APRIL-JuNE, 1998

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Ec1• , praycrjust what they needed at the particu- table’ book released later this year. Kathy

1t0r Slar time theypicked up the magazine. We are Wiederhold is researching the story now.very happy to have been of service in such away, and will be continuing that theme in a One thing that was mentioned here lastfuture issue. issue, but to which we have received no re

sponse—who out there is artistically talented,A gentle word to you wonderful folk who proficient in Adobe PageMaker is dying to

send us in articles: it is indeed great that you be ofservice to our Lord, and has 50-60 hoursget them in by the deadline, butjust because over a three weekperiod to create a LampPost

Cwe receive it in a timely fashion doesn’t mean for a thousand or more eager readers?!

Ori-iCr it will go in the next issue. We give priority to People’s lives are ever changing and Tomthe latest news from the Beloved’s home, as and David will not always be available whenso many ofyou have told us we are your only the time is here to do the design and layoutcontact with the Baba world. We are still sit- for the next issue. Liz Gaskin did a beautifulting on articles submitted 3 years ago! We job with thejanuaryissue, butlogistically (andplan for them to be included, but as in this financially) it does not prove feasible to workissue, Tom told me that we were at 52 pages, across the Pacific. David is on pilgrimage atand as we can’t go over 48, we had to start, this time andTom isjustbackfrom his honey-

Jai Baba toyou all. very reluctantly, puffing articles and deferring moon, so we owe a great big thank you to histhem until a future issue. long suffering bridejai, who waits in vain for

Spring has sprung in mostparts ofthe coun But I can tellyou that in thejuly issue will her new husband to come home from work!try, and very welcome it is too! Baba has be the very exciting news of the book that

certainly ‘blessed’ many hundreds of thou- Mani had arranged to be published before Please write, phone, fax or email me if yousands ofpeople with the opportunity to be- shejoined Baba. Mani had dreams. Dreams would like to step up to the plate!come detached from their material possessions. she felt were direct from Baba and very pro-The horrendous winter in most parts of the found. She asked Wodin (an artist residing inUS did, literally, detach many from their Myrtle Beach, who did the illustrations for Dma Snowhomes—our hearts go out to them. her delightful book GodBrother) ifhe would

We received a great many letters and emails create a series of paintings to illustrate eachfrom readers who found ourJanuary issue on dream. This is going to be a fabulous ‘coffee

Photograph Credits

Page Source Page Source

Page 4, 5, 17 Lawrence Rciter Page 28 Marc Brutus(Hermes)

Page 31 Fred StankusPage 7, 10, 11 Dma Snow

Linda Zavala Page 34 Meheru Irani

Pages 8, 9, 23, 36, 46 Dma Snow Page 40 Louis van Gasteren

Page 12 Thomas Hart Page 43 Andy Lesnik

Page 13 Sarah McNeil, Page 45 Panday StudioThomas Hart

Page 47 Photo ofBaba byPage 25 James Cox Hardip Chowdhary

Page 27 Ross Keating Cover Photos Dma Snow

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Apublication oftheAvatarMeher Baba Center ofSouthern California

LoveSreet Lamj2osrwelcome

The £oveStreeLtamjl2osr is dedicated with love toAvatar Meher Baba. Its primary purpose is tocontribute to a sense of community among allHis lovers by providing a place for sharing Hisremembrance. All the members of the Baba familyare invited to contribute to this feast of Love.

Your stories, photos, art work, poetry, letters, articles, and humorare all actively solicited. We seek expressions ofBaba’s message ofLove andTruth.

Please submit your text on computer disks if possible (in anysoftware format); typewritten copy on white paper is alsoacceptable. Be sure to clearly identifr all submissions and properlycredit every quote or reference.

submissions, subscriptions, donations:

( iIq4: ?‘t7Meherabodc,The FirstYear Center Report, etc 6Minoo Bharucha Various Contributors 12Amartithi at Meherabode Dma Snow 22Grand Opening ofthe Nizarnabad Centre R.S.N. Murthy 24

Baba’s Special Room Jim Migdoll 26Archives Project Update Meheru Irani 34TheTheme Meher Baba 45

Meherabad in the 1920’s Ward Parks 4

Don Stevens Speaks Don Stevens 14

Reprinting ofGod Speaks and Listen humanity Dma Snow 18

Amartithi, 1969 Mani S. Irani 20

Amartithi, I 998 heather Nadel 21

Meher Baba’s Poet: Francis Brabazon Ross Keating 27

Divali Heather Nadel 30

Prayer Various Contributors 32

BringingTogether the Religions ofthe World Bal Natu 33

Beyond Words,The Video Loius van Gasteren 40

Beyond Words Andy Lesnik 43

Editor’s Corner Dma Snow 2

Poetry Featuring, Faredoon N. Driver (Padri) 30

A Poem ‘l’erri Zee 1 5

rqieeiz Minutes ofSilenre Craig Ruff 23Meherai Bc/cried Irma Sheppard 24

A Stirred Blasphemy Rum i 29

Lucky 1cape/br Raba Simon Reeee 3 1

Song on Babe Meher Preeti Khilani 31

Notes from the Internet James Cox 38liumor for Fluma The Chickenjoke 39

The LoveStreet Bookstore Your Bookstore-walli 46

Announcements (Aleeting.c, Weddings, eli) Various Contiributors 37

jJZZZEZZDjinac G/2 John E Page 45

c!AEzizz::EEEz:EEE

Love Street LampPostAvatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California1214 South Van Ness AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90019—3520phone (213) 731—3737

e-mail Bababooks@aol.com

deadlines for submissions:

Jan-Mar issueApr-Jun issueJul-Sep issue

Oct-Dee issue

: November gth

: February gth

: May S

: Aug gth

Love Street Bookstore:

Dma Snow (at the addresses above)(310) 837—6419 between 7:00 and l1:OOpm(310) 839—BABA (2222) 24-hour faxor e-mail Bababooks@aol.com

Love Street LampPost:

editorart directiondesign and layoutdigital scanningdistribution

: Dma Snow: Avatar Meher Eaba: Thomas Hart: Michael Franklin, David McNeely: Chris Lyttle and Harry Thomas

The £ovaStTectfsmjSsr is published quarterly, in January,April, July, and October. All contents © 1997, Avatar MeherBaba Center of Southern California. All quotations of AvatarMeher Eaba or books, © AMBPPCT, India.

Cover: The Chapel at Meherabode (aka the “Dome”), photo by Dma Snow.

Back cover: Meherabode, photo by Dma Snow.Photos: See page 2.

A/lather words, images, andgraphics in thispublication areproperty oftheirrespective copyright holders.Unauthoriaedduplicatzon isprohibitedhy international law.

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Meherabad in the 1920’s

by Ward Parks

In correspondence from the Avatar MeherBabaTrust, 7January, 1998.

The dust of Meherabad is soaked withwine—the wine of the ever—livingness

ofHis memory, the wine that fills the foot-prints that He impressed indelibly when Hewalked there as the beautifulGod-Man.

As pilgrims walk to and fro be-tween the Pilgrim Centre and theSamadhi on Meherabad Hill,many may never have noticed thestrip ofland, perhaps a hundredmeters wide, that lies between theroad and the railway tracks. To-day this land is largely an undeveloped field ofcongress grass andwild flowers interspersed with occasional neem, ailanthus, and acacia trees. But in the 1920’s it wasa vital hub ofactivity. Close to therailway tracks, near the current pilgrim railway crossing, was the oldPost Office buildlingwhere Meheraand other early female disciples resided when they first moved toMeherabad from Khushru Qiiarters in Ahmednagar. The SaiDarbar, ahailfor darshan and meet-ings, had been constructed in thesame general vicinity and nearbystood the table-cabin in whichBabawroteThe Book.The schoolswhich Babainaugurated in 1925 and in the following yearswere, at first, housed in various buildings inthis same strip of land, extending from thePost Office as far as the fringes ofArangaonvillage, where the Meher Health Centre issituated today. But soon the focal point ofBaba’s schooling activities shifted up the hill.It was in the old water tank, which is now theground floor ofMeher Retreat (the tall tower

building at Upper Meherabad), that Baba established first the Meher Ashram and laterthe Prem Ashram.

These and other reminiscences from the

stones from an earliervisit ofhis in 1977, whenhe came with a group oflraniansjust beforethe outbreak ofthe Iranian revolution. He recounted at that time how his sudden awak

ening to love for God came about,shortly after his arrival inMeherabad.

During class in the MeherAshram one day in 1927, histeacher, Afseri, quoted from apoem by Sadi that says that manwill one day reach a stage whenhe sees nothing but God.

“Is it possible for man to seeGod?” Esphandiar had asked.

“Yes,” Afseri had replied.From that moment Esphandiar

lost his ordinary state ofconscious-ness and found himselfunable tostudy. In fact, over the next fewmonths a number of the schoolboys were overpowered by whatBaba had awakened in them, andMeherabad Hill became a sceneof uncontrollable weeping, or“sobs and throbs,” as RamjooAbdullah called it in his accountofthis chapter in Baba’s life.Thuswas born the “Prem Ashram,” orthe “ashram oflove.”

On another occasion Baba askedEsphandiar to ride with Him in the hand-drawn rickshaw that two ofthe mandali werepulling up the hill from Lower Meherabad.Finding no room to sit, Esphandiar stood be-side Baba in the carriage. As it rocked andbumped its way up the path that nowleads tothe Samadhi, he found he had to hold on toBaba’s arm to keep from falling. When theyreached Meher Ashram on the hill, Baba told

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earlyhistory ofMeherabad through the 1920’shave been brought back to my mind over thepast few weeks by a pilgrim-visitor who hadthe good fortune to have been there at thetime. Now an old man in his mid-eighties,Esphandiar Vesali was one of a group of 14boys whom Aga Baidul brought from Yezd (acity in Iran) during July of 1927. ThoughEsphandiar speaks no English, I still rememher some ofhis beautiful and heart-affecting

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him, “Just as you had to hold My arm on thebumpy ride up the hill, in the same way youhave to obeyMe, as your Master, on the jour-ney to God.”

What a superb allegory this is for all of usas we traverse the roads our diverse destinieshave laid for us in ourjourneys to Him!

For these past few weeks it has been a moving sight to see Esphandiar now an old man,sitting on the frontveranda ofthe Pilgrim Centre in the late afternoon light as the westeringDecember sun sinks over Meherabad Hilland filters through the neem and ailanthustrees.Though he says little, the old histories ofMeherabad that we have read about in booksseem to come to life again in the presence ofsuch a one for whom these memories are thedefining realities ofa lifetime.

How beautiful is Meherabad, where thatgreat Lion oflove scores His indelible mark inthe landscape of so many hearts! One daythe seeds that He plants there will flower, likeflags of love unfolding, in every nation andgarden ofthe world.

Opposite: Baba at Upper Meherabad near the crypt, 1925.Top: Water tank building with men mandali, 1927.

Above: Thble-seat under tree struck by lighting.Right: Maps ofUpper andLower Meherabad by Elaine Cox,from the book Let’c Go To Meherabad!copyrightAMBPPCT

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Meherabode

The First Year

Center Report

by Lois Jones

President of the Board of Directors

In the October, 1997 edition ofthe LSLP,Michael Ramsden reported that four Va-

cant Board of Directors positions (2-yearterms) were to be filled at an upcoming election. I am pleased to tell you that NancyMerwan was elected, and MehrnoushLorkalantari and Dma Snow were re-electedto the Board. Per our By-laws, the VotingMembership elects the Board ofDirectors andthe Directors elect the officers ofthe Board.Positions for 1998 are as follows:

Lois Jones, PresidentLinda Zavala, Vice-President/Director ofFixed Assets and LegalMehernoush Lorkalantari, Secretary/Director ofMembershipMahoo Ghorbani, Director ofProgramsLynn Maguire, Director ofService/OutreachGolnaz Manouchehrpour, Director of FinanceNancy Merwan, Director ofFundraisingDma Snow, Director ofPublications and Communications

Our nine-member Board has one vacantposition, Director ofPersonnel. We hope toappoint someone to this vital position soon.Kanji Miyao continues as Treasurer, an appointed position. Michael Ramsden is takinga break from Board ofDirector duties, but Iam happy to report that he will continue to beour Center Representative to the Neighbor-hood Association as well as serving on a number ofcommittees.

We have our work cut out for us over thenext two years! December of’97 saw the Citygrant us our Conditional Use Permit. (Thisallows us to exist as a Religious non profitorganization in the center ofan area zoned forsingle family residences.) This permit bringsus one big step closer to our Certificate ofOccupancy. We have approximately two years tocomply with the city’s codes. As this articlegoes to press, our Voting Members are preparing to vote for an unprecedented two bud-gets: the 1998 Center Operations Budgetand the 1998 Provisional Renovation Bud-get.The Center Operations Budget addresses

income and expenses for the day-to-day operations ofthe Center.The Provisional Renovation Budget addresses income and cx-penses for the work we hope to do on theproperty this year. Once the budgets are approved, fundraising will begin! Ofcourse, wewill do what we can with the funds on hand,but we will need more income to pay for all ofthe work. Please see Linda Zavala’s article formore details on the work being done.

I cannot conclude this article without say-ing “Thankyou” to Michael Ramsden for hismanyyears ofservice as AMBCSC Board ofDirectors President. We’re glad we haven’tcompletely exhausted you, Mike! We look for-ward to your continued service in as manyways as you can!

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Right: Yardsa/efiindraiser atAdele Wolkinchouse with workersfrom lfi: Mehernoush

Lorkalantari, Diana Snow, Cookie Riendeau,and Kennedy McIntosh

(formerly ofthe Chicago Bulls).

Left: President ex-officio Mike Ramsden isstiliserving the Board

—homemade cake!

Seatedfrom left: LoisJones, Linda Zavala,Golnaz Manouchehpoui Mehernoush

Lorkalantari, Mahoo Ghorbani, NancyMerwan, —Dma Snow is behindthe camera.

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Left: Dale Keeney cleaning uparound our Pine trees.

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The Transformation

by Linda ZavalaFacilities Use Coordinator

Inside the DomeLeft Mehera c Room—projected reading and study room.Middle: Manic Room—projected audio visual room.Right: Babac Room with His chair.Amir Chafai is creating a stainedglass window of Mastery in Servitude above the chair.

This March marked the first anniversaryofthe purchase of”Meherabode.” After

17 years of fundraising, years of discussion,site searching and saving—Baba turned thekey. Now, sometimes we have to pinch our-selves to realize we are really here.

Mypredecessor, Donna Sanders, not onlyfound the property but capably and enthusi—astically nurtured our first months at the Center handling new problems that arose daily.

As Facilities Use Coordinator managing thephysical aspects ofthe Center has given me awonderful opportunity to gain insight intowhat will be needed by the Center from, liter-ally, the ground up.The place Baba chose forus, as you have seen before in the LSLP, in-cludes a beautiful and extensive garden whichnever ceases to delight. On every opportunityto visit the Center I am always amazed howBaba found such a place ‘smack dab’ in themiddle ofthis thriving and noisy metropolisand yet, one feels as if one is in the countrywith fragrant scents of flowers and gentle

winds in the afternoon.In the last year we have settled in, worked

out the many kinks involved in taking owner-ship and are now beginning to consider whatBaba has in store for us. Your love offeringshave allowed us to make important repairsand renovations. With the stout help of KentHansen and his workers we modestly renovated both ofthe bathrooms and replaced adoor on the other one.The kitchen has beenre-organized so that our ever hungry Babalovers can eat and chat in comfort. The roofleak was repaired after the first rains and luck-ily is holding during “El Nino.” We have hadthe lovely marble floor ofthe Dome cleanedand polished. Manypeople have donated fur-mture and artwork to adorn the meeting hailand Dome. Even the goldfish in the pondbelow the waterfall continue to thrive. After25 years ofkeeping Baba’s sadra hidden away,a preservation committee has been formed todispaly it safely along with other preciousarchive items. Volunteer gardeners come ev

cry week working hard to beautify Baba’splace. Mehera’s rose garden promises to bloombeautifully come Spring.

Our first goal in becoming “legal”(up tocode) was to secure the Conditonal Use Per-mit which was obtained in December. Nowwe are preparing to move on to the BuildingPermit and OccupancyPermit. Obtaining thefinal permit will allow us to publicize the BabaCenter more freely and secure our position inthe neighborhood. We will need to raise$60,000 this year and $60,000 next year tocomplete renovations to secure the final per-mit. We are calling upon you, dear friends andmembers ofthe Center, to participate, to shareand to help us go forward in spreading Baba’sMessage and continuing to create this lovelygathering place for spiritual renewal. The do-nations which you have been sending on amonthly, weekly, and even daily basis continueto be a source of help and inspiration thatalways brings to mind the thought and feel-ing that we are all one in Him. Whether we

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are near or far we are all together in our focusofsharingthelove Babagives continously.Youhave shown us by your enthusiasm and giftshow this is also your Center and we hope youwill come and visit us often. Ifyou wish tomove the renovation forward with your donation please note on your check that it is ear-marked for that purpose. We can also accept aCredit Card donation for that purpose.

One in Spirit,

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Clockwisefrom top left: Meeting hail; reading area ofthe Bookstore;future bigger bookstore sight;from left:Marc brutus, Rosie Choi, Tracy Bleahu heip with the

annualLove Street Bookstore inventory; 4fe-sizepainting ofthe inside ofBabac Samadhi

dome murals byjurgis Saphus.

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Left: The 13,000 squarefoot Mi/bank Mansion,bui/t in 1912, that maybe one day

Baba will seefit to give us! We bought thechauffiur cottage and 8 cargarage, along with the

Dome, situated on one acre.

Right: The Meherabode Meeting Hall is at the leftend, the Bookstore at the right.

Highlights ofthe MeherabodePrograms for our First Year

by Mahoo GhorbaniProgram Director

H fortunate we are. Beloved AvatarMeher Baba has blessed us with so

much good fortune this past year. Ever sinceBaba provided us with this lovely center, Hehas also lured many guests our way. In March,Dr. Farhad Shafa was a very welcome andinteresting guest. An Easter celebration wasorganized by Gigi Driessen and Fred Stankuswith an egg-tossing contest alongwith the traditional easter egg hunt.

May saw Craig Ruff,Trust Office Slave, inthe States on a sabattical as a guest in ournew home.

Our Meherabode Grand Opening, asBaba’s newest home in the West, was celebrated and officiated by Bhau Kaichuri,bringing a crowd ofover 200 people.

After the highly successful Silence DaySahavas, featuring Bhau Kalchuri and manyother guests, Bhau gave a public talk at theCenter. Bhau was also on hand for our Si-lence Day celebrations.

