M erwan, now endearingly called Meher Baba by His followers, began a life of intense activity. As part of His Avataric work, on July 10, 1925, He began observing silence. A few days earlier one of His disciples asked, "But if you keep silent, how will you teach us?" and Meher Baba answered, " I have come not to teach, but to awaken."I n spite of His silence, Meher Baba continued to serve the needs of humanity on a material as well as a spiritual level. He established schools, hospitals and personally cared for lepers, the mad, and the masts - whose minds have become overpowered by their love for God.M eher Baba traveled extensively throughout India and Pakistan; made thirteen trips to the West, and gave His personal touch to the hundreds of thousands who flocked to Him during public darshan (meeting) programs.A lthough Meher Baba observed silence, through the medium of an alphabet board (which He discarded in 1954) and through gestures, He dictated several books and many messages concerning each one's journey to God, God's Advent as Man, and His eternal relationship with humanity.M eher Baba's silence was still unbroken when He laid aside His physical body at Meherabad (in Ahemadnagar, India) on January 31, 1969. He is now speaking in the hearts of those who are responsive to His inner call. Everyday, hundreds of stories, relating to Meher Baba's inner contact with His lovers, are being told by men and women coming as pilgrims to Meherabad from all parts of the world. Meher Baba had said:"Avataric periods are like the spring-tide of creation. They bring a new release of power, a new awakening of consciousness, a new experience of life - not merely for a few, but for all. Qualities of energy and awareness, which had been used and enjoyed by only a few advanced souls, are made available for all humanity. Life, as a whole is stepped up to a higher level of consciousness, is geared to a new rate of energy. The transition from sensation to reason was one such step; the transition from reason to intuition will be another." M eher Baba's body, which is entombed on Meherabad Hill, remains a focal point for those who love and follow Him. It is always possible here to feel the presence of the Avatar on a personal level and establish or reconfirm an intimate relationship with Him, which will clarify the guidance He eternally gives as the inner voice of one's heart. Meher Baba's Samadhi or the tomb-shrine is at Meherabad, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra State, India. |
Merwan Sheriar Irani was born of Zoroastrian parents on February 25, 1894 in Pune, India. One day in 1913, while on his way to college, Merwan was beckoned by a very old woman sitting under a neem tree. This was Hazrat Babajan, one of the 