BABA PREPARED HIMSELF TO GO BEGGING

 
Baba was to go begging for the first time to Dr. Nath's house on November 24th [1949]. As soon as he came to the companions that morning at seven o'clock, he ordered them to go and wash their feet. On their return, he touched their feet with his hands and then touched his forehead. He directed Dr. Ghani to read out this prayer, which he had previously dictated:

Today, the 24th of November, is a very significant day
for me in the New Life.

I ask the most merciful God to forgive me
and my companions for any shortcomings
and any conscious and unconscious mistakes
done singly or wholly or toward each other,
or personally or impersonally,
relating to the conditions or otherwise,
as also for any lusty, angry, greedy
or Old Life thoughts or desires.

I ask God to give full strength to me
and to my companions to stick to the oaths
and conditions one hundred percent,
because He, the All-knowing, knows
that from January 1st, 1950,
there has to be no compromise whatsoever for me and
my companions in relation to our oaths and conditions.

I forgive you, my companions, and ask you all to forgive me,
and I ask God to forgive us all,
not merely by way of ceremony
but as a whole-hearted pardon.

While the prayer was being read, Baba became very serene and composed. His face was aglow with love, mercy and forgiveness. He was at that moment like "the Judge on the judgment seat, enveloping the whole world in his embrace." In the eternal living present, being the judge, culprit and crime all in one, he was forgiving himself.

After asking Ghani to translate the prayer into Hindi for those who did not know English, Baba made Ghani read it over and over again a number of times. All through, he listened to the prayer in rapt attention. Then, making a gesture of forgiveness, the ceremony came to an end, and Baba prepared himself to go begging.