Later in the summer, Jack Small came toL.A. and shared his interesting stories of20years in India- followed byhis renowned sing-ing. In the fall we celebrated MargueritePoley’s 50th year with Meher Baba.Meherabode was delighted to have MurshidaDuce’s daughter Charmian Duce Knowles,as guest ofhonor at our Saturday night pro-gram as well as the potluck event the follow-ing day.

Charmian shared her heartwarming storiesofmeeting Baba. In the latter part ofOctoberBaba’s nephew’s Rustom and Sohrab Iranivisited Meherabode and kept us laughing attheir antics around Uncle Baba.

Meherabode’s first annual Art festival wascelebrated featuring manytalented artists whoshared their creative efforts dedicated toMeher Baba. Mid November Mr. AK.Kasthuri, who has been with Baba since the1930’s, traveled to L.A. from Northern California and shared his lovely memories with

us. 1997 closed with the first MeherabodeChristmas party celebrated with music, giftexchange and lots ofother fun things.

All in all, a fabulous first year in our newhome!

Thankyou Baba.

Opposite, clockwisefrom top left: From ourdriveway, bambooforest on the left, looking over

the expanse ofour lawns to the Milbankidaughteri house (6000 sq.ft.,) built in 1927.(We’d like that one too!,) That completes the 3

buildings on the 5 acre walledproperty.the Greenhouse andparking lot;

the Bookstore with Diana Snow (seated);. . . looking towards the Dome; Mario Zavala withKent Hanson on the roofofthe Bookstore trying

out the ironwork; Kent Hansonc worker laying tilein the bathroom.

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Minoo Bharucha

Memories of Minoo fromCynthia Barrientos

ith a grin on my face, I recall an afternoon with Minoo. He cheerfully

agreed to make a day-trip to Shirdi and Sakoriwith a small group ofus. This warm, Novemher afternoon, 1994, we climbed into a vanand headed for these towns where UpasniMaharaj and Sai Baba had lived. Minoo knewthese places well, so provided entertaining anddetailed accounts of life with Meher Babaduring those times.

When traveling such a distance, we occasionally stopped for opportunities to “easeourselves,” as Minoo worded it. Since toilets,as we know them in the west, are few and farbetween, these stops were at hushes or deserted buildings. One break was particularlyamusing.

A member of our group was a cigarettesmoker. He hopped out of the van to “easehimself” and left his pack ofsmokes behind.Minoo, seated in the front, reached back andquickly tossed them into the bushes. Whenour friend returned, he questioned the womannext to him as to the whereabouts ofhis pack.She has been known to create mischief now

Excerpts from the DiariesofJamie Dillon

One day at arti I was standing next toMinoo Bharucha while waiting in line

for darshan. Minoo has been with Baba fordecades; currently he works as an electricianat Meherabad. He’s funny and warm and looksand acts as ifhe’s made out ofold, seasonedwood. I waited a whilejust at the corner oftheTomb and followed Minoo’s example from acouple ofdays before, ofjust feeling the stone.

Nothing miraculous, just looking up at theDome and leaning on the stones and mortar.

At arti there was a richly colored green clothon the marble in Baba’s Tomb. After arti, Iwas chatting andjoking with Minoo on theway down the Hill. Jal Dastur came up andasked Minoo ifhe’d found the bottle behind acertain banyan tree, whichJal had hidden forhim. They really spun this fantasy out, rollingtheir eyes over the treat that was in store.Gentle reader, I wouldn’t want you to get thewrong idea: a million bucks in gold says there’sno secret boozing going on amongst the residents ofMeherabad. In line for darshan nextmorrnng, I turned around to Minoo, who wasright behind me, and asked him quietly ifhe’dfound the bottlejal had left for him. He nod-ded solemnly. I asked him what it had been,cognac? Minoo sighed, “No, champagne!”

Minoo made a huge impression on me, withhis kindness and his deep concrete humor.Baba was his whole heart. Thanks for thechance to remember him once again.

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and again, so this was not an unreasonableaccusation. When she pointed to Minoo andexplained what happened, Minoo kept astraight face and prompted the driver to getgoing. This man wouldn’t even begin to con-sider that Minoo would do this, so proceededto interrogate the woman. The van filled withlaughter, we drove off and Minoo simply con-tinued to look straight ahead, telling tales ofMeher Baba.

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From Andy Shott

In 1992, I was with a smaligroup that got tovisit Sakori and Shirdi with Minoo. There

are many recollections associated with thattrip, but as far as my memories ofMinoo, nothing is so vibrant in my mind as a get-togetherfor tea in his cabin after the trip.

The particulars arelong-gone,butl definitelyremember Minoo pouring some very hot teaand then just as I was beginning to sip, hestarted telling ajoke. Well thisjoke hit me justright and I began laughing hysterically. Allthe time I had no place to put down the tea-cup, as I was sitting up on his bed. The more Itried to stop laughing and balance the teacup,the more I howled. Others in the room werewatching me andjoined in the hilarity ofthesituation. Minoo was totally unaware of mypredicament, but since everyone was break-mg up, hejust kept tellingjokes thinking hehad a great crowd. I remember thinking that ithad been years since I had laughed that hardand yet the whole time I was in danger ofburning myself, ruining his bed, or Baba knowswhat ifl couldn’t control the teacup.

Eventually all settled down, the tea wassaved and all came backto normal. No moral, nogreat meaning,just a simple remembrance ofasimple man who was able to make me laughand be happy in a way that will be indeliblystamped in my mind for the rest ofmy life.

What happened on one ofthose unforgettable tours with Minoo—on this

occasion to the mast-ashram in Rahuri?That day in 1988, being the kind ofhumid

sticky dayyou get in October, the bedraggledgroup offour Australians, two Americans, anda couple of Brits picking their way gingerlyaround several large puddles quickly attractedthe attention ofan increasing number oflocalyouths.Their animated chatteringin turn drewMinoo’s attention and he went over and spokewith them.

With his customary beaming smile he an-swers their questions. We continue up thepath. They draw closer, craning their necks andbending down as ifto try and see around usand behind us. There is another exchangebetween them and Minoo and his face cracksinto an even broader grin.

“What were they asking you?” we wantedto know.

“They ask, are you descendants ofHanuman? You knowwho is Hanuman? Heis the Monkey-God oflndian mythology whohelped Ram. You know the story ofhow hehelped Ram? No? He rescued Sita when shehad been abducted to the kingdom ofLanka.You don’t know this story?” As we all shookour heads he continued.

“Hanuman helped Ram to get Sita to safety

and Ram being so happy, wanted to rewardHanuman. So he said to him, your descendants—theywill be the nilers ofall India. Thisis what he said. So now this is what happened.When the British came and ruled over all In-dia, people say, all localpeople who know thisstory, they say these British are the descendants ofHanuman. Now, you see, these village boys, they want to know ifyou are descendants ofHanuman.”

“What did you say?” demanded Americanand Australian voices in unison. Minoo, chuck-ling, replies, “I told them Yes!” (Exclamationsof dismay from Australian and US contingents.) Minoo, however, had not yet come tothe best bit ofhis story. “So then,” he contin—ues, “They come near, as you see, and theylook very curiously at you all. So I ask, whatare you looking for? And they reply, We wantto see where they have hidden their tails!”

In His Love always,

from Sarah

Opposite: Minoo onfront veranda ofPilgrim Center at Meherabad August, 1 996.Above: Minoo with magnfyingglass at “Caft Bliss, “Amartithi, 1993.

Right: Minoo takes tea in the dining hall while sharing his remarkable wit and humorwith Anthony Thorpe (‘background,) among others, October, 1992.

Sarah McNeil Wri

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Don Stevens SpeaksHow God Speaks and Listen Humanity came to be

[From a talkgiven byDon Stevens at the MeherBaba Centre in London,Juty, 1 997. Edited byDavidMcNeely.]

Quite An Amazing Statement

I have heard so many people through theyears in different parts of the world say,

“WellI really don’t know why Baba botheredwith writing these books.” Rarelywas this ad-mitted in public; however, because my deepinvolvement in these projects is commonknowledge, people always seem to have quitea facility to be frank (and sometimes brutallyfrank!) with me. So I have heard this questionasked many times. In fact I know a few peoplewho rather pride themselves on never havingread a book ofBaba’s. You might be shockedwhen I say that, but it is quite true and it

follows from a very simple line of reasoningwhich is, as Baba explains—and I think everygreat mystic explains—Truth cannot be seizedby the mind, it is not an intellectual thing.

I ask in return: if it is not an intellectualthing, why did the greatest mystic and revealeroftruth in our time spend hours and days, asBaba did, on books and messages that Hegave out to the public? Almost never did Babago to a formal occasion where He did notspend some time beforehand dictating toEruch a message which was to be read out.

Also, because these words were given byBaba they do not gojust to the mind.The realresults happen over a period of time. I hadthis experience with the Discourses. When Ifirstread them I thought theywere pretty good.But I had not met Baba at that point, and Ionlythought He was a briliiantwriter. Alot ofthe Discourses I couldn’t understand—the con-cepts were new to me. But later on when Baba

got my nose back into them again, as I readthem I became aware that in the interveningyears processes had been going on completelyunconsciously. What I had read ten years be-fore and thought pretty good (even withoutunderstanding many things), were now aliveand leapt out at me and were really exciting.So there are subconscious processes going onthat are terribly important.

But what about this business when peoplesay, “One risks being side-tracked when oneconcentrates on philosophicalwords; what youhave to do is experience with the heart. Ifyouare filling your head with all this stuffyou aretaking time, focus and energy away from heartfeelings and processes.” I don’t know how manytimes I have heard this sentiment expressed

by people—very deeply honest, feeling, devoted people. Again, I believe it is important to read the words of a great spiritualmaster such as Baba because they act asseeds. They get planted, and you know theyare underground but you forget they areplanted; then one day up comes a couple ofgreen leaves that grow a little bit more, andsoon you get a plant.

I was about two-thirds ofthe way through

re-editing Dr. Deshmukh’s edition ofthe Discourses, and by that time Baba was not justthe Avatar to me, but also a human being thatI loved and trusted and even shared jokeswith every once in a while (He had the mostwonderful sense ofhumour; He could crackyou up). On this particular occasion we werediscussing some ofthe things in the Discoursesand I just tossed offthat I was not sure thatthis was ever going to be particularly useful asthere were so many people that feel it is impossible to embody the realities of spiritualattainments in words, that words can actuallydetract—even Baba’s words.

Baba looked at me as though He had justheard the most extraordinarything. He lookedabsolutely aghast. He said, “But Don, howcould peopic ever feel that way about Baba’swords?” He said, “As Baba works on thesewords that He gives out He attaches to eachword a spiritual energy ofgreat quantity greatproportion, and the individual who takes thetrouble, even without understanding, to readBaba’s words taps into this gift of spiritualenergy which the Avatar has attached to Hisown words.”Then He looked at me and said“It is your responsibffit Don, to impress uponthe people that you are around that Baba hasdone this. And this spiritual gift that Babahas attached to His words will help them enormously in their own spiritual on-going.”

In other words, Baba was saying that be-yond the intellectual side of the words, thereal importance here is that He has touchedthese words with His own Avataric energy,and the person who takes the trouble to readthem will participate and absorb this energyeven ifhe or she does not understand intel-lectually what Baba is saying with thesewords. Qiiite an amazing statement!

So I always encourage people to do exactlywhat Baba says: read His words, especially

YIs Baba works on these words thatHe gives out He attaches to each worda spiritual energy ofgreat quantity,

greatproportion, and the individualwho takes the trouble, even withoutunderstanding, to readBabac wordstaps into this gift ofspiritual energy

which theAvatar has attached toHis own words.”

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God Speaks, and re-read them because theyhave this enormous quality I don’t thinkit willbe necessarily evident from one minute to thenext, or one day to the next, but I am absolutely convinced that they were intended tobe important in our lives. And I thinkwe havea responsibility—because of our love forBaba—to follow through on that.

Transcribing Baba’s Wordsfrom Baba’s Silence

Nowto GodSpeaks, and howit came to bewritten. When Baba came to America

He mentioned some ofthe background ofHisinstructions to Dr. Ghani. We were in MyrtleBeach, on His second visit in 1954, when thisreally came to a head. Baba brought up thesubject by saying that when He got back toIndia in 1952, just after Ghani had died,“Ghani’s death was so unexpected, and therewere so many things I wanted that man to doin his lifetime.” Hearing Baba talk that waywas very strange. I was at the point in myrelationship with Baba where I believed, yesthis man is God, He knows everything thathas ever happened. So for Baba to talk aboutGhani’s death as a tragedy—and unexpected,with alot ofthings left undone—sort ofthrewme into a whirligig. But things happened withBaba so rapidly. . . He didn’t give me thechance to sort that out in my mind, He justwent on immediately and said that unfortunately when he got back to India Ghani hadwritten what Ghani wanted and not muchabout what Baba wanted. Baba said, “Now Ihave dictated to Eruch Jessawalla the principle part ofa book which I am going to callGodSpeaks, andwe should publish this as soonas possible.”

Now I want to stop right here for a momentand acknowledge Charles Purdom: a won-derful person, a great scholar, and absolutelydevoted to Baba. Purdom pointed out in oneofhis writings that we really don’t have Baba’sdirect words, we dont really know exactlywhatBaba wanted to say because firstly, Baba wasdictating on an alphabet board to secretarieswho were trying to keep up with Him, andsurely they made mistakes. Secondly, Babalater used even more indecipherable gestures;these had to first be interpreted, and then gothrough editors who inevitably added thingsfrom their own ideas.

Purdom was a careful, scholarly man point-

ing out an issue which he felt must be dealtwith bylater generations in interpreting whatBaba had left us. Sometime after Purdom’sdeath this subject came up obliquely—no oneaccused Purdom of saying things againstBaba’s manner ofgiving out words—the sub-ject was around and generally discussed. Ontwo occasions when I was in India sitting withjust Baba and Eruch, He had Eruch explainjust exactly how it was done. Baba felt thisinformation was so important that he had itrepeated to me on a later trip to India. Babawanted it established and absolutely crystalclear that itwas a totally fallacious interpretation to believe that He just gave out thingsthrough secretaries which were then passedon to us.

During the day Baba would give materialto Eruch, who would take rapid notes (Eruch,by the way, before his stroke seven or eightyears ago, had a photographic memory in otherwords, something would register exactly andstaythere.) Eruchwould sitin his room throughmost ofthe night andwrite up his notes, (Eruchwould sleep almost not at all—he was knownas Mr. Perpetual Motion). He would thencome back the next morning and read out toBaba what he had written. Baba wanted toemphasize how all this material was directly,carefully, and word for word from Baba Him-self The instant Baba heard an incorrect wordor a word that didn’t give the exact meaning,Baba would snap His fingers to stop Eruch.Theywould discuss it back and forth, and be-cause Eruch knew Baba’s vocabulary so wellhe would get the word almost immediately;Babawould smile and theywould go on. Babaexplained to me that when there was an especially difficult word He would have Eruchrecite the alphabet very quickly.. . when hecame to the letter in the critical word Babawould snap His fingers to stop him and Eruchwould repeat the letter to make sure it wasthe correct one. The principle part of God

Speaks (up to the supplement) was given outin this meticulous fashion. Now ifthat isn’thaving the direct Avataric words I dont knowwhat is.

Questionsfor

Baba

hen we were otlginallyworldng on GodSpeaks, Murshida Duce asked if I

would take the part that Baba had dictated toEruch. She decided that the material thatGhani had written so many technical details about Sufi mysticism that—as a great Sufiherself—she wanted to edit that part. Thisbecame the body ofthe supplement.

As I went through the part that was as-signed to me, the part Baba had dictated toEruch, I noted down the things I didn’t understand or which were not clear to me. WhenI finally got back to Washington, andMurshida Duce showed me what she haddone on the supplement and I showed herwhat I had done, I was astonished to see thatI had written down 52 questions! MurshidaDuce was stunned by my temerity—it lookedlike a vote ofno confidence in the Avatar! Bythe next day she had recovered and said, “It isa lot Don but I think you should type theseup, and the next time Baba allows you to go toIndia you take them along.”

So on my next visit when I go in to Baba,He is very interested in how the editing ofGodSpeaks is progressing. He asked, “Did youhave any particular questions as you wentthrough the material?” I don’t know whetheror not I was embarrassed to bring out thesequestions, but I produced the pages. Babalooked at all the questions and was as stunnedas Murshida Duce had been. Baba lookedquizzically over at Eruch and Eruch lookedquizzically at Baba and I am feeling very smallsitting at the side.Then Baba says, “Well Don,52 questions is a lot; I tellyou what, you pickout the 26 most important and send them tome.” Baba felt really pleased about this and Ifelt I had got offpretty much scot-free from areally dangerous tactical situation, so we left it

like that.Some tlmelater afterl had sent the 26 ques

tions to Baba, I received a rather lengthy let-ter. Ofthe 26 questions I had sent, there weretwelve that He answered. Later on when I

‘Baba wanted to emphasize how allthis material was directly, carefully,

and wordfor wordfrom BabaHimse(f The instantBaba heard anincorrect word or a word that didntgive the exact meaning, Baba would

snap Hisfingers to stop Eruch.”

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went to India I asked Eruch about the other12. He said, “I asked Baba about them. Hesaid he would answer them later on.” Ofcoursewhen Baba dropped the body I said to Eruch,“But He promised me!” Eruch said, “Well,He didn’t promise in which Avataric incarnation!”

The questions Baba answered are inter-spersed throughout GodSpeaks and comprisea considerable amount. Many ofthe footnotessay Baba was asked about so-and-so, andmuch ofthe explanatory materialwas directlyfrom Baba. As you go through the supple-ment you will notice that there are a numberofsections that begin “Meher Baba says;” allofthis material came directly from Baba.

Murshida Duce independently sent anumber ofquestions to Baba also. Materialthat seemed tremendously valuable but thatwasn’t particularly related to God Speaks wasput together into two little books which IvyDuce edited: Life at its Best and Beams.

Baba Asks for More

When I was in India on a visit around1957-59, Baba had the Sahavas for

the four language groups—Gujerati, Telegu,Hindi, and Marathi. Francis Brabazon and Iwere invited by Baba to be the only Western-ers there. At the end ofit when He was goingto say good-bye, He had me come up to oneofthe rooms over the storage tank at UpperMeherabad. He was sitting in a chair lookingvery formal and regal, Eruch was sitting at theside, and Francis was with me. Baba first askedme for my reaction to what had gone on at thefour-language Sahavas. I felt that this hadbeen a most incredible experience and I saidthat; I guess I repeated it five or 10 times.Baba,wearying at mylackofotiginality lookedover to the side at a table where there was astack ofpapers. He motioned Eruch to handthem to Him and He said, “Here is a collection of individual addresses that Baba hasgiven out at various different public occasions.Whenever Baba is invited somewhere Healways gives some sort ofaddress. Some daysbefore Baba goes, He dictates the address Hewants to make and goes over it carefully; sothis material has been gone over exactly asGod Speaks was.

