News of Arjoon’s death shocks the mandali who expected him to recover and return to his usual position as Baba’s close companion,
folios #2v051-2v056, December 14-22, 1926.
Baba occasionally took walks by the sea in the evening. Matchbox making continued with Baba at times joining in the work. News about Arjoon in Lonavla was not encouraging. Baba went for a drive in Sarosh’s car along with a few mandali.
“Mother Gulmai” left for Ahmednagar while Adi, Mani and Sherinmai went to Poona. Reports arrived from Poona that Hazrat Babajan was becoming increasingly popular and she was now surrounded by crowds at her usual seat near Bund Garden. Baba indicated that these were signs that she would leave her body and he must remain as near as possible to her “boundary.” Talk of going to Talegaon evaporated and the mandali remained on alert for immediate departure to an unknown destination.
On visitors’ day a large number of people came for interviews with Baba. Arrangements were made by Baba to stay in a house in Sinhgadh; he approached the mandali and they agreed to the arrangments. Visitors contined to swarm the house in Santa Cruz in large numbers for three days.
On the morning of the third day of seeing visitors a telegram arrived from Dr. Ghani in Lonavla announcing the death of Arjoon and requesting permission to remove his remains to Poona. Baba immediately granted permission and dispatched Vishnu to Lonavla. News of Arjoon’s death was a shock to the mandali, who expected him to recover and return to his usual position as Baba’s close companion.
During his last three or four days, Arjoon had showed peculiar signs of paralysis and he was in a dazed condition. With Baba’s permission, leeches had been applied to Arjoon’s head but to no avail.
Dr. Biwalkar arrived in the afternoon to describe Arjoon’s death. Baba first questioned him about whether Dr. Nanji had been paid, a question that deeply impressed Dr. Biwalkar because Dr. Nanji had asked for payment just that morning when the two doctors ran into each other at the Lonavla train station.
Visitors continued all day and Baba cheerfully wrote “slates after slates” in reply to their inquiries. Later to the mandali Baba conveyed, “From my point of view it was good that Arjoon ‘died’. Two or three days prior to his final end he was seeing me in my true form and now he is with me. He has been greatly pushed forward.”
The mandali received orders to pack for departure without knowing where they would go.