A bath in the cold water of the river Und (in Bhadra) had taken its toll on Swamishri's health. By early evening, he'd already come down with a heavy fever. Later that night, when we arrived in the village of Bhesdad from Bhadra, Swamishri was told to rest and given an injection to help the fever subside.
The sadhus requested, "There's no need for you to attend the sabha tonight. We'll go by ourselves." Swamishri remarked, "It's not proper if all the devotees come and the Guru sleeps."
"But Bapa," the sadhus urged, "there's still the opening of the women's mandir tomorrow morning. That's going to be tiring enough. So why don't you take a little rest right now..." Swamishri remained silent - and stern.
When it was time for the sabha, Swamishri was already there. His body still burning with fever, Swamishri's face clearly looked off-color and rather frail. To speed up the sabha, Narayan Bhagat (Viveksagar Swami) and Doctor Swami made only short speeches. Swamishri was told too, "Please make sure your blessings are short. We want you to get back and rest."
But once Swamishri started, he kept going for 70 long minutes. Swamishri spoke to the devotees in the sabha - as if he was fit.
In Vachanamrut Gadhada II-29, Shriji Maharaj describes the qualities of someone who is totally engrossed in God. He explains, "Even if he be suffering from the severest of illnesses,... but when it comes to the spiritual discourses of God, he seems as if he is not ill at all.