My First Meeting With Baba And Initiation

Due to constant touring with the boss, I caught cold somewhere and began to feel pain in my back which subsided after taking some medicines.

But I could still not go to Baba on the 24 October.

Meanwhile, perhaps on the first of November Chandranathji again came to us and when he found that I had not yet visited Baba he was somewhat angry and told me, “You should go there-even if it has to be on a stretcher. Do not delay after the fixing of a date.”

I explained to him that I was unable to go due to pain but now I would go as it is.

Accordingly, I reached Jamalpur on 2 November but was somewhat delayed that day and the meeting time for Baba was over.

The next morning, on November 3, 1953, I reached Baba’s place.

I was asked to sit in the lotus posture for initiation. Although I sat straight for a while, after some time I had to bend a little due to the increasing pain in my back.

When Baba saw me bending like this, He asked, “Can’t you sit straight?”

I replied that for sometime past I had pain in my back and therefore, felt difficulty in sitting straight and requested Him to continue with the initiation - I promised that after the pain subsides I would sit straight.

As I said this Baba closed his eyes and said:

After initiation, I asked Baba whether it was necessary to be a vegetarian for this sadhana - I told him that I could not live without non-vegetarian food.

Baba smiled and said, “Yet it is good to be vegetarian.”

He also added that onions and garlic have even more tamasika properties than meat and therefore, they should also be given up.