Editor’s ‘Page

Jai Baba Folks,

B am sure you have all heardthe news about the passing of yet

one more of Baba’s inner circle. ArnavazDadachanji has rejoined her Beloved. Shewill be sorely missed, as are they all, whenHe calls each one home to Him. We arewanting to put together a commemorativeissue for her—see page four—and are hop-ing many ofyou will have stories to tell tocelebrate her involvement with your life.

However, speed is ofthe essence, see-ing as this issue is rather late in getting toyou. But the next one cannot be. Cheriewill be doing the layout for that issue andshe leaves for India June 5th, so she has tohave the entire magazine completed by thefirst few days in June.

I will be in Australia till May 24tF, celebrating my 70th birthdaywith my numbertwo son and his wife and daughter, so willhave to hit the ground running when I return, no doubt being faced with hundredsofemails! Strange, how much busier I amnow than when I had an eight to five job,three teenagers at home and the LoveStreet Bookstore as well as the LampPostto deal with. Very strange!

One of the reasons this issue is late isthe size! We have never had an 80 pagerthat was just a single issue! I had no ideaso much was going into it as I had beenediting the articles since December asthey came in and sending them offto Priswho did the layout for this issue. Actuallywhen she had it all together she told meit was 92 pages — I had a fit!! Had to startbumping many ofthe articles that we hadplanned, but never fear, they will appearin the next issue.

There is much to read in this issue,however two of the articles you will findvery hard to read.Theyhave already movedmany people to tears, as well as outrage.

Read on, and see how it affects you.We get many complimentary letters,

telling us how much the LampPost meansto you, that it is the only Baba light shin-ing around where you live. This one aboutsums them all up:

My copy ofthe LampPost arrivedyesterday, and Ive been reading it item by itemever since!! And still have masses to readHow exciting! It is afabulous,fabulous issue.Many hearzjèlt thanks toyou andallthe editonal teamfrom this avid reader in the UKI cant begin to enumerate or list all thesponses to thefratures I’vepored over sofaicEnough to say —Ilove the wayyou do thepicture spreads — a realsense ofphoto-journalism—particularly the coverage ofAdele Wolkinsdeparturefrom LA. Also, ofcourse, loved thereport you wrote ofMichael da Costas UStoui vibrantly described — I think he is Mr.Be-Happypersonjfiedanddeserving ofthe title Lamp ofNorwich’!Fact islwasfortunateto be on the Boardduring the ‘90s when Mikewas a Trustee andhe was a very specialpersonto work with, hisface always shone with love.Jam saving up thepages aboutDanny — buthave already lingered over the pictures. Iwas veryfortunate to be in India when theMaguires were there in November — beinga particzant at a very special Artifor theoutpouring oftheir love.

A big thankyou to the LampPostforpresenting the work ofMirek in a way thatgivesspace to the amazing and terribly movingpoetry he has writtenfor Fiona. And thankyou Dinafor giving me a sneak previewof the article you are publishing in this is-sue — such a splendid, deeply understanding,compassionate article, salutingfrom all ofusthe heroics ofMirek and Fiona as they aretaken way, way beyond our scope of evenbeing able to imagine suffering! What Babais doing here through these two brave loversandthen through thepages ofthe Love StreetLampPost, is so muchfor us all. It is all Hisgrace. It is all His love. It is all immeasur—ably beyond our comprehension. True surrender So you see, some deep, deep responses.In His Infinite Love, Sarah [McNeill]Sussex England

Errata:

We received a letter from one ofour favourite Indian visitors, Dr.

Digambar Gadekar in Mumbai, tellingus about some incorrect information that

was inJudy’s Meherabad Diaries. She hadtold us that Dr. Gin’s farm—Narangaon—500-1000 years ago was called Arangaon, andwas the birthplace ofShivaji, oneof Baba’s ‘minor’ incarnations.

In fact, Dr. Gadekar tells us, Shivajiwas born in Shivneri Fort in the districtof Pune.

Thank youfor the correction Digambar!

It’s ThatTime Again!

Once a year we ask for your help tocontinue publishing this magazine.

All we ask is that you cover the costs ofprinting and postage,which these days haveescalated considerably. It runs about $25per person per year and $30-$35 for ouroverseas readers (and that’sjust for postage!)However, we do not want to deny anyonethe pleasure of reading this magazine,which many ofyou in far flung places havetold us is your only Baba connection, so ifthe $25 is a financial strain foryou,just sendwhat you can and don’t worry about it. Wejust need to know you do want to continuereceiving the LampPost. We do have somevery generous donors who send more thanthe actual cost—MANYTHANKS—andthis helps to cover for the dozens we send toIndia and other people around the world.

The only people who get paid for theirwork on the magazine are the printers,binders and post office—non Baba loversall. The rest of us feel privileged to do thework, so any help you can give us so thatwe may continue to send you the magazinewill be mightily appreciated! Spreading loveis what we love to do!

If you have recently sent in a check,please don’t think we want more at thistime, it’s just easier to remember that therewill always be an envelope in the first issueeach year and that is the time to donate.

The LampPost now has its own creditcard processor, so we are perfectly happy totake your donations via Visa, MasterCard,or Discover, as well as checks (US banksonly). Ifyou don’t want to put your creditcard numbers in an email you can fax themto me at 310 839 BABA (2222), or call meat my home office 310 837 6419 between9-5 Pacific time.

Read and enjoy life — in His love.

2

‘lcome to Love StreetLove Street £ampJ2ost is dedicated with love to Avatar

Meher Baba. Itsprimarypurpose is to contribute to a sense

ofcommunity among allHis lovers byproviding a placefor

sharing His remembrance.

All members of the Baba family are invited to contribute

to this feast of Love. Love Street £amp2ost is mailed

(approximately) eachJanuary, April, July, and October.

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

Sending you the magazine costs us $25 per person per year

domestic; $30-$35 overseas (and that is postage only!).

Subscription is by donation only, and we can publish only by the

generosity ofyour donations.Please send your checks to:

Love 5treetJctmp.2ost

c/o Avatar Meher Baba Center1214 South Van Ness Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90019-3520

SUBMISSIONS:

We seek expressions of Baba’s message of love and truth. Your

stories, photos, artwork, poetry, letters, articles, and humor are all

actively solicited, but in digital format only (email please).

DEADLiNEs: November 1st, February 1st, May 1st, August 1st

for the issue printed in thefollowing quarter (November 1 deadline

for First Qiiarter issue).

SEND T0 dinagibson@mac.com. If necessary to mail a disk

(please no hand or typewritten manuscripts), send to Editor,

address above.

I have a new email address: DinaGibson@mac.com, Bababook@

pacbell.net is now defunct, and ifyou have an order, question, or

request for something from Love Street Bookstore, send to Kathy

Hill at bookstore@meherabode.org

The LampPost now has its own credit card processor, so we are

perfectly happy to take your donations via Visa, MasterCard or

Discover, as well as checks (US banks only). If you don’t want to

put your credit card numbers in an email you can fax them to me

at 310 839 BABA (2222), or call me at my home office 310 837

6419 between 9-5 Pacific time.

For information regarding our Center please go to:meherabode.org, lovestreetbookstore.com, or meherbababooks.com

ove StreeLCamp2ost ispublished and copyrighted by theAvatar Meher Baba Center ofSouthern California.

Arnavaz Dadaclianji Goes to Her Beloved 4A Request from Jonathan Ramsden 5

Amartithi-Bookstore 1915 Minute Silence 27Baba’s Birthday in Meherabad 28Changes Are A-Happenin’ 39

Jesse Massa and His Trees 40A Much Needed Clarification 41Pumpkin House Status Report 42Some First Hand Experiences in India 44The Miraculous Life 45On Suffering and its Benefits 472009 Beads On One StringTour 60Letters from the Front Lines 77

OVER STORY:

The Mumbai Massacre

6Related stories 16

(q:EPARTMENTS:c:3—’ Editor’s Page 2

What’s Happening at Meherabad 28

Meherabad Diary 34

Passings 50

Announcements 66

What’s Happening at Meherabode 70

Reviews 73

Worldwide Meher Baba Meetings 79

REDITS:

Please notii5r Pris, our Mailing List WaUi, ofyour address change at the above

address or by email: Stillyetmore.more@verizon.net

Love &reerJiimpPosrI

Front cover : Compositephotofrom archivalsources, by Cherie Plumlee

STAFF:

Editor in Chief:Managing Editor:Design & Layout:

The Mumbai section:Assembly and pre-flight:Printing & Distribution:

Circulation:

Avatar Meher BabaDma Snow GibsonPris HaffendenCherie PlumleeTom HartRay MadaniPris Haffenden

vatar Meher Baba gathered His dearest Ar-

navaz Dadachanji into Hiseternal embrace on Wednesday, 18th February 2009at 2:34 pm in Meherazad.Arnavaz passed away froma heart attack; she was 90years old. Cremation will beat Meherabad on Thursday,19th February at 11 am.

Arnavaz was blessed to beborn into a close family whowere brought into Baba’sfold by her uncle Chanji,Baba’s first secretary. Fromchildhood she was in Hisfrequent company as Babaoften visited their home, andshe grew up under His lovingdirection, obeying His every order. At Baba’s wish she marriedNariman Dadachanji and they set up an apartment that was tobecome a home in Bombay for Beloved Baba, Mehera, and thewomen and men mandali.

When Beloved Baba left on His New Life, He gifted Me-herazad to Nariman and Arnavaz, who remained “pillars” ofMeherazad when the Beloved returned to stay there and after Hedropped His form. Nariman’s passing away in 1974 was a greatblow to Arnavaz, and soon after Arnavaz moved to Meherazadpermanently to be near Mehera and serve Him there. She and

Nariman had never hadchildren, and Baba oncesaid that He and Meherawere their children. Ar-navaz always held thatvery close to her heart.

Although she lived inthe ordinary world, herone-pointed focus wason Baba, and she gaveeven her own family thebenefit of her wisdomand perspective on Babaand the spiritual life. Thisshe also generously sharedwith pilgrims who came toMeherazad, through herloving advice and counsel,and through her beautifulbook Gift of God, titled

after the meaning of her name. Her inspiring life of obedienceto the Avatar will serve as a luminous example for generations ofBaba-lovers to come, ofhow to be in the world yet wholeheartedly with the Lord.

We, your Meherazad family, salute you, dearest Arnavaz, foryour vital support to Meherazad in your service to the Avatar, andespecially for your life oflove and surrender to Him.

AVATAR MEHER BABA kijAl !!! Meheru, Katie, Falu andall Meherazad family

L,/lrncLvctz Dadachanji9oes to 1er ‘Beloved7avem 7ctlk

‘

: .

If

%; \I’

Photo by Shelley Marrich

Editor’s note:

Our long time subscribers know that when one ofBaba’s very dear ones returns to Him, we produce a special issue—in color—in tributeto them. We want to make the next issue full ofremembrances ofour dear Arnavaz. For those ofyou who have been touched by her

very special brand oflove and have a story to tell, we would love to receive it. Please get them to Cherie as soon as possible, no later thanJune 5th. Email only please; due to time constraints we can not accept articles on paper. cherieplumlee@gmail.com

We would also love to receive any special photos you have been treasuring. Ifyou have PhotoShop & can scan them, great. Please contactCherie re formatting. Ifyou can only send a hard copy, please place it with cardboard in an envelope & put your return address label on theback ofthe photo so none go astray &we will make sure you get your precious photos returned. To help us keep all the submissions straightput in the subject line: Photo (or story) Arnavaz - S. Hicks. (S Hicks being the person it’s from.) That will help keep track of them.

Whether the issue is in color is up to you. Unfortunately I was not here when the first issue oflast year was mailed out (I was in Australiafor the 50th Anniversary ofBaba’s visit to Avatar’s Abode) and the little envelopes we always include for your yearly donation/subscriptionwere not included. Some wonderful, very conscientious folks sent in a check in their own envelopes. We received about 30 that way (outof around 1500 recipients.) So Baba took the matter into His own hands in a most surprising way:

At the end of each year Meherabode sends out a request for donations for our Center. Well the very kind Baba lover who prints theletter, stuffs & stamps the envelopes & then takes them to the post office, made a slip up. The Trickster was at work: On the little envelopes with our return address that he enclosed for you to put your check in, was printed Love Street LampPost Donation. It should haveread AMBCSC Yearly Donation. I went to the Center one day &was astonished to see my mail box (for LSLP) stuffed full ofthose littleenvelopes! Knowing they weren’t included in the magazine I couldn’t imagine where or how they came to be! Then I found out - thankyou Baba!

However, there are still a great many ofyou who have not sent in a donation (each subscription now costs us $25 per person per yeardomestic, and a minimum of $35 for overseas mailing). Ifyou suddenly remember you have forgotten, & we get an influx of checks orcredit card donations we should be able to manage at least a partial color issue - like we did for Mani — eight wonderful pages of colorphotos. Do lets do that for Arnavaz!

Please Baba?

4

Jai Baba to all!

Recently I had the good fortune of tray—eling to Argentina and staying with

Baba Lovers there, the Nunez family. Theywere gracious enough to host me overthe course of nearly three weeks, and to-gether we all had afabulous time. Thechildren are Joia(18), Javier (17),Camila (15), andMartin, Joia’s boy-friend (21). [Youcan read the tributeto their father—‘Quique’ Nunez—in the Passingssection.] Qiiquewas the first Ar-gentinean BabaLover and is moreor less responsiblefor bringing Babato that corner of theworld. All Baba lovers in South Americadirectly or indirectly have Quique tothank. Unformnatel) Qiique died abouta year and half ago, leaving his three children in Argentina, and his two older sonsfrom his first marriage in the US. Thethree children live with their mother, PaulaMartin, in Buenos Aires. Words cannotconvey how touched and loved I felt bytheir graciousness with me, and by theirwarmth and love as a family. They wereall willing to practice English with me tocompensate for my horrible Spanish. Theyopened their home and their hearts, and Ifeel more than moved to offer somethingin return.

So, here is how inspiration moved me . . . Everyyear the family receivesmaterial about the YàuthSahavas. And every year,they cannot come. Dueto the recent rollercoa.sternature ofthe Argentineaneconomy, the ever fiuctuatmg value of the peso,and the fact that all ma-jor expenses—home andcar prices, airline tickets,etc—are priced in US dollars, it has been impossible

for them to come. ]\Iore than anything, Iwant to help these kids come to the YouthSahavas this July, 2009. Unfortunately,I can’t do it alone. So, with the help ofmy brother Anthony, I have opened up acharitable gift account in their name, and

now I am writing to you my friends, familyand Baba community to ask ifyou will joinme in giving this family a gift that wouldmean the world to all of them.

Both their father and mother spent agood deal of time in Myrtle Beach manyyears ago, and it would be immenselymeaningful for their children to visit theCenter and experience the Youth Sahavas.The goal is $6,000. So far we have raised$2000, so we’re on our way. Whether youcan give $100 or $5, everything counts.

Given that I’m currently traveling, mybrother Anthony has offered to be therecipient and depositor until the money

is raised.So, all you have to do is make checks

or money orders payable to: Nunez Family Fund and send them to: AnthonyRamsden do Nunez Family Fund, 3901E. Mayfield St. Apt # 6, Long Beach, CA

90804Or, if you would

like to pay onlinethrough PayPal, Er-ich Morton has of-fered the use of hisaccount. He will becollecting donationsonline and then for-warding the total toAnthony and me.Contact him at erich.morton@gmail.com for more details.

To all you Sahavasees, currentand present, please

help welcome more people into the YouthSahavas family. To all you parents whohave had children that attended the Sahavas, I don’t need to tell you of the impactthis event has directly had on their lives.And to all people who would simplylike tohelp, your donation is more than appreciated. As soon as our goal is reached, I willlet you know. The more people who knowthe better, so please spread the word!

I have created a blog page http://www.nffund.blogspot.com to give you a real timeupdate on our fimdraising progress for theNunez Family. For your conftrmation I willinclude every day or so a list of everyone

from whom we havereceived donations,and a running total.The response has beenoverwhelming, butwe still need help. Toprotect privacy I haveomitted the individualamounts donated. It’sa team effort anyway.Thank you all for yourlove and support.

LA !Request from 3onctthan JRctmsden‘onathan Ramsden, California

4Martin, Camila, Joia, Javier & their mother Paula

Ioja, Camila, Martin, Paula, Jonathan

S

The 74umbai J44assacre—Rovember 26 20o8Things Must Get Worse Before They Get Better

Michael Files, Mumbai

On November 26th, 2008 ataround 9:30pm, ten men

armed with AK—47s, hand gre-nades and explosives, landed atthe iconic Gateway oflndia monument in the historic southernsection of Colaba, Mumbai, intwo small inflatable speedboats,and proceeded to fan out into thecity to carry out a sophisticatedterror attack on Mumbai thatleft 173 dead and 308 injured.It’s an event the world is very familiar with by now, and remains ashocking blow to those ofus thathave always loved and visited In-dia. I think for a lot ofus who have alwayscome here to Meher Baba’s home, it wasquite a different and scary thing to thinkofthis land, His land, as a place of dangerand international hatred. It’s not that Indiahasn’t experienced terrorist attacks before,but for some reason this one was different,it felt more personal and more brutal.

But as we know, even in the worst oftimes, Baba shows us His presence. Heshows us that even in the world’s darkesthours ofgreed, hatred, and entrenchmentin illusion He is still there with us. He isthere to guide us, and He is there to con-sole us and sustain us. The world and themedia may be going on about the ways inwhich the world is getting worse, but aswe know, however bad it may get, it is allBaba’s way ofbringing about a new worldorder of peace, prosperity and brotherlylove, in other words, The New HumanityAs Baba explained in The Discourses,

As in allgreat criticalperiods ofhumanhistory, humanity is nowgoingthrough theagonizingtravaiofspiritualrebirth. Great

forces ofdestruction are afoot and seem tobe dominant at the moment, but constructive and creativeforces which will redeemhumanity are also being released throughseveral channels. Although the workingoftheseforces oflight is chiefly silent, theyare eventually bound to bring about thosetranØrmations which will make thefur-therspiritualadvance ofhumanitysaft andsteady. It is all a part ofthe divine plan,which is to give to the hungry and weary

world afresh dispensation of the eternaland only Truth.

As you will see in the stories below,Baba was very much present for theseattacks, keeping an eye on His close onesthroughout the destruction and evenbringing new ones into His fold. It seemsto me that Baba is preparing the world forHis manifestation through these attacks byforcing India to take up its role ofproviding what Baba called “creative leadership”to the world. As usual, the riddle of Hisplan is difficult to see, but as Baba onceexplained:

“The problems which India has to facetoday are, in some ways, more complicated than the problems which any othercountry is called upon to solve. Men ofall races, creeds, cults and religions havefound a home in India, and if this lack ofuniformity in composition has presentedsome difficulties in arriving at solidarityand concerted action in the national lifeoflndia, it must in no way be looked uponas a pure handicap. The various streams ofculture which have poured into the life-history oflndia have added to the wealthofher national personality; and they havenot only created a suitable opportunityfor arriving at a new cultural synthesis,but have necessitated its emergence. Ifhandled with creative leadership, the presence of conflicting elements in Indian lifecan be utilized for bringing into existencea rich world-culture, which shall notonly rejuvenate and harmonize Indian

life, but will also give a newtone to the life of the wholeworld.” [excerpt from Treasures,ed. Jane Barry Haynes, 1980© AMBPPCT, taken from theAvatar Meher Baba onlineAnthology on February 17,2009 http://home.online.no/solibakk/newhuman.html]

I was one ofthe people closeto the attacks on November26th, and through Baba’s grace,I was lucky enough to comeout unscathed. On Thanks-giving Day, November 28th, Ioriginally shared my story of

narrowly escaping the scene of carnage atLeopold Café bywriting up a lengthy poston my online blog. Since writing that blog,people have approached me and written tome to tell me how wonderful it was to hearofBaba’s presence in keeping me safe thatday. It was a story that ended up going outinto the Baba world through emails, otherblogs, etc. so that even now people comeup to tell me how the story effected them,to hear ofBaba’s presence in the midst ofall that violence and tragedy.

But what I came to learn after that waseven more amazing: that I was not theonly one for whom Baba was present, andthat my story paled in comparison to thedrama that Baba cooked up for one Bombay couple in particular that had alwaysmeant to visit Meherabad but had neverfound the time. This couple, Muncher andFerozie Wadia, finally ended up coming toMeherabad for the first time on December4th, as soon as they could after their escapefrom the 6th floor of the Ta], which theyaccomplished while taking Baba’s name.And they were kind enough to share theirwhole miraculous experience with all ofushere in Meherabad. The things Baba doesto bring us into His presence!

As it turned out, there were severalother Baba-lovers involved in the attacksthat day. Muncher and Ferozie’s storywas wrapped up with that of the ownersof Leopold, who are in fact Baba-lovers:Farzad Jehani, his brother Farhang, hiswife Shahnaz, and her brother Nozer

Leopold Cafe owned by Baba lovers Farzad and ShahnazJehani

6

Irani. Then there is the story ofa youngBaba-lover who grew up in a Babafamily, named Parizaad Khan, who wasattending a wedding reception at theTaj . It was an event that turned into aterrifying fight for her life along withsome 300 other guests. Many peopleknow ofParizaad’s fatherJimmy Khan,a longtime Baba-lover from Mumbai.Parizaad is a writer for the Mint, anewspaper which is a tie up betweenthe Hindustan Times and The Wall

StreetJourna4 and her story of escapewas printed in Mint, on November28t, 2008.

So one by one I will take youthrough these stories of Baba’s workon and through us on that fateftil night.First, my own story, written originallyon November 28th, and reprinted here.Then, Parizaad’s story of her escapefrom the Taj Hotel, and finally, theamazing stories of Shahnaz, Farzad,Farhang, Nozer and ofcourse Muncherand Ferozie Wadia, for whom Baba hadto go to extremes to finally get theirattention!

Michaelc Story:Baba HadHis Nazar On Me

Baba’s work is mysterious, and perhapswhat we are seeing is that His words arenow coming true, that things must getworse before they get better.

To tell you a little about myself, I am ayoung Baba-lover, 26 years old, from thecommunity ofthe Meher Spiritual Centerin Myrtle Beach. It has always been mygreat blessing to be born into a lovingBaba family. Eruch used to love to tell thestory ofone perfect master’s description ofwhat he called ‘Congenital Felicity’ (literaldefinition — “in-born happiness”), as beingthe greatest blessing on earth: that is, tobe born into a family that trulyloves God.Guess I must have done something rightin my past lives!

My parents, Bill andJanet, were alwayscommitted to bringing me and my siblingsto the place where Baba did the greatmajority ofHis universal work, to the holyground of His home here in Meherabad.I’ve been coming since I was a seven-yearold boy and lost count ofhow many visitsit has been to the place I consider my truehome.

Currently, I’ve been living in India forthe past 4 months. Three ofthose monthswere spent in Meherabad, but the pastmonth was spent in Mumbai, where I had

recently moved to take a great oppormnitclearly set-up by Baba, to do some workwith a very famous art gallery.Through themeeting ofa new friend, who turned out tobe a fellow Baba-lover, I was introduced toa chance opportunity to work in my field:art. Then, magically, Baba put the pieces inplace for me to be able to live in Mumbaifor free. Baba’s hand was clearly in it all,and I could see that He obviously wantedme to be in Mumbai for a while.

Naturally, as time went on, I ended upspending a lot oftime in South Mumbai,sometimes traveling with my gallery to theTa] Hotel or the Oberoi Hotel: going topanel discussions on contemporary art, ormeetings with international contingentsabout upcoming art fairs around the world,very exciting stuff! But more often thannot, the place I would visit the most inSouth Mumbai was Leopold Café. It’s aplace that is owned by Baba-lovers, andhas a beautiful poster ofBaba over-hang-ing the cash register for all to see. So ofcourse I liked to sit there and have a mealand look at Baba’s beautiftil face.

As it turned out, I was in Leopoldon the night of the 26th, the night theterrorists attacked Mumbai. I was thereonly halfan hour before the attacks began,

and Leopold was one of the places theterrorists targeted, shooting automaticrifles into the crowd and killing many. I hadgotten offwork, around 7pm, as I usuallydo, and I had traveled into Colaba as Iusually do, finding somewhere to have abite or waste some time before catching thetrain later at night, once the insane crowdshad died down. When I got to Leopoldthat night, I had been thinking of sittingdown and having a meal and a nice coldbeer, as I often do. And believe me, my bagwas feeling heavy on my shoulder after along day’s work, and a nice cold beer wassounding mighty good, but a friend hadsent me a text message to join her aroundthe corner at a different restaurant fordinner, so I thought, OK, I’ll skip Leopoldtonight. Looking back, I guess Baba didthwant me leave this bodyjust yet!

In the end, the restaurant where I endedup eating was very close to the Taj Hotel,a place called Indigo Deli, and a placethe terrorists could have easily targeted.We couldn’t have been much closer tothe epicenter of the attacks, the Taj andLeopold was right around the corner,and the restaurant is a place always full ofupscale Westerners, including Americans,and thereforejust the sort ofplace the ter

From left to right, DanielFiles, MichaelFiles (the author), andMerwan Luck, allyoung Baba-lovers,

visit Leopold onjanuary 15th. On thefar right is Chandpasha MebuobAli Shekh whose brothe Peerpasha

Mebuob Ali Shekh, was one ofthe two waiters (both Indian Muslims) murdered by the terrorists during

the attacks. Six otherpatrons, 3foreigners, and 3 Indians were also murdered that terrible day. Chadpasha

happened to be Michaelc waiter both times he returned to Leopold since the attacks.

7

rorists had seemed to be after. But again,Baba didn’t seem to want me to exit thisincarnation just yet.

I was there in the restaurant at 9:30pmwhen we heard the first reports of shoot-ing happening outside. At first the reportswere vague, people were calling it gangwarfare or some such thing. But as timewent on we became aware that the citywas under attack, mostly right outsideour door, and before long the police andthe restaurant made the decision to lockus inside the restaurant until we had theall clear, closing the steel curtains forprotection, and didn’t let us out until thenext morning. We had to spend the nightinside, getting any sleep we could in thebooths of the restaurant.

People were dying, for all I knew myfriends were dying. I could have been dying if I had sat down for that beer. But Ididn’t think about these things at the time.Some of the people in the restaurant gota little excited. Some started raising theirvoices, saying things like “what are wegoing to do,” a little panicky But it didn’tlast. Everyone remained pretty calm. Myfriends had become quite concerned but Irealized if anything was going to happento us there was nothing to be gained bybeing a nervous wreck.

Somehow I knew Baba was keeping mesafe. I could just feel it in my heart. Evenwith all the crazy reports of mayhem anddeath that we were receiving on our cellphones throughout the night, all hap-pening so close to us, I somehow knewwe would be OK. I remember thinkingat one point, “What are you up to Baba?I guess it’s time for some shaking of theworld!” I even felt comfortable enough tohe down in one ofthe emptybooths of therestaurant, and get some sleep.

So I actually slept. Alot ofus did. Especially the staffofthe restaurant, who wereincredibly relaxed. They never even actedlike anything was amiss. They continuedto serve us all night and into the morn-ing, giving us food and water and free tea.They were the first to start napping andI figured yeah why not, I found an emptybooth, laid down and got a solid four hoursofsleep. Around 6am I woke up, the lightswere turned on, we had a little breakfast:omelets and toast were made, on the house.At seven we started wondering ifwe weregoing to be cleared to go.

Word came that hostages were stillbeing held and blasts were still going offin the Taj and Oberoi. I found out that a

bomb had gone offin Ville Pane, perhapsin the train station before mine, but I putit out of my mind and I didn’t think toomuch of it. So many different reportshad come through, and I knew that theincidents were sporadic and spread overthe city which was scary, but nothing hadbeen huge, buildings were not destroyed,trains were not destroyed, and with theexception of the Taj and Oberoi, largebands of gunmen were not roaming thestreets. Word came at 8am that the copshad finally given us the green light to leavethe restaurant.

The clack-clack-clack of the steelcurtains being rolled back and the naturallight pouring into the restaurant was awelcome combination of sight and sound.It was strange, thrilling, and a bit scaryto step out into the street. It was hard tobelieve that I had really had to be holedup for a night because of terrorist attacks!Had this really happened? Still I wondered,is this that serious? Suddenly, the streets Ihad enjoyed freely only hours before werenow tainted. It was a terrible feeling—Isuppressed it—I still am, thinking thatIndia will transcend this, India doesn’tgrip to fear like America does, they moveon quickly, but I couldn’t stop that feeling

in my chest that something terrible hadhappened.

I smelled the smoke from the Taj rightaway, but I didn’tlookback, I didn’tlook atmuch at all. The streets were eerily empty,still. The usual bombardment of Bombaytraffic was nowhere to be seen. Peoplewere about, even some taxis were about,things were starting to get back to normalsomewhat but everything was soft, so muchquieter. I was surprised that I didn’t wantto look, I just wanted to go, to get awayfrom it all. Colaba causeway was blockedwith yellow cones, I didn’t want to lookdown and see Leopold, I didn’t even wantto catch a glimpse, I didn’t want to thinkthat my friends might be shot—that Icould have been shot—I guess that’s whenyou know its serious, when you don’t wantto rubberneck, when you just want to getaway. But I wasn’t sure what to do, shouldI go all the way home in a cab? It would bea rare opportunity to take a cab home andactually get there in less than two hours.Traffic would be non-existent. In the end,I took a cab to Churchgate station whereI would catch a train home, and only thendid I lookback and see the smoke billowingout ofthe Taj, becoming more peaceful asit reached higher in the sky and I couldn’t

The Thj Hotel

8

believe how sad I felt looking at that skyThe Taj hotel is a symbol ofMumbai’s

independence, a beautiful, century old relicof a great story ofpride: the legend beingthat a rich Parsi man ofMumbai, despitehis great wealth, was denied entrance toone ofthe prestigious colonial hotels oftheBritish simply because ofhis native origin.Inflamed, the man built the greatest hotelin Mumbai, even to this day, now known asthe Taj. And there I finally saw it with myown eyes, smoke billowing from this greatand beautiftil symbol of independence...I couldn’t believe my eyes, and I didn’tlook for long.

In the end, I made it home to theNorth ofMumbai, and after a few days, Ireturned to Meherabad. I can’t tell you all,my fellow Baba-lovers, how wonderftil it

is to be back in Meherabad after being apart of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Idon’t think any ofus forget how lucky weare for every moment we get to spend inthis holy ground, but returning here afterbeing a part ofthose grisly events, it reallymakes me aware of how lucky I am.

Actually, I feel very grateful that Babaput me so close to these terrible events,because being in His presence after theproximity to such madness, hate and deathmakes it all the sweeter to be in His homeagain, and makes me realize with suchdepth how all that matters is Him, and allthat is, is Him! I haven’t been this happyin months! How ironic is that?!

It seems that Baba’s hand was veryclose in these events. Perhaps some ofyou had previously seen the photo of thebullet riddled car with the photo ofBaba’sface pasted on the window inside—un-touched—with bullet holes all aroundHim, in the newspapers and on television.The picture was first featured on the coverof The New York Times, which of coursehas a huge distribution, bringing Baba’simage to millions in this time of greatsadness and confusion. Another piece ofvideo footage of the restaurant had thecamera stopping on Baba’s poster, and wasrepeatedly shown around the world on different news channels over and over again.In the midst ofthis madness Baba seemsto be saying, “It’s bad, but I’m here, and Ialways will be.” Baba seems to be rampingup His work of clearing the world of itsfalsehood by bringing the worst on first.It is all Baba’s work, the despair and thejoy of the world, the destruction and thepreservation. I suppose it is His work ofcleaning our old ways out of us.

This past Tuesday I was lucky to beable to hear Meherwan Jessawala tellstories of his time with Baba, and reflecton the events in Mumbai in Mandali Hallat Meherazad. Something that seemedespecially poignant, and mystically fittingfor the time, was the fact that itwas the an-niversary ofthe terrible car accident MeherBaba and His mandali suffered in Satara,India, on December 2nd, 1953, an eventMeher Baba foretold as a terrible personaltragedy He would have to suffer in orderto alleviate the suffering of the world bytaking that suffering upon Himself It waswonderfttl to be a part ofthis, to hear howBaba works in mysterious, and some timeshorrible ways to bring out the best in us,and to help us on our spiritual path.

In the end, Baba went easy on me,giving me a minimal taste of the tragedy,sorrow, and anguish that so many sufferedthat night. Below is the first story of aMumbai Baba lover who really enduredsomething tough.

Parizaad Khanc Escapefrom The Taj

As Parizaad describes it, her nightstarted pleasantly enough, with a nice glassof musk melon juice in the Crystal Roomofthe Taj. But things would quickly take aturn for the worse. She had arrived at theTaj Hotel for the wedding reception of agood friend around 9:30pm. The friendwho accompanied her actually made acomment on the paltry state ofsecurity asthey entered the hotel. They hadn’t beenthere 15 minutes when the shattering ofthe glass window of the room they werein, looking into the main corridor, signaledthe beginning of the terrible ordeal.

Directly following the smashing of thewindow there was the sound of gunshotsin the room, and it was clear that thesounds they originally took for fireworkswere anything but. From there the staff ofthe Taj ushered them through secret corridors to the highly private and secretivemembers-only club called The Chambers,where they were soon joined by around300 other guests. The doors and elevatorswere secured at that point, and the groupfelt relatively safe, as they couldn’t hear thesounds ofgunshots or explosions anymore.It was at this point that the staffofthe Tajacted like true heroes, making sandwichesand passing out food, water, and bed sheets,and looking after the comfort and safety ofeveryone in their domain with grace, evenas their colleagues died protecting others.

Parizaad says it was inspirational to see thisgrace under pressure, and a true example ofhumanity in the face of terror.

Time went by, and at one point a groupof four or five people entered the roomwith blood on their clothes. They hadescaped the carnage in the street, and werelooking for shelter in the hotel. At anotherpoint, a couple that had lost hold of their10-year old son in the confusion burst intothe room, desperate to find some way tolocate their son. More time went by, and asfurther reports came in about commandosand police securing the building, a decisionwas made to evacuate everyone from theroom and to escape the hotel.

Around 3am everyone lined up at theservice entrance, and began quickly andsilently to escape down the narrow corridor that was barely wide enough for two

people. Parizaad was in the fifth groupof about ten people each to be usheredthrough the snaking corridor, but halfwaythrough shots rang out, and the group ranbackwith their heads ducked low, creatingan almost stampede situation back intoThe Chambers.

Tense times followed, with injuredpeople being bandaged, and gunfireexchanges and explosions coming fromthe corridor. Tension was running high.Hours passed. Finally, around 8:30am,a commando entered the room and tookcontrol of the situation, evacuating theentire group of people to buses waitingoutside. But even then, they were nothome free. Inside the hotel a terrorist whohad escaped capture was shooting into thecrowd as they attempted to board the bus-ses. But with the commandos protectingthem, they managed to get on the buses,not raising their heads until theywere wellaway from the action.

Parizaad explains that many policepersonnel and hotel stafflost their lives onthat day, many ofthem most likely givingtheir lives in trying to protect the guests.She said she prayed to Baba when she wasinside, as she waited alongwith others whowere also silentlypraying. As Parizaad saidto me, she is overwhelmed by how manyfriends—away from the war zone—prayedto Baba, or to whatever form they worshipGod in, that night to help her. With Baba’sgrace, she survived without a scratch.

Another group ofBaba-lovers saved byHis grace that night were the owners ofLeopold Café themselves!

Farzad and Shahnaz Jehani are a mar-ned couple who run Leopold as a family

9

business with Farzad’s brother Farhang,and Shahnaz’s brother Nozer Irani. Theirstory of that fateftil night coincides withthe story of their good friends Muncherand Ferozie Wadia, a couple from Mumbaiwho were staying at the Taj that night,and through Baba’s grace, also managed toescape, and actually ended up coming toMeherabad because of their ordeal.

Muncher andFeroziñ Story— Who Was That Man?

Onjanuary 12th, 2008, the entire groupmentioned above all traveled to Meherabad together to tell their story of whathappened on that fateful day of November 26th and how their lives became evermore intertwined with Meher Baba as aresult of this terrible event. They came toBhau’s talk before the Dhuni and sharedwith an eager gathering ofpilgrims in theold MPC all that had happened to themon that day.

To begin with some back-story, Shahnaz had been trying to get Ferozie andMuncher to come to Meherabad forsome time. Shahnaz herselfwas not newto Baba, but had not always been a Babalover. Growing up—through her familyin Mumbai—she had always visited theBaba Center in Mumbai, and she hadalways been exposed to Baba, though notreally falling in love with Him. But as ofthe last few years Baba had finally gottena hold ofher, and she became inspired totell everyone about it. She had becomea regular commuter to Meherabad fromMumbai. It seemed every other week shewould be at Meherabad with a new groupoffresh faces from Mumbai, and I wouldalways notice an eager smile on her face toshow them her Beloved Baba’s home.

But as she explainedto us at Bhau’s talk, itwasn’t until a few yearsback, that one event inparticular really broughther into His arms. Oneday, after hearing somuch from friends andfamily about how Babawas so wonderful, andhow He had shownhimself to be presentin their lives, she challenged Baba.

Here, in her ownwords, she explains whathappened.

“I said to Baba, ‘OK, Baba, everybodysays that you prove, that you show yourpresence, well. . . I want to see your presence, can you make me feel your presence?’The next moment I tripped! That verynext moment somebody tripped me andI fell down. And I thought, ‘my God sosoon!’ And then the second time I saidsomething I tripped and fell again! So mycousin said, ‘Will you stop challengingBaba! We’ll have to take you home on astretcher!’ So then I said, ‘OK Baba, that’sit, that’s enough.”

And as she explains, from that moment on she was His. And since then,her connection with Baba has deepened.Bhauji affectionately calls her the QueenofBombay, and she seems to be just that:a bubbly, energetic Queen, bringing somany people to Meherabad from Mumbaifor the first time.

As it was, for some time before theattacks, Shahnaz had been teffing Ferozie about Meherabad, and Ferozie hadbeen planning to come to Meherabad

with Shahnaz but it

had not yet hap-pened. Muncherand Ferozie are Par-sis by birth, but asMuncher explainedto me, they havenever been ones forreligion and ritual.In his words, “weabsolutely, 100%believe in God, butyou know, we arenot very ritualistic.”And as I told him,that sounds like aBaba-lover to me!

On the night of the 26th, some veryinteresting circumstances unfolded forMuncher and Ferozie. As Muncher explains it, there were three major instancesof”fate, luck, whatever you want to call it”that intervened on his behalf that nightto save his life, as well as the appearanceof a mysterious man that aided them intheir escape, but more on that later inthe story.

That night, they were celebrating their14th wedding anniversary, and while forthem that usually means getting a suiteat the Taj Land’s End Hotel, near theirhome in Bandra, in the far North of thecity this year they decided to mix it up anddo something different.

