1. Hama Doost and Hama az Ust

♦ Although God is more accessible to ordinary man through the God-men, yet God also reveals Himself in His impersonal aspect, which is beyond name, form and time. Regardless of whether it is to be through His personal or His impersonal aspect, it is necessary that the aspirant seek Him and surrender to Him in love. ♦ When the aspirant contemplates only God without a  second there is no room for love for God or longing for God. The individual has the intellectual conviction that he is God. ♦ Yet in order to experience that state in actuality, the aspirant goes through intense concentration or meditation on the thought "I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am neither this nor that. I am God." In exceptional cases the individual may experience through meditation what he has assumed himself to be. This mode of experiencing God is not only difficult but dry. ♦ Progress is more realistic and enjoyable when there is an ample play of love and devotion to God. This postulates temporary and apparent separateness from God and longing to unite with Him. Such provisional and apparent separateness from God is reflected in the Sufi concepts of the states of "Hama az Ust" or "Everything is from God", and "Hama Doost" or "Everything is for the Beloved God." ♦ In each of these concepts the individual perceives that his separateness from God is only temporary and apparent, and he seeks to restore this lost unity with God through intense love, which consumes all duality.

Summary of a talk given by Esfandiar Vesali at the Meher Spiritual Center, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on November 23, 2000

Kendra Crossen Burroughs tweets at Meher Baba Notes and writes or edits articles on Meher Baba and his lovers at several websites, including Meher Baba Manifesting, Mischievous Peeps, and Remembrances. Her own writings appear at Kendra Crossen Writes.

[Ward Parks elucidating; photo courtesy Beloved Archives Image Collection]

Editor's Note:

Flowing tresses may be a snare and a net: 

whose lure, like the bulbul, has sprung from the head,

bogged in the heart.

 

When ego is erased, duality disappears:

God's lover is himself God.

This is the heart's only home --

the heart in the lover, the lover in the heart.

 

O Seeker, you make a show of public worship,

then claim your share of desires.

The true lover carries within him, in secret,

the name of God.

 

Strange are the ways of the enlightened ones.

They weep and laugh in one breath,

scorn on the lip, grace in the heart,

profanity on the tongue, praise in the heart.

 

Some say God dwells in the temple,

others put him in the mosque.

What do you seek abroad, ignorant one?

Realize, oh Huma, God is within you.

 

This Urdu ghazal, written by Meher Baba (probably in the early years before he came to be known as "Meher Baba"), bears the poet's characteristic pen-name signature, in the final couplet, of "Huma" (the Persian name of a mythical bird, sometimes called the "bird of paradise").

 

The above translation is by Naosherwan (Anzar) Nalavala, and was published in a booklet, The Master Sings:  Meher Baba's Ghazals (1981). This ghazal sequence is now also found online here:  The Master Sings.

♦  There are many stories of my lack of generosity, but those are for another time. Baba often went to Peshwa Park, the local zoo in Pune. There is even a short film clip of Him there. He often took the whole Bindra House family with Him, and on one such occasion, my Mum had taken me. I was perhaps a year old. Walking in Peshwa Park, we came across Laxmi the elephant, who would stop and salute Baba every time without fail. When she did, Baba turned to my Mum and me. I was (so I am told) eating out of a packet of biscuits. Baba gestured to my Mum, "Tell her to give the elephant a biscuit." My Mum then said to me, "Baby Mehera, Baba says give the elephant a biscuit." What happened next had Baba turning pink with suppressed laughter: I broke off a corner of one biscuit and held it out to the elephant, who graciously tried to accept this crumb from me! Baba gestured again, "See, I told you! Even God cannot make her generous." ♦ Being of an "ungenerous nature," I had to learn about receiving and giving the hard way. It was hard for me to give, of course it was. But it was equally difficult to receive. It was part of my life-lessons to learn about both, or as Bhauji often said, "your I-spiritual training." Dear Bhauji was, of course, spot on, as usual. We need not only spiritual training, but also I-spiritual training. My I-spiritual training started with working with the "I" -- and learning to give up the "I" and let go of the sense of control I needed. Maybe I was born stingy, but having the Avatar work on your sense of generosity must bear some fruit, so as I grew older I became more and more stifled by things [material objects]. It became easier and easier to give away things I no longer wanted or needed, rather than hoard them (which was what I did before), to simplify and pare down my life and wants. I didn't even realize it was happening, it was so subtle a transformation. And because I was giving away things I didn't want or need, I felt no urge to be thanked or congratulated on my "generosity"! ♦ In fact, it was as if the person who took my excess stuff was doing me a favor. Slowly but surely, Baba was teaching me about "No Strings Attached" ... a very important lesson for all of us in all our relationships. I also had to learn to receive, and receive gratefully and gracefully. The biggest giver was, of course, Meher Baba. He gave and took away; sometimes it felt like He was taking away the very sense of security I had about my future. However, by His Grace, I realized that my sense of security didn't come from having a certain sum in the bank or a property that was in my name. It came from accepting that Baba would take care of me, no matter what. He would give and He would take away. I began consciously to thank Baba daily, and then more and more often during the day, for everything He took away and everything He gave me. "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed is the Name of the Lord." This statement from the Bible [Job 1:21] became my daily meditation.