Baba made that extremely clear. He said,“Some ofthese are several pages long, someonly a paragraph or two. Don, it has been some

time since you finished the work on GodSpeaks,Baba would like to know ifyou would like totake this material and try to assemble it to-gether in some sort oflogical fashion and makesomething similar to the Discourses out ofit?”I was so stunned by the whole concept that Iguess I didth reply quickly enough. So Babasaid. “What about it Don, would you like todo that?” I finally managed to say “Yes Baba,itis averychailengingthing to do, I am stunnedby the honour that you confer on me askingme to do it.” I meant that sincerely, for Babawas saying—I am giving you my own directwords and going to trust you to put it into alogical fashion and bring out an editorially acceptable book!

So I said yes, and then Baba said “There isanother thing that comes to Baba’s mind, youhave been here at this four language meetingand you will have noted that I had two secretaries who have been taking down word forword what Baba has said. Ifyou would like tomake the second part ofthe book your experiences here, I will make the transcripts avail-able from my secretaries. I will give you direct

Baba said: “What about it Don,wouldyou like to do that?” Ifinally

managedto say “Yes Baba, it is a verychallenging thing to do, lam stunnedby the honour thatyou confer on me

asking me to do it. “Imeant thatsincerely,forBaba was saying—lamgivingyou my own direct words and

going to trustyou toput it into alogicalfashion and bring out an

editorially acceptable book!

contactwith Ramjoo Abdulla. Ramjoo will takethe material as it comes from you and look itover, then pass it to Mani. Mani will checkwith me.”That was the source ofthe materialfor Listen Humanity. Part one contains directquotes from Baba, and part two has the samedegree of accuracy and direct careful reviewby Baba himself as had God Speaks.

I tell you, when I got home to Californiaand looked at this collection ofpieces, some-times just little strips ofpaper, I looked at it

and said to myself, “God how am I ever goingto get all this together so that it makes sense?”Somehow or other I read through the mass,

read through it again rather quickly, then decided to put it into five or six major categories.I would then take each little pile and readthrough it and then, to my amazement, I foundthat the material there made total sense! Occasionally I would have to put in a ‘but’or an‘and,’ but I didn’t have to invent anything tohold it together, isn’t that absolutely fascinating? Incredible! I wouldn’t have suspected thateven the Avatar could have done that! Babagave all this out on different occasions spreadover 10, 15, or 20 years, yet when I put allthese little strips together there was a consistent story, that was the beauty ofit. This wasstraight Baba material, and how it was puttogether isjust one ofthose wonderfttl Babamiracles that He says He never does!

The Discourses

The Discourses were given out to two see-retaries primarily in the 1930’s. I do not

know ofany meticulous word byword re-checkthat was done, but Baba went over the mate-rial that was used in group activities aroundHim for at least 20 years before He went offinto the New Life.

And I went over all sorts ofambiguous ma-terial directly with Baba when I was re-edit-ing the Deshmukh edition. So in my opinion—although I can’t say to you that Babawent over them word byword as He did withEruch on God Speaks—with the manner ofreviewing and careful re-editing that wenton—I can’t imagine any fallacious materialbeing included in the three blue book editionofthe Discourses.

There are manypeople who feelthe Sheriaredition is not as straight from Baba as thethree-little-blue-book edition which precededit. I must saythat for all the translating work Ihave done, I used the Sheriar edition. Once ina while as I went through that, because I knewthe previous Discourse material so well, Iwould get a bit of a shock. I think in somecases there was perhaps an over simplification oflanguage which resulted in some lossoffiavor and vibrancy, this would be my onlycriticism. Further than that I amjust not capable ofknowing.

(From the audience) I have heard over theyears people say “Don’t trust the Sheriar edilion” in the way we almost automatically trustthe three volume edition.

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(Don) I knowthatthe mostimportant changeswere made by Eruch himselfin conjunctionwith Bal Natu with Plagg Kris acting as secretar I also know that a great deal ofmechanical change ofsentence construction was donebyPlagg Kris and notfully checkedwith Eruchor Bal so there can be an escape hatch therebut I quite frankly don’t knowthe significance.

Well, I will go backjust for a minute to thestart ofthe translations. You know when youwere around Baba and He would get an idea,He would start getting it moving along rightaway. He had so many cute ways ofdoing it,

getting you trapped when you didn’t realizewhat you were getting into, (I hope He’s notlistening, or atleast is in a forgiving mood!). Itwas two years after I finished the work on God

Speaks that it went out to the press and pub-lishers. Immediately we received letters, criticisms, etc.Not everybody acceptedGodSpeaks happily! We hadgot that and then Listen

Humanity out on the roadand I was a little bit exhausted. I’d worn out what-ever literary brains I’d hadand was just relaxing andenjoying life, and when I gotthe chance to visit Baba, justenjoying Baba. I would getthere for a 2-3 days visit andBaba was all happy and gladto see old Don again. Hewould sit me down and for10-15 minutes we exchanged information, “Whathave you been doing, wherehave you been traveling? Does your boss allow you to be honest still?” (His favourite question.) I could always say “Yes!” I worked foran honest company and all my bosses knewabout Meher Baba. Anyway I was just en-joying life there and Baba had just finishedHis question and answers. He had this wayoflooking atyou in the most benign, childlikemanner but then would zap you with a question as He did to me then: “And what haveyou been doing about Baba’s words lately?”

I thought that putting four years ofmy lifeinto two books was doing something aboutBaba’s words, but the question sounded asthough I hadn’t done anything but goofoff Ithought I would play this one diplomaticallyand said “Frankly Baba I have just been en-

joylng being here in your presence.” Whenyou said something like that Babawould smileand beam at you and you would feel all warmand pleasant. The only trouble was that whenBaba would put a leading question like thatto you, He would allowyou 10-15 minutes torecover and then put the screws to you again.So after the five or 10 minutes grace periodwas done He said, “But Don, seriously, whatare you doing about Baba’s words?”This timeI answered quite truthfully and said, “Baba,frankly I’ve had the suspicion I have beenjust goofing off. I havejust been enjoying youand enjoying life, and I knowl must really getback again to re-reading your words and per-haps doing some workwith it.”

Three months later on another visit to Baba,He allowed me perhaps five minutes then said,“O.K. Don, what have you done about Baba’s

words?” I had forgotten the whole conversalion and I hadiñ done a blessed thing! So therewas nothing to do but say, “Baba I forgot it.” If

you told Baba you had forgotten somethingthis was about the worst possible sin you couldadmit to. So I said “Baba I promise you I wontforget again.”

It had been ten years since I had read theDiscourses, so I went back and re-read them.Things that had seemed nice, but lots oftimenot understandable and not especially exciting, nowwere alive, absolutely alive and I said“God this is terrific material.”This was the oldfive book Deshmukh edition. Deshmukh wasa wonderful person, but as erudite as he was,he sometimes wrote and arranged things inan oblique Indian style with an inverted sen

tence structure. And there were certain keywords that were used differently from stan-dard English. So I was aware ofthe fact thatwhen I was reading the five volume edition, Iwas unconsciously spending about 10% ofmytime re-inverting sentence structure and not-ing he has made a mistake in this word, it

really should be so and so, etc.So I said to Him, “Baba the Discourses are

incredible. You know, there are so many ofthese drop-outs and LSD experimentalistsand so on around, who are looking for Truthand who are knocking at your door Ijust havethe feeling that this is going to be their biblefor the future. So what you really need to doBaba, is to get one ofthe people here to reedit andjust gently change the sentence structure, being careful not to edit things out butjust to put it into normal flowing English so a

person doesn’t have to stopand re-invent the sentencestructure.” And Baba replied, enthusiastically: “Ithink that is a wonderfulidea Don—DO IT!” Ihadn’t realized I was lead-ingwith my chin, so I did it.

It turned out to be one ofthe most superbly gratifringjobs I have ever done.

Baba had made Himselfopen to me to discuss manydifferent things. He wastremendously generouswith His time.

So the three big books,God Speaks, Discourses, andListen Humanity, and thetwo little books, Beams and

Lfè at its Best, are direct Baba material. Thereis absolutely no question of where it camefrom.

The Translations

When Discourses was all finished I toldBaba it was in the hands ofthe print-

ers inTokyo and that we had decided to printit in three volumes. Baba then turned to meand said “Now that that is out ofthe way, doyou have any other ideas?”

By that time the company had moved mefrom California to England and I was in theLondon office, getting familiar with what wasgoing onin spiritual circles in England, France,

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Meher Baba, Don Stevens, andEruchJessawala,at Longchamps Resturant, New York, July 22, 1956.

7.•••.•

(:z3® t t (f3 .JSpain, and Italy. I was aware that exactly thesame scenario that I had lived through withyoung people in San Francisco and Californiawas starting to happen in Western Europe.So I said to Baba:

“Baba you have a new generation comingup, and a lot of them are not going to be En-gush speaking”

He said “What do you think should bedone about it?”

(You see the way He gently leads you alongthe path?)

So I responded “Well I think you shouldmake translations of the Discourses intoFrench, Spanish, Italian and German, themajor European languages.You have peoplehere who can do this.”You knowwhat He said?

“DO IT !“

I said “But Baba I don’t translate.”He said, “But you supervise, you get people

to do it. You know Baba’s words, you know themwell. You get someone to do the basic translation then you review it.” So that I did too.

Today we have a large number of foreignlanguage books, with the numbers growing aswe find interested, talented workers willing todo the meticulous, painstaking translations forBaba.

When I was a childMy nights werefull offear

And sometimes, with a shudderIilpull the covers near

Andmy onlyfriendswere the stars in the sky

And a dog that would lieBy my side.

Ipondered over the answersTh questions I hadn’t asked

Ana’frlt thepresence ofangelsFluttering about their task.

And then a voice was spokenInto my childhood heart

Thke my handand make it yoursAnd we will neverpart.

the substance of 90% of the material inBaba’s Book. Baba gave the remaining10% of the substance of the Book asThe Nothing and the Everything, whichBhau prepared from Baba’s explanations.

Baba said to Dr. Harry Kenmore in1959:

. . .Take My advice and accept GodSpeaks as the final authority. Nothingof its kind has been recorded before.

And to a group ofHis devotees in No-vember, 1955:

Do read God Speaks. I would like every one of you to possess a copy. If

P

Reprintingof

God Speaksand

Listen Humanity

Sufism Reoriented has reprintedGod Speaks in a handsome new cdi-

tion, a little taller and slimmer thanthe original, and printed on glossypaper. It has, of course, all the original color charts and fold outs. How-ever, we were told something that maygreatly surprise many of us:

During final phases of His seclusionin 1967, Meher Baba revealed thatGod Speaks contained “90% of theBook I wrote at Meherabad in 1925-26”—the famous handwritten manuscript that has never been found. BhauKalchuri, Baba’s close disciple, cx-plains that though the style of presentation may differ from the original manuscript, God Speaks conveys

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you cannot buy it, borrow it and readit. . .

If you read through the entire bookcarefully, you will come to know whattrue spirituality is.

[Available in a 6x9 hardcover edition, 352 pages,

11 charts, $27. 00]

S • • Take My advice and acceptGod Speaks as thefinal authority.

Nothing ofits kind hasbeen recorded before.

Meher Baba to Di Harry Kenmore in 1959.

Another book edited by Don Stevensandjust reprinted is Listen Human-

ity. It is available in hardcover—$20—and paperback—S 15.

Don has written a new introductionand the book features a new cover design. Four thousand ofthese books havebeen distributed free to prison and university libraries as well as public libraries across the country. If your local ii-

brary does not have any Baba books andwould like to carry them, tell them tocontact:

Sheriar Foundation3005 Highway 17 Bypass

N. Myrtle Beach, SC 29577Phone: 803-448-1102

or send e-mail to:

Sheriarfdn@aoLcom

They will be given free of charge.

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SPIRU AL (:LAss(:

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LISTEN,HUMANITY

NARLATED AND EDITED BY D. E. STEVENS

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Just Imagine!

byMani S. Irani

Amartithi1969

The ‘future’ began at sunset on the 31st ofJanuary, 1969, when we placed the body

of our Beloved in the Tomb on MeherabadHill. Overnight Meherabad was transformedfrom an isolated retreat into a crowded pilgrimage-ground. It swarmed with people,buses, cycles, taxis, cars, tongas, bullock carts.Padri, who has looked after the place all theseyears, had a toughjob trying to accommodatethe hourly growing number oflovers. Everyfoot ofindoor and outdoor space was used fortheir camping in duringthose days and nights.

A ‘Meher Baba Restaurant’ sprang up bythe roadside; and a signpost pointed to thefootpath leading to the Hill. A railway trackruns between upper and lower Meherabad,and trains obliged by stopping there to disgorge their load oflovers from Bombay andAndhra. Throughout the seven days, and fordays after, we could hear passing trains give along whistle as they went by the Hill—thedrivers were saluting the Avatar ofthe Age.

Meherabad has no electricity, but there wasenough light. There was God’s lantern light-ing the way for His pilgrims—the full moonshone in a clear sky during the entire Week.Neon lights blazed around theTomb, shiningwith the love of His lovers of Vijayawada(Andhra) who had a generator installed andworking all night through theWeek and after.Crowded at all times was the improvised shadeput up near the Tomb to shelter His loversfrom the blistering sun.

Outside the Tomb’s east window is a stoneplatform where the Prem Ashram boys oftengathered to hear the discourses the Belovedgave them through the window, at the timewhen He was there in seclusion and did not

step out. Now the platform was serving as astage for groups ofBaba-bhajan singers fromArangaon village, Ahmednagar, Poona,Bombay, Nizamabad, Navsari, Andhra State,and other places. The singing and music wenton from evening till four in the morning, andwe thought ofthe smiling remark the Belovedhad made on His return from His Andhratour years ago: “My lovers sang outside mywindow all night while I rested.” They weredoing the same thing now.

None wanted to leave Meherabad until theBeloved’s bodywas interred. None could saywhen this would be. The time of 10 am. onFebruary 1 as first declared, was based onmedical advice that as the body was not em-balmed the interment could not be delayedlonger than 20 hours, even though surroundedby a border ofice blocks as arranged. Meheraand I felt that the Beloved Himself wouldgive an indication ofwhen it would be done,that as long as His dear body remained freshand lovely we would not have it covered up.Even after a week it was not found necessaryto place the covering!

But as Baba had told us on the last day, themorning of31stJanuar that after seven daysHe would be 100% free (from suffering, aswe interpreted His hand gestures to mean),we took that as an indication. And so, sevendays after the Event, at 12:15 noon on Fridaythe 7th ofFebruary 1969, the interment tookplace amid thousands ofvoices singing Hisglorious Name and resonant cries of 4vatarMeher Baba kiJai!ll...”

Of the Meherazad men and womenmandali who accompanied His body on thatunbeievablejourney to Meherabad, the role

of Baba’s beloved Mehera was the hardest.But she played it supremely, surrendering theanguish of her heart to the wish of her be-loved who had asked her to “Keep courage. . .“

Although we started out from Meherazadon that Friday evening with hearts numbedand empty, our hands had been kept occupied in doing the things that the Belovedwould want us to do. In the midst of manypractical details that Eruch was seeing to, hereminded me to take along our gramophoneand the record of’Begin the Beguine.’ Eruchsaid that Baba had told him, manytimes overthe years, to play this song by His side whenHe dropped His body.

And so on that night of3lstJanuary, andthe next day, seven times I played the song of‘Begin the Beguine’ by His side—at first inthe cabin where His body rested for a whileand later in the Tomb. And while the songplayed, it seemed to convey to us Hissage that this was not an end but the begin-ning—the beginning ofHis completed workbearing fruit.

A day before dropping the body, even whilethe movement of His fingers brought on arenewed spasm, Baba told us, “Al/this, all thatI have been through all along, has been apreparation for the Word—forjust the OneWord!” And with a quizzical smile, He added“Just imagine!”

[82 Family Letters, pp. 344-346 Copyright1976 AMBPPCT]

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Amartithi1998

It’s 5:15 am, cold, the sun is not up yet. Butunder the big tent near the Tomb there’s

lots oflife. The lights have been on all nightlong, the singing’s been going on all night long,the line for darshan has gotten longer andlonger aM night long.

We are deep into Amartithi—3lst January, 1998—early morning—Meherabad Hill.Memories of the weeks of preparation arewashed away. It’s all Now. In the now, we’resitting by Baba’s gadi, which is centerstage, onthe stagejust opposite theTomb.The gadi asyou may know is Baba’s mattress-covered,wooden seat/couch/dais on which He satwhen holding court at Meherabad. There’s afamous photo ofHim sitting on the gadi. NajooKotwal, looking at it the other day, said, “He’sin a relaxed pose there. But in the early ‘40’swhen we used to sing Arti to Him as He saton the gadi, He looked much different.” Shedescribed His pose: one leg up, the otherstretched out, His hand on His knee. His eyesflashed back and forth, left to right, right toleft, with a most intense, “ferocious” gaze.

The gadi is the scene ofone ofmy favoriteAmartithi “traditions:” Kusum Singh and hersinging group from Delhi gatherthere in theseearly morning hours and sing. Mehera, Maniand the women mandali used to come and siton the carpet by the gadi after darshan,Mehera gazing at Baba’s picture, occasionallytouching it, or adjusting a flowe; as Kusumand Co. sangin Hindi.This year Meheru wasthere, representing the women mandali, andthe singers began with ‘Meher Chalisa,’ 40couplets in His praise by Keshav Nigam,sweeping into ‘Sufet Kafniwalla’ (“OhYou ofthe white kafni, to You 100,000 salaams!”)

and other favorites, once in a while introducing a new song. One ofthe more recent ones,a favorite ofMani and Meheru, tells ofcoming to Meherabad for Amartithi: what youleave behind when you pack: your desires, yourlies, your jealousies, etc.; What you receivewhen you get here while greeting Baba andthe mandali; and what you pack up and takehome with you: Baba’s love, harmony,joy, remembrance.

As Kusum’s group sang, a large crowd sataroundjoining in. A sadhu in long robes and afantastic hat kept time (well... . slightly out-of-time) withlong iron tongs. Meheru leanedover and interperted a favorite line, “My leashis in Your hand...”