So they went to the Ta] Palace Hotelin Colaba to celebrate, where they hadcomplimentary reservations through agood friend who was a senior manager atthe hotel. But when they went to check-in they found that the room they hadreserved, one of the sea-facing rooms inthe Heritage wing, the building famouslybuilt in 1903, on the sixth floor and oneofthe most prestigious rooms in the hotel,was not available. The person who wasstaying in the room had decided to stay anextra day. The Ta], with apologies, offeredinstead a room directly opposite, on thesame floor, room 667, with a balcony facing in to the inner courtyard and pooi.

Muncher thought about arguing. Heconsidered making a fuss and demandinga room facing the sea as they had booked,but decided not to make a scene, so hesettled for the one looking onto the pool.As Muncher explained, it was the firstmoment of what they would recognizelater as some sort of divine intervention.As it turned out, the room they were

Munchei their daughterAva and Ferozie.

Farzad and Shahnaz

I0

promised, the room facing the sea, wasabsolutely destroyed by the fire. It wasin fact the room featured on television,flames and black smoke billowing fromit in abundance, darkening the sky Thepeople inside didn’t make it, while theroom Muncher and Ferozie were givenended up saving their life. As Muncherexplains, if it wasn’t for the large balconylooking onto the pool, there is no way theywould have survived the smoke. Whenit became so thick in the room that theycouldn’t see a hand in front of their face,they moved to the balcony where at leastthey could breathe.

The second stroke of salvation cameafter checking-in. They proceeded tohave some fun by strolling down ColabaCauseway, something they hadn’t done inyears. They enjoyed buying things fromthe street-side vendors, strolling here andthere, and eventually came to LeopoldCafé, where they stopped in, hoping tosurprise Farzad and Shahnaz and jointhem for a bite to eat. It was around 7pm,and any other night they would have hada good chance ofjoining them. On anygiven night you are almost guaranteed tocatch Farzad or his brother Farhang at thishour. Farzad near the register, in his usualspot, with Farhang moving about makingsure people are seated comfortably. Butas it was, they were nowhere to be found.As Muncher explained, if they had metFarzad and Shahnaz and sat down to jointhem for a bite, there is a good chance thatthey would have still been there, havingfan and enjoying drinks and foodwhen theterrorists opened fire, killing eight peopleand injuring more. In fact, they think theywould have almost surely been at theirusual table, the very table the terroristsdestroyed with a grenade. To this day, amelon-sized crater is in the floor, directlybelow that very table.

But as ‘fate’ would have it, Farzad andShahnaz were not to be found, so they con-tinued on, returning to their hotel around7:30pm, where they enjoyed a glass ofwinein their room, and contemplated havingdinner at the Shamiana restaurant. This isone of the famous restaurants ofThe TajHotel, and it was one of the first placesattacked by the terrorists where manypeople were shot and killed. Once again,Muncher feels “someone or something”was looking out for them, because theydecided to stay in their room and orderroom service. This was the third stroke ofmystical intervention.

As Muncher and Ferozie explain,they were in their room, feeling lazy andtired, enjoying wine and room serviceand listening to music, when they heardwhat sounded like firecrackers. Muncherrecalls that Ferozie mentioned it soundedlike gunshots, to which Muncher repliedthat it couldn’t be. Sure, in Mumbai youmight occasionally hear a few in a strangeinstance, but never so many at once. TheTaj was a five-star hotel, so it must befireworks for some sort of celebration. Itwas at that point that they received a textmessage from a friend telling them to becareful, as there was shooting in Colaba.They turned on the TV and saw reportsof a shoot-out at Leopold. Minutes laterthe cable went off. It was then that theyheard gunshots in the hotel itself. Theyheard shots on their very floor, outside

their room/They called room service, theycalled the front desk, they called the belldesk—nobody answered. It was then thatthey realized that something was seriouslywrong. Friends called and told them thatthe hotel was under attack. Two or threehours passed with shooting happeningon their floor. Hotel staff eventually gotin touch with them and told them to stayput in their rooms no matter what. Fromthere they constantly moved between thebathroom and the balcony.

Friends were calling in and sending textmessages constantly, to the point whereMuncher said he had to continually deletemessages just to keep his inbox clear. Atthis point he said they were touched bythe amount of people praying for them,people calling in and giving prayers in every different faith. He said Muslim friendscalled and gave Koranic prayers, Hindufriends called and gave Hindu prayers,Zoroastrians gave Zoroastrian prayers,Christians gave Christian prayers, and ofcourse Shahnaz called and told them totake Meher Baba’s name. They took themall and repeated them as they waited intheir rooms, unsure of what would hap-pen next. They credit the repetition ofthese prayers with keeping them poisedand calm, and able to handle the stress ofthe situation. But as Muncher explainedto me, he felt an almost unnatural sense ofcalmness come over him, a sense that theywere protected. In fact, he told me howa colleague who was an astrologer calledhim and told him that there was a GreatPower watching over him that night, andthat he would be OK.

He felt so calm that he even put on hispajamas at one point and went to bed fora few hours. As he told his wife, ‘well ifweare going to be stuck here, I may as wellget some rest!’ However, finally, aroundtwo or three in the morning the fires ontheir floor and in the hotel became so badthat their room began filling with blacksmoke, making it hard to breathe andhard to keep their eyes open. They movedto the balcony and started trying to breakthe windows, and figure out somewayto escape. They looked for a ledge, triedfashioning some sort ofescape device outofthe balcony’s girders, but soon realizedthat there was no way for them to safelydrop the six floors. It was a terrible moment. The worst of it, they say, was thesights and sounds they experienced onthat ledge. Dead bodies lay below by thepoolside, fires raged in rooms beside themand across from them, people screamed forhelp, explosions and gunshots rang outincessantly. Scenes unfolded before theireyes ofpeople desperately trying to breakthe windows oftheir rooms as they slowlydied from asphyxiation. Tragedy was allaround them. It was the lowest momentof the night, and a sense of helplessnesswas taking hold.

Just moments before this Shahnaz wason the phone with them, imploring themto take Meher Baba’s name as they triedto escape. Soon Shahnaz tried to call themagain, but there was no answer. Shahnazpleaded with Baba. In fact, she imploredand demanded Baba’s help. As she put it

in her own words, “I said, “Oh no, thisis not happening because I have to bringher there (to Meherabad), I have to bringher there, don’t do this, I have to bringher there!”

She explained that she was holdingon to the Baba locket she always wearsaround her neck repeating, “Baba, shehas never come to Alimednagar, she hasnever come to Meherabad, and she hadasked me to take her there, and I havenot taken her there because I could not.PLEASE get her out! Show her the way!SHOWHER THE WAY!! She can notget out from there, you have to show herthe way.” As she put it, it was as if shewas battling, or fighting for them. At thatmoment Farzad was saying to her how it

was very confusing in the Taj, and howeven without smoke it would be hard tofind the way out, but with smoke it wouldbe very difficult, impossible maybe. AndShahnaz responded, “No! No! HE is going

I’

to get you out, HE is going to showyou theway!” She shouted out to Baba, her locketin hand, “GO! GO! You go there!”

Shahnaz had gotten offthe phone withFerozie and Muncher after giving themprayers of Baba’s and imploring themthat they must take Baba’s name as theyattempted their escape. At this very moment, as she tried to call them unsuccessfully (because Ferozie had her cell phoneswitched off) and demanded of BabaHis help in guiding them, Ferozie andMuncher were on the balcony looking forone last answer, some way to escape. Andwhat happened next? A man appearedbelow. As Muncher explained, it was avery strange occurrence for a number ofreasons. For one, no one was around thepool anymore. The entire area had beencleared of people escaping the terrorist’scarnage; the only people that remainedwere dead bodies. What was this mandoing there? For another thing, the man’svoice was clear as a bell over the roaringsounds of destruction, explosions, andgunfire. And he was six stories below! Hedid not shout, but his voice was strong andclear, defying the realities ofthe situation.He spoke, and they asked him, “Who areyou speaking to?” His answer was, “I amspeaking to everyone.”

They couldn’t even make out his features, but he told them with clarity whatit is they must do. He explained to themthat they must exit their room and take aleft, and then explained precisely wherethey could find the fire escape. Withouthesitation, they heeded his words, putdamp towels over their faces, and venturedout into the smoke—smoke so thick theycould not see each other as they walkedsteps apart. But as it was, the smoke actually worked to protect them from theterrorists that were in the hallway to theright, blocking them from view. All thetime Ferozie repeated Baba’s name. Theyfound the fire escape exactly as described,descended it, made it to the second floor,and found that from there it was blockedby some large metal furniture or somesuch thing. Muncher worked hard tomove it as best he could, but when he gota look at the other side, he turned back.Dead people were on the other side, bloodstill oozing from their bodies, indicatingthey were killed only moments ago. Theyturned back, and directly behind them wasa door. Unsure what to do, afraid ofexposing themselves, but with no other options,they took the plunge and opened the door

onto a second-floor rooftop. Immediately,a commando stationed across the streetbelow spotted them and pointed out anescape ladder on the side of the buildingthey could not see. Shimmying down thebuilding to the ladder they climbed downand ran across the street, their headsducked low, and unbelievably, they werefinally out ofharms way.

They called Shahnaz, and she pickedthem up, along with Farzad and Farhang.The next two days were spent at Farhang’shouse in Colaba, directly opposite Nan-man House, with a front row seat to theterror that continued to unfold there.

Everyone had miraculously escapedunharmed that night. Farzad, Farhang,and Nozer had all been in Leopold whenit was attacked, but were all miraculouslyspared. Amazingly, Farzad was away fromhis usual spot, sneaking a glimpse of acricket game upstairs in the mezzaninelevel, as were Nozer and Farhang, whentwo gunman threw a grenade at the veryspot where you can find Fanzad ninety per-cent ofthe time when he is at work. Theythen unloaded gunfire on the ground floorspraying bullets in places where Nozer orFarhang often make their rounds, killingeight and injuring others. Baba Himselfprotected His own image that night. Manyare familiar with the now famous picturethat ran in the New York Times ofthe family’s car that was parked outside Leopold,with a picture of Baba’s face surroundedby bullet holes. As Shahnaz explained, allof the windows were shot out of the carwith the exception of the back window,where bullet holes were scattered aroundthe window, but somehow managed to justmiss Baba’s face.

I was surprised to find, upon revisitingLeopold after the attacks, that there weretwo other images inside Leopold of Babathat narrowly escaped damage. Below thecash register was a small bumper stickerwith Baba’s face, and the words, “RealHappiness Lies in Making Others Happy,”and directly below it, a bullet hole in themirrored glass. The entire panel next toit had shattered and fell to the ground.Above that on the upper most part ofthe wall was the familiar poster of Babawith His hands clasped and the wordsagain “Real Happiness Lies in MakingOthers Happy,” and directly next to Hisposter, at a slightly lower level, a portraitof Zoroaster. Forming a perfect pyramidshape around Zoroaster’s portrait, and justmissing Baba and Zoroaster alike, were

three holes from grenade shrapnel. All inall, three instances of Baba’s image justavoiding serious damage.

Finally, on November 29th, three daysafter it began, all the terrorists were finallyreigned in, and Mumbai started to get backto normal as best as it could. Everyonewas traumatized, sleep was hard to comeby, and nightmares came easily. Suddensounds disturbed them.

But finally the family took a stand.Farzad and Farhang discussed it withtheir staff and it was decided to reopenLeopold, only days after the attacks. Theworld responded, articles were written inmagazines and newspapers all over theworld about their defiance of the terror-ists, but Farzad put it all very simply. Ashe said during their discussion at Bhau’stalk in Meherabad on January 12, “Werealized we had to put the past behind us,we do not want to live in the life of night-mares any longer. We have to work, makeourselves tired, so that when we go homeat night we can sleep.” Shahnaz addedthat it was only through Baba’s grace thatthey survived, and only through His gracehave they been able to get back to somesemblance of normality

I had the chance to interview Munchershortly after meeting him in Meherabadfor the first time only about a week afterthe attacks. He stressed to me how muchhe wanted to praise the staff of the hotel,and he wanted to be sure that any pub-lication that talked about his experiencewould be sure to mention the unbelievablepoise and self-sacrifice ofthe Taj staff thatfateful night. I assured him I would writeit in. It was not the first time I had heardabout the amazing heroics of the staff, ofthe way they courageouslylaid down theirown lives and safety to help their guests.So let us all take a moment to think ofthose ones that lived Baba’s words of self-sacrifice and courage, the ones that trulyforgot themselves that night.

To get back to the story, Muncherand his wife Ferozie had finally come toMeherabad, and as Muncher said, he washighly impressed with the place, findingMeherabad’s atmosphere ofserenity alongwith the natural expression ofBaba’s practical spirituality through the people there,highly moving. In the interviewwe talkedabout how important it was for religionsto come together, and I suggested to himthat Baba may have been working throughhim that night as an agent in the eye ofthe storm, with all of his friends from so

12

many different backgrounds focusing theirprayers on him and his wife. He respondedwith enthusiasm, telling me that for him,differences of religion have absolutely nomeaning, only the humanity ofthe personis what’s important. Since then, Muncherand Ferozie have returned to Meherabad afew more times, and we hope to see themagain and again!

So Baba’s work continues even as He isout of the body. He seems determined toshake us from our slumber! The Awakenerwill not stop His mission of rousing theworld from its spiritual sleep! And yet Hekeeps His eyes on His close ones. I forone can tell you that from my perspectiveI feel strangely more at peace than I havein a good while, for I feel Baba’s presenceso strongly in mylife now. How humblingto know that Baba’s Nazar was on me thatday. Strange that this terrible event wouldmake me feel His love so strongly, but howcould I not when He put me so close tothe killing, but kept me so safe. Thingsseem simple now. It is as ifBaba did it allfor me. It is as ifhe said, “Look Michael,Mumbai is exciting, Mumbai is hectic,but it is illusion, take time to appreciatewhat is real—I alone.” Sometimes we getso easily caught up in the world, but it isalways just as simple as holding on to Hisdaaman, and trying to love Him moreand more.

AvatarMeher Baba kiJai!!

byThomas Fuller

Some day Farhang Jehani might patchup the bullet holes and cover the

shrapnel pockmarks. But for now theyare the Leopold Café’s new decor. “Weare going to let it be,”Jehani said over thedin ofhis crowded restaurant, where eightpeople were killed in the Mumbai terroristattacks. “It’s part of history.”

In the two weeks since the attacks, thisMumbai neighborhood of narrow streetsshared by street urchins and the well to dohas staggered back onto its feet. But at the

Leopold Café, it is often standing roomonly. The restaurant has become a sort ofshrine of defiance against terrorism. That,at least, is howJehani portrays it. “I want it

to go on the same way - as if nothing hashappened,” he said.

Tourists come to buy T-shirts emblazoned with the restaurant logo (sales arenow five times what they were before theattack). Passers-by stop to peer at thebullet holes in the restaurant’s facade.And an eclectic clientele—some coming

© from international:Thdletbolesjust missed Babaface.

This photo ofFarzad and Shahnaz’s car, parked outside the Leopold, was featured

on the front page ofthe NewYorkTimes. Baba’s beautiful face was seen by millions!

Al1 of the windows were fixed shortly after the attacks (every window had been

shot out except the back window where Baba’s picture was. Farzad replaced Baba’s

picture with a new version ofthe same photo.) Shahnaz has gone back and forth

from Mumbai to Meherabad two or three times since the attacks. The third time

was when she had the talk with Bhau and everyone else involved in the attacks on

Jan 12th. Then about a week later, she went back to Meherabad with a Baba lover

and three other friends from Canada who had never visited Meherabad. Shahnaz

was driving as they returned to Mumbai and outside of Pune she got in a serious

accident. As it happened, there were 5 people in the car, but Shahnaz was the only

one seriously injured. The other Baba lover in the front with her was also hurt but

not as badly, and the three in the back werejust slightly injured. The car hit a tree

and rolled, and was totally destroyed—the same car that was hit by the terrorists!

As of this writing, it is still lying there on the side of the road. Howevei Shahnaz

is doing quite well, and is out of the hospital, but because her ribs were broken so

badly and in such a terrible way, she is having to stay very still and not move much

for six months in order to ftdly recuperate. But everyone is very thankftii that she

will make a full recovery and see that it is indeed Baba behind it all.

:2:lit in 7effor /1ttacks, a J44umbcti Café ‘13ounces Ei3ackFrom the InternationaiHerald Tribune © December 14, 2008

;

‘.

Photo taken by Bha(ya Panday

‘3

out of curiosity others to show their support—sits down for ameal and freely flowing beer. “I thought I’d come to have a look,”said Jagdeep Kishore, a lawyer in his early 60s from New Delhiwho came to Mumbai for a conference. Leopold has become ahousehold name in India, Kishore said. “But I never imaginedthis place would be full of people.”

The diversity ofthe clientele mirrors Mumbai itself. Tourists,especially budget travelers, have been the mainstay ofthe restaurant for years, starting with hippies in the 1960s. But after theattacks, the Leopold has attracted more wealthy and middle-classMumbai natives. “There are more Indians now,” Amerita Kotak,16, part ofa group ofhigh school students waiting for a table onFriday night. “People want to see what’s happened.”

The attacks, which left 163 victims and nine out of 10 gun-men dead, began a few hours after dusk Nov. 26. At about 9:40p.m., dinner at the Leopold was interrupted with a minute-longvolley of gunfire and the loud bang of an exploding grenade.The gunmen never entered the restaurant, said Jagat Khadka,the Leopold’s bouncer, whose left arm was grazed by a bullet.They stood outside and casually opened fire, sending waitersand customers running for the kitchen or ducking below theirtables, according to interviews with the Leopold staff. Six patronsand two waiters were killed. The gunmen then walked down anarrow street to the back entrance of the Taj hotel, where theythen terrorized guests and hotel staff for more than two days.Both waiters at the Leopold who died, Peer Pasha and HidayatKhazi, were Indian Muslims. A note at each table, placed underthe glass tabletop, advises diners that donations for family mem

Three holesfrom a grenade blast on the night ofihe attackform an oddlygeometric triangular shape around theportrait ofZoroaster next to Baba.

This was one ofthree instances in the cafe whereBabai image narrowly escaped damage.

FarzadJehani, Baba-lover and owner ofThe Leopold

The Leopold is as busy as evei Here, a group ofyoung men, outfor anight on the town, are eagerfor me to take theirpicture. As reported in theInternational Herald Tribune, The Leopold seems to have actually gotten a

bounce in business because ofpeople embracing its swjft reopening as a symbolofMumbaikers thumbing their nose at terrorism.

The diners at The Leopold were indjfferent to thebullet hole behind them in the glass ofthe mirror.

‘4

hers of the “deceased staff” can be madeat the cashier.

Jehani says he does not know theidentities of the other six killed, exceptthat three were foreigners, including oneGerman.Jehani escaped injury because hehad gone up to the restaurant’s mezzaninebar to watch the end of a cricket matchbetween England and India. On the wayupstairs he saw two young men standingon the sidewalk with large rucksacks,not an unusual sight in a neighborhoodpopular with backpackers. They lookedlike “decent” people, he said. “I thoughtthey were waiting for friends.” Aboutthree minutes later the men began theirshooting spree.

The atmosphere at Leopold’s on themost recent Saturday night was raucousand boozy. But amid the mainly Indiancrowd were reminders of the power ofthe weapons that the gunmen used. Thebullet that grazed Khadka had punctureda solid wood door plated with a layer ofstainless steel. Bullets had left holes inthe restaurant’s granite-paneled walls thatlooked like they were made with percussion drills.

Many buildings in Mumbai exhibitperpetual dilapidation, and the LeopoldCafé is no exception. It is hard to knowwhether some of the missing tiles andbroken windows here were caused by theattack or longstanding disrepair. But thedivot underTable 24 is unmistakable. Theattackers’ grenade had blasted a fist-sizedhole in the granite floor and sprayed shrapnel across the adjacent counter. Shroudedin revelry, the scars of the attacks do notseem to bother customers here. “Nobodyseems to give any impression of trepidation, absolutely not,” said Pat Dunworth,an insurance assessor from Sheffield,

England, who was sitting two tables downfrom the grenade hole. “It’s no differentfrom being in Bangkok or Los Angeles.”

Patrons at the Leopold, which firstopened as a wholesale cooking oil businessin 1871, say they admire the restaurant’sspeed in reopening. Restaurant staff tooktwo days to mop up the blood and bits ofscalp from the floor. Zoroastrian priests inwhite robes came to bless the business withburning sandalwood. The first customerswere served on Dec. 1,just 48 hours afterthe siege of the Taj hotel was over.

Ofall the targets the gunmen chose intheir killing spree—the train station, theChabad-LubavitchJewish center, the hospital and hotels were the main targets—theLeopold was among the easiest to find andgain access to. The restaurant is located onthe Colaba Causeway, a main boulevard,and advertised by a large sign, sponsored

by Coca-Cola, that reads, “Coke Time,Join the Friendly Circle.” In Mumbai, lifespills out onto the streets, whether at foodstalls, wet markets or along Marine Drivealong the Arabian Sea, where couplesstroll. The Leopold Café is the symbolof these “soft targets,” in the lingo ofterrorism experts, and a sign of the city’scontinued vulnerability

Three police officers are now postedon the street outside the Leopold, buttheir only weapon is one tall nightstickshared among them. Khadka, the stockybouncer who is also head ofsecurity at therestaurant, says he is not armed. Duringthe attacks, he ran for his life down a sidestreet. Asked what he would do ifgunmenreturned, he shrugged. “Next time I won’trun away,” he said.

7:1w Day ‘1kfore the 7}iolence .StartcdSarah McNeiIl, England

Ileft Meherabad early on WednesdayNovember 27th and caught the 10:30

a.m.Jet Airways ffight from Pune to Delhi.I’d traveled this route before but maybe,on that previous occasion there was cloudcover or maybe I just wasn’t looking, butthis time I was peering down at the land-scape below as the plane made its ascent ina clear, cloudless skyc What surprised mewas the ffight path taken by the aircraft asit gained height, flying as it did westwards

in a wide curve that took us right over thecoast before heading north.

Below us—in perfect outline—wasthe city of Mumbai with its islands andits Gate of India peninsular in sharpfocus set against a sparkling sea. I couldmake out the Santa Cruz airport and

Juhu Beach and run my eyes all the wayaround Chowpatty along to the high-risesat Nariman Point.

Seated some twenty thousand feetabove, my mind idly cast back over

the events of a previous visit to thatcity—Marchl993—when I’d been atwork recording interviews with variouslocal officials and had spent what felt tome like far too much time suffocating ina taxicab with no air conditioning, stuckin the usual city congestion, trying to getfrom one location to the next and finallymeeting the last interviewee downtown atthe Oberoi hotel. It was a Friday.

Exactly one week later—that sameyear—sitting back at home in England in

Is

I he Leopold now has asecurity guard stationed at the door at all times.

front of the tv, I watched scenes of panicand chaos around India Gate and the AirIndia building adjacent to the Oberoiand other familiar locations such as theCentaur hotel at Santa Cruz, as newsof terrorist bombings came through. Iremember imagining the horror of beingamong the injured in that heat and trafficmayhem; or in an ambulance trying toreach the sites of the various explosionsor trying to get injured people back tohospital. On that ghastly occasion asmany as 250 people were killed and morethan 750 injured in what were seen assectarian and gangster related acts ofrevenge foliowing the politically motivatedmob-violence and bloodshed of earlierthat year when Moslem communities hadbeen attacked.

This year, on that morning ofNovember 27th, all unawares, I marveled at thepristine clarity of the view below me. Ofcourse, unbeknownst to me, the eventsof the 28t had already begun to unfold;the gunmen who would precipitate theviolence of November 2S’ were alreadycrouched in their hiding place awaitingnightfall. By then I would be in Delhi,staying with friends before taking a flightfor London; and so it was in Delhi that Ifirst heard news ofthe attacks in Mumbaias they started to come through. Fromlate Wednesday and all through Thursdaythere was non-stop tv coverage ofthe may-hem with some impressively composedand thorough on-the-spot reporters givingregular updates as information about themany different explosions, fires and shoot-ings became available.

By the time I got back to England onthis occasion, the Internet already hadpictures of that bullet-riddled car parkedoutside the Leopold café, with its pictureof Baba’s face there on the window. Andthat was what made me recall the view I’dhad ofMumbai from my seat on the flightfrom Pune thatWednesday—the clarity ofthe city outline etched on my mind. I’veexperienced a similar memorably clearkind of perception on previous occasions,and it has always been as ifBaba is saying,“Pay attention!” even though what it allmeans is beyond my comprehension.

Photos in the Murnbai articles iveretaken byMithaelFiles unless

otherwe notect

LA 5ociological c.v4pproctch to the c7frIcissacreMadhur Dutta, a high school student in Pune.

In an earlier article [not in the LampPost] I wrote about the tipping of crime.I tried to explain how a minor negligence can result in serious consequences.

Everyone has been moved by what has happened in Mumbai. We are looking forsolutions and a whole lot ofanswers. The biggest question we are all facing is—whydid this happen? I am going to try and answer that.

In my opinion the cause of the terror attack was not political, neither was it theincompetence of our officials and government. It was a Sociological Failure. Insociology there is an approach called Functionism—under this, society is lookedat just like a living organism. Just llke our body, the society constitutes many parts,which together make the society as a whole function. If even a small part stopsfunctioning, it can lead to severe consequences. For example: inadequate circulation of blood results in a heart attack.

What happened in Mumbai is a failure of a part of our society—the fiuilure ofthese terrorists being turned from moderates to extremists. The damage caused tothese terrorists—psychologically and socially—causing them to turn into extremists, can be compared to a heart attack. Now all the other variables such as politicaland overall incompetence can be compared to lack of an ambulance. The primarycause of the Mumbai massacre on November 26th was the extreme deviation thattook place in these terrorist’s lives. The lack of proper security obviously made itworse, however that was not the real cause.

We need to focus more on ensuring that people are not changed into extremistsand focus less on politics and security For the root cause of the massacre was thesociological and psychological changes that turned normal men into terrorists.

Editor’s note: Kudos to a thoughtful 17 year old’s evaluation! One does indeedwonder what Baba strove to accomplish through this terrorist act, perhaps a deeperunderstanding ofhow and why terrorism manifests and how we can all contributeto its end? Perhaps there is no expfanation our “rational” limited intellect wouldchoose to believe?

The author A’iadhur J)utta

i6

The world-storm, which has beengathering momentum, is now having

its greatest outburst, and in reaching itsclimax it will work universal disaster. In thestruggle for material well-being, all grievances have assumed fantastic proportions,and the diverse differences ofhuman inter-est have been so accentuated that they haveprecipitated distinctive conffict. Humanityhas failed to solve its individual and socialproblems, and the evidence for this failureis very clear. The incapacity ofmen to dealwith their problems constructively andcreatively reveals a tragic deficiency in theright understanding ofthe basic nature ofman and the true purpose of life.

The world is witnessing an acuteconflict between the forces of Light andthe forces of Darkness. On the one handthere are selfish persons who seek theirhappiness blindly through lust for power,unbridled greed and unrelieved hatred.Ignorant of the real purpose of life, theyhave sunk down to the lowest level ofculture. They bury their higher selves inthe wreckage of crumbling forms whichlinger on from the dead past. Bound bymaterial interests and limited conceptions,they are forgetftil of their divine destiny.They have lost their way, and their heartsare torn by the ravages ofhate and rancour.On the other hand there are persons whounveil their inherent higher selves throughthe endurance ofpain and deprivation andthrough noble acts ofbravery and self-sac-rifice. The present war is teaching man tobe brave, to be able to suffer, to understandand to sacrifice.

The disease of selfishness in mankindwill need a cure which is not only universalin its application but drastic in nature. Itis so deep-rooted that it can be eradicatedonly if it is attacked from all sides. Realpeace and happiness will dawn spontaneously when there is a purging of selfish-ness. The peace and happiness which comefrom self-giving love are permanent. Eventhe worst sinners can become great saintsif they have the courage and sincerity toinvite a drastic and complete change ofheart.

The present chaos and destruction willengulfthe whole world, but this will be followed by a verylong period in which thereshall be no war. The passing sufferingsand miseries of our times will be worth

enduring for the sake of the long periodofhappiness which is to follow. What willthe present chaos lead to? How will it allend? It can only end in one way. Mankindwill be sick of it all. Men will be sick ofwanting and sick offighting out ofhatred.Greed and hatred will reach such intensitythat everyone will become weary of them.The way out ofthe deadlockwill be foundthrough selflessness. The only alternativewhich can bring a solution will be to stophating and to love, to stop wanting and togive, to stop dominating and to serve.

Great suffering awakens great under-standing. Supreme suffering fulfills itspurpose and yields its true significancewhen it awakens exhausted humanity andstirs within it a genuine longing for real

understanding. Unprecedented sufferingleads to unprecedented spiritual growth. Itcontributes to the construction of life onthe unshakable foundation ofthe Truth. Itis now high time that universal sufferingshould hasten humanity to the turningpoint in its spiritual history. It is now hightime that the very agonies of our timesshould become a medium for bringing areal understanding ofhuman relationship.It is now high time for humanity to facesquarely the true causes ofthe catastrophewhich has overtaken it. It is now hightime to seek a new experience of Reality.To know that life is real and eternal is toinherit unfading bliss. It is time that menhad this realisation by being unified withtheir own selves.

7he 7rctvctil of the £New World OrderMeher Baba

TA

Photo taken by Bhaiya Panday used courtesy of Raju Panday

Meher Baba in Bangalore, India, 1940.

.,.

.7

‘7

Through unification with the higherself, man perceives the Infinite Self in allselves. He becomes free by outgrowing anddiscarding the limitations of the ego-life.The individual soul has to realise withfull consciousness its identity with theUniversal Soul. Men shall reorient life inthe light of this ancient Truth, and theywill readjust their attitude towards theirneighbours in everyday life. To perceivethe spiritual value ofoneness is to promotereal unity and cooperation. Brotherhoodthen becomes a spontaneous outcomeof true perception. The new life whichis based upon spiritual understandingis an affirmation of the Truth. It is notsomething which belongs to utopia, but iscompletely practical. Now that humanityis thrown into the fire ofbloody conflicts,through immense anguish it is experiencmg the utter instability and futility of thelife which is based upon purely materialconceptions. The hour is near when menin their eager longing for real happinesswill seek its true source.

The time is also ripe when men will ardently seek to contact the embodiment ofTruth in the form ofa God-Man, throughwhom they can be inspired and lifted intospiritual understanding. They will acceptthe guidance which comes from divineauthority. Only the outpouring of divinelove can bring about spiritual awakening.In this critical time ofuniversal suffering,men are becoming ready to turn towardstheir Higher Self and to fuffill the will ofGod. Divine love will perform the suprememiracle ofbringing God into the hearts ofmen and of getting them established inlasting and true happiness. It will satisi5rthe greatest need and longing ofmankind.Divine love will make men selfless andhelpfttl in their mutual relations, and it willbring about the final solution of all problems. The new brotherhood on earth shallbe a fialfilled fact and nations will be unitedin the fraternity of Love and Truth.

My existence is for this Love and thisTruth. To suffering humanity I say:

‘Have hope. I have come to helpyou in surrenderingyourselves tothe Cause of God and in acceptingHisgrace ofLove andTruth. Ihavecome to help you in winning theone victory ofall victories -- to winyourse(f”

Originally written and published in1941-1942 Discourses, Vol. III, pp. 18-21Copyright 1967 Adi K. Irani

. . .Societies and organizations have neversucceeded in bringing Truth nearer. Real-ization ofthe Truth is solely the concern ofthe individual.

Every being is a point from which astart could be made toward the Limit-less Ocean of love, bliss, knowledge andgoodness already within him. No spiritualMaster brings religion to the world in theform it eventually assumes. His very presence is a blessing and radiates spirituality.He imparts it to others by personal con-tact. The so-called religions are an effortto commemorate that association with agreat spiritual Master, and to preserve hisatmosphere and influence. It is like an archaeological department trying to preservethings which only resuscitate the past. Theliving spirit being absent, religions or orgamzations graduallylose their glamour. Theresult is a mental revolt against the established order. Something more substantialand practical is required which expressesthe life ofthe spirit.

There exists at the moment a universaldissatisfaction and an indescribable long-ing for something that will end the chaosand misery that is holding the world in itsgrip. I will satisfy this craving and lead theworld to real happiness and peace by making people look more deeply into thingsthan heretofore.

As a rule, Masters help individuallyaccording to temperament and fitness ofthe aspirant, but this being an Avataricperiod, which means the end ofthe previous cycle and the beginning of a new one,my spiritual help to humanity will be bothindividual and collective.

The period ofjunction of the old andnew cycle usually connotes the advent of aMaster who rejuvenates religious thought,infusing new life and meaning into theold order of things. Besides imparting thehighest state ofspiritualityto a select fe hegives a general push to the whole world.

The West looks at things only fromthe standpoint of reason and logic, andis sceptical about things which baffle theintellect. Intellect is the lowest form ofunderstanding and is simply developed byreading, hearing, reasoning and logic. Theseprocesses create an illusion of knowledge.

A higher state of understanding ispermanent illumination, through which

the illumined one experiences and sees allthings as they are. In this state, one feels inharmonywith everyone and everything, andrealizes the divinity in every phase of life,and is able to impart happiness to others.Once this state is attained, one attends toall duties and material affairs, and yet feelsmentally detached from the world. This istrue renunciation.

The last and highest state ofunderstand-ing is the merging ofthe soul into the Limitless Ocean ofinfinite bliss, knowledge andpower. The Perfect One who has himselfattained this freedom can make thousandsperfect like himself I intend bringing abouta great spiritual revival in the near fhture,utilizing the tremendous amount ofenergypossessed byAmerica for the purpose. Sucha spiritual outpouring as I visualize usuallytakes place at the beginning or end ofa cycleand only a Perfect One, who has reachedthe Christ state ofconsciousness, can makesuch a universal appeal.

My work will embrace everything — itwill permeate every phase oflife. Perfectionwould fall far short of the ideal if it wereto accept one thing and eschew another.The general spiritual push that I shall giveto the whole world will automaticallyadjust problems such as politics, economics and sex, though these are not directlyconnected with the original theme. Newvalues and significance will be attached tothings which appear to baffle solution atthe moment.

The benefits that shall accrue to different nations and countries when I bringabout the spiritual upheaval will be largelydetermined by the amount of energy eachone possesses. The greater the energy

however misapplied or misdirected— the greater the response.

The Master merely diverts the currentinto the right channel. It will be one ofmy greatest miracles to bring together andblend the realistic West with the idealisticEast; and the West at the zenith ofits ma-terial and intellectual attainment and theEast at the height of its spiritual manifestation in the shape ofthe Avatar will meetwithout shaming or looking down uponeach other...

LordMeher, Vol. 5, Bhau Kalchuri 1986© AMBPPCT

r2ublic7I/kssage on7I4eIier 13aba’s Arrivalon .2-1is Second 7.}isit to /lmerica

7I1ay 13 I932—J1ehcr 13aba

i8

AmartitIii —

c_/42ilgrimctge and a ‘13ookstore J3uying 7rip7<athy ri-till, Los Angeles

2 Jan. Depart LosAngeles. Slightly sore

throat, a little feverish. ButI have not been sick for ayear, Baba!

23 Jan. Landed shortlyafter noon. Spotted Pa-than’s driver waving a “JaiBaba” sign. Immediatelyhit the road but it will betight arriving before 6,deadline for check-in. Ifeel awful and fall asleep inspite of a very bumpy roadand aggressive honking-driving. Pathan called toassure me that he had ahotel lined up if not therein time. Imagine though,door to door service, Mumbai to Meherabad! A miracle compared to 40 yearsago.

Every so often the driver’s cell rings:Pathan is in touch with the MPC and theyare all tracking me like a UPS package. Mydriver is doing his very best in horrid traffic. Then I am too excited at seeing familiarlandmarks to rest. There’s the roundaboutin Ahmednagar the Prithvi sign, PumpkinHouse, Meher Darbar! Almost home. Imake it to registration exactly at 6pm thenat the MPR, more check-in, and finally Ican I lie down on my bed and then I startcoughing and can’t stop.

24 Jan. The doors to the dining hallare covered with Amartithi notices andschedules and sign-up sheets, one ofwhichhas me moving out on the 29th, alas. Taking heavy-duty cold medicine makes nodifference at all and my sweet roommateis very nice about getting no sleep whileI cough the day and night away. She is anadvertisement for always bringing youriPod on pilgrimage, declines my profferedear plugs.

25 Jan. Occasionally I can manage ashower or a meal, but either one wears meout. It’s only bronchitis, I’ve had it before,it will soon go away. The good monsoonmeans pilgrims are allowed one shower aday. It’s worth the effort to make it to ameal just for the heart-lifting delight ofrunning into an old friend. And then I try

not to breathe on them.26 Jan. Overnight a scary coughing

fit broke a blood vessel in my cheek andruptured eardrums. First in line for theinfirmary when it opens after breakfastto get ayurvedic and allopathic coughremedies and advice to keep resting. Easyto follow. By now two angels, Karen andSarah, have come to my aid, distributingmy stack of LampPosts, belatedly payingmy driver, finding a hotel for when I haveto leave on the 29th, plus supplying toiletpaper and kleenex, such blessings.

27 Jan. My fifth day here and I stillhave not been to the Samadhi! But a longevaluation from Dr Anne suggests morerest needed. She offers antibiotics, does aFrankenstein style EKG with electrodeson ankles and wrists, nebulizes my lungs,tries a second cough medicine, and refersme to a specialist in town about the ear-drums. And since the nebulizer I have notbeen coughing! Someone reminds me tomuster my memories ofthe 1969 Darshanand share with Judy Stephens for her oralhistory project. This is not how I thoughtI would be spending my first week homein Mother India, Baba, but this must bewhat you want.

28 Jan. Sleeping better with much lesscoughing, which I am sure my tolerantroommate likes as much as I do. Definitelyon the mend. Start accomplishing tasks,

like laundry, and go belatedly pay the accounts guysfor my lodging and meals.Discover to my total delightthat I am to be allowed toremain in the MPR for theduration ofmy stay! This issweeter news than a pony onChristmas morning.

Checklist: Hat, sun-glasses, water bottle, ban-danna (for dust), rupees

(for rickshaws), coins (forphones), paper and pen (forappointments), laptop (forthis journal), flashlight (incase of delay), kleenex andTP, and I am ready to leavethe nest and walk down to

the Samadhi. I notice that the trees alongthe path are very healthy and well watered.Where did I hear that so many trees havebeen planted at Meherabad that the aridweather pattern has improved? Here.

Samadhi at last. The queue is quitelong at 10 in the morning, mostly Easternpilgrims, maybe 60 people, most lingeringwithin for no more than haifa minute, andI wonder how these sari-clad beauties canbounce in a bus 500 miles on bad roads andstill look bandbox fresh. I hear Meherabadhas been welcoming more Iranis thanAmericans this year.

On the Hill all is as I remember, withholiday modifications still underway,benches removed from the porch butqueue railings not yet in place. Highmound of garlands on the tomb cloth.Baba, I am so glad to be home at last. Twopieces ofprasad, one like sawdust, one likepeanut brittle. Is there a message in that?A kiss and a slap, welcome home but whattook you so long?

I never saw anything prettier than thesebright, gay, color-saturated ruffled androsetted pandals shading acres of hillside.The workers are calmly moving everythinginto place. Oops!There goes the table fromunder this laptop. Nobody seems hurried,all look serious but cheerful. The stagebackdrop is in place, the chairs in front ofit, the sound booth, the first aid tent.

