THE GOD-MAN The Life, Journeys and Work of Meher Baba with an ...

Part I, Chapter 4THE 'MASTS' OF INDIA1939-1949'The fire of love is very terrible indeed and masts present a challenge to God, the Beloved.'I now come to an important aspect of Baba's work, which has no parallel so far as I know in thelife of any other man. Reference has already been made to his work with the mentally unbalancedand disordered, and he was soon to devote himself entirely to it. The Universal Spiritual Centresreferred to in the last chapter were hardly mentioned; instead, the work that had started in August1936 was intensified and continued (with some interruptions) until August 1949, a period ofthirteen years. Of its importance there can be no doubt, because of the time over which it wasspread and because of the persistence and great hardship with which it was carried out; also there isgreat significance in the fact that it took place during those years of intense upheaval in the world,before, during and after the second great war. In the same period India achieved independence andpassed through great trials.I shall find it necessary in telling the story to go back a few years, and, indeed, in the course ofthe narrative there will be some moving backwards and forwards for a simple account cannot begiven of a highly complex affair. The first stages of the work at Rahuri lasted for eight months,until the end of April 1937. Temporary buildings had been erected there, as already mentioned,with a hut for Baba, and a dispensary where not only the mad but sick people from all over thecountryside were treated freely. Pleader went out to scour the district for men who could bebrought to the ashram, and Baidul was in charge. During this period Baba rose at 4 a.m. and retiredat midnight. He served the mad, cleaned out their latrines (work done only by untouchables), andeach day sat with some of them in seclusion. All the men when they arrived were restless, somewanted to leave at