At 12 noon, a group again gathered aroundthe gadi—the women mandali, hangers-on,and many others. The sun was up now, wecould see all the crowd, swelled now to manythousands—sitting, standing, filling every footbetween the Samadhi and the amphitheatre.It was hot. Across from us at the Samadhi theline for darshan was at its longest. An intensity huge and calm gripped the crowd as 12o’clock approached. People had come hun-dreds, thousands, ofmiles for this. “Begin theBeguine” played over the loudspeakers, thensinging ofBaba’s Name. On the dot ofl2 -

silence. Fifteen minutes ofsilence from 12 to12:15, marking the time Beloved Baba leftHis form. Thousands ofthroats—silent. Theinevitable babies crying near (too near) andfar. Dogs barking in the distance. Crows call-ing from the banyan by the Tomb. But all therest are silent. This is the heart ofAmartithi,the 15 minutes of intense remembrance ofMeher Baba, on the Hill, near His form; His

leaving, His returning, His being with us, allHe gives, all He washes away, His comingclose.

At 12:15, someone starts and alljoin in thecall of”Avatar Meher Baba kiJai.” It comesfrom the huge crowd in one voice, a thunder-ous wave ofsound rolling over the Hill with somuch in it: praise, gratitude, and the responsefrom thousands ofhearts to His Love.

It’s 10:30 pm, 31st January. The mandalihave gone home, the line for darshan is onlyan hour and a half Across from where I am inline, I can see the gadi, and next to it, thelovers from Dehra Dun have started dancing.The loudspeakers at the amphitheatre are silent now, the day-long programs, the bhajansand songs and qawaalis, the movies, a touch-ing play, are over. It’s late night at the WineShop, and everybody is tipsy. The dancers,spontaneous,joyous, a little raucous, clapping,jumping; a harmonium is there, singers full-throated, drums—and I ponder the miracle ofso much energy on so little sleep. All His family are mingled up—East, West and in be-tween, old, young, crippled, healthy—Human-ity at His Feet.

Mani used to recall that in the early ‘30’sbefore the Westerners came, when their littlegroup ofclose women would sit around Babaas He reclined on His gadi, He would tell them,“Make the most of this time with Me, be-cause one day this whole Hill will be coveredwith My lovers.”

r21

Amartithi:A Day at the Wineshop

by Heather Nadel

LoveStreet£wnsr

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by Dma Snow

Amartithiat

Meherabode

Our first Amartithi at Mcherabode was ajoyous occasion, made more memorable

by the presence of our two out of townguests—husband and wife team—ThomFortson andJudith Shotwell. We gathered onFriday 3OthJanuary with all the usual prayers,readings, stories etc. At the stroke of 10.30pm we began a fifteen minute silence—coin-ciding with Baba lovers all over the world aswe remembered the moment our Beloveddropped His earthly form and ceased the tie-mendous suffering He had been undergoingfor our sakes. (12:15pm January 31st in In-ella). But before that time came,Thom Fortsontreated us to a fascinating slide show and talkabout the restoration ofthe Samadhi. He, alongwith Dot Lesnik and Charlie Morton, wasone ofthe artists working over a two year penod with infinite care and painstaking precision on every square inch, inside and outside,of the Samadhi. It was amazing to see thedetailed photos ofthe murals as Panday hadtouched them up in the ‘50’s, gradually peeledaway to reveal the original bright colors ofHelen Daum. It was so reminiscent of therestoration ofthe Sistine Chapel—on an infinitely smaller scale. It is interesting to thinkthat one day this little building on the hill willbe more famous than the Sistine Chapel! OnJanuary the 31st, Judith presented a subjectthat was entirely new to every one ofus therethat night! Thanatology—from the Greek godThanos—who escorted the departing soulsto the river Styx. We started the evening aswe always do with Arti in the Dome at 7pm.However this night,Judith brought her harpinto the Dome, and we were treated to some

ofher beautiful music before the prayers. Shethen finished with the Gujerati arti. Sitting onthe carpet in front ofBaba’s chair, listening toher play... the atmosphere was palpable withHis Presence. After that we moved to ourmeeting hall and Judith explained to all as-sembledjust whatThanatologywas and howshe came to be involved with it. Due to spaceconstraints we cant tell you the latter part—but it was definitely His hand at work. Loudand clear! Following is an explanation that Ithinkyou will all enjoy and maywant to utiliseat some time. Perhaps some ofyou may beconsidering ajob change.This seems to be anincredibly rewarding (ifnot especially lucrafive!) field to enter.There is so much more to it

than just playing music at the bedside of adying patient!

Tuning the Harp to the Heart:Circle of Love

byjudith Shotwdll

The use ofmusic to comfort and solacethe dying is an ancient tradition re-in-

troduced into the 20th century by ThereseSchroeder-Sheker, founder and director oftheChalice ofRepose Project at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula, Montana. She calls this work,MusicThanatology With harp and voice, mu-sic thanatologists provide prescriptive musicto lovingly assist the physical and spiritualneeds ofthe dying and those in pain. They

attend the dying person at the bedside, inhospital, geriatric home, hospice and personalhome settings. Prescriptive music is music thatis delivered with specific and nuanced attention to its elements (such as melody, rhythm,harmony, range, scale or mode, use of inter-vals, sequencing) and their dynamic effectupon the condition ofthe patient. Most ofthe repertoire is from a variety ofsacred musicand/or lullaby traditions. Because the body isa sensitive receptor for sound, the music usually contains little rhythm and uses only harpand voice, avoiding repertoire that may ad-versely stimulate the nervous system. Comfort ofpain, whether physical or spiritual, isthe goal. The attentive loving presence ofthelive musician is key to the effectivity of themusical delivery. Prescriptive music can helpboth patients in pain and family members ingrief It can enhance the presence ofintimacy,beauty, and reverence during the last days oflife. The founder ofmusic thanatology describes it as “contemplative music with a cmical application.”Judith was in the first graduating class ofChalice ofRepose Project’s twoyear training and certification program. Sincemoving to northern New Mexico, she has beenworking with regional hospices to offer thiswork to their patients and families as well asto theirgriefsupportgroups. Inspired by many“CCC’s” (as Bal calls them!) and the line “keepme in the circle ofyour love” (from a song writ-ten by Meheru), she decided to call this workCircle ofLove. Circle ofLove incorporated inOctober, 1997 and has received Federal tax-exempt status as a 501(c)3 organization.Thisenables Circle ofLove to applyfor grants from

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funding organizations and to receive tax-dc-ductible donations.

To learn further about this service, contact: Fifteen Minutes

Judith Shotwell by Craig RuffCircle ofLoveP.O.Box212

El Rito, NM 87530 Ffleen minutes ofsilence. You know the day

Phone (505) 581-4715 andtime. Iwas on TheHili My eyes were closedto the crowd about me. The noises settled down(unlike the dust) Th my drftingthoughts: Some-times remembering f-Jim.

His arms open wide like a shoreline ofa lake,Allowing myfoolishnesses to extend sofar andno more, Protecting me.

Fifteen minutes ofsilence.

This sound of/hought within turns to onesoundfrom without: But this sound makes mereadiheBook oftheHeart:A nailis being ham-mered. A worker outside the tent does not knoworforgot The sanctity ofthe time. Idon’t needtohear this soundagain To wonder what it meansto me. A nail is being hammered on a Hill in

Ierusalem. The Lord is ending his hft as a man.That which will take him awayfrom man Isthe very thing that he will leave to man, TheCross, tofollow him.

The sound ofthe hammer ends. He will bereceived in manc heart now. There is no soundfweeping. But tears arefalling in a dffrentlandAnd touch thefeet ofThe Lord

Fifteen minutes ofsilence.

Andthis one soundleads me to another soundFifteen milesfrom where I sit on a Hill Canthe shaking ofa man body have a sound?Andthatsoundawaken the universe into love. Neverwas there such a shaking. One manc body inspasm upon spasm. Each contraction a shock-wave reverberating Throughout the greatnessofhis dream Until it subsides in the beautifulwide reaches ofhis arms, Like the shoreline which

protects an unending turbulent sea.

That sound, thatfinalsuffering, that spasmThat shook infinite spiritfreefromform, Leftallformsfree tofollow.

Fifteen minutes ofsilence.

. . .

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Below Left: Thom Forison.Below Right:Judith Shotwell.

Bottom:Arti in the Dome with Judith.

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Grand Opening of the

Nizamabad Centreby R.S.N. Murthy

I was on the 28th ofJanuary, 1972, that thePrayer Hall of the Avatar Meher Baba

Nizamabad Centre, standing majestically onthe rockyYellammagutta Hillock, in AndhraPradesh, was inaugurated. Years rolled in theservice of the Lord of Love, Avatar MeherBaba, drawing many a yearning heart to theBeloved’s threshold. With the increase in thenumber ofBaba-lovers, the need for the extension ofthe existing centre was felt, even-tuallyleading to the construction ofan Audi-torium Hall, to synchronize with the SilverJubilee Celebrations ofthe Centre on a Gb-bab Level.

The Mandali of Beloved Baba and theChairman, Avatar Meher Baba PPC Trust,Ahmednagar, were very appreciative of anEast-West Sahavas, as theylater called it, andencouraged us right from the beginning. Inconsultation with the Mandabi and a few by-ers from the west, the dates for the East-WestSahavas and the inauguration ofthe Auditorium were fixed for 6th and 7th December,1997.

True to its name, Bro. Bill LePage from Australia, Daniel Lematais (France), MarkTrichka, Margaret Brennan (U.S.A.), speciallytraveled to Nizamabad for the occasion, whileMiss ShariJohnston, Bros. Ward Parks and

James Cox were also the people to representthe West. Bros.Jab P. Dastoor, Sam Kerawallaand Sister Dollyj. Dastoor were the ones rep-resenting the Meherabad/MeherazadMandali ofBeboved Baba. About two thou-sand lovers from about 100 Centres Participated in the Celebrations.

With the arrival ofbovers from different centres all over the country, the roads from theRailway Station and the Bus Station ofNizamabad town, beading to the premises of

the Avatar Meher Baba Nizamabad Centerwore a festive book from the very evening of5th December, 1997.

Mr. M.R.K. Sarma, lAS (Retd.), Editor andpublisher of “Beloved Baba,” and his wifeSmt. M. Vijaya Laxmi from Secunderabad,and Bros.TD.S Murthy andTirupathi Sarmafrom Vizag arrived weeks and days in advanceto render their services and to assist in theoverall arrangements for the Prak-Pashchima(East-West) Sahavas.

The Sahavas Programmes commenced at8:30 am. and basted till after 9:00 p.m. onboth the days ofthe Celebrations.

The Programmes were comprised ofBhajans, Qwalbies and Dance-Drama per-formances by lovers from different centres.

The Programme from the first day of theSahavas on Saturday, the 6th December 1997,began with Sister DollyJ. Dastoor lighting theDhuni at 8:30 am., followed by unfurling ofthe Seven Coloured Flag by Dr. N. R.Rajderkar. At 8:40 a.m., Bro. Jal P. Dastoorinaugurated the Auditorium built on theSouthern side of the existing Baba Centre,and at 8:45 a.m., Bro. Bill LePage from Australia unveiled the life-size Photograph ofBeloved Baba. After “Welcome Song” byNizamabad Centre, Dr. R. Nagabhushanam,president, Avatar Meher Baba NizamabadCentre, welcomed the Guests and the Audi-ence. Bro. R.S.N. Murthy, secretary, AvatarMeher Baba Nizamabad Centre, then for-mally introduced Sri Mukka DevenderGupta, Sri Satish Pawar, and Sri V. MeherNarayana (of M/s. Meher Builders) to theaudience.The Souvenir Speciallybrought outto commemorate the occasion was then released by Sister Dollyj. Dastoor followed bythe recital ofprayers by Bro. Ward Parks from

USA, after which, all lovers marched in a pro-cession through the streets ofNizamabad.Thebig Photograph ofBeboved Baba, beautifullydecorated on a Howda (Pavilion,) fixed onthe back of an Elephant named Chanchal,specially brought from Hyderabad, was thecenter ofattraction throughout the procession.

Bro. Bill spoke ofthe beautiful time he hadspent with Beloved Baba. Bro. Jal Narratedseveral incidents which occurred in the livesofthe intimate Mandali, and the humour Babaenjoyed. Bro. Sam Kerawalla stressed the importance ofobedience, and threw light on theAvatar’s infinite patience in cleansing thehearts ofmen.

Lastly, Bro. R.S.N. Murthy, Secretar Avatar Meher Baba Nizamabad Centre, gave avote ofthanks. With the exhibition ofBaba’sfilm, the Celebrations came to an end on theevening of7th December, 1997.

The two-day Sahavas of the Eastern andWestern Lovers and the Silver Jubilee Cebebrations for the Avatar Meher BabaNizamabad Centre, which were attended bya barge gathering reminded one ofthe 1962East -West Gathering. And the atmospherewas so surcharged with the love blessings andthe Spiritual Presence ofthe Eternal Beloved,that many a lover felt and remarked that it

was like a Mini Meherabad, during theAmartithi ofthe Divine Beloved.

RS.N. MurthySecretaryAvatar Meher Baba Nizamabad Centre

I 2 4 ;: :: :--

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Meherc Beloved is sofine;I like him so much

IsayBe minebe mine.

He smilesAndsays Yes)I will be yours,

All in good time.

seven hundredyearsCallMe,CallMe.

Here is a dime.

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Jal Dastoor cuts the ribbon at the Grand Opening ofthe Nizamabad Centre.

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Mehera’s Beloved

by Irma Sheppard, 5/97,Tucson, Arizona

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byjim Migdoll

Bangalow, New South Wales, Australia

Over the years I’ve been involved in set-tingup temporaryseffings forpublic pre

sentations ofBaba. Perhaps 25—30 times I’veorganized or helped with film showings andinformation booths in widely divergent environments—from tents in fields to The PalaceofFine Arts in San Francisco. Some oftheseevents were incredibly successful (in a visible,superficial sense; ofcourse we never can gaugesuccess from His unlimited perspective),whilst others seemed to be real fizzers.But the one thing that all ofthese eventshad in common was this: He was there!

Every time, without fail, once I’d putup His photo and begun to internallydedicate the space to Him, His presencewould begin! It was as though He weresaying, okay, you are trying to set up thistemporary headquarters for Me, the leastI can do is be there.

At one point I decided to dedicate aroom in my home to Him as well. I rca-soned that perhaps what had workedpublicly might also work in the privacyofmy home. Four times I’ve had the good for-tune ofbeing able to set aside an entire room,and three other times I’ve curtained off partof a room. Here are a few anecdotes whichreveal the result:

—In Memphis Tennessee in the 1970’s, I wasin a low point in my relationship with Baba. 1was a disobedient and naughty Baba lover.We had an extra room so Ijust put everythingrelated to Baba in there. It became His roomby default. Gradually I began to feel so distant from Him I was ashamed to go in! It gathered dust. Whenever I did go in I was as-tounded at how strong His Presence was. Itbecame unendurable. The gap between thefeeling ofHis presence in that room, and howI was living my life became a huge chasm.Eventually I stopped going in. I would justpoke my head in, then close the door and sadlyshuffle away.

I started to think that the strong sense ofHis presence mustjust be my imagination, so

[26

I tried an experiment. One night during a bigwild party at our house, I waited until peoplewould ask me, “What’s in that room?” As neutrally as possible I would say, “Go and see.”Many ofthese people had no spiritual inch-nations, and yet the whole night there was asteady stream ofpeople coming up to me look-mg dazed and confused. “What is that feel-ing in that room?” “Who is Meher Baba?”“My god—that room is incredible. What’s in

there?” I would laugh hysterically, but insidemy heart was breaking.—In our most recent home which had a full-room Baba room, we were often visited by aclose Baba friend from Sydney. He used to goin regularly, but never said much about it. Thisfriend likes to be a bit mysterious sometimes!Even when I asked him what he thoughtabout Baba’s room, he would just say some-thing like, “Oh—it’s nice.”Two years later—out ofthe blue—he said to me, “Rememberyour Baba room at Goonengerry? You know,it feltjust hike the tomb in there.”—A local handyman once came to our homein Goonengerryto install some window screens.The first thing he said when he walked inwas, “Oh, Meher Baba.” It turned out he hadknown a Sydney Baba lover couple over 30years before. While talking to him, we learnedthat he had recently returned from living inIndia for 17 years. His time in India wasmainly spent in a yoga ashram, but he alsotraveled extensively and would always visit

Lam1LthSr

temples, Master’s tombs and holy places. Thisman struck my wife and I as a very sincerespiritual seeker.

When he had finished his work it came upin conversation that we had a room devotedto Meher Baba. He said he’d like to see it. Weexpected him to go in for a few seconds.Twenty minutes later he came out lookingstunned! He then told us that he had neverfelt anything like that room. In all ofthe spin-tually charged places he’d ever been he’d neverfelt such a powerful presence. He seemed tobe on the verge oftears, and in a very touch-ing moment he asked passionately, “What Ireally want to know is: do you think that at-mosphere is due to your love and devotion, oris it actually Meher Baba?”

I laughed and told him there was absolutelyno doubt: it was due to Meher Baba’s actualpresence.

Here are a few guidelines and suggestions I’ve found helpful in dedicating a room to Meher Baba:

1) A full room (cvcnjust a closet) is prefer-able to a curtained offarea; but incredibly, asimple curtain does work.2) No sleeping in His room. This is true inall ofHis special places, and I’ve found tobe a good mie for my special places too.3) Nothing is to go on in His room that isn’tdirectly focused on Him. It is for media-tion, arti, singing, reading about Him. It isnot for worldly conversations or activities.Nor is it for storage! Never use the room

for anything not directly focused on Him. Afterall, you are in His Presence!4) Resolve beforehand that His room will remainHis room as long as you stay there.5) I believe it is important to clearly state yourintentions to Baba, to consciously dedicate thespace to Him. Perhaps to declare—silently or aloudsomething along the lines of “Baba from now on,this is Your room and I will only use to be withYou.”

He is there instantly from the time you dedicate the space, or when you put His photo up;sometimes, I’ve even had Him sneak in be-

forehand!

Avatar Meher Baba kiJai!

Baba’s Special Room

P]

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I r- 3 t e: 3 t ( @

by Ross Keating

Sydney, Australia

Meher Baba’s Poet:Francis Brabazon

ancis Brabazon (1907-1984) was bornin London. His father, although related

to the Earls ofcounty Meath in Ireland, was aFabian and a great admirer ofWilliam Morris, his form ofutopian idealism and the rightsofthe common worker. His English motherwas more ofa pragmatist. Francis was to in-herit qualifies from each ofthem. In 1912 thefamily, including Francisand his two brothers,emigrated to Australia.