Reception was expecting more than 100

‘9

The start ofthe queuefor His darshan

arrivals this morning, as the trickle becamea flow and then a torrent, to increase rightup to the Eternal Day. Housekeepinghas crammed extra beds into the readingrooms. I envision the Samadhi, or Babawithin it, as a great big horseshoe magnet,collecting all us tiny iron filings, first a few,then a stream, then big clumps. I believeabout 35,000 drop-souls are expected topay their respects. What a darshan linethat will be! For now though the Hill ispleasantly under populated, for my privateenjoyment of Baba’s Gadi, His grindingwheel, the very dust ofHis holy footsteps.Over there near the corner where they drythe removed tomb garlands, I once smokedbeedies with Eruch.

I have decided that in the spirit ofpilgrimage, we should all give up our cellphones on check-in, and get them backonly on departure. When they go off atthe door of the Samadhi, it’s distracting,and even worse, when they ring Bollywoodshow tunes during the Grand Silence onthe 3 1st, it’s an insult. However, I wouldn’tmind ifa fewwifi hot-spots were availableat the MPR and MPC and other less sacred spaces. Meher Darbar is farther thanI am able to walk today. Also, Pathan hasoffered me the loan ofa cell phone, and Iplan to accept! Pilgrims buy them at theDarbar too - huge convenience. But oneresult of the swelling crowd is the risingnoise level everywhere you go. We are allso chatty, for a group brought together bySilence! It is most apparent at mealtimes,when the dining areas, now packed, havea hundred conversations going in a varietyoflanguages. I wonder ifthe atmosphere inother ashrams is so social, unstructured...LOUD.

At lunch, the kitchen guys openedHearty Foods at the back of the dining

hall, serving cook-ies, cakes and softdrinks for a nominalfee. The hot pizza is aspecial attraction, andI chose four éclairsto give to the frantically busy Receptioncrew in a gesture ofgratitude for allowingme to stay put. Thereis a soft drink thatseems to be straightmango nectar, “Slice.”Heavenly.

Just before dinner,the Beads on One

String tour arrived, rather glazed anddusty, and then I almost tripped overDon Stevens. Imagine the hardships of apilgrimage, the fatigue, the discomforts,and then imagine doing it at the age of90. He is of course, sharp as a tack, witha warm smile and plenty of folks to helphim, should he need help, though he lookslike he does not. The BOS tour has a legto Ellora yet to do and I invite a friend tovisit myfriendYusun there to pickup morehand-loomed Himroo shawls.

29 January. The Beads on One StringTour has a luxury bus today. I think itneeds some garlands and a big picture ofMeher Baba on the front, like the busescarrying pilgrims here from all over India.Finally made it to Meher Darbar to catchup on emails. Forgot to get the schedule ofrickshaw rates and got ripped off. Darbarvery busy. Now I know that the stones andnecklaces for sale on blankets out front arevastly overpriced. I still tire easily; still havenot made it to Arti even once.

The Amartithi Bazaar is partly openwith about half the stalls not yet occupied. There is awealth of treasuresand trinkets but mybag space is limitedand I am not sure ofmy ability to rope in“mules” to get cargoback to the US. Ihave a big order ofbooks to transportand they have totake precedence.

Great hordescontinue to arrivein big waves of bag-gage and chatter. Atthis point there is

no way to provide any sort of orientationas masses of pilgrims in big groups arrivetired, overwhelmed and in culture shock.So there is a certain cultural disconnect:No clue about leaving the faucets gushing,leaving dishes on the table as ifthere wereservants, even casual cutting in lines (andthe lines are long now for food, darshan,etc.). People even feed the animals. Whenpeople cut in front ofme I tell them to goto the end of the line as nicely as I can.When they argue I tell them to tell it toBaba! Would you cut in front of Him?

30 January. Spent the morning at theAmartithi Bazaar, mainly purchasinglovely rainbow quilted items from Prithvi,from a quilted print tote bag with a rain-bow flag for only $12, non quilted flagbags for $6 or $10, webbing straps $10,cell phone bags for $4 (long thin strap),little zip bags at $3, $5 or $8. The largestwould hold all your mail or pencils, 6 x 10inches, the smallest perfect for credit cards.Flags are $3, $6, or $8 with the largest 31x 36 inches, small 5 and a halfby 9 and ahalf. Wall pockets, indispensible, $8 or $6.I showed them a few designs they mightwant to copy. They can’t give me a discounton their price since they are nonprofit, butI want to support the work they do withAIDS families, helping village women tobecome self-sufficient. They have startedproducing knitted and crocheted hats andscarves - maybe I will have room for somenext time.

Tried to get to Meher Nazar’s booth,which is offering several new titles I wantincluding a fresh reprint of The Nothingand the Everything, big crowd in the way,ran into my2003 Amartithi roommate andenjoyed the reunion; apparently she hasbeen living in India ever since. A randompilgrimage roommate can become a friend

. .

•:---‘• -

‘ — -

The old w(1IL’r tower on the A’IthL’rabaa’ 1711/

*-

- .

,‘

A crowdpleaser -fresh squeezed sugar canejuice

20

jAfter hours ofwaiting. . . almost there

for life. There are more familiar faces everydaybut I am not good at all at recalling thenames that go with them. Meher Nazarasked me to come back at 9am to ordermy books, so I made a list.

Headed up the hill before 3pm andfound a seat near the stage by insisting thatpeople remove their pocketbooks from thepile on the chair. I think saving seats isrude, but people feel entitled. Westernerswill not move their bags to let you sit, butEasterners will. Thought I’d be in time forthe start of the festivities but they startedahead of schedule. The announcer callsseveral acts to the stage in advance, tryingto keep to the tight timetable (nearly allacts are five minutes), but does not alwaystell us what act we are about to hear. Imanaged to obtain a personal copy of theschedule, ofwhich very few are printed forsome reason, and tried to follow along.

There are 184 acts on the program,spread over three days, of which 131 arebhajans. And some bhajans take muchlonger than five minutes, few less, andmanaging the microphone placements etc.(though the stage crew is highly efficient)adds to the time each performer needs.On stage there is a small orchestra withtabla, harmoniums and other instruments,that accompany most bhajan singers, andsome singers bring accompanists withthem, also many are in groups. They allhave lovely voices. However after a fewbhajans they all start sounding the sameto my untutored ear.

The first non-bhajan performer isRafael Villafane from Mexico, who wasexcellent. Three bhajans later, the nextwas Gabriel Lee from Australia, also veryfine, had a great and engaging song, butbroke a string on his guitar and did notget to finish. I tended to let my attention

wander during thebhajans. The Me-herabad Chorus wasa large group andwhile they were be-ing miked, RichardStermer sat at theYamaha keyboardsand performed anengaging song, “TheEdge of Nowhere.”They were 45 mm-utes ahead of theirscheduled slot.

One ofmy neigh-bors proudly tells mehis father attended

both the ‘62 East West Gathering andthe ‘65 mass darshan. The weather isextremely hot.

At 5pm Bhauji arrived and was settledinto a cushioned chair on stage with anelectric fan to coolhim. The Meherabad Chorus repeatedits performance. TheBaba Center fromChennai energizedtheir bhajan performance by wavingbig rainbow flagsand giant photos ofMeher Baba duringcertain parts of eachverse. Steve Myhrosang a sweet balladwith the line, “Everywhere, God’s loveis there.” Two littlegirls in bright colorsperformed a classic Indian dance.

Finally the act I had been most anticipating, the Meher English School. Thiswas in two parts. First the littlest ones,dressed in white, were ranked on the stagein rows, and with white gloves on for em-phasis, acted out a devotional song. Thenthe older children took the stage, in purple,and did a magnificent rendition ofanothersong, without the gestures. All had beenperfectly schooled by the Principal—Mrs.Stella Manuel—and had great stage presence. I wanted an encore.

At this point I toiled back up the hill.To my horror when I tried to organize mystufffor the next day, I discovered that, atsome point, I had lost over $100 in rupees!A bundle ofnotes that had been in my bagwas gone. What I did not realize at oncewas that so was my passport! I figured

when I was looking through my bag for theitems for Prithvi I must have accidentallydumped out the money. Baba must havefelt somebody else needed it more.

31 January. For many, the day startedearly with Arti at 6am followed by Dhuniat 7 but I did not get an early start, stillresting and recuperating, by no meanswell. First thing in the morning one ofmyangels stopped by to return my passport,which is how I learned I had lost it, render-ing me the luckiest person in the world.After breakfast I hired a rickshaw to theATM to try to replace the missing moneybefore meeting up with Meher Nazar asscheduled, but I had not discovered itssecret (the touch screen). I went on toMeher Nazar but again they were besiegedby hordes ofcustomers, so Ijust gave themmy list and arranged another meeting.

I walked back up to the amphitheaterjust in time to get a second-row seat forJeff

De Loe’s song, ofwhich my favorite linewas, ‘We can’t understand the gift we’regiven when He takes our hand.’ WardParks and the Meherabad Chorus returnedfor a rousing rendition of”Victory to Al-lah.” When Sue Biddu took the mike shecalled our attention to all the hundredsofvolunteers from near and far who helpmake the event a reality. She noted thatsome folks who have never had to cleantheir own toilets travelled a great distanceto clean ours. Then she led her group inan energetic thank-you song.

Ted Judson played and sang a movingversion of”I Walkwith the King.” Sohraband Rustom, Baba’s nephews, led a smallgroup in a rousing song with the memo-rable line, “No longer I roam, my soul faceshome.” I would sure like to hear it again, agreat tune about remembrance as the only

:ø::

Meher English School choir

21

path to God.At 10:30 there was the announcement,

“Hang on to your cameras, pickpocketshave entered the pandal.”

Getting closer to the main event now,Sue came back with a whole row ofbeautiftii women to lead us in an 0000MM-MM chant and the Gujerati Arti and theSatchidanand, Paramanand chant. Bhauwas resituated with fan and cushions stagefront, but his Welcome Address was readout by a young woman. It was a synopsisofthe part of God Speaks about Nirvikalpand the drop-soul’s journey.

Throughout the morning, the crowdunder the pandal has been growing denserand denser. First they sat on the corners ofthe stage, then the wings, then every inchnot used by performers and equipment.They have crowded in tighter and tighterin all the areas with no chairs. There isno way to budge without stepping onsomeone.

The AMBC Ahmednagar group tookthe stage and performed an intricatenumber with orchestra, chorus and dancers. Then we heard that scratchy, classicversion of Begin the Beguine, the oneby Hutch Hutchison that Baba so loved.The Ahmednagar group led the crowd inMeher Dhun, the lilting, rousing rhythmicchant of Baba’s name that increases andincreases in tempo like Ravel’s Bolero. Atthe moment ofthe triumphant final note,it was noon, and we all went silent.

Being silent in a group of3O,000 peopleor so is really an experience. Here is whatI heard during the next fifteen minuteswhile trying to focus on Baba’s last moments in His body: cell phones ringing,distant children, rustles ofclothing, lots ofcoughing, including my own, traffic on theroad but no truck horns, one baby crying, afew babbling, loud backstage thump, snoring for a short while, bit of burping andstomach rumbling, not me, train rumbleand train whistle (long.)

And then it was 12:15 and we allshouted Avatar Meher Baba kiJai togetherand the program resumed with prayers.After Allan Wagner, our esteemed chef,emoted the Master’s Prayer in English inhis inimitable style, we heard it given inChinese, then in Farsi, Telugu, Marathi,Gujarati, Hindi and Sanskrit. Each wasmemorable in its own way.

Then artis followed, with the Australian arti first, my favorite, performedbeautifhlly and movingly by Ted Judsonand Ward Parks, and that was my signal

to head back to the MPR. Although I amespecially interested in seeing the Argentinean dancers, I need to rest, and withluck I will make it back for the dervishesat 4:50. The performances continue untill1:OOpm,with Hugh MacDonald’s magicscheduled at 9:30 to keep everyone inter-ested. Wish I could catch every act but myold body is complaining.

After a nap, met with Balaji, hooray! Ihave the complete sets ofLordMeher againifl can only get them home. He is a verysweet guy and offered to lend me money.

I never made it back down the hill,missed the dervishes and fire dance andHugh’s magic, all surely wonderful. Thisbronchitis has become fairly common Isee, with lines waiting for the dispensary

and rumbling coughing heard all around. Iam glad everybody did not get it from me!Tony Griss caught it on a trip to Hamirpurand had to go to the hospital.

I went down to Meher Darbar to catchup on email and the guys selling crystalsand beads out front were very persistent, soI tried to engage them in conversation sothey would stop bugging me. I discoveredthey were from Ellora and not only didthey know my friend Yusun there of theHimroo-hand-loomed weaving fame, hewas their best friend and neighbor andthey had him on speed dial. He had beenat Amartithi for two nights and had lefthours before, after not being able to locateme. Well! We called him and he graciouslyagreed to return the next day, and now thatwe are all his friends together, the crystaland bead guys are buying me soft drinksand showering me with gifts of amethystand crystal and agate and pearl. It’s allabout who you know.

1 February. In the very early dawn I

emerged from my mosquito netting toask large crowd ofloud talkers outside myroom to go elsewhere, climbed back in tofind a mosquito in there for company. Nowawake, observed my two elderly Indianroommates, both of whom had slept intheir saris and were packing their bagswith much crumpling ofloud plastic bags.When one changed into her fresh sari,the wrapping and pleating and arrangingonly took about three minutes. I guessthat makes sense if she never has wornany other type ofgarment for six decadesbut I was still impressed.

After breakfast, walked down the hillfor a few more bargains, including lovelylarge silky golden scarves ($8) with a design that includes Hindi characters and

“Jai Baba” in maroon—thecolors of the Buddhistorder that is widespread inIndia, key chains ($1) anda few nice T-shirts ($8,black, Baba’s face 3 timesin color, one size fits most,preshrunk).

Many ofthe booths arepacking up afready but thesugar cane squeezers arestill marching in circles,pushing the wheel thatcrushes the canes thatmakes the juice that allIndians—seemingly—love. Workers are takingdown pandals and re

moving strings of electriclights, dismantling all the Amartithiaccommodations, acre after acre, with adramatic change in the scenery every timeI pass by.

I returned to the front rows of theamphitheater and tried to find my placein the program, but the acts were out oforder. There is a group of about 26 loversfrom Argentina and their act was most impressive, with several musical instruments,wonderftd singing, and graceftil, expressivedancing. I was able to get copies of theirexcellent CD, Muchas Voces, un Corazon,to sell! ($15.) Every note was a marvel,and I was delighted when they were givenan encore. Of all the great performancesI witnessed, theirs was among the mostmoving: classic rhythms, heartfelt tones,emotionally moving and such sensualdancing! One ofthe dancers spun in circlesover and over and over for way longer thanyou would think possible without fallingover dizzy. I believe this was their first trip

22

here. How fine it is when a big group fromone Center travels as a unit.

A brass band inspired a dozen people toget up on stage and dance. The crowd wasfairly thin, but loudspeakers all the way tothe top of the area behind the Samadhibroadcast the stage acts to everyone nearthe great pandal, and sounded nice andclear to my untutored ear. The stage crewputs in really long hours over Amartithi,along with many other crews; this yearthere were garbage collectors in matchinggold shirts that said “Give me your trash”with an image ofYou KnowWho holdinga big bag. The grounds are much tidierthan they might otherwise be thanks to alot ofstoop labor.

Bhau’s entourage entered at lOam.More bhajans, then the Meherabad Chorus returned to the stage, and sang BabaHu atlength, getting many in the crowd toparticipate with enthusiasm. My favoriteline: “Before one became two, there wasno one but you.” This ended in a roar ofAvatar Meher Baba ki Jai! I noticed thecrowd was swelling, although there was asteady flow offamilies with baggage leaving, and there were big heaps of luggagescattered about. The darshan line wasstill inching along but was not as long asyesterday. The crowd was pretty dense nearthe stage but nothing like the multitudesofthe day before.

An Iranian group came on stage andperformed “Baba Bob,” another crowd-pleaser, and Babek Naderi from Iran sangwith a group of daf players, assisted byvolunteer musicians from the audience,one with a tambourine. A local group sang,then at 12:30 alarge Armenian group filedonto the stage, and I was told they wereArmenian Christians from Iran, whoseculture predates the dominant Islamic one.This was their first trip to India.They sanga lovely song in Armenian and soundedvery professional.

A young local man and his harmoniumgroup performed a beautiful bhajan and Iwas told he had learned to sing from TedJudson when he was a child. The groupswere going on in random order so myprogram was not much help identifyingthem but made a handy fan.

Finally Bhau was introduced, todaywearing something like a belted sadrathat looked like a bathrobe, instead of hisusual business suit. The master ofceremonies noted, “He will talk from eternity toeternity there is no limit to his talk.” Bhausaid, “I am really really happy to see you

here. Why you have come only He knows.Different countries they are coming here,why? They are coming here and they feelvery happy. Nobody knows but Baba.”Then he mentioned something aboutThe Nothing and the Everything (which isback in print, but apparently has a pagemissing!?), and launched into the story ofhow he came to Baba in Saoner and ate awhole banana with skin, but I have heardthat one before and I left.

Locals mentioned that summer hasarrived. Walking back up the hill underthe noonday sun with the mad dogs andEnglishmen I was glad I had replenishedmywater bottle and worn a hat, but at thesame time realized I was getting overheat-ed and when I got to the MPR I neededbadly to rest and recuperate. It’s a bit toofar to walk in the middle ofthe day. Evena touch too much sun can lead to all sortsof discomforts and I noted that althoughmy warm enthusiasm for Allan Wagner’scooking remained high, I was living mostlyon cucumbers and yogurt, buttermilk andspinach, my appetite sapped by illness andheat. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Later when the sun was lower thephone rang and Yusun was waiting for meat the Darbar. A delight to see him againand we had to chat a while over slushyiced Limcas before we could settle downto business. The mandatory social callinvolved in all business transactions herecertainly does ease the bite ofopening thewallet. Wouldn’t it be nice ifwhen we wentto the bookstore or the drugstore orTargetat home we were always invited to enjoy acup oftea and a chat about the weather, thecrops, the families and the news, before westarted to negotiate a purchase?

Yusun had brought way more in theway of shawls and stoles than I had askedfor, way more than I could carry, so afteradmiring the lovely colors and the finequality I ordered plenty and asked himto ship them to me. He gave me excellentprices and I will pass them along to thelucky Love Street customers who orderbefore this whole batch vanishes like thelast two have.

The choices will be cotton/silk, silk!wool, silk, Himroo pattern (mostly paisleyin earth colors) and wool. The lightweightwool and blended pashminas and himroosare just right for a year-round wrap andI don’t know how anyone can managewithout owning several. The silkier onescan instantly upgrade a nice pair ofjeansand a good top to the realm of elegance.

I wonder ifthe cottony ones could not besewn into light tops or skirts? The fabrichas such a lovely texture and all the colorsare eye-catching. Two ladies from Walesare interested in selling these shawls inSwansea, but couldn’t quite handle awholesale purchase, and were envious ofthe riches Yusun piled in my lap. Theywanted to know iftheywere the only Babalovers in Wales. OK, LampPost readers,are they? Email Dma at dinagibson@mac.com ifyou know of any.

Yusun let me buy on credit. Then helet me borrow Rs5000 to tide me overuntil I could get to the bank! Was thisenough? Could he give me more?Just sendWestern Union some day. Such a friend!I was sorry to say goodbye. Anyone whois going to Ellora must understand thatthere are more than caves to encounterthere! He’s a gem and meeting with himlifted my spirits. I wish all myvendors wereas warm and generous. Actually many ofthem probably are, as most are trying hardto please Baba through their work.

As usual discovered that my moneywoes could be much worse. Someonewhose plane lay over in Kuala Lumpurtried to use an ATM there but it ate hiscard. He needs to contact his airline, butnone oftheir phones are answering in anycity in India.

Jaunting around the countryside it iseasy to see that the monsoon this yearwas a very good one. The cattle are fat andthe fields are green. There is a reservoirfull ofwater on the road to the MPR andfarmyard pumps gush. Plowed earth is arich black color and not at all dusty. Cropsare every shade ofgreen. Verdant gardens

23

and paths have blooms ofevery color. Thevillage of Arangaon has been prosperingenough that most of the rooftops sproutsatellite dishes! I don’t remember thatfrom earlier visits. I also don’t recall see-ing mulch on the shrubs and trees but Iam delighted that this practice has takenhold.

2 February. Today, the Monday afterthe holiday weekend, most of the auto-rickshaw drivers are taking a break. You asksomeone to call for one and they try, butthen you are told there aren’tany. Maybe a car for 200 rupees, instead ofa rickshaw for40? I have been fortunate toget rides from friends and toshare rickshaws with others.I see some pilgrims have borrowed bicycles. You need toknow that getting back andforth between the MPR andthe rest of Meherabad is 25

rupees one way (haifa dollar),40 round trip, and waitingis 10 for a half hour. I wasstupid not to read the bulletinboard. During Amartithi therickshaw ranks swell with irregulars who are not here fortheir spiritual well-being. NowI carry a rate chart and have no problemexcept getting the rickshaw to manifest inthe first place. Advice to pilgrims: Alwayscarry a schedule ofrickshaw rates with you,it ends a lot of arguments!

In spite of transportation difficulties,and I don’t know how anyone can drive onthese roads without having a panic attack,there is still a certain appeal to movinghere on a permanent basis. More and morewesterners make Meherabad their homefor the more temperate months, costs arelow, medical care is good, volunteer opportunities are bountiful. Visas require youcross the border every six months, but fewfind this a hardship, and vacation in SriLanka or Nepal if they don’t have familyin the West. I toured an apartment thatrents for Rs 5000 a month ($100) withfresh water, solar hot water, and electric-ity included, two adequate bedrooms,small living room, big kitchen, westerntoilet, nice tiled shower, even a washingmachine, with a small locked courtyard fora vehicle to park, nice neighbors, reliablemaintenance, and a view of the Samadhi.Not large but more than adequate andcould easily be sublet. The present occupant is building a house a few km away. Is

24

there anyone out there who would like tomanage the Love Street Bookstore? I alsovisited one ofTony Griss’s houses in Me-herabad; the other is under construction.He likes to complain about being unableto buy appropriate furnishings but this isnot apparent from the nice way his placeis outfitted. Some houses are downrightpalatial, some tiny, it’s possible to buildwhatever suits your budget.

I stopped by Pathan’s to thank him forthe loan ofa cell phone and to arrange my

airport trip. He has several Amartithi yen-dors using his porch and I quite liked theirwares. I always wish I was not limited towhat I could get on the airplane. One fellowwas strong competition in the Himroodepartment. How-ever his bedspreadsand pillow coverswere more bulky andweighty than I caneasily carry home.Where are thosemules when youneed them? Dmahas a better knackfor finding helpers.

I could not resistbuying some lovelyoriginal handmadebatik paintings oncotton, modeled onthe art ofthe Ajantacaves. There are images of Ganesha, Buddha, and a goddesswhose name I can’t pronounce, and I metthe talented artist, Mr Kulkani. I chosebatches ofsimilar images for ease of sellingon the web, but no two are the same. Thebackgrounds are mostly tones ofgold and

ochre, the foregrounds in rich jewel tonesand earth tones - I will put pictures onthe website as soon as I can - and theseare suitable notjust for framing; I can seeother uses as well, as they are washable.Perhaps appliquéd to the back of a jacketor kurta, made into window coverings orwall hangings. Framing a set of three inone mat would be charming. I can sellthem for $20 each which for this fine quality is quite a steal. I think they are about10 x 16 inches, taller than wide.

Many Indian businessmen havecomplained that they have hada terrible year. It was first due,they felt, to the downturn in theworldwide economy, then exacerbated by the Mumbai bombings,which caused the tourist hordes todwindle dramatically all over India.I told them my store had had avery bad year too, but perhaps thecause is bad management? OnlyBaba knows. Everyone seems tobe unanimous in their hopes forMr. Obama, ofwhom pictures arereadily available.

I also met with the very nice Mr.Panday today. He is the source ofthe crystal and silver Baba photo-

graph pendants which are so popular.He offered two kinds, 70% silver (oval) and99% silver (round). The difference is notapparent to me but I suppose one or theother demands more polishing. He had to

change manufacturers to get better quality (I will replace any that were sold withflaws.) These are a little bigger than last

year’s supply, and more variety of images.

As an additional bonus I took them all to

the Samadhi to rest on the marble.

Handpainted on clothforframing

The latest silver and quartz pendants

Panday is a great source for photographs, excellent quality but I could notget any even though I liked them, as thestore has not been selling many, we havehundreds in stock! He is doing more withhand-coloring and other enhancements,but has nice versions ofall the classic poses.Ifyou go to India his work is available atthe Darbar, but large photos are so hardto transport! I did get a few metal Bababallpoint pens (His picture is on the clip),not too chintzy, they write well and havea nice weight in the hand, $3 and wellworth it.

The little flat pendants on acrylic withBaba’s image on both sides I have beenselling at $ 1 are now available in color,same price, so I got plentyc They make anice gift, you can make them a zipper pull,hang them on a necklace, put them on akeychain, use for crafts, dangle them froma knob, glue them to a clipboard, put wiresin for earrings, sew them to a hat or collar,very nice looking. I got little cell phoneleashes that have this same pendant on theend, to retail at $2, and someone is wearingthis as a necklace. I swore no more littlelucite Baba pictures on stands, but he hadfresh images and a new style, a small ovalon a diamond base, only takes up an inchof desk space and images are such nicesharp quality These will sell for only $3and shouldn’t everyone have one near thecomputer, the bathroom sink, the top ofthe dresser or the dashboard of the car?

And then I could not resist the refrigerator magnets so I got a few, you will seethey are well worth $2 each when I getthem on the web. Panday is a meticulousphotographer and I really like his workand his industriousness is always pleasing.

Apparently he was in a terrible accidentand was unable to work for two years andnow is making up for it!

Between Panday and the bazaar I havefound some nice key chains and they willalso sell for $2, Panday’s have thick acrylicdisks with Baba’s picture inside for a fob,plus there are some that have a heavy metaltab to say Jai Baba in English and Hindi(or maybe Urdu?). I seem to need morethan one key chain these days so perhapsI can talkyou into letting Baba guard someofyour keys too. Maybe it will bless themso they stop running off and getting lost.

I am happy to have a new supply ofNivedita’s DVDThiefofHearts. Itis a popular andpleasant all-purpose Baba bio-picenjoyable for theclueless and the devoted alike. I willtry to get the retailprice down to about$32 if I don’t havetoo much in excessbaggage charges tomake this possible.It runs for 90 mm-utes.

At Meher Tai-lors, Anil, the mostpleasant proprietor, offers hot tea, colddrinks and big smiles, and his daughtercheerfully spreads out the wares for view-ing, I bought colorful print placemat sets($16 for 6 with napkins), and twin ($30 apair) and queen bedspreads ($30 each) inbright colors.

Rose Reed sold me a very interest-ing new book,Journey of Con-sciousness, auseful compendium of Babadeclarations ontopics like rein-carnation, evil,sanskaras, etc. allwell-organizedand nicely edited ($15). It’severything youneed to knowin a very user-friendly format.

And speak-ing ofDVDs, atlong last I have

in my possession the eagerly awaited filmBabac Birthday, made by Australian film-makers Peter Sumner and Michael Ney,with music by the award-winning composer Christopher Gordon. They delayedrelease until they could get the productionquality they demanded, though short onfunds, and now at last I can sell it to you.Call for the price; Love Street is the USdistributor and it is available wholesale andretail. I am only carrying home 18 copiesso order fast! They go for $25 each.

Another drought comes to an endwith my purchase of the Indian editionofLordMeher. One set is eight volumes,

the exact same text as in the Hermes version, but laid out in a more compact (butequally pleasing) manner, with the samephotographs, only much better quality. Iguess the page numbers ofthe on-line version will not be much use for comparisonpurposes or research, but to make up forthat, there is a nice price break (to put itmildly!) I will be able to sell the entire setfor the price ofjust two volumes ofthe original American set. I understandthat people wish to complete their setsand there continues to be demand for in-dividual American volumes, but I have notbeen able to purchase any since Hermespassed on. I will not be offering individualvolumes of the Indian edition, completesets only. Sorry - sold out until more mulesbring me more sets!

Tomorrow Meher Nazar has The Nothing and the Everything (at press time-soldout), and I also picked out the new secondvolume of The Real Treasure, which hasbeen asked for by a number of customers(only a few left, $5). Tony told me thesecret ofwhy I have no luckwith the localATM. Though there is no indication of

25

—

,! .ibsjj’%*_ ‘

-..

4__r —II‘Sb /

Prithvii Stall—a iiot ofcolors

any sort, it is a touch screen interface, andpushing the buttons does no good! Wellno wonder Baba. Live and learn.

There is a new sign on the dining halldoor today warning pilgrims to keep theirbelongings under lock and key due to ahigher than usual number of thefts. Wehave been warned that not all pilgrims areBaba lovers and not all here are honest!A receptionist told me that housekeepersare no longer permitted to enter occupiedrooms unless the cupboards are secured.Over the big holiday weekend the guardsin the hallway strictly limited access toonly those who were wearing their Amartithi badges. Although the mattresses arerock-hard, the electricity and hot water abit unreliable, and some fingers perhapssticky, I am very comfortable and happyhere at the MPR, finding the atmospherepleasant if noisy, the amenities adequate,the food terrific (I hear people say “Icouldn’t be hungry again already!”) andthe ambience uplifting. It’s not that havingsomeone else to cook and clean and serveis my heart’s desire, it’s just that it’s soeasy to get used to. Yes, I should spend theintervals in spiritual pursuits rather than inshopping, but is not making all these Bababooks, trinkets and treasures available tothe world a spiritual service of some sort?I hope so. Memo to self: Next year requestuse ofa foam mattress.

7 Feb. Before departure I had time

to take the Historic Tour. I have done itbefore, but I always pick up somethingnew. I noticed there is a new fence go-ing up around the tomb of Maula Baba(Gilori Shah).

At the Rahuri Cabin we heard howBaba’s Mad and Mast Ashram at Rahuriwas such a thriving concern in 1936, withthis solid little brick building and so muchactivity, that the landowner decided toraise the rent by a factor of five when itcame due. Baba told his negotiating teamto try to get that reduced, but after manydiscussions, to no avail. So the ashram wasdismantled, including this building whereBaba lived and worked with masts andthe mad, and transported in its entiretyto Meherabad. I just found out that sincethat time, the land has remained fallow, hasexperienced floods and pestilence and fire,has been inhabited only by squatters, andhas been used as a junk yard. The ownerwas thrown from his horse and drowned,and the property never again earned apenny in rent or from farming! Quite alesson in how not to cheat God!

Baba announced that He was enteringthe Jhopdi onjuly 9 and would be emerging in silence the next day. I knew that. Idid not know as He headed in, one of themandali called out to him—I am paraphrasing—”But Baba, how will you teachus, ifyou are silent? And Baba respondedwith those famous words: “I come not to

teach, but to awaken.” Then again Heturned to go in, and just as He was aboutto cross the threshold, there was somecommotion, so He turned back again. Itwas a snake. Somebody killed it. Baba said,“I can protect you from nearly everything,but I can’t protect you from snakes, theycan kill you.” (I am paraphrasing again.)Interesting.

Then we went to a spot I had neverseen, near some farmland managed by theTrust, with their handsome Brahma bull.This is the site ofthe foundation stone fora memorial tower planned by Baba, laidin 1944. Judy told us of Mehera’s uncle,ColonelMerwan Sohrab Irani, the highestranking Indian officer in the British armyduring World War I, who worked hard allhis life to oppose and discredit Baba, tray-elling far and wide in advance of darshanprograms to take out advertisements, printflyers, warn everyone that Baba was a falsemaster, a fake and a charlatan.

There are two graves in this Towerfoundation side by side, for Chanji andMasaji. When one had been interred butthe other side was still a pit, Baba had alist of His workers read out in “a solemnoccasion of supreme importance,” thosewhose long years of service were to behonored by having their names inscribedon the planned tower, “. . .who served mycause with unimpeachable integrity ofcharacter before dropping their physicalbody. For each one of them, a separateflower is placed in the foundation of theTower; and the names of all of them willbe inscribed on the Tower ofGlory, whichwill be erected on this foundation.” Lord

Mehei What will be the first name to goon the tower? That of Colonel Irani!

My departure was a blur of appoint-ments and emergencies, as the expectedbuyer of PAL DVDs declined to dobusiness. I scrambled for a solution at thelast minute and was still trying to meetup with old friends as the moment formy exit loomed. I stopped to give Stellaat Pumpkin House a hug on the way outoftown. With so much extra baggage mydriver groaned and strained to pack it allinto the car. Now safely home I wish I hadstayed one more week and spent the wholetime in the tomb! Maybe next year.

Babac twins, Rustom es’ Sohrab Irani, speak atAmartithi

26

i-J44inute Silence J44arks J44e1’ter Babds Amartit1iiLilt 7;1is 7omb 5I’trine

b11 JI1 Rama Rao, Dndict Editor 7e /fázn ThuncFirsipublished in the above newspapei

eherabad(Ahmednagar), India, 01

February (Asiantribune.com): Thecontrast is difficult to miss, more than 30thousand followers ofMeher Baba have as-sembled at His tomb shrine on a low lyinghillock here. They have come from all overthe globe, from Argentina, New Zealand,Australia, United States, Britain, Russia andfrom Iran and Pakistan to China and Japan.For them, January 31 is an important day.It marks the 40th anniversary of the dayMeher Baba dropped his body and the bodywas interned in the crypt at the tomb. Andexactly at 12 noon, almost all ofthem withoutan exception stopped talking, singing andbhajans.Wherevertheywere atthe appointedhour, theyquietlyslipped into silence. For fbll15-minutes as a mark oftheir respect to theirMaster, who had observed silence and spokethrough silence for years!

Meher Baba said: ‘I am notthis body, I ambeyond it. For the good of the world I havesuffered infinitelyand sacrificed mybody. . . Ihaveworshippedtheworld and especiallyMylovers and in worship I have left this body’.

Post-Mumbai attacks, India has becomeparanoid about security Yet here at Meherabad securityisvirtuallyinvisible,ifthere is any.There are no handheld metal detectors andmetal detector doorframes at the entrance tothe tomb or anywhere on the hill.

“With divine love overflowing, police havea minimal role”, remarked a long time visitorto the place. A small police picket is seen in acorner ofthe hillbut goingbythe mood theirtaskis basicpolicing namelypreventing theftssince pilgrims leave their tents to roam freelyon the Meherabad hill till their turn comesfor entering the ‘tomb’.

Volunteers are everywhere. They don’tappear to know even the rudiments ofcrowdmanagement. Their given task is regulationof pilgrims’ progress through a serpentineline that passes through some six or sevenlong rows segregated by bamboo poles tiedtogether with nylon nets.

At a distance from the tomb shrine, musicand bhajan sessions are in progress since Friday, January 30. But at the tomb and insidethe tomb, there is absolute silence befittingthe ‘Silent’ Avatar, who observed silence for44years, lOthJuIy 1925 to 3lstJanuary 1969

the day He dropped His body.

I asked many people in Meherabad ‘IfMeher Baba is God and Avatar, why is theplace not a big draw with spiritual seekers’.Everyone I put the question to gave me anidenticalreply. Everyone quotedwhatMeherBaba had reportedly said in 1958. Taking agroup ofhis devotees around the Meherabadhill, Meher Baba said, ‘Meherabad wouldbecome an important place ofgreat privilegeand pilgrimage after 70 years’.

His devotees appear absolutely convincedthat the ‘appointed day’ is not too far away.‘You see, the period (of 70-years) is not yetover. Today only 50 years have passed. So wewill have to wait for a while more. Anyhowalready we can see a surge in pilgrim arrivalsyear after year’, said a long time devotee, whosaid, he has seen firsthand how the crowdshave increased in strength since 1969.

Another thing that strikes a visitor tothe Amartithi celebrations is the absenceof discourses by ‘senior’ devotees. In fact themanagers of Meherabad and organisers ofthe celebrations enjoy no special privileges inmatters ofvisiting the tomb shrine. ‘Not evenon normal days or on these special days’, saidJal Dastoor, a trustee himself The arrange-ments for the Amartithi are his sho in amanner of speaking. I have seen him a daybefore the celebrations begin standing in theline waiting for his turn.

The only speech heard on the occasionwas byBhau Kalchuri,who livedwith MeherBaba andwrote a 20-volume biography, LordMeher. In his capacity as the Chairman ofAvatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charm-table Trust, he only gave a welcome address.And spoke briefly about what the Trust hasbeen doing.

Bhau began saying ‘Arnartithi is also avery sacred time for those who say, ‘We justfollowJesus Christ’, and others who say, ‘Weare Muslims, who follow Hazrat Mohammed’, or ‘We are Buddhist,’ and for all thosewho follow different religions and differentsects’. And said’Mysalutation is to you all, foreveryone, because I find God Alone exists andno-one else exists beside God. And He is Oneand the same and there is no difference. He isthe one who has no beginning and no end andwill remain there for all time. And therefore,those who have come and those who have notcome, for them also our salutations are there,without any distinction.’

Touching upon the theme ofOnenesswiththe Creator, Bhau observed, ‘Unless and untilthe mind is annihilated,we cannot experienceOneness. So it goes on and on with differentsects, different religions, that we find in theworld. ButtheAncient One does notfind anydifference. He is always One. He is that firstOnewho reaiizedHimselfandHe found that“I am that One who always Is and everyoneand everything is existing in non-existence.”It will go on and on, because everyone has tofind the way to become One’.

He went on to add: ‘The duty ofeveryoneis to become One, through annihilation ofthemind. And that way, Beloved Avatar MeherBaba has presented to everyone. Not in words,but after annThilation ofmind, after achievingNirvana, immediately, whether you want ordon’twant it, you get that state of”I am God,I alone exist.” The journey is complete’.

Observing that those who have come incontactwith’the Highest ofthe High, MeherBaba’ are fortunate, Bhau Kalchuri said ‘whenyou have bowed down to Him, knowwell thatyou have achieved one step ofmany steps toreach the final stage ofannihilation ofmind,or you can say “Nirvana.” When Nirvana isachieved, mind is annihilated. In the nextmoment, “Nirvikalp,” and you know that Iam God’.

Elaborating ftwther Bhau said ‘Let us goto Him who is lying in His Samadhi. He isasking something from everyone, andwhat isthat something? That something is the dirtofdualit Sowhatever dirtwe have collected,He wants that dirt! And then ifyou give thatdirt, what He will give you? He will not giveyou anything, but He will show the way togo to Him: byputting some dirt in His hand.He has come and He always comes, but whatdoes He collect? All ofour dirt, and makes uson the way towards Him. And ifyou succeedin doing this, you will find, “Zoroaster, Ram,Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed andMeher Baba, they are just One!” Let us tryand become the dust of His feet. That dustbecomes very,veryvaluable. It contains all thedirt ofduallt So see how great our Belovedis! We give Him dust and He gives us purityand feels happyto collect it. So we should say,wholeheartedly, Avatar Meher Baba KiJai!’

