Practical Sprituality With Meher Baba

        Practical Spirituality  With Meher Baba               

 

Avatar Meher Baba       

   

      DEDICATION.    To the Beloved  The One in the many  Who is always with us.                       

                                       

  Practical Spirituality  With Meher Baba    By  John A Grant                Merwan Publications  Sydney.         

Printed in 1987.  Copyright C 1985, John A. Grant.  Copyright ©1985, Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, India, for  all quotations of Meher Baba.  All rights reserved  Photographs for which News Ltd. holds copyright are used with their permission.  National Library of Australia  Cataloguing‐in‐Publication entry.    Grant, John A. (John Alister), 1924 ‐ Practical spirituality with Meher  Baba.  Bibliography.  Includes index.  ISBN 0 9590202 0 9.  ISBN 0 9590202 0 7. pbk.  1. Meher Baba, 1894 ‐ 1969. Spiritual life (Hinduism).  I. Title.  294.5'61  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in  any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise  without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.  Publisher: Merwan Publications, P. O. Box 530, Milsons Point. N.S.W. 2061. Australia.  Printed in Australia by: The Book Printer, Maryborough, Victoria. 3465.               

Introduction.  I  commenced  writing  this  book  at  lunch  time  on  Friday  10th  August  1956,  when  I  recalled some of the discourses that Meher Baba had given that morning. They had been  so  impressive  I  wanted  to  remember  them,  so  I  wrote  them  down  during  the  lunch  break.  However I  did not  know then  that  I would  be  writing a  book.  Those  discourses  and the additional notes that I took in 1956 and again the notes that I took during Meher  Baba's visit to Avatar's Abode in 1958 were a start — the basic beginning.        At that time and for years later I was kept busy with my very demanding job as an Air  Traffic Controller at Sydney Airport. As the years went by, I realized that not very much  had been written about Meher Baba's two visits to Australia except three short articles  by Francis Brabazon, Clarace Adams and Elsie Smart in 1956 and another article in 1958  by Elsie Smart, all published in the Awakener Magazine.        Francis  Brabazon,  the  head  of  the  group,  was  a  poet  and  author.  He  had  written  books about Meher Baba's previous meetings in India and also His subsequent meetings  in India, yet he wrote very little about his two visits to Australia in spite of the fact that  he had a great deal to do with the preparation for both visits. Perhaps because he had  done so much in the preparation and organization for these visits it was rather unfair to  expect him also to write about them        I wasn't a writer or an author, but eventually I realized that Francis was not going to  write  anything  more  about  these  two  visits  and  if  someone  else  didn't  do  something  about  it  soon,  it  would  be  too  late.  So  I  went  ahead  and  started  to  collect  as  much  material  as  I  could  from  those  who  could  remember  the  details  and  were  prepared  to  share  their  experiences  with  others.  I  wrote  to  all  the  adults  that  had  been  to  either  Sahavas  and  asked  them  for  any  information  about  the  Sahavases  that  they  were  prepared to share with others.        The number of replies that I received was disheartening — only two, with a total of  five  pages  of  information.  If  I  was  going  to  wait  for  information  from  others,  the  book  was never going to be written. I decided that I would start with the information that I  already had and with what I could remember. It was quite astonishing what happened  after I put down on paper the information that I already had, and started to dig into my  memory for details of Meher Baba's visits. Once I had achieved  a certain momentum in  concentrating  my  attention  on  Meher  Baba's  visits  information  began  to  flow  into  my  mind  much  more  easily.  I  would  often  wake  up  in  the  night  remembering  some  forgotten incident. I got into the habit of keeping pen and paper next to my bed.        I  also  discovered  that  if  I  discussed  the  visits  with  others  who  had  been  present  at  either  Sahavas  then  some  of  the  incidents  that  I  could  remember  triggered  off  their  minds to remember additional things that had happened. I organized a few meetings of  people  who  had  been  present  at  either  Sahavas  and  tape  recorded  what  they  could  remember about the Sahavases. Most people were co‐operative, they were prepared to  talk  about  the  visits  and  share  with  others  what  they  could  recall,  even  though  sometimes  they  thought  that  the  things  they  could  remember  were  irrelevant  or  insignificant.        I  later  discovered  that  some  of  the  discourses  in  Listen  Humanity  given  by  Meher  Baba  during  a  Sahavas  held  in  India  in  November  1955  were  very  similar  to  the  discourses  that  he  gave  in  Australia  in  August  1956.  The  outline  was  the  same,  the  important parts were the same, the emphasis was the same, the details varied slightly,  and the order was slightly different, but all the important things were the same.       

viii Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.          Although I have never heard it mentioned before, it is my opinion that because of His  injuries, Meher Baba suffered much more when communicating by gestures at the 1958  Sahavas than at the previous Sahavas in Australia. It may have been for this reason that  some of the discourses that He gave in Australia at Avatar's Abode were read to us. They  were the same discourses that He had previously given in India  and America. Some of  these discourses were also read at the American Sahavas probably for the same reason.  This was fortunate for us because in order to have them read, they first had to have been  recorded. This made it much easier later to obtain copies of these discourses. They were  also later published in the Awakener Magazine.        The 1958 Australian Sahavas was for four days, the American Sahavas was for much  longer  and  so  there  were  more  discourses  given  by  Meher  Baba  in  America  than  in  Australia. However all the important ones were first given in India, then in America and  finally in Australia. There was also an original discourse given in Australia, which was  not given in either India or America. It was illustrated by a drawing which made it very  easy to understand.        At  one  time  I  went  to  Melbourne  to  interview  all  the  residents  whose  home  Meher  Baba had visited. I thought that if I was going to write about  the visits at least I should  give these people the opportunity to tell their stories. While  I was doing this both Ena  Lemmon  and  Clarace  Adams  also  told  me  about  their  visit  to  Meher  Baba  in  India  in  1956.  Originally  I  had  only  intended  to  write  about  Meher  Baba's  visits  to  Australia,  anything beyond this was far too daunting at the time.        However  after  I  had  finished  writing  about  His  two  Australian  visits,  Ena's  and  Clarice's visit to India did seem to be relevant, so then that chapter was added. It became  apparent  that  a  background  was  required  as  the  first  chapter.  Then  the  period  in  between the two visits and the preparation for the second visit and so on.        There was so much material all around me when I really started looking, that I soon  realized I had been placed in quite a unique position. When I had started to be a seeker, I  had  had  the  amazing  good  fortune  to  come  in  contact  with  Meher  Baba,  and  I  had  promised to love and obey Him. In so doing I became one of a very small group of people  in  Australia  who  received  His  personal  instructions  and  general  messages  at  a  time  when relatively few people in the world were receiving them. I had also tested Him as a  Master and I knew that He had passed all the tests that I could possibly give Him.  I had experienced the inner contact that He said was available. I witnessed the transition  from Him being within the body to being without the body, with no loss in the strength  of inner contact. I witnessed new people coming along who had not physically met Him,  yet they were getting the same inner contact with His Being that I was. If they described  this experience to other people who had not experienced it, in all probability they would  be  disbelieved.  But  I  had  experienced  these  things  while  Meher  Baba  was  in  the  body  and their description of the experience was so accurate, I knew they also must have had  this  experience  or  they  could  not so  accurately  describe it. This  was  an  important  fact  because  it proved  to me  that it was  not  necessary  to have  had  His  physical contact,  in  order now to have this link with Him.        I slowly came to realize that I had been one of a very small group of people that had  been used as a model in a training system by Meher Baba. This system of training will  still work very well if used today, by anyone with the longing and determination to have  a conscious link with him. The method is there and it really works, if one puts the time  and effort into it.     

   

Introduction. ix          The  second  half  of  this  book  includes  the  information  and  method  used  by  Meher  Baba to train us, and if used correctly and as shown, it can be very helpful now to sincere  seekers of Truth today.        In  a  book  of  this  nature  inevitably  the  question  of  using  capitals  or  not  for  the  personal pronoun in reference to Meher Baba arises. It is always much easier to read if  capitals are not used and this is the standard that I adopted until after Chapter 7. After  the  events  of  Chapter  7,  I  was  firmly  convinced  that  Meher  Baba  was  the  Divine  Personality and I found that I was not comfortable in using anything but capitals for the  One that I was certain I knew was God in human form. So from Chapter 8 onwards I have  used capitals for the personal pronoun when referring to Meher Baba.        In this book I have tried to keep the focus on Meher Baba, his life and his teachings  and  although  it  deals  with  my  contact  and  experience  with  him,  I  have  tried  to  keep  other facets of my life such as my work, out of the book, because though interesting in  themselves,  they  are  totally  irrelevant  to  the  theme  and  would  only  be  distracting  if  included.        If  reading  this  book  jogs  the  memory  of  anyone  who  participated  in  Meher  Baba's  1956  or  1958  Australian  Sahavas  and  they  wish  to  supply  additional  information  I  would be pleased to collect it for a future edition. If it is not reprinted in my lifetime, I  intend  handing  over  any  material  that  I  may  have  to  the  Avatar  Meher  Baba  Trust  in  India, for inclusion in any possible future edition.  Although I had no idea of the amount of work involved in writing a book of this nature  before I attempted it, and had I known before I started I may have been intimidated by  it,  it  has  been  a  real  joy  to  write,  because  while  writing  it,  I  always had  to  be  thinking  about some aspect of Meher Baba. Even when things went wrong and I had to redo some  part  a  number  of  times,  it  meant  that  I  was  still  focussing  my  attention  over  and  over  again upon Meher Baba or the messages that he had given, and this in itself had its own  reward.        It is said that the wise speak in parables. These parables have an outer meaning and  an inner meaning. The outer meaning is obvious to all but the inner meaning is not. We  know  that  Jesus  spoke  in  parables,  but  at  the  time  even  His  own  disciples  did  not  understand the meaning of His words; He explained the meaning to His disciples later,  and through them we all have come to know the meaning of His messages.        Meher  Baba  did  not  speak  but  his  life  was  a  series  of  living  parables,  He  gave  His  close ones many clues but at the time even they didn't fully understand the meaning of  His living parables. I am sure the meaning of the living parables of His life will becomes  apparent with the passage of time to those who sincerely seek their meaning.                       

 

Introduction to Meher Baba.    Born  as  Merwan  Sheriar  Irani  in  Poona,  India,  on  25th  February  1894,  of  Persian  parents, he lived a celibate life and never married. Merwan was a lively and happy boy  who excelled in both studies and sport. When aged 19 years, while in his second year at  Poona’s Deccan College, he met an aged Muslim Saint, Hazarat Babajan, one of the five  Perfect Masters of the time. He was drawn to her. He frequently had to pass her while  cycling on his way to studies.        One day she beckoned him to come to her under the enormous neem tree where she  lived.  She  kissed  him  on  the  forehead.  This  revealed  to  him  the  infinite  bliss  of  self‐ realization. At this stage he had complete consciousness of God, but he was unconscious  of his worldly surroundings. Later he explained the incident: ‘At the time Babajan gave  me  the  nirvikalp  (inconceptual)  experience  of  my  own  reality,  the  illusory  physical,  subtle  and  mental  bodies  —  mind,  worlds  and  one  and all  created things  —  ceased to  exist for me even as illusion. Then I began to see that only I and nothing else existed.’        Within  the  next  two  years  he  met  the  other  four  Perfect  Masters  who  were  in  the  world at that time. One of them was Upasni Maheraj of Sakori. For seven years Upasni  Maheraj  integrated  Merwan's  God‐consciousness  with  consciousness  of  the  mundane  world, preparing him for his role as the Avatar of the Age.        Meher  Baba  later  described  this  initial  period  as  follows:  ‘When  after  the  kiss  from  Babajan I knew that I was like the Ocean, I did not want to come back to the ordinary  “drop”  consciousness  from  that  Blisfull  State  where  I  alone  was.  But  despite  my  resistance  the  five  Perfect  Masters  kept  "pulling  me  down"  to  ordinary  consciousness  for my destined manifestation as Avatar, and in this excruciating agony I went through  this  “tussle”.  I  used  to  knock  my  forehead  on  a  stone  in  my  room  at  home,  during  the  nine months before Upasni Maharaj brought me down to normal consciousness.’        His  Avataric  Mission  started  in  1921  and  he  commenced  training  his  disciples  in  selfless service. Tirelessly he and his disciples served the poor, the sick, the outcasts and  the mentally disturbed — establishing free schools, hospitals, dispensaries and ashrams  for his work. Then and throughout his life the Master personally cared for those in need.  He washed the feet of the lepers and bowed down to them saying  ‘Lepers are beautiful  souls in ugly cages, I bow down to them because I am in them.' He cleaned the latrines of  the untouchables and worked to end the caste system. Not surprisingly, Merwan Iran's  early  disciples  began  to  call  him  ‘MEHER  BABA’  which  means  ‘COMPASSIONATE  FATHER’.        It was Love that drew Meher Baba’s early disciples to him and it was for the sake of  Love that they remained with him. Today it is still Love that draws those who seek him.  On  10th  July  1925  Meher  Baba  commenced  a  self  imposed  silence  and  he  literally  did  not speak for the next forty‐four years. At first he communicated by writing on a slate.  After eighteen months he ceased writing and communicated by pointing to the letters of  the English Alphabet and the numerals one to zero that were painted on a board.        In 1954 he ceased using the alphabet board and communicated by a unique system  of hand gestures which were interpreted by one of his disciples and spoken aloud. One  might  imagine  that  this  would  seriously  impede  his  communications,  but  by  using  his  system of gestures he was very eloquent, because the listener had his wonderful hand  and facial gestures while a disciple was speaking the words conveyed by the gestures.  This  made  the  communications  just  a  little  slower  but  it  gave  the  mind  of  the  listener  more time to absorb the     

   

Introduction to Meher Baba. xi    message.  The  messages  were  very  powerful  coming  directly  from  the  source  of  Truth,  they had the power of Truth.        Besides appearing to be Truth personified, he also seemed to be Love personified. He  was easy to identify with. When he was with a group of people, each one felt that Baba  was  communicating  with  that  one,  individually,  and  that  he  was  on  the  same  level  as  each individual. Each one would personally feel his love and would be drawn to him and  would want to spend more and more time with him.        In 1931 Meher Baba made the first of numerous visits to the West and met some of  the  people  who  were  to  become  his  Western  disciples.  Later  in  the  1930s  he  brought  many of these Western disciples to India to continue their training in conjunction with  his Eastern disciples.        In  the  1930s  and  1940s  he  worked  with  the  God‐intoxicated  individuals  known  as  masts. These people may be defined as spiritually advanced individuals whose love for  God is so intense that they often appear to be insane to most observers. In fact, as Baba  explained, they are not insane; they simply refuse to adjust to the world, lost as they are  in their longing for God.        Although  we  cannot  fathom  the  exact  nature  of  Meher  Baba’s  work  with  the  masts,  we  do  know  that  he  gave  them  spiritual  help.  He  also  indicated  that  he  inwardly  channelled their love for God into directions which have benefited the entire world.        In  1949  Meher  Baba  dispersed  his  ashrams  and  gave up  all  possessions  held  in  his  name and set out on what he called his New Life. During this New Life he would cease to  be  the  Spiritual  Master  in  order  to  assume  the  role  of  a  seeker  of  God.  He  left  us  the  legacy of an example of how the perfect seeker should seek God in our present age. Also  how one can share his companionship while treading the spiritual path today.        In his life Meher Baba had expressed his full Divinity and his full Humanity. In 1952  he emerged from his New Life to publicly declare that he was the Avatar of the Age. Baba  forewarned his disciples that his work now required of him great suffering including the  shedding of his blood on American and Indian soil.        Outwardly the suffering took the form of two car ‘accidents’. The first in the United  States in 1952 and the second in India in 1956. In one the entire left side of his body was  injured, including a broken arm and a broken leg, in the other the entire right side of his  body was severely damaged including a broken hip joint.        In  1952  Meher  Baba  opened  the  Meher  Spiritual  Centre  at  Myrtle  Beach,  South  Carolina in the United States. He called this his home  in  the  West.  He  also  visited  it in  1956 and 1958. It is run by early Western disciples that he trained in India in the 1930s  and 1940s.        In spite of his suffering, Meher Baba opened the flood gates of his love. In the 1950s  he  allowed  the  public  more  opportunity  to  see  him  and  to  individually  receive  his  blessing  of  love.  As  many  as  sixty  thousand  people  in  one  day  passed  before  him  to  receive his blessing and touch.        In 1956 he visited Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. As this story specially deals in  more  detail  with  his  life  at  and  after  this  time  I  will  conclude  the  introduction  at  this  point and continue the story in the main part of the book.    John A Grant.     

 

Acknowledgements    Firstly  I  would  like  to  thank  Beloved  Meher  Baba  for  having  allowed  me  to  meet  Him  when  He  was  physically  in  the  world,  and  for  His  recent  help  and  guidance  without  which this book would not have been possible.        I would also like to thank Meher Baba's men and women mandali for their kindness  and  generosity  in  so  readily  sharing  with  others,  knowledge  and  experience  gained  through their close association with Him for so many years. I would particularly like to  thank  Eruch  Jessawala  and  Mani  Irani  for  so  much  valuable  information  about  Meher  Baba, and to Bal Natu for his very helpful suggestions and comments on the manuscript  of this book.        I  acknowledge  with  thanks  permission  given  to  me  by  the  Avatar  Meher  Baba  Perpetual  Charitable  Trust,  Ahmednagar,  India,  for  printing  excerpts  taken  from  the  following  publications:  Eighty‐two  FAMILY  LETTERS  TO  THE  WESTERN  FAMILY  OF  LOVERS AND FOLLOWERS OF MEHER BABA, GOD IN A PILL? — MEHER BABA ON LSD  AND  THE  HIGH  ROADS,  THE  AWAKENER  —  A  JOURNAL  DEVOTED  TO  MEHER  BABA,  THE  GLOW  INTERNATIONAL,  and  from  non‐published  sources  such  as  letters,  discourses, talks, interviews, circulars, messages, etc. of Meher Baba, Mani S Irani, Eruch  B  Jessawala  and  Adi  K  Irani,  which  appear  in  print  for  the  first  time  in  PRACTICAL  SPIRITUALITY WITH MEHER BABA.        I  acknowledge  with  thanks  permission  given  by  Avatar’s  Abode  Trust,  Nambour,  Queensland,  for  permission  to  publish  the  following  material  of  Francis  Brabazon  of  which  they  hold  the  copyright:  THE  AUSTRALIAN  ARTI;  the  talk,  THE  MIGHTY  BELOVED; the poem, NOW HAS COME THE MOMENT OF JOY.        I would like to express my grateful thanks to Clarice Adams and Ena Lemmon for the  information  that  they  each  gave  me  on  their  1956  visit  to  Meher  Baba  in  India  and  of  their recollections of Meher  Baba's  two  visits to Australia which they were prepared to  so generously share with others.        My  grateful  thanks  also  to  all  the  other  people  who  contributed  information  on  Meher Baba’s two visits to Australia including Elsie Smart, Robert and Lorna Rouse, Joan  Bruford, Bernard Bruford, Joanna Bruford, Reg Paffle, Dianna Snow, Grace Swan, Oswald  and Betty Hall, John and Betty Burstin, Ethel Woodford, Eve Sayers, May Lundquist and  Cynthia Borg. Also all the Authors and Publishers that are listed in the notes of this book.  I would like to thank Pat Brown‐Eklund  for the  portrait of Meher  Baba  in batik on silk,  which was an accepted entry in the Blake Prize for Religious Art.        I  would  like  to  thank  the  following  people  who  contributed  photographs  for  the  selection  published  in  this  book;  Colin  Adams,  Robert  Rouse,  Bernard  Bruford,  Ken  Petrie,  and  Giff  Alston.  Also  to  News  Ltd.  for  allowing  publication  of  copyrighted  photographs.      John A Grant                   

 

Contents. 

 

 

        1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  8.  9.  10.  11.  12.  13.  14.  15.  16.  17.  18. 

Introduction  Introduction to Meher Baba  Contents.  Illustrations.  Background.  Two Ladies Visit India and Bring Back Message Decision to Visit Australia.  Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia—Sydney.  Visit to Melbourne.  Return to Sydney.  Conviction.  Round the Globe with Baba in Thirty Days.  External and Internal Contact.  Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humnity.  Preparation for Second Visit.  Visit to Queensland—Avatar’s Abode—1958.  The Years 1958 to 1962.  The Years 1963 to 1969.  The Last Darshan?  Refections.  The Significance of Meher Baba’s Life.  Looking Towards the Future. 

vii  x  xiii  xv  1  8  17  21  42  53  59  61  66  72  92  99  126  137  156  193  201  207 

                  APPENDICES   

Appendix A: Places of Pilgrimage and Prayer.  Appendix B: Glossary.  Appendix C: Sources of Information.  Appendix D: Annotated Bibliography.  Notes.  Index.                                 

221  224  227  229  233  237 

                                                                                                     

Illustrations.    Avatar Meher Baba.                                                                                                         Frontispiece    Meher Baba meeting some of the public on the ‘Darshan day’ in Sydney.                40    Meher Baba's gestures too quick for the camera at Meher House, Sydney.                41    Some of the people at the Public Darshan in Sydney on 11th August, 1956.                41    Meher House where Meher Baba stayed and the car that He used in Sydney.                58    ‘If all of you, or if some of you, or if even only one of you, learns to Love Me  as I should be Loved, then My coming here will have been worthwhile.’                65    Maps showing places in Australia Meher Baba visited.                                                         97    Looking from the hill to the Baba House in centre and the meeting hall on right.  98    The Baba House near the mango tree.                                                                                    98    Meher Baba arriving in Australia at Sydney in June 1958.                                         100    Six diagrams illustrating ‘How Individuality is Establisher in Indivisibility’—   an original discourse by Meher Baba.                                                                         118‐120    Meher Baba inspecting the men’s accommodation in the tents.                                         124    Meher Baba inspecting Avatar’s Abode near His house.                                                      124    ‘My Sahavas will fall within the orbit of My universal suffering and helplessness.’     125    ‘This Sahavas will be unique in the sense that you will witness and share My  present universal suffering by being near Me as My fortunate companions.’             125    Looking over the farmhouse to the ocean at Avatar's Abode, 1958.                           200    Meher Baba said that Avatar's Abode will become a place of pilgrimage.             200    The meeting hall at Avatar's Abode, 1985.                                                                                206    ‘I am never silent. I speak eternally. The voice that is heard deep within  the soul is My voice—the voice of inspiration, of intuition, of guidance.’             217 

CHAPTER 1 Background. I was born at Canterbury, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. As a boy I went to Sunday School, but my family often moved house during the depression of the 1930s and sometimes there was only one Sunday School in the town where we were living. It was usually of a different Christian denomination at each place. So I had attended many Sunday Schools taught by many different Christian Religions by the time I had gown up. When I was in my teens, I was very idealistic and was very impressed with the stories of the life of Christ that I read in the New Testament of the Bible. But I noticed a marked difference between the life of Jesus and the lives of the people of the Church who taught others about His life. He lived truth and love in His life, they only talked about His living it and didn't seem to try to live it themselves. I soon discovered that each Christian Religion had its own interpretation of the meaning of what was written in the Bible and they considered anyone with a different interpretation to be misguided and wrong. Instead of living the spirit of His teaching of love thy neighbour as thyself, they were quarrelling about the letter of the teaching — did He say ‘this’ or ‘thus’? When I went to read about other great Spiritual Masters of history, the only accounts that I could find written in the English language were written by Christian scholars and these accounts were definitely prejudiced. I didn’t know then, but I know now, that there is an inner and an outer teaching of every religion and I was only finding the outer teachings of them, which are all different, while yearning for the inner teaching of any one of them, because the inner teachings are all the same, because God is always the same, even although He is given different names, in different languages, in different religions. But with the passing of the centuries the inner teaching, the essence or spirit, is often lost, while the words of the teaching and the external ceremonies and rituals are always preserved. However, even the meaning of words can change. I have known in my own lifetime many words that have changed their meaning completely in my language and I believe this has happened in most languages. So it would not be surprising if some of the messages written in the Bible became unintentionally changed with the passage of time. In 1945 while visiting a second hand bookshop in Auckland, New Zealand, I could not find any book that interested me, so as I was about to leave, in desperation I took a book in a brown paper cover from one of the shelves and opened it. I found that it was a book on Raja Yoga. I had no idea what that was, but I looked at the headings of the chapters, they were on such topics as; attention, concentration, perception and will-power. They certainly seemed to be interesting topics to me so I bought this book on Raja Yoga and later started reading it. It was an unusual book because at the end of each chapter there was a summary of the chapter and then a mantra to repeat daily. Also there were frequent references to other books that presumably I should have read before reading this one. I was a Radio Officer on a ship at sea at this time and I didn't have an opportunity to obtain these other books that I should have read first. I realized that part of the power of the summary and the mantra would be auto-suggestion, but the values suggested were opposite to the ones usually accepted as being worldly values or commonly accepted values. They were more mystical or spiritual values. So I started doing as the book instructed, i.e., after reading a chapter I would meditate on the summary and then repeat the mantra. After a while I began to think that if I was not

2 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. careful my mind could suddenly flip over and I may not be able to get my consciousness back to this world or plane which we think of as normal or reality. However I decided that I would continue reading the book and saying the mantras but I resolved to be very watchful while doing so. After reading a chapter I would meditate on the summary and then repeat the mantra — I thought if anything happened I didn’t like, I could stop and all would be well. I had repeated the mantras for a few weeks, when early one morning after I had finished my shift of duty at 4:00 a.m. I went to my cabin and after changing my clothes I got into my bunk and put out the light. I had been in my bunk for only a minute or so and I was not asleep, when suddenly I saw a very bright light. It was brighter than looking into the sun, but whereas the sun just appears as a small, very bright object in the sky, this light seemed to cover the whole of my visual horizon. As I was looking at this light, a very loud voice called my name — JOHN GRANT — I was frightened. All that I could think of was that it was the voice of GOD. I opened my eyes. It was dark, so I turned on the light and sat up in my bunk. I didn’t know what had happened, but I associated it with the Raja Yoga and having said the mantras. I didn’t say the mantras any more and I resolved to buy the books that I thought I should have read first, before reading this one, Although I was still interested in Raja Yoga I decided that I would not go on with it unless I had a living Spiritual Master. In Australia in the year 1945, I couldn’t find a Master, so I resolved to obtain more information, but not to practice mantras or anything else until I had a living Master. However it did awaken in me an interest in mysticism and later an interest in spirituality. I now realized that there was a different world with different values, very close to this world with its values. By the same author of the book on Raja Yoga, there was a translation of the Bhagavad Gita which I obtained and read. I was quite impressed by this book and read it over and over again. I particularly noticed one passage as follows: Lord Krishna said, ‘Whenever the world declines in virtue and righteousness, and vice and injustice mount the throne — then come I, the Lord, and revisit My world in visible form, and mingle as a man with men, and by My influence and teaching I destroy the evil and injustice and re-establish virtue and righteousness. Many times have I thus appeared; many times hereafter shall I come again.’

1

I was very impressed with this idea and I never forgot this statement attributed to one of the great Spiritual Masters in history. It also seemed to me that by and large this is what had happened in the world. There are historical records of this happening, but the different Advents are not normally associated with each other, because they happened at a different place, at a different time and the messages were given in different languages at a time when most people were illiterate and communication between widely separated communities in different countries was difficult and almost non-existent. I could not help feeling that we were overdue for the next visit. I had an old friend who was a theosophist and he gave me Edwin Arnold’s Light of Asia which introduced me to the life of Buddha. Later I discovered and read books on Vedanta. One day I was at a motor tyre works overlooking Manly, a Sydney suburb, having my car tyre changed and I was talking to the foreman as he changed it. I don’t remember what was said, but he finished up mentioning about Sufism and he said that he was sure that I

Background. 3 would be interested in it. He even took me to a meeting of a Sufi group that was held every Thursday evening at Cremorne, another suburb of Sydney. Here I was first introduced to the books of Inayat Khan, and I loved them. Such books as The Unity of Religious Ideals, In an Eastern Rose Garden and many, many more. Through this Sufi group I met Francis Brabazon. He was a poet, but he was also much more than a poet. Before the war Francis had met Baron von Frankenberg, who was a Sufi teacher from the School of Inayat Khan. Hazrat Inayat Khan had established a Sufi Order in the Western World in 1910. It had branches in Europe and America — an offshoot of the American branch was in Australia. On Hazrat Inayat Khan's death in 1927, he was succeeded in America by Rabia Martin who became the Murshida of that order. Shortly before her death in 1947, Rabia Martin named Ivy Duce as her successor and the next Murshida of the Sufi Order. Murshida Duce thought that one cannot refuse appointments by the Spiritual Hierarchy, but even so, she was distressed by this new responsibility. She knew that a true Sufi Murshida had to be an Illumined Saint and that she experienced no such level of consciousness. However Murshida Martin prior to her passing in 1947, told Murshida Duce about a Spiritual Master, Meher Baba, and her studied conviction that He was a God-realized Being, a Perfect Master. Murshida Duce went to India to meet Meher Baba and on meeting Him she felt that He was God incarnate. Baba accepted her as one of His intimate disciples. Upon her return to the United States in 1948, many of the members of the Sufi Order could not accept Meher Baba as Avatar. Some opposed, attacked or even vilified Murshida, many others left the order quietly. Out of this crucible emerged a fire tested Murshida and a purified Sufi Order.2 In 1952 Meher Baba re-oriented Sufism and gave it a New Charter. In Australia, Baron von Frankenberg was head of the Sufi group. He lived at Camden about thirty miles from Sydney. In 1947, the Baron gave Francis Brabazon Meher Baba’s Discourses

3

to read.

Francis was greatly impressed and wanted to meet Meher Baba, but Baba was in seclusion. The Baron was also impressed with the Discourses, but did not actually accept Baba as Avatar. At about this time the Baron gave Francis a ticket to the United Stated so that he could meet the Baron’s Sufi Master, Murshida Rabia Martin, he had not met her when she had earlier visited Australia. Francis was trained to eventually succeed, the Baron as Sheikh in the Sufi Order in Australia. The Baron died in 1950. In January 1949, there was a circular from Meher Baba for His disciples and devotees distributed in Australia through the Sufi Group, it included the following instructions from Him: All men and women who believe in me should observe silence for one full month in July 1949 (communicating only by signs or writing when necessary for work). From 1st January 1949 until the end of 1949, no one is to have any correspondence of any kind, with anyone, anywhere except by telegram or telephone where necessary. Correspondence by letter may be made only for unavoidable business reasons and for urgent serious impersonal reasons. Correspondence with me may be made only telegraphically and only when necessary. Although I am in everyone and in everything and my work is for the spiritual awakening of all mankind, I am always aloof from politics of any kind. My disciples and devotees should continue as before to abstain from taking part in political activities or discussions.4

4 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. This must have been quite a test of their faith in Meher Baba for the Sufis in Australia at that time — none of them having met him. It is not surprising that they were not unanimous in their acceptance of him. On 7th February 1949 Francis Brabazon purchased two blocks of land at Beacon Hill, a suburb to the north of Sydney. On this land he hoped with the help of other group members to construct a building suitable for a spiritual centre. At first, he stayed on the land in a pitched tent, where other Sufi group members visited him. For some time he worked with a stone mason learning enough about the trade to be able to build a house of stone. Then he built a stone cabin in which to live, from stone quarried on site. In time Francis heard that there was a possibility that Meher Baba would visit the United States of America in 1952. He sailed from Sydney for the United States on 10th January 1952 on S.S. Aorangi. He visited Murshida Ivy Duce in New York and later he found accommodation not far from her residence. Fred Winterfelt helped him obtain employment as a caretaker of a building. His duties were not too demanding and he was able to continue his writing. On 24th April Murshida Ivy Duce initiated Francis Brabazon in the degree of Khalif in the Sufi Movement. She gave him several valuable presents including the robe that belonged to her Murshida, Pir-O-Murshida Rabia Martin. On 7th May 1952 Francis Brabazon and Murshida Ivy Duce, her daughter Charmain and Enid Corfe drove from New York to meet Meher Baba at the Meher Spiritual Centre at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, having been called there by Meher Baba a day earlier than had been planned. Francis first met Meher Baba at Myrtle Beach while Murshida Duce was present. Baba said to Francis, ‘I have seen you before, but you don't remember, do you?’ Francis admitted that he did not remember. Baba said, ‘I have known you for ages, you will come to know of it.’ Francis was sitting on the edge of his chair until Baba put him at ease by saying, ‘Sit back, be comfortable, you must know that I am within you, and so if you feel like coughing, cough, for it means that I want to cough!’ Then they had a long talk about Sufism and Baba’s plans for it’s future. He asked Murshida Duce to turn over her work in Australia to Francis Brabazon, declaring that they would both have to become Murshids and wear the robe. Addressing all the Sufi group Baba said: Listen to what I say carefully, the foremost point to remember is that God loves truth and honesty. And if we are to work for God and Baba, we must be honest to God, to Baba, to others and to ourselves. That means, unless we experience what we preach and teach, we are not honest, not only to Sufism, but to life itself. To be an athiest, not to believe in God, to be bad even, is better than to be a hypocrite. So we must work on that basis. Truth is hidden, unless one has attained fana and acquired baqa, one cannot lead others to perfection, so when we ourselves do not experience that state, and when we ask others to follow us, it means we are insulting Sufism, and all over the East and West it is being done, and by God’s will, I intend to change the whole affair, overhaul the whole thing, because I love Sufism with all my heart.5 During the interview Baba told Francis that he must not stay in America with him now, but must go back to Australia, because Baba wanted him there by 10th July, ‘When my

Background. 5 Full Free Life begins.’ He added, ‘Blindly do as I tell you, and you will not be following the blind. Do as I tell you — I KNOW.’ Francis was disappointed at not being able to stay longer with Baba, but he later said that had he not gone at once, after his several interviews with Baba, and booked his passage by sea to Australia, he could not have caught the only ship leaving America which would get him to Australia by the given date. The group members in Australia were contacted and told to meet Francis at his cabin at Beacon Hill at 8:00 a.m. on a Wednesday morning. When Francis met and spoke with the other group members they all realized that Baba had made a very deep impression upon him. Francis had met Meher Baba and was convinced that he was the Avatar of the Age. The Baron had only read some of His books and although he had corresponded with Dr Ghani Mansiff, one of Meher Baba’s disciples, he had died without personally meeting Meher Baba and without being convinced that Meher Baba was the Christ or Avatar. This left room for some division in the group. There were the ones who were agreeing with Francis and the ones who were going to ‘wait and see’, but all were hoping that Meher Baba would some day visit Australia. Soon the group realized that Francis was determined to build a worthy house at Beacon Hill, in the fervent hope that Meher Baba would one day visit Australia and live in this house. Francis knew that Spiritual Masters can leave their Presence in such things as stone, if they so choose, and that this Presence can be felt for hundreds or even thousands of years. The main room of the house was planned to be 20 feet by 30 feet, it was to be made of stone quarried from the land upon which it was built. The reason that it was to be built of stone was that if Meher Baba visited it and left His Presence there so that it could be felt later, the building housing it would endure for centuries. Meanwhile in 1952, May Lundquist, a Swedish lady living in Australia who was a Sufi and had worked for the Baron, planned to visit her family in Sweden. Murshida Ivy Duce informed her that Meher Baba, during his visit to the West in 1952, would be in London very close to the time when she was scheduled to be there. May Lundquist subsequently rearranged her schedule and met Meher Baba in London. Later she returned to Australia to live permanently. Various group members had at times also lived at Beacon Hill helping Francis. Ena Lemmon at one time was there for three months and cooked for Francis. Later the Adams family stayed there for about eighteen months. Then in mid 1954 Bill and Joan Le Page and their family moved into the partially completed house and lived with Francis Brabazon at Beacon Hill. In February 1954, Meher Baba called Francis to India and he accompanied Baba on the Andhra Pradesh tour. “Journey With God,” a book describing this tour, was written by Francis Brabazon and published in July the same year. Francis was again called to India by Baba in 1954 to be included in a group of twenty Western men who spent three weeks with Him from 11th September to 30th September. He was accompanied by two other Australians, Bill Le Page and John Balantine. The story of this visit is described in Three Incredible Weeks with Meher Baba by Malcolm Schloss and Charles Purdom. During this visit, at a private interview, Bill Le Page asked Meher Baba to visit Australia. Baba replied, ‘I am already there.’ On 11th March 1955 the ownership of the property at Beacon Hill was transferred from Francis Brabazon to Bill and Joan Le Page with Meher Baba’s approval. Both families continued to live on the property and Francis continued working on the construction of the house.

6 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. On my first visit to the property at Beacon Hill in early 1954, I met Francis working away alone dressing some stone that he had just separated from the great mass of stone which covered a lot of the property and which he had exposed to view. Later I was fascinated to see how he moved it. He was a man of only slight build, but he could move very large pieces of quarried stone by balancing them upright on one end and then rolling them, end over end, with a special stone strategically placed in the middle of the long stone, so that the long stone was elevated and balanced as it rolled over, like using the balance of a see-saw. When I joined the group I didn’t become a Sufi because, although Francis was the head of the Sufi group in Australia, he was not conducting Sufi classes at that time. He had direct contact with Meher Baba, and as Meher Baba was re-orienting the American Sufi group anyway, there was no point in not going direct to Meher Baba. Every one of us hoped that one day Meher Baba would visit Australia, and then we too would also have direct contact with Him. In the group the books of Inayat Khan were still available and I found them to be very helpful in understanding more about Meher Baba and His ways. Baba didn’t always explain his actions, He just lived the part of the Avatar. I was to find that if I was not very careful he would elude me; with Baba one had to be very alert. Inayat Khan had described the signs to look for, to be able to recognize the Avatar. Later when I met Meher Baba I found that He had all these signs. At this time only a few books written by Meher Baba were available, such as the “Discourses” in five small volumes; there were hardly any books written about Him or His work. In the “Discourses,” I was very impressed with His insight into life and the clarity with which He described emotions and feelings that I had experienced such as love, lust, selfishness and anger. He also described other things that I was not familiar with, such as sanskaras, but because he was so accurate in His description of the things within my experience, I decided to keep an open mind on such things as sanskaras that were outside my experience because I was unaware of their existence. Their existence is not even taught in our culture, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist, so I decided to be more observant in regard to sanskaras in the future. Now as a result of many years observation I must conclude that Meher Baba was right in his conception and description of sanskaras, and the important effect that they have in the lives of all people, whether they are aware of them or not. This is an important subject that I am sure will be studied by Western Science in the future. I will always remember Francis giving a talk each Saturday night. After a hard day’s work, he would have an evening meal and then in a shed with a dirt floor, by the yellow flickering light of a hurricane lamp, with his attentive listeners sitting on builders planks, placed across two oil drums, he would tell us about the lives of the Great Spiritual Personalities of history. It was like nectar. He would speak for at least an hour, usually more, to an enwrapped audience, without ever referring to a note. He had an incredible memory and an inexhaustible fund of stories. Sometimes he would tell us of Meher Baba and His ways, also of his firm conviction that He was the Avatar and of his hope that one day Baba would visit Australia. Before concluding this chapter I feel that it is the appropriate place to record some information that is historically interesting, but that I was not to become aware of until many years later. Prior to Meher Baba visiting America in 1932, He had instructed some of His mandali to proceed to China and wait there for instructions from Him. On completion of His American visit He cabled the mandali in China instructing one of them, Rustom Irani, to meet Him in Honolulu. Then He and the mandali that had accompanied Him to America, embarked on the

Background. 7 Matson Line ship Monterey on her maiden voyage to Australia and travelled as far as Honolulu. Rustom was pleased to be meeting Meher Baba in Honolulu and expected to travel with Him to China. However, when he met Baba in Honolulu, Baba instructed him to travel by the Monterey to Australia and New Zealand to make certain contacts in those countries. Baba then continued on to China via Japan. When Rustom arrived in Australia he was not allowed to disembark from the ship, nor was he allowed to disembark in New Zealand. He had to remain on the ship; he eventually returned to India.6 Presumably it was the ‘White Australia’ policy existing at the time that prevented Rustom from landing in Australia. It is interesting to note that today, over fifty years later, Australia is probably the most multi-cultural country on earth. In 1932 Meher Baba met and embraced an Australian woman in London who was a ballet pupil of Margaret Craske. This woman later told Margaret that she had had a vision of Meher Baba standing quietly for a time in her bedroom. Margaret Craske went to India in 1939 and was with Meher Baba when she received an invitation to visit Australia to conduct ballet examinations and to give some lessons. Baba said she must go, but while protracted negotiations and preparations were being made for the visit war broke out in the Pacific and the project was rendered impossible. Baba asked Margaret to find out whether, if He sent a large package of writings about his teachings to Australia, would someone there be willing to distribute them for him. Margaret wrote at once asking this and a reply came, written by the woman who had had the vision of him, saying she would be happy to do so.6 This material was then sent to Australia and I believe was the first literature about Meher Baba's teachings to reach Australia.

Chapter 2 Two Ladies Visit India and Bring Back a Message. In 1956 Ena Lemmon and Clarice Adams visited Meher Baba in India and I include here their description of this visit, as well as the events leading up to it. Ena Lemmon told me the following story: From early childhood I was religiously inclined and involved in orthodox Christianity. I was keen on Jesus the Christ but drifted away from the orthodox church and began to dabble in psychology and other things and finally turned to Sufism. I was not aware that I was seeking a Spiritual Master and I really didn’t understand a great deal about Sufism but I became initiated into Sufism. My initial involvement with the Sufis of Australia was through a friend named Norman, whose two sisters were interested in Sufism. At that time the man who was the head of the Sufi scene in Australia was Baron V. F. von Frankenberg. A circular was sent around, either from Rabia Martin or Ivy Duce, speaking of Meher Baba—introducing Him as it were. This was the first time I had heard of Baba and I wasn’t very impressed, in fact I remember distinctly saying that I didn’t like the sound of the name ‘BABA’. It reminded me of a bleating sheep. Later my friend Norman, who himself wasn’t interested at all in Sufism or Baba, put a book of Baba’s Discourses in my hand. I opened the book and saw Baba’s picture, standing with hands held in front of Him, and emanating a sense of humour. As soon as I saw the photo I said, ‘I am going to India.’ The discourses made a tremendous impact on me. I was hooked on them and my heart would thump when I read them. Most of the people in the Sufi group in Australia at this time began to follow Meher Baba. Francis Brabazon was one of them. I had met Francis at a Buddhist meeting some time before, held at the home of Norman’s parents. Norman was impressed with Francis and asked me to go and ask him to come to the house again. I did, and through Norman’s sisters Francis got into Sufism and later found out about Meher Baba along with the rest of us. Baron von Frankenberg gave me a copy of the book Avatar to read. When I read this book it brought tears to my eyes. Von Frankenberg noted my reaction to Meher Baba and said to think the matter over, and if I felt so inclined, to write to Baba asking for His guidance and to ask Him to take me under His wings. I decided that was the thing for me to do and I wrote to Baba. I received a reply in November 1947, this was my first personal contact with Him. I also received letters from Him in March, June and September 1948. As a result I left the Sufi movement at this time. Then I went to Sydney and worked on the Beacon Hill property with Francis Brabazon. Francis was working like a slave cutting all the stones and building the house. I was cooking and helping generally. Francis was very respected amongst us and at one time wore a yellow robe. We would call him Shiek but of course this was discontinued later. I caretook the property when Francis went to America in 1952 although I had to sleep in a converted car packing case, as Francis was saving the inside room for Baba, which ironically Baba didn’t use to sleep in when he came to Australia on His first visit. After one of Francis’ trips to see Baba in India he returned to Australia and gave a talk in Melbourne. He mentioned that Baba’s sister Mani saved stamps and subsequently I sent Mani a lot of stamps. This began a pen friendship with Mani. I think it also kept

Two Ladies Visit India and Bring Back a Message. 9

Baba informed of my activities. Once when I was writing to Mani I casually mentioned that a friend of mine, Clarice Adams who was interested in Baba, and myself were saving in hopes that one day we could travel to India and perchance have the sight of, or a glance from Baba. To my amazement a reply came from Mani asking when Clarice would be arriving and saying if Clarice was in India on such and such a date, she could see Baba in Bombay. This appeared to be a misunderstanding, as in the letter I had written I had only mentioned that we were saving in hope of coming, and neither of us had the money for a trip then. Also I had written the letter, but as far as me getting to meet Baba, Mani hadn’t mentioned anything. I was shattered and so I cabled Mani asking if I came to India could I see Baba along with Clarice. Mani sent me the following letter in reply:

Satara 16th January 1956

Dear Ena, Just received your cable to which I’ve sent the following reply: ‘BABA WILL SEE YOU ONE DAY BEFORE FIFTEENTH FEBRUARY IN BOMBAY LETTER FOLLOWS LOVE’ I’ll add a few hurried lines (to send off in the next post, as I don’t know when you will be sailing from there) to tell you that Baba wishes you to contact Meherjee in Bombay, who will then tell you the exact date Baba fixes for His visiting Bombay. Baba wishes me to repeat that He will see you one day before the fifteenth of February (we will let you know later through Meherjee the exact date) and then you must listen to His instructions to the letter — I mean implicitly obey whatever He tells you. I’m so happy for you Ena—your lucky to be able to come before the 15th February because after that Baba will be (as He has said) in retirement, breaking it in between just long enough for a short visit to the West this summer. Actually it will only be to the States (U.S.A.) mainly, except stopping for 2 days in England on the way there. Then He will spend four days in Myrtle Beach, four in New York, and seven in California —this of course is the rough plan, the details are not yet fixed. I wonder if Clarice Adams is coming too, according to your previous letter. My love to you and all of the Beloved’s own. Mani. With haste I began preparations for the trip. I had to borrow part of the money. I finally left Melbourne by ship for Bombay. Clarice still didn’t know if she would be coming, but if she did come she would have to go by air because I was on the last ship that would get there in time. As Ena Lemmon and Clarice Adams both met Meher Baba together in Bombay, before continuing with Ena's story I would like to digress for a moment to tell of the events leading up to Clarice Adams first meeting with Meher Baba. Clarice Adams told me that both she and her husband Stan were initiates of Murshida Duce and they had been introduced to the Discourses of Meher Baba within the Sufi group. Clarice said that at first she didn’t like the Discourses deflating her view of herself. One night at this time she awoke the household screaming, ‘It’s alright for you, but it’s rotten down here.’

10 Practical Spirituality With Meher Baba. Both Stan and Clarice Adams wrote to Meher Baba in 1951. They each received a reply from Him by Air Letter as follows: Hyderabad May 31st, 1951 My Dear Mrs. Adams, Your open hearted and loving letter was a great joy t o me.

I

do

not

want

you

to

come

to

India

just

now,

although

I

do

not

promise, I may one day visit Australia in order to meet all the loving ones there. Y o u s h o u l d r e t u r n t o a l l y o u r p r e v i o u s a c t i v i t i e s , b u t y o u s h o u l d d o them all from the New Life viewpoint, dedicating every activity to God. Baba Hyderabad June 1st,1951 My dear Stan, God in his infinite bounty will surely respond to your heart felt wish to render loving service to His children. My deepest love to you. Baba Clarice said, ‘In my letter to Baba I tried to explain my difficulty in loving someone I had never met, even although I wanted to. However after reading Baba’s loving letter in reply, suddenly Baba became real to me and not just a set of Discourses and “information about”.’ She said, ‘I had also mentioned my previous worldly activities: treasurer of a branch of the labour party; dancing; parties; sports, etc., I think I hinted that I had now improved. Again the answer corrected my idea that for me meditation and attending Sufi classes would be in, and worldly affairs out.’ ‘You should return ... but….’ Time passed. Clarice continued, ‘Francis Brabazon met Meher Baba in America in 1952. Stan and I and family moved to Beacon Hill, New South Wales, to stay with Francis for nearly 18 months. We returned to Melbourne in mid 1954 with an odd set up, where I was asked by Francis to hold Baba classes at Bruford’s home and Stan had his own group at Joan and Denis O’Brien's home. The groups were definitely separatist. One group fiercely loyal to Stan and the other to Francis. No one saw the joke — the little joke that Stan and I were married and friends and the big joke that we were all seeking Baba in whom all are one. Then came the succession of coincidences and the “mistake” that culminated in my first air flight ever on 26th January 1956 to India to meet Meher Baba at Arnavaz and Nariman Dadachanji’s home in Bombay.’ When Clarice received Baba’s message from Ena, saying He would be pleased to see her, it started a longing in Clarice to go to India to visit Baba at all costs. There was no ready money available, but Stan and Clarice were both working, she as an accountant and he as a school teacher. One evening after Ena had already sailed for India, Clarice bought some fish and chips on the way home from work for a quick family meal. In the newspaper that was around the fish and chips she read for the first time an advertisement by Panam, ‘Fly Now — Pay Later’. She immediately decided that this was what she would do.

Two Ladies Visit India and Bring Back a Message. 11 Then two very unusual things happened. The first, when she went to P.A.A. the next day to make the booking for her flight to Bombay. The system was so new that the booking clerk forgot the fact that they did not deal with married women unless the fare was guaranteed by someone else, and he issued the ticket to her without a guarantor. Later when P.A.A. realized their mistake they still honoured the ticket, because they had made the mistake. Had Clarice waited the normal time for her vaccination to take effect she could not be in Bombay to meet Baba on the date specified by him. She went along to the Health Department to try her best to get special consideration, she realized that this may be difficult, but she would try her very best and leave the result to Baba. This is where the second very unusual thing happened. Even though her vaccinations were not given in time, they were passed and stamped by the Commonwealth Medical Officer. She had stood in the wrong queue at the Health Department — the V.D. queue — and the Medical Officer was laughing so much over seeing a dignified and matronly woman in the V.D. queue that he stamped her health card without looking at the date of her vaccination, or even examining her vaccination. The airline people noticed that the date on the health certificate was wrong, but as the Commonwealth Medical Officer had stamped it, it was valid and they couldn’t take any action. So on 26th January 1956, Clarice Adams flew out of Melbourne to India with a festering arm and a fever. On the aircraft Clarice was pondering on obedience — what if Baba asked her to jump out the window or something like that, would she do it? She was carrying a small book of Hafiz and she opened it and read: “Knowing loves’ ocean is a shoreless sea, what help is there? Abandon Life and flounder.” And, “When you give your heart to love you make the moment lucky — no need of auguries to perform good deeds.” Clarice decided that she would obey Baba. When Ena arrived in Bombay by ship, Meherjee Karkaria, one of Meher Baba’s mandali was there to meet her. The incredible thing was that he had been on a mast tour with Meher Baba and he was so tired that his wife, Homai, had to shake him awake. But he did make it, he met Ena on the ship and took her to a nearby hotel. When Clarice arrived shortly afterwards by plane, Ena and Meherjee both went to meet her at the airport. Meherjee then gave them details of their planned meeting with Meher Baba on 6th February. Later, Meherjee called at their hotel in a big green car to transport them to Baba. They both felt that Baba was absolutely the perfect host in the way that he looked after them so well. Baba was staying at Ashiana, the home of Arnavaz and Nariman Dadachanji and they were to meet Him there in the afternoon. When Meherjee called for them at the hotel, they were having coffee, but they left their coffee and eagerly went with Meherjee in the car for their first meeting with Meher Baba. Near Ashiana they entered a lane and Bhau Kalchuri, another one of Meher Baba’s mandali, was standing at the entrance to the lane, wearing a sandwich board, which told people that they were not to ask Meher Baba questions because he was in seclusion. Later, inside the house, Ena was feeling nervous at the enormity of meeting Meher Baba, the GodMan. She let Clarice go in first and sidled into the room behind her. Baba embraced them both and had them first sit down beside Him on the couch, and then He had chairs for them placed in front of Him. They each sat on a chair facing Him and there was one of the mandali standing behind each of them. One of Ena’s most vivid recollections is the way they were sitting in front of Baba. On one side of Baba was Eruch Jessawala interpreting Baba’s gestures and on the other side was Adi K. Irani, Baba’s secretary, beaming like the sun.

12 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Baba asked how they came in contact with Him, and Ena said through reading the Avatar. During the afternoon there was a constant stream of people passing in front of Baba in this comparatively small living room. Ena cannot remember now the exact sequence, but Baba had a personal discussion with them for a time. She is not sure if it was before or after all the people started coming into the room for darshan. At one point she shed tears. She found Baba absorbing and fascinating right from the beginning. At one stage, Baba took them into a room which was really Katie Irani’s bedroom, where there was a little light burning in front of a photo of Baba. Baba took them into this room to meet some Indian people who had travelled a long way to be there. One of these people was called Pukar. There was also an Indian lady in this group, and one of Ena’s most vivid memories was hearing this lady let out an incredible shriek as she flung herself around Baba. The atmosphere was so charged, Ena remembers it to this day — she said her heart felt as though it nearly left her body. But Baba was in complete control of the situation. He just pacified her, she stopped her shrieking and settled down and then she went back with the other people. Although they met Baba on two days Ena feels that both these incidents took place on the first afternoon. At one stage Baba took them out to the bookstall. At this time Adi was in charge of running the bookstall. Baba touched some of the books and also touched a photograph. Clarice picked up the photograph that Baba had touched and later bought it. Ena hadn’t met Adi, and Clarice whispered quietly in her ear, ‘Ena, here’s Adi.’ Up to that time Adi was just a name to Ena, but when Clarice whispered to her, ‘Ena, here’s Adi,’ although she was standing alongside Baba, she swung around and thrust out her hand and said, ‘Oh, Adi!’ She said, such a thing had never happened to her before, but it was an absolute cry of joy. She has no idea as to why she would do this unless perhaps there was some kind of past connection. The first day was the public darshan day. On this day late in the afternoon, Baba asked them would they like to see Him again the next day. Ena said, ‘If you have time Baba.’ The second day was not for the public but only for the close ones who loved Meher Baba. Previously, by letter, Baba had instructed Ena to look after her parents as well as she could and leave the rest to him. This was very interesting to her because this was one of the last things that she would have expected herself to do, because she was a bit of a rolling stone and wasn’t a madly ‘home’ person in that kind of way. But because of Baba’s instructions she did the best she could with her father. He had a dramatic illness and he seemed to appreciate very much the fact that she stayed with him quite a lot. Fairly soon after her father died she was now in India, meeting Meher Baba. As her mother was very active, Ena said to Baba, ‘You gave me the instruction to look after my parents and my father has now died, do you have any further instructions?’ Baba said that she should not have anything to do with men outside marriage, and that if she would help Francis with the work in Australia it would be wonderful, and that Baba seldom gave anybody such instructions. Ena said that after Meherjee took us to our hotel, and then returned to Baba — and this is just so human and appealing — Baba asked him what we had said. Meherjee’s reply is not known, but Baba told Meherjee that He wanted them to come to India and so they came and that He liked them both very much. Although, they weren’t told this until many years later. Clarice, when she described this first meeting much later, said, I am not sure of the sequence or even on which of the two days the various questions were asked but otherwise I believe my recollections are correct. When Ena and I were ushered into Baba's presence,

Two Ladies Visit India and Bring Back a Message. 13 momentarily I nearly panicked — but this was my only moment of awe in Baba’s presence. Baba was smiling and He patted the seat indicating ‘sit down,’ which we did. Eventually came the question, ‘Will you obey me?’ ‘Yes’ ‘Will you go back to Melbourne and kill your three children?’ The question I had not even thought of! I cried. I had no handkerchief and wiped my streaming eyes and nose with my sleeve...a few moments of agony... and then the comforting warmth sustained me. I felt rocked like a baby. Baba said, ‘I would not ask you to do that, but I had to show you that you couldn't obey me.’ Then Baba explained, ‘First of all there is no value in t r y i n g t o f o l l o w B a b a , u n l e s s i t i s w h a t y o u w a n t t o d o , a n d y o u a r e willing to obey Him. It does not matter at all if you do not want to. Far better to live an ordinary life, forget about following Baba and see God in others and in everyday life. But if it is your real desire to love Baba and serve Him, how would you do it? It is very difficult to do, and difficult to explain. I cannot ask, how will I love my wife? I do, or I do not. Can you hear that noise?’ (There was a loud banging noise outside — replied, “Yes.”) ‘Well if you loved Me you would not hear it, while you were with Me.’ Then some Indian followers were called in, and Baba asked them to explain; How to love Baba? One said by perfect devotion. Baba said, ‘Can you do that?’ Another said by thinking of Baba continually. Baba smiled, made the sign of perfection, and then leaned forward a little and asked, ‘Do you?’ of the one who had given that answer. After each one had explained that they do their best, Baba said: ‘Well now, I will try to explain. Divine Love is the Real Love, but you don’t have that. So thinking of Me continually is the next best, but you can’t do that. So if you naturally say my name, just while you are working or are quiet, as often as you can spontaneously, that is good, but perhaps you can’t do that — so do this: Repeat Baba’s name aloud for a fixed time daily i.e., half an hour to one hour — now there is no love in that, no value at all in repetition. But in this case it will bring love, because I tell you to do it. But if you don’t even want to do that — don’t do it — it doesn’t matter. Do what you want to do, but try to remember that I am in everyone — every man, woman and child. Be happy, live naturally. But serve Me in others, as much as you can.’ Eruch made clear that this is not just rushing around serving others. He again quoted Baba, ‘It is serving ME in others — not their ego.’ Baba said that Peter was a favoured disciple of Jesus, because he was allowed to share Christ’s sufferingby denying Him. Baba asked Clarice if she had read the Ramayama, which

14 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. she had. Baba introduced her to Pukar, a very tall and big man, whom Baba said was Hanuman in the time of Rama. Baba asked Clarice could she afford to come. She said, Yes, she was working, and told of the ‘Fly Now — Pay Later.’ When she returned to Melbourne the senior partner of the firm of accountants employing her, surprised the junior partner and perhaps himself by demanding that she at once be given a substantial salary increase. This amount totally covered her loan commitments. Baba asked Clarice and Ena, ‘But why did you come? I am in Australia. I am in every man, woman and child.’ When they explained that they just wanted to come, Baba said, ‘I wanted you to come. You are here to carry my love to all. Do you know what I mean by all?’ Clarice felt she did. She felt clearly that Baba knew about the two groups in Melbourne. Baba continued, ‘Carry my love to all, particularly my dear Stan and the children.’ Clarice later said, that simple message I posted off to Stan, and when I returned to Melbourne, members of both groups had come to our house to hear about it. All were friends, all brought food and extra chairs — we could have eaten for a week and many chairs had to be left on the lawn, everyone had brought enough for all. As Baba was in seclusion, I had been warned not to ask Him anything, but Baba said He was in an expansive mood and I could ask Him anything I wished. I promptly asked Him to accept a letter from Joan O’Brien. She had helped me very much in my early days in learning about Baba and the Discourses. Baba said that He would accept the letter and reply — He would help. Baba then asked me did I want anything for myself. I said, “No,” relieved that I had been able to keep my promise to deliver the letter, without disobeying the seclusion rules. Someone behind me said, ‘She is very nice, isn't she?’ And again the warm flow of a warm current through every part of my being. Baba said had we been earlier, we would have experienced His loving phase, now He was in His working phase. But I was so blissfully happy by now, that I couldn’t imagine anything more satisfying. Ena had asked about smoking. She said she smoked ten a day. Then Baba asked Clarice, How many do you smoke? Clarice said she smoked forty a day. It’s too much, said Baba. One of Baba’s mandali said, that is only four more than the other girl, having misheard what Clarice said, as fourteen. Baba knew what she had said, but she hastily repeated that it was forty. Baba later sent one of His mandali to her to make clear that He was giving no instruction to her regarding smoking. At one stage, Baba asked Clarice about her health, how was she feeling? She told Him about her festering arm and the feverishness caused by the vaccination. He gave her a rose petal to eat and told her not to worry, that she would be alright. That evening at the hotel, Ena decided to rebandage Clarice’s badly festering arm, and after she removed the bandage they were both amazed to find that not a mark remained where the arm had been festering, also Clarice then realized that her fever had gone. Clarice’s elder son, Noel, had sent his much prized stamp collection as a gift to Baba and Baba accepted this. Later it was returned by post as a gift from Baba to Noel — more stamps and Baba’s signature having been added. Colin, her younger son, had sent a sweet dispenser which was his idea of what Baba would like. Baba played with this and dispensed some sweets. Her daughter Cynthia had made some handcrafted object for Baba. On the second day Baba gave Clarice a message to take back to Australia, she wrote it down that night at the hotel: First point. Be happy in any condition and don’t worry about anything. If t h e whole world rocks, don’t rock with it. And particularly don't worry

Two Ladies Visit India and Bring Back a Message. 15 about

thoughts.

If

you

want

to

alter

anything

start

with

actions.

Why?

Because thoughts belong to the m ental w orld and you have no control over them unless you are established in the mental plane. But you can control your a c t i o n s . F o r example, Clarice, you are married and you may love another man. That’s alright; d o n ’ t w o r r y a b o u t i t a t a l l . B u t d o n ’ t a c t l o v e e x c e p t with your husband. S e c o n d p o i n t — s t r e s s e d a s m o s t i m p o r t a n t . D o n ’ t p o s e . F o r e x a m p l e , when you return and someone asks you about Baba. If you think I am Avatar — say it. And if you think, perhaps He could be, but I am not sure, one day I think so, one day I do not — then say that. The feeling conveyed is that the importance lies in knowing and expressing exactly what you yourself think, and apply this principle to everything. Just don’t pose! Earlier

Baba

said,

Hypocrisy

is

the

unforgivable

sin,

even

God

cannot

forgive it. He is willing to, but He can’t get through, because we wrap ourselves in these veils of hypocrisy and posing. Third point. Repeat Baba’s name aloud every day for not less than half an hour and not more than an hour. Clarice said, ‘Another recollection is of my surprise when Baba told me not to put the Australian group and it’s activities first. He wished me to look after Stan and the children. Second to that I could co-operate with Francis if I wished. I couldn’t even picture Stan needing or allowing anyone to look after him, but fifteen years later he was in need of constant attention. This I was happy to give anyway, but it was an extra bonus to be able to think of it as Baba’s wish.’ ‘When I was leaving, I was called back and Eruch said, “Clarice, Baba says,‘Be Happy’’’and it was a happiness I had never before experienced. It depended on nothing and required no special environment. Although the intensity faded, I know surely that such happiness is possible. However, it has taken me 21 years to realize that it is also an instruction and I am disobeying Baba when I allow pain, sadness and at times even trivial things to make me unhappy. Before going to India I occasionally experienced black moods and jealousy. I had been home for months before I realized that they were gone and never recurred with the previous intensity.’ Ena said she was greatly impressed by Baba’s close people and decided that if that was the way people attached to Baba turned out, it suited her because she would like to be like them. Baba told them to go to Australia and ‘Give my love to my lovers — I am with you and I will be coming with you.’ When their visit with Meher Baba was over, Clarice was able to return home by air, because she had a return ticket. However, Ena had travelled to India by ship and had hoped to return by ship, but on inquiry there was no ship available, so she had to wait until Meherjee could book a flight for her. She had plenty of time to meet some of Baba’s people in Bombay, and also time to talk with Meherjee. Meherjee mentioned about Baba’s intended visit to the United States which was due in July and that He was coming back to India via Honolulu and the Pacific. Ena said, ‘That’s coming in the direction of Australia?’

16 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Meherjee, almost as if he had been waiting to hear it, said, ‘Call him! Call him!’ (Invite him). Ena felt, this is incredible, unbelievable, ‘Call Baba.’ As she looked upon Francis Brabazon as being Baba’s representative in Australia, she thought that the fair thing to do would be to put the situation in his hands when she returned home and this is what she did.

C H A P T E R

3

Decision to Visit Australia. Ena Lemmon arrived back in Australia on Meher Baba’s birthday, 25th February 1956, while group members were preparing for a celebration at Beacon Hill. She told Francis Brabazon of her wish to invite Meher Baba to Australia, on His return journey to India from America. She was deeply shocked when she found that Francis did not want to ask Baba to visit Australia. His philosophy was never to ask the Master to do anything. The Master knows all, when Australia is ready for the Master’s visit and when the Master is ready, the Master will decide, it will happen. Even although he dearly wanted Meher Baba to come to Australia and indeed was hewing rock with his own hands to build a house for Baba’s longed-for visit, yet he would not ask Meher Baba to come to Australia, because Baba would know the best time to come. He believed that the Master knows what is needed and indeed gives what is needed when the time is ready, if one asks for something and the Master gives it because it is asked for, it does not have the same effect as when the Master decides for himself. Francis was very sincere in this belief, and he had great faith in Meher Baba. Ena was very disappointed with Francis’ attitude, thinking that it would be a great opportunity missed. She returned to her home in Melbourne and when she told some of the Melbourne people about the possibility of Meher Baba’s visit, there was a tremendous response. One person, May Lundquist, even went so far as to say that she would pay the fares of Baba and the mandali accompanying him. She was not a person of means, she had worked hard for the money, but she had met Meher Baba previously in London in 1952, and she knew the enormous value to any spiritual seeker of meeting Meher Baba personally. In Sufism it was taught that a moment’s meditation is worth a hundred years of prayers, and a moment in the presence of the Master is worth a hundred years of meditation. Other people also, offered to give money towards the fares if necessary. So, after much soul searching, because even Meher Baba’s own mandali had encouraged her to invite Him, Ena decided to invite Meher Baba to Australia herself, and this she subsequently did. Meher Baba was in seclusion, and when His sister Mani conveyed to him Ena’s deep felt wish for Him to come to Australia in July, He agreed to come. However, He emphasized that Francis must first be considered and it should all be arranged in complete co-operation and love between all Baba groups and lovers in Australia. This made it impossible for Francis to remain silent on this issue, so he wrote to Baba advising of his position, and he also sent a letter to all his fellow-aspirants-in-Baba in Australia, asking them to fully consider the matter and to ask themselves and discuss, ‘Am I (are we) satisfied with Ena’s request to Baba along the lines of, “We recognize and are grateful for your kindness Baba in agreeing to come to Australia in July, but we wish you to put aside that request and leave it entirely to you to come when you yourself wish to come,” or something similar.’ After this had stirred up a lot of discussion, and everyone had thought about the matter seriously. Francis received a letter from Mani, containing the following information: ‘Baba knows that whatever was suggested by you was done in your deep understanding and love for him. Your attitude of reluctance of Baba’s accepting to come to Australia on being asked to do so was quite correct. On the other hand you must also understand that it had been done in LOVE and enthusiasm only. So everything that happened was right

18 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. and for the best — as Baba wanted it to be. And now it is entirely of His own wish that Baba visits Australia.’ Here is part of a letter sent by Mani to both Francis and Ena and for all in Australia: Satara 18th April 1956 ‘This letter I feel clarifies everything. The slate must be wiped clean. The Melbourne groups must work willingly and lovingly with Francis and Francis must work willingly and lovingly with the Melbourne groups. Loving Baba is easy, but following Him is not always that, and these little tests and obstacles are Baba’s way of measuring our love for Him. Whenever there has been a disagreement over something amongst us in the ashram, and while hurt feelings have been at their highest pitch Baba (with a flick of His beautiful fingers) asks us to “forget” it all and embrace — a terribly difficult thing to do at the time, but possible when we love Him, and oh so easy once it’s done. Let us all then, all groups and individuals, in His Dear Name and Love, embrace and forget all except that BABA IS COMING.’ From this time on, all the groups and Francis worked together harmoniously, because in spite of their differences, they all wanted to obey Baba. Now that it was known that Meher Baba was definitely coming to Australia, work on the house was stepped-up with a stonemason and other tradesmen being employed as required. Also with people from the group helping wherever possible with any jobs that they were able to do. Francis had written a play called “The Quest.”1 It seemed to me that it was Francis’ autobiography. It had not yet been published, but it was the story of a seeker, searching for and finding, the Reality of Life, which was Meher Baba. The main speaking part was the part of the seeker, then another long part was performed by the chorus and there were about seven additional small speaking parts. Francis played the part of the seeker. The chorus consisted of Joan Le page, Lorna Rouse and Frances Lee. The minor parts were rehearsed by any one of a number of us who happened to be available on the night. Everyone had their own allotted part, but during rehearsals we took any minor part required, with the result that we knew all the minor parts. Outside there were working bee’s to get the place finished in time. Even loads of filling were bought to fill the wheel tracks and pot holes in the dirt road that was Kalianna Crescent. Frances Lee had painted a large mural depicting the story of creation and this was installed in the big room. There was a large sign, also painted by Frances Lee, erected high up on the front of the house reading: WELCOME MEHER BABA. Earlier, in February 1956, I had received a circular from Clarice Adams mentioning her recent meeting with Meher Baba in India and giving me the message that He had given for the people of Australia, which included the following: ‘R epeat B aba’s nam e aloud for a fixed tim e daily i.e., half an hour to one hour — now there is no love in that, no value at all in repetition. But in this case it will bring love, because I tell you to do it.’ I decided to carry out this instruction, but so that it wouldn’t interfere with other family members, I decided that whenever possible, I would do it in my car while travelling to or from work. The quickest time that I could get to work was in thirty-five minutes, but it frequently took longer. I decided that the time for the repetition should be thirty-three minutes. So, from then on I repeated Baba’s name for thirty-three minutes every day —usually in my car. A few days before Meher Baba’s arrival in Australia, I was driving home from work, when I was stopped by a policeman on a motor cycle in Redfern, and told that my car number

Decision to Visit Australia. 19 plates were stone damaged and to change them. I called in at the Motor Registry Office at Manly, on my way home, surrendered my old plates, and was issued with a new set of plates. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the number — it was BAB-421. In those days the number plates were only issued with 3 letters and 3 figures and I couldn’t have had anything closer to a ‘BABA’ number plate if I had tried. The addition of the numbers on the number plate came to seven. I was asked by other people, how did you obtain your ‘BABA’ number plate? They thought that I had gone to some special effort to get that particular number plate. And maybe unconsciously I had — I had repeated his name in my car for thirty-three minutes every day, for months. I thought that I was the only one who knew about this, but apparently not. He was to show by His response in so many different ways, that He really did know what was going on at great distances from Him. The book God Speaks, The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose by Meher Baba, was published by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, in 1955. After Meher Baba decided to visit Australia we were set the goal of selling 100 copies before His arrival. We reached the goal. We actually sold 107 copies before He arrived. To those who attended his Saturday night talks, Francis Brabazon had always stressed the importance to a country of having the living Avatar set foot on the soil of that country. There is no record in history of this previously ever having happened in Australia. Shortly before Meher Baba was due to arrive in Australia Francis read to us a poem that he had composed to commemorate this much longed-for event in our lives and this important event in the history of the nation. He also had copies of this poem printed ‘in commemoration of the visit of Shri Meher Baba to Australia in August 1956’. A copy of this poem is included here:

NOW HAS COME THE MOMENT OF JOY. Now has come the moment of joy in this land, The moment it has waited in woman-waiting through the ages, The moment of BABA and the touch of His feet on her earth, And the rivers of His silent Word to her thirsty lips and the cry of her soul.

Now has come the moment of joy in our hearts, And the leaping in dance of our souls in the steps of His feet, And the breaking of bonds of our hearts, and our heart’s breaking Into laughter of flowers of love and greatfullness, And our soul’s surge no less than the ocean in the direction of His glory and human-ness.

20 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

Now will begin our history: Of the withholding of the axeman’s hand from the axe And the mad career of our senses after a vanishing wish And the rivers of their waters to the sea: A converting of the blow to the opening of areas and districts in the heart, A reducing of the senses to the sense and the scent of the soul, A channelling of the waters for the wheat-fields and orchards of God. The books of this history will tell the stories Of obscure men and women lost of all else but love, and in love well lost. Of heroes of pastures and crops, and farmers on wide seas storm tossed, Of adventurers who work at a bench And housewives who go forth with shopping baskets to find God. But now is not the history, but the moment ... The moment of God and His advent in this Land of Australia: The touch of His feet on this earth, and the breath of His Word on the breeze and in the breath of our lives; The moment long waited, the moment of joy and apprehension ... When each one ... when each leaf and piece of earth and stone On whom and on which falls His glance, Must decide the issue of surrendrance, and lay down that much of his life as he will. Francis Brabazon

CHAPTER

4

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. Meher Baba first arrived in Australia, at Sydney Airport at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday, 9th August, 1956. The Pan American Strato-cruiser from Honolulu carrying Him had parked at the terminal. A few lucky people on an upstairs balcony of the overseas terminal had seen Him and His four disciples disembark from the aircraft. He waved as he walked across the tarmac and then entered the customs area to await the arrival of the baggage from the aircraft and to obtain clearance through customs. The public area outside customs was very crowded as usual when overseas aircraft arrive. People were milling around until their friends or relatives passed through customs and entered the public waiting area to join them. A group of people from Melbourne, eager to meet Meher Baba, had arrived a short time earlier and remained at the airport to greet Him. Most of the Sydney group, with the exception of the ones who were there to transport Meher Baba and His disciples, were waiting at Beacon Hill for His arrival there. Some of the Baba people were getting lost and separated from each other in the very large crowd. Francis Brabazon was trying unsuccessfully to keep them all together and to get them closer to the door where Baba would soon enter from the customs area. The scene was rather chaotic. However, the moment that Meher Baba appeared, an aisle was formed. He walked down the middle of this aisle, stroking a chin here, patting a face there, touching one on the shoulder. Although He had not previously seen most of the people who were there to meet Him in that huge crowd, He touched every one of them, even when they were not in the front row. Yet He didn’t touch any person who was not there to meet him. I could not help noticing this happen. I knew the people concerned, but I marvelled how He knew who they were and which ones to touch. Accompanying Meher Baba were four of His mandali. They were Adi K. Irani, Eruch Jessawala, Meherjee Karkaria and Dr Nilkanth Godse, usually known as Dr Nilu. While we were collecting the baggage and taking it to the waiting cars, Meher Baba gave a short newspaper interview, with Adi K. Irani interpreting his gestures. A story and a photograph of Meher Baba were published in the Sydney Daily Telegraph the next day. Then Meher Baba and the mandali departed from the airport in various cars for the house at Beacon Hill where they were to stay while they were in Sydney. Sydney Airport is about six miles south of Sydney Harbour and Beacon Hill is about twelve miles north of it. I had collected some of the party’s baggage at the airport and was now driving to Beacon Hill alone. I had first heard of Meher Baba about two years before this time and now I had seen Him, He had touched me, and very soon we would be together for a few days. I had been interested in finding a living Spiritual Master for about ten years. The thought had sometimes crossed my mind — how does one tell the difference between a genuine Spiritual Master and a fake? I had come to the conclusion that one would have to use one’s own judgement when the time came. Now, for me, that time had come. Now after having met a Spiritual Master I could not help wondering if He was genuine or not. To know this was very important to me, because sooner or later I would have to pledge obedience to Him. And in doing so I would be risking my life, because the degree of obedience required is in the order of Abraham’s obedience to God as described in the Bible. Meher Baba did not claim to be just a Seventh Plane Master, but claimed to be the Avatar or Christ of the Age. The only Avatar or Christ that I had even a moderate amount of knowledge

22 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. about was Jesus the Christ. So I used Jesus as a yard stick to gauge the height of Meher Baba. I thought that if Baba was Jesus, He would know what I was thinking. I had gathered this from the Bible, from some of the occurrences described in the New Testament. Meher Baba had said in one of His discourses that it is quite in order for an aspirant to test the Master. So I thought, ‘What are the attributes of God?’ I decided that they were TRUTH and LOVE. I also decided to find out if Baba knew what I was thinking. At that very moment I was at the end of Clarence Street nearing the southern approach of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Just then, I was surprised to see Meher Baba sitting in a car which was about thirty feet ahead of me, in the lane next to mine, with no other cars between us. This was the first time that I had sighted him since leaving the airport. Now here was my opportunity to see if He knew what I was thinking. I thought, ‘Meher Baba is TRUTH!’ Baba partly turned around, looked directly at me and gave me His sign of perfection, by forming a circle with the index finger and thumb of His right hand. I was surprised that He had apparently immediately responded to my thought. However, it may have been a coincidence I told myself. Maybe someone else in the car had seen me, mentioned it to Him, and He was just waving. A moment later He had His back to me again and was looking ahead. I tried once more. I thought, ‘Meher Baba is LOVE!’ The same thing happened again, Baba partly turned around and gave me His sign of perfection. I received quite a shock this time, because He seemed to be acknowledging my thoughts immediately I had them. I still thought that it could be a coincidence, but this was becoming far less likely now, because each response was so precisely on cue. I was intrigued and my heart started to beat faster. Baba had resumed His normal sitting position and was looking ahead. I braced myself, took a tighter grip on the steering wheel and then with full concentration I thought: ‘Meher Baba is GOD!’ Baba completely turned around, looked directly at me and emphatically gave me the sign of perfection, with His index finger and thumb forming a circle. I was stunned. A most incredible thing had just happened. He had taken up my silent challenge and had silently passed all the tests that I had given him. We weren’t even in the same room or the same car, He was within my sight, but most of the time He was not looking at me. In one way it didn’t seem possible, but then if He was the Avatar or Christ as He claimed to be, anything was possible. I now felt sure that He knew what I was thinking. I recalled that in the book “God Speaks” dictated by Meher Baba, He had indicated that the Perfect Masters and the Avatar do not have ordinary minds, but have a universal mind which contains all the other minds in the world. If this was so, it would be easy for Him to know what anyone was thinking. After crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge I lost contact with Meher Baba’s car. Then I realized that I had taken a different route. I was proceeding via the Spit Bridge, while Baba must have been taken via Northbridge and Roseville Bridge. The two routes meet up again at a place known as the Blinking Light in Frenchs Forest, where there was an amber light suspended above the intersection of the two roads, and it continually flashed an amber warning in all directions. On the route that I had taken there was hardly any traffic, so I decided that I would try to race Him to the Blinking Light. I was going very fast, doing about sixty or seventy miles per hour from Seaforth to Frenchs Forest. I was just approaching the Blinking Light — slowing down to make a right hand turn, when Baba’s car sped past ahead

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 23 of me. I was later to realize that one couldn't race Him or beat Him at anything, unless He wanted it so. Meanwhile at Beacon Hill everyone who had not been required at the airport to transport Meher Baba and His mandali, had been told by Francis Brabazon that when Baba arrived, to wait in a nearby shed until called to meet Him, ‘and there are not to be peering faces at the windows!’ Lorna Rouse was in the kitchen preparing the first evening meal for Baba and His mandali. She had been given strict instructions by Francis to keep the food piping hot. When Baba arrived in the car she was in the kitchen. She said that her first contact with Baba was a look. He got out of the car, frowned and gave a sharp look over to the window. She was looking through the kitchen window at Him. She felt that she had been trapped in the kitchen. She said that Baba looked at her for a couple of seconds then turned away. Meanwhile, all the people that had been in the shed, were coming up and forming a queue. Francis had told Lorna to stay in the kitchen, because Baba’s routine was not known. Did we serve Him with food, or what would happen? As it turned out the mandali served Him, but we did not know that then. When Lorna saw all the other people queuing up to meet Baba, she made a decision to turn down all the gas jets and go out to join the queue. Baba stood on a flat rock that was slightly raised, everyone filed past, they were individually introduced to Him, and He embraced each one. When Gladys Hewitt was introduced, she started to weep uncontrollably and she couldn’t stop. May Lundquist recalled that the same thing happened to her in London when she first met Meher Baba in 1952, she said, ‘I started to weep straight away — I just couldn’t stop.’ Grace Swan later said that after she had received Meher Baba’s embrace, for her there was no doubt of His Divinity. It was as though she saw Christ, so she knelt and folded her hands before Him. These people who had just met and been embraced by Meher Baba, were from a group in Sydney, a group in Melbourne, and one person each from the cities of Canberra — 200 miles south, Newcastle — 100 miles north and Armidale — 400 miles north of Sydney. It was starting to get dark now and the street lights had been turned on. It was about 5:30 p.m. and it was wintertime. Most of us didn’t see any more of Meher Baba that night. We were told to be ready the next morning at nine o’clock ‘Baba Time.’ When Baba entered the house He admired the pink carnations that Grace Swan had arranged for Him. All the lights in the house were switched on. Soon after entering the house Baba sent for Francis and told him, He didn’t want light coming into the room from the outside. Some light was coming through a very high window from a street light. A piece of material was quickly obtained and used as a curtain for the window. All the people who stayed on the property at Beacon Hill except Meher Baba and his mandali, ate their meals in the shed, and all the cooking, even for Baba and the mandali, was done in this shed after the first evening meal on Thursday. The whole house was made available exclusively for Baba and his mandali. Loma Rouse had cooked the first meal of curried vegetables and rice, also included in this meal were preserved mangoes. She remembers Bill Le Page coming down to the shed and saying to her, ‘You have just become famous, the mandali are heaping their plates with food.’ Francis Brabazon had told us that it would be better for us to be as close as possible to Baba while He was there. I only lived about half a mile away, but I stayed on the property in a tent during His visit. The land sloped away on the western side of the house, and tents had been erected there to accommodate the men. To the north of the house there was a big shed in

24 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. which bunks had been built to accommodate some of the women. Joan Le Page and the children had a tent near the shed. There were more women than men, and there was not enough accommodation on the property for all the women. May Lundquest and Beryl Giddins, stayed at our home at 106 Alfred Street, Narraweena; Marj Donaldson, Dianna Snow and Grace Swan, stayed at Frances Lee’s home at 58 Tristram Road, Beacon Hill. Both of these homes were within half a mile of 12 Kalianna Crescent, Beacon Hill, where Meher Baba was staying. It was rather cold in the tents, because they were exposed to the westerly wind from the Blue Mountains — the prevailing wind at this time of the year. There were four beds in each tent. My bed was next to the flap on the right hand side of the tent. In the night while I was asleep, I felt a slight touch on my shoulder. I was a light sleeper and I awoke immediately. I didn’t know what it was, so I opened my eyes and I saw a silhouette of a person moving, it seemed to go through the wall of the tent and then I couldn’t see it any more. I felt a great weight across my chest, it was very heavy. I suddenly realized that I had experienced this before, when I had polio as a child of five. It was like a nightmare then. At that time I had a very high fever and I thought that there were big heavy logs of wood across my chest. I felt the same thing again now. I realized that these great heavy ‘logs of wood’ were my arms. But whereas they normally felt quite light, now they felt oppressively heavy. It was as though I was inside my physical body, but that the physical body was not really me. I felt fully conscious and inside my body, yet separate from it, and it seemed very heavy. I could think quite clearly and I thought that if I moved an arm for instance that my consciousness would snap back to normal and that I would not necessarily be able to return to this state. I associated this present state of consciousness with the shadowy figure that had apparently touched or bumped my shoulder. I thought that I will just stay like this... stay very still and figure it out... think about it... it really was my arms there, I thought. I didn’t move, I just thought about it for a while. After what seemed to be about five minutes, I decided to move, and as soon as I moved one of my arms, it was like a switch being thrown — my body felt normal again — the tremendous weight of my arms had disappeared. On the next morning, Friday 10th August, Baba summoned Francis Brabazon and asked him for an account of the work done there. He then told Francis the reasons for his visit, they were:

1.

