THEY LIVE IN GOD, WITH GOD AND FOR GOD

 
Then on February 15th, 1949, Baba left for Mt. Abu, a hill station in northeastern India. This place in Rajastan became His headquarters for the next three months. From here, Baba and a few of the men mandali went out on numerous trips to various places in the area to contact seekers of God: masts, yogis, advanced souls and saints.

Baba's contact with such souls was usually brief, although in the case of the masts, He sometimes bathed, clothed and sat with them in seclusion for certain periods. In some instances, Baba would travel several hundred miles just to contact a particular mast. He alone knew the real nature and deeper significance of this work; the mandali merely followed His instructions and tried their very best to help Him.

On several occasions, He explained that he enlisted the cooperation of masts in His work of giving a spiritual push to humanity. In exchange for their help, He helped them in their journey to God.

"The masts," He explained, "are dead to themselves and to the world. They are totally indifferent to the world, its happenings, sorrows and comforts. They live in God, with God and for God. They are unaffected by climatic conditions, insufficient food and lack of sleep. They keep healthy despite being regularly deprived of the necessities of life."

The journeys in search of masts, yogis and saints during this period were strenuous and undertaken with little food and rest. Those accompanying Baba went for days with little more than a half hour of sleep each night. They traveled mostly in crowded buses and in third-class train compartments. After completing each journey to contact these seekers of God, Baba returned to Mt. Abu, where he would go into seclusion to do what He called His "universal work."

Although Baba's universal work would always remain a mystery for the mandali, they could see on an external level that it left Him extremely exhausted and pulled down afterward.