In plain words
‘Swami! Dās Gaṇu is going on like this; it is very hard for us to listen to,’ the devotees would tell Bābā. In those days every devotee had to come from the station. There were two of them, Kopargaon station and Manmad station. Whichever railway station you got down at, the one was 9 miles away and the other ten miles. There were no buses. You had to go by tonga or else come on foot. It grew hard on the hearts of those who came this way, with Dās Gaṇu talking like this. One day in Shirdi, Śrī Rāma Navamī and the Muslims' festival of Bakrīd both took place. Both were celebrated on the same day. Where Bābā lived was a mosque. The Muslims objected that Hindus must not come into the mosque. Their idea was that Bābā was a Muslim. For He always used to say, ‘Allāh Mālik.’ So they took Him for a Muslim. But a little while later He would say, ‘Brahmavit.’ Seeing that, the Hindus would take Him for a Hindu. For these festivals they put Dās Gaṇu on duty in Shirdi, from Kopargaon. Dās Gaṇu came. He stood at a distance. In those days there used to be a palanquin procession for Bābā. The devotees would seat Him in the palanquin and carry Him along. Dās Gaṇu watched. When Bābā called out, ‘Come, come,’ he felt rather awkward. The reason: guilty conscience. He used to keep reviling Bābā. Then Bābā: ‘Do not be afraid; I am a fakir. So many people come to Me, gone mad. Have you too come, gone mad?’ He said. From up on the palanquin itself He threw His stick. ‘Satan! Because you have a tongue, do you talk just as you please! The tongue is for uttering good words! Are you using your tongue on unholy things? This is not police duty; you are acting against it,’ He scolded him sharply. Everyone came to know that He was scolding Dās Gaṇu. Dās Gaṇu too was getting angry. ‘He is scolding me in front of so many! If I am at fault, He could call me aside and tell me!’ he thought, and it hurt him. Bābā again: ‘Am I to call you aside? I will call you after the palanquin procession is over,’ said Bābā. Then Dās Gaṇu: ‘I only thought it. Bābā said at once what I thought. This man is no beggar,’ he thought. As He was getting down from the palanquin, Bābā told Nānā to call Dās Gaṇu.