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3vfeher Baba’s75th Birthday Celebration

FEBRUARY 25, 1969 HUNTER COLLEGE NEW YORK CITY

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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 expressions.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.Meher Baba

2nd Day, 50th Week, Meher Year 74This is the true account of Avatar Meher Baba’s dropping His body, according to the resident

mandali.The three years of intense work in seclusion had an untold effect upon His body, and a faint

reflection of this on us caused a deep depression among us. But beloved Baba warned us that thiswas disobeying His order to be always cheerful in His presence. And He quoted, as He had manytimes over the years, Hafiz’ couplet : “Befitting a fortunate slave carry out every command of theMaster without any question of why and what.”

on 13th October 1968 Baba told us that He would give His darshan to all His lovers all overthe world from 10th April to 10th June 1969. Considering His physical condition we were apprehensive of His body standing such a strain. But He said, “It will be easy for me to give my loversmy darshan, so you are not to feel concerned about it. I will give darshan reclining and that will beno 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 mywork, but by then my work will be complete and my exultation will be great. A very ‘ poor manwinning a rich lottery can become so excited over his fortune that he collapses and dies. My for-tune will be in my work being finished and in the knowledge of its certain results : bt my exultation will not cause my collapse—it will be my glory.”

Despite these assurances, Baba’s health became worse. But the symptoms were completelyconfusing to the doctors we called from Poona and Bombay. His blood uria was so high that thedoctors said usually an ordinary man in such a condition would go into a coma, but there was noteven the least sign of mental confusion or the faintest trace of uremic odour. Similarly, whenmuscular spasms were occurring, when a specialist from Bombay examined Him, he asked whyhe had been called, because there were no symptoms at all—Baba’s condition was quite normal.

Outwardly, to our eyes, Baba’s condition deteriorated still further,. and we wanted to takeHim to Poona so that further tests could be carried out, but He refused to go and warned us thatwe should not try and take Him against His wish. He said, “If you want me to drop my body now,then take me to Poona. My condition has no medical grounds at all; it is due purely to the strainof my work. Do not call the doctors again until I tell you.” And so, helpless before His will, wehad to obey His will.

Over the last days Baba’s body manifested severe spasms, and He told us, “This is my crucifixion.” Two days before He dropped His body He told us to call the doctors. The one from Poonacame the next morning and said he could do nothing until further tests were done so that a definitediagnosis could be arrived at; and this could only be done if Baba went to Poona. Baba said to him,“My time has come.”

The next day the doctor from Bombay came, and also one from Ahmednagar. By the timethey arrived a great spasm shook His body, the pulse rate fell to nothing, and breathing ceased.This was at 12.15 p.m. At 12 noon He had been joking with us about all the medicines He hadbeen given.

In the evening we brought His body to Meherabad. The sun was setting and the moon wasrising as we placed it in the tomb for His lovers to take His darshan, fulfilling beloved Baba’sword that He would give His darshan reclining.

5th February 1969. ADI K. IRANI

King’s Road,Ahmednagar.Maharashtra, India.

THE AVATAR’S PRAYERby Mel’zer Bttha

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 theBeyond-Beyond-God also; You are Parabrahma; Allah;Elahi; Yezdan; Ahuramazda; and God the Beloved.

You are named Ezad : the only One worthy of worship.

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2vleher 73aba A Short Biographical Sketch

MEHER BABA (“Meher” means “mercy,” or in Persian“sun,” and is the name by which he was called as achild; “Baba” means “father”) is Merwan Sheheriarji

Irani, born at Poona, India, on February 25, 1894.One morning in May 1913, while a student at Deccan Col

lege, he was bicycling down Kedari Road when he looked upand met the eyes of an old woman sitting under a neem tree.He knew who the woman was, Hazrat Babajan, reputed to be avery holy person to the inhabitants of the area who held her invery great esteem. She beckoned to him, whereupon he left hisbicycle and went over to her. She arose and embraced himthough not a word was said. He remained sitting with her forabout fifteen minutes and then left her. That was the first meet-ing between Meher and Hazrat Babajan.

After that first meeting he visited her every night. One nightin January 1914, when he made his usual visit, she kissed himon the forehead. Babajan was later to declare, “This child ofmine will after some years create a great sensation in the worldand do immense good to humanity.”

