Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual master who claimed to be his era's Avatar, or God in human form.
Regardless, Baba's Sufi influence is said to have drawn from Sai Baba of Shirdi, and it was he who designated Sai Baba with the specifically Sufi status of Qutb. == Life and works == ===Early life=== Baba was born to Irani Zoroastrian parents in 1894 in Pune, India.
During the 1920s, Meher Baba opened a school, hospital and dispensary at Meherabad, all three free and open to all castes and faiths. From 10 July 1925 until the end of his life, Meher Baba maintained silence.
At the age of 27, Baba began gathering his own disciples in early 1922.
They gave him the name Meher Baba, which meant "compassionate father". In 1922, Meher Baba and his followers established Manzil-e-Meem (House of the Master) in Bombay (now called Mumbai).
In 1925, he began a 44-year period of observed silence, during which he communicated first using an alphabet board, and by 1954, entirely through hand gestures using an interpreter.
During the 1920s, Meher Baba opened a school, hospital and dispensary at Meherabad, all three free and open to all castes and faiths. From 10 July 1925 until the end of his life, Meher Baba maintained silence.
On 1 December 1926, he wrote his last message, and began relying on an alphabet board. === 1930s – First contact with the West=== Beginning in 1931, Meher Baba made the first of many visits to the West.
On 1 December 1926, he wrote his last message, and began relying on an alphabet board. === 1930s – First contact with the West=== Beginning in 1931, Meher Baba made the first of many visits to the West.
The Associated Press reported that "Baba had decided to postpone the word-fast breaking until next February because 'conditions are not yet ripe'." He returned to England in 1936 but did not return to the United States again until the early 1950s. In the late 1930s, Meher Baba invited a group of Western women to join him in India, where he arranged a series of trips throughout India and British Ceylon that became known as the Blue Bus Tours.
Time Magazine's 1936 review of God is my Adventure describes the US's fascination with the "long-haired, silky-mustached Parsee named Shri Sadgaru [sic] Meher Baba" four years earlier. === 1940s – Masts and the New Life === In the 1930s and 1940s, Meher Baba worked extensively with masts, persons "intoxicated with God".
On 1 December 1926, he wrote his last message, and began relying on an alphabet board. === 1930s – First contact with the West=== Beginning in 1931, Meher Baba made the first of many visits to the West.
Starting in 1949, along with selected mandali, he traveled incognito about India in an enigmatic and still largely unexplained period he called the "New Life". On his first trip to England in 1931, he traveled on the SS Rajputana, at the same time as Mahatma Gandhi, who was sailing to the second Round Table Conference in London.
On 1 June 1932, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Ellwood, Meher Baba emerged as "one of the enthusiasms of the '30s". In 1934, after announcing that he would break his self-imposed silence in the Hollywood Bowl, Baba changed his plans abruptly, boarded the RMS Empress of Canada, and sailed to Hong Kong without explanation.
The Associated Press reported that "Baba had decided to postpone the word-fast breaking until next February because 'conditions are not yet ripe'." He returned to England in 1936 but did not return to the United States again until the early 1950s. In the late 1930s, Meher Baba invited a group of Western women to join him in India, where he arranged a series of trips throughout India and British Ceylon that became known as the Blue Bus Tours.
Time Magazine's 1936 review of God is my Adventure describes the US's fascination with the "long-haired, silky-mustached Parsee named Shri Sadgaru [sic] Meher Baba" four years earlier. === 1940s – Masts and the New Life === In the 1930s and 1940s, Meher Baba worked extensively with masts, persons "intoxicated with God".
Throughout most of the 1940s, Meher Baba worked with a category of spiritual aspirants called masts, who he said are entranced or spellbound by internal spiritual experiences.
Time Magazine's 1936 review of God is my Adventure describes the US's fascination with the "long-haired, silky-mustached Parsee named Shri Sadgaru [sic] Meher Baba" four years earlier. === 1940s – Masts and the New Life === In the 1930s and 1940s, Meher Baba worked extensively with masts, persons "intoxicated with God".
One of the best known of these masts, known as Mohammed Mast, lived at Meher Baba's encampment at Meherabad until his death in 2003. During his journey in 1946, he went to Sehwan Sharif to meet a well known sufi saint and a successor of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Murshid Nadir Ali Shah.
Starting in 1949, along with selected mandali, he traveled incognito about India in an enigmatic and still largely unexplained period he called the "New Life". On his first trip to England in 1931, he traveled on the SS Rajputana, at the same time as Mahatma Gandhi, who was sailing to the second Round Table Conference in London.
Baba called him an advanced pilgrim. In 1949 Baba began an enigmatic period that he called the New Life.
The Associated Press reported that "Baba had decided to postpone the word-fast breaking until next February because 'conditions are not yet ripe'." He returned to England in 1936 but did not return to the United States again until the early 1950s. In the late 1930s, Meher Baba invited a group of Western women to join him in India, where he arranged a series of trips throughout India and British Ceylon that became known as the Blue Bus Tours.
He inaugurated the Meher Spiritual Center in April 1952.
On 24 May 1952, en route from the Spiritual Center to Meher Mount in Ojai, California, the car in which he was a passenger was struck head-on near Prague, Oklahoma.
While recuperating at Youpon Dunes, a home owned by Elizabeth Patterson, in Myrtle Beach, he worked on the charter for a group of Sufis, which he named Sufism Reoriented. Meher Baba began dictating his major book, God Speaks, The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose, using an alphabet board in Dehradun, August 1953.
In 1925, he began a 44-year period of observed silence, during which he communicated first using an alphabet board, and by 1954, entirely through hand gestures using an interpreter.
In September 1954, Meher Baba gave a men-only sahavas at Meherabad that later became known as the Three Incredible Weeks.
During his trip to the West in 1958 he often needed to be carried from venue to venue. In 1956, during his fifth visit to the US, Baba stayed at New York's Hotel Delmonico before traveling to the Meher Center at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
During his trip to the West in 1958 he often needed to be carried from venue to venue. In 1956, during his fifth visit to the US, Baba stayed at New York's Hotel Delmonico before traveling to the Meher Center at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
His final visits to the United States and Australia were made in 1958. === 1960s – Later years and message on drugs === In 1962, Baba gave one of his last public functions, a mass meeting called the East-West Gathering, held in India.
His final visits to the United States and Australia were made in 1958. === 1960s – Later years and message on drugs === In 1962, Baba gave one of his last public functions, a mass meeting called the East-West Gathering, held in India.
His final visits to the United States and Australia were made in 1958. === 1960s – Later years and message on drugs === In 1962, Baba gave one of his last public functions, a mass meeting called the East-West Gathering, held in India.
Concerned by an increasing use of LSD and other psychedelics, in 1966 Baba stated that they did not convey real benefits.
In 1966 Baba's responses to questions on drugs were published in a pamphlet titled
Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual master who claimed to be his era's Avatar, or God in human form.
Despite deteriorating health, he continued what he called his "Universal Work", which included fasting and seclusion, until his death on 31 January 1969.
In 1971, Baba's following in the United States was estimated at 7,000.
However, other commentators have suggested that the size of the movement has been underestimated because public proselytising is uncommon among Baba's followers, and that in 1975, the movement was larger than the more visible Hare Krishna movement.
This was used in Bobby McFerrin's hit 1988 song of the same name.
One of the best known of these masts, known as Mohammed Mast, lived at Meher Baba's encampment at Meherabad until his death in 2003. During his journey in 1946, he went to Sehwan Sharif to meet a well known sufi saint and a successor of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Murshid Nadir Ali Shah.
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