|
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."
|
