Universal Love and Devotion are the cornerstones of Meher Baba's life and teachings...

Early life
Meher Baba was born in Pune, Maharashtra, on February 25, 1894 to Persian parents. While all his devotees call him 'Meher Baba', his real name was actually Merwan Shehariarji Irani. His father was a spiritual minded man and it is from him that he drew spiritual inspiration. His father spent a major part of his life wandering in the jungles in search of a higher spiritual experience. At the age of 35, he finally settled down got married and raised a family. Merwan, the second son of six children was brought up as a Zoroastrian, the religion of his ancestors.

Meeting Hazrat Babajan
Merwan grew up like a regular child. But when he was 17, his life changed dramatically. While riding on his bicycle to the Deccan College in Pune one day, Merwan noticed a large crowd surrounding an old woman, Hazrat Babajan, who was seated under a neem tree. She was regarded as a saint by the local Muslim community. He felt magnetically drawn to her and he went and met her. As he approached her, she embraced him with the fervour of a mother finding her lost son saying, "Mera pyara beta, mera pyara beta!" ("My beloved son, my beloved son!"). He felt as if an electric current was passing through his body, sending impulses from his head to his toes. Soon, he began interacting closely with her. He was unable to concentrate on anything. The only thing Merwan did regularly for the next seven months was to visit Babajan.

The change
In 1920, Merwan entered into a state of super-consciousness in which he remained for a period of nine months, entirely oblivious to his earthly existence. He roamed about, not eating any food. His family thought he had lost his senses. They called the doctors, but to no avail.

Finally, in 1921, he returned to normal consciousness with the help of Sadguru Upasani Maharaj. He spent the next two years trying to put down on paper what had happened to him during the extraordinary experience.

Avtar of God
From then onwards, he pursued the teachings of other spiritual masters including Upasani Maharaj who declared Baba to be the "one who has come to full God-realisation." Ultimately, Baba was proclaimed to be the Avatar or manifestation of God in human form.

Baba's teachings
Baba's followers believe that he was God incarnate and the Avatar of the "dark or iron" age, also called the Kal Yuga (the ongoing period). Baba believed that the avatar's duty is to "awaken humanity to a realisation of its spiritual nature and quicken the whole life of the spirit of his time."

Baba was concerned about the materialist culture of his age and was devoted to spreading the understanding of a cosmic sacredness. As an Avatar, Meher Baba's message was the metaphysical unity of all persons through a relationship of Divine Love. His followers believe that by loving Baba, they can learn to love others. In the highest, most intense, state of love, Divine Love, the distinction between the lover and the beloved ceases and one attains union with God.

Taking the best from all
Baba's teachings are influenced heavily by Zoroastrianism, which is his native religion, and Sufism, as well as from Indian gurus and mystics, many of who agreed that Baba was special. He also used the teachings of various other religions, believing that one's religious denomination did not interfere with one's ability to attain the highest level of spirituality.

He encouraged all followers to maintain their respective religious practices. Baba incorporated many of the Eastern religious themes into his teachings including that the soul or consciousness was detachable from the physical body and that one's soul never ceases to exist.

Baba believed that consciously or unconsciously, every living creature seeks a spiritual goal. The object of the quest is called by many names -- happiness, peace, freedom, truth, love, perfection, Self-realisation, God-realisation, union with God. Essentially, it is a search for all of these, where people want to establish an abiding reality in the midst of constant change. He said, "I repeat, materialism and spirituality must go hand in hand. The balance of head and heart must be maintained; the head for discrimination, the heart for feeling, whereby it is possible to realise infinite consciousness in art, science, nature and in every phase of life."

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