To view the original article in the AsianTribune click onhttp://asiantribune.cornl?q=node/15408

27

Beloved Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!

On 25th February the whole world willcelebrate Beloved Baba’s Birthday

as we do at Meherabad and Meherazad.Therefore, I should dictate a message asI did for the 31st January. 31st Januaryis called Amartithi, the Immortal Day,because the Avatar does not take birth anddoes not die, though it appears that Hetakes birth and then disposes ofHis body.

Amartithi is an Immortal Day, and Be-loved Baba’s Birthday is also an ImmortalDay. He comes down on the earth in Illusion, so that Amartithi is not the actual dayofdisposing the body. Really speaking, Hehas no birth and no death, but He appearsin the gross world as if He took birth andthen disposed ofHis body. That is the disposing of the gross body, but He is abovebirth and death.

You must have read in The Nothingand the Everything the story about theMischievous Chicken. It goes like this:When the Whim, “Who am I?” came tothe Beyond-Beyond Ocean, duality tookbirth. Illusion came along with God, andthat Whim remained in Him. When themind is annihilated, you come to know that

28

‘ebruary 2009

He is the only One. There is no birth anddeath, though it appears as ifthere are. TheInfinite, Eternal Ocean divided into drops.The first drop that came out ofthe OceanBaba called, “The Mischievous Chicken,”and this Mischievous Chicken came outof the Mother Hen to find the answer to“Who am I?”

It is a long story. I am just giving it toyou in short so that you may understandthe purpose of births and deaths. Whenyou read the whole story, you will see howBaba told it in a very humorous and purposeful way.

This Mischievous Chicken went outfrom under the Mother Hen’s wings andhad to pass through various journeys. TheMother Hen felt very concerned that thischicken was very, very mischievous. Butwhen he came back from his journeys, theMother Hen was happy, and the Mischievous Chicken also was happy.

Being mischievous, again he went out.Six times this Mischievous Chicken

went back to the Mother Hen and thenagain went out. But when he came downfrom the seventh plane to sixth plane, hecould not bear the Light, and he went back.

The Mother Hen was not at all happy anddecided, “This chicken is very mischievous.If he comes back, I will not allow him tobe with me.”

Knowing fullywell that the Mother Henwould not allow him to come back or givehim any place, the Mischievous Chickencrossed the sixth and the fifth planes of themental world. Then he came down to thesubtle world.

“It is better to go further,” he thought.But he felt hungry and cried out, “Whatshould I eat?”

And a voice came, “So many things arethere. Eat as much as you like.” The Mis-chievous Chicken started eating and eating.He came into the gross plane and continuedeating. He took birth once when he cameout from under the Mother Hen’s wings.And then, in dualit he took birth anddied. Again, he would take birth. Actually,this was all Illusion. There is no question ofbirths or deaths, though it appears that hewas taking birth and that he would die.

In this way, births and deaths continuedin the gross world until the MischievousChicken crossed the seven kingdoms oftheevolution of consciousness. Afterwards, he

WIictt’s21appening cit J44eherctbctdL/4 L.ll4essage ,/1ll 7ime

25th 3ebruary 2009

“TO LOVE ME FORWHAT I MAY GIVE YOU IS NOT LOVING ME AT ALL. TO SACRIFICE ANYTHING IN MY

CAUSE TO GAIN SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF IS LIKE A BLIND MAN SACRIFICING HIS EYES FOR SIGHT I

AM THE DIVINE BELOVED WORTHY OF BEING LOVED BECAUSE I AM LOVE. HE WHO LOVES ME BECAUSE

OF THIS WILL BE BLESSED WITH UNLIMITED SIGHT AND WILL SEE ME AS I AM.”=AVATAR MEHER BABA =

The above message was given out by Baba for the occasion ofHis 75th Birthday in 1969. Ifyou are wondering how Baba’s birthday

message could have been sent out after He had dropped His Man-form a month earlier on 3lstJanuary, you are not alone, as many

individuals asked that same question at the time. The answer reveals a glimpse into life with Meher Baba.

As Eruch recalled, “After Baba passed away on the 31st ofJanuary 1969 and we returned to Meherazad, Mani sent out the final

Family Letter, giving His lovers the whole history ofwhat had happened during Baba’s last days. Although He had passed away on

the 31st ofJanuary, Mani included in her letter Baba’s birthday message. So quite a few people wondered whether the message was

from Baba. They asked us, ‘Did you all make up the message?’“We said, no, of course not. It is Baba’s message. You see, before Baba passed away, His birthday was already being celebrated at

centers throughout India. Here, the centers begin the celebrations according to Baba’s age. So for His 75th birthday, the centers had

begun their festivities 75 days in advance, culminating with the grandest program on the 25th ofFebruary. Naturally, the centers had

asked for a message from Baba and this is the message He gave out which has become a message for the whole world for all time.”

73hau’s 9enerctl J44essctge for 73eloved 13aba’s Birthdcty

entered into the internal worlds, the fourplanes of the subtle world and two planesofthe mental world. As soon as he enteredinto the subtle planes, the involution ofconscious began. When he reached thesixth plane of the mental world, the Mis-chievous Chicken saw Light, and he calledout, “What should I do now?”

And the voice came, “You eat your-self”

When he ate himself the MischievousChicken found that he was Everything.Duality disappeared, and he

______

was One with God. His journeyended.

Then he looked on this sideand the other side, and what didhe find?

That the innumerable chick-ens who had been in the InfiniteOcean, under the wings of theMother Hen, had followed him.The whole responsibility forthem fell upon him.

The Mischievous Chickenbecame the Ancient One, andthis Ancient One took on theresponsibility for the innumerable chickens that were followingHim.That’s why He comes downage after age on earth, to lookafter these innumerable chickensand give them progress for furtherconsciousness. He is One and thesame in every age, and He is theresponsible One for the innumerable chickens.

Births and deaths are in duaiit Illusion.The drop thinks that it has taken birth andthat it has dropped its body, but this is onlyapparent. How many births and how manydeaths do you pass through? No one has anyidea, but then, ultimately, you find God.When you eat yourself, that is, when youeat duality you enter into Oneness.

Beloved Baba did not meet peoplepreviously, but after His second accidentin 1952, in 1953, He began His darshanprograms. He called those who knew Himfrom different places to Meherabad for asmall meeting. There was one person fromSaoner, near Nagpur. Baba asked him,“How is your family?”

“Baba, by your Grace, everyone is fine,”the man replied.

“What about this son? What aboutthat son?”

But that son had already expired. “Baba,he has come to You,” the man replied.

“Now you tell Me that he has come

to Me. Why did you not inform Me ear-lier?”

“Baba, you know everything. That’s whyI did not inform You.”

“Why I have come in this form?” Babaasked. “Yes, I know everything, and I’m ineveryone. But why do I come age after age?Because nobody knows Me as divine, andwhen I come down, this is the opportunityfor you to tell Me everything. When I dropMy body, then you will not see Me in thisform. I take on this body to meet you all.

Drawing done by Meher Babajuly 30, 1953 ofhimse’fas a chicken

This is your opportunity to ask Me questions, talk to Me, so you know Me. But youdon’t know Me as I am. You may think thatI am all-Knowing.Thenwhatwas the needfor Me to ask you any question?

“I come to live with you all, ask differentthings about your family, about differentthings. So realize this: Your son is happyin Me, and that’s why I asked you abouthim. But you didn’t give me any information. You say, ‘Baba, you know’ You musttake advantage ofthe fact that when I havecome to this gross world, taking on a body,I come for the purpose of meeting people.I remain immortal all the time, but I havealso My duty In order to perform My duty,I have to come down, because you don’tknow Me. In order to know Me, you haveto become Me.”

How compassionate our Beloved is!He does not come down to eat sweets

and to enjoy life. He comes down to lookafter us and show us the way, how to gofurther to become free from duality Even

when He tells us, we can understand onlythe words. But He Himself gives a push,and our consciousness grows and growstowards Him.

Therefore, My prayer for His Birthdayis as follows:

0 Ancient One, Beloved Avatar MeherBaba!

How compassionate you are that youhave taken on Your duty as the AncientOne. This duty no one except You can do.Even the Perfect Masters cannot do this

______

duty. So You come down on earthto suffer, and still, even whenYou are not on earth, You ftulftllyour responsibility. How preciousYour birth is to us when we seeYou in form.

And this is our prayer to you:“Please, we are in duality.

Through Your love, just give usthe progress that brings us closerand closer and closer to You.Then one day, we will cross duality and become One. We willknow that this is the Real Life. Tofind this Real Life, we must getthe mind (which creates duality)annihilated.

What can we say in words?We must obey Your order andwe must follow Your wish. Weshoald live for You and die forYou.

As Beloved Baba said, “Loveis a gift from God to man. A

Perfect Master never gives the giftoflove. Obedience is the gift from Masterto man. Surrender is the gift ofman to theMaster.”

Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!Please come down on earth, age after

age, because we do not know what weshould do andwhatwe should not do. Showus the way in a very practical manner. Ourduty is to lose our own self in Your loveand to find You. You do your duty, and Yousuffer and suffer. But no one knows Yoursuffering. Even those Mandali memberswith You could not know Your suffering.Youwould suffer and suffer, but theywouldhave only some outward idea ofYour suffering. And as You suffer, what a gift Yougive to the world. It is unimaginable. Wemust remain bowing down atYour feet andfollowing Your instruction at every step ofour lives in order to get rid ofthis duality.

Victory to you! Victory to You! Victoryto You, 0 Beloved Avatar Meher Baba!Victory to You!

/\

29

Meherabad“ he Ancient One has to come back

again and again and appear onearth in man-form.Though He is birthiessand deathless, He is so duty—bound thatHe has to appear in bodilyform to doHis work inthe world.We cannotunderstandHim, butHe knowsthat thoughwe don’t understand, Hecomes intoour midstto bring thisfact to light:

Victory toYou, victoryto You, victory to You,my Beloved!

You arethe onlyOne. You arevictorious inmaking Creation knowthat whatever seems tobe happeningall over theworld is the play of Illusion. You makepeople know that Illusion is illusion, andReality is Reality

You should have knowledge of Realityso that you may know that this Illusionis the shadow of the One Who is be-hind everyone. Then you come to knowWho you are. This experience is for all,and the time is fixed for everyone. Theneveryone does not have a place; One hasthe place. Everyone becomes the dream,the shadow.

This same Ancient One appeared asZoroaster, Ram, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus,Mohammed and ultimately as MeherBaba. This time, the impact ofHis Manifestation will be felt in every country of theworld. That’s why we see people from allcountries coming to Meherabad to work

j3Iiau’s J44essage forE13aba’s iith J3irthdaj

for Him.Once, Beloved Baba took us to Upper

Meherabad. He was standing at a spot justabove Panchvati Cave and said, “You seethis area where the army was? The army is

still here, doing vehicle research. But thisarea will be frill of Baba lovers! All thissurrounding area will be the living place forMy lovers from different countries, ofdifferent colors and different nationalities.”

How fortunate we all are that we arehere in this era, where we have the greatfortune to be close to Him. According toHis instruction, we are able to do anythingwe like under Mastery in Servitude. Thosewho can devote time at Meherabad shoulddevote it. Those who cannot devote theirtime but want to have a job or want to dobusiness, to do cultivation, whatever theywant to do, they are allowed to do, butunder Mastery in Servitude. We all mustnot think, “We arejust worldly people. Wecannot serve Him.”

Ifyou follow His instructions, you can

become spiritual. You will be working forHim, and you will belong to Him. Andtherefore, I offer the following prayer toHim on your behalf:

May you all celebrate Beloved Baba’sBirthdayand forgetthe worldfor at leastthese days.This for-getfulnessshould besuch thatyou work,yet stillyou forget.That is trueforgetful-ness. Tryand try, andyou willsucceed.

MayBelovedBaba blessyou all withHis love sothat youknow thatbirths anddeaths aremerely adream toget rid ofthe mind

through Manonash - to know Who youare. This boon He gives to everyone.

Let us dedicate our life in His Love tothe world, and make Mastery in Servitudeour life motto, so that one day, we mayachieve Manonash and become One withHim, Aham Brahmasmi.

Let us become the true slaves and always remain serving His Cause throughthe real mantra, Mastery in Servitude.

Let us have unity in our Centers, andthrough this unity, after Manonash, be-come One with Him.

t]$f)/)y :[)f//¶J

/()Q)j T

30

2low the Jndefatigable EBhau Celebrated

few days ago, Bhau declared that hewanted to participate in all ofBeloved

Avatar Meher Baba’s 115th Birthdaycelebrations.

Sure enough, at 2:35 a.m. the morningofthe 25th, he took a bath. Then, at 4:00a.m. we all drove out to Meherazad to celebrate Baba’s Birth-day in Mandali Hall: the samerecording of”Happy Birthday”that was played to Baba in the1960s, prayers, embraces andmany shouts of Avatar MeherBaba Ki Jai. Afterwards, weall greeted Meheru, Katie andManu (Eruch’s sister) and theirMeherazad team on Mehera’sPorch.

Meherazad was decoratedlike a fairlyland, strings oflights threaded through thebranches. Glimmering coloredfoil and garlands made MandaliHall feel like a cross betweenChristmas and Divali. Beau-tifully done rangole [coloredchalk drawings] brightenedthe ground in front of Baba’shouse.

Bhau took darshan in Baba’s room, andmade a circuit of the pictures hanging onthe wall. He paused at the painting ofJesus and Peter, the one which Baba pointedout on 3lstJanuary 1969, when He said,“Eruch is my Peter.”

Unfortunately, the painting ofJesus andthe Beloved Disciple John, which Goherhad brought on Baba’s instructions on 30thJanuary 1969 could not be found. This isthe picture about which Baba remarked,“Bhau is my John.”

Efforts are now going on at Meherazadto locate this historic painting.

On the way back to the Mandali Hallverandah, Bhau paused, and indicated theroom where Arnavaz had lived. “Everyyear I would go and visit her,” he observedquietly.

As a final Meherazad treat, Falu andMeherwan served chai, bananas and sweetson the verandah. Baba’s bed in the BlueBus was covered with garlands, every time

‘13aba’s 73irthdayi:ynwood &twer, J4/kherabad

someone opened the door ofit, a delightfulfragrance oftuberoses, reminiscent of theSamadhi, wafted across the verandah. Aloud chorus ofbirds echoed from the treebranches, filling the air with chirrups andwarbles as tentative rays from the rising

sun crept over the hills in the East.Bhau returned to the Trust Compound,

where he attended the entire musicalprogram at Ahmednagar Centre. Themeeting hall was more jam-packed thana Bombay commuter train at rush hour.Nevertheless, Bhau lingered until he hadgreeted each and every Baba lover afterthey had taken darshan.

Following short naps for us all, we wentout to the Samadhi. Three ofus were in thelead Ambassador [Indian car], and Bhauwas in a nice A/C Indigo several hundredyards behind. A train was coming, but theAmbassador managed to squeak by rightbefore the guard closed the gate. As ajoke,the driver, Ananda, informed him, “LalooPrasad, the Indian Railway Minister, hasinstructed that Chairman Bhau must beallowed to pass.”

Sure enough, the guard opened thegate just long enough for Bhau’s car tocross the tracks.

Mother B (Barbara) had brought

garlands, with which Bhau and his teamgarlanded Baba’s Samadhi and Mani andMehera’s tombs.

By then it was well after 4:00 p.m.,and the play was to begin at 4:30 p.m..Unfortunately, we were again caught at

the railway crossing. Not eventhe Universal Qiieen’s (Suzie’s)entreaties to the guard to let theChairman ofAMPPCT pass norher invocations of Laloo’s namecould persuade him to raise thegate.

At last the train hurtled past,and a few minutes later, we hurtled across the tracks ourselves,arriving at Hostel A right at 4:30p.m..

Baba’s Birthday play this yearwas entitled “Across the SevenSeas” and was created by Steveand Corrine Wasson from theU.K. The play depicted thespiritual progress of a characternamed Nobody through the spanof six Avataric advents. Stevedirected the production, whichstarred Alan Wagner and two

professional actors from Steve’s schooland featured what seemed like a cast ofthousands ofpilgrims and residents. Theproduction was visually spectacular andkept the audience enthralled all the wayto end, when a powerful image ofBaba litup the screen. Bhau sat through the play’stwo-hour length, and then his team man-aged to navigate him through the scrum ofpeople who wanted to greet him and givehim their love.

We hurried back to the Trust Compound, where Bhau managed to sit in hisfavorite chair at 7:01, just in time for hisZeeTV serials to begin.

Despite yesterday’s punishing schedule,today Bhau had a full series of intensivemeetings regarding Trust work and hisforthcoming children’s book, as well asgreeting a passel ofpilgrims. He is alreadychomping at the bit to see the pilgrims andresidents at his MPC talk on Friday andthen visit with far-flung dear ones duringSunday’s Internet Chat.

Babac Gadi decoratedfor His birthday

3’

This year, in corn-rnernoration of the

115th anniversary ofAvatar Meher Baba’s birth, theAvatar Meher Baba Trust,through the rnedium of itsMusic and Arts Centre, ishappy to present an original drarna by Steven Was-son and Corinne Sourn,entitled “Across the SevenSeas.”

As rnany of you know,over the last thirty yearsand rnore the birthdayplay has becorne a regularfeature in our annual 25thFebruary birthday celebrations here at Meherabad.Pulled together quickly inthe three weeks that followArnartithi, and drawing on the talents ofMeherabad pilgrirns and residents andanyone else available and willing to lenda hand, these plays have always been, intheir essence, hornespun productions,labors of love, created in the sarne spiritin which Baba’s own rnandali used to puton little plays for His arnusernent duringHis physical lifetirne.

In fact, Baba’s rnandali have alwayswarrnly supported and in various waysinspired these birthday perforrnances.In the seventies and eighties Baba’s be-loved Mehera would sornetirnes give thethernes or elernents of content that wereused in thern. Having lived their lives inthe Avatar’s intirnate personal associationand contact, Baba’s mandali had cultivatedwithin thernselves the finest sensitivity andattunernent to what He liked; and sorneof this, we hope, they have been able tocornrnunicate to those who have followedthern. Frorn their guidance and exarnplewe have understood that there can be nohigher goal in art than to please Hirn, ourBeloved God, in Hirnself and in the heartsof His lovers.

This dedication to His pleasure wehope and believe will always be at the coreand centre ofthe drarnatic arts at Meherabad. Great rivers begin frorn srnall strearns.Every Avataric advent, as we know frornhistory, has eventually precipitated a flood

This year’s play continues and arnplifies on all that is rnost essential to theartistic life of Meherabad. Yet in rnanyother ways it rnarks a change and a freshdeparture. For the first tirne the play hasbeen written and directed not by residentsofour Meherabad-Meherazad cornrnunitybut by Baba lovers who are by professionartists plying their trade in the world. Inthat arena they have cultivated their ownkind ofart and expression for their BelovedBaba, and this play is their birthday present and offering to Hirn. In the future weenvision Meherabad continuing to rnakeits stage available to Baba lovers and Babaartists around the world who want to express their love for Hirn here.

Steven Wasson heard ofBaba in 1968and his wife Corinne Sourn in the early1980s. For thirty years they have special-ized in a forrn of art known as corporealrnirne, that rnakes extensive use of bodyrnovernents to create rnood and character and to forward the story. Steven andCorinne operate a theatrical cornpany inLondon. Though Corinne had to staybehind and rnind the shop, Steven hastraveled here to direct the play, bringingwith him two actors, Kentaro Suyama and

Jorge Correa Bethencourt, who will playleading roles in today’s performance.

Since the style andmanner of this dramamay be new to thoseof you accustomed tothe more realistic his-tory plays of birthdayspast, let me say a fewwords about what youare going to see. Thedrama revolves aroundthejourney ofMr. No-body (representing theseeker) as he passesthrough various scenesof the world in the aftermath of the variousAvataric advents. Ineach age Mr. Nobodyexperiences the declineof religion as represented by its priests,

who mislead the public and corrupt thetrue message of the religion’s founder.Spearheading these forces of worldlinessand ignorance is Dr. Ahrirnan, the play’sarch-villain, who is accompanied by Max,his sidekick, and Maya, the eternal widow.Dr. Ahriman persecutes and tries to en-slave Mr. Nobody, the seeker; but Nobodyremains steadfast in his longing for his trueBeloved against all odds.The ship that youwill see on stage is the vehicle and symbolof Mr. Nobody’s on-going quest, whichactually occurs all within Nobody’s mind,since the world is nothing but the mind’sillusory projection.

The seven scenes of the play includea prologue, which introduces the char-acters; an “age of Zoroaster,” in whichMr. Nobody begins his journey; an “ageof Ram,” which features a battle betweenthe demons and Ram’s army of monkeys;an “age of Krishna,” in which gopis singto their Beloved and Dr. Ahriman for amoment doubts himself; an “age of Bud-dha,” in which Max and the priests quarrelabout the Buddhist “nothing”; an “age of

Jesus,” culminating in a Last Supper andMr. Nobody’s crucifixion; and an “age ofMuhammad,” in which crow-priests feedon Nobody’s body. In the end, as youwill see, Nobody proves victorious in hisstruggle and finds the One he has beensearching for.

Something Different This Way Comes — J3aba’s 73irthdciy 2lcty/1 7 C’ )

iicross t/e even eas3rcrnk E13loise, JI/Iehernbad

tide in the arts. Surely the advent of ourBeloved Avatar Meher Baba will do thesame.

32

on Preceeding Page: Mr Nobody (Kentaro Suyama) being persecutedAbove Left: Mr. Nobody and the Angel (Kris Hines)

Above Right: Mr. Nobody and Ahriman (Alan Wagner)Below: The Last Supper

To see the complete cast ofcharacters go to:http://www.ambppct.org/events/program.php

33

r:t:

Ir

Jll4eherctbctd Dictry

9December. I returned to India in theearly morning. I had so much enjoyed

the cold weather in the States comparedto the hotter climate of India. We drovestraight to Pune, where I bought groceries.I was very eager to get home. We went toBeloved Baba’s Samadhi first. How exciting it was for my heart to be Home!

10 December. I went to the Gadi underthe Tin Shed. To my surprise, there wasnow a railing around three sides ofit. Therailing was made with such beautiful tastethat I was sure Ted Judson had it made.Ted designed and built many buildings atMeherabad, including the Meher PilgrimRetreat. He has also put a new enclosurearound Gilori Shah’s tomb.

1 1 December. I drove to Meherazad. Itwas so pleasant to see Meheru and Katieagain. I also quietly went into Arnavaz’sroom. She was asleep and visitors had not

:)i

i

3udj Stephens

been allowed in. I only quietly whisperedJai Baba and silently left the room. I onlywanted to see her as she had not been wellfor some time.

was covered with a beautiful cloth, andMani wrote the songs that were sung atarti or they were songs about her love forher ‘God Brother’. The energy has an extrajoyous feeling to it. Cool weather, mostpeople wearing hats and jackets morningand evening.

17 December. According to our expected arrivals list, we will be thU for theholidays. We will have to move somewomen out of the MPR to Hostel D, aswe will have 100 women without them.We can house a total of 200 pilgrims inthe MPR. The women’s side will haveoverflow for a few days. Receptionists metto plan the new year’s budget and decideda new desk station and credenza would bemore ftmctional and aesthetically nice thanour hodge-podge desk and computer table.However, the Trust doesn’t have a lot ofmoney so we decided we would not requestanything other then essential computerstuff. We agreed to design our new work-

station; who knows, maybe the moneywillcome. We may be able to pay for a lot ofit by ourselves. Another item was to puta nice sign on our Reception Office doorthat says ‘Reception Office—welcome——please come in.’ We were surprised whenwe found out that pilgrims are unsure if it

is okay to come in when they see we arebusy. We do want pilgrims to come into

1::j r:--,

No longer can weplace our head at Hisfeet! TheGadi neededprotecting

34

A newprotective railing has beenplaced around the tomb ofthe saint Gilori Shah

14 December. My heart feels so happylooking at the trees Mehera and the otherwomen Mandali had planted to give Babashade on the walk up the hill. I sometimesstop and talk to the trees, telling themhow fortunate they are to have given GodHimself comfort.

15 December. First day back on dutyat the MPR. Mani’s birthday. Her shrine

would be Me-hera’s birthday, afilm about Me-hera, narratedby Meheru, wasshown. I calledthe fiowerwallaand ordered allthe garlands forMehera’s birth-day tomorrow.

22 December. Meheru wascoming fromMeherazad forthis special time.Arti was beautiful. Being able

to be at the Samadhi to celebrate

Mehera’s birthday brought a feeling ofwarmth and caring that touches the heart.The songs to Mehera and songs about herspecial love for her Beloved made us allfeel we were so fortunate to be there. Theprasad was chocolate brownies, very tasty.Bhauji gave his weekly talk at the MPC.Peter Booth showed a film of Mehera at9:00 pm.

24 December. Staffvery busy at HostelD, expecting a lot of early arrivals. HostelD will often receive busloads of pilgrimsat one time. There they bring their ownbedding and do their own cooking. Therewere 56 pilgrims due at the MPR. Becausethere would not be a Christmas programat Meherazad this year, it was in our Mu-sic & Arts Center. I heard the skits andperformances were enjoyed very much.At the Samadhi during evening Arti, onlyChristmas carols were sung.

25 December. Christmas day. Whenwe arrived at Meherazad, the line to takedarshan in Baba’s room had already startedto form. This would be the first Christmasthat the program was not held at Meherazad in many, many years. A small stagewas set up near Mehera’s porch. A choirwas singing Christmas carols while pilgrims went into Baba’s room, then greetedMeheru and Katie, who were sitting nearthe edge of Mehera’s porch. Mehera’schair was next to Meheru and Katie, sothe pilgrims were able to take Mehera’sdarshan. Then they entered another line totake Baba’s darshan. Santa Claus (residentMartin Horda) gave out a bag of goodiesto each pilgrim that had a quote by Be-loved Baba in it. I thought to myself ‘thisis how it will be when all the Mandali are

gone.’ It was kind ofsad to see the changeafready happening.

26 December. Bhauji came to theMPC to give a talk and a Baba film wasshown. It is cold now when the sun goesdown. We don’t have any type of heating,so we have to put on warm clothing tokeep the chill off This is the time ofyearwhen pilgrims ask for extra blankets.

27 December. In the morning you haveto bundle up to keep warm. There was awhole busload of pilgrims from GujaratState. Some old-time Baba lovers broughtalong a lot ofnew Baba lovers. A concert ofghazals and bhajans was performed in theMusic & Arts Center. Haresh and DilipSoni are brothers who perform profession-ally, and their father was a famous singer.Their performance was so enjoyable.

28 December. There were three busesand many cars at Meherazad. Baba’sroom was open for only a short time andthe main house was closed, as Katie andMeheru would both be in Mandali Hall.It was really nice to see Katie there, asshe has not been in Mandali Hall duringthe performances for quite some time.Sally Pearson did a dance to one of BobDylan’s songs about everyone has to servesomeone—the devil or the Lord. WardParks and an Indian performer sang “BabaHu.” Then the performers from Saturdaysang ghazals.

29 December. Ajang and Iraj sharedthe story oftheir family member, Khosrow,the last surviving Prem Ashram boy, whowent to Baba on 24 December 2007. MPRvolunteer supervisors decided where toput clotheslines for the pilgrims to hangup their hand laundry. We find their washdrying in our gardens, on our gates, onchairs, over the parapets, and they evenpull out the drying racks from the bath-rooms and put them on the verandahs.It makes the beautiful MPR look like alaundry facility. The official place to hangout wash will be on top of the roof ofthe Administration wing. This way bothmen and women have access to it. We doprovide a wash and iron service but somepilgrims want to wash their own stuff.Ted had designed a special area in eachbathroom for that very purpose, but theclothes don’t get dry there in cloudy orrainy weather.

31 December. Such a full, busy, and attimes chaotic day. But, it would end in amost beautifuiway—bringing in the NewYear at Beloved Baba’s Samadhi. Withinthe first hour the steel ball-bearing hook

‘iNow this is wh’reyou are cilppoct’d to haizgyourclothes to dry jfyou don’t use the laundry service

the office any time we are there.19 December. In Pune, I went to have

a manicure. The hair salon is in one ofthe nicer hotels. They began the securitycheck on all cars a few months ago. Nowthere is an additional security arch youwalk through before being allowed to gointo the hotel. The Mumbai terrorist at-tack was November 26, less than a monthago. After lunch I went to Ishanya. It isthe largest mall in India and a space ageplace. There is a lot of security; you gothrough a security arch and have yourbags checked. It seems this is becominga measure of protection for places wherenot only foreigners go, but also high-endshoppers. It wasn’t that way even one yearago. I saw a most interesting sight in Pune.An oxcart had four car tires on it! Usuallythey have wooden wheels.

20 December. Around 2:30 pm, as Iwas taking a nap, I heard someone yell-ing, “help!” I got up, grabbed my bamboopole, and ran to the nurse’s quarters, nextto where I live. One of the women theresaw a small snake. She is very frightenedofsnakes and wanted someone to kill it. Isaw it was a young cobra because it openedits hood. I kept hitting it until it didn’tmove anymore. We live in a rural area, andsnakes are part of the environment.

Two films were shown of Mehera incelebration of her birthday this comingMonday. One was Happy Birthday Mehera,and the other ‘Mehera, Babac Beloved.’

21 December. There was a balletperformance by two pilgrims. One ofthem was Amy Wallin who had studiedwith Margaret Craske. They both worelong, flowing skirts and the performancewas graceful. Then, because tomorrow

35

to the children’s tire swing broke. Why?How? A grown man had been riding itstanding up when it was full of children.His weight was just too much. But, itdidn’t break with him on it. No, he onlyweakened it so badly that shortly after,with six children on it, the steel hookbroke off—just as if it had been cut!Thank God the hook didn’t land on anyof the children’s heads! I will not be ableto have it fixed until after Amartithi. Thensomeone came in to tell me a screen doorwas accidentally broken.

There were complaints of childrenrunning up and down the halls, pilgrimsplaying their guitars in their rooms untilmidnight, pilgrims using their cell phonesin the sleeping wings and keeping others awake. Well, you know, sometimesthat is how things are—chaotic. With66 expected arrivals! Not to mention thechanges pilgrims wanted who were alreadyhere. I did not finish my day as a reception-ist until 8:30 pm—that was 11 ½ hours inthe office with only twenty minutes off.I knew it would be a super busy day, butsurprisingly I was not exhausted when Iclosed the office doors.

Driving down the pitch-black road, Ipassed a Western woman with her onlylight her cell phone. I thought to myself“what in God’s name is that woman do-ing on that road alone in the pitch black?Doesn’t she know it isn’t safe?” So I turnedaround and went back to ask her. She saidshe got lost and was going to the MPR.I told her there were bad bootleggersaround, also snakes! After dropping heroff, I drove back down that road—and Isay this before God—I passed a snake onthe road not far from where she had beenstanding!

36

After din-ner I went tothe MPR party.Scott Hammelbach, a pilgrimstaying in one ofthe condos, han-dled the deco-rations and themusic. He did abeautiftiljob. Hehad daisies andother flowers allalong the walkfrom the park-ing lot to theDining Hall. Healso had flowers

in heart-shapedarrangements on four corners ofthe lobbyand reception office. He had long strings offlowers in ioops going across the archways.These all had small lights through them.Scott continued this theme in the DiningHall. It had a very festive feel.

Allan andthe kitchen staffmade deliciouséclairs, severalkinds of dips,chips, nuts, andother snacks.They also servedsoft drinks. Thehall was full ofhappy, dancingpilgrims fromhostels, community members,and the MPRpilgrims. Wehad fun! Themusic was agreat selection sothe floor was fullof dancers. Theparty ended by 11:30 pm, and a bus waswaiting to take everyone to the Samadhi.I had left the party shortly after 11, as Iwanted to get a place to sit.

The Samadhi had stayed open for sing-ing after evening arti. Singing continueduntil five minutes to midnight. Ted judsonbegan singing the chant and with thestroke of midnight, we said the prayersand sang two artis. A few more songs wereallowed, and then the announcement wasmade for everyone to depart. There werehundreds of pilgrims here for the NewYear celebration. The MPR had almost

200. The hostels had several hundredmore. It was a crowded and happy group,all smiling and feeling the joy of BelovedBaba’s love. What a wonderful way to startthe New Year 2009.

3 January. There was a concert in theMusic & Arts Center with Simon Reece,Lorraine Brown, and others.

5 January. The tire swing has beenfixed. Weekly program ‘Meherabad Morn-ings’. This is a forum for Baba stories toldby those who met Beloved Baba. Bhaujigave a talk.

6 January. I got a phone call askingif I could help take care of Jaloo duringthe night — I immediately said yes! I gotto spend the night up on the hill again!

Jaloo was not well, and they wanted morethan one person staying with her. Shelives in the building directly behind theSamadhi.

7 January. The day was long and onceagain I had to put in almost eleven hours!I am starting to get really fed up with theseextremely long hours. It is too much. There

are four times as many pilgrims as whenwe were at the MPC. And, we can’t justgo home and have someone call us whena late pilgrim arrives. We have to stay atthe MPR and wait, because we live too faraway. I want to bring up at our next meet-ing that we need to make some changes.

9 January. Tea and snack at 4:00 andBhau talk at 4:30.We looked at the Am-artithi list. There will be almost 100 newIranians coming. We have so many pilgrims coming that there is a long waitinglist for the MPR.

lOJanuary. Went to see howJaloo wasdoing. I was very happy to see her foot

The new ambulance garage at Meherabad

I. -

The garage is outside the clinic, isolation ward, and the hospital.Where thefood tent used to beforAmartithi - back in the old days!

infection was almost gone. There was aspecial Australian concert in the Music& Arts Center.

11 January. Went to the MPR to getour copy of a drawing of the MPR. Wewant to make smaller ones and give themto pilgrims who are new so we can cutdown on orientation which now takesaround 20 minutes. Residents have beenasked to please take in pilgrims if possible.

l2January. Dhuni Day. We no sooneropened the MPR Reception Office doorsthan a flood of pilgrims entered. Onegroup was from Mumbai. I was told itwas the birthday of one of the men so ofcourse I wished him a Happy Birthday. Ialso gave him a small Baba photo. Later,I found out these pilgrims were survivorsofthe Mumbai terrorist attack. The Leo-pold Restaurant has been a family-ownedrestaurant since the 1 800’s. The Baba loverwhose family owns the restaurant broughthis brother and sister-in-law. His brotherhad been upstairs above the restaurantwhen the attack happened. The othercouple had been in the Ta] Hotelwhen theattack happened. They all felt Baba savedthem. The list ofpilgrims going to hotelsduring Amartithi was put up on DiningHall door. There was also a list tellingthe pilgrims what accommodations areavailable. There was a talk by NaosherwanAnzar about growing up with Baba. Someyoung pilgrims had a very large card forpilgrims to sign for Bhauji’s birthday. Inthe afternoon, Bhauji gave a talk and hadthe Mumbai terrorist survivor pilgrims telltheir stories.

Evening Arti was at 5:00 pm. TheDhuni was lit at 6:00 pm. Itwas very sweetto see one of the Chinese pilgrims hadbeen selected to help light the Dhuni, aswas a young boy from Serbia, and severalothers. Bhauji was helped to walk from theMPC to the Dhuni. He was the first one toput a stick in. He was then helped to a carto go back to the Trust. After the Dhuni,there was a ‘fire dance’ by two German pilgrims, Samarpan and Archana HattendorfThey are really amazing, such skill.

15 January. David & Gusi, who ownthe house behind my house, just hadanother underground water storage tankmade and built a storage shed above it.Marge & I drove to the organic farm.It is a ten-acre farm. We picked lettuceand tomatoes—now you can’t get fresherproduce than that! The farm grows a lot ofwheat and millet for breads. I think I will

start getting the wheat to make chapatis—all organic.

16 January. Though Bhauji’s birthdayis on the 13th, this was the day for thecelebration. Tea, chocolate cake, and asnack were served on the Music & ArtsCenter verandah. The auditorium was frillwith Trust workers, Trust residents, andother Baba lovers from Ahmednagar. FromMeherabad were Hostel D and MeherPilgrim Retreat pilgrims, residents and theBaba communitywho also happily joinedin the celebration. Balloons and prettydecorations surrounded a chair for Bhauto sit on. A large card, signed by many,was given to Bhau. Susie Biddu was theMC and announced singing by Iranians,Angela limura, Rama (Bhau’s wife), and

the Trust workers. A play ‘Glory of Love’was performed by those who help takecare ofBhau. In the evening Peter Boothshowed a Baba film.

l7January. At the receptionists’ meet-ing we had to decide how we were goingto fit 320 pilgrims for Amartithi. We hadto decide how many hired help we needed,how many volunteers, what and where toput signs giving the pilgrims the information theywould need to know. During themeeting, we got a phone call that SteveEdelman had died. We said the ‘BelovedGod’ prayer for Steve.

18 January. In Meherazad MandaliHall Drew Andreotti sang ‘Begin the Be-guine,’ an Iranian woman sang a songwhile playing the daaf, and Angela limura

sang a song while accompanying herselfon guitar. Gary Kleiner talked about SteveEdelman, what a noble man Steve was, andhow much Eruch enjoyed Steve’s company.Eruch had told Steve he wanted him to bewith him when he died so Steve wound uphis business and went to live at Meherazadwith Eruch during his last year oflife, andwas with Eruch when he died. It was abeautiful tribute to Steve.

20 January. I kept the TV news onto watch the excitement building for theinauguration of Barack Obama. I hadinvited any American resident in LowerMeherabad to watch the inauguration inmy room if they wanted. I had someonecover my Samadhi duty so as not to missany ofthese historic events. I am so proudofAmerica! What a major jump we havemade in the equality of all people! And,what a beacon to the world! How muchone can see Baba’s hand of love in thishistoric day!

21 Januarc I had another receptionistcover for me so I would be free to watchmore ofthe inauguration. At Meher Darbar I saw a new sign on all the computerbooths. A driver’s license or passport isnow required before using the computers,a new security law of the Indian govern-ment.

24 January. Meherabad Hill alreadyhas the colorful pandal being put up, soit looks very festive. The bamboo poles tohold all the stalls are also being put in placeall over Upper and Lower Meherabad. Theconcert ‘The Love Street Wine Shop’ hadsongs, ghazals and poetry celebrating the

I life and work of Francis Brabazon on his102nd birthday.

25 January. This was the last Meherazad day until after Amartithi. Mehera’sroom was not open, as Katie was resting.Baba’s room had a very long line and onlya few pilgrims were allowed in at a time.Meheru came into the hail when thebell rang announcing it was time for theperformances. Jan Kris Hem sang whileWard Parks accompanied her on thepiano. Peter Booth showed a Baba film.The weather was lovely, a nice day to beat Meherazad.

26 January. At 8:45 am the pilgrimsstarted pouring in to Reception. We hada group of 14 from Argentina, some forthe first time. We have begun giving outAmartithi badges and token stickers fordarshan queue on the 31st. We have somany notices up on the Dining Hall doors:the names of pilgrims going out, where

A bar to hold on to while removingyour shoes at the Samadhi

37

they are going, what time the bus comesfor them, where to get accommodationbadges, tokens, exchange money, curfew,and on and on.

