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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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