To sow the seed of his Love in this country.

2.

To visit and stay in the house we had built for Him.

3.

To gather into His Love those of us who loved Him a little and had done a little work for Him. Clarice Adams had flown from Melbourne to Sydney to be with Meher Baba again. She had met

Him earlier in the year in India. Before the general meeting Baba sent for Clarice. Later Clarice described what happened, she said, Baba asked me what were the arrangements for Melbourne — we had a committee in Melbourne. I would tell Baba the arrangements, then I’d go off and Baba would send for me again and ask the same question. Curiously, each time Francis would try to help me. Baba would say, ‘It is nothing to do with you

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 25 Francis, I am just asking Clarice to tell me again the arrangements for Melbourne.’ ‘The third time that I was called, I thought, “You have asked me that three times.” Immediately Baba said, “I might ask you seven times.”

Perhaps I wasn’t smart to have let that thought

come or I might have had a lot more call-ups and contact with Baba.’ Then Baba called in the children, half an hour before the adults. They saw Eruch comb Baba’s hair. He saved all the combings. They were there also while Baba’s face and neck were washed. Then He played games with them for the rest of the time. The adults were called in at a quarter to nine, which was nine o’clock ‘Baba Time.’ I found out later that Baba often did this sort of thing to discipline people and keep them alert. He usually nominated a time and then as that time approached He would make it earlier. One always had to be thinking about Him and be prepared to put anything associated with Him first in one’s life, or one would tend to be shaken off by Him. We all went into the big room where Baba was seated on a divan in front of a big window. Each person was introduced by name and Baba embraced each one. Then we all sat on the floor, in front of Him. When Robert and Lorna Rouse were introduced, He asked them did they have any children. Francis said, ‘One, soon,’ and then Baba asked when the baby was to be born. When we were all seated, Baba told us that it was our love that had brought Him here for this Sahavas. ‘Sahavas! What is a Sahavas?’ He asked. Then he explained that a Sahavas was the intimate sharing of company between a Master and his lovers. He said, ‘It is like the members of one family mingling together. But my staying with you and your staying with me, do not mean the same thing. For ages and ages I have been c l o s e r t o y o u t h a n y o u f e e l y o u r v e r y s e l f t o b e . N o w t h i s i s y o u r opportunity to be with me f o r a f e w d a y s a n d t o c o m e c l o s e r a n d c l o s e r t o me, for all time.’ He added that all the things that he would say to us, might not always be pleasant. He was like the elder member of the family, and sometimes He might have to scold us. He told us always to be there mentally, as well as physically, because if we were thinking about a problem at home or at work, while sitting before Him with our arms folded, we were sitting with our arms folded before that problem and not before Him. He said that it was very important to be there mentally as well as physically. Then He said that we should always pay attention, be alert and not become drowsy while listening to Him. Although we mightn’t understand all the things that He had to say to us now, the things that he would say, would never be said in vain, and that someday we would understand them. He told us that He was the Ancient One. That He was the same one that was Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Mohammed and now, He was Meher Baba. His body was just like a coat that He puts on when He comes to visit us. Although He came again and again, He always gave the same message to humanity, and although it was expressed differently, in a different language, at a different place, it was always the same message. He said that humanity at large did not accept Him when He was in their midst in the physical body. It was only a few that accepted Him then, most of humanity rejected Him. It had to be that way, because He had come to suffer for humanity. Then He spoke about creation. How originally there was nothing but God, in the beyond-beyond state of God. In that state, God was unconscious of Himself. We couldn’t understand that state of God. There was another state of God that we could understand more

26 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. easily — God in the beyond state, in which state God was like an infinite ocean, unconscious of Himself. In this state, God had the ‘Original Whim’, to ask Himself, ‘Who am I?’ It was like a surge going through the still ocean, which formed bubbles from the droplets in the ocean. The most rudimentary consciousness was formed, but instead of becoming conscious of the ocean and unity, it became conscious of the form of the droplet or bubble and experienced a feeling of individuality, separateness and limitation. He said that he would make the starting point stone. It really started before that, it started back in the gaseous state, it goes back and back until we can’t understand it. However, the part that we can understand most easily, is from the form of stone onwards. Then he explained that in the evolution of consciousness it became necessary to have sanskaras, or impressions, for consciousness to evolve. In evolving higher and higher, the consciousness gets increasingly bound by sanskaras, until eventually in the human state, full consciousness is reached with it’s strong sanskaras bindings, which limit the consciousness. He said that in the human state there is full consciousness, but it is bound by a circumference of sanskaras or impressions and it requires millions of reincarnations in human form, which act like shakings, to gradually loosen the tight grip of the sanskaras on the consciousness. Then there is the process of involution, where the sanskaras are unwound and their grip on the consciousness becomes weaker and weaker as they are unwound. He explained that the first to the fourth inner planes are the subtle planes — the planes of energy. The fifth and sixth planes are the mental planes, the planes of mind, and the seventh plane is the plane of God-realization. Where the original question of ‘Who am I?’ is answered with, ‘I am God.’ He said that a Master-of-the-path could take one up to the fifth or even the sixth plane. However, to cross the great chasm between the sixth and seventh plane, needed the help of someone on the seventh plane, either a Perfect Master or the Avatar. He said that a Perfect Master could make a limited number of souls perfect, but there was no limit to the number of souls that the Avatar could make perfect. There was no difference between them in consciousness and power, but there was a big difference in the authority to use that power. Baba then explained that there were many different ways to reach God and they all get there eventually, but there is a great time difference between them. It is like the time taken by different trains to reach their final destination. Some trains stop at every station, taking on and putting off goods and passengers. These are the very slow trains. Other trains only stop at major stations, to set down or to pick up passengers. These trains are faster. Then there is the express train, which goes direct to the destination without stopping. This is the quickest way to get to the destination. Baba said that he was like the express train going direct to the destination. If we hooked our carriage onto him, he would take us direct to the destination in the shortest possible time. It didn’t matter if it was a carriage of gold or a carriage of shit, if it is hooked onto him, he will take it to the destination in the quickest possible time. He seemed to be emphasizing that it didn’t matter what we were when we came to him, the important thing was to hold onto him and not let go. At this time Baba was communicating by hand gestures, he had ceased using the alphabet board in 1954. One could be excused for thinking that Baba’s silence, i.e., literally not speaking, would seriously impede his communications, but this was not so. From the viewpoint of the listener, Baba’s communications were more eloquent because he did not speak, than had he spoken. Because as well as hearing the message spoken by one of his mandali, the listener could also see Baba’s marvelous hand and facial gestures, which slowed down

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 27 the message. Because the message was given slowly and visually as well as orally, one had the opportunity of absorbing it more deeply. It was like receiving truth from the source of truth, and it had the force of truth. It was a very moving experience. Although Baba’s method of communicating made it easier for the listener, initially it must have made it extremely difficult for His mandali. They needed to concentrate intently on His eye and facial expressions and His hand gestures. If they could not get His meaning from His ‘gesture shorthand’ they had to go through the letters of the alphabet to spell out each letter of each word. With practice, the mandali became expert at concentrating upon Him, and reading His gestures. Sometimes during Meher Baba’s discourses, I would be moved to tears. One time when I was sitting in front of Him, I glanced behind me, first to the right and then to the left, and everybody that I saw was weeping. Then I looked up at Eruch, who was interpreting Baba’s gestures and there were tears trickling down his cheeks as he spoke the words. He must have interpreted these discourses many times and yet he was still moved to tears. I wondered why I wept. I came to the conclusion that I wept for the rest of humanity that could not be there, to experience what I was experiencing. When I told other people about Meher Baba they just thought I was mad. At that time I felt so inadequate to convey to them what He had conveyed to me. Baba said that although we were seeing His body, we were not seeing His Reality. He said that in India one of His mandali sees Baba, as Baba is to be seen. He is called Kaikobad. He repeats Meher Baba’s name silently, one hundred thousand times daily. At first when he saw a glimpse of Baba’s Reality, he experienced such bliss that he almost dropped the body, but now he can see glimpses of Baba’s Reality whenever he wishes. Then even a dark room lights up with a brilliance brighter than the sun. Then in that light, he sees Baba. Baba said that this is no miracle performed by Him. He cannot do it himself. But he knows that he is everywhere and in everything. Despite all this, Kaikobad has not yet realized God. He is on the path and he must go on. The mandali present confirmed that at a recent Sahavas in India, Kaikobad stood up and had affirmed that what Baba now said was true. I felt sure that Baba could read my mind after the incident in the car and in the light of His teaching, that the Avatar has a universal mind, which contains all the other minds in the world. When I was sitting in front of Him while He was giving a discourse, I tested my theory. If I thought about something mundane, such as, ‘Baba is wearing a pink coat’ which He was, He would ignore it completely. But if I thought about something that was spiritually significant, He would always acknowledge it with an instantaneous flash of His eyes. Such thoughts as, ‘Baba is Love,’ ‘Baba is Truth’ and ‘Baba is God,’ He would acknowledge immediately with His eyes and so quickly that I don’t think that anyone could imitate him. I certainly cannot give such a quick glance. Yet He would never miss doing this, even while He was in the middle of an involved explanation on a completely different subject. Baba said that it was necessary to have His Grace in order to become God-realized. Then He asked how could one get His Grace? He explained that there was enough Grace around Him all the time to make everyone God-realized, but that people could not receive His Grace. Their hearts were full of other things, other desires, and there was no room for His Grace in their hearts. What was needed was that people should empty the vessel of their heart in order to be able to receive His Grace. Baba then gave the following three discourses:

28 Practical Spirituality with MeherBaba. Love. There are volumes of books written on love, but they cannot give you love. Love only wants to give itself. It does not want anything for itself. It only wants to give. Now you have a wife and you love her very much — you want to possess her for yourself. It is a great love you have for her — you do not want to be separated from her for a moment. You feel lost if she even talks to someone else. But this craving for possession breeds jealousy and fear. You do not look for your wife’s happiness, but only towards your own selfishness. Now in the Divine Love of which we were speaking, there are two stages o f l o v i n g . I n t h e f i r s t s t a g e t h e r e i s l o n g i n g f o r t h e o n e n e s s w i t h t h e Beloved, and of course, in that there is craving — he wants to become one with God. He wants God. Union with God. But in the next stage he does not w a n t a n y t h i n g o f h i s B e lo v e d . H e f e e ls s a t i s f i e d i n p le a s i n g t h e B e lo v e d under all circumstances. Only that can be called Real Love. In the so-called love, abiding happiness is not to be found — there is only happiness and misery.1

Worry. Don’t worry. Worry accumulates and grows in strength, becomes a habit long after the original cause has ceased to be. After asking one his age, He said: When you were young this and that happened, you cried, felt sad and worry began. Now after fifty years you still worry, although the time when worry began in you is gone. If another fifty years passes, you could at the end of that time be still worrying about something which was happening now. It is crazy. You worry about some condition, yet you have experienced all conditions; y o u h a v e b e e n b l i n d , s i c k , p o o r , o l d , y o u n g , b e a u t i f u l , u g l y . Y o u w o r r y about your children, yet you have had numberless children and they have had numberless parents and children. You worry about your job, yet you have been in every sort of occupation. You worry about your wife, yet you have had so many wives. You have been everything and experienced all conditions and yet you worry about the slightest thing that happens to you. Everything emanates from me, but is not real. If you were dreaming and I appeared in your dream and told you, ‘You are dreaming, it is not real.’ You w ould say, ‘Baba, I am en joyin g th ese th in gs, I kn ow th ey are real.’ It is hard to understand. In your awake dream I tell you now, nothing is real, so don’t worry. How to stop? — THINK OF ME. LOVE ME. Christ said w ith D ivine Authority, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ I say w ith Divine Authority, ‘Love me and your worries will vanish.’ Reality is impossible to describe, it is difficult to attain. One in a million bec o m e s a l o v e r o f G o d , a n d o f a m i l l i o n l o v e r s , o n e g e t s r e a l i z a t i o n . I t sounds impossible, yet you have an opportunity because I am here with you and I say — LOVE ME.2

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 29 Two Types of Ego. There are two types of ego. One, the false ego, has enumerable wants and d e s i r e s . I t s a y s , I a m a m a n , I w a n t t h i s . I a m a w o m a n , I w a n t t h a t . I a m sick, I have a pain. A ll this goes under the false ego. E very tim e one w ants s o m e t h i n g . I want to be happy — it is always this ‘I’. I am happy. My wife does not love me. I a m v e r y r i c h . I a m v e r y p o o r . I t i s a l w a y s ‘I ’. B u t w h e n t h i s ‘ I ’ i s a n n i h i l a t e d , t h e n a t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t a k e s p l a c e . T h e f a l s e ‘ I ’ i s replaced with the Real ‘I’. Then the experience — I am free from desires and w a n t i n g , i s g a i n e d . I a m I n f i n i t e — I a m o n e w i t h G o d — I a m o n e w i t h Christ — that is the Real Ego. One

may

assert

‘I

am

God,’

because

he

has

read

and

understood

intellectually that there is nothing but God. But this assertion, I am God, f a l l s d o w n b e c a u s e h e a n d h i s m i n d a r e n o t u n i t e d , a r e n o t o n e . T h i s assertion is due to having thought. Thinking is there. That means that duality i s t h e r e . T h e r e i s n o d i r e c t e x p e r i e n c e t h e r e , b u t h e e x p e r i e n c e s a n i d e a o f unity through his understanding of the oneness of God. Therefore, this is not Real Experience and is not the Real Ego. There cannot be any compromise. There is only one, ONE. One has to become One, with GOD. You cannot be a man of the world and at the same time become One with God. If

you

have

realized

God

within

you, and

we

know

that

God

is

all

powerful, then you must also be all powerful. Why then do you feel so helpless? What is the cause of this helplessness? I remain the same Eternal O n e and am in all. Therefore, you all are God and yet you feel so helpless. Why is this? It is because there is a sort of veil, that veils you from God. You yourself a r e t h e v e i l , a n d i t i s n o t p o s s i b l e f o r y o u t o l i f t i t — t h i s v e i l which is yourself. Your eyes which are quite small, can see a vast panorama and all the objects contained in it, but they cannot see themselves. To see themselves a m i r r o r i s r e q u i r e d . S o , w h e n t h e m i r r o r o f m y G r a c e d e s c e n d s , y o u r o w n True Self is revealed in an instant. B ut how can you obtain m y G race? It is very difficult.

Only

one

in

a

million

can

have

that.

You

must

drown

yourself

c o m p l e t e l y i n t h e o c e a n o f m y l o v e , t h e n y o u w i l l f i n d m y G r a c e t h e r e . I f you can n ot bear to drow n yourself, then there is com prom ise. There can be no compromise if you want me.3 Baba said that there was a serious decision that each of us must make. Did we wish him to be our Master? Was that what we really wanted? He said that it would be all right if we wanted to live in the world and be worldly, and not have him as our Master. There was no value in trying to follow him unless that is what we really wanted to do. To love and serve him, and be willing to obey him. Then Baba said, ‘Who is willing to Love Me?’ Most people raised their hand. I raised mine. I knew that this meant obedience. I knew that I could be risking my life by indicating, ‘Yes.’ But how was I ever going to find out, if I did not take a chance. If I said ‘No,’ I would not be allowed access to Meher Baba’s Presence and that now seemed unthinkable. The only way was to take the risk. I had risked my life before — in a war. It seemed much more worthwhile to risk it now to find out about God.

30 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

Baba asked one person why he hadn’t raised his hand. This person said that he felt i n a d e q u a t e t o l o v e B a b a . B a b a s a i d , ‘ D o y o u l o v e m e e n o u g h t o t h r o w y o u r children into the ocean, if I asked you?’ This person said that he would do that for Baba. Baba said that love meant doing the Will of the Beloved at all cost. All those people present indicated by raising their hand, that they loved Baba and were prepared to obey Him. Baba then said, ‘I will take your hearts to India.’ Baba also said that Francis Brabazon had been instrumental in our meeting Him, but from now on our contact was to be direct with Him, and not through Francis. Baba also told us that Francis had spiritual status. Baba explained that it was necessary to have love in order to get God-realization and he gave an example of three people. The first person was illiterate, but he had love for God. It was possible for this person to get God-realization, but only for himself. The second one had great intellect, but had no love. It was impossible for him to get God-realization. The third person had both intellect and love. This one could get God-realization for himself, and then he could help others to get God-realization. At one time Meher Baba pulled out a hair from His head and lovingly gave it to Frances Lee. Baba told us that actions produce impressions — sanskaras — in the mind, and these impressions produce thoughts which in turn produce further actions. Some impressions in the mind are light and are easily removed, but impressions caused by actions conceived in lust, greed or anger are hard to remove. Baba said the place to break this sequence of action, impression, thought; action, impression, thought; is between the thoughts and the actions. Don’t try to control the thoughts, let them come and go. But try to prevent unwanted thoughts from turning into unwanted actions. How? Repeat my Name. Let my Name become a net around you so that your thoughts, like mosquitoes, may keep buzzing around you, but not sting you. Your thoughts are like mosquitoes and your actions are like the sting of the mosquito causing a new impression. So prevent unwanted actions by remembrance of me and the repetition of my Name. Before I met Baba, while I was repeating His name in my car, I noticed the power of His name. In situations where normally I would have had lustful thoughts, I noticed that if these thoughts came while I was repeating His name, they immediately departed, but usually they didn’t come at all. Baba said that He was thinking of calling a very big meeting in India in the months of November and December 1957. It will be for one month from 7th November, and Baba invited us all to attend. He made it sound quite attractive. Then He asked us, ‘Who will come to this Sahavas in India?’ Most people put up their hands. I would have loved to go, but I didn’t put up my hand. I felt that I was trapped by circumstances. I was married, had two children and we were struggling financially. My wife was not interested in Meher Baba and I did not think that it would be fair to my family for me to spend money from the family budget, which was my earnings, on a trip to India when we could not afford it. I didn’t mind going without things for myself to do something that I really wanted to do, but I didn’t feel that it was right for me to impose hardships on my family just so that I could do the thing that I wanted to do. Meher Baba made the proposal sound more attractive, he went into more detail and then he again asked, who will come to India? I didn’t put up my hand. I wanted to, but I didn’t. He continued going into more and more detail about the Sahavas and made it sound still more attractive. Eventually He said that He would help us.

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 31 That was the deciding factor for me. I put up my hand and as soon as I did, He hit His clenched right fist into the palm of His open left hand. I heard Eruch say to me, Baba says, ‘You must come to India.’ At that moment I literally felt fingers within my body around my heart, slowly pulling my heart from my body. I also felt that I had just been trapped. How easily He had done it. Now I had committed myself beyond my means and made a promise that I dared not break. However, I had one consolation, He had said that He would help. I was used to having control of my life and of what I did, or I liked to think so, and here I was letting it get out of my control and becoming dependent upon Him. Looking back now I see how very fortunate I was, but right at that moment, I did not like it. I had been persuaded to accept a new situation that I did not control, and now all I could do was to await the outcome. Baba had invited us all to visit Him in India, however, he then made one exception. He said that Lorna Rouse was not to come to India to visit him at this time. He said that He would come to her. He didn’t explain any further. We wondered if He meant that He would come to her in a vision while the rest of us were in India. I was intrigued at this remark and I thought that she must be a very fortunate person for the Avatar to be specially coming to her. Baba mentioned a big dark cloud that was almost upon Him, and that would bring Him suffering. He said that when it happened we weren’t to worry, it had to be that way. Whenever He came He always came to suffer for humanity. What we should do was to think of Him, love Him and hold on to Him, no matter what happened. He said, ‘It is too late now for anything but Love.’ Then Baba indicated that it was time for us to have lunch, and we reluctantly left His presence. When one is not in His presence, one is always thinking about Him, and looking forward to the next time when one will be with Him again. Outside with pad and pencil I made notes of what I could remember of the discourses. Jack Paynter then helped me by jogging my memory. We were very pleased with the results when we were finished. After lunch Baba called us all into the big room again to sit with Him. He then gave the following talk: Three Types of Seekers. Years ago in India when Baba used to sometimes permit darshan, people used to come from the city and the neighbouring places. Among them were three different men who came to see Baba. The first said that he did not want anything. This made Baba very happy. T h e n h e s a i d t h a t h e w a s n o t v e r y w e l l , a n d t h a t i f h e h a d g o o d h e a l t h h e would not want anything else. Then he told Baba about his big family that he had to look after, and he said how difficult it was. I do not want much Baba, it is such a small thing. I want God. B a b a s a i d , ‘Y o u w a n t h e a lt h a n d w e a lt h f o r y o u r s e lf a n d y o u r f a m i ly — all this and then lastly, God.’ The man departed. The second man said, ‘1 want to be with you always Baba, I want to serve you, and to be near you always. I have nothing to do with the world now and I do not w ant anything. If you w ill just give m e a m eal and som e clothes, I will remain and serve you.’ Baba said that not all who come to Baba come asking for food and clothes and more; many come for love of Baba and God. Also others come seeking a mixture of God and worldly things. Baba told him to remain in a certain spot

32 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. nearby, until He called him. A little while later this man came to Baba and said, ‘I have one attachm ent. W hen I am free of this I w ill com e back and stay w ith you until I drop this body.’ B aba said, the attachm ent this m an incurred was a debt, and he wanted to repay it. It was a great burden to him. The third man, Pleader, came to Baba and said, ‘Baba I want Godr e a l i z a t i o n . ’ B a b a a s k e d h i m i f h e w a n t e d a n y o t h e r t h i n g s a s w e l l . H e replied, ‘Nothing, but God-realization.’ Then Baba told him to lock himself in a room for three years. He was not to step out of the room for three years. T h i s m a n d i d t h i s . H e had the daring to do it, because Baba said so. This m a n d id n o t e v e n le a v e h is r o o m w h e n h e f o u n d a c o b r a i n i t o n e d a y . Pleader waited until the man who brought his milk came and killed it.4 Baba said: ‘I want you all to know that love for me should not have any demands or wants. Wanting had its origin in the very first urge to know God — I want to know myself. I want to know who I am. The original want has e x p a n d e d i n t o s o m a n y d i f f e r e n t w a n t s , i l l u s o r y w a n t s : I w a n t t o k n o w myself; I want this; I want that; it is continuous. Life after life, evolution of the illusory want goes on, until one gets fed up and wants nothing. In that i n s t a n t h e g e t s t h e a n s w e r t o h i s f i r s t q u e s t i o n , “ W h o a m I ? ” w i t h “ I a m God”.’ 5 At one time, when we were all assembled in the big room sitting before Baba, He told us to remain silent and to look at Him. Look into His eyes for one minute. Try to draw His Love to us. At another time Baba also told us that the early hours of the morning between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. were very important spiritually. Each person present was given an exclusive 5 minutes to be with Meher Baba alone. When my turn came I was shown into the room and Baba indicated to me to sit on a chair next to Him. Baba was sitting higher than I was and He put his arm around me at shoulder height. His presence was so all-fulfilling, there were no questions to be asked or answered, His presence was the answer to everything. I felt waves of Love that seemed to emanate from Him, falling on my head and shoulders every few seconds. I had never before experienced anything like it. He just fulfilled my every need and nothing remained to be said, I was bathed in these waves of Love that seemed to be breaking over me. I sat like that until it was time for me to leave. At one time, I was sent to a laundry to have the clothes of the mandali laundered. I took them to a laundry that was in a street behind the old bus depot in Manly. I asked that they be done quickly, which they were. When I collected them later, the people at the laundry seemed to be happy and excited at having seen, what to them must have been unusual clothing. They would not have had the opportunity of seeing Eastern clothing very often in an Australian suburban laundry in 1956. At this time Dianna Snow had not been a licenced car driver for very long and was still a little underconfident when driving. Baba instructed her to take one of His mandali for a drive — she thinks it was Eruch, but she is not now sure. She asked the mandali member if he would like to see any of the sights such as the beach, but he made it clear that he did not wish to go sight seeing, he just wanted to carry out Baba’s order which was for her to take him for a drive in the car. She took him up Warringah Road to the Blinking Light, then along Wakehurst Parkway to Dalwood Home at Seaforth and then returned. The drive took 15 to 20 minutes. Baba

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 33 never commented on this instruction, but Dianna Snow seemed to be a much more confident driver after this drive. To Beryl Giddens, Baba gave the special blessing of washing some of His clothes. Beryl had worked all her life washing clothes and doing for others and now she had the reward of washing the clothes of the Master, her Beloved. Baba inspected the living quarters on the property during Friday afternoon. First He inspected the tents where the men were quartered, then He inspected the shed where the women were quartered and where all the meals were cooked. The cooking was done on small kerosine primuses, and to cook for so many on so few primuses, was a considerable feat in itself. Francis Brabazons’ play, The Quest was later presented for Meher Baba’s entertainment. Francis acted the main role of the Seeker in the play. Just before the play commenced, Eruch was making Baba comfortable with some cushions on a divan at the end of the room in front of the fire place. Some of the women had made cushions for Baba’s comfort. Lorna Rouse had covered a pillow for a cushion — later, she hoped to use it as a matress in a basinette for her baby and she very much wanted Baba to touch the pillow and use it. As Eruch was making Baba comfortable with the cushions and pillows, Lorna was thinking to herself, ‘Oh please Eruch, put the cushion that I have made near Baba so that He will touch it,’ and Eruch would go to pick it up, then pick up another one. Finally Baba pointed to that cushion and indicated to Eruch to put it behind His back. But it wasn’t comfortable that way, so Baba had Eruch arrange the cushions so that He sat on Loma’s cushion. This made Lorna very happy. The performance of the play took an hour. When it had finished Baba said, ‘Francis, you have touched Me.’ Commenting on the play Baba said, ‘I am pleased with the p l a y . I t i s h a r d t o u n d e r s t a n d . I h a v e w r i t t e n i t a n d p l a y e d i t . W h e n y o u understand, it w ill be clear, because the shadow is at tim es like the object; sometimes more, sometimes less.’ Then Baba gave Francis instructions that from a certain date he was to stay in a darkened room by himself for 28 days. He was not to have light, he was not to read and he was not to go outside the room for twenty-eight days. He was to have only one pint of milk per day taken with tea or coffee or separately for twenty-eight days. Francis fell at Baba’s feet and very gratefully said, ‘Thank you, Baba.’ Years later Francis told me that he had never fasted before and so that his lower nature could not overcome him during the fast, he had arranged for someone to nail boards across the doorway of the 7 feet by 8 feet cabin in which he fasted, so that he could not leave the room. Baba said that the play The Quest was to be published and distributed in other countries as well as Australia. The play had been performed in front of a mural that had been painted by Frances Lee. Baba praised the mural highly and rewarded Frances with a loving look and an embrace. Baba even suggested a slight change to one of the figures. After The Quest was over and Baba had expressed His appreciation, one of the mandali, Dr Nilu, wept for joy saying, ‘It has pleased my Master, it has pleased my Master.' Baba said, ‘One must not be attached to living, but live a normal life and just love Baba. Then you have a curtain of Baba’s love protecting you from the world. Do not feel attached. How? You can have that protection through loving Me, thinking of Me.’

34 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

Baba gave us instructions regarding four consecutive Saturday nights after He left Australia. From 12 midnight for half an hour, we were to remain in a completely darkened room, with our eyes open and repeat His name audibly. We were to try to draw Him to us. When we were not with Baba the mandali told us repeatedly that we didn’t know how fortunate we were. We were such a small group and each person could be very close to Baba for so many days. It was so intimate. Whereas, in India people have waited years for the day when they queued for hours to have just a moment of Baba’s presence. How even in America the groups were much larger and everybody could not be as close to Baba as we all were, for the whole time that He was here. On Friday evening, after our day in Baba’s company had ended, Baba sent a message for us to make sure that the children were kept warm that night, so extra blankets were put on the children while they slept. Some two hours after Baba had retired, a strong cold wind sprang up and we saw the reason for the extra blankets. As this strong wind was blowing three of the men were called to find the cause of a noise on the roof. They got ladders and two of them went up on the roof and tested for movement, the frame carrying the banner of welcome. They were called down, sent up, and called down again. Each time that they came down they had to report to Baba. Baba then smilingly said, ‘This has given you three more opportunities to see me.’ The next morning, Saturday 11th August, at 8 o’clock we all assembled again with Baba in the main room. He inquired about our health and how we had slept. He enquired of one who had not slept, ‘Why No sleep? Were you thinking of Baba?’ Then Baba said, ‘It is not better to be awake thinking of Baba, sleep time is for sleep. But if you can’t sleep, utilise the time thinking of Baba. Don’t worry, don’t think I must get to sleep, I must have a sleeping pill — just use the time thinking of Baba. Sleep if you can.’ Next, He asked had anyone dreamed. There was no answer forth-coming at first, and then Gladys Hewitt put up her hand hesitatingly. She said that she had dreamt about Baba, but it was only a ‘little Baba.’ This seemed to please Baba. Then He joked with us and played with the children. Some of the Sahavasees who had not had the opportunity of having their individual five minutes alone with Meher Baba on Friday, were now given this unique privilege. Grace Swan described her experience: ‘Baba invited me to sit beside him and asked, through Eruch, if I loved Him just a little? After tumultuous soul searching, I managed to reply, “Yes Baba.” He then embraced me. Baba then asked me if I had read God Speaks. I had, as I was currently attending a class studying comparative philosophy. I replied, “Yes Baba, but I did not understand the latter part.” Baba said, “Read it again, twice if necessary and you will understand”.’ ‘Subsequently, I did read it again, and this time I understood it. I shall never forget my amazement after reading it the next time and understanding it. I feel that this should be recorded so that others may realize to some degree the infinite Power of God.’ Members of the public had been invited to meet Meher Baba between 9:00 a.m. and noon. Meher Baba’s divan was moved opposite the main entrance to the big room and He received the guests there. Aproximately one hundred and fifty people met Baba during this public darshan. I introduced my wife and two children to Him. My daughter was ten months old and sometimes I carried her on my shoulders. Meher Baba told me not to do this and to be careful with her.

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 35 One of my friends, a Rosicrucian, intended coming. However, when he was nearing the property his new car unaccountably stopped and he couldn’t start it. He thought that this must be an ill omen and he decided not to come, so he didn’t meet Meher Baba. It is usually very difficult to meet him and this person was easily put off. Clarice Adams particularly remembered a certain university student who met Meher Baba on the public day. She was arguing, ‘They say that you are not to ask him anything. I don’t think that is fair. I am going to go in and I am going to ask him.’ She was all geared up when she went in. When she came out she said, ‘I don't know what happened. I just got down on my knees in front of Him and I didn’t say a word.’ She was someone that had barely heard of Baba, but that was her experience. Once at Beacon Hill after Meher Baba had been playing with the children, when they were leaving the big room, Baba was standing in the doorway with the children around Him and He asked a group of four or five, ‘Who am I?’ He was given different answers by the children and He kept shaking His head. Bernard Bruford remembers telling Baba that He was the Greatest Man on Earth and this made Baba very happy. He beamed and the children were ushered outside. Meher Baba was interviewed by a journalist named Smith from the Australian Broadcasting Commission on this Saturday morning. The following conversation took place with Eruch interpreting Meher Baba’s gestures. Eruch: Baba says: Intellectual conviction. It is not necessary that we should have intellectual conviction, because it doesn’t help at all. It is just dead. After intellectual conviction, then there m ust be another step of having a conviction of sight, and then that conviction of sight also is to be superseded by having the actual experience of union w ith G od. N ot necessary that you must be intellectually convinced. Now

here

is

Francis

Brabazon.

He

is

a

poet,

but

suppose

he

is

illiterate, he has not read anything. He does not want to read anything, but he knows one thing; he has heard somewhere, somehow, that there is a certain thing named God. And with that he is convinced that there is God, and I must see God. I long to see Him. Therefore, he is longing to s e e H i m . H e loves Him

very much, he is like a fish

o u t o f w a t e r . H e loses his

appetite. H e h as n o sleep. H is only part is to see G od, and he d o e s s e e H i m , w i t h o u t h a v i n g i n t e l l e c t u a l c o n v i c t i o n , b e c a u s e h e i s illiterate. But his heart is not, heart wants to see God. Now here is another man. He says he has read much, he is a very intelligent person, he has heard much. He has read much, and he is reading

continually

and

then

through

reading

he

gets

intellectual

conviction. He is convinced intellectually. He says, after hearing and reading all of this, I am convinced there is nothing but God, but this is only intellectual conviction. This m an w ho is intellectually convinced, has no love for God. He is simply convinced through intellect. H e r e I a m , B a b a s a y s , f o r e x a m p l e I , E r u c h , h a v e s t u d i e d m u c h , read much. I am continuing to read, and hear much. Baba’s book God S p e a k s , I have read it and am convinced that there is God, and God is t h e o n l y r e a l i t y . B a b a s a y s , I a l s o h a v e h e a r t t o l o v e . I n t e l l e c t u a l conviction is there and the love is there and the longing for union with God, therefore that love and longing enables me to attain my goal. So

36 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Francis, suppose who has not read anything. He is not an intelligent person. He has not intellectual conviction, but he has got heart. Here, this gentleman, intelligent, intellectual conviction, no love, no heart. I, Eruch, who am intellectually convinced and also have heart. As myself, Francis also attains the Goal. He can see God — become God. Here this person without heart, only intellectually convinced, he can never see God. I who am intellectually convinced and also have heart, I can see God, and I can make others also see God. Whereas, he who has only heart, realizes God for himself alone, and does not help others. So that is the difference. Do you follow what Baba is saying? Journalist: ‘When you speak of love sir, what do you mean when you speak of love?’ Eruch: Baba says: What is love? Here is my Beloved and I love the Beloved. What this love means, is to give up everything — wanting nothing in return. I want to give, make him happy, pleased, even at the cost of my own suffering, my own pleasures. I just want to give, and make him pleased — happy. That is called love. Lover prepared to sacrifice own life for Beloved. The sublimity of love, wanting nothing. Worldly love, i s a l s o l o v e , b u t s o m e s e l f i s h m o t i v e ; p o s s e s s i v e l o v e . T h e l o v e o f w orld, m an for w om an, w om an for m an, is a speck of love, it w ants something. There are degrees of love in Divine Love. Wants union with Beloved, but when that love reaches its zenith, it does not want anything, not even union. No question of possession or wanting. It is giving. Journalist: ‘Could I ask one more question? What is your purpose or what is your work? What is the work in the world?’ Eruch: Baba says: To give My Love to awaken mankind, to make them know that everything is illusion. God is the only Reality. One who can love God can attain that Reality. Baba says, All are one, but no one knows that oneness. God is within you, but there is a veil and you yourself are t h e v e i l b e t w e e n y o u a n d G o d . G o d i s w i t h i n m e . B a b a s a y s , I h a v e taken this form to unveil all human beings to know that there is only one Reality and all else is illusion. Journalist: ‘The Reality is within and without simultaneously?’ Eruch: Baba says: There is no within and no without. Reality pervades. There is nothing beyond R eality in actuality, no w ithin or w ithout, no up or down. Reality all over. All pervading. So called illusion is also Reality. Illusion is shadow of Reality. You are on your feet, you walk, shadow follows you. You cannot attach any importance to the shadow because the shadow has come out of you — is nothing but shadow. It is your own shadow that follows you. You do not follow the shadow. Exactly at midday, 12 noon, the shadow disappears. It is only you who are there. It has no existence at all. There were orders for the Sahavasees that were not to be broken. No one was to leave the property without Baba’s permission. Inevitably, something would happen, and reason would tell one that it would be all right this time. A ball might bounce across the road, for example, and that wouldn’t really be leaving the property — just getting the ball — it was only over

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 37 there. Meher Baba wasn’t within sight, and it would only take an instant. However, if that person did leave the property, Baba would know immediately, even if He was in a room that didn’t have a window overlooking that direction. He would send for the person concerned and ask him why He had left the property without His permission. One soon realized that He knew what was happening, even when He didn’t see it. On one occasion, I was given permission to leave the property to take May Lundquist in my car to Brookvale shopping for some fish that she wished to cook for Baba. Robert Rouse was also sent to Brookvale to buy fish. On another occasion I was sent to buy some medicine for Meher Baba. It was a tin of Sanatogen and it had to have been made in Switzerland. Apparently, the same product made elsewhere was not necessarily as good. At the time I wondered why the Avatar didn’t just use his infinite power instead of bothering with medicine — I had a lot to learn about the Avatar. However, later in my life I found that this information about Sanatogen was quite useful to me, because then when I was under considerable stress from my work, I found that the Swiss Sanatogen was very helpful as a medical treatment for me. Francis Brabazon wanted to buy Meher Baba a hair brush as a present. I was asked to take Meherjee shopping for this hair brush in Manly, a suburb about five miles away, so that we could buy the hair brush for Francis. This was before all the supermarkets and shopping complexes were much closer to Beacon Hill. In Manly, the main shopping street was called The Corso. We visited all the shops in The Corso likely to have hair brushes. At this time, nylon hair brushes were new and becoming popular. They looked quite beautiful, but Francis believed that they were not as good or as soft as a bristle brush. He wanted the brush to be soft for Baba’s hair and he had told us to buy a bristle brush. In all the shops that we visited, we found only one small bristle brush in a little blue cardboard packet. While we were looking for bristle brushes, I noticed that there was a particular nylon brush that looked very beautiful and Meherjee liked it. I thought that he wanted it for his wife, but that he wouldn’t have any Australian currency, so I offered to buy it for him. He said that he would have to ask Baba if I was allowed to buy it for him. We took the bristle brush back to Beacon Hill and gave it to Francis. Meherjee got permission from Baba for me to buy the other brush, then we went back to Manly and bought the nylon brush. I gave it to Meherjee and we returned to Beacon Hill. I had forgotten all about the hair brushes, when about an hour later, Francis and I were told that Baba wished to see us. When we were both in the main room with Baba, a big silver tray was brought into the room and shown to us. Upon it were the two brushes. I could not help noticing the marked contrast, when I saw them together for the first time — the bristle brush in its plain blue cardboard carton, and the nylon brush in its glamorous transparent case. Then Eruch stated, ‘Baba says that he accepts the gift from each of you.’ I was stunned with shock and embarrassment. I had not thought of giving a present to Baba, I had given it to one of His mandali. If I had thought of giving Him one, I certainly would not have chosen the same thing that Francis was giving. But now He was accepting from me the same type of present Francis had sent me to buy for Him to give to Baba. Francis was also embarrassed. He immediately dashed off and brought back a garment, I think it was a coat, but I am not sure, it appeared to be made from a silver thread. Baba accepted this gift from Francis, then we were both dismissed. When I thought about this incident later, I realized that Baba was our Master and that we had been ‘set up’ as it were. Baba had played a major part in what happened, and how it happened and although I didn’t understand the reason for it, because I couldn’t see behind the

38 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. scenes, I assumed that there would be a very good reason, that Baba knew it, and that it would be for the ultimate good of both Francis and myself. It was not until many years later in India, that I learned the significance of Meher Baba accepting a gift. Also that sometimes he had refused to accept gifts of hundreds of thousands of rupees from some people. The public darshan period had been planned to be from 9:00 a.m. to Noon, and that was the time printed on the invitations. Later the finishing time was changed to 11:30 a.m. On Saturday afternoon Baba, His four mandali and Francis Brabazon were booked to fly to Melbourne at 5:00 p.m. Baba said that He would like to go earlier. He also said that if any of us wished to accompany Him to Melbourne, we could do so. I was very pleased to have this opportunity to be with Him for some extra days and immediately decided to go. A total of nineteen extra people decided to accompany Him on this flight. Some were Melbourne people who had come to Sydney to meet Him and were now returning to Melbourne to be with Him. The others were Sydney people, glad to have the opportunity to spend a few extra days in His company. We had discovered His presence was so incredibly unique that we all wanted to be with Him at every available opportunity. Robert Rouse was given the job of contacting Australian National Airlines by phone to rearrange the flight schedule for Meher Baba, four mandali and Francis, plus book nineteen additional people on the same flight. Robert had a hectic time and made many phone calls but the airline finally accommodated the extra twenty-five people on an earlier flight as required by Meher Baba. When Meher Baba arrived at Sydney Airport Mr.Rouse Sr. wanted to take a photograph of Him, but his son Robert said not to take it as it might disturb Baba. Meher Baba noticed this and He indicated for Mr. Rouse to take the photograph and He even posed for it with His hands in the pockets of His pink coat. Later, Baba and the group accompanying Him to Melbourne were all waiting in the A.N.A. lounge at Sydney Airport. Clarice Adams had been sent to the airport by car, most of the others went there by bus. At the airport Clarice saw Baba in a mood that could only be described as anger. She said that it instantly came to her — why did she leave without Baba’s permission? She explained why she had — there was no room in the bus. Baba’s anger just seemed to turn off and He sent for Francis to discuss it. In the airport lounge Baba was pacing up and down in a large open area. Bernard Bruford was standing next to his father and said softly, ‘He reminds me of a lion in a cage.’ At that very moment Baba stopped walking, pointed at Bernard, beckoned him over and took him for a few laps up and down the room with Him. At this time I was working as an Air Traffic Controller at Sydney Airport. From the A.N.A. lounge where I was standing near Meher Baba, I could see the Airport Control Tower where I worked, in the middle of the field. I knew some of the people passing by who also worked at the airport. I suddenly felt a little embarrassed and wondered what these people who knew me might think of me standing there with this man dressed in Eastern clothing, who said he was God in human form. At exactly the time that I thought this, Baba summoned John Bruford to Him with a hand gesture. John was wearing an overcoat and a scarf. Baba took John’s scarf, put it around His own neck and tied a knot in it. He said to John in front of me, ‘Even if the whole world trembled, your faith in Me would remain unshaken.’ He took the scarf off over His head, and put it over John’s head and around his neck, and told him to keep the scarf always.

Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Australia — Sydney. 39 He had paid John a wonderful compliment that he must have deserved. But also, without addressing me directly, He had rebuked me and given me the lesson that I deserved. He made it quite clear to me once again that He knew what I was thinking. The aircraft on this flight to Melbourne was a DC6B. This aircraft had a small lounge at the rear end which accommodated about six people. At one time during the flight I saw Meher Baba, His four mandali and Francis Brabazon sitting in this lounge. Francis was sitting next to Baba and Adi K. Irani was sitting opposite Him with his eyes closed. Baba said with g e s t u r e s , ‘ A d i a l w a y s d o e s t h i s w h e n w e t r a v e l . H e c a l l s i t m e d i t a t i o n — o f course he is fast asleep!’ When afternoon tea was served to Baba on the aircraft, it wasn’t to His satisfaction and He, through Eruch, asked the hostess to fix it somehow. She went away then brought the tea back, He tried it, but it still wasn’t right. She took it away and tried again, but still it wasn’t satisfactory. Baba did not drink it. The airline hostess was very upset. She started to cry. She didn’t know why. Judith Humphries, one of the group, comforted her and told her who Meher Baba was and tried to explain to her why she was so upset. She said to Judith that she so wanted to please that man and she couldn’t — no matter how hard she tried. As we were flying abeam of Canberra, the National Capital, we could see from the plane a large area around Canberra that was flooded. One of the mandali pointed it out to Baba. He stood up and looked down compassionately on the landscape. He was standing slightly behind where May Lundquist was sitting and He lovingly stroked her hair. She looked up at Him adoringly. At that time May Lundquist was the only one of us that lived at Canberra. Baba resumed His seat. Later, in the distance we could see snow covered Mt. Kosciusko as we passed to the west of it. During the flight Robert Rouse and I were sitting across the aisle from each other, sometimes we would lean across the aisle to talk. At one time Baba, who was sitting quite a few seats behind us, threw cellophane wrapped sweets at us. We turned around to see Baba smiling. We were both very happy to share in His joke and to receive such unexpected prasad. Then Baba, accompanied by Francis walked up the aisle and gave prasad of a piece of chocolate to each one of us. There were many other passengers on board, and our group was not all sitting together. Francis was indicating to Baba the ones who were to receive prasad and He missed Gladys Hewitt — Lorna had to tell Him that the lady sitting in front of her was Gladys.

Photograph by courtesy of Robert Rouse. Meher Baba meeting some of the public on the ‘Darshan day’ in Sydney.

Photograph by courtesy of Robert Rouse. Meher Baba’s gestures too quick for the camera at Meher House, Sydney.

Photograph by courtesy of Bemard Bruford. Some of the people at the Public Darshan in Sydney on 11th August, 1956.

CHAPTER 5 Visit to Melbourne. In Melbourne there was no programme planned for Saturday night, but as many people from the group as possible had been asked to come to the airport as a welcoming party. Meher Baba had specially instructed that no publicity be given to His arrival in Melbourne. Ena Lemmon describes His arrival at Essendon Airport: ‘The first glimpse that I had of Meher Baba was seeing Him standing on the tarmac. I noticed that He wore a little brown jacket, which was so different from anything that I had seen Him in before. Baba and His party approached the old terminal — it was an old tin shed type of thing. As He approached I realized that no one had been appointed to meet Him. I was the only person on the scene who had actually met Him before, so I approached Him. He took my arm and we walked together to the terminal. Inside there were a number of people waiting to meet Baba. I was standing beside Him and I began quite hastily and rather excitedly to introduce some people to Him. One person there I remember very well was Betty Burstin’s young son, because he was wearing a Davy Crocker hat with a long fur tail. Then after the introductions Eruch approached and said that Baba would meet us at the O’Brien's home the next morning at 8:00 a.m. Eruch told all present that Baba’s instructions were that no-one was to follow Him outside until He had left for the O’Brien's home. Baba and the mandali then left the airport lounge. Stan Adams had been assigned the duty of driving Baba to the O’Brien's home where He would stay for the duration of His Melbourne visit. After Meher Baba and the Mandali were settled comfortably in Stan’s car, Baba would not permit them to leave the airport. No, they must wait. They waited and waited for what appeared to be one or two minutes and then Baba suddenly indicated that they now should drive off. Stan did not realize the reason for this delay until years later when his daughter Cynthia related to him an incident that had happened to her and her brother at the airport.’ Cynthia Adams said: ‘I had been standing inside the airport lounge watching Meher Baba as He greeted different Baba followers such as Ena Lemmon, who was embraced by Him. My mother was standing close to Baba and there were many other adults clustered around Him. We children were standing on the outside perimeter of the people encircling Baba. I thought yearningly, how wonderful it would be if I too could embrace Baba in welcome, but I knew there was absolutely no hope of that as I was just a 12 year old child and was too far away to be noticed by Baba. Little did I know of Meher Baba then! When Baba and the Mandali left the airport lounge, we Adams children knew that we would have a very long wait at the airport as my father was to drive Baba to the O’Brien’ house first and then return to the airport for my mother and ourselves. My younger brother Colin and I decided to go outside to watch the aeroplanes. We very carefully left by a different door from that which Baba had exited, and found ourselves in a maze of corridors. We followed the main one, believing that it would take us outside to the landing area. By this time we knew that obedience to Baba’s orders was of paramount importance and we were doing our utmost not to disobey Him. You can imagine our horror when we finally turned the last corridor, opened the outside exit door, and raced down the path expecting to see aeroplanes arriving and taking off, only to be confronted by the sight of Meher Baba a

Visit to Melbourne. 43 few yards away, sitting in the front of my father’s car, with my father beside Him and the mandali in the back. ‘Baba smiled and waved to us, His eyes twinkling in merriment. No one else in the car appeared to have seen us, so my brother Colin turned around and raced back into the airport. I stood my ground and waved back to Baba, deciding that as I had already committed the height of disobedience, I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. Then I too ran back after Colin. Years later I realized that Baba had “heard” my inner yearning to greet Him and this was His wonderful and compassionate response.’ Meanwhile, in the car no one else had noticed the children or Baba waving to them, but as soon as He had waved to them the car was allowed to proceed on its journey. Stan later recounted that Baba had beamed when He had met him. Baba said, ‘Do you remember Me?’ Stan replied, ‘No.’ ‘You will’ said Baba. Years later in India, Eruch told Clarice of a little incident in the car. Eruch had addressed Stan as Mr. Adams. Stan said, ‘Don't call me Mr. Adams Eruch, or I will begin to think that I am The Ancient One too.’ Evidently Baba enjoyed that little pun because He rubbed Stan’s back and almost chuckled despite His silence, Eruch also thought it was very amusing. Soon after the car left the airport Baba said to Stan that He wanted to be at the O’Brien house at a certain time, which required the trip to be made much quicker than normal. Unhesitatingly, Stan accelerated, swung out and went down the side of a stream of busy traffic. As he neared the intersection, the policeman obligingly changed the direction of the flow of traffic and Stan was off again at high speed to beat the deadline. Meanwhile, Denis O’Brien who was driving behind Stan with some of the mandali, was horrified. He worried whether the sight and presence of Baba had affected Stan. He thought, surely Stan would not take risks with Baba’s life, not realizing Stan was obeying Baba’s instruction. Stan’s car arrived at the O’Brien home at the required minute all safe and sound with not even a police car screaming behind them. Baba said, ‘You are a good driver Stan, and you don’t know how fortunate you are to be with Me at this exact moment.’ On the Saturday morning, Joan O’Brien had asked Ena Lemmon if she would help to get the house ready for Baba. They both arranged special flowers, and all sorts of special food had been prepared for Him. The O’Briens had taken a lot of their things out of the house to make extra room for Baba and the mandali. Also there was a lovely open fire blazing away and other heaters were turned on to keep the whole house warm. All the people from Sydney were accommodated at various homes in Melbourne. I stayed at the Brufords. May Lundquist stayed with Ena Lemmon. Beryl Giddins and Reg Paffle stayed with Joan Le Page’s mother and so on. On Sunday, 12th August, all the Baba lovers assembled outside the O’Brien home at 26 Fairmont Avenue, Camberwell, before 8:00 a.m. A few minutes before the hour we were all invited inside the house. Each one that had not met Meher Baba in Sydney was introduced to Him and received His warm embrace. We were then asked to sit down, many sitting on the carpeted floor. Baba said all were to feel free to make themselves comfortable; to stretch their legs and sit comfortably. He mentioned a meeting in India where the talks lasted for two hours. He said there were few people, even those in responsible positions who felt comfortable after sitting for two hours. He said that He had noticed this at the time of giving the discourse. He told all here now to feel free to stretch their legs and sit comfortably.

44 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Someone said to Baba, ‘We cannot stretch our feet towards you Baba, you are God.’ Baba said, ‘I am everywhere. I am under the soles of your feet; wherever you move your legs and feet I am there. Therefore, feel free to stretch your legs and sit comfortably.’ Baba said that when He was nearing the completion of His American tour, He wanted to cancel His visit here. Then He thought that Ena and Clarice would feel upset and others who had prepared this house for Him would not feel pleased. In America there was a very large and busy programme. Time was very limited. He had to meet many groups, and give messages. Then He had to meet reporters and television people. All this had been arranged with love for Baba. Large groups followed Baba from San Francisco and New York. Baba was thinking of going to India early so He could resume His seclusion. He was in seclusion for one year. Because He was in seclusion in India, information was sent out that no one should come to the airport for a send-off. No one should see Him before He left for America and Australia and no one should come to the airport to receive Him when He returns. He will see no one in India when He returns. He will resume His seclusion for five months. Baba feels happy to be amongst His group of lovers. He does not wish to hold programmes for others. This is for those who are here for Baba’s Love, nothing else. Baba wants you to make the best use of it — try to draw Baba’s Love — to remain in Baba’s company. Baba nearly cancelled His visit to Australia, but He did come. There might not be another opportunity for another visit to Australia, or England or America, because His time is nigh, it is fast approaching. Baba said that He would repeat what He had said to the Sydney group as He did not want the Melbourne people to miss anything. He gave discourses on: Two Types of Ego, Love, The Three Seekers and Worry. Baba told every one present to look at Him for one minute while He remained still. To look into His eyes and try to draw His Love to them. Baba then told us that He intended calling a very big meeting in India for one month from November 7th, 1957. He wanted to call a group from Melbourne and also a group from the West. He would invite saints, there are many saints. Baba calls them his Beloved Children. They love Baba very much. In America he has already told fifty of His lovers to come. Twenty from Europe and from Australia. He wants His Melbourne lovers who come, to be able to follow His instructions implicitly. There will be no worry about food and lodgings, but each one that comes must pay his fare. For 700 odd years to come, all will have to wait for an opportunity as is to happen in 1957. Francis and Adi compiled a list of names of Sydney and Melbourne people who accepted Baba’s invitation to visit Him in India. Baba said, ‘Jesus Christ was the Ocean of Love. Father and Son both in one, simultaneously — no one can know Him. No one realized what He said then. H e w as Alm ighty, A ll Pow erful, and yet H e appeared so helpless. H e got Himself crucified in the end. Why? In order to teach humanity humility. Today the Christian world go to churches, they get mixed up with sermons and ceremonies and forget what Jesus wanted to be done universally.’ At 10 o’clock the meeting finished and everyone assembled outside, while individual private interviews took place inside the house. Each person was given an exclusive five minutes of Baba’s company if they had not already received it in Sydney. One person who missed having this five minute interview with Meher Baba was Elsie Smart’s daughter, Jean. She was a nursing sister and she attended group meetings in Melbourne whenever work would permit. Her mother had emphasized the importance of having the day off from work for this once in a lifetime opportunity of meeting a Perfect Master. But Jean had difficulty in

Visit to Melbourne. 45 changing her shift on that day and as she was on an early morning shift she expected to arrive at Dr. O’Brien's home before the meeting finished. However, the interviews with Baba finished early at about 11:30 a.m. Jean arrived a little after that time, and was greatly distressed to find that she could not have an interview. Fortunately for her, Baba was scheduled to visit their home at Ringwood later in the day. Sunday afternoon was mainly devoted to visiting the homes of various group members. The following homes were visited in this order: Bruford

East Malvern.

Burstin

Mount Waverley.

Adams

Box Hill.

Smart

Ringwood.

Hall

Eltham.

At the time I did not know why Meher Baba visited the various homes in Melbourne. I simply thought that people had invited Him to visit their home and He had accepted. However, as I found out much later, the real situation was that six families had offered to vacate their homes and make them available to Him, during His stay in Melbourne. Clarice Adams was asked to describe to Baba by letter the homes that had been offered for His use, and to select the one she considered would be the most suitable. In the end Clarice made her recommendation on the basis of the home which would be most comfortable for Meher Baba. She recommended Dr O’Brien's home because she knew it was adequately heated, they could give Him all care and attention and yet they could be living at another house nearby at night. After she had sent the letter, she was feeling a little guilty about the others, when a message came from Baba saying that it was Baba’s choice that He stay at the O’Brien’s home. Denis O’Brien was sent by Baba to invite Ena Lemmon to accompany Him on the house visits. Ena was just about to take a rest at the Ratcliffe home nearby, without a thought of going on the house visiting trip, when Denis arrived with Baba’s invitation. She had been feeling tired, but she immediately pulled herself together and then set off with Denis to accompany Baba on the house visits. When Baba was walking out of the house to go on the trip, Denis said, ‘Oh Baba, you must put on a coat it is too cold.’ Obligingly Baba went and got His coat. It rather amused Denis that Baba could be so co-operative at his thought for Baba’s well being. The Sydney people had been billeted at various homes in Melbourne and most of them were at their host’s home during Baba’s house visits. But some Sydney people were not, for instance May Lundquist was staying at Ena’s place and May had no private transport. Robert and Lorna Rouse were not going on the house visits either and they went up to the O’Brien’s home to see Baba off. Baba was so pleased to see them waiting there that He said He would give the Sydney people a special little session with Him at 5 o’clock when He returned. Robert was instructed to contact all the Sydney people who weren’t there and tell them about this special session. May Lundquist could not be contacted, but she just walked down there anyway and was in time for it. Dr. O’Brien drove Meher Baba to the various homes and Oswald Hall drove Him on the return trip from Eltham to Camberwell. To each of them Baba said, ‘You don't know h o w f o r t u n a t e y o u a r e t o b e d r i v i n g m e . ’ T o o n e H e s a i d , ‘ T h i s m e r e a c t o f d riving me will ensure that when the time comes and you are traversing the planes, you will not get stuck in them.’ At one time Dr O’Brien asked Baba a Spiritual question while he was driving. Baba gave such an exact and detailed answer that he

46 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. partially forgot his driving, took a wrong turn and had to drive an extra two miles to pick up the correct road again. The first home visited was the Bruford’s at East Malvern. Baba took Ena Lemmon by the hand and they walked to the house from the car. They were welcomed by the family. There was a big bowl of sweets near the entrance that Joan had put out thinking that Baba might like to give prasad. But Ena remembers that He didn’t do that. Jack Paynter and I were staying at the Bruford’s and we were there during this visit. When the family returned from Sydney things had been so hectic at home that they did not have time to do all the chores. The suitcases and some clothes to be washed, had been put in one room, the door was closed and it was not intended to take Baba into that room where he might see such things as dirty linen. Of course He knowingly made a bee line for that room first, and smiled broadly at the surprised family as He enjoyed his little joke. He made it obvious that no secrets could be kept from Him. Then He visited all the other rooms in the house. While He was in the living room He played a ball game with all present, just throwing the ball to different ones to catch. He had the habit of throwing in a different direction to the direction in which He was looking and one had to be very alert not to miss the ball when it was quickly thrown to one unexpectedly. After Meher Baba left the Bruford’s home, He was driven to the Burstin’s home at Mount Waverley. John and Betty Burstin had lived in their house about eight years and when Betty knew that Meher Baba was coming to Australia, she asked John to redecorate the house, which he did by painting it. At the time their street, William Street, Mount Waverley, was unsealed and when Denis O’Brien drove Baba up to their home in his Citroen, the front wheels of the car went over the culvert and into an earthen drain and started to spin. Baba was sitting in the front seat and He motioned one of the mandali to help. Eruch got out and lifted the car near the front wheel and it came out of the drain very easily, much to the surprise of the onlookers. In the house John had a room which he called his ‘Chamber of Horrors’ in which he stored his special and precious junk and consequently it was rather untidy. It was not intended to show Baba this area. But when Baba arrived, He embraced both John and Betty, then He made directly for John’s ‘Chamber of Horrors’ and He mimingly indicated that one can’t hide anything from Him. John thought that it was a great joke, but Betty felt a little embarrassed because she had not been allowed to clean it up. Baba then visited all the other rooms in the house. Then He departed for the next house visit which was the Adams’ home at Box Hill. Gladys Hewitt, who lived at Armidale, New South Wales, had flown down with the party from Sydney and was staying at the home of Stan and Clarice Adams. She was adamant that she was not one of the Adams’ family — she would stay outside with the others during the visit. There was a wet muddy patch on the ground between the gate and the front of the house, and she had her travelling rug to lay on the ground, so that Baba’s feet would not get wet or muddy. When the car arrived Baba got out and indicated to Gladys not to put down the rug. He walked to the house over this wet, muddy patch and His feet did not get wet or muddy, much to the surprise of all who witnessed this incident. He took Gladys firmly by the arm and put her next to the Adams’ family and then He was welcomed to the home. This left no doubt in Gladys’ mind that she was to be with the family and not remain outside. Stan and Clarice had been unable to afford to make the house or furnishings better for Meher Baba’s visit, so they concentrated on getting working the things that might entertain Baba, although they did not expect that He would give His time to view them. Nevertheless,

Visit to Melbourne. 47 this is what He did. He walked straight into the boys’ bedroom which had train sets running round the room, a control desk and scenery etc. It was a realistic railway set up — the beds were merely incidental. Baba sat on Colin’s bed while Noel operated the switches, with eyes firmly fixed on Baba. Suddenly Baba lifted his hand — the trains stopped. He lowered it —they started again. From the background someone whispered, ‘A miracle,’ while Baba smiled at Noel. Clarice said later that the miracle to her was that Noel could be so responsive to Baba, to stop and start the trains whenever Baba wished him to do so. Clarice had been told that it was very advantageous to you, if Baba visited the room where you slept. Now Baba visited the other rooms in the house and while doing so inquired where Stan and Clarice slept. At that time it was in a sleep-out at the end of their land. Baba said that He would go there. It was cold and wet and the grass was soaked. Clarice thought, ‘I don’t want Him to get His feet wet to benefit us.’ Nothing was said but Baba didn’t go. He just smiled and went to another room. Later she marvelled at his incredible responsiveness to every fleeting thought. Baba asked the younger son Colin, about his sore finger. Colin told Baba that he had cut it while cutting oranges to make an orange drink for Him. Baba held Colin’s finger in His hand for a few moments and then Colin said that it felt better. Later he said, ‘He makes you feel peaceful all over.’ At one time Colin had written to Katie Irani, one of Baba’s women mandali in India, saying, ‘I bet I could beat Baba at marbles.’ Here the challenge was accepted and Baba played marbles with Colin. However, Baba insisted that it be played Indian fashion. That is, the marble is held in front of the index finger of one hand, between the index finger and thumb of the other hand. Pressure is exerted on the first index finger, careful aim is taken, and then the second index finger and thumb release the marble which is sent speeding towards the target marble. Baba of course, won this game of marbles. Noel, the elder son who was very good at marbles, thought, ‘I’m sure I could manage it.’ Baba gave him such a huge marble, he was sure he couldn’t miss. But when he fired, he did miss. In one of the rooms Baba saw Colin’s recorder and He asked Colin did he play it. Colin gazed fearlessly and lovingly at Baba and explained that he couldn’t play with his bandaged finger. Baba said that they could entertain Him for five minutes. He sat and listened to Stan and Noel play a duet. Stan had the joy of playing his violin and Noel the joy of playing his flute to entertain Baba in their own home. I was there and to me they both played extremely well. With Baba’s presence in the room it sounded some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. The atmosphere seemed to be so joyous and enchanting that I could hardly believe it. Baba said that he enjoyed visiting as an ordinary visitor, to play and enjoy Himself. He told how in India He is always worshipped; His arti is sung; He is garlanded; the house is crowded with people. So He must always take the role of Lord of the Universe there. Yet here Baba can enjoy the novelty of a normal house visit. When Baba was about to leave the Adams’ home he came up to Ena Lemmon who was sitting on the arm of a chair and asked her, ‘Are you happy?’ She said, ‘Yes — No — I don’t know. How do you tell?’ Baba told her to ask Adi. Meher Baba next visited Elsie Smart’s home at Ringwood. Her son Bill and daughter Jean were with Elsie when Baba and party arrived. She welcomed Him and introduced them to Him. He warmly embraced each member of the family. He said He would like to see all the rooms in the house. He went into each room and looked around. When He was in the

48 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. sunroom, which was used as a study, a sewing room and a bedroom for Jean when she was there — He gave the sign of perfection — thumb and forefinger forming a circle. He stayed a few moments in each room, He said it was a great blessing to have His presence in their home. As they made their farewells He took and stroked Bill’s and Jean’s hands. Then they all waved as He drove off to visit the next home in Eltham. Three and a half weeks after Meher Baba’s visit to Elsie Smart’s home the pink camellias she had decorated the living room with were still alive and glowing. The next home visited was that of Oswald and Betty Hall in Eltham. Betty had started building their house by having concrete foundations laid while Oswald was in Camden. Then Oswald returned to Melbourne and Betty went overseas with her mother while he continued building the house. He also re-designed it, then went on building it, while Betty was overseas. It was five and a half years from the start of the building, until Baba’s visit. At the front of the house where Baba would alight from the car there was an embankment. Oswald had specially made a gradually sloping footpath for Baba to walk up to the house. The outside of the path was steeper and fell directly to the drive, but the side near the bank was a gentle gradual slope. When Baba arrived it was raining. Oswald went out with an umbrella for Baba, but without thinking stood on the gentle slope and Baba had to step up onto the pathway. Baba visited the rooms in the house and He opened the door to a new section that had not yet been completed. The walls had been built and the roofing timbers had been erected, but the roofing material itself had been stacked up there and not yet laid. Baba looked up and saw the rain pouring in, everything sopping wet. The room was the one in which Baba would have slept had He been staying at that house. Oswald said, ‘If you were going to stay here, we would have had it finished by now.’ Baba then visited the bathroom, looked at the shower, then with one hand held humorously over His head, He mimed the shower with His fingers. Betty had prepared refreshments. Baba sat down and indicated that He and the mandali would not have any refreshments. Baba was sitting on a couch that Oswald had specially adapted for him. The mandali were standing behind the couch. Baba asked Oswald and Betty did they build the house all themselves. He looked around slowly, then said, ‘A lot of love has gone into the building of this house.’ He said, ‘we will be quiet for a while,’ then everything stopped. Oswald shut his eyes. After quite a silence, Baba said clearly through Eruch, ‘Baba h a s n o w b l e s s e d t h i s h o u s e . L i v e h e r e a l w a y s . N e v e r s e l l i t o r l e t i t f o r money.’ Oswald Hall drove Meher Baba from his home at Eltham to Dr O’Brien's home in Camberwell. While they were driving in Eltham Baba remarked, ‘It is beautiful, very beautiful. It all came out of me. But it is all illusion.’ At another time during the journey Baba said that Oswald was a good driver. When nearing the O’Brien home Baba indicated that He wished to have the car stopped at a certain house. This was an unscheduled stop — it had not been planned. It was the Ratcliffe home and Ena quickly got out of the car in which she was travelling and ran into the house to prepare the family — to tell them that Baba was about to visit them. Baba walked inside the house, straight down the passageway to where Norman Ratcliffe was standing. He embraced Norman and then turned around, just glanced into a room where a number of people were gathered, then without lingering, went out the front door and was driven to the O’Brien home which was just down the road. We do not know why Baba made this unscheduled visit. But we do know that Norman Ratcliffe was the link through whom so

Visit to Melbourne. 49 many people became interested in Sufism and through Sufism, heard about Meher Baba and later met Him. Norman was a very shy man and he hadn’t intended seeing Meher Baba on the public day. At 5:00 p.m. Meher Baba called the Sydney people into the ‘L’ shaped lounge of the O’Brien home to share His company with them. His company was so wonderful, I felt that I could never have enough of it. When I was not with Him, I thought about Him and longed for the next time when I would be with Him. We had about ten minutes of His company and then it was time for us to leave. The next morning Monday, 13th August, we all assembled in Baba’s presence in the lounge room at the O’Brien’s home. Meher Baba first asked us were we all well, He also inquired how we had slept. He then told us that He was very busy in the night with universal work — even now He feels burdened with the work. He does not feel fresh and bright. He said that you will not be able to understand this or realize this. Baba then said that He would tell us something about India. He will complete his seclusion on 15th February, 1957. After that, in the month of March, He will send instructions about the meeting, as to when we should leave Australia and when to expect to reach India. Where we will go and where we will stop. Whether coming by plane or boat, instructions will be there. He said, Meherjee will receive you all. Baba said that He had fixed the date of the meeting. The first day of the meeting will be 7th November, 1957, and we will have to stop one month. He will let us know in March of 1957, when to arrive in Bombay, so that we can arrange for steamer or air passage. He said, ‘I will see you all in Bombay. November and December are cold in India, try to bring something warm with you.’ Eruch said, ‘Baba does not feel fresh, but if Baba went out for a walk you would not be able to keep pace with Baba’s walking. He walks very fast.’ Baba said, ‘I feel much burdened w ith the w ork. T im e is draw ing very near, just a spark is needed f o r t h e w a r t o f l a r e u p . 1 I a m w o r k i n g , b u t e v e n t h o u g h I d o n o t f e e l f r e s h today, if I go out to walk you will all have to run to follow Me.’ Eruch said, ‘About twenty years ago Baba, you used to walk very fast, we had to run to keep up with You.’ B a b a s a i d , ‘ T h i s m o r n i n g F r a n c i s w a s w e e p i n g l i k e a c h i l d . N o w d o n o t begin to weep here, Francis.’ When Baba came out of His room this morning, He told Francis He wanted to leave Melbourne early. Was there no plane earlier? Francis told Baba there was one between 4 and 5 o’clock. Baba said to Francis that if He was to leave earlier perhaps Joan and Denis, and Ena and Clarice would feel disappointed. But Francis told Baba, ‘ They love you and will be happy with whatever You do.’ Baba asked, ‘Is that true? What would they think? What would they say? What would you think, Ena? Would you feel disappointed? Joan, what do you think?’ Both Ena and Joan answered, for Baba to do as He wished. Baba said, ‘I am very happy to hear this from you all. In India they know Baba’s ways. One big programme was all arranged and Baba sent word that H e d i d n o t want to com e there, and all program m es would have to be cancelled.’ Then H e s a i d H e w a n t e d t o g o , a n d t h e y h a d t o m a k e a l l f r e s h arrangements. Baba said, ‘I am in everyone and everywhere.’ He explained that Perfect Masters do not test their disciples. They are one with everyone, and do not need to test. Advanced aspirants on the Path, they test their disciples, but Perfect Masters do not.

50 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Baba continued, ‘Jesus said to His disciples, “You stick to Me, there will be a tim e w hen som e of you w ill betray M e.” It w as not a test, it w as the w ork o f t h e D i v i n e Being. Judas turned against Him — it is said Judas betrayed Him, but it was a g r e a t h e l p , i t w a s n o t a b e t r a y a l b y J u d a s . I t w a s J u d a s helping Jesus Christ to fulfill His mission. It was all in the Divine Plan.’ ‘So what time should I leave?’ Baba asked. The previously scheduled time was 7:15 p.m. Plans were made to leave for the airport at 3:15 p.m. The flight was due to depart Essendon Airport at 4:10 p.m. Baba continued, ‘Once in India there was about 5 0 ,0 0 0 t o 6 0 ,0 0 0 p e o p le t h a t h a d c o m e t o h a v e M y d a r s h a n . I w a s s i t t i n g o n a dias. There were separate queues for men and women. The men on the right and the women on the left. I had to give prasad to all these people. With both hands I used to give nonstop.’ Baba paused, then said, ‘It cannot be described, but last night Baba worked a l o t . H e w a s w o r k i n g u n i v e r s a l l y . D e n i s a n d J o a n , B a b a w a n t s y o u b o t h t o keep this house, see that you do not sell this house. Keep it, and live in this house.’ The parents were sent outside to bring in their children to meet Meher Baba. Then the parents in turn introduced their children to Him. Baba embraced some and patted others on the head. The children sat on the carpet and then Baba played games with them. First Indian style marbles with the boys; later a ball game in which all the children participated. Baba would look in one direction, then quickly throw the ball to a child in the other direction. The children enjoyed playing this game, because of the element of surprise involved. After the games, Baba sent for a fruit cake to be distributed to the children as prasad. So Joan O’Brien brought in all the fruit cakes that people had lovingly made and brought there for Baba’s use. No, Baba didn’t want those, He wanted the other fruit cake. Joan said, ‘But there is no other fruit cake, Baba.’ ‘Well, go and look,’ said Baba. Joan came back and said, ‘No, Baba, there is no other fruit cake.’ Baba said, ‘Look in your very top cupboard.’ And He described minutely to her, where to look. A cake that Elsie Smart had made with great love, had been put up there and forgotten about. This was the cake that Baba wanted. Baba commenced to cut the cake, and then gave it to Eruch to cut into slices. Then Baba gave a slice of this cake to each one of the children as prasad. On this Monday morning, Oswald Hall had been required to attend jury service. He asked Meher Baba’s permission to be absent at this time, and Baba approved. At the court, while he was waiting for the names of the jurors to be literally drawn from a hat, he was concentrating on an image of Baba that he visualized on a particular panel on the front of the Bench. As the person pulled the names out of the hat, he always visualized Baba on this dark panel, and while ever he did this, his name was not selected. Once when his attention was temporarily distracted, he was alarmed to see that this person had selected a name from the hat, while he had not been looking at the dark panel, visualizing Baba. Quickly he visualized Baba’s image on the dark panel and immediately the person apparently accidentally dropped the name that he had in his hand, back into the hat. Then, he put his hand back into the hat and again selected a name — it was not Oswald’s. When Oswald looked back at the dark panel where he was visualizing the image of Baba, Baba winked at him.

Visit to Melbourne. 51 He was not selected for jury duty that day, and he was able to be with Meher Baba for the rest of the time that Baba was in Melbourne. He had only been absent from Baba’s presence for about an hour. Later at the airport, while Baba was sitting in the lounge, He called Oswald over to him, and with a twinkle in His eye He asked what had happened at the jury selection this morning. On 13th August Baba gave Francis Brabazon the following messages at various times: Deny your false self and your real Self asserts Itself. Ask for nothing; you get everything. Renounce everything to such an extent that you eventually renounce even renunciation. Die in Baba. Die for Baba. Die with Baba. Then you will Live as Baba. To

love

Me is to forget yourselves completely. To know Me as I really am, become like a child (in heart) and be as wise as a Man of Wisdom. The public programme which had been scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. was brought forward to start at 1:00 p.m. and finish by 2:30 p.m. I brought along my sister-in-law and two friends. I introduced them individually to Meher Baba. After one of my friends had been introduced, Baba commented, ‘This man is known to me.’ I am not sure what Baba meant, but this man had not met Meher Baba before in this life time, so I can only assume that Baba was referring to a previous life and that he had been introduced to the Avatar before. This man was interested in spirituality and I gave him a copy of God Speaks. Years later he went to live in Germany and now I have lost contact with him. Jean Smart had told two of her friends about Meher Baba, one was a medical student. They had an interview with Baba on the public day. Jean was again working, so Elsie Smart introduced them both to Baba and she sat next to Baba during what proved to be a stimulating interview. These young men were both deeply stirred and were invited to go to India when the next Sahavas was scheduled to take place. They came only out of curiosity, but left with very deep impressions. Elsie Smart was very pleased to have shared the extra time in Baba’s presence and she received an embrace as an additional bonus. Clarice Adams was reminded about two of the people that met Baba on the public day. She said that one was a quite well-known jeweller and artist. When he met Baba on the public day, Baba gave him prasad, which on that day happened to be a nut. He didn’t understand the significance of prasad, in which the material gift is just the vehicle for the far greater spiritual gift. He didn’t take to Baba, but no matter where he goes, he says that Baba gave him a nut. So no matter whether he liked or disliked Baba, he certainly remembered Him. Also a psychologist friend arrived late after Baba had said, ‘No more.’ Stan Adams went in and said, ‘Just one more, Baba?’ and Baba nodded. She too has never forgotten. Apparently, it is not in their lives to be what you would call followers of Meher Baba, but certainly there is connection enough for them to remember him. When the time came for Meher Baba to leave, He embraced each one that was remaining in Melbourne. Then He, His mandali,the Sydney people and anyone coming to the airport to see Him off, all departed Camberwell for Essendon Airport at 3:15 p.m. One of the last cars to depart contained Ethel Woodford as a passenger. Just as the car she was in was about to depart, her son Tom arrived to meet Baba at the public darshan, not knowing that it had been re-scheduled to an earlier time. He joined his mother in the car and they travelled together to the airport. They were both feeling very disappointed that Tom had missed seeing Baba.