After returning home Meher lost consciousness of his body.It was not until November of that same year that Meher regained a little consciousness and behaved, it was said “as anautomaton possessing intuition.”

Years later, Meher Baba identified Hazrat Babajan and fourother holy men with whom he subsequently came into con-tact, as the Perfect or God-Realized Ones whose function wasto “unveil” the superconsciousness in him. Babajan, he said,gave him God-Realization—the complete merging of his con-sciousness in the Infinite Ocean of Divine Love, Knowledgeand Bliss—thus enabling him to realize by his actual experience,the Infinite Existence which is God. It was a period, as mdi-cated above, when he was completely unconscious of thethings of the world.

However, it was at the end of December 1921 that UpasniMaharaj, one of the five mentioned above, returned MeherBaba completely to normal consciousness of the world withfull retention of his God-Realization, and signified it with ashort address. “Merwan,” Upasni Maharaj said, “you are the

Avatar and I salute you.”“Avatar” is a Sanskrit word meaning “One who is sent”

and thus it can be equated with other words that apply to what

is regarded as a similar and special phenomenon, namely,Messenger, Christ, Son of God, Messiah, Rasool, Prophet, etc.,

even though these terms are variously interpreted. But Meher

Baba has given his own unique explanation in his bookGOD SPEAKS, whose theme is Creation and its purpose.

Whatever may have transpired during Meher Baba’s relationship with the five individuals mentioned, the fact remains

that it was plain to many who came into contact with Meher

Baba thereafter that at the very least he possessed an unusual

understanding of the spiritual life and a deep and rare insight.

As a result he drew disciples to himself very readily whomhe trained for an arduous life of selfless service through moral

discipline, love for God and spiritual understanding. It wassome of these early disciples who gave him the name ‘MeherBaba’ which means ‘Compassionate Father.’

After years of intensive training of his disciples, Meher Baba

established a colony near Ahmednagar, India, that is calledMeherabad. Here his work embraced a free school wherespiritual training was stressed, a free hospital and dispensary,

and shelters for the poor. No distinction was made between

individuals, and all mingled in common fellowship through the

inspiration of the Master. At Meherabad many of his Eastern

and Western disciples who were of different backgrounds

received their training under his personal guidance.

Meher Baba told his disciples that from July 10, 1925 he

would observe Silence, and since that day he has maintained

this Silence which he said was necessary for universal spiritual

reasons. His many spiritual discourses and messages have

been dictated by means of an alphabet board which was dis

carded on October 7, 1954, and he now uses unique hand

gestures which are interpreted by his disciples.Meher Baba as travelled extensively throughout India

giving his ‘darshan’ or spiritual blessing to hundreds of thou-sands and contacting many of a special category of advancedspiritual pilgrim whom he has called “masts” (pronounced“musts”) or God-intoxicated souls.

He has also travelled many times to the Western world and

visited several countries. His first visit to the West was in 1931and his last visit to America which he has visited six timesand more than any other country, was in 1958 when he and his

disciples stayed at the Center established in his name atMyrtle Beach, South Carolina.

In November 1962, Meher Baba reversed the current of histravels by inviting followers from all over the world and Indiato enjoy a few days of his ‘darshan’ and companionship atThe East-West Gathering which was held in Poona.

In spite of all this activity MeherBaba has consistentlymaintained that his “work” is neither to teach nor to found anew religion, but to.awaken the sleeping soul of man to ahigher state of consciousness of man’s Real Self which is God.

He is therefore committed to no “ism” whether of religion orof politics. He has pointed out that while he appreciates all“isms” for the many good things they seek to achieve, Truth,while equally including them, transcends all of them andleaves no room for separative divisions, which are all equallyfalse. For the unity of life is integral and indivisible and it willremain unassailable and inviolable, in spite of all conceivableideological differences.

Meher Baba has said that when he breaks his Silence he willspeak “One Word” which will go to the world as from God,not as from a philosopher, and that it will go straight to theheart. The effective force of this “Word” and the reaction to it,

he has said, will be in accordance with the magnitude andreceptivity of each individual mind.

