Recently received from the Friends of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust in Washington, D.C., is a newsletter (Circular Letter No. 9, dated January 1, 1982) packed with information on the activities in Meherabad and Meherazad for the second half of 1981. A few excerpts are reprinted below. The letter, which is on file in the AMBDC library, also contains Mani's statement on the 50th anniversay of Saba's first trip to the U.S., an exchange of cables regarding the passing of Ivy Duce, an encouraging comment from Mani on the worldwide awakening to Saba's love, and a couple of delightful stories-one about a tailor who loved Baba and one about a wolf, a jackal, and the Uon.
Warning Bell Rings On
Not a year has passed since the ringing of the bell of Saba's warning by Eruch's circular letter of November 25th, 1980. Even though the warning is still ringing in our ears, a fresh harvest of so-called saints, perfect masters and even avatars continues to crop up. Recently, right in Saba's Mandali·hall at Meherazad a westerner from the States announced in all seriousness, in the presence of the mandali that he is Meher Baba and that his consort is Me hera. The mandali's reaction was, "How ridiculous! How could such a one even be a Baba lover!" They also want to remind all Baba lovers again of Beloved Saba's frequent warnings to stay away from anyone claiming a spiritual status. Baba told His mandali and lovers that people would appear making such daims, and now the truth of His words is becoming dearer.
-Meherazad Mandali 14 October, 1981
Baba's 88th Birthday a Success!
This year's celebration of Meher Saba's Birthday marked the fourteenth anniversary of the first Denver Center Meeting. As always it was a wonderful opportunity to see our friends·in·Baba who live far away, or whose lives don't allow them to gather together more than a few times a year. We also got to meet some new people; folks who were just "passing through," or who had been in the area for several years and had only recently heard about the group. We need what you can share of your hearts, please stay in touch.
The main event of the party was the performance of a one·act play entitled Bluebird, written especially for the evening by Beth McKee. The action centers around an eighty·five·year·old man who, unknowingly, met Baba on the train in 1934, and in trying to remember the details of the incident in Albuquerque, inadvertently causes his middle·aged daughter and her husband to concentrate on Baba and His message. Directed by Phil Normand, the parts were wonderfully portrayed by Bill Gibson as Aaron, the old man; Kathy Harris as May, the daughter; and Michael Cohen as Mack, her husband. A special recording of the play will be made and sent to the mandali in India, for their enjoyment
Forty·six adults and twenty·five children of all ages attended the party to partake of the potluck dinner, the movies of Baba, and the remarkable love which abounds at these delightful gatherings. Along with the classic film of Baba' s 43rd Birthday at Nasik, was shown the special film made by Don Stevens in 1962 which includes footage of Baba playing a drum and explaining Hafaz. "Happy Birthday Dear Baba" was sung twice, with a rousing chorus of "Avatar Meher Baba, Ki Jail" We had a great time. See you all again next year.
Jal Better
Cable: Decernber 15, 1981
Inform all concerned-Myrtle Beach, Chapel Hill, Washingto n, Florida, and Toronto. Brother Jal improve· ment and recovery by Meher Saba's Love and Grace Deeply touched by all cables and letters.
-Jai Baba Mani.
Amartlthl 1982
The Thirteenth Anniversary of Beloved Saba's Amartithi was held at Dixon and Elaine Staples' house on January 31, from 11 :00 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m. Dixon read from Meher Baba 's Last Sahavas by Dr. H.P. Barucha until 12:00 noon, at which time a fifteen·minute silence was kept to coincide with .the observance in India . " The reading was continued until 12:30 at which time
everyone was invited to partake of the brunch: Eggs Benedict Vegetarian, prepared by Chef Dixon. About twenty people were in attendance.
Thanks go out to the twenty -two people who partici· pated in this year's Saba Jap. Twenty-four hours of Meher Baba's name must have done something to the subtle and mental spheres in Colorado.
January and Februcuy Business Meetings
At the January meeting, Winnie Barrett reported that $595 had been banked for the "Kitty-kitty" and another $320 was needed, of which $100 had been pledged. She requested $160 from the group treasury, which was approved (to be repaid if enough individual donations come in), and urged that donations be made now rather than later so that the plane tickets can be purchased. The ongoing discussion of the AMBDC newsletter's name continued, and the group agreed to put the question to a final vote in February. Most of the evening was devoted to planning the celebration for Saba's birthday, details of which were published in a special flyer. Finally, Eddie Luck raised the issue of how to respond more consciously to newcomers at local Baba meetings. The discussion revolved around reaching out to new visitors and remem· bering to explain any terminology or names that might be unfamiliar.
The February meeting was cancelled due to lack of a quorum, check the schedule for location of the March meeting.
Baba Birthday Lost and Found
· What would a party be without a bunch of leftover items? We have the traditional assortment Give Bill Gibson a call if something of yours got away: 320·5426
Hobsons Moving
Julie and John Hobson, long-time Denver Baba lovers, are planning to move with their family to California (Walnut Creek area) in the near future. They will be intensifying their Sufi studies and expect to leave as soon as arrangements ·can be made.
The Broken-Down Furniture News
Newsletter of The Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center 6025 E. 14th Ave. •3, Denver, Colorado 80220 St.lf
Schedule: PhU Nonnand (388-3073)
News: Phil Nonnand, Michael Haldeman (442-2518)
DislrlbuUon: Bill Gibson (320·5426)
Typesetting: Doug Anderson, Clarity Typesetting (62(}-6 I 00)
Subscription address: · 6025 E. 14th Ave. •3, Denver, CO 80220
Editorial Address:
c/o Haldeman, 1014 Adams Cir. •6. Boulder, CO 80303
DEADUNE for scheduling May·June I 982 meetings: April I 0.
Please call Phil with your date and topic
Published bimonthly $4 00 per year
IF YOU MOVE: Cont«t Bill so your newsletter will follow you, and Phil or Michael so we can run a directory update notice.
In
Memory of Ivy Duce
l'vy 0. Duce, Murshida of Sufism Reoriented, w.hose writings and example were a great help to countless and other Baba lovers, passed away on the evening of September 9, 1981, at her home in Orinda, California. She . was 86.
Born February 25, 1895, exactly one year after Saba, she led a full and varied life as a singer, Red Cross volunteer in World War I, businesswoman, and editor. She married James Terry Duce, an oilman, in 1923, and seiVed as hostess to his business contacts all over the world. In the early 1940's she became a mureed of Murshida Rabia Martin, lnayat Khan's successor as head of the Sufi Order in the West, and was in tum appointed Murshida Martin's successor in 1947.In January 1948 she journeyed to India to meet Meher Baba, who confirmed her role as head of Sufism Reoriented.
Murshida Duce helped edit several of Saba's major works, including God Speaks, and authored four books of her own. A film about her work, "Murshida," was recently released. She is succeeded as head of Sufism Reoriented by Dr. James Machie.
In a cable to the Sufism Reoriented center, the mandali said, "Murshida l'vy Duce passing away from our midst is our loss and her gain. Our dear l'vy continues to abide peacefully in the heart of her Beloved Lord and Master, Avatar Meher Baba."
Baba Feature Aim In the Works
A recent issue of Glow International reports that a two·hour film treatment of the Prem Ashram phase of Meher Saba's work, under the working title 'The Silent Beloved," is currently in preparation. Uam Mullan, aBaba lover from California who is heading the project, has been through several drafts of the script, and, when interviewed for the Glow, was raising funds and seeking a director for the movie. It wiU be filmed on location in India, and Mullan hopes to release it to theaters worldwide as early as Christmas 1982.
Rider Wanted
Bill Gibson is looking for a rider to share the drive to Myrtle Beach. He wants to leave around March 26 and return April 3. If you can drive and need a vacation, give him a call. 320·5426.
Book Report
The following books are missing in action: How to Choose A Guru - Rick Chapman
Meher Baba 's House - Govinda
Ramjoo 's Diaries, 1922·1929 - Ramjoo
The Silent Word - Francis Brabazon
Stay With God - Francis Brabazon
The Perfect Master - C.B. Purdom
If you have one of these, please return them so they can be cataloged Perhaps someone would like to donate a opy of one of these books to the library?
Schedule of Meetings- March·April 1982
REQ(JJ,AR
l (Sunday nights 7:30p.m., except where indicated)
March 7
March 14
March 24
March 28
Libra;y night
April 4
April 11
April 18
April25
Library night
New Ufe Incidents. Readings from Glimpses by Bat Natu.
Bill Gibson: 6025 E. 14th Ave. #3, 320·5426.
The Suffering of the God·Man. (Fourth in the series). How the Avatar suffers and works through His suffering both individually and Universally. Dixon and Elaine Staples: 3073 Robin Way, 759·9873.
"The Dance of Love." Readings from Margaret Craske's wonderful book of Baba stories. Peggy Clover: 738lh Emporia St, 340·2096.
"Love Alone Prevails." Readings from Kitty Davy's new book, beginning with Kitty's first contacts with Baba and the other early Western disciples. Winnie Barrett: 1285 S. Harrison St., 756·7152.
The Manifestation of the God-Man. (Fifth in the series). The Avatar has a huge impact on humanity, but how, where and when? Baba has given a few specific messages on this subject Dixon and Elaine Staples: 3073 Robin Way, 759-9873.
".Man's Search for Certainty" (Part II). Reading and discussion of Don Stevens' book.
Richard Sander: 8405 E. Hampden Ave. Apt 17X, 750·7041.
"The Path of Love." Readings from varioys books, and maybe some bhajans too. 6V. and Saroj Popat: 7284 So. Harrison Way, 773·1796.
Drama! Songs! A reading of Francis Brabazon's short play "The Bridge," from Singing Threshhold, followed by music. Please bring guitars, song books, and hearty voices! Volunteers will be needed for the reading. Please contact Winnie by April4 if you're interested in participating.
Winnie Barrett: 1285 S. Harrison St., 756·7152
ADDffiONAL EVENTS
March 19 (Fri.)
April 16 (Fri.)
.March Business Meeting. 7:00 p.m.
Dixon and Elaine Staples: 3073 Robin Way, 759·9873
April Business Meeting. 7:00p.m.
Bill Gibson: 6025 E. 14th Ave. #3, 320·5426.
Every Wednesday Searchlight Seminars, 7:90 :P.. m. The Hobsons continue to audit these tapes from Sufism Reoriented. RSVP. ·
John and Julie Hobson: 2042 S. Paseo Way, 936 -5501.
Every Thursday An Informal Evening of music and conversation. Illusion in the hand of Baba. Bill Gibson: 6025 E. 14th Ave. #3, 320·5426.
A Message from the Trustwalla
During the last five months, only two people have made contributions to the AMBDC Trust Fund Account. The balance in the account is $42 00. At the current rate, we will have donated/collected $100.00 for the Trust by . the end of twelve months.
If you are presently sending donations through another group to enable you to utilize the gift as a tax deduction, you should know that, from now on, our AMBDC donation will be channeled through one of the larger groups who have the non-profit status.
If you are having trouble reserving a few dollars f r
the Trust, you might try looking at it from another angle-that of the Trust Beneficiaries. The $6.00 spent here on a single movie, with Coke and popcorn, will provide about 80 rupees of food or care in a country where the national average income is approximately 30 rupees per month .... All depends on which glass you're looking through
- Dixon Staples
Make your checks to the Trust payable to Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, and send c/o Dixon Staples, Tr ustwalla; 3073 Robin Way, Denver, CO 80222.
Send Os Your Words, Your Hurried Messages
Now, dear readers, is the time to speak up and be counted. The Broken·Down Furniture News would like to hear from you. Has anything interesting happened to you or your family lately? Share it with the Baba community. Did you just get a letter or call from a Baba lover in Myrtle Beach or India? Pass the news on to the rest of us.
· Or maybe you'd like to write an editorial or share one of your poems or favorite quotes. Don't hesitate-we'd like to have your news tips, opinions, letters, creative writings .. . anything you think the local Baba family should know or would enjoy reading. Give us a call: Michael (442·2518) or Phil (388·3073).
The Sea
The Sea Will be the Sea Whatever be the drop's philosophy.
-Attar, the Perfect Master
THE BROKEN·DOWN FORNITORE NEWS
Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center 6025 East 14th Avenue, #3 Denver, CO 80220
Postcard from India
(On the back of a photo of the Kutab Minar in Delhi) . ,,
Dear Bill, this card depicting the HIGHEST of the High surrounded by ruins seems just right to convey our JAI· BABA for the title on newsletter from Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center. It has delighted the broken·down furniture. Special love to our Denver family in Beloved Baba's very special Love.
-Mani
Am edna gar 17th Dec., '81
Osed Credenzas?
Thanks to the archival mind of Dick Duman, we were able to track down the following:
"And so,Jn diverse ways, He lets our imperfections serve His· pei'fect plan. As Baba on ce· remarked to the disciples around .Him, with twinkle that not hide, all nothing but broken·down .furniture. But, it is I wbo have selected you, so you must be what I want'"::...... Mani's 78th Family Le.tter, September9, 1968
TilE BROKEN·IJOWN l' UitNJTURE NEWS
"You art all just brokm-doum furniture. But, it is I who ha!lt stltcttd you, so you miiSI bt whaJ I u.oant • · Mtkr
A Publication of the Avatar Meher llaba Denver Center Serving Uaba Lovers and Groups In the United States and Canada
Editor: MICHAEL HALDEMAN
Managing Editor: ALICE SLA VICH
Art Director: PI UL NORMAND
Copy Editor: JACKIE SIMS
News Editor: JANET DASCALOS
Review Editor: RICI-IARD SANDER
Quotewatla I Datcwalla: l'EGGY CLOVER
Life In Baba : WINNIE BARRETT
Love Digest : ALICE SLA VICH Busl ness Manager: DIXON STAPLES Distribution: CAROL SETAPEN Denver Loc.ll : PATRICK (News) DIXON STAPLES (Schedule)
ADDRESS ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO:
The Broken-Down Furniture News, P.O . Box 24271, Denver CO 80224, USA 003) 759-ffi84
Published bimonthly (January, March, May, July, September November) . $6.00 per year. Canada $6.00 (US) per year. Oversea s S!O OO per year. Please mak•• checks payable to Avatar Me her Baba Denver Center.
''I'm going to the Center!" For those who have had the blessing of visiting Meher Baba's "Home in the West," those words conjure up memories of time spent in a place unique to any other. As the Charter states, it is a spiritual retreat for rest, meditation and prayer. For many of us, the Center was the first place we experienced Baba's divinity, drastically changing the direction of our lives. What a ripe atmosphere for sharing His love with old and new friends, and for soaking up His presence which permeates every corner of the land. It is this that makes our experience at the Center so potent. Baba said: "Remember, I do not leave, because this is My Home.
It was thirty-five years ago this April that Baba first came to Myrtle Beach to "sanctify" His Center, and this issue of the Broken-Down Furniture News celebrates that occasion. The 'Love Digest' reprint of Bal Natu's Glimpses, gives us a taste of what that first visit was like; in'Life in Baba', Winnie Barrett shares memories of Elizabeth Patterson, Baba's beloved 'Dilruba', whose tireless devotion and love for her Master t'.! ned 500 acres of virgin land into a beautiful retreat. And in our feature, Jane Haynes addresses some questions about the future of the Center --· ..-IS
THIS DATE IN BABA HISTORY
Beginning of March 1959
Baba goes to the home of Nariman Dadachanji for a week, receiving hundreds of people, even though he is still in constant pain from an auto accident.
Bombay, India
Mid-March, 1961
Baba in strict seclusion Poona, India
March 21- April 7, 1949
Baba and four companions contact 4,510 mahatamas, sadhus, and saints during the New Life period.
J-lardwar, India
Hannon-on-Hudson. One afternoon in May, the group was picnicking, and most had wandered off to walk, pick flowers, or whatever. Elizabeth lagged behind, feeling inclined to stay close to Baba. He picked a flower and gave it to her, telling her to keep it always, to record the date, and that one day she would know its meaning. Elizabeth took the flower home, pressing it in her Bible and recording the date as dear Baba had requested.
Many years later- I believe it was in the proassof moving-shecameacross theBlbleshe had long before tucked away in a trunk. Opening it, she redisco'Vel'OO the flower and the date, May 24, 1932, and remembered the special moment between them. The meaning then became clear, as she realized it was 20 years later to the day Beloved Baba's automobile accident had occurred outside Prague, Oklahoma, with her at the wheel. How compassionate of Baba to remind her so beautifully that even this was in His plan.
In late 1968 Meher Baba announced that He would give Darshan to His lovers from the East and West in India during April and May 1969. We were all overjoyed to hear this news and travel plans were set in motion in rapid order. Then Baba dropped the body in early 1969! Those of us so new to Baba had not yet the depth of experience with His ways to understand this turn of events. I wrote to Elizabeth to say that since my sole motive for going to India was to meet Baba, now that He would not be there I could see no reason to make the journey. Elizabeth's immediate reply was, "Baba knew full well what was about to happen when He issued the invitation. Those who love Him should honor His invitation." Once more, her wisdom gave me another insight into Baba's ways, and as a result, I did not miss out on the most momentous occasion of my life.
Towards the end of Elizabeth's life our relationship changed. I had less need, she less time. Yet there remained a shared feeling of friendship between us. A god-parent is said to be one who gives direction to a child's spiritual development. In that sense I always thought of Elizabeth as the godmother I never had. For she helped me to know who Meher Baba is, and became a bridge in tny journey toward Him.
Jai Baba!
BABA'S HOME IN THE WEST
A11 Exchange with ]tme Haynes conducted by
In October 1986 the BDFN asked Jane Haynes, current president of the board of directors of Meher Spiritual Center, to share with us her thoughts about Baba's home in the West. She graciously responded with detailed answers to our queries and gave us access to abundant information about the history and development of the Center.
Jane Barry Haynes was born in Durham, North Carolina. During her active career, she founded three theaters, one of which was in Myrtle Beach. She and her children first heard of Meher Baba through Miss Zasu Pitts, who was playing at Jane's Star Theatre (Myrtle Beach Playhouse). (Miss Pitts had heard of Him through Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks in the thirties.) Elizabeth Patterson and Kitty Davy were the family's link to Baba and Jane received messages from Meher Baba in 1957 and met him in the Form in May 1958. Jane and the children had a deep experience of His divinity and dedicated their lives to serving Him. By direct order from Baba, Jane went to New York for seven years, during which time she performed one-woman shows, featuring Meher Baba's uxmis. as benefits for the National Mental Health Association. Another accomplishment was the establishment of the Avatar Meher Baba booth at the World's Fair in New York. In 1965, also by Baba's order, she returned to make Myrtle Beach her home. He told her," Do not await specific instructions; seize every natural opportunity to help Elizabeth-Kitty in the work at My Center. My plan for you there will unfold." For the past 22 years, she has served Baba and his Center in various volunteer capacities, as a director and subsequently president of the board upon Elizabeth's passing.
Q. What does the Center's charter say as to the objectives and purposes of this place?
A. 1958 Charter for Meher Spiritual Center Inc. states as its objects and purposes:
"To found within the United States of America a non-sectarian and non-profit religious organization, dedicated to the spiritual purposes of Meher Baba and to th Qdissemination of his teachings, without supplanting professed religious convictions or beliefs, but for the enhancement and strengthening of the spiritual life.
Winnie Barrett & Alice Slavich
'To maintain a spiritual retreat for rest, meditation and prayer.
"To maintain a library primarily of philosophical and inspirational books accesstble to the public.
"To hold group meetings for the reading of the Discourses of Meher Baba and other universal truths.
"To donate clothing and other gifts to the poor."
Q. Who visits the center?
A. Baba's directive to us as to who may come to His Center: "Those who love and follow Me. And, those who have heard of Me, and who want to know more." This is followed exactly, and to the letter. Careful records are kept of each visitor, including day visits from the nearby community- Baba groups and interested visitors (churches, schools, and wildlife groups). Also, college study groups, mostly from the southern U. S. Baba lovers from every state and England, Wales, France, Sweden, Australia, India, Israel, Pakistan, Portugal, West Germany, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, Guatamala, Canada, New Zealand, Phillipines, and Saudi Arabia.
In 1981 the Center accomodated 10,329 day visitors and 1,870 retreat guests for a total of 12,199 visitors. In 1986, there were 12,631 day visitors and 2,481 retreat guests for a total of 15,112. Of these, 644 were visiting the Center for the first time.
Q. What is the difference between going to India and a visit to the Center?
A. I cannot speak for others on this point each soul is so precious to Baba, and He treats each one in a special way, including their experience at His homes. For me, there is a special deep dimension of His love and grace to be discovered at Meherabad and Meherazad, a uniqueness of experience that cannot be put into words. There the God-Man, for so many years, worked and suffered and did His universal work. There we can "drink from the fountain" and be renewed and refreshed. There we have the great privilege to be with those who lived the life, the life of Love and Truth, with their Master all of whom give unstintingly of their time, love, and energy, to such a degree that can only be made possible by Baba's grace. Deep heartfelt experiences of Baba's love and divinity cannot be compared ... like jewels that shine in His Crown ... distinct and different but with the golden thread of
love. This Center in Myrtle Beach He asked for, He wanted, He planned every step of the way. He has called it His home in the West. How fortunate we are, that in spite of suffering and great work, he came and lived and worked and laughed and stayed, for three periods in His life. All for us. To create, through His dear ones, Elizabeth and Norina, a place where all could come to experience His prexmce ... all pervading. He did not have to do this. He did it all for us, and forcountle$ thousands more who pemapscan only take a sip of the wine. But, as Baba reminds us, 'To hear My Name is enough" and how fortunate are the ever-growing numbers ofvisitors from many countries, and from every state in the union, who can come and even stay at His Center.
Q. What is the signifigance of the Lagoon Cabin, the Barn, and Baba's House?
A. He expressly asked us to keep each of these three places "as nearly as possible as when I lived here in the Form." So Baba Himself stressed this. These were the special places where he gave so much beautiful discourses, private times, blessed times and he kept His promise, made in 1958: "Remember, I do not leave. This is my Home "
Q. What are your thoughts on the community of Bab a lovers in the Myrtle Beach area?
A. An interesting question! The number grows almost weekly those moving close by to be near the Center ... families, single people ... all
wanting to :nakc their home near the Center. I can only remember Baba's words when the legal ruling came, at His behest, some years ago, that no one was to live on the Center (not permitted by our Charter). Baba then said how happy it would make Him if His lovers would live nearby, likening it to a lovely jewel on the finger . .. His lovers surrounding His home And this is what has happened. We can say t!'lat the Baba !ov ers nearby have been, and continue to be, a great help in the Center work. They take part in an active way. They respect the Center's rules, and they look forward to their retreats here when they can come. Moreover, they contribute to the community life in Myrtle Beach. Baba always said that it does not much matter what we believe, but how do we live our life? Each one, I believe, really tries to live Baba's life of love and truth, trying to demonstrate in their community hard work, honesty, and making a contribution in so many ways. Many are engaged in service-related occupations; many create their own businesses; they are in education, business, law, medicine ... every possible area. There are now about 300, if we count the beautiful "old souls": the children who now are coming in increasing numbers! The Center could not really manage now, with so many coming and going, without their good help. And we can only hope, in the future, to have more facilities for them to really come and enjoy the Center during their day visits. It should be noted as well that the
necessary increased public relations efforts of the Center's administrators are aided very much by the lives of the people who love Meher Baba and who live nearby and work in the larger Myrtle Beach community.
Q. How is the nearby commercial ment affecting the Center?
A. It was Baba who chose Elizabeth's father, Simeon Chapin, to come in 1911 and to subsequently found the place to be known as Myrtle Beach (from the beautifuJ myrtle bushes, likethe myrrh in the Bible). It was he who has made the resort now one of the leading ones in the country .. . therefore since it is Baba's plan, He will see to it. In our membership letter, we explained how we moved the entrance of the Center, when the shopping center came, in order to be opposite the traffic light, for safety reasons. The new neighbors have been good ones, replanting our old entrance, and helping in many ways. We are pleased to have lighted buildings, good security, across the way, rather than some other kind of development that would not be so good, and noisier. So far we have not had too many "drop·ins," as we thought we might have! But we are prepared for them. The Gateway is now manned 24 hours a day (thanks to good volunteers ))e. tween the staff and night watchman), and there is full-time security at night. We adjust as well as we can, knowing that it is a blessing for many to come- thousands- weekly, just across the way. One interesting note for the future: the directors would like, in time, to consider a plan to have an entrance off the Highway, on the southern boundary, for safety reasons. This, for many reasons, has to be a long range plan, but it is in our minds. Baba gave good protection here, by having Briarcliff on either side of the property -neighbors dedicated as we are to preserving the coastline, to no more development, etc. We work with them, and try hard to be good neighbors, which is vital.
Q. What do you see as the future role of the Center?
A. To keep inviolate Baba's home, that is to say, adhere to his charter and directives with 100% obedience and work and love. To remain, as He says: "flexible, like the birch tree, not like the oak,n letting Him guide intimately the gradual growth, to accommodate the ever-growing number of pilgrims, but always within the PageS
framework that He put into place, and also with a constant sense of protecting and preserving the natural beauty of the virgin land, land that He said He had walked upon in a prior advent "eons and eons ago." Ever sensitve to the life here of the marshlands, the rare white-tailed deer, all the animals and beings that have always called the land home (including the alligators!).
Q. What are the long-range plans for Center development?
A. We have a tO-year developmental plan that projects, when funds become available, a much-needed new family cabin; individual places for one person (like the new Hermitage); a new kitchen, leaving the Original Kitchen for just visiting and coffee, tea, etc. (the special place Baba visited each day). A cabin on a beautiful Long Lake site, just beyond the playground. Eventually, a new library building in the northeast quadrant of the Center that would also serve as greeting place for so many day visitors, thus preserving the privacy and solitude of theretreat guests in the heart of the Center. Continued care and expansion of the extensive trail system of the Center, so vital to the meditation and quietude of the retreatants. We have learned through the years that Baba makes it very clear when there is to be any expansion, and He provides before the nood arises. But the directors do try to have a general vision and plan for gradual, natural, needed growth.
Q. Will the Center expand to adjacent areas?
A. No. It was not Baba's wish. He had Elizabeth's father give the land "from the heart." He specified exactly how many acres: 498.4. And painstakingly the deed was prepared and planned and executed (just before Mr. Chapin's passing). So the shape, size, and acreage is just what Baba asked for and wants.
Q. What do you see as the future of the Center, after those of you who knew Baba in the body are gone?
A. Earlier you mentioned the Elizabeth-Kitty era .•. somehow one only thinks of a Meher Baba era! Each of these dear disciples, Kitty staying here since 1952, at Baba's request, and working ardently each day and night since ..• each of these fine people have kept so much in the background, quietly carrying out Baba's wishes, that one hesitates to call it their era. But if you mean what happens in future years, when the Conli11utd Dll ,_,,
Baba's Home in the West
It is difficult to narrate the incredible experiences of those who were drawn to Baba during His first stay at the Center. And it is still more difficult to put into words how this contact, as time passed, intensified the awareness of Baba's divine presence in each one's heart. So here I prefer just to add a few romments about theCcntcr itself. For when Baba stayed there for two months, beginning April22, 1952, He was inaugurating not just the physical property of 500 acres, but a phase of his Divine Plan which continues to this day.
Even now, the various activities carried out at different parts of the Center are still fresh in the memories of those who were with Baba. But more than that, every structure built on the pro- pcrty, small or big, was endowed with its own outstanding feature and eternal inner importance: the New House, especially built for Baba, retains its unrivalled spiritual importance; the Guest House, where the Indian women mandali stayed; the Lagoon Cabin, the Avatar's audience chamber; the Barn, where the God-Man dispensa:i His spiritual bounty; all are still fragrant with the perfume of His presence.
In short, Baba's Jove and pn:sence, expcri-cnarl by His dear ones and the visitors during the earlier interviews and darshan on the Open Day, still permeate the entire property with a penetrating sublimity. The following quote, from one of Baba's interviews given in the Lagoon Cabin, sheds light on the continuity of this exalting experience. To one of the visitors Baba had conveyed :
I will tell you why you feel happy here. Those who are connected with me ought to feel happy here for two reasons. Ages ago this was a place where Haba visited, moved about and stayed, and the combination of the lake, ocean and the woods gives it a unique atmosphere.
No wonder that in His subsequent visits to Myrtle Beach, Baba referred to the Meher Center-on-the-Lakes as His Home in the cit] West.
From ClimpS('s of the God-m.1n, Mcher Baba,Vol.l (1943-1948), by Bal Cql}'Tight e 1'1llby Bai Nalu. And fran GlirrfBe'! ol'thc.CaHnu\ Mcher Baba,Vol. III (February 1952· February 1953) by Bal Natu. Copyright l!:l 1982 by Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust. Used by pcrmlo;.s lon.
JANE !lAYNES crml intwl [rum pagt 8 younger ones are on the board, and carrying out Baba's wishes, then my response can only be that it will be the same as always. The love and obedi- cnce and indeed reverence for the Center will always be there, for it is Baba who chooses the workers, the directors, the volunteers, not us And so He will guide each one, inwardly, just as He guided those earlier ones. He is the doer. No changes are envisioned -many challenges and tests- but a continuance of the dear and simple and wise directives that the Beloved gave ... for all time.
In summary, I often recall during the six years since Elizabeth's going to Baba, her wise statement: "Baba is more available now than He has ever been" (since dropping the body.) His Presence here is immediate, constant, and personal. He sees to His Center in every way, and to the smallest detail. It is only for us, the volunteer directors, and the dedicated staff, and the fine volunteers, to remember this, try to stay out of His way, take a day at a time, and let Baba do his work.
Important, too, to mention the two cables Baba sent in the sixties to Elikitjane: "Meher Center will be a place of pilgrimage for all time. I send my Love-Blessing to you. Mcher Baba." Also: "Meher Center wi!l one day be f\1y !}:-:iv2:-sal Center. Mehcr Baba. " So that, wher. pressure began, as was inevitable with ever- increasing growth nearby, at the place Baba chose for His home, Myrtle Beach ... when these pressures began, we remembered the above, and not only arc reassured but confident and sure that Baba will take care of His home, always and forever. An interesting note: one day, sitting on the porch at Dilruba, Elizabeth turned to me and said (many many years ago, before any of this development nearby): "Remember what I say one day the Center will be an oasis. An oasis, just like Cer.tial Park is, in New York City." Baba gave her this vision, and she knew, but was not disturbed. Nor are we. Indeed, it is wonderful to know that now over 300,000 people come to Myrtle Beach each week in season; 12 million visited last year. This makes us happy, that so many feel, albeit unconsciously, His presence as they are close to most sacred place in America. jai Baba!
BROKEN. DOWN FURNITURE NEWS
KATHERINE L AURA DAVY
August 28, 1891Dece m ber 3, 1991
"Her
She lived for it, and her life exemplified it." -Jane Barry Haynes
Sometimes I think we've become very possessive of the people, pets, activities and habits we've accumulated over the years. It is very difficult as an adult to not see them as my loved ones, my . favorite this or that, yet that is exactly what I believe Baba wants us to do. We must always strive to go against the grain, if you will, and remember that everyone and everything is all His.
This past month we have lost a dear lady and special lover of God and there is a certain amount of sadness attached to this event. One wonders, 'Will my trips to the Center ever be the same not being able to see Kitty?" Even in trying not to feel this way it is still there! Ah, being human! Aren't we a collection of feelings?
When I have lost someone dear to me, I try to tell myself that to get to God, you must travel very light ... so light in fact, that it is not even possible to take your body. Then I see the person in Baba's arms, as happy as can be. Surely everything else is unimportant. Jai Baba! -PCS
ROKEN·DOWN FURNITURE NEWS
"You are all just broken-down furniture. But zt is I who have chOsen you, so you must be what I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor/Love Digest
Alice Rybak
Copy Editor/News Notes
Jeanette Gibson
Copy Editor
Jackie Sims
Copy Assistant
Vaira Filipovs
Life in Baba/Pilgrim's Palate
Wmnie Barrett
Quotewalla/Datewalla
Peggy Oover Stipek
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger Reviews
Richard Sander
Art Directors
Phil Normand & Denise Gibson
Production Assistants
Vaira Filipovs & Peggy Oover Stipek
Local News
Dixon Staples Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Dixon Staples
Address all coxrespondence to: The Broken-Down Furniture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA.
Phone (303) 333-1727
Published bimonthly Oan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.).
$10.00 per year.
Canada $10.00 (U.S.) per year. Overseas $13.00 per year. Please make checks payable to The Broken-Down Furniture News.
Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, except where noted.
EWSNOTES
Hospital Commemorates Baba's Accident
The hospital in Prague, Oklahoma, where Baba and several mandali were treated after the 1956 automobile accident will install a commemorative photo portrait of Meher Baba. The portrait was accepted in recognition of a gift from the Atlanta Baba group (Meher House, Inc.) for the purchase of life support equipment for Prague Hospital.
The photograph, which shows Baba holding a lamb, and its inscription will be mounted either in Room 102, where Baba was treated, or in the hallway outside the room
HIS DATE ... IN BABA HISTORY
December 3,1991 We rejoice that our dearest Kitty Davy has returned to her Beloved Baba. We will miss her.
January 1914 Babajan kisses Merwan on the forehead.
January 3, 1932 Baba and Mahatma Gandhi meet for the last in a series of meetings aboard the steamship, Rajputana, en route to England.
January 7,1927 Baba starts using the alphabet board.
January 11,1926 Baba composes His Arti in Gujerati, ''Bujave Naar," later known as the Gujerati Arti.
January 16, 1931 Baba leaves India on His first World Tour.
January 171861 Tajuddin Baba is born.
January 25,1925 Baba and His mandali make their first great stay at a place called Meherabad.
January 28,1926 Hazrat Babajan's b ir thday is celebrated in Me herabad.
January 31,1969 "Do not forget that I am God," Beloved Baba reminded His followers several times on this day-the day He left His physical form. Amartithi means "Eternal Date."
February 10, 1954 Baba publicly declares Himself the Avatar of the Age, in Meherastana, U.P. February 25, 1943 Shireenmai, Baba's devoted mother, drops her body.
February 25, 1894 Merwan S. Irani, later known to us as Meher Baba, truly the "Compassionate Father," is born in Pune, India .
tiFE IN BABA:
REMINISCING
Tuesday, December 3, 1991
The phone rang this morning just before six o'clock. The message was simple and clear: Our dear Kitty at last is with her Beloved. A wave of quiet joy swept over me. And though it was a planned "sleepin" morning, I was soon heating the chai, making calls and most of all, remembering.
•I remember my first glimpse of Kitty, back in 1967, as if it were yesterday. My friend and I arrived from Chapel Hill in mid-afternoon. We turned into middle gate, headed for Laura Delavine's, to meet up with Marshall Hay and Nancy Sasser. I had not yet met Kitty, as she had been away during my first visit. As we were about to make our next turn, we passed a sturdy, smallish woman walking a beastly looking dog. asoon
learned the dog was named "Beauty." And many years later, while visiting here in Denver, I was greatly amused at Kitty's commenting about my own pet, a cat, saying, ''Well, she's not very pretty, is she?")
As we passed Kitty, she looked up, nodded a greeting, and walked on. Our eyes met for just a second, and in that instant I felt a surge of something I later came to know as Baba's presence. Being so new to Baba and so
by Winnie Barrett
had always seemed more like a godmother- an authority with whom I frequently felt nervous and on my best behavior, Kitty was more playful, informal and ready to be a cohort.