The family settled inGlenrowan, in the stateofVictoria (a place famous in Australian his-tory as the home ofthebush-ranger hero NedKelly) and bought asmall farm with sheep,cattle, wheat and or-chards. As a youngteenager Francis developed a close relation-ship with the land. Inhis writings about thisperiod he describeshimselfweeping at thebeauty ofthe night andbeing overwhelmed bythe sheer generosity ofthe earth. At this time,under his father’s guidance, he started to writehis first poems.

However, it was not long before a severedrought and the ever-growing number ofrabbits drove the family offthe land. They movedto the state’s capital city ofMelbourne whenFrancis was 21. In Melbourne he saw theperformances ofgreat artists: the dancer AnnaPavlova and the pianists AlexanderBraiowsky and Arthur Schnabcl. He also ex

perienced an artistic epiphany, an experiencewhich set the course ofhis life by raising in hismind the following two questions: what is thenature and source of beauty in art, and whatis its relationship to truth? To answer thesequestions Francis spent the next twenty yearsof his life studying, searching for a suitableartistic medium through which he could ex

plore and discover answers. At one point hewas diligenflylearning piano, attending draw-ing classes and writing poetry. In the mid-to-late thirties painting became the central focusof his attention and he mixed with the firstgroup of Australian modernist painters. In1941 Francis exhibited his works at their firstModernist exhibition along with such artistsas Dobell, Nolan, Tucker and Sinclair, all ofwhom have subsequently become highly ac

claimed painters. In 1942 he again exhibitedhis works with these same artists. Accordingto Max Harris, the editor ofthe only Australian Modernist artjournal ofthe day, TheAn—gry Penguins, Francis’s 1942 paintings “initiated the first appreciation ofthe naive orprimitive symbolism in the Australian art world...[His contribution] was the beginning of the

notion of innocent vi-sion. It influenced theentire Angry Penguinscommunity.” By about1946, Francis ceasedpainting and began con-centrating solely on hispoetry

During this period ofthe early forties Francisbecame interested inEastern spirituality. Hestudied Vedanta, Tao-ism, Confucianism andSufism, and he cultivated the practice ofmeditation which heused as the basis for hisapproach to painting. Ofall these traditions itwas Sufism which at-tracted him the most. Hebecame a pupil ofa Sufi

sheikh, Baron von Frankenberg (SheikhMomin) who lived in Camden outside Sydney.In the mid-forties Francis moved to Camdenand lived with von Frankenberg as his mureedor spiritual student. Under Sheikh Momin’sguidance Francis wrote a collection ofpoemstitled One Speaking. The poems show Francis’scapacity to penetrate an idea and to expressits meaning from the perspective of subjective experience. They also exhibit his skill in

Ross Keating with his w/iJennftr (‘Le Page) andFrancis Brabazon, infront ofMeher House,Sydney, Australia, 1978, at the time oftheir wedding.

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(:x3 t i;E3?c jthe craft ofpoetr In one representative poemfrom this collection, “One Speaking Two”Francis manages to create a sense ofreverential stillness and felt oneness—a sentimentreflecting his Sufi training at the time:

In the most intimate dialogues one is peakingand one is responding, re-sounding, according.

Heart is infuilness as aforest morning to Sun,and Will is that sun remounting.

And the advancing music-saying heart, becomeswinged, and bears heart indfirently all andwith love to the most exactplaces.

In the late-forties Francis traveled toAmerica. At the Sufi Center in San Franciscohe underwent training to become a Sufi sheik.

In 1948 he returned to Australia; with thedeath ofvon Frankenberg in 1951 Francisbecame the official head of the Australianbranch of the Sufi Movement. In 1952Francis again traveled to America where hemet Meher Baba for the first time. As a resultof this meeting he felt the beginnings of a“true creativity” arising in him. The first piecehe wrote after this momentous event was thelong poem “Dawn through to Sunrise.” Incontrast to the style of”One Speaking Two,”this poems reads like a spontaneous outpour-ing ofdeeply felt thought which spifls out intoan assemblage ofimages, events, perceptionsand interpretative commentary. Here is asample from this work:

Since the arrow ofFortunec wheelturnedmyway, And dawn entered my heart Making anaccommodationfor the sun. I have become a

gambler in the markets ofthis world: Recklessin thefestivals ofmusic, And shameless in re—gards affairs oflove. There isfire in my skull,Andmusic in the blood ofmy temples: My heartis a meeting place ofpain, And my eyes, wetmirrors ofgratitude.

Convinced ofMeher Baba’s spiritual stat-ure, Francis willingly became his disciple. Inthe same year he returned to Australia anddevoted his life to spreading Baba’s messagethrough the publication ofHis writings.

In 1953 Francis published his first book ofpoetry, Proletarians-Transition. The unifyingtheme ofthis workis the challenge it presentsto its readers to reassess their values and touse their dailywork as an opportunityto drawcloser to God. Also during the fifties, at theinvitation ofMeher Baba, Francis made sev

eral trips to India, and he wasthe key figure in organizingMeher Baba’s two trips toAustralia in 1956 and 1958.In 1959, Francis publishedhis greatest poem, an epicbook-length work calledStay With God—a title whichBaba had given him. It is apowerful and impassionedwork which covers a poeticbiography of Meher Babaas the Avatar, the divinetheme ofcreation, the mean-ing ofexistence, and the sacred role of art in life. InFrancis’s words, it was a

book, “in praise ofDivinity in Man and theassurance ofMan in Divinity” Baba thoughtso highly ofthe work that He wanted it distributed “as widely as possible among the general public.”

In 1959 Brabazon moved to India and livedwith Meher Baba for the next ten years. During this period he developed a form of En-glish ghazal which was based upon the Per-sian ghazal tradition ofHafiz, Baba’s favoritepoet. The ghazal is a lyric in which the lover(devotee) both complains and praises his be-loved (Master) and in the process conveyssomething ofthe flavour oflove-longing; moresimplyput, it is a type oflove-cry in which theheart and mind ofthe poet is exposed. Ac-cording to one authority the word “ghazal”means “the agonized cry ofthe gazelle whenit is cornered after the chase and realizes thatthe game is up.” Something ofthese points

are expressed in the following fine ghazal byFrancis in which he takes the role of an oldman reviewing his life:

Theyoung bananaplants are birds with greenwings risingfrom the ground; Such was myspiritwhen IstillthoughtthatBeloved Godcouldbefound.

Now thatlhave strainedthe universe throughmy heart-sieve withoutfinding a trace ofHisReality, I have ceasedfrom search and awaithis date ofGrace.

Out there is nowhere, nothing—only theBeloved’s shadow Embroidered with star-stitches which the darkness causes to glow.

When Godfrrst threaded our souls on his breath

for a necklace, Hegave eveiy one his own beautyandHis singing-place.

With thejirst break ofhis Silence there streamedforth the light which became my eyes; When Hebreaks his Silence this time may I be hurled be-yond mere paradise.

All works are but attempted corrections ofoneinitialerroi This is the sum ofknowledge.Truthis in the dust before the Masterc dooi

Since hands must work, use them tofashion acup ofwine. Then awaithisfavow; and all otheroffers decline.

Although this is a poem about hopeless-ness and longing it is above all else a positivework. Its positiveness comes from the fact thatit does not avoid the reality of lived experience but clearly names it. In fact, this is a poemoflove rather than aboutlove. It tells the readeroflove in the form ofthe poet’s felt responseto being acted upon by love—’this is whatlove can do in a person’s life,’ is what the linesare really saying. Also, the observations andpieces ofadvice Francis offers are not some-thing over and apart from love but constitutepart ofthe response engendered bylove.Thcrcis also to be felt permeating these lines some-thing ofthe ghazal flavour oflonging, the “cryofthe gazelle,” which distinguishes the ghazalfrom other forms ofpoetry and which makesFrancis’s ghazals so unique in English literature.

Ross Keating in Meherabad.

I 28 4

I! ! U

[When we heard that Ross Keating ofSydneyAustralia hadearnedhis Doctorate with a the—sis written on Francis Brabazon, we naturallyasked—How come Baba lovers worldwideknow how importantFrancis was to Baba butout there in the World ofIllusion Following ishis explanation, and the accompanying articleis an excerptfrom aforementioned thesis. -Ed.]

I started the thesis in 1991 and it has takenme, part-time, six years to complete. At the

University of Sydney, in the Department ofStudies of Religion where I completed mydoctorate, there was a strong interest in Australian religious art and poetry, with the term‘reigious’being definedverybroadly, and theyaccepted my thesis proposal on Francis as con-tributing towards this area.

Francis, I know, would not like the idea ofbeing classified as a religious poet, for he sawhimself a simple being, and actually one ofthe themes in Stay With Godis concerned withhis definition ofthis term. Nor did Francis likethe idea ofbeing labeled a ‘mystical’ poet; inthis instance he saw mysticism and poetry astwo separate paths to God with each having adifferent practice associated with it and suit-ing different temperaments. In a way the term‘mystical poetry’ was for Francis a contradiclion in terms.

My thesis is in the form of a biographysomewhat in the style ofthis article, but moredetailed and critical. Basically it starts fromhis birth in 1907 and finishes with his deathin 1984.Throughout the biography I pay par-ticular attention to the times when Francispublishes his poetry and I discuss his poetryin the context ofhis life. In this regard I havetried to make my comments readable in thesame manner as Francis’s own poetry is easilyreadable.

My original intention in doing the thesiswas to try and include Francis into the main-stream ofAustralian poets. Francis is reallyan extremely interesting figure in Australianwriting and has a great story to tell. For in-stance he was one of a small group of artists

and thinkers who were trying, for the first timein our history, to express something in theirwork which was uniquely Australian. InFrancis’ case, however, his interest went be-yond the national and he became more inter-ested in defining art itselfwhich, in its purestform, he saw as God’s ongoing creativity—bringing into the world ofform ‘truth, love,purity, and beauty.’

In the thesis, I have defined Stay With Godas a modem spiritual epic, a unique work, writ-ten in the style of, and having the contentappropriate to this age. I think it was Poundwho said something like “The role ofthe poetis to keep the language of the tribe fit andhealthy,” and this is cxactlywhat I feel Francishas done in Stay With God. In this great poemFrancis fuses words with their true meaningso that simple words can once more be usedas instruments which can lead a seeker to-wards the truth.

Francis can do this because, above all else,he is an honest writer, a poet who refuses tocompromise his art for anything else but thetruth.

Whileit could be said that Eruch, and manyof the other mandali, were Baba’s voice, asthey interpreted His gestures, Francis wascertainly Baba’s pen, for in reading his workand especially Stay With Goc4 one feels thesame type ofinner clout and sharpness whichone gets upon reading instances taken fromBaba’s extraordinary life.

A Sacred Blasphemy

Be offand knowThat the way of lovers

is opposite all other ways.Liesfrom the Friend

Are better than truth and kindness

from others.

For HimThe impossible is commonplace,

Punishment is reward,Tyranny is justice,

Slander is the highest praise.

His harshness is soft,His blasphemy is sacred.

The blood that dri,sfrom the Belovedc thornis sweeter than roses or basil.

When Hec bitteritc better than a candy-shop.

When He turns His head awayitc all hugs and kisses.

When He says,‘By God, rye enough ofyou!”

itc like an eternal springflowingfrom thefountain of life.

A ‘7Vo”from His lzpsis a thousand times “Yes.”

on this sefless pathHe acts like a stranger

yet He’c your dearestfriend

His infidelity is faith,His stones are jewels,

His holding back is giving,His ruthlessness is mercy.

You may laugh at me and say,“Thepath you’re on isfull of curves!”Yes—for the curve ofHis eyebrow

I have traded my soul!

This curvy path has gotten me drunk,I cannot say another word!Carry on, my glorious heart,finish the poem in silence....

0 Shams, Lord of Thbriz,What sweetness you pour upon me-

All I need do is open my mouthand allyour songsflow out.

[by Rumi, from the book,In TheArms ofthe Beloved

Translated byjonathan Star,Tarcher/Putnam.]

3 _t ( 3

Why I Chose Francis

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29

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Divali PoetryTo April, 1953

Prologue

by Heather Nadel,

In correspondence for Avatar Meher BabaTrust, October, 1997.

Here in India we’re in the midst of theDivafl season, the Festival ofLights. All

around Meherabad and Meherazad you hearfirecrackers and broadcast music—a real cacophony. It’s the biggest holiday ofthe yearfor many Indian people, a combination ofChristmas and New Yeai, bringing all thatgoes with them: presents, new clothes, specialfood.

The other day, as Eruch was ambling alongthe Meherazad veranda, I asked him aboutthe meaning behind the celebrations. He andBal Natu explained that Divali is a celebration of Lord Ram’s re-entry into His cityAyodhya after 14 years of exile. It is a tn-umph ofLight over Darkness. On the nightofDivali, you find smallearthenware oil lampslit in front ofeach hut, house, apartment, andshelter and colorful chalkdesigns marking theentrance. A welcome to Lord Ram, thejoy ofHis return expressed in lights.

Later in the day I asked Goher ifBaba hadenjoyed Divali. She said, “Oh yes! He likedthe lights, the colors, the flowers. . . One yearHe had us light 100 lamps in Meherazad!” Iloved to thinkofLord Ram returning as MeherBaba, and smiling upon His welcome all overagain.

It is still observed with lights and coloredchalk designs at Meherazad. Mehera andMani used to be experts at these designs, occasionallyploffingthem out on paper first andthen skilliuillypouring the chalkthrough theirfingers to make the delicate designs on theground. Peacocks, birds, lamps, flowers,. .. allsorts oflovelythings turned up.

At Meherabad, tiny oillamps are lit aroundHis chair in Meherabad Hall. I remember in

the days when Padri was here, the servantswould line all the upperledges ofthe hail withthe little lamps, and he would turn out thelights. Despite his gruffexterior, the old manwas a real romantic at heart. When once weasked him what had attracted him to Baba inthe beginning, he replied with one word:“Charm.” Except for the Avatar ofcourse, veryfew things are more charming than this largehall on Divali, filled by ffickering lights, withBaba’s chair alone at one end holdingHis picture.

The Pilgrim Centre dining hail maintains alittle Divali tradition ofcandleight for supperamidst tables lined with orange marigolds andyellow chrysanthemums. You get in line fordinner (the buffet table is also candle-lit) andyou have to be careful not to get flowers inyour plate. In the center ofthe food displayunder an elegant brass oil-lamp are BelovedBaba and Mehera, standing and smiling in aphoto: charm personified times two.

As I left the dining hail this year, after bask-ing in the ambiance ofthe soft light, I remembered a storyMani used to tell about Baba. Itseems that on one occasion the Western Ia-dies, led by Norma, wished to give Him acandlelight dinne; and arranged the tablecordinglywith candelabras. Baba came in, andseeing the beautiful arrangement, admired itand signified His pleasure to Norma, whostood by beaming. Then, just has He wasabout to sit down, He turned to her and gestured, “Now let’s have some lights!” So theydid—electric ones ofcourse!

1. Our Guru, an Incarnate One, gave us alead,

PoonaJhopdi 1922: Since then, we’vefollowed His Guide, indeed,

But oft He said, we very much need,Agreements and circulars.

2. Our first circular was born in Bombay,1922:

It said,June the month and tenth the day,1923:

But we forgot it in the month ofMay, 1923.

3 . Began then our training in right earnest,At Arangaon:

Calm, serene were we, yet full ofzest,Ghamela Yoga:*

Soared we high, thinking it outlives’ test,We grumbled not.

Circular Yuga

4. Some Wine He gave, then we partook,Discourses:

Some paper He gave for us to look, Anagreement:

ONE look only, brought us tolook, For life.

5. As I said, ofWine we did partake,Discourses:

These our spirits buoyant did make,Agreements:

Besides our agreements, for others’ sakeWere circulars.

6. Agreements and circulars came andwent, For 30 years:

To devotees, disciples, East, West were sent.But April’s circular had almost rent, These

30 years’.7. Here goes the month ofApril’s end,

1953:Which in November did much portend,

1952:That it’d surely the Creation send, UniverPI -

L ........

:3,,.....:

:r

sal succour.8. But my friends much do I regret, About

April:For April’s end never did beget, The result:And another cirular’ll make us forget, April

‘53.

9. And give us time asJuly, October, orJuneOfanyyear: No doubtwe SHALL still

play the tune, And grumble too:And c’en under the sod, won’t be immune,

To future circulars.

Epilogue

10. Tho’ this seems today a tale ofwoe,Worry not:

For us, from Destiny there’s no go, That’s theLaw:

Let’s face it all, let’s not say, “No,”To ourSaqi.**

11 . Let Maya, her utmost try to stave Theresult:

Let’s face our facts, and let her rave Asordained:

But from our Saqi’s tavern evermore craveThe Wine.

12. The Wine that Maya hates in hercreed, Illusion:

With which, her utmost tries to lead FromTruth:

The Atma,*** that anon wants to be freedFor ever.

FOR HOME CONSUMPTION ONLY

P.S. All rights reserved by the writer himselfwho, due to an impulse, lost mental balancetemporarily and departed from his life-longcalling ofGreasc and Oil, to write somethinglike poetry (?). P.P.S. As this poetry is beingdispatched, he has almost regained his nor-malcy(?).*GhamelaYoga: a path or yoga ofhard physical labor.** Saqi: Lit., a cup-bearer. The spiritual tavem-keeper who dispenses the wine ofDivineLove.***Atma: the individual soul.

From Poems ToAvatarMeherBaba, copyright1985, Manifestation Inc., North MyrtleBeach, South Carolina

Song on Baba

byMcher Preeti Khilani—age 10

Bombay, India 1996

I see him everywherewhen I rise in the morning and see the Sun,

in the sun I see a Great One.

Who can that be Yes, He is Meher Baba.

When Igo to school and read my books,I see someone with very good looks.

Who can that be? Yes, it is Meher Baba.

Sometimes when I cryand I wipe my tears with my hands,

in my hands I see the King ofskies and lands.

Who can that be?Yes, He is MeherBaba.

When Isleep at nightsomeone comes

and kisses me goodnight.

Who can that be?YesHe is MeherBaba.

He was Sitac RamandRadhac Sham,

and now he is our BelovedMeherBaba !

13. ‘Tis true, from Eternity He has sownThe Seed:

And fools we shall be ifwe moan Aboutlime:

ONETHING to sate us, Eternity’s ThroneIs His Grace.

14. The Seed was sown, I repeatedly say,From Eternity:

Let Maya, her game oflllusion play, Forothers:

Cheat her, defeat her, for our Saqi’s DayHas arrived.