Mehera Arjani, born into a family of Baba-lovers in Pune, worked for many years as a behavioral psychologist and life-coach in the UK, where she lived until 2010. She now lives at Meherazad, dedicating her life to looking after her uncle, Meherwan Jessawala, editing his memoirs, and doing Baba-related tasks.

The photo (above) of Meher Baba with young Mehera Kerawala [Arjani] (at dining table at Bindra House, residence of Jessawala and Kerawala families in Pune in the 1960s) is reproduced courtesy of the copyright holder, Meher Nazar Publications.

This is a private, personal prayer to Meher Baba by Baba's close Mandali member (disciple) Eruch Jessawala (1916-2001), recited within his heart every day for many years.

This written version of the prayer is based on Danny Ladinsky's recollection of Eruch's oral recitation.

Twenty Years of Separation  

♦ For twenty years, Mehera lived without the physical presence of her Beloved Lord. It was an unbelievably trying time, not only for her but for Mani, into whose care Baba had left his treasure. ♦ In April 1989, twenty years after the Great Darshan, Mehera, Mani, Meheru and Goher left for Poona as they usually did with Baba to avoid the hot Meherazad summer. It was a very special last time. They stayed at the Poona Club, watched videos and shopped. ♦ But Mehera began showing signs of speech and motor uncoordination. She'd spill the sugar putting it into her tea or use the wrong word for something. It got so that they had to return to Meherazad early, as on May 14th a CAT scan revealed that she had an inoperable brain tumor -- surprisingly heart-shaped. It would be the women's last private moments with Mehera, as she would finally pass to her Beloved Baba only six days later. ♦ Doctors said at the least she'd have blinding headaches and thought she'd be comatose with such a large tumor, but amazingly she was symptom-free. Once, she complained of tightness in the head, but not splitting headaches like Mani's and Goher's. ♦ It was apparent that Baba was veiling Mehera from much physical suffering. Goher would pray, imploring Baba, "Give us the suffering; don't make Mehera suffer." Baba compressed what she had to go through, so that it went so quickly. Just as in the 1952 accident, what Mehera experienced now was not what actually was taking place. ♦ Baba veiled her from much of the physical suffering at the end. Meheru remembers: "Mehera became much gentler, sweeter, as day to day responsibilities were lifted from her. She needed to sleep a lot . . . all day long if we'd let her." Mani also describes Mehera's last times and the final moments of her passing.

Tears of Joy 

♦ Mani remembers: 

The above account has been condensed and adapted from the "Postscript" to Ed Flanagan's manuscript, Christ Come Again, future publication of which is anticipated. In Issue No. 2 of the Gazette, we also shared "Memories of Mehera" (Ed's recollection of his meetings with Mehera in the early 1980s), drawn from the same manuscript.

For long years I prayed to sing with Love

under His arm, and carries me
like a saw or a whisk
from task to task. I did not ask
for such rapture of usefulness,
but I would easily trade
a mere million more lives to be a broom
or a pen or a pot in his hands.

Rachel Dacus is a poet, dramatist, and essayist who has published three books, including the recent Gods of Water and Air (2013), a collection of poetry, prose, and drama. Her website is racheldacus.net.

