a boiler inspector [a high government position] and all my companions come from good families. We will leave the garden now, but please do not dismiss the watchman because of us. We were simply lying under a tree and never stepped foot in the store.”
The official said, “You may rest there as long as you like. I was just threatening the man to keep him on his toes so he won’t permit anyone else to enter the premises. I won’t sack him, don’t worry.”
“Then kindly accompany me and assure him of that,” Eruch requested. “He is so afraid, and my elder brother won’t be able to rest so long as the man keeps worrying.”
The storekeeper took Eruch back in his car to the garden. Pretending to reprimand the watchman, he said, “If this ever happens again, I will dismiss you from service, but today you’re forgiven. Just remember not to let it happen again; otherwise, you’ll really lose your job.”
Thus everything returned to normal, but the Lord of the universe could not rest undisturbed, even under the shade of a tree. Perhaps his fatigue was a pretext to contact the kindly watchman and his stern boss.
During stay in Vengurla, he again wished to contact the fifth-plane Lala Mast. The mast was living far away in an isolated area, and Baba asked Eruch “Isn’t there any shortcut?”
Eruch reported, “There is an inlet, but it is full of brackish water. It would be difficult to cross, and it smells awful. There are tiny canoes that ferry passengers, but it is rather dangerous.”
“We’ll take the shortcut,” Baba decided. “Why spend an hour driving this long, zigzag way?” They left the car, and Baba walked with Eruch to the inlet.
Eruch told the young fisherman’s son plying his canoe that he would be paid well, but that he should be extra careful taking them across. The boy agreed, and scrubbed his boat well for the distinguished gentleman. Baba took off his coat and, handing it to Eruch, stepped into the hollowed-out palm tree canoe wearing only his sadra. Eruch was carrying a satchel containing a water bottle, soap, a towel, washcloth, and so forth. While traveling with Baba to contact masts, these things were necessary to wash the mast, and clean the often squalid area where they stayed. In addition, the bag carried sweets, clothing, cigarettes, paan and other items a mast might ask for.
Eruch got in and the canoe pushed off. But after going some distance, the boy’s friends, who were swimming alongside, began teasing the boy and roughhousing. Suddenly, the canoe overturned, and Baba, Eruch and the boy were thrown into the water. The channel was not deep, but Baba had gone under and Eruch had to dive down and pull Baba to the surface. They had to wade through the dirty water to reach the other side. Eruch held the bag in one hand and with the other helped Baba across and out of the smelly water. Their clothes and the bag were drenched.
After being helped up on the bank, Baba turned to Eruch and said something to him which he never forgot: “Just as you have helped me out of this dirty water today, so also one day I will help you out of the filth of maya!”
Baba sat down and instructed Eruch to go bring his other clothes from the bungalow.
Eruch protested, “How can I leave you here alone?”
But Baba insisted, “Don’t think about it; go and bring a change of clothes for me.”
Eruch returned to the dak bungalow and asked Goher for clothes for Baba. “Where’s Baba?” she asked.
Thinking quickly, Eruch replied, “With the mast.”
Eruch brought the clothes, and Baba changed into them behind a bush. He instructed Eruch to wash his dirty clothes and hang them in the sun to dry, so that when he would give them to Goher, she would not be suspicious. They then went to Lala Mast’s isolated hut, and Baba was pleased with the contact.
In new life at Benaras on the first day, they halted in the compound of a school at a place called Shivpur. Here Baba sent Babadas and Eruch out begging. Eruch first approached the hut of a very poor old woman, but she had nothing to give — not even a little flour. Yet she told Eruch to wait, and borrowing some flour from a neighbor, lovingly gave it to Eruch as alms. How fortunate was this poor woman! The God-Man had sent his companions to beg at her door, and she did not fail to give him something, even if she had nothing herself.
Traveling farther south, Baba and his companions arrived in Madras, where a thorough search was made to locate more families. Three destitute families were found, and Baba washed their feet and gave Rs.500 to each family.
On one occasion, Baba was sitting at a place in Madras, when he suddenly gestured that he felt thirsty.