52 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. However, at the airport when Tom arrived, Baba greeted him with a broad smile, which made both Tom and his mother very happy. There were many people at the airport, to be with their Beloved Master for as long as possible. However, Baba soon boarded the aircraft which was an Australian National Airlines DC4. He sat at a window seat and He put His hand against the window, so that the people seeing Him off would know where He was. Then the DC4 taxied out and ran up its piston engines in the run-up bay near the runway. For some reason the aircraft then taxied back to the tarmac instead of departing. Baba said, ‘Their love has brought me back.’ He again put his hand on the window, so that He could be identified more easily from the ground. Soon the aircraft taxied out again and this time it entered the runway and departed for Sydney at 4:30 p.m. I had not known why Meher Baba visited the various homes in Melbourne. I thought that it must have been because he was invited to visit them. Now I was in the aircraft wishing that I had known that it was possible for people to invite Him to visit their home. I also thought that it would be impossible to invite Him to visit my home now, because all of Baba’s remaining time in Sydney was scheduled for some other activity. I was sure that if I asked Francis Brabazon, he would not approve of this idea of inviting Baba to visit my home. I felt-certain that if I asked him, he would veto it without even asking Baba. While I was thinking this, a message was sent to me to come and sit with Meher Baba. So I walked up the aircraft aisle and sat in the vacant seat next to him. I thought, now this is my opportunity not to have to go through Francis, but to directly invite Meher Baba to visit my home, and this is what I did. He accepted the invitation and said He would be there at 10:00 a.m. the next morning. I was then sent back to my seat. I was feeling very happy now at this wonderful prospect. Yet only few moments ago I had been feeling so unhappy and at that time I couldn’t see any satisfactory solution to the problem. I could only marvel again at Meher Baba’s sensitivity and responsiveness to my thoughts and feelings. Frances Lee told me later that she had been thinking the same thing. She wished that she had had the opportunity of inviting Baba to visit her home. While she was thinking this, Baba sent a message to her to come and sit next to him. While she was sitting with him, she invited Him to visit her home. He accepted her invitation and said He would visit her the next morning at 11:00 a.m. Then she was sent back to her seat in the aircraft.

CHAPTER 6 Return to Sydney. On arrival in Sydney I went home and told my wife that Meher Baba would be visiting us the next day. She liked having visitors and entertaining, but my shift work made this difficult at times. Now she was having someone very special to visit her home. She was pleased and wanted to make a garland for Baba, but it was winter time and there were few flowers in our garden. Then we thought of the coral tree, with its red flowers and big green leaves, growing in the back yard. Our son Hugh, climbed this tree in the night and picked a lot of the red flowers. Then my wife made a garland for Meher Baba with these flowers. She also baked a cake for him. I helped her with the chores and finally I left home about one o’clock in the morning to sleep in the tent. When I arrived there I found someone else asleep in my bed in the tent. Eventually, I slept in the back of a station wagon that was parked on the property. The next day Meher Baba visited our home. On the public day for some reason our friends and relatives hadn’t been able to come. However, on the day that He visited our home they were able to meet Him there. All except one person, who was a neighbour and a friend. He was told about Meher Baba’s visit and he was invited to meet Him, but he didn’t accept the invitation, he seemed to be a little frightened by it all. This person was a builder and just before Baba arrived at our house, he departed from his house, to go to work in his vehicle. On the way he picked up an assistant. This assistant had never heard of Meher Baba and my friend had not mentioned Baba to him. But at about the time that Baba was arriving at our house, the assistant suddenly started to sing loudly, ‘Baba, Baba, Baba,’ while they were driving along. This incident gave my friend quite a shock and he told me about it later. My father-in-law who lived about a mile away, was sent a message to come to our place to meet Baba. He misunderstood the message, he thought that we wanted to borrow his larger car for the day, so he brought it over, thinking that I could take him home very soon. He had been crippled with arthritis and although he was on crutches he could still drive his car. He arrived at our home wearing only his singlet and trousers, he wasn’t expecting to meet the God-Man. He was somewhat embarrassed when he heard what was really happening. There was a nice little sunny patio outside a workshop in the back yard, about seventy feet from our house. When my father-in-law, known affectionately as Pop, was leaving the house, he stood on another patio just outside the kitchen door, where he said, ‘Well if Meher Baba wants to meet me, he will have to come up there.’ Secretly hoping that Baba would not see him or come up, because he felt embarrassed about his dress. At 10 o’clock Baba arrived. My wife and I greeted Him at the front door. She garlanded Him with the flowers and she received a warm embrace from Him. Then He came inside the house and went into our bedroom. He smiled and gestured towards my desk and then embraced me. There were two copies of God Speaks on the desk. I had bought one for myself and a second copy to lend to others. That was the reason for my embrace. Before my wife met Meher Baba on the public darshan day she had not been very interested in Him and she didn’t want any pictures of Him in the house. Although, I would have liked to have had His picture displayed, I could understand her viewpoint and I decided that we would not disagree about it. I would just keep Him in my heart, we would not have His picture displayed and she would be happy.

54 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. However, after she met Him at the public darshan on Saturday morning her attitude changed. She bought a lovely frame for the picture and put the picture on the book case in the lounge room. When Meher Baba entered our lounge room, my mother and our neighbours were introduced to Him. He noticed the framed picture of Himself and gestured towards it. He beamed a knowing smile at my wife and gave her a warm embrace. Then He went through the rest of the house, visiting each room in turn. Later, He went out through the kitchen door and onto the patio. At the very spot where Pop had said, ‘Well if Meher Baba wants to meet me, he will have to come up there,’ Baba stopped and waited. He could see Pop sitting in the sun on the other patio. I invited Baba to come up there, but He didn’t move. Then I asked him if He wished to meet my father-in-law. He said, ‘Does he want to come to me?’ I ran up to Pop and said, ‘Baba says, do you want to come to Him? He said, ‘Oh yes, my word I do.’ He got up on his crutches and made a step towards Baba, but before he could go any further, Meher Baba was there on the patio. Pop said, ‘Salam Alekum.’ Baba through Eruch said, ‘Alekum Salam.’ Then Baba embraced him. The thought occurred to me, ‘If you take one step towards God, God will take ten steps towards you.’ — A quote from the Koran. This is literally what happened here. Interestingly, Pop had met Baron von Frankenberg at Moree, a country town in north western New South Wales during the second world war, and the Baron tried to get him interested in Sufism, but Pop wasn’t ready for it then. However, he did meet Meher Baba and the Baron did not. In 1948, before I had heard of Meher Baba, Pop had offered to introduce me to the Baron thinking that I might be interested in Sufism. I didn’t accept his offer, because at that time I was unfamiliar with what Sufism was, and Pop wasn’t able to explain it adequately to me. Returning to the house Baba told me to cut the cake, which I did. Baba took the first slice and disappeared into the lounge room. The rest of the cake was cut into slices and everyone present was given a slice. While He was in the lounge room alone, Baba garlanded the photograph of Himself, so that it looked as though He was wearing a garland in the photo. At this time Francis Brabazon asked me to get a special brand of cigarettes. I understood that this was an instruction from Meher Baba. I was very keen to be obedient, so I immediately got into my car and went to the shops which were just a short distance away to get this particular brand of cigarette in a hurry. The shops that I went to didn’t have the brand required. I quickly drove to Dee Why, a larger shopping centre about half a mile away and purchased the cigarettes there. When I returned home Baba was not there. It hadn’t been an instruction from Him, it had only been Francis wanting a packet of cigarettes for himself. I was upset, but Baba had left a message for me not to worry; He also said that I was forgiven for absenting myself. While at our home in my absence He had asked my wife to accompany Him to the movies that afternoon. Going to the movies was a favourite pastime with her. She would go to the movies in Manly with a friend quite often. She was the first one invited by Baba to go with Him. Later we were all invited. But it meant something special to her and it also, from that time included her in the group. After leaving our home Baba was taken for a short scenic drive before visiting Frances Lee’s home at 58 Tristram Road Beacon Hill. I do not have many details of this visit except that Baba inspected all the rooms in the house and when He was in the main bedroom he gazed at their bed for a long time. Then Baba returned to 12 Kalianna Crescent, Beacon Hill, and everyone there was invited to accompany Him to the movies.

Return to Sydney. 55 In the afternoon the whole group went with Baba to the Mayfair Theatre in Castlereagh Street, Sydney. The film being shown was The Man Who Never Was. Baba wore His new Western suit. Eruch remarked that the suit had been more than half-way around the world and this was the first time that it had been worn. We were in the theatre foyer near the entrance while the tickets were being purchased by Robert Rouse. Baba sat on a long divan type of seat. A Persian cat walked across the carpeted floor, made straight for Baba, and jumped up on His lap. Baba fondled and stroked the cat and said that in it’s next incarnation it would be a human being. When we went upstairs, Baba told me to buy a box of chocolates for my wife. She gave them to Baba, then He gave each one in the party a chocolate as prasad. There were three rows of seats reserved for us in the upper part of the theatre. Baba sat in the middle and He directed each one where they were to sit. This must have attracted the attention of the people already sitting in the theatre behind us, as it was a very unusual occurrence. Then the lights slowly faded and the programme started. During the movie, I was sitting close to Baba, in the row of seats behind Him, one seat to the side on the left. At one time during the film, I saw Him put something dark over His head. He took it off about a minute later. We were only in the theatre for about an hour, when Baba indicated that it was time to leave. As Meher Baba and the rest of the group were leaving the theatre together, it didn’t go unnoticed by one of the other theatre goers. Obviously he had seen the group’s previous entry and the allocation of seats by Meher Baba and now the whole group was leaving together in the middle of the film with Meher Baba. Evidently this was too much for him —the last straw, as it were — because as I was leaving I heard a typically Australian male voice loudly comment in the darkness, ‘Who does he think he is — Jesus Christ or somebody?’ Such true words, spoken in a chance remark. Oh, if that person had only known! We had heard that sometimes Baba invites a group of His lovers to see a movie and then in the middle of it, He will leave and take His lovers with him. Quite honestly I don’t know why He does it. I have heard that He does some of His work on crowds and it is easier when they have their minds fixed upon a common thing like a movie, a bull fight, or a game of sport. What I do know, is that I liked being with Him no matter what He was doing. It was good going to the movies with Him. After a little while, we may get captivated and engrossed in the imaginary story portrayed in the movie and then it is good to leave in the middle of the movie with Him, because then He suddenly makes us aware of the illusory nature of the thing that had so captivated our minds. It is as if he is awakening us from this little illusory dream of the movie in preparation for our real awakening from this big illusory dream we call life. It is so rarely that we share His precious presence, which is a thing so wonderful to have at anytime, anywhere, while doing anything. I would certainly prefer the reality of His presence and Love, than to stay to see the end of a movie without it. So it was really no hardship to leave the movie in His company and continue to share His presence. We returned to Beacon Hill and after an early evening meal, we assembled in the big room. My family, including Pop, also came this time. Baba then told us of the difficulties and hardships of the spiritual path and the different stages that the lover goes through. The first stage is when the lover falls in love with the Beloved. The second stage and by far the longest stage, is when the Beloved, apparently becomes indifferent to the lover. The Beloved turns His head away and does not see the lover — He ignores the lover. This only serves to make the lover become more ardent and to increase his longing for the Beloved.

56 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. This longing goes on increasing in the lover until it is as intense, as the longing that a fish out of water, has for the water. When this longing reaches its zenith and the lover cannot bear the separation any longer, the Beloved appears and His Grace descends upon the lover. Baba said that He was not for the great crowds of people that bow down to Him and garland Him. He was for that one standing silently, unnoticed in the crowd, who was prepared to lay down his life at a sign or signal from Him. Baba then asked Francis Brabazon to bring him a volume of Hafiz, which He appeared to open at random and asked that it be read. Francis read the following: 0 ignorant one! Strive to become a master of knowledge; until thou hast thyself traversed the road how cans’t thou become a guide of the road. Yea, 0 son! Strive to learn from the instructor of love in the school of divine truths, so that one day thou mayest become one of the fathers of knowledge in that school. Sleeping and eating, selfindulgence, hath kept thee from attaining the high ranks of love; Thou wilt reach the Friend when thou becomest sleepless, vigilant and foodless, selfless. If the light of the love of God falls on thy heart and soul I swear by Allah thou wilt become more beautiful than the sun in the sky. Like the men of the heavenward path, wash thine hands of the copper alloy of thine own existence, value not thy worthless self. So that thou mayest acquire, learn the alchemy of love and become gold. God’s light shall shine on thee from head to foot, when thou becomest without feet and head in the path of the Glorious One. When thou abandonest worldly things and discardest the rest which the world offers. Be immersed for a moment in the ocean of God and think not that a single hair of thy head will be wetted by the waters of the seven seas. If the face of God be the object of thy gaze, i.e., if thine eyes are fixed on God’s face as manifest in His works, There is no doubt that from thenceforth thou wilt be the possessor of wisdom. When the foundations of thine existence are destroyed, when thou hast lost all in this world Think not in thine heart that thou thyself art destroyed, (Thou wilt become topsy turvy). Hafiz! If in thine head there is desire for union with the Beloved, Thou must become as dust of the court of those who discern spiritual things.1 Baba sometimes interrupted the reading to explain a point. He said that it was.not a good translation. After the line ending; vigilant and foodless, selfless: Baba added: ‘It is very difficult to be without wants. I want to sleep, I want to eat. These are wants. I do not want to sleep or eat, this also is a want. It is therefore rather impossible to be without wants. What is the solution? H a f i z p r o v i d e s o n e . H a f i z s a y s , O n ly t h e G r a c e o f t h e P e r f e c t M a s t e r c a n m a k e y o u f r e e f r o m a l l w a n t s . Even if a wee bit of the effulgent Glory of God were to be revealed, you will b e c o m e m i l l i o n s o f t i m e s brighter than the earth’s sun.

Return to Sydney. 57 O n e s l i g h t m o m e n t , i f y o u h a v e t h e f o r t u n e t o d r o w n y o u r s e l f i n t h e ocean of love, do not hesitate. That m om ent does not com e frequently. A s soon as the M aster says drow n, do not hesitate. D row n the m om ent the Master commands you to drown. Don’t worry about what the world w i l l t h i n k o f y o u . T h e w o r l d w i l l c a l l y o u m a d , b u t y o u s h o u l d n o t hesitate. Even if one hair of yours is dipped i n t h e o c e a n o f l o v e , y o u b e c o m e w e t e t e r n a lly . I n t h a t b li s s o f u n i o n w i t h t h e B e lo v e d t h a t y o u e n j o y , t h e r e i s n o b r e a k . I t i s c o n t i n u o u s . F r o m h e a d t o f o o t y o u become God, if you in this path become footless and headless. H o w t o b e c o m e f o o t l e s s a n d h e a d l e s s ? D o w h a t e v e r I t e l l y o u . D o n o t use mind. When the will of the Beloved becomes your will, then you are f o o t l e s s a n d h e a d l e s s . Y e t a l l t h i s i s i m p o s s i b l e . E v e n t h e v e r y d e s i r e for union w ith the B eloved G od is m adness. So there rem ains one s o l u t i o n , a n d t h a t i s t o b e c o m e t h e v e r y d u s t a t t h e f e e t o f t h e P e r f e c t Master. After this explanation Baba told Francis to open the Book of Hafiz at random, which he did. He told Francis to read. Francis then read the following: He who would tread thy path the thorn of grief will find. What pilgrim hath, in fear of this, his quest resigned? Thou knowest well he who attains true perfect love. Is he upon whose soul Grief, as a lamp hath shined! New burdens day by day my heart bears patiently; Thorns wound my eyes afresh while thou doss hide from me. I strive and strive anew, but fate, relentless cries, Dost think thy work sufficient? More work awaiteth thee!2 As Francis put down the book I pondered on this message of Hafiz that is so universal that it is applicable to seekers of any age. Obviously Baba was laying it on the line that the decision that we had made and the path that we had chosen would not be easy and that in order to bring about the necessary changes within one’s being, great suffering was necessary. It was getting late, we all knew that Baba must soon catch His flight to India and that our wonderful time with Him would soon be over. All eyes were focussed on Baba, He looked very serious, then He slowly made this important statement: ‘If all of you, or if some of y o u , o r i f e v e n o n l y o n e o f y o u , l e a r n s t o L o v e M e a s I s h o u l d b e L o v e d , then my coming here will have been worthwhile.’ Earlier in the day Grace Swan had cooked some biscuits for Baba and He said that He liked them very much. Later she went back to the Lee’s house nearby where she was staying and cooked some more for Him and gave them to Him before He left. This seemed to please Baba. The women mandali in India later asked for the recipe of the biscuits that Baba had liked so much in Australia. It was now almost time for Baba to depart. He said that He would farewell us in private here, and not in public at the airport. It was a very emotional moment, each one had so loved being in His Presence, sharing His company and now we were saying goodbye for over a

58 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. year. There was nothing to say, because our feelings were deep beyond words. Each one stood up and filed past to receive a final embrace from Baba. Just as Baba was about to leave some fireworks, rockets and shells, were fired. Baba gestured, ‘What are they doing this for — they will cause a fire.’ Then a fire did start in the bush to the west of the house where the rockets fell. All the men available rushed down into the bush with buckets of water to throw on the fire. This was not enough to control the fire so they returned to the house, refilled the buckets, and ran down again to the fire which was still burning. After they each had made about four or five trips with buckets of water, the fire was finally extinguished. Then Meher Baba, His mandali and all present departed for Kingsford-Smith Airport from where His flight was scheduled to depart for Darwin, Singapore, Ceylon and India at 10:30 p.m. At the airport everybody was very subdued and quiet, looking inwardly rather than outwardly, recalling the momentous events of the past few days. Baba and His mandali sat on the airport lounge and the rest of us all grouped around on seats nearby, where we could see Baba. On this flight Baba and the mandali travelled tourist class on a Qantas Constellation aircraft. True to His word He farewelled us at the house and not at the airport, because when the time came for Him to board the aircraft He just very matter—of—factly stood up, walked across the lounge area with the mandali and disappeared through the door.

Photograph by the author Meher House where Meher Baba stayed and the car that he used in Sydney.

CHAPTER 7 Conviction. Meher Baba had given us instructions that were to be carried out after His departure for India. They required us to be in a completely darkened room with our eyes open, while we repeated His name audibly for half an hour. I was very keen to be obedient and so during the week following His departure I darkened, as I thought, our bathroom and laundry — a room each for my wife and myself. When I tested them at night they appeared dark at first, but after five or ten minutes, when my eyes adjusted to the darkness, some light would come through the ventilators or under the door, even when there was no moon shining — just the light of the stars. After about twenty minutes my eyes got so used to the dark that I could see light coming into the rooms even on a completely overcast night. We had a ventilated ceiling in the bathroom to give extra ventilation, so besides having to black out the windows, there were the ventilators in the wall and in the ceiling, the space under the door and even the keyhole. It was a very difficult job to completely black out the two rooms, but I finally managed to do it. It might seem that I went to a lot of unnecessary trouble blacking out these rooms, but Baba had said a ‘completely darkened’ room and I wanted them to be completely darkened as He had instructed. With instructions from the Master, the important thing is not what the instruction is — the important thing is for the person receiving the instruction to carry it out. It is far better not to receive an instruction from the Master, than to receive one and then not carry it out. Also I had read somewhere in one of Baba’s books that things in the subtle world on the first plane are initially seen with the gross eyes. In following His instructions we were blacking out the light that was needed to see the gross objects in the gross world. I didn’t know whether we were going to be given an opportunity to see anything in the subtle world or not, but I wanted to give myself the best chance of doing so, by being very particular to literally carry out His instructions. Before Meher Baba’s visit to Australia, the members of the group had spent a lot of time helping Francis Brabazon get the house that he had specially built for Baba’s anticipated visit, ready on time. I was one of this group of people and naturally we had neglected doing jobs at home, giving priority to having Francis’ place ready for Baba. We had also arranged a working bee at Francis’ place on the first Saturday afternoon after Baba’s. departure for India and I had said that I would be there. However, on Saturday morning my wife was complaining that I had been neglecting doing any jobs at home for months, while I was spending a lot of time at Beacon Hill. She kept labouring the point that there was no urgency now for the jobs to be done there, and that it was more important to catch-up with the ones that had been neglected at home. There was a lot of logic in what she said, but as I had said I would be there on Saturday afternoon, I wanted to go. She wasn’t happy with this and she wanted me to get started that week-end at home. I knew that I should either, go up there and help as I had promised or else go up and tell them that I couldn’t come this Saturday afternoon. Finally I did neither. I was prevailed upon to work at home and I didn’t tell Francis that I couldn’t come. The job that I was doing at home was making a concrete path, which necessitated lifting bags of cement. I had had an operation for a double hernia about three years before this time. It was successful and after about a year or so I was able to lift heavy objects quite normally. However, on this day when I lifted the cement bag, I ruptured the

60 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. muscles in my stomach and I had a double hernia again. This is not a thing that I could have been mistaken about. Once you have had one you know, you can feel part of your intestines protruding through the wall of your stomach. I felt that for the weight I had lifted, this should not have happened. I had previously lifted cement bags after the operation without any problem and I felt sure that this mishap was associated with Meher Baba and my breaking a promise to help Francis at Beacon Hill. During Meher Baba’s visit I had gradually become more and more convinced of His Divinity. I now had a firm conviction that He was the Avatar or Christ. I felt rather foolish at having done the wrong thing, when I knew that it was important for me to do the right thing. I didn’t want to go to hospital again to have the operation repeated. I thought that under the circumstances there must be some other way. I thought about Jesus and the two types of miracles associated with Him. Firstly, there were the ones that He initiated, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind and so on. The other type was caused through other people’s faith in His Divinity — they were not initiated by Him, but by other people who had implicit faith in Him. However, this usually happened in His physical presence. I reasoned that in the case of the Avatar, distance was not important. I thought it would be important with Saints or Perfect Masters, but not with the Avatar, his authority was boundless. I also reasoned that if the Avatar was an incarnation of God in human form, God being everywhere, he would know what I was thinking. So I had a talk with him. He being physically in India, spiritually everywhere and I being in Australia. I apologized to Him for breaking my word to help Francis. I said that I had learned my lesson and it wouldn’t happen again. I said that I wasn’t going to hospital to have the operation again, I didn’t think that it was necessary. I felt that the recurrence of my hernia had happened to teach me a lesson and that it was associated with Him. I had now learned my lesson and I didn’t need to go to hospital to be healed. I was convinced that He was the Avatar or Christ of this age, and I was convinced that my faith in Him would heal me. I didn’t put a time on it, but said, in your time and left it at that. Then I dismissed the thought from me and went on with the job. After that, whenever I had heavy work to do I wore a truss and at other times I didn’t. I was thoroughly convinced that I would be healed in Your time and didn’t think any more about it. After blacking out the rooms, I carried out Baba’s instructions on each of the following four Saturday nights. On the last Saturday night, in the last minute of the allotted time, I received what I can only describe as a ‘shaft of energy’. A great amount of energy suddenly entered my body at the back of my neck and it went down through my body. I felt two little ‘nips’ inside my stomach like someone pinching my intestines inside my stomach. Then two more ‘nips’ where my hernias were. From that time onwards my hernias were completely healed and I could do heavy lifting without any problems. It took me some years to realize that this had happened literally in Your time. It happened during the time that had been reserved for carrying out Baba’s instructions. Meher Baba says that He doesn’t perform miracles and I believe that He doesn’t perform them in the sense that He initiates them. However, because of his spiritual status I believe that if a person has sufficient faith in Him, a so-called miraculous thing can happen because the divine laws associated with His being would be higher than the normal laws of nature and in the case of conflict the higher law would prevail. Be this as it may, it is a fact that the above is a true and accurate account of what happened to me.

CHAPTER 8 Round the Globe with Baba in Thirty Days. At the beginning of September 1956, an account of Meher Baba’s recent travels, written by Eruch Jessawala was received in Australia and distributed by post to all concerned. A copy of this account is shown below: Those who have had the opportunity of a closer contact of Meher Baba experience the truth underlying the words He so often expresses, ‘I am the Lord of the Universe and the slave of my lovers.’ The great love of some of His followers in Europe, U.S.A., and Australia compelled Baba, the Lord of Love, to pay heed to their silent and profound yearning to have Him physically in their midst, even though it be for a very short while. Accordingly, in the midst of His seclusion Baba left Satara, India, on 16th of July 1956 to give His Sahavas to His dear ones in Europe, U.S.A. and Australia. After satisfying the yearning of the hearts of His Lovers in distant lands, Baba returned to Satara on the 17th of August 1956, exactly after a month of a very strenuous round the world tour, to resume His seclusion which will continue till the 15th of February 1957. During the past twenty-five years Baba has paid several visits to various countries outside India. Baba’s name is not unfamiliar in distant lands to those who are sincere in their search for Truth. To them Baba is the source of Light and is the Goal on the Path to God-realization. But this recent whirlwind flight of Baba, going round the globe in thirty days, made those who were with Baba feel that He was something more than merely the guiding-star of the aspirants on the Path. Baba was also the Divine Beloved of the lovers of God. Hundreds of hearts that glowed with the warmth of Love of God burst into so many flames as they contacted Baba. Many others, who approached Baba indifferently, felt some spark of love descending into their benumbed hearts, enlivening them as they contacted Baba. Into whatever country He stepped to give His Sahavas there was a spontaneous outburst of love near and around Baba. Variegated were the expressions of love for the Beloved when the lovers met Baba at the airports and in His apartments after the long spell of unbearable separation. Some of the lovers would touch and caress the physical form of their Divine Beloved to ascertain as it were, that what they beheld was not a dream, but fulfillment of their deep love for Him that had drawn Him near to them from thousands of miles. Some wept with overwhelming joy and happiness; some knelt before Baba and simply gazed at Him in silent adoration; some felt dumbfounded and stood near Him with tears of joy flowing profusely; some felt very gay and cheerful as children feel when their needs are satisfied; some continued to repeat, ‘Baba, is it all true, or a dream?’ And there were others who could not contain their joy and who would want to embrace Baba every now and then. And the Divine Beloved? He continued to remain silent amidst all the joy, the sobs and the throbs of the lovers. In silence, Baba, adorable as He always is, happy as He is usually found to be, received the love of His lovers and radiated more forcefully His love for them. Every now and then He would express through gestures how very happy He was amidst them. Baba would invariably give a loving pat of His hand on the head or shoulder of His lover if at all He missed to give an embrace. Day after day, for one full month, the same scene repeated itself. Of course, with every flight that carried Baba over different continents and oceans, every time it was a different day from the other, under new settings of different lovers of different nationalities and of different

62 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. countries. Baba, the Ancient One, remained the same one eternal Divine Beloved, to be loved and served by thousands. Baba carried with Him an atmosphere so surcharged with love that just a loving glance towards His lover would suffice to fill the heart of His loved one with all that he could long for. A complete itinerary of Baba’s thirty day flight is attached for the reader’s interest. Coincidentally, the reader would also feel interested to know that some twenty years ago Baba had made a passing remark in connection with His Western trips. Baba had said then that there would come a time when He would have to travel far to distant lands in a limited time to meet His lovers in different parts of the globe. Baba had also added that during these travels He would rest for the night on one continent, the next day on another and that He would take His breakfast in one country, eat His luncheon in another, have His afternoon tea in the third and so on. The four of the mandali who accompanied Baba this time found and experienced how true were the words of His casual remark passed some two decades ago. Besides seeing and meeting His followers in different parts of the globe and giving His Sahavas to the groups in England, New York, Myrtle Beach Centre, Washington, Los Angeles, Meher Mount in Ojai, San Francisco, Sydney and Melbourne, Baba was also kept busy with representatives of the press, television and the radio broadcasting corporations. Baba seemed to be in a mood to satisfy the need of each and everyone who approached Him. Whether one approached Baba with love or with curiosity, for genuine search after Truth or for news, each one felt satisfied and delighted to have come in contact with Baba. The lover of God felt the tremendous impact of Baba’s love; the philosopher accepted Baba’s wisdom and was filled with admiration; the scientist, the psychologist, the doctor or the professor could not help loving Baba once he found himself in His august presence. All realized their limitations when faced by the Unlimited One and all felt the force of love that radiated from the Infinite Ocean of Love. Many messages from Baba were given out during these thirty days of the tour and it is expected that they will all appear in a book form in due course. During the course of the whole tour there were many interesting and intelligent questions put to Baba. A few of the most interesting answered by Baba are enumerated here: Q.

Is it possible for man to get at the Truth?

A.

Yes. And, as to how it is possible could be answered in a sentence, or even a volume would not suffice. I shall give the answer in one s e n t e n c e . D is c a r d f a ls e h o o d t o g e t a t t h e T r u t h . B u t w h a t is falsehood? You are right

when

you

say

that

that

which

does

not

endure

is

falsehood.

Therefore, discard all that does not endure and you will realize the Truth. Q. A.

But is there any part of the self that endures? Baba pointed at the person and said: Yes, you alone endure and the rest of your self is to be discarded to realize the real Self that is you.

Q.

Baba, what is the number of followers you have all over the world?

A.

Would you want to count the number of hairs on your head?

Q.

Baba, You are God and You know everything and yet why should You ask me so often whether I love You? Of course I love You very much.

A.

It

is

to

My

delight

to

hear

from

My

lovers

that

they

love

Me.

T h e r e i s no doubt that I know everything. Yet I ask. I feel delighted when My lover says, ‘Baba, I love You very much.’ As for example, in every

Round the Globe with Baba in Thirty Days. 63 day life one comes across a very loving couple. Each loves the other very much and each knows it, and yet the husband or wife would very often ask, ‘Dearest, do you love me?’ Invariably the obvious answer would be, ‘I love you very much.’ It is My pleasure to ask and My delight to hear from My lovers their oft repeated answer, ‘Baba, I love You very much.’ Q. A.

Why should misery perpetually exist on earth in spite of God’s Infinite Love and Mercy. T h e s o u r c e o f E t e r n a l B l i s s i s t h e S e l f i n a l l a n d t h e c a u s e o f perpetual misery is the selfishness in all. As long as satisfaction is derived from selfish pursuits, misery will always exist. Only because o f t h e I n f i n i t e L o v e a n d M e r c y o f G o d c a n m a n l e a r n t o r e a l i z e , through the lessons of misery on earth, that inherent in him is the source of Infinite Bliss and that all suffering is the labour of love to unveil his own Infinite Self.

Then there were the messages from Baba given for the general public through the press. A couple of the most striking messages that Baba gave out spontaneously during the press conference are given hereunder as much as they could be recollected: Philosophers, atheists and others may affirm or refute the existence of God but as long as they do not deny their very existence they continue to testify their belief in God, for I tell you with divine authority that God is Existence Eternal and Infinite. He is everything. For man there is only one aim in life and that is to realize his unity with God. I

have

only

one

message

to

give

and

I

repeat

it

age

after

age.

My

message to one and all is: ‘Love God.’ One must love God with all sincerity to such an extent that one loses o n e ’ s s e l f c o m p l e t e l y i n l o v e . A n d h o w d o e s o n e l o v e G o d ? O n e c a n love God as He ought to be loved by trying one’s utmost to make others feel happy even at the cost of one’s own happiness. During this tour, Baba often asserted His divinity before the public, the press and His followers who would gather in a hall to hear His message. Baba would say through His gestures: ‘I

am the Lord of the universe.’

‘I am the one for whom mankind eagerly awaits.’ ‘I am the one that has been expected to come.’

64 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. ‘I am the Ocean of Love, fear Me not but love Me more and more. Love knows no fear. The more you love Me the closer you will come to Me.’ ‘I

am the Lord of the universe and I am the slave of My lovers.’

‘I

and God are One.’

‘All that you see is My creation.’ ‘The whole creation has sprung out of Me.’ In New York and San Francisco formal dinners were arranged to greet Baba. It would be very interesting for the reader to know what Baba had to say to His dear ones, in response to the most touching welcome greetings for Baba from His lovers in America. Baba’s response is reproduced verbatim hereunder: ‘I feel very happy to be with you all today. It is your devotion that has made Me come to the West during the period of My seclusion. If anything ever touches My universal heart it is love. I have crossed the limited earthly oceans to bring to you all the limitless and shoreless Divine Ocean of Love. Those who do not dare to love Me seek safety on the shores. You who have been loving Me, are swimming in this Divine Ocean. Love Me more and more till you get drowned in Me. Dive deep and you will gain the priceless pearl of Infinite Oneness.’ During this global tour, several spiritual teachers and leaders with some of their followers came to pay their respects to Baba, as also some religious heads who have their own large following. There came too, the followers of Sant Kirpal Singh and Swami Shivananda. Baba met them all with Love and blessed them with His love. There were also a couple of men, amidst the multitude of admirers, who had come determined to oppose Baba; and it was not surprising that they left the premises with a profound understanding and admiration for Baba after having come in contact with Him. The four mandali who had accompanied Baba on this cyclonic trip, had some distinct glimpses of Baba as the divine fisherman who had this time spread His net right across the oceans and had vigorously and dexterously drawn His catch nearer to His Divine Heart. Every kind of fish that has found its place in the net was willing and had no reason to struggle, for unlike the rest of its kind it had found its home and peace. Any record of this tour, however profound, would be a blind man’s impression if there were no mention made of the labour and sweat of the lovers that were involved in elaborate preparations which were to do full justice to the reception of the Avatar of the Age. Every minute detail for the comfort of the Beloved and the four men who accompanied Him, were scrupulously attended to and checked and rechecked to ensure maximum comfort. No detail was unimportant where the Beloved’s requirements and conveniences were in question. Every item — from the position of Baba’s bed, the additional requirements of His toilet room, and what He would relish most for His breakfast and luncheon, to how happy

Round the Globe with Baba in Thirty Days. 65

and delighted He would feel with special floral decorations in His suite — was attended to with such care and love as could only be bestowed by the real lovers on the person of God in human form. Blessed are the lovers of Baba who have His love in abundance for they delight in their labour without thought of gain or reward. Eruch. 25th August, 1956.

‘If all of you, or if some of you, or if even only one of you, learns to Love Me as I should be Loved, then My coming here will have been worthwhile.’

C H A P T E R

9

External and Internal Contact. Up to this time there had not been much correspondence between Meher Baba and most of the people in Australia who were interested in Him. The correspondence had mainly been with Francis Brabazon. However, after His first visit to Australia, when more people had met Him and had promised to love and obey Him, there was a need for more correspondence to a larger number of people. There were now more Baba followers in Australia and as Baba’s instructions were usually applicable to all, and all were interested in hearing about what He did or ‘said’ many more copies of the letters were required. At this time there were no photocopying machines. The letters were retyped using carbon paper. This gave a new original and three or four carbon copies. The retyping had to be done several times to obtain the required number of copies. There were some people in the group who had typewriters, and they ranged from expert typists to two finger novices. One of the experts was living at Canberra and another lived at Armidale, both hundreds of miles from Sydney. So it sometimes fell to one’s lot to retype these letters many times, using two fingers. Although we had a typewriter, I was one of the two finger novices and not one of the experts. Some of the subsequent carbon copies, as well as nearly always being single spaced for economy of paper and postage, were fairly faint third or fourth carbon copies and they were sometimes a little difficult to read. I only mention this now because there have been such technical advances made in this area that some people today would not realize that having a long letter copied for distribution could create such a manual workload for the unskilled typist in the days before copying machines. This was only in the very early days, later the quality of typing improved considerably as more people skilled in typing became available. Francis Brabazon had delegated to Bill Le Page the responsibility of doing the secretarial work involved in giving information from and about Meher Baba to all in Australia. In September 1956, the following letter was received by Bill from Mani Irani, Meher Baba’s sister in India: Satara September 1956 Dear Bill, This is really for both Francis and you, and for each and all Baba-ones in Australia. But as Francis said you are doing the secretarial work, Baba wants me to send this to you which naturally you should inform him soon about — as well as all concerned in Australia — it is in regard to the November 1957 plan of Baba’s and according to His wishes. In order to avoid confusion in the matter of instructions and information and to facilitate correspondence this end regarding it, Baba had designated one person in each place (Marion for the U.S.A., Will for England and Europe, and you for Australia) for the final submitting, and He wished it done with the full help and loving co-operation of all groups and individuals concerned in each place. I am enclosing here three copies of the general letter (sent, at Baba’s wishes, to the places mentioned above): One is for you to post to Francis, one is for those in and around Sydney, and one is for Melbourne (to facilitate quick despatch) — and here are further details.

External and internal contact. 67 The Melbourne and Sydney groups should make lists of all those (men and women) who wish to attend the Sahavas of November 1957, and can manage their both-way fares — i.e. Those who love Baba sincerely, can stay the full month with Baba in Meherabad and are willing to obey Him implicitly. The number (including the ‘masts’) should not exceed 50 for Australia. The Melbourne group should then submit their list to you (with each name, address, age, profession, ability to pay their passage etc.) by this December. Then finally, by Christmas, you should send both the lists to me for Baba. Baba does not wish separate individual queries to be sent here on the matter (i.e. for permission to come etc.) — anyone who feels able to fulfill the above stipulations (of love and obedience) is blessed by Baba to participate. But should any questions arise and need clarification you can always write and ask me (so that it is done through one person). Also both groups should collect and adjust about love contribution (the equivalent of the sum mentioned in dollars) for the necessary expenses this end (as mentioned in the enclosed general letter), and you should finally let me know about that at the same time, and please Bill, let me know about any information or detail I can supply in the matter, which I might have overlooked in this first letter giving you the general outline for all to work on. Mani. The following circular was enclosed with the letter: TO ALL CONCERNED. In the U.S.A., Europe (England and the Continent), and Australia. Dear Lovers of Baba, Most of you must know that Baba has, in His infinite love, permitted some of His dear ones to come to India and stay near Him for a month in 1957 to participate in an unprecedented congregation that He intends to hold in 1957, from November 7th to December 7th. This gathering will include not only men and women from the East but also some of the revered Saints and Masts of India. It will be a unique assembly of lovers from many parts of the East and West, affording them the coveted opportunity of assembling once again on the sacred soil of Meherabad with the physical presence of their divine Beloved in their midst. Baba wishes to invite 150 lovers from the U.S.A., 50 from Australia and 25 from Europe (England and the Continent), bringing the total to 225 men and women Westerners staying on the Hill at Meherabad from 7th November for one month. In addition to this there will be 1,500 men and women invitees from the East to stay at Meherabad. Accommodation for the Saints and Masts will also be made on the grounds in Meherabad. Those who have paid a visit to Meherabad know that to make all the necessary arrangements for such a cosmopolitan gathering will mean months of hard labour, ingenious planning and tremendous cost. The problems of accommodation and sanitation by themselves are nothing short of a Herculian task; and to top this, the constant anxiety of water shortage. The existing camp at Meherabad consists of a couple of permanent structures for the habitation of a dozen of Baba’s mandali affording the simplest necessities of life and minus comforts in any form. To execute Baba’s plan in all its details would mean erecting a temporary colony (township) for the accommodation of hundreds. Apart from what would be temporarily constructed on Meherabad grounds down-the-hill for the Eastern group, it would be necessary to have the following temporary structures on-the-hill to accommodate the Western lovers and see to their bare comforts during their stay there:

68 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

1.

Two dormitories (one for the men and one for the women).

2.

A big dining hall in common.

3.

25 bathrooms.

4.

25 toilet rooms.

5.

30 wash-stands.

6.

A big common meeting room

7.

Main kitchen.

8.

Main store room.

9.

Electric plant, and water storage tanks.

10. Two cloak rooms. 11. The staff s dormitory, their kitchen and their bath and toilet rooms. All these are absolute necessities and these must be erected and constructed only temporarily on the adjoining farming land, which would first of all require dressing and levelling. Besides the main issue of accommodation there will be the furnishing of these temporary structures. Apart from the furniture many other necessary things would include utensils and crockery, cutlery and linen to be hired and also purchased. Ahmednagar, being a small place these things will have to be brought over either from Poona or Bombay (a couple of hundred miles away). So, just the transport of goods, in addition to the numerous minor though essential things, will be a heavy drain on bills. In spite of all these odds, everything could be properly planned out and arranged as desired by Baba, if sufficient funds are available. But, as usual, our Beloved carries with Him the greatest treasure of Infinite Love which spares no room for the worldly wealth. As such, He is our perennial ‘Fakir’! Those of the mandali who will be in charge of these preparations have been asked by Baba to assess the approximate cost that would be necessary to just meet the project, and after calculating and discussing it, it comes to, with Baba’s permission and approval as follows: Baba says that if each one coming to India can contribute a love-gift of $300, in addition to what each would have to bear for their two-way fares, then the plan next year will materialize. (This will mean $10 per day, including all expenses during the stay). But Baba knows, this suggestion would mean too much for many of His loved ones who could ill afford even $30 in addition to their passage. So, He asks those who can afford to spare, in as little or large amount as possible, to come to the rescue of others who are not able to give their gift of $300. The main thing is that the total should cover (acc. to the $300 each) the expenses of the project, and enable the congregation that Baba has in mind for November next year, to take place. Speaking from the mandali’s point of view, they wish me to mention that their approximation is a very rough one. Not being contractors, not knowing the full details of price, (specially with its constant rising these days), and calculating only from their previous experience of such gatherings which were on a much smaller scale they cannot state at this date whether the above sum will suffice to meet the needs or whether there will be a deficit or even an excess. But Baba has fixed the above; and when one of the men asked, ‘If a deficit?’ Beloved smiled and said, ‘We could all go on a fast and eat on Sundays only.’ If the expenses are met? Fine. If anything over? Baba will use it as He wishes for His work. Baba’s love to each and all who get the contents of this letter. Mani.

External and Internal contact. 69 During Meher Baba’s visit to Sydney and Melbourne, after He had invited us to visit Him in India there had been mention of a ‘love gift.’ It was an amount of £135 to be given to Him with love from each person who intended going to India to visit Him. At first I did not fully understand the significance of this love gift. It seemed very strange to me that He should ask us for a gift of money. On the surface, it just looked like some way to obtain money and I am sure that this may have turned one or two people against Him, but if one really thought about it, there was something very beautiful in what He did. The amount of money specified for the love gift was the amount of money that would have been required for our accommodation in India for the stated period. However, we were not required to pay anything for our accommodation there. It was to be provided free by Baba. If someone wishing to go to India could only just pay the fare and could not pay the love gift, they should go and not feel the least embarrassed about not being able to pay the love gift and their accommodation would still be provided free for them in India. Also if another one could afford to make up this short fall in the love gift they should do that. This gave them an additional opportunity to express their love for Baba. Another very important thing that I did not learn about until years later in India, was that if the Master accepts a gift from the devotee it binds Him to that person and He must help that person spiritually. We didn’t know it at the time, but He in His compassion, was actually giving us an incredible opportunity to receive a wonderful blessing from Him. It is the only time that He ever asked for a gift of money or ever accepted any money from us and even then He went out of His way to make it a gift, because it was really only the money for our accommodation while in India from those who could afford to pay it. But by making it a love gift, He gave everyone the opportunity of having Him bound to them and obligated to help them spiritually. I was subsequently unexpectedly left enough money to cover the fare to India and the ‘love gift’ by an old friend of my father whom I had helped in various ways in his declining years after my father had died. So this meant that the cost of my fare to India and my accommodation there did not need to come out of the family budget, which had been the thing that had concerned me. So apparently Meher Baba did help me like He had said that He would, and in a very natural and understandable way. In October we received a copy of the following letter: Satara 11th October 1956 Dear Bill, This is a short letter with some happy news. Baba had me send the following message to America some days ago, and now wishes me to send it to England and Australia also. Therefore, please inform all concerned in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra etc.) that Baba wishes each one to write immediately a short letter direct to Him, just this once during His present seclusion, and expecting no reply to it directly or indirectly. Fondest love to each and all, Mani Of course I replied to this letter and any subsequent letter from Baba that requested a reply from me, but this was a very rare occurrence, usually only after each time that I met Him. Later there were to be very long periods when Baba was in seclusion, when no one was permitted to write to Him and no one was permitted to see Him. It would seem that this had a very definite purpose. His instructions to us had been to think of Him, to love Him and to

70 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. repeat His name. If we obeyed His instructions and did as we were told then an inner link, an inner contact was established and if we did not carry out these instructions after meeting Him, then this inner contact wasn’t established. If we started to do this and then did not continue, this inner contact partially became established, but when we did not continue, it withered and died. After the initial contact had been established, we were restricted in our external contact and communication with Him, but we did have the opportunity to obey His instructions. If we obeyed His instructions fully then this inner contact started to manifest itself and the strength of this inner contact was in direct proportion to the degree in which we obeyed His instructions. Incidentally, His instructions were at times gentle and seemingly casual, but never the less they were definite instructions. Not everyone may have realized this. When He would say to us, ‘Think of Me,’ ‘Love Me,’ He didn’t actually say this is My instruction to you and you must obey it. It was a gentle, gradual process, and if we were not alert, we would miss the importance of it. All the letters and cables in the world would not establish this inner contact, it was achieved by being obedient to Him. This opportunity still exists for people today, but most of them do not realize it. The same gentle instructions are still there. He is still universally present. There is a restriction on sending cables and letters to Him — He is still in seclusion i.e., not able to be seen. But if these general instructions that He left for us, are obeyed and persisted with, then an inner contact can be established. Just as initially He had acknowledged my thoughts of ‘Baba is Truth,’ ‘Baba is Love,’ ‘Baba is God,’ by His hand gestures and later by His eyes, so when He was physically distant, I received an inner acknowledgement from Him when I had thoughts that were spiritually significant in relation to Him. It was in the form of an impulse arising in the heart as an acknowledgement at the appropriate time, just as His gesture and glance had been an acknowledgement previously at the precise time of the thought. The more I carried out His instructions the stronger this acknowledgement became, but also once established the less I carried out His instructions the weaker it became. In other words I had to keep working at it by remembrance of Him, love for Him and repetition of His name. Although, I have not discussed this inner acknowledgement with others, I believe that this is not just something that is peculiar to me. It is a phenomenon that I noticed happening and it was simply an extension of what had previously happened to me. I believe that if any person genuinely and lovingly works along the same lines and does as I did, it will happen to them also, whether they have physically met Meher Baba or not. It is achieved mainly by God being who He is, and being present everywhere, but we also need to open ourselves to Him. He does most of the work because He is always there latently. But we continually need to be opening ourselves to His presence by remembrance of Him and the repetition of His name in order for a link to be formed and this contact to become noticeable to us. However, the first thing that needs to be done is that a commitment must be made. Just as we were not allowed to ‘sit on the fence’ but had to commit ourselves in His physical presence and say that we were prepared to love Meher Baba — and in love is obedience — so now it is still necessary to tell Him of one’s commitment and love. This commitment seems to make His love for us, more accessible to us, which in turn seems to make it easier for us to love Him. In November we received a letter from Mani in Satara telling us of an opportunity for those in the East and West to share in Baba’s work. For All Concerned in Australia: ‘Baba wishes all to fast for 24 hours on 15th February 1957, i.e., beginning from midnight on the 14th and ending on midnight of the 15th.February 1957, i.e., During

External and Internal Contact. 71

this fast all participants should think of Baba as much as possible, and repeat His name as often as one conveniently can. Baba has observed so many of these strict fasts of 24 hours without water during His present seclusion and here at last we’re allowed to share one with Him. All concerned in India, England, Europe and America etc., will also participate.’ I came to look forward to receiving instructions from Meher Baba. On the surface they always seemed to have some restriction to normal activity such as silence or fasting. However, they greatly increased the inner contact and strengthened one’s inner link with Him, because one had to be thinking of Him and His instruction in order to remain silent, or to refrain from eating. He was like a father doing some important work, who lovingly allowed His children to do some simple little task that He didn’t really need done or could have done better Himself, just so that they could feel that they were also participating in His work. However, part of His work was to train His young children.

CHAPTER 10 Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. Meher Baba suffered for humanity at different times and in different ways during this Advent. But His suffering for humanity that I was most informed about, both before it happened and during the time that it was happening, and finally that I was to witness while it was still happening, commenced in December 1956. I believe that this aspect of His life is of enormous importance to posterity — the here and now — and I wish to describe it in detail because of this fact. Meher Baba had previously warned us, both by circular in July and personally in August 1956, of the need for Him to suffer for humanity. He said that it must happen. He said that each time that the Avatar or Christ comes on earth He comes to suffer for humanity. At the time of Jesus, He had been crucified and in each of the other Advents He had also suffered for humanity. This Advent would be no exception, the reason why He was here was to suffer for humanity. He told us that when this suffering occurred we were not to be unduly concerned about it, or worry about it, because it had to happen, and He warned us that it would happen soon. We first received news of this suffering in the family letters. These letters were written by Mani Irani, Meher Baba’s sister, to Baba’s Western followers. They commenced in December 1956 and became the primary source of communication, giving information and instructions from Baba to His Western lovers, and they were to continue throughout the remaining time of Meher Baba’s physical life on earth. Most of them have been published in Family Letters by Manija S. Irani, so I will only quote those parts that I think are appropriate to this story. These parts deal mainly with His suffering and His planning, but also include some of His quotations and His instructions to us that were so important for our training. In spite of Baba’s warnings we were all deeply shocked to receive the first family letter written by Mani from Satara on 5th December 1956. In summary it told us that Meher Baba and four of His mandali, Eruch, Pendu, Vishnu and Dr Nilu had been involved in a motor accident on Sunday, 2nd December 1956. They were all injured and Dr Nilu had died without regaining consciousness. Baba’s injuries included abrasions and cuts to the forehead, nose and cheeks. A tear to the upper and lower surface of the tongue, cuts under the chin, and a hip injury. The upper rim of the acetabulum had been fractured, the broken chip of bone being slightly displaced. It was very painful. Here are some quotes from the letter: On reading ‘The Circular Message from Baba in His Seclusion’ someone asked Baba why these things should be and why could He not avert it. Baba s reply was: ‘What the D i v i n e Will had decreed must and will happen, and if I am

t h e D i v i n e Person-

ification you believe Me to be, then the last thing I would do is avert or avoid it.’

1

From His sick bed Baba gave us this message, ‘Do not worry; be happy. All will be well. Faithfully carry out the instructions given by Me.’

2

Here is a copy of the circular referred to above, issued on 5th July 1956:

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 73 A MESSAGE FROM AVATAR MEHER BABA IN HIS SECLUSION As declared in the past, I am free from promises and am not bound by time a n d s p a c e . T h o u g h a l l h a p p e n i n g s a r e i n t h e r e a l m o f i l l u s i o n , a g r e a t s o - called tragedy is facing M e and M y lovers. M y long expected hum iliation is near at hand. This may happen tomorrow or any day of this year, or it may happen next year. The love, courage and faith of My lovers will be put to the severe test not b y M e b u t b y D i v i n e L a w . T h o s e w h o h o l d f a s t t o M e a t t h e z e n i t h o f t h i s crisis will transcend illusion and abide in Reality. I w a n t M y L o v e r s t o r e s t a s s u r e d t h a t M y h u m i l i a t i o n a n d ‘ t r a g e d y ’ though necessary are but passing phases which are bound to have a glorious end — as is destined. My love to all. Of course this ‘accident’ came as quite a shock to us all. It did help that we had been forewarned about the suffering. It was one of the things that made it more difficult to tell others about Meher Baba. Even our friends and relatives who were not Baba lovers found it hard to understand why God should need to suffer like this for humanity and they tended to become more convinced that Meher Baba was a false Master. At the time I couldn’t tell them why he needed to suffer like this. I just believed Him when He said that it was necessary. One can see the reason why Baba emphasized, ‘Hold on to My daaman’ One really had to hold on to Him against the tide of public opinion that He Himself seemed to create against Himself. We received a special circular regarding Meher Baba dated 17th December 1956 parts of which are quoted below: ‘For His spiritual work, time and again Baba has observed seclusion, during which He does not give darshan or interviews and when His numerous devotees are not allowed to see Him. But this seclusion of one year beginning from 15th February 1955, is He told us, of momentous significance having far-reaching results of spiritual importance. It has been interspersed with periods of utter retirement, severe fasts, and intermittent travelling to various places in India for His work with the masts and saints. He decided to break the seclusion in the middle of the year to visit the U.S.A., England and Australia; which He did in July 1956, resuming it on His return to India in the middle of August. ‘Later He told us that during the last part of His seclusion He would be in complete retirement as this was essential for His work. Little did we realize how literally He meant that, till the car accident occurred on 2nd December, involving Baba and some of His close disciples. Baba, whom we know by nature to be infinitely active and restless, is now confined to a bed, lying on His back in the one position all the time and virtually unable to move. Combined with His long-standing vocal silence, His retirement could not be more absolute, more imaginably complete.3 ‘The other day He traced with His finger a little circle on the spot of the fracture and then making a wide circle in the air gestured to say, ‘The suffering of the whole universe is concentrated in this little spot.’ In spite of Baba’s physical agony He says, “ I am h a p p y . I t i s a s I wanted it.” At another time He said, “It is as if the mental s u f f e r i n g o f t h e u n i v e r s e w a n t s t o c r u s h M e . B u t t h e I n f i n i t e B l i s s I experience and the l o v e I h a v e f o r a l l s u s t a i n s M e ; a n d t h e l o v e o f a l l M y lovers supports Me in the burden I carry. The week ahead will be the climax

74 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

of My suffering; but it is necessary and must be, and this critical period too will be tided over with the love of all who love Me”.’

4

Baba’s special message for all those who love Him is: In this apparent helplessness I declare anew that everything except God is illusion and that the only way to be united with this Self of all selves is love, s a c r i f i c e a n d u n r e s e rv e d a n d h o n e s t r e s i g n a t i o n t o t h e B e lo v e d ’s w i ll. I a m the Self in all. I am the ultim ate goal. So love M e w ith all your honesty and b e i n g . After My seclusion is over (on 15th February), I will be free of this helplessness. I w i l l g i v e M y s a h a v a s , d a r s h a n a n d M y b le s s i n g s t o a ll. O n t h e 1 5 t h F e b r u a r y , I

will

fast

for

24

hours

along

with

all

My

lovers,

and

regardless of the

r e s t r i c t i o n s i m p o s e d o n M y p h y s i c a l a c t i v i t i e s d u e t o t h e injuries, I will feed and bow down to 700 poor people on that day. My love to you all.

5

The circular just quoted was received with a letter from Mani sent from Poona on 18th December 1956, in part quoted below: Dear Family, Todays letter cannot be as comforting as we would like it to be, for the crucial week Baba told us about has certainly begun. From the 16th Baba has been feeling and looking weaker in health, and the pains have arisen with renewed intensity. Due to His leg being in traction, the attached weights tend to drag Baba towards the foot of the bed and when He is even slightly shifted up again, as has to be done, He gets bad pains. But Dr Donkin is working hard on fixing a special kind of bed (on which we hope to be allowed by the doctors to shift Baba in a few days), which will give Him much more comfort. Also there is an abrasion on the back (due to His previous plaster cast and usual bed sores) which is well nigh impossible to treat as the pain in the leg becomes excruciating when He is moved at all. Another specially painful bother is the ‘pressure point’ of the coccyx due to His invariable position on the back. Then too He is having occasional fever and rigor —but everything possible is being done, and I hope to write better news next week. I feel sure that I will be able to do so, this week being the most difficult as He has told us. So we are holding our breath, resigned to His will (but dreading these five more days all the same). On the 15th evening, Baba explained that the last 75 days of His seclusion (beginning from the day of the accident), He had to work out through physical suffering and the main pattern of intensity resembling a hill — the first 3 weeks being in the ascending (hence this last week being the apex), the next three weeks will be of slow gradual descending and after that the last 44 days will be a gradual improvement, with only the normal pain and discomfort expected in one with His injuries. As all this has to do with His seclusion, it will be over when He merges from it on 15th February and He will be free from this apparent helplessness.6 We received a family letter from Poona dated 25th December 1956, giving more details regarding the accident and also the period leading up to it. ‘During the drive to Satara, Baba had changed places with Nilu and only about 15 minutes before the accident Baba changed places again, sitting once more in His original seat by Eruch. We remember Nilu remarking more than once, that when it was his turn he would

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 75 want it to be instantaneous and Baba would tease him about it but smilingly nod. So it was as Nilu wanted it and in company of his Beloved. ‘Some days before the accident, Baba smilingly told the mandali, “We may all die in a few days”. Then turning to Nilu He said, “Don't worry about anything. Keep thinking of Me constantly. I am the only one that exists, the only one that matters”.’

7

I was deeply touched by this little thoughtfulness of Baba’s, telling Nilu specifically what to do, but making it sound as though it was for all. We had all met Dr Nilu when he accompanied Baba on His recent trip to the West. He was a real person to us now; not just someone that we had read about. We don’t know why Baba does certain things that we don’t expect, unless it is to make us think and grow. We don’t always understand Him. But we do love Him and every now and then He gives us tiny little glimpses into what is going on beyond the normal scope of our vision. Like a child playing hide and seek who is not supposed to be looking, sometimes peeks through the fingers covering the eyes and gets a little glimpse of what is really happening. It is interesting to note that Nilu never asked Baba for what he wanted, but he just let it be known generally what he would like and then left it up to Baba. Family letter from Poona, 8th January 1957. Gives more details regarding the treatment, and Baba’s condition and suffering. Baba said, “1 have to get well soon, for there is a great amount of active work to be done in the near future.” 8 Eruch was discharged from hospital today. Pendu is still in hospital. Family letter from Poona, 23 January 1957. Baba first used a wheel chair on 20th January. The pain is not so intense now. Baba plans to move to Pimpalgaon on 12th February, and to touch the feet of 700 poor people on 15th February. BABA’S MESSAGE TO EACH DEAR ONE IN HIS FAMILY, HE S A Y S , “ D O N O T W O R R Y . BE

HAPPY

IN

MY

LOVE

AND

KEEP

IT

ALWAYS WITH YOU. YOUR LOVE

M A K E S M E H A P P Y . T R Y Y O U R BEST TO COME TO INDIA THIS NOVEMBER.”

9

Last evening when the pain was bad Baba said, ‘The accident has been a blessing for the universe and a curse for Baba.’

10

The last two lines above just made me feel how human Baba is. How perfectly He is on our level. How easy it is to relate to Him. He is not just an Absolute God. Family letter from Poona, 9th February 1957. Tells how Baba is progressing. Also of Pendu’s visit to Poona in an ambulance where he met Baba. He said to Baba, ‘You Baba, suffer it all in supreme silence.’

11

15th February 1957. It is the end of Baba’s year of seclusion, and Baba lovers all over the world have been given this rare opportunity to share in His work by fasting for 24 hours with Him. What a privilege! It is the first time that I have ever fasted. Of course I miss the food and particularly the water but it is only for 24 hours. I seem to have extra time available — so much time is normally taken up with food preparation and eating, but when I am fasting I do not need to do these things and there is so much extra time available to do other things.

76 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. I liked repeating Baba’s name audibly, but with not taking water, my mouth soon became dry, so after a while I repeated His name silently. We live so much by habit that on a day such as this, I need to be thinking of Baba whenever possible because it is so easy to unthinkingly go to the refrigerator for food when I am hungry, or even to unthinkingly open my mouth and drink some water when taking a shower. This almost happened to me as I was showering, but I remembered Baba before I swallowed any, and I spat it out. However, I need to be thinking of Him constantly or my habits can assert themselves and overcome me before I realize it. Family letter from Pimpalgaon, 20th February 1957. Tells about the trip from Poona on 12th and about the poor programme at Pimpalgaon on 15th. On this day, besides having a total fast, Baba had a poor programme at Meherazad. He was in a wheel chair in Kaka s room and as the people filed past besides giving each one a gift of prasad, He touched the feet of each one and then touched His hand on His forehead. He could not bow down to them as He normally would do, due to his injuries. We received a cable from Baba on 23rd February 1957: M Y L O V E T O A L L M Y L O V E R S I N S Y D N E Y C A N B E R R A A N D NEARBY. BABA Family letter, Pimpalgaon, 7th March 1957. Tells how on 4th March Baba takes a few steps on His crutches, so a new phase has begun. ‘... Seeing His present physical “helplessness” one is made to realize all the more consciously how when the Divine comes to our human level, He plays the game to perfection; not helping Himself from the boundless strength that is His, but helping us through our innumerable weaknesses and inadequate love. Baba has said, “ I am not l i m i t e d b y t h i s f o r m . I u s e i t l i k e a g a r m e n t t o m a k e M y s e l f v i s i b l e t o y o u ; and I communicate with you through words best fitted to your understanding. If I used the language of My own consciousness you would not know what I w a s t a l k i n g a b o u t . D o n 't t r y t o u n d e r s t a n d M e . M y d e p t h i s u n f a t h o m a b l e . Just love M e. I eternally en joy th e C h rist state of consciousness and w hen I s p e a k I s h a l l m a n i f e s t M y true Self; besides giving a general push to the whole world, I shall lead all t h o s e w h o c o m e t o M e t o w a r d s L i g h t a n d Truth”.’

1

A copy of the following circular was received in March 1957, amongst other things it gives a more detailed account of the accident

MEHER BABA — A brief Account of His Seclusion from February 1957. During the course of His spiritual work over the past 36 years, Meher Baba has many times observed periods of seclusion. These have varied in type and intensity, ranged from for example, a period of one year in complete seclusion and taking only half a ‘thermos’ of coffee per day, to the recent period of one year ending 15th February 1957, when Baba alternated periods of utter retirement with intermittent journeys around India contacting masts and saints. His fasting too, during this period, varied, culminating at times in a complete fast, taking not even water.

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 77

Baba’s journeys by car between 15th February 1956 and the end of November 1956 throughout India, totaled over 10,000 miles, and from report were similar to those earlier years so excellently described in Dr Donkin’s book The Wayfarers. Characteristic of so many of these trips was the one during September 1956, when on a week’s trip to and around Hyderabad, Baba and His disciples, among other hardships, walked on one occasion 6 miles over ‘stony, muddy, thorny and hilly’ terrain, plus a stretch of knee-deep water, to contact one mast Baba wished to see. As a prelude to the main subject of this circular, an event which occurred during one of these car trips, we quote part of a message by Baba on the 5th July 1956: ‘As declared in the past, all happenings are in the realm of illusion, a great so-called “tragedy” is facing Me and My lovers. The love, courage and faith of My lovers will be put to a severe test not by Me but by Divine Law.’ This was followed a short while before the actual ‘event’ by Baba saying that the month or so before the termination of His seclusion on 15th February 1957 would hold greater and (more) concentrated suffering for Himself in which a number of His close ones would also share. On Sunday the 2nd December, Baba left Satara with four men — Eruch, Pendu, Vishnu and Nilu — for Poona a distance of 100 miles. At around 4:45 p.m. of the same evening, while returning to Satara, the car running normally and at moderate speed, suddenly and inexplicably went completely out of control, dashed against a stone culvert and landed eventually in a ditch on the further side of the culvert. Baba and three of the men were badly injured, and the fourth, Nilu, died without regaining consciousness. The accident was quite unexplainable in contrast to the other auto accident in 1952 in the U.S.A. in which Baba was involved. In the earlier case it was a clear collision between two cars; but in this instance there appears no outward reason for the accident. The road was good, the ‘ditch’ not more than a foot deep on sloping ground, the stone culvert was very low, the car had been in good order, the driver was the experienced and cautious Eruch, the speed under 40 miles an hour, the road clear with no obstructions of any kind (pedestrians, animals, hens or other such constant life on Indian roads), there was no puncture or skidding, and it happened, as Vishnu and Eruch said, in the twinkling of an eye. Eruch also commented later that the driving wheel seemed to suddenly stop co-ordinating and the car swerved straight towards the culvert. With the impact, Eruch, Pendu and Nilu were thrown out of the car, leaving Baba in the front and Vishnu in the rear. Vishnu was the least hurt, with face injuries and a broken rib, upon regaining consciousness, enquired of Baba’s condition. Baba pointed to the leg and face, but asked Vishnu to see to the other three. Nilu was unconscious, Pendu in agony, and Eruch at that point regaining consciousness managed with superhuman effort to stand up, lean against the car and talk to Baba. A short time after a passing car took Baba and Vishnu to Satara, with the other three in an open truck. Eruch and Pendu were immediately hospitalized, but Nilu died without regaining consciousness. Pendu had the pelvis broken in three places, minor internal injuries, and serious concussion. Eruch had five weeks in hospital, plus a convalescent period, though the exact nature of his injuries has not been given. Baba’s injuries were minor abrasions and subcutaneous contusions of the face, a tearing of the upper and lower surfaces of the tongue, and a fracture both of the top end of the thigh bone (the femoral head) and of the cup-shaped depression in the pelvis, known as the acetabulum. Fractures of this area are known to be most painful, becoming excruciating at the

78 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

slightest movement. During the course of His recovery, fevers frequently recurred with a number of other complications. At the last report, the middle of February 1957, the pain of the leg injury had continued with varying intensity, while the other injuries and complications had completely healed or disappeared. When Baba gave out the message mentioned earlier in this circular, regarding a forthcoming ‘tragedy’ someone asked why this should be and why He could not avert it. Baba answered, ‘What the Divine Will has decreed must and will happen, and if I am the D ivine Personification you believe M e to be then the last thing I would do is to avert or avoid it.’ On the question of suffering and of Himself in relation to suffering, some interesting statements have been made by Baba, ‘People suffer f o r t h e i r k a r m a . A f e w s u f f e r f o r o t h e r s . P e r f e c t M a s t e r s s u f f e r f o r t h e universe. Nobody suffers in vain, for true freedom is spiritual freedom and suffering is a ladder towards it. Man unknowingly suffers for God, and God knowingly suffers for man.’ The morning after the accident He said, ‘Purely from the point of man’s suffering and irrespective of political or world situations, t h e Hungarians suffered much in their recent struggle. Many were lying wounded a n d h e l p l e s s o n t h e r o a d s , a w a y f r o m t h e i r l o v e d o n e s a n d f r o m care and relief from pain; at least I am lying on a bed, with the care of good doctors and the love of all My lovers present and absent.’ Two weeks after the accident, Baba said, ‘It is as if the mental suffering of the world wants to crush Me. But the infinite Bliss I experience and the love I have for all, sustains Me; and the love of all My lovers supports the burden I c a r r y . ’ O n t h i s o c c a s i o n H e a l s o g a v e a s p e c i a l m e s s a g e : ‘ I n t h i s a p p a r e n t helplessness I declare anew that everything except God is illusion; and that the only w ay to be united w ith the Self of all selves is love, sacrifice and unreserved and honest resignation to the Beloved’s will. I am the Self of all. I am the ultimate Goal. So love Me with all your honesty and being.’ During the month of January Baba began to use a wheel-chair to move about in, and the 15th February 1957 one could say, saw the end of His ‘apparent helplessness’ when He gave prasad and darshan to 800 poor people. These people came from several villages and were given sweets and clothing. On the same day, i.e. 15th February, for the 24 hours Baba fasted completely, with no drink of any kind. It was reported that many in India and Pakistan also participated in this fast, including whole towns and villages and that in some places ‘poor-feeding’ programmes were also carried out. To conclude this circular on Baba’s accident, we quote the words of one of the occupants of the car, Vishnu, describing his experience on seeing Baba very shortly after the accident: ‘Baba was leaning back on the front seat, with blood on His clothes and face; yet never have I seen such utter radiance and lustre as was on Baba’s face then! He was like a King, a victorious King who had won a great battle. Lord Krishna must have looked like that in the chariot on the battle field. The radiance was blinding, I could see nothing else, not the car or the surroundings, only Baba’s face in glorious triumph.’ In Sydney, Robert Rouse and Bill Le Page had been kept busy making the group bookings to India by ship. They would visit the shipping office every few days because it was a large group and there were constant changes being made. Some people would drop out, and then other people who had not previously been able to go would be included as their

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 79 circumstances changed. We had been instructed not to pay the fares until told by Baba to do so, and this was just as well as things turned out. The following cable was received on 18th March 1957: IN F O R M A L L N O V E M B E R IN D IA S A H A V A S P O S T P O N E D T O JANUARY 1958 M Y L O V E T O E A C H D O N O T W O R R Y J A N U A R Y DEFINITE MANI WRITING SHORTLY BABA. Now the present arrangements would have to be cancelled and new bookings would have to be made when the new dates were known. One learned to either accept Baba’s ways or be shaken off by Him. One had to learn to stick with Him through thick and thin, and not just when things were going as we wanted them to go for us. Looking back it seemed that He would deliberately create a crisis in order that we must make a decision either to stick with Him or not. This is what the love that He had explained to us, was all about. It meant giving instead of wanting to take or possess. It was an opportunity to do the opposite to the things that seem to be so natural for humans to do. If we accepted Him as an incarnation of God — the Jesus of our times, then if we really loved Him it would be our pleasure to put ourselves out for Him so that things would happen as He wished. In one sense, as God, He could do anything He wished but He was actually giving us a wonderful opportunity to loosen our grip on the world of duality, the world of opposites, the world of pleasure and pain, happiness and misery, rich and poor and so on, and come closer to the Reality — God. Changing the date of my annual leave from work was always a big problem to me because all the Air Traffic Control positions must be manned on each shift. The work could not be allowed to accumulate, because the aircraft were in the air at that moment and their safety needs of being separated from each other must be met there and then. Our leave was on a roster basis and it was allocated eighteen months in advance in blocks of four weeks. We could apply for the leave period that we wanted but we would not always get it. If more than one person applied for the same leave period, there was a ballot for that leave period. Once our leave was allocated we could exchange leave periods with another controller provided that we were both rated to do each other’s job. This usually meant that there were only a few people with whom we could exchange leave. I knew now that the Sahavas would not be held in November or December, but I did not know what the actual dates were in January, or even for sure if January would be definite. At work I let it be known that I didn’t want my leave in November. I did not apply for leave in January yet, because if the Sahavas arrangements were changed yet again, I would have created a bigger problem wherein I would have had to try to change my leave period twice instead of only once. Also, if someone put themselves out to change leave periods with me, and then I don’t want that leave period and wanted to change leave periods with someone else, very soon no one would change leave with me at all, because they would not take me seriously. Family letter Pimpalgaon, 1lth April 1957, tells of Baba’s progress — He seems to be going back a little. He can now use sticks but it is obvious that Baba has to remain outwardly inactive for longer, as the pain continues and has not diminished. Because of this the doctors

80 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

have found it advisable to reduce the walking and weight-bearing considerably, till further X-rays have been taken and checked. The letter describes the darshans at Sakori and Poona. Poona darshan was very strenuous and tiring. We are advised that the Indian Sahavas dates are now from January 26th to February 26th 1958 — thus East and West will spend His Birthday together with Him in India. Here is a message that Baba sent to His followers: ‘Don’t worry. Love Me more and more. Hold on to My daaman, what ever the trials and difficulties you may be passing through. You are sharing in My universal working and are fortunate to do so. The time is not far when I will reveal Myself and you will see Me as I am. My love to each.’

13

At least this gave us the dates to arrange our leave — 26th January to 26th February 1958. It wasn’t easy to change the leave, but with persistence I finally managed it. Robert Rouse and Bill Le Page were having their own problems, because it was their responsibility to change the bookings for the group with the shipping company. Over a period of months they had been putting people on and taking other people off the list of travellers for this large group. Now that the dates had been changed it meant booking on another ship and other air flights. During this time they both became very well known at the shipping office. Family letter Pimpalgaon, 18th June 1957. Tells about the poor children programme where Baba bowed down to 200 poor children, it also contained the following message from Baba: ‘Baba wishes all to observe complete silence from midnight of the 9th to midnight on the 10th of July. Also during that time all should fast completely, except that drinking water is allowed freely as often as liked, and tea or coffee once during the 24 hours (with or without milk as desired). No particular amount has been specified, but the beverage should be taken only that once.’

14

Sydney, 10 th July 1957. It is now the thirty second anniversary of Meher Baba’s Silence. I carry out Baba’s instructions and observe complete silence for 24 hours. During the silence day, I feel much closer to Baba because I must always be thinking about Him at the back of my mind or I will speak and break the silence and fail in my obedience to Him. I was to come to look forward to receiving instructions from Meher Baba because at the time that I would be obeying them, I would always be thinking of Him and I would always feel much closer to Him at such a time. In fact He seemed to be with me at such times and His presence was so wonderful. Family letter Pimpalgaon, 8th September 1957. Tells about more X-rays which show Baba is suffering from osteo-arthritis which is causing some of the pain. Baba said to His mandali the other day, ‘There is no compromise — either you please yourself, or you please Me in the littlest thing.’15 We in Australia are required to let Baba know as soon as possible, how many people from here are now attending the Indian Sahavas. I obtained the application form for a passport and I filled it in, but I had not lodged it, when we received the following letter: Family letter, Pimpalgaon, 6th October 1957. Baba said, ‘The work I do, to fulfill a l l t h a t i s o r d a i n e d , r e l e a s e s a t r e m e n d o u s f o r c e t h a t s t a m p s M y A d v e n t . When the Infinite and Changeless works through the finite and changing,

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 81 the

channels

are

necessarily

varied

and

unlimited.

The

opposing

forces

are

tremendous, but also serve My work. In spite of the “dark cloud” facing Me, I d o M y w o r k c e a s e l e s s l y . P a r t o f M y w o r k b y J u n e 1 9 5 8 i s t o g i v e M y Sahavas to hundreds of My followers. Do not try to understand the method o f M y w o r k i n g . Do not worry or question — just obey. The pain I have in the hip-joint is one of the

many

distractions

unquestioning

I

obedience

have and

to

reckon

100%

with

while

willingness

to

doing happily

My

work.

carry

out

For My

i n s t r u c t i o n s a n d a b i d e b y M y d e c i s i o n , h e l p i n M y work. I know what has to be done, I know how it is to be done. It is for you to do what I say. Do not be concerned with anything else.’16 The main points emerging from the big meeting on 29th September are as follows: Baba says there can be no Sahavas after 15th June 1958. Baba must give Sahavas to East and West. Therefore Sahavas positive in 1958. Baba prefers East-West combined Sahavas in India. Such a Sahavas can only be held in February 1958. But with present pain (which restricts His physical movements to a minimum limit as now) such Sahavas is not possible. Therefore, trying two sources of treatment (Bombay and if necessary also Calcutta). Results expected by November end. Baba will accordingly give His definite decision by November end, as follows: If pain relieved, Baba will give combined East-West Sahavas in India in February for 12 days as mentioned before. If pain remains as now, Baba will divide the East and West Sahavas, as the combined Sahavas under the circumstances would be a great strain. He will therefore divide it by giving Sahavas to Easterners only, in February 1958. And, the Western Sahavas He will give in Myrtle Beach in May 1958 to Baba-lovers only; those on the list as coming to India and those longing to come but could not for financial, or other reasons. He will permit no publicity, no ‘open-day’ darshans, etc. This means that even though the pain may not subside, and as He must give the Sahavas, He will give the East Sahavas in India and the West Sahavas in Myrtle Beach and Australia. 14 days in Myrtle Beach and 5 days in Australia for the Australian lovers. Baba will not visit England and Europe. Therefore, in the event of the Sahavas being held in Myrtle Beach, Baba wishes those coming to the Sahavas from England and Europe to come to Myrtle Beach instead. Therefore, (if charter-plane, bookings, leave from jobs,

82 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

etc., is possible your end) Baba will give final decision by end of November (or sooner if possible).