27January. Many pilgrims moved outto the MPC and private accommodations.We had only a few arrivals, but housekeep-ing had to change all those beds and makethem ready for the next day. Rearrangedthe Reception Office for faster check-inwith large crowds.

28 January. 105 expected pilgrims!Four receptionists on duty. A group of35 Christian Armenian Iranis arrived.They are mostly young and here for thefirst time. Rafik (who had been here be-fore) helped me give a Baba flag that hadflown on the hill to the group. We do notwash the flags, we give them just as theyare when they are taken down from thetower—torn, faded, and this one had bird00 on it. Don Stevens’ ‘Beads on OneString’ tour group arrived around 5:30 pm.There were 40 of them. Wonderful news!Alan’s kitchen guys began the Amartithicanteen. There are cookies, cakes, brown-ies, coffee, tea, and soft drinks.The hill wasalready packed with the 1000 volunteersthat stay in Hostel D and Hostel C. Theydo security and protect the thousands ofpilgrims that sleep in the tents by guard-ing the doors. There are also policemeneverywhere. At evening arti, when theArgentinean women started to sing anddrum, their sound was so lovely everyonearound stopped talking and listened.

29 January. I slept late, knowing Iwould have little during Amartithi. I hadan appointment with Kathy Hill to videoher story ofcoming to the 1969 Darshanin Pune. Kathy told her amazing story ofher travel around India before the darshantime, and then Darshan itself. This videowill be available at the LA Meher BabaCenter.

30 January. I woke to talking and thesound offeet walking through leaves rightoutside of my window. I looked out thecurtain, but saw nothing. Anne was in thekitchen, and had looked out to see a groupof men, women, and children, all withbedding on their heads, looking for theiraccommodations as they had just arrivedfor Amartithi! Already there was a longline for Baba’s Cabin, and it continuedall through Amartithi. I think we hadaround 135 expected arrivals, and it wasexhausting. The food line never seemed toend. When the Armenian Iranian grouparrived, one man came only because his

friend brought him; he knew nothingabout Baba, the MPR or anything. He wasunsure ifhe wanted to stay. I saw him thenext night on the hill and he said he feltjoy and peace.

31 January. I went up the hill earlyto check on Baba’s Cabin Room. Thevolunteers were doing a good job. Thereare so many wonderftil performers aroundthe clock on the stage. I especially lovelistening to the Argentine group andthe Iranians. Some performances wereincredible. You just can’t describe thefeeling of Amartithi. The energy, the joy,the feeling ofbrotherhood, the awarenessof the reality of God, it is all embracing.This year others also told me they felt it

more strongly.At Baba’s Cabin the line was endless,

but the line was halted by 11:30. All thespace from the Samadhi outward to thecompound, and down to the stage waspacked. When it was getting close tonoon, Begin the Beguine was played. Theneveryone began chanting Meher Baba’sname. As the pace picked up, the clap-ping increased. The energy was buildingin beautiful love for His advent. At noon,everyone said Avatar Meher Baba kiJai—then, absolute silence for the next fifteenminutes. When it was 12:15 pm everyoneyelled Avatar Meher Baba ki Jai.’ Thenprayers in different languages followed. Ihad reception duty from 4:00 to 7:00 PM.We still had arrivals, plus many who werealready at the MPR wanted assistance.

1 February. This was the last day ofAmartithi. I had the 12:00 midnight to2:00 shift at Baba’s Room. By the end ofmy shift, the Samadhi line looked like it

was only 30 minutes long. I was back upthe hill by 8:00 am to listen to the Iraniangroup singing. This year there was theinternational group singing, the Argentinegroup sang two beautiful songs, and theIranian group sang. Mr. Tada, the commentator, asked the Argentines to pleasecome back again next year. I had not heardhim ask that ofa group before. He so verymuch enjoyed their magical music. SusieBiddu then made an announcement thatthe Armenian group from Iran wouldperform. They had fallen in love withBaba, and the fire oftheir singing sparkedthe audience who also went wild with thefire of their singing and playing the daaf.They are all Christians living in Iran whosefamilies had fled persecution.The last songwas a collection of international pilgrimssinging ‘Baba Hu’. This is traditionally

the final song and I have to say the wholeaudience catches fire expressing the joy ofsinging it to Baba! It is electric! Some tryto jump on the stage and dance.

As much as I enjoy Amartithi, I amhappy when it comes to an end. Therewere a record number ofpilgrims this yearwho had accommodations at Meherabad,14,699 all together. The estimated at-tendance, including those not staying inour accommodations, was around 30,000pilgrims.

Many pilgrims will be going to HostelD for Baba’s birthday. When we movedinto the MPR, we thought we were fin-ished having to do this to pilgrims andhere we were in our third MPR seasonand already so full!

Meherabad and the surrounding Babacommunity have a recycling system now.Near the nurses’ and doctors’ quarters, wehave barrels for glass, plastic, boxes, andwater bottles. Burnable paper is separatefrom the recycle system. We each take aone-month rotation to keep it in order.The pickup is once every two weeks byPrithvi, an environmental group that raisesmoney to help village women.

8 February. At Meherazad the groupfrom Argentina sang a few songs, then anintroductory film ofBaba for new peoplewas shown. It was very well done, and weall enjoyed it.

9 February. I attended the MeherabadMorning session in MPC Hall. Thisweek’s sharing was on the 1969 darshanat Guruprasad in Pune. This is the 40thanniversary of the ‘Last Darshan given inSilence.’ Those who attended were invitedto share. I had gone to the ‘69 darshanwith the LA and Sufi group. There weresome very moving stories, and I was soglad I went.

14 February. There was a concert inthe Music & Arts Center by the Argentine group. Just before the performancethe electricity went off and did not comeback on so they moved to the front of thestage. When they began singing, it waslike magic. They have the most beautiftilsinging voices, rich and soothing. Spanishis really a beautiful language, and whenput to song, it captivates the heart withits beauty. The women performed verygraceful dances.

38

Exciting changes have been occurringat the Meherabad Library on the Hill,

which has recently expanded to include thelarge study hail room on the first floor. Thelibrary has just launched a new program ofexhibitions and displays, to be housed inthe east room of the study hail. The firstofthese exhibitions, entitled “Welcome toHis World,” is a photographic depictionofMeher Baba’s life and work. The exhibition includes 120 beautiful 12” by 15”photographs arranged on thirteen displayboards around walls of the room, eachrepresenting a different phase of MeherBaba’s work. Other exciting new programshave recently been initiated, among them alecture series. During each ofthe last fourpilgrim seasons the library has organizeda large two- or three-day educationalgathering commemorating some majorevent or episode in Meher Baba’s life. Ad-ditional educational programs are plannedfor the future.

NewTitles in the Online LibrarySince its inception in January 2007,

the Trust’s online library (a section of theTrust web site) has added several significant new titles to the original twelve. Inlate November, the three-volume 1967sixth edition of Meher Baba’s Discourseswas added. With this release, the onlinelibrary now makes available all four of themajor compilations of these magnificentessays. More additions to the library willbe appearing soon.

Silence Day Gathering Commemorates 50th Anniversary of “UniversalMessage”

The number ofpilgrims coming to Me-herabad to observe Silence Day has grownto the point that the event has become akind ofmini-Amartithi.The 2008 SilenceDay pilgrim tally reached about 2000 at-tendees at day programs, ofwhom about1500 were registered overnight pilgrims.The 2008 celebration was made doublymomentous by the fact that it markedthe golden anniversary of a Silence Daygathering that Meher Baba Himself con-ducted at Meherabad, the last such eventin that place during His physical lifetime.See how the anniversary was observed atMeherabad, and learn about the debut ofa significant documentary film createdespecially for the occasion.

Forty Acres ofNew Afforestation onMeherabad Hill

During the monsoon and early wintermonths of2008, the Trust’s environmentalconservation team, in collaboration withthe Social Forestry Department of thegovernment ofMaharashtra, embarked ona major new effort in the afforestation ofMeherabad Hill. Over the three-year penod of2008—11 the project envisions theplantation of a total of 35,000 new trees.The Trust is implementing its own irrigation system to provide periodic wateringfor the young trees. Under theTrust masterplan this entire 40-acre spread of newlyafforested land will be kept as an openarea for the large gatherings of pilgrimsin times ahead who will want to pay theirrespects and linger in the vicinity ofMeherBaba’s Samadhi.

Rainfall Harvesting at theMeher Pilgrim Retreat

The previous issue of the newsletterdescribed the system implemented overthe last two years for the reclamation ofMeher Pilgrim Retreat wastewater. During December of2008 another part of theTrust’s greater water reclamation schemewas put into place, with the constructionof a reservoir and associated network ofconduits designed to harvest monsoonrainfall from the Retreat and vicinity Allofthis reclaimed water, from human wasteand rainfall, will be used for watering thegardens and trees around the Retreat, aswell as for the irrigation of the forty-acretract of the new tree plantation betweenthe Retreat and Baba’s Samadhi.

Y?ectd :2-us0vVorksOver and Over

LAgctin

Adi :i<. EJrctni

The history of having to own Babaliterature begins from 1922, the year

I joined Avatar Meher Baba. It was then(before He began His Silence) that Hetold me and others in Manzil-e-Meem,“In time to come I will give you such writ-ings that will convince you without doubtthe validity ofMy Realitc”

I was ever so eager to receive and readHis writings. But the process ofconvictionon my part began then slowly and surely.Manyyears after that came the full-fledgedrevelation of His entire writings when allthe dark corners of my understandingbecame fully enlightened.

No wonder, on many an occasion, Babaadvised old and new comers to read Hisworks over and over again. To borrowBaba books and read them is one thing; toown His books and read them is another.When you own Baba books, you can referto anything and everything at any time youspontaneously feel like asking yourself aquestion of which you don’t easily get areply. Baba books should always be onhand to read, re-read and for purposes ofreference.

Owning Baba books is a Sahavas orcompanionship which has so much grownin need, especially after Baba droppedHis body.

May His Love enlighten the hearts ofthe readers of His works, and may Hismessages give them a perfect understand-ing of who Baba is—the Avatar of theAge—to enable them to give this under-standing to others!Lettersfrom the Mandali, ed. Jim Mistry,

pp. 97-98 1981 © Avatar Meher BabaPerpetual Public Charitable Trust

CIictnyes Are A-21ctppenin’ on the 21i117he J4/leherabad £ibrctrj

Love Me whole-heartedly. The time for thePower House to be switched on is so near that theonly thing which will count now is Love. That iswhy I have been telling you all to love me more

and more. Love Me, love Me, love Me,and then you will find Me.

39

-‘ ; 71ien I first walked from the Meher were a fewV V Pilgrim Retreat to Baba’s Samadhi minutes

on my most recent pilgrimage, I marveled of silenceat all the vibrant trees that had been broken byplanted since I had been there three years Jesse withago. Here are some excerpts from journal a n Av a -

entries about my visits with the people tar Meherwho have done the planting, Jesse Massa Baba ki Jai.and his crew of workers from Arangaon H e g avevillage. them their

November 26,This morning I at-

tended Jesse’s snacktime for his workers—such beautiful, clear,calm people.Jesse, whoused to be an elementary school teacher, hadthem sitting in a circleon the stone floor ofthe porch of his cot-tage, on plastic sacks.He gave them bananas,cookies, peanut brittle.Then they played diceto see who would win pomegranates.The women, dressed in brightly coloredsaris that neverseemed to getdirty, looked atme with amuse-ment and sweetopenness. Nextcame a readingin Marathi byone ofthe work-ers, from TheEverything AndThe Nothing; Ifollowed alongin an Englishversion. There

Jesse complimented him on his work, tell-ing me that there had been huge rocks thathad been very difficult to remove. When

: Jesse askedMahendrawhat tree hewanted toplant there,Mahendra’sr smile was tnt-

I ly joyful. Wewalked overto the nurserywhere hun-dreds of treesgrew in those

white plastic

sacks. Mahendrachose a graceful,healthy gulmar.J esse said laterhe would havepreferred to puta champa there.When I asked him

- if the workers feltresentful towardthe pilgrims whoobviously have somuch more, he

asked, “Do you see any resentment?” Isaid no, and he said he didn’t either.

December 3,At Jesse’s this morning, in the circle

taking pictures, I looked intently at anolder woman who had met Baba, her smileso serene and deep. I took her picture andfelt tears, deeply moved by her being; thelife she has seems hard, yet no malice isevident.

December 11,Jesse says he is happiest here with

these simple people. Without the breakswith games and laughs and reading Baba’swords, it would just be a long hot day inthe sun. They know they are doing serviceto God.

This conscious work practice of loveand service, these strong graceflil work-ers, their purity and welcoming of me—thank You Baba for this enrichment ofmy pilgrimage.

Pictured are: Ackiananda and Zoomberbai, Hirabai (who met Baba,), Gangadar,Menshet, Shankar, Kantabai, Narayan,Malanbai and Mahananda. Thefriow inthe tee shirt isJesse Massa.

3esse J44ctssct and Jb1is 7reesJ41ol!j 3ones, California

assignments and they returnedto work. Jesse and I sat andtalked a bit. He explained thatsome of them are mahars, thebegging class; none ofthem ownland. AU barely have enough to

‘live. We went out to check ontheir work.

L Near the path to the Samadhi a little ways from Jesse’scottage, a young man named

Mahendra had dug a big hole for a tree.

Baba Sackaran, the one in overalls, met Baba and is stillworking at 85years ofage!

40

Since there has been so much made ofthefact that Pumpkin House for children is

NOT an orphanage in the strict sense oftheword, I feel this mea culpa is very necessaryI do believe that it may have been our faultthat the wonderftil home for abandoned,homeless and orphaned children that goesby the name of Pumpkin House got to beknown as the Pumpkin House Orphanage!Originallyitwas called Pumpkin House notonly because it was named after ofthe homeour Beloved grew up in, but because theirbuilding was actually painted orange. I feltPumpkin House Orphanage had a catchysound to it and was easier to say and writerather than their official title: PumpkinHouse for Children Trust. When Stellastarted the Home and got it governmentallyapproved and did all the necessary officialpaperwork, it has always been known asPumpkin House for Children Trust-India.So I offer my most humble apologies toStella for all the stress we have unwittinglycaused her. She has suffered so much fromnumerous people who were apparentlyoutraged that it was not really an orphanage.So this is my attempt to clear the air, set therecords straight and get the unbelievablyhard working Stella Manuel Pillai out ofthe doghouse.

First ofall,lets hear from the lady herselfand then numerous other people will havetheir say.

Pumpkin House for CbildrenTrust-IndiaA Glimpse OverThe Past FiveYears.

Stella Manuel PiiIaiWe have moved steadily and with deep

commitment, dedication and determination,amidst the cyclones oflife. PH India, beinga non religious, non profit, non governmentaided independentTrust, has its doors openfor children from all walks oflife, irrespectiveof their caste, creed and religion. We caterfor the lonely, needy and destitute childrenwhom the Lord sends to our threshold.

What is the nature ofthe children caredfor at PH India?

“A shady tree gives shade to any andevery weary passer by.”

Let’s understand the “pains and groans”,

“the misery and poverty”, the agony ofbeingdisowned by our very own. Relationship is aseed.We should allowit to growwith good-ness, happiness and love resulting in servingmore than ourselves.

1] We take children from brothels atthe early age of two years, before the childis aware of the environment it is beingraised in.

2] We have children from separatedparents—where the child is disowned bythe father and the mother.

3] Children saved from beggars’ homes.4] Total orphans, semi—orphans, illegiti

mate and unwanted children.We are a seed, and if the seed does not

sprout, then we have done an injustice. Canyoujust sit back and feel their agony?

Our Activities:Pumpkin House currently has 47 chil

dren. The age group is from 18 months to13 years. We have seven children goingto Meher English School as they are inthe higher classes, with 40 of the childrenbeing educated in the Kindergarten andfirst grade—”Divine Grace”—run on thepremises of Pumpkin House. We are theonly trust in the whole ofAhmednagar thatprovides English education to our children,others give Marathi medium education.Singing, music, academics and over all per-sonality development are provided to all thechildren at PH. We mould and shape withan essence oflove and tender care.

Health And Hygiene:As soon as a child is brought to us, we

consult our doctor who is a pediatrician tohave a thorough checkup—especially forAIDS—and a regular follow up done.

The children go for regular vaccinations,and/or any medical advice given by thedoctor. A proper tile with their completemedical status is strictly maintained. Theirhealth is our concern!

Our Home:In its initial stage and with a tight finan

cial situation, we try our best to cut downexpenses wherever possible. PH [India] doesnot have a permanent establishment. We areworking hard to collect funds for the same.However our home at present has made

facilities to extend rooms and halls, fencedfor their security and aiming for a shed onthe terrace soon before summer.

We have still not reached the requiredamount for the purchase ofland. We intendto set up a permanent establishment withboarding, lodging, schooling [formal andinformal] on the premises.

Our StaffI, Mrs Stella Manuel, the Founder

of the PH India, have experience in theeducational field and as a social worker forthe last 25 years, in Ahmednagar throughthe Pune Uulversity I have completed myeducational degrees and post graduate andwork on my research papers. We have threeteachers, my daughter Fiona, two graduatesfrom a high school I taught, Miss Melissa,Miss Mubina and Mrs Mangal Salve. Thefirst three are all volunteers, and Mrs Salveis paid Rs 1800 monthly. [$36!]The DivineGrace school classes are conducted in thenewly built extended hall on the premises.

We have highly qualified members onthe board and a staff of eight membersworking as volunteers. We join handswith other NGO’s, (Non GovernmentalOrganizations) various groups like theWomen’s Welfare group, Rotary club, etc.As consultants we have doctors, lawyers,teachers etc.

Our Partner:Since its inception PH USA has been

legally registered and has 501(C)(3) status,and has helped us with quarterly financialfunds. They are our only source of help.We express our gratitude to them and lookforward to their continued support.

Let’s transform these children’s lives tobe colourftil, nourishing and frilfilling. Go toour website wwwpumpkinhouse.in to viewthe pictures ofour Annual day.

Editori note: this was written before theerroneous notice about the Home not needingsupport due to having received a governmentgrant was sent out to Baba Centers worldwideandpostedprominently at the MPR, causingsuch a backlash StellaJèlt she had to rfuse alldonations. Needless to say, this has causedgreathardship at the Home.

LA 7fr1ucIi Reeded Clarification on the2umpkin 21ouse “Orphanage”

LA J44ea Culpct from the Love Street £ampJLost

4’

Status Report on the ¶1umpkin.7louse forChildren in JndictEJLumpkin21ouse Lt&.A Boctrd of rDirectors

I 2002, a small group of Baba loversbegan meeting in Atlanta with the

vision of creating an orphanage nearMeher Baba’s home in India. After threeyears ofwork, this dream became a realitywhen the group, organized as PumpkinHouse USA, agreed to support an Indianeducator’s plans for a new orphanage nearMeherabad.

The Pumpkin House for ChildrenTrustopened in the village ofVidnyanagar with10 orphaned, homeless and/or abandonedchildren.The orphanage has grown rapidlyand now is the home of 47 children, allunder the age of 12. Each child receivesshelter, food, clothing, medical care, and aneducation, and Pumpkin House respectsthe different faith traditions of all of itsresidents. The children live in the homeof the director, but fund-raising recentlybegan for the purchase ofa three-acre sitefor a new residential facility

The Pumpkin House for ChildrenTrust requires substantial monetary sup-port, and individuals throughout the worldhave responded to these needs with greatgenerosity. Thanks to these donations,Pumpkin House USA has been able toprovide a quarterly stipend to the home’strust and recently contributed a granttowards the purchase of a site for thenew residential facility Other groups inIndia, Australia, Europe and the UnitedStates have also given support to PumpkinHouse.

With its rapid growth, Pumpkin Househas attracted considerable interest in theworldwide Baba community and increasing numbers of pilgrims to Meherabadhave toured the place. Many ofthese visitors have been greatly inspired by the workdone there on behalf of the children, buta number of questions about the projecthave continued to circulate through theBaba community This article is PumpkinHouse USA board’s attempt to shed lighton the project.How Pumpkin House Was Organized

One important concern has been theorganization of the home and its sourcesof support. In 2005, a group of Indian

citizens living in the Ahmednagar areaestablished a public trust to operate thePumpkin House for Children. Mrs.Stella Manuel Pillai, an Indian educatorand social worker, is the trust’s secretaryand the orphanage’s day-to-day director.The trust receives financial support froma variety of sources, but Pumpkin HouseUSA has been one of its main sponsors.Pumpkin House USA is operated by aboard of directors in the State of Georgiaand has gained 501(c)(3) status so that it

can accept tax-deductible donations. Overthe last several years, Pumpkin HouseUSA has provided financial assistanceto several other projects for children inAhmednagar and Pune, but its primarybeneficiary has been the Pumpkin Housefor Children Trust.

One common misconception has beenthat the Pumpkin House orphanage is aproject of the Avatar Meher Baba Per-petual Public Charitable Trust (AMBPPCT). Both Pumpkin House USA andthe Pumpkin House for Children Trustoperate independently ofthe A1VIBPPCTbut the two organizations have strong con-nections with the Meher Baba communityNearly all members ofthe Pumpkin HouseUSA board of directors, past and present,are Meher Baba followers. The inspiration of the orphanage project, stated inthe Pumpkin House USA by-laws, isMeher Baba’s example of selfless serviceto humanity

Mrs. Pillai is not only director ofPumpkin House for Children but alsoprincipal of the Meher English School,which is a project of the AMBPPCT.Her work as director of the children’shome however, is totally separate fromher activities as principal of the MeherEnglish School.

During the initial stages ofthe project,both the Pumpkin House USA board andMrs. Pillai consulted with Bhau Kalchuri,chairman ofthe Avatar Meher Baba Per-petual Trust, about how Pumpkin Houseshould be organized and supported. Bhaugave his blessings to the project but askedthat Pumpkin House USA not issue direct

solicitations for donations from membersof the Baba community Because of theTrust’s pressing needs for financial sup-port, Bhau was concerned about overtax-ing the capacities of supporters with appeals for additional new charitable projectsin Meherabad.

Since that time, Pumpkin House USAhas never issued fund-raising appeals norasked Baba lovers to make donations.The board, however, has disseminatedinformation about the project and acceptedunsolicited gifts given freely from theheart. In addition, Pumpkin House USAhas made a point of encouraging Babalovers worldwide to support the many fineprojects ofthe AMBPPC’T and membersof Pumpkin House USA spearheadedftmndraising in America for the MeherabadAmbulance Project.

The Home’s Need for SupportIn recent months, questions contin

ued to abound about the support beingreceived by the Pumpkin House for Children Trust. In the fall of2008, a letter onthis topic went out to Baba groups aroundthe world written byjanaki, an Americanwoman residing in Meherabad. Her letterstated that Pumpkin House had receiveda grant from the Indian government andwould no longer need financial supportfrom Meher Baba followers. When askedif this report were true, Mrs. Pillai em-phatically responded that her Trust hadnot received such a grant and, in fact, stillhad a great need for continued financialsupport. AMBPPCT board memberMehernath Kalchuri later confirmed thatJanaki’s letter was his idea. This letter, Mr.Kalchuri said, reflected his beliefthat Mrs.Pillai was getting a grant from the Indiangovernment.

The question of Pumpkin House’sneed for support took a startling turn during the fall when Mrs. Pillai announcedthat, after December 2008, she would nolonger accept donations from pilgrims toMeherabad, members ofthe Meher Babacommunity, or Pumpkin House USA.According to Mrs. Pillai, she had beenoverwhelmed with outsiders questioning

42

her motives and methods of operation,and she wanted to avoid these distractions in running Pumpkin House. Shealso reported that Mehernath Kalchurihad asked her to stop taking donationsfrom Pumpkin House USA and frompilgrims visiting Meherabad. Mrs. Pillaisaid that she felt she had no choice butto comply with this request because Mr.Kaichuri supervises her work as principalof the Meher English School. Whenasked about Mrs. Pillai’s claim, MehernathKalchuri stated that Mrs. Pillai had madeher choice unilaterally and without anypressure from him.

He has gone on record stating thatneither he nor the AMBPPCT has any“jurisdiction” regarding B aba followers’support of projects like Pumpkin Houseor any others outside the umbrella of theAMBPPCT

In correspondence with the PumpkinHouse USA board, Bhau Kalchuri expressed the concern that many pilgrimsbelieve the Home is an activity ofthe Trustand that contributions to Pumpkin Houseare, practically speaking, donations to theTrust. Although Pumpkin House USA’sorganizational literature and web site havealways made it abundantly clear that theproject is independent ofthe AMBPPCT,the board offered to send out supplementalinformation to Baba groups around theworld and to post signs in Meherabadreiterating this fact.

Bhau also raised the concern that thePumpkin House work is being portrayedas “seffless service” when it is actually “social service,” in contrast to AMBPPCTprojects that are rooted in service to God.The founders of Pumpkin House USAhave never claimed this project is doing“selfless service” in the strictest definitionof the term, but rather that it is seekingto help orphaned and homeless childrenwith their developmental needs as humanbeings. Nonetheless, in board members’visits with Mrs. Pillai at the Home, herwork with the children has appeared toexemplifr the actions of a person livinga life of seffless service. As Meher Babastates in The Discourses (pg. 13-14): “thereis no hard-and-fast line dividing selfish-ness from sefflessness. Both move in thedomain of duality; and from the ultimatepoint ofview that transcends the oppositesofgood and bad, the distinction betweenselfishness and sefflessness is chiefly oneof range. . .Persistent and continuous per-formance ofgood deeds wears out selfish-

ness...Goodness is the means bywhich thesoul annihilates its own ignorance.”

The situation as it now stands:Despite Pumpkin House USA’s efforts

to resolve this controversy, in earlyJanuary2009 Mrs. Pillai reiterated her decision notto accept contributions from individualsor groups in the Meher Baba community.She intends to keep operating the homefor the children and will seek other sourcesofsupport, hopefbllywith some success! Ina recent note to the Pumpkin House USAboard, she said, “We assure you we will stillstruggle to do our best for the children inour care, to shower our love, care, concernand a dignified standard of service withinour capabilitc Whether one considers mymotives for Pumpkin House are selfless,selfish, social, spiritual, self-directed, self-imposed, self-indulgent, or whatever. . .wewill just continue doing the best we canfor the children in our care.”

Pumpkin House USA has decided toobserve a “cooling off” period for the nextfew months. After this time has passed,the board will determine if there is anychance of resuming financial assistanceto Mrs. Pillai’s home for the children or ifPumpkin House USAwill be forced to redirect its financial support to other worthyprojects addressing the needs oforphaned,homeless or abandoned children.

To keep up with future developments,please contact board members CharlieGard’ner at arangaon@aol.com or MarkHodges at markhodges4427@gmail.com.More information about the project is alsoavailable at the Pumpkin House USA website (www.pumpkinhouse.org) or Mrs.Pillai’s web site(www.pumpkinhouse.in).

Selfless Seroice7.)ersus

Social ServicerDina9ibson

S° what exactly is the difference? Therehas been a lot of talk about it of late,

and frankly, it’s beyond me! In fact, Bhaueven went to far as to insert a ratherpointed remark in his internet chat onFebruary gth In answer to a question onhow to help others, Bhau responded: “Tohelp others, whom should you help?: Thosewho are helpless. Those who are neglectedThose who are very, very sick and have

no help from anyone. Help them. If youdo, that is good. Always remember thatthere is a world of difference betweenseffless service and social service. The helpof social service is just outer help. Selflessservice is service where there is no self Youdon’t do service for any outer thing, andyou have no thought for yourself.

“With social service, people say, ‘I amdoing so many things. I have a school andso many children in the school.’ Yes, thatis social service but not selfless service. Ifyou keep yourselfpresent, how will you doselfless service? It is good that you can doseftess service.”

Maybe I’m being brainless, but whenyou rescue 2 children from a father whois trying to murder them and take theminto your own home to love and care forthem, wouldn’t that qualify as seffless service? [“Those who are helpless.”] And whenyou rescue children who have been foundcrawling around garbage dumps trying tofind something to eat, [“Those who are neglected”] and when you take children whohave been living in a brothel with theirmother and have to live in the very roomwherein she plies her trade, and you get nomoney for taking care of such children, itseems to this feeble brain that that wouldqualify as seffless service!

But you know what? Who cares aboutthe semantics ofthe question?! You are do-inggoodfor others. You are helping others.And you are making these abandoned littlewaifs happy!Didn’t Baba tell us “Real hap-pmess lies in making others happy?”

I freely confess to being spirituallyretarded, but this argument—to me—smacks of the age old question that cannever be answered: ‘How many angels candance on the head of a pin?’

Why would you eschew social serviceand aim only for selfless service unless youwere looking to simply rack up points inheaven?!

Are any of us that crazy? But maybethat’s just me...

of all the forces thatcan best overcome alldifficulties, the greatest isthe force of love, becausethe greatest Law of Godis Love, which holds thekey to all problems.

43

.Some fE:fiTst 2lctnd Experiences in DndictCkarlie9ard’ner, 3ounder 2umpkin 2louse for Children 7rust - Lt&A

(1 )The follow-ing conver

sation takes place atthe Meher Center inMtle Beach.

“Wow I hear thatPumpkin House isreally in bad shape.The kids are so poorthey don’t even haveshoes to wear!”

“Where did youhear this?”

‘A Baba lover visited PH, and wentto town and had tobuy a whole bunchof shoes.”

“Who was she?Thanks for tellingme. I will checkit outimmediately.”

I call the womanliving in WashingtonDC who bought theshoes.

“What’s the deal?” I ask her.“Well I had been hanging out at PH a

lot, and as I was leaving India I asked Stellaifthere was anything I could help out with.She said that WI wanted to I could go intothe Bazaar and buy some spare ffip-flopsfor the kids. She said that they were alwaysbreaking one, or the dog was stealing oneand chewing it, so if they had some spares

on hand it would be useftil.”The woman went into town, bought

about $20.00 worth ofshoes and took themback to Stella.

Stella said...”Let’s put them up in thiscupboard, store them here, and we will getthem down as we need them.”

(This is what she does with a lot of hersupplies. She knows what she will needahead of time. When people want to helpout she tells them what she needs, or antici

pates needing,receives thegoods, andstores them ina cupboard andbrings themdown as sheneeds them.)

(2) The following con-versation takesplace at theMeher PilgrimCenter Meherabad, February2008

“You knowPH is not reallyan orphanage.

People bring theirkids there and payStella to boardthem.”

“Really? OK,Let me check thisout. Thanks fortelling me this.”

I go down toPH. Talk to Stella.

“Is it true thatyou are takingin kids that aredropped off bytheir parents?”

“Yes.” She responded.

“OK, What’sthe deal? Peopleare talking up atthe MPR.”

Stella pointsto a scruffy little rascal picking his nose,

“See that little boy over there?” she asks.“His mother came by about a month ago

and asked if we could look after him. Sheworks in one ofthe brothels in ‘Nagar, and theboy, her son, lives with her in the room wheresheworks. She knowsit is notgood for him tolive in that environment, so she brought himhere. We took him in and his mother visitshim every few weeks for a few minutes. Heis not the only one who has moved in fromthe brothels. There have been others.”

So! The rumors are true! Stella is takingin kids who are not orphans!

(3) Kids who are not orphans.I know ofat least two kids who are defi

nitely not orphans. They are a brother/sisterteam, probably five and seven now. Motherdead, father an alcoholic. Father gets drunkone (?) night, decides he doesn’t want thekids, and hangs them with rope from therafters of his hut. Neighbors hear themscreaming. Come in. Cut them down, andtake them to PH.

Yes it is true. Some of the kids are notorphans.. they have a parent--who tries tokill them! They are not orphans! Anyway,you get the drift. This is not Social Servicesin Beverly Hills. This is another planet weare dealing with!

The little ones in the Divine Grace school are soproud oftheir new unjforms!

Vianny (Stellac son-in-law) leads the happy children in a sing along

44

‘TheJ11/lirctculous Life and DecttIiof r:DannLI J4’kJUiTC, ¶:&trt 2

34f J4laguire, Los .Angeles

I the last issue of the LampPost,I promised to write more about

Danny’s journey in this issue. Iplanned to construct an article fromthe many emails I’d sent out fromJuly 17, 2005, when Danny was hitby a drunk driver, until May 18,2008, when he passed on. But thetask overwhelmed me. It was notonly the emotional strain of writingabout Danny’s ordeal and our loss, itwas that there is so much to tell: thethree years of emails came to over800 pages! When the LampPost’seditor recently asked for the nextinstallment, I assured her that I hadnot forgotten her - I was just tryingto avoid her.

To ease my strain I proposedthat I simply cull passages from theupdates and tie them together withnotes to tell Danny’s story over thenext several issues of the LampPost.Dma graciously agreed to allot methe space, and so here we are.

The emails started as brief up-dates to keep a small circle of familyand friends informed, but soon theywere shared all over the world. Themailing lists, maintained by my momand Mitchell Rose, expanded monthby month, until thousands ofpeople werereading of how Danny confounded themedical experts, transcended physicalsuffering and profoundly changed a greatmany lives, especially ours.

Because the updates went out toBaba Lovers, Christians, Muslims, Jews,Hindus, Zoroastrians, Native Americans,Bahá’Is and non-believers alike, I often referred to “God” or “The Almighty” when Iwas thinking “Meher Baba”. Ramakrishnaonce said, “God reveals Himself in theform the devotee loves most,” and we weregrateftil that Dannywas receiving so manyprayers no matter the name the supplicantsused for their Beloved. However, Baba’sname and His quotes were constantly in-yoked and many people came to know andlove the Beloved through the emails.

In the last issue, I described how Danny

underwent surgery and was comatosein the Intensive Care Unit. Thirty-sixhours after the accident, a neurosurgeonpointed to a series of CT scans and toldus that Danny would never open his eyesor communicate with us again. Momentslater, our family gathered in a small roomnear the ICU. I told the others that wehad to choose whether we would “hope”for a miracle or “expect” one. For me, hopewasn’t enough. Ifwe weren’t united in thebelief that Baba would return Danny tous, then I didn’t think I had the strengthto fend off the doctors who urged us totake him off life support. Unanimously,we decided to expect a miracle. We heldhands and said Baba’s three prayers. Fromthat moment, I felt lighter: we had offeredour burden to Beloved Baba and He hadlovingly accepted.

In the three years that followed, I had

to consciously surrender that burdento the Beloved a thousand times aday. When I forgot to give it to Him,and tried to take too much of it onmyself, heartache and anxiety wereinevitable.

The day after we gathered to pray,Danny started to breathe slightly onhis own and we had reason for hope.The day after that, I wrote to ourfriends and family:

July 20, 2005I awoke very early after a fitful

sleep, feeling anxious, and came into find over a hundred messages onmy computer, all sending love andprayers. I am so grateful to everyone of you for writing. I really feelBeloved God’s caress in every message. You have helped us cross thebridge: we have stopped listening tonay-saying doctors and now only payattention to the optimistic ones. Wenow speak of Danny with joy, notsorrow; and we speak to him withlove, not fear.

As you all know, we’re expectinga miracle, but yesterday we foundout we’ve already witnessed one:despite being run over by an SUVnot a single bone in Danny’s body

was broken. Except for some stitchesover his left eye, his face is unbroken andunblemished. Amazing.

July 21, 2005Today, the neurosurgeon who had sug

gested we donate Danny’s organs cameto his bedside, lifted Danny’s eyelids andshined a light into his pupils. He wassurprised to observe a slight reaction. Insilence, the doctor studied Danny’s chartwhile we anxiously awaited his pronounce-ment. Then he muttered, “This kid’s got achance.” I’ve never heard sweeter words.

Whether you find God in Meher Baba,Jesus, Allah, Krishna, Buddha, Ram, Zoroaster, a tall tree or a warm ocean breeze,may He bless us all.

Ten days after the accident, Dannyopened his eyes. The doctors were stunned.We’d been expecting it.

køMm&ca

Thephoto was taken in Decembei 2003 at the ToyotaTraining Center in El Segundo (the rink where the L.A.

Kings train). Danny andlplayedtogether on a team calledKAOS when he was home on vacationfrom C. U BouldeiDanny was the bestplayer on the team so whenever he was

in town, the otherguys asked me to bring him.

45

I-

I’ll continue the story in the next issuebut wanted to include here the most recentemail which I wrote this past ChristmasEve, a little more than seven months afterDanny passed:

December 24, 2008Dear friends and family,We’re enjoying a bittersweet holiday

season, our first without Danny. We oftenshed tears at unexpected times and places,as when I heard “Have YourselfA MerryLittle Christmas” in the produce section ofthe supermarket the other day. Thankfully,we’re still receiving vast amounts of lovefrom family and friends.

Initially, we decided not to get a tree ordeck the house in the old, familiar ways,feeling that each ornament or mantledressing would be too reminiscent ofDanny spreading seasonal cheer to oneand all with his music and humor. But ourreluctance slowly diminished: Lynn wentout and got a small tree which she andKatie trimmed. And one-by-one the boxescame in from the garage and decorationsfound their way to the usual places.

We also planned to forego our traditional trip the day after Christmas toNew Hampshire, where we have a housealongside my mother’s place on a frozenpond in idyllic woods. The first day ofeverywinter trip was spent shoveling snowand grooming a most excellent hockeyrink. Each year, we’d drag a pair of smallhockey goals out of the basement andspend days and nights on the ice. We’d play

marathon hockey games with local friendsor with whatever family members we couldpersuade to come out in the cold. But moreoften we played one-on-one, Danny andme, for hours and hours. Long after dark,we’d be out there using a clear plasticpuck illuminated by a tiny glow-stick. Ina good year, we’d enjoy moonlight as well.on more than one New Year’s Eve Lynnhad to call us in at midnight for the familycelebration. It was the best.

So I figured it’d be too hard to gaze outon the pond this year, especially when thesun is going down and the cold wind risesin the shadows. But then we got word thatmy sisters and brother and all their kidswill be up there with my mom, and Lynndecided she reallywanted to go. So we gottickets. And now Andy and Tricia havedecided to come along too. And we’ll allexcited about going.

And the best news ofall is that we onlyhave to make it through this one difficultChristmas, because at this time next yearwe’re going to be busy with TWO babiesunderfoot: when Lynn and I returned froma perfect trip to India in November, wewere ecstatic to learn that Tricia and Andyare expecting twins. As I’ve told manyfriends, I can’t help but think Danny had ahand in arranging for two babies to come:had there been only one, Tricia and Andymight have kept to themselves, but withtwo they’re going to need help, plenty ofhelp, from all the grandparents. And in thewake ofDanny’s passing, we’ve got plenty

of time and love to lavish on them. WithLynn being an identical twin, Andy andTricia have a veteran on their team. (Wehave since learned that the twins will beidentical girls.)

Loved ones pass and our hearts sink.New souls to love appear and our heartsare picked up again. Danny taught us thatour time in the material world is temporaryand often painful but can be transcendedwith love, faith and good cheer.