Written without any malice to anyone; butpresented with profound apologies to theS aints—past, present and future—sinnersdead or alive, not excluding the poets.

by Padri

Padri on his motorcycle infront ofthe oldMandali Hall.

Lucky Escape for Baba

by Simon Reece

Ifi’dbeen one ofYour mandali,fYoaii chosen me at all,

to live with You and serve You,il have driven You up the wall!

But with my mind working overtime,andalways asking “Why?”

Unable to see that my ego needs to die;I think I must have misheard when Kaka made

such afuss.I really was quite sure he said

‘No obey—just discuss!”

What trials and En bulations:il haveput You to the test,

ilhave You tearing Your hair out,i’m more trouble than all the rest.

So, Baba, when You come againasAvatar on Earth,

spare Yourse(f and dont choose me,i’m more hassle than im worth.

Mehera loved You as You should be lovedShe stayed at Your right hand.

Eruch and Mani were so dutiful.Your wish was their command

For the sake ofyour universal burden,unless You want it double,

give me Realization straightaway andsave Yourse(fthe trouble!

. . .

,.. s ccl r , ....... ...

( 3 t . ( 0 3 t ( 3

Prayer

IIn the January issue our lead article was onPrayers and wefeatured the main prayers thatBaba hadgiven us, andHis words on how topray. Due to space constraints we had to leavethe following prayers out. These are not the‘biggies’ by Baba, but never-the-less are thought

provoking.Thefirst is by a Baba lover in Kentucky. —Ed.]

Prayer

B eloved Meher Baba, Make mylife YourAffi.

Let this soul sing Your love as it sails hometoYou.

Mold me into Your instrument, a channelfor Your creativity a funnel for Your love.

Empty my soul like a hollow reed, and fill itwith Your Name, to permeate each breath.

Let me welcome the precious gift of eachmoment, with thankfulness and renewedopenness.

Let my heart dance to the beat ofYour song.awakening each sense to Your presence.

Let each thought and action Hum Yourpraise, and resonate with Your Love.

Let each step draw this heart, like a magnet, closer to You.

As the rose opens, each petal unfolds, releasing it’s sweet inner fragrance.

This life is gently unfolding, releasing Yourpure nectar, revealing the next step towardsHome.

Avatar Meher Baba kiJai!

Jeannie Taylor

Paradoxes of Prayer

I asked God for strength thatl might achieve;I was made weak that I might learn hum-

blyto obey.

I asked for health that I might do greaterthings; I was given infirmity that I might dobetter things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy; I wasgiven poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praiseof men; I was given weakness that I mightfeel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; Iwas given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for but everything Ihad hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayerswere answered.

(author unknown)

Time to Pray

I got up early one morning and rushed rightinto the day:

I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t havetime to pray.

Problemsjust tumbled about me and heaviercame each task.“Why doesn’t God help me ?“ I wondered.He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the daytoiled on, gray and bleak.I wondered why God didn’t show me.He said “ But you didn’t seek.”

I tried to come into God’s presence;I tried all my keys at the lock.God gently and lovingly chided, “My child,you didn’t knock.”

I woke up early this morning, and paused be-fore entering the day;I had so much to accomplish that I had to taketime to pray.

(author unknown)

Prayer

O h, Baba! Your Mercy is withoutbounds! Your Mercy is beyond under-

standing!When someone asks for Your Gracewholeheartedy,Your help is there even before the request isformulated in the mind (trudy, the heart isbefore the mind)!What, therefore, can one to whom You havedisplayed all your finery,Your Treasury of matchless beauty, request?Even this, the least ofYour blind witless beg-gars, can only feel shame to ask.You have given and are giving and always willgive more than this wretched, cracked anddented goblet can ever contain!Onlylet me, Oh Lord, never cease to rememher with gratitude Your Mercy.

Gary Nedzweck

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Heard on New Yorktalk radio:

“Whenyou go to bed tonight, here is aprayer tosay.•

‘Dear Lord, please treat me with the samekindness, compassion and mercy tomorrow asI have treated my neighbor today.’

. and fyou cant say that praye youJ betterinendyour ways.”

Anuj writes

Prayer to God or Avatar is like a spiritualshield and is indispensible for the pro-

tection ofour mischieveous mind; from whereour thoughts originate, thoughts are turnedinto action and from where our decisions andresponses originate.

So we know that our mind is the main arenaofour daily battle, more so in the case of thepersons spiritually inclined, where spiritualbattle is fought every moment ofones life andthe battle has to be faced and protected withthe shield of ones prayer to the Lord. SeekHis unfailing help to take up right decisions,give correct responses, bring good thoughts inand act accordingly.

In this regard, a small prayer is suggested—

“Take my hand LORD, Andlead me througheach day, step by step, and Remind me that Icannot do everything I wish, Nor do any ofitperfectly. OnlyYou are perfect, and with Yourhelp, I can do my best. Help me to rememberto ask for that help.”

IFrom Much Love, by TK Ramanujam, 1nuj.”Copyright 1994 byAvatarMeherBaba Informations, Madras, India.]

byBalNatu

B aba dictated the Repentance Prayer atMeherabad in November of 1952, and

the Master’s Prayer in Dehra Dun in Augustof 1953. The Master’s Prayer was originallyreferred to as the Universal Prayer. By thetime it was sent to the West, it was known asthe Master’s Prayer because ofBaba’s participation in offering it.

Let me admit that when I first read theUniversal Prayer, I was not impressed by it.But since Baba had given it, naturally I had adeep respect for it. When Baba first gave theprayer, He made it clear that He wanted Hisfollowers to recite it daily for a certain period,and while I was happy to comply with this,the prayer did not appeal to my heart the wayit should have. Unlike the prayer of SaintFrancis or some of the prayers in theUpanishads, the Master’s Prayer seemedrather remote, being neither moving nor poeric. It seemed, to mylimited understanding,to read like a drycollection ofdivine attributeswhich did not have a great deal ofsignificancefor me.

I was also a little hesitant about the use ofthe word “we” in the Repentance Prayer. Iwondered why I should share in other people’srepentance when I hadn’tparticipated in theirsins! So, sometimes when I recited this prayerby myself I would change “we” to “I,” since itwas “I” who was repenting. Baba had mademe feel so natural in myrelationship with Himthat I did not feel the slightest guilt aboutdoing this.

Then, in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, Baba gave memore and more opportunities to spend timewith Him and also to participate in theseprayers in His presence. This graduallychanged my perspective. Baba’s attitude to-wards the prayers, I saw clearly reflected the

importance theyhad for Him in His universalwork. Before reciting them, He would washHis hands and face and straighten His coat orsadra.Then, with great solemnity Babawouldjoin His palms and listenwith dosed eyeswhilethe prayers were read aloud by Eruch.

The look ofprofound and reverent absorption on Baba’s face at such times impressedme deeply. As He listened to all the attributesofGod in the Maste?s Prayer, I could see thatthey were clearly notjust a dry catalogue ofterms to Him. One had the vivid impressionthat Baba was inwardly experiencing each ofthese attributes which, for me, had only beenhigh-sounding phrases. I could not help butbegin to develop an appreciation for thesesuperlatives, as they were obviously chargedwith deep significance. When the RepentancePrayer was read out, a deeply penitent lookwould come over Baba’s face and He wouldsoffly tap His cheeks with His palms.

Through the recitation ofthe prayers, I feltthat Baba was bringing together the religionsof the world “as beads on one string.” Hishands werejoined in the fashion common toboth the Hindu and Christian traditions, andyet the Master’s Prayer begins, “0Parvardigar” a Sufi term used by the Muslims. As the prayer was read, He would swayfrom side to side in the manner ofthe Zoroastrians.Thus, the majorreligions were symbolically represented through Baba’s external actions. He participated in these prayers hun-dreds oftimes.

[From The Samadhi—Staroflnfinity,pp. 65-6Z Copyright 1997 Sheriar Foundation.]

Bringing Togetherthe Religionsofthe World

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Archives Project UpdateAvatar Meher Baba TrustArchives and Museum ProjectCircular Number ThreeDecember, 1997

TAT BELOVED MEHER BABA to youall, Baba’s dear ones in the East and West

rom Avatar Meher Baba P.P.C.Trust Ar-chives and Museum Committee. As you knobecause ofthe love-gifts ofBaba lovers world-wide, we were able to break ground for theArchives, Museum & Research Building atMeherabad on May 1st this year. Ifyou wereto stroll around Meherabad Hill, so blessedby the Avatar’s footprints, you would see thatthe excavation for the-building to preserveBaba’s precious items is complete, and thefoundation that is now being worked on isnestling in the side ofBaba’s sacred Hill, nearthe site where Baba, seated on a white don-key, was photographed with his belovedMehera beside Him in the 1930’s. You wouldalso see that the steel reinforcing ofthe frame-work ofthe building is coming up, and youwould hear the sound ofthe tink-tink ofsteelon stone as masons, hard at work, shape graystones for the plinth.

Although Baba lovers wished the mandalia restful summer, this year Beloved Babaplanned it otherwise for us. Amidst extensiverepair work on different buildings inMeherazad, at the request ofsome membersof the Archives Committee, we also begandelving into our memories ofthe past withBaba. The purpose was for the mandali torecord on tape the history ofthe buildings ofMeherabad and Meherazad, and the Babaitems they contain.Through these recordings,we hope the daily, personal details ofthe human side of Beloved Baba, the God-man,have been captured. These interviews of usmandali are continuing to be recorded as timeand health permit, and the transcription ofthe audio tapes is ongoing.

This “history-taking” precipitated an unexpected emergency conservation project.When Dr. Goher talked about Baba’s health

and medical care, she brought out Baba’s xrays, taken from His first car accident in 1952up to 1968, and found that, although housed

with care, theywere in varying stages ofdeterioration and in danger ofbecoming unread-able. With the help of Sheriar Foundation’stechnical expertise, a specialized conservatorin the States was recommended, and the 136x-rays (including Mehera’s and Mani’s) werehand-carried to him. Later some others already in the States were added. Through the

loving generosity ofBaba lovers in the mcdi-cal and health-related professions and otherBaba lovers, these x-rays have now been

archivally copied and willeventually be stored infreezers at Meherabadand another site for safety,thus preserving these irreplaceable images whichrecord some ofthe physical suffering Beloved Babaunderwent in His man-form.

During the time Be-loved Avatar Meher Babawas in our midst, the workHe did, the darshanprogrammes He gave, Hisvitality, His love, His verypresence, were over-whelming, much largerthan life. So it was impossible to think ofa life with-out Him; no, never with-out Him, but without Hisphysical form.This time ofHis being on earth was, asMaul called it, Act 1 in HisDivine Game. After Babadropped His body, all Hisclose mandali found it almost impossible to pickupthe threads oflife and feelour way out of the dark-

ness of despair and pain. For us womenmandali, willing ourselves to be useful, andthinking ofwhat would console Mehera, look-ing through Baba’s articles helped a great deal.

Just to touch His clothes was to feel His close-ness, especially for Mehera. She would verywillinglybe involved in the work, but often wenoticed her sitting motionless, a sadra or a coat

L 3 4 d’16rvestreetiisr

,

4&:’--;

Top: Foundation oftheArchive building.Bottom: Workers laying the stone walls.

[ ( 3? f ( 3: 1 @zi1in her lap, in deep reverie, silent tears runningdown her cheeks. This phase ofthe Avatar’sAdvent Mani referred to as the start ofAct 2,when the mandali were pushed onto the stage.

After Meherajoined Beloved Baba, Manisometimes used to say, “Act 2 is now nearlyover,” and now that Mani too has gone to Him,it seems that the start of Act 3 is closer athand.

More than anyone else, it was Mani whogave the initialpush, officially, to the conservation project that is now under way. KeepingBaba’s treasures as lovingly, carefully, and pro-fessionally as possible was a top priority forher, so much so that she was moved to voiceher wishes on the subject in a letter writtenJune 9th and 10th, 1996, two days before shewas admitted to the hospital in Poona for herfinal stay. Writing this letter when she was soillrequired great effort on herpart, and it tunedout to be her last letter as Chairman of theTrust. It was in reply to a request for guidanceon the part ofan American Baba lover, whofound herselfresponsible for some preciousitems ofBaba’s, that had been in the care of along-standing Baba lover who had recentlydied.The following is an excerpt from Mani’sletter:

“As Baba made it clear that Meherabadwould become a place ofworld pilgrimage, weare building at the root, Meherabad, a repository for Baba’s personal items to be stored andpresented until the time when they may beshared with the countries ofthe world whichwill be awakened to Meher Baba. RecallingHis words, “the whole world will come to knowand love Me,” it becomes our responsibility toensure that in the future all countries aroundthe world will be able to have a personal itemofBeloved Baba’s to conserve and share.

As the USA seems to have an abundanceofHis precious things when compared to otherparts ofthe world yet to be awakened to Him,we are advising individual Baba lovers in theUSA who ask our advice to help right the balance by giving or bequeathing such personalBaba items to the Avatar Meher Baba Trustforpreservation and sharingwith the world intime.”

Although the letter makes special mentionofthe USA, the responsibility for providingfor the future care ofBaba-treasures rests withall those who are entrusted with the privilegeofcaring for something ofHis, wherever it maybe. Notlong after writing this letter while stillin the hospital, Maui even asked her own fam

. . . .,,,“.

ily in Poona to give certain Baba treasures oftheirs to the Trust for future sharing with theworld. She felt, as we do, that Baba treasuresare Baba’s, and the Baba community are buttheir fortunate caretakers.

So now it is our desire to impress upon allBaba lovers who have Baba-items the enormity of the responsibility you bear for safe-guarding His things.This responsibilityis bothto preserve them with great care while theyare in your keeping, and to select heirs for themthat will be equally responsible in the future.We would like to think that these treasureswill always remain in the hands ofpeople whowill both savour the remembrance ofBelovedBaba through them, and who will also under-stand their continuing need for special care. Ifyou are doubtful about the continuity oftheirfuture safety and sharing after you are gone,we earnestly request you to consider leasingBaba-items to the Trust (through a deed ofgift or bequest in yourwill) as Maui suggestedin her letter, to ensure their museum-qualityconservation and accessibility for future generations throughout the world.

In the meantime, we ask each ofyou to takethe appropriate measures to safeguard what-ever item is in your custody. To help you, wehave compiled a list ofsimple steps in a separate write-up entitled Tpsfor Preserving YourPrecious Baba Treasures. Many items may already be old and fragile, and in need ofimmediate attention. Even things that may not appear fragile are deteriorating, and much canbe done to slow the deterioration and prolongtheir life significantly.

As detailed in Tips, the primary hazardscome from handling, sunlight, artificial light,extremes oftemperature and humidity mold,dust, pests, and acid-exuding papers or con-tamers, and, ofcourse, FatherTime. For fur-ther information, you may contact this corn-mittee, do A.M.B.PPC.Trust, or Dot Lesnik,who is helping the Trust with this preservation work. Dot’s address is 265 BriarcliffeAcres, Myrtle Beach, S.C. 29572, U.S.A., telephone 803-272-6868, or e-maildlesnik@aol.corn. [Tpswas published in fullin the Winter-Spring issue ofthe LampPost,on page 32. —Ed.]

When we speak of Baba-treasures, wemean any personal item of Baba’s (such ashair or nails, a handkerchief, or sadra), or anyobject bearing His signature, or anythingtouched byHim. All these need to be attendedto from the viewpoint ofconservation.

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In another category, so do Baba’s and themandali’s letters, telegrams and other documents which directly portray Baba’s relation-ship with His lovers and His attention to thetiniest details oftheir lives. As well as Baba’sbeautiful image in photos and films, and themandali’s stories that you have recorded onfilm, videotape and audiotape. All these, wefeel need to be copied and preserved for Babalovers to come. Since these items can be duplicated, we ask that you consider ensuringthat theTrust Archives has a high quality copy(or the otiginal, ifyou feelso prompted). Ifyouare able to arrange this, please have it handcarried (not mailed) to India by a reliableBaba-pilgrirn. If you have any difficulty induplicating the item, do let us know. Andplease write down and send us any information relevant to the item to shed light on itshistoric content.

Continued nextpage.

Remember the Trust

vatar Meher Baba has given us an extraordinaryprivilege to let us participate

in His very specialTrust work. Meher Babatells us that He is the Personage by whomserving we serve the whole universe.

Baba Himselfestablished theTrust to carryout His wishes once He dropped the body.The Trust supports beneficiaries named byBaba, as well as funding the many charitableoperations at Meherabad.

Ifyou wish to contribute to this most worthy of causes—Baba’s Trust—please makeyour checks payable to:

“Friends ofthe Meher Baba Trust”

and forward them to:

Lynne Berry267 Hanover DriveCosta Mesa, CA 92626.

P.S. If you wish to receive a copy of Bhau’srecent letter regarding the immediate needfor funds (printed in the last LampPost),please contact me and I will gladly send you acopy.

Jai Baba!

Lynne Berry

I-j

!_______

[f ( t* t

As time passes, and as the light ofMeher Baba’s Divinity illuminates theworld, naturally the memory of His humanitywill need to be nurtured. In centuries to come, the things that Meher Babatouched or used or wore, the pictures ofHim, the letters He wrote, and other artides bearing the personal imprint ofHishumanity will serve as tangible links tohelp people remember His life as Manmore intimately, just as they helpedMehera so much to feel His eternal close-ness.To preserve these treasures for as longas possible is one ofthe duties unfoldingbefore us no as we prepare for the open-ing ofAct 3, the age ofHis lovers. So it isessential that this work, begun by the

r•• ‘

mandali, be on a firm footing, so that after weare no more, it may continue in the same spirit.

Avatar Meher Baba ki Jai !!!

MeheruR. Irani, Bhau Kakhuri, andihe memhers ofiheAvatarMeherBaba TrustArthivesandMuseum Committee.

Avatar Meher BabaPerpetual Public CharitableTrust

Post Bag No. 31, King’s RoadAhmednagar 414 001, M.S., India

Thisphoto,personally signedby the Mandali(on the original only—but the reproductions lookevery bit as good!) is the LampPost’c way ofhetping to raise moneyfor the building of theArchive Museum.

The 8 x 10 color photo sellsfor $25, with

$20 going direct to the TrusLSofar we have been able to sendjust over

$2000. Wouldyou like to heip? Order throughthe Bookstore.

I ( t ( 3 t ( 3;

Announcements

Mehermas Fly to IndiaSweepstakes Winner!

New Stermer

Brenda Harold ofCharlcston South Carolina was ecstatic when she received our

phone call telling her she was the winner! Shewas thrilled to find that Baba had answeredher prayers and given her a way to return toHis home.