17

Baba is scheduled to leave for treatment in Bombay on 8th October, treatment to commence on 10th October in Bombay. He is returning to Pimpalgaon beginning of November; and if the treatment has not been successful, Baba will leave mid-November for Calcutta, for treatment by an American trained (caucasian) chiropractor, Dr M. Alexander, who has practiced (reportedly very successfully) in India for 20 years. I postponed applying for a passport until it was certain that we would be going to India in February. The following circular was received from Baba during October 1957, and was to be acted upon on receipt. As explained, it was not just for those present but for all. It is not in the Family Letters. Baba’s Reminder to those Who Love Him and Obey Him, and to Those Who Would do so. From amongst His intimate followers, the resident mandali included, 32 men were present before Baba from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 8th 1957, at Meherazad, Pimpalgaon. Baba began distributing sweetmeats to them saying: ‘Let Me s w e e t e n y o u r m o u t h s b e f o r e I m a k e y o u s w a l l o w s o m e b i t t e r p i l l s . W h a t I have to say to you is not only for those now before Me, it is for all who love Me and persevere in trying to obey Me. At first I had thought of inviting for the day a representative from each and every centre and group in the country. But then I took into consideration the

expense

and

trouble

of

long

journeys

and

the

inconvenience

to

all

c o n c e r n e d , b e c a u s e t h e f a c i l i t i e s h e r e a r e s o limited, even for those who live near Me all the time. ‘I intend to tell you things straight from My heart and I expect you to let them reach your hearts and not just your ears. The friends of H. tell Me that f o r a ll h i s g o o d q u a l i t i e s h e g e n e r a l l y l e t s t h i n g s g o i n o n e e a r , a n d o u t t h e other — but I know he loves M e and w ill hear M e seriously. If anyone now p r e s e n t b e l i e v e s h e m a y t a k e w h a t I s a y l i g h t l y , h e h a d b e t t e r l e a v e t h i s meeting at once. ‘I a m n o S a i n t . B e c a u s e I a m b e y o n d , I a m t h e r e f o r e b e y o n d a ll S a i n t s . The world, once it knows who I am, will understand then what I want you to understand now — that from the beginningless beginning I am the A ncient One, immutable and eternal. You may whole-heartedly believe Me to be the Avatar; but belief, however deep, does not amount to absolute conviction.’ Here, D. interjected, ‘There is no question of conviction for those of us who have accepted You once and for all, because our acceptance is absolute.’ Baba continued: ‘It is all for the best if that acceptance remains unshaken under all circumstances. The world in general accepts the existence of God, without caring overmuch about the reasons for doing so. It is a fact also, that t h e r e a r e a f e w i n t h e w o r l d w h o d o s e e G o d a s H e i s t o b e s e e n , a n d f e w e r still who do Know God as He really is to be known. ‘I have already warned you of the dark cloud which I clearly see hovering over Me. I have been referring to it in one way or another for many years. In f a c t , o n l y t h e s h a p e o f t h i n g s c h a n g e s e v e r y t i m e I c o m e , a n d t h a t i s w h y I say the same things again and again in different ways. At the time of Jesus, I

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 83

u t t e r e d m a n y w a r n i n g s , y e t n o n e c o u l d g r a s p i n a d v a n c e a b o u t M y crucifixion. The dark cloud is very near to bursting and I have to take the whole force of it upon Myself. You can have no idea of what that will mean to Me — it will be like hell itself bursting upon Me on earth. Be resolved to hold fast to My daaman even when this cloud bursts; you will thereby share in My work. ‘Let Me tell you the tale of the Mast and the Mullah. The Mast, his consciousness focused upon the intimate nearness of His Beloved God, was v i r t u a l l y o b l i v i o u s t o e v e r y t h i n g e l s e . T h e M u l l a h , s i n c e h e c o u l d n o t understand this state, would pester the Mast with learned parrotry, and eventually became so exasperated that one day he cursed the Mast, saying that he would go to hell. The Mast happened to hear and understand what had been said and retorted that the Mullah’s heaven contained everything except God; but since God was everywhere, he would be quite happy in hell, where he might share his Beloved’s suffering. ‘Look at the weapons of destruction science has evolved. Nation accuses nation of preparations for war, and world catastrophe might come without w a r n i n g a t a n y m o m e n t . W o r l d e v e n t s r e f l e c t t h e r e s u l t s o f M y i n n e r working. At the time of the flood (Noah’s Flood), hell was let loose in the w o r l d . S c i e n t i s t s a n d s t a t e s m e n n o w s o l e m n l y d e c l a r e t h a t i f t o t a l w a r comes, the whole world may perish. They are just echoing Me — but the whole world cannot perish, because I have to come down again after 700 years. ‘ D u r i n g M y r e c e n t s h o r t s t a y i n P o o n a I w a s h a p p y t o l e t t h e P o o n a Bhajan Mandali sing before Me. I also paid visits to the homes of some of My men and allowed a few to call on Me; but it was in connection with the continual pain in My injured hip-joint that I went to Poona and also paid a flying visit to Bombay. ‘The hip-joint is now said to be so nearly healed that full weight bearing and almost normal use are advised by the best available consultants. But the fact remains that I still have intense and continual pain, even at rest. Those of you who keep watch by turns throughout the night at My bedside know how I suffer. So much so that at the moment I am handicapped to the extent that I must depend upon the loving help and care of those near Me. But all this is as nothing compared to what I shall have to endure when the dark cloud bursts upon Me. ‘To

fulfill

all

that

is

ordained,

I

work;

and

this

work

releases

the

t r e m e n d o u s f o r c e t h a t s t a m p s M y A d v e n t . T h e i m p a c t o f t h i s f o r c e o n groping humanity is an awakening in general, and the realization of the Self in particular. ‘Work has a charm of its own when the forces of opposition are faced and e v e n t u a l l y o v e r c o m e . F o r t h e p r e s e n t , I f a c e t h e d a r k c l o u d , a n d y e t I continue to do My work ceaselessly. Besides this I have to do many things. I have for instance to see to the arrangements for the Sahavas, and shall also have to give Sahavas to hundreds of My followers. ‘But how difficult it is to overcome all hindrances and complete the work in hand when there are distractions to be reckoned with. The pain in My hip-

84 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

joint, for example, is just one of the many distractions I must endure while doing My work. If this pain should vanish or even lessen to some extent My w o r k w i l l b e f u l f i l l e d , i n s p i t e o f t h e o n s l a u g h t o f t h e d a r k c l o u d t h a t threatens to jeopardise fulfillment. ‘Just as I am now quite unable to do so many physical things unaided, in spite of an otherwise healthy body, I may at the time of the impending crisis, become even mentally helpless, without being mentally deranged in the least. Y o u m a y t h e n n o t b e a b l e t o c o n t i n u e t o h o l d M y d a a m a n b e c a u s e circumstances will seemingly justify y o u r l e t t i n g i t g o . I a m i n f i n i t e l y m erciful and so repeat the sam e thing again an d again so th at you m ay r e m e m b e r M y w o r d s a n d t r y y o u r b e s t t o c l i n g t o M e . F o r e x a m p l e i n a sudden and terrifying earthquake any man, in the blind hope of saving his l i f e , i s l i k e l y t o r u n , f o r g e t t i n g i n a n i n s t a n t h i s f a m i l y a n d a l l h i s possessions, and thus forsake them before he realizes what he has done. ‘Whatever is to happen, will happen. This is the principle, or as I call it, the law of ‘Must’ — the Law on which universal illusion thrives. It is as if the ready and complete film of illusion, from the beginningless beginning to the endless end, is being projected continually. If it is destined that M y daaman should slip from your hands, it will; but it is for Me to warn, and for you to remain alert. In illusion, you may die at any moment. The illusory life has no guarantee because no one can know for certain what will happen the very next moment. Except God, everything is illusion. This world and all its affairs are so insubstantial that it is meaningless to say even that they have no substance. ‘It is no joke to realize Me. Those who develop inner sight and even those who are established Saints fail to fathom Me. This is because Fana (total annihilation) stands between all illusion, from the lowest to the highest, and the One Reality. The practice of Shariat, that is, living in strict compliance with the laws and precepts of one’s religion, may lead one to Tariqat, the path of Gnosis, which has six stages. But Tariqat has its end in Fana (self-annihilation). Imagine, for example, that your body is your self, and that your body m ust be totally consum ed by you in the course of the six stages of Gnosis. You will have to do this with your own mouth, piece by piece, at every stage. Ultimately, in the last stage, your own mouth must eat itself. This is what I mean by the final Fana, and this is why I tell you that it is impossible to realise Me without My help. ‘Although, I appear to be quite different in every Avataric period, I always am and always remain the same from beginning to end. I live the worldly life that is lived by the people, in order to help them to live the divine life that I live simultaneously. To be established in the hearts of the people I need no religious organizations. On the contrary, religious organizations need Me in o r d e r t o b e e s t a b l i s h e d a f t e r M e . T h o s e w h o d o n o t l o v e M e f a i l t o understand Me; and those who do not realize My Divinity fail to understand it. ‘ I a m o f t e n t o u c h e d b y t h e o u t p o u r i n g s o f l o v e , f a i t h , s a c r i f i c e a n d service on the part of the growing number of those who believe in Me here a n d i n t h e W e s t , and I do not mind the attitude of those who remain

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 85 u n c o n c e r n e d a b o u t M e a n d e v e n t o t h o s e w h o o p p o s e M e . B u t I a m constantly eyeing your obedience to Me, because it is futile to have love from the whole world in absence of the required degree of obedience from you. I d o n o t m e a n t h a t y o u i n t e n d t o d i s o b e y M e , o r t h a t y o u d i s o b e y M e deliberately when I insist so often on your obedience. On the contrary, I do not forget your sense of duty. ‘Recently, for example, P and K and their family circle also have given ample proof of their sense of duty to Me. P’s son, a brilliant M.Sc., died in the prime of life after a short illness. In order to fulfill what he considered his duty to My cause, P. reached his dying son too late. In spite of this, P’s y o u n g e r s o n s w r i t e t o M e t h a t w h i l e t h e y w e r e s t i l l w a i t i n g t o h a v e M y Sahavas, their elder brother has come to Me already. ‘K. left his home for My work immediately after his younger brother had died in the house. K., as the elder brother did not even wait to perform the funeral rights demanded by custom. When questioned by visitors, the family replied by repeating what K. had told them — that the man loved Baba and had merely dropped the coat of his gross body. K. had felt certain that his young brother would have wanted him to go ahead with Baba’s urgent work at once, since he had always looked upon the service of Baba as infinitely more important and rewarding than any ritual. ‘The point that I wish to drive home is that it is never too late to obey Me, t h a t o n e s h o u l d o b e y M e t o t h e e n d , a n d t h a t y o u s h o u l d o b e y M e w i t h courage undaunted by any disaster, and that above all else, you should obey Me when I stand face to face with the dark cloud. ‘For six months you take care of what I say to you, and after that I shall take care of you. I say again, do not leave Me and live to repent later, when t h e r e w i l l b e n o r e m e d y f o r y o u r l o s s . F o r s i x m o n t h s , d o n o t g i v e u p obeying Me at any cost — come what may, remember Me and do as I say. Make all other thoughts subordinate to your resolve to please Me with all your heart. ‘Although, to let go your hold on My daaman is always easy, it is never easy to hold on to it, and it may during the next six months be more difficult than ever before. But if you try with all your heart to do so, I surely will help you. Once you let go, remember that it will be very difficult to grasp My daaman again. ‘Bayazid, who is known as the Sardar of Sufi Masters, realized God at a very advanced age and also became one of the five Perfect Masters of his t i m e . O n c e h e asked two disciples who loved him most what was their greatest desire. One s a i d , “ I w a n t t h e M a s t e r . ” t h e o t h e r , “ I w a n t t h e Master’s state of Perfection.” Both wanted the same thing; yet there was a w o r l d o f d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e i r a p p r o a c h . T h e f i r s t d e s i r e d , a b o v e a l l , t h e pleasure of his Master because he did not want to let go hold on the Master’s daaman to the end. ‘Now for six months, up to March 1958: 1)

Be ready and determined to do whatever I ask you to do.

2)

Do no lustful action whatsoever; even husband and wife had better remain celibate.

86

Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. 3)

Be honest. Honesty demands that you deceive no one, give no false hope or empty promise.

4)

Try your very best not to hurt the feelings of others, but not to the extent of doing any lustful action.

‘Those who have not surrendered to Me or who cannot do so, but n e v e r t h e l e s s l i k e t o o b e y M e , s h o u l d c o n s i d e r t h e l a s t t h r e e i n j u n c t i o n s a s My orders to them.’ In conclusion, Baba exhorted all those present to take the decisive step of resolving here and now that they would try 100% to obey Him for these six months, and that while embracing Him silently, they would concentrate on that resolve, remaining faithful to it. With these words Baba embraced each, reminding them before His embrace to concentrate forcefully upon their resolve. As mentioned earlier, we received instructions from Baba to obey His instructions in this circular upon our receipt of it, for the six months until March 1958. During this period I was transferred from Sydney to Tamworth, about 300 miles away for three or four months, which greatly helped husband and wife to remain celibate. With the ‘being honest’ instruction, I seemed to be put into situations where a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer was required. I don’t remember what the question was about now, but I remember feeling that an honest answer would cause me some considerable embarrassment. I was also well aware of Baba’s instructions at this time — I hadn’t forgotten them. I tried to be evasive, but it didn’t work. It was as though I was an ant on the floor walking in a certain direction and a person was looking down at me watching, and would then put an obstruction across my path. If I turned to the right to get around the obstruction, the obstruction would be moved and again put in front of me. Each time I turned to get around the obstruction it would be moved to obstruct me again. It became obvious to me that somehow I was being watched because my every move was immediately countered with another move. I started to see the humour of the situation and thought of the example of the ant, but it was also very serious. My evasiveness did not work, there was no way out except face the situation squarely and either be obedient or not. I chose to be obedient and gave the honest answer in spite of my expected embarrassment. To my surprise, I found that my world didn’t collapse around my ears, I wasn’t nearly as embarrassed as I had feared and after having given my answer I had a new inner strength and I experienced a growing. Being honest under trying circumstances became much easier after that. With each of the instructions there was a definite test given in a very natural kind of a way. But it was given never-the-less. If one took the easy way out one would be disobedient. The obedient option always looked harder, but it wasn’t really if you just made up your mind to be obedient regardless of the consequences. Once that decision was made it became much easier, the hardest thing was making the decision. This six months was quite a test of obedience, but it was such a unique and incredible promise that Baba had made to us, ‘For six months you take care of what I say to you, and after that I shall take care of you.’ We had not heard of Dr Harry Kenmore before, and the following extract of a letter from Mani sent from Bombay on 28th October 1957, gave us our first information on this person who was to become very close to Baba and to an extent helped to reduce some of His suffering — when Baba was ready to have it reduced.

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 87

‘I wonder if I told you about Dr Harry Kenmore, the blind Baba-lover in New York. He is a chiropractor and has had long experience in treatment of pelvic disorders. He wrote a heart warming letter, offering humbly his services to his Beloved Master, saying his physical handicap and expense would be no strain — was ready and waiting to come out to India at a word of permission from Baba. Baba sent him a cable to fly by the first available plane after 1st November and we expect his treatment will begin about the 5th. Incidentally this will also save Baba the wearisome trip to, and the long stay in Calcutta for the intended treatment by the chiropractor there who said on seeing the X-rays that Baba definitely needs manipulation and adjustment of the spine etc., and He will not be just treatment by hand but with the heart.’ ‘With fondest love to you all from the Indian members of His family.’ Mani This is part of a letter from Mani, Pimpalgaon, 15th November 1957. ‘It looks like the originally planned November Sahavas for the West had to be — even if represented by one man — for Dr Harry Kenmore is here since over a week, and will be here for a month in all. I could write pages about him or just sum it up by saying he’s wonderful — wonderful as the guy who came against odds to serve his Master, and as the guy staying with us at Pimpalgaon. It’s difficult to remember he cannot see, and he has a grand sense of humour. He certainly knows his job and Baba is very pleased with him and satisfied with what he is doing. His treatment is simply fascinating to watch — our doctors and we, have never seen anything like it! (during the years he has evolved a technique of his own from the old established chiropractic system), and he treats Baba a number of times a day, correcting the spine, hip, etc., that badly needed adjustment (there was imbalance generalized throughout). He described the condition of the joint as very bad. There is a lot to do in the limited one month, and already he has helped a lot — he has adjusted the skeletal equilibrium and Baba has now good posture and much relief from pain for the first time in all these painful months. But the pathological condition of the joint is badly advanced, and on the question of “walking about” Dr Kenmore is very doubtful. He said if he had come in June, these complications would not have set in; and if he had not been allowed to come for another two months he couldn’t have done anything to help. The muscles are in very poor tone, and he’ll soon be starting work on that (that of course will mean a great amount of pain for a time till they’re strengthened). So that’s how matters stand. Baba told him, “You do your very best, and leave the results to Me.” So as always, it rests with Him... The odds on the final decision seem at present to be 50/50. I believe Baba will give it so the cables can be sent out on the 28th, and I will probably be writing after that. With our fondest love to you all His dear ones, in Baba.’ Mani. The following cable was received on 28th November 1957: I HAVE DECIDED AS GOD IN MY DIVINE KNOWLEDGE AND AS HUMAN PATIENT THROUGH DR KENMORE’S KNOWLEDGE THAT C O M B I N I N G W E S T EAST

SAHAVAS

IN

INDIA

IS

ABSOLUTELY

INADVISABLE

STOP

WILL

D E F I N I T E L Y G I V E S A H A V A S T O M Y WESTERN LOVERS AT MYRTLE BEACH FOR FIFTEEN DAYS IN MAY AND FIVE DAYS IN AUSTRALIA STOP SPEEDILY INFORM ALL STOP M A N I W R I T I N G D E T A I L S S H O R T L Y M Y E T E R N A L L O V E T O Y O U EACH. BABA.

88 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

This now seemed to be more definite. I had not obtained my passport yet and now it looked as though I would not need one. No one had paid their fare money because that wasn’t to be paid until Baba told us to do so. Most of the love gifts had been paid and some of the money had been sent to India. Family letter Pimpalgaon, 1st December 1957, contained a copy of the cable (above) sent to the U.S.A. England, Europe and Australia on 28th November, and then continued as follows: Baba wants me to report the main points discussed at the meeting during which Dr Harry Kenmore was also present. Baba said, ‘I am very pleased with Harry, both with his love for Me and his skill as a doctor. He knows his job 100%, and he has helped in My work by helping My body to the extent he has. He has done his best with satisfactory results. But the condition in the hip-joint is very bad, and as he knows and as I have said all along that I will not be able to walk a b o u t a g a i n a s b e f o r e . H e s a y s , a n d I k n o w , t h a t i f h e h a d c o m e s o m e m onths before I w ould be w alking about norm ally now . B ut that w as not ordained. ‘M y accident w as no “accident”, and it all com es to one thing; w hat I wanted has happened, and what I want will happen. The continuous pain was a d i s t r a c t i o n t o M y w o r k , h e n c e t h e c o m i n g o f H a r r y K e n m o r e w h o h a s helped greatly. He has adjusted My body to structural balance and I am now able to stand erect in good posture for the first time since the accident. To hold this structural balance, he has advised great care for about a year and the utmost precautions while giving darshan and sahavas. There should be no strain

on

My

body

and

I

must

avoid

fatigue

and

refrain

from

movements causing exertion such as handing prasad to large numbers as I do during darshans or being garlanded and embraced by them. I have agreed to follow this during the darshans I will give in Poona and Bombay in December and thereafter. ‘I tell Harry that as long as he is here and attending to Me I will do as he says, and in his absence will try to carry out his instructions. But I cannot p r o m i s e t o c a r r y t h e m o u t f u l l y b e c a u s e I h a v e w o r k t o d o . H e h a s satisfactorily attended to his business and I have to attend to Mine. I have taken on this body for humanity’s sake and during the year I have to use My body for the work I have to do in My love for humanity. Therefore, I must not take care of it to the extent of letting it interfere in My work. On the other hand I must take enough care so that it stands up to the strain of work that lies ahead of Me. ‘ I h a v e d e c i d e d n o t t o g i v e t h e c o m b i n e d E a s t - W e s t S a h a v a s f o r t w o reasons. Firstly, handicapped as I am physically, it would be a great strain and fatigue to Me. Secondly, if I give it in spite of that, I would not be able t o g i v e f u lly t o M y lo v e r s w h a t I w i s h M y S a h a v a s s h o u ld g i v e , a n d t h e y would not be able to receive all I would want them to have. Hence I have decided to give the Sahavas separately, to the Easterners in India and to the Westerners in Myrtle Beach and in Australia. I will give the Eastern Sahavas i n F e b r u a r y , a n d I s h a l l a s k t h a t t h e p h y s i c a l e x p r e s s i o n o f their love

Meher Baba’s suffering for Humanity. 89 (garlanding,

embracing,

etc.)

be

modified

in

keeping

with

Harry’s

advice

and

instructions. The number of Eastern Sahavasees has been restricted to 1,400 (i.e. two groups of 700 each). ‘I w ill definitely give M y Sahavas to M y W estern lovers in M ay 1958, for 15 days in M yrtle Beach and 5 days in Australia. I w ant no publicity of any k i n d , n o “ o p e n d a y ” p r o g r a m m e , n o “ v i s i t o r s ” i n t h a t s e n s e . T h e S a h a v a s will be for those who love Me, and are willing to obey Me and wish to attend the Sahavas. ‘After

July

15,

there

will

be

no

more

Sahavas,

congregation,

mass

darshans, etc. I have to do all that before July 15th, unmindful of My physical condition and outward circumstances.’ Baba wishes me to add this message from Him to His Western lovers: ‘I am happy with your love and know your unquestioning and willing a c c e p t a n c e o f M y w i s h e s . I k n o w w h a t i s b e s t a n d M y d e c i s i o n i s f o r t h e best. I love you as G od alone can love, and w ill definitely give M y Sahavas in May 1958 (it may possibly be June beginning for Australia). This Sahavas w i l l g i v e y o u w h a t I w a n t y o u t o h a v e 1 0 0 % t o M y s a t i s f a c t i o n . Y o u w i l l then understand fully w hat I m ean by this. H old on to M y daam an, love M e more and more, and you will receive fully what I shall give. My love to you each. ’18 Meanwhile in Sydney, Robert Rouse and Bill Le Page had become important customers at the P. & O. shipping office in Bridge Street, where they had made the initial bookings, and then the changes of names in the group, as people’s circumstances changed. Still later, the whole group rebooked on a later ship with subsequent changes of names as people were added to or taken off the list. Now they fronted up to a very surprised booking clerk at P.& O. and cancelled the whole thing — fortunately the fares had not been paid. It now became much clearer why Baba had instructed us not to pay for them until He told us to do so. My leave was now no longer such a problem because one week was much easier to arrange than one month. Now the mystery of Meher Baba coming to Lorna Rouse became clearer. Seemingly, He didn’t want her to go through all the trauma and worry of the changing plans. Apparently, He had known then that He would be visiting Australia again and in His compassion He had shielded her from all this worry during and after her pregnancy. Family letter Pimpalgaon, 5th January 1958. Tells of the day before Christmas Baba said, ‘Tomorrow is My Birthday,’ and early that Christmas morning they sang to Him, ‘Happy Birthday to You.’ 19 Here is a copy of a letter from Mani dated 11th January 1958. Dear Bill, Francis, Dennis and all His Australian groups and Family. Baba gave the 7th morning to discuss about the May-June Sahavas in Myrtle Beach and Australia, and all main points were discussed and decided. Only by yesterday was I able to send out the long letter to Elizabeth Patterson re the many points and details concerning the Sahavas in M.B. and to England, Europe for their participation in the M.B. Sahavas. I’m giving here the general points decided, and the specific ones for Australian Sahavas.

90 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. 1)

Baba and four mandali will fly to U.S.A. some time about 15th May 1958, direct to Myrtle

Beach, reaching there in time to have a short rest before the Sahavas begins on May 20th. The Sahavas will begin on May 20th 1958, lasting for 15 days. On 4th June Baba will leave direct for Australia. The women will not be accompanying Baba — only 4 men as mentioned above. Baba will travel first class. 2) The love-gifts amount from Australia that has already reached us will be used towards Baba and party’s travel expenses around-the-world; the rest being used from the American contribution. 3)

The remaining love-gifts amount with you, should be used towards the arrangements for

accommodation and stay of Baba and party and those attending the Sahavas in Australia. 4)

More Baba-lovers may now find it possible to attend the Sahavas (than those on the final list

sent to India) — they may do so if they wish and can manage and afford to. The Sahavas is for those who love Baba, can stay the five days with Him, and are willing to obey His wishes implicitly during that time. If Baba feels so inclined, He may prolong the Sahavas from five to seven days. There must be no “darshan day”, no visitors and no reporters or publicity of any kind. Children Baba-lovers (over 9) may also attend, but only if they are attending the full 5 days, as all must who are attending the Sahavas. None should write India for separate permission. All welcome on above stipulations. 5) Baba will leave Myrtle Beach on 4th June and will have a short rest in Australia (at place of Sahavas) before the Sahavas begins on 8th June. The Australian Sahavas will be from 8th to 12th of June. 6)

As in the U.S.A., Baba will give His Sahavas in Australia at one place only. Baba leaves the

Sahavas arranging to Francis, with loving and willing co-operation and help from all as possible. Baba has outlined the main points, and leaves the details to you. For the site of the Sahavas: Baba gives first preference to Queensland; and second preference to Beacon Hill. Baba would like Queensland if the climate there is good during June, and if the Australian Group can afford to assemble there and if the place is practical from all angles — finance, convenience, distance, climate, accommodation for all, etc. But you should not feel bound by this. If Queensland is not found to be practical from the above mentioned points then you should drop the idea and make arrangements at Beacon Hill for all concerned. If Queensland is found to be practical, then it would be ideal — for Baba would be blessing with His Presence yet another part of Australia. Baba wishes Francis to let Him know which is decided (if possible by first week of Feb., as Indian Sahavas begins on 15th Feb.). Baba’s Love to you each and all of His dear Family, Mani. We receive a letter from Mani dated 4th Feb. 1958, in which reference is made to a quote from the mast Chotti Baba, regarding the suffering God takes on for man. He said, to the effect that all suffering borne by Baba is out of His compassion and love for humanity. The suffering yet to come for the world will be so great that it would not sustain it and so Baba takes one end of the yoke on His shoulder.

20

Regarding the coming Western Sahavas, Baba emphasizes that this Sahavas is to be a Sahavas in the complete sense, of the Beloved and His lovers. There should be no publicity, no reporters or television, even no tape recording; that films and pictures may be taken but

Meher Baba’s Suffering for Humanity. 91 only by the lovers (no professionals called in) no ‘artists’ doing pictures of Him, no ‘visits’ or interested ones coming for a meeting or interview during the Sahavas. 21 Here is a copy of a letter sent from Mahabaleshwar, 12th April 1958 — Baba’s message to all those attending the Sahavas at Myrtle Beach, U.S.A., and at Brisbane, Australia. ‘I am coming to America and Australia solely to give My Sahavas to My lovers, and I want each of you to come with the longing to receive just that. I w a n t t h i s S a h a v a s t o b e a b o v e a l l a c l o s e c o m p a n i o n s h i p b e t w e e n y o u r Beloved and His lovers; and if you wish to maintain this unique relationship, then do not come with the question or the desire to seek discourses and explanations. Come with the preparedness to receive fully whatever I may give you, with the thought of being completely resigned to My Will. ‘M y suffering is becom ing daily m ore intense, and M y health is daily getting worse, but My physical body continues to bear the burden of it all. Despite it all I will hold the Sahavas. I expect from you a deep understanding of My self imposed suffering,

which

is

begotten

of

My

compassion

and

love

for

mankind.

Also

understand therefore, that I will not undergo medical examinations or treatments for My injured hip either in America or Australia. No doctor or treatment will be of any help before the pain I am undergoing has served its purpose. Remember that My coming is entirely to give My Sahavas to you all. ‘This Sahavas will be unique in the sense that you will witness and share My present universal suffering by being near Me as My fortunate companions — being with the Ancient One, who will at the same time be completely on the human level with you. It will be helpful to all those participating in the Sahavas, to know of the oft repeated hint I have given to those living with M e — t o r e m i n d t h e m o f M y “ D e c l a r a t i o n ” w h e r e i n I s t a t e d t h a t M y glorification will follow My humiliation, and pointing out that this period of M y S a h a v a s w i l l f a l l w i t h i n t h e o r b i t o f M y u n i v e r s a l s u f f e r i n g a n d helplessness.’ A s i m i l a r c i r c u l a r w a s s e n t o u t p r i o r t o t h e M e h e r a b a d S a h a v a s i n February: ‘My Sahavasees who came with love and resignation to My Will, had the utmost happiness of receiving far and above what they expected. Likewise with you all, I may give you more, much more than you expect — or maybe nothing, and that nothing may prove everything. So I say, come with open hearts to receive much or nothing from your Divine Beloved. Come prepared to receive not so much of My words, but of My Silence. My LOVE to you each and all.’ BABA

C H A P T E R

1 1

Preparation for Second Visit.

The family letter from Meher Baba dated 1lth January 1958, told us that the Sahavas would be held in June at either Beacon Hill, New South Wales, or in Queensland. Very much to everyone’s surprise, Queensland was mentioned as the first preference. No one in the group that met regularly at Beacon Hill had ever been to Queensland, no Baba lovers were living there, and few of us even knew a single person living there. The idea was a complete surprise to us. There was a general discussion and it was mentioned that after the accidents that had injured Baba’s face and nose, He had suffered very much from the cold. But this did not seem to be an adequate explanation for Baba’s preference. But it was not necessary that we know why Baba preferred Queensland. Baba had expressed a first preference for it, and that was really all that mattered — He preferred Queensland — so we would have it in Queensland. We also realized that it would be wonderful if another part of Australia, particularly a part so clearly of His choice, could be blessed with His Presence. It was decided that Francis Brabazon would go to Queensland to find a suitable place; he left just before his birthday in January 1958. He drove his car the six hundred and fifty odd miles from Sydney to Brisbane. The only person that he knew in Queensland was an author and poet. She had read Francis’ poetry and had contacted him about poetry — she included one of his poems in a book of verse that she edited. He visited her and she told him about various districts in Queensland including a very beautiful place called Buderim. This was about seventy miles north of Brisbane. From her description it seemed to meet the requirements of convenience, distance and climate. The next morning Francis drove to Buderim. He intended having a good look around the district for a few days and nights. He camped on the beach at Maroochydore on the first night. Then he drove around the district inspecting it for a suitable site. He was driving along the highway heading north when he passed a road sign saying Kiel Mountain. He had gone past it, but a thought flashed through his mind that he should turn back and explore this side road. Near the end of the road he stopped and went over to a farm house. He was directed by a small child to the milking bales in a shed where ‘daddy’ was — it was about 6.30 a.m. Francis asked the farmer about properties in the area. The farmer told him that his property was on the market. Francis returned the next day and had further talks with this farmer. Further on from this farm Francis could see the top of a hill and he had a feeling to go and look at it, but didn’t go immediately. One night he camped on a little triangular area of public land with a service station and a few farms nearby, where the Palmwoods road meets a little road called Pine Tree Grove. The next morning he was making breakfast on his little kerosine primus, when a farmer who lived just across the road saw him and came over with a present of some mangoes. He gave them to Francis and started to talk to him. Francis thanked him for the fruit and told him that he was looking for a property in the district. This farmer took a day off from working his own farm and took Francis around the district showing him many farms. Finally, they went to the top of Kiel Mountain and saw the farm there. As soon as Francis saw that place he felt ‘this is it’.

Preparation for Second Visit. 93

He sent a long cable to Meher Baba giving Him a full description of the property. The cable cost him ten pounds which was about half the average weekly wage at the time, which gives an idea of the length of the cable. Baba cabled back saying that the property was ‘excellently suitable’. The property cost four thousand two hundred pounds and Francis paid a deposit of ten pounds, the contract was signed and he obtained vacant possession virtually straight away. He was driving back to Sydney, to arrange finance for the property and he had travelled as far as Landsborough, when he recognized a family that he had farewelled not many months previously from Beacon Hill. They had a caravan, but it met with an accident and now they were in a car with all their possessions about to head north. Francis told them of this Baba project and asked them if they would like to ‘be in it’. They agreed to participate and he told them where the property was. When Francis returned after having arranged finance, they had moved into the farm house and work commenced immediately on the preparations for the coming Sahavas. Francis planned to build a special room for Baba to be constructed entirely of best quality, long lasting Australian hardwood timber — there wasn’t time to build this one in stone. This room was to be a permanent structure, where Baba would live and sleep while on the property. Because of the shortage of time, he planned to house this room in a larger temporary structure, which could be replaced later with a more appropriate permanent structure, when there was more time and money available after Meher Baba’s visit. But the heart of the structure and the permanent part of it was to be Baba’s wooden room inside the outer shell. The best location for this new house was a site near the location of the farm house. This necessitated the removal of the farm house to a new location on a lower ridge a few hundred yards away. One of the bonuses of having Baba’s new house built near the site of the old farm house was that there would be a ready made garden around the new house. There was also a meeting hall planned to be located nearby where Meher Baba could spend time with His lovers. There was really only three full months available to achieve all this. The property was purchased in February and work commenced in early March. The elements were not very helpful to anyone wishing to construct buildings quickly at this time, because from the end of March all through April till the beginning of May, it rained constantly. May was the one dry spell during the whole of this period. There were 21 inches of rain during April — the wettest April in living memory. Francis had a new road constructed to allow a more gradual access to the proposed new house, and concrete strips were laid down the hill to the new location of the old farm house. A contractor was engaged to move the old farm house. Two railway lines were put under the house and it was lifted up with hydraulic jacks, the piers removed, then a truck maneuvered into position, and the house was lowered onto the back of the truck. Then the truck took the house to the top of the hill and was driven onto the two new concrete strips to go down the hill. The hill was so steep that a bulldozer was coupled onto the back of the truck and then as the truck slowly descended the hill, the bulldozer was pulling in the opposite direction to increase the braking effect and stop the truck from getting out of control, while it was going down this steep hill with its heavy and cumbersome load of a complete farm house. Subsequently, the farm house was positioned safely at its new location. There was neither town water or electricity connected to the property. As the electricity did not run past the property, it was not just a matter of simply connecting it. It had to be

94 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. brought to the property first, from some considerable distance away by the appropriate authority installing the necessary light poles, then across the property and finally connected to the house. A water tank, fed from rain water collected from the roof of the house, had been the domestic water supply. But the old tank had been demolished when the house was moved and it was now too wet to get vehicles in to locate the new tanks at the farm house. Fortunately, when the new road was put in, a spring was unearthed at the side of the new road and this was the source of water during the building operations. Reg Paffle, one of the people helping Francis at this time, later described this period as follows: ‘In March 1958, one man from Melbourne and two men from Sydney gathered at Kiel Mountain to work under the direction of Francis Brabazon, in preparation for Meher Baba’s arrival in June. At the end of March Mrs. Lorna Rouse arrived with little Rhada to cook for the men. At this she proved to be an expert. We were joined at first by two farmers and later by a third. At the end of April a local carpenter was recruited. ‘From the beginning the work went along steadily in spite of the constant rain from the end of March to the beginning of May. May was the one dry month during the whole of that period. It was a happy time for all concerned. After a heavy day’s work, there would be a delightful meal cooked by Lorna. After dinner Francis would read to us from Shakespeare, Hafiz or Stay with God. The framework of the house went up during a particularly wet week.’ Francis had been sent specifications of Baba’s bed, a carry chair and a potty chair. Reg Paffle built these out of Australian hardwoods. At one stage Francis had truck loads of cinders brought onto the property and had them distributed near the building site, to make a smooth and well drained area for walking. Many years later, Joanna Bruford was asked about the last weeks before Baba came. She said, ‘It was very hectic. When I came here Bernard and I were still young. I was 17 and Bernard must have been 15 and it was quite a shock to me. When we got here it was just expected that we work. And that wasn’t just doing what I had in my mind — my idea of work. We got up in the morning and we worked before breakfast, then we had breakfast and we worked until smoko — it was a long, long stretch and it went on like this for the whole day. We really worked hard. ‘Everybody in the place worked. Francis had us disciplined here, it was my first experience of a real team effort. It was terrific, everybody was flat out to do what they could for Baba, to get everything right — even a seventeen year old girl. I was out there shoveling gravel for the road. Sometimes people would give me odd jobs, but we never stopped. Bernard carried water, but there were hundreds of jobs and it was all hard ‘yakka’. ‘Every bit of muscle power was needed and it was all really well organized, nobody dared slack for a second. It wasn’t external discipline, it was everyone’s own internal discipline. It was everyone pulling together and it was a really great feeling. In the last week a lot of people arrived. It just seemed as if we were snowed under with people, but everybody got jobs, all different sorts of jobs. I wasn’t the only woman working on the road, and that wasn’t the only job I did. But it was my first experience shovelling gravel and I really enjoyed it. If you left the farm house in the morning and came up through the trees and looked up to the hill, it looked like an ant hill. There were always some figures running backwards and forwards — there was great activity. People were always doing something.’

Preparation for Second Visit. 95 Bernard Bruford’s first job on arrival was to carry water from the spring to the farm house. Even after the tank was erected at the farm house there was no water there until it rained, and May was the one dry month when it didn’t rain. He carried the water about one hundred and fifty metres from the spring by the side of the road that had been unearthed when the bulldozer was making the new road. This was very fortunate because it gave a good flow of much needed water. It has since ceased flowing, but at the time that it was needed, it was there. In the evening, on the road alongside the spring, the men would get clean after a hard day’s work. It was the custom to take it in turns to remove one’s clothes, lift out a bucket of water and proceed to get clean. This was their daily ‘shower’ during the last few weeks. As more people arrived it was not unusual for the new arrivals to first meet the earlier arrivals, in the nude, swatting mosquitoes, while they were bathing by the side of the road. Bernard is not quite sure how the women managed for showers but he suspects that this is what happened to a lot of the water that was carried to the farm house during the day. Here is a description written at the time by May Lundquist: ‘It was a wonderful time — those days when we were preparing for Baba’s arrival. I had been ready to go to Woombye since the beginning of April, but was not allowed to come until the beginning of May and then joined Lorna Rouse, Diana Snow, Reg Paffle and Jack Paynter and of course Roy Baulch and Francis Brabazon. Those who were already there had had a tough time working in the rain — it had been raining for many weeks. The road Francis had built had been ruined by the rain and had to be rebuilt. ‘The evening I arrived no one met me at the station and the telephone to Kiel Mountain was not working, so I had to get a taxi and find my own way out there. The taxi driver did not know the road or the farm and had to enquire from neighbours to find out the way. The closest neighbour, warned about the state of the road and lent me a torch. And there we were, I took my shoes off — luckily had no stockings on — and stepped out into ankle deep mud on a dark rainy night. ‘After a few minutes discussing the next move with the taxi driver, a wee little light appeared down what seemed to be the road. Diana Snow, braving the weather and the mud, had come to find her bedroom — Lorna’s baby was disturbing her in the house. So, as both Diana’s and Francis’ car had been left at this place — unable to get through the mud down to the house — we each got into one and spent the night curled up on the back seat. ‘It nearly seemed as if I had brought with me the Canberra weather — which is dry and crisp — for from then on it began to clear and we had beautiful warm weather for some weeks. ‘I was given the job of helping the carpenters; something which greatly suits me and which seems to suit Diana even better. Both Diana and I helped to sand the wood for the most important place of all— the “Baba-room”. By now the walls were up and the important thing was to match the wood for this special chamber, which was built well inside the outer walls. The ceiling had to have light coloured timber, while the walls were to be in darker timber —turpentine, which is nearly a red wood. They have some really beautiful wood in Australia. ‘It was always difficult to get the material on time, and sometimes Roy would have to do some other work until the material arrived. In addition to building the Baba-house, the tanks had to be put up, the meeting hall was being constructed, the roads were being made; partly concreted; the bathroom was being built; the grounds had to be cleared; wood cut; water carried; bunks made for the women; palliasses made for all; a dining room had to be fixed

96 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

under the farm house and cooking arrangements made; stores had to be planned and brought up; toilets built; tents erected for the men. ‘After a few days Marjorie Donaldson came up, Ken (Lorna's brother), Robert Rouse, Ena Lemmon and the Brufords. John Bruford put up telephones between the Baba house, the farm house and the tents, helped with the building of Baba’s chairs, etc. I had already made some cushions in Canberra which I now filled — more cushions had to be made (for the carry chair and a few for the car) and I was given the task of doing them all. In the meantime, under Diana’s direction, we had started the painting of the Baba-house. ‘The day Francis announced that Baba had sent a cable saying that He was arriving a week earlier than expected I really thought it was a bad joke. I had not thought it was possible that He would do such a thing. But now it was true.’ As the deadline approached there was more and more pressure put on the workers. Bernard remembers one job he and others had in the last few weeks. It was nailing the floor boards in the new house. He remembers Francis coming in and noticing that they were putting two nails — the usual practice — into each of the floor boards. Francis criticized them for wasting time putting two nails in each floor board and from then on they only put one nail in each board to save time. Someone else started painting the tank that had been erected at Baba’s new house. Francis told them that they shouldn’t have started that job, because they wouldn’t have time to finish it, and he was right, they didn’t have time to finish it. Three days before Baba was due to arrive, work started in earnest on the meeting hall. As there was no electricity on the property most of the work could only be done between daylight and dark. However, as more and more people arrived with cars, some work on the meeting hall was done at night in the light of car headlights. The pressure of time. Forty-eight hours before Baba was due to arrive, some people had reservations about the condition that the place would be in, but everyone just kept going, trying to do as much as they could. Lorna Rouse and Dianna Snow were up till 3:00 a.m. on the last night sewing curtains for Baba’s house. The day before Baba arrived there was a massive clean up. All the cement bags were gathered up and there were so many of them. Everyone had been too busy working to do such jobs before. Also on the day before Baba’s arrival, Francis, John Bruford and Bill Le Page took two cars down to Brisbane to meet Baba at the airport. They were to stay at the Bellevue Hotel overnight and arrive at the property the next morning. Francis had been a worker and foreman for so long that when he got dressed in his suit and tie that morning he looked very strange to everyone. No one on the property during the past few months had seen him look like this before. He told everyone to do the best they could to get the work finished, but not to work after a certain time, the only exception was any work to be done on Baba’s room. At this stage it is worth mentioning about one of the cars that transported Baba from Brisbane to Kiel Mountain and return. John Bruford was disappointed that he hadn’t driven Baba during His earlier visit to Australia in 1956. However, Francis invited him to drive Baba in 1958. He was living in Melbourne at the time and he immediately decided to get a new car. It was to be a Peugeot 403. There were two assembly plants in Australia for this type of car, one was in Melbourne and the other in Sydney. John, being the perfectionist he was, reached the opinion that the cars assembled in Melbourne were not as good as the ones assembled in Sydney. So he drove his mechanic the six hundred miles to Sydney, went through the factory, chose the one that they thought was nearest to mechanical perfection and then drove back to Melbourne. The fact that it had red upholstery didn’t deter him because he painted

Preparation for Second visit. 97 that. He had a special heater made and installed and he also made a special arm rest for Baba, so that He would be more comfortable in the car, after His recent accident. During the trip from Brisbane, Baba wanted the heater on, and of course it was put on because it was His wish. Francis and John, both were wearing their suits and ties and they soon started to perspire. John was feeling uncomfortable, but it was all in a good cause, because Baba was comfortable. However, after a little time Baba indicated to John to open, the window slightly. John felt that Baba would have preferred the window shut, but because he was feeling so uncomfortable Baba allowed him to open the window a little. At one stage Baba asked John to drive faster. He was normally a fast, careful driver, but because he was driving the God-Man he was driving more sedately than usual. With the faster driving they arrived at Kiel Mountain before their expected arrival time.

Australia Maps showing places in Australia Meher Baba visited.

Photograph by courtesy of Robert Rouse. Looking from the hill to the Baba House in centre, and meeting hall on right.

Photograph by courtesy of Robert Rouse. The Baba House near the mango tree.

CHAPTER 12 Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958.

During May we received a cable from Meher Baba advising us that His Sahavas in Australia was to commence on the 3rd of June, instead of the 8th of June. By this time we were getting used to His ways of changing plans and the change didn’t concern us as such, it just made it more difficult to have the property ready on time, but it was great to be able to be with Him sooner. At this Sahavas one of the conditions to be observed by those attending it, was that they must arrive at Kiel Mountain by Monday 2nd June, and leave the property on Saturday 7th June. Meher Baba was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday and depart on Friday. This early arrival gave people time to settle in and get into an organized routine before Baba was due to arrive on the Tuesday morning. It also ensured that there would not be the distraction of late comers trying to organize basic necessities for themselves during the Sahavas. Also it allowed everyone to share more fully Meher Baba’s Presence while He was there. There were some tents pitched near the entrance to the property which served as living quarters for the men. So much rain had recently fallen that the pathway leading to the tents had become very muddy, and duckboards had been placed along this pathway to give drier access to the men’s living quarters. Without the duckboards the men would have sunk up to their ankles in mud while going to or from the tents. The women were billeted in the farm house and all the cooking for everyone on the property was done at the farm house. Everyone shared in doing the chores on a roster basis. There were a total of fifty-five people plus Meher Baba and His four mandali at this Sahavas. Tuesday, 3rd June 1958. Meher Baba was expected to arrive by car from Brisbane about midday. Francis had instructed everybody to be assembled at the farm house for Baba’s arrival. When Baba’s car was slowly approaching the property John Bruford started blowing the horn to give a warning. A few of the men had been at the tents and when they heard the car horn honking they quickly ran to the farm house to be there as instructed by Francis. At 11:40 a.m. Meher Baba arrived at Kiel Mountain and was driven along the road above the farm house to the house specially built for Him. Everyone excitedly waved as John Bruford’s car containing Baba, Eruch and Francis drove past. Bill Le Page and Baba’s other three mandali — Adi K. Irani, Nariman Dadachanji and Dr William Donkin, followed in the second car. Word was sent down to the farm house for everyone to come to the meeting hall. Meanwhile Baba’s flag of seven colours was raised to the top of the flag pole. When the group assembled in the meeting hall, four men, Reg Paffle, Stan Adams, Jack Paynter and myself carried Meher Baba from His house to the meeting hall in a specially constructed carry chair with two shafts at the front and back. In the meeting hall Baba was assisted to His seat at the front of the hall by Eruch. He was obviously still suffering very much from the effects of the automobile accident in India. This brought home to me how much He really suffered for humanity. Two years ago, the last time that I saw Him, He was so fully mobile. But He had told us then of the suffering that He must undergo for humanity. Later, reading about His suffering in the letters had not brought it home to me as much as witnessing it now for myself, eighteen months after it had

Meher Baba arriving in Australia at Sydney in June 1958.

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 101 commenced. Yet for most of that eighteen months His suffering had been much greater than it was now. Baba had said that God doesn’t need to suffer for Himself, His self imposed suffering is for the sake of humanity. Here now, I was one of the people of humanity witnessing His suffering. It was intensely moving. In spite of His restricted physical movements, Baba was cheerful and seemed to radiate Love. It was so wonderful to be in His Presence once again and His Presence could be felt very strongly. Baba asked Francis to introduce everyone to Him. As each person filed past they either kissed His hand or were embraced by Baba.1 It was a treasured moment for each one. Some people wept for joy. When it was Lorna Rouse’s turn Baba said to her, ‘Where are the children?’ She said, ‘Because of your instructions we had to board them out with neighbours.’ Baba replied, ‘Don’t worry, I will see the children.’ Baba told us through gestures interpreted by Eruch, that this Sahavas would last four days and we would meet together from 9:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. Baba said that the mandali would eat the same food as everyone else. Then He asked about the property. Who owned it? Francis said that it was Baba’s property now. Baba asked in whose name was the property. Francis said that it was still in his name because it could not be transferred to Baba without His signature. This was not done when He was in India, because there were certain difficulties, but now He was here all this could be done easily. Baba said that He accepted the property and for Francis to keep the property in his name for the time being. Baba asked questions regarding the finances. Who had contributed? He asked each one to stand as their name was called. Baba then ordered that all these people were to have their contributions returned to them. There were some children sitting at the front of the hall. Baba had specified that only children over 9 years of age could attend. He asked the ages of the children. They were all over 9 years old. Baba’s feet were cold on the cement floor and a little crocheted blanket made by one of the ladies present, was brought up and put under His feet. After this Baba asked if there was anyone present who could say the Prayer of Repentance by heart.2 No one could. Then He asked if anyone had a copy of it. Two people had copies, but not with them. Elsie Smart was then asked to get her copy and bring it to Baba, which she did. Baba said that He did not want us to learn it and mechanically repeat it everyday, but that when it was read aloud to us in His Presence, to listen and feel it deeply in the heart. John Bruford, in a very emotionally charged voice, then read the prayer aloud from a copy of The Awakener Magazine, while everyone stood before Baba. When John had finished reading the prayer, Baba told us that He forgave us all our sins up to this moment, through His Divine Authority. This was a unique and totally unexpected happening, and all present felt deeply moved to be in the Presence of God this time on earth, and to be told by Him that their sins were forgiven up to this moment. The meeting was then adjourned an hour for lunch and Baba was carefully carried back to His house in the carry chair. In the meeting hall after lunch, Baba said that He noticed that a lot of work had been done on the property to make it ready in time for His visit. He asked Francis to name all the people who had helped. Each one stood up as his or her name was called. Baba then informed us about the Indian Sahavas for which Pendu was responsible for supervising the building programme and also the overall organization. We were told how Baba wouldn’t give the date at first. When He did give the date He wouldn’t give permission to commence building operations until five days before the Sahavas was due to start. Then when He gave the signal they worked for five days and nights to complete the facilities to

102 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

house two groups of 800 people. It was completed down to the last detail and even had electricity connected when the Sahavas commenced. When Baba had told Dr Kenmore about the Sahavas, Dr Kenmore had told Him not to embrace or let people embrace Him, because of His injuries. However, crowds of His devotees at the Sahavas did embrace Him. All present were reminded of the conditions that they must observe at this Sahavas. Baba said that He would give the discourse on obedience that He gave in America. He said a circular had been sent out before the Sahavas letting people know that one of the conditions of attending the Sahavas was to obey Baba implicitly during the Sahavas. Francis then started to read the discourse, and Baba interrupted every now and then to explain it more fully. Baba then asked who would obey Him 100% for the Sahavas and particularly for a month, from 10th June to 10th July. All who agree to obey Him to raise their hand. He asked all to consider well what obedience meant, did we understand? Baba explained that some people at the American Sahavas were not able to obey Him and they had to leave. When asked if we would obey Baba, all except three people raised their hand. Baba asked those who could not obey Him to come forward. Two boys aged 13 and 17 and a man came forward. Baba asked had they understood the conditions of coming to the Sahavas. The younger boy said he had not understood, the other two said that they were not sure whether they could obey Baba or not. Baba asked the mother of the boys if she had explained to her two sons the conditions of coming to the Sahavas. She said that she had explained, but evidently she had not explained adequately. Baba then said that He hoped that those people who had raised their hands had been as honest as the three who had not. The atmosphere was now very tense, all emotions were charged as we considered the true meaning of obedience as meant by Baba. The impact of the significance of our promise had caused a tremendous upheaval in most people’s consciousness. Here Baba was asking for the obedience that God had asked of Abraham. Baba had said that He was God within that human form, the Avatar, the Christ. Here was a test of our faith in Him. A person would really have to believe that He was a Divine Being, before he would normally put that much trust in Him. Baba then asked one man, could he obey Him if He asked him to cut his wife’s throat. That man slowly and reluctantly said that he could. A girl was asked, could she obey — did she really understand all that obedience to Baba implied? Deeply stirred, she said she would try. Baba asked a teen-aged boy did he understand completely what obedience meant; would he, if Baba asked, walk to school naked and sock the head in the eye. The lad said that it would be very difficult and he did not think that he would be able to carry out the order. Baba emphasized that He would not ask people to do these things, but the thing that He would ask them to do, would be just as difficult. At this point Baba adjourned the meeting for ten minutes for everyone to consider their position. The boy’s mother was leaving the hall thinking, ‘How will I explain it to my son?’ Then she caught Baba’s eye and had the deep mental conviction right through her, that took the mental form of ‘I believe He knows everything.’ Seconds later her son came up to her and said, ‘Well mum, how could you promise, He might ask you to hurt somebody.’ She said, ‘I believe Baba knows everything.’ And meant to explain, and therefore He wouldn’t ask one to do anything that was wrong for that person — but she didn’t have to. The sun shone on his face and he said, ‘Oh that’s alright, if He knows everything, that’s alright.’ All his problems

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 103 had gone and he was happy again. Her gift of the conviction that Baba knew everything, had been strong enough to carry on to her son. The man who had stood up was an artist, he was ready to go home. Baba sent for him and kindly said to him, ‘I am not asking you to obey Me now, I am asking you to. stay as a favour to Me.’ The man left Baba’s presence thinking, ‘Ah, I’ve had a victory.’ And then he stopped, and he thought — I’ve run away from things all my life —and he ran back to Baba and begged Him to be allowed to obey. Baba allowed him to obey. When we returned to the meeting hall Baba continued the discourse on obedience: There are four types of obedience. 1.

The obedience of the soldier, who obeys out of a sense of duty.

2.

The obedience of the servant, paid obedience, the higher the pay the louder the ‘Yes Sir!’

3.

The obedience of the slave, obedience through fear of punishment.

4.

The obedience of the lover, obedience through love.

Obedience through love was the highest type and this was the obedience that Baba wanted. The obedience of the lover has further divisions. The types of obedience through love are: (a)

I n t e l l e c t a n d d i s c r i m i n a t i o n t e m p e r t h e o b e d i e n c e . T h e m i n d j u s t o beys technically. If told to cut-off a finger, w ould give a sm all cut w ith a blunt knife —just enough to draw blood. (Thinks he doesn’t mean to cut-off finger, he means to cut the finger).

(b)

Unwilling literal obedience — the person does the job against his wishes — like taking castor oil.

(c)

Willing literal obedience—the person is happy to obey literally the most difficult command.

Baba said that it is a progression. At first one’s intellect prevents one from literal obedience but it is a step. The last type of obedience is very rare, where the person is happy to literally obey the most difficult command with love. Baba said that He did not think that any of us could be obedient like that. Baba instructed that a list be taken of the names of the people who were willing to obey Him 100%. He said that they would receive their instructions from Him later. He finally said that if all tried 100%, then He would help them. Baba said: There can be no compromise; one cannot love the world and love G o d . T h e m a n o f t h e w o r l d h a s t o c o m p r o m i s e ; b u t t o h a v e o b e d i e n c e t o Baba one cannot compromise with the ways of the world. Baba is God. He is i n u s a l l . H e i s pure; it is the impurities in us that stop Him entering our

104 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. hearts. He can only enter our hearts when we have driven out everything else; we keep Him away, yet He, is in us too.3 Baba then went on to say that in one of his couplets Hafiz says; ‘How can you step on the path of Truth unless you step out of the boundary of your own nature?'’ Baba said: The path of God-realization has untold and intolerable hardships and suffering. Even yogis and saints are unable to fathom My Reality. But what is one’s own nature? I

am

not

going

to

repeat

the

theme

of

evolution

of

forms

and

consciousness, which has been explained at length in God Speaks. Best to begin this discourse with the birth of a child: the child takes birth according t o h i s p a s t k a r m a . H e w i l l a c t , t h i n k , f e e l , a c c o r d i n g t o h i s s a n s k a r a s gathered in past lives; there is no way out of it for the child. This is what I call the law of ‘must’. This law sticks to the child from birth to death. It has formulated the nature of the child, and has become the child’s very nature. In addition to this inexorable law of must, the environmental circumstances of the child are such that he cannot but act and feel according to the impressions of the experience of past lives. When the baby is born, it must cry; mother must feed the baby; its very sex is determined by the law of must. If the baby is a male child, it is so because it must be born a male child; if it is a female child, it is so because it must be born a female. And when the child grows into a man or woman, it becomes what it does because it must do so. Do not confuse this nature with Nature — the entire panorama of earth and it’s seasons! Your nature is the nature created by you and nurtured by you. It is one’s own nature that is responsible for the body one takes on — the shape, the com plexion , th e health, sickness, appetite, temperament, etc. In short, anything and everything connected with one’s own self — physical, subtle and mental. Now, to return to the difficulties of the Path. I say that it is impossible even for one on the Path to fathom M y R eal State. W hy is it im possible? Hafiz said that unless one steps out of the limitations of one’s own nature, one cannot step on to the Path of Reality. What Hafiz means is that it is im possible to realize your R eal Self so long as you are bound w ithin the limitations of your own nature. This means that you should go against the very nature of your physical, subtle and mental bodies! Thus if you are hungry, you should not eat; if you are not hungry, you should eat. When you feel like sleeping, you should not sleep; when you do not feel like sleeping, you should sleep! This is what Hafiz means by going against one’s own nature — stepping out of the boundary of your nature. Again, if you wish to see anything, you should not; and if you do not wish t o s e e i t , y o u s h o u ld s e e i t . W h e n y o u e x e r t y o u r s e l f , y o u p a n t ; b u t y o u should not pant, you should feel normal. Your breathing should be normal breathing, just when you are out of breath. You are sitting, silently listening to this discourse and your breathing is normal; it must not be so — according to the couplet of Hafiz. From all this you will understand how impossible it is to go against your own nature and realize Me as I really am. But here Hafiz himself comes to your rescue and says that there is a solution; this solution too is most

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 105

difficult, but at least it is less impossible. In another of his couplets Hafiz says,“0 You, if you ever get possessed by madness to realize God, then become the dust at the feet of a Perfect Master!” Hafiz means the word ‘madness’ to depict that it is a sheer impossibility to realize this state of Reality. The question now arises as to how should one become the dust at the feet of a Perfect Master. Dust has no thought of its own, whether it is trampled upon, or applied to the forehead of a man, or remains suspended in air or water. It is all one and the same to it. I tell you that there is no truer and better example of complete obedience than becoming like dust.4 Sometimes during the Sahavas Baba would have the discourses which He had given in America read to us by Francis Brabazon or Dr Donkin. I think that this was probably because of His injuries. It was much less strenuous for Him not to have to give the discourse again by gesture, when He had already given them before and they could be read to us. Baba would sometimes interrupt the discourse for a further explanation. With the discourses being given in Baba’s presence like this, in a way it just seemed as though Baba was speaking to us through Francis or Dr Donkin instead of Eruch who was His usual interpreter. Baba had Dr Donkin read the following discourse that He had given in America: Sahavas. I a m t h e o n ly B e lo v e d a n d y o u a r e a l l M y l o v e r s ; o r I a m t h e o n l y L o v e r and you are all My beloveds. I want you all to remain happy in My Sahavas. I a m t h e o c e a n o f L o v e . D r a w a s m u c h o f t h i s L o v e a s p o s s i b l e . M a k e t h e m ost of this opportunity. It rests w ith you to draw as m uch Love as you can out of the ocean. It does not rest with Me to explain to you how you should l o v e M e . D o e s a husband or wife explain to one another how to love? One thing is certain; I want to give you My Love. It depends on each of you to receive it. The easy way t o r e c e i v e i t i s t o f o r g e t y o u r h o m e , f a m i ly a n d a ll w orldly affairs, w hen you are here, and be receptive to M y Love. This is the first thing. The second thing is to have a good night’s sleep. Sleep well each n i g h t a n d f e e l f r e s h w h e n y o u c o m e here for My Sahavas each day. I am God;

if

you

remain

drowsy

in

My

p r e s e n c e , y o u w i l l m i s s M e a n d y o u r drowsiness will oblige you to remain a b s e n t f r o m M y P r e s e n c e , i n s p i t e o f your daily attendance. How do I participate in the Sahavas? I bow down to Myself, I embrace Myself. It is I who smile, who weep: it is Baba who sits here on the dais seat a n d i t i s B a b a w h o s i t s i n t h e a u d i e n c e . B a b a m e e t s ‘B a b a ’: B a b a c o n s o l e s ‘ B a b a ’ , p e t s ‘ B a b a ’ , c h i d e s ‘ B a b a ’ . I t i s a l l B a b a . . . B a b a . . . B a b a . S u c h i s My experience of participation in the Sahavas. Drink deep at the fountain of Love, but do not lose consciousness. If you can but taste even a drop of this Love — what a wonderful experience it will be! Have you any idea of what this Sahavas is? He who approaches Me with a heart full of love, has M y Sahavas. A fter I drop this body and M y passing a w a y f r o m y o u r m i d s t , m a n y t h i n g s w i l l b e s a i d a b o u t t h i s S a h a v a s . T a k e fullest advantage of this opportunity in the Living Presence of the Avatar.

106 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Forget everything else but My Sahavas and concentrate all your attention on Me. I am The Ancient One.5 Baba then told us of one man in India at the Sahavas who was so overwhelmed with Baba’s love that he fell unconscious and remanined unconscious for two days. When Baba was taken to where this man was lying, He poked him in the stomach with His walking stick. The man got up and embraced Baba, who then had him given some milk. There was a little incident where Francis Brabazon had forgotten something. Baba said w i t h a s m i l e , ‘ B e g l a d t o s e e F r a n c i s b e c o m i n g f o r g e t f u l , w h e n h e b e c o m e s forgetful of self, then Realization.’ Baba continued: There is a mast at Meherabad. He has no body consciousness. He remains in the same position for hours without moving his limbs in the slightest degree. He appears as though he were dead; but he has become the dust beneath the feet of his B eloved G od. H e is M y beloved ch ild. Even h e w h o h a s b e c o m e l i k e d u s t d o e s n o t k n o w M y R e a l S t a t e . H e i s n o t m a d ; but he looks like it. H e is also ch ild like. If you m ake h im stan d up, he w ill r e m a i n s t a n d i n g u n t i l y o u t e l l h i m t o s i t d o w n a g a i n . H i s m i n d d o e s n o t function as the mind of an ordinary human being; yet his mind is not blank. Intense love and longing for God has made him like dust. This mast does not belong to this w orld, though he is in it. T his does not m ean that I w ant you all to becom e like him ; w ith your present norm al m en tal state I w an t you to love Me as much as possible.6 Stan Adams was standing at the back of the hall and Francis Brabazon was walking up the side. Stan thought, ‘Look at Francis, his pants are nearly falling down in Baba’s presence.’ Just at that moment Eruch’s voice boomed out across the hall, “Francis.” Francis swung around. Eruch continued, “Baba says to pull up your pants.” This little incident tickled Stan immensely. Baba gave an example of the difference between the consciousness of an ant and human consciousness. He said: Although both the ant and the human being could be here in the same r o o m and

on

the

same

gross

level,

there

is

a

vast

difference

in

their

consciousness. Humans are conscious of planes flying over us, but the ant is not conscious of such things as air flights and many other things that humans are conscious

of.

The

difference

between

the

experience

of

the

ant

and

your

experience is very great, though you both are on the same gross level. So sim ilarly, the difference betw een your experience and M y experience is like that between you and the ant; we are here together in the same room and on the same floor, but to Me you appear, as the ant appears to you. Be honest with yourself in your love for Me. Love and Obey Me — if you can’t love and obey Me, just obey Me and this daaman cannot fall from your g r a s p . I t b e c o m e s e a s y i f y o u d e c i d e o n c e a n d f o r a l l t h a t I a m t h e incarnation of God in human form and obey Me 100%. I have always been saying the same thing in different words. As Jesus I said, ‘Leave all and follow Me.’ Now I say, ‘ K e e p h o l d o f M y d a a m a n . ’ I t i s a l w a y s t h e s a m e thing expressed differently.? Baba said that time was an illusion — we should forget the past and the future and live in the Eternal Now — all else is illusion; God is Eternal. He said that He would drop the body in the next twelve months and that only a few would hold on to His daaman. Baba told all,

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 107 including Eruch, to make sure to hold on to His daaman during the coming year. We must forget our problems, our families during the Sahavas and enjoy Baba’s Presence. Baba knows our problems well, because He is in each of us. Baba now said He had completed the most important part of His work this day — that which He came to do. He said although time was an illusion, we should meet again at 9 o’clock the next morning. Baba noticed a young lad with tears in his eyes, He said, ‘Baba l o v e s y o u — y o u m u s t n o t b e s a d . ’ T h e n a d d e d , ‘ W h e n y o u c r y , s e e , B a b a cries too!’ as He pointed outside to the rain that was gently falling. Baba told us that there would be private interviews with Him tomorrow morning. The work of the day now being over we were dismissed early in the afternoon. Baba was again carefully carried over to His house in the carry chair. An interesting little incident happened after the general meeting. Baba wanted some typing done. There was a collection of notes, but in the middle there was a section about the new five Perfect Masters, and Baba did not want anyone to see that part, but it was all bound up together and Eruch did not have another copy. There was a meeting of group heads as it were; Francis, Dr O Brien, Eruch and Baba and they were discussing this problem. In the end Denis O’Brien thought, ‘Well I don’t see any worry.’ So he said, ‘Look there is no problem Baba, if you give it to me, I will give it to Clarice and if I ask her not to look at it, she won’t look at it — let alone an instruction from you.’ He felt that this pleased Baba, because people trusted each other. Clarice was very pleased because she was called up and given this special instruction from Baba to type the section that He wanted typed and not look at the other part. She asked that the part that she wasn’t to see be taped up, so that she couldn’t accidentally see it. Before Baba’s arrival at Kiel Mountain everyone was busy and tensions would develop, people would argue about this and that, but after the main meeting where Baba emphasized ‘I am within each one’, and ‘Help others lovingly’, there was peace. Everyone was doing things for others and all the petty quarrels ceased. Wednesday, 4th June 1958. It was arranged to have the private interviews this morning; all assembled outside Baba’s house under the long verandah and awaited their turn. The individual members of families went in together. There was one lady whose husband had objected to her going to Kiel Mountain to meet Meher Baba. Although her teen-aged son and daughter were going, there had been a quarrel over her fare money. A lady friend had offered to pay her fare but her husband would not hear of this, so he gave her the money for the trip. He was an athiest and he was going to have it out with her when she returned home. When she went for her interview Baba gave her an envelope containing the exact amount of money for her fare and He said she must give it to her husband. She thought how am I going to do that. This is worse than asking him for my fare to go. Her husband was such a proud person. However, Baba had said that she must give it to him. So she obeyed Baba, took the envelope home and just gave it to him. He took it and he didn’t even say a word. We were to discover over the years that if we literally did exactly what Baba told us to do no matter how daunting it might seem to us at the time, it would later with hindsight, turn out to be the best thing for us to have done in the circumstances.

108 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. The interviews lasted all the morning. After lunch it rained and we all assembled in the meeting hall. Baba slowly walked across assisted by Eruch and Francis. However, it was very cool and draughty in the meeting hall and after Baba discussed the problem with us He decided the meeting should continue over in the main room of His house. From then on all the meetings were held there. When we were assembled in Baba’s house He gave us the discourses on obedience and love and devotion which were read at the American Sahavas. Baba had Francis read the following: Love and Devotion. Love burns the lover. Devotion burns the Beloved. Love seeks happiness for the Beloved. Devotion seeks for blessings from the Beloved. Love seeks to shoulder the burden of the Beloved. Devotion throws the burden on the Beloved. Love gives; Devotion asks. Love is silent and sublime, devoid of outward expression. Devotion expresses itself outwardly. Love does not require the presence of the Beloved in order to love. Devotion demands the presence of the Beloved to express affection for the Beloved.8 Baba then expanded on this theme. He said: Beloved God is in all. What is then the duty of the lover? It is to make the Beloved happy without sparing himself. Without giving a second thought to his own happiness the lover should seek the pleasure of the Beloved. T h e o n l y t h o u g h t a l o v e r o f G o d s h o u l d h a v e i s t o m a k e t h e B e l o v e d happy. Thus if you stop thinking of your own happiness and give happiness to others, you will indeed play the part of the lover of God because Beloved God is in all. But while giving happiness to others, if you have an iota of thought of self, it is then not love but affection. This tends to seek happiness for the self while making others happy. For example; A husband’s affection for his wife. The husband wants to give happiness to his wife; but while doing so, he thinks of his own happiness too, or a mother’s affection for her child. From this affection the mother derives happiness purely out of giving and seeking happiness for her child.9 The following discourse that Baba had given at the Indian and American Sahavases was now read by Dr Donkin:

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 109 Love is the Remedy. Do not give undue importance to explanations and discourses. Words fail to give any meaning to Reality; because when one supposes that one has understood, one has not understood; one is far from understanding anything so far as Reality is concerned. Reality is beyond human understanding, for it i s b e y o n d r e a s o n . U n d e r s t a n d i n g cannot

help

because

God

is

beyond

understanding. The moment you try to

understand God you ‘misunderstand’ Him; you miss Him when you try to understand Him. Reason must go before knowledge dawns. All this is a show, fun, a play. Mind must go, because the play lies in the mind. And the play is that mind must annihilate itself. Only m anonash (annihilation of m ind) takes one to R eality. There is a w ay to annihilate the mind. The way is love. Just consider ordinary human love: w hen a m an or w om an is deeply in love w ith his or her partner, nothing comes between them. They get totally lost in love for one another. There is neither admiration nor fault finding. There is total absence even of exchange of thought: love prevails without thoughts. Mind becomes defunct for the time being: for in such intense human love mind does not come into play. The mind apparently gets annihilated for the fraction of a second when love and loving are at their zenith. This brings about a state similar to trance. If ordinary human love can go so far, what should be said of the height of Love Divine? I am the Ancient One, the One residing in every heart. Therefore, love others, make others happy, serve others, even at discomforts to yourself; this is to love Me. I suffer for the whole universe. I must suffer infinitely; unless I suffer how could I ask My lovers to suffer for others? I am One with all on every level: I am One with all on every plane of consciousness: and I am beyond all planes of consciousness.10 Baba commented after the reading: Have you heard of the two lovers, Majnu and Leila? Then He told us this story about them: Majnu and Leila.

T h e y h a d h u m a n l o v e a t i t s h e i g h t . M a j n u w a s a t a g r e a t d i s t a n c e f r o m Leila, always trying to love her and repeating her name wherever he went. But Leila was at some other place. One day a thorn went into Majnu’s foot; b l o o d c a m e o u t . A t t h e v e r y s a m e m o m e n t L e i l a f e l t a s h o c k a n d b l o o d trickled from her foot. E ven such hum an love falls short of D ivine Love. Human love at its zenith is Ishqa-e-Majazi; Divine Love is Ishqa-e-Haqiqi. H is w hole life w as Leila; he saw Leila in everyone. O f course he w as not careful of his clothes, health or food. He roamed about always thinking of her. Then he met a Spiritual Master sitting under a tree. The Master called him saying, ‘If you had tried to love God as intensely as you love Leila, you would have seen God everywhere, in everything.’ Majnu answered, ‘I am not after God, I am after Leila, I see her in all.’ The Master called him, embraced him, and in an instant Majnu had the experience of God everywhere. Then he started to cry ‘Anal Haq!’ or ‘I am God’, instead of Leila.11

110 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. At one time Baba said that He liked our weather with the fine warm rain, as it reminded Him of Meherabad in the very early days. The Son of God the Father and God the Mother in One. Baba said: I am the Son of God the Father, and God the Mother, in One. G o d i s one. He is both father and mother in one. He is in everyone and in every th in g; b u t G o d i s b e y o n d t h i s t o o . I w i l l t e l l y o u a b o u t G o d i n t h e B eyond State. In the B eyond State G od is both G od the Father and G od the Mother, similtaneously. Now we will discuss the worldly father and mother. Suppose a couple have s e v e n s o n s . I t i s n a t u r a l f o r t h e f a t h e r t o lo v e t h e s o n s w h o a r e u s e f u l t o h i m , who are healthy, intelligent, brilliant — obviously the father will remain pleased with such sons. Now the six sons of this worldly father are healthy, s t r o n g , i n t e l l i g e n t a n d g o o d i n a l l r e s p e c t s ; t h e s e v e n t h s o n i s a disabled weakling, innocent, simple and guileless. The father has no love for t h i s s e v e n t h son and loves only his six sons. But the mother loves her seventh son the m o s t b e c a u s e h e i s w e a k , s i c k , d i s a b l e d , s i m p l e a n d guileless. God is both the father and mother in One. The Avatars are Sons of the Father in the Beyond State. All past Avataric periods witnessed the presence o f the Avatar as the healthy, bright, wise, Son of God. All this means, that the A v a t a r a l w a y s r e m a i n s t h e B e l o v e d S o n o f t h e F a t h e r . N o t e t h a t t h e Avatar always takes the male form and mingles with mankind as man. Hitherto, God in the Beyond State did not have the occasion to play the p a r t o f G o d t h e M o t h e r . I n t h i s A v a t a r i c p e r i o d G o d t h e F a t h e r i s v e r y pleased with Me, at My being infinitely bright, wise, efficient and perfect in a l l r e s p e c t s a s M y f a t h e r w a n t s M e t o b e , a n d I a m t h e B e l o v e d S o n o f M y Father. A t the sam e tim e in this form I am physically disabled. In A m erica, in 1952, I was injured on the left side of My physical frame from leg to face. In India, in 1956, I injured My right side from head down to the leg. Besides being

physically

disabled, I am also infinitely sim ple and guileless. Thus, I a m a l s o t h e w e l l b e l o v e d S o n o f G o d t h e M o t h e r . S o i n t h i s i n c a r n a t i o n o f the A vatar, G od has the occasion, as it w ere, to play the part of both Father and Mother.12 During the afternoon Baba announced that He named this place Avatar’s Abode. From now on it would be called Avatar’s Abode. I was very happy that Meher Baba had given this property such a wonderful name that linked it with Him for all time. Baba said, ‘The lover has to keep the wish of the Beloved,’ and He had Francis Brabazon read His wish for His lovers. My Wish. 1.

Do not shirk your responsibilities.

2.

Attend faithfully to your worldly duties, but keep always at the back of your mind that all this is Baba’s.

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 111 3.

When you feel happy, think, ‘Baba wants me to be happy.’ When you suffer, think, ‘Baba wants me to suffer.’

4.

Be resigned to every situation and think honestly and sincerely, ‘Baba has placed me in this situation.’

5.

With the understanding that Baba is in everyone, try to help and serve others.

6.

I say with My Divine Authority to each and all that whosoever takes My name at the time of breathing his last comes to Me: so do not f o r g e t t o r e m e m b e r M e i n y o u r la s t m o m e n t s . U n le s s y o u s t a r t remembering Me from

now

on,

it

will

be

difficult

to

remember

Me

when

your

end

approaches. You should start practicing from now on. Even if you take My name only once every day, you will not forget to remember Me in your dying moments.13

Baba said: I want you to follow everything that is said here point by point, but this discourse excludes one point — on obedience. Any order I may send between the tenth of June and the tenth of July, you should follow implicitly and carry out at any cost. Baba continued: Love has no limit, but the mind is in the way. This obstacle cannot be removed without My Grace. It is impossible, because mind has to annihilate itself. For example, if one were asked to jump over oneself, the most one could do, would be to take a somersault! Yet it is impossible to jump over oneself; one may jump over others, but not over oneself! Thus one may want to realize Baba. as He Really Is, but the obstacle remains. Books and discourses will not bring about one’s spiritual regeneration. Mind cannot be annihilated by mind, for one cannot jump over oneself. Only by loving Me as I ought to be loved, can the mind be destroyed. Anyone may have love for Me, but not the love I want. My lovers may be likened to one who is fond of lions and admires them so much that he keeps a lion in his own home. But being afraid of the lion he puts him in a cage. The lion is always encaged; even while he feeds the lion, he feeds the pet animal from a distance and from outside the cage. Baba is treated like the lion by the lovers. There is love; there is admiration; there is a n i n t e n s e d e s i r e t o s e e B a b a c o m f o r t a b l e a n d happy; and Baba is also frequently fed by love of the lovers. But all this is done, k e e p i n g B a b a segregated from one’s own self. What is wanted of the lovers is that they should open the ‘cage’and through intense love, throw themselves inside the cage and become food for the lion of love. The lover should permit himself to be totally consumed through his own love for the Beloved. In spite of all explanations and reading of books, w ords rem ain m ere words. They do not take one any further than intellectual satisfaction. Only love of God works the miracle, because love is beyond mind and reason. Where then is the necessity to read? I authoritatively say: I am the Ancient

112 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. O n e . I h a v e b e e n s a y i n g t h i s t o a l l t h e w o r l d . I f y o u l o v e M e w i t h a l l y o u r heart, you shall be made free eternally. The affairs of the universe continue to go on without being burdensome to Me in the least. But discourses and explanations on the subject of the affairs of the universe are a headache to Me. The affairs of the universe continue to work without My paying special attention to them. They continue to work as n a t u r a l l y as one’s breathing, to which one does not have to pay special attention. But w h e n t h e r e i s e x e r t i o n , o r w h e n o n e i s p r e s s e d t o g i v e a discourse on breathing, one becomes conscious of the act of breathing. In the same way, when it comes to giving explanations, I feel like one w h o climbs

a

hill

explanations

is

and

becomes

burdensome

to

breathless. Me;

and

as

Giving

you

discussions,

discourses discourses

and and

explanations are also included in the affairs of the universe, the whole affair becomes more of a burden to Me than ever. Playing marbles, gilli-danda, cricket and flying kites are also included in the affairs of the universe; but these u n b u r d e n t h e b u r d e n . I t i s l i k e c o m i n g d o w n a h i l l ; i t i s m o r e o f a relaxation than exertion. Jokes and humour are also the things which give Me relaxation.14 Baba then said that tomorrow afternoon, instead of Him giving a discourse, He would ask the men to entertain Him with jokes and humorous stories. He also said that tomorrow all the women would have half an hour of His company, but all the men would only have five minutes. Baba then adjourned the meeting until the next morning and we all dispersed to attend to our various chores and to ponder the events of the day. There was a telephone rigged up between Baba’s house and the farm house and this was used to communicate with the kitchen. On His previous visit to Australia, Baba had particularly liked the curry and dhal that Lorna Rouse had cooked for Him. Nariman phoned the farm house and asked if this curry could be cooked for Baba with the addition of a pulse, and of course it was cooked as requested. However, Lorna had a particularly trying job. She was doing the cooking for Baba and the mandali on a tiny primus stove and she also had a back burner — the main stove was used to cook for the other fifty-five people. She was trying to do a really good job, but things were going wrong. The fire kept going out. All the other women, one by one just quietly offered to help; Lorna told them the size of the vegetables that she needed and they prepared them for her. The meal took longer to prepare than expected, and the phone rang a few times to add to the tension. Later on, after the food had been sent up to Baba’s house, Eruch phoned the farm house and told Lorna that Baba was very pleased — He particularly liked the flavour of the meal and Eruch asked her what spices had she used. Lorna started to cry as she was telling him the spices, because she had been dissatisfied with the meal. She didn’t think that Baba had liked the flavour of the food as much as the flavour of the love that had gone into preparing it, and she attributed that to all the people who had quietly come forward and helped. Thursday, 5th June 1958. There was great activity each morning to get all the chores finished by 9:00 a.m. Breakfasts to be cooked, lunches to be cut; rooms tidied and swept; and the vegetables prepared for the evening meal. Everyone was busy and had to be up by 6:00 a.m. — the breakfast cooks much earlier, to light the fires. This morning we were called to Meher Baba’s

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 113 house at 8:45 a.m. and there was a rush to get the chores done in time. It was a misty morning and we could see some cloud covering the top of Kiel Mountain as we climbed the hill at Avatar’s Abode, the name Meher Baba had given the property yesterday. We left our shoes at the door and went into the meeting room in the house and sat quietly on the forms. Baba asked us did we sleep well, and for those who did not sleep to stand and give the reason why they did not. Baba then asked for The Prayer of Repentance to be read again, and Francis went down to the farm house to obtain the book. Then Dr Donkin read it aloud in his clear resonant voice while we all stood. Baba again said we were all forgiven our sins up to that moment, and also that He included all those who loved Him, but were not able to be present here. Baba then gave us His instructions for 10th July — the anniversary of the commencement of His Silence. He said we were not to fast or remain silent on that day, but in a voice that is just audible repeat the words, ‘Beloved God, Thy Will has come to pass,’ seven times after midnight on 9th July, that is the first moment of 10th July, according to local time. Francis Brabazon was then sent out to see if the weather was suitable for Baba to inspect our living quarters. The mist had lifted, though there were still clouds about, with sunshine breaking through. Baba asked Francis if he thought the weather suitable to start out to visit the farm house. Francis said that he thought it might rain; perhaps it was not so good. Baba then sent Francis out again to look at the weather. Francis reported that it was still not so good, but Baba said that He would go. John Bruford drove his car to the door and Baba, now in an overcoat, was driven down the hill to the farm house. He inspected the dining quarters underneath the house and then inspected every room in the house, including the women’s sleeping quarters. He called all the cooks to meet Him. Then He was driven up the hill and along to the men’s sleeping quarters which were in tents a little way off the road just after it entered the property. There had been so much rain recently that duckboards were used to get to the tents to prevent sinking in the mud on the path. After His inspection Baba returned to His house and then it was time for the women to have their half-hour session with Him. They all sat on the carpet in Baba’s room. Baba sat among the satin cushions on His bed, and Eruch stood alongside to interpret His gestures. The following is a description by Elsie Smart of what happened: ‘These were wonderful moments with Baba, each felt deeply His Loving Presence as He spoke to us about Mehera, the most beloved and dearest woman, who is so close to Baba’s heart. He said that Mehera is the purest of women. Also that Mehera sent her love to all, and she had made some gifts to give to each of us. Next to Mehera was Mani, His sister; Mani did not think of herself, she did all for Baba regardless of her personal pleasure. Baba handed around photos of Mehera and Mani and other groups of Indian women devotees. ‘There were many photographs and after we had seen them, Baba held up four large photographs which Mehera had said to give to some ladies. Baba asked to whom should He give these photographs, and Joan Bruford said she thought they should go to the ones whose homes were most visited by group members. Baba gave one to Clarice Adams, Frances Lee, Lorna Rouse and Joan Le Page. Then Baba handed out the rest of the gifts which had been made by Mehera and Mani; they were miniature leather sandals. There were not enough sandals to go round, so the others received bangles. Before we left the room Baba gave to each one some of His hair; Eruch saves the combings every day. To receive some part of the body of the Avatar is a sacred gift; Baba’s hair is fine and soft and is given only to those who love Baba. We were all happy to receive these precious gifts from the hands of the Master.’

