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

THE FIRST TEN YEARS 43On the day after going to Ahmednagar, in the morning before breakfast Baba left, askingthe thirteen to follow him. After going a little distance he informed them that he intended totake them not to Arangaon but somewhere else. They wondered what he meant. A mile and ahalf farther on they found themselves crossing the dry bed of the Sina River. Within an hourthey came near the station dharamshala, which is under the control of the local district board,and in which anybody except the mad and criminals can take shelter. Baba decided to put upat this public inn for a couple of days or so. When the disciples were having supper Baba saidto them that from that time he would abstain from all solid foods for several days, and for twomonths thereafter he lived only on liquid food.On 14 May, Baba, with the members of his party, returned on foot to the Arangaon camp,where they occupied the building which some of them had repaired only a few days back. Thesojourn proved to be of eleven days only. During this short period the disciples entirelyrepaired a building which had been occupied as an officers' mess, and made it fit forhabitation, so Baba and his disciples moved there. The big hall was occupied by the disciples,and a room at the south-east corner by Baba. On the same day, just before going to bed, Babasaid that he had resolved to leave in a few days with a view to making an extensive tour ofIndia, and perhaps of adjoining countries. The result was that the preparations for farmingwere brought to an end and the repairs to the camp ceased. On 25 May everything wascleared, and the party left in the afternoon.This was the first of the long journeys Baba was afterwards so constantly to make, and isworth relating in some detail because it was a model for so many more. On the 27th theystopped at Agra, and Baba visited the Taj Mahal. Next day they went to Mathura and bathedin the sacred river Jumna, next morning setting off for Karachi, via Delhi, which was reachedby the 31 st. At Karachi they stayed for a week, then went to Quetta, the principal city ofBaluchistan, on 7 June, arriving there the day after. Once more the plans were changed, andinstead of going into Persia as was intended, Baba decided to go to Kashmir by train, and towalk to Bombay. Special preparations were made for this journey, which was to be done byall the party in kafnis, or ascetics' robes. All this time Baba had been taking nothing butliquid; the other members of the party while in Quetta practised partial or complete fasts fortwentyfour or thirty-two hours. On 24 June they were ready to start, but Baba decided to go toCalcutta instead of Kashmir, and to walk from there to Bombay; but before they left he