Secondandthirdprizenners, Sebastian Bakerand RobertTumage each received a book.

Thank you so much to everyone who par-ticipated—your donations help tremendously.

Errata

We received the following letter fromDonald Mahier for publication in the

January issue, but it was inadvertantly omit-ted—our apologies—and for the original mis-take in the transcribing ofhis talk.

“Upon reading the report of the L.A.Sahavas in the October issue I was surprisedto see that there seems to be some confusionin the reporting ofwhat I said during my talk.Although the speed with which I was able toovertake and pass the said young man andarrive ahead of him at the Barn in order toprotect ourjob ofcarrying Baba in the chairwould be enviable to me no rather enfeebledafter the passage of almost 40 years, I neversaid, or even thought ofthat feat as “an act asnear to perfect as I have ever done.” What Idid say and indeed always say when askedwhat it was like to carry Baba, is that it wassomething, perhaps the onlything, I have everdone that was anything like perfect. I do nottake any credit for this and indeed don’t evenunderstand what it means. Perhaps in doingsomething so directly for Baba, something thatwas asked for by Him and shared by me withthe other male dancers, I was allowed to havea very small glimpse into and dare I say par-ticipation in, His perfection. I cannot claim toknow or understand.

With muchiove to the L.A. group—thanksfor your friendship and support.”

D you ever find yourselfin a “dry spell”spiritually? Are you bored from listen-

ing to the same old negative news, weatherand travel on your way to work? Would yourather have something inspiring to listen to?Do you need an interesting theme for yourBaba meetings? ...Well the audio library hasmany interesting, intellectually stimulatingdiscourses on life with Baba. We have over150 titles just waiting to be delved into byinquiring minds. What unsuspecting treasures to behold! Don’t waste your time on thistired old world any longer.

Make your choice to move into the cosmicBaba linkup.

Lynne Berry (officialtape wall) is ready toassist you. For catalog or info write to:

i.: . . ... .. . . . ,.

S ophia Ariana Stermer was born to proudparents Richard and Maria on Decem

ber 21, 1997. Our hearty congratulations anda very heartfeltJai Baba to all three!

Audio Tape Lending Library

Maria Richard, andSophiaArianaStermei, in blisfu1 repose.

AMB Lending Audio Librarydo Lynne Berry

267 Hanover DriveCosta Mesa, California 92626

Michael Ivey weds!Left to rzght: Son, Scott Naseio, Michael Ivey,

and son, Forest Ivey. Denise Ivey is seated

r;Ii

Fe..I

; IThe First Dance, to the tune ofihe 7th most

requested wedding song: Unchained Melody.

Tom Har4 ofthe Love Street LampPost staffand Somjai Piyavatkzul (ai”for short!) were

married on January 24th, 1998!Iai and Tom prepare to cut the cake!

I ( 3rt . ( 3% t ( 3c

Notes from thefrom our man in India, James Cox

January 1st, 1998

I nternet

A interesting aspect to life in Meherabadis that for some reason Birla AT&T

chose to sellect Ahmednagar, along withBombay, Pune and Nasik for their initialceliphone launch, all cities closely connectedwith Avatar Meher Baba. From ‘Nagar youcan call locally to Pune as well as Goa withyour cellular phone, and sometimes, like to-day, the cellphones were the only phones work-ing. The Department of Telecommunicationshas also just doubled the exchange capacityat Meherabad, and is planning to install aUHF tower in the next couple ofmonths, sothat our line quality and reliability will improve considerably. Later this year they havea fiber optic cable extension to Meherabadon the drawing board, and I have been in-formed that Ahmednagar will get an internetnode after March, 1998. While in the West-em scheme ofthings this might not seem par-ticularly unusual, in India it is incredible, andmaybe even unique for a town the size ofNagar. The framework certainly seems to begeffinglaid for the imminent incorporation ofMeherabad into the global telecommunicalions network.

January 31st, 1998

I s now the afternoon after, the time forlong sleep and no electricity, as the 29th

Amartithi ofAvatar Meher Baba has come toa close. The electrical connections are alreadybeing restored to their former configurations,and most ofthe participants are sleeping thesleep ofthe exhausted. Probably somewherebetween 15 and 20,000 people attended,slightlyless than the year before by whateverestimates we have, and the first year since theGulfWar, I believe, that the number has actually dropped from the prior year. AfterAmartithi is over, it is always a litle surreal tolook at the vast pandal, the emptied stalls andthe vacant paths, remembering how it was

hardly 24 hours before. The rate at whichMeherabad fills up, is transformed forAmartithi, and then empties out, reverting toits previous existence, is something ofa minormiracle in itself

February 13, 1998

W[eherabadis quickly filling up for Baba’s

Birthday, old friends by the dozens,with more than 130 foreigners and over 500Indians expected. Even the theater can’t scatso many, but the preparations for the play arestill proceeding along feverishly, as always,crammed into the last minute. This year theBirthday coincides with the Hindu observanceofMaha Shiv Ratri (the Great Night ofShiva),when the demons and ghosts are supposed tocome out on the earth. Generally, nothingauspicious is undertaken on this day.

The weather is still cool and clear, withnights down to about 60 degrees F., and thedays in the 80’s, quite sunny, dry and thegrass has browned out once again.

Baba’s Archive Building is almost up to thefloor slab level, the road over the tracks, throughArangaon and up to the hill has been paved(then promptly mangled by an army tankmaneuver), there is a new access road next toAdi Dubash’s house (not paved), going backto the hospital and the stretcher in Baba’sCabin by the Samadhi has been encased inwood with a glass top. It makes me wonderhow many more years you will even be able togo into the Samadhi. Things are changing.

The resident/spiritual trainee visa situationalso seems to have been miraculously resolvedfrom Delhi bytheTrust somehow getting thestatus of an educational institution, despitethe fact that mostpeople had completely givenup on this line ofapproach. I don’t think any-one is exactly sure how this happened, and tome, you could even call it a miracle. As far asI have been able to find out, there is no limit

now from the Government on the number offoreigners that the Trust can sponsor in itsSpiritualTraining Program for visas. Additionally, some ofyou may not know, but nowthe Indian Government is granting Amen-cans 10-year tourist as well as business visas,evidently for the asking.

Oh, and I almost forgot,Jal and Dolly havegot two new peacocks to replace Moti andMalika, who previouslybought it (died). Volleyball continues in the afternoons, and aftera hiatus oftwo days, The Kleiner has returned,to once again terrorize the hapless wretchesthat are so unfortunate as to play on his team!

That’s Meherabad.

Jai Baba! —James Cox

February 25th, 1998

I have just come down from the Samadhiwhere around 300 people had gathered at

“five-o’clock-in-the-morning,” to wish AvatarMeher Baba a happy birthday. The sittingarea in front ofthe Tomb was decorated withprofuse amounts offlower and cloth buntingswhile many Christmas Tree type decorationshung below the beams, and for some reasonin this predawn dark, the regular bulbs hadthe feeling ofcandleight. Chai (Indian Tea)was being served in front ofMansani’s kitchen,and there was a slight coldish breeze from thesouthwest, just enough to straighten Baba’slighted, multicolored flag, which flew over thetower. We stood in line shivering and listen-ing to songs for two hours as we waited for ourturn to offer Him our own flowers and birth-day greetings.

Every year on this day, I get out ofbed be-fore dawn, and think, “It’s not so cold, I reallydon’t need to dress warmly,” and I proceed to

(Continued on page 42...)

1. 8 Jov&Stred £amjLThsr

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Humorfor

HumaIIn ourjokefor Baba today we have assembledanswers that many ofthe worldcgreatestthinkers might have given us when asked that veryprofoundandage old question.]

ff,1Thy Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Plato: For the greater good.

KarlMarx: It was a historical inevitability.

Thomas de Torquemada: Give me ten mm-utes with the chicken and I’ll find out.

Timothy Leary: Because that’s the only kindoftrip the Establishment would let it take.

Douglas Adams: Forty-two.

Nietzsche: Because ifyou gaze too long acrossthe Road, the Road gazes also across you.

Carl Jung: The confluence of events in thecultural gestalt necessitated that individualchickens cross roads at this historical juncture,and therefore synchronicflflouslybrought suchoccurrences into being.

Jean-Paul Sartre: In order to act in good faithand be true to itself, the chicken found it nec-essary to cross the road.

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The possibility of“crossing” was encoded into the objects“chicken” and “road,” and circumstances cameinto being which caused the actualization ofthis potential occurrence.

Albert Einstein: Whether the chicken crossedthe road or the road crossed the chicken depends upon your frame ofreference.

Aristotle: To actualize its potential.

Buddha: Ifyou ask this question, you denyyour own chicken-nature.

Salvador Dali: The Fish.

Darwin: It was the logical next step aftercoming down from the trees.

Emily Dickinson: Because it could not stopfor death.

Epicurus: For fun.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: It didn’t cross theroad; it transcended it.

Johann Friedrich von Goethe: The eternalhen-principle made it do it.

Ernest Hemingway: To die. In the rain.

Werner Heisenberg: We are not sure whichside ofthe road the chicken was on, but it wasmoving very fast.

David Hume: Out ofcustom and habit.

Pyrrho the Skeptic: What road?

The Sphinx: You tell me.

Sappho: Due to the loveliness ofthe hen onthe other side, more fair than all ofHellas’ finearmies.

Henry David Thoreau: To live deliberately. . and suck all the marrow out oflife.

Mark Twain: The news of its crossing hasbeen greatly exaggerated.

Stephenjay Gould: It is possible that thereis a sociobiological explanation for it, but wehave been deluged in recent years with cvi-dence about the genetics ofbehavior, and wedo not know how to obtain it for the specificbehaviors that figure most prominently in so-ciobiological speculation.

Machiavelli: So that its subjects will view itwith admiration, as a chicken which has thedaring and courage to boldly cross the road,but also with fear, for whom among them hasthe strength to contend with such a paragonof avian virtue? In such a manner is theprincely chicken’s dominion maintained.

Hippocrates: Because ofan excess ofpleghmin its pancreas.

Meher Baba: Because it was...The Mischievous Chicken!

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Drawing done by Meher Baba, Ju’y 30, 1953, of Himself as a Chicken.

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. . .

[Thefoiowing is takenfrom the l2page colorbrochure that comes with the video.Louis van Gasterenc words, copyright 1997,Spectrum Film, Amsterdam.Excerptsfrom Eighty Two FamilyLetters, writ-ten by Mani, copyright, Avatar Meher BabaPerpetualPublic Charitable Trust, India. Usedbypermission.]

by Louis van Gasteren

B cing a filmmaker offeatures and documentarics since 1952, in the 60’s I had

begun the making of a film entitled There isno Planefor Zagreb. The subject ofthis filmwas partly autobiographical but it dealt as wellwith all sorts ofassociations, brainwaves andmemories, my thoughts on film making assuch, the illusions with which we have to deal,the interpretation ofevents which occur to us.On my search for what I saw as the essence ofhuman existence, I got in touch with manyinteresting individuals including the promoterof LSD, Timothy Leary, who thought thatGod could be found in a pill. Such a notiondid not, however, prevent a young poet fromjumping out ofa windowwhile under the in-fluence ofLSD. He died, and his parents mi-tiated a lawsuit against Leary, holding himresponsible.

While working on this film in the UnitedStates, I met in short order three people whomentioned Meher Baba to me: RobertDreyfrtss, Rick Chapman, and Irwin Luck. Asa cabdriver, Luck drove me to the airport onmy way back to Amsterdam. On my question: “How are you today, Mr. Luck?,” he an-swered: “Well, sir, since I have been in Indiaand had the opportunity to meet Meher Babaforjust 30 seconds, I can manage for the coming 3 years, or so.”That struck me. It was thenthat I developed the idea ofgoing to India toask Meher Baba: “Is God in a pill?”

I wanted to confront in my film the con-

trasting ideas ofTimothy Leary, a man whowas being held responsible for the death of ayoung poet, and those of Meher Baba, ofwhom I had heard the beautiful saying: “Ilove you more than you can ever love your-self.”

I wanted to universalize the griefofthe par-ents and give some counterweight to Learyby presenting a man who really knew whatlife is all about. I got in touch with Baba, ask-

ing him ifhe could see me, and he agreed.At that time, September 1967, Baba was

in seclusion, but he came out ofit to have atalkwith me, in Mandali Hall at Meherazad.Baba was sitting in his chair. Bhau was thereand Eruch who translated Baba’s gestures. Iexplained to him the philosophy of Zagreb:that I for instance waited for hours and hourswith the camera to film the first autonomousstep of my little daughter. That she had towalk from that moment on for the rest ofherlife.That during one’s life you have to use yourfeet, that you have to go from one place to theother, that you have to run. I told him that Ihad metTimothy Leary and that I wanted toaskhim ifthere is any function ofusing drugs,if—in other words—God is in a pill. Mysoundman, Peter Brugman, described Babaafter this meeting as if he could look rightthrough him. In otherwords, Babawas transparent for him. In my opinion, this observation showed the egolessness ofBaba.

During the meeting with Baba I felt as ifIhad known Baba for a long time. I experienced Baba as my brother, sharing with me adeep feeling ofaloneness. In fact, I would havelovedjustto sitwith him withouttalking, with-out saying a word, and there would have beencommunication and an even greater feeling of

Beyond Words

The Video

Filmingthe Avatar ofthe Age

Meher Baba

MeherBaba andLouis van Gasteren, 1967.

IH*o“•“ ‘ ..,,,. ., , .,,.freet .. . . , , . . .

togetherness. In a way, I felt sorry that I hadto askhim questions and to explain my intentions. Ifthe camera and the crew had not beenthere, I would have been very pleasedjust tobe in his presence in silence. After the meet-ing, Baba gave me a turban, which I woreduring the interview the next day.

On the 20th of September, we did theshooting ofBaba washing the feet ofthe lepers, and ofBaba answering some ofmy questions sitting in front ofSeclusion Hill. Afterthe shooting we went to Meherabad to filmBaba’s tomb and Mohammed the Mast, aswell Baba’s room.

Baba was very cooperative and happenedto be very camera conscious. It became clearto me that he really wanted to be filmed andthat he kept everything constantly under con-trol, even checking whether the camera wasworkingwhen filming him. Eruch interpretedBaba’s gestures, and for me, it is still quitemoving to see and hear the interaction be-tween Baba and Eruch, with Baba correctingEruch when his interpretation was not following Baba’s intentions and Eruch search-ing all the time for the right words. After myarnval in Holland, I had to face a lot offamilyproblems, the sickness ofmywife, later a separation, and I was not able to finish There isNoPlanefor Zagreb. So, my film of Baba remained in the cans for 30 years.

During these last 3 decades, I did show thefilm to many Baba lovers who asked to seethe material in my place in Amsterdam ontheir way to and from India. One such personwas Paul Comar who strongly encouraged meto make the footage ofBaba available to Babalovers without waiting for the finishing ofZagreb. He encouraged me as well to revisitMeherazad and the mandali; and in August1997, I followed his advice. I put the cuttingcopy on a VHS tape, showed this tape to themandali, and their happiness in seeing thefootage made clear to me that it was time toproduce the film on VHS for Baba’s lovers.Andy Lesnik ofSheriar Foundation gave mehis support and promised that Sheriar Foundation would help me with the distribution.And nowl am happythatmy film material onBaba has become available for Baba’s loversand that they don’t have to wait until I havefinished my Zagreb film.

[Amsterdam, Novembei 1997.Copyright 1997.]

Excerptsfrom

Eighty-Two Family Letters

by Mani

[From the Seventy-Fourth Family Letter,Meherazaci 1st Septembei 1967]

. . .Baba has also announced that He will stepout ofseclusion one morning before November for three hours only. He will do this inorder to wash the feet oftwenty-one lepers,men and women, who will be brought fromAhmednagar to Meherazad for this purpose.After washing their feet and bowing down tothem, the Beloved will give to each one ofthem some wearing apparel or material thatwill serve to clothe the recipient’s body. Andwith this tangible prasad will be the unseengift ofthe Avatar’s blessing, His unboundedLove that heals ailpain ofignorance, that meltsaway sanskaras oflifetimes - the Gift fromthe Only Giver, given in silence. Many a timeBaba has bathed the lepers—”beautiful soulsin ugly cages” as He once said ofthem—andbowed down to them.This time itwillbe fromHis Seclusion, Baba has not yet fixed the day.His coming out for this workwith the leperswill not mean the end ofHis seclusion. It willmean only a “stepping out” for the duration ofthree hours, after which He will resume Hisstrict seclusion.

Only those who have been directed to makearrangements for this leper-work are to bepresent at Meherazad on the day.

However, an exception has been made forcertain individuals who are concerned withthe completing ofa film being made by Louisvan Gasteren, a filmmaker ofHolland. In response to Louis van Gasteren’s earnest request to film Baba, Baba has granted himpermission to be present during the threehours when He will step out ofseclusion, andto film Baba during His workwith the lepers.

From Mr. van Gasteren’s letter to Adi weget an idea ofthe uncommon theme of this35mm colour film he is making: “NemaAvionaZa Zagreb,” which he expects to showthroughout the world. It is a film which doesnot confine itself to a story, but revealsglimpses ofthe poignancy ofhuman experi

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ence, ofjoy and sorrow, birth and death, ofthings happening on both sides ofthe globe—on which is Meher Baba, the Avatar.

Mr. Van Gasteren writes:

“The appearance ofthe Avatar in my film ismore than functional, it is necessary to give allthe other happenings and sequences the final and right dimension. Nowyou will under-stand how happy I am with the Avatar’s per-mission.”

This making ofa film with Baba to be seenaround the world, is an endeavour initiatedby Baba’s brother,Jal, who has worked hardtowards it for a long time, pleading for Baba’spermission again and again. The reward ofJal’s endeavour is in sight, for at last the Be-loved has given His permission for such a film-rng. Louis van Gasteren, in concluding his letterto Adi, spoke ofthe impact that the Avatar’sMessage had on him.

He wrote:

“I tell you franklythat the first time I heard ofBaba, the line HE LOVES YOU MORETHAN YOU CAN EVER LOVE YOUR-SELF struck me through the NewYork cab-driver Irwin Luck, struck me since RobertDreyfuss entered my house with Baba’s photograph. It became a line used many times aday within the circle ofmy friends.”

[From the Seventy-Fifth Family Letter,Meherazaa’ 7th Octobei 1967.]