15

114 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Joanna Bruford, much later, described her experience of this little intimate session with Baba. She said, ‘The sexes were separated and this meant quite a bit to me because it was something that was new. The women were with Baba as women together. I personally felt that it was important, for me it was anyway. We were called together as a group of women and it was my first taste of sisterhood with Baba. It was the first time that I had felt that there was something special about womanhood and being together with other women in Baba. And it was really a lovely thing. We all sat on the carpet, Baba was sitting on the edge of His bed with His legs over the front and He was just so relaxed. He was always so relaxed, it was just like being at home with your family. It was a really lovely thing. ‘He sat there on the bed and beside Him He had a lot of things that the women mandali had sent out. He leaned over — there was a little game going on — He was picking out what He would give to whom and it was really lovely to see Baba taking so much time in such a little thing. Being there, where there wasn’t anything happening in the sense that there was no programme. I can’t remember very many of the things that He said. Just the memory of Him sitting there. ‘His eyes would sparkle as He was telling us about the women in India. He told us about the roles of Mehera and Mani, and the purity of Mehera, which to me was a completely new idea. I had no idea of who Mehera was, or what the concept of Mehera was. He made us, the women here before Him in such a relaxed and intimate way, feel that we were also sisters with those women in India. It opened a book on the sisterhood of women to me. He gave us each some of His hair, which He explained was very, very precious, it was part of His Avataric person. He told us that there were several different kinds of gifts. There were four large photographs, some little leather sandals and some bangles. Everyone received something.’

16

The women then retired and waited on the verandah while the men went in for their time with Baba. They sat in front of Him on the carpet and Baba gave each one a stone that He had collected from Seclusion Hill. He told us that this was one of the places where He had spent time in seclusion doing His Universal Spiritual Work. He told us to keep the stone always and not to part with it. These stones seemed to be something very special to me. Usually Baba gave as prasad, a sweet or a piece of fruit that one ate, but this seemed to me to be a permanent prasad and we were to keep it always. Baba also showed us some photos. One was a photo of Baba with His dog Chum, another was Baba in seclusion at Tiger Valley. True to His word we did only receive about five minutes with Him because it was very soon over and then we were all outside again with the ladies. Some people returned to the farm house, thinking that the morning programme was over. They had to be sent for and when they returned Baba had us all assemble in the big room to receive some prasad. Some of the younger children under nine years old that were staying on a nearby farm, were brought to see Baba and to receive prasad from Him. Also, a lucky farmer living nearby who had helped with the building, and who was looking after the children met Baba this day, when he brought the children to Avatar's Abode. He was one of only two, to meet Baba, who were not Sahavasees. Baba told us that this particular prasad was very significant. It was to be a link between Him and each lover for the future. Each one must catch the prasad, then eat it with the thought that it was a gift from God. If the prasad was not caught but dropped, it was to be returned to Baba and He would throw it again until it was caught.

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode —1958. 115 The children were first to receive their sweets. They sat on some forms in front of Baba and He threw the sweet to them. If they caught it they were to eat it, if they missed they were to return the sweet and received another turn. If they missed catching it again, Baba would call them closer and throw the sweet again until they caught it. One little boy repeatedly dropped the sweet and Baba kept bringing him closer and closer until He dropped it into his hands. After all the children had caught their prasad, it was the turn of the women. Baba said how well they could catch, as very few missed catching the sweet the first time. The men were last to receive their prasad, with Baba, as usual looking in one direction and quickly throwing in the other direction, trying to catch them unawares. As each one caught the sweet it was to be immediately eaten by the recipient with the thought that it was a gift from God. We returned to the farm house for lunch and I pondered on the prasad that was the link for the future — perhaps this had happened before. At least that would explain why some people were so strongly drawn to Him like a magnet draws steel, while others were not. Also, one couldn’t really earn the privilege, it would have to be a gift from God. So it might all have happened before. Who knows? He does — but we don’t ask questions. After lunch we assembled at Baba’s house again at 1:00 p.m. Baba was sitting on the verandah; the sun was shining and He had agreed to be photographed by anyone who wished to do so. Cameras clicked as people crowded around. Baba seemed quite oblivious to the crowd, as though working on some universal work. His face revealed intense suffering, far beyond our understanding. The click of cameras almost appeared as sacrilege during those significant moments. Later Baba gave the following discourse which threw some light on His suffering. Baba said that in India He had said to His mandali: I

am

now

helpless

physically.

I

am

mentally

helpless

and

spiritually

helpless. The mandali couldn’t understand how the Avatar of the Age could become helpless spiritually. Eruch asked Me, ‘How is it possible for God to become spiritually helpless?’ Now I repeat My explanation to him: I am conscious of all power and I am conscious of all knowing. I know everything. I am

conscious

that

I

can

do

anything, everything. But

this

m om ent now , I do not w ant to do anything. If I use M y pow er, the purpose o f M y s u f f e r i n g f o r t h e u n i v e r s e w i l l n o t b e s e r v e d . J e s u s w a s a l l p o w e r f u l , all knowing. He knew He had to be crucified and could have used His power t o a v o i d i t , b u t H e did not and made Himself so helpless as to say on the cross, ‘M y G od, even You have foresaken Me!’ Why? He could use His p o w e r want to use it. At present I have spiritual

but

He

did

not

helplessness.17

Later, Baba leaning on Eruch’s arm, slowly walked from His house to the bend in the road above the farm house. A dog that was living on the property accompanied the party. Baba asked what was the dog’s name. He was told that it was Prince. Baba gestured that the name was perfect. Meanwhile, Prince had started to roll on his back on the grass with his four paws up in the air. He was rolling quite vigorously. Baba snapped the fingers of His right hand and the dog seemed to freeze in the middle of a roll and he looked still and lifeless, until Baba snapped His fingers again. The dog immediately continued rolling vigorously as if nothing had happened. Baba said that in its next incarnation the dog would be a human being. I was standing quite close to Baba and He indicated that this would be the last time that most of us would see Him in the flesh. As He said this, I felt the truth of the statement within

116 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. myself. In my case this proved to be so. Baba went on a few paces and admired the view, down over the hills and valleys, and to the sea beyond. He turned to Francis Brabazon, patted him on the back and said that he had chosen the right location. Later, we all assembled indoors, the men had been asked to think up some jokes for Baba’s entertainment. Baba asked could they show moving pictures taken in India and America, but the electricity had not yet been connected to Avatar’s Abode so we were unable to see these movies. Now Baba asked the men to tell their stories. He said, ‘You must e i t h e r m a k e M e l a u g h w i t h y o u r h u m o u r , o r w e e p w i t h y o u r l o v e . ’ T h e m e n had thought up some good stories and kept Baba chuckling and everyone else laughing for some time. I had rehearsed a joke that I was going to tell Baba, but when He said ‘You must either make Me laugh with your humour or weep with your love,’ I started thinking. I hadn’t known that there would be an alternative. I knew that He knew what I was thinking. He had previously demonstrated this to me many times. Now He had given us a choice, and so I decided to try to make Him weep with my love. To make Him laugh with my humour could be achieved in a minute or two, but to make Him weep with my love may not be achieved even in one lifetime, but I could certainly try. I resolved not to tell Baba my joke and I felt sure that He knew what I was thinking and what I had done, neither of us said anything. Time will tell. After being entertained by the stories and jokes, Baba said that He would tell us a story that was both comic and tragic. He said: At the Eastern Sahavas there were four Saints. Two genuine Saints, and two, let us call them Saints. There was one Yogi Sudhananda Sharati. He was on the stage with Me. He loves Me and wants to spread My M e s s a g e o f L o v e f a r a n d w i d e . G o d a v r i M a i f r o m S a k o r i a l s o p a r t i c i p a t e d . She has a large following. People come and pay their respects to her and she i s

invited

to

d i f f e r e n t p l a c e s . I c a l l h e r Y a s h o d a — t h e f o s t e r - m o t h e r o f Krishna. When I c a l l h e r f o r a n y o c c a s i o n s h e c o m e s a n d d o e s e v e r y t h i n g I tell her. She obeys Me implicitly. It is very im portant to hear w hat I am going to say. There is a child w ho w a s born in Central India whom they call Balak Bhagwan and he was very soon p r o c la i m e d a s a n i n c a r n a t i o n o f G o d . T h o u s a n d s c r o w d e d a r o u n d t h e child for healin g purposes, for paralyzed lim bs, blindness and so forth, and he would give these people dust or water. Newsmen came also, and so many f l o c k e d t o h i m t h a t t h e p o l i c e h a d t o m a k e a r r a n g e m e n t s f o r t h e c r o w d s . A r t i c le s w e r e w r i t t e n a b o u t h i m . T h e y c a l l e d h i m B a l a k B h a g w a n o r ‘ C h i l d God.’ The child grew up; he goes about in just a loin cloth. He has a very good h e a r t . He knows Me. He has now formed the habit of having a flock of people pay their

respects

to

him,

bow

down

and

garland

him.

One

day

som ething

happened. H e w anted to contact M e. H e w as 17 years old. I w as in Pimpalgaon and he came all of a sudden and fell at My feet. He wept and embraced Me and gave Me a tight hug. I made him sit down close to Me. He chatted with Me and called Me Meher Mahan — ‘Great God.’ I told him he should be careful to allow no one to bow down to him. And if in spite of this, people got healed through their faith in him, not to take it f o r granted that he had powers. He promised and he went back. Then he

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 117 came to the Sahavas. I made him sit on the dias. I gave discourses during the day and I left for Pimpalgaon every evening. He also used to give discourses saying, ‘If you obey me, Baba will bless you.’ But all there, were My lovers. W h e n I r e t u r n e d t h e n e x t day I heard what had happened. He asked for forgiveness saying; ‘From now on I w i l l j u s t l o v e y o u B a b a ! ’ B u t h e h a s formed the habit of having followers. One day I learned that a Saint from Nagpur came for Sahavas. He would sit in the crowd listening to My discourses and then in My absence form a group and give discourses. I called him and told him to obey. I asked him if he was prepared to obey Me. Then I ordered him to leave immediately, to fast for 40 days, and to take only plain water and all the time to think of Me. He promised to obey and he bowed down before Me and then he left. For 12 days he fasted; then I sent an order to him to stop fasting, and told him to o b s e r v e s i l e n c e o n 1 0 t h J u l y . B a b a w e n t o n t o s a y t h a t o n e w h o a l l o w s others to bow down to him without Real Authority is feeding his ego. One who has no authority and yet permits people to bow down to him plays a losing game, while those who bow down gain. The unburdening of sanskaras of those who bow down at his feet is the cause of his loss, for he takes on the sanskaras that can only be wiped off by many more births. Baba said: In India we find people without spiritual authority allowing others to bow down to them. Even one of my old followers, after many years of contact with Me, left Me 30 years ago and established an ashram at Nasik. You may have seen or heard of Nasik as a place of spiritual pilgrimage. He used to tell people, ‘Baba has made me His chargeman.’ People paid homage to him. The news reached Me and I sent one man to tell him to stop all this display and nonsense and come to Me. He didn’t listen. He was happy with his surroundings. Three years passed and he established a big following, among whom was a very beautiful woman. It was not a proper marriage and the woman conceived. The police heard of it and the man got frightened. He left and ran to Me. Then I reminded him that he did not come three years ago when I called. Now he should either go back and settle with the police or stay with Me when he would get leprosy. He stayed with Me and got leprosy, all the time repenting. I forgave him and instructed him to go out and beg for his food, to be without money or women. Not to stay anywhere but to return after a year. He roamed about for two years and came back. He was cured of the disease. Now he loves Me fully and longs to tell everyone about Me.18 One of the Sahavasees, with special permission, had brought his father to meet Baba on this day. He was sitting in the centre of the hall when Baba noticed him. Baba beckoned the man to come to Him, which he did, then Baba gave him a warm embrace. At the close of the day we filed past Baba and kissed His hand. Some of us had already received our last embrace from Baba.

118 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Friday, 6th June 1958. This was the last day of the Sahavas and Baba had advised us that He and the mandali would be leaving Avatar’s Abode in the afternoon on the journey to India via Sydney. We all assembled in the meeting room at Avatar’s Abode at 9:00 a.m. Baba said that He would give us an original discourse that even the mandali had not heard before. It was on ‘How Individuality is Established in Indivisibility.’ On the right hand side of the floor, at the end near Baba’s bedroom, there was a drawing in yellow chalk as shown below, Adi K. Irani was just adding the finishing touches to it.

Baba said: ‘All the three worlds — the Gross, Subtle and Mental ----- and God the Infinite are within you, who are fully conscious. But you do not experience this. Why? It is because your Real “I” within, is playing the part of the false “I”.’ Baba took a hat and said: ‘Let it represent the false “I” attached to the Real “I” which is within it.’ Then He had the hat placed on the floor as shown in the next diagram.

He said: ‘You, represented by the hat, are in this position — the Real “I” with falseness attached. Because of the falseness attached to your Real “I”, you experience only the Gross world with your full consciousness. Your back is as it were, turned to the Subtle and Mental worlds and to God the Infinite, and you cannot see them.’

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 119 Baba continued: ‘With the help of a Wali on the fifth plane you are able to withdraw within yourself with full consciousness more towards Reality, and you experience fully the Subtle world.’ Baba had the hat placed as shown in the next diagram.

He continued: ‘From this position you cannot see the Gross world and again your back is, as it were, turned to the Mental world and to God the Infinite and so you cannot see them.’ ‘ W i t h t h e h e l p o f a P i r — o n e o n t h e s i x t h p l a n e — y o u a r e a b l e t o withdraw full consciousness still more towards Reality, and you experience the Mental world, as you get stationed on it.’

‘When you are in this position you can see only the Mental world, you cannot see the Gross or Subtle worlds and you cannot see God the Infinite.’ ‘At this stage with the help of one on the sixth plane you may be given a complete round-about-turn with your full consciousness, so that you face God the Infinite, and have your back turned to all the three worlds within yourself.’ ‘When

you

face

the

Infinite

fully,

you

see

Him

everywhere

everything, and your consciousness may be said to be your very sight. Even

and

in

120 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

at this stage when you see God face to face, the falseness attached to your Real “I”, is still not detached and therefore the Seer and the Seen are not united.’

Baba had the hat removed and said: ‘The Grace of God takes falseness from the Real “I”.’

‘Only with the help of one on the seventh plane, the Avatar or a Perfect Master is the falseness attached to the Real “I” completely lifted and you, as the Seer and the Seen become One. ‘Because YOUR falseness has been lifted by the seventh Plane Master, Y O U R R e a l “ I ” i s l i b e r a t e d o f f a l s e n e s s a n d t h e r e f o r e i t i s Y O U w h o experience t h e R e a l i t y a s Y O U R S E L F a n d Y O U a f f i r m t h i s e x p e r i e n c e b y saying “I AM GOD.” ‘A n y o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l w h o s e f a ls e n e s s h a s b e e n li f t e d b y t h e A v a t a r o r a Perfect Master similarly experiences the state of being “I AM GOD.” This is because the impress of one’s falseness removed from the individual Real “I”, r e t a i n s t h e s t a m p o f o n e ’ s R e a l I n d i v i d u a l i t y a n d d w e l l s i n t h e r e a l m o f Reality. ‘The Perfect Master, Sadguru, or Man-God is Individualized Ocean. ‘The Avatar or God-Man, is Oceanized Individuality. ‘It is the Avatar who knows fully that He is in all and all are in Him.’ Later Baba asked someone to sing, or a group to sing, or play some music, or tell a story. There was no electricity so records could not be played. When people said they were embarrassed to sing because they had a poor singing voice. Baba said that we should be

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 121 able to tell a good story or sing to please the Beloved; voice does not matter, it is the heart that counts. If the Beloved wishes singing or humour any personal sacrifice is small. When a person cannot sing because of self consciousness it is the ego standing in the way between the person and the Master. Some of the men told jokes and stories. Very few people knew all the words of any song and fewer still knew the words of the same song, which made group singing difficult. Some religious songs were sung and just as the atmosphere was starting to get heavy, Stan Adams livened things up by getting everyone to sing the well known Australian song Waltzing Matilda very fast. Baba sat upright and conducted it. He seemed to enjoy that part. Then Stan’s son Noel played his flute beautifully for Baba, and Baba looked pleased and happy. A cable to be sent to Mehera was composed by the women and read to Baba at His request, it read, ‘All women Baba Lovers at Sahavas at Avatar’s Abode send Love to Baba’s Beloved Mehera.’ At 1:00 p.m. we gathered at the house to say farewell to Baba. He called Robert and Lorna Rouse to see Him privately. He said that He was going now and Robert was to come to Sydney with Him. He told Lorna that He was going away now and to look after His house. He gave her the key and said that after He left, His house was to be locked up and everyone was to go right away from it, and be nowhere near it. Outside the sun was shining brightly on this warm afternoon, and it was hard to imagine that soon we would not have Baba’s wonderful Presence with us. As we filed past Baba, each one kissed His hand in farewell; many hearts were full and tears overflowed as He blessed us with His loving smile. We all waited around in the sunshine as the mandali stacked the luggage in the car for the drive to Brisbane where they would stay the night before boarding the plane for Sydney. Baba was seated in the front of John Bruford’s car with Eruch and Francis was in the back. Slowly the car moved along the road and past the huge mango tree that grew near the end of Baba’s House. All were waving as Baba looked back, smiled, raised His hand and waved until the car disappeared around the bend in the road. Lorna locked Baba’s House and we were all told of Baba’s orders that no one should remain near the house, so everyone left the the area, some going to the farm house, some to their tents and some just wanting to be alone with their thoughts of Baba and the momentous events of the past few days. Baba had told us to keep Him in our hearts, to Love Him, and to obey Him. We each would be receiving His personal instructions to us very soon. We had been told we were not to leave Avatar’s Abode until Saturday morning, except one person who had received special permission to catch a plane that afternoon. Personally, I was glad to stay at Avatar’s Abode until Saturday as I did not wish yet to be reintroduced to the mundane world and such things as the hurley burley of traffic on the roads. Such things could wait just another day. I was still recalling the Presence of our Beloved Master at Avatar’s Abode. Saturday, 7th June 1958. It was raining on Saturday morning. Many people left Avatar’s Abode early, some by car and others by taxi to Woombye Station, to catch the train for the long journey to the Southern States — over seven hundred miles to Sydney and over thirteen hundred miles to Melbourne. The unforgetable Australian Sahavas, 1958, was over. But we were linked to Baba by the promise that we had made to love and obey Him and our determination to hold on to His

122 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. daaman during the coming year. This was also yet another part of Australia that He had blessed with His Presence and He had said that this place, Avatar’s Abode, will become a place of pilgrimage. Later Robert Rouse told me what had happened after Meher Baba left Avatar’s Abode at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Robert said: Bill was driving the second car, the Fiat, with Adi in the front and Nariman, Dr Donkin and myself in the back. The second car had most of the luggage. The drive to Brisbane took two hours and we arrived at the Bellevue Hotel at 4:30 p.m. There was the main hotel building and next door to it, within the grounds of the hotel, was a small house that would accommodate about three or four people. Baba stayed there with some of the mandali. The rest of us all stayed in the Hotel. When we arrived Baba went straight into the annex and we didn’t see Him for the rest of the day. We all sat in the lounge of the hotel with Adi, and he told us some very lovely stories of Baba in the Manzel-e-meem days. Baba with His red hair flowing coming down the stairs in the morning at daylight, waking them with His beautiful singing, before His silence commenced. Nariman walked in, and in his stentorian voice told Francis that Baba wanted spinach for dinner. Then Francis went off to the kitchen to organize the spinach for Baba’s meal. Baba wanted corn flakes, prunes and cream for breakfast the next day. When Francis contacted the kitchen they didn’t have any corn flakes, but they had prunes and cream. Bill was sent shopping to buy a packet of corn flakes, and he gave them to the kitchen staff so that they would be available in the morning. We had dinner and went to bed early, because Baba wanted His breakfast at half-past four. At 4:00 a.m. the alarm clock rang and we all got up, showered and dressed, and then went down to an empty kitchen. The only person awake in the hotel at that time was the night porter. He had been told that we would be going to the kitchen early. There was Francis, John, Bill and myself and then Nariman turned up with Eruch, Adi and Donkin. There were eight people in the kitchen and all they were doing was warming a little bit of cream and some stewed prunes. The night porter came in and saw all these people in the kitchen. He was told that we are getting this man’s breakfast. The night porter said he must be a very important man. Bill said, ‘He's the Highest of the High.’ The night porter looked at the cream and prunes being warmed and looked at the eight of them again, then with a puzzled look slowly said, ‘Yes, he must be very high.’ Baba’s breakfast was taken to Him first and then later the rest of us had breakfast. After breakfast Baba invited us over to see Him. When we arrived in His room Baba was slumped in a chair looking very tired and worn. He said that He had had a very bad night. When you are in Baba’s presence, you think, ‘it's my fault.’ John had the same experience. All you want to do is just disappear through the floor, you really feel that bad. You think, ‘That bad night Baba had was my fault.’ Then Baba gave us each an embrace and that cheered us up. We set off about 6 o’clock in the morning to drive to the airport to catch the 8 o’clock plane for Sydney. We arrived at the airport at 6:15 a.m. The airport was completely deserted, so we just sat on the chairs and waited. Baba sent Francis to buy a newspaper and told him to read it first and then to read Him a good story. Francis did not see any stories that would interest Baba.

Visit to Queensland — Avatar’s Abode — 1958. 123 We caught the 8 o’clock flight to Sydney. In Sydney we went to Meher House — Baba always loved Meher House. When He arrived there after having been at Avatar’s Abode, He said that He always felt at home at Meher House. Baba decided to send a cable to Mehera, telling her that He was well and that they were now returning to India. When this cable was written out I was given the job of taking it down to Brookvale, the nearest town. In Brookvale I also had to buy fresh fish for lunch for Baba, the four Mandali and the four of us. It was Saturday afternoon and by the time Baba had the cable ready, the Post Office and all the shops except the fish shop had closed. I talked the fish shop proprietor into giving me some of his precious hoard of change that he was keeping for the weekend trading. Then I went to the public telephone and phoned the telephonist to send the cable. I read the cable to her and she told me to put my coins in the slot to pay for it. I started feeding in the two shilling pieces, but the coin receptacle must have been almost full, because when I was half-way through, a loud siren went off and I couldn’t hear the telephonist any more. The telephone seemed to be disconnected. I didn't know if the telephonist had been counting my two shilling pieces or not, but I didn’t have any more. Meanwhile people were walking past as the siren in the phone booth was wailing loudly. They must have been wondering what was happening because they were looking at me rather suspiciously. I eventually sent the cable, then bought the fish and returned to Meher House. Then a very unique and beautiful thing happened. In the kitchen at Meher House, Bill had to stand at the stove and cook the fish, while Baba sat beside the stove directing him. Each piece was cooked under Baba’s direction and Baba allocated each piece of fish to each person. Baba’s flight was due to depart at 6 o’clock in the evening. We went to the International Airport, arriving there about 4 o’clock — two hours early as usual with Baba. When we arrived at the airport Baba sat near the entrance, the exit was at the other end. Of course as other people arrived they occupied the seats nearer the exit. Baba caught a cold while we were there. When the call came for the passengers to board the aircraft, we took the rug off Baba’s feet and helped Him to stand up. By this time there was a great mass of people in front of Him going to the exit, and then a strange thing happened. Nariman, who was behind us, shouted something in Marathi, and all these people seemed to drift away from the centre, so there was a passage-way formed. Baba just went down the passage-way, no stopping, no turning or waving, and in a moment He was gone.19

Top) Meher Baba inspecting the men’s accomodation in the tents. (Bottom) Meher Baba inspecting Avatar’s Abode from near His house. Photograph by the Author.

Photograph by courtesy of Giff Alston.

Photograph by courtesy of Colin Adams. ‘My Sahavas will fall within the orbit of My universal suffering and helplessness.’

Photograph by courtesy of Colin Adams.

This Sahavas will be unique in the sense that you will witness and share My present universal suffering by being near Me as My fortunate companions...’

CHAPTER 13 The Years 1958 to 1962. After Meher Baba returned to India in June 1958, He sent each one who had been to His Sahavas at Avatar’s Abode an instruction to obey. The instructions were more individual this time, not everyone received the same one. They were not in the least harmful to others. Francis Brabazon seemed to get the most difficult one which required him to fast on milk for forty days. During this time his movements were restricted to the property of Avatar’s Abode. A lot of other people had to say a repetition a certain number of times daily. Other people were given different specific instructions. The thing that really mattered was not what the instruction was, but one’s determination to carry it out at all costs no matter what it was. The hardest thing was always the initial decision to be obedient. Once a person was determined to be obedient come what may, it became much easier to carry out the instruction. It was also just as important not to be fooled by a seemingly trivial order. It was important to carry out each and every one. Somehow Baba seemed to be able to couple up instructions with the events in your life and if you carried them out the results were satisfactory, but if you didn’t the events of life just seemed to go against you and everything went wrong. Being obedient to Meher Baba was an extremely serious matter. It was far better not to receive an instruction from Him than to receive one and not carry it out. We were to receive approximately six family letters a year. These letters were the medium through which we received our instructions from Meher Baba. We were to discover that in carrying out Meher Baba’s instructions it was life itself that taught us the lessons. These letters also contained information about life, that it was appropriate for us to know at the time, because it helped us to have the right attitude and take the right action when it was needed. With one hand He would give us the problem in our life but with the other hand He would present us with the solution, if we could only see it. As most of these letters have been published I won’t repeat them in detail here; I will include only those parts that I think are necessary for this story. Sometimes Mani wasn’t allowed to tell us about Meher Baba’s health or about His work — the strenuousness of the work would sometimes tell on His health. It must have been very difficult for her at these times to write the letters. Occasionally, for something to say, she would tell us about some little incident that was happening in the garden and she would make it sound so beautiful. But I would get impatient with her because I didn’t care what was happening in the garden, I would just want to hear about Meher Baba. She wouldn’t be allowed to tell us, but never-the-less I would be scanning the letter for news of Baba — the only thing I cared about. ‘But what does Baba say?’ would be my frustrated question. I only wanted to know what He said to someone, anyone, because usually it would be for us too. When He spoke to one, He often spoke to all. There was always something that was applicable to all. Something that everyone could learn from. All would not necessarily get the same message at the same time, but each one would get the message that was appropriate to that one at that specific time. In the letter of 19th July 1958, we were told about Baba giving his Universal Message and later we received a copy of this message.

The Years 1958 to 1962. 127 Universal Message. I have com e not to teach but to aw aken. Understand therefore that I lay down no precepts. Throughout

eternity

I

have

laid

down

principles

and

precepts,

but

mankind has ignored them. Man’s inability to live God’s words makes the Avatar’s teaching a mockery. Instead of practicing the compassion He taught, man has waged crusades in His name. Instead of living the humility, purity and truth of His words, man has given way to hatred, greed and violence. B e c a u s e m a n h a s b e e n d e a f t o t h e p r i n c i p le s a n d p r e c e p t s la i d d o w n b y G o d i n t h e p a s t , i n t h i s p r e s e n t A v a t a r i c F o r m I o b s e r v e S i l e n c e . Y o u h a v e asked for and been given enough words — it is now time to live them. To get nearer and nearer to G od you have to get further and further aw ay from ‘I’ , ‘ M y ’ , ‘ M e ’ a n d ‘Mine’. You have not to renounce anything but your own self. It is as simple a s t h a t , t h o u g h f o u n d t o b e a l m o s t i m p o s s i b l e . I t i s possible for you to renounce your lim ited self by M y G race. I have com e to release that Grace. I repeat, I lay down no precepts. When I release the tide of Truth which I have com e to give, m en ’s daily lives w ill be the living precept. The w ords I had not spoken will come to life in them. I veil Myself from man by his own curtain of ignorance, and manifest My Glory to a few. My present Avataric Form is the last Incarnation of this cycle o f t i m e , h e n c e M y M a n i f e s t a t i o n w i l l b e t h e g r e a t e s t . W h e n I b r e a k M y Silence, the im pact of M y Love w ill be universal and all life in creation w ill know , feel and receive it. It w ill help every individual to break him self free f r o m h i s o w n bondage in his own way. I am the Divine Beloved who loves you more than you c a n e v e r l o v e y o u r s e l f . T h e b r e a k i n g o f M y S i l e n c e w i l l help you to help yourself in knowing your real Self. All this world confusion and chaos was inevitable and no one is to blame. W h a t had to happen has happened; and what has to happen will happen. There was n o w a y o u t e x c e p t t h r o u g h M y c o m i n g i n y o u r m i d s t . I h a d t o come, and I have come. I am the Ancient One.1 In July 1958 Meher Baba went into seclusion for four and a half months, it wasn’t called a seclusion, but for all practical purposes it was one, because at that time we were not allowed to send cables or write to Him. In October 1958, we received an instruction to write one letter to Meher Baba, expecting no reply from Him. Also in October Francis Brabazon received instructions to come to India for an indefinite period. He purchased a return ticket and departed for India. On 11th December 1958, we received the following cable; CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS FROM BABA TO ALL CONCERNED IN AUSTRALIA A S F O L L O W S ; U N D E R A L L C I R C U M S T A N C E S H O L D F A S T T O M Y UNDYING LOVE AND YOU WILL LIVE IN ME FOREVER. MANI. January 1959: Francis is now in India working on the book Stay With God. It is to be published in Australia later in the year. Baba has had it read to Him and said the unique fact

128 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. of this epic of the living Avatar being written during His lifetime and being heard by Him in physical form, will have a great bearing and significance on posterity. Among the things He said in praise of Stay With God was, ‘My love will touch the heart of all who read it, as no book has ever done.’ In February 1959 we received the following letter from Meher Baba: Each and every reply to Circular Letter of 19th October 1958 has been read out to Me, and your response has made Me very happy. O b e d i e n c e i s g r e a t e r t h a n l o v e . L o v e i s a g i f t f r o m t h e B e l o v e d t o t h e lover, w hereas obedience is an offering from the lover to the Beloved and accepts any hardship and sacrifice. Obedience is the surrenderance of love to Love in which the wish of the Beloved becomes the happiness of the lover. W hen I say I am m ade happy by your desire or w illingness to obey M e, you have already received My blessing that you will be able to do so — the happiness of the Beloved is His blessing to the lover. I send My Love to each and everyone of you. BABA In June 1959 we received a message from Baba, ‘Continue your work at the c e n t r e s a n d o u t s i d e , s p r e a d i n g M y m e s s a g e o f l o v e . B e u n m i n d f u l o f t h e results of your efforts — those who are to come will come. Just do your best with love and sincerity.’2 It was just as well that we were not to be concerned with the results of our efforts, because the world did not seem to be ready to recognize Him yet and it was very difficult at this time to find anyone interested in Meher Baba. We would have been disappointed had we expected dramatic results. However, results are not only measured by the external result, there is also the internal result. It was also all part of our training; perhaps our biggest limitation was ourselves — we were young in Baba’s love and it was not just a matter of telling people about Him. He had said to spread His message of Love. The difficulty was that one first had to understand about it and then live it, not just talk about it. Hopefully we were gradually learning from experience. We also received a message from Baba advising that He desires to give no instructions for the observance of the 10th July 1959, (the 34th anniversary of His silence) and leaves it entirely to the inclination of each concerned, i.e., it may be observed if and as we like, or not observed at all. No queries to be sent regarding this instruction.3 I usually liked being silent on Baba’s ‘silence days’ because I had to think of Him more and He seemed closer at these times, but because my work always involved talking to aircraft, I often had to change shifts with someone else to give me a day off on these days and this wasn’t always possible. On this day, because there was no instruction to fast or remain silent, I did not change my shift, and I did not fast or remain silent. In August 1959, we were told about Baba entering a new and critical phase of His universal work, He did not want us to disturb Him during this phase of three months on any account — no letters and no telegrams. In October 1959, we received word that the ‘no contact period’ with Baba is extended two months, until December. No communication and no visits. Mani is not allowed to tell us about the nature of His work.

The Years 1958 to 1962. 129 We also received a copy of a prayer composed by Baba for Baba lovers and the mandali as follows; ‘Beloved God help us all to love You more and more, and more and more and still yet more, till we become worthy of union with You; and help us all to hold fast to Baba’s daaman till the very end.’4 Still no external contact but a new opportunity, and a hint, for more internal contact with this special prayer just at the right time. In the next letter, Baba extends till the end of December the curb on Mani reporting on any of His activities during the period of His seclusion. Later, we were advised that this period ended on 24th December. In January 1960 Baba visited Arangaon village and walked for about two miles, so He is much more mobile now. There are no longer restrictions on Mani telling us about Baba’s activities. His Birthday on 25th February is celebrated this year. He moved to Poona in March and stayed at ‘Guruprasad’ in Poona, until June. We learn from the letters that Baba is giving His darshan in Poona to those who come from distant places in India and make their own independent arrangements for their stay in Poona. Most of us wouldn’t have had the money for these visits, but usually we didn’t find out about them until it was too late for us to go anyway. In May 1960 we are advised that from the 10th June, Baba will stop giving darshan and will not be available to visitors, local or otherwise till the end of 1960. From 1st July till the end of the year Baba will remain completely secluded at Meherazad — no one should visit Him or express a desire to do so. No one should correspond with Baba till the end of the year. On the 10th July, the 35th anniversary of His silence, Baba wishes all who love Him and obey Him to observe complete silence for 24 hours.5 We received the following letter from Meher Baba, Meherazad — June 30th 1960: T h i s i s t o a l l o f y o u w h o l o v e M e a n d o b e y M e , a s w e l l a s t o a l l t h o s e who would do so. Most particularly it is to all of you who have replied in the affirm ative (Y E S), stating your resolution to obey M e and hold fast to M y ‘daaman’ under all circumstances, and irrespective of whatever may or may not happen, to stick to Me to the very end. I want you all My lovers to take this period of My Seclusion as most important from all angles. I want you to help Me by helping one another through practicing greater tolerance towards all, even towards those who cause you provocation. I want you to do this through love and not through compulsion. I w a n t y o u t o li v e i n a c c o r d a n d t o m a i n t a i n c o r d i a l r e la t i o n s w i t h a ll especially durin g th ese six m on ths of M y Seclusion w hich w ill test to the utmost your forbearance, thus making you aware of the extent of your love for Me. I want you to know that I will definitely break My Silence; and I want you to cling to My ‘daaman’ till the very end, irrespective of whether I speak or n o t . I a m t h e H i g h e s t o f t h e H i g h , a n d w a n t y o u t o l o v e M e n o t f o r a n y spiritual or material gain, nor for the impending breaking of My Silence and M y m a n i f e s t a t i o n , b u t I w a n t y o u t o l o v e M e f o r M y s e l f , a s b e i n g G o d i n human form.

130 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. I want you to remain undisturbed and unshaken by the force of life’s c u r r e n t s , f o r w h a t e v e r t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h e y t o o w i l l b e o f M y o w n creation. I w a n t y o u t o r e m a i n a b s o r b e d a s m u c h a s p o s s i b l e i n t h i n k i n g o f M e during My Seclusion of six months, when circumstances will be so created during this period that they will try to drift you away from Me. This is the reason why I have repeatedly stressed, while at Guruprasad that the time has come when I want you all to cling to My ‘daaman’ with both hands — in case the grip of one hand is lost, the other hand will serve in good stead. A n d l a s t l y , I w a n t y o u a l l t o r e m e m b e r N O T t o d i s t u r b M e i n a n y w a y during M y Seclusion, not even by w riting to M e to acknow ledge this or to reaffirm your love for Me. — My LOVE to you each.6 In early December 1960 we received instructions from Meher Baba as follows: BABA wishes all who love Him, to know that: 1. They should repeat any one name of God 500 times daily for 21 days, from 26th December 1960 through the 15th of January 1961. This repetition should be of any one Name only — the Name most close to their heart. 2. Under any circumstances, they must fast for 24 hours during these 21 days. 3.

To the Men, Baba gives the option of fasting for any number of days, at one stretch, during the 21 days. The women are given the option of fasting at the most for five days only — i.e. they must NOT fast for more than five days during the period of 21 days. Those undertaking to observe the Fast for any prolonged period after the 24 hours, should do so entirely on their own responsibility, without risking and affecting their health, job or Baba-work. Baba does not want His lovers to observe a prolonged fast by neglecting their responsibilities towards their family and friends.

4. Whether one fasts for 24 hours or more, the Fast so observed should be done at one stretch — without letting any gaps occur in between the fasting. The person fasting should drink plain water and ‘sherbet’ (syrup and water) or ‘weak tea’ (tea without milk), as many times a day as desired. 5. Smoking, and intake of necessary medicines, is allowed during the Fast. Baba also allows those fasting over 24 hours to take tobacco or snuff if they are in the habit of doing so. 6. On 16th of January the accompanying form should be filled-in in a clear hand and posted to Adi K. Irani (Kings Road, Ahmednagar, India), without sending any letter with it. 7.

No one should write here anything regarding the observance of this Fast. Each lover is asked to use his or her discretion in deciding on a prolonged fast; for, Baba wants each one to note carefully that the Fast must not be more than 24 hours if circumstances do not permit.?

7

Meher Baba’s seclusion not only continued on to the end of the year, but was extended into the new year of 1961. Mani was not permitted to write about His health — this usually only happened when His work was affecting His health. Baba permited a cable to be sent to Him on 25th February — His birthday — a cable was sent from the groups in Sydney and other centres. We were instructed to fast for 24 hours on His birthday, which we did. We

The Years 1958 to 1962. 131 received a lovely little message from Mani; ‘But even while you cannot write to Baba, He knows all that you say to Him, for the Beloved is always eavesdropping at the doors of His lovers hearts.’

8

Such a beautiful message and a hint about the importance of inner contact and how to increase it. During this time we received many interesting little quotes and messages from Baba and although usually given in reference to a particular happening are really universal messages and wonderful messages for one to think about because of the depth of insight that they reveal. At one time Baba said that Puker was ‘full of emptiness’. Then he said that ‘full of emptiness’ was the ideal state in which to be. Later he explained the meaning to the mandali as follows. It means turning one’s heart and mind inside out, becoming empty and naked. To be empty means to be rid of all desires, and concerns the heart. To be naked concerns the mind, and means not to care for the opinions, criticism, or censure of others in pursuit of the true goal.9 Another time He quoted the Prophet Mohammed saying, ‘You cannot see God because you are blind, deaf and dumb (to truth);’ and the Perfect Master, Bayazid who told his followers, ‘You cannot attain God unless you are blind, deaf and dumb (to illusion).’

10

‘The true lover is born only at that moment when he dies for God.’11 ‘When one remains fully and completely resigned to the Divine Will of God, all service, sacrifice, solitude, seeking, and surrenderance, merely symbolize one’s love for God.’12 ‘My centre is the heart of My lover.’13 ‘Shut the trap of your mind and end all your worries. Open the trap of your heart and release love.’14 Baba has said that he who takes His name when breathing his last, comes to Him regardless of everything.15 To someone who had been saved from injury during an accident by taking Baba’s name and then attributing the miracle to Baba, Baba replied, ‘Do not attribute the miracle to Me; the miracle was of My Name.’16 The following was Baba’s message given on His visit to the Hindu Women’s Rescue Home, at the invitation of the head of the Society, Poona: ‘Love and understanding never condemn, but seek to help and encourage. M e n and women have departed from the custom and laws of Truth and goodness, but God never condemns us or turns us from His door; so we should not condemn even those who condemn us. I bless you to try to understand and l o v e t h o s e w h o a r e t r y i n g t o h e l p y o u t a k e y o u r p l a c e i n God’s Work through serving His humanity.’17

132 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. To Father Anthony, principle of St Catherine of Siena School in Bombay, who has dedicated his service to the cause of destitute and abandoned children, Baba said: ‘By serving the abandoned you are serving Jesus the Christ because He t o o w a s a b a n d o n e d b y a l l , e v e n b y H i s o w n a p o s t l e s . T h e e m b l e m o f abandonment is the Cross. Hence, to serve the abandoned is to serve the Christ — and I am He undoubtedly.’18 Some more messages given by Baba at this time include: ‘It is better to deny God than to defy God.’ ‘Sometimes our weakness is considered to be strength, and we take delight in this borrowed greatness.’ ‘To profess to be a lover of God and then to be dishonest to God, to the world and to himself, is unparalleled hypocrisy.’ ‘Difficulties give us the opportunity to prove our greatness by overcoming them.’ ‘A child’s trust in its mother is complete, because it leaves all its worries to her. She has to take care of it. So if we trust God and let Him worry for us, we live content and happy.’ ‘When the leader of the Nation puts complete trust in God, God makes him the instrument to guide the Nation rightly.’ ‘We should think well of those who think ill of us.’19 ‘You are convinced of God’s existence. God exists; therefore God is to be sought, seen, realized. Do not search for God outside of you. God can only be found within you, for His only abode is the heart. But you have filled the a b o d e w i t h m i l l i o n s o f s t r a n g e r s a n d H e c a n n o t e n t e r , f o r G o d i s s h y o f strangers. So unless you strip your abode of the millions of strangers you have filled it with, you cannot find God. What are these strangers? They are your age-old desires — your millions o f w a n t s . These

are

strangers

to

God,

for

incompleteness

in

the

form

of

wanting

is

f u n d a m e n t a l l y f o r e i g n t o G o d w h o i s A l l — s u f f i c i e n t a n d w a n t i n g i n nothing — His omniscience and omnipotence will not brook it. Honesty in your dealings will clean your heart of strangers. So push the tenants out of your abode that is His and you will see Him, find Him and realize Him.’20

‘You are Bliss itself. To make you aware of it, I come amongst you and suffer infinite agony.’21 ‘Let your life itself be My message of Love and Truth to others.’22

The Years 1958 to 1962. 133 We were advised that Baba was going to Poona in March 1961. There will be no darshan in Poona this year. Baba is still in seclusion and His health is bad. We are still not to write. Later we learn from Mani that Baba allowed people to visit Him during the two weeks from 15th May to 31st May between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on any one day during the two weeks. He does not wish lovers that live in distant places to come. He might give them another opportunity at another time. One lucky Australian — Dianna Snow — was returning home from Europe and had a two day stop-over in Bombay, she was fortunate that these two days coincided with Baba’s darshan dates, and she was allowed to visit Him in Poona. After the two weeks of darshan, Baba resumed His seclusion. In a letter sent in July 1961 we hear news of a devastating flood in Poona. Baba’s seclusion continued for the rest of this year and into 1962. In a letter written on January 14th 1962, we received the first indication of the possibility that we may be able to see Baba for one hour (as it was last year) or for as long as a week, in May this year. There is nothing definite yet, but we will be advised when plans are more definite. Baba is still in seclusion and we are still not allowed to write. It was as if with one hand Meher Baba would help to draw one closer to Him internally, but with the other hand He would try to shake that one off externally. You had to value the inner contact more, and get a stronger inner grip or He would shake you off externally. Obedience to the instructions of, ‘Think of Me,’ ‘Love Me,’ ‘Repeat My name,’ all helped strengthen the inner contact. While His changing the date for the breaking of His silence and His constantly changing plans were the ‘shake off’ with the other hand, or so it appeared to me. He was continually withdrawing himself. First it was His speech, then His writing. Later He ceased using the alphabet board, communicating only by gestures. Often after many years He would allow some lucky ones an initial contact with Him to form the link, or lay the cable as He put it. Then He withdrew His presence and only allowed an occasional letter to be written, expecting no reply. This had the result that people either developed a stronger inner contact with Him, or were shaken off by Him. He kept extending the periods of His seclusion which prevented external communication. However, if a person was obedient to Him that person got a stronger inner link with Him. His postponement of external meetings, had the effect of creating a greater longing in the devotee to have His company even more. The longing was the important thing, because it strengthened the inner link with Him. He had told us in 1956 how important this longing was, now although we didn’t realize it at the time, he was creating the circumstances to develop this longing. In a letter written on 15th March 1962, Mani said, ‘Beloved Baba wishes me to tell you that He will give His company to His lovers, Easterners and Westerners alike, for one week in November (1st7th) this year and not in May as was mentioned earlier as a possibility.’ 23 Everyone was very happy at the possibility of seeing Meher Baba once again and all who could spare the time and could afford the trip made bookings to go to India by ship which was less expensive than flying. Those with less time planned to go by air. Due to the extra time involved, going by ship was out of the question for me, so I decided to go by air. But although I could now afford to go, we were very short of staff at work and I had great difficulty in trying to change my leave which had been previously allocated to a different time of the year.

134 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. In one of the family letters we received information that Baba wanted all to strictly abide by His wishes which included the following: ‘Baba says that only those who can afford conveniently to make the trip may do so being mindful not to risk their health and jobs.’ ‘Baba says that those unable to make the trip due to unfavourable circumstances should not feel upset but remain resigned in His love.’

24

Eventually, I found that it was impossible for me to change my leave and I was not able to go to this Sahavas which became known as the East-West Gathering and was held at Guruprasad, Poona, India, from 1st to 5th November 1962. Meher Baba sent this cable to those who could not be with Him for this Sahavas: ‘WHILE YOUR LOVE IS WITH ME HERE, I AM WITH YOU THERE.’

25

I later received a printed booklet entitled The 1962 East-West Gathering, containing some of the messages that were given by Meher Baba at the East-West gathering. The most important are reproduced here. My Dear Children. Your

coming

to

Me

from

different

places

and

from

across

oceans

has

pleased Me. And although no sacrifice to be near Me is too great I am touched by the sacrifice that some of you have made to come here. Those who have not been able to come to Me should not feel disheartened, for My love is with them as always and specially so at this time. I know how they are longing to be near Me even for an hour, and how helpless they are in their circumstances. You

have

come

from

great

distances

not

for

some

convention

or

con feren ce but to en joy M y com pany and feel afresh M y love in your hearts. It is a coming together of the children of East and West in the house of their Father. A ll r e li g i o n s o f t h e w o r ld p r o c la i m t h a t t h e r e i s b u t o n e G o d , t h e F a t h e r of all in creation. I am that Father. I have come to remind all people that they should live on earth as the children of the one Father until My Grace awakens t h e m t o t h e realization that they are all one without a second, and that all d i v i s i o n s a n d c o n f l i c t s a n d h a t r e d s a r e b u t a s h a d o w - p l a y o f t h e i r o w n ignorance. Although all are My children they ignore the simplicity and beauty of this Truth by indulging in hatreds, conflicts and wars that divide them in enmity, i n s t e a d o f living as one family in their father’s house. Even amongst you w h o l o v e M e a n d a c c e p t M e f o r w h a t I a m t h e r e i s s o m e t i m e s l a c k o f understanding of one another’s hearts. Patiently I have suffered these things in silence for all M y children. It is n o w t i m e t h a t t h e y b e c o m e a w a r e o f t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e i r F a t h e r i n t h e i r midst and of their responsibility towards Him and themselves. I shall break M y S i l e n c e , a n d , w i t h M y W o r d o f w o r d s , a r o u s e M y c h i l d r e n t o r e a l i z e i n their lives, the indivisible Existence which is GOD. Throughout the years I have been giving many messages and discourses. Today I simply want to tell you who are gathered here in My love to shut the

The Years 1958 to 1962. 135 ears of your minds and open the ears of your hearts and hear My Word when I utter it. Do not seek My Blessing which is always with you, but long for the day when My Grace will descend on all who love Me. Most blessed are they who do not even long for My Grace, but simply seek to do My Will.

26

My Dear Workers. In spite of telling you very often that I will not give you any more messages or discourses, I find Myself doing just this thing which is what I do not want to do. This is because most of you do things which I do not like you doing. I had to give you a message yesterday because you expected one; and the theme of the message was on your being My children, because despite much talk about a Babafamily there is more a semblance than a reality of kinship among you who are the children of One Father. True children of One Father do not greet one another with smiles and embraces and at the same time harbour grudges and ill-feelings, but they have an active concern in their hearts for the well-being of one another and make sacrifices for that well-being. If you make Me your real Father, all differences and contentions between you, and all personal problems in connection with your lives, will become dissolved in the Ocean of My Love. You are all keen on spreading My message of Love and Truth and many of y o u i n t h e East and West have laboured hard in this work; publishing magazines and other l i t e r a t u r e , o r g a n i z i n g m e e t i n g s , s a c r i f i c i n g y o u r vacations in travelling, building halls and having statues made of Me. But I wonder how much of My love and truth has been in your work of spreading My Message of Love and Truth! Unless there is brotherly feelings in your hearts all the words that you speak or print in My name are hollow; all the miles that you travel in My c a u s e a r e z e r o ; a l l o r g a n i z a t i o n s f o r M y w o r k a r e b u t a n a p p e a r a n c e o f activity; all buildings that contain Me are empty places and all statues that you make to embody Me are of someone else. I have been patient and indulgent over the way you have been doing these things, because you have been very young children in My love, and children m u s t h a v e s o m e s o r t o f g a m e s t o p l a y . B u t n o w y o u a r e o l d e r a n d a r e beginning to realize that there is a greater work ahead of you than what you have been doing. And you have been searching your minds and hearts as to what this work might be. It is not a different work to what you have been already doing — it is the same work done in a different way. And that way is the way of effacement, w h i c h m e a n s t h e m o r e y o u w o r k f o r M e t h e l e s s i m p o r t a n t y o u f e e l i n yourself. You m ust alw ays rem em ber that I alone do M y w ork. A lthough only the one who has become One with God can serve and work for all, I a l l o w y o u t o w o r k f o r M e s o t h a t y o u h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o u s e y o u r talents and capacities selflessly and to draw closer to Me. You should never

136 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. think that in your work for Me you are benefiting instrumental in bringing others to Me you are benefiting yourself.

others,

for

by

being

My work is your opportunity. But when you allow yourself to intervene between you and My work, you are allowing the work to take you away from Me. When you put My work before yourself the work will go right, although not necessarily smoothly. And when the work does not go right it means you have put yourself between it and its accomplishment. The way of My Work is the way of effacement, which is the way of strength, not of weakness and through it you become mature in My love. At this stage you cannot know what real love is, but through working for Me as you should work for Me, you will arrive at that ripeness where, in a moment, I can give you That for which you have been millions of years seeking.27 We also received the following message in December 1962: ‘Baba wants His lovers to spread far and wide His message of Love and Truth, in the spirit of His message “My Dear Children” and “My Dear Workers” given by Him during the East-West gathering at Poona in November 1962.’

28

Baba once said that His inner workings are reflected outwardly in the events of the world. It is interesting to note that at this time when Baba was holding a meeting with His lovers from the East and the West in India, the whole world was on the brink of war both in the East and in the West. In the West there was the Cuban confrontation between the two strongest Western Powers in the world — Russia and the United States of America — when America told the Russian ships on the high seas bound for Cuba to go back or else. At the same time in the East, the two most populous nations on earth — China and India — were actually fighting; China had invaded India and was meeting with little military resistance. When Meher Baba was asked by His lovers what would happen in India, Baba told them that the Chinese would go back, that India would not be defeated because He, the Avatar was in India at this time. History records that the Chinese were not defeated, but that they just withdrew from India. This happened shortly after Baba made this statement early in November 1962. To me this is the most dramatic example of the Avatar shouldering the burden of suffering for humanity. The stage was set for two major wars in the West and the East to begin independently, yet simultaneously. Something unprecedented in world history. Expressions of human selfishness, greed and hatred had reached their highest point on the one hand and were about to be unleashed in uncontrolled violence and destruction, while on the other hand, God was telling a group of people who loved Him and had assembled together under His direction, from many different parts of the world, how they should live in the world together in harmony as children of the one Father. But this required of them selflessness instead of selfishness; generosity instead of greed; love instead of hatred. He gave His message to the people present, during those few days, but it is really His message to all humanity, for all time. This message that He passed on to the group of people gathered there will be passed on to others until eventually the whole world will come know of it and treasure it.

CHAPTER14 The Years 1963 to 1969. After the East-West Gathering restrictions were again imposed upon our external contact with Meher Baba as He continued to withdraw Himself from us externally, while making Himself more available to us internally. Our main communications link with Him were the family letters written by Mani, His sister. We all eagerly looked forward to receiving them because they would inevitably contain some news of Meher Baba, our Beloved Master. Sometimes there were restrictions, sometimes instructions to be obeyed, sometimes spiritual information. It was all part of our training. Our opportunity to come closer and closer to Him. At the time we didn’t always understand why He did what He did, or even what He was really doing, but we did know that the best thing we could do was to trust Him, love Him and obey Him. As most of our instructions and information came via the family letters, I will give what I consider to be the most relevant quotes and the approximate dates when we received them. Most of the family letters have been published, so for further information refer to Family Letters by Manija S. Irani. In December 1962 we received a message saying that during the year 1963, Baba wished His lovers not to write any letters to Him, and also not to write to any of His men and women mandali residing with Him. Another message from Meher Baba said that although He is with us all the time we should consciously keep Him with us as much as possible, not worrying about the nothings that seem everything but leave all to Him who is All.1 In a letter dated 13th April 1963, about His suffering, Meher Baba explained: ‘Why and how can I suffer when I am the Ocean of Power, Knowledge and B l i s s ? G o d h a s i n f i n i t e P o w e r , i n f i n i t e K n o w l e d g e a n d i n f i n i t e B l i s s . The Avatar is God Himself incarnate on earth as Man. During His ministery a s A v a t a r , H e u s e s o n l y i n f i n i t e K n o w l e d g e . H e d o e s n o t m a k e u s e o f H i s infinite Power and infinite Bliss. This is because God incarnates as Man and g o e s t h r o u g h u n i v e r s a l s u f f e r i n g a n d h e l p l e s s n e s s i n o r d e r t o e m a n c i p a t e mankind from its ignorance of suffering and helplessness. If the Avatar were t o u s e H i s i n f i n i t e P o w e r , h o w c o u l d H e experience helplessness? If the Avatar were to use His infinite Bliss, how could He suffer? He therefore does not use His infinite Bliss or His infinite P o w e r . S u c h i s H i s i n f i n i t e Love and Compassion for His creation! ‘Jesus

Christ

who

had

infinite

Power,

let

Himself

become

helpless

and

suffered the humiliation of letting the people spit on Him and jeer at Him. He suffered crucifixion, but even while on the Cross did not help Himself from the Power and Bliss that were His. Instead he cried, “Father, why hast Thou f o r s a k e n M e ! ” H e s a i d i t t o H i m s e l f o f c o u r s e , f o r H e a n d t h e F a t h e r a r e One. ‘Again and again, God takes human form to suffer for His Creation. I am that O ne. Like you I have a body and m ind and so I feel hunger and thirst, etc. B ut I also h ave U n iversal B ody an d U niversal M ind and therefore your i n d i v i d u a l s u f f e r i n g i s a s n o t h i n g c o m p a r e d t o M y e t e r n a l , u n i v e r s a l suffering! I have infinite Knowledge. I do not have to use My mind in order to know — I just know. I use My infinite Knowledge. But although I have

138 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. i n f i n i t e B l i s s a n d i n f i n i t e P o w e r , I d o n o t m a k e u s e o f t h e m . I f I w e r e t o make use of the Bliss that is at My beck and call, how could My suffering be “suffering”? And of what benefit would it be to mankind? I also do not use My infinite Power. If I were to use it, how would I remain helpless? I remain infinitely helpless because while having infinite Power at My command, I do not use it! I shall use it only when I break My Silence to give a universal spiritual Awakening; and when I drop this Body I shall use My Bliss for 700 years till My next Advent. ‘Hold fast to Me so that I will take you where I go, otherwise you will be l o s t . I a m t h e E m p e r o r . I f y o u b e l o n g t o M e y o u w i l l h a v e a c c e s s t o t h e Infinite Treasure that is Mine. But if, instead, you go after the guards and servants of the palace (the saints and sadhus) it is sheer folly on your part! ‘I suffer physically and mentally. My physical suffering can be seen. My mental suffering is much more intense than the physical, and is due to the a n t i — G o d element that is at its height, and the universal prevalence of hypocrisy— s p e c i a lly o f t h o s e w h o p r o f e s s t h e m s e lv e s t o b e s a i n t s a n d spiritual personalities. I suffer spiritually because although in Me I am free, i n y o u I s e e a n d f e e l M y s e l f b o u n d b y y o u r i g n o r a n c e ; a n d s o I s u f f e r infinitely. In no previous Avataric period have I disclosed these secrets, because the time was not ripe for it then. At present science has advanced by leaps and bounds; and anti-God element is at its maximum; why then should not spirituality also be at its maximum! Blessed is he who holds fast to My daaman.’

2

Here is another of Baba’s gems that was in a letter from Mani in 1963: ‘It is natural that at times you feel 100 % miserable. Be sure that I know everything. When everything goes wrong the mind becomes helpless and has to rely on the heart. These are the moments that you have to resign to My will and rely solely on My help. When you leave all to Me, I dare not neglect you, and you get relief from your predicament. I am the Ocean of Love and Compassion,’

3

In the following years Meher Baba withdrew himself externally even more from us. The prohibition on writing letters to Him or His mandali was to continue until He directed otherwise. However, He kept sending us appropriate messages, that if we obeyed sincerely, would bring us a closer inner contact with Him. We received the following message from Him in December 1963: However far man may fling himself into outer space, even if he were to succeed in reaching the furthermost object in the universe, man will not c h a n g e

—

w h e r e v e r h e g o e s , h e w i l l r e m a i n w h a t h e i s . I t i s w h e n m a n travels within himself, that he experiences a metamorphosis of his self. It is this journeying that matters, for the infinite Treasure — GOD — is within man, and not to be found anywhere outside of himself. The infinite Treasure is within you. The only drawback to your realizing it is that you do not seek it within you. You look without. This has been your habit for endless lives since your apparent birth in the beginningless Beyond. The moment you get up from sleep, you start looking outside of

The Years 1963 to 1969. 139 you! When you are on the Path, you begin to look within you and see some s p a r k s o f t h e t r e a s u r e — b u t t h e s e a r e j u s t r e f l e c t i o n s f r o m t h e R e a l Treasure. The Perfect Master has the key that opens the last gate which holds this Treasure from you. To aspire to this infinite Treasure is in a way sheer madness, and it has to be that degree of madness which remains unaffected by the most alluring of pleasures or the most painful of sorrows! The infinitely compassionate look — nazar — of the Perfect Master can awaken such ‘madness’ in you. And for this to h appen, you have to live in com plete obedien ce to th e M aster, in com plete resignation to H is w ill. It m akes no difference w hether you are physically near or away from Him.

4

The following message was given by Meher Baba to His lovers for 25th February 1964, His 70th birthday: The aim of life is to love God. The goal of life is to become one with God. The surest and quickest way to achieve this goal is to hold on to My daaman by loving Me more and more. I have suffered much and will have to suffer much more till I break My silence. I give My Love to My lovers.5 At times we would read what Meher Baba had said to others in certain circumstances, but there was a message for us there too. Just the same as there is also a message in these words for all people of all time. At one time a blind Doctor had asked Baba what His darshan could mean to a person without sight. Baba explained: A l l w h o c o m e f o r M y d a r s h a n a r e b l i n d , f o r n o n e c a n s e e M e a s I a m . There are very few in the world who can ‘see’ Me, the rest see only Illusion. B u t t h e c o n t a c t o f t o u c h i n g M e o r r e c e i v i n g M y e m b r a c e i s a d a r s h a n o f untold blessing, and so you are blessed.

6

In this same letter we were also given Baba’s explanation of what Real darshan means, as given by Him at a public darshan in Dehra Dun, on 1st November 1953: I am happy to be in your midst. It is the deep love of some of My lovers in Dehra Dun that had drawn you all together today to have My darshan. But to have My real darshan is not easy. To see Me at close quarters, to do obeisance to Me, to offer Me fruits and flowers, to bow down to Me and then to return to your home can never mean that you have had My darshan. Having seen Me with your eyes you have still not seen Me as I am. You have not had even a glimpse of My true Being in spite of your having gone through

the

convention of so called ‘darshan’. To have My real darshan is to find Me. The way to find Me is to have your abode in Me. And the only one and sure way to find your abode in Me is to Love Me. To love Me as I love you, you must become the recipient of My grace.

140 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Only My grace can bestow the gift of divine Love. To receive My grace, you must obey Me whole-heartedly with the firm foundation of unshakable faith in Me. And you can only obey Me spontaneously as I want when you completely surrender yourself to Me, so that My wish becomes your law and My love sustains your being. Age after age, many aspire for such a surrender, but only very few really attempt to surrender themselves to Me completely as I want. He who succeeds, ultimately not only finds Me but becomes Me and realizes the goal of life. My being in your midst today would serve its purpose even if one from among this multitude has understood what I want you all to know. I give My blessings to you all.

7

In early November 1964, we received the momentous news that Baba has announced that (health permitting) He will give darshan to His lovers in 1965; to His Eastern lovers in the month of May at Poona, and to His Western lovers in the Month of December at Bombay.8 I was able to have my leave in December 1965, and I decided that I would fly to Bombay to have Meher Baba’s darshan there. However, things seemed to be going too smoothly. No trouble in getting my leave, and I could afford to go. It didn’t seem to be normal, it was usually very difficult to meet Meher Baba as He kept withdrawing Himself more and more and this time it seemed to be too easy. Here is another one of Baba’s quotes that we received at this time: W hen love draw s you to M e, don’t ask for anything. W hen you are in M y presence, be a silent recipient. Ask and you lose. Love has no questions and h e n c e expects no answers. Love itself is the answer to all questions. The more you love Me, the less you question. Love is eager to respond to the slightest wish o f t h e B e l o v e d , a n d t h e r e i s n o s c o p e f o r w h y a n d w h e r e f o r e w hile obeying the M aster. W hen in M y sahavas (com pany) be attentive and receptive to what I may say, but do not question. Pampering

the

intellect

brings

forth

innumerable

questions.

All

these

questions can be answered but that is not spiritually indispensable. Mere intellectual explanations will not take you out of the muddle of your mind but w i l l p u z z l e y o u a l l t h e m o r e . T r y t o g r a s p w h a t I h a v e a l r e a d y s a i d . T o dem and an yth in g from th e B eloved is an insult to love. Love only gives and goes on giving till the will of the Beloved alone manifests through the lover.9 Meher Baba’s birthday message to all His lovers for His 71st Birthday, the 25th of February 1965, is: BE TRUE TO THE TRUST I REPOSE IN YOU AND REMEMBER ME WHOLEHEARTEDLY, MY LOVE AND BLESSING TO YOU.

10

In the same letter there were two interesting quotes from Baba:

The Years 1963 to 1969. 141 ‘Once in a while God takes birth because of His Love for His creation. I am born in hum an form so that you m ay see M e as you are, and if you are fortunate to know Me and love Me then some day you will see Me as I really am.’11 ‘If you love Me, then I am with you wherever you are staying.’

12

We hear news of the Eastern Sahavas that was held at Poona in the first week in May 1965. Two young people from Australia also participated in this Eastern Sahavas, they were Peter and Helen Rowan from Melbourne. After the Eastern Sahavas we are not allowed to write to Meher Baba or His mandali, and He has ordered that any letter sent to His mandali must not be read to Him. We receive the instructions for 10th July 1965; we are to observe complete silence for 24 hours. If for practical reasons persons find that this is not possible they should instead observe a complete fast for twelve hours on that day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. during this fast nothing must be consumed — not even water. Those who are fasting for the 12 hours on 10th July, should also observe partial fast in the morning from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. by taking only one cup of tea or coffee, before beginning their complete fast at 8:00 a.m. 13 I was rostered for duty this Saturday afternoon on 10th July 1965, so I fasted instead of remaining silent. It was difficult for me to change shifts, but this was an alternative that permitted me to go to work on my normal shift, and still be obedient to Meher Baba. Mani sent us a copy of a beautiful message Baba had given His lovers at the Eastern Sahavas as follows: T h i s t i m e o f y o u r b e i n g w i t h M e , I d o n o t i n t e n d g i v i n g y o u a l o t o f words to exercise your minds. I want your minds to sleep so that your hearts may awaken to My love. You have had enough of words, I have had enough of words. It is not through words that I give what I have to give. In the silence of your perfect s u r r e n d e r , M y l o v e w h i c h i s a l w a y s s i l e n t c a n f l o w t o y o u — t o b e y o u r s always to keep and to share with those who seek Me. W h e n t h e w o r d o f M y L o v e b r e a k s o u t o f i t s s i l e n c e a n d s p e a k s i n y o u r hearts, telling you who I really am, you will know that that is the Real Word you have been always longing to hear.

14

In August 1965 we receive news that the Western Sahavas of Meher Baba will be held at Meherazad and the lovers will be accommodated at Ahmednagar. This Sahavas will be for three hours daily for seven days only — from the 23rd to the 29th December 1965. On 4th September 1965 we received the following cable from Baba: INFORM

ALL

CONCERNED

AT

YOUR

END

I HAVE

CANCELLED

DECEMBER

SAHAVAS STOP I KNOW HOW DISAPPOINTED MY LOVERS WILL BE BUT I ALSO KNOW MY

LOVERS

WILL

ACCEPT

MY

DECISION

WHAT

I

HAVE

DECIDED

IS

IN

A C C O R D A N C E W I T H M Y H E A V Y BURDEN OF UNIVERSAL WORK AND SUFFERING A N D I S F O R T H E GOOD OF ALL STOP SOMETIME SOMEWHERE SOMEHOW I WILL MEET

142 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. MY OLD AND NEW WESTERN LOVERS BEFORE I BREAK MY SILENCE MY LOVE AND BLESSING TO ALL MY LOVERS STOP CABLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

15

In a letter that arrived in mid September we received some more messages from Meher B a b a . ‘ T h e w o r l d s i t u a t i o n i s v e r y b a d , a n d g r o w i n g w o r s e d a i l y . T h e pressure of M y universal w ork is affecting M y health trem endously, and the p a i n i n M y n e c k i s b e y o n d l i m i t . I t i s t h e u n i v e r s a l C r o s s I b e a r . I h a v e decided to cancel the Western Sahavas which was to be held this December. I do not in the least like cancelling the Sahavas, but I have to. I know what I am doing.’ He added, ‘Sometime, somewhere, somehow, I will meet My old and new Western lovers before I break My Silence.’

16

We are reminded that Baba once said, ‘Do not try to understand Me, for My depth is unfathomable. Just love Me!’

17

In September 1965 we received the following message: BABA WISHES EACH OF HIS WESTERN LOVERS, O L D A N D N E W , Y O U N G A N D O L D , M E N W O M E N A N D CH ILD R EN, TO W R ITE O NE LE TTE R D IR E CT TO H IM . Please note however, that none should expect a reply.18 I was disappointed at not being able to be with Meher Baba in December 1965. But He was our Master and He knew best what should be done and so we must just accept His decision as being the best thing for us. We were being obedient to Him, and so of course we just accepted His decision in this matter. If that was what He wanted, that is how it would be. Our love for Him should be such that we are happy to do as He wishes, instead of doing what we want to do. However, there was something new happening now. Previously when we had been instructed to write to Meher Baba it had been just after we had spent some time in His intimate company and had actually seen Him physically and had experienced His wonderful Presence. But this time the physical meeting had first been arranged, then it was cancelled, and we were denied that contact with His physical presence. It was then that we were instructed to write to Him, under this different set of circumstances which required greater love, obedience and insight. After Baba had received our letters and they had been read to Him we received a general message from Him as follows: ‘I am deeply touched by your love for Me and your com plete resignation to M y w ill. You have m ade M e happy. I give M y Love and blessing to you each, My own.’

19

After this letter requested by Meher Baba had been sent to Him, there was again a restriction imposed on correspondence. There were to be no letters sent to Him and only cables were allowed to be sent in the case of an emergency. We receive another gem from Baba in a family letter: ‘1 shall be present among you all who gather in My Love.’

The Years 1963 to 1969. 143 Another little hint, that we don’t really need his physical company in order for Him to be present among us. He deprives us of His physical company with one hand, but with the other hand He shows us how we can have His Presence any time that we wish to have it. Even although Meher Baba had cancelled the Western Sahavas there was one American who arrived at Meherazad for it, not knowing that it had been cancelled. His name was Robert Dreyfus, he had left his home in Boston U.S.A. in September 1965, and flew to England taking advantage of a student’s concession fare available at the time. Then with his knapsack on his back, he had walked and hitch-hiked his way to India — through France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and finally travelling from Kuwait to Bombay by boat. He was allowed to stay at Meherazad for two days and he saw Baba on both days. Meher Baba gave Robert a message and a mission: ‘Go back to the U.S.A., spread My love a m o n g o t h e r s , particularly among the young and persuade them to desist f r o m t a k i n g d r u g s , f o r t h e y a r e h a r m f u l — p h y s i c a l l y , m e n t a l l y a n d spiritually.’20 Quoting from a family letter at the time: In an age when individual liberty is prized above all achievements, the fast increasing number of drug-addicts forms an appalling chain of self-sought bondage! Even as these drugs hold out an invitation to a fleeting sense of ecstasy, freedom or escape, they enslave the individual in greater binding. LSD, a highly potent ‘mind-changing’ drug differing from the opium derivatives and being used in the research of mental science, is said to ‘expand consciousness and alter one's personality for the better’. In America it has become tragically popular among the young, used indiscriminately by any and many. Robert is of a group of men and women (a number of them devoted to Baba) who have, with discrimination and spiritual aspirations, experimented with LSD. It seemed to them that their experiences tallied with the descriptions in God Speaks of the Subtle Planes. We fathered from his narration that the drug’s effect is a temporary experience of piercing the veil of illusion and ‘a glimpse of Reality’ — thus extending a dazzling promise of eventually leading one to the heights of Godhood. Baba was amused when He heard this and said, ‘If God can be found through the medium of any drug, God is not worthy of being God!’ Baba was very pleased that Robert had stopped taking LSD, and told him to tell the others to do the same. A former professor at Harvard University (U.S.A.) who had been scientifically exploring the higher possibilities of LSD and other psychedelic drugs, on hearing Baba’s message of ‘No Drugs’ sent through Robert, wrote to Meher Baba asking for His guidance. As Baba was moved to help this sincere seeker in clearing his confusion, the reply indicated by Him was sent in a letter from Adi K. Irani, Baba’s secretary, excerpts of which I give here for the benefit of all whom it will help: No drug, whatever its great promise, can help one to attain the spiritual Goal. There is no short cut to the Goal except through the grace of the Perfect Master; and drugs, LSD more than others, give only a semblance of ‘spiritual experience’, a glimpse of a false reality. The experience you elaborate in your letter and book are as far removed from Reality as is a mirage from water. No matter how much you pursue the mirage you will never reach water and the search for God through drugs must end in disillusionment. Meher Baba who knows the Way, who is the Way, cannot approve the continued pursuance of a method that not only must prove fruitless but leads away from the path that leads to Reality.

144 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. It is human, and therefore necessarily wrong sighted, to view the result of the drug by its immediate relative effects — our inability to calculate its end result is beyond our human knowledge, and only the true Guide can point the way. To a few sincere seekers such as yourself, LSD may have served as a means to arouse that spiritual longing which has brought you into contact with Meher Baba, but once that purpose is served further ingestion would not only be harmful but have no point or purpose. Now your longing for Reality cannot be sustained by further use of drugs but only by your own love for the Perfect Master which is a reflectioin of His love for you. You may feel LSD has made a ‘better’ man of you socially and personally. But one will be a better man through Love than one can ever be through drugs or any artificial aid. And the best man is he who has surrendered himself to the Perfect Master irrespective of his personal or social standing. Meher Baba has pointed out that the experience derived through drugs are experiences by one in the Gross World of the shadows of the subtle planes and are not continuous. The experiences of the Subtle Sphere by one on the subtle planes are continuous, but even these experiences are of illusion for Reality is beyond them. And so, though LSD may lead one to feel a better man personally, the feeling of having had a glimpse of Reality may not only lull one into a false sense of security but also will in the end derange one’s mind. Although LSD is not an addiction forming drug one can become attached to the experiences arising from its use and one gets tempted to use it in increasing doses, again and again, in the hope of deeper and deeper experiences. But eventually this causes madness or death. Only the One who knows and experiences Reality, who is Reality, has the ability and authority to point out the false from the Real. Hence Meher Baba tells us who care to heed Him that the only Real Experience is to continuously see God within oneself as the Infinite Effulgent Ocean of Truth and then to become one with this Infinite Ocean and continuously experience Infinite Knowledge, Power and Bliss. 21 Other comments made by Meher Baba about this time in regard to drugs in general and particularly to LSD are as follows: ‘Any drug when used medically for diseases, under the direct supervision o f a m e d i c a l p r a c t i t i o n e r , i s n o t i m p e r m i s s i b l e a n d c a n n o t b e c l a s s e d w i t h individual usage of a drug for what one can get out of it — or hope to get out of it — whether thrills, forgetfulness, or a delusion of spiritual experience.’ ‘LSD

and

other

psychedelic

drugs

should

never

be

used

except

when

p r e s c r i b e d b y a p r o f e s s i o n a l m e d i c a l p r a c t i t i o n e r i n t h e c a s e o f s e r i o u s mental disorder under his direct supervision.’ ‘In short, LSD can be used beneficially for specific medical purposes, but for spiritual progress it is not only useless but positively harmful.’ ‘If the student w orld continues to indulge in the use of LSD , the best of its intellectual potential will be lost to the nation.’ ‘Use of LSD produces hallucinations, and prolonged use of this drug will lead to m ental derangem ent, w hich even the m edical use of LSD w ill fail to cure.’

The Years 1963 to 1969. 145 ‘T a k i n g L S D i s h a r m f u l p h y s i c a lly , m e n t a ll y a n d s p i r i t u a l l y . B u t i f y o u t a k e Me into your heart and love Me as your Real Self, you will find Me in y o u a s t h e infinite

Ocean

throughout eternity.’

of

Love.

And

this

experience

will

remain

continuously

22

There is some indication that one should regard the action of LSD as specific to the individual. One individual may be harmed more by using it one time than another individual who uses it many times. It must then be concluded that it is not safe or advantageous to plan to use LSD even once for the experience it produces. LSD apparently stimulates certain centres of the brain which are usually activated only as a byproduct of the development of the spiritual seeker. In such cases activation is a normal process, and the seeker has then developed the capability to exercise safeguards. If these centres are artificially stimulated, the result is something like the forcing of a locked door. Then one is not certain that the door can be properly closed again.23 We received the following birthday cable in February 1966: I WILL BE PRESENT IN ALL HEARTS GATHERED IN MY NAME FOR M Y B I R T H D A Y I S E N D M Y L O V E A N D B L E S S I N G T O A L L A T MEHER HOUSE MEHER BABA For 10th July 1966, Meher Baba’s instructions to His lovers are: BABA WANTS ALL HIS LOVERS TO KNOW THAT THE FORTY-FIRST ANNIVE R SAR Y O F H IS SILE N C E IS A V E R Y IM PO R TAN T E V E N T A N D A S S U C H A L L H I S L O V E R S S H O U L D O B S E R V E C O M P L E T E SILENCE FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS ON THIS OCCASION.24 We also received another message from Mani: ‘As the time of His manifestation draws closer and Baba tells His lovers to spread His message of Love, the door one knocks on in His Name opens in response, sometimes before the hand can be raised to knock. We learn that we have simply to become a submissive channel for His wish, and whatever be the form or material we supply of our capacity, He will do His work through it and will seek out His own.’

25

In December 1966 we received the following message from Meher Baba: Desires and longings are the root cause of all suffering. The only Real Desire is to see God, and the only Real Longing is to become one with God. This Real Desire and Longing frees one from the bondage of birth and death. Other desires and longings bind one with ignorance. To desire the Real Desire and to long for the Real Longing you need My Grace; and you cannot have that until you surrender all other desires and longings to Me.

146 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Your love for Me will help you to surrender these desires and longings; and My love for you will help you to desire the Real Desire and long for the Real Longing which are by My Grace.

26

It is fortunate that there is often the space of months between the family letters because then we come back to the individual letters and reread them a number of times. There is usually so much in each of Baba’s messages that just to read them once is totally inadequate. The mind is so quick and doesn’t allow time for the contents of the message to be fully absorbed. The messages need to be mulled over in the mind and meditated upon. Then perhaps we may absorb just a little more from them. Also in December 1966 we received a message from Meher Baba that none should seek to visit Him until the end of November 1967. He wished to be undisturbed until then. Other messages from Baba received by us at this time included: ‘NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL TO UNDERSTAND THAT I AM GOD IN HUMAN FORM.’

27

‘THE REMEDY FOR ALL ILLS IS TO REMEMBER ME CONSTANTLY AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY.’

28

‘YOU WILL COME TO REMEMBER ME WHOLEHEARTEDLY AS YOU REMEMBER YOURSELF LESS AND LESS.’

29

We also received another pertinent quotation, this time from the Perfect Master Kabir: ‘Ram’s (Avatar’s) Name is yours for the looting; loot all you can while you can, before Time and Body pass away.’

30

This is so true in the case of Baba’s Name, we generally do not realize what a priceless gift He has given us in the gift of His Name and so we do not ‘loot’ it to the extent as advised by the Perfect Master, Kabir. Early in February we received Meher Baba’s message given for the occasion of His 73rd Birthday, on 25th February 1967. ‘BIRTHS AND DEATHS ARE ILLUSORY PHENOMENA. ONE REALLY D I E S W H E N O N E I S B O R N T O L I V E I N G O D , THE ETERNAL WHO IS BEYOND BOTH BIRTH AND DEATH.’

31

Baba wishes all His lovers to be informed that He wants to remain completely undisturbed till the end of 1967. He will not give darshan to His lovers and will not see visitors till after 1967. After 1967 Baba will Himself announce when He will give darshan to His lovers. Therefore, Baba wants His lovers not to come to Him of their own accord before His announcement is circulated.

32

Some other messages from Meher Baba that He had originally sent to an early disciple, Ramju, were received by us in February, 1967. To quote Mani they are — ‘lines that are a timeless discourse to all His lovers.’

The Years 1963 to 1969. 147

‘1

am always with you internally.’

‘1

love you as My own self.’