•The next vivid image I have of Kitty is from the 1969 Darshan. I traveled in the "overflow" plane with Kitty, Elizabeth and others. After a lengthy trip with several stops in Europe, we arrived in Bombay. I believe it was in the early morning, around 6:30 or 7:00 when we deplaned. As we approached the entrance to the airport, I was totally absorbed in the atmosphere of India. But when we were inside and waiting in lines to have passports checked I glanced at Kitty, then was compelled to drink in what I saw.
· Kitty looked absolutely regal, fresh, strong, stately, totally in her ele-
"Our eyes met for just a second, and in that instant I felt a surge of something !later came to know as Baba's presence."
ment like a queen, I thought. It seemed as if she were silently proclaiming with every fiber of her being, I'm home. I'm home at last! I immediately walked up to Elizabeth and exclairned,"Oh Kitty I'm so excited!" Elizabeth replied dryly, ''Well I guess you are!"
•During the Christmas holidays in 1969, Paul Matthews and I had been asked to sing at one of the programs. We agreed to arrive at the Center on a particular day to attend a rehearsal. Because of shifting plans and our collective laziness, we arrived a day late, missing the rehearsal altogether. We went to freshly post-psychedelic, I turned to my friend in astonishment and said something like, "Oh wow, what was that!? Too much!" At the same time, my friend turned to me and offhandedly remarked, "Oh, there's Kitty." A very powerful beginning.
Over these 24 years, I have come to think of Kitty as my favorite "auntie." Whereas Elizabeth
check in at Dilruba, as was then the custom. Elizabeth and Kitty together opened the door. To my dismay and then my horror, we were greeted not with hugs or even "hello's," but with a scolding. 'We've never known you to not follow through with what you said you would do. It's too late now; we can't do the program. We'll
have to arrange something else."
Needless to say, I was knocked off my feet. I'd never had both of them displeased with me and it was absolutely devastating. Yet, as soon as I realized my folly and saw the lesson in
buildings, etc. She picked up her walkie-talkie and began, " Kitty calling Kitty calling " in that wonderful British accent. Jeff immediately responded with , "Yes, Kitty, go ahead." "Kitty calling ... Kitty calling " "Yes, Kitty, I responsibility, the atmosphere immediately lifted. We were forgiven, and then warmly greeted. This must have been a little taste of how Baba had worked with them.
The incident brought another valuable lesson-that it was possible to have someone confront me directly and straightforwardly without it being destructive to the relationship. This was a new experience for me and a healing
"It was as if Baba were taking a little walk with His darling Kitty ... "
can hear you . " "Kitty calling .. . Kitty calling ... " Dear Kitty! Even with repeated training on how to operate this newfangled contraption, she just couldn't quite get the hang of it.
•One of the tenderest moments of my life took place in the early 80s. It was late afternoon. I was walking along the one.
•We are all familiar with Kitty's word substitutions. As the years went by, these "Kittyisrns" became more numerous and humorous. For the first year or so of our friendship, Kitty called me "Winky Barnett." Until I got to know her, I felt mildly slighted by this; at least until I realized she called many of us new ones by unusual names!
More recently, when the idea of networking with Baba lovers in the mental health professions was just beginning, I had several conversations with her about it. As the project began to take shape, Kitty asked me what we would be calling our publication . (This idea eventually became the Journal for Psychological and Spiritual Int egration). I said we didn't know yet what name to use. She replied, ''Well don't worry, I'm sure you'll find the perfect turtle ." (title!)
•One of the most amusing times I recall with Kitty was the year Hurricane Diana threatened to put in at Myrtle Beach. We were evacuated from the Center, and I ended up at Kitty's, along with Cathy Haas and Caren Bramlette. The Center had just been given a set of walkie-talkies, one being left with Kitty, so she could communicate with various caretakers on the Center grounds. During the storm, she wanted very much to know what was happening to the trees,
path to Baba's house, on my way to tea at Jane's. As I rounded the bend just before the fence came into view, I began to smell the most exquisite scent. It was February, and not expecting to find anything in bloom, I was intrigued. I looked around, but could not find the source. Just then, Kitty came onto view, coming into the Center for a
walk. We met, exchanged a brief greeting, then went our separate way. I noticed a tear on Kitty's cheek. It touched me, bringing to mind her determination from early in her life with Baba, never to cry except for love of Him. This thought was fleeting. We passed each other on the path . My next step brought me suddenly into a sense of His presence, in a powerfully tangible way. It was as if Baba were taking a little walk with His darling Kitty and I had stepped into the wake of His footsteps . I stopped, compelled
on p. 8
AN ACCOUNT OF KITTY'S PASSING and the Events That
Compiled by Wendy Connor, Ellen Book and Sheila Krynski
COPY OF CABLE FROM INDIA
Sent December 3, 1991, which was also telephoned to Dilruba at 7 a.m., the morning Kitty passed on.
TO: JANE BARRY HAYNES
MEHER SPIRITUAL CENTER MYRTLE BEACH, SC
WE SALUTE OUR MOST PRECIOUS KITTY SAROJA THE OLDEST DISCIPLE OF THE ANCIENT ONE. HER LOTUS PURE REFLECTION OF BELOVED BABA'S LOVE WILL CONTINUE TO SHINE AT HIS HOME IN THE WEST AND IN THE HEARTS AND LIVES OF HIS MANY LOVERS WHO ARE ENRICHED BY THE EXAMPLE OF HER LIFE FOR HER BELOVED LORD AND MASTER AVATAR MEHERBABA.
AVATAR MEHER BABA KIJAI MANI AND ALL MEHERAZAD FAMILY
The same day, the following message was sent to Mani and Meherazad Family from Myrtle Beach:
Beloved Baba's sweet Saroja gently slipped into her darling Baba's arms, 4:50, morning, December 3rd. After repeating His Name for 40 minutes, her et;es opened for a moment, then closed, as she joined Baba. Kitty's life of selfless love, of enthusiastic dedicated service will stand as a shining example for lovers of God for all time. We will miss her sweet and loving presence which brought Baba's joy and harmony to all who knew her. Yet we rejoice in her long awaited union with her Lord and Master Avatar Meher Baba. Our love to all Meherazad Family.
-Meher Center Family
The following is an account of events surrounding Kitty's passing.
On Monday evening, December 2nd, a beautiful card for Kitty arrived from Mani, Federal Express via Nashville. Mani had plucked a hibiscus flower from outside Kitty's room in Meherazad and mounted it on the card saying, "Dear, dear, dear Kitty, there is a kiss in every petal of this flower from Mehera's garden for you." It was placed on Kitty's bed and was with her when she passed on. A special white cloth from Bal Natu was delivered to Kitty by Jeff Wolverton on Sunday, December 1st. The cloth had been placed both on the Samadhi and on Baba's bed in Meherazad. It was used to cover Kitty from Sunday, December 1st, until the end At 4 a.m., on the morning of December 3rd, Kitty began repeating Baba' s name in unison l
Took Place That Day
December 3, 1991, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
with Wendy until4:39. She then began saying it more and more quickly, and louder and louder. At 4:41, Kitty stopped saying Baba's name and for the next nine minutes, as she went to Baba, Wendy continued to say His name until Kitty passed on at exactly 4:50a.m. At that time, Wendy said the three prayers Jane arrived and along with Ellen Book they all said the three prayers together. Just as they finished, Dr. McKay arrived and confirmed that Kitty had gone. He wrote in the nurses log: ''Kitty has passed. -Dr McKay." The doctor had visited the day before and was very moved by the care Kitty was getting, saying, "Everything that could be done is being done."
After the doctor left, Wendy and Ellen bathed and dressed Kitty with Jane in the room. During this time the Dilruba helpers and the Center workers were called, and gathered in Dilruba.
India was telephoned and Eruch sent salutations to Kitty from the Mandali, remarking that Kitty was "released and had won her race. She is the oldest one who has joined the Ancient One." Sheila delivered this message to Kitty in her room and kissed Kitty with love greetings from the Mandali. At this point the helpers and Center workers came into Kitty's room. Marshall Hay then lead the prayers. Bob Brown lead the Australian Arti and Jane Brown followed with the Gujerati Arti. There was 15 minutes of silence from 6:15 - 6:30 ending with three AVATAR MEHER BABA, KI JAI's!
The message from Mani and Meherazad Family was received by phone and read aloud to all present in Kitty's room . There was almost a full hour for people to sit quietly with Kitty in her room before the funeral directors arrived at 7:20. At 7:30 Dennis McCabe, Jeff and Marshall transferred Kitty to the stretcher and escorted her to the hearse in the compound. As Kitty came out the front door onto the porch, again all exclaimed AVATAR MEHER BABA, KIJAI three times. The crowd followed her to the hearse and there was a moment of silence just before she
was placed in it. The door closed and all waved, repeating AVATAR MEHER BABA, KI JAI as the hearse drove away- many giving the familiar Meherazad Wave.
Kitty was brought to Bullard and McKenzie Funeral Home where a small group of sixteen gathered to be with her before she was cremated. The prayers were said and Janet Luck sang "Begin the Beguine." All said AVATAR MEHER BABA, KI JAI. Each person placed a rose on Kitty and bid a final farewell. A Baba card was also placed on top of her. Everyone left the room at 1 p.m.
People will be coming in from all over the country to the Center this weekend. Friday night Part 1 of the Pete Townshend film taken of Kitty about 14 years ago will be shown. Saturday at 4 p.m . there will be a service at the Good Shepherd Memorial Chapel followed by a reception at Dilruba. [Eds. note: The service was held at Sandy Grove Baptist Church, due to the space limitations of the Chapel.} Saturday night Part 2 of the film of Kitty will be shown. Sunday, at 2 p.m. there will be a special remembrance program at Meher Center and everyone will be welcome to share their reminiscences of Kitty.
Pat Sumner and Heather Nadel reported that at arti Tuesday evening at Meherabad, just five hours after Kitty went to Baba, garlands of roses were placed on Baba's Tomb for her Andy Lesnik and Jim Meyer were there from Myrtle Beach and were the first to place a garland on the Samadhi for Kitty. Jim sang many of her favorite songs. Ted Judson sang several songs, including hymns that Kitty was particularly fond of. Heather sang a Hindi song, and Eastern Baba Lovers contributed to the music as well. They said it was very very beautiful at the Tomb that night.
On Thanksgiving Day, November 28th, Kitty awoke early in the morning and said clearly to Buz Connor who was beside her bed, ''I want to run. I want to run quite free." Our darling Kitty is free at last.
AVATAR MEHER BABA, KI JAI!
KITTY'S MEMORIAL PROGRAM December7,1991
IN HONOR OF KATHERINE LAURA DAVY
August 28, 1891- December 3, 1991
Sandy Grove Baptist Church Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
December 7, 1991
''LOVE ALONE PREVAILS" MEMORIAL SERVICE PROGRAM
CLASSICAL MUSIC SELECTIONS REQUESTED BY KITTY
THE MASTER'S PRAYER
MUSIC
"The Australian Arti"
WELCOME
MUSIC Special Hymn
MUSIC
"I Found A White Dove" "I Will Never Leave You" POEM
MESSAGES FROM THE MEHERAZAD FAMILY
AVATAR MEHER BABA'S WORDS
MUSIC
"All The Way"
"THE WAY OF PERFECTION"
EXCERPT FROM A TALK BY KITTY DAVY PRAY ER
"BEGIN THE BEGUINE"
LIFE IN BABA -continued from p.S
to absorb what I could of this glimpse of Him I took another step, and the next took me out of the wake, as clearly and suddenly as I'd stepped into it.
•I think the most profound time for me came last February, when I had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with Kitty when she appeared to us all to be so close to death. I recall that tiny hospital room, its dim lights, hushed voices, and the sound of Kitty's labored breathing. How tender, brutal and poignant a time it was, holding Kitty's hand during the vigil, witnessing what we all thought was a transition from this life to what lay beyond-Beloved Baba. I especially savor the memory of a predawn visit to the hospital on the way to the airport to return to Denver. The baby softness of her hair, a kiss on her forehead, and a heartfelt farewell: "Goodbye, dear Kitty, and Godspeed."
This was our last visit.
During a recent stay at the Center, I called daily to inquire about Kitty's health, her mood and whether it might be possible to pop in and say hello. Each time, the answer was no . The only contact we had was at the Meeting Place, where we exchanged a brief greeting. Later, Dana Ferry said she had mentioned me to Kitty, who replied, "Winnie Barrett? Winnie Barrett from Denver? Oh yes, we had a very nice visit!" I decided if it was good enough for Kitty, it would have to be good enough for me, too!
Kitty has been an anchor for so many of u s for so many years, it's hard to imagine the future without her. Kitty dear, we love you s o much ; we will miss you terribly We salute your great love for y our Beloved Meher Ba ba, and we rejoice that you are now resting peacefully in Him!
Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!!
tovE DIGEST: ALIVEWITHGon
The following excerpt, read at th e memorial service by Wendy Conner, is from a talk Kitty gave on "Consciousness."
Meher Baba has said that one may follow God in the Absolute, but one must bring the Absolute into one's own being This surely is what we must do if we want to be really alive and filled with enthusiasm, the Greek derivation of which is literally "alive with God." It is so important to be alert to give a smile, a word of interest, an intuitive response that would help others. Baba, by the example of His own life, shows us that not by running away from life but by communicating with and loving one another can we strive to shift our consciousness to His lnfi-
nite Oneness. 1f we try to remember Baba every time our consciousness slips back from the "One" to the "many," we will be on the way to putt ing into practice the valuable lesson of mental control and obedience, and thus be pleasing Baba. There are so many opportunities that we miss throughout the day simply because of our inability to keep our focus on Baba. What we need to try to do is to learn to love Love . And Baba reminds us to let all our thoughts, words and deeds be controlled by our constant remembrance of God, with love. Clearly Love and Love alone prevails in Meher Baba's final message to us, dictated by Him on January 6, 1969.
"TO LOVE ME FOR WHAT I MAY GIVE YOU IS NOT LOVING ME AT ALL. TO SACRIFICE ANYTHING IN MY CAUSE TO GAIN SOMETHING FOR YOURSEU IS LIKE A BLIND MAN SACRIFICING HIS EYES FOR SIGHT I AM THE DIVINE BELOVED WORTHY OF BEING LOVED BECAUSE I AM LOVE. HE WHO LOVES ME BECAUSE OF THIS WILL BE BLESSED WITH UNLIMITED SIGHT AND WILL SEE ME AS I AM" -MEHERBABA
EVIEW: A DATE WITH THE ETERNAL BELOVED
A Date With the Eternal Beloved- Amartithi in India 1989
This video spans the three special days from January 30 through February 1,1989. Through it we are able to participate in every aspect of those three days. We walk up the hill from lower Meherabad. We greet Mehera and the ladies when they arrive. We share incredibly intimate and profound moments with Mehera as she garlands her Beloved's photos, gadhi and tomb, and bows down to Him.
Later we share in the activities of the eveninglong lines of pilgrims coming for His darshan, families settling into the dharmshalas, groups singing bhajans far into the night, complete with neon lights blinking A-M-B within a circle. We see preparations of massive quantities of food, and we hear the babies crying.
Beginning at a 5:00 a.m. on the thirty-first, we arise before daybreak to accompany Mehera and the other women to Beloved's Samadhi for morning arti. One can almost feel the crispness in the air as we see the ladies so bundled up. Meanwhile, back at Meherazad, the torch is lit and the relay run begins, winding through Ahmednagar and on to Meherabad, where the dhuni is lit.
We get a tangible sense of the throngs of people who have come to celebrate Baba's presence at this special time. Then at noon, for 15 minutes, a silence spreads throughout-all but the crying of little ones. Prayers in many languages, films, entertainment and music are everywhere. And then there are goodbyes.
I have never been to Amartithi in India. But when viewing this extraordinary film, I felt transported into the midst of this beautiful celebration, as if I were there in person. This is a video not to be missed!
ON HIS BLINDNESS
by John Milton, (1655)
The following poem is one that loved and knew by heart. Slie sent a copy of this poem to Baba in the 1930s. It was read at her memorial service by Lois Breger.
When I consider how my light is spent Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide, "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest; They also serve who only stand and wait."
"God is everywhere, in everything. Most of all He is right within yourself."
f>ILGRIM'S pALATE:
VILOO'S BANANA FRITTERS
Many Westerners have enjoyed the fine hospitality of Viloo's, over the years. I was always impressed with the wide variety of culinary offerings and immediately got seriously hooked on banana fritters. In 1983 I managed to get the recipe. Here's how you make them. (Obviously, the precise measurements must be followed exactly to achieve best results! (This is a typical Indian-style recipe!)
Ingredients: ripe bananas
sugar flour
1 egg
1lirne
powdered sugar
nutmeg
cinnamon cooking oil
1. Mash ripe bananas with "a little" sugar, "a little" flour, an egg and the spices, to form a "thickish" batter. ( 1 large banana makes about 3-4 fritters.)
2. Heat oil in a skillet. Spoon in the batter. Deep fry by spoonfuls. Drain on paper towels. (Low fat alternative: saute banana batter in a small amount of oil or butter.)
3. Serve warm or at room temperature with fresh lime juice squeezed on top.
4. A dusting of powdered sugar is a delightful combination with the lime.
B , ROKEN. DOWN FURNITURE NEWS
The centerp iece of our 40-year commemorative gathering was a visit to the site of the accident
I sn't it interesting how our commitment to Baba seems so firm, so deep, one moment and so frustratingly weak the next? In one of those ongoing, heartfelt conversations with the Beloved, it feels right to say, "Yes, Baba, I'll do that," and really mean it. But then, off we go into our "real" lives, nose-deep in Maya, and what is waiting for us there but the perfect situation to test our sincerity? Does this sound familiar? I rarely see them corning. Our Beloved has such devotion to us, such great love . He never misses an opportunity to help us along our way. If only I could really concentrate, hold tightly to His daaman, maybe this would get easier, I think. I am so grateful for His sense of humor and His compassion. Sometimes I can feel His smile at my foolishness and I laugh too. "I will keep trying Baba, please help me!" I say to Him.
-PCS
BROKEN. DOWN FURNITURE NEWS
"You are all just broken-down furniture. But zt is I who have chosen you, so you must be what I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor
Alice Rybak News Notes
Richard Sander
Copy Assistant
Vaira Filipovs
Life in Baba!Love Digest/ Pilgrim's Palate Winnie Barrett Quotewalla/Datewalla
Peggy Clover Stipek Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger Reviews
Richard Sander
Art Directors
Denise Gibson & Phil Normand Production Assistants
Vaira Filipovs & Peggy Clover Stipek Local News
Dixon Staples Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
AMBD C Meeting Sche dule Dixon Staples
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Furniture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206
USA; Phone (303) 333-1727
Published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $10 .00 per year.
Eruch's mother, Gulmai Jessawalla, passed away peacefully on June 24. She had been living in Meherazad with her other son Merwan and daughter Manu since having a stroke.
Trivia a Ia Iran
The Australian newsletter reports that the airport in Teheran is named Meherabad International. A sector of the city of Teheran is named Meherabad. Among the twelve months, Iran's first is Parvardigar, the sixth is Sheriar and the seventh is Meher!
Books
Naosherwan Anzar is currently selling Mehera for $20; a steal. For information write: Naosherwan Anzar, Beloved Books, 599 Edison Drive, East Windsor, New Jersey 08520.
Ben Leet tells us he has many copies of his book Poems to Avatar Meher Baba, an anthology of poetry by Baba lovers. It is $5.00 and is available through Manifestation, Inc. and the Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California Bookstore. Or write Ben directly: 2501 7th Ave. #3, Oakland, CA 94606.
The Play's the Thing
In 1%1, Meher Baba directed Bhau Kalchuri to write a play on the theme of Creation. Upon completion, the play was presented as a live performance in Ahmednagar for Baba's birthday celebration that same year. Baba attended the performance and expressed His happiness with it. The play was translated from Hindi into English in 1972. Jaye Baecher of Australia has now adapted the play for radio and it is available on audio cassette. "The Ancient One" is 'a succinct exposition of Avatar Meher Baba's divine knowledge on the processes of evolution, reincarnation and involution through which every individual soul has to pass on its journey to God Realization.' For more information contact Jaye Baecher, P. 0. Box 7, Nowa Nowa 3887, Victoria, Australia.
An Invitation
The Los Angeles Sahavas Committee extends an invitation to Baba lovers outside the immediate L.A. area to be involved in the planning of the 1993 Sahavas.
All work is done on a volunteer basis and there are numerous positions available in many different areas of interest. Meetings are held once a month until June and then as often as needed thereafter. The committee will mail a copy of the monthly minutes and agenda to out-of-town volunteers to keep them apprised of committee discussions and decisions. The dates for the 1993 Sahavas have not been set, but will fall around the July 4th holiday. If interested, please contact Cathy Broadly, 26171 Escala Drive, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (714) 951-9254.
IN BABA HISTORY
September 1, 1931
Baba slips away with a few mandati for His first trip to the West. He does not want Mehera and others to know He is leaving so He feigns illness.
September 3, 1945
Nayaran Maharaj drops his body at the age of 60. Throughout Bangalore, the tears flow.
September 7, 1953
Baba gives the discourse ''Highest of the High," revealing His divinity to the world.
September 21, 1931
Hazrat Babajan drops her body at 4:27 in the afternoon. Thousands in Poona weep in amazement at her passing.
September 30, 1954
Baba gives His ''Final Declaration" at Meherazad.
October 7,1954
Baba discards His alphabet board and relies only on His unique hand gestures to communicate with His lovers.
October 15, 1918
Sai Baba drops his body at Shirdi, during the important Hindu holiday of Dasserah.
October 16, 1949
Baba's New Life begins.
October 16,1951
Baba' s Manonash begins.
October 17, 1941
Meher Baba and Upasni Maharaj meet (physically) for the last time.
[IFE IN BABA:
Not my will, but Thine be done
The is taken from a talk by Philip White, told at Chick & Candy's on May 25,1991 at the South Central Baba gathering in Austin, Texas. Philip is a social worker living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
When I was 4 years old in 1952, I remember getting on my knees in front of this red couch and I broke down and wept. I was shocked by the depth of my weeping because, at age 4, I had had any kind of an experience of myself, and It was at such a depth it frightened me. I blurted out unconsciously, "I want to find God!" It's the most poignant memory of my childhood. did I that events would link together to bnng me this close to the incarnation of the Godman Himself.
At age 16 in 1965, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was told. I had approximately six months to live. I was very upset and frightened, as any 16 year old would be, and feeling regretful about what I wouldn't live in my life. A part of that was feeling something was missing about God.
One day I was sitting in my room reading the Bible. It was after my surgery when I was basically sewed up and left to die. I remember saying, ''Not my will, but Thine be done," and having a really profound experience of such magnitude that I lost consciousness of it for eight years, until I was 24.
At the age of 24 I wanted to go live in France but was unable to do so. So, instead, I went to New York City, cut my hair, decided not to be a hippie anymore and went into business. I ended up meeting an old Chapel Hill Baba lover, Bill Lorraine. I was in his car when I first saw the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" photo of Baba. When I saw it my heart pounded. I went into utter terror. I broke into a cold sweat. I had always prided myself in being very tolerant of other people's beliefs and religions, but this photograph terrified me. I became instantly unaware of my body and found myself sitting before a huge chess board with this man in the photograph on the other side, sitting there waiting for me to make another move. I was terrified, because I knew if I made a move He was gonna
The Broken Down Furniture News September-
by Philip White
nail me and it'd be over. He got impatient and gestured, ''Make your move." So, I moved. He instantly took His player and checkmated me, at me, and kind of through His look said, Checkmate. The game is over."
Then His image kind of faded away and I was back sitting in the car sweating with my heart pounding. I felt like I'd just been through the ''Lord of the Rings" fire or something. So there I was, and Bill said, ''What, is there anything wrong with you?" ''No, nothing... Who is this man in the photograph?"
"Oh, that's Meher Baba."
''That's enough! I don't want to hear any more, thanks." I can't believe I said that but I terrified! Bill, of course, did not say anythmg else. But, I became literally obsessed with Baba from that moment on. It was a fear I fascination. There was a clear pull and I was just in utter agony.
That was my first introduction to Baba. I had had no direct contact with Him other than that photograph.
Then one night I had a dream about Baba. It was long and complicated, with ever-changing facets. At one point, Baba pulled a hat out of the an old hat and a cane, and He humped over like an old man and started walking around like an old man. He was miming an old man perfectly.. that's something I used to do as a boy, mmung an old man. He did that and it was utterly hilarious. Years later, with Hermes, I ran across the photograph of Baba that Mani had taken, with a top hat and a cane and those shoes. That's just the way He looked in that dream.
Later, Baba showed me numerous lifetimes, personalities and themes of those lives, an entire panorama of opposites, but with the continuity that were all me. Some other things happened the dream, and then at one point Baba looked mto me and telepathically said to me these words I'll never forget: "Nothing is as it appears, for 'I am the one true light."
I remember thinking, What do you mean by this, 'Nothing is as it appears, for I am the one true light"? As I asked Him that in my mind, His
body began to melt, and finally, it condensed that needed to be known. Then I was slammed back down into a little ball of light. I thought, What into my bed and the light getting bigger, pulled me is this ball of light? I've seen it before, but where I in yet again. don't know.
This time I was in outer space, and I saw the
Then I woke up. I went off to work, only this earth, and somebody had taken my hands. I had time I had an elbow in my brain. I could not get never seen the earth like that, but when they landed this light out of my mind, and it haunted me so on the moon in 1969 and took shots from the moon much I finally quit the job in NYC and went to the earth, it was precisely how I saw it in '65. back to North Carolina to my version of Walden
Once again the light got bigger and pulled me Pond: a farmhouse with a pond. I ordered a set through, and I experienced myself as being in everyof Discourses and began to read them, because thing. From that glimpse I got just a shadow of an now I had to know who this Meher Baba really idea of what Baba means when He says He experiwas. ences Himself as everyone and everything: That
While reading the second volume I remem- glimpse was humbling and incredible. Then once ber having this incredible moment, an epiphany more I was thrown back on the bed, and the light really, where I just knew that Meher Baba was was encompassing everything. I remember thinking, experiencing moment-to-moment the infinite The light has got everything. There's nothing left now in state of God, and that He was not some guru or the whole universe except me and this light. And it gets wali or Oxford scholar writing rr=================il down to just this subject and just about mysticism, that He was this objed. I was pulled into it actually God in human form. Baba pulled a hat again, and I experienced a mergAnd, when I realized that, I out of the air, ing with this light in which there lost consciousness of my body ld h d was no separation, just this for I don't know how long an O at an a cane, unfailing, ineffable, inviolable,
After that, I began to recall and He humped over blissful knowing. the time when I was 16 and like an old man and When I came out of that pronounced dying of cancer, started walking around experience I remember feeling with only a few months to blissful for months and months. live. I began to put together like an old man. There was no worry, no fear, no how I was allowed to stay in anger. I was experiencing such a the body for a while. I remem- state of being in the will of God, bered having been in that room years ago and and it didn't matter if I stayed in my body or not. I reading the Bible and looking up and saying, knew that if I died, it was meant to happen and ''Not my will, but Thine be done." And it was in there was no worry or concern or doubt about it. that moment that I remembered having seen, at So people would come in to pray for me, but age 16, a little ball of light in the doorway. I when they came into my room their knees would litremember my stomach turning over and my erally buckle, some of them, and they'd just begin to eyes rolling up in my head, and I just slumped weep. They would come over to my bed and I'd back on my bed. The light approached me from console them and hold them, an utter reversal of the door of my room. It was the most beautiful what they'd come for. light that I'd ever seen.
I remained in that state for about a year, then It pulled me into it, and I came out on the gradually it waned. other side, and I knew things and experienced It was very painful coming out of that, and has things about my future that I had no way of been for years; to live a remembrance of that. It's a knowing. It showed me different parts of my life. great loss. I still grieve. I feel wonderfully fortunate, Then I was slammed out of the light and that in answering a 4 year old's prayer, Baba gave back into my bed, and the light got bigger and me in this lifetime a glimpse of His physical form closer to me and pulled me into it again. I felt and a glimpse of His infinite state. like a giant overlooking the United States, just knowing the whole country and everything in it JAIBABA! •
FoRTY YEARS AFTER: The Accident in Prague by
May 24, 1932: Meher Baba gives a flower to Elizabeth Patterson and, in so doing, tells her to remember the date. Elizabeth presses the flower in her Bible.
May 24, 1952: Meher Baba tells Elizabeth to go Elizabeth is the designated driver of the car carrymg Baba, Mehera, Mani and Meheru as it speeds westward on highway 62 between Prague and Meeker, Oklahoma. Already exceeding the speed limit on a wet, two-lane blacktop with no shoulder, Baba again tells Elizabeth to speed up.
May 24, 1992: Philip White and Helene Lawrence host a gathering of Baba lovers from the mid-south section of the United States in commemoration of the 40-year anniversary of the "accident'' which fulfilled Baba's prophesy that His blood would be spilled in America.
We've never known what to call our looseknit, geographically scattered group of Baba folk from this section of the country. On paper, we number about 30-35 souls, but that total is spread out within the boundaries of four rather large states: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas. When I first connected with this group in 1987, after some fifteen years as a soli.:. tary citizen in the net cast by the Avatar of this age, the mailing list was entitled ''Tex-La Baba Group" and sported around 25 names. Now we don't call it anything. I suspect that it's part of my ethnocentric fondness for the cultural spirit of this part of the country to believe that the fierce force of pioneer individuality still courses in the veins of us all. Like the pappy of Pecos Bill, who regarded anyone with the gall to move in as close as 200 miles from his homestead as a squatter, we stubbornly defy being corralled into group identities- even in the name of the Shepherd Himself. Yes, it's no simple matter to collect a group of these twice-removed pioneers with "Remember the Alamo" in their collective blood. But if such noble conceptualizations can be attributed to the bloodlines of our ancestors, of what import is the blood of the Christ?
On this occasion, Philip and Helene's invitations produced a grand total of six (count 'em) takers from within the group: Carey Harnden and her daughter, Katie, Jim Lusk, Ward Parks, me and my son, Forest. This core of elite were supplemented by the presence of Denver's own Winnie Barrett and (direct from Ahmednagar)
Michael Ivy
David and Sheila Fenster, their two sons, and Helene's daughter, Petra. In deference to Helene's request, I must explicitly state that, although Philip and Helene have different last names, they are, indeed, married.
On Saturday, May 23, all of the "gatherees" had found their way to Philip and Helene's home in Tulsa and were being entertained by Alice the Baba cat whose mischievous habit it was to casually nudge things over the edge of lofty ledges and then feign disinterest as they crashed on the rocks below. In addition to the animal kingdom, the evolutionary stage of Birddom was represented by Jim's parrot, Jai. Alice the Baba cat kept thinking that Jai' s name was "Tasty Morsel," but Jai remained unflustered. Our gathering was blessed ·with other tasty morsels. Sheila (Bhau Kalchuri' s daughter) shared with us numerous stories from her childhood experiences at the feet of Him to Whom the universe is but a dream-pebble. David, who is the person most responsible for the specific English wording and editing of Meher Prabhu, Bhau's monumental biography of Baba, told us about his work on that project which was recently completed after ten years. David said that the complete Lord Meher has been finished and now exists in the form of a typewritten English manuscript encompassing some fifteen thousand pages (which he had to retype three times). He said that his being in the position of having absorbed the entire biography while most of the Baba world has been exposed to only the first five volumes is not unlike having just seen the best, most moving movie that you've ever seen and wanting all your friends to see it too. After hearing David describe it, I must admit a feeling of incredulity that such a project is stalled less than half way through. One can only hope that a way is found.
Besides David and Sheila's firsthand accounts, other morsels included Indian food prepared by Jim (whose culinary talents should be legendary by this time next week) and the music of Ward ,the most prolific songwriterI poet of the Baba world (with deference to Bhauji on the poetry front). Anyone who can listen to Carey Hamden sing Ward's "All My Spring-
times" without being moved from here to there needs to figure something out.
Well, on with it. As you, good reader, might expect, the centerpiece of our 40-year commemorative gathering was a visit to the site of the accident. I'll dispense with the use of quotation marks around the word "accident," assuming that you know with Whom and what we are dealing here. The fact is that it constitutes yet another delicious irony that the English term for an automobile crash is "accident," such term being synonymous with blind chance. Yet, when used in the context of this event in the life of the Godman, the use of that term is instrumental in the annihilation of the concept of blind chance. Think of all the hints He gave us with His behavior that day that this event was no accident. Baba is perfectly sneaky.
Speaking of hints, I'm sure that there are a lot of you out there who, having incorporated the ideas that God controls everything and that everything exists in unity with the One into their daily lives, are frequently receiving such hints from God in the events/circumstances of your lives. These hints tend to be the spiritual manna on which our souls dine for those of us having only recently joined the ranks of the tool makers. The masts may drink deep from tha t holy fountain, but me, I catch crumbs from the King's table. Anyway, during our trip to the accident site, the hints were there for us.
We made the drive from Tulsa in two cars. We entered Prague (pronounced with a long "a" by the natives) from the north and turned right on highway 62 going west toward Meeker. After covering about eight miles, we topped a hill and saw a long ribbon of straight highway in front of us. Having been there before, I recognized it and said to Philip, "I think this is the long straightaway before the site." Having been there many times before, Philip said, "Yes, it is." We were silent over the next minute or so as we approached the site. And then the first hint
appeared. It took the form of an old Studebaker. You remember the kind- it has a body shaped kind of like a football with concentric circles of chrome adorning the "points" on both front and rear. We guessed it to be around 1948-50 vintage -definitely old enough to have been on the road in 1952 Philip and I looked at each other and said, "Whoa!"
We were then upon the site which looks about as insignificant as any stretch of road I've ever seen. It's straight and flat. I remember being puzzled on my first visit to the site because I'd read Elizabeth's account which states that she had just topped a small hill when she saw the car on her side of the road. But the approach to this spot (from the East) is flat as a pancake, possibly even as flat as a tortilla (chapati for Indian readers). I guess the whole experience must've given Elizabeth's memory some room to move.
On the south side of the site an embankment about 6-8 feet high shields the road from the view of a farmhouse some 30 yards away. On the north side, the entire stretch of road is practically in the front yard of a more modern, brick farmhouse only 40-50 feet from the road. It had been out of this house that the first people on the scene carne that day. The embankment has been the repository of various markers placed to commemorate the site over the years. David said that he constructed a rudimentary plaque or sign on a stake and erected it on the embankment around 1975. Rumor has it that this plaque was removed by the local sheriff as a result of one or more Baba lovers having used the spot for somewhat lengthy devotional activities which made the neighbors nervous. Of particular note was the day that a long haired Baba lover sat for some time singing songs to Baba in the rain with his guitar.
Later, in 1985 or so, Philip had driven a small post into the embankment which said something like "Avatar Meher Baba Accident Site/May 24, 1952." On my first visit to the site, that post had
been there, adorned with several small items left by unknown lovers. On May 24,1992, there was nothing there at all save the knowledge of the event and the love in our hearts.