When Danny was in second grade, hecame home from school confused becauseIan Cogshall had told him there’s no suchthing as Santa Claus. He asked me ifit wastrue. I thought for a moment and replied,“Well Danny, all I know is that the kidswho believe in Santa gets gifts from him;and the ones who don’t believe in himdon’t.” Danny considered this, nodded andwent out to play. We never discussed theexistence of Santa again, from that day tothe day he passed, and everyyear until thisone there have been gifts beneath the treemarked, “To Danny. Love, Santa.”

It may sound sappy but, for reasonsI don’t claim to understand, faith worksmuch the same way: those who have it

receive comfort and strength; those whodon’t have it, don’t. In May ofthis year, Ilost what was most precious to me in allthe world, and I’m still able to smile andlove my family and friends. For that, Ifeel blessed and grateful every day. Thankyou.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, abelated Eid Mubarak, and here’s hopingwe all enjoy a happy, healthy 2009.

Love, JeffAlluding to the “Unity” tattoo on

Danny’s lower back, Lynn added:Merry Christmas! With Love, and

UNITY LynnOur holidays and the trip back east

were full of light and love. Yes, we feltDanny’s absence, but we felt his sweetpresence much more profoundly. If weremember to give Baba the opportunityHe will amaze us every day.

[To be continued in next issue]

, ,

v:;:c $fh

;*

. ; t:

Danny on the ice in New Hampshire

—_yc__.•A, :.. .

I —‘V

f3 •.

i<*tt

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46

After our readers had digested page76—the poetry page—from our last issue, Ireceived many comments and exclamations ofshock, love, support and outright awe ofhowFiona andMirek are handling whatBaba isdishing out — or shouldl say blessing’ themwith. But alas, it is not overyet — Baba hascome up with more ways to wze out Fionassanskaras in onefell swoop, (at least it seemsthat way to me, in my ignorance ofHis work-ings.,) I recently received an emailfrom herwith the latest medical diagnosis:

(( had scans last Tuesday [in February]&then met with a team ofthree doc

tors - Oncologist, Head &Neck Specialist& Dental Surgeon. I then had to go to aclinic where the dental surgeon took fivemore biopsies under local anesthetic...OUCH! I ended up having lOjabs, sevenstraight into the cavity, because the firstfour didn’t work. But it might have helpedif he’d waited longer than three minutesfor the anesthetic to take effect! He tooka large chunk out ofthe top ofmy mouth,three out ofthe cavity &a ratherlarge pieceofbone. What a fiasco! The plastic surgeonwouldn’t even contemplate doing one biopsy with me awake, let alone five! Needlessto say, I felt pretty traumatised afterwards.I have to return next Tuesday for anothermeeting - results of biopsies & detailsof proposed surgery. The dental surgeon

rDina9ibson

won’t be there - a prior engagement thankgoodness, but I’m hoping the plasticsurgeon will. I’d like to hear his opinionabout the new team of doctors, becauseat the moment, I’m not feeling muchconfidence in them. The three of themstood at the other side ofthe room whenthey spoke to me, looking absolutely terrifled. My last surgeon, Mr Ganley, satso close his knees were touching mine...what a difference! So we’ll see how itgoes next week, just hope they’re morerelaxed and inspire a bit more confidence.The up shot is - they want to remove thetop of my mouth & some teeth & I’llprobably lose the rest ofmy nose. The finerdetails will be revealed at the next meeting.That will be followed up by a fewweeks ofradiotherapy. They confirmed that it wasmissed in last surgery. A large area can beremoved from inside the body to get a clearmargin on cancer, but it’s a lot more trickyto do that with the face, because there’snot so much there to start with, so thereis a higher instance of it recurring. Theyreckon the radiotherapy should take careof rogue cells this time.”

Then This Is Your Wish(for dearest Fiona]

Being theAvatar-Christ andAllKnowing, Baba,

You must have known all along that thiswould happen.

But we only heard the throat-cutting newsyesterday -

That my wfèc cancer had returned and hadagain made itc home

In the livingflesh and bone thatforms herface.

For all we know, Baba, perhaps the cancerHad never completely and all-together left

lastyeaiWhen my wjft, Fiona, had a third ofher

face removed...For all we know, it may havefallen in love

with her beautyAnd stayedput -just burrowed down

deepeiLike a child happilyplaying at hide and

seek

But itc not hiding now, Baba. ..!

So therec more talk ofsurgery and removingEven more ofFionas lovelyface...

And things I don want to talk about here.But how muchface can be removed, Baba?

What is clear and certain, Baba, is thatWhatever must happen - will

Whatever we must live through - we willFor I know that the Grace ofYour Most

Living LoveWillfurnish us with whatever we need,

Baba...Because there is only the One Will and

PurposeActivating andguiding everyparticle of

LjfrThat ofGodc Desire to realise and know

Himsef

The rest is nothing more but apassingdream ofchanging shadows -

Illusory silhouettes created by Time andSpace

Locked together in an eternally turningwheel.

Even so, itc all becoming tofeel too muchBaba!

Andyet, itc only that very oo much’That can take us beyond our limited-se(fSo that the Real can manjfèst within us.

Dearest Baba, what can I say..?Ifthis be Your Wish, then this is Your Wish!

Butjustpromise me one thing, Baba, Ibegyou.

When Fiona has no morefacefor Your Wishto remove,

Promise me, Baba, you’ll replace herfacewith Your Own!

MirekFebruary 2009

As I sat here thinking what in God’sname can I say to my friend in response to this new information, some-thing Mani told me popped into myhead. I wonder Who put that there...so I told Fiona this story from Mani:Dhun Satha, a sister ofRoshan Kerawallaand close friend ofBaba and the Mandalihad muscular dystrophy &towards the endofher (short) life, when the women Man-

on Suffering and its... 21entØLc (?O

Fiona &Mirek, Meherazad2007

47

dali were feeding her & she was drooling& finding it hard to keep the food in hermouth so crippled up was she, Meheraturned to Baba and was about to ask Himto cure her when He put up His handand said “Don’t ask me this. I cant, I loveher too much! If I were to take her to menow, she would have to come back nextlifetime and begin the suffering all overagain. This way, it is over & done with inone life time & the sanskaras are erased.”I went to LordMeher.org to see ifl couldfind that story but it is not there, so it musthave just been a story from Mani, given,no doubt, so that many years later I couldrepeat it to you & in some way make youfeel better about the horrors you are goingthrough. It is all His love, and He lovesyou so much!

Lc.

‘N4r:Dhun &ttlut’s2cttient

SufferingLord 7frIeher 7}ol i6 page 5570

Duringthis period,Dhun Sathacame forBaba’s darshan from Bindra House. Beinga cripple, she was carried in a chair by theirservant, named Kesar. Baba commentedto her, “Seeing your plight, I feel I shouldheal you, but it is good for you to sufferand have patience until I break my silence.”Dhun said, “I did not come to you forthis purpose to make you suffer. I donot wish that you should be troubledon my account. I want only your love.This body has to go one day anyway.”Baba expressed how pleased he was byher reply.

Experiences The SoulJ44ust9o 7hrough

7Vkni S. Drani

Your point about cancer and illness in-terested me, it is ofcourse the old point ofourlack ofunderstanding that the enlightened ones have. We always see it from thematerial point of view, and they (experiencing creation as illusion) must act for thespiritual good. It’s far from the Divine Planto have no illness ofthe body, after all it isone ofthe main mediums of experiencingpain which is the opposite of pleasure.Duality (however illusory) expresses itselfin dual experiences, and misery is as muchin the Divine Plan as is so-called happi

ness. They are both experiences the soulmust go through some time or another.Another way I look at it is this: even withall the misery there is, it is so difficult to‘turn away’ from the world, well-nigh impossible to be disgusted sufficiently to turnto God alone. Just imagine if everythingwere fine and serene, no illness, no misery,we’d stick to our ignorance like leaches, andsuch a stagnant way would hardly serve thedevelopment of the ever-awakening soul!I remember someone remarking, “Why ifthere are spiritual masters in India don’tthey do something about the backwardnessand disease ofthe country?”Just as thoughtheywere a crowd ofmissionaries, or a so-ciety for the prevention ofdisease and dirt!I replied that although they did a sweepingjob it was not on germs, but on our ignorance, and even if they do not completely

wipe it out, atleast theyjolt us enough fromour self-satiated complacency ofacceptingour illusory existence as the only and all.Letters From The Mandali, ed. Jim Mistry,

p. 37 1981 © AMBPPCTAnd from the Master Himself

On April 2nd [1930, in Nasik], some ofthe mandali complained to Baba, “Stayingwith you is nothing but harassment. Life isso full ofhardships now. There is no otherthought in our minds and hearts exceptdeath. We look happy to others; we eatand drink with everyone who comes, butwho sees the dagger piercing our hearts?”In reply, Meher Baba explained, consoling them:

“It is my grace. This is my real mercywhich descends on a very, very select few.These are my friends. They are my loversto whom I give the gift ofsorrow and distress. It is a gift much greater than gold—ofincalculable value—and not given to all.This gift is only for my beloved children.We Masters can grant a world ofgold, ofhappiness and prosperity to others by ourblessings, but this rare and great gift ofprivations, troubles and suffering is des-tined for only a few. So, dont be anxious.Remember that I love most those whosehearts I pierce and who, though theirhearts are wounded, staywith me and stickto me through thick and thin. Were I touse my dagger on outsiders, they wouldnot dare approach me. I keep them happywith praise and encouragement so thatthey may be in my contact and graduallybe fit to bow down to me in the real senseofthe word. For my friends - I kill themand it is myhighest mercy on them. Whatis my mercy? What is my grace? It is yourtrouble and harassment.

LordMeher, Vol. IV, pp. 1294-95 © AIVIBPPCT

Fiona — take heart. You are a friend ofthe Avatar!

The Latest from FionaMarch 3yh I received another emailfrom

Fiona telling me what she has just passedthrough. Baba is truly supporting her as Heputs her through the most horrendous oftn-a/s. What an amazing woman, she comes upwith herfaith and/oveforHim even strongerthan before. Afterdying on the operating tab/eshe te//s me shefee/s /ike she has been reborn— in His /ove. A new /ft, and eventually — anewface. What can I say? I am in awe ofthis woman!

© Win Coates

48

I’m home for a few days before returning for my next operation on Thursday, 2nd April. . .had three operations already during atwo and a halfweek stay in hospital.

The first didn’t go so well...Lasted over fifteen hours & complications. Sudden loss ofblood pressure - my heart stopped. Theyhad to pump various drugs into my body to keep me alive, which in turn affected [reduced] blood flow. Bone, muscle & a blood yes-sel had been taken from my hip & transplanted into my mouth where my top jaw used to be. [Top jaw had been removed in sameoperation. What was left ofmy nose was also removed]. But with the lack ofblood flow to feed the reconstructedjaw it failed &hadto be removed in another eight-hour operation and replaced with a sponge dressing, skin graft inside mouth, and titanium implants,a denture plate basically. Skin graft applied to face in third operation. I have a lovely collection of scars, including a rather huge oneacross my left hip & neck - talk about bride of Frankenstein! Skin grafts were taken from my legs, one from each thigh.

I was in intensive care for a week. It was touch and go, so thank God Mirek was allowed to stay in ICU with me. I wouldn’t havemade it through without him. In a constant sea of hallucinations, Mirek’s face was all that remained lucid for me. . the power ofTrue & Real Love. One can’t pretend in a scenario such as this and Mirek really does love me so much. With so many lines & tubescoming out of me and too critical to move, I lay flat on my back staring at the ceiling. Every minute seemed like an hour. I had atracheostomy in my throat to breathe through - dreadful thing! - so I couldn’t talk, drink or eat. It was left in for two weeks. I had& still have a stomach peg - a tube directly into the stomach through which I feed. Although the tracheostomy has been removednow, the hole in my throat hasn’t been sewn up yet. There’s a dressing over it, and so that, along with my mouth being very swollen,means talking remains difficult. I can drink with a child’s beaker, but continue to feed & take meds via the stomach peg. . . ‘bolusing’as it’s called.

So all in all it’s been one hell of a nightmare! Going to take a while to recover from this one, dear Dma. I have a very differentand still changing face, but am able to look in the mirror without having a nervous breakdown every time! I intuitively knew I haddied in the first operation. [It was only some ten days later that the surgeons told me what had happened]. Despite everything, mywhole being felt utter gratitude and love for Baba, for what I knew He had done. I had repeated Baba’s Name whilst being put tosleep before each operation and had seen Him as The Surgeon, as indeed He is.

I will never be the same again - a truly life changing experience to the very core of my being. We really do have to die to ourselvesto be awoken to Love and God. Funnily enough, I do actually feel like a new born baby, which is no doubt enhanced by being unable to eat, talk or walk very well. Inwardly there is a blank screen - a definite sense of a new life. My treatment is ongoing of course,a few more operations to go, a course of radiotherapy. I’ll be in & out of hospital over the coming year. There are a lot of surgeonsinvolved, simply because it’s a very rare form ofcancer - everyone wants a look in! So please bear with me ifyou don’t hear from mefor a while. One thing about dying - it makes you a lot more easy going about life!

Her emailfollows:Thken in MeherabadMay 15 1936 © Reiter

49

Baba chose to take ourfriendand memberofthe LosAngeles Baba Center to Him withtwo massive strokes on Friday the 6”. Weknew Kennedy hadbeen aproJèssionalbasket-ballplayei but I had not realized the extentofhisfame. Do an Internet search andyouwillfind all sorts ofinformation about him.Followinga Lakersgame on nationalTVtheannouncergave news ofhispassing! Then afew days later a CBS radio station was talk-ing about him, his still standing record, andhispassing. Here are some ofthe statisticsofhis professional ljfè, followed by hearz’ftlttributesfrom some ofhisfriends.

ennedy McIntosh (born in Detroit,ichigan) was a professional bas

ketball player from 1971-1975. Thoughborn in Detroit, McIntosh attended highschool on Michigan’s western half playingbasketball at South Haven High School inSouth Haven. McIntosh went to collegeat Eastern Michigan University before be-ing drafted in the first round (15th pick)in 1971 by the Chicago Bulls. McIntoshplayed with the Bulls in the 1971-72 sea-son and then, early in the 1972-73 seasonwent to the Seattle SuperSonics for whomhe played 56 games that season. McIntoshstayed with the SuperSonics for the following two seasons, leaving the NBA dueto injuries in 1975. He is survived by hisdaughter Kourtney, son Kevin, daughterKai.

Fred and Gigi Stankus, Los AngelesWhile living on Long Island NewYork

in the 70’s I heard about an NBA playerwho is a Baba-Lover! Being a fan of allsports—both college and pro—I was surprised and happy to hear the news! I nevermet this person until the late 80’s in LosAngeles, when the former Chicago Bullsand Seattle Supersonic NBA player at-tended a Friday night Baba meeting at ourL A Center on little Santa Monica Blvd.This tall, blue-eyed regal looking mancame into the meeting room and I was impressed with his soft and quiet nature andhis impeccable dress, and I was thrilled tocome over and introduce myselfand shakehis hand and then embrace him!

That’s how I met Kennedy McIntoshfor the first time, and over the next 20 orso years Fve had the privilege of getting

1?ctssinqs2<ennedy J4/lc’bntosh

3anuary 21, 1949 - 7[1arch 6 2009

to know him. Kennedy attended the LordMeher reading nights in the mid 90’s andthen in 1999,just before the end ofthe yearwe traveled together to India. That was amemorable trip. We took a Singapore Air-lines B747 and got exit door seating, sincewe both are tall gents, Kennedy 6’7” and I,6’5”. Besides being dressed to perfection,Kennedy wore a glow in the dark greencompass around his neck, which becamea conversation piece for the flight attendants. Kennedy told them that he wantedto understand how a compass works sothe head steward relayed this to the pilotand lo and behold we were invited to comeup and enter the cockpit and get a directorientation on how the electromagnets ofthe aircraft can adjust for the magneticfield that stabilizes the electronic compassofthe aircraft. We spent about 20 minutes

in the cockpit ofthis jumbo jet (definitelypre 9/1 1) and it was amazing!

When we arrived in India we took ahired car to Meherabad and Kennedy hadthe opportunity of going up the hill toBaba’s Samadhi! It was wonderful to seehim in India where he enjoyed so muchhe stayed past his departure date. Reasonfor that is—he met and married a Babalover! It was one ofthose amazing Baba in-stigated happenings. Those two obviouslyhad karma they continued to work on froma previous lifetime. What better place todo that than at Meherabad?! He was up onthe Hill at Baba’sTomb for the MillenniumCelebration on 31 Dec 1999 at midnight.When hearing of Kennedy’s passing, Iwas both sad for the loss, but happy forhim for he is now free to be with BelovedBaba, and not have to bear the strife ofthe physical suffering as a result from thesecond stroke! (He had had one a few yearsago that took a long recovery period.) Thistime it was two massive strokes that tookhim out. Happily, his familywas with himin the hospital.

I went on the Internet and did a searchfor Kennedy McIntosh and was amazedat what I found: he is the all time leadingscorer in Eastern Michigan University’sbasketball program, even topping greatNBA stars like Earl Boykins, and thenhe was a first round selection in the 1971NBA Pro draft by the Chicago Bulls, andyou know who was also a first round pickin the eighties—Michael Jordan!

In January 2006 I recall Kennedysaying to me “I’ve got to fly back toEastern Michigan University for a special ceremony for me. They are retiringmy college uniform number and it willhang on the wall of their sports arena.”

[L—±r ‘LA’c’lllZL’dy at the ceremony to retin his jersey

so

Kennedy was very private about his formercareer as a professional basketball player,and lived a quiet and modest life in LosAngeles. He was quite the scholar on GodSpeaks, and would relish a lively discus-sion about the various topics in the book,and also would love to discuss the InnerCircles ofthe Avatar, which Baba gave toRano Galey to produce on a huge 12 feetx 14 feet canvas that hangs in the his-toric museum at Upper Meherabad, India.We will remember Kennedy as a giant ofa man, with a heart as soft as fleece and asmile and laughter that would lighten upyour day! Kennedy was 60 years old andwill be very much missed by his friends atMeherabode and around the country.

And from Gary Kleiner, Meherabad:I remember meeting Kennedy McIn

tosh in the mid 1970’s when he returnedto Chicago after a career ending injury inSeattle. Kennedywas only around 25 yearsold when his professional basketball dayscame to an end.

It was “cool” to have a former NBAplayer to hang outwith and have him cometo our Baba meetings. He would sharestories about the “glory days” of beingan NBA player. He would tell us tidbitsabout how the fans would treat them likedemigods. And how the ladies loved to beassociated with the players.

Well, Kennedy’s career came to an endright before the NBA players were to startmaking the reallybig bucks. So, after sometime being out of the limelight, Kennedyran out of money and ran out of adoringfans. But he did not run out ofBaba, andhe did not run out on Baba. Even thoughthe circumstances in his life became extremely difficult he always accepted thatit was Baba who was charting his course

for him.Once, in those lean years, Kennedy

asked me if I could give him some helpso that he could get something to eat. Hesmiled at me and said, “What a game ourBaba plays. He put me on a stage whereI lived a life as though I was a royal andthen He turned me into a pauper, all in thesame life. I am neither a royal or a pauper, Iam just a Baba Lover who is trying to loveBaba more, in order to find out who I reallyam.” We salute you Kennedy for the waythat you played the hand that Baba dealt toyou. Happy Trails. Until we meet again.

Prasava NassifMike Leaver was Kennedy’s Baba

contact. In 1971, Mike Leaver had sentan envelope via snail-mail to Kennedy thatcontained 2 tickets for them to attend abasketball game together and a sheet ofpaper that had printed on it “The Game”by Meher Baba. Kennedyloved the quoteso much that he asked Mike, “Who isMeher Baba?”

The quote is from The Discourses, and it

remained Kennedy’s favorite Baba quote.“The Game” by Meher BabaTo penetrate into the essence ofall being

andsignjflcance andto release thefragranceofthatinnerattainmentfortheguidance andbenefitofothers, by expressing, in the worldofforms, truth, love,purity andbeauty—this isthe solegame which has intrinsic andabsoluteworth. All other happenings, incidents andattainments in themselves can have no last-ing importance.

Mike Leaver had kept a box of “Ken-nedy memorabilia”. Shortly before Mikepassed, he’d mailed that box to Kennedy.It was amazing, all old newspaper clippingsand the Kennedy McIntosh collectingcard. I was so happy to see it all. Mike

loved Kennedy so much, and was a greatfriend to him until the end. Kennedy andMike are probably playing The Gametogether now.

Kennedy spent his whole life trying tounderstand The Game.

Another story Kennedy told me tookplace in his childhood when he wasaround five. He was playing marbles andstruggling with the game. His childhoodplaymates would always beat him at it andhe wanted to get better. One day whenhe was alone, thinking how he wanted tomaster marbles, a man appeared to him ina white sadra. The Kind Friend showedhim exactly how to play—He was a Master!—the marbles shot with such precisionand power! Kennedy was amazed andimpressed. After the visit from the Friend,Kennedy never lost at marbles again. Buthis playmates noticed he had a strangetechnique, using the middle finger toshoot the marble instead of the standardAmerican method of using the thumb orindex finger.

After Kennedy became a Baba-lover,he saw a photo of Baba in the sadra andhe realized who the Friend was who hadvisited him in his childhood.

Then, during Kennedy’s first visit toMeherazad, in late 1999, Kennedy arranged some time with Eruch, in order totell him the marble storywhich he enjoyedimmensely. Then Eruch demonstratedphysicallywith his hands, how Baba wouldshoot the marble. Eruch was using hismiddle finger! It was exactly as Baba hadshown Kennedy.

r

1’-II1

Kennedy with Babac twin nephews Rustom & Sohrab Irani Katie Irani, Prasava & Kennedy, Meherazad

SI

M father was the second of four children. His siblings are myUncle Aaron

and Aunts Cheryl and Ruth. Dad moved toSouth Haven Michigan when he was in elementary school. My mother was raised in anearby town and my parents met when theywere both high school fteshman.Theybegandating their sophomore year and mom gotpregnant with me the summer before theirsenior year. It was quite the scandal back in1967. I was born in May right before theygraduated from high school. Dad went offto Eastern Michigan Universitywhile Momraised me with her parents on the westernside ofthe state. My half-brother Kevin wasalso born a year later. My dad’s senior year

at Eastern, my parents got married—I wasthree years old. As a child I was a chatterbox,especially at mealtime as I had a captive audience. Dad ate pretty much in silence, butwhen my talking became too much, he’d lookup from his plate with those steely blue eyesand utter one word, “Eat.” I’d pipe down foras long as I could manage and then start upagain. After a few minutes, Dadwould lookup and say only, “Eat.” And that was prettymuch how mealtime went until I was thelast one at the table with no one left to talkto! Dad got drafted by the Bulls, we moved

to Chicago andMom was soonpregnant withmy sister Kai. Iwas five years oldand my cousinsof the same agevisited our home.Being kids, wedecided to breaka major rule andjump on my bed.We all frozemid-air whenDad appeared inthe doorway. Hesaid nothing, butgently grabbedmy cousin Curtisby the wrist and in complete rhythm withthe illegal bounce, swung Curtis through theair swatted his behind and sofflyplaced himon the floor. My cousin Stephanie receivedher swat in the same mild manner. I was last,but received TWO swats. “Why did I gettwo?” I said with a frown. “Because you’remine” Dad replied.

The death ofboth ofmy father’s parentshappened during his rookie year in theNBA—Dad was only 22 years old. My par-ents’marriage failed andMom took my sisterand I back to Michigan right before Dadgot traded to the Supersonics. I was blessedto have a mother who was smart and lovingand she raised me to see only the best ofmyfather. She spokeof his strengthsand taught methat he had tofind his own wayand for me notto be attachedif he didn’t keeppromises to seeus or send moneyor whatever. Mymother filled ourlives withjoy andDad’s occasionalappearances werecause for celebration.

One day, Iwas sitting onthe floor huddled

with my second grade classmates, enjoyingstory time with our teacher. Then someonein the back let out a blood-curdling scream.The entire class turned to the door curious tosee what terrified our classmate. At the verytop of the long, narrow elementary schooldoor windo were two piercing blue eyessearching the cluster of pint-sized people,looking for the one that belonged to him.“Oh, that’sjust myDad”I happily exclaimedwith absolutely no sensitivityfor the poor girlwhose father was obviously not 6’7”.

When I was 14, my mother remarriedand we moved to Texas. Dad had the uncanny ability to call to check on us whenevermy stepfather was out oftown. Mom and I

2<ennedy J44cDntosI’trKourtne1Jli4cDntosh S&tterltagen, Los /lngeles

F ‘ :;— ‘

4 1’Ke/zized)’, KourinLy a’ the kids re/ax at home

Kennedy at Eastern Michigan University

1

With Big Papa at the Santa Monica Pier

52

reallygot a kick out ofthat. Dad has spokenofMeher Baba for as long as I can remember.The summer before my senior year of highschool, I spent six glorious weeks with himin Los Angeles. It was an amazing adventure. One week during this visit, money gotlean three days before Dad’s next pay day.The pantrywas almost empt andwhile hemanaged to provide my three daily meals,Daddy fasted until payday arrived, refusing my offers to share even one bite. For aslong as I remember, I’ve been teased aboutmy very unfeminine walk Mymother always said, “You walkjust like your father.” That samesummer, Dad and I were enter-ing an office building with hugeglass doors. We spotted ourreflections, completely in step,with our lower legs kicking outto the side. We stopped, lookedat each other and laughed likecrazy--both understanding inthat instant how amazing DNAis. Dad made a point to takeme to the Baba center in SantaMonica. Our conversationsover that summer planted theseeds that would later lead meto study Eastern philosophy.Over the years, Dad maintainedrelationships with all ofhis children and hisGodson, Sean Higgins, who Dad taught toplay basketball when Sean was 12 years old.Sean went on to play 7 years in the NBA;he gives Dad fill credit for his work ethicand success. We are all close to him in a veryuntraditional way. Dad could give a majorlife lesson during one phone call. Duringmy LA summer he told me, “Kourtney, aman doesnt want a woman who needs him;he wants a woman that wants him.” That

statement instilledin me the desire tobe a complete per-son, with or with-out a relationship.Many people areastonished that Dadand I were so closebecause during myearly years he wasn’tanywhere near aconsistent presencein mylife.When my

Imother remarried,seven years passedwithout me layingeyes on him. Butwhen I became an

adult, Dad and I dealt with our karma di-rectly. Once we were so mad at each other,wedidn’t speak for two years. I found out laterthat he called my mom constantly duringthat time to check up on me. He used toalways tell mymother,”Kailooks like me andthinks like you. Kourtneylooks like you andthinks like me.”In 1996 my study ofEastemphilosophy began. I moved to the Himalayan Institute, an ashram in Pennsylvania inAugust of 1999, met my future husband,Luke Ketterhagen, and inJanuary200l was

With Mangala

married in Allahabad on the banks of theGanges. Our children, Prakash and Man-gala, called Dad “Big Papa” as he refused tobe called “Grandpa”. After Dad’s first strokein May 2007, he came to live with us at theHimalayan Institute, where he was under thecare ofa western-trained ayurvedic physicianand several natural health practitioners. Hestayed at HI for five months and healed.He returned to LA in February of2008 andmy husband and I moved our family to Los

Angeles two months later. I am grateftil forthat 11 months I had with him in the samecit and feel extraordinarily blessed to havebeen alone with him when he passed. I lita candle and chanted the Gayatri mantra.In that moment that matters most, he wasvery much at peace. My sister Kai has twochildren, Kiana and Zach, and my brotherKevin has a daughter Kadeisha. All of hischildren and grandchildren were present athis memorial service. He wasn’t a traditionalfather, but he was the perfect father for me.

LAlan Connie.lfr4jrtlc 73each

I met KennedyMclntosh in Cambridge,Massachusetts in the winter of 1974. Hewas in town as a member of the SeattleSupersonics who were playing the BostonCeltics on Friday night. When I went toour Thursday night meeting at HarvardDivinity School, Charles Haynes told methat he had gotten a call from Kennedy andthat he was coming to the meeting. We hadaverypleasantvisitwith him that night andhe enjoyed the meeting and being with allofus immensely.

The next night Ward Parks and I wentto the Boston Garden to watchKennedy and his team againstthe Celtics. The Celtics beatthe Supersonics, butWard and Iwere impressed with Kennedy’sspirit and team awareness onthe bench. He was cheeringand supporting his teammatesto the best of his ability and Iremember Ward making thecomment that it was easy to seethat Kennedy was, as Ward putit, “The Heart ofthe Team.”

I met up with Kennedy 17years later when I was visiting

I Los Angeles and staying withFred and Gigi. We met outsidethe LA Bookstore and he wasveryupbeat and happy. Fred hadbeen f]iing me in on events in

Kennedy’s life and it was good to see himdoing so well. Fred continued to keep meupdated about Kennedy. His call last weeknotifying me that our friend has passed,saddened me for the loss we suffer in nothaving him with us, but I rejoiced in theknowledge that he was reunited with hisBeloved.

With Prakash

53

Everyone who is born willone day die. Steve Edel

man’s day came on January17th, 2009. Those of us wholoved Steve felt that at the ageof 60 he was too young to betaken away from us. But it isBaba who puts us on the stageof Life and it is Baba whopulls us off

We, as Baba Lovers, mayagree in principal with thisidea, but very few of us actually accept it when the authorof”The Play OfLife”,writes adeath scene for us or one ofourloved ones. Steve completelyaccepted Baba’s Will in hislife and with his death. It isfor reasons like this that for meand to many others, he was notjust a friend, but an inspiration.Many can talk the talk, butonly a few actually walk thewalk. Steve walked, all the wayinto Baba’s heart.

Another heart that Stevewalked into was Eruch Jessawala’s. InSteve’s 50 or so pilgrimages that he madeto Baba’s home in India, he became veryclose to Eruch. I have heard Eruch say toSteve that Baba would be pleased with theequanimity and poise that he possessed. Iwas there when Eruch asked Steve to bewith him when he died. Steve came toIndia for a year, and was there in Eruch’sroom when Eruch passed away. Duringthat last year of Eruch’s life, on a numberof occasions I heard Eruch tell Steve,“Don’t get old.” At the time I thoughtthat Eruch was just making commentaryon the travails of old age. But it seemsnow that perhaps he had a bigger story inmind for Steve.

You see, Steve was a Baba stalwart froma young age. In the early 70’s, when Stevewas just in his mid 20’s he took on thecharge of running Meher Prasad whichdistributed Baba films and Baba music.From there Steve went into Baba filmproduction. He raised the bar of quality with the kind of Baba films that he

produced. Steve’s films and videos wereprimarily made for Baba Lovers to enjoy,but those same Baba Lovers could proudlyshow them to their parents and friends.And I believe that a time will come whenthe world will be grateful for the creativedistribution and preservation work thatSteve did in Baba’s name and cause. Ipersonally am very grateful to Steve forworking with me on editing and distributing some ofthe Eruch interviews that Idid. Without Steve’s help those videos mayhavejust stayed in storage and people mayhave missed out on the delight of seeingEruch’s very personal side.

Perhaps Baba is calling Steve back toplay an even bigger role for Him in hisnext life. We, who knew him and lovedhim, will miss our dear Steve. But morethan “our” Steve, he is Baba’s Steve. Ofcourse our love and support go out toSteve’s wife Ann and their children, No-rina and Nadine. Nadine is married toJeremy McCowan with whom she has aneighteen month old son,Jake, and on Feb

ruary 5th she just gave birth toOwen David. A few days beforeSteve passed away, Steve askedNadine if it would be okay ifhe left his body before she gavebirth. Nadine and the rest ofthefamily told Steve to go in peace,and not to linger in pain.

A few weeks before Stevedied, one of his doctors saidto him that maybe they couldtry a new kind drug whichperhaps could offer the hope ofa miracle. Steve replied to thedoctor that, “The thing that youshould know about me is thatI am a firm believer in God’sWill. So, I believe that if Godwanted to perform any miraclesHe has had many opportunities up till now to do them. Iaccept my condition right nowas God’s Will. Therefore, in mylast days, I just want to retain

I the quality of life that will al::: low me die with the ability to

appreciate God’s love, the loveof my family and friends and all the lovethat comes to me from the people whohave good wishes for me.”

Steve got his wish. And at the end, hewas mirroring his Master, by being lovepersonified.

“Love is a gift from God to man.Obedience is a gift from Master to man.Surrender is gift from man to Master.”

Steve Edelman completely surrenderedto the will ofhis Lord and Master, AvatarMeher Baba!

It was a surrender that proved to be avictory for both of them.

We stand and applaud you Steve for thebeautiflil love drama that you have enacted.Bravo! Bravo! Encore! Encore!

3:arewell to One of 73aba’s &alwctrts&eve Cdelmctn

.Jlugust 12, 1948 - jctnuciry 17, 2009

9ary 2<leiner, Jlileherctbad

54

S many ofyou maynow, my father,

Brad Kunin passed awaysuddenly at year’s end in2007 at his family homejust outside of Auckland, New Zealand. Hepassed so quickly andwithout warning thatthere were no consciousgoodbyes. It has nowbeen one year sinceBrad passed, and I feel itis time to share some ofmy memories of Brad’slife with the wider Babafamily. I hope that sharing these memories willhelp to provide a spacefor the unsaid goodbyes, for myself, andfor all those that knew Brad.

I want to begin by putting Brad on thehot seat in Mandali hail, right there underthe window next to Eruch, and retell hisBaba story as best I can.

Brad was born and raised in Los An-geles. As an intensely idealistic and head-strong young student, he transferred, alongwith my mother Golda, to UC Berkeley tobe at the heart ofthe ideological revolutionthat was taking place in the late 1960s. Itwas there in Berkeley, on the walls of theArbor Café, that he saw Baba’s picture forthe first time. But it wasn’t until travellingto the other side of the world that Brad’spersonal Baba story really began.

In October 1969, only months afterBaba dropped his body, Brad marriedGolda in their native Los Angeles. At thetender age of twenty they had absorbedthe ideals of the hippie revolution andfearlessly left the US in search of a new,more authentic life in New Zealand. Afterhitchhiking up and down both islands ofNew Zealand (living out of one backpackfor seven months), they reached Mo-tukiekie - a tiny, uninhabited island in theBay of Islands, in the far North of NewZealand. It was now the southern winterof 1970. Although they had one very basic cabin, the island did not have its ownwater source. Luckily, the very first daythe caretaker of the neighbouring islandvisited in a small motorboat. In the boatthe caretaker brought what he felt was

. heading up the coast to: Avatar s Abode where

they stayed with Simand Di. It was at theAbode that they met

: Francis Brabazon. ForBrad, meeting Fran-

—

cis totally changed hispreconceived ideas ofthe spiritual path. Hehad read Francis’ poetry, and was amazedthat the author of sucheloquence lived, at anadvanced age, in fiercesimplicity. Francis’immense strength ofcharacter made a deepimpression on Brad. By

necessary sustenance for the young couple the time he returned to New Zealand hehe had never laid eyes on — several flagons was hooked. In the following months hefull of fresh water and pamphlets about read Baba books voraciously. Brad’s con-Meher Baba. That caretaker happened nection to Baba deepened and becameto be the Australian, John Parry. After absolute, remaining so for the rest of hisseveraiweeks Brad and Golda had to leave life. It must have been a dramatic life-Motukiekie, due to a communication lapse altering few months, all happening at thebetween the family members that owned tender age of 21.the remote island. Unaware that Brad and Brad and Golda’s first child (AmirGolda had received permission to stay, Merwan) was conceived on that first tripthe owners’ family back in Auckland were to Australia. I (Rebecca Channah Mehera)horrified to hear reports that young hippies followed a few years later. By the time Iwere squatting on their island! Amidst this was born, Brad and Golda had moved toscandal, Brad and Golda simply moved Swanson, and started work on the housein with John, a heavily pregnant Maria, and property on Christian Road that wasand their young daughter Hannah on the to be one ofBrad’s lifelong labours oflove.neighbouring island, Moturua, for the rest John and Maria Parry also moved to Auckof the winter. land, had children of a similar age, and

Brad said it was the perfect set of remained close to Brad and Golda. Whencircumstances for ‘the seed to be sown’. Brad would tellJohn that he thought AvaHe was literally stranded in a remote tars Abode was a wonderful place, Johnparadise, with nothing to do for the long would always say, “You think that’s good,winter nights but listen toJohn talk about wait till you go to India!”Baba, and read his extensive library of Brad got a chance to fully appreciateBaba books. The books had an immense John’s words on his first pilgrimage toimpact on Brad, and the two couples be- Meherabad, along with John, in 1979.came close, beginning what was a pivotal I imagine it was an intensely emotionallifelong friendship. first pilgrimage, where Brad was lucky to

In the following months Brad and spend intimate time with many membersGolda had to leave New Zealand shores of Baba’s Mandali who were so youngto apply for permanent residence. They and active in the late 1970s. I distinctlywere sad to leave their new home, even for remember the gifts that Brad brought backa short time, but John excitedly organised from that first trip in a scented suitcasefor them to stay with his Baba friends with hand-stitched lining — a brass potin Australia. Brad and Golda stayed with a brass drinking cup that he taught uswith the Borthwicks in Sydney before to drink from without touching the sides,

E13rad 2<uninçJlpril 14, 1949 - December 20, 2007

.Rebeccci 2<unin, New 2ectlctnd

55

Brad & EruchJessawala

a terracotta child’s tea-set individuallywrapped in bits oflndian newspaper smallsilver anklets, and Amar Chitra Kathacomics that I poured over for many years.He also brought back several pairs ofwhitedrawstring pants and the ability to bathewith two buckets ofwater when our watertank ran low in the summer!

In the years that followed Brad andGolda divorced, and Brad married Robyn,who was to be his partner for the next 28years. Brad and Robyn started anotheryoung family, with the birth of their sonAbraham.

In 1987, Brad decided that it was timeto return to Meherabad, this time with histwo older children, Amir and I, who were14 and 12 at the time. I remember Bradinstructing us thatwe could only take whatwe could carry ourselves, wise advice that Ihave continued to follow when travellingto India. Carrying just our small carry-onbags we arrived in Meherabad wonderfullyunprepared for the pilgrim experience. Isay wonderfully unprepared, because as aparent, Brad kept his personal relationshipwith Baba somewhat private, that is apartfrom the copious photos and paintings ofBaba that covered the walls of our home.He was very clear that he felt it was hisjob to bring his children to Meherabad,but that the rest was up to Baba.

I remember dropping our bags, taking

my first bucket bath, and starting ourwalk up the white rock trail. As soon aswe crossed the railway tracks I startedto cry, overwhelmed by homesicknessand the thought of spending 5 weeksin a strange place mostly surroundedby adults (as it was in those days). Iremember Brad taking my hand, andI saw that he too had tears in his eyes,but I knew that his were tears of joy.He told me that we all had differentreactions when we approached Babafor the first time, and that it was okto have confused or conflicting emotions. At the time, I thought, no, I’mnot confused, I just miss my mother.But looking back, it was one of themost significant walks of my younglife. Now I see that one of the mostimportant gifts Brad gave me as afather, is that he brought me to Babawithout pressure — guiding, but withsuch a gentle hand.