...Two days after I posted my letter to you(of 12th Sept.), Adi received a cable fromLouis van Gasteren in Holland, saying he wasarriving in Bombaywith his film crew on 17thand coming to Ahmednagar on 19th for thefiiming.The time limit given byBaba was 20thSeptember, so you can see what a close shaveit was! All the same, as he did keep faith withBaba’s word and made it in the given time,Baba gave His permission happily. Baba calledLouis to Meherazad at 9 o’clockon 19th mom-ing to see Him for five minutes, and also tolook over the site for next day’s filming. Start-ing very early from Poona with his crew andaccompanied by Jal he arrived on time andwas taken in to see Baba. Baba gave him 40minutes instead of5, and some very beautifulexplanations in that time—and by that timehe had reallybegun to love Baba. One could

L ( 3?

say that he came for his own film and stayedfor Baba’s film; for he later confessed that hisintention had been to film a few hundred feet,but now he was determined to take in as muchas he could for the world to know of Babathrough his film. As Eruch later remarked,Louis met the mandali as a filmmaker andparted as a brother. Jan and Peter, the twoboys who accompanied him as cameraman andsoundman were equally in love with Baba atfirst sight, and became as members ofthe family during their two visits. The Meherazadfamily found Louis a most unassuming andcongenial person, sincere and earnest, pains-taking in his work, and notjust a filmmakerbut a real artist. However, all these qualitieswould appear as ciphers were it not for theunit ofhis newborn love for Baba that makesthem add up to a fine figure. Louis put con-sideration for Baba’s comfort and wishes be-fore his filming convenience every time. Atone point when some alteration had to bemade to suit Baba, Louis assured Him with aspacious gesture ofhis arms, “We will adjustit Baba, it will be no problem, don’t worry,”With a marked twinkle Baba said to thosepresent, “My only worry is that I cannotworry!”

From his talks with Eruch and Francis,Louis got a much better understanding ofBaba’s role in his film; and Francis’s powerfulexplanation ofwhy Baba cannot be comparedto any other personality no matter how greathe might be in the world, impressed himdeeply and cleared up a lot of things in hismind.

Admiring their efficiency at the filmingwhich took place on 20th September atMeherazad, Baba said “Louis and his menknow theirjob.”That became clear to all whowatched them workwith their beautiful cam-eras and latest accessory equipment. The filmis to be in colour and equipped with sound.They filmed beloved Baba washing the feetof the lepers—seven lepers, He finally decided.They filmed Baba in the garden againstthe luscious bougainvillea vines, and Baba discoursing under the shade ofthe twin “babul”trees which stand in the field with the Seclusion Hill in the background. They filmed theMeherazad scene, including a sunset from thetop of Seclusion Hill, and they visitedMeherabad and filmed that place of Baba’salso.

I must put down beloved Baba’s remarks

[: 2’

on Louis van Gasteren’s visit and the film hecame to make. On the morning after Louis’sdeparture Baba said to the mandali:

“I felt happy with Louis van Gasteren notonly because he is an artist but because hehas a good heart. He was impressed very muchby my Love, as were his two assistants. Louisis a genius in his art. Because ofthis, and be-cause ofhis love for me, I cooperated 100%and he made the most of this opportunity.”Referring to the filming done under the“babul,” Baba said. “To me it was like againgiving a sermon on the Mount. In the twodays that Louis spent here and at Meherabad,I could see that he came to understand a bitabout me, and he expressed his love for me byspeech and action. I know that he will try hisbest to have the film shown all over the world.He worked at it with all his heart, and I coop-crated with all my heart. So this must beargood results.”

Among the gems that Louis received fromBaba was the following discourse. On his firstday’s visit, Baba said to him: “I am alone evenwhen surrounded by thousands of peoplebecause I see only myselfin them all.”

“As for you, ifyou were in the Himalayas,you would not be alone even there becausethousands ofthoughts and desires would beyour constant companions.”

(Wotesfrom thelnternet”continucd from pg. 38.)

go up the hill to freeze while I wish Baba aHappy Birthday and listen to many wonder-ful other Birthday offerings. I suppose ifmymemory capacity extended beyond a year, thenI might one day be able to avoid this fate, butthe momentum does not seem to be in thatdirection, and anyways,judgingbythe amountofothers also shivering, it might be a necessarypart ofthe atmosphere.

Prior to going into the Samadhi, someonealso handed me my much delayed subscription copy ofTime Magazine, featuring BillClinton and Monica Lewinsky on the cover. Iwould suspect that was the first time that thatpicture had been inside Baba’s Tomb. Some-times He apparently has rather odd ways ofworkmg.

Injust a few hours, things will have warmedup considerably, and the traditional BirthdayPlaywill start at about 11:30 am in the “Artsand Entertainment Building.” At that time,the temperature in the theater will approachthat ofa low sauna as the roofis sprinkled tokeep it cool enough for people to stay inside,and I will sit there, waiting for the play to start,and think, “Wow, what opposites, I wonderwhy He doesn’t go in for a little more averag

! —

Baba says the film world has a magnificentscope to tell the world about things that theyshould know. And by seeing good films, theyforget themselves. Theyput their hearts andminds into the show and forget their worriesand the world. Baba says that the most important thing is for one to forget oneselfandrealizeGod.

ing?I suppose it wouldn’t serve the purpose.

Anyway, Happy Baba Birthday to you all,wherever you are, and whether you are freezing or roasting. Baba would have been 104today.

L’

[L ( 3% t ( 3 1- ( 3 @

Beyond Words

Louis van Gasteren at thepremiere ofBeyond Words at the Meher Spiritual Cente Myrtle Beach.

by Andy Lesnik

The history of Beyond Words dates back there) called to say that it would be good ifl let and video cover. Amazingly everything wasto 1967, the year in which Meher Baba could visit with Louis in Amsterdam on my ready in time for a December 23rd premiere

stepped out ofscclusion to allow the acclaimed way back from India in November. at the Meeting Place at the Center.Dutch film-maker, Louis van Gasteren, the The van Gasterens graciously invited me Louis spoke beautifully at the Premiere andopportunityto interview and 13]m Him. Oftruly to stay with them for the 2 days that I could passed around to the audience the long redhistoric import, the result is the only existing arrange to be in Amsterdam. The purpose of turban that Baba had given him in 1967. Hecolor film ofMeher Baba in which we hear the visitwas to see ifSheriar Foundation could spoke again on the 26th for a second showing.Eruch interpreting the Avatar’s exquisite hand be helpful in working through the practical Louis and Joke had a wonderful time ingestures as He shares a series of beautiful details ofreleasing avideo ofthe film for Baba’s Myrtle Beach and were also warmly receivedmessages. lovers and to ask Louis to make an archival by the Washington and Boston Baba groups,

The story ofhowthis film finally came to be preservation copy ofthe original film for the two cities that Louis wanted to visit in con-shared with Baba’s lovers is one consisting of Trust to have in its safekeeping. nection with his work.many chapters. My own involvement began The two days spent with Louis and Jokein Mayoflastyearwhen Paul Comar—a good turned out to be totally magical. We all be- At 75, he is still a passionate, brilliant man,friend living in Paris—called out ofthe blue came great friends within the first hour and always the artist, and deeply moved by theto tell me that he had asked Louis van the two days were so emotionally charged, I warmth ofhis reception in the States and byGasteren to get in touch with me. Paul had felt as ifl had been with them for 2 months. the depth ofthe response to Beyond Words.recentlyrenewed an old friendship with Louis By the time I left on November 15th, we In manyways he is a larger-than-life figure, aand had in fact invited Louis and his wife not only were all set for making the video but true original, and as a Dutch video producerJoke (pronouncedYoka) tojoin him inAugust we had set Christmas as a release date and I told me duringthepreview screening ofa pro-on his next trip to India. had invited the van Gasterens to come to gram being made to honor him on the occa—

I spoke briefly with Louis at the time and Myrtle Beach to help celebrate the premiere sion of his 75th birthday: “We have no onehe and Joke did indeed return with Paul to showing. like hiniWe doiñ knowwhat to make ofhim.Baba’s home in August, the first time that In the whirlwindweeks that followed, Louis But I like him very much.”Louis had been backin 30 years. While they andJoke did theproductionworkforthevideowere all there, my wife Dot (who was also and we collaborated long distance on the book- {

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Review:

Review by John F. Page

Norma’s Gift

rinac Gfi, recentlypublished by EliNorPublications in Myrtle Beach, South

Carolina is a bookin three parts.The first partis a biography ofNorina Matchabelli.The lasttwo parts are reprints of Fragments From ASpiritualDiary and 40 Messages From MeherBaba —Norma’s two books that are long outofprint. The originalbooks were published inwonderful editions by Warren Healy in Se-attle.

The name, Norma Matchabelli, has longhad a mysterious ring to it. There is hardly aBabalover still alive who met Norma (she diedin 1957). Of the remaining who have evenheard of her, her name is often shrouded inmystery. Many words and phrases have beenassociated with her: aristocratic, psychic, in-tuitive, mother, controversial proselytizer ofBaba, companion ofElizabeth Patterson, In-dia ashramite, “channeler” of Meher Baba,obedient servant ofthe Lord, worldly. Theseseemingly incompatible aspects of Norma’snature are given great exposition in this finenew book which is a labor oflove by Chrisand Charles. It removes the shroud of mystery and brings Baba’s “Noorjehan”—LightoftheWorld—into ourview and into our heartsso that we may appreciate and understandher.

Born in Italy in 1880, Norma led an unusual life. Epitomizing European aristocracyand culture, she was a well-known actress inMax Reinhardt’s The Miracle—a religiousplay and pantomime stage production accompanied by music. An instant hit, she went onto perform the part ofthe Virgin Mary morethan one thousand times. For many peoplewatching the production, it was a deeplying spiritual experience and was a transform-

ing one for Norma as well. She later marriedPrince Matchabefli, a Georgian national hero,and the two of them founded a perfumerythat became known all over the world.

She metMeherBabain NewYorkin 1931throughJean Adriel. Despite many spiritualexperiences in her adult life,she was not what would becalled a ‘spiritual seeker.’ In-deed, she ridiculed the ideaof the Master-Disciplelationship and said that shewould never worship at anyman’s feet.To continue from

Jcan Adriel’s Avatar, “She[Norma] then told me thatever since the momentBaba’s feet had touched theshores of America she haddone nothingbutweep. Shehad been compelled to can-ccl all ofher social engage-ments. The old hauteur ofsophistication was replacedby child-like wonder.”

Upon meeting Baba herentire life changed. She recognized in Him her reasonfor living and knew that Hewas the One who had beenso active in her inner life upto that point. Later, Babatold her inwardly, “You wereborn to love the living God.”

She instantly became oneof Baba’s western mandali

(circle members as theywereknown in those days). Babatreated Norma in a special

way and gave her many responsibilities andprivileges. It is noteworthy that she was con-siderably older than most of the otherwesterners who were close to Baba. He hadher act as a mother to them in many ways...not all ofwhich were welcome!

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Norma was multilingual and was indlispensable in translating for Baba as they traveledaround Europe. In addition, she was occasion-ally able to use her high society connections tohelp Baba and His entourage in their travelsas they would come up against recalcitrantgovernment officials or hoteliers. PrincessMatchabelli was well known and officialswould want to please her.

Baba told Norma that she had been Saint

Joseph, the father ofJesus, in a previous incarnation and that she had also been a numberofother spiritualfigures.Norinac Gfiis full ofletters and other messages from Baba toNorma. Many ofthese messages were writ-ten by Baba in an adoring way. Many alsocontain little known esoteric goodies. ThatBaba loved her dearly and treasured her totaldevotion and service to Him is indubitable.

One ofNorina’s gifts was her ability to pub-licly speak about Baba. Indeed she loved theseopportunities to evangelize in Baba’s cause.She gave countless talks in New York Cityand other places. In these talks she (what wemight nowadays say) ‘channeled’ Baba. Herown description ofwhat occurred was “a stir-ring system ofwavc projections or thoughttransmissions” from Baba directly to her. Shewould get up on stage and say that it wasBaba speaking through her from wherever Hewas in theworid at the time. As you mayimagme, this was somewhat controversial in theBaba community. Some of Baba’s loversthought this was psychic rubbish and othersbelieved fervently that every word she spokewas Baba’s! Each side could find support, di-rect and indirect, from Baba Himself Our dearBeloved, as always, was fanning the flames ofcontroversy making each side feel they wereright. Sound familiar? Whatever one thinks ofwhere the words she spoke came from andhow much if any they were ‘colored’ by her,the messages are remarkable and are not tomissed!

Also included in this book is an account ofNorma’s and Elizabeth’s developing ofMeherSpiritual Center.

Fragments From a Spiritual Diary has aforward by Adi K. Irani. It is full ofvariousthought transmissions. Contained is a transcript ofa lecture she gave in NewYork.

40 Messages is mainly a series ofverses received by Norma through thought transmissions and appears to have been composed inIndia in 1948.

One might think that Norma’s gift was lit-

erally her ability to ‘channel’ Baba. Othersmight think that her ‘gift’ was her total andcomplete devotion and service to her Beloved.After you read this book you will know forsure!

[ I

The Themeby Meher Baba

here is no creature which is not destined for the supreme goal, as there is no river whichis not winding its way towards the sea. But only in the human form is consciousness so developed

that it is capable ofexpressing the perfection ofits own true self, which is the Self of all.However, even in the human form the soul is prevented from realizing its birthright ofjoy and

fulfillment because ofthc burden ofsanskaras which it has accumulated as a by-product ofits arduousdevelopment ofconsciousness. Like the dust that accumulates on the shoes ofa traveler on foot, thesesanskaras are gathered by the pilgrim as he treads the evolutionary path.

In the human form, which is the crowning product ofevolution, the divine life is enmeshed in thesanskaric deposits ofthe mind. The expression ofthe divine life is therefore curtailed and distorted by thedistractions ofthe sanskaras, which weld consciousness instead to the fascinations ofthe false-phenomenal.

One by one the many-colored attachments to the false must be relinquished. Bit by bit the sanskarictinder feeding the deceptive flames ofthc separative ego must be replaced by the imperative evidence ofthe unquenchable flame oftruth. Only in this manner can man ascend to the height ofdivine attainment;the endless beginning oflife eternal.

The life in eternity knows no bondage, decay or sorrow. It is the everlasting and ever renewing self-affirmation ofconscious, illimitable divinity. My mission is to help you inherit this hidden treasure oftheSelf.

[Listen, Humanity, Ed. Don E. Stevens,page xvii Copyright 1982,Avatar Meher Baba Perpetnal Public Charitable Trust]

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7he Love Street ]3ookstore

Jai Baba and Welcome!

O course the great news this quarter—indeed, this year—is the release ofthat

most marvelous ofvideos—Beyond Words . Youcan read the story ofhow it came to beon page 42. When asked to write areview of this film, one person responded “The title says it all! It’s be-yond words!” Ifyou don’t have a VCR,now is the time to buy one! Speakingas one ofthe lucky ones who met Baba,I can truthfully say—watching thisvideo is second best to being in Hispresence. It is truly amazing. ($50)

Our apologies to all ofyou who responded so enthusiastically to thebeautiful mug Cherie Plumlee hascreated ofMehera’s Garden. . . . we hadproduction problems. Because ofthesubject matter, we wanted itjust exactly perfect. Well the manufacturerhas finally got it right, but tells us thatit will take him a few weeks to makethe hundreds we have ordered. But Iam expecting to have them all by thetime you are reading this. We had toslightly increase the price—they are$10.75 each. However ifyou wouldlike a set of four, you may purchasethat for only $36. For those ofyou whodidn’t see the photo featured in our

January issue, it is a photo taken fromthe back ofMandali Halllooking overMehera’s garden to her porch. The photo hasbeen digitally manipulated to look like anImpressionist painting.

I occasionally get letters from surprisedpeople who havejust found out that we have

the plaster casts ofthe Beloved’s feet, His handand His footprints, so I decided to featurethem here. The Trust in Ahmednagar gave

to be taken shall have to wait till another time.Shatrughna Kumar Ghildial, always called

Kumar by Baba, was a faithful disciple formanyyears. One dayin 1954, Kumarhad the idea that it would be a goodthing to have a plaster impression ofBaba’s foot prints; but he did not tellBaba. Later, while Baba was resting,Kumar requested Mani and Goher toask Baba ifhe would consent to allowHis feet impressions to be made.Kumar explained that even if Heagreed to only give His right foot thatwould be sufficient.

In case Baba agreed, Kumar prepared the plaster ofParis powder in acardboard box. Some time passed andhe was called to Baba’s room. As hewas carrying the plaster, he becameextremely nervous as to what Babamight say, or ifhe would like such an

When he arrived, Baba promptlygestured, “Yes, all right! But do it now.”So Kumar, his heart beating fast,quickly mixed the plaster with water.Eruch and Bhau were also present atthis occasion and helped Kumar.

Baba graciouslyplaced his right footin the mixed plaster.

After the impression was made Heasked Kumar, “What about my leftfoot?”Again, excitedbyBaba’s request,

Kumar quickly mixed the remaining plaster.Then Baba placed his left foot in the mixture.Later, Kumar expressed his happiness at hay-ing obtained both feet impressions, havingonly expected the right foot.

He said he had thought at the time: “Ifyou

idea.

permission to the famous Los Angeles artistJurgis Sapkus to take charge ofthe preciousongrnal casts, and it is he who makes them forthe Love StreetBookstore.We knowthe storyofhow the footprints came to be made, buthow the casts ofHis feet and His hand came

I 6 ,... , ii’cStrect • . .

ask for something from the Master, it is likereceiving water. Ifthe Mastergives you some-thing, it is like milk. But ifyou extract some-thing from the Master, it is like blood!” Be-cause Baba himselfoffered his left foot, Kumarwas made most happy. During this occasion,Baba was in a pleasant mood and Kumar distinctly remembered him remarking afterward:“It is good that you had this idea. It will begood for the future generations.”

And now we are the future generations.Youread in Jim Migdoll’s story about setting upyour ‘Baba room’—well a very nice addition toit would be His feet, His hand or His foot-prints as a focal point on the table. The feetare finished with a coating that gives the appearance of bronze and are $100. (These arethe ones that are in Baba’s bedroom.) Boththe hand and the footprints are in white plaster and are $40 and $45 respectively.

Al1 featured photos of Baba are availablefor purchase.

A final word here in case you skipped overthe editorial: we are looking for someone whois artistic, skilled in the use of AdobePageMaker would feel privileged to work forBaba, and has about 50-60 hours to give cv-erythree months! Your Love Street LampPostneeds you! Tom and David are not alwaysavailable, and we don’t want to let our readersdown.

Contact me at Bababooks@aol.com ifyou’rewilling to help!

See you at the bookstore,

Dma

[ I LoveStrect ,Ca4thsr 4 7

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LOS ANGELES, CA 90019-3520

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