Carey had brought a large bouquet of flowers to give to the hospital at Prague, so she picked one out and laid it by the road even as the most precious Flower of humanity had lain there by the road, broken and bleeding. We wished to remain as discreet as possible. After a moment of taking in the scene, we formed a circle on the north side of the road and said the three prayers together. As we broke the circle and crossed the road to get back in our cars, the second hint carne rolling down the road: it was a Ford of exactly the same vintage as the Studebaker we had seen earlier. Philip and I looked at each other. Philip said, "If one more comes by, I'm gonna fall out." But the "damage" was already done: two cars of the same time period as the accident, both in mint condition, both solid black, one going in each direction -bookends for our arrival and departure. Is that wild, or what?
So, picking our chins up off the ground, it was off to the next destination - the hospital in Prague . As we drove back into Prague, we naturally had to stop and take a group shot under the 'Welcome to Prague" sign. Affixed to the bottom of the sign
was a later addition which declared Prague a "Public Power Community" (you can say that again) . We were met at the hospital by Martha Sheldon, who had worked at the hospital as its administrator for 26 years. Ms. Sheldon had previously spoken with Philip and was expecting us. She greeted us warmly and took us into her office which happened to be the same room that Baba had occupied for thirteen days following the accident before being moved to Myrtle Beach. Today this room is number 102, the numbering system having changed when a major addition was built onto the hospital in recent years . Ms. Sheldon produced a copy of Ivy Duce's book, How a Mast er Works, which, she
Tlze Broken Down Furniture News September- October 1992
said, had been donated to the hospital by the Atlanta Baba group. The Atlanta group had also donated $1,000 to the hospital, which Ms. Sheldon said would be used to upgrade the facilities of the emergency room. But what I thought was the nicest gift from the Atlanta group was a beautifully framed photograph (the one of Baba hugging the lamb) with the following caption underneath:
Avatar M elze r Baba (1894-1969), the ren owned spiritual leader from I ndia, sustained severe injuries in n11 automo bile accident near Prague on May 24, 1952 He wa s brought to Pragu e Municipal Ho spital , then known as Pragu e Clinic and Ho spital, and treated by Dr Ned Burleso 11 Mefzer Baba recuperat ed for t hirt ee n day s in roo m 102. I n gratitude for t!Je compa ss io nat e care gi ven by Dr Burles on an d his st aff, a donation was given and this pho tograph placed , by fri ends of M efzer Baba .
Ms. Sheldon had hung this photograph in the hallway directly across from the room that Baba had occupied. The copy of How a Ma ster Works was marked with several post-it notes marking passages that Ms. Sheldon wanted to discuss with us or tha t made reference to certain p laces in the hospital. I was surprised and very impressed with Ms Sheldon's genuine interest in Baba She said that she would like to assemble a small library of Baba books for visitors and patients who express interes t and requested that we send some materials that might serve as handouts .
During our tour of the hospital we also met Alice Morrison, a volunteer worker who had been present during Baba's stay in 1952. I asked Ms . Morrison if she had any specific memories of Meher Baba or the mandali. She said that she did not; that her memories of the time were very general . However, since I am an investigator by trade, I am left with the impression that Ms. Morrison should be contacted again It may be that some specific stories would come to mind with tirn·e and a longer conversation.
Ms Sheldon said that all future visits by Baba lovers are welcome, and that she'd be glad to meet them and show them around. She
requested that prospective visitors to the hospital contact her prior to dropping in. She can be reached at (405) 567-4922
We returned to Philip and Helene's place in Tulsa. There, our previous themes of tasty morsels were continued, this time including a game of questions and answers (on Baba themes, of course) devised by Wmnie. My nine-year-old son did particularly well with Winnie's trick questions, leading us to believe that he and Winnie were on the same level.
In wrapping up this account of our gathering, I'd like to return to the subject of blood, as in the blood of the Christ. The evening of the 24th brought an unexpected event. Around bedtime, my son, Forest, became suddenly ill with an upset stomach and chills. Even more disturbing than the illness was the way that Forest was reacting to it. You see, Forest is an extremely mature and selfconfident nine-year-old. Very seldom have I known him to be afraid of anything, much less of being sick. But this time was different. This time his reaction to being sick was abject fear. He cried a deep, forlorn cry as if he'd been abandoned by all that was good. I did everything I knew to do to comfort him but nothing worked, so I just sat with him and watched with a taste of that supremely helpless feeling of futility that accompanies the experience of watching your child suffer. Philip and Ward and Wmnie came in after a while, sitting on the bed with us and doing their best to say something that would cheer him up a little. Forest likes Wmnie particularly. Well, nothing really did work. We discussed taking him down the street to an emergency room, but he barely had any fever so I didn't think that that was necessary yet. Shortly thereafter, Forest began showing signs of having cried himself out, and his eyelids were drooping, signalling the approach of a merciful sleep. The others began to leave the bedroom. As she got up, Wmnie asked Forest if there was anything at all that she could do for him before she left. Forest looked at her from under the covers and mumbled something that ended in ''Baba." Winnie said, ''You want Baba? Baba is here with you all the time, you know." To which Forest replied, "No. Pray to Baba." And we all understood that he meant that he wanted Winnie to pray to Baba for him. We all recovered from our surprise and Winnie said, '1 will. Of course!"
More than any of the others present, I was taken aback by Forest's request because I know him so well (or thought I did). Although the Baba orientation of his father has always been a factor in his life, Forest had never before given any indication of having taken such orientation into his own life. Under the previously mentioned influence of that fierce, pioneer individuality (some would call it stubbornness) in my blood, I have eschewed practically all ritual in my life, so we don't do any religious activities at home other than my reading something to him on occasion. Forest's reaction to any such activities at home or at these gatherings has always been, "Okay, I'll tolerate this, but can we get it over with so I can return to something serious?"
So, in the context of previous experience, his request that Wmnie pray to Baba for him was quite a surprise. Forest did, indeed, fall asleep and I stayed up just watching him until about 2 a.m. until sleep overtook me.
The next thing I remember is being awakened by Forest jumping out of the bed and putting his clothes on the next morning. I looked up and said, "Hey, wait a minute. Are you all right? Do you feel okay?'' Forest said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm going upstairs," as he bounded out of the room. Case closed. Later that day, back in Fort Worth, Forest told his stepfather, "I got sick last night but I prayed to Baba and I was fine this morning." His stepfather's reactions was not one which could be characterized as positive reinforcement, but that's another story.
Subsequent to these events my ever-floundering intellect has come up with a few observations which I believe to be relevant: following a 1986 visit to the Baba Center in Myrtle Beach, Jane Barry Haynes wrote us a sweet note that said that Forest was one of those blessed to be born into a Baba family, and that it would not be long until he was showing us how to love Him. I also thought about my own experience with God and Jesus in my youth. I had been nine years old when I approached my mother and told her that I'd decided to accept Jesus into my life and to "make a public profession of faith." (Such is the terminology used by the Baptist church to denote the act of publicly
[ovE DIGEST: Letters from Dr. Burleson
Following are portions of a letter written by Ned Burleson, M.D. of the Prague, Oklahoma Clinic, to Adele Wolkin on October 12,1953.
Now for the answer to your request for some of my memories of the details of the few days after the accident. As you know, the ambulance brought the victims of the accident into the hospital about 11:00 A.M. May 24, 1952. As usual, I began attending the first one that was brought in which happened to be Mrs. Patterson. By the time I had determined the major extent of her injuries, they brought in Mehera Irani who was irrational from her head injury. She had the most critical injury of all. I remember while I was cleaning and picking the particles of glass out of Mehera's frontal bone, Dr. Irani began urging me to come and see about "Baba." Of course I had no idea who "Baba" was and barely heard her because of the concentration on what I was doing. We had been compelled to give Mehera 15 grs. of pentathal in order to keep her quiet while we attended to her and I wanted to get through that job before the anesthetic wore off so that I would not have to give her anymore.
When I finally got around to attending to Baba I was surprised to see an individual who was injured as badly as He was and still smiling. I was also astounded to find that He did not speak any word or make any sound denoting discomfort. I assumed that He could not but was informed soon by Dr. Irani that He did not speak because of a willful act. I knew that we were going to have to
give him a general anesthetic (pentathal) to set His fractures and suspected that He would say something at that time but He didn't. The most attractive quality of His personality that first day was the way He would look at me with those big brown eyes as if He were reading my mind. Later I determined that the most astounding quality was that something which made it possible for Him to receive such profound devotion and loyalty from so many fine and educated people. That quality cannot be forced. Such devotion can only be possible because He deserved it or earned it.
After Baba began to feel better, about the 4th day, I was surprised at His obviously genuine interest in me and my family and He rather embarrassed me at times because of His compliments. I usually expect persons who come in for my services who have been in car wrecks to be very critical and everything but complimentary and finally, after receiving the services, do all they can to avoid paying for them or at least minimize the value and efficiency of my services in order to get them as cheaply as possible. That is the
I had no idea who "Baba" was and barely heard her because of the concentration on what I was doing.
general rule with most Americans. Then, if I do not get paid before they leave, we never hear from them again. Therefore, I was not prepared for all of the compliments and courtesy and the good manners of everyone in the party but especially Baba. He made me feel like I was the greatest doctor on earth. Sarosh Irani also embarrassed me with his compliments. My wife told me that if I were around them much longer I would get the ''big head."
I am very pleased to know that all of them have practically recovered. I hope Baba has been able to gain some weight. He needed to get a good set of false teeth so that He could eat more and masticate His food but that has probably already been taken care of.
Tire following is a letter written by Dr. Burleson on June 3, 1952. Dear Baba and Disciples:
My wife and I thank you more than we can express for your wonderful present. It is beautiful and we shall keep it always and remember you every time we see it.
From you and your party we have seen a demonstration of most of the teachings of Christ. Many Americans preach these things but we have never observed so close an application of them. The profound devotion to you which is demonstrated by all of your party convinces us that you deserve all of it. Such devotion cannot be forced, it can only be obtained by love; and to have that demonstrated affection from so many wonderful people is almost unbelievable.
Your group has created what we sometimes call in the abstract, a Master Mind. This has been created through the bringing together or blending in a spirit of perfect harmony, many able minds. This combination can accomplish almost anything within reason as long as all of the minds are in harmony and working for the same objective. It will disintegrate and all evidence of its former existence will disappear the moment the harmony is broken. The merging of individual minds into a MASTER MIND serves as a stimulant to the individual minds. Hence the sum total is unlike anything else on earth and can surmount any reasonable or probable obstacle.
We are not accustomed to dealing with people who appreciate our efforts as you do and the manifeStation of that appreciation leaves us very humble, with the feeling that we do not deserve it, because we realize our limitations and faults. Therefore, instead of efforts being classed as WORK they have seemed to be pleasure. We are certain that time will correct all of your present physical difficulties. One of my sustaining SAYINGS is, Time is a MASTER WORKER that heals the wrongs of temporary defeat, and equal"l-. izes the inequalities and rights the wounds of the world. There is nothing 'impossible' with time. After you have all returned to your native India, and have resumed your chief aim, I wish you would have Sarosh write to me, letting me know how each of you has progressed. In other words, I would like to hear from you and know if my prognosis was correct.
God bless you all. •
Continued from p. 9 telling others of one's faith in Jesus and joining the church.) And now, at the same age, Forest had made just such a "public profession of faith" with his request in front of four of us that Winnie should pray to Baba for him. Granted the situation was much less formal than a Sunday morning church service. There was no ritual involved. It was completely spontaneous. And here's where the blood of the Christ comes in.
One of the principle tenets of Christian theology is usually expressed by the phrase, ''The blood of Christ washes away our sins." This concept speaks to the central theme of Jesus' having performed the role of sacrificing Himself for the atonement of human souls. Through His suffering the Shepherd gathers His flock.
In these updated times of ''Baba theology," the same concept is also central, but might be expressed like this: The principle function of the descent of the Avatar into human form is to give a "push" to the evolution of consciousness and to gather the individualized "drop-souls" unto Himself-Who-is-the-Ocean. The principle means by which this is accomplished is through the suffering of the Avatar which effects the annihilation of the sanskaras (forgiveness of sins) of the dropsouls. The destruction of sanskaras removes the barriers to further spirit evolution for all souls and is also the means by which some souls are gathered unto Himself.
From the life and teachings of Meher Baba we understand that the reality of the suffering of the
Avatar cannot be understood by the human intellect. It is left to us to witness the passion play from our earthly perspective. We see the blood of the Avatar's physical body, but we cannot see His blood being spilled into our little selves. And although we experience the spilling of blood as separate and isolated events within the life He lives, His blood goes on flowing outside of time beyond the limits of His life among us.
That's why I tell the story of Forest's "profession of faith." The blood that Baba spilled for us all into the red dirt of Oklahoma that day is still being spilled into individual souls. It is only through the grace that that blood represents that souls are still being gathered unto Himself. Now it seems that my son is captured in that subtle net. How appropriate that it happened on the day that we visited the accident site. How appropriate that the blood of the Christ was spilled in the wrecks of machines in this, the Kali Yuga. The list could go on. How perfect the love.
Well, that's it: my account of our gathering. I'd like to end by extending an invitation from Helene Lawrence that she and Philip will gladly accommodate all requests for information about the accident site and will do their best with all other types of accommodation as well. Their number is (918) 747-1703. One last word: when my best friend heard the part about the ''hints" mentioned above she said, ''Well that means that the whole world is a hint!" Right on, Linda. •
I love you. Do not worry about your weaknesses. Eventually they will go; even if they linger, love will one day consume them. Everything disappears in the Ocean of Love. Because I love you, you have a pool of love within you. When you feel wretched, when you fall in your weakness, have a dip in that pool of love.
Refresh yourself in that pool of My love within you. It is always there.
Even if you wash your weaknesses every day in that pool, it will remain clear. Don't worry. Baba loves you, that is what really matters.
}JOETRY: Bhau
by Beth McKee
Baba's beloved windbag tells no end of stories, the poet-friend God made is assurance of God's glory, bathing each perfect hour in His tears
God's spontaneous poet reviews the words we use, picks from our educated guesses flowers of Lavender and rue, wild blossoms grown from Baba's tears
Words are nothing into nothing lest they reflect the shattering fire. our time and our dimensions are consumed in Dhuni' s pyre and released by perfect longing of his tears
0 Lovers! be anything you are, He made each life's weave fitting heart's root within the Star.
0 Beth, be a weed if you must, but cling stubbornly by Meherabad to steal into the Garden of His tears
August 1985
IJILGRIM'S PALATE:
Gerri's Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
3 eggs
1lb. powdered sugar
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
Instructions:
1. Into cake mix cut butter and one egg until consistency of pie crust. Pat into cakepan. ·
2. Mix cream cheese and 2 eggs until smooth. Add sugar and mix till smooth. Spread on top of crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees 45 to 50 minutes.
These yummy treats were served at a recent Denver Baba meeting, made by Gerri Kempf, and enjoyed by everyone. As Gerri's sister says, ''If you make these once, you'll never make cheesecake again." And that's the truth!
BROKEN. DOWN FURNII'Ul{E NEWS
Baba bowing down to the mast Ali Shah, Mahabaleshwar, 1947- photo taken by Padri
NTHIS ISSUE
2 . Editor's Comer: Ji:ow Plush the Love by Vaira Filipovs · News Notes --3 This Date in Baba History
Feature Article/Love Digest: The Man of God by Winnie Barrett, Vaira Filipovs and Alice Rybak 10 Life in Baba: A Taxi Ride ..:-Frot_b.:.Pune To Ahmednagar, by Tun Garvin
::'-.:ReView: Rainy Day; Raine Eastman Gannett
.12 . Poetry: 0 Mehera of Beloved Memory by Ward Parks
12 Pilgrim's Palate: Poppyseed Poundcake Muffms by Susan Beeker-Mertz
hDITOR'S-CORNER: How Plush the Love
She was reading that prayer to the group. You know the one. It asks whether you would think the thoughts that you are thinking, whether you would say the things that you are saying, whether you would do the things that you are doing, if Jesus was in your presence.
The prayer came to life for her; she herself came to life. It seemed as if Jesus was there, listening. It seemed as if Jesus Himself was asking these questions of every person listening. Her experience was given in silence. Her experience was received in silence. Her experience transcended the n,:tedium in a world of illusion. Her experience unique and personal and, above all, worthy of being considered experience. And the moment pasSed. The memory lingered for many years. It never died. ·
One day, she heard of Meher Baba. She knew of Baba for many years. In little ways, Meher Baba touched her life. So also, she heard, did He touch the lives of others. Each time it was very personal; each time it was appropriate for that individJ..lal. Another day later, the experience of the prayer became linked with Meher Baba. Who else could it have been?How warm the thought, how plush the Love, how fortunate she was to know Him.
are all just {Jlrniture. But it iS I who have chosen you, so you must be wliilfl want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Centet, serving Baba lovers an4 groups in the United States. and· Canada. .,,
Managing E'ditorlLove'Digest
Alice Rybak
Copy Assistant _
Vaira Filipovs . .
Life in Babaf?ilgrlm's Palate · Wmnie Barrett
Quotewallaloatewalla/News Notes
Peggy Clover Stipek
.PoetJy Editor
Bob Jaeger
Art Directors
Phil Nonnand & Denise Gibson
Production Assistants
Vaira Filipovs & Peggy Clover Stipek
Local News
Dixon Staples Reviews
Richard Sander
Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Proofreader
Michael Stipek
Copy Editor/Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Dixon Staples
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Furniture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA. Phone (303) 333-1727
Published bimonthly Qan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $10.00 per year.
Canada $10.00 (U.S.) per year. Overseas $13.00 per year.
Please make checks payable to The Broken-Down Furniture News.
All contents copyright@ 1992
Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, except where noted.
NEWS NOTES
Donations to the Avatar Meher Baba Trust
Please take special note; there is a change made in the accounting of donations received by the Trust. It is very important that individuals and Trustwallas note the following changes and use the guidelines and wording as given below.
1. All donations for the AVATAR MEHER BABA TRUST (firstly) (Beneficiaries) should be received by the Trust Office between April and no later than the end of November. (Ed's note: Mail to India generally takes two weeks from the U.S.) Please use the following wording: "The enclosed donation totaling $ is for Avatar Meher Baba Trust (Firstly) for the Beneficiaries."
2. All donations to the AVATAR MEHER BABA PERPETUAL PUBLIC CHARITABLE TRUST should be received by the Trust office between December and the end of March. If the donation is under $20.00, please use the following wording : "The enclosed donation totaling$ ___ is for the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust. (CORPUS FUND) "
Any donations sent to the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust totaling over $20.00 must have the words "CORPUS FUND."
Any individuals who wish to donate a large amount to the Corpus Fund of the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust may send their donation at any time of the year.
Meher Center West?
A meeting was held in early October by the Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California and the Meher Baba Center of Northern California to discuss the creation of a permanent site, similar to the Meher Spiritual Center, to be located in Mariposa, California. A board of directors from each group met in August and they had "a truly inspiring meeting." The October meeting was to reach a consensus about whether to proceed with this project. Anyone with an interest in Meher Baba may share opinions on the proposal with the Board of Directors via the Avatar Meher Baba Center of California, 10808 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90025, (310) 474-9454.
Preservation of God Speaks
The Atlanta group is seeking funds to de-acidify and preserve their signed copy of God Sp ea ks Anyone wishing to contribute to this effort should send donations to Meher House, in care of Ossian Stoddard (404) 321-1593.
'IRIS DATE
...
In Baba History
November 6, 1931
Baba arrives in the United States for the first time at New York City
November 8,1952
Baba gives and participates in the "Prayer of Repentance," Meherazad, India.
November 10, 1925
The first dhuni is lit at Meherabad, India.
November 14, 1952
Ba ba issues a new charter reorienting Sufism in America.
November 15, 1952
Baba begins His Fiery Free Life.
December 2,1956
Baba' s car is in an accident in Satara, India.
December 8, 1938
The Blue Bus tours begin.
December 22,1910
Mehera, the beloved of the Beloved, is born
December 24,1941
Upasni Maharaj drops his body.
CORRECTION
Our July-August Love Digest, "Waiting for God," by Beryl Williams, was first published in The Glow, February 1975.
FEATURE: The Man of God
"The man of God" is a poetical expression that means, in fact, "the mast ." In this feature, we have combined rare photos of five-some better and oth ers less well known-masts, with narrative details excerpted from Dr. William Donkin's The Wayfarers. As a general observation, Dr. Donkin identified five masts (Mohammed, Chatti Baba, Karim Baba, Ali Shah and Chacha, three of whom are introduced in this feature) as Baba's favorites. He states that more than any others, these masts have lived with Meh er Baba and worked with Him, oft en for long periods and accordingly, deserv e the attention they are given in The Wayfarers. We begin with the stan; of Ali Sha, who is featur ed on this issue's cover.
This delightful fifth plane mast is interesting, not only because of his many contacts with Baba, but also because he is a perfect example of the jamali type of mast. Despite his passion for cigarettes, his blandness, his docility, and his superficially doll-like appearance, he possesses an utterly disarming and childlike quality of simplicity. This simplicity is no factitious pose, but is an intrinsic quality in him to which Baba has so often drawn our attention, that it is, perhaps, outer measure of the stature of his inner grace.
Ali Shah came to Ahmadnagar about 25 years ago [1923], in the company of another mast, each carrying a small pitcher in their hands. On the day of their arrival they settled in the Sarjepura Dharmashala, and after a few days the other mast departed, and has never been seen in Ahmadnagar Ali Shah, who during these fust few days had sat in a corner, now came and occupied a space in the centre of the dharmashala. After some months people began to respect him, and those who felt inclined would sing before him, while others of a more homely nature would see to his material needs.
In later years, Ali Shah became the especial pet of motor-bus drivers, since, when the running of public buses began to be a profitable line of business in Ahmad nagar, the terminus of many of the various services was a dusty, open space near the dharmashala where Ali Shah lived. The bus drivers and conductors in India
are generally a rough crowd, for the exigencies of their service are such that they must sleep one night in one village, and the next night in another Their conventions are not often those of a respectable householder, and their metier is, therefore, held in disrepute. But, if their morals are doubtful, their hearts are good, and many of the most boorish ruffians have a tender streak for saintly personalities It was by such men that Ali Shah was particularly held in reverence, and in this context one recalls how the publicans and sinners consorted with Christ, but the priests plotted to have Him crucified.
I find myself at a loss to do full justice to Ali Shah, because, like the stories of all placid people, there is so little to tell. He loves, best of all, to be in a room, to sit on a chair if he can, and to smoke, smoke, and smoke, all day long. His gestures are perfectly those of a jamali mast; he makes odd signs in the air, on the ground, or on as if he were writing something in 1magmary letters, but in an indistinct and abbreviated way. He mumbles a little to himself, and if asked a question he first pauses for a few seconds, as if considering his reply, and then, to your chagrin, he repeats your question word for word, as if it were merely rhetorical, not needing an answer. His voice is gentle, soft, and kind, and he breaks into a quiet smile as he speaks, though the purport of his words is lost to ordinary mortals. His favourite phrase is to repeat
Broken Down
mutations of the moods and tenses of the verb bolna (to speak), and runs something like this: "Balta tha, bolneko laga, bola wuh ke " This might mean anything, but its approximate translation is, "He was speaking, he began to speak, he actually spoke .... "
I remember him once standing in front of Baba in Mahabaleshwar, and saying, "Bolenge, boleng e, lekin kab bolenge malum nahin" (he will speak, he will speak, but when
Baba and Chacha, Satara, 1947
the will speak I don't know) . Perhaps these words referred to the breaking of Baba's silence, but like other obiter dicta of most masts, they might be interpreted in almost any way.
CHACHA
Meher Baba has explained that, besides qutubs, there are in all India three men of the seventh plane-two majzoobs and one jivanmukta-and Chacha is one of these great majzoobs ... .
The following notes of Chacha's history are related by Baidul, who gathered them from various people in Ajmer. Chacha, a Pathan, whose real name is Nur Ali Shah, came to Ajmer from his home near Peshawar many years ago Chacha was a hafiz, one who knew the Koran by heart, and he came to Ajmer to teach Arabic. Soon after he arrived he went to the famous shrine of Khwaja Moeinuddin Chishti, and he seems to have felt irresistibly drawn to stay there . For twelve years he remained in the "solah khamba" graveyard in Khwaja Saheb's shrine,
and something seems to have happened to him there, for he became thenceforth a majzoob. At the end of twelve years he emerged from the shrine, and for six years sat in one place. Thereafter, for a year, he went to Taragarh, the great fort on the mountain behind Ajmer.
From Taragarh he made his way to Indore, about 300 miles to the south, and there is a strange and hardly credible story that he died there, and was buried. At Indore, he had been known as Ganja Baba (ganja means bald). A year or so after he was supposed to have died some people came from Indore to Ajmer, at the time of the yearly festival at Khwaja Saheb's shrine and, to their astonishment, they discovered Chacha, their Ganja Baba of Indore, alive, and sitting by a water tap near the shrine. It is said that they called others from Indore who had both known Ganja Baba, and had witnessed his death and burial, and they too confirmed his identity. This strange tale of resurrection then began to be disseminated abroad, and the fame of Chacha grew in stature. Whether this story is the purest fiction or not, I do not know, and the reader will, no
doubt, accept or reject it according to his inclination. At least, it is an example of the kind of strange legend that may grow up around a personality such as Chacha . After sitting for some years by the
water tap, Chacha eventu a lly moved into a tiny hovel of a room . . ..
Baba began contacting many masts, and a small mast ashram was established . . ..
At that time, Chacha was living in the squalid and verminous little hovel near Khwaja Saheb' s shrine, and was never known to move from it. An attendant (mujawa.r) saw to his needs, and Chacha himself was in a state of filth almost beyond belief. He was dressed
in an old hat and unwholesome clothes that were stained and impregnated wit.h stale tea, and the remnant s of decaying food. The name Chacha was given him because, in his fondness for tea (cha), he used to call out, "Cha, cha. ", (tea, tea), whenever he w anted it. A great deal of tea, instead of being s wallowed, would spill over his clothes a nd also-heaven knows how-over his hat , a nd the latter w a s encrusted with stale tea and sugar, and s tuck irremovably to his scalp.
Kaka was sent to bring Chacha to Baba, and perhaps, a s in the case of Karim Baba, he was given the inner key that opened the door to Chacha' s consciousness. At any rate, Kaka astounded the local people by bringing Chacha to Baba's house, thus doing something that no one had achieved before, for Chacha had never been known to move anywhere at anyone ' s behest since the day he had set foot in Ajmer so many years before.
As soon as Chacha arrived at the house, Baba and the mandali set about giving him a bath, but before this could be done, his hat and his clothes had to be cut away with scissors, for, as we had already
learnt, they were so stiffened and adherent with tea, food, and filth, that neither his raiment nor his cap could be removed in any other way.
On that day Chacha underwent the unique experience of having his first bath for about thirty years; and it became, in fact, his last bath also, for even during his stay in Satara in 19 47 he steadfastly refu s ed a bath, and is not believed to ha v e been bathed by an y one, before or since. After this bath he was clad in a new k a fni and he then asked Baba for a special vegetable and som e jawar (millet) bread. These w ere brought, and Baba fed him with his own hands. After the meal Chacha demanded a tonga, and when one h a d been called he climbed into it, and telling Baba to sit besid e him, the two set off together, Chacha giving a brief order to the tonga driver to take them to Taragarh. Baba, however, did not seem inclined to go with Chacha all the way to this ancient fortress, and took Chacha as far as his hovel, and left him there.
For about two wee ks after this initial contact, Bab a rose nightly at 3:30 a.m., and travelled through the dark, empty streets to Chacha' s hovel, and sat alone with Chacha for about an hour each night. These nocturnal visits were necessary, because, by day, the crowds were too great to allow privacy of contact. ...
Phulwala, Sixth Plane Mast
Bangalore, 1939
CHJNNASWAMI
chinnaswami was a mast of the third plane, three-quarters jamali and one-quarter jalali, and he and Shariat Khan kept the ashram sparkling with fun. Baba first contacted Chinnaswami in Trivandrum in January 1940, and liked him so much that he brought him back to the Bangalore Ashram. He was a thin old man with a face like a macaco monkey, a very dark skin, and he had a passion for chewing pa n , so that his mouth was usually brimming with luscious, red saliva. He drank his tea hotter than anyone else could bear, and when he smoked, he would often put the burning end of his cigarette in his mouth, and having smoked a cigarette to a finish, he would extinguish it by masticating the burning stub.
In an alley behind one of the huts there was an electric transmission pole with defective insulation . Everyone else used to steer clear of this pole, which gave an unpleasant electric shock, but Chinnaswarni would hug the pole with both hands and dance round it as if he were having no end of a time.
He was a great lover of music, and would often sing and dance. For the diversion of the masts, a singer used to entertain them for two or three hours each day, and at such times Chinnaswami would disport himself in wild and grotesque dances, and in the
midst of dancing would sometimes soar into a spiritual ecstasy, and fall senseless to the ground. He had, therefore, to be watched, lest in falling he might break the fragile bones of his old body. At such times, Baba would remind the mandali of Khwaja Moeinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, who used also to plunge into ecstasy in the midst of a dance.
Despite his age, Chinnaswami was as mischievous as a ten-year old boy, and one day he carne a cropper while trying to jump over the garden wall, and split his lip so badly that it had to be stitched . Two or three sutures were put in, and he seemed literally indifferent to the searing pain of the needle as it pierced the margins of the wound. Chinnaswami was an entertaining and lovable man, but he could not compete with the sempiternal effervescence of Shariat Khan, a high mahbubi mast, with traits of jamali and jalali.
PHULWALA
The two most important masts in Baba' s ashram in Bangalore were Chatti Baba and
Phulwala .. ..
Phulwala (flower man) was discovered by Vishwanath at Belgaum, and he wrote to Baba about him . Pendu and Nilu then went to Belgaum on Baba's instructions, to bring Phulwala to Bangalore A mast such as Phulwala was not the sort of man who could easily be persuaded into doing other men's bidding, and Baba's two men, with the help of Vishwanath, trepanned him in the best detective novel tradition. They decoyed him into a taxi, and as soon as he settled into the back seat, Nilu climbed in and sat on one side and Pendu on the other, the doors were slammed, the engine started, and the party hied post-haste to Bangalore.
Chatti Baba , Si x th Plan e Mast , France, 1939
Phulwala was a typical jalali mast of the sixth plane. Baba once said in admiration of him, "Look at Phulwala, with one slap he could raise you in an instant to the sixth plane ." He was a dramatic-looking man with deep reddish-brown hair, bronze skin, and a look of almost intolerable ecstasy in his eyes, as if the ecstasy might shatter his body into a thousand fragments at any moment. He loved flowers (whence his name) and slaked lime, which he would chew by the mouthful. Each morning, fresh flowers would be brought for him and he would wreathe garlands of roses, jasmine, gulcheri and mogra flowers [various fragrant flowers commonly used for making garlands] about his turban The lime he would mix with sugar, wrap in a twist of cloth, and chew for hours at a stretch . His manner and voice were formidable and compelling, and he gave orders with a regal command that seemed to brook no disobedience, and made people afraid of him. He had a frightening gesture of corning up level with a man and flinging out his arm with a sudden jerk, so that his index finger pointed menacingly but a few inches from the man's eyes, and he would then utter some word or phrase in a terse and commanding manner, or merely look in the most startling way with his brilliant eyes into the other man's face . He tied bits of old ra g around his legs, feet , toe s, wrists, and fingers, a habit that
is common to many masts. At first he refused to be ba thed by Baba , but eventually agreed, though he always remained standing for his bath He also declined to be shaved, but one day he demanded a razor blade from Eruch, and shaved his own chin with the naked blade.
Later he became more normal in behaviour, and used to enter into the spirit of the ashram, though his dictatorial manner remained . He used to tell how he had originally been a carpenter, and one day, when Eruch wa s repairing a broken bed , Phulwala demanded the tools and mended the bed in such a way that Eruch was convinced th a t he must once really
have been a professional carpenter. He would occasionally recollect flashes of his early life, and would speak of a loving wife and children; and once, he seemed to relate how he became a mast. He was apparently sitting one da y in a coffee s h op when someone gave him a cup of coffe e, and at the moment of sippin g from that cup something must have happened, for, in his narration of the incident, he suddenly stopped and stared, as if he had been thenceforth lost to the world . In Apri11940, when the mast ashram moved at Meherabad, Phulwala was taken there, and was eventually sent back to Belgaum in June 1940.
CHAIT! BABA
.. . An idiosyncrasy of Chatti Baba was a dis taste for having his hair dried. He had an impressive head of tousled black hair flecked with grey, thickly matted, and long e nough to reach over his ears . Ev ery day, u sually following
his bath, he would sit in any place where loose earth was to be found, and raising cupped hands laden with soil, would release it over his head. It affected one strangely to see this old man toss handful after handful of soil over his bowed head, and watch the crumbling fragments of earth tumbled over his shoulders to the ground. It seemed as if he must be suffering in a way that we might never fathom, and that this apparently childish play soothed and gave him comfort. In view of this habit, Baba had instructed Krishna, who was his personal attendant, to put fifteen baskets of earth in Chatti Baba's room every day.
Prior to his spiritual awakening, Chatti Baba had apparently been a station master, and the memories of his earlier profession would be revived from time to time in disjointed ways. He used, for example, to tap out morse messages with the hook that held his window, and at irregulars hours of night or day he would shout orders in English or Tamil to imaginary railway subordinates, as if he were digging some rusty relics out of the depths of his memory. At other times, he would call out "Allah hu Akbar, Allah hu Akbar" (God is most great, God is most great).
He used to say that Baba was his elder brother, and he one day told Krishna that Baba was a great and rich man, and that there was no one like him in the whole world.
The period at Meherabad in
1940 was the black hour of the devastating and terrible occasions in Europe, when France fell
For several weeks in Meherabad, Chatti Baba had repeatedly told Krishna that the people of Europe were undergoing great sorrow and suffering, but that they would survive to enjoy happy days again. Chatti Baba, though literate, never, as far as anyone knew, read a newspaper, and he was apparently quite out of touch with current events of any sort, but in spite of this he seemed aware of the terrible things that were then going on in Europe. He said, one day, while pouring earth over his head, that there would be much anguish and privation, and that many would die of starvation, but that Baba would finally assuage the suffering of the world
Baba, who is all too rarely communicative about his masts, told the mandali one day in Ranchi that there was no equal to Chatti Baba in the whole world, and that he was inestimable for the help he gave him in his work.
The moods of this great man were extraordinary, and would fluctuate from a sunny expansiveness to a truculent attitude, without apparently much provocation. He was like a child, quick to change for a very little thing, but he had a bewitching enchantment about him that made him loved by all. The other important masts have all had their charm, and
some sort of disposition that made them attractive, but there has been no one who has so unanimously commanded the affection of others. In this way Chatti Baba was unique, and today [1948], years after he has been separated from Baba, the mandali, and Baba himself, often recall with delight his little ways, and especially the lightness and captivating spell of his laugh. Baba has since explained that Chatti Baba was a perfect jamali mast, with a few traits of a jalali, and was a very high mast of the sixth plane....
In March 1941, in Quetta, he said, "There will be so great a calamity in the world that no one can imagine it, even brother will kill brother and there will be great tribulation; then all the world will think of my big brother (Baba); at that time Baba will draw aside the veil, and all will pay obeisance to h • II rm.
