Another activity of Baba’s daily routine in Mussoorie concerned Vishnu. From the early 1920s, Vishnu did the marketing and kept accounts of every paisa and rupee. He wrote down the expenses in a notebook and was careful in keeping a record of all the money spent. In Mussoorie, Baba began scrutinizing the accounts each day. Vishnu would read out the item of every purchase made and its cost. At times Baba would ask him to go over the same thing again and again, such as “Vegetables five rupees … Vegetables five rupees …” and so forth. Once while repeating something, Vishnu burst out laughing. Baba asked him, “What is so funny?”
“This is so boring,” Vishnu said exasperated. “What a way to pass the time.”
“What?” Baba exclaimed. “Do you think that this is just a pastime? What do you know about the work I do by making you repeat the same thing over and over again? Through this means I take account of the whole world. Your repetition is merely symbolic. I am not doing it as a pastime. All my time is spent in work and not a single moment passes when I am not occupied with my work. Day and night my work goes on. If there were a gap even for a moment, the world would disappear!”
–www.lordmeher.org, p4119