‘Have no anxiety about any matter.’ ‘Be brave and it will all pass away.’ ‘I have taken it to Myself to make you see Truth in future.’ ‘All's well, you have Me! illusionary playthings.’ 33

Hang

maya

and

all

its

In February 1967, Meher Baba called Bill Le Page from Australia for a two week stay at Meherazad. Meher Baba spoke to him about His work in Australia and in response Bill expressed serious concern that he was capable of achieving any impact for Meher Baba in Australia. Baba looked steadily at Bill for a moment and then said, ‘I will turn the key.’ Up to this time it had been very difficult to get anyone interested in Meher Baba in Australia. However, after Baba had ‘turned the key’ the situation changed completely. Bill was able to make contact with journalists and have articles about Meher Baba published in newspapers. Then people from the media even started looking for him, he was featured on T.V. with photographs of Meher Baba and he had radio interviews where he was able to speak about Meher Baba. The change in people’s attitude to Meher Baba was most noticeable, now they were much more receptive. In June 1967 the message we received from Meher Baba was: ‘I a m b o t h d i v i n e a n d h u m a n . T h o s e w h o li v e w i t h M e f e e l m o r e o f M y humanity than My divinity. Those whom I permit to come and see Me for a w h i l e s e e more of My divinity than My humanity. All My intimate lovers whether living w i t h M e o r a w a y f r o m M e w i l l , i n t h e e n d , e x p e r i e n c e M y divinity.’ 34 Our instructions for 10th July were as follows: On the 42nd anniversary of His Silence on 10th July 1967, Avatar Meher Baba wishes all who love and obey Him and all who would want to do so, to observe complete Silence for 24 hours beginning from midnight of the 9th July to midnight 10th July in accordance with local time. Those who, for practical reasons, find that it is not possible to observe silence for the 24 hours on Monday the 10th July 1967, should instead observe complete fast for twelve hours on that day, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. During this fast nothing must be consumed — not even water. Also a partial fast to be observed from the time of arising to 8:00 a.m. by taking only one cup of tea or coffee during this time.35 Baba’s lovers are again reminded that there must be no correspondence with Baba or His mandali except for emergency cables and telegrams. Also they are reminded that He will not give darshan and will not see visitors until after 1967. After 1967 Baba will Himself announce when He will give darshan to His lovers. Therefore, Baba wants none of His lovers to come to Him of their own accord for His darshan before His announcement is circulated.

148 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. One side-effect of this ban on letter writing to Meher Baba was that we must make our own decisions on His instructions. They were plain enough and really didn't need any explanations, but if given the opportunity it is surprising how many people ask for a ruling or an explanation, or even explain their special circumstances, and ask for advise. In September 1967 Baba told us that whatever we would do to proclaim His Message to others we should do it now; that the Time for the breaking of His Silence is fast approaching, and when He gives The Word there will not be the need for His lovers to give His Message to the world — the breaking of His Silence will proclaim to the world the manifestation of God on earth.36 It was quite noticeable the change in people’s attitude now when they heard about Meher Baba. They seem to be much more receptive than they had been. He did seem to have ‘turned the key’ as He said. In October 1967, we received a special circular from Meher Baba containing the following information: Avatar Meher Baba wishes all His lovers to know that His Seclusion will not end on 21st November this year, but will continue until 25th of February 1968. Meher Baba says that the fate of the universe hangs on His Seclusion, and the redemption of mankind depends upon His Manifestation, and He wants to remain absolutely undisturbed; and so under no circumstances should anyone try to see Him unless He Himself calls anyone specially for work, or until He Himself announces that He will give darshan to His lovers. It should carefully be noted that the restriction on correspondence continues. Baba will not attend to any correspondence, including cables and wires. Also, none should write to members of the resident mandali regarding their personal affairs or the affairs of others. After 25th February 1968 Baba will announce when He will see His lovers. Meanwhile, no one should come of his own accord to see Him — but should await Baba’s own announcement.37 Here is one of Meher Baba’s messages said directly to Louis van Gasteren the film maker, and indirectly to us all: ‘I am alone even when surrounded by thousands of people because I see only Myself in them all. As for you, if you were in the Himalayas you would not be alone even t h e r e b e c a u s e t h o u s a n d s o f t h o u g h t s a n d d e s i r e s w o u l d b e y o u r constant companions.’

38

On 2nd October 1967, on the occasion of the centenary of St Vincent’s High School, Baba sent the following message to the school in response to their request for a message from Him: Schools help sincere students to equip themselves with knowledge and to become worthy citizens of society. And those students are wise who take full advantage of educational institutions and their facilities. B u t t h i s k n o w l e d g e i s n o t t h e b e - a l l a n d e n d - a l l o f l e a r n i n g . A n d t h e r e comes a time when one longs to reach the Source of knowledge. The Journey t o t h i s S o u r c e c a n o n l y b e u n d e r t a k e n w h e n o n e l e a r n s t o l o v e i n a l l simplicity and honesty the One whom the pride of intellect veils. When mind soars in pursuit of things conceived in space, it pursues emptiness;

but

when

fullness of existence.

39

man

dives

deep

within

himself

he

experiences

the

The Years 1963 to 1969. 149 Another message received from Mani in February 1968: Baba

says:

‘I

alone

Am.

R em em ber

Me

w holeheartedly.

R epeat

My

nam e

constantly. I am with you.’ Mani continues, ‘Over and over again His lovers experience the sublime truth of His being the Slave of the love of His lovers. With every wholehearted call of “BABA!” His reply “I AM HERE” materializes. He is with each one at all times, but asks us to wake Him up with remembrance.’ Baba says, ‘I am in each heart but I am s l e e p i n g t h e r e . I t i s M y o l d , o l d h a b i t . I n o r d e r t o a w a k e n M e y o u s h o u l d always call out to Me, saying “Baba, Baba, Baba” continuously. Then I, who a m i n y o u r h e a r t , w i l l n o t f i n d a n y p l e a s u r e i n r e m a i n i n g a s l e e p . L e t a l o n e sleep, I shall not find time even to doze!’

40

Here is an important circular received early February 1968: Avatar Meher Baba wishes all His lovers to know that His Seclusion which was to continue until the 25th February 1968 will continue until 25th of March 1968, when He will complete His Seclusion. Baba wants His lovers to know that by this date the phase of His universal work in Seclusion will end, and that there will be no further Seclusions. Baba wants all His lovers to realize what He has said before, that the fate of the universe hangs on His Seclusion and the redemption of mankind depends on His Manifestation. He says that His having prolonged His universal work in Seclusion is an act of His divine Compassion and Love preceding His Manifestation. To help Him in this work, Baba wants all His lovers to recite once daily the Master’s Prayer (0 Parvardigar) and the Prayer of Repentance, individually or collectively, from the time they receive this circular until the 25th of March 1968. And, also to observe complete silence for 24 hours from midnight of 16th March to midnight of 17th March 1968. Baba wants to remain absolutely undisturbed till 25th of March 1968. Therefore, under no circumstances should anyone try to visit Him unless He Himself calls anyone specially for work. It should be carefully noted that the restriction on correspondence will continue and should be strictly observed. Until such time when Baba announces that He will see His lovers or give darshan to them, no one should come of his own accord to see Him, but should patiently and in Baba’s Love await Baba’s own announcement. Baba wishes all His lovers, Easterners and Westerners, to keep in mind that they must not come for His darshan before His announcement is circulated.

41

In Feburary 1968 we received a cable with Meher Baba’s birthday message: O N T H I S M Y A P P A R E N T P H Y S I C A L B I R T H D A Y I S E N D M Y HOMAGE AND OBEISANCE TO MY LOVERS WHO LIVE FOR ME AND WOULD IF ORDERED DIE FOR ME. In early March 1968 we received the following message from Avatar Meher Baba to His lovers, given from His Seclusion: I w a n t a l l M y l o v e r s t o k n o w t h a t M y S e c l u s i o n w i l l n o t e n d o n 2 5 t h March 1968. My Seclusion will have to be prolonged for two months because the work that I am doing in seclusion cannot be completed before the 21st of M a y 1 9 6 8 . M y Seclusion

which

was

to

end

on

25th

continue until 21st May 1968. This is unavoidable.

March

1968

will

therefore have to

150 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. None can have the least idea of the immensity of the work that I am doing in this seclusion. T he only hint I can give is that com pared w ith the w ork I do in seclusion

all

the

important

work

of

the

world

put

together

is

completely

insignificant. Although for Me the burden of My work is crushing, the result of My work will be intensely felt by all people in the world. I want all to bear in mind that what I have declared in My Birthday Message will come to pass — the only difference being that what was to happen soon after 25th March 1968 will now happen soon after 21st May 1968. I r e p e a t t h a t t h e f a t e o f t h e u n i v e r s e h a n g s o n M y S e c l u s i o n a n d t h e redemption of mankind depends upon My Manifestation. All I ask of My lovers is to help Me complete My work by 21st May 1968, so that by this date My universal work in seclusion will end and there will be no need for further seclusions. To help Me in this work, I want all My lovers to continue to recite once d a ily t h e M a s t e r ’ s P r a y e r a n d t h e P r a y e r o f R e p e n t a n c e , i n d i v i d u a l l y o r collectively, until the 21st of May 1968; and also to observe complete silence for twenty-four hours on Sunday the 19th May 1968 — i.e. from midnight of 1 8 t h M a y t o m i d n i g h t o f 1 9 t h M a y . O n t h i s d a y , t h e P r a y e r s s h o u l d n o t b e recited aloud, but prayed silently. C onsequently, the silence on Sunday the 17th March should not be observed. I stress that I wish to remain absolutely undisturbed till the 21st of May 1968. Under no circum stances should any one try to visit M e. If I w ant any o n e s p e c i a l l y f o r w o r k I w i l l c a l l h i m . T h e r e s t r i c t i o n s o n c o r r e s p o n d e n c e that I have imposed, must continue and be strictly observed. Until such time when I announce that I will see My lovers or give darshan to them , no one should com e of his ow n accord, but should patiently and in My love await My announcement.

42

At this time we didn’t understand why Meher Baba would not let us visit Him. But out of our love and obedience to Him we just wanted to do as He wished, and as He instructed. The separation certainly did increase our longing to be with Him, but we did not at the time realize that this was probably His purpose — to increase our longing. He had told us in 1956, how important it was to increase our longing for Him. How the longing should increase until we became like a fish out of water, that longs to return to the water, because it can’t live without the water. Now He was creating a situation that helped us to achieve this longing, provided we obeyed Him. At last He had given us something to do that He said would help Him in His work. That was saying the Prayers aloud daily while He was in seclusion, and also the special silence day on 19th May 1968. What a privilege He has given us, of course He has done all the hard work, but He is now letting us share in it with Him, by letting us participate in just a tiny part of it. In May 1968 we received the following message from Meher Baba: I

know

how

you

feel.

I

know

your

love.

I

know

the

agony

of

your

l o n g i n g t o s e e M e . I k n o w w h a t I a m d o i n g a n d w h a t I h a v e t o d o . I k n o w when the time will be right for you to see Me, and at that time I will call you. Until that time comes, until I announce that I will see My lovers, I want you all to be patient, to wait with complete trust in My word, with complete faith i n M y L o v e f o r y o u , with complete obedience to My wishes. Until I

The Years 1963 to 1969. 151 announce that I will give My darshan to My lovers, none of you must try to come, none of you must ask to come, none of you must come. Whether I am at Guruprasad or at Meherazad you will receive My announcement through a c i r c u l a r ; a n d u n t i l s u c h a c i r c u l a r i s s e n t o u t y o u m u s t a l l w a i t i n p e r f e c t obedience to My wish. I am happy with your love for Me which makes you proclaim to the world M y m essage of Love and Truth. I am happy w ith your obedience w hich has h e l p e d M e i n M y w o r k f o r t h e u n i v e r s e . I a m w i t h y o u . I g i v e M y L o v e t o you.

43

It was now ten years since I had seen Meher Baba and at this time I would have journeyed to India to be with Him for one hour, or even five minutes if He had permitted it. The mandali had certainly been right when they told us in 1956, that we didn’t know how fortunate we were having such intimate contact with Meher Baba for so long. Also in this same letter there was another message from Meher Baba. ‘I want all My lovers to continue reciting the Parvardigar Prayer and the P r a y e r o f R e p e n t a n c e e v e r y d a y t i l l t h e 9 t h o f J u l y 1 9 6 8 . O n 1 0 t h o f J u l y , the 43rd anniversary of My Silence, I want all My lovers to observe complete silence for twenty-four hours, from midnight of 9th July to midnight of 10th July 1968.’ Please note that Baba has given no option of a fast for those who may find it impractical to observe silence. His lovers know what their Beloved’s wish is, and it is left to them how they can manage to carry it out. None must write concerning it to any of us here or at the Ahmednagar office. Moreover, Baba desires the present restriction on correspondence to continue as now and be more strictly observed. The ‘more strictly’ applies mainly to those of His lovers in India who have been increasingly forgetful of the restriction and have lapsed into pre-restriction letter writing. To those who receive this letter before 19th May, I would like to make it clear that apart from the silence on 10th July, the silence to be observed on Sunday the 19th of May, as per circular sent out in March, stands good.

44

I was fortunate to have a rostered day off for the silence day on Sunday 19th May and for the next one on 10th July 1968 I was on recreational leave, so I didn’t need to take off time from work on either of these days. On Tuesday 30th July 1968 Baba’s Work was concluded. On that evening Beloved Baba declared: MY WORK IS DONE. IT IS COMPLETED 100% TO MY SATISFACTION. THE RESULT OF THIS WORK WILL ALSO BE 100% AND WILL MANIFEST FROM THE END OF SEPTEMBER. 45

Here is a message that Meher Baba sent His lovers in September 1968: B E P A T I E N T . W A I T I N M Y L O V E . T H O S E W H O W A I T F O R M E NEVER WAIT IN VAIN. YOU WILL SEE ME, BUT WAIT TILL I CALL. HOLD ON TO MY DAAMAN — AND WAIT FOR MY CALL.

46

152 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. With this message there was the following comment from Mani: ‘The 21st of May 1968 marked both an end and a beginning — end of the interminable seclusion (when Baba secluded Himself from seeing His lovers), and beginning of a period referred to as “exclusion” (when His lovers are excluded from seeing Him). In short, on May 21 Baba came out of Seclusion and stepped into Exclusion without a change of the restrictions that covered the former. And, we understand from Him, this period of Exclusion is the threshold leading to Inclusion, the time that will include all to His darshan!’ At this time I didn’t understand what Baba meant about His seclusion, exclusion and inclusion, but later with hindsight it was to become clearer. Meher Baba sent out a circular from Meherazad on 1st November 1968 informing His lovers all over the world of His decision to give them His darshan next year (1969) from 10th April to 10th June in Poona, but only on the terms laid down by Him in this circular. He said, ‘This is the time for My lovers. The time for the world’s crowds to come to Me will be when I break My Silence and Manifest My Divinity.’ There were twenty-six conditions which are listed in the Family Letters, so I will not give them all here. This darshan was to be held in Guruprasad Bungalow, 24 Bund Garden Road, Poona, India, between 10th April and 10th June 1969. The darshan will be strictly for His lovers, old and new, Eastern and Western. It will not be an open darshan for the general public. Baba will give His darshan daily for two hours in the morning to Westerners and for two hours in the afternoon to Easterners separately. Morning hours will be from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Afternoon hours will be from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The lovers from the West should stay in Poona for not more than a week. They may see Baba only FOUR times during their one week’s stay in Poona. The lovers from the East should have a shorter stay in Poona and may see Baba for fewer days but it varies as to where they come from. Baba will not see anyone individually. Baba will not give any private interviews, and no one should ask Baba for any advice or directive on their personal affairs, group activities or spiritual matters. Baba wants all His lovers, both Eastern and Western, to return home directly on leaving Poona after seeing Him. Therefore, any who plan to do sightseeing in India or outside of India should do so before coming to Poona. All financial dealings are to be conducted through Indian banks and authorised agents according to the law of the country. Baba says that those who want to come and cannot come to Poona for His darshan should not feel upset or disheartened but remain resigned to His Love knowing that ‘sometime, somewhere, somehow’ His darshan is assured to them also. Baba wants the present restriction on correspondence to continue as now and be MORE STRICTLY OBSERVED. Baba does not wish His lovers to write to anyone at Meherazad, or to Adi K. Irani on any problems or queries regarding their visit to Poona for the darshan. On 2nd February 1969, I received a phone call from Bill Le Page at about 12:30 p.m. He read the following cable to me: ‘AVATAR MEHER BABA DROPPED HIS PHYSICAL BODY AT TWELVE N O O N 3 1 J A N U A R Y A T M E H E R A Z A D T O L IV E E T E R N A L L Y IN T H E HEARTS OF ALL HIS LOVERS. BELOVED BABA'S BODY WILL BE

The Years 1963 to 1969. 153 INTERRED AT MEHERABAD ARANGAON ON 1 FEBRUARY AT 10 AM I N T H E T O M B H E HAD ORDERED TO BE BUILT LONG AGO.’

47

I was very shocked to hear this news and when I put down the phone I couldn’t help weeping. Selfishly I suppose, because at last Meher Baba’s suffering for humanity had ceased, He no longer had to endure that, so He would be better off. But we had been trained in love and obedience to Him, and were used to receiving His orders and receiving loving messages from Him and occasionally having His wonderful physical presence. We had learned to identify the feeling of His Presence with His physical body and were not aware that it could be experienced without it, except in very special circumstances. The thought of never seeing Him again, never receiving an instruction from Him again and never feeling His Presence again, was just too much to endure at that moment. In the next few days through thinking a lot about Meher Baba I soon discovered that now the inner contact was stronger and if one tried one could also experience His Presence more strongly through remembrance of Him and the repetition of His Name. On 26th January 1969 Mani wrote a family letter to the West which we received after the cable and which contained another circular from Meher Baba. Knowing that He was no longer in the body served to emphasize some of the points. The circular is printed below: Beloved Avatar Meher Baba wishes all His lovers to know that His three years of intense work have shattered His health. In spite of this He has invited His lovers from all over the world to come to Him for His darshan next summer, for it is the time for them to come to Him and receive His Love. It is the time; and the place, Guruprasad, Poona has been fixed. But with the present condition of His health, how beloved Baba will give His darshan to the thousands who will come, yet remains to be determined; but it will be. He will give His darshan. This darshan, Baba says, will be the last given in Silence — the last before He speaks His world-renewing Word of words. NOTE: 1)

No

one

should

write,

telegraph

or

cable

for

Baba’s

blessings

for

persons or events or programmes, but remain content in the knowledge that His blessings are continually with His lovers. No such communications will be conveyed to Baba and so cannot be acknowledged. 2)

No one should attempt to see Baba until 10th April onwards in accordance

with Avatar Meher Baba’s conditions printed in Life Circular No. 70 dated 1st November 1968. 3)

No one should write to Baba or to the resident mandali and Adi about

problems of Baba-work or conduct of Centres, or of inquiry about Baba’s health, as time and circumstance will not permit our attention. 4) Adi.48

Change of postal and telegraphic address only should be communicated to

154 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Also in this letter was Baba Birthday message as follows: A V A T A R M E H E R B A B A ’S M E S S A G E o n t h e o c c a s io n o f His 75th Birthday — 25th February, 1969. TO LOVE ME FOR WHAT I MAY GIVE YOU IS NOT LOVING ME AT A L L . SACRIFICE

ANYTHING

IN

MY

CAUSE

TO

GAIN

SOMETHING

TO FOR

YOURSELF IS LIKE A BLIND MAN SACRIFICING HIS EYES FOR SIGHT. I AM THE DIVINE BELOVED WORTHY OF BEING LOVED BECAUSE I AM LOVE. HE WHO LOVES ME BECAUSE OF THIS WILL BE BLESSED WITH UNLIMITED SIGHT AND WILL SEE ME AS I AM.49

I now felt very strongly that I should go to Meher Baba’s darshan as announced by Him, because in His infinite knowledge He doesn’t make mistakes and He had laid down the precise details for this darshan and He hadn’t cancelled it or delayed it, after it had been announced by Him. If He was God in human form, now even although He had dropped the physical body He was still God, and if He had made arrangements for His lovers to see Him, and had even given the times that different groups from separate areas should come, then this was to be a real darshan and I should go. It would be the last opportunity in this Advent that I had of obeying a specific instruction from Him and honouring His invitation. We learned later that on 13th October 1968, when Baba had first told the mandali that He would give His darshan to His lovers all over the world from 10th April to 10th June 1969, they were apprehensive that His body may not stand such a strain, considering His then frail physical condition. But He said: It will be easy for Me to give My lovers My darshan, so you are not to feel concerned about it. I will give darshan reclining and that will be no strain on My body. It will be different from all previous darshans and it will be the last in silence. Although I will be reclining I will be very strong. My physical condition now is because of My work, but by then My work will be complete and My exultation will be great. A very poor man winning a rich lottery can become so excited over his fortune that he collapses and dies. My fortune will be in My work being finished and in the knowledge of its certain results; but My exultation will not cause My collapse — it will be My Glory.

50

Baba had dictated a message a year ago, on 17th January 1968, for the 43rd anniversary of His Silence to be released on 10th July 1968. However, on that date it was not released, and Baba did not have any other message sent out in its place. Thinking that it was now appropriate Mani released it to us in March 1969: DIVINE FATHER HELP YOUR BELOVED SON TO CARRY OUT ALL YOUR WORK THIS YEAR, FOR JULY OF THIS YEAR WILL MARK THE LAST YEAR OF HIS SILENCE. MEHER BABA

51

The Years 1963 to 1969. 155 In response to the lovers’ wish to come to Poona for the darshan, Adi K. Irani, Meher Baba’s secretary sent out this intimation to all concerned in March 1969: DESPITE BABA’S PHYSICAL ABSENCE THOSE LOVERS WHO DESIRE TO VISIT GURUPRASAD POONA TO HONOUR BABA’S INVITATION FOR DARSHAN UP TO TENTH JUNE CAN STILL COME ABIDING STRICTLY TO THE SCHEDULED DATES AND CONDITIONS AS PER FAMILY LETTER DATED FIRST NOVEMBER. JOURNEY WILL NOW INCLUDE HALF DAY VISIT TO MEHERABAD TO PAY HOMAGE AT BABA’S TOMB. AFTER T E N T H J U N E A N Y O N E C A N M A K E P I L G R I M A G E T O P O O N A A N D BABA’S TOMB INDIVIDUALLY OR COLLECTIVELY, UNDERSTANDING THAT ALL ARRANGEMENTS MUST BE MADE ON ONE’S OWN. INFORM ALL CONCERNED YOUR AREA. JAI BABA.52

CHAPTER15 The Last Darshan? As already mentioned, Meher Baba had sent out a circular from Meherazad on 1st November 1968 informing His lovers all over the world of His decision to give them His darshan from 10th April to 10th June 1969, in Poona, but only on the terms laid down by Him in the circular. He had said, ‘This is the time for My lovers. The time for the world’s c r o w d s t o c o m e t o M e w i l l b e w h e n I b r e a k M y S i l e n c e a n d M a n i f e s t M y Divinity.’ Then He had dropped His body before this darshan had taken place. Now some of the conditions and some of His remarks took on a new significance. He had been gradually withdrawing Himself externally from us for years, while hinting to us and even telling us what we should do to achieve a stronger inner contact. Some of the conditions of this darshan were more understandable now. ‘Baba will not see anyone individually. Baba will not give any private interviews, and no one should ask Baba for any advice or directive on their personal affairs, group activities or spiritual matters. Present restriction on correspondence to continue and be more strictly observed.’ In other words He was telling us that the training phase was over and it is now time for us to stand on our own feet, with no external contact available from Him, only inner contact. ‘No one should write, telegraph or cable for Baba’s blessings for persons or events or programmes, but remain content in the knowledge that His blessings are continually with His lovers. No such communications will be conveyed to Baba and so cannot be acknowledged. ‘No one should attempt to see Baba until 10th April onwards in accordance with Avatar Meher Baba’s conditions printed in circular dated 1st November 1968. ‘No one should write to Baba or to the resident mandali and Adi about problems of Baba-work or conduct of centres, or inquiry about Baba’s health, as time and circumstance will not permit our attention.’ Baba had said, ‘It will be easy for Me to give My lovers My darshan, so you are not to feel concerned about it. I will give darshan reclining and that will be no strain on My body. It will be different from all previous darshans and i t w i l l b e t h e l a s t i n s i l e n c e . A l t h o u g h I w i l l b e r e c l i n i n g I w i l l b e v e r y strong. M y physical con dition n ow is because of M y w ork, but by then M y w o r k w i l l b e c o m p l e t e a n d My exultation will be great. A very poor man winning a rich lottery can become s o e x c i t e d o v e r h i s f o r t u n e t h a t h e collapses and dies. My fortune will be in My work being finished and in the knowledge of its certain results; but My exultation will not cause My collapse — it will be My Glory.’ The more I thought about this darshan the more I wanted to be sure to be there. It seemed very plain to me that Baba had deliberately planned it so that He would be physically absent. I didn’t know what to expect but I felt sure that there would be something special about it, because He had been so careful to plan the precise details of this darshan. Also, in 1956 Meher Baba had said that I must come to India, and this would be the last chance that I would have to obey this instruction, while also coming at His invitation. An Australian group of forty-four people attended this darshan in mid May 1969. It was planned that after travelling to India via Bombay we would spend two days at Aurangabad where we would visit the Ellora Caves, then travel back to Bombay spending the night there,

The Last Darshan?

157

before proceeding to Poona for Baba’s darshan. This would allow time to recover from jet lag, adjust to the change of climate and let us see some of the monuments that had been built by the followers of the Avatar in some of His previous Advents. Meher Baba Himself had taken His disciples to Ellora Caves on different occasions. We departed Sydney Airport in an Air India Boeing 707 at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday 10th May 1969. When we stopped at Singapore for the aircraft to refuel, I purchased a tape recorder and some cassette tapes with the intention of asking Meher Baba’s mandali for some details about their lives with Him, because very little had been published and I thought that it would be tragic if this material was lost for posterity, just because someone didn’t have the presence of mind to record it while it was available. We arrived in Bombay at 2:00 a.m. the next morning two hours later than scheduled. This made the trip almost twenty hours including the difference in local times of four and a half hours. As we disembarked from the aircraft we were unexpectedly greeted by shouts of ‘Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai’ from a very enthusiastic group of Indian Baba lovers who were up on the balcony of the International Terminal overlooking the tarmac where we were. We responded with shouts of ‘Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai.’ I felt rather touched that these people whom we had never met, had come to the airport at this unearthly hour to greet us on our arrival. When one is visiting a strange city in a different country for the first time, it is wonderful to unexpectedly receive such a warm and friendly greeting. These people even waited until we had all come through customs to greet us with a warm ‘Jai Baba’ and a loving embrace. We were booked into a hotel for the night, and were due to fly to Aurangabad early the next morning. But we had arrived so late that we had only an hour or so in bed at the hotel when it was time to get up and rush to the domestic airport for our next flight. We arrived at Aurangabad early, just after 8:00 a.m. and went to the Aurangabad and Printravel Hotels. There was no activity organized for the remainder of the day and so we could rest at our hotel. It was very hot and dry and there was a hot wind blowing. The temperature rose to 108 degrees fahrenheit. Even although I felt exhausted I still could not sleep. My hotel room had an overhead fan, but it was only stirring up the hot air. When I opened the window the hot air blowing in made the room feel even hotter, so I closed it again. I placed a towel on my bed, then I showered using the ‘cold’ water, which by this time had been warmed by the heat of the day, then while still wet I lay on the towel on the bed under the fan. It only took a few minutes to become completely dry but the cooling effect lasted about twenty minutes. This whole process had to be repeated many times if I were to get any continued relief from the heat. With the combination of jet lag, exhaustion and the very high temperature, I had a very unpleasant day and I was thankful that I wasn’t wasting one of my precious days in Poona recovering from the trip in this manner. However, I did sleep well that night and even although the next day the temperature was again 108 degrees, it didn’t trouble me as much then, because I had had a good night’s sleep. Also on that day we visited the Ellora Caves and in the middle of the day it was cooler inside the caves than outside in the open. Some of the caves were quite impressive and well worth seeing. Many of them must have taken well over a hundred years to build, with the tools that were available when they were built. Some of the building techniques were completely new to me. I had never seen a building carved out of a single piece of stone before. And so elaborately done with stone carvings both on the inside and the outside of the walls of the rooms. Cave number 16, the

158 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Kailasa, was a most impressive monolithic structure. Also the acoustics in cave number 10 were incredible. One could speak in any part of this large Buddhist cave and be heard throughout the cave without any electronic amplification. Some members of the group sang Baba’s Arti in this cave. Early on Tuesday morning we returned to Bombay by air and stayed at the West End Hotel for one night. That evening some of us visited the Meher Baba Centre in Bombay. It was an incredible evening, with Meher Baba’s love and presence being so powerfully felt. The next day, Wednesday, we were able to go shopping or sight seeing in Bombay before flying to Poona in the late afternoon. At Poona most of us were accommodated at the Amir Hotel. Every morning a Bus came to take us to Guruprasad, arriving there before 9:00 a.m. and calling again to return us to the hotel at 11:00 a.m. Jal Dastoor was the Baba volunteer in charge of the bus and he tutored us all to give a very loudly shouted, ‘Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jay!’ every time that the bus departed for the next destination. Thursday, 15th May 1969. On this the first morning of our darshan, on our arrival at Guruprasad, we disembarked from the bus and all were introduced to Eruch Jessawala and the other mandali members who were present. Then we assembled inside the main room at Guruprasad. In the centre of the room towards the rear wall was Meher Baba’s chair with a framed photograph of Him resting on it. Eruch Jessawala was the Master of Ceremonies and he spoke to the group over a microphone situated on the right side of the room. The women mandali were grouped on the left side of the room in an area that was partly divided from the rest of the room. The clock in the room chimed the hour. Eruch said, ‘It's nine o’clock, today is the 15th of May, it is the day for the Australian Group of Baba lovers to have Baba’s darshan. This is the third largest group that has come here to Guruprasad for Baba’s darshan since the darshan started on 10th April, 1969. We will begin the day’s programme by invoking beloved Baba’s name.’ The whole group loudly shouted three times — ‘Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!’ Then Eruch continued; we will begin with the Master’s Prayer as usual. The Master’s Prayer was recited aloud by Lee Buchannen. Mehera was then introduced to the group and she greeted us with, ‘Jai Baba’ Mani said, ‘Mehera and all of us are very, very happy that you are all here today gathered before beloved Baba for His darshan, and to receive His Love. We bow before your love for Baba. Jai Baba!’ Eruch said that the women mandali would now sing in Gujerati, an arti composed by Baba many, many years ago for the benefit of His closest disciples. He composed this arti Himself so that we can sing the arti befitting the Avatar. The translation of the arti in English is: ‘Oh God command that the fire of our ignorance be extinguished. Your lovers yearn for You to bestow upon them the light of faith. Oh Murshid Meher Baba we lay our heads at Your feet. Oh Meher Baba You have made Yourself perfectly aware of Your Godhood. You are the Lord of Truth. You are the lover and the Beloved in one. Being the torrent of infinite Knowledge, You are the ocean of oneness. Oh Master bestow upon us, the wayfarers, the knowledge of Ezad.

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The only one worthy of worship. For You, Oh Paramatma, are omniscient and are divine knowledge itself. Give us to drink of the cup of God’s Love, that we become intoxicated. O h S a k i w e o f f e r o u r l i v e s i n s a c r i f i c e t o Y o u . G i v e u s t h i s c u p . Only if You steer our ship while in mid ocean can we remain afloat. Oh! Meher Baba, the Captain of our ship, You are our protector.’ When Eruch had finished reading the English translation of the arti, the arti was sung beautifully by the women mandali in Gujerati. Then Eruch announced that Francis Brabazon had received this cable from Avatar’s Abode, Woombye: ‘Jai Baba! Love to Aussie darshaneers and mandali. Signed, Robert Lorna and Rhada.’ The group responded with a ‘Jai Baba’ to Robert, Lorna and Rhada. Eruch said that before Francis begins to give his address to the lovers of Baba, I will have to tell you something regarding your stay in Poona. Even although the stay is so short, yet the announcements we find so long, because we live in the world. Then Eruch told us the things that we needed to know about our visit for our own comfort, convenience and protection. But while this was happening, and even from the very moment that we had entered this room, I had felt Meher Baba’s Presence very strongly and apparently so had the others. During the occasions that I had previously been in His physical presence I had come to recognize the unique feeling of His Presence. Now I was feeling it even more strongly in this room, in His physical absence than I had felt it in His physical presence. I just couldn’t help marvelling at this seeming miracle of His Presence. It was a most significant thing that had happened. He had told us that this darshan would be different from all previous darshans. I had thought that it would be something special or that something special might happen, but I didn’t have the slightest idea what it would be. Now to my complete surprise here it was. We were experiencing the Presence of God, without the bodily form with which He veils Himself when He comes into our midst as the God-Man. While He had been in the body He had progressively secluded Himself from us more and more to increase the inner contact by our remembrance of Him, our longing for Him and our love and obedience to Him. Now must be the period He had spoken of as His ‘Inclusion’ — the time that will include all in His darshan. Eruch concluded his talk by telling us that, ‘the women in this group are to come to Guruprasad today, this evening, at five-thirty and stay here until seven-thirty, to meet Mehera and Mani and the women mandali. The women mandali want to get acquainted with the women mandali from Australia. So this will be a totally exclusive session this evening for the women. We have also fixed a day for the men mandali and that will be the day after tomorrow, the 17th from five-thirty to seven-thirty.’ Eruch continued, ‘Each one will be given this programme so you can see at a glance when the different events are scheduled. One important thing that I would say to you all is that these are the few days that Baba has given to you, His dear lovers of Australia, and Baba would want you all to open up — don't feel reserved — feel at home in Presence of Baba. This is the day of darshan, the time for you all to have Baba’s darshan. Just pour out your love to Baba. Feel free, and think of how you can best please Him through words, through songs, through skits. I believe that Bill has in mind a skit. I have been told that. And others

160 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. who can think of anything that would entertain Baba. I am sure John Bruford has in mind some jokes that will please Baba. At Avatar’s Abode, remember John how you made Him laugh? ‘So we have to feel Baba’s Presence and try our best to entertain Him while you are all here for His darshan. It is a great privilege that Baba has given us to be in His presence. We don’t feel His absence over here. I tell you through my own experience, the days that have passed by from 10th April till this day, every day we feel His Presence over here, because the lovers from different parts of the world, including India, bring Baba in their hearts. ‘They come over here to pay their respect to His seat. This is the seat on which He sat and gave audience, darshan. When the crowd was big this is the hall in which He used to give His darshan. With the mandali there is another hall, you will see later on, He would be sitting here giving darshan to them and discourses, both in the morning and the afternoon. Also He would while away a few minutes with the mandali. It was a pleasant time for the mandali. ‘ Today after Francis finishes his address, each of you will take Baba’s darshan here. Then there is another room, Baba’s bedroom we call it, where Baba sat during His seclusion in the daytime for hours and worked. What work He did we are unaware, but He used to tell us that He worked strenuously, He suffered for humanity. He worked hard sitting alone in that room, door shut, no one near Him. That was the only time when no mandali was near Him. After finishing the work, He would clap for a mandali who would run to Him and then attend to Him, otherwise all alone in that room He would sit and do His work. Of course we have many days, I will narrate to you certain interesting episodes that you would like to hear. Today is not the day for that. I would like you all also to have darshan of the place where Baba sat. It is His resting place, sleeping room, His bedroom you may call it.’ Mani said, ‘And where Baba sat, in that chair, He wouldn’t let us touch that chair — even a part of our dress, by accident, should never touch that chair, not until all the work was finished and we had left Guruprasad.’ Eruch: ‘He was so particular, as Mani says, about it.’ Mani: ‘So seriously particular. We had to put a wooden rail in front of the chair just to avoid any risk of touching it. In fact the moment we entered Baba’s bedroom, we were more chair conscious than Baba conscious, because this was obedience, this was love. Baba said that obedience is higher than love. When we walked while we were serving meals or something — Baba had only a snack in the evening, a very light meal. It was served while Baba was sitting on the bed with a very small table placed in front of Him. That didn’t leave much room between the table and the chair that he had placed in that particular location. That chair was not to be touched, and while we had to walk and pass each other, our skirts would flap like that and touch, and Baba said that never was that even to happen. So then we thought of the bright idea of putting the wooden railing in front of the chair, which saved a lot of risk. ‘The yellow chair. There are two chairs, just for your information. The yellow chair is the seclusion chair where Baba sat and did the seclusion work. The other green one is the usual chair where the mandali who were with Him during the night in turns, used to sit.’ Eruch: ‘To be even more particular, Baba made us mark on the floor round the chair so that the chair was not shifted at all. You will see the markings still there. I don’t know why Baba was so particular that we should not touch the chair. Maybe we might be burdened with His suffering if we touched the chair, and in His compassion he wouldn’t allow even one of the mandali to touch it.’

The Last Darshan? 161 Mani: ‘Yes, once somebody nearly touched it, missing by an inch, and Baba said, very seriously, “You don’t know what you have missed by a little inch.” After that the railing came.’ Eruch: ‘I think I have sufficiently covered the announcements of the day, and now we will request our dear Francis to start his address to you — the Western lovers of Baba. This is the same address that he read out to group one, that came from the West Coast of the U.S.A., and group two, that came from the East Coast of the U.S.A. Now this is for the third time that Francis is reading the address, to the lovers from Australia, group three. And for group four, Francis has given me permission to read the same address, when Francis leaves for Australia with the group, or soon after the Australian group leaves. So this is the same address that was heard by all lovers from different parts of the world.’ Francis Brabazon then read the following address: The Mighty Beloved. I am amazed and filled with joy to discover that the Beloved I have been serving for many years is truly a mighty Beloved. Of course, I have known all along that He was God. But there are so many Gods. There is the God which people see in a shape of illusion such as a sunset or a mountain view or a symphony or whose hand is seen in one’s not getting caught in a rain-storm or obtaining a good job: no doubt a very comfortable and profitable God to have — well worth a Christian candle or some Hindu incense — but not a God to whom one would offer one’s life. There is the God who rules the shining planes of consciousness: but sight of Him would blind one. And the God who is beyond the planes is unknowable except by His own Grace. And He is extremely careful to whom He gives that Grace. So when beloved Baba used to tell us that he was God, I used to think, ‘Yes, Baba you are God alright — the one God and all the Gods — but what good is that to me?’ In fact I used to get so fed up with Him being God that I wished He wasn’t, or I wished He was a sort-of an Old Testament God for whom I could slaughter some fat lambs or a spotless young bull in return for some added acreage. I got so tired of His being so much God that I wrote a song about it and sang it to Him. It goes something like, ‘If only You were a bit less God, a bit more Man. I wouldn’t feel so much like someone upside down in a garbage can.’ But Baba wasn’t going to become more Man just for my sake, so I had to settle for Him as the divine Beloved — one whom I could serve sometimes, instead of thinking about myself all the time. After all, although He is God, and sometimes Man, being one’s own and the world’s Beloved is His main job. Others can become as much God or as much Man as He, but only Baba is more beloved than any other beloved. And is infinitely worth serving. But now a great problem arises. How to serve the One who is All-beloved, for whatever one does with love is done by Him. And all that is done for the Beloved is done by the Beloved. And so one arrives at the painful conclusion that the Beloved alone exists — which means that oneself doesn’t. And that’s a terrible predicament to find oneself in — for one is still there! The only solution I found was to accept the position: ‘You alone are and I am not, but we are both here.’ And having arrived at this acceptance Baba now taught me a poetical form capable of expressing all the shades of the impossible relationships of lover and Beloved. Such a form has not existed in English up till now, because the lover-Beloved dilemma was

162 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. not part of the British-American consciousness. And of course, beloved Baba being the author of this new form was (or seemed to be) delighted with my exercises in it. And here is a delicious piece of humor in connection with this. There was a period when Baba had me read a new poem to Him three times every morning. Do you know why three times? Baba was memorizing them. Why memorizing them? So that He could quote them next time He comes back in 700 years! That is really God-Man humor, isn't it? Then there were His extraordinary orders or commissions. His last was for 30 ghazals — ghazal is the name of the new poetical form He taught me. It happened this way. One morning after the usual morning business was finished, Baba said He wanted me to write 30 ghazals. Could I do that? I replied promptly and brightly, “No Baba.” This reply seemed to rather astonish Him. He turned to the other mandali and said, ‘Well, what do you think of that? I ask this fellow to write 30 ghazals and he says, “No, Baba”.’ Then Baba turned questioningly back to me. I said, or rather groaned, “I don't know whether I can write one ghazal — and you ask for 30. I don’t think there are any more in my head.” Then He says sympathetically and persuasively, “Try, and I will help you.” So it was back to the stone-quarry again to cut and build 30 more little poem-houses, each one a bit different; for the Beloved likes variety. But still I did not know what a mighty Beloved our Beloved is. This knowledge has come to me only recently — since Baba laid aside His body. Now, the Beloved would not be the Beloved if He didn’t have a 1000 whims and moods, if He didn’t play His eternal game of divine pretence; if He was not all ears for the lover’s praise and stone deaf to his complaints; if He was not All-knowledge and All-ignorance at the same time. He would not be the Beloved if He did not decorate the walls of His wineshop with pretty pictures such as ‘All the religions being drawn together as beads on one string’ and ‘700 years of peace’; and then invite the lover to cross deserts of heart-dryness and oceans of tears to receive the wine of His kiss; but when the lover at last staggers in at the door, the Beloved spends the whole time showing him the pictures and expecting his interest and admiration. What a Beloved our Beloved is! What a Beloved we have chosen to serve! What is it to the thirst crazed lover if a lot of glass beads are strung on one string? Will it make them turn into diamonds? What if there is 700 years of peace? Will not war again follow? He would not be the Beloved if He did not tell the lover to stand up and sit down at the same moment; to become footless, and walk; to become headless, and think; to exert himself to the utmost, and to leave everything to Him. Though it is not the time yet to know the wine of His kiss on our lips, we have received the kiss of His Word in our hearts. If it were not so, how could all you dear ones who have never seen His Manform be here now? Why has beloved Baba given you people this extraordinary privilege? Because He required a few to do what the many, what everyone, must eventually do; journey across the world of illusion to take darshan of Him in their hearts. What a Beloved is our Beloved; what a mighty Beloved. This word that He has spoken in your hearts, which will be spoken in every heart in the world, will lead you by the hand, and drive you with whips to the door of your Beloved, to the wineshop of your master — where it will become your own pure song of praise and will cause the Beloved winemaster to open the door and bring you in and pour for you a glass of wine of self-forgetfullness and Beloved-aloneremembrance. The very Word with which He knocked on the doors of your hearts and aroused you to set your feet on the path to Him, the same Word will knock on His door and make Him open it to you —Himself. I bow down to this mighty one in each of you.

The Last Darshan? 163 But you also have your parts to play on this grand journey you have begun — you must not leave it all to your Beloved. For every step the lover takes to the Beloved, the Beloved takes 10 steps to the lover. But the lover must continually take that one step. We must practice taking Beloved Baba’s darshan, bowing down to Him in our hearts, every day, then every moment, until we have continuous sight of Him. Happenings will happen — even Grand Happenings. But they will not be that Happening which has to happen in our hearts. So do not look to these other happenings to nourish your faith; depend only upon His Word and its song in your hearts. Be prepared for a long, long journey to have the Beloved’s real darshan. But it may only take a mere 700 years to reach His door and bow down to Him for the last time and merge in Him forever.’

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After Francis had finished his talk, Eruch explained to us more about Meher Baba’s activities associated with Guruprasad. He said: ‘This hall, this is the place where Baba gave darshan in different years to thousands of people in small groups. This hall would be packed with people, Easterners; sometimes with a group of Westerners. Baba would remain seated in this chair, giving His love and blessing to all who came to Him. Sometimes permitting them to bow down to His feet. Sometimes allowing them just to stand there and fold their hands to Him. Sometimes He wouldn’t permit anybody to approach Him, “Just be seated,” He would say. Then He would take the darshan of all His lovers Himself, saying that His having taken darshan of the lovers, amounted to the lovers having taken darshan of the Beloved. ‘Every summer when He would be here, He would be giving darshan to small groups. When the group would be a bigger group — a crowd — then Baba would ask us to prepare the area outside. Just as He made us prepare the grounds for the East-West gathering in 1962, when about 5000 people at a time would be seated behind this room. In short, people would come to Baba just to remain seated and have a look at Him from a distance or from close quarters. ‘We have gathered here today to have a look at Him, but in the words of Francis who has given us a better understanding, “to have a look at Him within our hearts.” Baba has given us a great opportunity now to open the door of our heart, to have a peep at Him and find Him there. We thank Francis for having given us such a deep understanding of the darshan days that are to follow when group after group from the East and West will be gathering in this hall according to the terms laid down by Baba. ‘When Baba created that circular on 13th October 1968, those who were by His side did not know what He meant by giving darshan on His own terms. Maybe Baba inspired Francis to say, “to have His darshan in your hearts.” We have the physical presence of His seat; we have the physical presence of everything that He has used here. We have the physical presence of this very hall, surcharged with His love, and we have His physical presence in our hearts. ‘So we will try to take continuously His darshan in our hearts. And that darshan will begin at 10 o’clock, by bowing down to Him here at this seat that He used. After that I think it is better that we have His darshan in the very room where He worked; where He worked for us; where He suffered for us, and in that suffering He laid His body aside. ‘His bedroom is a small place, a small room where He made us put a chair like this, and He ordered us not to touch the chair, not to shift the chair from that position. He made us mark the position of the chair before He sat for His work there. The markings are still there; the chair is still there; the room where He worked and rested is still there. It will be opened after you have taken darshan here.

164 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. ‘Each of you can take Baba’s darshan there in that room, because now we are permitted to touch the chair, where He sat and worked and suffered for us. You all know from the circulars and the letters which have crossed the oceans that He worked there, and the only hint that He gave — the only physical and tangible hint that we can have of His work is that He had to hammer His thighs with His hand continuously for hours till His thighs became like stone, in order to keep the link between the gross and Reality. We don’t know what that work was, we don’t know how He must have suffered — but He did it, because of love.’ As the clock chimed the hour, Eruch said, ‘It's 10 o’clock, it’s time for you to come to Baba, each one of you come in your turn. Bow down to Him in your heart, in front of His seat where He used to give His darshan to the crowds. After you have had His darshan here, enter His room and have His darshan there. One by one you can come now. We request Mehera to begin the darshan for the whole group.’ Mehera then took darshan before Baba’s chair and sandals. Then each one in turn took Baba’s darshan in their own way. I saw some people bowing to Baba’s chair, and to the sandals that He wore. But each one was different, each took darshan in their own way. Even although Eruch had just suggested that we bow down to Him in our heart in front of His seat where He used to give darshan to the crowds — I had never ever seen people bow to objects before, and didn’t fully understand why they did at first, except that it was obviously in reverence to these articles that were associated with His physical being. Because the idea of bowing down to objects seemed so strange to me at first, I felt a little uncomfortable about doing it. But when I thought about it — these were not just ordinary objects, they were things that had been intimately associated with His life and being. These were the sandals that He had worn on His holy feet. This was the seat in which He had been seated while conducting His affairs in the world. These articles took on a new and sacred significance to me, and my resistance to bowing before them disappeared. One was not bowing to the articles. One was bowing to He who had worn the sandals; to He who had been seated on the chair. After we had taken Meher Baba’s darshan in the main room we were shown to His bedroom, where we saw His bed and the yellow seclusion chair in which He had worked and suffered for humanity. The marks were still on the floor where the mandali had marked it’s position so that it would not be moved. Each one was permitted to take darshan here in their own way. After this we mingled with the mandali meeting different ones individually. It was the first time that I had met any of the women mandali. I don’t think that I had ever even seen a picture of any of them before. It was lovely to actually meet Mani at last, after reading her wonderful family letters for so many years. With all the mandali, one felt very much the love and closeness of one’s own family, and especially Baba’s love and presence. We heard some interesting stories such as how Baba first came to have the use of Guruprasad, and we even met the owner of Guruprasad, Maharanee Shantadevi of Baroda. At 11 o’clock the bus came and returned us to the Amir Hotel. After lunch on this first afternoon we were taken by Jal Irani, Baba’s brother, to visit the places in Poona that were associated with Meher Baba, such as the Sassoon General Hospital where we visited the room in which Meher Baba was born. On the wall of one of the cottage-wards in the Hospital grounds we saw the marble slab with these words engraved on it in English and Marathi: ‘Avatar Meher Baba was born in Sassoon General Hospital on 25th February 1894.’ Later we visited Babajan’s tree and shrine. Then the bus took us to the ‘pumpkin’ house, the house-with-the-well, where we saw Baba’s room and some of the things that He had

The Last Darshan? 165 used in His childhood such as His cricket bat. Also the stone upon which He used to hit His head when He was experiencing the excruciating agony of having to return to the world after having experienced the Blissful State. Jal and his brother Behram and Behram's family were still living in this house. We also visited the Bund Gardens and saw the banyan tree near the bank of the Mutha River beneath which Babajan and her followers used to sit during her daily visits there. Later when I was alone I could not help reflecting on what had just happened and how it had happened. He had helped us to enshrine Him in our hearts by encouraging us to think of Him, to love Him, to be obedient to Him, and to remember Him and long for His Presence. He had also given us His Name to repeat to help purify the mind. He had made this appointment for us to be with Him at this place and time. He had known that He would not be here physically and later, before we came, we also knew that He would not be here physically. Without realizing it, and without realizing what the result would be, we had brought His Presence here in our hearts, across thousands of miles. He had told us that the only place that could hold Him was the heart. That the repetition of His Name would awaken Him in our hearts. We who held Him in our hearts, had assembled here from thousands of miles away, and we experienced His Presence here at this place, more strongly than we had previously experienced it, even when He had been physically in our midst. His words are remembered: ‘It will be easy for Me to give My lovers My d a r s h a n . . . I t w i ll b e d i f f e r e n t f r o m a l l p r e v i o u s d a r s h a n s . . . A lt h o u g h I w i l l be reclining I w ill be very strong... by then M y w ork w ill be com plete and My exultation will be great... it will be My Glory.’ Meher Baba had demonstrated clearly to us that when His lovers meet together for Him, with Him in their hearts, they can experience His Presence — the Presence of God. What a priceless gift God has given humanity. Once again, the gift of the power of His Name, and the knowledge of how individuals can experience the tangible Presence of God. That evening before the Australian women left their hotels for Guruprasad for their special two hour visit with the women mandali, I offered various ones the use of my tape recorder and tapes to record the women mandali if the occasion arose and it seemed appropriate. No one accepted my offer. However, later many of them wished that the wonderful stories about Baba told to them by the women mandali had been recorded, but of course by then it was too late. Friday, 16th May 1969. We arrived at Guruprasad in the bus before 9 o’clock and precisely at 9 o’clock Eruch welcomed us for our second day of Meher Baba’s darshan. This was the day when we entertained Meher Baba with a skit, singing and jokes. A little skit called ‘The Horse and the Rabbit’ was presented before Baba for His entertainment by some members of the group. Then some songs and jokes were presented by other group members. Later Francis Brabazon read to us extracts from his new book which had not yet been published. Adi K. Irani sang a ghazal in Urdu giving the English translation and then he gave the following short talk. ‘In suffering is found the joy of life and in joy of suffering is found the bliss of existence. If after Meher Baba dropped His body we feel that our lives are meaningless — such a feeling should not be there. Because it would mean that the meaning to our lives given to us

166 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. by Meher Baba during His lifetime had no meaning. Therefore our feelings of emptiness and sorrow after Baba dropped His body should be groundless and illogical. In the body Baba was the life of Meher Baba in Himself and existence as the Avatar in all. Without the body He is the existence as Meher Baba in Himself and life as the Avatar in all. This is existence and life. Avatar Meher Baba has not gone. He ever is and will ever be. He has only changed His position from an individual life and a universal existence to an individual existence and a universal life. In His present status, He should be more in our thoughts and feelings, separated as we are from the region of His body, which He has dropped. He should therefore be closer to us than ever. In His closeness to us lies our great opportunity of making Him our own, through love for Him and His unseen presence in our lives. Baba said, believe that I am the Ancient One, do not doubt it for a moment, there is no possibility of My being anyone else. I am not this body that you see, it is only a coat that I put on when I visit you. I am infinite consciousness. Grieve not that the lamp that burned with life’s bright coloured splendour has gone. Because the light that lighted the lamp is ever aflame everywhere in its effulgence. Seek we Meher Baba as light in our hearts, and He will never fail to cheer and brighten up the dark recesses of doubt and despair. Avatar Meher Baba during His lifetime drafted our doubts and laid a siege to the passions and perversities of our desires. If they are not completely gone, the wind from their sails was removed, even in that God-realization was proclaimed and placated to create a thirst for desirelessness. To a question once asked, Where is God? Baba replied, He is beyond hopes, this hope means for anything and everything including God-realization. We loved and served Baba during His lifetime, He often berated us to keep a firm hold on His daaman — the hem of His skirt. In fact it was He who had held us to His daaman. And I always wondered why time and again He warned us to be aware that the daaman should not slip out of our hands. It was His way to keep us alert and active. It was His way to prepare us for the great event of dropping His body. It is our time to hold on to His daaman now, and forever. It was easier to hold onto His daaman when He was in the body, because He held us to His daaman. But by His repeated reminders and warnings He also made it easy for us to hold onto His daaman now when He is not in the body. It was to His divine presence to which we got attached, when He was in the body. It is to the presence of His divinity we should become firmly attached after He has dropped His body. The divine and the divinity are the two aspects of Avatar Meher Baba. When one is manifest the other is unmanifest. When in body Meher Baba as the divine was manifest and as divinity He was unmanifest. Without body Meher Baba as the divine is unmanifest and as divinity is manifest. So Meher Baba has not gone. He has turned His divine face away from us to give us the experience of His divinity. As a father on whose presence we relied every time for everything He has awakened us to the consciousness of His divinity on which we have to rely every time for everything. The divine and the divinity are as close to each other as pure water and the colours it assumes of the attributes that are His divinity. When water gets coloured the water does not cease to exist. So if Baba has gone from our seeing existence He has come more for the light which is full of colours. After the checkered colours of our sanskaras or impressions we work to purify ourselves. To become conscious of our pure existence, which is nothing but the existence of the Avatar as Meher. He is ever with us and in us. Seek we, Baba as Avatar

The Last Darshan? 167 Meher Baba in our hearts and He is ever there to guide us, to protect us, and to purify us, through the ever changing lights of illusion and to enlighten us with the ever unchanging knowledge and bliss of existence. Jai Meher Baba ever the Avatar.’

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After Adi’s talk Mani said, ‘I think that this is the right time to read out a little letter that was received from a Baba lover, a young girl in the U.S.A. who wanted very much to come to Baba for some years. Her name is Mimi Drake I think her letter was published in Divya Vani and some of you may have read it, she wanted very much to come to Baba, but Baba said, wait. Baba always said, those who wait for Me never wait in vain. She could not come the first time, her mother objected to her coming, because she was under age. The next time when she could come Baba said, now is not the time. Come when I call. So she never got around to seeing Baba physically, because to her obedience was greater than love, which Baba said, is as it should be. I want to read out her letter for those who have not read it. Then there is another letter which I will read from a fourteen year old girl — she was in the first group who came to Guruprasad for darshan from the West Coast of America, her name is Rebecca Parry. I will read out her letter which is in the form of a poem, after I read Mimi Drake’s letter.’ ‘Mimi wrote: Dearest Mehera and Mani, Love the Ancient One, the only one who lives. When I first heard Baba had dropped His body I felt lost, thinking that I came on earth to see the Ancient One — God — and missed seeing Him. But what I really came on earth for, is to love Him. And now more than ever the New Life Baba lives seems endless and eternal. Now is the chance to love Baba for nothing, only for what He is. I only want to hold on to His daaman till the very end. ‘That is the letter from Mimi. ‘Now this letter is from fourteen year old Rebecca Parry. She says,’ I am only fourteen years old and have never actually been in Baba’s physical presence, so I like to see Him as much as possible. I am sure all of us from America were as deeply moved by the darshan as I was. Baba was so present — and so is underlined. Baba was so present and I felt as if I had seen Him for the first time. Also after going to the tomb, I knew without a doubt that Baba is God and it made me cry tears of sorrow and repentance, but also of boundless joy and new dedication. Back at our hotel I wrote this poem, which tries to express my thankfulness at His Grace, which spoke so clearly through everyone at Guruprasad. It is called, Today.’ TODAY. Have you seen Him, have you ever seen Him, they asked? And before I would have said, No, and my heart would sigh, but today, when they asked, my very being cries, Yes, Yes, I have seen Him in the blossoming trees and Yes, I see him in the wave from the sea. And I have seen Him in our hearts abode, also tramping down His long hot road. I have seen His eyes consume each in a room,

168 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. and just today I have seen His Highness in His tomb, resting and waiting so patiently. Have you heard Him, have you ever heard Him, they asked? And before I would have said, No, and my eyes would swim in tears. But today when they asked, my very soul asserts, Yes, Yes, I have heard Him chuckling in the breeze, and Yes, I have heard His heartbeat as I bowed on bended knees. And I’ve heard Him crying. Oh, I’ve heard him sighing. But today, I’ve heard His sweet voice through the birds, and today, I prepare my heart for His Word of words, for He is Avatar. H a v e y o u f e lt H im , h a v e y o u e v e r f e lt H im , t h e y a s k e d ? Yesterday I would have said, No, and the heartaches would grow, but today when they ask, my whole existence cries out, Yes, Yes, I have felt His sunshine beams, and Yes, I have felt Him in a dream. And I have felt His perfect Grace which abides-in His shining face. And today He has given me a love drop from His eye that my heart lays down it’s load, Avatar Meher Baba ki jai, and I give thanks to Him. Have you touched Him, have you ever touched Him, they asked? And before I would have said, No, even though it hurt me so. But today, when they asked, my heart’s love eyes say, Yes, Yes, I have touched the outer circle of His love, and Yes, I have touched His moonbeam dangling from above. And I have wept at His shining feet and laid my heart on His heavenly seat. Today, He has given us heart which sets my soul afire, may it burn up my selfness and leave me no desire, other than for He. Have you loved Him, have you ever loved Him, they asked? And yesterday I would have said, No, though my very breath ceased to flow. But today when they ask, the bit of Baba in my heart says, Yes, Yes, I love Meher like the blossom loves the tree, and Yes, I love Baba like the droplet loves the sea. And I love Him in my heart that we may never be apart, No, I do not love my Master as I should, but with a touch of His grace, perhaps I could, for He is God.

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The Last Darshan? 169 Then she says: Dear Mani and all other lovers of God at Guruprasad, Thank you so much for being such well tuned instruments for Baba’s divine music which has touched my heart. I know that our Master is truly the dawn, the sun, the only one. Love in Baba, Rebecca Parry. After Mani had finished reading the letters, we each took Meher Baba’s darshan in the main hall and in His bedroom. Baba’s Presence was again felt very strongly at Guruprasad today. We talked with various mandali members individually and heard some reminiscences of their lives with Meher Baba. We learned more about the human side of Meher Baba. We had already experienced some of His divinity but we had not experienced much of His humanity, now this was our opportunity to learn more about this side of His life. Saturday, 17th May 1969. We were welcomed by Eruch at 9 o’clock at Guruprasad. To commence the programme he read aloud the Australian Arti which was composed at the East-West Gathering by Francis Brabazon. It was then sung by Maree and Jenny Le Page and Joy Sherwood. The programme continued with songs and jokes for Baba’s entertainment, much the same as on the previous day. The men were invited to visit Guruprasad between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. today for their special session with the men mandali. The time had been advanced by half an hour to enable the whole group to visit the Poona Avatar Meher Baba Centre later in the evening. In the late afternoon a bus took the Australian men to Guruprasad. There we were greeted by the men mandali and taken to a room on the men’s side of the house where we sat on the floor with them and listened to Eruch tell us stories about their lives with Meher Baba. Eruch said, this room is where the mandali used to sit with Baba when Baba would come here every day, both in the morning and in the afternoon to spend His time with the mandali. This is the hall also where stray visitors would be permitted to visit Baba and sometimes have His darshan and so forth. The mandali would be sitting on the floor just like you all are sitting now. Francis said, Eruch would be sitting there so as to get the light coming into the room because the door was almost closed, just slightly ajar permitting a thin shaft of light, because Baba was in seclusion and He mustn’t be seen by anybody coming around. Eruch said, Baba would permit us to read some correspondence, especially the reports from the West and the East — the group reports. There would be a standing order also from Baba to me and to Francis to read certain reports from Rick and Allan from U.S.A., and reports from Bill about the work in Australia. This is the room where many things were executed under Baba’s instructions. Last year especially, He would be sitting on the chair in that room for most of the hours — in His bedroom that you have all visited. After He had completed His work there, He would come here and stand to join us in the recitation of the prayers. He would ask us to recite and He would join us with folded hands as one of us. Then one day He was in a mood to tell us that His joining us in the prayers was for posterity. He said only last year just before we left Guruprasad, that who-so-ever recited this prayer — The Master’s Prayer — will be

170 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. benefited, because He participated in it. So that prayer has become a very important prayer for us all. We were then entertained by Eruch telling some stories about life with Meher Baba. Most of the stories were to do with travelling with Meher Baba during mast tours and other work. For me this threw new light upon how Meher Baba had travelled, for instance Baba would usually travel incognito and very often by third class in trains where the crowded conditions were unbelievably appalling. One particularly interesting story that Eruch told, highlighted many fascinating facets of the mandali’s life with Meher Baba and I would like to include it here as the first story. Although untitled, I will call it: The Wire Puller. Sometime before Meher Baba started giving darshan to the public, He travelled all over India incognito, especially when He had to do His work. His personality was so attractive, so magnificent, that even when He was in a large crowd, people would stop to gaze at Him as He passed by, without knowing why they were doing so. They would just be drawn by His presence — pick Him out of the crowd and gaze at Him. However, because He wished to remain unrecognized He would disguise Himself by covering His face with scarves, or by wearing dark glasses. Also, He would dress to suit the conditions of the place where He was visiting even to wearing a turban, a felt hat or some other appropriate head gear. Suppose if He was travelling in Northern India, He would wear the cap that suited the conditions or fashion of that state, so that He would not attract undue attention to Himself and remain unrecognized. When He intended travelling in search of masts Baba would tell us to prepare an itinerary for a fortnight or three weeks. We would sit down with the time tables trying to co-ordinate dates and train timings with the places where Baba wanted to halt and so forth. It would take us a couple of days to prepare a proper itinerary before we could start on the journey. Prior to that, Baidul — you must have read of him in The Wayfarers — would go out mast hunting to get the addresses of the different masts. Then Baba would select the places He wished to visit from the list that Baidul had prepared. Baidul was like an advanced scout. This incident took place in 1942 during the second world war, we were travelling in a third class compartment, it was wartime, and third class — you have to experience the conditions, no amount of words can describe the experience of travelling third class during those days. It was terrible, we had to get through the windows, not just get through the windows we had to be thrown through, or pushed through the windows. Some people outside had to help you to get inside. If the compartment was overfull, then those inside would try to push you out through the window, while the persons outside would try to push you in. It went on like a sort of tug-a-war. It is a fact — no exaggeration at all. You couldn’t open the door because there were people sitting on the floor, any little space was all jam-packed with people either sitting or standing. You had to just throw yourself on the passengers. All the mandali were strong, really strong people. They had to fight the crowd to get inside and get Baba inside. Many a time also, Baba has gone through the windows. First we had to fight for our seats, by elbowing here and there, somehow or other we got our seats. We asserted our right to sit on a particular spot on that long unpadded bench. The reason we tried to assert our right on that bench was because later we could relinquish our right to our part of the bench in favour of Baba, so that Baba would have more

The Last Darshan? 171 seat. No one could criticize us for standing and giving more seat to Baba, and that is what we did. We gave Baba a comfortable seat — comfortable in the sense that He had more space. We just crowded ourselves together and some of us stood up to give Him more room. Four of five mandali at the most would travel with Baba on these trips. On this day we had been travelling like this with Baba for some time when we stopped at a big station. Baba was watching the passengers who tried to get into the compartment. There was an old man lifting a small child, pleading with the passengers to at least take the child so that he can find some other compartment where he can just push himself in. He was pleading in that huge crowd, amidst the great din, all to no avail. Baba had watched for some time. Then finally in desperation the old man shouted at the passengers in the overcrowded train, ‘For God's sake take the child in.’ As soon as He heard this Baba immediately started to take an interest and He ordered the mandali through His gestures to take in the child. Eruch explained, I always had to be alert, Baba must not appear too conspicuous, because of His silence. If He drew attention to Himself by His silence, people might recognize Him or they may become suspicious of this unusual behaviour and take us to be spies, as they had done on several previous occasions. There are many stories of how we were considered to be spies and led to the police station and interrogated, because of Baba’s silence. Well, Baba pointed out through His gestures, ‘Take in the child.’ Baba also spoke through His eyes and facial expressions — not only through His gestures. So I told Baba, softly, ‘Baba it's too dangerous, too dangerous to move from here.’ “This old man, just have pity on the old man,” Baba said. We had no pity in our hearts for anybody, mind you, we only had pity on ourselves, but because Baba was with us, we had to obey His wish. Well I looked at my mandali brothers, told them of Baba’s wish and whispered how it should be done. I nonchalantly went near the window and appeared to be unconcerned with what was happening outside, then suddenly I took the child inside. There was such a din caused by the protests of the other passengers. ‘What are you doing? Have you no regard for our comfort?’ they said. In short we received much abuse from the other passengers. I said, ‘Look here, this child will not occupy any seat we are going to have him on our lap, why do you worry about it.’ I told the old man to go and find a seat soon, so that he can get into the compartment. I even said to Baba, ‘Baba, it is very dangerous, we have the child and if the old man cannot find a seat in another compartment, what will happen to the child?’ Baba replied, ‘Don't worry, he will find a seat.’ The train started, the old man must have found a seat in some other compartment and Baba put the child near Him. Baba had been sitting comfortably with plenty of room and now He just sat normally and took the child next to Him and no more space was taken up by the child. No one was displaced or made more cramped on the seat. At the next station the old man with his long white beard again appeared at the carriage window and Baba somehow or other had a very soft corner in His loving heart for anybody with a long flowing white beard, who looked old or aged. Baba said, ‘Again he has come.’ I said, ‘He has come to see if the child is safe.’ Baba then signalled to me, tell him that he should not worry about it, he should sit in the compartment and not try to come every time the train stops otherwise he might miss the train sometime. So I told him this and he was very thankful. He was a Mohammedan. However, at the next station he came again and Baba said,

172 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. ‘It is getting very dangerous now Eruch, it’s your responsibility, if he misses boarding the train you will have to see about the child.’ I said, ‘Baba, it is still more dangerous if I take in the old man. It could be very dangerous for our whole journey, because these people will not tolerate such a thing now.’ Those were the days when no one cared for others, no compassion, no kindness, nothing of the sort. No one cared to give comfort to the old, each one thought only of himself. Baba insisted that I must take in the old man somehow or other — it was an order. So I went to the window and first spoke softly in his ear so that the others would not hear. I said, ‘Look here Hazrat, I am now attempting to take you inside the compartment, I will pull you inside, come at once, don’t hesitate. You should also try to assist me by putting your feet on the side of the carriage when I pull.’ I then attempted to pull him in suddenly. I got him half-way, when the other passengers in the carriage started shouting and pushing, and then the other mandali helped me to get him in. There was such a din, no amount of pacification would help — nothing. They even started abusing us. ‘What is this, what are you all trying to do? ‘Are you just trying to kill us here, we are so cramped?’ ‘Have you no regard for us? ‘Have you no heart? ‘Why do you want to bring in this old man?’ I said, ‘His child is here, we must give him room, he is an old person, he is caring for his child, he might miss the train.’ ‘But why the hell did you take the child in the first place.’ They asked. We pacified them as best we could and eventually things settled down again. Now the story begins, the old man sat by Baba’s side, the child was lifted by the old man and placed on his lap, so no one was displaced from their position in the compartment, but we had to hear a lot of abuse from the other passengers. Then the train started and being an express or mail train it travelled long distances between stops — fifty or sixty miles. Now Baba signalled to me to start chatting with the old man. It was our duty during our travels to talk with the passengers, we were not allowed to just sit there and keep quiet. All the time Baba would be very active even although He was so silent and seemed to be uninterested in what was going on around Him. He appeared to be unconcerned about the affairs of the others, but all time there would be the wire pulling, and we were all the time kept very active — on our toes, so to say, even while sitting down. I always had to be very alert to Baba’s needs and wishes. ‘Ask him the addresses of masts and the like,’ Baba told me. I haven’t told you that during our journeys mast hunting, and going on mast tours, we found out some of the names of masts and their whereabouts just by speaking to the passengers during the journey. Baba always kept us active. Even while waiting to travel by bus, on the bus stand, He wouldn’t permit us to just stand there. We had to get information about the location of masts. One mandali would be there just causally asking, ‘Are you of Poona?’ ‘No, I am from Bombay.’ ‘Oh, you are from Bombay. We are also from long distance. Do you stay in Bombay? ‘Yes.’ ‘You live or stay there.’ ‘No, I live there.’ ‘Oh, it’s very good, you must be living there for many years.’ ‘Yes, from my childhood.’ ‘Are there any good shrines there?’ ‘Yes, there are good shrines.’

The Last Darshan? 173 Sometimes the person would not know anything about this subject and we would not continue the conversation but just come back. Sometimes we found that the person was off our line as we called it. However, if they were familiar with the subject we would try to find out more information. If they said, Yes, I know about that shrine. We would ask if there were any good masts there? So that is how we came to know about the masts. Even while travelling by train we had to ask the co-passengers about the masts. That’s how we gathered so many names and places where the masts were found. We felt that we had gathered the information, but behind us was He who used to inspire and control us, the one that pulled the wires. The silent wire puller was there unnoticed by anybody. Likewise He told me, ‘Ask him.’ So I started putting the question. ‘Well, revered old gentleman,’ I said, politely — we have our phrases you see. He said, ‘Well, what do you want?’ ‘Are you comfortable?’ I asked him. He said, ‘Yes, thank you very much,’ he was grateful to me for helping him to get inside the compartment. He thought that I was the one doing all this. ‘Where are you going?’ I asked him. ‘I am going to a place called Gulbarga.’ ‘It is a place of pilgrimage,’ I said. ‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘Do you know it. Have you been to Gulbarga?’ ‘Yes, a couple of times I have been there.’ I asked him if he lived there. ‘Yes, I live there.’ ‘Is your family there.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘You must be paying visits to that big shrine.’ There is a very big shrine there. Gulbarga is a great place of pilgrimage. People from all over India, Mohammedans go there, even Hindus go there. It’s like Ajmer, you must have heard of Ajmer? It is of the same calibre. ‘Why are you interested in shrines,’ he asked me? ‘I am not interested in shrines,’ I said, ‘but I would just like to know if there are any masts there — men of God.’ He looked at me with his tiny eyes for a moment, then replied, ‘Oh, you are interested in masts?’ ‘Yes.’ I said. ‘You don’t seem to be a Mohammedan.’ ‘No, I am not a Mohammedan,’ I answered, ‘but casts don’t matter, I don’t belong to any religion like that.’ ‘Oh, but you don’t look like a Hindu, and you are not a Mohammedan. How is it that you get interested in this?’ ‘I just have an interest to visit these places and pay my respects to these saints and masts and the like.’ ‘From where do you come,’ he asked me? ‘I come from Ahmednagar,’ I replied. His expression completely changed. He said, ‘You come from Ahmednagar. Yet don’t you know, that the root of all these masts and saints and walis and pirs,

174 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. the source of all this — the pivot of the universe — is there?’ ‘Well give me some more information,’ I said. ‘Are you a Zoroastrian,’ he asked me? ‘Yes, I am a Zoroastrian by birth,’ I replied. He looked at me, then said, ‘You are a Zoroastrian. Oh, foolish young man, don’t you know that God has taken form on earth. I am a Mohammedan, but I tell you that it has happened in your own cast — in your own religion.' ‘Who is that person?’ I asked. ‘Have you not heard the name of Meher Baba?’ ‘Yes, I have heard.’ ‘Aren’t you living in Ahmednagar?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘You have heard then. Why do you go about like this looking for saints and masts? Don’t be so foolish,’ he said. He went on exhorting me and admonishing me for my foolishness. I just kept quiet and waited until he had finished. Then I replied, ‘Yes I know that, but now that I am travelling and I have met you and you are going to Gulbarga, on my return I would like to pay my respects to any good mast there or wali or pir, what harm is there in that?’ He said, ‘What harm? But why do you go hunting like this, from place to place, there is no need for you to go there, catch hold of Meher Baba’s feet, and remain there.’ He started exhorting me again, and then again he calms down. He said, ‘What to say of my fate? I have visited Ahmednagar thrice in my lifetime just to pay my respects to Meher Baba.’ All this time Meher Baba is sitting by his side. He said, ‘Everytime I go there Meher Baba has either gone on tour to the West, or else He is in seclusion. I am a poor man, I come from a long distance to have His darshan, and I don’t get it. But you, you fool, you live there and He is in your own religion! Why can’t you go to Him there? Why do you travel around looking for saints and masts like this?’ I just kept quiet and listened quietly. I was standing by his side, there was no room for me to sit, so I just listened. ‘Is Meher Baba still in India or has he gone out — gone abroad?’ He asked. ‘No, He is in India,’ I replied. Mind you even although Baba wanted to remain incognito He wouldn’t permit us to tell lies. We had to manipulate on the spur of the moment, but it shouldn’t be a lie. ‘He has not gone out of India, that much I know,’ I said. Then I tried to change the subject, otherwise he might pinpoint me to answer whether He is in Ahmednagar or Meherabad or wherever. I said that on my return to Ahmednagar I will make it a point to look Him up and meet Him. Again he said, ‘I am such an old man now, I don’t know how many years I have left to live and I haven’t seen Him even once. Now I know for certain that I have not many more years to live. I will now bring my family to Baba. I will take them — my children and my wife — so that just once in my lifetime I will have had the satisfaction of having seen Him, this is the reason why I ask you whether Meher Baba is in India or has gone abroad.’ ‘No, He is in India,’ again I repeated. During the time this talk was taking place, sometimes he was sympathetic towards me, sometimes he was trying to exhort me or to admonish me and so forth. Time passed until his station came and he got down with his child. I helped him to get out through the window, it was the easiest exit at the time. In the mean time there were other passengers who had opened

The Last Darshan? 175 the door and were starting to get down. It was a large, important station and a lot of people were leaving the train there. After two or three minutes, when the old man must have left the platform, Baba suddenly told me to run and catch up to him and tell him that Meher Baba was sitting by his side. ‘Baba, it will be very difficult for me to face him and tell him that now,’ I said. Baba insisted, ‘Go, run, run, before the train starts, just tell him and come back.’ Then He enquired if anyone had a picture of Baba. We had no picture of Baba, but I had in my bedding roll a recent copy of the Meher Baba Journal which was printed in those days. I told Baba that I had one in the journal, I got it out and Baba looked at the picture. Baba would always bow down to His picture when He blessed the picture for somebody, He either touched it to His forehead or bowed His forehead to it. He said, ‘Run and give this picture to him and tell him that Meher Baba was by your side. Meher Baba is very happy with your love, He knows everything about you and you need not worry.’ I ran from the station into the street and saw the old man about to get into a tonga — a horse carriage. I said, ‘Look here Hazrat, you know we had a talk in the

compartment?’ He asked,

‘Why have you come?’ I said, ‘You know we were talking... He interrupted angrily, ‘You got down at Gulbarga, I tell you again to go to Meher Baba.’ He thought that I had got down in order to pay my respects to the shrine. I said, ‘No, No, just hear me first, Meher Baba has sent me.’ ‘What — Meher Baba has sent you — but where is Meher Baba?’ ‘He was sitting by your side.’ Then you should have seen his expression and heard the abuse that he gave me. He not only abused me, but he abused my whole generation. ‘The youth of this generation are not fit to live on the earth,’ he shouted, ‘They are treacherous, they are hypocrites.’ He went on and on in this vein. I just gave him the picture and said, Baba has blessed this picture, Baba wants you not to worry, He knows everything, He is very happy with your love and all that. By this time the engine was whistling, so I had to run back into the station to catch the train, and the old man started running after me. As I ran back onto the platform followed by the old man, the train was just starting to slowly move. Baba by this time, was leaning half-way out of the carriage window, just to see what was happening. As I caught hold of the bar and swing inside the compartment of the train, I said to the old man who was just behind me, ‘Here is Baba, here, here, here,’ pointing to Baba at the window. The old man was now running along the platform beside Baba and Baba blessed him by touching him on the head. The old man turned and angrily shouted to me, ‘Oh, you fool for not telling me.’ Again he reverently bowed to Baba while running along the platform as the train gathered speed. When the story had finished Eruch commented with a smile, ‘This is how Meher Baba sometimes gave His darshan.’4 1 marvelled at how Meher Baba answered the innermost yearnings of those who spoke through their hearts to God. Eventually only disclosing His identity to the one who had called in the crowd for God’s help, without disclosing His identity to the rest of the crowd. To me this was such a new insight into the mandali’s life with Meher Baba. I hadn’t realized the extent to which He had travelled incognito. It was fascinating to catch glimpses of

176 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. His all-knowingness, which seemed to be hidden behind His not knowingness. All the apparently separate, unrelated little incidents that happened, would somehow all fit together into a master plan to do with His work and the training of His mandali. However, this would often not be perceived by His mandali at the time, but would unfold later and become apparent only with hindsight. At the same time there were incidents like the collecting of the information vital to the journey, while they were on the journey itself, just like what happens to us all in life itself. To the mandali His presence was all important while the circumstances of their travel were insignificant, as long as they were with Him. In one way they were worldly and so resourceful they could jostle with the crowd and win, but they did not use what they gained for selfish purposes. They did it only in obedience to Him, while He taught them to have compassion for others. Their whole lives were just devoted to obeying and pleasing Him, even when they found themselves in situations where obedience to Him was personally very embarrassing to them. This was the price they paid for the effacement of their ego. While they were carrying out His orders, others did not realize that they were not performing the actions for themselves. Outwardly they looked responsible for the action taken, but really inwardly it was Meher Baba who was responsible for initiating each particular action and also for the results of that action. As Eruch later said ‘We exercised our freedom to choose to become His slaves.’ Eruch then told us another story about Meher Baba and of their journeying by train with Him. I will give these stories names so that they can be more easily identified. The Story of the Air Conditioner. Eruch said: In the beginning a few of the mandali used to go out with Meher Baba on mast tours. We had to bear a lot of hardships and although we were used to this hot summer heat, we did feel the heat a lot when we were in the open. We had to go out with Baba, journeying in trains under very trying conditions, burdened with a lot of luggage. Especially during the days of the war, journeying in a third class train compartment was an ordeal. We were jam-packed in the compartment, there was no space between any two passengers tightly packed together. It was very difficult, but then Baba would prefer to go by third class when journeying in trains. There were some well-to-do lovers of Baba who thought that during the hot summer they should give some comfort to Baba. At first the thought was only for Baba’s comfort, but then they started to think that they also would be more comfortable in first class because of the fans. Only recently do we find that in the Indian railway trains there are some fans in the third class compartments. Formerly there were no fans in third class compartments. So after a lot of hesitation the mandali who could afford to pay for the tickets for Baba and those travelling with Him, approached Baba with a plea that He should take the Mandali and travel in a first class compartment instead of the third class. When they first approached Baba for permission to travel first class Baba agreed. He was very pleased and happy with their expression of love and they were also very happy. However, it did not work out as expected. When Baba travelled first class, because He didn’t like wind or even a breeze blowing on Him, the doors, windows and ventilators were all shut. Also, we must not put on the fan. But at least we had the luxury of sitting comfortably and peacefully, without being abused by other co-passengers for overcrowding.

