Nariman and Meherjee arrived on the night of the 16th (Aug. 1949). Sarosh, Nariman and Meherjee, being successful businessmen, had rendered much service to Baba in the past. (1) They were deeply concerned about Baba’s decisions to break up the ashrams and dispose of everything. On the third day of meetings, Wednesday, 17 August 1949, Sarosh was the first to offer to undertake sole responsibility for maintaining indefinitely all the men and women now staying with Baba.
Baba smiled, appreciating Sarosh’s gesture, but explained to him, “You have missed the whole point! Don’t you see that the expected sale proceeds of all my properties are earmarked for those not coming with me? The question of the maintenance of those who will remain with me after 15 October is neither provided for nor is to be provided for.
“I and those coming with me are to suffer. We are going to start without any protection, and we will have to go abegging!”
Nariman and Meherjee expressed their desire to take over Meherabad and Meherazad, the lands, buildings, et cetera, of each ashram, because of the sanctity of, and their sentiments for, these two sacred places. When Baba agreed and explained to them not to hesitate to resell the properties if and when they received good offers, Nariman replied, “If it were the question of selling them, we would not have involved ourselves.”
Baba stated, “Now these properties are yours, not mine; I have no objection to your keeping or selling them.”
The Meherabad estate had first belonged to Adi Sr. and his father, who had laid it at Baba’s feet. Meherjee became the owner of lower Meherabad, Sarosh of Meherabad Hill and Nariman of Meherazad. (2) But these three men maintained the properties for Baba’s future work and never considered them as their own.
(1) After returning to India from Iran in 1945, Meherjee had become Nariman’s business partner.
(2) Sarosh had been made joint owner of the Meherabad Hill property two years before.
Lord Meher, Bhau Kalchuri, Online Version, pp 2744 – 2745