Remembering Kalemama

Meher Baba Journal Sep 1941
RAMCHANDRA BAPUJI KALE, popularly known to Baba’s Mandali as Kalemama
* A series of life-sketches of Meher Baba’s disciples.

RAMCHANDRA BAPUJI KALE, popularly known to Baba’s Mandali as Kalemama, was born on 12th February 1877, in a fairly well-to-do Brahmin family of Kolhapur. His father was a Head Clerk in the Khasgi Kacheri (Personal Office) of His Highness the Maharaja of Kolhapur. After graduation in Engineering in the year 1903 from Poona Science College (now known as the College of Engineering), Kalemama settled down in life and plied his engineering profession in Bombay Presidency in very many capacities—official and private. Kalemama first came into contact with Meher Baba in May 1926, when he was in service as Chief Officer to the Dhulia City Municipality (West Khandesh). Although believing in saints and saintliness, Kalemama never bestirred himself to have the Darshan of any living saint and the few places of pilgrimage he happened to visit, had no avowed spiritual object behind them.

It was therefore a chance circumstance, that he received a call from a relation to see him at Arangaon (Meherabad) where he (the relation) was staying with Meher Baba for some private and important business of his own. A few months prior to this invitation, in the month of February 1926, Kalemama happened to receive a pamphlet in Marathi styled as “Satsamagam” and it contained among others a short account of Shri Meher Baba and his activities for the spiritual uplift of humanity at Arangaon (Ahmednagar Dist.). In the said pamphlet the author had quoted the words of Shri Meher Baba saying, “To serve man is to serve God.” The basic truth—universally acknowledged and sung—underlying the words of Meher Baba, found and touched a sympathetic chord in the heart strings of Kalemama—bespeaking the spiritual bent of mind that he had though unexpressed.

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