In June or July 1941, in Ajmer, he told Krishna, who was in a bad mood at the time, "You want to leave don't you, but what's the good of it; all the world is in Baba' s power, so where will you go to? Serve him now, he is the Ocean, because, one day when lots of people throng to see him, you may never get the opportunity of meeting him, so take your chance now''
Idid not ask his name, perhaps because he spoke only "short form" English and polite exchanges were difficult. But also I had given myself over to the determined energy needed for travel in India-and there is small use in a name. He was assigned to me at the fixed-rate taxi rank-180 rupees, Pune to Ahmednagar. We had a chance to haggle our way toward friendship a moment later.
He waited for me outside the hotel as I got my bags. I_§._towed them in his trunk, then enlisted one of his companions as interpreter.
"Ask him how much to stop along the way now and then so I can take photographs."
My driver, a burly Hindu S!Jmewhere in his fifties, listened to his friend and stroked his grizzled chin. Then: ''Thirty rupees!" he said, and tossed his head with emphatic indifference, Indian-style.
I raised my eyebrows to express friendly outrage. "Ahhh! Five rupees! No more!"
'Waiting charge, sir," explained our interpreter and shrugged apologetically at this misfortune. ·
I was undaunted. This was my third trip, and I had learned a little better the cost of things. My offer was at least a good beginning, and we all knew it. Their amused regard for my firmness invigorated me, and I cheerfully rejected their descending offers one after another. At last, I grew expansive and offered to throw in a Limca soda to boot.
We drew the usual crowd of onlookers, one of whom was a portly old Muslim who arbitrated this way: "Oh, sir! You no pay him waiting charge. Give him little tip only. Ten rupees!"
So we agreed, a satisfying solution. I shouted merrily to the crowd as we drove away, ''But he lost the Limca!"
They laughed, and their shouts followed us into the street. "He lost the Limca! He lost the Limca!"
Ahead was a three-hour ride through the Indian countryside. I lounged sideways in the seat-it was too cramped to sit up straight-and watched my driver swerve and shout and honk
by Tim Garvin
our way through bicycles, rickshaws, taxis, buses, cars, trucks, buffaloes, cattle, goats, bullock carts, and men, women, and children standing, walking, and squatting.
Like most Indian cabbies, he was a terror and a marvel. The shoulder of the road was dust and gravel and the pavement hardly wide enough for two vehicles to pass without collision, sometimes wide enough only for one. But had it been twice as wide, I think he would not have increased the distance he allowed between his taxi and the oncoming traffic-a foot or less, a display of skill, a demand of station. The procedure was always the same. By degrees, by slow inevitable agreement, my driver and his oncoming opponent edged from the princely center of the road, gave way, gave a little way, then hurtled past each other in a rush of dust and honking, then rocketed back to the center. And if his opponent was a truck or a bus, and he had to give way more, or if it was a rickshaw and he gave less, he seemed neither daunted nor vaunting. He was too busy. These victories and defeats were too common.
I was in a happy mood, partly from the haggle in the parking lot, but that itself came out of something bigger. A buoyancy had been growing in me since the plane landed in Delhi three days ago. I had been thinking about that, and now, as I watched my driver, my thoughts came a little together.
It seemed to me that these swift alterationsgiving way, claiming space, giving way, claiming space-were very Indian and have shaped the Indian nature. Their roads are busy and narrow, the people are many and poor. They have learned the knack of vigorously asserting their rights and uncomplainingly granting them to others.
In the West the roads are wide. There is lots of separation. Little need to jostle, to learn gracious indifference at being jostled. Line crashing is rude. In India, they make a wedge of bodies and no one minds.
There may be a deeper force than poverty and numbers that have shaped the Indian mind,
but poverty and numbers are afleast the imple- · ments of that force. Those have made them lively, practical, and In compar- · 1 ison, are more We have , ) had time and space to think 1 • ., · '
And, as our philosophers and like to explain, all this time on our hands and the space to use it in produces alienation. We're disappointed when the Grand .Canyon looks like the and decide to try Maine next year. Or the Amazon. So.Jlleplace where we can feel lY,here we can rinse off all this thickness.
My cab driver wasn't alienated. He was immerseCl in a life, deep down in it, interested as hell. It did me good to see it, made me feel like whacking a baseball or getting into a goodnatured argument. That's what Tolstoy liked about the peasants when he was out there in the meadows scything down their wheat with them. He wanted sweet simplicity, that bright, pure feeling running through him like a brook. But he didn't get it in the meadow. And my cab driver didn't have it either. He paid a penalty for immersion. I was fascinated to watch as he crossed the road to press close and honk at a stream of oncoming bicyclists. The road was clear, the bicyclists already at the pavement's edge. Yet he crossed the road to come within the necessary foot of distance. Perhaps it was an assertion of station fostered by centuries of caste, but he did it without much thought, without considering or consideration. I thought of the hateful fighting between Muslim and Hindu. Could this taxi man one day find himself following some rabble rouser to the Muslim section of town, machete in hand? I thought perhaps he could.
But of course no people is without some degree of self-reflection. The bicyclists choked by our dust no doubt knew the taxi driver could have been more courteous. Not to have been a bit irritated would not have been human. But I doubt they rankled much. That would have been un-Indian . A man spits a red stream of betel juice on the Delhi sidewalk. One man ignores it, another frowns, a boy looks at me and shrugs with halfhearted embarrassment. His smile seems to say, "Oh well. It's India!"
For if the Indian Jacks intellectual sophistica,. tion, he has abundant subtlety of feeling. At one roadside village, we halted for a parade of buffalo. An old beggar woman approached the rear
window and began her lalnerit. My driver spotted and flicked his WW murmunng reproach. But he was not vehement. She withdrew only a few She understood. It was his duty to his passenger, and he mUst make a show of performing it. They sensed their commonality He would not resolutely drive her away. It would have been unnatural. It would have violated recognition. He had fo\md instinc::tively in the flick of a wrist the delicate balance between his duty and his hunlanity.
Not so easy for me! We drove on, and because I had made a principled decision before arriving in India not to give alms, we (eft the · beggar woman empty-handed. But while principles are good for chopping through a thicket of conflicting feeling, it is, after all, feeling that gets chopped. I wanted to give those alms, but couldn't because of my principle, and then wanted not to feel guilty for following my principle, but couldn't, and ended up feeling a kind of satisfying shame that I had lived so poorly I could be satisfied with moral conundrums when called to compassion. And more--distaste that shame should satisfy and not bring a full melting. And even more! The inevitable weariness at being trapped in a self.
But the buoyancy came back. There is something in India I am hungry for. And I imagine there is something in the ordered West, something more than tile trinkets of technology, that Indians hunger for. They want our minds, ·and we want theirs. The earth has grown smaller, and the exchange will happen faster and faster, and something will be satisfied. There will be some handshaking and some recognition, and we will all calm down a little. But the satisfaction will be incomplete. Tolstoy can take up the scythe and peasants learn to read, and we will all be more complete. But not whole. Because the shadow of the East is not the West, and the shadow of the West is not the East. The real shadows are the same and vaster than the lack of any given culture. The Indian can bring himself to watch the starving dog die. The westerner gasps and turns away, and the dog dies anyway. The error is the same-selfishness, little love. A unitary world will bring a more balanced hUII1ani:ty. But for love we need the Avatar.
Tim Garoin lives in Faydteville, Arkansas and makes porcelain jewelry.
l{EVIEW: Rainy Day by Raine Eastman Gannett
For those who listen for that quintessence of love adoration in the vocals of Baba music: Raine. Tutored in love adoration by Francis Brabazon, Raine's heart illumines her vocals with sure confidence. Her vocal quality is full, with crisp, clear notes and pronunciation. There is that special sweetness so common to other well-known Baba singers. Highly recommended is the twin set: "Raine at the Samadhi" ($18). This is her devotional style and tonal quality at its best. With guitar this subtle folk style, with a natal Irish throat, is honed and polished: the Aussie qawali. A must for the Baba music collection. Kudos! She offers an entire set of 12 tapes for $60.
fiLGRIM'S PALATE: .
Poppyseed Poundcake Muffins
This recipe was given to us by Susan Beeker-Mertz, a Baba-liker who lives on Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado.
1 cup flour
1 cup oat bran
3 tsp. poppy seed$
1/2 tsp. salt
1f4 tsp. baking soda
1 cupsugar
lf2 cup butter or oil
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Stir together flour, poppy seeds, salt and soda. In separate bowl, cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in yogurt and vanilla: Stir in flour mixture until moistened. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins or paper muffin tin liners. Bake at 400", 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack. Yields U muffinS.
This is a' best buy, including the Samadhi tapes. It offers a broad range of styles, performers and technical quality, and is well worth it. Contact Raine, P.O. Box 1250, Berkeley, CA 94701. -RS
0 Mehera ()fBeloved Mem9ry
by Ward Parks
0 Mehera of beloved memory, One worthy of His kiss
Who was her song and bliss, Crown jewel of creation's gemmery, You have not really gone, For in each lover's sigh in summary Your life for on ..
He was your very light and breath and being. The words we heard you say We knew could not convey The radiance of Him that you were seeing; And yet you made us feel
That your love unquenchable and pure freeing Was womanhood made real.
0 Mehera, exile's bitter tears are ended. Though you were His very heart, · For a time He stood apart
That thirst should greet His rain when it descended. But now let all rejoice!
For on that wedding day all wounds were mended For the queen of sovereign choice.
Let flood the earth and heavens with our praising! And each resounding "jai!"
Will escort with glad array
Love's palanquin the very sun outblazing, · Where joined in twin accord .. . They greet the world with grace all eyes amazing....,... Our Mehera and her Lord. · · . , .
BROKEN. DOW.N FURNII'Ul{E NEWS
SERVING THE AVATAR MEHERBABA COMMUNITY OF NORTH AMERICA
Meher Baba and One World
Talk by Torn Hopkinson
EDITOR'S CORNER: The Power of His Name by Alice Rybak
NOTES
THIS DATE in Baba History
FEATURE ARTICLE: Meher Baba and One World by Torn Hopkinson
PILGRIM'S PALATE: East Indian Eggplant by Jeanette Gibson
LIFE IN BABA: My Life with Kitty by Barbara Katzenberg
LOVE DIGEST: Italian Holiday by Delia De Leon
POETRY: The Ancient One by Nancy U. Eaton
SPECIAL: On Amartithi and Baba' s Birthday; by Eruch Jessawalla
EDITOR's CORNER: The Power of His Name
AsI was flying to Pittsburgh last month, Meher Baba decided that I needed to learn some lessons. As the plane began its approach to the airport, we were informed that there was a problem: the captain wasn't sure if the right landing gear was down, so we had to prepare for an emergency landing. I mean the real thing: practicing the "brace position," removing eyeglasses and highheeled shoes, and noting where the nearest exit door was. The whole process was very gradual and somewhat surrealistic, so the reality of it didn't sink in until I heard the passenger behind me start to say Hail Mary. It was then that I realized I might be facing the big D. Well, my life did not pass before my eyes and I didn't have any profound thoughts. Actually I didn't think much at all, except to wonder if I could grab my carry-on bag, since it had my music in it-I was on my way to play a concert. The only thing I could do was say Baba's name, first internally and then rather vigorously out loud, once we were given the indication to get into
Continued on page 3:
BROKEN. DOWN FURNITURE NEWS
"You are all just broken-down fumiture. But it is I wJzo Jzave chosen you, so you must be wlznt I waul "
-Meher Baba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor/Love Digest
Alice Rybak
Production Assistant Vaira Filipovs
Copy Editor/Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
Art Directors
Phil Normand & Denise Gibson
Life in Baba!Pilgrim's Palate
Winnie Barrett
Quotewalla!Datewalla/News Notes
Peggy Clover Stipek
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger Reviews
Richard Sander
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Fumiture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA. Phone (303) 333-1727
Published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $10.00 per year
Canada $10.00 (U.S.) per year. Overseas $13.00 per year
Please make checks payable to TJze Broken-Down Fumiture News.
There is a new 52-minute video, Journey with God, available for purchase from Meher Baba Film and Video Project. The quality of the film footage is excellent. The cost is $50.00 plus shipping and insurance charges of $6.00 for one video, $10.00 for two, or $15.00 for three. Allow 14 days for delivery. This film was produced by Meher Prasad.
For a catalog of films and videos of Meher Baba, contact Meher Baba Film and Video Project, G .P.O. Box 1826, Sydney, N.S .W. 2001, Australia.
Baba Library at Prague Municipal Hospital
Members of the Atlanta group are establishing a library of books written by or about Meher Baba at the Prague Municipal Hospital, 1322 A Avenue, P.O. DrawerS, Prague OK 74864, (405) 567-4922. This library already has the following titles: God Speaks, The God-Man, The Beloved, Love Alone Prevails, The Wayfarers, Discourses, and How a Master Works. If you would like to make a contribution, please call Rick Berman, (404) 377-2667, who is coordinating donations for the group.
Western Retreat Center
'IHIS DATE ...
In Baba History
January 1, 1927
Meher Baba stops writing and uses the alphabet board to convey messages. Meherabad, India.
January 14, 1914
Babajan kisses Merwan on the forehead. Poona, India
January 31, 1969
Beloved Meher Baba drops His physical form to live eternally in the hearts of His lovers. Meherazad, India
February 25, 1984
Avatar Meher Baba is born in Sassoon Hospital. Poona, India.
The proposal by the Baba groups of Northern and Southern California to establish a permanent retreat center is still ongoing. A location and further funding is still being discussed. To participate, contact Herman Loew, (707) 763-8424, in northern California, John Stout, (818) 888-6330, in southern California, and Chris and Christi Pearson, (209) 966-5078, in Mariposa.
Baba Books on Cassette
The Meher Baba Film and Video Project has recorded a number of books by and about Meher Baba on cassette tape. Titles include the Discourses, Much Silence, The Nothing a11d th e Everything, Stay with God, and Lord Meher, Vols. 1-4. Contact GPO Box 1826, Sydney 2001, Australia, for more specifics.
Editor's Conrer, continued: brace position. This was in counterpoint to the flight attendants repeatedly shouting: "Brace, brace, stay down, stay down!"
After a rather routine landing ("never mind!") and a couple of brandies on my connecting flight to Baltimore, I had a chance to sort out what had happened. I first realized that this was a situation in which I had absolutely no control. No matter how smart I was, how charming I could be, or how hard I worked, there wasn't
anything I could do except hold on to Baba. This has become a metaphor for me in my life; a reminder that we don't have very much control anyway and the only possible, sane response to this is to give it all to Baba I also experienced just how truly powerful it was to say His name. It felt like I was in the presence of an omnipotent force that completely diminished to nothingness what was happening out in the gross world. It didn't necessarily make me think that
we wouldn't crash, it was just that Baba became the only thing that was important, no matter what happened. I would be lying if I said that now it doesn't really matter to me that I'm still on the planet and in one piece. I'm happy and grateful that it turned out the way it did But I am also very grateful to have Meher Baba in my life and to have been reminded just how blessed we all are to have His love and presence with us, all the time. -AR
FEATURE: Meher Baba and One World by
The following talk, given by Tom in first p11blished in the English Meher Baba Assoetahon Newsletter, January 1992.
Ityou climb to the top of a the view looks very different from what It did when you set off, or when you were part of .way up. And at the age of eighty, or very near It, hfe looks quite different from what it did at the beginning, half-way or even three-quarters of the way ahead. At this point, instead of looking to the future or even, as one should do, living in the present, one looks back over the way and tries to learn something from it. When I met Baba I was already in middle life. It was in 1952, and I only went along because Dorothy [Tom's wife-ed.] was going and I went along with her. And though He made a profound impression on me at that moment (and again four years later when I met Him several times when He was staying at the Hotel Rubens and receptions were organised for Him and we all had an opportunity of going to meet Him), it impressed me, but it didn't affect me. I went on with my life as before. It wasn't until about 20 years after I first met Him that a succession of events in my own life compelled me to start thinking what is it really all about, have I been looking or walking in the wrong direction? And I began reading Baba very closely, because of the memory of the effect He'd had on me when I first met Him. At the very beginning of the first book I started to read I carne across this:
"As in all great critical periods of human history, humanity is now going through the agonising travail of spiritual rebirth. Great forces of destruction are afoot and seem to be dominant at the moment, but constructive and creative forces which will redeem humanity are also being released through several channels."
Now this mysterious phrase "through several channels" haunted me. And I thought what channels? Baba didn't say through prayer, He didn't say even through love. He says through several channels and I started to try and think about what those channels could be. In this same passage (the beginning of "The New Humanity," the
Tom Hopkinson
first discourse in the first book of Discourses) Baba goes on to say that the aim, the practical aim of life, is to become "one world." And later on He told us, didn't He, that when He comes back again in 700 years, we shall be "one world." We shall have got beyond nationality; we shall have got beyond groups of nations; we shall have got beyond East and West and first and second worlds. We shall have become "one world." And that world, He makes plain, will include not only the world of human beings, but the animal world and the world of vegetation-the whole world. We shall all be one.
Now what about these several channels? Well, we could consider first the conscious efforts men have made in our lifetime to produce one world. In my lifetime there have been two-one was called the League of Nations and one called
the United Nations. They made frameworks, they expressed goodwill, but they achieved really nothing. They achieved nothing because they attempted to make a framework which would change the world, without doing anything to the individuals to make them different. And as human beings, unless we change, we will be the same whether we land on the moon, or Mars, or Venus (it would make no difference if we just take ourselves there as we are) . So the framework that we set up, whether we call it the League of Nations or the United Nations, will make no difference at all either. And yet, though the framework, though these conscious attempts to stitch the world together by inventing a pattern into which it's to be compressed, though these have no effect, yet in a very strange way the world is slowly becoming one. Not by conscious attempts to make it one but by the forces which have been released through "several channels."
One of these forces which has come to exercise an enormous effect and to change the picture of the world in my own lifetime is the English language. When I was a student and first travelled abroad I was going to France and to Germany and to Spain. I had to learn some French, I had to learn some German, I had to learn some Spanish. You couldn't go around the world in those days without learning the language of the place you were going to But what has happened? In 50 years English has become an almost universal language. And when Dorothy and I spent nine years in Africa we found that you could be perfectly at home in every city in the African continent. Not, of course, in the bush, or in the mountains, or in the forests, but in every city or town, with English or French. Think what this means to Africa, a continent with a population about that of the United States, but speaking between 800 and 1000 different languages . In our lifetime Africa has turned from tribalism to nationhood, so that instead of a 1000 tribes there are now 50 or 60 countries. This has only become possible because English and French have become general languages and are stitching the world together. The English language is, I am convinced, one of the several channels through which forces are being released to unite the world.
Another is scientific and technological development. When we were trying to think what we should do in life, my brother decided he would join the Indian army. He spent his lifetime in India, mainly in warfare, on the frontiers of India In those days it took him three weeks to get to India and and five or six days of travel after arriving to get to the mountains. How long does it take us now? Fourteen hours to get to India. Used to take six weeks to get to Australia-now it takes a day and a half. In the 1930s, when war was threatening, the then prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, spoke of Czechoslovakia as a far-off country about which we knew very little. Czechoslovakia! Why, all of us in this room have probably been further than that and without any inconvenience or discomfort. And we are acrustomed every evening to seeing what is going on all over the whole world in our own sitting rooms. And so we come to another channel through which forces are released-photography.
When photography was invented, in the year 1839, a famous French artist at the time said, "From today painting is dead " He thought of photography as being a substitute for painting and drawing. Of course, it h a s become much more than that. Photography has become the basis of all kinds of scientific and industrial processes; it's changed the whole pattern of medicine, but it ha s also b ee n the means that knits the world together visually and emotionally. When we see on our screens what is happening in far-off countries it becomes real to us. We cannot see pictures of suffering in Viet Nam or, as it used to be, Lebanon or wherever it will be next without feeling for the people concerned; and the sight changes the pattern of events and the course of history. Dorothy and I were living in the United States in the winter of 1968-69 . This was the height of the Viet Nam war. The main feeling of America was entirely in favour of this war early in 1968. The idea was: if Viet Nam falls, other countries will fall, and we must halt the march of communism. It was called the domino effect: if one domino falls another domino falls and so we must stop the domino of Viet Nam falling over and giving way to commun ism, otherwise the whole world would be communised before we could turn round twice. This
was the accepted doctrine early in 1968.
During that winter the sight of warfare in VietNam and the horrors that accompanied it, coming into the living rooms of the American people every evening, and indeed for much of the day, changed the whole pattern of feeling, so that people, newspapers, magazines, radio stations who, at the beginning of the year had been all in favour of the war, by the end of the year were asking are we sending our sons to suffer this? (And the more thoughtful were saying are we sending our sons to do this?)
Before the year 1969 was over, the VietNam war was brought to an end [actually it was 1973-ed.]. And I have heard American military officers of high rank saying "if it hadn't been for the damned media we would have gone on until we'd won. It was the damned media that stopped the war." Photography, not the damned media, photography. It was the forces released through the channel of photography that changed the pattern. And who was it that actually ended the Viet Nam war? Not a do-gooder, not a noble soul campaigning against the war, but Richard Nixon. Richard Nixon, the man who said he wasn't a crook because he knew he was one, it was he who stopped the war. And he stopped it not because he thought it was bad or evil, but because he knew it was losing votes. So it stopped. The Broken
Let's take another-pop music. Pop music-the popular culture form that has come into existence since the war and of which some Baba lovers have been notable exponents and still are. Pop music, that crosses all frontiers, that unites youth not only in Europe, but in Africa, in Russia, in China, with the same tunes, the same phenomena, the same excitement. And the means of conveying pop music is another channel through which forces are released-radio. Radio, for us, is just another entertainment, but radio in Africa-it bypasses the whole problem of literacy.
"... to ask for intellectual proof, a scientific proof of the existence of God, is to ask for the privilege of being able to see with your ears."
When we went out to Africa in 1958 the figure of illiteracy for the continent was 85%-85% illiterate in the 250 million people of Africa. But they could all hear radio and it was not an uncommon sight to see a Masai tribesman almost naked, covered with red ochre, leaning on an iron spear, guarding his cattle against lions and hyenas with a tran-
sistor radio around his neck, tuned into radio in Nairobi and hearing pop music. Pop music while fighting the lions with an iron spear dressed in paint! Several channels through which the world is being made one.
Baba also said there is no conflict between science and religion. He said God has a great sense of humour apd one day it will be science that will prove the existence of God. And increasingly, of course, scientists (most notably, nowadays, probably Fred Hayle) are finding that there is no final explanation to be found by the scientific tests on which science is based. No final answer. This is not decrying the careful scrutiny and exactitude of scientific tests, it is only to say that they can come to a certain point and go no further. Thomas aKempis, in the Middle Ages, said "the smallest knowledge that can be obtained of the greatest things, is more important than the utmost knowledge of the smaller things." And, as Baba said, to ask for intellectual proof, a scientific proof of the existence of God, is to ask for the privilege of being able to see with your ears. In other words, it is beyond the edge, beyond the edge of science. And when science is humble enough to admit that there is a ''beyond the edge" of science, then science and religion will unite in discovering the reality that is beyond. These are some of the chan-
nels through which, it seems to me, that in our lifetime forces are being released which are tending to make the whole world one. We could add one more perhaps (you will think of many more of your own, I'm sure, as you tend to think it over), but we could add one more: the interest in sport. A humble enough channel, isn't it? And yet the interest in sport is one of the things that draws human beings, all over the world, together. Yes, of course, there are uproars and fights and scenes of hooliganism, violence, and anger, because we are all still human beings. But, at the same time, sport is a means of drawing people together. And when I talked to Dorothy about this, she agreed. In the last few years scientific and sporting records are being broken everywhere. Why? Because people are starting to bring mind into the sporting struggle and when you ask the Sebastian Coes and Steve Ovetts how they achieved their records, they say it is not strictly by training in the old-fashioned sense, it's by learning to get beyond the barrier of human endurance. Remarkable statement, isn't it, for someone who is just a runner, just a sportsman?
In other words, at a certain point, everything comes together. And through these channels, I believe, we are coming to the beginning of that process of making our own, whole world into one. Developments which we look upon as scientific or technical or sporting or artistic advance are really something more. They
serve a deep spiritual purpose. And the spiritual forces, which guide our destiny and which are summed up for all of us in the figure of our Beloved Baba, know how to turn even our self-interested activities to spiritual advantage. To serve the sublime purpose of making this world one world. Human beings everywhere, living in harmony with one another and in a truly responsible relation-
ship with the whole world of animals and of nature.
That is the intention of Beloved Baba and I suggest, for of course I don't have the knowledge, that these may be some of the channels through which His power is being released to make this into the one world which is to await Him when He comes back in 700 years' time. •
BIGRIM'S PALATE: East Indian Eggplant
There are things that are good for increasing and purifying the blood: pomegranates, grapes and tomatoes; but grapes have one dqect, they create bile. Okra is good for people with baclalche. Potatoes give strength but create gas. Lentils are good; beans, pumpkins, cabbages and cauliflower are not nourishing but are tasty. Eggplant is the worst possible thing for you. To eat eggplant is to commit suicide because it spoils the blood and turns it to water. Radishes create gas but they are good for the intestines. Spinach is also very good."
ILord Meher, Vol. ill, p. 1107
always knew there was an excellent reason why I hated eggplant! Now I even have the words of God to back me up! Nevertheless, some people do enjoy this vegetable. Here's a recipe from Jeanette Gibson. This is the first, last, and only eggplant recipe you will ever see published in the BDFN as long as I'm editor of Pilgrim's Palate! Jai Baba! -WB
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 large eggplant, unpeeled and sliced 1 inch thick
1 can (1 lb.) tomatoes
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 heaping Tbs. sugar
1 heaping tsp. ginger
4 green onions and tops, chopped
2 Tbs. chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Dairy sour cream
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet. Add eggplant slices and
saute them until they are fork-tender, turning once. Add more olive oil, if necessary, while sauteing. Crush tomatoes with a potato masher. Combine tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste, sugar, ginger, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper. Cook mixture over moderate heat, uncovered, until thick. Stir frequently. Top each warm eggplant slice with tomato mixture, then a spoonful of sour cream. Four to six servings.
IFE IN BABA: My Life with Kitty by
Barbara Katzenberg
The very first time I met Kitty Davy was during my first visit to the Meher Center in March of 1972. I remember nervously going into her bookroom to meet her and becoming completely charmed by her manner, her wisdom, her perception, and her ability to understand me. The one thing I can recall from that first meeting was Kitty telling me that I was an old soul but needed to learn tolerance for others not as old.
During the many times I went to see Kitty in her bookroom in the years before I moved to Myrtle Beach, I remember how piercing her eyes were and how I felt frightened because I used to feel those eyes looking straight into the depths of my being. Although she would seem forgetful, she was able to really zero in on me in a way no one else ever had before-and, therefore, she was a tremendous help to me spiritually. Gradually, she became my mentor and later one of the best friends I've ever had.
Some years later, in 1980, I moved to Myrtle Beach and spent the first year teaching second grade in an elementary school in Conway, South Carolina, and volunteered on the Center whenever I could. I let it be known to Kitty and Jane that I was interested in a full-time position at the Center if one should become available. One day while I was cleaning in the Original Kitchen, the phone rang and it was Kitty asking me if I'd like to work in the Gateway. I said yes without hesitating because I had secretly wanted to work there for years!
Working in the Gateway was definitely one of the most challenging jobs I've ever had. I had been used to complete independence and now Kitty was requesting that I notify her of my whereabouts at all times whether I had to run an errand or go to lunch. It was extremely difficult for me to call her whenever I left the office, and she became exasperated at my continual lack of notifying her. Gradually, I learned to cooperate and obey her wishes until I became much more focused on the Center's priorities than my own.
During that first year, when the Gateway wasn't busy, Kitty would ask me to spend much of the day with her at Dilruba (Elizabeth and
Kitty's home) learning how to compose letters to future Center guests and Baba lovers. I really learned best by watching and listening to her example. She always seemed to know exactly the right thing to say or write to people to ease their pain and help them to solve their problems.
Also, during that first year, she had me straighten her closets and take everything out and go through them with her. She was so thorough and organized in this way. However, she began to find fault with just about everything I did and let me know it, too, sometimes in front of other people-which, of course, was thoroughly humiliating. This kind of treatment lasted exactly a year. After that first year, I went on a pilgrimage to India and, when I returned, I found Kitty had changed in her treatment towards me and, inexplicably, begun to treat me with more kindness and much less faultfinding. It was as though Baba through Kitty was strengthening and shaping me, by reducing my ego and forcing me to acknowledge my weaknesses. It was a real test! Gradually, Kitty placed more trust in my work and gave me more responsibilities. I began to feel a closeness and love and I looked forward to seeing her every day.
Then one day about a year before I left my job at the Gateway, Jane told me I was not to stop at Kitty's before going to the Gateway and neither was I to stop off there to bring her the office information at the end of the day. I felt the loss of not seeing Kitty and I also felt strongly that Baba was somehow behind this change.
In January 1989 I began to sleep at Dilruba five nights a week. Gradually, I began to help Kitty during some days as well. I am not a person who has a lot of energy and I found this around-the-clock routine exhausting. Helping a saint is not easy and no joke I mused one day as I was washing a mound of luncheon dishes and rushing to help Kitty prepare for her afternoon nap. Often, she would awaken after a one-hour snooze very refreshed and with a lot more energy than I who had also managed to flop down on a bed and take a nap, too. The pace at Dilruba
was always fast and frenetic during the daytime, but in the evenings Kitty would love to have a leisurely dinner in front of the TV, and watch "The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour'' followed by a symphony. She also loved people to read to her from Baba's life and I can remember how special it felt when she would reminisce about her life with Baba. One evening, I recall Kitty telling me that if one obeys Baba, things tend to go well, and that trouble usually follows disobedience. In the mornings, Kitty would awaken very early, between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m., and have her breakfast alone with Baba in the kitchen or on the back porch. She loved this precious, quiet time each morning. Sometimes, she would recount dreams of having been with Baba in India again. By mid-January 1991, Kitty had to go to the hospital. She had to be operated on immediately or she would probably die within a few days, the doctors had said. After a lot of persuading, Kitty gave her permission for the operation. A small group of us watched as the orderlies wheeled Kitty down the hall to the operating room. She said her goodbyes and her prayers. We weren't sure if 99-year-old Kitty would make it through the operation. Amazingly, she sailed through the operation and began a speedy recovery. But, unfortunately, complications set in and Kitty became extremely ill and the doctors thought she wasn't going to make it. People came to pay their last respects while Kitty seemed to be in a coma. Kitty's hospitalization gave all of us who had been helping her the opportunity to be with her around the clock. The nights were the most difficult. I would spend haH the time trying to make Kitty more comfortable as she would come and go in consciousness. As I held her hand I realized the immensity of Kitty's strength. Paradoxically, I was the one who felt weak and she seemed so strong! 'What is going on here?" I asked Baba. 'What is Kitty having to endure and why?" Mostly at this time I would pray to Baba to let her sleep because her suffering seemed so great. After several weeks, by some miracle of His, she gained some strength, and the hospital released her to go home.
As the ambulance attendants were bringing Kitty on a stretcher back to Dilruba, she glowed
radiantly and smiled broadly from ear to ear. She appeared as a queen triumphantly being borne aloft on her pallet by her royal attendants. It was a beautiful sight and one I won't soon forget.
I found that the last year of Kitty's life was especially difficult for me. No longer was Kitty in the role of my mentor. It seemed she became very child-like and her illness kept her in a very fragile state physically and emotionally. As one of her caretakers, I needed to be in a nurturing role-and this role did not come easily for me. I found this to be a reversal of our previous relationship.
About a week before Thanksgiving 1991, I told Kitty I would be going to visit my family for a week. She just looked at me without saying anything as I kissed her goodbye. I would never see Kitty awake again. When I returned, she had only a couple of days left to live. On what was to be her last evening, which was also coinddentally my twentieth anniversary of being with Meher Baba, I was on duty to help Kitty. The doctor had come in the afternoon and reported that Kitty's lungs were clear and her heart was strong. Wendy Connor asked him how much time he thought that she had left, and he said he thought perhaps one more week. He said, "Everything that can be done for her is being done." There was a beautiful, happy feeling in the house that evening, but I never once thought that this would be her last evening. When I kissed her good night, I felt sure I'd be with her again the next day. But Baba is full of surprises, as we all know, and He took dearest Kitty early the next morning.
After her body was taken to the funeral home, I decided to go there for a final farewell with Lois Breger, who had served Kitty so faithfully over many years. Laurie Blum had bought dozens of red and pink roses, which she gave each of us there, and just before Kitty's body was cremated, we each had a turn to give her the flowers. I gave the flowers to her from each of His lovers who knew and loved Kitty and who wanted to be with us at this time to say a final farewell to our beloved friend, Baba's darling Saroja. 'I
Recently, I saw the movie Enchanted April. It is the story of four English women, in the etlrly 1900s, who take a month's holiday together at an Italian villa. During their stay, they are all transfonned by the betlUty and peace of the place, and all find more happiness and love in their lives because of their stay. Throughout the movie I kept thinking about 1ww this must have been similar to the mandali's visit to Portofino with Baba. The feeling became stronger as the movie went on, particularly when it became cletlr how these women were all changing and becoming more open and loving. I stayed to the end. of the credits to find the words: "Special thanks to the Municipality of Portofino." I rouldn't help but think that the makers of the film certainly felt the power of the place and chose that particular power spot on the planet to make their film; it all felt very much like a "Baba film" to me. So with all that in mind, I decided to offer you this month a reprint from Delia DeLeon's new book, The Ocean of Love, which describes the Western mandali's romantic visit with Baba in Portofino. -AR
I think it would be unanimous that this Italian holiday with Baba gave us some of our loveliest moments with Him because it was the most carefree and happy time I had with Baba; He was in holiday mood, it was summer, and the surroundings were delightful.
Apart from Baba, Chanji, and I<aka, there were Quentin, Herbert, Mabel, Margaret,
Kitty, Minta, and Audrey lnce, who was a young and beautiful studentofMargarers.Baba had met her when He visited Margaret's studio in London and said she had to make contact with India and we were to bring her with us when we came.
We stayed at the Villa Fiorenza, a small pension between Santa Margherita and Portofino, which we had to ourselves-apart from one English couple who were in the annex-and where we ate our meals on a picturesque veranda facing the sea. Every morning Baba came round our rooms to see that we were up and teased and embraced us. Then most mornings, followed by Kaka with a large umbrella, Baba came down to the beach and sat on the rocks while some of the group went swimming. He told us that for spiritual reasons he would not go in the water Himself.
While we sat on the beach, many Italians attracted by this strange group would come and sit near us. We must have presented a queer picture, an Indian with long hair and flowing white robes followed by a group of men and Western women in colorful attire; but the Italians are a marvelous people, they never stared but took it as a most natural sight.
In the evenings, we listened to Hawaiian, Spanish, or Paul Robeson records; or we were called upon to give impromptu concerts or tell funny stories; but among my most precious
Delia DeLeon
recollections was when we just sat in silence with Baba on the terrace-no one saying a word -the silence broken only by the lapping waves. One evening in particular, I remember following Him onto the terrace. The moon was shining straight onto His face and, as we sat around Him in silence, we could feel Him drawing us closer in love. Chanji told us that few in India had been permitted this degree of intimacy, and Baba Himself told us, "Make the most of this-it won't come again-one day you won't get near me for the crowds!"
