THE MAST'S BOUQUET

 
In the afternoon [circa July, 1946], Baba was driven to Mahim, where he hoped to recontact Ali Asghar, the advanced mast whose brothers and sisters were likewise all masts and mastanis. The mast was in his room, but the door was locked.

Baba had this message conveyed to him: "I will either contact Ali Asghar or wait until he gives me permission to leave."

Hearing this, the mast stepped out, but only for a moment, and again disappeared inside. From the window, Baidul earnestly requested him for contact; but he did not agree, and after an hour and a half, finally replied, "He can go back."

Nariman and Meherjee had also accompanied Baba, and when Baba returned to Ashiana he remarked, "Ali Asghar is passing through a jalali phase, and I will have to come back when he is over it."

The mast was passing through such a fiery phase that he could not sleep or eat or have any physical contact, and therefore was extremely irritable and aggressive.

Meanwhile, Arnavaz Dadachanji informed Baba about the upcoming marriage of her sister Rhoda, age twenty-four, to Jamshed Beheram Mistry, nicknamed Jimmy, age thirty-one. The marriage had been settled some time ago, and Baba expressed his satisfaction with the choice of the groom.

Rhoda had grown up in Baba's love, but Jimmy had never had the fortune of the Master's contact. Jimmy had once seen a crowd gathered in front of Naoroji's, waiting to see Baba, but had left uninterested.

In 1946, Jimmy had seen Baba from a distance on the Dadar railway station platform, and was attracted by Baba's features.

When his marriage was announced, some Parsis approached him, saying, "You're marrying a Dadachanji? Are you crazy? The whole family is mad! They're followers of Meher Baba; don't you know that?"

But Jimmy, a Parsi, replied with equanimity, "Rhoda can follow her religion, and I'll follow mine. As a matter of fact, I have no religion, and wear the sadra-kusti only out of habit."

After his marriage, Jimmy came close to Baba, and Baba very much enjoyed his good-natured humor.

On July 2nd, after his Bombay mast contacts, Baba returned to Ahmednagar, resuming his regimen of staying in the town of Ahmednagar during the day, going to Pimpalgaon every evening to rest, and also regularly visiting Meherabad.

During this period, Baba had invited Jean Adriel and Delia DeLeon to India, and they were expected shortly.

Meanwhile, Nariman and Meherjee were written, asking them to inquire of Ali Asghar whether the mast was now prepared for contact. Both went to his house several times, and in the end, he agreed. Baba was cabled accordingly, and on July 12th, Adi Sr. drove Baba to Bombay, accompanied by Baidul and Eruch.

Taking Meherjee and Nariman with him, Baba drove to Ali Asghar's house. He explained to the men, "It is imperative that we follow the same method of approaching Ali Asghar as we did last time. Therefore, we must arrive at exactly the same time in the afternoon."

They did, but when they reached his house the door was locked. After much endeavor, and a half an hour of waiting, the mast tentatively opened the door, and Baba entered.

After five minutes of contact, both came out; but Ali Asghar immediately disappeared back inside. He soon came back with a pair of scissors and clipped seven small sprigs of a mulberry bush. Tying them into a bouquet, he presented them to Baba. He patted Baba on the back and said, "Now you can go."

Baba seemed elated by the contact and commented, "My work is accomplished so beautifully today, I will never have to come again to contact Ali Asghar."

Baba handed the bunch of sprigs to Eruch, warning him, "Guard it with your life! Not even a tiny leaf should fall off!"

Since Baba had come to Bombay only for this purpose, he left for Ahmednagar the same day. Eruch got off at his family's house in Poona, and Adi drove Baba and Baidul on to Pimpalgaon, where Baba went straight to Gyara's cabin, arriving there at midnight.

This was not the end of the story of the mast's bouquet. Eruch stuck the twigs in a flower pot, and in a few days the leaves dried up. After two weeks, Baba called Eruch to Pimpalgaon with the seven dried sprigs. The leaves were crushed into a powder which Baba ate every day, a pinch at a time.

The dried stems were tied into a bundle and kept with the other odd assortment of presents given to Baba by masts. These seven mulberry sprigs were somehow related to Baba's inner work with Ali Asghar — but how remains a mystery and cannot be explained.

All of the odds and ends, pieces of stone, bits of broken glass, shredded cloth and old clothes worn to rags offered to Baba by the masts were related to his inner work with each one, and that is why he took so much care to have them preserved and stored in trunks.