"Hands-on"; artist:  Charlie Mills

Meher Baba  

 

♦ The year 2014 marks the forty-fifth year since Beloved Baba, having completed His universal work in the physical form "Meher Baba" and having laid aside the body, resumed the work of His manifestation period. Now in July, the sun has passed its zenith in the annual cycle, and the fullness of summer is with us. It's been a busy and productive six months at Meherabode in Los Angeles, California. ♦ Meherabode is going through a smooth ride this year, and perhaps playing its role in Baba's manifestation period. Meherabode is, one might say, nothing other than a doorway through which people walk to find Meher Baba. Centers such as Meherabode -- where the name, image, story, presence of Meher Baba are made known to people -- serve to bring to awareness an otherwise hidden truth: that the Ancient One manifested once again in human form in the 20th Century. This remains an unknown factor for most people around us. In this respect, we can feel most fortunate to participate (in whatever small way) in His divine play during this Avatartic period, when (as Baba said) the Ocean itself is moving to overrun and revitalize the rivers of life. On the other hand, we must confess: we have no idea about His plans, His divine play, and His unfathomable ways of contacting and uplifting the thirsty souls. ♦ As Meherabode flourishes in His Love, He has compassionately blessed us with a healthy financial state at present. Regular fundraising efforts, and the Center's site-rental activities (which generate some added funds) are in process. The basic financial foundation is on solid ground. ♦ The site rental activity has gained some momentum in the past couple years. Besides generating sizable income, we've found that those who   

site rental: meditation workshop for nonprofit community activists

are drawn to our Center often include drop-souls ready to hear the sweet name and see the beloved form of Meher Baba! Besides devotional music, meditation, and art groups, film and TV production companies have rented the Center. There have been many stories and experiences relating to this. Baba alone draws new/old-souls to Himself in His own way -- but we have observed that the site rental process increases "visibility" of our Center in a low-key way that does serve to make Meher Baba's name known. 

 

David Miotke Sings

♦ An important perennial activity at Meherabode is our weekly meetings held late morning each Sunday. We are making the necessary effort to conduct ongoing weekly programs focused on Meher Baba's life and work. Baba Himself joins in and enjoys the show that He Himself created. ♦ Annually, we have the Urban Sahavas in July, and from time to time there are additional special gatherings. In fact our Annual Urban Sahavas is about to start, featuring a Meherazad resident, Mehera Arjani, and singer-songwriter Addrianne Shamszad from Oakland, California. ♦ A new outreach initiative with a series of concert of Indian classical music was launched a little more than a year ago with a concert featuring a fine Hindustani vocalist. Thus began a group process that is now drawing a wider 

Debut of "Concerts at Meherabode" (April 2013)

"My Meher Baba Story" (Ray Lee)

♦ Some recent Sunday late-morning programs have included:

• We inaugurated a new series in our schedule with "How I Came to Meher Baba" personal narratives. These (happening monthly) feature a host who shares his or her story of how caming to Beloved Baba.
• Meher Baba's "Divine Theme" was explored by Glen Russ through a consideration of this beautiful subject-matter from Meher Baba's spiritual discourses.
• A program exploring Meher Baba's first automobile accident (suffered in 1952 near Prague, Oklahoma, while driving East to West across the United States) with attention to Mehera's role in that dramatic scenario of the Avatar's universal work, hosted by Baba-scholar Ed Flanagan.
• A Devotional Baba Concert featuring Caris Arkin was a big hit. He performed for three hours, and a festive lunch served.
• Fred Stankus generously hosted a "Gutta" Breakfast. This marvelous LA-area tradition pioneered by Fred involves a "round table" feel, where we enjoy a late breakfast repast while sharing selected readings from Lord Meher.
• A bi-monthly series of Celebrating Mehera-Meher: A Divine Romance hosted by Mahoo and Mary Kay explored the lives of Baba's women Mandali as presented in the book.
• Among our favorite musicians, we welcomed David Miotke from Northern California, for a special musical performance. David's exquisite musical interpretation of Francis Brabazon's poetry was so delightful.

♦ Our thanks for all your support, patronage, and visits to both our on-site and online bookstore. ♦ See you soon!

 

Thanks to all contributors. Our deep gratitute to the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, and to the greater Los Angeles Meher Baba community who have inspired us to assemble this Gazette.

Thank you!