One evening, for the first time, He told us of the Eastern women mandali and of His love for Mehera and of her great beauty. Some say that Mehera represents Maya to Baba, and others that she represents His feminine aspect and spiritually He works on all femininity through her. Certainly He has always said that, while others are very near and dear to Him in varying degrees, she is "the Chosen One." In Portofino, He said that we loved Him the same way and that we would always have a special place in His heart. He said He was training us for the work we had to do in the future and that everything that He said would come to pass.
Once we were discussing books and Baba said, "Learn to read me then you will understand everything." And on another occasion He described
the circle of the Avatar and gave us Persian names to please us: Delia- Leyla; Minta - Shalimar; Kitty - Saroja; Margaret- Zuleka; AudreyShirin; Kim- Ayisha; ZillaMumtasmai; Mabel- Firoze; Quentin- Nared; and Herbert - Sudama. (At a later date, he added Norina- Noorjehan; and Elizabeth- Dilruba.)
My namesake, Leyla, comes from a Persian story. was the beloved of Majnun whose intense love and longing for her, although she could not be his, was, after a long time and great suffering, to bring him to God-Realization.
Baba loved Italy and particularly Portofino, where He told us he had been before in another advent. He said there were spiritual reasons for our being there and that we would be with Him again in Italy. He added that there were four places in the West of great spiritual significance: Avila in Spain; and Portofino, Venice, and Assisi in Italy. He would often talk about St. Francis of Assisi's love for Christ. He said that we should obey Him and love Him as St. Francis had loved Jesus.
St. Francis had come from a well-to-do Italian family and, after spending a wild youth, he had a vision of Christ which caused him to embrace a life of poverty. He gathered around him a group of disciples which was later to become the Franciscan Order of monks. Despite his poverty, Frands was reported to be "the most joyous of saints" and would no sad, .long faces around him, always rebuking any friar who was
gloomy or melancholy. Later in his life, through his intense love for Christ, he received the stigmata (marks of the Cross) and at this time, Baba told us, he also became God-Realized. One of his many legacies was this beautiful prayer:
Lord make me an instrument of your peace Where there is hatred let me sow love Where there is injury, Where there is doubt, faith Where there is despair, hope Where there is darkness, light Where there is sadness, joy.
0 Divine master, grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled, as to console To be understood, as to understand · To be loved, as to love.
For it is by giving that we receive It is by pardoning that we are pardoned It is by dying that we are born to eternal life.
When we first arrived in Portofino, Baba had told us that He had important spiritual work to do in Italy and He wished to go to Assisi and spend twenty-four hours in a cave that had been used by St. Francis for meditation. On August 1, Herbert was sent in advance to locate such a cave.
Baba,Quentin,Kaka,and Chanji were to follow in five days. The night before they left,
while the others were resting, Baba asked us to stay as close to Him as possible. Some of us wandered away and again He asked us to stay close to Him. Suddenly we realized that He was doing spedal work in ad vance, as He got that faraway look and His fingers were moving rapidly as if He were setting the seal on work to be done. He seemed to be suffering and was in great pain and we knew something very extraordinary was going to happen but did not know what. Unhappily, some wandered off again only to be sorry later when they found Baba was upset that they could not obey Him in the simplest things.
After some difficulty Herbert was able to find a suitable cave and Baba remained in it alone for nearly twenty-four hours, His companions staying on guard outside to make sure He was not disturbed. On His return to Portofino, Baba still seemed to be suffering, but He was in high spirits and told us about His great meeting in the cave with all the saints and masters of the sixth and seventh planes and how they had mapped out the spiritual destiny of the world for the next two thousand years. 'I
OETRY: The Ancient One
the burden of our tenderness like a smoky autumn wind it becomes a wave of Love on His ocean heart.
Nancy U. Eaton September 1,1985
SPECIAL: On Amartithi and Baba's Birthday by Eruch Jessawalla
The following statements by Eruch Jessawalla were taped by an Australian Baba laver in the 70s and given to Winnie Barrett by Raine Eastman Gannett.
Amartithi:
tithi =date
amar = Eternal date with the Eternal Beloved
So, Amartithi is a date with the Eternal One. Ifs a fresh date each time for us to make a fresh resolve to be His. To be determined to be His.
When greeting one on Amartithi, the greeting is not greeting the other, but Baba in the other. It is like greeting Baba after a parting.
Programs are conducted to entertain Baba; not the crowd, just Baba. And one must not forget Him or one cannot achieve this.
. The fifteen minutes of silence is to celebrate when afeel) that He broke His silence and began to live in the hearts of us all.
He seemed to "drop His body'' but, really speaking, He released the word that was locked up in the body, the body which bore the original word.
The word is made flesh in the God-man; with the dropping of the body, the word is released, so we celebrate this occasion when the word is released and He dwells in our hearts.
May hearts come together from all over to be part of this celebration when He is here-here to give us something and we meet here to receive it. And that something is His love-and it is some something, this love, it is some love. Where all petty differences, all ranks, where everything gets drowned in the Ocean that He is, and there is no turning away from each other; where all the hearts are coming to one platform and hailing Him-that His is the victory and making all of us here know that He is the victorious one and we the vanquished.
An opportunity where we should shed all our opinions, all our differences, and come together as "one hearf' and make a place of
"one heart," beating, throbbing for the One Eternal Beloved. Beloved Meher Baba!
On Meher Baba's birthday we at Meherazad stand up in His presence and shout AVATAR MEHER BABA KI JAI seven times at the stroke of 5:00 a.m., when Baba was delivered by His mother Shireen.
He set this guideline. He said all one need do is shout AVATAR MEHER BABA KI JAI seven times. The birthday is then begun. We, the mandali, drive into the Ahmednagar Centre to greet those staying there. We then drive to Meherabad, to the Samadhi and watch the village school children dance and sing and go to the Samadhi to bow down to Him and join in the smging of ''Happy Birthday'' there wishing Him a happy birthday.
Then we return to Meherazad. School children from Pimpalgaon are invited to bow down to Him and a performance of a play is done here now to entertain Him. We invite Him to come in our midst at 5:00. A good time to choose to invite Him. ·
He always wanted His lovers to celebrate His birthday at one's own home center or group gathering. He never encouraged people to come to Meherazad at that time.
Once a couple came here to be here on His birthday, thinking that if the celebrations were so filled with His love at one's own group, how much more of that celebration, joyousness, and love would be at Meherazad. Upon arriving it was very quiet-Baba just sitting quietly here and naturally.
Baba said, ''Why are you here, what has happened?" And they explained their expectancy. Baba said, ''Nothing happens here at this time. How can you expect such celebrations here when I am not here at all? I am there where the celebrations for My birthday take place with such love for Me. I am there; I am at that gathering you left!" •
When I drop My body, I shall remain in all who love Me. I can never die.
BROKEN. DOWN FURNII'UIU: NEWS
EDITOR'S CORNER: The Eyes Have It by Yaira Filipovs NEWS NOTES
THIS DATE in Baba History
FEATURE ARTICLE/LIFE IN BABA
Gateway to Paradise by Winnie Barrett
LOVE DIGEST: A Unique Atmosphere by Delia DeLeon
POETRY: (Untitled) by Thorn Fortson
REVIEW: Only Your Love, by Bob and Jane Brown
Reviewed by Jeff Deloe
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Greek Lemon Soup by Charlotte Fletcher EDITOR'S CORNER: The
In making initial external contact with Meher Baba, most Americans would probably start with a local group if available, go on to the Center in Myrtle Beach, and then, venture forth to India. Perhaps out of fear that I might miss something or be left out, after I hit the local group in Denver, I was intent on unearthing the external source Amid the myriad faces of maya in India, Baba's samadhi is, of course, ineffable.
"Paradise" may be defined as any place of ideal be.auty or loveliness. Although India is an experience to behold, I found paradise at the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, which I first visited one year after my trip to India .
In our feature on the Center's Gateway, Ann Conlon observes, "There was such a light in the faces and in the eyes that hadn't been there when they arrived Baba has touched them." Meher Baba touches each person in the way that best enhances the individual's inherent inclinations. Baba's house on the Center is profuse with His presence, but, for me, the Lagoon Cabin is th e place of ideal beauty or lov eliness. It is unbl e mished. It is there that I have felt truly touched.
BROKEN. DOWN FURNITURE NEWS
"You nre nil ju st broke11-dow11 furnitur e. But it is I who iln ve chosen you , so you must be what I wm1t " -M e herBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Cente r, serving Baba lovers and groups in the Unit ed States and Canada.
Managing Editor/Love Digest
Alice Rybak
Production Assistant
Vaira Filipovs
Copy Editor/Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
Art Directors
Phil Normand & Denise Gibson
Life in Baba/Pilgrim's Palate
Winnie Barrett
Poetry Editor Bob Jaeger Reviews Richard Sander & je ff Deloe
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples Business Manager Jan Coh e n
Address all correspondence to: Th e Broke11 - Dowu Fumiture New s, P.O . Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA . Phone (303) 333-1727
Published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $10 .00 p e r year.
Canada $ 10 00 (U.S ) p e r year Ov e r se as $1 3 .00 p e r ye ar.
Pl ease ma k e ch eck s pay a ble to Th e Broke11-Dow11 Fumitu re New s .
Avatar Me h e r Baba De nv e r C e nt e r, exce pt wh e re no ted.
NEWS NOTES
Bhau Kalchuri to Return This Year
Bhau has announced that he will be returning to California in May! In separate letters to California Baba lovers he said, "I was not intending to visit the States this year, but they told me that if I do not visit Mariposa in 1993 there will be a setback for the project." The exact dates of "Bhaustock IV" are not yet established, but don't plan anything in May
Sheriar Foundation
The Sheriar Foundation is a non-profit tax-exempt corporation formed in 1989 to "broaden awareness and deepen the appreciation of the spiritual values exemplified in the life and writings of Meher Baba."
Contributions support the foundation's publications and video productions. One book in the works, God-Brother: Stories of My Life with Meher Baba, is an illustrated collection of charming stories written by Mani. Conv er sations with the Awakener, by Bal Natu, was the foundation's first book publication.
The Sheriar Foundation serves as an umbrella for the Baba publishing activities of Sheriar Press, and has also produced, to date, six videos. It has accumulated hundreds of hours of video tape of Meher Baba's disciples and of places most deeply connected to His life and work, and is currently producing Darshan, a multi-faceted exploration of being in the presence of God. An extensive list of additional video projects is under consideration.
Sheriar Foundation also has a particular interest in widening distribution channels for Meher Baba-related books and videos . Those interested in helping move this plan of action forward, or in receiving a brochure, may write or call Sheila Krynski, Andy Lesnik, or Ann Conlon at Sheriar Foundation, 3005 Highway 17 N. Bypass, Myrtle Beach SC 29577, (803) 448-1106.
Group Rates to Bombay
A group of Baba lovers in the northeastern U.S. are planning a charter trip to India in mid-July. A reduced group rate may be obtained if there are ten or more in the group . The flight will leave from Boston. If you're planning a summer pilgrimage, this may be just the ticket. If you are interested, call Ken Lux for details at (207) 998-5477, in the evening, but no later than 9:30PM EST. Bo11 Voyage!
Music
The Only Real Thing is the title of a new cassette recording by Bobbi Bernstein & Friends. It contains a number of popu-
'IHIS DATE ...
In Baba History
March 21
Parsi holiday of famshed-iNavroz-the day when the sun enters the vernal equinox.
April 1, 1928
Baba goes to greet Hazrat Babajan near Ahmednagar. Fifty yards apart on opposite sides of the railroad track, the two masters neither talk nor have any physical contact. Baba remarks, "Today is the most eventful and significant day of My life!"
April12, 1958
Baba sends an important, direct message concerning the intimate nature of the coming sahavas in Myrtle Beach to all those planning to attend. He says, "I want this sahavas to be above all a close companionship between your Beloved and His lovers ... ."
lar Baba tunes and is available from the Sheriar Press Book Division, 3005 Highway 17 Bypass, Myrtle Beach SC 29577, (803) 448-1107. The cost is $10.00 plus $1.50 postage (SC residents add 5% sales tax).
And while we're talking about tapes, there is an original acoustic blues tape of Baba songs written and sung by james R. Newell. Send check or money order to Blue Sadhana, P.O .Box 120064, Nashville TN 37212. The cost is $10.00 with postage included (TN residents please add $.80 sales tax).
fEATURE: Gateway to Paradise
Debbie Hanna Meyer, Ann Conlon, Ralph Hernandez, Barbara Katzenberg, Carole Kelly, Irene Short, and Jenny Califf tell the ston; of the Gateway at Meher Spiritual Center.
"Back in th e old days" (prior to 1970) the port of entry to Meher Cent er was Dilruba, the horn e of Kitty and Eli za bet h Th ere, two of Baba's best -lo ved disciples worked tirelessly day and night as ga.tekeepers , bookkee pers, th e info rmation host esses, hous ekee pers, and g uidin g lights to the heart of th e Beloved.
There were no "hou-rs," and people arriv ed literally at all hou-rs of the day and night. No matter what th e tim e or inconven ience, each one was greeted with love, asked to sign th e gues t book, giv en bed lin ens and towels, and we lcomed into Beloved Baba 's home.
As tim e passed, th ese great on es aged a bit, th e numbers of visitors grew, the demands multiplied exponentially, and Briarcliffe res idents raised their ey ebrow s at th e eve rincreasing traffic on Middl egat e Road. The viab le so lution to all of th ese changes was to pro vid e a greet ing pla ce on the Center prop erty near th e main gate.
Debbie Hanna Meyer
In 1970 , Debbie (now Hanna) Meyer mo ve d to Myrtl e Beach and became th e first fu ll-tim e gate kee per. Sh e tells it this way:
In July Ken Lux and Bob Emrich helped me drive down to Myr tl e Bea c h in my 1951 DeSoto I was immediately adopted by Neecie Jensen and I lived at her home with her and seve ral other Baba women. That s umm er and fall, I h elped at Dilruba and with Happ y Club , and the Get Well Clinic On e day Jane came into Kitty's b oo kroom , where I was packagin g book orders, and asked if I would be interested in a full-time job a t th e Center. " Don't answer no w, d ear, take yo ur time to think about it, and I'll discu ss it with Eliz abeth." I was overjoy ed at the prosp ec t and I was
by Winnie Barrett
sure it would never happen! Then Elizabeth called me into her room and said, "You've been very helpful . On Monday, instead of coming to this house, you'll be at Pine Lodge." I floated quietly out of her room.
Until then, all guests were received at Dilruba, and now the Pine Lodge had been made ready From fall 1970 to February 1977, I was at Pine Lodge, first with Jane and then Fred/Ella Winterfeldt. My duties were to open up, tidy, help with correspondence and reservations, welcome guests and show them to their cabin s, guide day visitors, prepare the laundry for pickup, be available for errands, help with fetching guests from planes or buses, and take Jane's little dog "Meher's Bo" for a walk when Jane was away. I can still see Elizabeth bending over him to tie a red ribbon to his collar so he w ould be safer on his walks.
Many of us remember th e years that Fre d/Ella li ved at Pin e Lodge and provided th e first ex perience of Baba 's lo ve upon our arriva l at '\ •• Meher Cent er. I recall their unmatched capacit y to welcome us so warmly with open arms. Du ring their watch, a simple structure was built across the dri ve from Pin e Lodge and th e reception activiti es were moved into the Gat eway building, where th ey conti-nu e today. Fred wa s incredibly strong physically, even after he became ill; I'll not forge t arrivin g once at th e Ga tewa y to be greeted by Fred, who lit era lly picked me up off my fee t and spuu me around, laugh in g joyously all t he while.
Ann Conlon
Baba always provid ed th e perfec t people to fill th e uniqu e ro les required of the Gat eway staff. A1111 Coilfan follow ed Debbi e Hanna to work with the Wint erfe ldts, and carried on after Fred's passing Ann tell s it this way:
I ca me to th e Center the first time in 1958, ri g ht after Baba had been at the Center. I ca me d ow n for a week, and there was no one h e re
Th e Brokeu Dow 11 Fumiture N
except a friend and I who came to stay, and Kitty, who stayed nights at the Center because I was a newcomer.
I ended up working at the Gateway for seven years in a rather convoluted way. I had started there at the end of 1976, when Debbie Hanna Meyer was going to have a baby. Kitty and Elizabeth asked if I'd work there until the first of January, when someone else was supposed to come. As it happened, about the same time, Fred Winterfeldt, who was in charge of the Gateway, became ill. So, I stayed on.
And then, of course, months later, Fred died. Well, I was just there. So, I continued to do the job; it worked into five days a week. Nobody actually hired me for that job. I was there and I was doing it, and it just went on like that.
The first responsibilities I had were while Fred was still there. The temporary part was as secretary, answering all the letters that came. At that time, each was answered individually.
Once Fred became ill, the responsibilities changed. Then I was also taking reservations, keeping that chart, which is like a New York Times crossword puzzle, and about the same level of difficulty, particularly in the summer. It's a real juggling act.
I'm sure there are many Baba lovers who remember Attn's gallant efforts to enable each of us to stay in just the cabin we wanted. I was always amazed at how she did it!
Ralph Hernandez
Soon, Ralph Hernandez arrived ou the scene, and gradually moved into the weekeud gatekeeper slot, which he still holds. Like Aun, Ralph didn't initially set out to work at the Gateway, it just happened. Here's what Ralph had to say:
In 1973, we moved to Myrtle Beach. I started to do some volunteer work at the Center. My first job was to show people around a couple of days a week. It was very interesting and very surprising, the things that happen when you meet new people that come for the first time to the Center. When you least expect it-from the person you least expect-you get some beautiful stories and some beautiful feelings.
At that time, Marshall Hay was working in the Gateway on weekends. I don't know how exactly I ended up there. Every once in a while,
I'd fill in for him and for others who went on vacation, and pretty soon I had a steady job on weekends at the Gateway.
Now, people ask me, "What made you do this? How come you're here?" and all this. It doesn't happen by accident. It's not because of reasoning or thinking on my part. But I think maybe once when Baba gave me an order (the only time that He did) that this was the beginning of my being at the Gateway. The story goes like this:
It was in 1958. Baba had arrived at the Bam with some of the close westerners, and they went in. All the rest of us were outside, just waiting to go in. We were peeking in. I happened to have a very good spot in between two steps that go into the Barn, and I was peeking in there with this friend of mine who had come with us. I remember that Filis Frederick was right next to me. We were able to see Baba through the screen doors. Baba leaned over and He motioned to me to come in. But this fellow who was next to me, he thought it was him. Baba said "No, no." He motioned with His hand, "No, no" and He said me. And I said "Me?"
And when He said me, my mind started racing, and I wanted to know, what is it that He wants with me? I wonder what He's gomza make me do. And this went on and on. It just takes a few moments to go around and up the steps and into the barn, and I must've had a thousand thoughts in that time. Anyway, I went in and I stood by Baba and Baba looked at me. And He said, "Would you like to do something for Me?" And I said, "Yes, Baba." And my mind was still racing. Then He said, 'Would you be happy to do something for Me?" And I said "Yes, Baba." Any my mind was still racing and He said to me, "We are going to go out to lunch. I want you to go out in the parking lot and stand there, and if anybody shows up, you let them know that we went out to lunch and we're coming back. When we come back, you go out to lunch." That was the order.
I stood there Nothing happened. He came back, and as the car went around towards the Barn, He leaned over and He made a sign to me that meant He was thanking me for my staying there and then He said for me to go and have
my lunch. So, possibly, that was Baba's way of planting the seed of my eventually coming to Myrtle Beach and working at the Center all these years.
I used to stand out in front of the Gateway and watch the people that came into the Center to see that no outsider might show up and go into the Center. The most unusual thing that happened was one night while I was on duty I saw this van drive up. I saw this man and a boy about 12 years old. I knew that the man didn't belong in the Center. I approached him and I said, "Can I help you?" And he said, "Yeah, yeah." He said he saw all these young people going into the Center and asked, "Is this the place?" And I said, "What do you mean, 'is this the place'?" And he said "Yes, yes. You know," with a smile on his face. And I said, "I don't know what you mean. What do you mean?"
He took out his wallet, and he brought out a card, which was a membership to a nudist colony. And I told the man, "No, no. This is not the place. You've got the wrong place. This is a religious place." And he saw all these young people going in, and he took a look at me and gave me a smile, and he says, "Ah, come on. This is it, huh?" And I said, "No, no. This is not the place. This is a religious place and in order for you to come here, you have to write a letter of introduction, introducing yourself and your reasons for coming here and wanting to know more about this place." Right at that
moment, Jane Haynes came into the Center through the gate, and I turned the man over to her.
A couple of months later, I came into the Center to one of the programs. As I went into the Meeting Place, I saw this same man and boy sitting outside the Meeting Place together with Owen Cooper, and I thought to myself, Look, this man has taken the trouble to write a letter and to come here again. I thought, Well, that's very unusual. He really must have felt something while he was here. That was the end of the story as far as I was concerned. I forgot all about it. I didn't even think to talk to Owen Cooper about it at the time.
A little later on, I went to India. While in India, Eruch told a story about a man and a boy that had come to the Center at Myrtle Beach; the boy was about 12 years old. Everywhere that this boy went at the Center, he made remarks such as-across the little bridge-he would say, "You have never swept this bridge, because a great man passed through this bridge." And in the Lagoon Cabin, the boy got all emotional. It appears that the whole thing was for this 12-year-old boy.
After that, I never saw the man or the boy again, or heard anything about them, ever.
Barbara Katzenberg
Bob Cushman followed Ann as reservationist during the week, and following Bob, Barbara Katzen berg. Here's how it happened, in her words:
Ever since I started visiting the Center in 1972, I harbored a secret desire to work in the Gateway office of Meher Center and to help Kitty and Elizabeth.
When I moved to Myrtle Beach in 1980 I had a full-time job, but would volunteer as much as possible at the Center, cleaning kitchens, helping with Happy Club, giving tours of the Center, and helping in the Gateway. I also let Kitty and Jane know that I was interested in working full-time at the Center. One afternoon as I was cleaning out the refrigerators in the Original Kitchen, Kitty called to tell me that I could start working full-time in the Gateway as the secretary there. I was thrilled! Little did I know what an intense experience the next seven and a half years would be.
As the secretary my duties were varied: I managed all of the written correspondence pertaining to information about Baba and the Center, as well as reservations and confirmations of Center retreat guests. I was supposed to clean the office everyday and do the banking, as well as run other errands. Kitty would often ask me to drive her downtown to the bank or help her with her errands as well. I was also put in charge of the membership and donor tallies and mailings-a huge job in itself. I gave tours to newcomers and arranged for guests to go to the store.
Kitty always emphasized the importance of making people feel welcome. She used to
Tile Broken Dorun Furniture News March - April1993
The Broken Down Fumit11re News March- Apri/1993
tell me that if people didn't feel welcome when they arrived at the Center, "they will feel that they've come to the wrong place." She wanted me to think of the personal aspects of greeting and welcoming the guests first as a top priority and letting the other work always come second. She also wanted me to remember as many people as possible and where they lived. I sometimes felt like a human telephone directory because she would often ask me for such information. Kitty kept a file of names and addresses at her office and in the Gateway which she would want me to frequently update, so that we could stay abreast of people's whereabouts.
After five and a half years as the secretary, I felt I needed a change. So when Bob Cushman left, I became the reservationist and Gateway manager. This job·involved handling all of the reservations and assigning cabins. By this time, the Center had volunteers and the reserva tionist coordinated these people as well.
Carole Kelly
We can see how Baba developed the secretarial, reservationist, and receptionists' roles over the years, and always provided workers who could fill those roles. In more recent years, those tasks have been taken up by Carole Kelly, Irene Short, and fenny Califf. Carole describes her e:>.:perience this way:
I love it when I'm the only worker there and the phone keeps ringing, while four new guests from India are arriving
and the utilities man pulls up in his huge truck to fill the Center gas tanks. A caretaker calls on the walkie-talkie at the same time Jane calls asking about progress on printing the newsletter, and two unexpected drop- in visitors enter the door.
I love it when I am just one of the three workers stationed at the Gateway that day, the phone rings once all morning, there are no arrivals or visitors that day and the quiet envelopes us softly.
Why? Is it the Baba-given opportunity afforded to stretch myself across both ends of the action continuum? Yes, partly. Is it because the people Baba draws to His home are so accepting, so questioning, so innocent, so worldly, so firm, so soft, so big, so little, so full of love and wonder? Yes, partly.
Or is it the growth producing challenge of change? My first year in Myrtle Beach, I came as a single parent and teacher of a class of emotionally disturbed teenagers. In the same year, at Jane's suggestion, I began to volunteer with
Ralph Hernandez on Sundays. The next year was spent as Gateway secretary with Barbara Katzenberg. When Barbara left, I spent a year as Gateway manager with Virginia Cassidy as secretary. For the past few years my time has happily been split between Dilruba Office and the Gateway. Is change the reason I love working here? Yes, partly.
This all seems very healthy to me: change, diversity, learning all aspects of the work, finding balance.
But I think the real reason I love working at the Center and at the Gateway is that I always feel I'm where I'm supposed to be. Whether being praised or corrected, comforted or irritated, in agreement or happy conflict, I always feel at home with the work Meher Baba has given me.
Irene Short
Irene Short also had the secret desire to serve Baba at His Western home. She recounts:
It was in the summer of 1966 while living in Miami, Florida that I first heard His Name. I knew at once I had to know Meher Baba. From that time on, I wanted only to be with others who knew anq loved Baba.
I first visited Meher Center one year later, for only a few hours. Following a tour with Kitty, I was invited to Dilruba to view a Baba film which she and Elizabeth had received from India that day. Those few hours are unforgettable. I left with a heart filled to capacity.
In 1978, my late husband
Edward Short and I were among Baba's many lovers from Miami who moved to Myrtle Beach in order to be nearer to Baba' s western home. At dear Kitty's invitation I began various volunteer work and in 1985 began assisting Ralph Hernandez at the Gateway on weekends. Becoming a member of the Center staff seemed inconceivable to me at that time-something I dreamed about secretly. But Beloved Baba knows our deepest secrets and in 1989, to my amazement and joy, my secret dream became reality.
As in all work for Baba, Gateway duties can be very challenging-always interesting. At the present time, the Gateway staff consists of two part-time secretaries (one working three days a week and one working two days) and a Gateway manager. In order to be as efficient as possible, we find that it is vital to be conversant with each other's duties.
As Gateway manager, I primarily take reservations for retreat guests; however, the main function at the Gateway is to greet the many retreat guests and day visitors and see that each guest visiting for the first time reads and understands the directives that Meher Baba gave. Each one receives a complete tour of the Center along with its history. Making sure that each guest feels welcome and comfortable is our top priority, so that he or she is able to enjoy and receive all that Beloved Baba wants to give. Often guests arrive feeling full of stress and exhausted from their daily lives, yet after one or two days at the Center, these feelings are replaced with the peace and fulfillment that only Baba' s love can provide.
Jenny Califf
Jenny Califf is the most recent addition to the Gateway staff. Here's how she tells it:
While attending Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in the spring of 1968 I heard a fellow student, Charles Haynes, say that Meher Baba was the same one as Jesus. Something inside of me said, ''I believe that." In the fall of 1968 I again heard Charles speak of Baba and this time my heart responded with an urgency I didn't recognize at the time. Within a few days I knew my life would never be the same. Preparation for this unfathomable time in my life began Tlw
in 1956 when I found myself wondering if I'd recognize Jesus if He were to come again, and if I'd be able to leave everything and follow Him as the fishermen of Galilee had done 2,000 years ago. I remember being concerned that I would not be able to do that, but I would have the yearning to do so.
I came to the Meher Center for my first visit in the spring of 1969 and I knew immediately that I had come home. I longed to one day live near the Center and to work at the Center; however, I did not want to come until Baba made it clear that it was the time for me to be there.
In May of 1988 I visited the Center. During that week, I was listening to a Francis Brabazon poem, and the words "now is not the history but the moment" spoke to me, and I realized that it was time for me to begin definite plans to move to Myrtle Beach. At last, almost twenty years later, the inner invitation I had been waiting for had arrived. In the spring of 1989 I wrote Jane Haynes and told her that I was moving to Myrtle Beach and I expressed my heart's deep desire to work at the Center in any way or capacity that Baba had for me. In May I once again expressed this heart's desire to Jane. As Baba would have it in His perfect timing, a need had arisen which I was suitable to fill. I moved to Myrtle Beach, and within a few days, began to train for my part-time position at the Gateway.
My first year at the Center I was working at the reservationist' s desk every Friday. Then I became a part-time secretary. In the spring of 1992 Baba made it possible for me to increase to three days a week, thus giving me more opportunities to learn and to be useful in the intense work that goes on at the Gateway and at the Center. As a Gateway secretary, my duties include collecting cabin fees from the retreat guests, seeing to the bank deposit, carefully recording each love gift to the Center, keeping the mailing list updated for newsletter and other important information to be shared with the Center's 2,500 associate members, helping with the correspondence, and assisting the Gateway manager as needs arise. These duties are part of the practical functioning of the work of the Gateway, but the most important work and clearly the top priority for each of us at the Gateway is
The Broken DOlon Fumiture News Mnrch- Apri/1993
to welcome and to assist each guest to the Center in a manner pleasing to Beloved Baba. He clearly shows us that He alone knows the real work being done and that He alone does the work, but that in His compassion He is giving us the opportunity that we longed for-to share in some way in the work at His home in the West.
There are several things all of these workers have in common. In addition to their love for Beloved Baba, and their wish to serve Him at His westenz home, they all have a recognition that it is Beloved Baba who runs the show, making sure the work gets done, and it is He who trains them in a unique way to sharpen intuition, face challenges squarely, and adjust to change continually, work cheerfully and wholeheartedly, attend to every detail in the service of pleasing Him, and keep a sense of humor!
Barbara Katzenberg (Part 2)
As Barbara reflects on those years of service, she concludes:
The Gateway office was and is an extremely demanding place to work and requires qualities of alertness, discipline, tact, diplomacy, patience, flexibility, tolerance, a sense of humor (and many more such qualities which I needed to learn), and above all, love and trust in Meher Baba who is actually the One who is really in charge of running Meher Center. Whenever I would finally let go and give Him the problems or crises with which I was dealing, I could actually sit back and watch Him orchestrate the solutions! Thank you, dearest Beloved, for getting everything done and giving me the opportunity to serve you at Your home in the west.
Ann Conlon (Part 2)
As Ann looks back on her seven years at the Gateway, two things stand out for her:
I found the most extraordinary part of working at the Gateway was association with Elizabeth Patterson. Baba said she was unique. And it certainly was true. I was totally intrigued by the way her mind worked, about the clarity she had about the Center, and what Baba wanted it to be. He had said, actually, very little to her in words. But from the little He had said about the Center, she operated on those words. She found her answer, always, in what He said. And she said,
"And any time there is a difficulty'' -not a problem. Nothing is a problem. There maybe is a difficulty-" the answers are in what He said."
I think probably the most fascinating thing about working there was seeing new people to come to the Center and the expression on their faces, and in their eyes, when they first walked in there, and then the expression on their faces and in their eyes, when they left, after a week. It was extraordinary, and I felt very privileged to be able to see that. There was such a light in the faces and in the eyes that hadn't been there when they arrived. Some of them-when they arrived-you could tell from looking at them that they were wondering what they were doing here. You know. They don't know why they came, but they felt compelled to come. And by the time they leave, they know very well what they were doing there. And it shows. What was closed in about them, maybe a little bit frightened, has opened up and is just-they're glowing. You know, and Baba has touched them.
To me it was a very clear sign that when people say they did not meet Baba, and they regret it, that they're wrong. You could not have that unless you had, in your own way, met Him.
Debbie Hanna Meyet (Part 2)
We close with Debbie Hanna's reminiscences, which go straight to the heart of the matter-facets of the gem that is our Beloved Meher Baba.
When I ask myself about the dearest memories, these surface first: the afternoon of Christmas Eve in 1970 with Jane at Pine Lodge, listening to carols on the radio and weeping together because Baba was felt so strongly Fred's full throated opera singing by the window on quiet days ... Ella looking over Fred's shoulder, patting him on the head as he wrote at the desk, with one stem of his wire-rimmed glasses in his mouth Ella's light step, like a tiny sparrow, and her absolute thoroughness in all things Kitty's being able to locate a rubber band at a moment's notice after I had looked for ten minutes ... Jane's treating each and every person's visit to the Center as the momentous occasion that it is Elizabeth's arrival every time I forgot to sweep the porch (she would say,
[ovE D _ IGEST: A Unique Atmosphere by Delia DeLeon
On January 21, 1993, Delia DeLeou passed away to retum to her Belolllui MelleT Baba. Delia met Baba in London in 1931 during His first visit to tire West. Au actress at tire time, Delia was performing in tile piny "White Horse Inn," and Baba went to see her perform. Sl1e immediately fell in love with Him and became part of tlznt early group of English lovers who would eventually spend time with Baba in lndin. Throughout her life, sire was in bringing many people to Baba.
W.arrived at Myrtle Beach from Florence tired, but happy and excited to be in this spedal place filled with such love and that Elizabeth and Norina had worked so hard to prepare for Baba's visit. For me there was special happiness to be there for this official opening as I had been present for the opening of Meherazad. I remember my first impression of the center was driving through a canopy of pine trees to the two lakes and the private seashore beyond.
As it was not yet officially open, all those who had come to see Baba had to stay at various places in Myrtle Beach itself, except for Mehera, Mani, Goher, Meheru, Kitty, Rano, Elizabeth, Norina, and myself who stayed at the center. Margaret could only stay a short while because of her classes. Ruano, too, was only there a little time and Malcolm Schloss came for a week. Ivy Duce, her
daughter, Charmian, Filis Frederick, Adele Wolkin, the Darwin Shaws, and Francis Brabazon came backward and forward as Baba gave daily interviews.
Baba wanted Gabriel Pascal to come to the center and I was sent many times to make long distance telephone calls to Hollywood. Pascal, however, had other commitments and anyway he thought he would soon be seeing Baba as, after the stay at Myrtle Beach, a visit to California was planned. But Baba kept on and I got into the habit of saying, "Oh Lord, again?" whenever He asked me to phone once more. Mani picked this up and used to say laughingly, whenever I came into the room, ''Baba, 'Oh Lord' is here!"
Pascal must have been sorry that he did not make just that extra effort to come down to Myrtle Beach as in the end the trip to California was canceled. He did see Baba again, and the film he was working on for Baba never came to fruition. May years later, while seriously ill in a hospital in New York, he wrote his last typical''Pascal" letter to Baba:
My Beloved Baba, I am like a new born boy starting to live again I will bring my cameraman and my staff with me because I intend to do the two pictures, Ghandi and The Slipper of a Perfect Master, together. When You hear The Slipper of a Perfect Master You will laugh tears. A
stroke of genius came in my mind to make Your picture in a completely revolutionary way. I will bring the scenario with me. It will be end of August in Your everlasting arms. I know You are always with me
Your always faithful Phoenix, Gabriel
During our stay we went for walks with Baba on the beach and, oh joy, played croquet-! as usual was not very good at hitting the ball the right way-and in the evenings Mani read extracts about the saints. Of course, Baba was very busy both with the preparations for the opening and the many new lovers who wanted to see Him; and we were busy helping. I was given a lot of correspondence to answer and Margaret and I went over the circular being printed to give to all those who were coming to Baba for the first time.