Although Brad was mostly privatein his everyday life about his relationship with Baba, he was an activemember ofthe small, close-knit group

ofBaba lovers in New Zealand, and transformed into a veritable social butterfly inMeherabad, Myrtle Beach, and AvatarsAbode. He was always ready to open uphis home to Baba lovers traveffing throughNew Zealand. There have been many,many wonderful characters, young andold, who have stopped in Swanson over theyears to share cups oftea, Robyn’s famoushomemade cookies, and Baba stories.

Brad, Robyn, Abraham and Manija(Brad’s youngest daughter), were evenlucky enough to have Katie and MehruIrani, and Jal and Dolly Dastur as guestsin their home over the years. Anyone whohas visited 85 Christian Road can see theyears ofhard work and love that Brad andRobyn devoted to making the house andgardens the idyllic and welcoming placethat it is today. I know that being able toshare his beautiful home and family withBaba’s Mandali and close ones was one ofhis most precious memories.

Brad was an intensely academic manwho was engaged in learning his wholelife. However, his learning was always withthe goal ofhelping others. He was an en-ergetic and creative primary teacher for 14years, and went on to become an extremelyrespected family counsellor, practicing for18 years. One of his colleagues describeshis practice:

Although slightly built, Brad had a

presence about him, a drywit and tremendous personal and professional integrityHe was a master craftsman in the field ofcounselling, and was fully absorbed in thiswork. Brad hated clichés, labelling andclutter. His room was decorated simply, yetartistically. In his counselling, he somehowmanaged to combine pragmatic, solutionfocussed counselling, with the artistry ofnarrative therapy, art therapy, and psycho-drama. His sessions seemed effortless andsimple, yet I have witnessed so many menand women, children, couples and families,moved to a much better place in their livesthrough Brad’s work.

Brad firmly believed in the value ofservice to others and he was able to put thisbeliefinto action every counselling session.Through his participation in and deliveryof extensive training courses, supervisionofother counsellors, and research, he wascontinuously passing on knowledge, up-skilling, and searching for new and effective ways ofhelping people make positivechanges in their lives. So extensive was hispersonal counselling library that we havedonated the bulk of his books to begin amemorial library.

Brad brought this same sense of intel-lectual vigour into his relationship withBaba. I think it was this very aspect of hismind that drew him to Baba so quicklyand deeply in his youth. This vigour neverwaned and I am now heir to another in-credible collection, a library that containspretty much every Baba book printed inthe last 50 years.

One of the last Baba events Brad wasinvolved in was hosting and organising Dr.Murti’s visit to Auckland in 2005. Bradwas very excited about the visit, especiallyabout the fact that Dr. Murti wanted tohold public talks. We printed up ffiers, andthe two of us spent a day driving aroundAuckland giving them to cafes, new agehang-outs, and Indian temples and stores.Brad was so energised by the feeling ofgiving Baba’s picture to strangers. I amsure it reminded him of the buzz of theearly years with John, when they wouldoften hold public Baba talks and hand outBaba cards at music festivals. As a resultof the outreach, Dr. Murti delivered hisenthralling talks to a diverse group, manywho came back night after night. Allthrough the visit Brad was blissfully happyto be doing Baba’s work. By the end of theweek he was almost physically shining ashe took on the role of host - introducingDr. Murti, greeting old Baba lovers, and

welcoming new people.The last few years ofBrad’s life were ex

tremely happy. He was working part-timeas a counsellor from home in a sleep-outhe proudly named Nazar Studio. He spentthe rest ofhis time helping Robyn in herhome-based ceramics business, tending totheir home and gardens, and in the lateryears finding his artistic feet with the creation ofgarden sculptures. He and Robyncherished this time together, and nothingmade Brad happier than not having toleave the property On a counseffing coursehe took in his last year, participants wereasked to describe their dream home, andBrad said he was at a loss, as he had livedin his dream home for over 30 years.

Brad’s last months were especiallyjoyful, as he became a grandfather forthe first time to my daughter, Ariel LilaRenee. I remember the look of pure blisson his face as he held Ariel only a fewhours after her birth. He was absolutelydelighted with his new role as Zayde. Hesurprised us all by wanting to be called bythis Yiddish name, but it was his personalacknowledgement ofhis part in the ongoing cycles ofbirth and death, as he thoughtabout his own Zayde, born in Russia overa century earlier.

Brad’s last weeks were the warm sum-mer days ofthe December holiday period.The house on Christian Road was fttll tobursting with family. Ariel was just tenweeks old and her paternal grandparents

were visiting from Australia.Brad was in his favourite role- the patriarch ofthe extendedfamily, tending the barbequesurrounded by the deep pinkflowers of the bougainvillea tree he had planted 30years earlier. A few days afterChristmas, he awoke feelingunwell and uncharacteristicallyreturned to bed soon after waking. Only a few minutes later,after no sounds or signs ofdistress, Robyn found him alreadygone, in his sleep — what wasfor Brad, an incredibly fast andpeaceful passing. Ofcourse forus, his family and loved ones,it was a shocking and deeplytraumatic morning, which isstill hard to accept. Brad was afit and trim 58. He passed awayfrom a massive aneurism ofhisascending aorta, a condition

that he was totally unaware of.Close family flew in from the United

States, and we held a very beautiful andmoving ceremony for Brad at his homeon New Years day 2008. Over 200 peopleoverflowed into the blooming gardensand spoke at length about Brad as a son,brother, husband, father, teacher, counsellor, Baba lover and friend. It was anoverwhelming tribute to how many livesBrad had touched. Beyond close familyand friends, Brad had made a huge impactin the extended community through hisyears ofwork as a teacher, counsellor, andmen’s health advocate.

Brad was very introspective and spin-tually self-aware. He knew that he hadreached a plateau of sorts in his life, bothprofessionally and personally. He wasgenly talking about this next phase of lifeas he approached 60 and entered into hisnew role as a grandfather. He was readyfor a new adventure, and we are all still sosad that he had to leave us for this newjourney. I do believe that he reached a formof equilibrium and was at peace when hepassed. Perhaps this was a reflection of abalancing of sanskaras . . . at least I thinkthat is what he might say if he was hereto reflect.

Although Brad wasn’t able to saygoodbye, I can say that he experienced agreat sense of camaraderie, support, andjoy from his Baba friends scattered all overthe world. He also had the unwaveringability to truly live in the moment while

on pilgrimage. Making the most of everyprecious day, he cherished every minutehe was able to spend with Baba’s Mandaliand at various Baba centres around theworld.

One of Brad’s wishes upon his deathwas that each of his four children wouldtake his ashes to Meherabad. He jokedwith Robyn, saying that it was a sure wayto get us all back there! For me, I will makethat trip as soon as I can take my daughter.This time I will be the one holding thechild’s hand, with tears in my eyes, as weclimb the white rock trail and gently giveBrad back to Baba.

Real Birthand Real rDeatli

J4leher i3aba

There is one real birth and one realdeath. You are born once and you reallydie only once.

What is the real birth?It is the birth of a “drop” in the Ocean

of RealityWhat is meant by the birth ofa “drop”

in the Ocean ofReality? It is the advent ofindividuality born ofindivisibility througha glimmer of the first most-finite con-sciousness, which transfixed cognizanceoflimitation into the Unlimited.

What is meant by the real death?It is consciousness getting free of all

limitations. Freedom from all limitationsis real death; it is really the death of alllimitations; it is liberation. In betweenthe real birth and the real death, thereis no such reality as the so-called birthsand death.

What really happens in the intermediate stage known as births and deaths is thatthe limitations ofconsciousness graduallywear offtill it (consciousness) is free of alllimitations. Ultimately, consciousness, to-tally free ofall limitations, experiences theunlimited Reality eternally. Real dying isequal to real living. Therefore I stress: Diefor God and you will live as God.

The Path ofLove, pp. 76-77

©1986 Avatar Meher Baba PerpetualPublic Charitable Trust

Brad with his Grandchild

57

Eduardo Nüñez, best known amonghis friends as “Quique” (a nickname

for Enrique, his second name), was bornin Buenos Aires city on November 13th,

1944, and returned to his Beloved Babaon April 9, 2007.

Shortly after his birth, a rare disease affected his eyes, leaving him actually blind.His mother, Julia, remained besides herson’s cradle to take the most loving careofhim, applying a medicine every twentyminutes, for more than a month. She couldsleep for a while when Anselmo, Eduardo’sfather, would be back from work to replaceher. What’s the meaning of this story?Eduardo opened his eyes again, totallycured, and would see the light, on December 25th, Christmas Day, at dawn.

Eduardo grew up along with his elderbrother, Carlos, in the Province of Mis-jones, where the family moved followingAnselmo’s jewellery work. Both kids followed the happy life of being a friend toevery kid oftheir neighbourhood, poor orrich, European or native, in the most exuberant landscape of the Misiones jungle,not far from the wonderful Iguazü falls.Within those dense rain forests, Eduardobegan to appreciate God’s Creation.

Then the family returned to BuenosAires with a newbaby, Monica, who wouldenjoy her brothers’ love, which increasedas they grew up.

Eduardo attended a Christian schoolin Buenos Aires, where he proved to be avery good pupil, above all in Religion. Juliashowed me Quique’s monthly bulletins,where you could see the highest marks onthat subject. She even showed me two orthree medals Quique was given for theirmerits in Religion.

Time would pass by and we findQuique living the life ofevery young manof the 1960’s, enjoying all he could, ashe developed his sympathetic and sweetpersonality Nevertheless inside him an ardent thirst began to grow. An urgent needcalled for him, though Quique didn’t knowwhat it exactly was. He got married firstin the late 1960’s, but regrettably it didn’twork for long. He then decided to moveto America, beginning a time ofsearch ofhis own truth.

Some of Quique’s dear friends of that

time told me that he would become popular among the people he met within a fewminutes, almost without being consciousof his magnetic smile (that smile thatforever would appear in his eyes first),his tenderness, his loyalty, his capabilityto understand and listen to every humanbeing he ever might meet.

Quique’s life was not easy, though. Hewas a taxi driver, restaurant waiter, then arestaurant owner, a photographer to Lifemagazine, and a myriad of other jobs hetook to earn his living. While he wasliving in New York he met his two elderchildren’s mother, who was in contactwith an Indian spiritual teacher namedMeher Baba.

In a flash, he discovered that the oldthirst that had burned his soul for so longwould be finally quenched. Note that itwas not love yet, but the idea of being inthe right place.

Then the Meher Baba NewYork groupplanned to attend to the next Sahavas inIndia to be held in April, 1969. Arrange-ments were made and the entire world wasin a mood of joy and excitement, whenon February 1st, 1969, an urgent telegramcame from India. Sadness and an indescribable feeling ofloss overtook Quique’sgroup. However, they were told that theSahavas would be held anyway, and theydecided to go ahead with their plans.

Quique was supposed to make a photographic chronicle for Life ofthat “SilentMaster” the magazine’s publishers cameto hear of. Quique told us that when hearrived at Meherabad, he shot six or sevenpictures, and then decided to follow thequeue that had formed to worship a pairof Meher Baba’s sandals. Quique wasinterested but not beyond that. When itwas time for his turn, he only did what hesaw from the others: bow down, touch thesandals with the finger tips and leave.

Quique did so, and when touchingthe sandals, he noted a nail sticking upthrough one of the sandal’s leather soles.He thought to himself “How great wasthe suffering of this Man, walking withthis sandal that wounded His foot, and Hesurely didn’t utter a single word about it”.And in the following second, he felt deepin his heart: “Why did You make me wait

for so long?!” Then Quique felt a strongelectric shock up and down his spine, andfainted on the spot.

When he recovered, he found himselfin one of the men Mandali’s room, beingcared for by one of them and a doctor.Quique couldn’t help weeping for a longwhile. After this “weeping feast”, as MarkTwain would say, Quique’s mind seemedto be erased, as he began to wander, goingto and fro all over Meherabad.

Life magazine, of course, remainedwithout the ordered pictures, but howbeautiftil the verbal pictures we enjoyedyears later, through Quique’s delightfulconversation! In the plane back to Americahe recovered his normal consciousnesswhen he caught himselfadmiring a beau-tifhl flight attendant. “Airight, I’m backagain!” he thought.

What a paradox! That ftmnny scene atthe plane let him know that all the worldlypleasures wouldn’t be the same anymore,as the fire of love for Meher Baba beganto slowly burn his soul. He couldn’t waitto return to Buenos Aires and announcethe good new to his relatives and friends.However, he didn’t hear the answer heexpected. The God-Man had other plansfor Argentina. They weren’t yet ready.Back in America, Eduardo would returnseveral times to Meherabad, where he wasacknowledged as a sincere Baba lover bythe men and women Mandali and the restof the Baba family there.

However, years had to pass for him toreturn to his fatherland and see the resultsof his earlier words. Slowly but surely,his fertile seed of Love began to grow inBuenos Aires, later on in La Plata, Mar delPlata and other cities in Argentina.

For most of us, Quique was not onlythe first and major reference for MeherBaba; he was also a friend, in the deepestsense ofthe word; a soul mate whose housewas always open to everybody, whose carwas always ready to visit us in a Babameeting, no matter where it might be;whose Argentinean mate or cigarette wasalways ready to be shared with those whoneeded to listen to his incomparable talksabout his Beloved Meher Baba (enrichedby his huge knowledge of art and culture,of course). If you felt lost in the middle

Whj 7Jid9od Choose 2dim?LA 7ribute to Eduardo uique112Mñez

2slovember 13, 1944 - .Jlpril 9, 2007

of the universe, a short visit to Qtique’shouse or shop would guarantee a relaxed“return home” for you.

So, why would Meher Baba chooseEduardo Nüñez as a medium for Himto be known in Argentina specially andthe rest of South America? He knows,of course, but let me propose that Babaselected Quique not only because he wasa good guy for everybody, I think He didit because Eduardo was never afraid ofhisown humanity Only recognizing himselfas he was, without the slightest posturing, and at the same time accomplishinghis duties as a Baba Lover; and we mayadd, above all perfectly accomplishingMyWish, given by Baba in Meher Baba’sCalling.

I think that despite all these words I amnot doin justice to Eduardo’s memory. Ifyou knew him, you can simply rememberhow comfortable you used to feel near

Quique. If you don’t, don’t worry: Youcan easily find him in the best part ofyourheart. Very, very near the place MeherBaba resides.

J4leIier Baba

Birth and death do not mark the be-ginning or end of life. Whereas the

numerous stages and states of life whichconstitute the so-called births and deathsare governed by the laws of evolution andreincarnation, life comes into being onlyonce, with the advent of the first dim raysoflimited consciousness, and succumbs todeath only once on attaining the unlimitedconsciousness of infinite Existence.

Existence, all-knowing, all-powerful,all-present God, is beyond cause and effect, beyond time and space, beyond allactions. Existence touches all, all thingsand all shadows. Nothing can ever touchExistence. Even the very fact of its beingdoes not touch existence.

To realize Existence, life must be shed.It is life that endows limitations to theunlimited Self Life of the limited self issustained by the mind creating impressions; by energy supplying the impetus toaccumulate and dissipate these impressions through expressions; and by grossforms and bodies functioning as theinstruments through which these impressions are spent, reinforced and eventuallyexhausted, through actions.

GodSpeaks, pp. 289-290 © 1973Sufism Reoriented, Inc.

The worldly man completely identifies life with the manifestations and

activities of the gross body; and for him,therefore, the beginning and the end ofbodily existence, are also the beginningand the end ofthe individualized soul. Allhis experience seems to speak to him aboutthe transitoriness ofthe physical body; andhe has often witnessed the disintegrationofthose physical bodies, which were oncevibrant with life. So, he is naturally impelled to believe that life is conterminouswith bodily existence.

The worldly man takes death to bethe cessation of life itself and he givesgreat importance to death, in his generaloutlook. There are few who contemplateon death for prolonged periods; but, inspite of the fact that most persons arecompletely engrossed in their worldlypursuits, they can hardly resist being impressed by the incident ofdeath,when theyare occasionally confronted by it, in theirlives. For most persons the earthly sceneoflife has as its background the inevitableand the irresistible fact of death, whichimperceptibly enters into their greatesttriumphs and achievements, as well as intheir keenest pleasuresand rejoicings.

Apart from givinga general backgroundto the scene of life,death also assumes anaccentuated and over-whelming importance,even among the multicolored incidents oflife. Death is amongthe happenings whichare the most dreadedand the most lamented;it is also among thethings which people,in their malice or anger,try to inflict upon eachother as the last penaltyor worst-revenge, orwhich they rely upon,as the surest way of removing the aggressionor interference by others. People also invitedeath upon themselvesin token of supremeself-sacrifice; and, at

times, they seek it with the false hope ofputting an end to all the worldly worriesand problems, which they are unable toface or solve. Thus, in the minds of mostpersons, death assumes an accentuated andoverwhelming importance.

The overwhelming importance ofdeath is derived from man’s attachmentto particular forms; but death loses muchof its sting and importance, even for theworldly man, ifhe takes a broader view ofthe course oflife. In spite ofthe transitoriness of forms, and, in fact, even in andthrough these forms, there is an unbrokencontinuity oflife, discarding old forms andforging new ones for its habitation andexpression. The recurring incident ofdeathis matched by the recurring incident ofbirth; in spite of the unceasing activity ofthe hand of death, life continues to flour-ish; old generations are replaced by newones; life is reborn in new forms, incessantly renewing and refreshing itse1f thestreams of life, with their ancient origin,are ever advancing onwards through theforms, which come and go like the wavesof the ocean.

‘The Significance of Deat1iJ4leIier Baba

Life J44ust Be Shed

_ii .

i*!iPhoto by Walter Mertens in SwitzerlandJuly 1934

© Toby Mertens

59

2009 Beads On One String 7ouriR.L/4. Stermer, Los Angeies

The idea for the Beads On One String Tour came to Don Stevens (editor of the Discourses and God Speaks) as a “morning intuition.” The title was drawn from a quote given by Meher Baba to the press in London in 1932: “I intend bringing together all

religions and cults like beads on one string and revitalize them for individual and collective needs.”The idea ofthe Tour was to travel to some ofthe sites ofspiritual significance visited by Baba during His lifetime with the inten

tion ofinvoking the sense ofuniversality mentioned in His quote. Each site was assigned a leader who was responsible for lecturingthe group on its historical, architectural and spiritual significance. In all there were 13 sites on the agenda scheduled to be visitedover a two-week period.

The group numbered about 50, drawn from both Europe and America. The sites visited were:. The Qutub Minar in New Delhi, which is the world’s tallest brick minaret, built upon a former Jam and Hindu site. Birla House, the site of Gandhi’s assassination, also in New Delhi. Moinuddin Chisti’s tomb representing Islamic Sufism, in Ajmer. The Dilwara temples, representing Jainism, at Mt Abu in Rajasthan. Babajan’s tomb in Pune. Two houses lived in by Meher Baba and His family, also in Pune. Shivaji’s fort in Satara and a temple there.*. Manonash cave, in Hyderabad. The Panchgani cave in Tiger Valley, Mahabaleshwar. A field in Satarawhere Baba and some others held an impromptu cricket matchjust down the road from where Babawould be in-

volved in a car accident about a year later and the house where Baba was taken immediately after the accident, also in Satara. The Ellora caves, near Aurangabad.

AU of this was accomplished by shuttling our group via train, bus and rickshaw over approximately a 3000 kilometer area. Ac-comodations included hotels and Baba centers in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune. The lectures were given sometimes the eveningbefore the visit and sometimes in the morning ofthe day we visited the site.

Once at the site, an appropriate spot was found where the group would collectively repeat the name of God particular to that sitefor five or more minutes. This was then followed by two minutes of silence.

A documentary film crew accompanied the tour to record the event for posterity The tour ended at Meherabad in time to attendAmartithi.

There is discussion of repeating this tour on a regular basis. Stay tuned!* Baba told us Shivaji was one of His ‘minor’ incarnations. He was a great warrior king who united India under Hindu rule.

Group shot, taken at Mt. Abu, where the Di/wara temples are located

6o

Meher Baba, New Delhi, February 1939. The Qutub Minar in New Delhi, which is the worldc tallestNote the Qutub Minar in the background. brick minaret, built upon aformerJain & Hindu site

Photo courtesy ofMSI Collection India

Meher Babaplaying cricket. It was at this site that the secondmotorcar accident occurred, but Baba won the match this day!

1Kailash Temple, Flora Caves, nearAurangabad

Doug Frank

6i

— I

Outside the Panchgani Caves

The Group inside the Panchgani Caves

Baba at the Panchgani Caves©Reiter

62

Baba in New Delhi with Mansari, Irene Bib andMehera,January 1939

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Birla House, the site ofGandhicassassination, also in New Delhi

MA. StermerTwo houses (Pumpkin House on the left andBaba House on the right) lived in by Meher Baba andHisfamily in Pune

63

Another view ofShivaj?cfortby Martin Cook

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Shivaj?cfort in Satara and a temple there

R.A. Stermer

The Dilwara temples, representingJainism, at Mt. Aba in Rajasthan

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Martin Cook

64

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Buddhist Temple in the Eiora CavesnearAurangabad

Martin Cook

Babajan tomb, Pane

Inside the Manonash cave, in Hyderabad

Doug Frank

6

L/lnnouncementsOriginal Sixth Edition of

rjDiscourses .Relectsed Online3our JJI4ctjor Compilations

of Discourses 2’Jow ,‘4uailable inOnline Library

Ward JParks, .7frte1terabad

November 2008

The Avatar Meher BabaTrust is happyto announce the completion ofa ma-

jor online publishing project that has beenin the works for almost four years.

This week an online version of theoriginal sixth edition of Meher Baba’sDiscourses, edited by Don Stevens andIvy Duce and published by Sufism Re-oriented in 1967, becomes available in theonline library ofthe Avatar Meher Baba’sTrust’s web site at: http://ambppct.org/meherbaba/discourses.php. As doubtlessmany of you know, the sixth edition wasrepublished by Sheriar Foundation in 2007as what is being called the “revised sixthedition.” But what we are publishing onthe Trust web site is not that redesignedand slightly revised text, but the originaltext ofthe three-volume 1967 edition, aspresented in its fifth (1973) reprinting.That original text has been reproducedexactly, without any changes at all. Wehave not even corrected misspellings.

With the release ofthe online sixth edition, the Trust web site now completes itsundertaking to make available online thefour major compilations ofMeher Baba’sDiscourses. Those editions are:

(1)The five-volume set, originally pub-lished in India between 1939 and 1943.The various volumes of this collectionwent through multiple editions, the last ofthem published in 1955. Edited by Dr. C.D. Deshmukh and others ofMeher Baba’smandali, the five-volume set contains allsixty-nine ofthe original discourses.

(2) GodioMan andMan to God, editedby Charles B. Purdom and published in1955 by Victor Gollancz, a distinguishedpublisher in London. Purdom’s editioncontains sixty discourses, many of themsubstantially pared back and reduced intheir verbiage.

(3) The sixth edition, edited by DonE. Stevens and Ivy Oneita Duce and

published in three volumes by SufismReoriented in 1967. The editors used theoriginal five-volume set as their source textand retained all sixty-nine discourses.

(4) The seventh edition, edited byEruch Jessawala, Bal Natu, and J. FlaggKris and published in a single volumeby Sheriar Press in 1987. Working fromthe sixth edition, the editors added onefurther discourse of Baba’s to the originalsixty-nine.

The online availability ofthese the fourmajor compilations will serve the interestsofmany Baba lovers, especially those whowish to study the history of these essaysand the variations between their differentversions. Those investigating this subjectmay find of use the “History of the Discourses” incorporated into the Discourses,revised sixth edition (Myrtle Beach: She-riar Foundation, 2007), vol. 4, pp. 3—80.

Actually, the five-volume set doesnot represent the original and first-mostpublication ofthe discourses. By the timethe five-volume set appeared, fifty-oneof them had already been released in theMeher Baba Journal (1938—42); the firstfour volumes ofthe five-volume set repro-duced Baba’s essays from the Journal on ayear-by-year basis. It is our hope eventually to publish the entire contents of theMeher Babajournal in our online-library.When thatlarge undertaking is completed,readers will have access to those fifty-onediscourses as they were first presented tothe world. Until then, however, users ofthe online library can know that the firsteditions ofthe five-volume set reproducedBaba’s text from the Meher Baba Journalessentially unaltered, except perhaps forsome misspellings corrected and somenew mistakes that may have crept in unintentionally.

This present online sixth edition, likeall of our online editions, should not bemisconstrued as a facsimile reproductionofthe original books. In creating these on-line versions, we digitally scan the originalprint versions, read them through OCR(“optical character recognition”) software,reflow and redesign the text, and proofreadit. The content ofthe original publicationshas been reproduced on a page-by-pagebasis. We have not used the same fonts,however; and the page design, lineation,and text flow has all been done afresh. The

virtue to this process is that it results in In—ternet files that are more easily searchableand faster to download. You’ll have to goto the printed books, however, ifyou wantthe exact original appearances.

Since we work with a small thoughdedicated volunteer staff, it is possible thatmistakes have wormed their way into theseonline editions. Ifyou find any ofthese, wewill be grateful ifyou inform us. You cancontact us at: frank@ambppct.org.

So J44an9Wonderful73aba Things Online!

I would seem a pity not to have a computer in this day and age. Following are

just a few of the web addresses that willprovide a feast for the soul.

Now Online:A Virtual Tour ofMeherazad.

Frank Bloise, Meherabad

new feature has been added to thevatar Meher Baba Trust website’s

“Pilgrimage” section in the form of a virtual “Tour of Meherazad.”

Included are a briefhistory and descriptions of the various buildings, rooms, andtreasured artifacts associated with BelovedBaba and His mandali.The Tour is dividedinto three categories: the Women’s Side,the Men’s Side, and Outlying Properties.Each web page includes photos, somedepicting the various sites as they were inthe past, and many more showing them asthey appear now. The Tour also includesvideo clips, most never made availablebefore, in which Mani, Goher, Katie,Meheru, Eruch, Aloba and Merwan, givecompelling first hand accounts of theirexperiences relevant to particular Meherazad sites.

We welcome you to take a virtual tourof Meherazad at:http://ambppct.org/pilgrimage/meherazadtour.php

A Meherabad tour and history will beadded to the website soon.

An online Baba magazine can beread here:

OmPoint International Circular, issue#2 is now available:http.//ompoint.com/OmPoint_Circular_2.pdf

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with Baba in India. This newsletter, whichlI’1ore Cinks

Google.com has some great photosof the Ellora caves: http://images.

google.com/images?hl=en&q=Ellora+Caves&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2.

http://www.meherbabafilm.com/filminfo.html. Click on play film. The username is “perfect” and the password is“master”.

www.meherdhamhawaii.com We arehappy to announce the completion of theMeherdham Hawaii website so long inprogress. Among its many features arethe history and purpose for Baba’s retreatcenter in Hawaii: the home of the precious Baba treasures given to Stan Alapaand meant by Baba for the peoples ofHawaii.

http://www.ambppct.org/meherbaba/online.php has a lot ofbooks on line

http://home.online.no/solibakk!joltus.html, another great website forquotes and stories, created and maintainedby Eric Solibakke, the hard working manbehind the Baba Listserv!

Places of Pilgrimage—The AvatarMeher Baba Perpetual Public CharitableTrust in India is at wwambppct.org. TheMeher Spiritual Center in the U.S. is atwww.mehercenter.org The Meher BabaHeartland Center in the U.S. is at www.ambhc.org. Avatar’s Abode in Australia isat www.avatarsabode.com.au

BabaBooks—The BabaTrust has overa dozen Baba books available online forreading and searching at www.ambppct.org/meherbaba/online.php The BabaTrust Archives also has digital imagesof diaries kept by Baba’s mandali and ofcorrespondence to and from Baba atambppct.org/archives/. Sheriar Foundation Books is at www.sheriarbooks.org/The bookstore ofthe Avatar Meher BabaCenter of Southern California is at www.lovestreetbookstore.com/. Searchlightbooks is at www.searchlightbooks.org/.The London Baba Centre’s bookstore isat www.meherbaba.co.uk/books.htm. ForBaba books in India, go to www.meherbabatheavatar.org/books/. Also, LordMeheiBaba’s biography, can now be read andsearched online at www.lordmeher.org.

Bhau Chat—Bhau Kalchuri, one ofBaba’s mandali, has an Internet chat almost every Sunday for four hours. Thereis also often a live video and audio stream.

The site ofthe chats is http://jaibaba.com/echat45/public/index.html.The site ofthevideo and audio stream is http://www.ambppct.org/events/bhaulive2007.php

General—Some eclectic Baba websitesare www.avatarmeherbaba.org , www.jaibaba.com, www.trustmeher.com andwww.meherbabatheavatar.org

Baba Radio—wwwBabaRadio.org is avery enjoyable Baba Internet radio station.This site also streams (and has downloadsof) a very good Baba interview program.

Baba Videos—www.meherfilmworks.org has complete versions of You AloneExist and God in Human Form, thelatter film in English, French, Spanish,German, Italian, Hindi, Telegu, and Farsi.There are also other lovely Baba films thatcan be viewed at www.meherbabafilm.com/filminfo.html, http://mehermedia.com, and www.technobaba.com. Finally,YouTube now has over 250 Baba videoson it, including videos of Mehera, Mani,Eruch, and Adi. To view these videos,go to www.youtube.com and search for“Meher Baba.”

Baba Listservs—These are forums forBaba lovers to share emails about Baba andBaba-related topics. Also, a daily Babaquote is delivered via the Baba Listserv.The sign-up pages allow one to choose to“receive list mail batched in a daily digest,”meaning the different emails people sendare “batched” into one email in your inbox.The links to sign up for the listservs are

http://mymeherbaba.com/mailmanllistinfo/baba and http://mymeherbaba.com/mailmanllistinfo/baba-talk.

Amartithi Webcasts—The BabaTrust in India has a live video and audiowebcast ofAmartithi events onjanuary 31and days prior (and sometimes of Baba’sbirthday events on February 25) at www.ambppct.org/events/web-cast.php Thissite also has downloads ofpast Amartithivideos, as well as other videos. Check inat the site a few days before the festivitiesbegin for a schedule of events.

Tavern Talk—Sign up for this emailnewsletter at www.ambppct.org/events/news.php to keep up with the latest hap-penings at Meherabad, the home ofBaba’sSamadhi or tomb-shrine, and Meherazad,the other main spiritual site associated

is distributed by the Baba Trust in India,also publishes diaries of Baba’s mandaliand beautifidletters that Baba had dictatedto His lovers.

Baba Magazines—Love Street Lamp-Post is at www.lovestreetbookstore.com/LSLP.htm Glow International is www.belovedarchives.org/glow_international.Meher Baba, a Telegu Baba magazine, canbe read and ordered atwww.srimeherbaba.com Information about Meher Pukar, aHindi magazine, is at http://www.meherbabatheavatar.org/books/pukar.htm.

Baba Centers and Retreats—India:The Avatar Meher Baba Bhopal Centre is at http://members.tripod.com/meherbhopal. The Avatar Meher BabaHyderabad Centre is www.avatarmeher.org or http://members.rediffl.com/amb-hyd/. The Avatar Meher Baba DelhiCentre is at www.meherbabatheavatar.orgThe Avatar Meher Babajabalpur Center isat www.trustmeher.com. For other centresin India, please see http://meherbhopal.tripod. com/centres .html. U. K. : TheMeher Baba Association in London is atwww.meherbaba.co.uk. U. S. : The AvatarMeher Baba Center of Southern California is at www.meherabode.org. Meheranais at www.meherana.com. Meher Mountis at http://mehermount.com. Australiahttp://www.avatarsabode.com.au/

Baba Websites in Languages OtherThan English—Farsi: www.meherestan.org, Spanish: wwwmeherbaba.com.ar andhttp://mehery.googlepages.com, German:www.meher.de, Norwegian: http://home.online.no/solibakk/nor, Chinese: www.meherbaba.cn. For Baba movies in lan-guages other than English, please see thelisting for “Baba Movies.”

7”kher 3ilmworks—A2’Iew i’Vebsite for 3films

Debbie Nordeen, North Carolina

In honor of Avatar Meher Baba’s115th birthday we are happy to an-

nounce a new website: Meher Film-works. www.meherfilmworks.orgFulllengthfflms, GodlnHumanForm and YouAlone Exist, are hosted on this new website.Meher Filmworks is devoted to qualityvideo presentations ofAvatar Meher Baba- His life, His image and His Mission. Twofilms have been produced. The first film,

67

Godln Human Form, has been translatedinto eightlanguages. The Hindi version ofthis biographical documentary of Baba’slife and work has been featured on Indiatelevision several times. The Farsi versionwas satellite broadcast into Iran severalyears ago. You will find seven languageversions hosted on the website in theirentirety - English, Hindi, Farsi, French,German, Italian and Spanish. We hopeto have Telugu ready next.

The second film, You Alone Exist, is amusic video ofthe prayer-poem written byMeher Baba and disciple, Bhau Kalchuriwith music by Jim Meyer. Beautiftil images of Baba and His creation are woventogether creatively, accompanied by theevocative, energetic music. Viewing thisifim is a real meditation on the all-encompassing nature of God. Thanks to Babaand Bob Fredericks for their perfect timingin creating this website. We hope you willvisit the site, view the films, and share thenews of the Avatar’s life and work!

I can be contacted at meherfflmworks@gmail.com

http://meherbctbctisrael. orgEtzion 13ecker

e launched a special web site forthe occasion of the print of the

Hebrew Discourses of Meher Baba.This project started during 1963, whenCarrie Ben Shammai, the first disciple ofMeher Baba in Israel, published a smallbook containing a few discourses ofMeherBaba. Baba was very pleased, signed a bookand sent it back. The signed bookwas lost.During 1980 I inherited the center ofCarrie with her library, and during 1984started the translation work. This was accomplished during 1993. Till now it wasavailable as A4 format, and now it wasprinted as a book.

SI-tore to Slioreless nowavailable on line — free!

In his October email to Professor J.S.Rathore, Director of Meher Spiritual

University, Bhau wrote: “I have noted thatShore to Shoreless was published in 1999,and I had placed it at the feet of BelovedBaba inside the Samadhi. The book wasvery well received by Baba lovers andscholars and acclaimed in reviews. I amvery happy to transmit this announcementto all Baba lovers.”

From Professor J.S. Rathore:Shore to Shoreless: A Voyage Across the

Ocean ofExistence with Meher BabaI am pleased to inform the availability

of this book as a free downloadable ebook from the Meher Spiritual University http://www.meherspiritualuniversity.org/resources.html.

This book was first published in 1999,and all printed copies of this book havebeen exhausted. We felt that it would bebest ifthis bookwere made available in itselectronic version as a free download fromthe Internet.

Shore to Shoreless tells the story of fivetormented individuals who meet accidentally and agree to embark on a voyageacross the Ocean ofExistence with MeherBaba. Across its 12 chapters and 460 pages,the book follows the interesting journeyof this diverse group in search of lastinghappiness, a chronicle that attempts toexplore the synergy between Meher Baba’scosmology, diverse religious traditions andmodern science.

We hope you will enjoy reading thee-book edition of this book, which wehumbly dedicate at the Lotus Feet of ourDivine Beloved Avatar Meher Baba.

PS. In December, MSU will be addinga new course prepared by Jamie Newell,“Music and the Spiritual Path.”

)3our ‘Coming to ‘13aba’Story Wanted

9okaran and Ltnnilla Slirivastava,

£i&rarians, 7frkherabad 1illJibrary

The library is taking up the continua-tion ofthe “Bal Natu Project,” which

was very dear to Bal Natu’s heart. BalNatu was a resident of Meherazad forseveral years, and he ran a project ofcollecting Baba stories from the Babapilgrims visiting there. The stories are verytouching and reflect upon Beloved Baba’sinner working as to how He would drawdifferent souls in different ways to Him,exclusive to each individual.

Bal Natu published these beautifulstories in a series of books that were notonly cheap and affordable but very popularalso. Two books in the series are entitledShowers of Grace and The Compassion-ate Father. After Bal Natu’s passing away,his cherished project came to an apparentend, but now the Meherabad Hill Libraryis reviving that project and requesting

Baba lovers all over the world to send theirstories to the library, with a limit of 4-5typed pages (1200-1500 words). The mostwelcome aspect of these stories would behow Baba initially drew one to Him orany such episode which would be worthsharing with other Baba lovers.

These stories can be sent via e-mailas an attachment, and a separate typedcopy can be sent directly to the library bypost or pilgrim courier. The library’s mailaddress is Meherabad Hill Library, PostMeherabad, Ahmednagar (M.S.) India414 006. The library’s e-mail address is<hill.library@ambppct.org>.

These stories will be made available inthe library to readers, and when enoughmaterial is collected, then the publicationofthese stories can be taken up.

2’Iew Caretakers cit the2lectrtland Center

CDebbie 21ordeen, 2’IortIi Carolina

The Board of the Avatar Meher BabaHeartland Center is happy to an-

nounce our new caretakers, Ron Lansingand Miriam Rose. They will move toOklahoma in June. They have lived inPortland, Oregon as a married couple forthe last 21 years. Miriam first heard aboutMeher Baba and came to love Him in theearly 70’s. Ron heard about Baba from herin 1978 when theyworked together at ajetengine parts foundry in Portland.

Both in their mid fifties, Ron andMiriam felt the pull from Baba to cometo Prague. Still employed part-time, Ron’sflexible work-at-home job is as a field en-gineer for an Austin-based company. Hewill sometimes take short work-relatedtrips. Miriam is a “newly minted” physician following Baba’s winding path to setup a part-time Oklahoma practice whereshe can do osteopathic cranial treatmentswith children and babies as her focus.Between the two of them, the HeartlandCenter pilgrims will always have a host towelcome them to the Center.

The couple recently had a ‘trial run’ ascaretakers for the Heartland Center lastFebruary when they covered for MichaelIvey while he was in Meherabad. Miriamwrites: “While I was there in February 08,I felt Baba’s Presence so strongly and my

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inner connection with Him was so muchclearer. I feel called by Him to live withHim there in Prague, OK. And such asweet gift it is! I feel very fortunate thatBaba has arranged for us to be with Him inPrague and am looking forward to hostingthe pilgrims who come to visit.” Ron adds,“We are very anxious to get to Oklahomaand settle in at the Center. Meher Babahas been puffing on me strongly to comesince I first visited there a year ago. Wherethe comparatively stark and sometimesharsh landscape is so much different thanour long time Oregon home, the essenceofBaba’s Love at His accident site and inthe Prague hospital are too sweet to resist.We are looking forward to being protectorsof these sites as well as caretakers for theBurleson house and hosts for His Lovers,old and new.”

When Ron and Miriam arrive in June,Michael Ivey, our current caretaker, willshow them the ropes and introduce themto all the wonderful people he has met inPrague. We thank Michael for his threeyears of loving service to the HeartlandCenter. He is moving to the Upper Pen-insula ofMichigan to start a self-sufficienthomestead. Michael will continue as aboard member for the AMBHC.

(Read more about Ron and Miriam inour annual newsletter later this summer.)

From the Board of the Avatar MeherBaba Heartland Center

T

he Board members ofthe Avatar Me-her Baba Heartland Center invite you

to this One-Day Gathering rememberingBaba and the time He spent in Prague,Oklahoma in May 1952.

