Meher Baba's Life & Travels
YERAVDA PRISON, POONA
Yerawada Central Jail, Pune
MAHARASHTRA STATE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerawada_Central_Jail
The following text on this page is from Lord Meher On-Line.
1923
During the 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi emerged as the foremost political leader of India and had been arrested by the British in March 1922 for his anti-government civil disobedience agitations. Baba was to have much personal contact with Mahatma Gandhi over the years. It began in May 1923 while Gandhi was still incarcerated at Yeravda Prison in Poona. Baba instructed Rustom K. Irani to send Gandhi a copy of Upasni Maharaj's biography in Marathi, and to inform him about the severe austerities and fasts which Upasni Maharaj had undergone. Rustom did so, and the result of this first contact was evident later.
8th September, 1931
S.S. Rajuputana - sailing from Bombay to Marseilles, France.
Referring to Jamshed Mehta, Gandhi remarked, "He is the most honorable person in Karachi. He is most worthy. I will telegram him tonight that I have seen you, Baba Saheb, and will ask him why he did not inform me earlier so that I could have spared more time to meet with you. When will such a time come again?"
"I received your monthly magazine Meher Message in Yeravda Prison [when incarcerated there]. At the time, due to all the confusion, I had no time to read it and only glanced at it cursorily; but from that time after reading it, I wished to meet you one day. Now that day has dawned and the meeting has taken place. I am most happy. Tomorrow I will surely bring back the case to you and accept whatever you select for me to read from what you have written."
Gandhi then commented on Baba's silence, "I am wonderstruck at your silence. Seven years! I keep silence once a week. How small it is before your silence. I understand the significance of silence. You have been silent for seven years and when you speak, what untoward events will take place! I am astonished!"
Before leaving at 10:30 that night, Gandhi extended a cordial invitation to Baba to visit his place of residence in London, and Baba agreed to pay a visit while he was in London.
** Gandhi stayed at Kingsley Hall Community Centre, Powis Road, in London's East End.
To read of that account click on the following link :
9th September, 1931
S.S. Rajuputana - sailing from Bombay to Marseilles, France, the ship was sailing past Messina, Italy.
In the afternoon, while the ship was passing Messina ( Italy ), many passengers gathered on the upper deck, including Gandhi and the men of his party, and Baba, with Aga Ali, Chanji and Rustom. The Indian politician Shaukat Ali Khan ( see above ), who had boarded the ship at Aden, saluted Baba reverently and later spoke with him for half an hour.
Seeing Baba, Gandhi approached him with folded hands. While they were standing together, photographers started taking pictures. Within a few minutes, Gandhi remarked, "I now take your leave. The photographers won't allow us a moment's rest." The brief discussion they had concerned food, and Baba explained to Gandhi about Pleader's fast on only milk.
** No photos of Meher Baba & Gandhi have emerged in over 90 years.
Later Baba explained his intake of food....
Thereafter, when I started eating, it was vegetarian, and there was no fixed time for my meals. Frequently I would fast for a few days and at times for months. Then I would take either milk, weak tea or just water, but I continued to fast. Although remaining only on water, I would take foot journeys, walking 25 miles a day. And though I used to eat at times, it was not at any fixed time but only when I felt like it.
My mandali have also been eating only vegetarian food for years now. I would rarely make any of them fast on milk. However, once when you were in Yeravda Prison, I kept over 20 of my mandali fasting on just milk for two or three months, but none of them felt any discomfort.
**Click on the images to see their names
9th September, 1931, continued
Baba continued explaining about the opposition he faced:
Why are the Colonel and the Parsis against me? Simply because I don't eat meat and I don't drink alcohol. To them, the teaching of their religion consists of eating, drinking and being as merry as they like — wearing the sadra and kusti, and living a life of riches in public — which is quite sufficient for them.
The priests are responsible for all this. The priest class proves to be an impediment in everything. [Pointing to Gandhi:] If you gain independence, do this first: arrest all the purohits, dasturs and mullahs [Hindu, Zoroastrian and Muslim priests]! Do not use violence, but deal with them firmly. Deal with them vigorously, because it is an important, big work. And unless you
send them all to Yeravda Prison, they won't improve; on the contrary, they will become worse
!
Baba concluded, "For the One to whom everything is a zero, what is it to him whether it is this or that? To him, all are equal."
3rd January. 1932
Baba then embraced Gandhi, saluted the other politicians and left. A day after meeting Baba, Gandhi and Sardar Patel ( see image below ) were arrested by the British and remanded to Yeravda Prison.
Mid-September, 1932
After meeting with Dr. Ambedkar in Bombay, Baba returned to Nasik. Within a few days, he sent Rustom to try to see Mahatma Gandhi at Yeravda Prison in Poona where he was incarcerated.
Rustom was not successful, because individual interviews were not permitted at the time.
Soon after, the British government removed restrictions on interviews, and Baba sent Chanji and Ramjoo from Nasik to see Gandhi on the morning of 21 September 1932. They found Gandhi sitting on a bed in an open courtyard of the prison, spinning on a charkha (spinning wheel to spin cotton into yarn).
** They both had a long interaction with Gandhi.
During September, October and November of 1932, a considerable amount of correspondence took place between Meher Baba and Mahatma Gandhi, handled through Chanji. Just two days after Ramjoo and Chanji met with Gandhi in prison, Chanji sent a letter to Gandhi:
Thereafter, Chanji received a letter from Gandhi, written in Gujarati from Yeravda Central Prison:
10th & 18-19th & 27th October, 1932.
