We left Belgaum yesterday morning at 5 a.m. and came to this place, Sahayak at 12 mid-day, after an easy run of 130 miles or so, and lunch this side of Kolhapur. It is rather hot here but pleasant, at the bottom of the ghats.

Baba lectured all the ladies this morning about controlling emotions. He wants us to get angry, but to control it — to hate but to transform the hate to love; to maintain poise always, that is spirituality. The women, He says, make such a fuss over small things. They have no courage to control their moods.

Baba looks fit and radiant today, pleased with people and things in general.

28/4/40    Panchgani. At 3:30 p.m. of 24th, Baba ordered Norina and Elizabeth to go by car to Belgaum, to see a site there 12 miles the Kolhapur side of Belgaum, offered by one Tofkhane* to Baba. We did the 110 miles in three hours and got to the meeting place at 6:30 p.m. Rotten road to it but lovely place, with a stream running through the land, very good water and plenty of trees: about 36 acres in all, made up of several plots, but largest is 18 acres. Returning that day, we set out the following one for Mahabaleshwar some 130 miles over the foothills of the ghats, a twisty but beautiful route. We stopped at Chiplum for an hour to have refreshments, rawa, tea and bhajiyas in a Hindu house.

The bus got very tired, and almost petered out on the way up to Mahabaleshwar, 4,400 ft. above sea; after all it's carrying 28 people now, and full of luggage inside and out, and is only designed for 17. So it certainly deserves God-realization; though it really felt as if it might give up, as I drove up that last ghat. We arrived at 5:30 p.m. and settled into the Hotel Grenoble— Baba pleased: in a nice room. The next day, Baba took out the ladies for a longish walk, and in the evening I went for a walk along the edge of the ghat, and was picked up on the way by Elizabeth and taken to "Arthur's Seat" some eight miles off, from whence there is a first class view of the ghat cliffs about 4000 ft. drop — very fine indeed.

30/4/40    We left Panchgani yesterday a.m. for Poona, getting there at 9 a.m. where Baba took us all to the Bund Gardens and showed us the tree where Babajan used to sit overlooking the river. Baba also told us that He used to boat on the river there when a college student. We had lunch about 5 miles out of Poona, under a large tree, Baba as usual seeing that we all eat well. We reached Ahmednagar at 1 p.m. and then on to the Happy Valley: Baba "buttered me up" rather in Ahmednagar in front of the others there; two days before however, He began poking me saying, why wasn't I ready to start — when it wasn't yet 6 a.m., at which time I had been ordered to be ready. I got a bit peeved with Baba, and later He "ticked me off" for having got ratty. Baba always tries to upset one in one's worst moments, which with me — later with Elizabeth, is in the early morning. Here in the "Happy Valley", Baba looks radiant and restful, and comes and sits with us at the back of the rest house, and cuts jokes while He sees to the correspondence.

3/5/40    Bangalore. I went with Baba to Meherabad yesterday morning to sort out luggage on the hill. We stopped at Sarosh's place en route, and he came running out by Baba, saying that at 6:30 he had been rung up from Poona by Adi Jr. who told him that that same morning at 5:30 or so Bua Sab, otherwise called Behramji, had been killed on his motorcycle in Poona Cantonment, while in collision with a car, instantaneously. On being told this, Baba showed no emotion, though Sarosh wept a little, telling the story.

*the principal of a nearby high school, W. D. Topkhane - correct spelling from Lord Meher online, webmaster JK