What was the symbolic meaning behind Baba grinding wheat and then having the flour thrown away?

The act of grinding wheat held a profound symbolic meaning beyond the physical action. As explained in Chapter 1, the wheat itself was not just grain but was a representation of the cholera epidemic that was afflicting the village. Baba was symbolically grinding the 'enemy,' the disease, in the mill. When he commanded the women to throw the resulting flour on the village boundary, he was orchestrating the expulsion of the epidemic from the community. The text notes that after the flour was thrown near the stream, the disease began to recede and the bad days ended, demonstrating Baba's inconceivable skill in using a physical act to achieve a spiritual and life-saving result.