On the great opening day, Baba, the mandali, and Elizabeth were inside the big Bam and Rano and I stood at the entrance and announced people individually or in groups. Kitty had the task of taking the women in groups to visit the women mandali, which, of course, was a great joy to those in the West who had not met them before. It was a wonderful day. Elizabeth was marvelous. She had organized everything to run on oiled wheels and for her it was a triumph, but I felt so sorry for Norina. The opening was to have been the great moment
Tire Broken Down Fumiture News March- Apri/1993
for her and Elizabeth; the culmination of years of loyal and faithful work, but she was unwell and in the end had to be taken to a hospital and could not be there.
·. Murshida Duce and Charmian had been to India and met Baba before, and the Darwin Shaws, of course, were old disciples from 1932, as were Malcolm and Ruano. But this was the first meeting for so many, including Fred and Ella Winterfeldt, Filis Frederick, Adele Wolkin, and Francis Brabazon. I was pleased the Otelia Tejeira, one of the people I had told about Baba in Panama, had flown up to be there. Baba was so nice to her and said He would help her. She met Him again in 1956 in London, and was voted Woman of the Year in all the Americas in 1967. Baba had also promised Margaret that He would see some of her pupils from New York. Rushing to get there in time, they had to hire a small plane between them. As time went on and they did not arrive, Baba sent everyone scurrying backward and forward but, eventually, almost at the deadline, they arrived after a troublesome and dangerou.s flight, saw Baba, and became devoted to Him.
Baba gave many messages to the new and old lovers at this gathering at Myrtle Beach, among them a helpful clarification on a point which I know is one of the questions most often asked by newcomers : "Why does God permit suffering?"
Real Healing is Spiritual
Healing whereby the soul becoming free from desires, doubts, and hallucinations, enjoys the eternal bliss of God.
Untimely physical healing might retard spiritual healing. If borne willingly, physical and mental suffering can make one worthy of receiving spiritual healing.
Consider mental and physical suffering as gifts from God which, if accepted gracefully, lead to everlasting happiness
God has been everlastingly working in silence, unobserved, unheard except by those who experience His Infinite Silence.
If My Silence cannot speak of what worth would be speeches made by the tongue? The very moment when He thinks My speaking will be universally heard, God will make Me break My Silence.
God is not to be learned or studied or discussed or argued about. He is to be contemplated, felt, loved, and lived.
This time, of being with Baba in such a beautiful place, was a dream come true for an-newcomers and old
Gateway to Paradise, coutiuued from page 9
"You know dear, this porch is the first impression of the Center a person has," as she bent to pick-up pine needles from the steps) the mutual adoration between Jane and any baby or chiid who came ... Kitty's animated interest in all that had happened at the Gateway that day, when Fred/ Ella and I arrived to bring the days' report . . . and witnessing myself inwardly as I sought to adjust to all the different people and situations or when listening for the words to write to someone who had written to know more about Meher Baba, realizing that the deepest creative energy in me was satisfied doing what I was doing. I recall the intense joy at being surrounded daily by the great natural beauty of the Center, which is infused with Meher Baba's presence. I recall observing Elizabeth and Kitty and Jane and Fred/Ella as they meticulously attended to detail, lived in the moment, put themselves aside to do what was needed while keeping their individuality and self-dig-
fJOETRY: (Untitled)
It is possible that I am pushing through solid rock. As the ore lies alone, I am such a long way in; I can see no way through, and no space. Everything is close to my face; and everything close to my face is stone.
I don't have much knowledge yet in grief. So this darkness makes me feel small.
You be the master-make yourself fierce; break in! Then your great transforming will happen to me And my great grief-cry will happen to you -Thom Fortson
. Ages
ago
this was a place where I moved about and sta_yed -and the combination of the lake, the ocean, and the woods gives it a uni9ue atmosphere.
Meher Spiritual 13each will one da"_y become M_y universal sp1r1tual Center.-Meher 5aba
Gateway to Paradise, contin11ed from page 11
nity, Baba alive at the core, their personalities at His service. I observed the daily living of the intention to serve the spiritual purpose of each
HLGRIM'S PALATE:
Greek Lemon Soup
This soup recipe comes from Charlotte Fletcher of Topanga, California. She's a ''Baba lover lover'' and my sister! And a great cook.
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken bouillon
6 tbsp. raw rice (or Greek pasta)
4 large eggs
3-5 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. chopped mint or parsley pinch pepper, salt
Boil stock. Add rice, stir once, tum to low, and partially cover. Simmer until soft, about 20 minutes. Beat eggs till frothy. Stir in lemon juice, 1 tbsp. at a time. Stir in 4 tbsp. of soup, 1 tbsp. at a time to lemon and egg. Return to pot. Stirring constantly, cook on low heat for three minutes until the soup is like a light custard. Season to taste and sprinkle with parsley.
person's time at the Center, and the living awareness of the Center as Meher Baba' s home, which He said He would never leave. •
Twenty years with Meher Baba also marks the twentieth since I first heard the music of Bob Brown. It was a simply produced tape which, as a boy, I found most helpful in identifying with the Beloved.
Bob and Jane Brown's latest offering, Only Your Love, remains consistent with older musical stylings while providing more substantial lyric content than the early starry-eyed days that many of us remember. There are several renditions of Baba's own words, including the beautifully written "The Way of the World." Although lighthearted musically, "Spiritual Shopping Spree" takes a pointed look at the familiar habit of many who belly up to the new age smorgasbord. My personal favorite, ''Take a Run for the Water'' is well-produced pop rock, something I would like to have heard more on the album. A greater ratio of this type song to the mellower tunes might appeal to a wider audience.
-JeftDeloe
BROKEN. DOW.N FURNI'I'Ul{E NEWS
MAY-JUNE 1993
EDITOR'S CORNER: Let's Get Real by Winnie Barrett NEWS NOTES
THIS DATE in Baba History
FEATURE ARTICLE: Doing Baba' s Work Compiled by Alice Rybak
REVIEW: 0 Radiant One, by Cathy Haas Riley
Reviewed by Jeff Deloe
LOVE DIGEST: What Baba Means by Real Work by Meher Baba
LIFE IN BABA: Memories of Elizabeth from an interview with Ann Conlon
PILGRIM'S PALATE: The World's Best Fudge, by Far! by Katy Smith
POETRY: The Manifestation Maniac by Beth McKee
EDITOR's CORNER: Let's Get Real
When I think about Baba work several things come to mind. First of all I recall part of a talk given by Mani at the opening of the Pilgrim Center. The gist of it was that, when Baba has us do work for Him, it is actually the vehicle He uses for working on us. In one way, of course, I think we don't ever do anything, because He is all and does all. On the other hand, we are cautioned to do our best, leaving the results to Him. This I take to mean we must put our all into the work. Give 110%.
In a real sense when we are working on ourselves, working out our karma, working to become pleasing to Him, this is our real work, not what we would outwardly identify as "Baba work." And if we are truly His, as He says, then it is actually His work, part of the work that He came to do.
How does Baba mean "real" when He refers to work? Our feature story looks at some of the external manifestations in the Baba community. Love Digest tops it off with the discourse "What Baba Means by Real Work." Our ''Life in Baba"column by Ann Conlon gives yet another example of Baba work. We catch glimpses through Ann's eyes into how Baba trained Elizabeth Patterson to work for Him and, in turn, what Ann learned from her experiences working with Elizabeth and from observing her in action. -WB
BROKEN·DOW.N
FURNITURENEM
"You are all just broken-down furniture. But it is I who have chosen you, so you must be wlult I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor/Love Digest
Alice Rybak
Production Assistant Vaira Filipovs
Copy Editor/Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
Art Directors
Phil Normand & Denise Gibson
Life in Saba/Pilgrim's Palate Wmnie Barrett
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger
Reviews Richard Sander & JeffDeloe
AMBDC Meeting Schedule Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manager Jan Cohen
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Furniture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA. Phone (303) 333-1727
Published bimonthly Q'an., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $10.00 per year. Canada $10.00 (U.S.) per year. Overseas $13.00 per year.
Please make checks payable to The Broken-DOW1r Furniture News.
The 19th Annual Silence Day Sahavas will take place July 2 through July 5 at Pilgrim Pines Camp, Oak Glen, California. Special guests this year are Meheru Irani, Charles Haynes, and Bob and Jane Brown. Arti will be performed every morning and the dhuni fire will be lit on the final night. always, Shop will be open for informal gathermgs and cha1. June 1 1s the deadline for full payment of all registration fees. For more information, write the Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California, 10808 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025, or call David McNeely at (213) 258-9887.
Meheru will also be a guest at the 1993 Anniversary at Avatar's Abode, Australia. Joining her for the festivities, which will take place June 11 through June 14, will be Baba' s twin nephews, Rustom and Sohrab Irani. Pat Sumner, an Aussie expatriate who works with the Avatar Meher Baba Trust in India, will accompany Meheru to Australia.
The Portland Meher Baba Group announces the 1993 Northwest Gathering for the Friends and Lovers of Avatar Meher Baba, to take place May 14-16, in Scotts Mills, Oregon. The gathering will be at the home of Jean and Jim Wilson, who live on five acres in this rural Willamette Valley village, about an hour's drive south of Portland. Bhau I<alchuri will be the special guest, and activities will include talks by Bhau, music and singing, theater, arti, a dhuni, and a general good time . For more information contact the Portland Avatar Meher Baba Group, c/o 4127 SE Crystal Springs Blvd., Portland, OR 97202.
Documentary
Tim Thelen and Divine Sport Productions announce that principal photography has been completed on Meher Baba, The Awakener, a 60-minute documentary on the Avatar of the age. Developed for general audiences, this film is primarily targeted for broadcast on PBS, A&E, and the Discovery Channel. Baba's life and work will be documented with interviews, an historical outline of His life, and existing footage of His worldwide activities. The most fascinating aspect of the film, however, could well be the visual explanation of Baba's divine theme.
The producers have been working in conjunction with KTEH, Channel 54, in San Jose, California, a PBS station that has produced an award-winning documentary of the Dalai Lama. The projected release date for the film is August 31, 1993; however $18,500 is still needed to cover postproduction costs. Trm Thelen says, ''We are asking everyone in the Baba community for personal donations to help support the pro-
'IHIS DATE .••
In Baba History
May4, 1923
Meher Baba spends His first night at Meherabad.
May15, 1870
Upasni Maharaj is born in Satana, India, and is named Kashinath Govindrao Upasni.
May 20,1989
Baba's Mehera leaves her physical form and returns to her Beloved.
May 24,1952
Baba and mandali members are badly injured in a car accident in Prague, Oklahoma.
June 3,1958
Baba visits Avatar's Abode, Australia, for the second time.
June 26, 1925
Baba declares in Meherabad that He will observe silence beginning July 10,1925.
ject. We realize that everyone is in the midst of difficult economic times, so anything given with love will be warmly appreciated." A VHS copy of the completed film will be given to anyone donating $50.00 or more. Please make contributions payable to: The Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California, 10808 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025, Attn: Meher Baba Film Project, or to I<TEH Channel 54, 100 Skyport Dr., San Jose, CA 95110-1301, Attn: Dan McGuire/Meher Baba Film Project. For more information, please call Tim Thelen at (310) 393-3715. •
EATURE: Doing Baba's Work
For this issue's feature we have made a compilation of some of the organizations which participate in Baba work. Baba stated that the share of the Universal Work He entrusts to His real workers is "to spread my Message of Love in every comer of the world ..." and it is apparent that the main thrust of these organizations is to do just that. All forms of communication media are utilized among these groups and the result has been an ever-growing collection of books, films, photographs, and video and audiocassettes now available to Baba lovers and spiritual seekers throughout the world. The following information was obtained from interviews, brochures, and various mailings about these organizations.
AVATAR FOUNDATION
P.O. Box 1367
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598
The Avatar Foundation was founded in 1985 as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization established for the purpose of making available to the public the life story, messages, sayings, declarations, and discourses of Avatar Meher Baba, thus bringing to humanity an ever-increasing awareness of the Avatar's mission on earth 'to sow the seed of love in every heart.' Many are aware that a number of Meher Baba's important sayings and declarations are now out of print. These should be kept alive, for through the distribution of these messages, as well as new publications, Baba continues the seeding of His Truth. The Avatar Foundation supports this ongoing work through voluntary effort and contributions from the lovers of Meher Baba.''
Publications of the Avatar Foundation include: Avatar of The Age Meher Baba Manifesting and Ocean Waves, both by Bhau Kalchuri; Avatar Meher Baba, The Awakener, by Charles Haynes; and a reissue of the "Universal Message" of MeherBaba.
The Broken Down Furniture News May- June 1993
compiled by Alice Rybak
MANIFESTATION, INC.
P. 0. Box 1941 North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598 (803) 272-6408
Manifestation Inc.'s Hermes Reiter has, for over twenty years, worked to make Meher Baba' s photographs available throughout the world. His photographic compilation, Love Personified, is one of the most popular Baba books available. He has also made available the writings of Bhau I<alchuri in English, with the publications of The Nothing and the Everything, While the World Slept, Meher Sarod and Meher Roshani. Manifestation, Inc.'s main project has been the publication of the twenty-volume biography of Baba's life, Meher Prabhu (Lord Meher) by Bhau Kalchuri. To date, the first five volumes have been published but, because of lack of funds, production of Volume 6 and the subsequent 15 volumes has been held up. In an effort to remedy this, the Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California is selling the already-published volumes at a reduced rate. Volume 1 is sold out, but Volumes 2, 3, 4, and 5 are being offered at the rate of $30 for the first volume and $25 for any additional ones. Sales of these existing works are of paramount importance to any further work on what will be the most comprehensive biography of Meher Baba.
MEHER BABA ARCHIVES
705 41st Ave. S. Bldg. 18 North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582 (803) 272-8524
Meher Baba Archives' purpose is to preserve, reproduce, and distribute film, video, documents, tapes, and other archival material associated with Meher Baba. Much of their archival material was collected over a period of seven years, during which Irwin Luck traveled throughout the world, recording first-hand accounts of Baba' s life. He conducted hundreds of interviews, acquired original film footage of Baba, and collected letters and discourses, some never made public before. A nonprofit, taxexempt corporation, Meher Baba Archives pro-
duced Meher Baba, Avatar of the Age, an 80documentary film, which in 1989 became the first movie about Meher Baba released to commercial theaters. Through the creation of Ocean Power Film Distributor, Inc., the movie will again be distributed to theaters throughout the United States, beginning in Northern California in November 1993. After that, Ocean Power plans to launch a major promotional campaign to get broad national distribution of the film.
Meher Baba Archives has also produced two audiocassettes: the complete soundtrack of Meher Baba, Avatar of the Age, and Meher Baba Live at Dante's House, a live recording of Eruch reading Meher Baba's gestures in 1956 at Dante Cardella's home in Los Angeles. They have also published The Silent Master Meher Baba, compiled by Irwin Luck.
Meher Baba Archives welcomes all volunteer help with various projects, particularly in the areas of marketing, grant writing, accounting, and law. Through their efforts they hope that people everywhere will come to know of MeherBaba.
MEHER BABA INFORMATION
Box 1101
Berkeley, CA 94701
In August 1992 Meher Baba Information, a nonprofit corporation, celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. Born during the "summer of love" in 1967, it has sent literature about Baba "to Alaska and to Argentina, to Czechoslovakia and to Charleston, to St. Paul and to St. Petersburg, to Wisconsin and to Warsaw, to Yahoo and to Yugoslavia, to Naples, Florida, and Naples, Italy, to Nantucket and to Nigeria, to Antarctica and to Ahmednagar-yes, even to someone who wrote for information about Meher Baba from Ahmednagar!"
Soon Meher Baba Information will move its headquarters. The grand old house at Calandria Avenue where they are based is up for sale, and the activities of "The Box" (a nickname resulting from the post office box address) will shift to
quarters better suited to their increasing emphasis on publishing and archival work. In the meantime, "The Box" remains active in its current location, and the post office box will be kept open for the foreseeable future. Well over half a million cards, books, posters, and other items of Baba literature cite this address as a source for information about Meher Baba, and it will remain so as long as mail continues to come into it.
MEHER FUND, INC.
760 Cumberland Circle
Atlanta, GA 80306 (404) 892-3377
Meher Fund, Inc., is a nonprofit charitable religious organization chartered in 1986 and granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. Its purpose is to support the humanitarian work initiated by. :Avatar Meher Baba and to romote activities inspired b his s iritual examp e. e er Fun s proJects, oth within the Unit States and abroad, include the following:
•Service, education, and relief of all kinds to the poor, sick, disabled, and other needy persons
•Translation, publishing, and distribution of information by and about Meher Baba
• Preservation of all forms of archival materials associated with Meher Baba
Medical Projects for the Poor
Meher Fund supports a number of charitable medical projects in the Ahmednagar District.
The Meher Free Dispensary, located in Arangaon, provides free medical care to local villagers under the direction of the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust. With a small staff, Meher Free Dispensary treats approximately 30,000 patients per year. Another free clinic operates at Meherazad, under the direction of Dr. Goher Irani. Meher Fund contributes medical supplies and medications to assist in the work of these clinics. Because of the growing need for hospitals in this area, Meher Fund has also assisted with the construction,
equipping, and maintaining of a sma1120-bed facility called Meher Hospital Within the United States, Meher Fund contributes toward hospice care for indigent patients, including those with AIDS.
Publications
Meher Fund contributes toward the translation, publication, and distribution of books, tapes, films, and other information by and about Baba. It distributes free copies of books about Baba to libraries, prisons, and Baba groups and have funded translations of books into other languages. The fund provides grants for newslet-
f{Evmw: 0 Radiant One
Cathy Haas Riley cassette/$10.00 plus $1.50 postage 271 Cherry Lane Myrtle Beach, SC 29572 (803) 272-5159 ..
Cathy Haas Riley has presented a gentle yet interesting collection of songs on her album 0 Radiant One. Relying in part on lyrics adapted from Rumi and Meher Baba, the music moves nicely between slow melodic pieces and uptempo tunes.
The opening title song sets the tone of the project, using the words of the Sufi poet Rumi. It is followed effectively by "To Keep You Intoxicated," Meher Baba' s own message set to an upbeat, bluesy rhythm and ignited by the hot saxophone work of Charles Haynes. "Always" rounds out a strong opening trio of songs with a melodic rendition of another Rumi poem that should have the listener singing along with the refrain in no time.
The most entertaining song for me, "Be Caught By God" is indeed catchy. The Afrorhythm is a clever and effective accompaniment to the lyric images of the hunter and the captured, again provided by Rurni.
Overall, I found this album to be well recorded, the material pleasant, and the sequencing of songs quite effective. It's a must for Cathy's fans and a worthy addition to anyone's collection of Baba music.
The Broken Down Furniture News May -June 1993
ters, journals, and other publications and has contributed funding for public presentations about Baba. Grants toward travel expenses and lodging have been given to facilitate the travel of various mandali to meetings and gatherings around the world.
Archival Preservation
Meher Fund assists with expenses involved in the maintenance and preservation of tangible articles connected with Baba and His close disciples-correspondence, documents, photographs, films, tapes, books, and Baba' s own personal effects. They have provided supplies for the restoration of Baba' s tomb and for the preservation of Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach. All contributions to the fund are taxdeductible. They also welcome volunteer help, particularly with fund raising, clerical and printing work, medical supplies, financial planning, and ideas for future projects.
-excerpted from Meher Fund brochure
MEHER PRASAD
P.O. Drawer 1130 North Myrtle Beach, SC 29598
Meher Prasad is a nonprofit corporation that has produced and distributed audiocassettes, videocassettes, and films about Meher Baba for over 20 years. It is presently engaged in two major projects: an introductory film about Meher Baba and preservation of the original films of Baba copyrighted by the Avatar Meher Baba Trust. The introductory film will include footage of Meher Baba, as well as new 35mm footage of the mandali filmed in 1992 by a professional film crew. Meher Prasad says this film is "for lover and seeker alike."
· Their current catalogue has eleven audiocassettes and fifteen videocassettes.
SHERIAR FOUNDATION
3005 Higlrway 17 North Bypass Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
A Point of Beginning
Sheriar Foundation was formed in 1989 as an independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation.
The purpose of the Foundation is to broaden
awareness and deepen the appreciation of the spiritual values exemplified in the life and writings of Meher Baba.
Sheriar Foundation has an interest in all forms of communication media through which the love and truth of Meher Baba's ideas and ideals may be expressed.
It is dedicated to exploring more dynamic ways of using these communication channels to bring the restorative power of divine love into people's lives.
A Perspective on Publications
The world has long been blessed with a rich tradition of spiritual and mystical literature. Books by and about Meher Baba represent an important addition to this body of inspirational work.
As a continuation of this tradition, Sheriar Foundation is committed to preserving Meher Baba' s words, to documenting the facts and capturing the flavor of his life and work, and to sharing the stories and experiences of individuals whose lives have been directly influenced by him.
The Foundation's editorial scope is inclusive of any work of genuine spiritual quality.
The Video Dimension
Sheriar Foundation has a particular interest in using the immediacy and emotive power of video for storytelling and documentary purposes. The video medium offers a unique opportunity to capture the present moment in time and along with it, the extraordinary spiritual presence of those individuals who spent their lives devoted to Meher Baba' s mission.
Sheriar Foundation has accumulated hundreds of hours of video tape of Meher Baba's disciples and of places most deeply connected to his life and work. This priceless material will be used for future video productions as well as for archival purposes.
Through donations, the Foundation has acquired a range of video equipment to facilitate the acquisition and editing of material. This includes both field and studio cameras in India and in Myrtle Beach, computers and logging programs for the evaluation and scripting of material, and off-line editing units for rough and near final edits.
To date the Foundation has completed five productions: The Frivolous Three, An Evening with -Margaret Craske, Kitty Davy, and Delia DeLeon; A Date With The Eternal Beloved: Amartithi in India1989; "Hello, Ducks"-Remembering Margaret Craske; Peter: A talk by Peter Saul; and Baba's Kitty: A True Friend.
The Foundation has an extensive list of video projects under consideration. Currently in production is "Darshan," a multi-faceted exploration of being in the presence of God.
The Public Presence
The Sheriar Foundation is rooted in the conviction that Meher Baba's life and message are of incalculable spiritual value for all humanity.
All activities that inspire love for God have inherent worth. The Foundation plans to explore journalistic possibilities in print and broadcast for focusing consciousness on the reality of the divine in our lives.
Sheriar Foundation also has a particular interest in widening distribution channels for Meher Baba-related books and videos.
In a world tom apart by self-interest and separateness, Meher Baba's affirmation of the unity of life stands as a powerful alternative. Today more than ever, it is a story that cries out to be told.
Ways of Giving
The Sheriar Foundation has a number of fund-raising goals at this time.
The Foundation's initial operating budget will be determined by donations to both its General Fund and its Endowment Fund. Both kinds of gifts are essential to Sheriar Foundation's plan of action.
To provide a long-term capital base for its work, Sheriar Foundation has established an Endowment Fund. Its initial goal is to raise five million dollars.
Contributions to the General Fund can be put to more immediate use and are of special value at this particular time. The Foundation's current goal is to raise $100,000 for its General Fund.
All donations are tax-deductible. To explore the wide range of giving options, please feel free to write or call.
-repri1zt of Sheriar Foundation brochure published in 1992.
[ovE DIGEST: What Baba Means by Real Work by Meher Baba
Addressing a large gathering of his devotees and workers, Meher Baba said:
This is no political or social meeting. The meeting for which you all have assembled here, and which is the first of its kind that I have held in these sixty years of my life, is for the Divine Cause. This assemblage reminds me of former meetings during my previous Incarnations. Then the circumstances were different; but since eternity the same God-Incarnate has been presiding over such meetings for the same Cause-the Divine Cause. Thus never has it been more truly said than in the spiritual cause that history repeats itself.
Even if this meeting were to take all night for what I have to say, I would not mind, because this one night would be worth millions of nights if you all honestly live up to and act according to what I wish for my real workers. The Apostles and the 'Asahaba' who worked for the Divine Cause did my work at the very cost of life itself. So heed my words most attentively.
My personally contacting the masses in India through vast 'darshan programmes' has been sufficient for my work. The presentation of addresses and the giving of messages mean nothing on the actual Spiritual Path. I tell you with my Divine Authority that chanting my 'arti,' performing my 'puja,' garlanding me, offering me fruits and sweets and bow-
ing down to me, in themselves, mean absolutely nothing. It is a waste of money to spend on garlands, fruits and sweets as offerings to me for the conventional'puja,' and a sheer waste of breath and energy to merely chant my 'arti.' From time eternal, gods have been performing my real'puja.' What I want from all my lovers is real, unadulterated love, and from my genuine workers I expect real work done.
I want also to draw your attention to the fact that miracles experienced by my devotees and admirers, both in the East and in the West, have been attributed to me. On the basis of my Divine Honesty I tell you that in this Incarnation I have not, up till now, consciously performed a single miracle. Whenever a miracle has been attributed to be, it has always been news to me. What I wish to emphasize is that by attributing such miracles to me, people cheapen and lower my status as the Highest of the High. But today I do say this, that the moment I break my silence and utter the original Word, the first and last miracle of 'BABA' will be performed. And when I perform that Miracle, I shall not raise the dead, but shall make those who live for the world dead to the world and live in God I shall not give sight to the blind, but make people blind to illusion and make them see God as Reality.
I have had enough of this alphabet board and my silence. I must break my silence soon.
And when I do, all will come to know of it. Those who have come in contact with me will have a glimpse of Me. Some will have a little, some a little more, and some still more. When the 'Power House' is switched on, there will be light wherever the electric bulbs are connected with it, provided these bulbs are not fused. Where the bulbs are of small candle power, the light will be little; where the bulbs are of high candle power, the light will be considerable. Where a bulb is fused, there will be no light.
Love me wholeheartedly. The time for the Power House to be switched on is so near that the only thing which will count now is Love. That is why I have been telling you all to love me more and more. Love me, love me, love me, and then you will find me.
From you I want no surrender, no mind, no body, no possessions, only LOVE.
I come now to the main point of 11aba's work and workers.' Those who have assembled here have been called workers of Baba; therefore, you must necessarily first understand what my work is.
I know that you all, big and small, rich and poor, have done your best to work for the Divine Cause. And I say with happiness that you have tried to express your love for me by spreading my messages of Love to the masses. But I feel that something deep down is very wrong, and that you have not
clearly understood how my work should be approached. It is natural that amongst workers of any cause, be it political, social or spiritual, there are bound to be differences of opinion. These differences of opinion and feelings of competition and jealousy lead to the breakdown of the very basis of work.
You have been called upon to do 'Baba's work,' and you have been called 'Baba's workers.' But is it necessary for you to work at all for 'Baba'? If I am the Highest of the High and God-Incarnate, then where is the necessity for me to have workers and to be entangled with Centres and Organizations, mass Darshan programmes, and other channels through which to spread my Message? Can I not, in my own silent way, do the Universal Work. If I am 'Baba,' which definitely I am, then whether the whole world goes against me or worships me, it is all the same to me. If I am not the Infinite One, but am just as one of you, then thousands of centres and programmes in my name would be of no avail.
The reason I have called upon you individually to work for me is so that each one of you may share in the Divine Cause; and these programmes such as mass Darshans are created to give an opportunity for the expression of individual and collective love.
Therefore, if you are prepared to share my Universal Work, the work which falls as your share must be done wholeheartedly and honestly. That work is to spread my Message of Love in every comer of the
world-all, rich and poor alike-without any distinction as to religion, caste, creed, sect or sex. My Message always has been and always will be of Love Divine-let the world know it. I entrust this share of the Universal Work to my real workers who genuinely desire to serve in the Divine Cause.
I will now explain to you how you should work. First of all, bear in mind that you should not seek appreciation from me or from others. Though this may seem easy, it is very difficult to put into practice. Remember that work in itself is its own appreciation; the moment you seek appreciation the work is undone. Therefore, seek not any appreciation for the work you do for me.
Secondly, do not count upon someone else or on outside help in your work for me. Many of you are ready to work for me one hundred percent; yet because some of you are poor and have families, you cannot devote your time and means for my work. But why then work beyond your means? When the worker depends upon anyone or anything, the work suffers. Therefore do as much as you can, but do it honestly.
Thirdly, if money is collected for the work and spent wrongly and without being accounted for, then all work in the name of the Divine Cause must be stopped immediately by the so-called workers. Even one penny extracted in my name without true foundation is dishonesty, and will be the cause of millions of rebirths; and for one cent taken from others by such false pretensions,
one dies a million deaths! Therefore, let honesty in work prevail.
Fourthly, when you spread my eternal Message of Love to others, show them first that you really love me. Do not merely make them read my books and messages; do more. Uve such a life of love, sacrifice, forgiveness and tolerance that others will automatically love me. If instead of doing the real work of love you start doing organized propaganda work for me, it is absurd. I need no propaganda or publicity. I do not want propaganda and publicity, but I do want love and honesty. If you cannot live the life of love and honesty, you should stop working for me. I am quite capable of doing my Universal Work alone.
Fifthly, I want you all to know for certain that 'Baba's work' needs no money. In other ages my work has been done without money; it can now be done without money. When money was in use, it was the cause of Judas' undoing, and for which he sold Jesus. It is natural for those workers who are poor to think that they must have money for 'Baba' s work' to spread far and wide his Message of Love. But, from my point of view, to depend on money for 'Baba' s work' is work undone. To ask people to give money and then in return to propagate 'Baba's message of Love' is utter folly. Therefore, whether you have money or not, let it not affect my work. Money comes and goes; whereas, my work is eternal. Money does not play any important role in my work of the Divine
Continued on page 11
IFE IN BABA: Memories of Elizabeth
I remember one funny story. I was in the Gateway one day, and I got a call from the Original Kitchen. Somebody had found two botUes of beer in the Cedar Nook Cabin and they said, "Well, should we bring them up to you?" I said "No, you leave them there. Let me talk to Elizabeth first." So I called her. I said to Elizabeth, "Somebody's found two bottles of beer in the Cedar Nook Cabin." She said, "Bring them," and the phone went down. Oh boy, I thought, somebody's in for it. So, I went down and I got them, and I took them over to Dilruba. She looked at them, and she said, ''Mmmm. Spanish. Expensive." She said, ''You put them in the bathroom of the guest bedroom, you go back to the Cedar Nook shelf, and you leave a note. And you say on the note, "Elizabeth says 'If you want your beer back, call her. And call her in any case."'
Well, you would not normally have expected her to react that way, you know, because it's an infraction of the rules. And it turned out to be a perfectly innocent thing. A young man who had left it there was moving, had moved everything out of his apartment, and had put the beer in there without even thinking. You know, so it worked out all right. But she was so quick, so clear about how to handle things.
I think it was obvious to anybody starting to work at the Center that Elizabeth had no reason to trust you and wasn't going to until you proved yourself. Which is fair enough. The Center was her responsibility, bottom line. So, I decided to make a game out of this. I decided, One day, I am going to be one step ahead of you.
One day, there arrived a man at the gate in a regular car-a sedan with no markings on itwho announced that he was from the telephone company and he'd come to fix the telephone at Happy House. And I said to him, "I want your I. D. and I want your work order from the telephone company." And he looked at me like, you know, What is this? But he had them. I mean, he was legitimate; he pulled them out. So I said, "Wait here," and I went and called Elizabeth. And of course, her first question was "How do you know he's from the telephone company?" I said "Because I have his work order and his I.D. in my hand." There was this pause and she
from an interview with Ann Conlon
laughed. I had proved myself.
The next time something came up, (somebody parked a car by Elizabeth's house and walked into the Center without registering) she said to me, "What are you going to do about it?" And I said, "Well, you could do this or you could do that...." She said "Ann, I asked you what you are going to do about it." I said, "Oh, fine. I will get the boys to go up from the middle of the Center, along the path, and whoever it is, they'll run into." She said, "Good. I'll go out and get my car out of the garage and block his car."
I learned so much from her. Extraordinary. She was basically very shy and, I'm sure, loved animals much more than people. But her way of dealing with the Center! Once somebody objected to how she was doing something and she said, "Do people really think I would have chosen to do this if it was my decision? I'm doing this because He asked me to." And I think anybody who really noticed would know that.
A lot of people were not aware of her compassion and kindness. I think she scared the living daylights out of most people, because she was awe-inspiring. But there were occasions when I saw that compassion. There was a young man who had come to the Center frequently, and on one occasion his roonunate discovered that this young fellow had marijuana in his carrying case, and reported it. So I told Elizabeth about it. She said, "You call him up to the Gateway and talk to him. Ann, I don't care what he does in his private life. The point here is that he has forced me to break Meher Baba's order. Baba said no drugs on the Center. I am responsible."
In this case, I had to ask him to leave the Center, but Elizabeth called me back and said, "Ann, if you don't mind, would you continue to keep in touch with that boy? I don't want him to feel that we have thrown him out and abandoned him. That's not what we're doing." And I did, for as long as I could keep track of him. He never came back, but I ran into him years later in California. With Elizabeth's compassion, and the warmth she felt for him, she did not want him to feel that she had thrown him out and that he was abandoned. That wasn't the point. She may have been rigid in following those rules, but it was with compassion. ¥
Lcroe Digest, continued from page 9: Cause; it is the life that you live that plays the most important role. Hence, live such a life that others not only know you love me, but feel your love for me. Begin to live this life and let other workers for the Divine Cause follow suit. Let there be no compromise in this; no mixture of honesty and dishonesty. Absolute honesty must be there-there can be no 'Baba' without it. I am Baba-I know what I AM.
All those who love me and want to share my work can do so. Those who have money and can afford to go from place to place can spread my Message of Divine Love in every distant nook and corner. Those who have a little money can go around their own town and district spreading my Message of Love and living the life of love by doing the service of God. And those who have no money, or have families and little time, can also do the work by guiding their own families and friends towards Baba's Love. If you all love me even a little, I want your hearts towards each other to be clean and for you to forget your differences. Cleanse your hearts and live for Baba.
Outwardly you may establish hundreds of centres for Baba, or none at all; that is your own responsibility. But bear in mind that for my work it is not necessary to have centres, or offices, nor the 'botheration' of accounts and the collecting of money. Let Baba's Love be the Centre, the Office, the Help and the Work.
I want my lovers and workers to know that there is no greater 'Baba's Centre' than the heart of my lover. Those who truly love me are my Centres in the world. Let each 'Baba-lover,' wherever he or she may be, be a 'Baba's Centre' personified, radiating the eternal Message of Love Divine, living the life of love, sacrifice and honesty.
When I say that each one of you be a 'Baba-Centre,' it does not mean that each of you should work individually when you can work collectively in groups as 'Baba-Centres.' Neither does this mean that you should not work on your own. I have shown you how I desire the work to be done; it is for you to follow the method best suited to you. Let me now see how you love and work for 'Baba.' I am everywhere. I am in you and see you. Do your share in my work in all sincerity. Be responsible for what you do and how you do it. I now will do my personally ordained work and break my silence very shortly.