The Gathering will

_____

be Saturday, May 23’,from 9:30 am — 10:00pm. Day-long activities include: Arti ataccident site, tour ofhospital, open housefor public, afternoontea party and eveningprogram of sharing.This schedule includesfree time for meals,which are not included in the Gatheringplan.

A special highlight of the day will bethe Morrison House dedication. Thishouse adjoins the Burleson House prop-erty and was purchased in 2008, offeringa wonderful expansion for the HeartlandCenter. The Morrison House is currentlyundergoing plumbing and electrical up-grades, which are the first steps to preparethis house for retreat accommodations.Several experienced home renovators willbe working on the house during the weekbefore the One-Day Gathering. Therewill be a Grand Opening in a year or so

when the house is furnished and ready forpilgrim occupancy, but we wanted to markthis wonderful gift from Baba by having adedication now.

Since the Day-long Gathering isoccurring during the an-nual board retreat, and therenovation volunteers willalso be on site, there are noaccommodations availableat the Heartland Centerfor the Gathering. Manyreasonably priced hotelsare located in Shawnee,OK 74802, which is atwenty-minute drive fromPrague. (Google “Shawnee

OK Hotels”)We are happy to emailyou the detailed

schedule, directions, and a list ofhotels inthe area. We regret that we cannot offerany transportation assistance from theairport. Please email RSVP ifyou plan toattend, and contact us with any questionsat: ambhc1952@gmail.com. You may alsophone Debbie Nordeen at 828-274-0307,or caretakers Ron Lansing and MiriamRose at the Heartland Center, 405-567-4774.

What a wonderful way to rememberBaba this Memorial Day weekend. Wehope you can join us.

Vhat is theJ4/1orrison 21ouse?People have been asking this question,

so here is your answer for those notalready in the know. In July of 2008 theAvatar Meher Baba Heartland Centerpurchased the Morrison House. Babalovers donated towards the purchase ofthis lovely property directly adjacent tothe Burleson House in Prague, OkIahoma. The Burleson House shares a cityblock with the Prague Hospital whereMeher Baba and His party spent 12 daysrecuperating after the accident. The onlyother adjacent structure on this block isthe two story brick residence that was thehome of the Morrison family from 1930to the present. With the passing ofWalter“Speedy” Morrison, (age 98) a contemporary ofDr. Burleson, the Morrison family

decided to sell the house and offered thefirst option to the Heartland Center for avery reasonable price.

The acquisition ofthe Morrison Houseis a move for the ftiture of the HeartlandCenter. It doubles the capability forpilgrim accommodations and opens thepossibility ofgroup pilgrimages for Babagroups around the country and many otheractivities.

In 1931 Baba stated there would be fiveSpiritual centers in the US, and one wouldbe established in the center ofAmerica. Ina letter to Baba in 1944, Elizabeth Pat-terson wrote: “The plan for five spiritualcenters in the U.S.A. was projected byyou when you first came in 1931, andyou told us that you would use them for

different spiritual activities.” (Lord Meherpage 2950)

The Heartland Center was dedicatedin 2005 in the family home of Dr. NedBurleson, who cared for Baba, Mehera,Elizabeth and Meheru in the aftermath ofthe auto accident close to Prague, Okiahoma, on May 24, 1952. Establishing theAMB Heartland Center in “the BurlesonHouse” has been a grand success, providing information and lodging services toa steady stream of Baba’s lovers to Okiahoma over the past four years.

For more information about the AvatarMeher Baba Heartland Center, please visitwww.ambhc.org. — Debbie Nordeen

Ylemembering E13ctba— .A4ay 23th, 2009— Prague, Oklahoma

OnerDt:ty 9cttIiering and J44orrison 2touse Dedication

‘1i*

•a.— ?)i.

, -------

69

What’s 1appening at J4/kherctbodeSpecial 9uests!

Don Mahier, who was one of MargaretCraske’s dancers, was our special guestfor our celebration ofBaba’s birthday andkept us spellbound with his talk on hislife with Baba.

Adrienne Shamszad, visiting us fromNorthern California, sung us many of her

beautiful songs to the beloved.

John Page, oneof the originators ofthe BabaBookstore back inthe 1970s, tells ofhow he came toBaba.His wife Karmatold us a fascinating tale of herearly adventuresin life and howshe found Baba.

Pascal Kaplan gave us a talk on Understanding Death (the book he wrote)and the meanings of this chart of Baba’s on evolution and reincarnation

70

Christmas ¶:PartLI

When stringing lights on the tree—many hands make light work.

Deborah Ash looksradiant after hercancer surgery

3 year old Sean is fascinated by Baba in 3-D

The Still Yet More Chamber Players lead the children in Christmas carols The children decorated their owncookies, then ate them all!

7’

:

.aE

Don Mahier, our Special Guest,with Cookie Riendeau

Bottom, Center: Michael Campagnaplays for us

Bob Een and friend Maderplay Bob’s composition

“Director’s Waltz”

e

;: \ . . A

The Persians sing a rousing songfor us as Payam plays the daf

Behnaz, Rosie & Nasrin did a wonderful jobtransforming the Center for the Birthday

72

In this livelymemoir, Bhau

Kalchuri’s daughter, Sheela, tells herstorywith the help ofher husband, DavidFenster, who editedtranscripts ofher recollections given overmany years. This hasbeen a labor of lovefor both ofthem, andwe must applaud theFensters for sharing so many inspiring and intriguingglimpses of MeherBaba as well as themen and womenwho surrounded him. Accompanying thetext are 146 photos (halfofthem in color),most ofwhich are being published for thefirst time. Accompanying the 800+ pagetext are 146 photos.

Born in 1952, Sheela first met MeherBaba when she was less than a year old,and she lived in close proximity to himfrom the age of five until Baba droppedhis body in 1969, when she was seventeen.She was aware from her earliest years ofthe sacrifice her family had made in orderfor her father to serve Baba as one of Hisclose mandali. When she was older, Sheelatold Baba, “A rose surrounded by thornsis like God’s beauty — we have to undergosuffering to reach Him.” Baba replied:“True, but when you are near me, I pluckoff the thorns, so you don’t get hurt.”Sheela has had her share of suffering. Asa youngster she suffered a terrible, painfhlaccident, with severe burns on her backand arms from boiling milk. She almostdied oftyphoid and from a serious mastoidinfection; Baba told her He had saved herfrom death several times.

Sheela’s parents, Bhau and Rama, bothcame from wealthy Hindu families andlived in comfort in Nagpur prior to set-ting aside their lives of privilege for theinestimable blessing of being with Baba.Bhau initially had no interest in spiritual-ity and was pursuing three simultaneousgraduate degrees; but a couple ofpowerfialdreams, an unexpected experience at thetomb ofthe Perfect MasterTajuddin Baba,

and a single meeting with Meher Babatransformed him. With the agreementof his pregnant 21-year-old wife, Rama,Bhau left his young family right after hisgraduation in 1953 to join Meher Baba.Sheela was barely a year old; her brother,Mehernath, was born a few months later.

Rama then raised her children alone,although with the loving guidance andsupport ofthe Avatar ofthe Age. Bhau wasordered to give up his attachment to hisfamily, although Baba also required himto write regularly to Rama (a number ofthese letters, containing news, advice, andoccasional admonishments, are includedin the book). Baba praised Rama for notcomplaining about being separated fromher husband. (In addition, she acceptedliving in reduced circumstances comparedwith her upbringing as the daughter ofa raja.) Baba has to remind Bhau of theextraordinary nature ofhis wife’s sacrifice:“You have no idea about her. No womanin the world would live like her, all alonethere with two small children. She is really good.”

After a few years Baba called Ramafrom her parents’ home to come with thechildren and live near Him. They arrivedat Meherabad around April 1957 andmoved into a bungalow near Arangaonvillage. Sheela describes her frequent visitsto Meherazad, where she witnessed thequalities and quirks ofthe mandali, as wellas precious times with Baba at Guruprasadin Pune. In 1963 the family moved to

Khushru Quarters inAhmednagar, the siteof the present TrustCompound, whichin those days was aprivate residence forAdi K. Irani’s familyas well as the location of the Ahmednagar Baba center.Sheela recalls thatBaba never referredto her and her broth-er as Bhau’s children,but always calledthem the mandali’schildren. “Don’t eversay they are Bhau’schildren,” Baba de

dared. “They do not belong to him. Theyare my family.” At other times, Babawould tell her, “Who is Mani? My sister,you think? I don’t have any sister; I don’thave any brothers. I don’t have a motheror father. . . . God doesn’t have any relatives. God has only lovers.” A recurringundercurrent in the book is a kind of ten-sion between attachment and detachmentin relation to family. Sheela reports thatshe has always felt that Baba was her trueparent. Yet her sense of family is strongas well. Although she did not have muchcontact with her father while growing up,since he was always busy serving MeherBaba, she loved him dearly.

If anyone ever wondered whether Godreally cares about the thoughts and feelingsofone little pigtailed girl, Sheela is here tolay that doubt to rest. A remarkably brightchild—outgoing, talkative, and bold—“Baby” (as Baba and her family calledSheela) would ask Baba outrageous questions, and get answers to them: How canwe tell if someone is from another planet?Why doesn’t Baba either make everyone inthe world good or kill offthe bad people?Why did God have to create ugly creatures?Would Baba please give her some powersso she can fix things that are wrong withthe world? Why can’t he make her win thelottery? (Baba’s reply: “Never do that. Somany people buy tickets and all their san-skaras go into that. The person who winsthinks he has won lakhs of rupees, but inreality he gets lakhs of sanskaras.”)

9roweij t14i Q4%hBodJReviewed by 2<endra Crossen E13urroughs

73

If her imperious manner as a childdrew complaints from the mandali, Babadefended her, saying that her sanskaraswere those of a wealthy, sophisticatedperson—a princess. “Babywas supposed tobe born in a royal family,” Baba explained,“but in order to be near me, I’ve given herbirth in this family.” He also said she wassupposed to have been born a man—andBhau was supposed to have been a woman!Baba admitted he had made a mistake inassigning their genders.

Baby’s best childhood friend was Dr.William Donkin. William, as she calledhim, taught her the English alphabet,fixed her hair in a cute way, impressedher with his artistic talent, and explainedto her how to love Baba: “Never demandanything from Baba. Accept what he tellsyou and follow His orders accordingly. IfHe wants you to live like this [on littlemoney], accept it. Never ask Baba foranything.” Sheela took such lessons toheart and had an instinct for loving theBeloved: “Because Baba would sometimespat my head or remark that my brain wassharp and tap me on the head, I neverwore hairpins or clips in my hair when Iwent to Meherazad. Baba might get hurtwhen I embraced Him or when He putHis hand on my head. So I braided myhair into two braids to keep it in place.Mehera asked me once in front of Babawhy my hairstyle looked old-fashioned. Iexplained why I had not used any clips,and she was pleased.”

Sheela was allowed to help Bhau withthe Hindi correspondence and could notresist adding her own advice directed atany writers whose letters to Baba hadannoyed her—but Baba always found outand made her cross out her contributionto the reply. Mehera let Sheela file Baba’sfingernails and comb His hair. She wasfortunate to spend hours alone with Babaat Guruprasad, sometimes massagingHim. And she received various orders fromBaba, including one in which she had toshout insults at the mandali. Baba givesher tips on how to spend Silence Day anddeal with assorted encounters with ghosts,and assigns her a special short daily prayermeant for her alone.

We are treated to glimpses of many ofthose who were closest to Baba—in addition to Mehera, Mani, and other womenmandali, she writes ofEruch, Dr. Donkin,Padri, Pendu, Vishnu, Chhagan Master,Feram Workingboxwala, Dr. Deshmukh,Nana Kher Mohammed the Mast, and es

pecially Bhauji himself The weaknesses ofsome ofthe mandali do not escape youngSheela’s observant and discriminatingnature. Padri never laughed, and Mansarigave terrible fashion advice. We see themandali fighting over sweets—and evenworse behavior. But Sheela’s insights intothe love between Baba and His closestdisciple, Mehera, are surelyworth the priceof admission. The book concludes with apowerful account of Meher Baba’s deathand entombment.

I can only hint at the amazing range ofdetails revealed by Sheela. I bet you didn’tknow that Baba read palms and facialfeatures, for example; he even interpretedthe meaning of a mole on Sheela’s foot!Some ofthe details are deeply significant,while others are entertaining or amusing:for example, when at Guruprasad, Alobaslept with Pegu the Siamese cat, who hebelieved would protect him from ghosts.One of my favorites among the touchinganecdotes: When Baba was driven to theArangaon tuberculosis sanatorium to seethe patients, He also visited a room wherewhite rabbits were used for tuberculosistesting, and “Baba fed a few pieces ofgrass to each ofthe bunnies through theircages.”

Growing Up with God would make anexcellent candidate for reading aloud anddiscussion in a group. There are plenty ofsurprises in store. And I expect Sheela mayfind herselfmore in demand as a speakerat Baba events after this publication.

2?eyoud 7ue

ci new CD b11 Carol9unn9?eviewed by Debbie 2sIordeen,

2ort1t Carolina

Beyond Time is a wonderful new addition to the rich treasure chest ofBaba

music. Carol Gunn sings her heart outin this beautiful gem of a CD. HearingCarol’s lovely soprano voice—ethereal,light, exquisite—takes me right back tothe Samadhi where over the years, shehas offered these songs to her Beloved.The time was finally ripe for Carol andhusband John to produce this CD andmake it available for us all.

Carol wrote many of the 15 songs onthis CD. I love to sing along with heropening original, “Open Up”. Accompanying herself on piano, her rich, texturedarrangements support the lovely melodies,

purity supported by accompaniments incontrasting motion to the melodies, yetoften leaving space and silence. Her song,“Be determined to be His” is a lovely waltzin a haunting minor key, with renaissanceand impressionistic flavors. One can feelthe inspiration of Eruch’s encouragementin always saying “Be determined to beHis”, and the waltz evokes the dancingfrom His lovers that Baba requires in be-ing ‘His’. The piece “Age after Age” takesunique form, with Carol’s vocals express-ing Baba’s text, and her original solo pianoperformance supporting spoken narrationof Baba’s powerful words from “MeherBaba’s Call”. “Liberation” is a piano solofor contemplation. Also on the CD, areseveral popular love songs, including, “I’llbe loving you always”, “My Romance,’and “Over the Rainbow.” Compositionsby Baba’s lovers, Bob and Jane Brown,Francis Brabazon, and Ward Parks, add tothe finely woven selections of music.

Baba friends and family add to theharmony of instrumentation, includingoccasional saxophone, flute and guitars.Some fun background vocals inspire uslisteners to sing along, too. Sharon Muir’sartwork, and Mary Gunn’s graphic designcomplete the beautiftil package of“BeyondTime”.

The Master is indeed beyond time.Bravo to Him for inspiring this touching,timeless, beautiful addition to His treasuretrove ofsong. $15

and lyrics. Carol’s voice shines in its

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&ekers ofL’ovtbj Amiya 2<umar 21azra and 2<eith9unn

Reviewed by 2<endra Crossen Ei3urroughs

I’m a great admirer of Amiya KumarHazra, author of the unforgettable

Memoirs ofa Zetetic. My LjJè with MeherBaba, so I was pleased to see this new bookwith his name on it, along with that ofhis friend Keith Gunn. Professor Hazrahas collected, over many years, a numberof personal stories by Indian Baba-lovers, most of them first-person narrativesoriginally recounted in the speaker’s nativeHindi, some of them retold by Amiya orKeith. Here Westerners will encountersome unfamiliar names and faces as wellas old friends such as Pratap Ahir andSubhadra Pund ofthe Pune bhajan group;Shaligram Sharma, who toured the U.S.last year; Gita Ram Tiwari, a familiarfigure at Meher Baba’s Samadhi; Pleader,a member of the mandali who was hell-bent on God-Realization; Janglimaster,“Baba’s servant”; and Kharman Masi, animportant woman in Baba’s circle whoHe said would be His father in the nextAvataric advent.

The book will be a treat for Westernerswho appreciate the unique sensibility thatIndians bring to their experiences withBaba. In his introduction, Keith pointsout two notable aspects seen in thesestories. One is the degree ofhostility thatHindus have had to suffer in their owncommunities because oftheir devotion toa “foreign” master—even to the extent oftheir lives being threatened. For example,in one story an invisible force narrowlysaves a Baba-lover from being murderedby co-workers. (The examples in this bookare Hindu, but certainly Parsi and MuslimBaba-lovers have also endured social opposition.)

The other aspect is the degree to whichIndian lovers take “occult realities” forgranted. I’ve often thought that the manyinstances in which Baba discouraged at-tachment to miracles or unusual spiritualexperiences were chiefly aimed at HisEastern lovers. In India people grow upwith a much greater awareness of Godand the sacred dimension of life than inour societ)c (However, even an Indian isbound to be a bit startled when, as toldhere, a smelly, naked mastani suddenly

appears and secures a seat for him on acrowded train.) I assume that Baba wantedHis Eastern lovers to learn to depend lesson the miraculous and to love Him forHis own sake. He often told people inAmerica and Europe, “The Eastern loversrevere me, bow down to me and worshipme—but I want only love from you” (LordMeher, 6: 1895). Yet,judging by these stories, Baba has clearly not withheld amazing experiences from His Indian lovers:rooms flooded with the fragrance ofroses,Baba mystically standing in for someonetaking an examination, the apparition ofBaba at the deathbed ofa loved one, a tigerlying down like a lamb. We even learn thatsomeone who was harassing a Baba-loverdropped dead! Who says prayers aren’tanswered?

Even in the land of the miraculous,where gurus are common, Meher Babastands out as something special: Pratapremarks that “in our traditions, Indianshave information about God and all that,but until we came to know about MeherBaba, we had no thought of coming inGod’s contact.” Incidentally, the book

presents Pratap’s own version of a much-misrepresented incident in which Babaasked him as a young teenager to removeall his clothing. The event remains mysterious, in that we don’t know why Babadid it, but I think Pratap’s acceptance of it

as a holy moment helps us to contemplatethe mystery in the right spirit.

I’d love to give away more of the con-tent, but I won’t spoil it for you. Seekers ofLove is a welcome contribution to a grow-ing oral history, and I thank Amiya andKeith for bringing us closer to our IndianBaba family through these accounts. Theauthors promise a sequel with stories fromthe West and conclude with one sample,from Vreni Trutmann of Switzerland.

As a sneak preview we give you twoexcerpts:

My hobbies were carpentry and makingthings. Where the Trust Office is todaywas my workshop in Baba’s time. I had aworkbench, and I used to make whatevertook my fancy. I had some aptitude forengineering, but I had a greater desireto be a pilot. My mother’s brother was apilot, and he was such a romantic figure.Like most young boys, I thought pilotingwould be very exciting.

Once when we were seated beforeBaba, He told my brother Vinod, “You doM.Sc. [pursue a master’s degree programin science]!”

I spoke up and said, “Baba, what shouldI do? What should I become?” Baba didn’treply. I told Him, “Baba, I want to be apilot.”

Baba said, “No, you will not be a pilot.”But in my mind I said, “Let Baba saywhatever He wants to say. I am going to becomea pilot.” That was as late as 1967-1968.Soon after that, I became myopic, and Ihad to wear glasses, and then it was out ofthe question to be a pilot. That’s how Hemade sure I wouldn’t be a pilot.

Meher Baba works slowly and imperceptibly. Darshan always started with anembrace from Baba and the opportunityto kiss Baba on His cheeks. Even as aboy, I used to feel that I was kissing thecheeks of God. I used to think, “Nothingis left in life. The greatest thing that can

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ever happen in life has happened and nowthere is nothing more.” In my childlikeway I thought that now that I had seenGod there was nothing left to see. ButI was conscious that I might have yearsof life ahead of me. As the years havepassed by, I feel how little I know God,and how little I have seen of Him, andI am very mindful of the times MeherBaba would point to His own body andsay. “This is not Meher Baba. This isonly the coat that I wear to make Myselfvisible.” As the years pass, you realizehow He has to make you grow inwardly.—Raj Prem Khilnani (who became apolice superintendent)

. . . So my mother and father [Mr. andMrs. L. D. Vajpayee] went into Guru-prasad bungalow. We children were withthem but there was a ban on children, sowe had to stay outside. When they cameout, we asked father what happened. Hesaid, “I am unable to tell you, because whenI put my head on His feet, I somehow lostconsciousness.”

We asked our mother what happened.She said, “I never had any faith in saintsand babas, and even when I was in theirpresence I never had any respect for them.I was not interested in Meher Baba, so Iremember Guruprasad bungalow morethan Meher Baba. What I saw was veryobjectionable according to my orthodoxconcept. I saw Meher Baba giving embraceto both men and to women. This is such aperson who is embracing women? I didn’tgo up to Him because I didn’t want adarshan in which He would embrace me.”Baba understood the whole thing, calledher to him and instead of embracing herasked her to touch His feet. She touchedBaba’s feet and came back to her place.

Thereafter Papa took Baba’s darshan ontwo additional occasions. Papa had readsomewhere that Baba used to wear hishair in a pigtail. My father wanted to seethe pigtail ofMeher Baba and there was along line at the darshan, and he also stoodin the queue, and it was a hurried affair,just a second or two, because it was a longqueue. You just touch Baba’s feet and yougo out. The moment he took a step aside,a member of Baba’s mandali came up tohim and said, “Have you seen Baba?”

He said, “Yes, I have.”“Please come back. Baba wants you to

have another darshan.” Mr. Francis Brabazon objected, saying that he had afreadytaken Baba’s darshan.

“But do you not see, Mr. Brabazon, thatBaba is calling him?”

When he got to Baba, Baba said,“You stand behind my chair.” My father stood behind Baba’s chair, wherehe obtained just that view of Baba’spigtail for which he had wished! Papaused to tell me that it had been a greathonor and a great good fortune for him.—Siddharth Vajpayee

Published by: Meher MownavaniPublications, Hyderabad. 2008. 218 pages.$12.50

On 7’he 2&z/h WitIi.Avcttar 7frkher 13aba—the DVD ofMichaelDa Costacone-man showfilmed at the Sufi

Centei Walnut Creek, California,September 28, 2008

9?eviewed by Rachel Dacus

B efore I saw him perform, I had heardMichael Da Costa’s whimsy-filled

monologues, poems and songs, but nothing quite prepared me for Michael’s charm,wit and energy. Having watched the DVDseveral times, it gets better every time.He is remarkable! Wearing his signatureBaba-pink shirt, smile at the ready, andrichly soothing voice roffing into action, heputs the audience immediately at ease. Hisopening song has a very sing-along-ablerefrain—Everything and Nothing—andthis compelling performer invites theaudience inside the song. From that firstsong on, it is a program full of Babawisdom clothed in music, embroideredwith whimsy and studded with gems ofobservation.

Michael’s bright and sparkling energycarries along his well-crafted offerings, hisdelicious songs, poems and monologues.They sometimes springboard from Me-her Baba’s statements, sometimes fromconversations with the Mandali, or evensayings ofmystics. One song I particularlyliked blends the words of the medievalmystic Julian of Norwich, “All shall bewell, and all shall be well, and all mannerofthings shall be well” with Baba’s “Don’tWorry, Be Happy.”

But my very favorite piece is Michael’s“Ego” monologue, first performed in 1979in Mandali Hall. Michael quips that onhearing it, Eruch thought it was about

him! But of course, it is about all of us,the running monologue of “I, My, Meand Mine” that Baba pointed out formsour obstacles in drawing closer to God.With verve and impish humor, Michaellampoons these ego processes, and hiscomic timing is finely tuned.

One other big favorite for me is thesweetly jazzy song “Meher Baba Is TheGod-Man,” with its refrain, “He’s theone and only Ancient One, come towake us up with Love again, and it’s thedawn of the new world.” Most specialtoo is the closing song, “I shall Return”whose tenderness and beauty celebratesour Beloved’s eternally recurring Advent.Michael’s charming work reminds us thatas we follow Beloved Baba, all shall indeedbe wonderfully well.

This DVD is available from the LoveStreet Bookstore $20

My manifestation will em-brace the economic, socialand religious aspects of life.It will spiritualize all humanactivities in art, science, music,politics and drama. In the nearfuture a great universal dramawill be enacted, the theme ofwhich will be pure love, selflessservice. I will play the leadingpart in this world-awakeningdrama.

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pt::etters from the 3ront LinesSarah Weichberger, Arizona

Editor’c warning: thefollowing letters makefor tough reading! Manyofyou willfind it veryshocking, not to mentionunbelievable, that suchbehavior couldbe happen-ing in the Belovedc home.The Pumpkin House-USABoardwouldbe much hap-pier fI did not makeSarahc letterspublic, espe—cially considering that as ofApril, circumstances havechanged. However, I haveManic words uppermostin my mind when I haveto make decisions such as‘topublish, or not to pub-lish?’Afewyears after theBoard ofthe Los AngelesBaba Centergave me thejob ofediting andpublishing the Love StreetLampPost, Mani[Babac sister] told me that this magazinewas archivally important as it would let

people know hundreds ofyearsfrom now,just how Baba lovers behaved, the thingsthey said and did. It isfor this very reasonIfeel it is my obligation to report on the do—ings ofsome ofHis lovers, shocking thoughthey may be.

Sarah, a Baba lover living in Arizona,hadvisitedthe Pumpkin Housefor Childrenand met with Stella Manuel Pillai, thefounder in November 2007 when she, herbrother and mother went to India. At thattime her mother had donatedfundsfor anew bathroom. Sarah hadbeen so moved bythis meeting that she decided to take a threemonth sabbaticalfrom herjob, go on apilgrimage to Meherabad and also help Stellaout while she was there over Christmas andthe New Year.

Sarah hadheard about all the controversythat had caused Stella to refuse any and alldonations to the children. Not quite believingsuch things could actually be happening inthe Belovedc home, and knowing I was go-ing to be writing an article about the Pump-kin Housefor Children Trust, she said shewould email me with the truth as shefoundit. Even tho she went thereforewarned, shewas stunned tofind outjust how bad thesituation was. Slanderandbackbiting — twoofBabac very big no nos!

Icame to India to be with Baba and tohelp Stella. As you know I went out on

a limb financially to do this work. I am aself-employed massage therapist, livingpaycheck to paycheck. This pilgrimagewas a huge decision for me to make. I leftmy life behind, and I am not sure what theffiture holds, but I am with Baba and I amtrusting Him to care ofit. I am so gratefulto my family for making this trip possiblefor me. I have incurred quite some creditcard debtjust to be here.

Having recently arrived, there really isn’ttoo much to say, except that yes, the rumorsare abundant and they are vicious. At leasta few times a week I get pulled aside in theMeher Pilgrim Retreat and told by variouspeople—many ofthem people I have nevermet—about how Stella is a crook, etc., etc.This started a few days after I arrived. AndI have not been hiding the fact that I amhelping there even tho I had been warnedthat I may be asked to leave the MPR if itwas found out that I was helping Stella atthe Pumpkin House.

This is only my second trip to India, andit has been life changing in so manyways. Itis pretty intense for me here.The fact that Ihave had to deal with so much slander andbackbiting is reallyvery disappointing. For acommunity of”spiritual seekers” it is down-right hypocritical. The same people who

recite the prayers forforgiveness at Artiare verbally abusingStella an hour later atdinner and I do con-sider it abuse. 90%of these rumors arecoming from peoplewho have never evenseen the PumpkinHouse.

Notwithstanding,I am enjoying beinghere with the Be-loved and spendingtime in the Samadhi,but then to go backto the MPR and befaced with more lies,gossip, rumours &outright slander—it

is such a depressing scenario; I feel like Iam plodding along and trying tojust ignoreeveryone, which has been very draining. Ihave been discussing quite candidly withStella all that is being said to me about her.She has heard all the rumors, and honestlyit has been taking such a toll on her healththat I am sure that’s why she decided tostop all funding from the States—indeed,from all Baba lovers. It is so unnecessaryand cruel what is happening here.

Jan 18As I told you in an earlier letter I have

been speaking very candidly with Stellaabout all of the rumors, and for the mostpart she has been very stoic about the wholething. I think she isjust about at the end ofher rope—understandably so—and some-times when I am telling her and Fiona thelatest gossip they even laugh, it’sjust gottento that point of ridiculousness. I go theretwo or three times a week to help with thechildren, and there are always new thingsto tell them. Literally every few days I getan earful. No better way to enjoy a mealthan to have random people tell you thatyou are volunteering your services to acrook. That’s essentially the overtone here:that Stella is a crooked woman. Everyoneseems to know I am volunteering there.I was there this past Saturday, and Meheraand Pia Kleiner (Sophia, her daughter whois now called Pia) were there. They go ev

:JF

Lr)A4

Jai Baba Dma,

77

ery Saturday for a few hours, share meals,and Mehera is helping the children withconversational English. Also, Ijust learnedwhen relaying the latest story that I heardabout Fiona and Vianny reftising thingssomeone had brought to them, that Stellahas a strict rule for Fiona and Vianny andanyone else there not to take ANY donations, be it rubber thongs, blankets or treatsfor the children, unless Stella is there too.The saddest thing to me now, is thateven though Stella has publically askedBaba lovers not to donate money, in thatnow infamous letter, which, by the way,is posted but it’s very hard to read, andyou really have to look closely to evensee what it is, the rumours still abound.Her making that choice to entirely stopreceiving any sort of money as of Jan 1,2009 is having absolutely no impact on theviciousness or frequency ofthe rumors. Andmoreover if I am hearing this much frompeople, imagine what I am not hearing, aseveryone knows my position and they arestill saying these awftil things! All I can sayis, I wouldn’t want to be in Stella’s shoes.I would be in a padded cell by now. Allthis woman has set out to do is help some

poor children with shelter, clothes, food,medical attention and above all — love.Judy Mangold, a Baba lover from Floridawho was here a while back, came with meone dayto see the kids. She had heard aboutthe PH, but had no idea where it was, sowhen I mentioned it to her she was excitedabout coming. We spent an afternoon there,laughing and having so much fun with thekids. When we were going back to theMPR in the rickshaw she said “You know,it would almost be a shame if someoneadopted one of those children, becausethen they would have to leave PumpkinHouse. They are a family there and theyare all so happy. They would be alone.”

But Stella is so determined to stopthe ridiculous gossip that she is reftisingany more help from the US. I believe herintention is to cut off all connection withthe Baba community in hopes of stoppingthe gossip, but as I see it, the damage hasbeen done, and the rumors—no mat-ter how outlandish and far fetched theyare—have taken on a life of their own.

I have so much respect and admirationfor Stella and the work she is doing: risingat the crack ofdawn, taking care ofthe little

ones here, then leaving for the Meher English Schoolwhere, as the Principal, she notonly has the administrative work but alsoteaches some of the classes for a full day,then comes home and continues her workhere till they are all tucked in their beds forthe night. I doth know of another womanwho could handle such a workload, and todo it with such grace under the attacks 1ev-eled at her. Baba definitely has His Nazaron her and boy, does she need it! When Ireturn home I’ll look back on my time herewith Stella and the children with awe —atwhat she accomplishes.

Ed note. As we go to press in March wehave just received wonderful news fromStella:

“Since Charlie met with Bhauji andMehernath during his visit to Ahmednagarin February I think it is clear that they nowhave no problem with us, and PumpkinHouse For Children Trust India is openfor donations from anybody and everybody.This is a blessing for these children.”

Jai Meher Baba! Thy willbe done.

0

Ic’

78

Thefoiowing is information about the various Babagrozqssaround the country and afewfrom overseas. Ifyour localdata is not includedplease send it to me and should thingschangefrom thepublished details, please let me know thatbefore the next issue deadline. —Dma

DoMESTIc

A RTucson—Irma Sheppard, 520-321-1566,7320 N. Village Ave., 85704, ihs222@theriver.com.Flagstaff—AMB Lovers of N. Az., 928-774-8305,4505 5. Lance Rd., 86001, laurent@ompoint.com.

CALIFoRNIALos Angeles—Meetings are Sundays, 1 1 AM to 1 PM,

held in our center”Meherabode,” 323-731-3737, 1214South Van Ness Ave., Los Angeles, CA 900l9Just eastofthe intersection ofArlington andl2th Street. The AvatarMeher Baba Center of Los Angeles now has its ownweb site at www.Meherabode.org to bring the localnews, programs, activities and announcements to theBaba community and the public.

San Francisco Bay Area—Call for informationregarding meeting times and related information:510-845-4339 or Ben Leet at 510-351-8259, Benleet@earthlink.net. The Northern California Avatar MeherBaba Center is located at 6923 Stockton St., El Cerrito94530-2931, www.MeherBabaMeherBaba.org.

Sacramento—Meetings first Friday of the monthat 7 PM. Marilyn Buehler, 916-925-4451, premsay@sbcglobal.net. www.premsay.com/MeherBaba.

COLORADODenver—Meetings Sunday evenings at 7 pm at varioushomes in the Denver-Metro area. The contact personfor Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, andArizona is Barbara A. Roberts, 303-238-4649; 3475Moore Court, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-5543 (nearDenver), babara@fone.net.

FLORIDATampa—Jane Paladino, 813-962-8629.

Clearwater—Tom Decker, MD, 727-536-9282.

Defray Beach—Mickey and Wendy Karger561-638-3114

GEORGIAAtlanta/Athens—Contact Ed Legum 770-552-8980ed@hownet.com

HAWAIIMaui—Meredith Moon, Phone: 808-573-1188 or808-572-6556, Fax: 808-573-1189; 1940 Olinda Road(or P0 Box 1269 for mail)Makawao,Maui, HA 96768,mm@dreamcircle.org.

Molokai—ShirleyAlapa at ‘Meher Dham”, 808-567-6074 or 808-567-6383, Fax: 808-567-6363 Message:808-567-6363; 69K Farrington Ave., Hoolehua, HI96729 (mail: P.O. Box 177, Kualapuu, Hawaii 96757),salapa@aloha.net.

ILLINOISChicago—Meher Baba Information CenterCarol Kovalevych, 312-633-0696 amk@a1ishya.com

Lou ISIANANew Orleans—Avatar Meher Baba Center formonthly meeting and ifim program please contact:Joe Burke 504-616-1111 for the date, time, locationand directions, burkeno@aol.com.

MAINENewcastle—We meet once a month on the thirdSunday and take turns hosting the gatherings at 1 PM

starting with potluck, then meeting. Noreen O’Brien,207-273-3173; Heartwood Cottage, 101 Hart Road,Warren, Maine 94864, ompoint@tds.netMidcoast—Our meetings happen and are plannedspontaneously and irregularly by the Maine Babaregulars. Contact Ken Lux 207-975-6687,ompoint@roadrunner.com

MASsAcH USETTSCambridge—Meher Baba Information CenterMichael Siegell 617-864-3997.Brewster—Kathleen & Nancy Geagan, 1 EllisLanding Rd. For Information, contact Nancy Geagan,508-869-0096 or 843-421-4755. Email-geagannae@gmail.com. Second Sunday ofthe month at 2 pm. Allare welcome!

MISSISSIPPI

Jackson—Avatar Meher Baba Sahavas CenterPeter Rippa, 3404 Casa Granda Circle Jackson,MS 39209, 601-317-0848, film and informationpresentation upon request; weekly prayer/Arti; monthlyDhuni, peterrippa@gmail.com.

MONTANAMissoula—Andy Shott, 406-549-5949; 336 Connell,59801.Emigrant—Anne Haug, 406-333-4582; 24 LibertyLn., 59027.

NEW HAMPSHIRELiz Miller 603-749-3668, mceliz2001@yahoo.com.

NEW MEXICOSanta Fe—Robert Reser and Edle Andersen hostmeetings on the last Thursday of the month at 7 PM

in their home, 505-983-6621; 1921 Fort Union Drive,87505, robertreser@yahoo.com.

NEVADALas Vegas —Dick and Carol Mannis, 702-326-1701.Meetings at 5 PM, followed by potluck dinner 10809Garden Mist Dc, 89135, rkmannis@aol.com.

NEW YORKN.Y. City—www.MeherBabaHouse.org212-971-1050, irababa@hotmail.comAlbany/SaratogalSchenectady—Regine Brate518-383-0598

NORTH CAROLINAAsheville—Winnie Barrett, 828-274-7154,winkiebal@charter.net.Peter and Debbie Nordeen—nordeeni@bellsouth.net.Greensboro—Sheldon Herman, 336-288-8090 or336-235-2730, bikewalla@gbronline.com.

Chapel Hffl-Durham-Raleigh—CarolVerner 919-933-3550; carolverner@nc.rr.com.

OKLAHOMAPrague—Avatar Meher Baba Heartland Center, forretreat and visiting Baba’s accident site. 1319 BartaAve., 74864, 405-567-4774. ambchc@charter.net,www.heartland.meherbaba.org.

TEXASNacogdoches—Chris and Anne Barkex 936-560-2631,3101 Skyline Drive, 75965, rockbl@yahoo.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C.Pamela Butler-Stone, 310-946-0236, Fridayand S aturday Meetings, www.lifeimages.com/MeherBaba.

WASHINGTON, STATESeattle—Meher Baba Group Meetings: Fridays at8 pm. Also gatherings for special events (Amartithi!Baba’s Birthday). Location rotates each week in homes.Mail do Cynthia Barrientos, P0 Box 16081, Seattle,WA 98116. 206-713-9905, cybar7@comcast.net.

INTERNATIONAL

ENGLANDLondon—Meher Baba Centre, 228 HammersmithGrove, London W6 7HG, (0044) 020 87 43 44 08,www.meherbaba.co.uk.

FRANCEMarseille: C. Dallemagne, Le Sylvereal Al. des Pins,13009 Marseille. Ph: 4 91 39 02, Marc Molinari.

Cannes: Debby Sanchez, 1300 Route de Callas 83490Le Muy (near Cannes). Ph: 4 94 41 39 02.

St. Nazaire: Christine and Phil]ipe Joucla, 7 Alee desPins, La Salette 56610 Arradon. Ph 2 97 46 13 19.

Connerre: Andre Grimard, Champ Brule Duneau,72160 Connerre. Ph: 2 43 89 01 94.

Paris: Claude Longuet, 13-15 Rue Pastourelle, 75003Paris.Ph:14459 30 06.

ISRAELJerusalem—Michal Sivan, phone/fax: 02671-583546 Hebron Road, Jerusalem, Israel 93513, myb@netvision.net.il.

MEXICOMexico City/Cancut/Alcapulco—Rafael Villafane,We have meetings about every month at 7 PM—no

particular meeting day—people on the list are contactedprior to any meeting. Email addresses are preferred. I amalso found in Cancun or Acapulco at times, so email meifyou will be in those areas, Ph from US: 011 52 555295-0512. Cell from US: 011 52 555 502-7225. Emailis best as I travel a lot, raal@royerlabs.com.

Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa area—Jeff and Cindy Lowe,We will have a meeting any time there is a requestfor one. Please contact us if you’re going to be in theZihuatanejo/Ixtapa area. Phone from US: 011 52 755544 6303, cindearaba@yahoo.com.

For changes, additions or deletions,please emailDinaGibson@mac.com

Worldwide JJVIeIier 73ctbct J44eetingscf

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