Living with Baba

I was posted as a field worker at the provincial level in 1971. I traveled to the head office, which at that time was in Ranchi, Bihar. After taking a bath, I met the Office Secretary. He told me, "Now you are posted as an Area Level Worker. An area comprises four provinces. You must know your jurisdiction. You must keep the Tour Program of all the workers in your area. Tomorrow Baba will ask you for your report. All the workers will come as well. Talk to them first and then write your report and keep it ready."

All the workers came to Ranchi the next day as planned. I talked to my workers regarding their Tour Programs. I was a little nervous because I did not know what Baba would ask. Baba came to the office punctually. We were in Baba's room. When my turn came to give the report, Baba asked me whether I had taken charge of my new responsibilities. I said, "Yes, Baba." Baba then said, "The report is not satisfactory."

He asked me why my workers were not following their prescribed Tour Programs. I had earlier talked to everyone but nobody told me anything regarding their Tour Programs. Baba scolded me severely. I could not find any satisfactory answer in my defense. So I kept silent. My silence must have annoyed Him even more; He rebuked me even more sternly.

In the heat of the reprimand, my eyes glanced at His feet under the table. I tried to mentally surrender at His feet. At that very moment, His mood changed. He said, "I am not scolding Tapeshvarananda. I am scolding the AO East. (Area Organizer East - my new designation). He then asked one particular worker why he did not follow his scheduled Tour Program. Baba scolded him and demanded an explanation as to why he did not confess that he had violated his Tour Program. The dada replied that because there were no Margiis in that particular town, he changed his Tour Program and did kiirtan in another town. Baba told him, "Once your Tour Program has been approved, you must follow it. Without prior permission of the higher authorities you cannot change your Tour Program. Even if there is no Margii to fulfill your program in any particular place, you should still go there. You should have done kiirtan alone under a tree. A time will come in the future when people would be able to realize the vibration of the kiirtan at that very spot."