I love all. I am the Lord of Love, the slave of my lovers, and devoted to my devotees. Although I do not perform miracles, I will give anything to whomsoever asks for it from the bottom of the heart. If I am 'Baba,' everything is possible to me. Ask wholeheartedly and you will get it from me. But this I tell you too, that the one who asks for my love will be the chosen one.
You who love me have expressed your love in a way that touches my heart, and I feel very happy. Yet I have not known one who loves me as I would wish to be loved. There are about 220 men and women from the East and West who have so completely and utterly surrendered to me that they would do anything I say. Whatsoever I order them they will carry out, even if it means being cut to pieces .
To surrender is higher than to love, and paradoxical as it may seem, to love me as I ought to be loved is impossible, yet to obey me is possible. Therefore, to say you love me and yet not to obey me would be hypocritical.
The time is very near for the breaking of my silence and then, within a short period all will happen-my humiliation, my glorification, my manifestation, and the dropping of my body. All this will happen soon and within a short period. So, from this moment love me more and more.
Do not propagate what you do not feel. What your heart says and your conscience dictates about me, pour out without hesitation. Be unmindful of whether you are ridiculed or accepted in pouring out your heart for me, or against me, to others.
If you take 'Baba' as 'God-Incarnate,' say so; do not hesitate.
If you think 'Baba' is 'the devil,' say it; do not be afraid.
I am everything that you take me to be, and I am also beyond everything. If your conscience says that 'Baba' is the Avatar, say it even if you are stoned for it. But if you feel he is not, then say that you feel'Baba' is not the Avatar. Of myself I say again and again, I am the Ancient One-the Highest of the High.
If you had even the tiniest glimpse of my Divinity, all doubts would vanish and love-Real Lovewould be established. IJlusion has such a tight grip on you that you forget Reality. Your life is a Shadow. The only Reality is Existence Eternal-which isGOD. •
ILGRIM'S PALATE: The World's Best Fudge, by Far!
Only the oldest members of the Denver group will remember Kathy Smith, who lived here in the late sixties. What has become of her only Baba knows. But she gave us the most wonderful recipe for fudge find where on the planet. Maybe even itt the universe! Many people staying at the Meher Center dunng Amartithl this year enjoyed batches of this fudge.
lh cup butter (if using baker's squares, decrease butter to 5 tablespoons)
Sift cocoa and form a paste with a little milk (or melt chocolate squares with a little milk).
Add rest of milk and all the sugar.
Cook over medium heat without stirring till mixture becomes thick enough for a few drops to form a cohesive mass that can be shaped with the fingers into a soft ball when dripped into a cup of cold water.
Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla.
Do not stir.
Let lnixture cool from hot to warm. Beat mixture by hand until it's no longer shiny and it begins to get stiff. IMMEDIATELY pour into buttered dish (9"x9" or so). Chill. Cut and eat. Enjoy! -WB
What I want from all my lovers is reaL unadulterated love, and from my genuine workers I expect
-Meher Baba "What Baba Means by Real Work"
OETRY: The Manifestation Maniac (Bhau Kalchuri's World Visit 1985)
He scarce speaks of else, he cannot speak but sings of One Thing he knows: God has come, the Lovely Visitor, into lives and whatever Night's black beckons from our eyes he cries back into Sun of Him; whatever longing we have used astray is turned gentle as lamb to breast, pasturing. Beth McKee
JULY-AUGUST 1993
by Hazel Davy
SERVING THE AVATAR MEHERBABA COMMUNITY OF NORTH AMERICA
EDITOR'S CORNER:
THIS DATE in Baba History
FEATURE ARTICLE: Katherine by Hazel Davy
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Syrian Meat Pies: Sfeeha by Kitty Knight
LIFE IN BABA: In Which a Catholic Mothers' Mothers' Group Hears about Meher Baba by Winnie Barrett
POETRY: Yes, I Saw Him byBalNatu
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Conversations with the Awakener byBalNatu
LOVE DIGEST: The Beginning of Silence by Mehera as compiled by Janet Judson
SPEOAL CIRCULAR: Regarding Centenary Celebrations of Beloved Meher Baba's 100th Birthday on February 25,1994
EDITOR'S CORNER: Footprints
The following parable is from a commercial postcard found by Vaira Filipovs while she was in Myrtle Beach. I thought I would share it with you since it feels so much like a "Baba story."
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it hap-
Continued on page 3
"You are all just broke11-doum fumifure. But it is I who luwe clrose11 you, so you must be wlmt I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor/Love Digest
Alice Rybak
Production Assistant Vaira Filipovs
Copy Editor/Special Projects Michael Haldeman
Art Directors
Phil Normand & Denise Gibson
Life in Baba/Pilgrim's Palate Winnie Barrett
Poetry Editor Bob Jaeger Reviews
Richard Sander & Jeff Deloe
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Fumiture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA. Phone (303) 333-1727
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Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, except where noted.
NEWS NOTES
Mehera's Day
20th May is Mehera's Day-the day she rejoined her Beloved Baba in 1989. So it seemed most fitting that on Mehera's Day 1993, there were two special events on Meherabad Hill closely connected with her. First, the inauguration of Mehera's newly constructed, permanent shrine over the previous interim one. Second, the interment of the ashes of her close companions, Meher Baba's dear disciples Naja, Rano, Soonamasi and Kitty, by her side to the right of the Tomb in order nominated by Baba in the Trust Deed.
Picture Meherabad Hill, in midsummer, in mid-morning. Baba's women mandali are in His Samadhi singing "Bujaawe Naar" Arti. Outside the Tomb, Ted Judson is unveiling Mehera's new shrine and the smaller monument that will cover the interred urns of His women disciples . They look beautiful!-each comprised of a foundation stone of deep grey, topped by carved rich pink sandstone, capped by a slate of finest Makrana marble, white and lustrous. The names of Mehera and each of the women are carved into the marble le and painted in black. The urns of ashes-Naja's and Masi's of brass, Rano's of stainless steel, and Kitty's of gleaming pewter shades-have bee kept in a special cupboard in Meherazad all these years, and now rest on the marble monuments, awaiting interment.
"Meher Baba, Meher Baba, Avatar, Avatar . . ." the singing fades away, and Mani, Goher, Meheru, Amavaz, Katy, and Manu come out of the Samadhi and around to Mehera's lovely shrine. Soon the pristine marble is lost under a wave of flowers-flower nets and flower garlands, rises and scented jasmine, and even a bouquet of orchids just arrived from Hong Kong! Mani showers rose petals from Meherazad garden "for all those who would want to be here today." Then she prays on behalf of us all : "Mehera, help us to love Him as He should be loved; help us to please Him as He should be pleased." Then kisses for Mehera, and silent moments of remembrance of her Reunion Day four years ago, with its sweet wonderment and grief.
Then standing by the small monuments, Mani in simple words encapsulates the lives of these four wonderful women about to be interred: Naja, Baba's cousin, disciple from girlhood, and His special cook; Rano, His artist, a Westerner who lived in his Indian Home for 50 years; Soonamasi, Khorshed' s mother, one of Baba's disciples from the Manzil-e-Meem era, the "watchwoman" for the Women on the Hill. And of course, Kitty, who as Mani says, is dearly remembered for her unconditional selfless service and for all she has given in Baba's Continued on page 11
'IHIS DATE ...
In Baba History
July 2,1925
Meher Baba gives His last verbal discourse to Parsi politicians visiting Meherabad.
July 10, 1925
Meher Baba begins His silence.
August 13, 1954
Baba gives out and participates in the Master's Prayer at Meherazad.
August 17, 1925
Tajuddin Baba, one of Baba's five perfect masters, drops his body, in Nagpur From 30,000 to 40,000 people of all religions march in his funeral procession. August 25,1944
Framroz H . Dadachanji, Baba's early secretary, dies of typhoid fever at age 52, in Shrinigar, Kashmir, India.
Editor's Corner, continued: pened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you " -AR
FEATURE: Katherine by
Hazel Davy, a long-lost relatil'e of Kitty's who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, visited her in Myrtle Beach in the spring of 1990. In a letter to the BDFN she states, "Our part of the Davy family are so grateful to ha7.1e discovered such a wonderful relative as Kitty. Our first visit with her when she told us of her early life was delightful. We so enjoyed her sharp wit and mental vitality! ... I have very fond memories of our times in Myrtle Beach. The Meher Center and the people who use it are wonderful!" The following is her memories of Kitty's early life before meeting Baba.
Katherine Laura Davy was born at 35 Russell Road on August 28, 1891, in the Kensington District of London, England. She was the fourth child of John and Helena Roads Davy. The family later moved to a larger house at 32 Russell Road in order to accommodate the increasing number of children: nine in all. Only six reached adulthood; the fourth daughter
Hazel Davy
fireplaces. This was the only source of heat in the home, which was usual in England in this period. The bedroom fireplaces were never lit unless someone was ill, although every room had one. During times when Mrs. Davy was ill, straw was purchased to spread over the cobblestones in order to deaden the sound of the wheels of the carriages being drawn by horses.
Linen was sent to a laundry and the men's suits were sent to the cleaners. A charwoman came in to wash the family "woolies and things like that." The family always employed a nurse, a governess, and maids. When old enough, the boys were sent to boarding school, while the girls attended a local school, St. Paul's of Kensington. Kitty was the school's first registered pupil, although an injury kept her from attending for the first month.
Kitty's mother was a woman ahead of her time. While John Davy died of a thyroid problem at the age of six and two others, boys, died in infancy.
32 Russell Road was a large house in an elite neighborhood. Row houses faced the cobblestone street, but at the back was a private parklike garden shared by two rows of homes. A locked gate protected the park from any but the occupants of the homes.
woman ahead of her time ..
.. [She] insisted that the girls have training beyond high school just in case they ever needed to work.
Kitty's mother was a believed that career training was unnecessary for girls, Helena, a talented musician and supporter of the arts, insisted that the girls have training beyond high school just in case they ever needed to work. Consequently Kitty chose to teach piano and was sent to music college. May, the most musical sister, elected to have secretarial training, with which she was very
The house had three stories above ground and one below. Two bedrooms (Herbert's large room and Kitty's smaller room) plus two maids' room were on the top floor. Bedrooms and the house's only bathroom were on the second floor. A parlor, drawing room, and dining room were on the first floor, while below ground was the large kitchen, a scullery, schoolroom, laundry room, and room to store the two tons of coal needed to heat the house each month. Coal was carried by delivery men in onehundred-pound sacks down the stairs to the storage room. One ton of coal was used to heat the kitchen and one ton was used for the main-floor
bored. "Fortunately," said Kitty, "she married young and moved to Canada." Angela took training to teach the deaf and later taught the grandson of an Admiral Fisher, whose fall on the edge of a bathtub had resulted in deafness.
Before starting on their careers, however, the girls had "finishing school." Kitty spent eight months in Germany, staying with Herr Twailer in order to learn German, followed by time in Italy to learn Italian and time in Switzerland to learn French. The latter was an exchange. The girl from that family, Mary Paschoud, went to stay at 32 Russell Road in order to learn English.
Kitty also had the exciting experience of being presented at Court. This required two sponsors and, as Kitty said, "the money to buy a dress with a long train of prescribed length, kid gloves that went up to the elbows, plus three small ostrich feathers coming out of one's bun at the back of one's head, and to hire a carriage that would wait for you all evening." Among Kitty's sponsors were Sir Thomas and Lady Williamson. He "was high up in the Admiralty." The couple were friends of Kitty's parents. When Sir Thomas suggested that Kitty be presented, her mother readily agreed. She thought it would be fun. Kitty said, "Being presented didn't carry any particular privileges other than if you traveled abroad to any place in the Empire, and you had been presented at Court, that was sufficient to give entry into any society. We didn't do it for that. We did it for the fun of it all, and to this day I can still see us having to sit in Pall Mall just down from Buckingham Palace. These carriages had begun to assemble from early in the afternoon and, down the whole street there
number and the carriage arrived for you. The etiquette of the thing was quite complicated. It was a very interesting experience. Mother loved it. She loved anything like that. Afterwards we went to have our pictures taken by the Royal Photographer. I still remember my dress. I liked it very much."
Her father was a vigorous,
athletic man who never tired, played tennis regularly, and walked five
Shortly after this, Kitty went to America to learn a new method of teaching music. Kitty's family was Church of England and she had taught Sunday School there, but on a particular Sunday she attended a Presbyterian Church where the minister's wife said that one of the parishioners was in need of a governess. He was divorced and his wife had said that he could have the children, provided the minister chose their governess. The minister thought that Kitty would be very suitable. The wife was only permitted to visit each Sunday. Kitty stayed for two years. With the salary (higher than Kitty could have earned in England) Kitty was able to study piano at Carnegie Hall in New York, and also in Boston where she learned a were two lines of carriages waiting until the hour when the party began in the evening. A lady who went each year and knew the tricks of the trade said that, if you want to be in the banquet room itself where people are being presented to
the King and Queen, you must be there early. Believe it
miles each day to work. or not, we were the fifth carriage at the gate. Otherwise, we would have been in the outer room and not seen anything but looked at each other all evening.
"It was a beautiful room with lots of gold and red velvet. The men were all in uniform with the King and Queen seated at the front. When your name was called you walked forward and curtsied. It is not easy to curtsy with a train! Afterwards we were invited to a party with champagne and all the goodies. The dance didn't start until ten o'clock. When the party was over, the butler announced the chauffeur's
new, innovative piano technique, the Fletcher method, which she later taught in England. It was only later, while on a boat going back to England, that she became aware that people where shocked that she had stayed in the house with this man.
"I had no idea there would
be gossip," said Kitty. Back in England, Kitty resumed living with her parents on Russell Road, where she taught music to her pupils in the family home for the next ten years.
Kitty's recollections of her life at home are happy ones. She recalls that the family spent a number of summer holidays at Torquay, "a perfect place for a large family," where they stayed "a very long way from the beach" in the mind of a very young Kitty. What sustained her as her Father strode along was the thought of a picnic at the end! Kitty described the bathing machines that lined the beach. They were wheeled cubicles
approximately three by three by seven feet, in which a bather exchanged his or her street clothes for a bathing costume. For a woman, this was a longsleeved, high-necked, skirted, blue serge suit accompanied by long black cotton stockings. When this was accomplished, the machine was pulled over the sand into the water, where a short ladder allowed the bather to step discreetly into the sea. Kitty commented on how much better these freer times are.
She also recalls Miss Grey, the first headmistress of St. Paul's, saying to her when she was about twelve, "the older you get the more you understand about love." This puzzled Kitty somewhat at the time because she was not interested in boys.
Of her brothers and sisters, it was Herbert, the youngest, to whom Kitty was most attached. They were very close and since he was nine years younger, Kitty was "like a little mother to him." Ernest was the eldest. He went to King's College, Oxford, to study for the ministry, but he changed his mind before graduating. He later returned to Russell Road to live. Kitty said that he disappeared (after 1942) . Family members searched for him without success but believed that he had entered a Buddhist monastery.
Willie was the one son who was interested in the family business and happily worked with his father at the Dryden Press . While there, Willie printed the programs for the musi-
cals that Kitty's pupils performed.
Herbert became a psychiatrist specializing in children . He was at St . Joseph's Hospital in London.
Of her mother and father, Kitty said, "Many considered them to be poorly matched" but she didn't think so, in spite of the differences in their personalities. Her father was a vigorous, athletic man who never tired, played tennis regularly, and walked five miles each day to work. Kitty thought that it was difficult for her mother to keep up with him, that she was not strong but had much nervous energy
Her mother was an intellectual, a great reader, and interested in the arts, but her father was not. Her mother belonged to many cultural organizations: the Music Society, the Shakespearean Society, and others. She walked the girls each day after school to drawing, dancing, and singing lessons . Both parents were great bridge players and her mother was still folk-dancing at age 75 . Kitty's father ran one of the finest printing firms in England . During World War I, when workers were scarce, Kitty helped her father by proofreading Sotherby's and Frank Knights Buckley were clients, and Kitty, at 99, sti11 followed what was going on with those firms. Kitty said her father was president of the Stationery Masters Guild and was asked to become Lord Mayor of London. Because this position required a great deal of entertaining and would have
cost him at least 50,000 pounds, he declined the honor.
Kitty lived a very happy, upper-middle-class life until 1931, when the most important event in her life took place. Herbert introduced her to Meher Baba. In the beginning, almost Kitty's whole family became involved. Herbert asked Kitty to ask her father to permit Meher Baba to stay at their home and much to the amazement of both, he agreed . "It was wonderful of father, because the feeling between India and Britain was not very good at that time."
While staying at the house, Baba asked Helena Davy if there was anything that He could do for her. She hesitatingly said, ''Well, yes, there is." So she explained that she did volunteer work in a home for the aged in her parish, and how much she would like the elderly people to meet Him. Baba agreed to go right away, so they called a taxi (the Davy family never kept a car.) Baba blessed each resident with great care and charm and said later that it was the happiest day that He had spent out of India.
"Mother liked Meher Baba very much," Kitty said. "Father wasn't quite sure, but he did say that Baba believed in what He said; that He was no charlatan " When Baba was ready to leave England, Kitty decided to go with Him. As she explained, "Usually people make changes because they are dissatisfied with what they already have. I was, however, perfectly happy where I was at the time, teach-
ing music and Sunday school. I didn't choose the path, I didn't seek the path. It came to me. That was the extraordinary thing about it. The family, however, did think it rather strange that I should choose to go off with some eastern mystic!"
Kitty spent the next twenty years in India with Meher Baba. Then, at Baba' s request, she carne to America to help run the Center at Myrtle Beach. In May 1990, I spent enjoyable hours sitting on the screened porch of Kitty's horne, listening to wonderful tales of her wit and tireless energy, called "Kittyisrns," told by her friends, and to Kitty telling us of her life. While sitting on Kitty's porch, it is difficult to believe that the very busy six-lane Highway 17 North and the playground that is Myrtle Beach are close by.
One "Kittyisrn" told of the Spanish moss that from
the trees. Kitty, being unfamiliar with this, thought that it looked untidy and endangered the trees, so with great diligence she pulled it from them and accumulated it in piles for the workmen to cart away. They jokingly referred to these as "Kitty piles."
Sheila Krynski, a talented artist, told us of painting Kitty's picture. Sheila specialized in abstracts but agreed to do Kitty's portrait when she requested it. So each Saturday morning, Kitty arrived to sit for Sheila and each Saturday, Kitty had on a different outfit When the portrait was finished, Sheila presented it to Kitty. Sometime later, while visiting the home shared by Elizabeth and Kitty, Sheila hung her coat in the closet and saw her painting hanging inside the closet on the door. She asked Kitty why it was hanging inside the closet, to which Kitty replied,
"Elizabeth is very sick and we don't want to make her worse!"
While I was visiting, as a long-lost relative of Kitty, I was made to feel like a celebrity, so effusive was my welcome by the loving, caring people who surrounded her.
Kitty suggested that to celebrate her 100th birthday she would like to go to India. The enthusiastic, immediate resresponse from all those present, who said that they would fight in order to accompany her because she was "so much fun to travel with," was a remarkable tribute to this extraordinary woman! •
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Syrian Meat Pies: Sfeeha by Kitty Knight
This dish was served at Kitty Knight's wedding shower and loved by all. The recipe is from Helen Corey's Food From Biblical Lands.
Ingredients:
Basic pie dough
2 lbs. ground lamb (do not pre-cook)
4 finely chopped onions
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 /2 cup pinion nuts sauteed in butter salt and pepper to taste
Combine meat, onions, yogurt, nuts, and seasonings in frying pan and cook until meat is done and onions are translucent.
Roll dough out to 1 /8-inch thickness.
Cut into 3- or 4-inch rounds.
Place filling in center of each round. Pinch 4 corners of dough to form a tart, leaving center open. Place pies on oiled baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes until bottoms are
lightly browned, then broil a minute or two until tops are lightly browned.
Serve hot or cold, with cucumber-yogurt salad. Makes 3 dozen pies.
The Armenians make a similar pie called Lahum adjoun. Their filling adds chopped parsley, tomatoes, thyme, and chopped green peppers to the above, and a little lemon juice to the meat.
[IFE IN BABA:
by Winnie Barrett
In Which a Catholic Mothers' Group Hears about Meher Baba
Last September I co-hosted a baby shower for one of my office mates. One of the guests was someone I'd just met, and in the course of conversation we began to talk about God, not the usual topic at such an occasion. We were talking about God as the friend and as the intervener. I had the impulse to share with her the story of experiencing God's loving presence during a severe illness some years ago.
to my request for an additional blanket to help with chills. Since I already had three, the nurse threatened, "If your fever hasn't dropped below 103°,l'm taking all your blankets. We have to get your fever down." I silently pleaded with Baba, Oh please, Baba don't let it be 103! And sure enough, it had dropped to 102.8.
Friends called daily. Others visited , though with caps, gowns, masks, and, if I explained that I had taken a trip to India to spend time at a very sacred place with some deeply spiritual people. I said I had been so filled with God's they touched me, gloves. One I suddenly had a pang friend in particular asked fre-
of anxiety, how to tell
love during my stay, that I my story to a group of returned home filled to the brim, and with a deeper knowledge that He is always with me.
Just a few days after my return I fell ill with high fever, chills, head pain, and weakness, which landed me in the hospital for a week, followed by several
good Catholic women
without referring to Baba as jesus.
weeks of recovery. It was the dreaded dengue fever!
Treatment for pain, fever, and dehydration seemed of little avail for many days. High fever persisted and my white blood cell count was dropping, it seemed, by the hour, compounded by dropping blood pressure, neurological symptoms, and an inability to swallow any food.
Unable to partake of usual hospital pastimes such as TV or reading (due to severe pain behind my eyes) I was left with no options other than to simply lie in bed, try to sleep, and try to stay warm. It was indeed gruesome, on a physical level. I would notice tears coming from my eyes because of unrelenting pain. But in my heart, I was close to ecstatic. I felt that Beloved Baba was in every cell in my body, in every breath I breathed, in a way that made me feel completely satisfied. I was in need of nothing.
Actually only one brief incident interrupted this contentment. One night a nurse responded
quently if she could bring me photos of Baba, or tapes to listen to. "No," I'd reply. "I don't really need them."-
And so it went, the continuous feeling of the presence of God, until I was fully recovered. Looking back, I feel that Beloved Baba stayed until His Presence in that way was no longer needed.
Well, getting back to the shower, as I told this story, I could see that my new acquaintance resonated with the experience of the divine presence. We shared a special moment together.
Two months later, as my new business was getting under way, this same woman came into the shop. She pulled me aside and asked if I would come speak to the mothers' group at her church about the philosophy of the store and its humanitarian purposes, and show samples of our crafts. Simple enough, I thought. I agreed.
The morning arrived, cold and snowy. Deedee met me at the door. People began to arrive. I spread out some of our products. Just before I began to speak, Deedee asked me, "Since we're a Christian group, would you share your story of when you were so ill?"
I sudden! y had a pang of anxiety, how to tell my story to a group of good Catholic women, without referring to Baba as Jesus. I remembered a couple of years ago, a woman came to my home who was a born-again Christian. She
immediately walked up to a painting of Baba hanging over my mantle, asking ''Who is that?" I replied, "This is Avatar Meher Baba. He is a great teacher. He has helped me to have a greater love for Jesus." She beamed. "There's so much love there, you can just feel it coming right out of the picture." "Yes" I returned. "People who met Him personally always said He was supremely loving, that He was the embodiment of love." Sweet Baba had let her llear His name, and had given her His darshan all in a brief moment.
Back again to the mothers' group; I started my talk with our shop's humanitarian purposes. I showed various samples of women's fine art and crafts from various countries, explaining how we had made our connections with women artists and craftspeople and bought directly from them. They asked about places we had traveled, and when I mentioned that I had been to India five times, they immediately wanted to know why.
What I said was this: "I go to visit the home of a great spiritual leader named Avatar Meher Baba. I pay my respects at His tomb. I visit with those who lived and worked with Him . His teachings were essentially to love God more and more, to develop a relationship with Him, making Him your best friend, and to live a life which would be pleasing to Him." I went on to say that He taught that all paths eventually lead to the same truth, all lead to God, and that His work was to help people awaken to the God and the love within themselves, and to live this in the world.
I went on to recount my hospital story, speaking of the sense of the presence of God flowing through my veins, and how I later felt that the entire experience was indeed a gift from Him for my benefit and my spiritual growth. In the telling, Beloved Baba again made His presence known to several of the group.
Then one lady quipped, "You must be right up there with the saints." I laughed. "No" I said, "you don't understand. This experience of God's love and His presence is there for everyone. It's not for just a few, it's available to us all, we don't have to be anything extraordinary. It's free for the asking."
Someone then asked if I had been praying for
this experience. "No, but I had asked to be able to love Him more and more, and for help to remove all the barriers and obstacles which kept me separate from Him. I told them of throwing fear into the dhuni and asking God to help me to be brave. The discussion became very animated, and before we knew it, the time was gone.
Deedee and I exchanged glances. There was a wonderful sparkle in her eyes, bright and crisp, like the snow. Love was in the winter air, and in our hearts.
JAI BABA! •
IJ
OETRY: Yes, I Saw Him
byBaiNatu
I met God who has become Man; I met the Man who is God.
To me, this God-become-Man is Absolute God; this Man-who-is-God is Perfect man. He dwells and moves with me on every level of mind, heart, and spirit, sharing every human joy and sorrow.
Sometimes, in His boundless compassion He transports me to a region beyondfar beyond-my understanding, a region where silence alone reigns. No one can describe the experience of sound sleep.
In the same way, how can I say anything about that luminous quietude?
Yes, this is a unique sport of Divinity; God periodically plays with mankind through His Advent as the God-Man. Thus, He quickens the spirit, and offers a chance for the human race to feel His loving presence in numberless ways, divinely human and humorous.
Isn't it wonderful and also dramatic? To join the Divine Sport is really fantastic!
Do you know Him?
His name is Meher Baba. The sound of His Name is perfect music; His form is the personification of art Divine.
To commemorate the auniversary of the beginning of Baba's silence 011 July 10, 1925, we reprlut Mehera's account of that time:
One day, when we had first come to the Post Office and before the bamboo matting fence was built, we saw Baba walking across the field, and we could hear Him singing beautifully as He walked. Baba stopped singing and came towards us where we were cooking and working on the Post Office verandah.
"Do you know how fortunate you are to be with Me at this time, during these days?" He asked us. "Yes, Baba," we replied, but at that time we did not really know how very fortunate we were. Now we appreciate those days when Baba was still talking and singing. We had no idea that Baba would keep silence for forty-four years, and how we would miSs His talking and singing and laughing.
Sometime later Baba told us that from 15 June 1925 He would keep silence for His work, but this is what happened: Sparrows had made a nest in the roof of the Post Office, and it had become infested with lice. Gulmai came from Ahmednagar to spray the lice, but while she was standing on a ladder it slipped from under her and she fell and was
byMeheraascompiledbyJanetJudson
slightly hurt. It was because of Gulmai's fall that Baba postponed the commencement of His silence until10 July 1925.
On 9 July 1925 Baba came to our room. Baba was staying in the ]hopdi and He had not been coming to see us at all lately. Now I think it was so that we should get used to not seeing Him so that we should not miss Him too much.
He told us, "From tomorrow, 10 July, I will observe silence, and when My work is finished I'll talk. You are all to stay cheerful and happy and to take care of your health and to obey My orders." By telling us like this Baba made us feel that this silence was not very serious, in order that we should not feel sad. Baba said that we were to put our warm jackets on in the evening when it was cold; that we were not to gargle with cold water; and that we were to remember whatever other orders He had given us. He also told us that we were to cook for the Babajan High School children, and to make sure that we cooked properly for them. We were not to think of them as village children, but as our own, and to cook for them with love and care. Baba' s love for the poor was so beautiful. He then told us that He would not be coming to see us, and reminded us to be happy, and to obey His orders. Baba then turned to me and told me that He would also be fasting for some time, and that everyday I should boil one big cup of milk and send it to Him.
He said I was to see that the milk did not smell of onion or garlic, so after that ! did not touch onion or garlic. I was also to make for Him a hot green chilli pepper, slit and stuffed with chopped garlic and salt, then flied. Naja helped me with this as ! could not touch the garlic. From that time on ! took care that my hands did not smell of anything, not even kerosene from the stove, before I touched Baba's cup. I kept the milk and chilli ready so that when one of the girls came rushing in to say, "Padri is waiting for Baba's milk and chilli,"! could quickly boil the milk and fleshly fry the chilli
So Baba was on fast of just one cup of milk and chilli a day at the beginning of His silence. He must have been doing some very special work at that time. From 10 July we heard a new sound; it was the sound of loud claps. "Oh, it must be Baba clapping to draw the attention of the mandali," we realized. Those first days of keeping silence must have been very difficult for Baba. Baba was outgoing. He loved to talk, to sing, and to laugh, and He was not used to being silent. Baba had so much work, and He still supervised everything and saw to everything. Nothing was done without consulting Him, so natura II y He would want to talk, but He did not. It was very, very difficult for Baba. It is so natural to laugh, but when the mandali around Him said something
funny Baba could not laugh out. He covered His mouth with a kerchief to remind Himself not to make a sound. Baba put so much strain on Himself. At first Baba wrote very quickly on a slate, as those around Him could not understand His gestures. I remember that He used English and Gujarati.
Now at night when I think of darling Baba I wonder if He sang out loudly in the Jhopdi just before twelve o'clock on 9 July. He loved singing, and He knew that in a few minutes He would no longer be able to sing for the rest of His life. ·
We took Baba's silence very lightly at that time. When, at the very first, Baba had told us about it He had said that when His work was finished He would talk. So we thought, "Oh,
News Notes, continued:
Love to His dear ones in the West.
The interment ceremony that follows is simple. Mani steps up to each monument in tum, takes the urn of ashes and hands it to Ted, who carefully lowers it into the ground prepared to received it. Then, saying each name lovingly and Baba' s "Jai" loudly, the women mandali drop pinches of sacred earth from Baba' s and Mehera's resting places on the urn, followed by handfuls of flowers. When all have been interred, they garland each monument, forming a circle of flowers around the names: KmY, MAS!, RANO, NAJA. To conclude the simple ceremony, what could be more appropriate than the Master's Prayer? Today it seems the perfect tribute to the Creator who had created for Himself the lives of His beloved Mehera and these women disciples of the Avatar.
Brownies for prasad and so welcome cold drinks under the tin shed, the happy company of Baba's ladies; and most of all, the sweet remembrance of Mehera and Naja and Rano and Masi and Kitty-gave this midsummer occasion the feeling of a visit to the seashore-when one returns horne deeply refreshed by the scent of the fathomless Ocean.
Heather Nadel
May 1993
yes, seven days will pass, and then Baba will talk!" But seven days went by, and Baba did not talk. And then we waited and waited, and now it was seven months and still Baba was silent. This was serious to us, and we asked each other, "When will Baba speak?" We miss His voice, His talking, Baba's beautiful singing, and His cheerfulness.
One day we asked Baba, ''When shall we hear Your lovely voice, Baba? When shall we hear you sing and talk again?" And Baba replied on His slate, "I'll talk again when I finish My work."
Baba kept giving us hope so that we would not feel hopeless, but for the next forty-four years Baba kept silence.
•The 1993 Northeast Gathering will be held September 2 through September 5, at Camp Lenox, Lee, Massachusetts. Ideas and volunteers for this year's gathering are welcome. Please call Doug Stalker at (914) 658-9501 or Don and Margaret Eucker at (201) 239-0965.
Welcome Home
The third edition of Welcome Home, a guide for traveling to Meherabad and Meherazad, is now available. Copies are $7.50 each, including postage, and a 10% discount is available for orders of five or more. Order from the Friends of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust, 8470 Brunger St., Manassas, VA 22111.
Please be sure to note that both the Meher Pilgrim Center and Meherazad will be closing on February 15, 1994 of this pilgrim season. They will open again on June 15 and July 1 respectively.
Medical Supply Run
Dan and Ellie Gluck constantly acquire free samples through his medical practice and are looking for people going to India who can carry any to Dr. Goher for the clinic. If you would like to help, please contact them at (410) 319-9790 (collect if necessary) and they will send packages to you. Or pick them up at 5502 Carter Ave., Baltimore MD21214.
When mankind becomes completely deaf to the thunder of His sHence 1
SPECIAL CIRCULAR: Regarding Centenary Celebrations of Beloved Meher Baba's lOOth Birthday on February LS, 1994
As the occasion of beloved Avatar Meher Baba's 100th Birthday approaches, there can be no doubt that many wonderful and heartwarming centenary celebrations will be planned to glorify the Avatar of the Age . Even at this early date, the Avatar Meher Baba Trust has been approached by various Baba groups for guidelines and direction with regard to such centenary activities.
The purpose of this circular is simply to remind Baba lovers everywhere of only one guideline which Beloved Baba Himself provided from time to time with regard to the celebration of His Birthday. It was Beloved Baba's express wish that His lovers and followers celebrate His Birthday in their own areas, and He also expressed the assurance that He would be with His lovers and be present at their celebrations in their respective places at the time of His Birthday.
Accordingly, the celebrations of Beloved Avatar Meher Baba's 100th birthday should be at the respective cities, towns and villages wherever His lovers reside. There will be no special
birthday celebrations at Meherabad/Meherazad for this occasion.
Meherazad will be closed to all pilgrims from 15th FebruanJ 1994, till 1st July 1994. In addition, please further note that there will be no lodging accommodations for Eastern and Western pilgrims at Meherabad, as this facility will be suspended on and from 15th FebruanJ 1994 until the new pilgrim season begins from 15th June 1994.
In this way, we will not only be keeping to the guideline provided by Beloved Baba Himself, but we will also have the opportunity through all the local celebrations of His 1OOth Birthday in your own areas to bring His Name to so many others who are still yearning to hear about this Advent of God in Human Form.
Please pass on the above information to all Baba lovers in your area, and note that there is no need for further correspondence on this subject with the Trust Office.
In Avatar Meher Baba's Service, Manija S. Irani • Chairman
BROKEN. DOW.N
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1993
EDITOR'S CORNER: Sahavas with Meheru by Shari Johnston
THIS DATE in Baba History
FEATURE ARTICLE: Seclusion Hill by Winnie Barrett
LIFE IN BABA: Song of the Hill by Juniper Lesnik
POETRY: (Untitled) by Paul Cooley
LOVE DIGEST: Seclusion Valley by Craig San Roque
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Curried Carrots with Pineapple by Dixon Staples
REVIEW: God-Brother: -Stories from my Childhood with Meher Baba by Mani S. Irani; Reviewed by Shari Johnston
EDITOR'S CORNER: Sahavas with Meheru
From July 25 through 28 we in the Denver area were most fortunate to come together in an intimate gathering with Meheru Irani, one of Baba's close women disciples. It was a very heartwarming and beautiful time spent wrapped in the love of the Beloved. In the atmosphere of a small group of Baba friends, we shared in Meheru' s and our stories, we said arti together morning and evening, we laughed and ate and ate and laughed, and became intoxicated with the divine happiness of Baba's love.