The Last Darshan? 177 After this experience our brother mandali realized that Baba would not allow them to open the windows or use fans, so they thought of a better plan. They thought of having an air conditioned coach for Baba while travelling by train — there is no fan, but there is a cool temperature. So again they approached Baba to permit them to pay extra so that they could all travel comfortably by booking an air conditioned compartment for Him. They had to pay an extra fare for this and naturally they had to travel first class. Baba said, alright, very good. Baba was very pleased and happy with their expression of love and we all were again very happy. These were summer days mind you and we were very very happy that for the first time we were going to travel like this. We were travelling home from Madras and at that time of the year the temperature sometimes reaches 115 or 120 degrees. We were very happy after the tiresome journey to now be returning home. So an air conditioned compartment was reserved for Meher Baba and party. When we entered the compartment, it was heavenly — cool and fine. The two mandali who had paid for the compartment were there and we were very grateful to them, inwardly of course, we couldn’t express it to them, because they didn’t like such expression. So we kept quiet about this subject, but we were grateful as we chatted away. Baba would be so close to us and we would be very free with Him — very, very free. Now He wouldn’t permit us to sit quietly and just gaze at him, He wouldn’t like people gazing at Him like that, He would like people to be buoyant, all the time saying something, doing something, making Baba laugh; and He also would make others laugh. It was a merry company around Baba. And that’s why when in Australia He would always catch hold of John Bruford to say something humorous. We were just having a good chat, when all of a sudden before the train started, Baba said, ‘Don’t you all feel the temperature is too low in this compartment?’ We looked at each other... we had to agree, naturally. It was a very pleasant temperature, it was cool enough to be very pleasant. So we said, ‘Yes, Baba.’ Baba said, ‘Can you not regulate this?’ We said, ‘How, do you want it?’ Baba replied, ‘Just raise the temperature a wee bit more, it is too cold. We might all catch cold and fall ill.’ We looked at each other — Baba’s concern would be for us — we would catch cold. Then if we caught cold we might give it to Him. Anyone having a cold could not approach Baba. We had to have a mask on our face and sit in a corner. But first of all we had to inform Baba through somebody that we had a cold. Then Baba may permit that one to stay or require him to leave the room. We had to be very mindful not to catch a cold. So He sent us out to approach the guard to see if something could be done to raise the temperature. The time was near for the train to start and we must act quickly. We explained the problem to the guard. He said, 'Well this is properly regulated you can’t change it; it is according to the regulations. It should be such-and-such and you can’t change it.’ So we came back to Baba and told Him. In the mean time the engine whistled, indicating that the train was about to start. We told Baba that it can’t be regulated, but Baba was not happy about the whole thing. All of a sudden there was a delay, even although the engine had whistled. Baba said, ‘Can you not approach the guard to switch off this air conditioner.’ You know, we knew what the result would be, and we just looked at each other helplessly. He said, ‘Hurry up, the train will start and it will be too cold for us here.’ Some of us rushed out, approached the guard and stopped him.

178 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. He said, ‘What’s the matter?’ ‘We want the air conditioner to be shut off, can you do that?’ He said, ‘Yes! That can be done.’ Baba said, ‘Hurry up, tell him to do it before the train starts.’ The guard switched off the air conditioner as requested and the train started. You can imagine the oven that we were in. In an air conditioned coach, you can’t open the windows and there are no ventilators or fans. We were perspiring profusely and looking miserably at each other. But Baba was very happy — He was beaming. He said, ‘It's perfect — it’s such a very good climate in here.’ He added, ‘You know, I don’t like breeze, and this is perfect.’ ‘But Baba there is no question of breeze here, you are getting suffocated here — there is no question of breeze.’ ‘No, No,’ said Baba, ‘This is good, this is how we should travel — it’s perfect.’

5

Eruch commented, whenever we had completed the work and were returning home and thought perhaps now that the work was finished we could have a little comfort, He always thought of some way of preventing this. Of course it was all part of our training. I couldn’t help thinking how Baba appeared to be training them to be selfless. The mind of man is such that when he wants something for himself, he makes the excuse that he is doing it for someone else. If they did this He would always be a jump ahead, and change the result so that it was not to their liking. This must have been very difficult for them to endure when it was happening, but it is incredible to see the result of His training on these people today. They are such uniquely selfless people in this world of selfishness. Eruch then commented about Baba not liking a breeze and His liking for being very warm. He said, when travelling by car He would like it all sealed up, and then He would look at us, we would all look sullen, then He would permit us to open the window just a wee bit so that there was a little cross ventilation, that was all. Somehow or other He didn’t like a breeze or direct sun, normally. But then when He would go out for mast hunting He would be free, just wearing a sadra, and having an umbrella sometimes — nothing more. John Bruford said that sometimes it would be the opposite in Australia when he was driving Baba. Once Baba looked around and saw the expression on John’s face and He made John put down the driver’s window and John was sure it was too cold for Baba. Eruch said, but it was because of you. You had thought of His comfort and had put on the heater — now He was thinking of your comfort. John — Yes. Eruch — He was very mindful about the comfort of others, He wouldn’t mind saying, ‘Yes’, to please others, He wouldn’t say, ‘No’. He would please all, make them feel comfortable, happy. You were perspiring at that time. John — Yes, I had the windows wound up. Eruch — Even with us sometimes He would see long faces, and he would say, alright open the window slightly. He would permit us to open them, now in recent years; formerly He was very strict with us when we were young. Not that we are too old now, but we were very energetic when young, we had stamina then and now of course we are half of what we were formerly. I remember once travelling in first class compartment in the night and even Baba remembered that night. I was alone with Baba while we were travelling... some people had arranged a coupe for Baba, a first class coupe. Only two are permitted in a first class coupe. In this one, Baba and myself. Baba was sleeping there on a berth and I was keeping watch and it was so hot. Baba didn’t like any windows to be opened or anything. Here in India we

The Last Darshan? 179 have wire netting over the ventilators; automatic ventilation so that if someone shuts all the doors and windows there is still some ventilation. He looked up at them and said ‘stop-up that also.’ I was drenched with perspiration, I had changed my clothes completely, I needed fresh air desperately. I still remember that night when I went very softly to the lavatory and opened the door — opened the pot, and breathed through it for some fresh air, because there is a hole at the bottom opening directly to the outside and then I came back. But Baba was not only lying on the couch, He was covered with blankets. It’s a fact I don’t know how He felt comfortable in such conditions. He didn’t mind sweating. He perspired. Here even during last year... full of perspiration, the sadra would just stick on His body and become transparent. We would have to change His bedding in winter also, and to such a degree that His pillow had a plastic cover over it, under the pillow case. The watchman would remove the pillow cases in the night. Towels were sometimes used and the towels would become drenched with perspiration. So that was the story of the air conditioner. At one time Mani came into the room to remind Eruch of some of the stories that he should tell us. Mani said, tell them about the tea party. Then Eruch continued: The Tea Party. Mani reminds me about a tea party on a train. It so happened that during the days of the war, the trains were always overcrowded. There were many military trains in which only the military could travel, and even on the civilian passenger trains there would be compartments reserved for the military. We had no say in the matter whatsoever, we were just the poor travellers. Whenever Meher Baba was travelling by train we had to get Him and ourselves into a compartment as best we could. One day it so happened that the civilian passenger part of the train was overfull. However, there were three or four compartments that were reserved for the military. Some were full with military personnel, but there was one compartment that contained only about half a dozen military people. In desperation I approached a man in that compartment. Here in India when we plead we place our hands together like this. I did this and said please allow us to come inside. Somehow or other I must have melted his heart with my pleadings because he permitted us to enter the compartment with all our luggage. We were very happy; we thought that it was Baba’s will and Baba’s grace that had caused us to be so fortunate. Little did we realize what was in store for us. Sometimes we had to fight with the passengers, sometimes we had to plead, sometimes we had to bow down to them, sometimes we had to give a blow, it varied with the circumstances, but we had to travel with Baba irrespective of the method used to board the train. So we got inside and made ourselves comfortable. The military people were also very helpful, apparently they took a fancy to us. We were happy to stand, but they insisted that we all be seated. They were very pleased with us and we all started chatting and so on. Baba also was very cheerful. Then suddenly, as we arrived at the next junction, we saw that the whole platform was crowded with military personnel with their guns and luggage. As soon as the train stopped,

180 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. they started pouring into the carriage and continued to pour in beyond the capacity of the compartment, in so doing they started pushing and bumping here and there. Soon after the train started again, the military personnel who had allowed us to enter the compartment, started to pick a fight with those who had entered later because they were overcrowding. At first they started abusing them, but in no time there was a free-for-all fight in the compartment. Some had hockey sticks with them, some had metal bars and they started to use them to fight each other. We gathered around Baba to protect Him during the riot that broke out in this huge, long compartment. I am sure that there would have been many deaths if it had continued for long. Suddenly there was a loud clap and I looked around to see Baba standing on a bench with His arms outstretched gesturing for them to stop. They were so surprised that they stopped fighting and looked up at this strange man in a long white robe with outstretched arms. What could he be doing? What does he want? They all stopped fighting and just gazed at Baba. Then Baba gestured for me to tell them that it is not good to fight among themselves like this. If you continue, you will kill each other. Just stop fighting and everything will be alright. You should do your duty and fight for your country, but if you start fighting among yourselves, what will happen? You will just kill each other. So stop fighting. Stop! He implored them. Then Baba said that when the train stopped at the next junction He would order tea for all in the compartment and provide them with something sweet to eat. Indians are very fond of sweets and my aunty had given me some tins of sweets before we left on our journey. At the next junction Baba had us order tea for everyone in the compartment. Then Baba with His own hands distributed the sweets as prasad to all. The fight was quickly forgotten, they enjoyed the tea and sweets and soon all were in happy conversation. The remainder of the journey continued pleasantly and the soldiers were friendly towards each other. When they later left the train they were singing together. It was truly remarkable how Meher Baba averted a very serious and explosive situation in that compartment. Without speaking a word He had stopped the military people from fighting and His actions must surely have prevented bloodshed that day.6 After a short pause, Eruch continued with another story. He said that he felt prompted to tell us stories about their travels with Meher Baba during different phases of His work. A Politician is Taught a Lesson. At times other than wartime, the accommodation on the trains was not always so cramped. During His travels whenever possible Baba always liked to have a compartment to Himself and His mandali, so that He could freely express Himself through His gestures without needing to be concerned that His silent gestures might attract the attention of the other passengers. It was but natural, Baba had become man and so He had the needs of man and sometimes He needed privacy. So whenever the opportunity arose in third class travel, He would like to be alone with His mandali so that He could relax and be natural — take food when required or play games and all that sort of thing. One day we were lucky to have a small compartment by ourselves, and we were very happy and pleased because Baba was happy and pleased about it. The train had just started to move and we all thought that now the train was moving we would be alone, at least for this section of the journey.

The Last Darshan? 181 Suddenly the carriage door was flung open, a man got in and his luggage was pushed in behind him, while the train was moving. He was some politician with a white khadi cap and starched shirt and all that. We were taken completely unawares. We thought that when the train had started we would be alone, but he had surprised us by getting on after the train was moving. Baba signalled, ‘What is this?’ He was not at all pleased. He considered it to be an intrusion and because of this I pleaded with the man. I said, ‘Please sir, because we are travelling such a long distance and I see from your luggage that you are not, at the next halt w hich is only 10 or 15 m inutes aw ay, w ould you m ind finding a seat in another compartment? Please allow us to have this compartment to ourselves.’ He said haughtily, ‘What's the matter, is this reserved?’ ‘No, it’s not reserved, we are just asking you if you will go to another compartment. You will be equally comfortable there, you are not travelling a long distance like we are. We would just like to spread ourselves out on this bench.’ He said, ‘No. What do you mean by asking me to vacate this compartment? Have you paid for the whole compartment?’ He was very arrogant. Baba then caught our attention and instructed us how to handle the situation. He signalled us all to observe silence — with Him and among ourselves. To speak to each other in signs using gestures freely and to laugh and make a noise — things like that. Baba was very annoyed, He signalled, ‘This will teach him a lesson.’ Gustaji was with us, he was in silence and we all knew his sign language. Usually Gustaji was restricted in the use of his signs while we were travelling, so as not to create a scene. Otherwise it might become too obvious that he was not speaking and people might wonder what was going on. Now Gustaji was given full permission to express himself freely with his signs. So he started to express himself by using signs and to laugh, and I also laughed and commenced to express myself using the signs. The politician was dismayed, he wondered what on earth was happening and he tried to start a conversation with me. He said, ‘Where are you going?’ As soon as he asked me that, I just looked at him, then turned my face away and went on making the signs to the others. Then he started asking Pendu, ‘Where are you going?’ Pendu just looked at him then turned his face away and went on gesturing and laughing. Many times he asked us and we just turned our faces away from him while continuing to converse among ourselves in sign language. This was all too much for the politician. At the next stop, he hurriedly got out of the carriage and shouted for the porter, ‘Coolie! Coolie! Come here and pick up this luggage!’ Baba reminded us to thank him. Baba’s sign for thank you was shaking hands. When his luggage was out of the carriage I just said to him, ‘Thank you sir.’ Baba smiled and signalled to us, ‘That serves him right.’

7

Mani reminded Eruch about the thief story and then Eruch told us this story: The Thief Story. Kaka who died recently — some of you have heard of him — he was our treasurer when we were on mast tours with Meher Baba. He was the one who carried the money to pay for our tickets and our expenses while travelling. He would open his wallet every now and then to pay our day to day expenses and he also carried the change. I carried our reserve of money — a wad of notes for safe keeping.

182 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. One day it so happened that we were in the interior contacting masts. We had stopped at a village in the early hours of the morning and Baba was in a room alone with a certain mast. I had a bundle of ten rupee notes in my coat pocket — a big pocket here at the top of my coat. When we travel with Baba we can’t afford to go only in a shirt or like this, we must have baggy clothes so that we can carry Baba’s things such as napkins, handkerchiefs and other personal items. Baba’s alphabet board must also slide inside our pockets. It was a big board, so it needed a big pocket. My dress was a very baggy dress — trousers and coat with many pockets here and there and everywhere. Baba was inside the room contacting a mast, and as we were not permitted to see what he was doing in those early days, we were just standing outside waiting. I was wearing a coat and I had a wad of ten rupee notes in the breast pocket of my coat. I soon found that the villagers were gathering around us. They started behaving very friendly with us. We couldn’t just stand there doing nothing, so we started chatting — our duty was to ask for masts in different areas. As we were chatting together I noticed one person with a paralyzed hand. He was very friendly. He stood close beside me while he was chatting, then very stealthily he reached his hand into my pocket and pulled out a note. I didn’t see it at first, but I heard a little swishing sound, then looked around and saw a note flying past. I looked up and saw that he was the person holding it. I caught hold of his wrist and dragged him behind the room where Baba was contacting the mast, because there was a crowd of villagers in front of it, and I was determined to give him a tight slap. I had just raised my hand to do so, when someone caught hold of my hand, I looked and saw that it was Baba holding my hand. Baba said, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Baba, he stole my ten rupee note.’ I said. ‘Did you do that?’ He asked the man. After the man had admitted it, Baba just pinched the lobe of his ears. ‘Never do that again,’ Baba told him. Then He told me to give back the ten rupee note to him. He said, ‘The money is for those in need. Had he not been in need, why would he have done that? Give it to him.’ ‘Don’t do it again.’ Baba exhorted him. Eruch commented, ‘Had Baba not come at that moment I would have given him two or three slaps for doing such a thing.’

8

I felt that this little story that Eruch had just told us, illustrated very well the compassion and forgiveness of God. There was a slight pause while Eruch thought for a moment and then continued with his story telling... I am now going to tell another very funny story that I told Rhoda Dubash the other day. Suddenly I have remembered it. Francis, even you may not have heard it before. A Good Trick. It so happened that these were the days of the partition between India and Pakistan and although it was a bloodless revolution, yet there was a lot of slaughter — half a million on either side after the partition. The partition was bloodless but after the partition there was much bloodshed, with Mohammedans killing Hindus and Hindus killing Mohammedans. However, Baba let nothing prevent Him from doing His work. With Baba, whether there was a world war or there was slaughter on the streets on a much smaller scale, He still

The Last Darshan? 183 continued to do His work. He would take us all from one place to another — including all the women mandali — with all our paraphernalia. Those were the days when people would not budge from their houses, yet He would take the whole family with Him. He would even ask us to search for houses and bungalows for three, four or even five days as if nothing was happening, as if all was completely normal. Nothing mattered, nothing stopped Him from doing His work. Those were the days when there were corpses taken by the train loads. The corpses were picked up from beside the rail tracks, and just thrown into the train compartments and taken to the railway stations to be burned or to be buried en masse. At this time, these people had such fury in their heads — they knew of no God, they respected no saints, human life itself was not respected, yet we noticed that for some reason or other they respected the corpses. We came to know this, and we also came to know that if we could get seats in a compartment where there were corpses, we would have a comfortable journey. We knew all these tricks of our journey, so one day we were lucky to get a very tiny compartment next to the engine. A tiny compartment containing only two bench seats — in third class as usual. We were happy, Baba was there, six or seven mandali were with Him, and we were chatting and whiling away the time until we arrived at our destination. The platforms were crowded with people and every time that the train stopped at the stations or the junctions people would rush to board the train. But because our compartment was right at the end or rather at the beginning of the train near the engine, no one dreamed of coming there at first. But when the whole train was full with passengers then they started coming towards the engine. Baba would ask us, ‘What is the position?’ ‘Is the platform very crowded?’ ‘Is the crowd coming towards our end?’ ‘No, they are going to the other end, Baba.’ ‘Very good,’ Baba would say. But then later, we found they were coming towards us. We said, ‘Baba now is the time that we should roll up our bedding otherwise they will rush in and it will be too late.’ And they would rush in, they didn’t care for anybody. Baba calmly said, ‘Don’t worry, I will lie down and sleep like this.’ Little did we know that Baba Himself would impersonate a corpse. He took a white sheet, tucked it under His feet, then as He lay down, He pulled the other end up above His head, completely covering Himself with the sheet. Then He lay very still beneath the sheet, while we remained seated. When the other passengers came and saw what they thought was a corpse they went away —no one entered our compartment. When the train started, Baba sat up and smiled, gesturing, ‘It’s a good trick, eh?’

9

‘Did you hear that story before Francis?’ asked Eruch. ‘No,’ replied Francis Brabazon. I could only marvel at Meher Baba’s wonderful sense of humour. Eruch continued his story telling. One day we were very exhausted and our resting places would not be hotels or air conditioned rooms or anything of the sort, in those days with Baba — but why do I say, ‘in those days’ it is the same even now — these days also. We were then, and are now, used to having just the basic necessities, without any luxury. I still remember when we went to America, the second trip, or was it the first trip... ? Holiday Lodge was reserved for Baba, the mandali and some of the Baba lovers from the West. Some exorbitant price was paid for Baba’s luxury suite but what happened was,

184 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. although Baba and the mandali stayed there, we did not use anything. We all slept on the floor, nothing was used, including the luxury bed. That bed was so spongy, so springy, we didn’t care for that sort of thing. Baba slept on the floor and I slept there on the floor also, or rather hardly slept, the mandali used to keep watch in turns. It was just the same to us whether we were in a palace or on the station platform, we lived simply. The Intruder. One time we were on the station platform very exhausted. It was dark, Baba said that we would have to pass the night there and catch the next train early in the morning. He said we would be sleeping there, so we went to the end of the platform and spread out the bedding for Baba on the earth itself — the end of the platform is never floored it is just filled with earth. So we just spread out our things there, and all the mandali slept around Baba. It was the custom, Baba was in the centre — on one side myself, on another side Pendu, Kaka or Gustaji, with the others around Him here and there. We would be keeping watch in turns. This night the watchkeeper must have been feeling drowsy. In the mean time we all had gone to sleep with Baba... when all of a sudden I found Baba was shaking me to wake up. I got up from that sound sleep. ‘What's the matter?’ ‘Where am I?’ I said. Then I realized that I was on the station platform. Baba wanted to know, ‘Who is here?’ I found that between Baba and myself there was somebody else. I looked and found there was a man sleeping next to Baba. He had got into the middle of our group and hidden under our covering. I woke him and said, ‘Who are you?’ As soon as I woke him, he got up and started running. Then the police began whistling. They were watching for a thief they had been following, but he had eluded them. The thief had taken protection near Baba not knowing that it was Baba Himself. He had hidden from the police with the help of our bedding covering him. But when he left his hiding place under our bedding, the police caught him.10 These are just some of the interesting little incidents that happened while we were travelling with Baba, but whether we lived in a palace or on the station platform, it was all the same to us as long as we could be by Meher Baba’s side. On some days Baba would permit us to take food, on some days He would tell us to observe a fast, on some days He would tell us to remain only on drinks — soft drinks, aerated water or buttermilk, something like that. It is in His Fate. The day on which this story begins was the day after our fast. We got down at a station, which was a terminus, early in the morning at about two o’clock. Neither Meher Baba nor the mandali had eaten for over 24 hours. Later we had to catch another train, so while we were waiting we washed our hands and faces and refreshed ourselves. We got ready to board the train which was already standing at the platform without lights. This train was due to departure at about five o’clock. We sat there on the platform early in the morning, until it was about four-thirty, then we put our luggage in one of the compartments of the train that was standing ready to move in half an hour or so. The train lights were not on and we just sat there quietly. From the compartment Baba spotted a stall that was just being opened. He said, ‘Let’s go there and buy something to eat.’

The Last Darshan? 185

‘It's too early,’ I said. ‘No, that fellow has opened the stall,’ said Baba. We looked and saw a boy was dusting the jars — you know the jars that contain sweets and pastry and such things? Someone was dusting there and as we approached we saw a man praying. He was standing in front of a supporting pillar on the station platform and there was a picture on the pillar. As we came closer we saw that it was a picture of Meher Baba and the man was praying to it. The stall was beyond the pillar. Baba didn’t pay any attention to the man praying. There was a heap of oranges in the stall and Baba said, ‘Let’s buy oranges.’ I asked the price of the oranges, then Baba started to take an interest in bargaining for them. The boy said twelve annas for twelve fruit — twelve cents for twelve fruit. Baba said, ‘No, as we are buying six it is better that you reduce the price.’ He is telling all this to me through the signs and I am negotiating with the lad. Later I will show you how Baba used the signs in silence. So I started bargaining with the boy. I told him that he should give the oranges to us for ten cents a dozen. Somehow or other the boy agreed and we bought six oranges for five cents from him. Well we were happy and we returned to our compartment on the train. As we passed the man praying, I said to Baba, ‘Look, he is praying to Your picture.’ Baba said, ‘Yes, alright,’ but He didn’t pay any heed to him. Then we sat down in the compartment again and Baba gave an orange to each of us with His own hands. I took Baba’s orange and went to a tap to wash it before I cut it and served it to Baba. When I returned from the tap, a man came running from the stall, it was the man we had seen praying to Baba’s picture. He was the owner of the stall. He started arguing with us. He said, ‘You are all elderly people, yet early in the morning, before I open the business, you come and swindle my boy.’ He started accusing us of robbing the boy. I said, ‘What’s the matter with you, we have purchased it, we bargained no doubt, but your boy agreed.’ ‘You had no right to bargain with the boy, he was just dusting the jars, I cannot permit you to have it that way? My prices are fixed, I never cheat, I never sell at reduced price.’ Baba tells us through the signs, ‘The price was agreed, the bargain was struck — it is the duty of the business man that once the bargain is struck, not to go back.’ I knew that he was a Baba devotee, so I had some feeling for him. I wanted for his sake, that Baba should have his fruit, but it was not in his fate, you see. He started fighting with us, he said, ‘Nothing doing, my prices are all fixed. You can’t change this.’ I said, ‘But once a bargain is struck, why do you insist on this, what will one cent matter?’ ‘What will one cent matter to you if you pay me more?’ He asked me. I said, ‘We have fixed the bargain.’ He said, ‘No, you pay me one cent more.’ I said, ‘No, nothing doing.’ Baba said, ‘No, once a bargain is fixed it is the duty of the man who deals in this to forego any loss.’ Among Indians it is customary that once a bargain is fixed for the first time in the day, the businessman has to just take it very happily to ensure that his whole day passes off happily. Baba through me, is trying to tell him all these things. But in spite of even Baba trying to tell him these things, this fellow fought with us and took the fruit from out of our hands — took the fruit out of our mouths, you might say.

186 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Baba said, ‘It is in his fate.’ I said, ‘Should I tell him who You are?’ Baba said, ‘If you tell him the whole stall will come here, but what will that profit him?’

11

When asked to expand on this man’s fate, Eruch said: It was in his fate that he would pray to a picture of Meher Baba while he was in Meher Baba’s physical presence. This much and no more. When Eruch had finished this story I could not help reflecting on the irony of this man’s fate. Praying to a picture of his beloved while his beloved in person walked past behind him, unrecognized. Then when he was actually in the presence of his beloved, facing him, he was so proud of his honesty and fair dealing that for the sake of one anna, even after the bargain has been fixed, he took the fruit out of his beloved’s hand and mouth, as it were. Mani suggested that Eruch tell us a particular story about Gustaji. Eruch started the story then said, ‘I am sorry I am prompted to tell you stories only about trains and travel, if you feel bored we will change the topic.’ We were not feeling the least bit bored, but rather fascinated with Eruch’s wonderful story telling ability and happy to be hearing more about Meher Baba. Eruch continued: Gustaji Gets Lost If you remember the stories that I have already told you, you will notice that in them we had a lot of hardships. The other things are all forgotten, but the incidents that most easily come to my mind are the things that we had to fight for — the difficult times, with the hardships — I most easily remember these times. One day we had been travelling for a long distance and got down at a small station where a good mast was found. It was now night time and we were at this small station again waiting for the next train. We had bought our tickets and were ready and waiting for the train to come. We knew that express or mail trains did not stop for more than two minutes at a small station like this. We had a lot of luggage and we knew very well that it would be impossible for us all to get inside one compartment with all the luggage, all the mandali, Meher Baba, and Gustaji who was also silent. So among ourselves we decided that Eruch and Baba would go in a first class compartment on condition that Eruch take all the luggage with him in the first class compartment. Then the mandali would somehow fight their way inside a third class compartment. It was very difficult because in the dead of the night the first class compartments should all be locked. It was a very dangerous game we were playing, but there was no other way out. The mandali said that they would get inside the third class compartment once they knew that we were in a first class compartment. We planned our actions well and we were ready when the train came. Luckily a first class compartment stopped right in front of us, I turned the handle and the door opened. I said, ‘Yes, it is alright.’ The others then started going to the third class compartment. We had our signal arranged, as soon as everything was alright, we would turn on the torches and signal

all's well.’

I started putting luggage into the compartment with the help of the porter. In the mean time Gustaji had come to me and said, Eruch I would like to travel first class I will help you with the luggage. As Gustaji was in silence, if I tried to converse with him by deciphering his

The Last Darshan? 187 finger gestures in the night we would waste so much time that the whole operation we had so carefully planned would go astray. So I said, alright come on now, help with the luggage. I started to take in some luggage, he also went in and soon a pile of luggage was there on the carriage floor. Unfortunately, the first class compartment that we had chosen was a coupe. Having a lower berth, an upper berth above that and a passageway in front of the two berths. I settled Baba in the carriage first and then put in the luggage with the help of Gustaji and the porter, I had no time to notice what was happening. But in the lower bunk I realized that there was a good soul who just kept quiet. He could have taken objection to our being there, pulled the chain and had us thrown out. But he kept quiet — I admired him. I arranged the luggage carefully so as not to disturb him. I made Baba sit on the lower berth near his feet — all in the dark because there was no light, the light was switched off. I worked with the help of a torch. When I had finished I felt very satisfied. The luggage was all properly piled up; Baba was comfortable; I covered His knees and feet; everything was alright, nothing went wrong. All of a sudden I remembered that I should signal with the torch ‘All’s well.’ When I did this I received a reply, signalled by the mandali, pulled my coat and gestured,

All's well’. The train was now moving. All of a sudden Baba

Gustaji has gone — where is Gustaji?’

Oh God,’ I said. Baba comforted me and said,

Don't worry, it doesn't matter, at the next junction you send a

wire to the station master saying our man is left there.’ Gustaji was in silence. What would he do now on his own? All that feeling of success that I had, now melted into thin air. I just remained silent and waited. What to do now? I started planning. Gustaji being an old man, observing silence, what will he do in the dead of night left there, and without money? He wouldn’t touch money. I was just thinking and planning what to do. Baba kept quiet and I kept quiet. All of a sudden, while the train is moving fast we heard a noise. I thought that it was coming from the next compartment. I thought someone must be making that noise in the next compartment, but I kept quiet. Baba said,

What is it, ants or something?’ I said,

Yes, I can hear some scratching —

something like that.’ But then there was no light and I didn’t like to disturb the man that was sleeping by turning it on. He had permitted us to enter the compartment with all this heap of luggage and had kept quiet about it. Again that noise. I looked at the wall with the torch and I saw something there — part of a door. The upper birth in this carriage was vacant and I thought that I had made another mistake and locked a first class passenger in the latrine. I said,

Baba the top birth is vacant, the passenger must be

locked inside, I will have to remove the luggage.’ Baba said,

Hurry up, remove the luggage, otherwise he will complain and have us thrown

out.’ I again laboured lifting the trunks and putting them aside from in front of that narrow door. When I had removed everything from in front of the door, all of a sudden, out came Gustaji through the door. After taking his first load of luggage into the compartment he must have gone to the toilet. In the mean time, in the darkness we had continued loading the luggage until it blocked the door and prevented him from coming out.12 All of the stories Eruch told us that evening concerned the mandali travelling with Meher Baba. They were most interesting and apparently if they were told to any other group they were not recorded, because Mani a year or two later, asked me for a copy of them. The mandali had forgotten the details of the stories by then and these stories had been so

188 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. interesting that they wanted them preserved, they also wished to have a record of them at Meherazad. I sent Mani copies of the tapes of all the stories that she requested. I also made these tapes and some other tapes that I later recorded available to Bill Le Page to have transcribed; he later published some of these stories. It was now 7:00 p.m. — time for us to leave Guruprasad. We had been enthralled for almost two hours by Eruch telling us stories of their days with Meher Baba. The time had gone so quickly. We bade farewell all the mandali and departed by bus. We returned to the hotel where we collected the ladies and then all went by bus to the Avatar Meher Baba Centre in Poona, where we had been invited to view some new films of Meher Baba that we had not previously seen. Also our visit to the centre gave us an opportunity to meet some of the Poona Baba lovers. A most enjoyable time was had at the centre. Then we returned to our hotel for an evening meal and an early night, because we had to be up early on Sunday Morning to go to Meherabad and Meherazad. Sunday, 18th May 1969. After an early breakfast we set off on our seventy-five mile journey to Meherabad just after 6 o’clock. The early start was planned so that we would not be travelling in the hottest part of the day, because at this time of the year, every day is usually cloudless and the temperature rises to over a hundred degrees fahrenheit. On the journey the only green vegetation to be seen was in some areas that were being irrigated by water from wells. We passed dry river beds into which wells had been sunk to obtain water until the next rains came with the monsoon, which was due to start in early June. We arrived at Upper Meherabad about 9 o’clock after going past Lower Meherabad and crossing the railway line at Arangaon, then coming back a short distance before driving up the hill in the bus. We were greeted by Mansari and some other mandali members, then taken to visit Meher Baba’s tomb. In the tomb we all said the Master’s Prayer and the Prayer of Repentance, then sang the arti that Francis had composed, after which each one in turn bowed down to Meher Baba and took His darshan. Meher Baba’s Presence could be felt most strongly in the tomb. From the Sufi teachings I had learned that after a Master drops his body his power is at his tomb, but he no longer has the authority to use it. I learned from Eruch that in the case of the God-Man this is not so. He being God, He never loses that authority when He drops the body. God always continues to have absolute authority, whether He is in the Avataric body or not. Anyone who approaches the tomb of the God-Man, directly approaches God and God responds directly to that person. It is such a blessing for humanity when the Avatar permits His body to remain on the earth and its location to be known, because then this is the place where the individual can directly approach God. Of all the things associated with God during this Advent, the physical body of the Avatar had the longest and closest association with Him. It is not surprising that His Presence can be felt so very strongly at its resting place. We were taken to visit some of the other buildings in the area and were shown some of the sacred relics such as Baba’s favourite coat, which in the early days had been worn so much and needed so many patches that it was now almost all patches. Also, the sandals that He wore at this same period, which had also been mended and patched many, many times. We were free to spend time in Baba’s tomb whenever we wished and most people made more than one visit as they felt the need. At the back of the largest building there was a long awning enclosed on two sides which provided a shaded area. Under this awning were forms

The Last Darshan? 189 to sit on, and also tables and chairs. At about 11:00 a.m. in the shade under this corrugated iron awning, we ate our lunch that had been brought from the hotel. It was hot under the awning, but it was much hotter outside. After lunch we went to Lower Meherabad where we met Padri, (Ferdoon Naosherwan Driver), the mandali member in charge. He showed us over the different buildings at Lower Meherabad explaining to us some of Baba’s work that was associated with each one. He told us that Meher Baba had provided free medical treatment and free medicine for the local villagers continuously since 1925 and that people came here now for medical treatment from villages up to fifty miles away. We also met Mohammed the fifth plane mast who now lives permanently at Meherabad. Then it was off again in the bus to Meherazad, which is about fourteen miles away, and on the other side of Ahmednagar. On arrival, we were very warmly greeted by the resident mandali. One could feel Baba’s love flowing through them. It was quite relaxed at Meherazad, it was hot and we were able to have a cool drink of water and wash our hands and faces. We had met most of the mandali previously at Poona and we talked with them in groups for a little time. Then we were shown over Meherazad, seeing Mandali Hall, where Baba gave darshan to visitors and presided over meetings with the mandali and where He formulated the circular for His lovers to have His darshan at this time on His terms. We saw the ‘Blue Bus’, in which Baba had toured all over India during one phase of His work. Then the mononash cabin, the ‘New Life’ caravan and Baba’s bedroom. In the bedroom we could see His bed, some of His clothing, His sandals, a little bedside table and His chair. Basically, He must have lived a very simple life without the usual trappings of luxury that one comes to associate with worldly power and authority. However, what was noticeable in His bedroom was the wonderful feeling of His Presence. We took darshan at His bed and His chair. This room now has special significance, because it is the room where Meher Baba left His body. We saw seclusion hill only from a distance, because there was insufficient time to climb it. When it was time to leave Meherazad it was difficult for us to tear ourselves away from the mandali, because Meher Baba’s love always comes through them so strongly. Then we returned to Ahmednagar and visited the Avatar Meher Baba Centre and also Adi K. Irani’s office and compound. We had some tea and refreshments at the Sarosh Canteen before embarking on our three-hour return journey to Poona, feeling tired but happy. Monday, 19th May 1969. This was our fourth day at Guruprasad. It was another wonderful day of feeling Baba’s Presence, of entertaining Him and taking His darshan. The entertainment started with two items played by Mani on the sitar. John Bruford entertained with some jokes and humorous stories. There were two poems read by Paul Smith and then there was a puppet show by Alain Youell. Jim Miskius also played the sitar. Later there was a programme of singing and dialogue put on by three people from Andhra State in the Telegu language. I think it was called the Burrakatha Programme. It was the life story of Meher Baba told in words and music. Also in the group was one person playing the part of an interjector who was asking pertinent questions. His questions had to be answered in dialogue and song and he was eventually won over by the Avatar’s life and love. The group had travelled all around the State of Andhra giving this three-hour programme. They

190 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. had already publicly performed it 245 times to different audiences. The programme that they performed for us was a condensed version taking about an hour. Eruch then told us the story of how Guruprasad came to be associated with Meher Baba. The Story of Guruprasad. This place, Guruprasad, was built fifty years ago for a Mohammedan family who wanted to live in comfort. And fifty years ago, Poona was not so congested, it was a very pleasant place in which to live. It was built for their comfort, but after some years it was sold to one Maharanee of Jamkhed. From her Maharanee Shantadevi of Boroda purchased it. The place is named Guruprasad — prasad of the guru — a gift from the guru. All the furniture, the carpets and the place itself, she has dedicated to Meher Baba’s cause. It is kept at Baba’s disposal. The unusual story of how Baba came to this place commences soon after the wandering phase of His New Life ended. He sent word to His lovers in Poona to find a suitable place — not too far from the city, yet not too close — having a garden and a good atmosphere where He could come with His mandali to stay for some days. One of the Baba lovers here in Poona spotted this place, but it was unoccupied and locked up. Naturally, Maharanee Shantadevi of Baroda has many properties; this was just one of the properties that she owned. She would come here just once in one or two years and stay for a week or a fortnight and then go away to another of her different places, dependent upon the season of the year. When the Poona lover contacted the caretaker of this place, he said that he cannot open it unless he has permission from the Maharanee herself. So a telegram was sent to her saying that Avatar Meher Baba wanted to occupy this place for some days with His disciples and would she permit it. Immediately she sent her permission. Then the bungalow was opened up and Baba came here and stayed with His mandali. Previously, sometimes it had been used as a guest house for the relatives of the Maharanee. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, just while Baba was staying here with His disciples, some guests came. Baba thought it to be a sort of intrusion that the guests were permitted to come here, after the Maharanee had given this place for His use. So Baba told me to contact the Maharanee and to inform her that Baba would like to stay here undisturbed. She diverted her guests to her other properties and Baba was permitted to remain undisturbed on the property during this stay. The next time that He wanted to occupy the property, He told the Maharanee that if she intended to give this place for His use, then it should be on condition that none of her guests come here to disturb Him and she also must not come, even for His darshan. She agreed very lovingly and said that Baba can come here any time and stay for any number of days or indefinitely. She would love Baba to stay here. So that is how Baba has been coming to this place, mostly during the summer months of April, May and June, to stay for these three months with His mandali. After Meher Baba had visited Guruprasad for a couple of seasons, one day the Maharanee of Boroda was permitted to come into her own place to have Baba’s darshan, just for five minutes. In time she came closer and closer in Baba’s love and then she came to know of Baba’s ways. She had informed the caretaker that Baba should not be disturbed in the least and if ever some stray visitors or guests come they should be diverted to other places of residence so that Baba should not be disturbed. Especially when Baba was in seclusion she would take great care to see that He was never disturbed.

The Last Darshan? 191 Even when she passed through Poona she would not enter Guruprasad, she would stand outside the gate waiting there for Baba’s permission to enter her own house. Once Baba was in seclusion the year before last here at Guruprasad, and we did not know that she was standing outside the premises under a tree. No one was visible to her so she could not call anybody to ask permission to have Baba’s darshan and then continue on her journey. Later Baba told her that whenever she passed through Poona she can come and have His darshan even though He be in seclusion. So honouring that instruction she did come, but she didn’t want Baba to be disturbed, so she stayed outside. I don’t know for how many minutes or hours, but at last some one spotted her. We were surprised. Why was she standing outside? She said, well I don’t wish to disturb Baba, only if Baba permits, will I come, otherwise I will go on my way. Baba very lovingly permitted her to have His darshan. Baba was very concerned about her and was much touched by her implicit obedience. She loves Baba very much. She keeps this place open for the mandali as well as for Baba. Once I remember she didn’t even have a place to stay in Poona, because her bungalow where she now lives, about a mile from here, was occupied by her children and grandchildren and Guruprasad was occupied by Baba, so she didn’t have any place to stay in Poona. She got a room in the Turf Club and stayed there without encroaching upon the privacy of Baba’s people, even although Baba had told her to come and stay in a room reserved for her. That room where the telephone is located is her room. Oh, she loves Baba deeply, her faith in Baba is something to be envied.

13

When Eruch had finished this story I took Meher Baba’s darshan at His chair and in His bedroom and then it was time for us to board the bus and return to our hotel. Tuesday, 20th May 1969. We were given an extra day of Meher Baba’s wonderful Presence at Guruprasad on this day. There were only one or two Air India flights per week between India and Australia, and as there were three days before our return flight was scheduled to depart from Bombay, we were permitted an extra day at Guruprasad. This was to be an informal day. There was one session of entertainment for Baba performed by a family of Indian children dancers. They were very talented and performed some wonderful Indian traditional dances before Baba. This was a unique opportunity for us to see such dancing. The rest of the time we congregated in small groups with individual mandali members and heard more about their lives with Meher Baba. The thing that I liked most was having this opportunity to spend more time in Meher Baba’s Presence, which could be felt so strongly at Guruprasad on each of the days that we were there. Eventually, it was time to leave Poona. So much had happened during this week in Poona that it seemed that we had been there for more like a month than a week, yet in another way the time seemed to have gone so quickly. It had truly been an unforgetable experience. When we returned to Australia our hearts were overflowing with Meher Baba’s love. Since this darshan I have had a lot of time to think about it. To think about the uniqueness of it. It has been referred to as the last darshan, but to me it is something completely different, but before I describe the difference, I would like to give Eruch’s reply to a request for an explanation of the meaning and significance of the word darshan.

192 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Eruch said:

What is the significance of the multitudes of people flocking around Meher Baba for

His darshan? Is it just to see a person? No, it’s not that. There is something in the personality of Baba. Apart from His being man amongst men, He is also the God-Man amongst men. It is considered to be a great privilege, a great benediction for His being in the midst of men. It is His infinite compassion — God’s infinite compassion — exercised when He wants to mingle with men as man and He comes down amongst us as the God-Man in order that we might feel His being. He makes His being more tangible to us by His presence amongst men as man. He makes His compassion more tangible to us. He makes His love more tangible to us. ‘The majority of the people in the world — whether they accept the existence of God or not — have an inward feeling about the existence of some power; some call Him God, some call Him Dieu, some call Him Allah and so forth in different languages, but then they have the belief that God exists. Some look to heaven for His existence and help. Some try to find Him in the temples, in the churches, pergodas, mosques and agiarys and some just try to think of Him inwardly. But then they would all want to have something very tangible they cannot have, unless and until through the exercise of God’s own infinite compassion, He manifests Himself as man amongst men and descends to the level of humanity, and makes His compassion, His love, His being, His presence, more tangible to us. So men have regarded these manifestations from time immemorial as a dispensation of a great blessing. And when they hear about it and when they feel convinced about it and when they are drawn to His physical presence, naturally they flock around Him to have a glimpse of Him. That is why people take it to be a great privilege whenever in different Advents He condescends to give His presence to the multitudes. So they throng around Him in large numbers and the reflection of this darshan is seen when they throng around saints and yogis and masts. It is nothing but a reflection in the grossest sense, but the most sublime of it, is thronging around the physical presence of the God-Man, which we call darshan. Darshan means a glimpse of His physical presence amongst us.’

14

Now this description by Eruch is a very accurate description of the meaning of the traditional darshan. However, this particular darshan of Meher Baba was something entirely different. It was something that had never happened before, it was entirely new. There was no physical presence of the Master there, and yet His Presence was felt more strongly in His physical absence than it had been felt previously in His physical presence. To me this was not the Last Darshan, but the First Darshan. The first of a new type of darshan, previously unknown. The time not of seclusion, where God secluded Himself from His lovers, and not of exclusion, where His lovers were excluded from His Presence, but the time of Inclusion, where all His lovers were included in His Presence, as He had foretold. Yet it is not an automatic thing. It still requires the individual to take that one step towards God, in order for God to take the ten steps towards the individual. And the individual must continue to take that one step to make it a continuing process. However, it is reassuring to the lover of God to know that if he increases his longing for his Beloved God enough, then his Beloved’s Presence can be tangibly felt. He can have His darshan in this new sense where the Presence of the Beloved is Included and can be tangibly felt without the Beloved’s physical presence being necessary.

CHAPTER 16 Reflections. In the years following 1969 I made many trips to India and each time I took my tape recorder with me to record as much information as possible about Meher Baba from His Mandali while events were fresh in their minds and while they were still available to be contacted. Some of this information has already been published. The recordings of talks by Eruch Jessawala, that I recorded in 1974, I made available to Bill Le Page who had them transcribed and later he edited them and had them published, with other material, in a book entitled Not We But One. In the course of time, many unanswered questions would arise about Meher Baba and during my journeys to India I would sometimes obtain some very worthwhile answers from Eruch and other mandali members to some of these questions. Also answers that other people obtained, I tried to collect for future use. Because these answers may be found of interest to people now and in the future I will include the ones that I think are most relevant. Meher Baba said that the fate of the universe hangs on His seclusion and the redemption of mankind depends upon His manifestation. Eruch Jessawala was asked, what is His manifestation? His reply follows: The Avatar’s Manifestation. World wide manifestation can best be illustrated by an example. For instance if you went to any part of the world and began speaking to the people there about Jesus Christ, you would not need to introduce Him. They are already aware of His being. He has already manifested world wide. However, if you went to any part of the world intending to speak about Meher Baba, you must first introduce Him, because Meher Baba has not yet manifested world wide. He has manifested in individual hearts and in collective hearts. Yet world wide manifestation will take time, it will happen gradually. It will be so, when you need not introduce Him, when you need not tell His whole life story. He will have manifested when one can sing His glory and praise Him, without the need to introduce Him beforehand. So He continues to remain imminent in the minds of mankind. So, has He manifested for us?’ he was asked. Yes, but world wide manifestation will take time. He said that it will be so.’

How is

manifestation of Meher Baba going to take place?’ he was asked. Eruch replied: In its own course will it take place. When He was with us the world did not know about Him. After He had lived with us for some long years a small part of the world came to know of Him. When He dropped the body, a little more of the world came to know of Him. And then with the passage of time, time itself will manifest Him. Even now, when you want to tell somebody about Meher Baba they say, “Who is Meher Baba?’’.’ someone in the audience commented. Yes, it is in progress, but it’s not completed. However, there will come a time when you will not be confronted with this question — who is Meher Baba? He will be universally known. People will feel His presence, will know of His presence and that is His manifestation. So when you talk of world wide manifestation, it means that people of the

194 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. world in general will know of Him. There will be no need to introduce Him. They will know who He is. That is what He told us. The Breaking of His Silence. On this subject Eruch Jessawala quoted Meher Baba saying, ‘ Each one of you is a cradle for Me.’ He says He comes to awaken — awaken whom? Who are we? We are nothing. He comes to awaken Himself in us. Break His own silence in us — we are nothing but the cradle. In every individual heart He breaks His silence. In every individual heart that adores Him and sings His praise and glory, I hear the breaking of His silence through my physical ears, and the whole world will hear it. Yes, wherever He goes. Wherever His silence is broken in one heart, and that heart travels from place to place, the world comes to know about it. Then there is another meaning to it. Baba said, ‘ When the word of My love breaks out of its silence and speaks in your hearts telling you who I really am, you will know that that is the real word you have always been longing to hear.’ There are many interpretations, these words will never give out the full meaning. It is just for one to experience it, that’s all. Even Aloba today says there will be a thunderous noise in the sky and the whole world will hear that there is some sound — that will be the breaking of His silence. Why should I say to Aloba, no it is not so. Am I right in that? No I don’t know myself. It is for every individual to interpret the words of Truth. We don’t know. Jesus said that He would be coming again, and people are still expecting Him to come again, yet there have been two Advents that have taken place since then. Now what to say to people and humanity, because they just want a sign from the clouds that He will come. Which are the clouds? So many times the clouds have come and so many times the clouds have gone. This is how He plays His game. I would like to add something to this topic of Baba breaking His silence myself. Baba said: ‘ If My silence does not speak, of what avail words.’ Although, I know that Meher Baba was silent for over forty-three years in the sense that literally He did not speak, yet to me in another sense He never seemed to be silent, because He was continually communicating with us very effectively by one means or another. It is as though His silence had two aspects; the literal and the symbolic. There was no problem understanding the literal aspect, but symbolically sometimes the two aspects were mixed up and became confusing. If we regard the meaning of ‘speaking’ as ‘communicating’, and ‘silence’ as ‘not communicating’, the symbolic meaning becomes clearer. He was continually communicating, but only with individuals and very small groups of people. With these individuals and small groups He was never silent. With the world in general He remained silent because they were not aware of His existence or being. When His messages are communicated to the world in general, they will come to know of His existence and being, then to the world in general He will break His silence. They will come to know of Him. He will communicate with them. Thus the breaking of His silence is closely linked to His manifestation and will take time. Beware of Snakes — Desires. Eruch Jessawala was asked this question: ‘Just before Meher Baba commenced His silence He told His close ones to “Beware of snakes, always carry a lamp with you”.’ What does this mean?’

Reflections. 195 Eruch replied, figuratively He said these things, it is all symbolic. Snakes mean our desires — things that imperceptibly enter into us and poison us. Carry a lamp with you all the time — that is the lamp of His love, His remembrance, His name — so that desires won’t harm you. Baba said, ‘ If you don’t have a lamp, and they bite you then I am helpless — you fall — you succumb. So always carry the lamp of My l o v e , M y n a m e , M y r e m e m b r a n c e , s o t h a t i t w i l l t h r o w l i g h t u p o n t h e situation, and you will know it to be what it is.’ Beware of it. Worse than the rattle snakes and the cobras are those snakes we harbour within ourselves. The abundance of our desires — however, we feel as if nothing is there. Yet all the time we are imbibing the poison from them. So we must beware of them. If instead of submitting to our desires, we think of Him, remember Him, repeat His name... ‘ do o n l y t h o s e a c t i o n s t h a t y o u w o u l d n o t h e s i t a t e t o d o i n M y p r e s e n c e ’ . . . then we rise above our desires in remembrance of Him. They become weaker and our love for Him becomes stronger. There are certain cultural differences between different peoples and we do not always understand why certain things are done in certain countries. It is very useful to have the opportunity to ask why certain things are done and to have the reasons explained to us. One person once asked Eruch about bowing down to Baba. Bowing to Meher Baba. Eruch explained: It was of course a privilege that sometimes Meher Baba permitted humanity to bow down to Him. It was a great dispensation — a rare type of dispensation —when He permitted humanity to bow down to His feet. What we mean by bowing down to His feet is that He being the Highest of the High and we being the lowest of the low — the most weak — we cannot offer Him anything, except offer our weaknesses to Him. And people, although they don’t realize what they do, yet it is innate in every human being to express his weakness before the Highest of the High. It behoves one to express one’s weaknesses, one’s shortcomings, before the Highest of the High. It is a mark of great humbleness in the presence of the Highest of the High. The physical manifestation of this is nothing but bowing down to Him in great reverence and homage, because He being the Highest of the High, condescended to descend onto the lowest of the low platform of this earth. Reality, descending into illusion, mingling with man in illusion. He comes down to our level, descends to the lowest level, so that we who are on this level may have the benefit of Reality manifesting in human form and knowing fully well, inadvertently not advertently, inadvertently — something happens within us, in our heart, because He touches our heart. Reality touches the heart. Heart testifies to His being in our midst and our automatic reaction to this is that we just humble ourselves before the Highest of the High, the Greatest of the Great, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. We, being His slaves. We, being His puppets. So bowing down is nothing but a manifestation of our homage to the Highest of the High. His feet are considered to be most sacred to us, we cannot dare to approach His head or the other parts of His anatomy. His body is something very sacred, very holy. We are just a particle, a dust particle in comparison to His body and it is but natural for the dust to settle on His feet. This is where the dust can approach the Highest of the High. That is how inwardly, innately man bows down when he comes to know of it. Not in the literal sense of knowing,

196 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. but it is inborn in every man who is coming closer and closer towards Reality to express his feelings thus by bowing down to His personality when He is in our midst. ‘ Now that He is not in the body, how can we continue to do this?’ he was asked. Eruch replied: Well then what we must do is to take recourse to the things that were associated with His body: just like His seat; just like the tomb where His physical remains are resting. So we go there and bow down to that. Even that is very helpful. Even that is a blessing that He allows His physical remains to stay on the earth. We approach His cloak and kiss it. We approach these very sandals that He wore, that His physical form had association with. We fondle the hair of His, that we have collected from the combings. We get thrilled to have the touch of the coat that He wore, the robe, the sadra as we call it. These are sacred relics. This very thing gives us an idea as to how very sacred and how most sublime to have Him in His physical frame. If these relics are so sacred to us, how much more sacred is His being amongst us. But this can only enter into the heads and hearts of that section of humanity which has come closer to Reality. Not all the world will ever realize this all at once, but it is a gradual progression as cross-section after cross-section of humanity progresses towards Reality, incarnation after incarnation, one begins to learn this, one has a little clue to this, an inkling to this. Pilgrimage. Eruch was also asked by a young Baba Lover, ‘ Why make a pilgrimage to Baba’s tomb? Isn’t Baba everywhere? Can’t we bow down to Him in our hearts?’ Eruch replied: Yes that’s very good, why can’t you bow down to Him in your hearts, where it’s His real abode? He resides in our hearts. But have you permitted Him to reside in your hearts? He says that He feels very shy of strangers that are in your hearts, and we don’t find Him there as tangible as we would want to. We are barren so to say. We don’t have Him — we don’t feel Him in our hearts, and therefore we look hither and thither for His physical presence. Not having His physical presence then we go to the places that His physical presence was associated with. That’s at Meherabad... Meherazad... at the tomb... at Myrtle Beach Centre in America... or at Avatar’s Abode in Australia, where His physical presence was — where He trod upon the earth. You know what happens when a person presumes that he knows how to swim across the ocean. He knows swimming, he is an expert at swimming. But the ocean is so vast that even the expert swimmer who dares to cross a channel gets tired sometimes, and when he is totally exhausted it is said that he even looks for a straw that floats on the ocean to cling to it. That is how we cling to the relics and remnants of the Great One, who time and again descends on earth. He, in His great compassion came to us, it behoves us to go to Him even though He has dropped His body. And where can we go to Him except to the places that are associated with His physical presence. That is why it is very important to pay visits to places where He has been or He made His abode, or He stayed, or where there was certain universal or spiritual work done by Him. It is good to say that He resides in our hearts for those who have the actual experience of it, then there is no need for that one to go anywhere. But when you are weak and when one knows that one cannot find Him in his heart, then he looks elsewhere... he has to go somewhere... he goes on wandering... he goes on kissing the very dust where He trod.

Reflections. 197 These are the little steps, towards His abode in one’s heart where He actually resides. But without doing these pilgrimages you won’t reach the heart where He is. These are the essential beginnings, these are the steps that will lead you to His abode in your heart. Later on there is no need, but to begin with it is essential. Without them, it won’t be possible for you. The journeying towards Him is necessary, whether it be inward or outward. Would you say particularly journeying to Meher Baba’s tomb?’ he was asked. Eruch replied: Of course, that is the most dynamic spot of His Advent, His tomb, definitely. Why I say that it is essential for every person who is in search of Truth to pay a visit to the tomb of the God-Man is because the God-Man in His recent Advent, Avatar Meher Baba Himself, has given us a guide line, when in His physical presence He led His close ones right up the hill to where His tomb is situated. It was built thirty years before He dropped His physical body and He had selected that spot. He said that after He dropped His body His remains would remain and rest there. He led His close ones right to the threshold of the tomb and made each one bow down to it saying, let it be the place of pilgrimage for the whole world. What greater assurance can we have than this — His own words? He wanted us to pay a visit to His place — His resting place. In 1954 He said that after seventy years this place will become the place of world pilgrimage where people from all over the world will congregate to pay their homage to His body which rests there. Prayers. Eruch was asked what Baba said about praying and prayers. Here is his reply: All the time pray to Me — it is good to pray. But the prayer that reaches Me is not a long list of your wants. That will never reach Me. Just My Name — even if it be just My Name it will reach Me. But then man’s heart is such that when it pours out — it pours out w ith m any w ords, those w ords help you to glorify Me. And even if there is a . long, long list of all the glories that you attribute t o M e , t h a t w i l l r e a c h M e . B u t w h e n y o u c r a v e f o r s o m e t h i n g , w a n t something, and you ask Me as your prayer — that prayer does not reach Me. But if you ask Me and don’t expect an answer, then that prayer reaches Me. Baba said that one day He would give us a prayer that would be the best prayer for us to pray. Then one day He gave us this prayer, it is called the Master’s Prayer, it is also known as the Universal Prayer. You will find in this prayer there is nothing but hailing Him, glorifying Him. He also gave us the Prayer of Repentance. So these two prayers were given by Him. At the time there happened an incident which made me feel very happy that it occurred, because through it happening we obtained an assurance from Him for those who recite the prayers now. He gave that prayer, it was first taken down and then translated into the various languages. Then we found to our surprise that when we recited the prayer that He had given us to recite to the Lord, He Himself would participate as if He was one of us. Participate in the real sense, mind you. We may not be participating properly because our minds may be somewhere else at the time, even though we were physically present. But to us it appeared that He was fully participating — that was the feeling we had. He would stand for the prayer, then everybody else would stand. He would be all attention, calm and within Himself as the prayer was being recited. This is the way that it was done; I had to recite the prayer. I tried my best to learn the prayer by heart, by reading over and over what I wanted to recite. On many occasions and for

198 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. several years I tried my best to learn the prayer by heart. I did learn it. Then one day I emboldened myself to recite it before Him. I recited the first line and then I completely forgot the rest — I was so immersed in glorifying Him. Baba said, stop, go and get the book and read it from the book every time. I still have the same prayer book that Baba used to handle and I read from each time. He would stand up and then we all would stand for the prayers. I would recite the prayers. The Master’s Prayer would be read first and then after a halt of a minute or so He would signal to read out the Repentance Prayer — this is the sign for repentance. So I would read it out and He would all the time softly slap His cheeks with the palm of His hand — I repent, I repent, I repent — It means whatever is in the prayer, He repents. I still don’t know the prayer by heart. Then one day He told us to say, amen, at the end of the Repentance Prayer. Then as the years passed by, He would very frequently ask us to read out the prayers. Not every day, sometimes it would be every day for a month, sometimes it would be every day for a week, then there would be a gap of four or five days and then another week —something like that. Whenever He wished that the prayers be said, they were said. He would tell us to wash our hands and be prepared for the prayers. He would also have His hands and face washed before the prayers. Now as the years passed by and as He grew weaker and weaker — I don’t know whether you have heard that during the last seclusion time He would thump His thigh with His fist all the time while He was closeted alone in His room. He had to do it, He said, to keep the link of Reality with illusion, otherwise He would give up His ghost — He would pass away. So in order to keep that link He would thump His thigh with His fist — that is the understanding He gave us. I don’t know what it all means. But then what happened was that He lost all the elasticity in His thighs and they became like wooden blocks, really, literally. I have felt my own thighs when I was a good athlete, they were very tight, but there was also elasticity there. But His thighs had no elasticity. So it became very difficult for Him to stand, He had to balance His body on His legs and two people used to hold Him up. But still He would participate in the prayers by standing up even although He had to be supported. Again time passed by and He continued participating like that. Then one day He told me to make it quicker — read the prayer quickly, I can’t stand for long. So I used to read out the prayer faster. After all it was reading for me. What was it to pray to Him in His presence — it was reading for me. So I read out faster. Next day He said, faster still, can you not read faster? I said, Yes I can; so I read faster, faster and faster. Four or five days passed, and the speed went on increasing to a fantastic degree. One day as I read the prayers, my own words started echoing in my mind as I read nonstop, no commas, no periods, no pauses. The echoing of my words reminded me of a train rushing through a railway station non-stop. When this thought came to me, I burst into laughter in the midst of the prayer in front of all, during this solemn occasion. Baba was there. He didn’t say anything. Then I controlled myself with great difficulty and continued reading the prayer. When all the prayers were finished, after some little time Baba looked at me and said, ‘ What made you laugh?’ I said the fantastic speed with which You wanted me to recite the prayer. The very thought of it was so ridiculous, it was just a reaction, I don’t know why, but all of a sudden the speed with which I was reading, reminded me of a train rushing through a station platform at great speed without stopping.

Reflections. 199 He said, ‘ You are a mad man, you don’t realize the import of it. You know how difficult it is for M e to stand up or to do anything standing, but still I participate in that prayer. It is not the way you recite the prayer that is of any i m p o r t a n c e . T h e importance is that I am physically participating in the prayer, so that when p o s t e r i t y w i l l r e p e a t i t a n d r e c i t e i t , p o s t e r i t y w i l l benefit by it — whosoever recites it will be benefited. My participating in it now, will help any individual who recites it later on.’ I now find that I cannot say the Master’s Prayer without thinking of this incident where Meher Baba suffered so much while He stood in His weakened condition to participate in this prayer, just for the benefit of posterity. I find that these thoughts of Him are with me, whenever I recite this prayer. Meditation Meher Baba said, ‘Love and direct relatedness with

the Avatar is the

highroad of all roads to inner developm ent and w hile I am in the body and f o r s o m e t i m e a f t e r I d r o p M y b o d y t h e p o t e n t i a l f o r l o v e a n d d i r e c t relationship is there and should be used. ‘B u t o n e d a y a s t h e T r u t h a n d t h e P r e s e n c e o f t h e A v a t a r b e g i n s t o diminish, then humanity will have to use lesser, secondary techniques and I must provide for that time and so I have given out these extensive discourses on meditation. ‘ B u t d o n o t m i s t a k e M e , b e c a u s e m e a n w h i l e , i t i s a d i s t r a c t i o n o f y o u r time and energies to use meditation.’

1

One Birth and One Death or Reincarnation? Meher Baba had among his mandali, people from many different religions. One day when He was with a group of His mandali He was asked by a follower if the Christians were right in believing that there was only one birth and one death. He replied: ‘ Yes, the Moslems, Christians and Zoroastrians are right, there is only one birth and one death.’ Hearing this made His Moslem, Christian and Zoroastrian followers very happy to know that their teachings were correct. But not so His Vedantist followers. They had been taught that there was reincarnation. So at the earliest opportunity one of them asked Baba,

Are the Vedantists right in

believing in reincarnation.’ Meher Baba replied: ‘ Yes, the Vedantists are right, there is such a thing as reincarnation.’ This made the Vedantists very happy to know that their teachings were correct. However, it now raised a new question — how could both these opposite viewpoints be correct. Baba was then asked, How can there be only one birth and one death and yet be reincamation?’

2

Then Meher Baba further explained: ‘ You are first a child, then you grow old a n d d r o p t h e b o d y , b u t y o u n e v e r d i e , a n d n e v e r w e r e b o r n . I n t h e E a s t , Vedantists believe in reincarnation, in innumerable births and deaths until one attains G odhood.

The

M oslem s

believe

in

one

birth

only

and

one

death

only. The

Christians and the Zoroastrians the same. All are right. But Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed and Zoroaster all meant what I mean by real birth and real death. I say you are born once and die once. ‘All the so called births and deaths are only sleeps and wakings. The difference between sleep and death is that when you sleep you awake and

200 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. f i n d y o u r s e l f i n t h e s a m e b o d y ; b u t a f t e r d e a t h y o u a w a k e i n a d i f f e r e n t body. You never die. Only the blessed ones die and become one with God.’3

Photograph by courtesy of Giff Alston. Looking over the farmhouse to the ocean at Avatar's Abode, 1958.

Photograph taken in 1985, by courtesy of Ken Petrie. Meher Baba said that Avatar’s Abode will become a place of pilgrimage.

CHAPTER 17 The Significance of Meher Baba’s New Life. For the serious seeker of Truth — God — there are many avenues and none of them are overcrowded at any one particular time. Traditionally they usually require one to renounce the world, and undertake great austerities and so on. There are few people who undertake this journey and the number of people who successfully conclude it is far fewer still. However, it is for such serious seekers of God that I include this chapter. I am not inferring that I know the way, but I am sure that Meher Baba does, and for such serious seekers I am sure that His New Life is the most appropriate way for this age and for all future time. It was my experience that Meher Baba always seemed to be so all-knowing. I felt sure that He didn’t make mistakes. I would not understand why He did certain things at the time, but I knew that everything He did was all done to a plan and if one persisted in trying to find out the meaning, it would eventually unfold in the course of time. However, one aspect of His ministery that I did not understand was His New Life. He had spent so much time and effort in this New Life. I realized that it must have some great significance, but I didn’t know what it was, and I could not find anyone who could tell me what it was. His New Life started in 1949, before I had met Him or had even heard about Him, and it was not until I went to India after He dropped the physical body that I heard in detail about His New Life. But even then, what it’s real significance was, still remained a mystery to me. However, I felt sure that it must have a very great significance. Meher Baba’s New Life was commenced on 16th October 1949, and it never ended. There was an end to the wandering phase of the New Life, but the New Life itself did not end. The fact that He said that His New Life is endless and that it would continue even if there were none to live it, is very significant. It emphasizes the importance of His New Life for posterity. Even today some years after Meher Baba dropped His physical body, the real significance of His New Life is not generally realized. It is said that the wise speak in parables. We know that the Avatar, in the person of Jesus, spoke in parables. At that time even His own disciples did not know the meaning of the parables until Jesus later explained the meaning to them. The significance of Meher Baba’s New Life is that it is a living parable. In this instance Meher Baba did not speak in a parable — He lived the parable. Had He spoken this parable it could have been given in minutes, or at the most in hours, by Him giving words. Even in His silence He could have given words by the alphabet board or by gestures, but He did not choose to do this. He chose to live the New Life and to give a living parable to humanity. It took Him years to do this, during which time He underwent much suffering and many hardship. He taught by example and not by mere words. Because He lived His New Life it is an actual concrete thing, something that really existed and still exists today. His companionship is still available to any seeker of Truth who has the sincerity and daring to join Him in His New Life. His New Life still exists as a concrete thing, it is not just an idea expressed in words. It is God offering His companionship to any seeker of Truth who is prepared to join Him while he makes his journey. M e h e r B a b a o n c e s a i d , ‘T h e r o l e , w h i c h G o d h a s w i l l e d f o r M e , h a s h a d several phases. The pre-realization ordinary state, the old life state of realized divinity, the New Life state of perfect humility and intensive seeking of God as Truth through the achievement of manonash (annihilation of the

202 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. limiting mind) and the tripartite Free Life, which emerged after the attainment of manonash, have all happened by God's Will.’

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At the commencement of His New Life and during the wandering phase, His own disciples themselves did not know the significance of His New Life. They just wanted to be in His presence, and to share His companionship no matter what the hardships were. Meher Baba’s description of the conditions in His New Life would still shock most people today. It was to be a life of hopelessness and helplessness, a life of wandering, a life of begging, a life without expectation of any reward, spiritual or material, and so on. On the surface, all these things are the opposite to what one would normally expect to seek in life. To suggest that it is a good example of how one should live one’s life sounds insane. Let us first examine the living parable of Meher Baba’s New Life and then its meaning. The conditions of the New Life were presented to His companions and their decision whether to join Him in His New Life or not was to be in the form of a single word — either Yes or No, without qualification. His New Life was to be a life of hopelessness and helplessness, a life of wandering, a life of begging, a life of simplicity, truthfulness, honesty, no maligning, no backbiting. Without expectation of rewards, spiritual or material. Requiring His companions to carry out all H is orders, good, bad or extraordinary — cheerfully. To share M eher B aba’s companionship all the time and to always have a cheerful countenance in His presence —which was all the time. He relinquished the old life and embraced the New Life. He gave away His property and His possessions and left on His wanderings. This was external renunciation. I will quote from Eruch Jessawala one of Meher Baba’s disciples who accompanied Him in His New Life. ‛Initially there was a short training period. In the New Life He became our companion and He also became a guide to us, to train us. He would overlook our weaknesses and shortcomings during the training period. However He said, “Once the training period is o v e r t h e r e w o n ’ t b e a n y q u e s t i o n o f i t , e i t h e r y o u b e i n M y N e w L i f e o r y o u go back to your old life”.’ Then there was an example for posterity of Dr. Daulat Sing who was sent away from Baba to live His New Life away from Baba’s physical presence. But he still had to keep Meher Baba as his constant companion even while not in His physical presence. This was harder, but he was the one used to illustrate for posterity that it was possible. There was the phase of langoti — where they were stripped of everything except a small triangular piece of cloth to cover themselves. There was the wandering phase where they wandered from place to place. There was the begging phase where they begged for their food. There was the phase of manonash — annihilation of the mind Then there was The Free Life, which has three stages: 1. 2.

During which time bindings dominate freedom — during this period a personal disaster that had been foretold by Meher Baba took place in the form of an auto accident while crossing the American Continent causing Him through facial injuries, a broken leg and a broken arm, much mental and physical suffering.

2.

During which time freedom dominated bindings — He recovered from His injuries.

3. Both freedom and bindings are consumed in the fire of Divine Love which destroys the very basis of the illusion of duality and all its paraphernalia.

The Significance of Meher Baba’s New Life. 203

Well what did it all mean? What is the symbolic meaning of the New Life of Meher Baba? I was in India some years after Meher Baba had dropped His physical body and I asked Eruch Jessawala about the significance of Meher Baba’s New Life. It seemed to me that He wouldn’t live His New Life without some real purpose, and we didn’t seem to be aware of the real purpose. So I asked Eruch what was the real significance of Meher Baba’s New Life. To get the right answer one must ask the right question. Apparently, I had asked the right question because I was very satisfied with the answer that Eruch outlined. When he had finished he said, these are the ideas, it is up to you to clothe them in words. The following is the explanation of the significance of Meher Baba’s New Life from the ideas outlined by Eruch. I have clothed the ideas in words using his words or quotes from Meher Baba wherever possible. The Significance of Meher Baba’s New Life. Meher Baba’s New Life was a synthesis between the traditional way of seeking God and the way that He wanted us to seek God in the present age and in the future. Traditionally there is renunciation, wandering, begging for food and so on. For example He went through the traditional form of renunciation — external renunciation. He gave away His home and possessions, but this was only symbolic of the real renunciation — internal renunciation which means the control of desires at their very source, so that the mind does not fall a prey to the demands of lust, greed and anger. This does not mean that one shall cease at once to have such thoughts. This is impossible, as such thoughts will continue to be troublesome as long as the sanskaras from which they arise are part of one’s being. Meher Baba said for the West in particular external renunciation is inadvisable and impracticable. It should be internal and of the mind from the start. One should live in the world, perform all ligitimate duties and yet feel mentally detached from everything. One should be in the world, but not of it.

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So first and foremost you have to relinquish the old life and embrace the New Life. Likewise today when Baba is not in the body, for this time He said that even if there is nobody to lead the New Life, the New Life itself will be there. His New Life — not anybody’s new life. The key factor in Meher Baba’s New Life, is His companionship. Now what guidelines has He set? First and foremost the one who has the fervour, the longing, the thirst to find the Truth, must relinquish his old life and embrace the New Life. First there must be a resolve, there must be determination. ‘There must be no compromise, either you say, “Yes” or you say, “No” to My New Life.’ That's what Baba told His companions. The determination is such that only one word is the affirmation. Naturally an aspirant who thirsts for Truth says, ‘To hell with the old life, from today onwards I will be in The New Life,’ and he changes his ways. Baba has given us the guide line that there should be some period of training. Although your determination is so firm that you embrace His New Life, there would be a sort of instability in the very beginning. So Baba gives a little scope to the aspirant by saying, let that period be a training period in which your weaknesses and short comings will be guided and moulded and shaped properly and made into strengths for you in My New Life. Now that the aspirant is determined to leave his old life behind and start Meher Baba’s New Life, what should he do? How should he start? Not just discard his clothes, not renounce his family, not go away from his home or anything of that sort. He should find out

204 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. the guide lines from the training period that Meher Baba has given. What did Baba say? What did He do? He remained a companion to them, and they remained companions to Him. So the first thing to do after the resolve is to become His companion. You strive to be His companion in the training period. Baba said that if you want to keep Me as your constant companion you should remember Me in your everyday life. You should remember Me while you sit, eat, drink, move about, do this or do that. Bring Me into your conversation, think of Me, all this starts in the training period. Also in the training period one must practice to ‘always keep a cheerful countenence in My presence.’ He is present everywhere, therefore one must always be cheerful under all circumstances and one must make Him one’s constant companion through remembrance. He is present everywhere, but one must become aware of His presence. When one thinks of Him, remembers Him, then He is consciously present within one’s mind — that is the presence that is required. Not the omnipresence of God, that presence of God of which we are usually unconscious and unaware. Then there was the phase of langoti — the life in Langoti, where we discarded so many unnecessary things. What Meher Baba did was He made us take off all our clothes, absolutely, and just keep a little triangular piece of cloth like a nappy. You may call it a loincloth, but to me a loin-cloth is so big. It was not that big, just a small triangular piece of cloth, like a nappy. This signifies that in His New Life one should not try to collect things and accumulate them, don’t try to hold onto things and get attached to them. Don’t burden yourself with unnecessary things. If you go in for collecting things and matching this thing with that thing, life becomes so complicated. Just lead a simple life. What you need is just a triangular piece to cover yourself. That is symbolic of the little that you need for your subsistence and existence here on this earth. It also means shedding all things that burden you, desires or cravings or anything that burdens you in the gross sense. Then there is the life of wandering — and you start to wander. And wandering need not be physical wandering. There is your mental wandering. There is a wandering within your heart. A longing to be His. I must make Him my constant companion, and you go after Him all the time. The mental wandering and the wandering of the heart must be done with Meher Baba as the companion — in His Presence. The New life has started now, you are being His companion and you are going about thinking of Him.The next step, is to start begging. He doesn’t want you to go out and beg in the cities and villages. To live an unproductive life and sponge on the charity of others. Just as we begged in the gross world for our food, what you must do is to beg of people, beg of all the incidents of life, beg of nature to give you some food — food for the soul. Beg of anybody, everybody you see. Wherever you go, just put forth your hand. Don’t be arrogant. Don’t say, ‘Oh, I know everything, I don’t need this.’ Remain such that you are always hungering for truth, and that you need something in your bowl — your begging bowl. That is, try to collect the honey of the love of God from all quarters. Wherever you are, whoever you approach, just listen, just be quiet and try to gather all the honey. Whether it be from Baba people, or from a Baba book, or from a dog, or an insect, or a bird, or from anything — anywhere. Go out and gather all these things, and always have the attitude of collecting things in your begging bowl to appease your hunger, and to appease your thirst. It is having the correct attitude that matters so that you learn from life itself. The

The significance of Meher Baba’s New Life. 205 wise man can learn from anybody and anything because he has the correct attitude. That is how you go from wandering to begging. The training period, then langoti, then wandering, then begging, and in all these phases what you must do is to completely become His companion. Keep company with Him. Without that there is no New Life. And the most important thing that Baba said was that whatever orders I give, good or bad, you must keep a cheerful front. So whatever situations or circumstances you are put in, or you find yourself in, you are to face them and face them properly with the right attitude. Try your best to carry out your responsibilities. Don’t be negligent about it. You have to be very dilligent in facing the challenges He puts. But that doesn’t mean if the challenges cannot be overcome, if somehow or other they ride over you, that you should put on a long horselike face. You are to put on a cheerful front all the time, facing the challenge and trying to overcome it, without expectation of reward. If you think that you are leading His New Life and will be spiritually benefited — if you do that, no spiritual benefit accrues. In His New Life you have to shed all expectations of physical, spiritual and material rewards and returns. And likewise in your day to day life a certain attitude is required... who cares for the next day... this day has passed this way... yesterday passed so-so... and who cares for tomorrow... likewise you continue. And you don’t worry, you are free from worry. Worry is so dissipating, so destructive. Just accompany your companion and don’t worry, be dependent upon Him. Living a life of hopelessness. What are hopes? Are they not desires? We all have needs, but wants are different to needs. Are not our hopes the things we want, the things we desire — our desires? Is not hopelessness really desirelessness in this sense? So live a life of hopelessness — desirelessness. What is the life of helplessness? It is when in obedience to Meher Baba’s orders we become helpless in life’s situations. In obedience to Him, if we keep Him ever present with us, and always remain cheerful in His presence, then if someone strikes us, or insults us, or abuses us, we are helpless. We cannot become angry or we won’t remain cheerful in the presence of Meher Baba, our constant companion. In our obedience to Him we become helpless. Then there comes a stage afterwards, at the end of the wandering. People ask when did Baba’s New Life end? Baba said that it will never end. But they say there was an end to it. Yes, there was an end to it, an end to the wandering, and the wandering ended soon after the manonash period was over. So your mental wanderings, and all your desires of heart, your feelings, stop there. The wandering stopped with the annihilation of the mind. So you have to direct yourself to continue to keep company with Him till He leads you to the manonash phase. After the manonash period comes the Free Life. In the first phase of the Free Life, bindings dominate freedom. In the second phase of the Free Life, freedom dominates bindings. In the third phase both freedom and bindings are consumed in the fire of Divine Love, which destroys the very basis of illusion of duality and all its paraphernalia — all the desires, the sanskaras, the rites and rituals, the ceremonies, all go. There is nothing left, you are your own True Self. All the rest is put in the fire. This gives birth to The Life and then you are Free.

206 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. So then spread, give out, the fire... share the fire with others... you are then able to set fire to so many hearts. Meher Baba said, ‘My sole concern in the Firey Free Life... will be with the Divine Truth of My realization, which I would like to share with those who seek it. The consuming of freedom and bindings (which is characteristic of the Firey Free Life) means that there is a complete blending of the God-state and the man-state, so that one does not live through opposition to the other and there can be no question of the one encroaching upon the province of the other.’

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The significance of Meher Baba’s New Life is that it is a living parable for the true seekers of God. Meher Baba did not speak in a parable — He lived the parable. The true seekers of God are certainly in a minority, one might even say they are very rare. But if and when a person eventually reaches this stage Meher Baba has left a rare gift as a legacy for such a one in the form of His New Life. About His New Life Meher Baba said: ‘… … this N ew Life is endless and even after M y physical death, w ill be kept alive by those who live the life of complete renunciation of falsehood, lies, hatred, anger, greed and lust; and who, to accomplish all this, do no lustful actions, do no harm to anyone, do no backbiting, do not seek material possessions or power, who accept no homage, neither covet honour nor shun disgrace, and fear no one and nothing; by those who rely wholly and solely on God and who love God purely for the sake of loving, who believe in the lovers of God, and in the reality of Manifestation and yet do not expect any spiritual or material reward, who do not let go the hand of Truth, and who, w i t h o u t b e i n g u p s e t b y c a l a m i t i e s , b r a v e l y a n d w h o l e h e a r t e d l y f a c e a l l hardships with 100% cheerfulness and give no importance to caste, creed and religious ceremonies. ‘This New Life will live by itself eternally, even if there is no one to live it.’

