On November 16th (1956), Baba left Satara for Meherazad. The next day, he left on a mast tour to Uttar Pradesh, accompanied by Eruch, Pendu, Nilu and Baidul. Eruch was driving the car. There were unusually late rains, and at one place, the car had to be ferried from one bank of a stream to the other. The journey continued night and day. At one spot, they learned of a very high Hindu mast named Sharir Baba, who was staying at the residence of the Maharajah of Chhatarpur. The mast, however, was to leave the place at 3:00 P.M. that day and it was already 1:00 P.M.
Baba was very anxious to contact this mast, as he had never worked with him before. They drove at breakneck speed on the rough roads through towns and villages, covering 128 miles in two hours – and reached Chhatarpur exactly at 3:00 P.M. The mast was very old and would drink his own urine. Boxes of rotting sweetmeats and other such things were strewn in his room. A strong stench hung in the air, but the old mast would not allow anyone to clean the place.
Baba was delighted with the contact and remarked, “Our journey of hundreds of miles has been worth it!” Baba was to have been gone for two weeks. But on November 21st, because the men mandali and he were both exhausted, he canceled the rest of the tour to Uttar Pradesh and returned to Meherazad, where he intended to rest for a few days. Heavy rains came and it poured incessantly.
Francis Goldney was supposed to come to India around Christmas, but while Baba was at Meherazad he saw Adi, who read a letter from Goldney, saying that he and his wife Olla’s passage had been canceled because of the Suez Canal crisis. Baba gave instructions to Adi about their coming later in March by plane, and a small bungalow was rented for them in Satara.
On November 22nd, Baba drove to Meherabad, where he again sat alone with Ali Shah. Baba remarked, “This is my last contact with Bapji.” Indeed, it proved to be Baba’s final meeting with this great mast, because Ali Shah unexpectedly dropped his body about a month later.
Baba returned to Satara November 23rd. This was Meher Baba’s last mast journey. Never again did the Slave of his true lovers venture out for mast contacts; from that time on, wherever he was residing, masts were brought to him.
Returning to Satara, Baba resumed his daily routine with Kaikobad.
Lord Meher, Original Publication, Bhau Kalchuri, Vol. 15, p. 5126.