Clerk, Collector's Office, Revenue Department, (Old Customs House) living at Venkateshwar Press, Chawl, near Sandhurst Road, Bombay
23rd September, 1936.
I thought I would return by the next day. But when leave was asked, Baba declined it in his characteristic fashion by saying, "Go tomorrow". He did so on succeeding days and kept me there for eight days. I was arranging for a special dinner or Biksha to Baba the next day and requested him to inform me who were to be invited and what the menu was to be. Of course, Puranpoli was to be the crown of the dinner and for guests, he said I was to invite Babu (the nephew of Dada Kelkar), who was Baba's favourite and Baba. He said 'I also will come before I invited him. The next day, the dinner was prepared as directed and plates were served. Babu was invited and sat ot one plate. Another was served and set apart for Baba. A crow came and lifted a puranpoli off the plate and carried it away. All hailed it with delight as evidence that Baba was going in that form to take away his own.
That afternoon, Baba touched his limbs on one side and said, "On this side of my body, there is excruciating pain". But he added, "It will be alright in 2 or 4 days". Baba really appeared healthy, in spite of those words and what he meant to convey by his words escaped our powers of understanding at that time.
On a Thursday, during that period Baba was preparing food in "Handi" (i.e., pot) to feed large numbers. He drove away every one from the Masjid and was alone with his handi. At that time, to the great surprise and alarm of the spectators, myself and the two sons of Chandorkar went in. Baba, far from being angry, received us very well, as though he had intended the expulsion of others for the very purpose of granting us a wholly private interview. Then after a little while Baba appeared to be singing out something. At least I thought it to be so. But I found that when he repeated the words for the third time, they were "Kayre apla kay manave Sri Ram Jayaram Jaya Jaya Ram" At once, on hearing these words I was overcome with emotion and I placed my head on Baba's feet and tears flowed freely. These words were the guru mantra that I had received from my family guru Haribua (whose grandfather Atmaram Bua who has a temple built for his worship in Thakurdwar Bombay, was the guru of my great grandfather). And Baba was so kindly reviving my interest in and regard for that guru mantra in this fashion for my benefit. Baba was attending to my spiritual benefit without any question from me and his loving interest in me was too deep for me to return and too great to acknowledge except through tears of gratitude and joy. At the "handi", I noticed with wonder that when the contents of the cauldron were boiling, Baba used his own bare palm and not a spoon nor a ladle to stir the contents thoroughly to secure even and uniform consistency in the food or Stra. His hand was not scalded or swollen by such use. Thence suddenly at noon, he took us three to the lendi, a very unusual hour for him to visit the. lendi; and there he dug into the earth small hollows, gave me some corn and made me sow that corn in those hollows. Then after turning up some earth to cover the seeds, he made me water the patches sown; and then we returned to the mosque. It is that lendi garden which 7 or 8 years later (ie., immediately after he passed away) I have purchased.