Photograph by courtesy of Ken Petrie. The meeting hall at Avatar’s Abode, 1985.

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C H A P T E R

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Looking Towards the Future. Initially I had been surprised to discover that the people in the group who had not met Meher Baba physically before, but had travelled to India for the 1969 darshan, had felt Meher Baba’s presence very strongly at Guruprasad, just the same as I had, even although He was not there physically. This brought home to me that things had not changed very much with the dropping of His body. His presence could still be experienced by humanity, and if new people wished to do so they could still love, obey and serve Him. This made me think about the future, and of the people who were to come later. What should they do? Over the years I have made many trips to India on pilgrimage to Meher Baba’s tomb, and also to visit His mandali seeking answers to the many questions that affect people’s relationship with Meher Baba and God. During these visits I met many young people from different parts of the world, who had been drawn to Meher Baba and were there seeking the answer to the question of how they can love and obey Him now that He is no longer in the body. It would seem to me that the pattern that Meher Baba laid down for our group to follow while He was in the body, is still a very good pattern to be followed by any person wanting to come closer to God, having Meher Baba as their Spiritual Master. Most of us in the group had very little external communication with Him and His instructions to us were usually of a general nature and for all, not specifically for an individual. For this very reason they would be applicable to all people who wish to have Meher Baba as their Spiritual Master today, now that He is no longer in the body. These same instructions were also given to the Baba lovers in India, America and other places. But because so much other external activity associated with Meher Baba was usually going on in both India and America the pattern is more easily seen in Australia, because of our isolation from other Meher Baba external activities. It would be appropriate to mention here about living Spiritual Masters. I myself sought to have a living Spiritual Master and I was very fortunate that Meher Baba was the one that I met and followed. It is normal with Spiritual Masters after they drop their body, that their power remains at their tomb, but although their power is there, they do not have the authority to use that power, they only have that authority during their physical lifetime. In the case of the Avatar, however, this is not so and He is unique in this regard. God always has absolute power and also the authority to use it, whether He is in the body or not. It is His normal state not to be in the body, and when He returns to this normal state after the Advent He still has His absolute power and the authority to use it. He is still approachable through the Personality and the Name used during the Advent, and through remembrance of the physical Form, so He can be one’s Spiritual Master even when not in the body. For this reason I will list Meher Baba’s general instructions to us, for those people who may be interested in obeying them. Knowing what I know now, if I had not met Him personally, this is what I would do. I have included additional information on how to carry out these instructions that I have learned mainly from His mandali.

208 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. His general instructions to us were: 1. Think of Me 2. Love Me 3. Obey Me 4. Repeat My Name 5. Hold on to My daaman 6. Do not take drugs unless prescribed by a medical practitioner for a specific medical treatment. Thinking of Him is not so much a formal meditation, but more of a remembrance. Meditation is usually structured and for a fixed time whereas remembrance can be at any time while one is even doing other things. He would always want us to be active people carrying out our responsibilities at work, in the home and in the community. But performing these actions for Him and not for ourselves, and leaving the results to Him. I will give here a quotation from Meher Baba about work that I think is appropriate. Work. Do whatever needs to be done, but do it as a spiritual being. A s o n e w h o k n o w s h e i s d i v i n e b y n a t u r e a n d u n l i m i t e d with the whole of life in essence. Do it as if you are doing it for Me or for God. Do it with equal consideration for the interests of all concerned, for God is equally in each. Do it with utmost concentration, yet with utter detatchment for the results of action. Leave the fruit of action to Me or to God. Do it as if it were the most important thing in the universe, yet let it be destroyed, or ignored, or ridiculed without concern, or let it be praised without elation. Leave the response to Me or to God. Do it, in short, as if you were not doing it at all, but as if I or God were doing it through you.

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How does one think of Him? How does one remember Him? How does one love Him? I was in India on one of my visits when I heard Eruch Jessawala relate a story that Meher Baba once told before a vast group of people, it was on how to love God. How to Love God. Eruch said: We again go back to the days when Meher Baba used to give His darshan to the public. On one such occasion when there were thousands of people around Him, He said, I have com e here to give the sam e old m essage — LO VE G O D . There is no o t h e r m e s s a g e t h a t I c a n g i v e y o u . I t i s m y a n c i e n t t r a d i t i o n a l m e s s a g e — LOVE GOD — and by doing so, everything is attained. ‘But how should we love God, whom we don’t know, whom we haven’t seen?

Looking Toward the Future. 209 How?’ Baba was asked this question by one of the audience. So Baba said: ‘Well, how did you happen to love your wife? Did anybody teach you? ‘No, but I saw her and I fell in love with her,’ replied the one in the audience. Baba said: Oh! You saw her and fell in love with her. So that is how one in the world falls in love with another one in the world. In the world before one loves somebody, first one has to see that somebody. In My world when you have to fall in love with Me, you have not to see Me first, there is another way of loving Me. But first you will have to observe certain other things in order to fall in love with Me. The man of the world first sees the woman of his lifetime and then he falls in love with her. After he falls in love with her, then he commences to constantly think of her with all his mind, all his attention. All his activities are centred around thinking of her, wanting to please her. What can he do for h e r ? H o w w i l l s h e b e h a p p y w i t h h i m ? H e g o e s o n t h i n k i n g a b o u t h e r , remembering her, after having fallen in love with her. Is that so? Baba asked the crowd. One in the crowd said: ‘Yes, that’s how it is. We see a person, then we fall in love and then we start thinking about that person.’ Then Baba said: If you want to fall in love with Me, it is just the opposite, diametrically opposite. First you have to start remembering Me, thinking about Me. Then later comes love and lastly, comes sight of Me. That’s how you fall in love with Me. But how can you do that? How will you remember Me — how will you think of Me, now that I am in your midst? B e g i n w i t h s o m e t h i n g t h a t w i l l r e m i n d y o u o f M e . N o w t h a t t h e r e i s modern technology and you have pictures of Me, at any time you can bring to m em ory how I look. You can have pictures in your room s, little cards in your wallet. Have a Baba button on your chest. This is how you begin, just as a child begins to learn the alphabet — to fall in love with the alphabet. The child goes on seeing the pictures of the letters, goes on trying to transcribe the letters over and over again. Baba then tells the crowd, You begin by remembering Me through pictures. S o m e t h i n g t h a t w i l l r e m i n d y o u o f M e , s o m e t h i n g c o n c r e t e . M o d e r n technology affords you pictures, a photograph or a painting. When you have a picture of Me as soon as you see the picture, you are reminded of Me. So in order to remember Me as frequently as possible have a picture in your drawing room, in your dining room, in your bedroom, in your toilet, in your wash room. Wherever you turn you see My picture, so that you are reminded of Me. You remember Me by looking at My picture; begin with that. Then when one has My pictures all around, even while he is sitting on his toilet pot he sees Baba’s picture and he is reminded of Baba. This is good, but then the heart is not satisfied, the mind is not satisfied by just remembering Me in this way. It needs more, all the time more; it wants to have a more concrete thing by which to remember Me. Then Baba said. Turn your attention to answering such questions as: Who is He? What does He say? What has He been telling us? So you go through the books that have been printed. You go to the libraries for books, or go to your friends

210 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. and ask them for books to read, and you collect all the information that you c a n g a t h e r . A f t e r h a v i n g t h e a s s u r a n c e o f r e m e m b e r i n g M e t h r o u g h M y pictures, now you have the assurance of remembering Me through My words. Now you remember Me through My words and you go on increasing all the information that you can have on Me and about Me and yet still you are not satisfied with that remembrance also. So you go a step further. You want t o r e m e m b e r M e m o r e , with more vitality, with more force behind your memory, so you try to find p e o p l e w h o w e r e a r o u n d M e . A p a r t f r o m t h e words that were from Me or by Me, you now try to trace people who were around Me. You go to them, contact them, ask them about Me. Now this is how you will remember Me more. While you are contacting some of these people, in order to contact them y o u g o t o t h e p l a c e s w h e r e I h a v e b e e n . L i k e M e h e r a b a d , M e h e r a z a d , Ahmednagar, Dhera Dun, Myrtle Beach Centre in America, or Avatar’s Abode in Australia, or which ever place you know that I have visited. You bring back to your memory My visits to these places. Then after contacting people at these places, you start to cherish in your memory the things that I have used, and you would want to go to the places where they are located. At these places you will find the seats that I have used, the sandals that I have used, the clothes that I have worn, and so you go in for doing that. But then the heart is not satisfied with only this and the mind wants more. S o y o u r e c a ll w h a t y o u h a v e g a t h e r e d , r e c a ll a ll t h e s i t e s t h a t y o u h a ve v i s i t e d , y o u r e c a l l a l l t h e t h i n g s t h a t y o u h a v e p e r s o n a l l y t o u c h e d a n d personally fondled that I have used. This leads you to remembering Me more and more — more often and more frequently. You have asked me this question so I am answering and telling you how to love Me. This is how to begin to love Me, by remembering Me, by trying to find out the ways and means how to remember Me as often as possible, as frequently as possible. But then your heart and mind aid you, and My grace is always there to help you to come closer and closer to Me, so that one day you may have My love. Baba continued to speak to the crowd on how to love God. He said: Your heart and mind are still not satisfied with just this. Then you begin to remember Me within yourself; by withdrawing your attention from all outward attractions you try to concentrate within yourself. T h e n w i t h a c o o l g l a s s o f w a t e r t h a t y o u d r i n k , y o u r e m e m b e r M e . I t brings back to your memory, all the tours that I have been going on in the hot summer months. Suppose it is summer and a cool glass of water that you drink appeases your thirst, and it also brings back the memory of My long t i r i n g j o u r n e y s o n m a s t t o u r s t h a t y o u h a v e r e a d a b o u t . N o w t h i s remembrance holds you more than j u s t s e e i n g t h e p i c t u r e s o r b e i n g i n company of people who were there, going to this or that site or anything else. So now you have created a different world around you, remembering Me. You remember Me in a different perspective. Now a cool glass of water will remind you of Me. How I had been in the summer months. How a glass of

Looking Towards the Future. 211 water was so helpful to Me How the thirst that I had at that time must have been quenched by a cool glass of water — My own creation. Then we go further, the food that you eat — with every morsel that you have, you feel so satisfied, you remember Me. All this remembrance is now indirect. Although I am the Creator of all this, you remember Me through the water that you drink, through the food that you eat, also the cool breeze that blows and soothes you. Then there are all the variegated colours that confront you; that you see; they please your vision and eyesight. You not only admire the colours, but the variations of colour that are there in creation. You think, What a mighty Creator He is! He has not only created just the green for us, but the shades of green that soothe us. Then the colours that are in the flowers, not only the red, but the different shades of red; and then the fragrances of the flowers. S o a p a r t f r o m l o v i n g G o d a s G o d H i m s e l f , o r r e m e m b e r i n g G o d , a s G o d Himself, you remember Him as the Benevolent Creator. Then you begin to think in a different way — you begin to remember Me i n a d i f f e r e n t w a y . Y o u a r e s o b e n e v o l e n t . Y o u h a v e g i v e n u s e v e r y t h i n g around us. Then you begin to think what a Compassionate One I am. He has given us food to eat. We eat and relish and nourish ourselves, but suppose if He had not given us the appetite? What thought He has given to His creation. He has given us appetite so that we can relish the food that He has bestowed upon us. So you remember Me in a different light now. You have given us thirst so that we can appease our thirst and relish the coolness or the warmth of the water. H e h a s g i v e n u s t h e d i f f e r e n t s e a s o n s , s o t h a t w e m a y n o t f e e l t h e monotony of life. He has given us night and day and so forth. Again you go on remembering Me — so many facets are there to remember Me in that way. But you are not satisfied, your heart is not satisfied. Your heart yearns to remember Me in a different way. And all the time the mind wants to have more variations in remembering Me. You think, I can digest my food and then once more I feel hungry, this keeps my health good and I can remember Him all the more. Everything is so fine and so beautiful, but sometimes I feel dejected and when I feel dejected the more I feel His absence. I want to remember Him. The more hardships that confront me, the more solace I would want to have from Him. When will He come? How will He comfort me? He is known as the Comforter. This new vista is now open. But still the heart and mind yearn for more and more. But he thinks, everything that I see here in nature, the whole creation, is His compassion. And one more thing, the very fact that I am sitting here glorifying H im in nature and other things, I w ouldn’t be able to sit here unless He had created the gravitational force to make me stay on this earth, t o k e e p m e i n o n e p la c e .

So

in

anything,

in

everything,

we

now

begin

to

recognise His hand,

compassion, mercy, love, kindness, thoughtfulness and many other things. Baba is telling this to the crowd. He said: You glorify Me in every little thing. With the glass of water you drink, you remember Me. With the food you take, you remember Me. When you piddle. Yes, when you had the urge to piddle, but you couldn’t go. Then

212 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. w hen you are able to go, you let out and you feel so relieved that you think of Me. Yes, this also reminds you of Me. The same thing when you try to evacuate and you cannot pass your stool. B u t then

when

you

have

a

very

good

easement

you

feel

so

relieved

and

comfortable, you remember Me. So many things are there to remind you of Me. I h a v e g i v e n y o u s o m a n y t h i n g s ; m a n y , m a n y m o r e t h a n w h a t I h a v e described. These are the outlines that I give you, so that you can remember Me — with every breath you can remember Me. One

begins

to

glorify

Me

with

everything

that

he

sees

around

him,

everything that he visualizes, with every little thing he begins to glorify Me now. And he goes on glorifying Me until there comes a stage where words do n o t c o m e . W o r d s o f p r a i s e j u s t s t o p a n d h e i s d a z e d w i t h a l l t h a t i s a r o u n d him, and all that is for him. Just then, when there is no word that can come out, when you feel yourself choked, remember, that’s the sign when My gift of Love will descend on you. When My gift of love descends on you, you are gifted with that love. Then y o u s u d d e n l y s e e M e f a c e t o f a c e . Y o u h a v e w h a t i s k n o w n a s t h e experience of the sixth plane, w hen I appear and all else vanishes. You see M y glory, M y beauty, and then all this w ill vanish. Y ou fall in love w ith M e and then you see Me as I Really Am. But in order to fall in love with Me, all this A.B.C. kindergarten course of remembrance has to be taken. If you cannot remember Me in a positive way, remember Me in a negative way. If you can’t remember Me with love t h e n remember

Me

remembrance, through

love,

with and

or

sheer

bestow

hatred, upon

remembrance

you

through

and the hate;

I

will

gift

of

what

be

pleased

My

love.

counts

is

Remember Me always as much as possible and you are assured of My love.

with

your

Remembrance

remembering

Me.

2

What a treasure this information is; to be read, re-read, meditated upon and acted upon. Obedience to Meher Baba. How should we obey Meher Baba? We must look to see what instructions He has left for us to obey. When you go to university, the professors do not start teaching you the A.B.C. again, they expect you to know it because you have learned it before, and would not have forgotten it. Similarly during the Advent of Jesus the Christ He did not re-issue the ten commandments given to Moses. They were already there and known and should still be obeyed. The only new ones that He gave were to Love God with all your heart and all your might, and to love your neighbour as yourself. If one carried out these two commandments correctly one would also carry out the ten commandments previously given to Moses. So the ten commandments were not re-issued as such, but were incorporated within the two new ones. In the same way, in this most recent Advent when God visited the earth in the bodily form of Meher Baba, He did not re-issue the ten commandments given to Moses or the two commandments given by Jesus. They are still good for all time and are really now in the conscience of humanity, for instance people know that they.should not kill, because this was handed down to humannity by God Thousands of years ago and it is still true and it doesn’t

Looking Toward the Future. 213 Need to be given again, because it has not been lost. In fact it has been incorporated into the laws of all nations. So what did Meher Baba lay down for His followers to obey during and after His Advent. The instructions are very closely related to love and remembrance of Him. He said in 1958 at Avatar’s Abode: It is the duty of the lover to carry out the wish of the Beloved. My wish for my lovers is as follows: 1.

Do not shirk your responsibilities.

2.

Attend faithfully to your worldly duties, but keep always at the back of your mind that all this is Baba’s.

3.

When you feel happy, think, ‘Baba wants me to be happy.’ When you suffer, think, ‘Baba wants me to suffer.’

4.

Be resigned to every situation and think honestly and sincerely, ‘Baba has placed me in this situation.’

5.

With the understanding that Baba is in everyone, try to help and serve others.

6.

I say with My Divine Authority to each and all that whosoever takes My Name at the time of breathing his last comes to Me: so do not

forget to remember Me in your last moments. Unless you start

remembering Me from now on, it will be difficult to remember Me when your end approaches. You should start practicing from now on. Even if you take My name only once each day, you will not forget to remember Me in your dying moments. Later He warned His followers not to take drugs unless prescribed by a medical practitioner fora specific medical treatment. Eruch told me something else that Meher Baba had once given them as a guide line of conduct which is applicable to all now, it was: ‘Think of things that you will not hesitate to think in My presence, speak w ords that you w ill not hesitate to speak in M y presence and do things that you will not hesitate to do in My presence.’ He indirectly reminds us of His continuous presence around us. Repeating His Name. Meher Baba once had us shown how to repeat His name. It was to be repeated like so: ‘Baba... Baba... Baba... Baba...’ and so on. Meher Baba once said, ‘The impressions

once

and

for

all.

fire

of

However,

divine

love

remembering

alone Me

can

can

destroy

keep

down

impurities in the impressions in your mind, as alum catches hold of

all the

214 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. (flocculates) dirt in a vessel of turbid water. Therefore, when you feel angry or have lustful thoughts, remember Baba at once. Let My name serve as a net around you so that your thoughts, like mosquitoes, may keep buzzing around you and yet not sting you. In that manner you can prevent unwanted thoughts from turning into unw anted actions and thus eventually bring your heart to the purification required for Me to manifest therein. ‘Y ou can also entrust your m ind to M e by rem em bering M e or repeating My name in your heart as often as you can. Remember Me so often that your mind is at a loss to find other thoughts to feed on. ‘Although I am “taking” My own name continuously, I have come to hear it repeated by My lovers, and even though I were deaf, I would hear it if you r e p e a t e d i t o n l y o n c e w i t h a l l y o u r h e a r t i n i t . I f y o u c a n n o t r e m e m b e r M e constantly, then always take (repeat, think of) My name before going to sleep and on waking up.’

3

Holding on to Meher Baba’s Daaman. I will relate some comments that Eruch made concerning holding onto Meher Baba’s daaman. He said, when Baba told us to ‘Hold on to My daaman’ He didn’t mean to hold on to His body — cling to Him physically. He meant have complete reliance upon Him. At least once a day even to those of us who were around Him, He would point to the hem of His garment and say, hold on to Me and if necessary, hold on with both hands, if one hand is not enough. I am very slippery he would say, hold on to me with both hands. The Urdu word for the end part of the skirt, the border or the hem, is daaman. So one day He clarified this idea, by giving us a very good example. He said that it is like when a child is taken to a very large fair, such as the world fair or an international expo — a very large sized fair. The child is taken out of its home to go to the fair and suddenly it is in unfamiliar surroundings, but the mother is there with the child. The child automatically holds on to the skirt of the mother, because he gets frightened at the sight of the vast throng of people and the strange things that are happening around him. If he continues to hold on to the skirt of the mother he feels secure. So secure that the child can enjoy the fair and at the same time be anchored to something which is safe. He remains secure by holding on to the skirt of his mother. His mother takes him around the fair, the child is secure and relies completely upon the mother — is totally dependent on the mother. He enjoys the sights and everything there, as long as he holds on to the mother’s skirt. The mother goes from place to place and she also enjoys the whole thing. But if his grip on the daaman of the skirt is loose and the daaman slips out of his hand, the mother mixes in the throng and disappears. The child is left there non-plussed, confused; does not know where to go or how to act — he is lost. Baba said, ‘Don't be lost, hold on to My daaman, never feel lost. Rely completely upon Me. I am always there.’ So that is the meaning of holding on to His daaman. He is ever present. He came to remind us about His being. Why does He take the form? The formlessness dons upon itself the form so that He could make us know and feel that He is there. His being is made more tangible by His having taken the form. His love is made more tangible to us by His coming down in form. His descent so to say, from formlessness into form. That is His descent. He doesn’t descend on a staircase or a ladder or anything of the sort.

Looking Toward the Future. 215 It is from the state of His formlessness He takes upon Himself the state of the form, that is the descent, and He comes amongst us as man amongst men to make His being more tangible, more felt. We know that He exists, He is present, we say so now, but time and again He comes to remind us, He IS. He comes to remind us of His presence, of His being, of His love, of His benevolence, of His compassion, of His patience, when He takes the form. When He drops the form He remains as He is. Leaving it to us now to be present by His side, because He is all pervading now. So if we want to seek Him we have to be present by His side. We make ourselves His companions. His companionship is always with us, it is now for us to become His companions. Eruch was asked the following question: ‘Baba said, “Understanding has no meaning, love has meaning, obedience has more meaning, and holding onto My daaman has most meaning.” What did Baba mean by that?’ Eruch said, it is so simple. We will skip over the three others and at least try to handle the situation which has the most meaning, when He said ‘Holding My daaman has most meaning.’ Its meaning is total dependence upon Him and He gave the illustration of the child visiting the fair, holding the mother’s skirt, being totally dependent upon her and feeling secure. To hold onto His daaman, He said, is not an easy thing — it is total dependence upon Him. It is very easy for you when you are a child to hold onto the mother’s skirt, and to feel secure and safe just by the handling of the skirt — being near the mother and depending upon her. But then for an adult to become childlike and remain dependent upon Him in the security of His presence is very difficult. The thing that surpasses your understanding, your love and obedience, is your becoming childlike in your adulthood to a degree that you completely and totally depend upon Him. Just like the frightened child at the fair, who takes hold of the skirt of the mother, and the immediate reaction of holding the skirt of the mother is enough, the child feels that it is safe and secure, so the mother winds her way through all the crowds and the child feels safe. But if the child lets go it’s grip, the mother disappears in the crowd and is lost and the child starts to cry and call out for it’s mother. That’s why He said, if you want to be saved that loss and lamentation hold on to Me all the time. And for that, how will a grown person hold onto Him like a child holds on to the skirt of its mother unless you become childlike — like a child. And to become like a child means you must live a life of honesty, remain innocent, live a life of purity just like a child, you have to become child like. With all the traits, with all the humility, with everything that is there like a child. And if you do that, well that’s wonderful, I am always by your side, Baba said. If you depend upon Me 100% you are not to worry about anything. I will take care of you, I will be there to lead you, to take you and guide you through all the highways and byways of life. By doing this you automatically obey Me, and you automatically love me. The child does not require any stage of love or obedience to hold the skirt of the mother, once it holds it — finish, it’s safe. Once you have the resolve and the determination to be His, by holding on to His daaman — then everything is taken care of automatically.

4

216 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. I have tried to emphasize in this book the availability and importance of inner contact with Meher Baba and for those people who are interested in having this, how they should go about achieving it. In the course of His ministery Meher Baba gave out many messages and although they were appropriate to that specific time, they are also universal messages appropriate to all times. One of these messages was given out on the 7th October 1954, the last day that He used His alphabet board. It was also His last message given on the alphabet board, which at that time had been His means of communication for almost three decades. This message is very appropriate for today, after He has withdrawn even His body which was yet another means of God’s communication with us for so long during this Advent. Meher Baba Himself was continually emphasizing the importance of inner contact and connection with Him as this message illustrates. This message given by Him in 1954 has even more importance now after He has dropped His body. It is with this important message that I conclude this book. Meher Baba’s Last Message on the Alphabet Board. There is no reason at all for any of you to w orry. Baba w as, Baba is, and Baba will also be eternally existent. Severance of external relations does not mean the termination of internal connections. It was only for establishing the internal connections that the external contacts have been maintained till now. The time has now come for being bound in the chain of internal connections. H E N C E E X T E R N A L C O N T A C T I S N O L O N G E R N E C E S S A R Y . I t i s p o s s ib le t o e s t a b lis h t h e in t e r n a l l i n k b y o b e y i n g B a b a ’ s o r d e r s . I g i v e y o u all My blessings for strengthening these internal links. I am always with you and I am not away from you. I was, am and will remain eternally with you, and it is for promoting this realization that I have s e v e r e d e x t e r n a l c o n t a c t . T h i s w i l l e n a b l e a l l p e r s o n s t o r e a l i z e T r u t h b y being bound to each other with internal links. Oh, My lovers! I love you all. It is only because of My love for My creation that I have descended on Earth. Let not your hearts be torn asunder b y M y declarations concerning the dropping of My body. On the contrary, accept My D i v i n e W i l l c h e e r f u l l y . Y o u c a n n e v e r e s c a p e f r o m M e , e v e n i f you try to escape from Me, it is not possible to get rid of Me. Therefore, have courage and be brave. If you thus lose your heart, how will it be possible for you to fulfill the g r e a t t a s k w h i c h I h a v e e n t r u s t e d t o y o u ? B e b r a v e a n d s p r e a d M Y MESSAGE O F L O V E f a r a n d w i d e t o a l l q u a r t e r s , i n o r d e r t o f u l f i l l M y Divine Will. Let t h e w o r d s ‘B A B A , B A B A ’ c o m e f o r t h f r o m e v e r y n o o k a n d c o r n e r o f t h e w o r l d a n d f r o m t h e m o u t h o f e v e r y c h i l d , a n d l e t t h e i r ignorance be reduced to ashes by the burning flame of My Love. Come

together

in

order

to

fulfill

My

Will

by

taking

your

stand

on

TRUTH, LOVE AND HONESTY, and be worthy of participating in My Task. I give you all My blessings for spreading MY MESSAGE OF LOVE.

5

Photograph by courtesy of Robert Rouse. ‘I am never silent. I speak eternally. The voice that is heard deep within the soul is My voice—the voice of inspiration, of intuition, of guidance.’

Appendices

APPENDIX

A

Places of Pilgrimage and Prayers. There are three major places of pilgrimage connected with Meher Baba in the world. One in India, one in the United States of America and one in Australia. Ahmednagar area, India. There are two centres fifteen miles apart in this area: Meherazad — which was Meher Baba’s residence and has now become the home of His mandali. Meherabad— The place where His body rests on a hill. In 1954 Meher Baba led His close ones right to the threshold of the tomb and made each one bow down to it saying, let it be the place of pilgrimage for the whole world. He said that after seventy years this place will become the place of world pilgrimage where people from all over the world will congregate to pay homage to His body which rests there. There is a modem pilgrim centre located at Lower Meherabad, a short distance from Meher Baba’s tomb. It is open from mid-June to mid-March, then it closes for three months during the hottest part of the year. The tomb is still open for pilgrims during this time, but they must find their own accommodation and I do not recommend a visit at this time. Meherazad is also closed to visitors for this same period. There is an inexpensive booklet called Welcome Home, a Guide for Travelling to Meherabad and Meherazad, India, that I would recommend to any intending traveller for the wealth of pertinent information that it contains. It is available from any book distributor listed in appendix D. Intending pilgrims should book accommodation by writing to: Pilgrim Reservations, Avatar Meher Baba Trust, King’s Road, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra State, India. 414001. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S.A. The Meher Spiritual Centre is a very beautiful place comprising 500 acres, with over a mile of ocean beach and fresh water lakes, its natural state is maintained as much as possible. Meher Baba visited it in 1952, 1956 and 1958, during these visits He said that it would become a place of Pilgirmage. He often referred to it as ‘My home in the West.’ There are good short term residental facilities available for pilgrims. Write to: Meher Spiritual Centre, P.O. Box 487, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 29577. U.S.A. Avatar’s Abode, Woombye, Queensland. Australia. Meher Baba visited and lived on this property in 1958. He said, Avatar’s Abode will become a place of pilgrimage. Many people have experienced feeling His presence in the room where He lived. Avatar’s Abode is available for pilgrims any time of the year. The anniversary of Meher Baba’s visit — the holiday week-end in mid-June is the time when the greatest number of pilgrims plan their visit. There are limited residental facilities available on the property; ample facilities nearby. Write to: Avatar’s Abode Trust, P.O. Box 779, Nambour, Queensland. 4560. Australia.

222 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Prayers. Meher Baba dictated a few prayers for use by His lovers. He did not lay down any rigid rules as to when and how often the prayers were to be said. Presumably, if people spontaneously and sincerely say the prayers this will have more effect than if they say them as a ritual and out of a sense of duty. Because Meher Baba Himself participated in saying the prayers with His mandali, He said that anybody who said the prayers in the future will be benfited. The two most important prayers He gave His lovers are the Master’s Prayer, in praise of and glorifying God the Almighty, and the Prayer of Repentance the meaning of which is self-evident. The Master’s Prayer 0 Parvardigar, the Preserver and Protector of all, You are without Beginning, and without End; Non-dual, beyond comparison; and none can measure You. You are without colour, without expression, without form, and without attributes. You

are

unlimited

and

unfathomable,

beyond

imagination

and

conception;

eternal

and

imperishable. You are indivisible; and none can see You, but with eyes divine. You always were, You always are, and You always will be; You are everywhere, You are in everything; and You are also beyond everywhere; and beyond everything. You are in the firmament and in the depths, You are manifest and unmanifest; on all planes, and beyond all planes. You are in the three worlds, and also beyond the three worlds; You are imperceptible and independent. You are the Creator, the Lord of Lords, the Knower of all minds and hearts; You are Omnipotent and Omnipresent. You are Knowledge Infinite, Power Infinite and Bliss Infinite. You are the Ocean of Knowledge, All-Knowing, Infinitely-Knowing; the Knower of the past, the present and the future and You are Knowledge itself. You are All-merciful and eternally benevolent; You are the Soul of souls, the One with infinite attributes; You are the Trinity of Truth, Knowledge, and Bliss; You are the Source of Truth, the Ocean of Love. You are the Ancient One, the Highest of the High; You are Prabhu and Parameshwar; You are the Beyond-God, and the Beyond-Beyond-God also; You are Parabrahma; Allah; Elahi; Yesdan; Ahuramazda; and God the Beloved. You are named Ezad, the only One worthy of worship. The Prayer of Repentance. We repent, 0 God Most Merciful, for all our sins; for every thought that was false or unjust or unclean; for every word spoken that ought not to have been spoken; for every deed done that ought not to have been done.

Appendix

A: Places of Pilgrimage and Prayers. 223

We repent for every deed and word and thought inspired by selfishness, and for every deed and word and thought inspired by hatred. We repent most especially for every lustful thought and every lustful action; for every lie; for all hypocrisy; for every promise given but not fulfilled, and for all slander and backbiting. Most especially also, we repent for every action that has brought ruin to others; for every word and deed that has given others pain; and for every wish that pain should befall others. In your Unbounded Mercy we ask You to forgive us, 0 God! for all these sins committed by us, and to forgive us for our constant failures to think and speak and act according to Your Will. Amen. Often after the prayers a devotional song of praise, called an arti, is sung. There are many different Arti’s in different languages. One that is often sung in English was composed by Francis Brabazon at the East-West Gathering in 1962, it is usually referred to as the Australian Arti and it is included here: The Australian Arti O glorious, eternal Ancient One Your face is a bright, transcendental sun— Lighten this dark world and the tears I weep; My heart, Meher, I give to you to keep. Creator yet creationless you are— Truth and Truth's body, divine Avatar Who, through compassion the three worlds maintains Destroy this ignorance that life sustains. These five lights are the whirling spokes of breath Of the world-wheel which bears me unto to death Unless you, who are infinitely kind Break the wheel's hub which is conditioned mind. This incense is my love, these fruits my art Which to please you I have shaped from my heart; Accept them as you would a simple flower That has no use beyond its shing hour. You are my Self. I sing to you in praise. And beg your love to bear me through the days Till you, the Everliving Perfect One, Illume my darkness with your shing sun.

A P P E N D I X

B

Glossary. Agiary: Zoroastrian fire temple used as a place of worship. Ahuramazda: Almighty God. Alekum Salam: Peace be with you; good morning to you; farewell. Allah: God in the Beyond State. Almighty God. Allah-o-Akbar: God is the Greatest. Amartithi: Lit., date with the Eternal One. The day when the Eternal Beloved, Avatar Meher Baba, put aside His physical body. Arti: A traditional Hindu ceremony of worship to the pantheon of gods. To Meher Baba, arti was a song sung in His praise, describing His divine attributes. Ashram: A simple, humble retreat; the abode of a spiritual teacher. Avatar: The God-Man, The Christ; the descent of God as man on earth to make His being and His attributes more tangible to mankind. Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai: Hail to Avatar Meher Baba; may He be victorious, (in the sense of God being victorious over our lower self). Balak: Child. Bhagwan: God. Baqa: Abiding, in the sense of ‘Abiding in God.’ Bhagavad-Gita: Sacred book of the Hindus, featuring the teachings of the Avatar as Krishna discoursing with His chief disciple Arjuna. Bhajan: A devotional song sung in India in praise of the Lord in His Avataric form. Buddha: The Avatar who was born in Magadha, Bihar, India, around 568 B.C. and died about 477 B.C. The Buddhist religion was later founded on His life and teachings. Darshan:

Lit., sight of the Master. Seeing the presence of the Master or being in the

presence of the Master. Daaman: Lit., the hem of a garment. ‘Holding on to My daaman’ means becoming totally dependent upon the Master, as a small child is totally dependent upon the mother and holds onto her skirt for protection and to prevent becoming lost. Elahi: (Hebrew, Elohim). The One God. Ezad: The One worthy of worship. Fana:

Annihilation, the final fana is the annihilation of the mind.

Ghazals: Love-songs usually in the Urdu Language describing the devotion of the lover to the Beloved. Guru: A teacher; generally referred to a Spiritual Master. Hafiz: Shamsuddin Muhammad: Fourteenth century Perfect Master and poet of Shiraz, Persia. Hanuman: Chief disciple of Rama. Hazrat: Venerable

Appendix B:

Glossary. 225

Jai: Hail, praise victory to. Kabir: A fourteenth century Perfect Master of Benares, 1435-1518 A.D. karma: The law of cause and effect. Fate; the natural and necessary happenings in one’s lifetime, determined by one’s past lives and past actions in this life. Koran, the: The holy book of the Moslems containing the Messages given by God to Mohammed. Krishna: The Avatar whose history is told in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata. Whose discourses with His disciple Arjuna before battle are told in the Bhagavad-Gita. langoti: A small triangular piece of cloth, like a loin cloth, but smaller. mandali: Lit., Close ones; used to describe Meher Baba’s disciples. manonash: Lit. The annihilation of the mind. ‘The annihilation of the false, limited, miserable, ignorant, destructible “I”, to be replaced by the real “I”, the eternal possessor of Infinite Knowledge, Love, Power, Peace, Bliss and Glory, in its unchangeable existence'. — Meher Baba. mantra:

A sacred name or phrase, given by a Master to his disciple to be repeated as a

spiritual discipline. Manzil-e-meem:

Lit., the house of ‘M’ (Meher — compassion, love). The residence which

Meher Baba used for work with His mandali in Bombay in 1922-1923. mast: (pronounced ‘must’) One whose mind is completely absorbed in God and who is not conscious of his worldly surroundings. A God-intoxicated soul on the Spiritual Path who has embarked upon that journey without a Master. mast tour: An extensive journey undertaken by Meher Baba to seek out these Lovers of God who have given up everything in this world in their search for God. They become so dependent upon God that God in His compassion eventually comes to them and helps them in their spiritual journey. mullah: Priest. murshid (m.) murshida (f.): The spiritual director of a Sufi order. Nazar. To see. The protective watch of the Master over His disciples. New Life: Meher Baba’s New Life is eternal, it is a life of companionship with Him as the companion. Sometimes the term is used to refer to the wandering phase of His New Life. Parabrahma: The Supreme Spirit. God in the Beyond, Beyond State. Paramatma, Paramatman: Almighty God, the Oversoul. Parvardigar: The Sustainer (Vishnu). Perfect Master: One who has himself reached the goal of perfection to which he directs others; one who pointing to God, has himself realized God. Pir: One on the sixth plane of consciousness, who literally experiences, sees, nothing but God. Poona: An Indian city the English spelling of which has been changed to Pune. Prabhu: The Lord. The All Powerful One. Prasad: A small gift, usually edible given by a Master to a devotee which is symbolic of the inner spiritual gift that it conveys.

226 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Qutub: Lit., the hub or axis; a Perfect Master. Raja yoga: Yoga concerned with the control of the mindby means of meditation and contemplation. Ram or Rama: The Avatar whose life is the subject of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Ramayana: Lit., story of Rama. A great Sanskrit epic of India detailing the life of the Avatar as Rama. Sadguru: A Perfect Master, Man-God. sadra: A thin, ankle length muslin skirt. sadar: Chieftain or leader. sadhus: A spiritual seeker. Sahavas (or Sahawas): Lit., close companionship. A gathering held by the Avatar or arranged in His honour where the lovers and followers intimately feel His presence. salam alekum: Peace be with you; good morning to you; farewell samadhi: Trance induced by spiritual meditation. Also a place where the body or the last remains of a saint, a sadguru or the Avatar are interred. Sanskaras:

Impressions left on the soul as memories from former lives and which determine

one’s action in the present lifetime. Also in this lifetime impressions planted in the mind, like seeds, which turn into desires and then seek expression in actions. These actions then create fresh sanskaras or impressions on the mind and so the cycle continues. saqi: Lit., a cup-bearer. Symbolically, referring to the Master as the One who pours the wine of divine love. sari: A garment wrapped around the body and worn by women in India. shariat: The exoteric path; orthodoxy; religion. subtle: Pertaining to the body of energy (subtle body), the world of energy (subtle world), or the experience of the world of energy (subtle consciousness). Sufism: A mystic discipline whose origins are lost in antiquity. It is known to have existed at the time of Zoroaster. It was revitalized by various Avatars including Mohammed, hence its more recent roots are in the Middle East. It exists today in all parts of the world. tariqat:

The spiritual Path. The esoteric path of spiritual advancement.

tonga: A one horse cart still used in India to transport people. Vedanta: A philosophy and spiritual practice based on the essence of the four Vedas and on sacred books written later, including the Upanishads. Vishnu: The Protector and Preserver of all. Wali: Lit., a friend.In a special sense, a friend of God, one on the fifth plane of consciousness. Yezdan: Almighty God. Yoga: Lit., union. In the sense of seeking union with God Zoroaster: (or Zarathustra): The ancient Avatar who lived in Iran, the earliest one of whom we have records.

A P P E N D I X

C

Sources of Information About Meher Baba. As major sources of general and miscellaneous information about Meher Baba, the following information centres are available. Meher Baba Foundation Australia P.O. Box 22 Woombye Queensland 4559 Australia Avatar’s Abode Trust P.O. P.O. Box 779 Nambour Queensland 4560 Australia The

Meher

Spiritual

Centre

Inc.

10200 Highway 17 North Myrtle Beach South Carolina 29577 U.S.A. Meher Baba Information P.O. Box 1101 Berkeley California 94701 U.S.A. Meher Baba Association Flat 1 228HammersmithGrove London W6 7HG England

Meher Baba Groups and Centres. Although the primary aim should always be to achieve a greater inner contact with Meher Baba, some people do find it helpful to join a group, because this can help them to more easily obtain information about Meher Baba. This in turn can be helpful in strengthening their inner contact with Meher Baba as long as their focus is on Meher Baba and not on the personalities and egos in the group. Meher Baba groups are usually run on democratic lines and can be very helpful as long as the people in the group adopt the right attitude. With the right attitude inspired by Meher Baba they can be great places for personal development and

228 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. learning. The following information is supplied for readers who wish to obtain more information about Meher Baba groups, locally available publications, local meetings of groups, local Baba lovers and so forth. Australia and New Zealand. There are groups of Baba lovers in each Capital city and in some other localities through out Australia. They all hold regular or informal Baba meetings. Naturally local groups spring up constantly and change locations over the years. Usually current addresses or contacts for local centres can be obtained from Meher Baba Foundation Australia or Avatar’s Abode Trust. There is a local monthly newsletter called Meher Baba Australia which keeps Australian Baba lovers in touch with what is happening in the Baba world and advises the Australian Baba lovers of local meetings in their area. More information about the newsletter may be obtained from Meher Baba Australia, P.O. Box 779, Nambour, Queensland. 4560. Australia. In New Zealand, the relatively more modest activity by Baba lovers is increasing in many localities. Information about activity in any part of New Zealand will be provided by Mr Anthony Thorpe, 3 Flowers Track, Christchurch 8, New Zealand. United States. Some local Meher Baba centres in the United States have a drop-in information centre or bookstore, others have regular or informal Baba meetings. There is a very large number of Meher Baba groups and centres in America. Those interested in local contacts should write to the nearest information centre listed above. A twice yearly newsletter of interest is the Meher News Exchange East/West, which gives news about Baba happenings in the West and in India. More information about the newsletter may be obtained from Friends of The Avatar Meher Baba Trust, P. O. Box 24331, Washington D. C. 20024 U.S.A. Many of the other centres publish local newsletters giving information about local activities. Europe. The most formal Meher Baba activity in Europe is centred in England. There are smaller groups also in Paris, Munich, Vienna, Switzerland and Spain. Readers interested in European activity should contact the Meher Baba Association, Flat 1, 228 Hammersmith Grove, London. W6 7HG. Asia. There are Meher Baba groups and centres in many cities and towns throughout India. There area few groups in Pakistan and Iran and one group in Jerusalem.

A P P E N D I X

D

Annotated Bibliography. This list includes publications relating to Meher Baba in late 1985. There are new publications being continually added to this list. Also some titles may go out of print. However some of the publishers specializing in Meher Baba literature often stock back copies. They also issue updated booklists periodically, which they are pleased to supply upon request. Current addresses of major publishers and distributors are listed below. Publishers and Distributors. Australia Meher Baba Foundation Australia P. O. Box 22 Woombye Queensland 4559 Australia United States Meher Baba Information Inc. (John F. Kennedy University Press and Beguine Library) P. O. Box 1101 Berkeley California 94701 U.S.A.

Sheriar Press Inc. Book Division 1414 Madison Drive North Myrtle Beach South Carolina 29582 U.S.A. India Meher Nuzar Books Khushru Quarters Kings Road Ahmednagar M.S. 414001 India. Many major titles are available at local metaphysical bookshops, Meher Baba Centres, or through information centres such as those listed in appendix C.

230 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Works By Meher Baba. Discourses given to disciples between 1938 and 1944. Perhaps the most comprehensive source of Baba’s suggestions about the practical details of the spiritual path, covering an immense range of topics. God Speaks. 2nd ed., rev. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1973. (Hardcover, 334 pp.) A titanic work Discourses. 7th ed. Myrtle Beach: Sheriar Press, 1986, (softcover, 546 pp.) Original on the theme of creation and it’s purpose. Directly dictated by Meher Baba, it describes creation, evolution, reincarnation, involution and realization — the fundamental mechanics of life and the universe. The suppliment contains some information not previously released. Not usually the best introductory book because of its complexity, but extremely powerful in scope and execution. Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama. New York: Harper & Row, Perennial Library, 1971. (Softcover, 116 pp.) Originally published San Francisco: Sufism Reoriented, 1958. Baba answers questions on such subjects as prayer, obsessions, evil and fraudulent saints. The Everything and the Nothing. Berkeley, Calif.: Meher Baba Information, Beguine Library, 1971. (Softcover, 115 pp.) Originally published in Australia, 1963. Contains some of Baba’s most recent short discourses. Rich and poetic; highlights the essence of the spiritual high roads with parable, anecdote and new images. Life at its Best. Edited by Ivy O. Duce. New York: Harper & Row, Perennial Library, 1972. (Softcover, 106 pp.) A collection of messages given by Baba during His three week visit to the United States in 1956. Over fifty succinct and penetrating comments on a variety of spiritual topics. Listen Humanity. Narrated and edited by D.E. Stevens. 3rd ed. Denver. Col./Atlanta. Georgia.InCompany with Meher Baba, P.O. Box 721, Denver. Colorado. 80201,1985. (Softcover, 262 pp.) An American businessman describes an intimate gathering with Meher Baba in India in 1955. Part II contains important discourses on life and death, suicide, love, etc. Darshan Hours. Berkeley, Calif.: Meher Baba Information, Beguine Library, 1973. (Hardcover & softcover, 72 pp.) Contains Meher Baba’s conversations with various lovers in 1960. Showing how the Master instructed His close ones in the way of love and surrender to Him. The Path of Love. Edited by Filis Frederick. Hermosa Beach Calif: The Awakener Press, 938 18th Ave Hermosa Beach, Calif. 90358, 1985. (softcover, 102 pp) Discourses, messages, and talks by Meher Baba on such topics as discipleship, the spiritual path, the God-Man or Avatar, and God-realization, All reprinted from The Awakener magazine. God in a Pill? Meher Baba on L.S.D. and the High Roads. San Francisco: Meher Baba Information, 1985. (Pamphlet, 14 pp.) A small pamphlet featuring comments by Baba on the drug scene, taken from several letters dictated by Him on the subject. Works about Meher Baba. Abdulla, Abdul Kareem (Ramjoo) Ramjoo's Diaries 1922 — 1929. Walnut Creek, Calif.: Sufism Reoriented. 1979. A personal account of Meher Baba’s early work by one of His disciples edited by Ira G. Deitrick. Adriel, Jean. Avatar. Berkeley, Calif.: John F. Kennedy University Press 1971. (Softcover, 284 pp.) An account of the Author’s personal experiences with Baba from 1931 to 1947 with intermittent discussion of His life and teachings. Anzar, Naosherwan. The Beloved: The Life and Work of Meher Baba North Myrtle Beach S.C.: Sheriar Press, 1974. (Hardcover, 146 pp.) A most attractive anecdotal biography sprinkled with Baba quotes and lots of photographs. Brabazon, Francis. The East-west Gathering. Sydney: Meher House publications, 1963. (Hardcover, 50 pp.) Obtainable from Meher Baba Foundation Australia. An account in

Appendix D: Annotated Bibliography. 231 prose and verse of a significant gathering with Baba and His lovers from the East and West in 1962. — Stay With God. Sydney, Aust.: Garuda Books, 1959. (Hardcover, 167 pp.) An epic narrative in prose and poetry written at Baba’s direction. In language of great beauty, Brabazon portrays the advent of the Avatar of our time. Of it Baba said, ‘This book will touch the heart of all who read it as no book has ever done.’ — In Dust I Sing. Berkeley, Calif.: Beguine Library, 1974. (Hardcover, 150 pp.) A fine collection of ghazals describing the relationship between the lover and the Beloved, for the first time composed in the English language. —The Word at world's End. Berkeley, Calif.: John F. Kennedy University Press, 1971. (Softcover, 76 pp.) Five fine poems on various aspects of life and the Avatar. Cohen, Allan Y. Mastery of Consciousness. New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, 1977. (Softcover, 202 pp.) An introduction and guide to practical mysticism and the methods of spiritual development as given by Meher Baba. An excellent introduction to Meher Baba. Craske, Margaret. The Dance of Love; My Life with Meher Baba. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press, 1980. (softcover, 192 pp.) First hand stories from her fifty years of life with Meher Baba as told by a Western disciple. Davy, Kitty L. Love alone Prevails. A Story of Life with Meher Baba. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press, Inc. 1981. (Hardcover, 727 pp.) Kitty spent twenty years in Meher Baba’s company and then under His direction assisted in running the Meher Spiritual Centre in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Donkin, William. The Wayfarers. San Francisco: Sufism Reoriented, 1969. (Hardcover, 477 pp.) A remarkable and meticulous account of Meher Baba’s mast tours and His workwith the mad, poor and advanced seekers from 1922 to 1949. Duce, Ivy Oneita. How a Master Works. Walnut Creek, Calif.: Sufism Reoriented, 1975. (Hardcover, 768 pp.) Distributed by Dodd, Mead & Co. An extraordinarily rich and valuable book highlighting the work of Meher Baba and His lovers; the supplement has numerous quotations and explanations. Gayley, Rano. Because of Love: My Life and Art with Meher Baba. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: 1983. Edited by Ann Conlon. Sheriar Press. (Hardcover, 117 pp.) The title aptly describes the subject matter. Hopkinson, Sir Thomas and Lady Dorothy. Much Silence: Meher Baba — His life and work. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.,1975; London: Victor Gollanez, 1974. (Hardcover, 191 pp.) The best introductory biography yet to appear. Irani, Adi K. Just to Love Him. Myrtle Beach. S. C. : Sheriar Press, 1985.(Softcover, 140 pp.) Talks and essays about Meher Baba by one of His early disciples and secretary from 1944 onwards. Irani, Manija S. 82 Family Letters. New York Society for Avatar Meher Baba, 1969; North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press, 1976. (Softcover, 365 pp.) A series of personal letters written by Baba’s sister-disciple to keep Westerners informed of the happenings in India. A rich source of Baba’s activities, His work and suffering, plus direct quotes. Kalchuri,Bhau.While the World Slept. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Manifestations Inc. 1984. (Softcover 73 pp.) 47 touching stories of how Baba trained one of His disciples while he was nightwatchman. —The Nothing and the Everything. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Manifestations, Inc. 1981. (Softcover, 340 pp.) Said to be 10% of the book Meher Baba wrote in 1925-1926. — Let's Go to Meherabad. Berkeley Calif.: Meher Baba Information. 1985 (Softcover, 147 pp) A delightful history of various places and events at Meherabad, which played a special part in Meher Baba’s life. Natu, Bal.Glimpses of the God-Man, Meher Baba. Vol 1. Walnut Creek, Calif.: Sufism Reoriented. Written by one of Meher Baba's own disciples who now lives at Meherazad. Tells of his experiences after meeting Meher Baba and contains glimpses of Meher Baba’s life and work between 1943 and 1948.

232 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Natu, Bal. Glimpses of the God-Man, Meher Baba Vol 2. Bombay, India: Meher House Publications. Glimpses of Meher Baba’s life and work between 1949 and 1952. Three fascinating years of Meher Baba’s New Life. —Glimpses of the God-Man, Meher Baba. Vol. 3. Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press Inc. Glimpses of Meher Baba’s life and work between February 1952 and February 1953. —Glimpses of the God-Man, Meher Baba. Vol. 4. Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press Inc. Covering the period of Meher Baba's life and work, February — December 1953. —Our Constant Companion. Ahmednagar, India: Meher Nazar Books, 1983. (Softcover, 96 pp.) A collection of over fifty absorbing stories reflecting the love and attention from Baba, experienced by people from all over the world, who have made Him their companion. —Showers of Grace. Ahmednagar, India: Meher Nazar Books 1984. (Softcover, 94 pp.) Over thirty fascinating stories of the interesting ways in which Meher Baba has touched the lives of different people and brought them to Him. —Purdom, Charles B. The God-Man. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press, 1971. (Hardcover, 464 pp.) Detailed, well documented description of phases of Meher Baba’s life and work up through the early 1960s. It contains a wealth of information. —The Perfect Master. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press, 1976. (Softcover, 330 pp.) Originally publisher in 1937, this biography contains many details about Meher Baba’s early life. Reiter, Lawrence. Love Personified: Photographs of Avatar Meher Baba. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Manifestation Inc. 1982. (Hardcover, 160 pp.) Contains a collection of over 285 photographs of Avatar Meher Baba taken over the years. The Ancient One. Edited by Naosherwan Anzar. New Jersey: Beloved Books 1985. (Softcover, 245 pp.) Memoirs of Meher Baba. A wealth of information about Meher Baba from Eruch Jessawala one of Meher Baba’s very close disciples. A must for the Baba lover. It So Happened: Stories from Days with Meher Baba. Edited by William Le Page. Bombay, India: Meher House Publications (Bombay), 1978. (Softcover, 153 pp.) A collection of stories from Meher Baba’s life, including stories about Him, told to Him, and used by Him to illustrate spiritual discourses. Not We But One. Edited by William Le Page. Bombay, India: Meher House Publications (Bombay), 1977. (Softcover, 151 pp.) A book featuring Meher Baba’s orientation on practical subjects such as childrearing, marriage, male-female roles, and everyday life. The Best of the Glow: A Fifteen Year Retrospective. Edited by Naosherwan Anzar. Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sherier Press, Inc. 1984. (Softcover, 200 pp.) A selection of the best articles about Meher Baba published in the Glow magazine during a fifteen year period. Welcome Home, A Guide for Travelling to Meherabad and Meherazad. Published by Friends of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust, Box 24331, Washington. D. C. 20024. 1983. (Softcover 76 pp.) Mimeographed handbook containing a gold mine of useful information for the intending traveller to Meherabad.

Periodicals about Meher Baba. The Awakener. Edited by Filis Frederick. Hermosa Beach, Calif., Universal Spiritual League of America. Vol. 1 (1954) was quarterly; then biannual; currently annually. Publication office, 938 18th St., Hermosa Beach, California 90254. U.S.A. This journal presents previously published and unpublished messages of Meher Baba, personal accounts of disciples, and related material. Glow International. Edited by Naosherwan Anzar. Dhera Dun, U.P., India, Glow Publications. Quarterly, 1966 to present. Distribution and subscriptions through F. Nalavala, 36 Lytton Road, Dhera Dun, U.P. 248001, India. English language quarterly. Articles about Meher Baba, interviews with the mandali, and photos highlight this magazine.

NOTES. CHAPTER 1. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Bhagavad Gita. Compiled and adapted by Yogi Ramacharaka. (The Yogi Publishing Society.) Chicago Ill. U.S.A. 1935.) p.54 How a Master Works by Ivy Onita Duce. (Sufism Reoriented Inc. 1300 Boulevard Way, Walnut Creek Ca. 94595. 1975) p.124. Discourses by Meher Baba. Originally in 5 vols. 7th ed. 1 vol. Sheriar Press, Myrtle Beach. Part of a circular issued from Meherazad, 1st January 1949, by Meher Baba. How a Master Works by Ivy Onita Duce. p.85 This information obtained from Pendu (Aspandiar R. Irani) at Meherazad in November 1985, he being one of the mandali in China in 1932. The Dance of Love by Margaret Craske. (Sharier Press, Myrtle Beach.) p.81 CHAPTER 3. 1.

The Quest was published in Singing Threshold by Francis Brabazon, Beacon Hill Press, Beacon Hill. N.S.W. in 1958.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Recorded from memory on the day Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.

CHAPTER 4.

CHAPTER 5. 1. The Suez crisis was ongoing. CHAPTER 6.

1. Rubaiyat and Ode of Hafiz by a Member of the Persian Society. (Published by John H. Watkins, 21 Cecil St., Charring Cross Road W. C. 2. England.) 2. Ibid. CHAPTER 10.

1. 82 Family Letters to the Western Family of Lovers and Followers of Meher Baba Written by Mani from December 1956 to August 1969 by Manija S. Irani. (Sheriar Press Inc. Myrtle Beach. 1976.) p. 2. 2. Ibid., p. 3. 3. Ibid., p. 5. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid., p. 6. 6. Ibid., p. 4. 7. Ibid., p. 8. 8. Ibid., p. 9. 9. Ibid., p. 12. 10. Ibid. 11. Ibid., p. 13. 12. Ibid., p. 17. 13. Ibid., p. 20. 14. Ibid., p. 21. 15. Ibid., p. 24. 16. Ibid., p. 27.

234 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba.

17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid. Ibid.,

p. 30. p. 31. p. 33. pp. 27-28 CHAPTER 12.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

I was embraced once by Meher Baba at this Sahavas, but I am not now certain if it was at this time or later. For Prayer of Repentance - see appendix A. From notes taken on the day. Awakener Magazine Vol. 5 No. 3 (1958) pp.23-24 Ibid., pp. 9-10 Ibid., pp. 14-15 Ibid., p. 58 Ibid., p. 30 Ibid., p. 53 Ibid., pp. 32-33 Ibid., p. 33 Ibid., pp. 31-32 Ibid., pp. 39-40 Ibid., pp. 11-13 Ibid., Vol. 5 No. 4 (1958) pp.13-14. From a recording made of a talk given by Joanna Bruford. Awakener Magazine Vol. 5 No. 3 (1958) p. 57 Ibid., p. 29 From a recording made of talk given by Robert Rouse. CHAPTER 13.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

The 1962 East-West Gathering. Meher Publications, Kings Rd., Ahmednagar. India.1962. p.10 Family Letters by Manija S. Irani. p. 53. Ibid., p. 54. Ibid., p. 60. Ibid., p. 76. This letter is not published in the Family Letters. Ibid. Family Letters by Manija S. Irani. p. 91. Ibid., p. 63. Ibid., p. 67. Ibid., P. 71. Ibid., p. 72. Ibid . p. 72 Ibid., p. 75. Ibid., p. 75. Ibid., p. 76. Ibid., p. 79. Ibid., pp 79-80. Ibid., p. 80. Ibid., p. 81. Ibid., p. 89. Ibid., p. 95. Ibid., p. 122. Ibid., p. 125. Ibid., p. 148. The 1962 East-West Gathering. (Meher Publications, Kings Rd., Ahmednagar. India.1962.) p.2 Ibid., pp. 4 and 9. Family Letters by Manija S. Irani. p. 149.

Notes. 235 CHAPTER 14. 1.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

22. 23.

24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51.

Family Letters by Manija S. Irani. p. 149. Ibid., pp. 158-159. Ibid., p. 176. Ibid., pp. 181-182 Ibid., p. 183. Ibid., p. 185. Ibid., pp. 186-187 Ibid., p. 204. Ibid., p. 205. Ibid., p. 210. Ibid., p. 213. Ibid., p. 213. Ibid., pp. 225-226. Ibid., p. 226. Ibid., p. 233. Ibid., p. 233. Ibid., p. 235. Ibid., p. 235. Ibid., p. 239. Ibid., p. 249. Ibid., pp. 249-250. God in a Pill? Meher Baba on L.SD. and the High Roads. (Meher Baba Informatioon, San Francisco.) pp. 6-7 Ibid., p. 7. Family Letters by Manija S. Irani. p.258. Ibid., p. 260. Ibid., p. 265. Ibid., p. 266. Ibid., p. 267. Ibid., p. 270. Ibid., p. 270. Ibid., p. 272. Ibid., p. 273. Ibid., pp. 275-276. Ibid., p. 277. Ibid., p. 281. Ibid., p. 285. Ibid., p. 291. Ibid., p. 294. Ibid., p. 299. Ibid., pp. 300-301 Ibid., pp. 308-309. Ibid., pp. 310-311. Ibid., p. 312. Ibid., pp. 319-320. Ibid., p. 322. Ibid., p. 321. Ibid., p. 342. Ibid., pp. 335-336. Ibid., p. 341. Ibid., p. 345. Ibid., p. 346. Ibid., p. 349. CHAPTER 15.

1. From a tape recording, but also published in Three talks by Francis Brabazon, (Meher House Publications.)

236 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

From a tape recording. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. CHAPTER 16.

1. Glow international, August 1981, inside front cover. 2. From my memory of what Eruch Jessawala told me. 3. Awakener Magazine Vol. 5 No. 3 Special Sahavas ed. 1958. pp. 49-50 CHAPTER 17.

1. 2.

3 4

Meher Baba on the Firey Free Life and Seven Other Messages. Meher Publications, Kings Road, Ahmednagar. M. S. India. p. 5 God Speaks The Theme of Creation and its Purpose by Meher Baba(SufismReoriented Inc. 1973.) p. 208. Meher Baba on the Firey Free Life and Seven Other Messages. p.6 New Life Circular Number 5. issued 10-3-1950 CHAPTER 18.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The Unstruck Music of Meher Baba compiled by Maude Kennedy. First published 1966. Revised ed. 1983. Reprinted in Lewes, England by Tanya Moller. p. I. Listen Humanity by Meher Baba. Narrated and edited by D. E. Stevens. p. 45. From a tape recording of Eruch Jessawala. From a tape recording of Eruch Jessawala. From a circular issued by Meher Baba from Satara on 8th October 1954.

INDEX Accident, in India, 72, 73, 74, 75, 78, 88, 92, 96, 99, 173. detailed account of, 77-78. Acknowledging thoughts, Baba, 22, 24, 25, 27, 33, 35, 38, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 52, 54. Adams, Clarice, 8-16, 18, 24, 38, 43-47, 49, 107, 113. Stan, 9, 10, 14, 15, 42, 43, 46, 47, 106, 121, Alphabet board, last message on, 216. Ancient One, 43, 62, 82, 91, 106, 109, 111, 127, 167, 216. Arti, Australian, 19-20, 169, 188, Gujerati, 158-159. Australia, 3-7, 10, 12, 14-20, 59-61, 66, 67, 73, 80, 81, 87, 89, 90-92, 96, 112, 147, 159, 177, 191, 196, 207, 210. Baba’s first arrival in, 21. Avatar, 5, 6, 15, 19, 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, 37, 60, 64, 72, 82, 102, 105, 113, 120, 128, 136, 151, 152, 160, 164, 165, 188, 189, 196, 213, Avatar rejected by most of humanity when in their midst, 25. Avatar’s Abode, 110, 113, 114, 116, 118, 121, 122, 126, 159, 210. Avatar’s return, 83, 138. Avatar’s spiritual helplessness, 115, 137. Baba, as our father, 134. family, 134, 135. turning the key, 147, 148. Baba’s, companionship, 91. grace, 27, 29, 55, 56, 111, 120, 127, 134, 135, 139, 140, 143, 145, 146, 155, 158, 161, 167, 168, 179, 210. injuries, 72, 73, 77, 105. Name, 13, 15, 18, 19, 27, 30, 34, 59, 69, 70, 76, 111, 130, 131,133, 135, 146, 149,153,165, 195, 197, 207, 208, 213. Name, repetition of, 13, 14, 18, 30, 70, 76, 149, 213. New Life, 10, 201-216. protection, 33, suffering for humanity, 25, 31, 72, 73, 99, 101, 137. work in the world, 36. Baba time, 23, 25, Baron von Frankenberg, 3, 5, 8, 54. Beacon Hill, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 17, 21, 23, 24, 35, 37, 54, 55, 59, 90, 92. Bhagavad Gita, 2. Building preparations for Sahavas, 18, 43, 92-97. Bible, 1, 21, 22, 161. Bombay, 9, 11, 15, 49, 68, 81, 82, 88, 132, 156, 157, 158, 191. Bowing to Baba, 164, 195, 196.

Box Hill, 45, 46. Brabazon, Francis, 3 - 6, 9, 10, 15-21, 23-25, 30, 33, 35, 37-39, 44, 49, 51, 52, 56, 57, 59, 66, 90, 92, 93-97, 99, 101, 102, 105108,110, 113, 116, 121-123, 126, 127, 160, 181, 163, 165, 169, 183. having Spiritual Status, 30. Arti - 221. Play - The Quest, 18, 33. Poem - ...the Moment of Joy, 19-30. Talk - The Mighty Beloved, 161-163 Brisbane, 91, 92, 96, 96, 97, 99, 121. Bellevue Hotel, 122. Bruford, John, 10, 43, 45, 47, 96, 97, 99, 101, 121, 122, 178. Buddha, 2, 25, 199. Cables, 9, 76, 79, 87, 93, 127, 134, 141, 149. Camberwell, 43, 48, 51. Canberra, 23, 39, 76, 95, 96. Children, Baba with, 25, 35, 42, 43, 47, 50, 115. Christ, 1, 5, 8, 21, 22, 23, 25, 29, 44, 50, 55, 60, 72, 76, 137, 193, 212. Communication, Baba’s method of, 26, 27, 72, 105, 137, 171. Cooking for Baba, 23, 57, 99, 112. Daaman, 73, 80, 83, 84, 85, 89, 106, 107, 122, 129, 130, 138, 151, 165, 167, 208, 214, 215. Dadachanji, Nariman, 99, 112, 122, 123. Darshan, 11-15, 31, 34, 38, 50, 51, 53, 54, 73, 74, 76, 77, 80, 81, 88, 89, 90, 129, 133, 140, 150, 154, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 164, 165, 175, 191, 192, 207, in Bombay, 11-15. in Poona, 158-191. My Real darshan, 139. Descision, to follow Baba, 29. Desires cause suffering, 145. Discourses, the book, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10,14. Discourses given by Meher Baba. An original, given in Australia - How Individuality is established in Indivisibility, 118-120. Annihillation of mind through love, 111. Ant and human consciousness, 106. Four saints, 116-117. How to Love God, 208-212 Law of ‘must’, 104-105. Love, 28. Love and Devotion, 108. Love is the Remedy, 109. Majnu and Leila, 109. My Wish, 110-111. Obedience, 103 Spiritual helplessness, 115. Sahavas, 105-106. Three Types of Seekers, 31-32.

238 Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. The Son of God the Father and God the Mother in One, 110. Two Types of Ego, 29. Worry, 28. Divine Love, 13, 28, 36, 77, 109, 140, 202. Donkin, Dr W, 99, 105, 108, 122. Drake, Mimi’s letter, 167. Drugs, 143-145, 208, 213. Duce, Ivy, 3, 4, 5. East Malvern, 45, 46. East-West Gathering, 134-136. Eltham, 45, 47. Embrace, Baba’s, 23, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 61, 86, 88, 89, 101, 102, 105, 116, 117, 122, 135, 139. England, 2, 44, 66, 67, 69, 73, 81, 88, 89, 143. Entertaining Baba, 33, 112, 121, 165, 189. Europe, 61, 66, 81, 88, 89. Faith, 60, 73, 84. Family Letters, 72, 82, 127, 137. Farewells, 57, 121. Fasts, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 80, 144. First Meeting with Baba at Beacon Hill, 23. Gestures, Baba’s, 26, 70, 105. Ghani Mansiff, Dr, 5. Ghazal, 162, 165. Gift from God, 115. Gifts to Baba, 37, 38, 69. God, 1- 4, 10, 13, 15, 20-22, 25-36, 38, 44, 46, 54, 57, 60-64, 70, 73, 74, 75, 78, 79, 82, 84, 87, 89, 99, 101-106, 108-111, 113116, 118, 119, 120, 122, 127-132, 134140, 143, 145, 146, 148, 154, 158, 159, 161, 165-169, 171, 173-175, 182, 183, 192, 199, 201-204, 206, 207, 208, 210, 211, 212, 215, 216. God-realization, 26, 27, 30, 32, 61, 166. God Speaks, 19, 22, 34, 35, 51, 53, 104, 143. Grace, Baba’s, 27, 29, 55, 56, 111, 120, 127, 134, 135, 139, 140, 143, 145, 146, 155, 158, 161, 167, 168, 179, 210. Guruprasad, 129, 130, 134, 151, 153, 155, 160, 158, 159, 160, 163, 164, 165, 167, 169, 188, 189, 190, 191, 207. Hafiz, 11, 56, 57, 104, 105. Hall, Oswald, 45, 48, 50, 51. Helplessness, 44, 74, 76, 77, 91, 115, 137, 138, 202, 205. explanation on spiritual, 115, 137. explanation on, in New Life, 205. Houses Meher Baba. visited, Melbourne, 45-48 Adams, 45, 47. Bruford, 45, 46. Burstin, 45, 46. Hall, 45, 48, Ratcliffe, 48.

Smart, 45, 47. Sydney, 53-54 Grant, 53-54 Lee, 54. How God suffers for humanity, 137, 138. How to love Baba, 13, 208-212. India, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 24, 27, 30, 31, 34, 43, 44, 49, 51, 59, 60, 61, 68, 71, 73, 78, 81, 82, 87, 90, 101, 123, 126, 136, 152, 156, 170, 191, 193, 203, 207. Inner contact, 69, 70, 71, 129, 131, 133, 138, 147, 153, 156, 157, 159, 175, 199, 215, 216. Instructions, 3, 9, 12, 15, 23, 33, 34, 42, 44, 49, 59, 60, 66, 69, 70, 71, 72, 80, 81, 82-86, 101, 103, 107, 113, 117, 121, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 133, 137, 141, 145, 147, 148, 156, 169, 207, 212, 213, General Instructions, 207-208. to observe silence, 3, 80, 117, 128, 129, 141, 145, 147, 149, 150, 151, to fast, 70, 75, 80, 130, 141. Intellectual conviction, 35, 36. Interviewed by Journalist, 35-36. Introductions to Baba, 23, 25, 34, 42, 43, 51. Invitations to visit Australia, 5, 17. Irani, Adi K, 11, 12, 21, 39, 44, 99, 122, 143, 165, 167, 189, Talk by, 165-167. Irani, Mani, 8, 9, 18, 66-70, 72, 74, 79, 87, 89, 90, 113, 114, 126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 137, 152, 188. Jessawala, Eruch, 11, 21, 35-36, 72, 77, 106, 107, 115, 158-161, 163-165, 169-171, 176, 178-184, 186, 190-197, 203, 208, 214, 215. His explanations on, Beware of Snakes - (desires), 194-195 Bowing to Meher Baba, 195-196. Darshan, 191-192. Pilgrimage, 196 Prayers, 197-199. The Avatar’s Manifestation, 193-194. The Breaking of His Silence, 194. Stories told by, A Politician Taught a Lesson, 180-181. Gustaji Gets Lost, 186-187. It's Not in his Fate, 184-186. The Intruder, 184. Meher Baba's Good Trick, 182-183. The Air Conditioner, 176-178. The Story of Guruprasad, 190. The significance of ‘darshan’, 192. The Tea Party, 179-180 The Thief Story, 181-182. The Wire Puller, 170-175. Jesus, 1, 3, 7, 21, 44, 49, 55, 60, 72 79,82, 106, 115, 132, 193, 194, 199, 200, 212. Judas, 50.

Index. 239

Kabir, 146. Kaikobad, sees Baba as He Really is, 27. Karkaria, Meherjee, 9, 11, 12, 15, 21, 37, 49. Karma, 78. Kenmore, Dr Harry, 86, 87, 88, 102. Khan, Inayat, 3, 6. Kiel Mountain, 92, 95-97, 99, 107, 113. Koran, 54. Krishna, 2, 25, 78. Last Message on Alphabet Board, 216. Law of ‘must’,84, 104. Lemmon, Ena, 8-16, 17, 18, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47,49,96. Le Page, Bill, 5, 23, 66, 78, 80, 89, 96, 99, 122, 147, 152, 169, 188, 193, Joan, 5, 24, 43. Letters requested by Baba, 69, 127, 142. Link for the future, 115. London, 5, 17. Longing for Beloved, 10, 28, 35, 55, 56, 81, 91, 106, 133, 134, 141, 145, 146, 150, 159, 192, 194, 203, 204. Looking at Baba, 32, 44. Love, 1, 4, 6, 9-15, 17-20, 22, 24, 25, 27-33, 35, 36, 44, 48-52, 55-57, 61-70, 73-80, 82-84, 87,88, 90, 91, 101, 103, 105, 106, 108-113, 116,121, 127-154,158-161,163168, 175-177, 189-192, 194, 195, 199, 202, 204-210, 212-216. Love gift, 67, 68, 69, 88, 90. ‘Love Me’, 28, 30, 70, 112, 133. Maharanee Shantadavi of Baroda, 190, 191. Mansari, 188. Martin, Rabia, 3, 4, 8. Manifestation, 149, 150, 193. Manonash, 201, 202, 205. Mast, Chatti Baba, 90, Masters Authority to use his Power, 207. Mantra, 1, 2. Media, 22, 42, 62, 63. Meditation, 17, 39, 199, 208. Mehera, 113, 114, 121, 123, 158, 164. Melbourne, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21, 23, 25, 38, 42, 44, 45, 47, 49, 50, 51, 61, 66, 67, 68, 96, 122, airport, 42, 43, 52. Men’s Special Session with Baba, 114. Messages, 8, 10, 14, 15, 18, 25, 28, 44, 51, 52, 62, 63, 64, 69, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 89, 91, 126, 128, 130-132, 134151, 153, 154, All are blind, 139. Ask and you lose, 140. for when you are miserable, 138-139. for schools and students, 148. given in Australia on Sahavas, 25. Look within for the treasure, 138-139. My dear children, 134. My dear Workers, 135.

on drugs, 143-145, 208, 213. on His suffering, 137-138. The aim of life, 139 to all attending Sahavas, 91. Universal message, 127. Work, 208. Mohammed, 25, 200. Mount Waverley, 45, 46. Movies, At the, in Sydney, 55. Myrtle Beach, 4, 9, 62, 81, 87, 89, 90, 91, 196, 210. ‘My work is done’, 151. Name, Baba’s, 8, 13, 15, 18, 19, 27, 30, 34, 59, 69, 70, 76, 111, 127, 131, 133, 135, 145, 146, 149, 153, 158, 165, 174, 195, 197, 207, 208, 213, 214. Name, power of His, 30, 131. Name, Repetition of His, 13, 14, 18, 30, 34, 70, 76, 149. Narraweena, 24. New Life, 10, 201-206. Nilu, Dr, 21, 33, 72, 74, 75, 77. Obedience, 11, 13, 30, 42, 59, 67, 70, 80, 81, 85,86, 89, 90, 102, 103, 105, 106, 111, 122, 126, 128, 132, 150, 151, 160, 176, 191, 207, 212,215. O’Brien, Dr Denis, 10, 43, 45, 46, 47, 46, 48, 49, 107. Joan, 10, 14, 43, 49, 50. Our contact with Meher Baba to be direct, 30. Padri, 189. Parry, Rebecca, letter, 167, 169. poem - Today, 167-168. Pendu, 72, 75, 77, 101. Perfect Master, 22, 26, 44, 49, 56, 60, 78, 85, 107, 120, 139, 143, 144, 146. Peter, 13. Pilgrimage, Places of, 221. Poona, 76, 83, 88, 133, 134, 152, 153, 159, 169, 188, 191. Prasad, 39, 46, 50, 51, 55, 76, 77, 88, 114, 115, 180, 190. permanent, 114 -115. Prayers, 129, 197-199. Master’s Prayer, 149, 150, 151, 158, 169, 188, 198, 199. Repentance Prayer, 149, 150, 151, 188, 197, 101, 113, 149, 151, 188, 197, 198,

240

Practicle Spirituality with Meher Baba

Preventing unwanted thoughts from turning into unwanted actions, 30. Private interviews, 32, 34, 44, 152. Protection, Baba’s, 33. Public Darshans in Australia, Baba’s, Sydney, 38. Melbourne, 51. Queensland, 90, 92. Questions and answers, 62, 63. Quotations of Meher Baba are shown in bold print in text. 4, 5, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 56, 57, 58, 62, 63, 64, 65, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 93, 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 124, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 154, 156, 165, 194, 195, 197, 199, 200, 210, 202, 203, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 225. Radio interview, 35-36. Rama, 14, 25, 146. Raja Yoga, 1, 2. Real Treasure is within, 138. Real desire, Real longong, 145. Reality, 27, 36, 73, 79, 104, 105, 109, 143, 144, 164, 195, 198. Reasons for first visit toAustralia, 24. Reincarnation, 199. Remembrance, 70, 85, 146, 149, 153, 159, 162,195, 204, 208, 209, 210, 211–213. Reminder to those who love and obey Baba, 8286. Repetition of His Name, 13, 15, 18, 19, 27, 30, 34, 59, 70, 76, 133, 165, 213-214 Request for a letter, Baba’s 69, 127, 142. Restrictions on correspondence to Baba, 3,128,129, 130, 137, 138, 147, 148, 150, 151, 152,153, 156, Ringwood, 45, 47. Rouse, Lorna, 23, 31, 33, 39, 45, 89, 94, 95, 96, 101, 112, 113, 121, 159. Robert, 37, 38, 39, 45, 78, 80, 89, 96, 121, 122, 159. Sahavas, 25, 27, 30, 51, 61, 62, 66, 74, 79, 80, 81, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 99, 101, 102, 105, 106, 107, 108, 116, 117, 118, 121, 122, 126, 134, 140, 141, 142, 143. Explanation on, 25. Preparation for Queensland, 92-97. Sahavases, in Australia, 21-58, 89, 90, 93,99-123. Sydney, 21-39, 53-58. Melbourne, 42-52 Queensland, Avatars Abode, 81, 92, 99123.

in India, 27, 30, 66, 79, 80, 81, 87, 90,91, 101, 102, 106, 116. Sanskaras, 6, 26, 30, 104, 117, 166, 203,205. Seclusion, 3, 11, 14, 17, 44, 49, 61, 64,69,70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 114, 127, 129, 130, 132, 133, 148, 149, 150, 151, 160, 164, 169,174, 190, 191, 192, 193, 198. Silence, Baba’s, 26, 43, 61, 71, 91, 113, 122, 127, 133, 134, 138, 142, 145, 148, 152, 153, 154, 156, 171, 181, 185, 194, 201. Sins forgiven, 101, 113. Spreading Baba’s Message of Love and Truth, 135, 136, 145, 151, 216. Spiritual helplessness, Baba’s, 115. Suffering, 31, 57, 63, 72, 73, 74, 76, 78, 83, 86, 90, 91, 92, 99, 101, 109, 137, 138, 141, 145, 153, 164, 165. explanation on, 137-138. for humanity, 25, 31, 72, 73, 99, 101, 114, 132, 182, Sufi, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 85, 188. Sufism, 2, 4, 8, 49, 54. Sydney, 3, 4, 8, 21, 24, 38, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 52, 53, 61, 66, 68, 76, 77, 96, 121, 122, 123, 130, 157, airport, 21, 38, 39, 58, 123. Test by Divine Law, 73. Testing the Master, 22, 27. The Infinite Treasure is within man,, 138, 139. ‘Think of Me,’ 28, 30, 69, 70, 133. Travelling, Baba, by aircraft, 21, 39, 52, 58, 123. by car, 42, 43, 45, 48, 97, 99, 122. by train, 170-187. Travelling incognito, Baba, 170. Truth, 1, 4, 22, 26, 27, 56, 61, 62, 70, 76, 104,115, 127, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 144, 147,149, 151, 158, 197, 199, 201, 203, 204, 206,216. United States of America, 4, 5,6, 8, 9, 10, 15, 17, 34, 44, 61, 66, 67, 69, 71, 73, 77, 81, 88, 90, 91, 102, 136, 143, 161, 167, 169, 183, 184, 196, 207. Vishnu, 72, 77, 78. Waltzing Matilda, 121. Warnings, 72 ,82, 83. Weeping, tears, 27, 61, 101, 116. What is Love?, 36. What to do when miserable, 138. Why and how God suffers for humanity, 127, 138. Women’s Special Session with Baba, 113-114. Worry, Baba’s discourse on, 28. Yellow seclusion chair, 160,163. Zoroaster, 25, 200.