What is so impressive about Baba, as his disciples andfollowers call him, is the LOVE which radiates from him andpermeates through all of his activities. It is through the powerof LOVE, which is utterly selfless, that he awakens in thosewho come to him a new, deeper and far more beautiful under-standing of life whose purpose he says, is that the individualshould realize the Godhood inherent in himself.

As C. B. Purdom, author of Meher Baba’s recent biographyTHE GOD-MAN, 50 aptly said, “Meher Baba is beyond the scope

of familiar categories and ordinary experience is insufficientto account for him except on his own terms. It is sufficient tobe in his presence to know the Truth. He does not need tospeak; he has the power of Truth in him. Meher Baba is theMaster of one knowledge, which is God, but that knowledgeincludes everything else.”

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“I am not come to establish any cult,society or organization; nor evento establish a new religion. Thereligion that I shall give teaches theKnowledge of the One behind themany. The book that I shall makepeople read is the book of the heartthat holds the key to the mystery oflife. I shall bring about a happyblending of the head and the heart.I shall revitalize all religions andcults, and bring them together likebeads on one string.”

MEHER. BABA

HOW TO LOVE GOD

To love God in the most practical way is to love our fellow beings.If we feel for others in the same way as we feel for our own dearones, we love God.

If, instead of seeing faults in others, we look within ourselves,we are loving God.

If, instead of robbing others to help ourselves, we rob ourselvesto help others, we are loving God.

If we suffer in the sufferings of others and feel happy in thehappiness of others, we are loving God.

If, instead of worrying over our own misfortunes, we think ofourselves more fortunate than many, many others, we are loving God.

If we endure our lot with patience and contentment, accepting it

as His Will, we are loving God.If we understand and feel that the greatest act of devotion and

worship to God is not to hurt or harm any of His beings, we areloving God.

To love God as He ought to be loved, we must live for God anddie for God, knowing that the goal of life is to Love God, and findHim as our own self.

Mel’ier Baba

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Program

1. Welcome Address

2. Avatar’s Prayer

3. Meher Baba’s Birthday Message

4. Life Sketch of Meher Baba

5. “of Thee We Sing Baba”

6. “Till There Was You” (Solo)

7. “Divine Love” (Solo)

(Words from Let Us The People Sing

by Francis Brabazon;

music by Richard Williamson)

8. “My Lord What A Morning” (Solo)

9. “The Dawn Light Breaks” (Solo)

(Words from The East—West Gathering

by Francis Brabazon)

10. “Baba Is My Beloved” (Solo)

11. “You’ll Never Walk Alone”

12. The Eternal One

13. Avatar Meher Baba (Film)

14. “I Believe”

:I_5. “Someone Bigger Than You & I” (Solo) . ...

16. “He’s Got The Whole World

In His Hands” (Solo)

17. “Ah Sweet Mystery Of Life” (Solo)

18. Baba’s “Swanee”

19. “It’s A Small World”

20. “Begin The Beguine” (Solo)

21. Finale—”Happy Birthday” to Meher Baba

Leonard Willoughby

Dr. Harry L. Kenmore

Annarosa Karrasch

Michael Kohanow

Geminis

Nola Larkin

Leonard Willoughby

Gloria Price

Irving Hunter

Nola Larkin

Geminis

Dr. Harry L. Kenmore

Geminis

Gloria Price

Leonard Willoughby

Nola Larkin

Dr. Harry L. Kenmore and Geminis

Gloria Price, Irving Hunter and Geminis

Irving Hunter

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TO YOUTH

It is the privilege of youth to be full of energy and hope. Not being caught up in any ruts, your

dreams of the future have the advantage of being inspired by an unfettered imagination. In the

glow of a newborn love or in the warmth of a newly-caught enthusiasm, you are quick to

respond to the call for action and self-sacrifice.

Life would be poorer without these qualities that are predominantly present in youth. But if

you are to derive the full benefit of the qualities with which you are abundantly endowed, you

must also try to acquire some other qualities which are rare in youth.

Hope should be fortified by a courage which can accept failure without upset. Enthusiasm

should be harnessed by the wisdom that knows how to wait with patience for the fruit of action.

Idealistic dreams about the future should be balanced by a sense of the realities of the present.