He sent Eruch to buy coconut water. While doing so, Eruch overheard some people discussing an unfortunate family. Eruch asked a paan wala if he knew of any needy families in the area. The paan-seller informed him, “In Gudur there is a family who was once quite well-to-do, but they are now in such a miserable condition they cannot even afford food and clothing. The man used to be a wealthy merchant and was having a palatial bungalow constructed. Suddenly his business plummeted and the building contractor, taking advantage of his situation, began looting him. The result was the contractor himself became the owner of the building, and the family now occupies a tiny hut, where they live in squalor.”
Eruch repeated the story to Baba, and Baba became anxious to proceed immediately to Gudur. Two hours later, they caught the first train there. When they arrived, Eruch went ahead from the station to find the family in a suburb called Old Mambalam. He came to a large house and knocked on the door. A well-dressed man appeared, and Eruch asked for the man whose name he had taken from the shopkeeper. “I am that man!” the head of the household replied. This surprised Eruch, and he thought the search had been in vain. Still, he said, “I have heard that the former owner of this house was once very wealthy but is now a pauper. My elder brother has come to render him some help.” The owner did not reply, but his young son who had been standing behind him said that the man he wanted resided in a hut in a nearby alley. The man Eruch had been talking with was the person who had taken over the house from its original owner. Surprisingly, their names were almost the same.
The boy showed Eruch to the other man’s hut. It was Diwali, the colorful festival of lights, but outside the hut, not even one light burned. Eruch tapped on the door of the hovel, and a young girl in a tattered sari cautiously opened it. It was dark inside. Only a tiny light flickered in front of a glass case housing a tall idol of Lord Krishna which, even in his destitution, the man had saved. The poor man was sick and lay on a cot in the corner. His wife was seated on another cot in the one-room shack.
The girl had been praying to Krishna. Eruch inquired of the girl about the man, and she quietly answered, “He is my father, but he is ill. My mother too is indisposed. Why have you come here?”
“I came to know about your father’s plight, and my elder brother has come to help him,” Eruch explained.
“We have nothing with which to repay a loan.”
“This is not a loan,” Eruch quickly explained. “My elder brother wants to give a gift of love, and if your father accepts it he will oblige us.”
The girl burst into tears. She turned to the statue of Krishna and uttered: “My Krishna, my beloved Krishna — how merciful you are! I have only just prayed to you and you have answered so soon. You are merciful, my Lord, most merciful!”
At this, Eruch’s heart too was full, and tears came to his eyes. Eruch told the girl, “My elder brother always first washes the feet of the receiver and then lays his forehead on them. Warm some water; meanwhile, I will bring him from the train station.”
Eruch went back to the station and, accompanied by Baba and Pendu, led them to the hut. Baba washed and put his head on the man’s feet, handing him Rs.500. The girl was overcome and wept. “My Krishna, my Krishna,” she continued to cry. “My merciful Krishna!”
Age too was touched. “Krishna was present in physical form — but the Lord did not linger!” Finishing his work, Baba immediately departed by tonga. After some distance, it was discovered that Baba’s coat had been left behind in the hut. But Baba indicated to Eruch and Pendu, “Forget about it! Let my coat stay with them. I am extremely happy with the work that has been done.”
From Madras, Baba and the men entrained for Hyderabad, where they stayed for nine days. In an Idgah (Muslim place of worship), Baba sat in seclusion for half an hour one day. There, while the men stood guard, Baba again took off his clothes and sat naked, wearing only a loincloth. In this manner, Baba’s langoti life continued.
In Hyderabad, eleven destitute families were found in need of Baba’s love-gift. Baba gave Rs.500 to three Muslim families, and the same amount to five Hindu families. Three other families received lesser sums from Baba.
One interesting incident of these contacts was when they heard of a former prosperous nawab (Muslim prince) who had fallen victim to a wretched plight.
Previously, he had been so rich that when he traveled, a special saloon for him was attached to the train, and at the entranceway of his splendid home elephants were kept chained. Yet his sudden misfortune had reduced him to a pitiful state — selling beedies and matches on the street, and he had no place where he could call home.