Also 1st, 3rd & 8th November, 1932.
6th May, 1933
Mahatma Gandhi was still being held at the Yeravda Central Prison in Poona.
Baba sent Chanji there on the 5th with a message for Gandhi, whom Chanji met at 10:35 A.M. on the 6th.
5th October, 1954
Meher Baba was driven from Meherazad by car to Yeravda Prison in Poona, arriving at 9 a.m.; He later departed at 11 a.m. and was then drivento Satara.
Breaking his journey in Poona, Baba visited the Yeravda Central Prison to see a devotee named Beli Phiroz Randelia, 35. As a young man, Beli had become a devotee of Upasni Maharaj. He had quit his studies and lived in Sakori for a number of months before and after Upasni Maharaj died in 1941.
But the young man was emotionally unbalanced and had an irritable temperament. His brother, Noshir, was a student at a Bombay college and also used to visit Maharaj. Somehow, Beli got the impression that Maharaj, and later his parents, loved Noshir more. (The father wanted to send Noshir to America for further studies.) Unable to bear this, Beli began hating his brother. The animosity between them increased until May 1945, when his brother was found dead on his bed with a deep gash on his neck. In a fit of jealousy, Beli had murdered him.
For the next eight months, Beli roamed about undetected by the police. He had heard of Meher Baba and tried desperately to meet him, but Baba was away on mast tours. Pendu advised him to surrender and not come back to Meherabad. But Beli stayed in Ahmednagar and one day met Baba on his return. Beli confessed to his crime and sincerely repented for it.
Baba comforted him and advised him not to worry, but to surrender to the police and accept the consequences of his deed without fear. "My nazar will be on you," Baba assured him. Beli obeyed and surrendered to the police on 31 January 1946. He was convicted for murder and sent to Yeravda Prison for life.
From prison, Beli wrote to Baba and, in one reply, Baba told him, "I love saints as much as I love sinners. I love you. It is never too late or too much to love God. Think as much as you can about Baba and as little as possible about your self."
5th October, 1954, continued.....
Time and again Beli wrote that he was longing for darshan. He asked for Baba's books, and read them. A few days before Baba was to pass through Poona in 1954, letters from Beli came pouring in requesting darshan. Baba agreed, provided that the authorities allow the prisoner to have darshan. Through Adi Sr., it was arranged.
Baba arrived at Yeravda at about 9:00 A.M. Lovers from Poona, Barsi, Ahmednagar and Gujarat were also present. Baba was met first by the prison officials, who received him with utmost respect and reverence. A reception was arranged, and the superintendent of the prison was highly gratified at having Baba's darshan.
Then Beli was allowed an exclusive interview. "Why are you so impatient?" Baba asked him. "Here you have been given the best chance to remember me. Do as the jail officials say, and if you carry out my orders, I will be happy with you." Hearing this, the officials (who were present during the interview) were very thankful to Baba, as Beli had been a troublesome prisoner.
Beli was overjoyed with love and devotion, and with folded hands said, "This is the most joyous day of my life." Baba gave him a few more words of advice, embraced him and their photograph was taken. On parting, Beli got another embrace from Baba, who left the prison at eleven o'clock.
27th October, 1955
At 9:00 A.M. Adi K., Eruch, Pappa and Baba revisited Beli Randelia in the Yeravda Central Prison in Poona. After Baba's first visit, Beli behaved well in prison and gained the sympathy and good will of the prison authorities, but later he was overcome with an intense longing to see Baba again. Since Baba would often visit Poona, he began requesting that the authorities permit him to go for darshan. They refused, and Beli's frustration increased. He began abusing the warden and other prison staff members, criticizing them and accusing them of various irregularities.
Nusserwan Satha happened to visit the prison during this time, and the prison officials sought his help to advise Beli to behave himself. Nusserwan was impressed with Beli's sincerity, so he advised the authorities to invite Baba to pay another visit to the jail. They did so, and in response to their invitation, Baba came on this occasion.
The prison authorities had made special arrangements for Baba's reception. Beli was brought to the office situated near the main entrance of the jail. The premises in and around the office were spotlessly clean and decorated with buntings, green leaves and flowers. Baba was received with reverence by the officers and staff, all of whom took his darshan. He then lovingly granted a 20-minute interview to Beli, whom he embraced and blessed.
Baba next went to Agashi's home and was received by local lovers. He sat on the sofa and gave darshan to about 300 people. Devotees had come from Bombay, Barsi and Gujarat also.
19th January, 1959
During Baba's stay in Poona, except for visiting the Jessawala family at Bindra House a few times, Baba did not go anywhere else. But he did make one exception. The superintendent of the Yeravda Reformatory School, B. S. Khare, requested that he visit the institution and give darshan to its students. The boys were juvenile delinquents (some for thievery) and were kept in the school to learn some vocation and thus be able to take care of themselves in the future and fit into society.
On 19 January, at 10:00 A.M., Baba was driven to the reform school. He had requested that no flowers or garlands be offered to him. In a lighthearted mood, he remarked: "When I was a boy, I used to steal things and eatables from the pantry at home, and was full of boyish mischief. But when I grew up, I robbed God outright and became One with Him. You boys can now rob me of my love through your love, and I bless you all for it."
Baba's words were translated into Marathi by Khare for the boys, and all 400 students came in turn for darshan. Baba patted some, placed his hand on the heads of others and kissed a few. Thus each of the boys had the advantage of receiving the God-Man's love and caress.
23rd April, 1959
On the 23rd, Baba was driven to Yeravda, where he gave darshan to the children of the poor tribals residing there.
