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

THE FIRST TEN YEARS 57From 23 July 1926, for nearly four months Baba remained on one meal a day only. Duringthis period he used to eat and drink in the evening. At first he declared that this fastingprogramme would be carried to the extreme of stopping all food for months together, and thatat the end of the coming February he would remain even without water. But this, for reasonsunknown, was not done.An explanation by Baba for those prolonged fasts was their connection with the remainingsanskaras of disciples. The food taken by Baba during the intervals between the fasts was little.His constant change of plans with regard to fasting may be noted. For example, on 1 September1926, he asked the mandali to prepare his last meal prior to an expected long fast. This wascomplied with, and for eight days Baba remained on liquids. On 9 September, in the evening,he suddenly declared his willingness to take food provided the mandali managed to preparecertain dishes within seventeen minutes! There was a rush to fulfil this desire; someone had togo begging in the village for certain ingredients, and they succeeded in getting ready therequired food in time. Baba took a few morsels, but neither began his long fast nor took tonormal eating; he continued taking one meal a day.Again on 19 October the mandali had to provide the supposed last meal, which, however, didnot prove to be such. On this occasion sufficient time was allowed. The meal was taken by allsitting in the Sai Durbar, Baba personally serving the mandali. Baba himself took a little food,but it was not, as expected, the last meal prior to the continuous long fast under contemplation.Until the day he left Meherabad, Baba went on fasting or eating very irregularly. On the lastweek of the stay he remained on water for some days.Baba's bathing of untouchable boys has already been mentioned. Throughout the two years,twice, thrice, and sometimes four times a week, he bathed all the schoolboys including theuntouchables with his own hands. In the first month, when the number of boys was only thirtyor forty, he did this work single-handed, and was three or four hours at it. Even after allowingthe mandali to join him in this duty when the numbers increased, Baba continued to workhimself. For the last six months of the stay Baba made it a rule to wash with his own hands thedirty clothes of five boys of the school every day.From 4 July 1925, he began to grind grain for an hour or so daily. At times, in addition to acertain fixed quantity, he used to make up the deficit in the daily requirement of flour in thecolony by sitting at the grinder alone or with one or two of the mandali.