At the time, when in the Wada (i.e., Sathe wada), the foundation stone was laid, there was no previous intimation of the date to me. It was however on a Poornima day. Myself and Bere started the previous day to go to Shirdi without previously intimating our intention to go there. At Kopergaon which we reached in the evening, Bere induced me to halt for the night as Baba could not easily be visited by us at night. Next morning we went to Shirdi. Baba was then coming from the Lendi. There was a crowd of 80 to 90 spectators waiting to see him. We also went and prostrated. Baba told me, "You have come just in time. The foundation stone is to be laid". I fancied that I must go through the pompous ceremony in high style. I took up a hatchet to dig up a bit of the foundation and lay the foundation stone. Baba stopped me at once and said, "Why do you go there? What have we to do with all this? The masons and other workmen will do it." So no formal ceremony of laying the foundation stone was gone through. My father-in-law told me that he knew the previous day that I was arriving at Shirdi on the Poornima day and so fixed up that date for laying of the foundation stone. When asked how he knew of it, he said that Baba was saying the previous day, "Saheb is coming tomorrow. The washer¬woman told me of this as Saheb's tent had come to her for washing". In fact there was no tent sent and no washerwoman could have got intimation of our arrival. Bere's stopping me at Kopergaon was useful. That night (unknown to me though it was) was the tenth night of the death of an agnatic relation of my father-in-law and his house was under pollution and resounding with wailing and there was none even to cook and offer unpolluted food for me then, had I gone.
to be contd...