And the glow of love should allow iteslf to be illumined by the full exercise of reason.

It is easy for youth to be so absorbed in realizing the ideal that it becomes bitter against the

present and the past. But it is as well to cultivate a spirit of idealizing the real, while being appre

ciative of the heritage of the past. The world as it is may not seem to conform to the pattern

which youth adores, but you must never forget that it is always good enough to merit your

most loving attention. In your desire to improve the world, do not, by becoming bitter, surrender

your right to be happy.

Youth loves freedom and therefore has a natural impulse to rebel against all authority. This

is well and good, but you should make a real effort to keep free of the many illusions to which

youth is particularly susceptible. True self-expression need not include irreverence for others.

True criticism need not involve snobbishness or cynicism. True freedom need not manifest hos

tility, or separateness.

Freedom without responsibility is a doubtful boon. Freedom is worth having only where there

is self-restraint and willingness to cooperate with others. Youth is always willing to act and

take risks. It should be allowed to yield freely to this fearless and imperative urge of life within.

But while engaged in action, youth must take every care that it is creative, and not destructive.

Let your watch-words always be LOVE and SERVICE.

To Youth

Taken from Listen Humanity, by Don E. Stevens

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FORGIVE AND FORGET

People ask God for forgiveness. But since God is everything and everyone, who is there for Him

to forgive? Forgiveness of the created was already there in His act of creation. But still people

ask God’s forgiveness, and He forgives them. But they, instead of forgetting that for which

they asked forgiveness, forget that God has forgiven them, and, instead, remember the things

they were forgiven—and so nourish the seed of wrong-doing, and it bears its fruit again. Again

and again they plead for forgiveness, and again and again the Master says, I forgive.

But it is impossible for men to forget their wrong-doings and the wrongs done to them by

others. And since they cannot forget, they find it hard to forgive. But forgiveness is the best

charity. (It is easy to give the poor money and goods when one has plenty, but to forgive is hard;

but it is the best thing if one can do it.)

Instead of men trying to forgive one another they fight. Once they fought with their hands

and with clubs. Then with spears and bows and arrows. Then with guns and cannon. Then they

invented bombs and carriers for them. Now they have developed missiles that can destroy

millions of other men thousands of miles away, and they are prepared to use them. The weapons

used change, but the aggressive pattern of man remains the same.

Now men are planning to go to the moon. And the first to get there will plant his nation’s

flag on it, and that nation will say, It is mine. But another nation will dispute the claim and they

will fight here on this earth for possession of that moon. And whoever goes there, what will

he find? Nothing but himself. And if people go on to Venus they will still find nothing but

themselves. Whether men soar to outer space or dive to the bottom of the deepest ocean they

will find themselves as they are, unchanged, because they will not have forgotten themselves

nor remembered to exercise the charity of forgiveness.

Supremacy over others will never cause a man to find a change in himself; the greater his

conquests the stronger is his confirmation of what his mind tells him—that there is no God

other than his own power. And he remains separated from God, the Absolute Power.

But when the same mind tells him that there is something which may be called God, and,

further, when it prompts him to search for God that he may see Him face to face, he begins to

forget himself and to forgive others for whatever he has suffered from them.

And when he has forgiven everyone and has completely forgotten himself, he finds that God

has forgiven him everything, and he remembers Who, in reality, he is.

Forgive and Forget

Taken from The Everything and the Nothing

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THE PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

We repent, 0 God Most Merciful, for all our sins; for every thought that was false or unjust orunclean; for every word spoken that ought not to have been spoken; for every deed done thatought not to have been done.

We repent for every deed and word and thought inspired by selfishness, and for every deedand 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 byus, and to forgive us for our constant failures to think and speak and act according to Your Will.

Meher Baba

This whole program is given under the auspices of “Society for Avatar Meher Baba.”

Board of Trustees : Dr. Harry L. Kenmore, President; Mr. John Bass, 1st Vice-President;Mr. Fred Winterfeldt, 2nd Vice-President; Mrs. Ella Winterfeldt; Mrs. Annarosa Karrasch.

ITHE READING ROOM AND OFFICES OF THE SOCIETY FOR AVATAR MEHER BABA

121 WEST 72ND STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y. SUITE 2A-B.

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