Meheru's stories of being with Baba and Mehera were shared with such love and compassion and inner strength that I found my heart sobbing and rejoicing in those moments of untold aliveness with Baba! Being able to see Meheru in such an intimate atmosphere made me aware once again of how compassionate Baba is. He is always here loving us more than we could ever know. As a newcomer to the Denver group I have been very touched by the kindness extended to me as well as the Baba heart quality of the
Continued on page 3
BROKEN·DOWN
"You are all just broken-down furniture. But it is I who have chosen you, so you must be what I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor/Love Digest
Alice Rybak
Production Assistant
Vaira Filipovs
Copy Editor/Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
Art Directors
Phil Normand & Denise Gibson
Life in BabaiPilgrim's Palate
Winnie Barrett
News Notes/This Date
Paul Williams
Copy Assistant
Shari Johnston
Proofreader
Judi Schoeck
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger
Reviews
Richard Sander & JeffDeloe
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Furniture News , P.O Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA. Phone (303) 333-1727
Published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept , Nov ). $10.00 per year. Canada $10 00 (U S.) per year. Overseas $13.00 per year.
Please make checks payable to The Broken-Down Furniture News
The Process of Awakening: A talk with Eruch Jessawala, is a new video filmed in January 1993. The video represents an hour in Mandali Hall, listening to a master storyteller spin magical tales of his Master. It is available from Sheriar Press for $29.95 plus $3.50 for shipping.
The Turning of the Key: Meher Baba in Australia, a new book by Bill LePage, tells about Baba's trips to Australia in 1956 and 1958. Bill was one of the western men who attended the Three Incredible Weeks sahavas in India in 1954, where he met Baba for the first time. Available from Sheriar Press for $12.00.
Automatic Shipping Plan
Sheriar Press now has an automatic shipping plan. As each new publication comes off the press, Sheriar will ship you a copy and all you have to do is return the invoice with payment. You can return any unwanted material within 10 days. Contact Sheriar Press, Book Division, 3005 Highway 17 N. Bypass, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577, to sign up for this program.
Donations
Meher Prasad is asking for donations to finish editing on a new video of the mandali, Meherazad, Meherabad, and the Samadhi (Baba's tomb), as well as a continuing project to preserve original film footage of Meher Baba. Meher Fund, a South Carolina corporation, has agreed to match all donations dollar for dollar. Contact Steve Edelman, P.O. Drawer 1130, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29598, or phone 803-272-8934.
Current Productions
Pete Townshend has re-released his musical Tommy on Broadway with good reviews from the critics.
Baba lover and screenwriter Jeff Maguire's new movie, In the Line of Fire, was released nationwide in early July. The development of this drama of intrigue and suspense has been quite a Baba story in the making!
Meher Baba Calendar
Avatar Meher Baba Lovers of Tampa Bay, Florida, announce the publication of the 1994 Avatar Meher Baba Wall Calendar. In order to finance the printing and determine how many calendars should be printed, they are asking every group, bookstore, center, and individual interested in having this beautiful calendar to please order and try to prepay by September 25, 1993. For more information contact Christina Arasmo, 612 45th Ave. North, St. Petersburg, FL 33703, phone (S13) 526-4556, or order through your local center, group or bookstore by September 15, 1993.
'luiS DATE ...
In Baba History
September 15-17, 1924
Baba stays in Goa and visits the Good Jesus Basilica, which contains the body of Francis Xavier, who helped found the Jesuits in the 16th century. This is the most important place of Christian pilgrimage in India.
Septennber30,1954
Baba gives out His "final declaration" on the last day of the "meeting of meetings," later called the three incredible weeks.
October 7, 1954
Baba gives up the alphabet board.
October 25, 1923
Baba keeps silence for the first time for one day. •
Continued from page 2 meetings. Our time with Meheru was one of those beautiful occasions when I have felt a glimpse of what it must be like to be alive with love, and to live in the midst of Baba' s Love.
Thank you to all who kindly worked so hard to put this sahavas together: Winnie, Judi, Denise and Bill, Peggy and Michael, Micki and Thad, Margaret, and all else who contributed. Several people from out of town were also able to attend, including Jay, Shireen, and Mehera Bonner, Franey Irani, Barbara Katzenberg, Mary Biskup, Barbara Roberts, Kay Nease, and Leatrice Johnston.• -SJ
fEATURE: Seclusion Hill
Behind and across a field from the women mandali's residence at Meherazad there rises a hill, Tembi Hill to the mapmakers, but known to Meher Baba' s lovers everywhere as Seclusion Hill. This stark, barren, rocky place is singularly uninviting to the eye and would be unappealing to most when a hike or climb is contemplated . Its contrast to the brilliance of Meherazad Garden, with its obvious continuous tender care, is most evident as the transition is made from one to the other. Though I've never asked, I imagine Ward Parks' beautiful"Earth's Song'' was inspired by this desolate parcel of land. ''Meher, my barren lands are crying " Why, then, do so many make a point of visiting this forsaken spot, and why is the query so frequently heard, "Oh, Meherazad. Did you climb the hill?" As we on the BDFN staff contemplated a feature story on Seclusion Hill, we felt certain there would be a lot of information in the Baba literature that would reveal to us what made this spot the special place that it is. Instead, we were befuddled to find many brief references to the hill, each basically saying the same thing: that Baba had been in seclusion there at the end of 1947; that the mast Ali Shah had been brought there for the purpose of some of the work that Baba was doing at the time; and that later the buildings were brought from the hill and reassembled into what is now Eruch Jessawala' s room. But, we thought, is there something more? I'm reminded of a song that came out in the fifties, "Is That All There Is?" We decided to see how Beloved Baba would reveal the deeper meanings as we endeavored to discover what is less visible to the eye.
First, a bit of context: Prior to 1944 Baba had for some time had His home at Meherabad, with both the men and women mandali; the women at Upper Meherabad and the men down below. Baba had spent considerable time with them. In Kitty Davy's book, she refers to that period as one of intense activity with Baba . Then, in 1944 Baba shifted his residence to Pimpalgaon, 15 miles from Meherabad. What's more, He took Tlte Broken Down Furniture News
by Winnie Barrett
only a small group of men and women with Him, leaving the rest behind to continue living at Meherabad, without Him.
Baba was then traveling a lot, sometimes for lengthy periods, and those remaining at Meherabad sensed that their Beloved would not again make His home there with them . Kitty points out Baba's lifelong pattern of a change in location ushering in a change of phase in His inner work.
Pimpalgaon is described by Kitty this way: Pimpalgaon, since ages past, has had a spiritual atmosphere brought to it by the great souls who have lived on the summit of the surrounding hills Baba's home . .. which he gave the name 'Meherazad' lies in a secluded green valley. From the direction of the women's quarters where I stayed when I was there, one sees vast stretches of crude undulating plains, interspersed by deep ravines . . . which are dry except in monsoon season, when the rains pour down the slopes of the hills.
Early morning till sunset one would see the shepherd boys tending their goats and cows on the plains at the foot of the hills . the women's quarters stand in a beautiful flower garden with a variety of shrubs and shady trees, and giving color to the whole area are the wide spreading golmohrs, which when in bloom are just a concentrated mass of crimson. Still more beautiful was to look out from the back garden on[ to] Tembi Hill.
(So it seems that at least some thought of the hill as beautiful.)
Baba continued to travel, and in the fall of 1947 He returned to Pimpalgaon. Baba expressed the wish to be in seclusion, and said that the place should be on a hill. Donkin describes it this way in The Wayfarers:
The pros and cons of various hills were discussed, with the result that a little hill known as 'Tembi,' that stands but the third part of a mile behind Baba's Centre at Pimpalgaon, was selected. Its two virtues were, firstly, that it was close to Baba's
Centre at Pimpalgaon, and secondly, that it was so narrow and so steep that it was seldom visited by strangers or local shepherds."
Much later, when the western men were with Baba in India in 1954 Baba explained that the hill was not far from Gorakhnath, "where Krishna used to play with the Gopis," and it was also near Khandoba' s temple. (Three Incredible Weeks.)
It was Sarosh Irani's task to acquire the land Baba wanted. He was able to obtain the top of the hill from the government getting a long lease and for a small amount of rent. Tembi was so steep that the Mandali had to cut a pathway up the hill, digging out footholds and reinforcing the path with stones so as to make the going easier. Padri went to work building the structures Baba required. Two huts were constructed: one on the very top of the hill, and the other about fifty feet lower down. The walls were made of cement and asbestos, with a tile roof. In addition a tent was put up near the lower hut. Donkin
So far, we see that Beloved Baba chose for His work a site that was isolated, difficult to reach and austere in the extreme . In September of 1947 He went into seclusion there for the first time.
In late November Baba returned to Pimpalgaon from a trip to Imam pur. He and the men mandali traveling with Him arrived at the foot of the hill without first going through the Meherazad compound. Kitty recounts: None except Mehera and Mani were permitted to see Baba. Rano and I 'stood guard' by the Meherazad gate while the two women went to the foot of the hill,
some distance away. Baba, looking radiant in his white robe and green turban, greeted his two dear ones and inquired about their welfare, and then after a few minutes began his ascent up the hill. He turned and waved once, a signal for Mehera and Mani to return to the ashram. Baba then began his seclusion on the summit ....
While Kitty's account marks November 23 as the beginning ofBaba's work on Seclusion Hill, most other accounts report the date as December 5. Whenever it began, the weather was questionable. In Glimpses, Vol. 1, Bal Natu recounts: December is cold and windy and it seemed incredible that Baba's delicate body could withstand so many uncomfortable seasons, all for the work which he alone knew.
Donkin speaks poetically of the evening of DecemberS:
... with the western sky a tracery of golden cirrus, and the distant hills as blue as sapphire, Baba made his way up the hill . It was a memorable evening, strange and timeless.
Elizabeth continues:
On December 5th. . . we all walked with Baba to the summit, about three hundred feet above where we were staying .... All the food for four persons is carried up there (after being cooked here) in tiffin boxes. Also water is carried up. So we see a lot of coming and going, but of course everything is taken to the Mandali, not to Baba himself.
One gets the sense of how much trouble Baba went to for the sake of this seclusion.
The next noteworthy component to this story was Baba's request for Ali Shah, the sixth plane mast then residing in Ahmednagar, to be brought to Him for a period of ten days. The mast, then an old man, had to be carried up the hill in a chair and was settled into the lower hut. (The men mandali resided for the time in the tent.)
the seclusion Baba spent three hours each morning sitting in the lower hut with Ali Shah. The remainder of the time Baba spent on the summit alone. At the end of ten days (or twelve, depending on which account you read) Baba came off the hill and worked with Ali Shah for two more days at Meherazad, at which time the mast was sent back to Meherabad.
Some say that the buildings were brought down the hill in mid-December piece by piece and within 48 hours were reconstructed beside the men mandali's quarters. Others say that it was in 1951 that the buildings were removed and made into a single room at Meherazad and that after the New Life Baba asked that it become Eruch's room. It matters little to me which dates are correct. More central is the significance of the seclusion at such a time, in such a place and in such a way.
Why did Baba ask for Ali Shah? Donkin describes him as "the perfect jamali mast" possessing "an utterly disarming and childlike quality of simplicity." Beyond that, "Ali Shah gives the impression of being useful to Baba as a first line reserve mast when there is urgent work to be done. . . close by, never difficult, and never refuses to come to Baba." Baba called upon this mast many times between 1943 and 1948. Elizabeth's account tells us that Baba had made several mast trips to the North in 1947. These occurred around the time of India's independence and the partitioning of Pakistan. Along the route He took were throngs of refugees and evacuees who, without knowing it, were given a contact with the God-Man. There was much political upheaval with accompanying violence and suffering. Perhaps Beloved Baba's work on the hill had something to do with the emergence of these two nations and all the birthing pains that were part of that event.
In January Baba had Ali Shah brought for more work, lasting until January 28. Mohandas Ghandi was assassinated on January 30, just two days later, and a bit over a month after Baba' s seclusion on the hill was finished. Following this, in early February Baba contacted some 4,000 sadhus at the gathering of thousands for
For the next ten days of The Broken Down Fumiture News September- October 1993
the Ardha Kumbh Mela (a celebration occurring in the sixth year between the Kumbh Mela gatherings held every 12 years). This was just at the time the sadhus went to bathe in the convergence of two holy rivers, the Jumna and the Ganges. Only three days after these contacts, Ghandi's ashes were spread upon these same sacred waters. One gets a sense that Beloved Baba resanctified this great place of pilgrimage for present and future generations.
When asked about the nature of His work during the seclusion on the hill, Baba's only reply was that He had "special work to finish."
Much later, during the sahavas program in November of 1955, Baba took a group up the hill. He related to them that in 1947 He had spent seven days fasting on only a few sips of water. Baba explained, ''I have remained fasting and in seclusion for much longer periods, but six of the days I passed here [then] were equivalent to six months of my other fasts and seclusions. When I undergo suffering for the world, the load I have to bear is gigantic, and affects even my physical body. I looked then as if I had just passed through a severe illness." (Listen, Humanity.)
Baba lets us know that this seclusion was particularly intense and that the work done was of monumental proportions. Baba explained to the western men in 1954, "You are all really fortunate to have come with me on the hill, with my leading the way. That is a very dear piece of land, that hill." (Three Incredible Weeks.) On the same occasion, during the ascent, Baba threw four stones, as had recently become His custom. One can imagine that those stones, touched by His precious hands, were given their push forward, and perhaps symbolically this small-scale activity represented a larger one, that of giving the push to all of creation.
As Baba and His 1955 guests began to climb the hill:
One of the young sahavasis struck out from the sinuously winding path and began clambering directly up through the brush. Baba immediately had him called back, and then admonished him. 'There is
no one here who can beat me climbing this hill, but we are here together to keep each other company, and not off on an excursion.'
(Listen, Humanity.) It is as if the companionship of the journey is as much the purpose as reaching the destination. Imagining the company of the Companion, whatever the journey, brings this lesson into perspective. Why, then, would you ever want to go it alone?
While I was on pilgrimage in 1978, the opportunity arose to climb the hill with Bruch. My journal entry reads:
November 4, 1978. Eruch took our group up to Seclusion Hill. Part way up the hill we stopped to hear what Baba had said about stumbling, falling, and backsliding. According to Eruch, backsliding is not only inevitable, but necessary. If one went straight up Seclusion Hill it would be too hard, too steep. So the path zigzags back and forth for a gentler climb. And so it is with us on the spiritual journey. The secret is not to be discouraged but to accept the falling as part of the climb. When we reached the top of the hill, Eruch told us about different phases of Baba's work, and of the time Baba sent him away. The sun was scorching and the hot wind blew.
It appears to me that the very fact of the attributes of the hill being what they are, the very act of making the journey upward (walking, crawling, or being carried like the old mast), at a natural pace and in a manageable way, with the Friend for company, yet doing one's work in solitude and with hardships, that all this is symbolic of the spiritual path. As always, the Compassionate One has given us a concrete example to guide us and has Himself blazed the trail. He has promised that we make the journey together, and has even forgiven our backslides as a necessary part of the climb. To me, this is what makes Tembi Hill the special and unique place that it is. It is a picture He has made, with His signature, to assist us in arriving at His feet.
We come to the hill so as to acknowledge the greatness of our Lord Meher Baba, to pay our respects to Him there, as we try to comprehend that which is beyond our comprehension. 'I
[IFE IN BABA: Song of the Hill by
This hill has many stories to tell.
I am one in thousands who has made this climb. I stand with my feet firmly rooted to the ancient rock and let the dry Indian wind blow my hair across my face. My throat and lungs object as I suck in the dusty air. I am lucky and have remembered to bring with me a cool canteen filled with filtered water from the well down below. I drink intensely as my eyes scan the parched landscape. It somehow reclaims a richness despite the fact that the monsoon is late in coming and the villagers have already begun to ration what little grain and water remains. The men have abandoned their fields and now sit in temples silently repeat-
Juniper Lesnik
hand through the crowds of hungry faces, out of the Bombay International Airport and into the thick early morning air of the city. I did not know what this place would come to mean to me. I had not climbed the hill.
I tugged at my father's sleeve as my eyes grew wide with the sights of unimaginable streets that haphazardly merged huge oxen, naked children, screaming street vendors, men in cheap business suits, stray dogs with protruding rib cages, small religious shrines, and women with covered faces diligently carrying water in vessels they balanced on their heads. I could smell the grit of their lives in the heavy air ing God's name.
Intently, I watch a small boy tending a herd of goats, the largest of which is almost as tall as he. In his hand is a thin brown stick, and he smiles and waves when he catches me poised above him, watching. I repeat the motion, suddenly uninhibited, and vaguely envy the boy and his goats. He must be no more than seven years of age and yet he moves with primal strength beneath the strong sun of the Deccan plateau. Though his eyes, when he turns to bid me a silent farewell, smile like a
The explosion
of noise and colors, combined with the thousands of faces that begged brotherhood of my pale skin shattered the fragile boundaries
of my storybook life.
child's, they also hold a wild depth. He holds firmly to his wooden stick, and in his hands it is dignified. He walks unflinching across the cracking earth with his bare, callused feet and stares directly ahead into the ruthless sun. I was his age on my first journey here, I reflect as I sip the cool water. I came for the first time as a curious child with a wild mane and glasses too big for my small face. I knew nothing of the country I was stepping into, as my father pulled me by the
that wafted through the taxi window. I covered my face and eyes. The explosion of noise and colors, combined with the thousands of faces that begged brotherhood of my pale skin shattered the fragile boundaries of my storybook life. I did not know how much I would come to love the raw stench of lives mingling in crowded streets.
This time I have come alone. There have been seven visits and nine years between now and
when I first made this journey from Bombay, through the Ghats, to the small town of Ahmednagar where I have found my second home. Seclusion Hill lies on the outskirts of town. From the top I can peer over miles of untouched land. My life assumes meaning when I sit silently and allow the stones to speak to me. I become unbound-a part of something more permanent than 1 The simplicity of village life no longer unnerves me, but inspires. I am able to perceive it stripped of
material distractions, the beauty of life without ornamentation. Each time I return to my life in the States, where the luxuries of running water and ample food are trivialized by a nation of abundance, I yearn deeply for the air of India. I have shed layers of myself in a country to which I have come to belong. I am drawn again and again by the richness and the spirituality of this physically barren land. Here, I become myself. I am a part of a force that is timeless.
This hill has one story to tell. Thousands of seekers have come alone. They have loosened the stones and shouted into the answerless air. They have fasted and meditated here. Their feet have carved the path that leads the way to the top, and patches of rock have become smooth beneath their resting bodies. We ourselves are the story. I lie against Seclusion Hill and hear my own voice merge with a thousand others. It is the song of the hill. I come to let the hill remind me who lam.
Juniper Lesnik is a Baba laver M from Myrtle Beach, SC. T
Bnbn on Seclusion Hill, 1954.
fl OETRY: (Untitled)
I am wandering in the dust of time Straining my heart for a glimpse of Baba But merciless are the winds that follow And layer their burdens about my mind. Now strange stillness breathes upon these pines Beautiful birds sleep in silent hollow
by Paul Cooley
Saint Francis praying inside his grotto Instills my heart with Love sublime. Too soon the winds begin their rage anew I am driven into desire's lair Even now the blissful vision is through But I'll hold tight to beloved Meher
l:ovE DIGEST: Seclusion Valley by Craig San
Roque
This piece was first published in the BDFN in the July-August issue of 1987. It seemed appropriate to include it in this Seclusion Hill issue, so we decided to reprint it. Craig San Roque is a psychologist living in Australia.
TembiHill
This hill is one among those many pyramidic mountains on the Deccan Plateau. Remnants of the volcanic age.
In our family it is known as Seclusion Hill. Upon its windswept peak our father spent much time alone. In seclusion. A seclusion sometimes exposed to the wind, sometimes in a cave like niche, sometimes in the asbestos hut, hauled up, held in place and later dismantled; after the work was done. (Brother Eruch now lives in that hut).
Up on that hill the creator -of the avataric age did a great deal of work. Tembi is part of the avataric geography. Naturally, people like to have a piece of it.
Albert
There is an old Australian children's story about the life and time of Albert the Magic Pudding. Albert looks rather like an English Christmas pudding. He is round and large with two skinny arms and two skinny legs and a pudding plate for a hat. Albert is very
much alive. His one aim in life is to be consumed. His one delight in life is to be eaten. And there is even more to Albert, for if, after he has placed himself comfortably on his plate, beside the campfire, you (his proud owner) happen to turn him thrice, whistling and wishing him to be something delicious to your taste. . . Behold! Albert will become the dish that you wish.
Albert is never consumed. He is never finished. You can go on eating to your heart's content then simply change the recipe.
Seclusion Hill is not named Albert.
Doyle's Hotel
There is another Australian story to tell you. A story from the old gold mining days.
A man named Doyle moved to the gold fields and wisely decided to set up a hotel. The building he used was made from sun dried mud bricks, a ·common material in the early pioneering days. The mud came from the nearby creek. Doyle did well while the gold lasted, but gradually the gold petered out and the miners drifted off in other directions. A few stayed, picking over the mullock heaps and panning for a few specks in the now exhausted creek. His most consistent neighbours were a gang of Chinese who placidly
haunted the creekbed.
After a while Doyle noticed a funny thing.
Parts of his hotel were disappearing. First the abandoned chicken shed and then obscure bits of the hotel wall. Naturally, Doyle suspected the Chinese and he stormed their camp one morning with stick and dog to recover his bricks. There was nothing among the Chinese tents, they soothed him and went back to their alluvial panning in the creek.
But Doyle's Hotel, bit by bit, quietly in the nights, was dismantled.
Now, Doyle had a brick which he kept by the kitchen door. (Probably the only door now left securely in place.) Upon this favourite brick he sharpened his carving knife. It was well worn. On this gloomy morn Doyle came out to the door, casting an eye over the abandoned diggings, the straggling eucalyptus scrub and the smoke drifting up from the tents by the creek. He spat upon the brick and, full of pent up anger and perplexity, he struck it savagely with his blunted knife.
The worn brick fell apart in Doyle's hand and there, embedded in the dried mud was a small nugget of gold. The truth dawned upon Doyle on that most auspicious morning. His whole hotel was constructed from alluvial goldbearing mud from the original
creek. The wily Chinese, tenderly in the nights had been removing it, brick by brick, crushing and washing in the creek and removing the buried treasure.
Quietly and by gradual degrees, Seclusion Hill is being dismantled.
Observations
1. A pilgrim was observed, recently, carrying a plastic bag out into the scrub behind the Pilgrim Centre on the morning of her departure for the West. When questioned by a polite but alert resident, she replied, "My son collected all these stones from Seclusion Hill. They're too heavy to take back. I don't know what to do with them" she said, as she tipped them out under a tree.
"'Besides, I need the plastic bag."
2. Another person, returning West, is walking along the verandah at Meherazad with an airport duty-free bag calling out,
'"Anyone want some crystals from Seclusion Hill? Going cheap!"
She is greeted with a slightly stony silence.
3. Two young Western children have set up a (play?) shop on the Pilgrim Centre verandah. They are selling stones and crystals from Seclusion Hill at two and three rupees apiece.
People are actually buying.
A Sign of Hope?
A pilgrim comes sheepishly into the Reception Office, coughs and places a plastic bag on the desk.
"I collected these stones from the Hill. I don't think I should take them away. Do you think you could do something?"
"Yes" says the polite and alert resident. "You could return them to the Hill."
This pilgrim is beginning to develop the virtues of thoughtfulness and foresight. The beginning of Rock Consciousness.
Conclusion
Albert the Magic Pudding is a fantasy but he is the embodiment of our childish longings to possess and consume endlessly. It is true that God is infinite. However Seclusion Hill is not a magic pudding. It is not infinite.
The Future
Doyle wakes up in a cold sweat dreaming that a gang of Chinese have set up base camp on the slopes of Tembi Hill.
The year 2001, a polite and world-weary resident is taking pilgrims on a conducted tour of Seclusion VALLEY.
The Present
This is the year of ROCK AMNESTY. Bring back Seclusion Hill. -Meherabad 1986
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Curried Carrots with Pineapple by Dixon Staples
This recipe is one that Dixon Staples gave me many years ago. It goes great with other Indian food, or as a change of pace vegetable dish to zest up entrees. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 cups coarsely grated or chopped carrots
1-1/2 cups firm fresh pineapple chunks with juice
3 tbs light brown sugar
3 tbs butter
3 tbs hot water
1/4 tsp salt
1 to 1-1/2 tsp hot curry powder (to taste)
Combine ingredients. Cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes until pineapple and carrots are tender. -WB •
It's the law of Love Divine,
That you must wither, you must pine, That you must suffer, but not whine, Speak not words and write no line, If you long for Love Divine.
Meher Baba Meherazad October 241959
l{EVIEW: God:..rJrother:·'stories from my Childhood with Meher Baba
God-Brother is a collection of personal and very heartwarming stories told by Mani about her childhood with her God-brother, Baba. Often she refers to these stories as '1essongames" for they capture the mischievousness and clarity with which Baba demonstrated that He alone exists. Through a child's eyes, coupled with the wisdom of love, Mani expresses Baba' s compassion.
The story entitled ''Flying a Kite" illustrates Baba's compassion toward His sister Mani: "Baba looked down at me. 'You want to fly it?' He asked.
"'Oh, yes!' I said
"When I grew older, I realized that Baba alone had been flying the kite, while He made me believe I was doing it. Behind my hands were His hands holding the string, unseen by me. While I seemed to be steering the kite as it moved this way and that, it was really Baba who was controlling it all the time.
"It continues to be like that. One thinks, 1'm doing this. I'm in charge of that.' But silently in the background, it is really Baba who is doing it. Baba alone is in charge-always."
These beautiful stories awaken the child-self to the Beloved's game oflove. They appeal to all ages and speak of Mani' s unique position as Baba's only sister. The collection is complemented by several photographs as well as Wodin' s charming illustrations.
-Shari Johnston •
he rabbit's foot had a hidden chamber. The chamber was just large enough to accommodate two bullets. It was perfect. He was good. But then, they had trained him to be good.
He liked to be called Booth-as in John Wilkes. "Booth," he said, "had panache."
It seems almost too much to ask for true suspense in film these days. I mean the kind of suspense that has you all wound up, sitting on the edge of your cushioned chair in the movie house, your hands clenching its arms in accentuated, apprehensive anticipation, without involving terror. With its host of variables and myriad of unknown unknowns, In the Line of Fire is steeped in suspense. "Booth" is psychotic. He is out to waste his president. He is slated against the only member of the Secret Service on active duty thenin Dallas when Kennedy was assassinated-and now.
Once produced, the screenplay brought immediate professional success and fame to Jeff Maguire, a Baba writer struggling for years on the West Coast. I could not help but recall Meher Baba often taking the mandali to the cinema. One can speculate that there was always an agenda beyond the ostensible excursion. One can imagine that there is a profound agenda for all who see 11l the Line of Fire, beyond which any of us might conceive. -VF
"You are all just broken-dotun furniture. But it is I who luroe chosen you, so you must be what I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor
Alice Rybak
Copy Editor/Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
Art Directors
Phil Normand & Denise Gibson
Production Assistant
Vaira Filipovs
Life in Baba/Pilgrim's Palate
Winnie Barrett
Love Digest/Proofreader
Judi Schoeck
News Notes/This Date
Paul Williams
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger
Reviews
Tracy Holloway
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Address all correspondence to: The Broke11-Dow11 Furniture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA. Phone(303)333-1727
Facsimile (303) 745-7158
Published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $10.00 per year.
Canada $10 00 (U.S ) per year
Overseas $13.00 per year.
Please make checks payable to Tile Broken-Dow11 Furniture Ne:ros.
Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, except where noted
NEWS NOTES
New Releases
The Second Coming, Jamie Newell's second tape devoted to Baba, got rave reviews from other Baba musicians Jim Meyer, Bob Brown, and Ted Judson. Zen in the Art of Blues is Jamie's other tape. They are $10 each and can be ordered from: Minor Incarnations, P.O. Box 120064, Nashville, TN 37212
Full Circle is Margaret Bernstein's first album, displaying her virtuosity on flute and piano and her devotion to Baba. To order the tape ($10) or CD ($15) write to: Growing Azalea Music Productions, P.O. Box 117, Lagunitas, CA 94938.
Subscription Rate Increase
Beginning January 1994 the rate for new and renewed subscriptions to BDFN will be $12 per year (six issues).
Update on Me her Baba, the Awakener
Tim Thelen would like to thank everybody in the Baba community for their support and financial contributions to this project. Over $13,000 has been raised since March 1993. Although Tim had hoped to have the film completed by now, it is still in the editing stages, and the new projected release date is February 25, 1994.
Dina Franklin has been selected as the narrator, and original music will be provided by Karl Moeller. Existing music by Hariprasad Chaurasia and Krishnamurti Sridhar will also accompany the film.
Some Baba lovers have requested a clarification of KTEH's role in the project. KTEH is a PBS affiliate station in San Jose, California, which has taken an interest in the project since 1990. They will act as a "Presenting Station" when the film is offered to PBS for broadcast on a national level. However, KTEH is not keeping a percentage of the donations, nor will they retain ownership of the film.
The funds donated thus far have helped the project along tremendously, but an additional $5,000 will need to be raised to cover costs for the final on-line edit. This process will ensure that all audio and visual elements technically meet current broadcast standards.
Anyone contributing $50 or more will receive a VHS copy of the one-hour documentary. Donations can be sent to: The Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California, 10808 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025, Attn: Meher Baba Film Project. For more information, Tim can be reached at (310) 393-3715.
'fHIS DATE...
In Baba History
November 15, 1952
Baba begins the "Fiery Free Life" phase of the New Life in which "freedom and bindings would by the grace of God be merged into the Divine Life."
November 21,1932
Baba sails for Europe on the Conte Verde. This is His fourth visit to Europe.
November 24,1949
The first day of begging in the New Life. Baba introduces the ordeal by taking part Himself, bareheaded and barefooted, wearing a white kafni, with an ochre satchel on His left arm, and carrying a cotton bag and a brass bowl.
December 1921
Upasni Maharaj declares Meher Baba to be adi-shakti (meaning primal power) or Avatar.
December 22, 1926
Arjun, one of Baba's mandali, dies at Lonavla. Baba says: "It was good that he died. Two or three days prior to his end he was seeing Me in My true form, and now he is with Me."
December31,1951
Baba has the dhuni lit and declares the ma1lonash period of the New Life complete. He now enters the "Complicated Free Life," in which "bindings were to dominate freedom." •
EATURE: In the Line of God's Fire An interview
Jeff Maguire is a Baba lover who grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. He wrote a screenplay in college and later wrote industrial films in New York. In the seventies, he moved to Los Angeles, first sleeping otz a mattress in a garage. Later he heard about Meher Baba and married a school teacher, Lynn Nau. After struggling for years he finally achieved major professional success when he sold his screenplay for In the Line of Fire, a Clint Eastwood film released in July 1993. He recently traveled to India for the second time and still lives with his wife and son on the West Coast. He previously appeared in the BDFN as author of an article on Baba's accident at Prague, Oklahoma.
JEFF: You know, the thing that's been interesting about the movie is that they had a screening at USC, for the film students there, the weekend before last, and Charles Champlain did a question-and-answer thing with me afterwards. We talked about Baba and we talked about my search for spirituality, because ... well, people always say to me "tell us about your career" or something. And I explain when I first came out to Los Angeles 15 years ago I sold several screenplays right away. Then I kind of hit a wall, where I didn't know anybody and I felt like there was sort of a spiritual hole in my life and I searched around and actually hooked up with my cousin, who was a Jesus fanatic.
BDFN: You didn't know about Baba then?
JEFF: No, and as a matter of fact, I didn't even know if I believed in God. I just knew that there was a spiritual vacuum there that I had to fill. So I went out to Orange County where my cousin had this kind of radical Christian community where they didn't read anything that didn't have to do with Jesus, and it was a real"us versus them" kind of mentality there. They actually baptized me in a swimming pool. And they said you need to show Jesus that you're willing to be willing, because I said I didn't know if I believe in Jesus. Then three days after the baptism I was miserable and I tried to go out there, because my cousin had told me, "you're living in Hollywood, which is a den of sin, and you need to get
out of there into a more spiritual atmosphere." So I drove out to Orange County. He wasn't home. Otherwise I would have moved in with him and his community for a while. Then I came back here, and it was like the day after that, I was going out to a movie just to try and kill time because I was really miserable. And 1 saw Mike Campagna walk up the courtyard where I lived, and he goes, "Hey! Do you play touch football?"
BDFN: But you didn't know him?
JEFF: No. I'd met him once, briefly. I think he had a stomach ache and he needed some Alka Seltzer. And he goes, ''Do you play touch football?" and I go, "Oh, yeah. I used to play all the time. I haven't played in a while." He says, 'Well, we play every day down at the end of the street at four o'clock." So I went back into my apartment and just sat there and kind of waited two hours till I could go play. And he was one of the first people I met outside of the circle that I'd been in.
So, that night, we were sitting in my apartment together and listening to records and he told me how he and his wife were trying to make it in the music business. I said, 'Wow. That's rough. But at least you guys have each other." And he goes, "Yeah, and God." I said, "What do you mean?" That's when he told me about Baba. And a month later, we drove to Myrtle Beach.
So, for that period and for a couple of years after that, I really didn't write very much. And I was explaining to some people in the business, including at this screening they had at USC, that in those years it was very difficult and I didn't quite know which end was up, and then I found Meher Baba. I'd tell them about that. I was shocked at how many people, a lot of these kids, after the question and answer, came up to me and asked me more about Baba and said that they were very interested in hearing about my spiritual search, that they were on a search like that now. And they also found a lot of spirituality in the movie, although I said, 'Well, if it's there, it's definitely on a subconscious level." I didn't consciously try and inform them with any
with Jeff Maguire by Shari Johnston
of my spiritual beliefs. So, it was interesting.
BDFN:That's very interesting. I went to see your movie with a person and we sort of felt like, in the underlying current, there was a lot of Baba feeling.
JEFF: A lot of people have talked about that here, too. And I think, in retrospect, there are a lot of things One thing is that the Malkovich and the Eastwood characters, to me, are kind of flip sides of my personality in some ways . 'Cause I went through that phase with Malkovich where you say, "The whole world is pointless and there's nothing, there's no reason for any of it and it's all random and meaningless." And then, you know, I think in a lot of ways, the Clint Eastwood character is going through the same kind of existential quandary. I think what he finds is that in doing his job, he finds the answer: that he can't answer these larger questions for himself. But all he can do is try and do the best he can in his job. And I think that's probably my overall philosophy, even with Baba, that there's a hundred different opportunities that we have every day to do our job right, to make the right decisions, whether it's in our personal lives or in our professional lives or whatever. And so, I think you find your meaning, and your reason is trying to make those decisions correctly BDFN: I think that's very true. You're saying it probably wasn't on a conscious level, but that part with Clint Eastwood talking a lot about "it's my job" really felt to me like the whole Bhagavad Gita thing with Krishna telling Arjuna to do his duty.
JEFF: It's interesting because, you know, a friend and I go up to a local high school, and they have a comparative religion class, and we've spoken in front of this class on several occasions, talked to the kids there. And I heard that the teacher from the class called my friend Fred 'cause he says that one of his students had seen In the Line of Fire. He asked Fred, "how does Jeff Maguire purport to be a spiritual being when he has this violence in his movie?" And so I said to Fred, "well, you know, point out that the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita certainly have their share of vio-
lence." A lot of times it's in those conflicts that the true nature of the soul comes out.
BDFN: I know you've told your whole story many times now. If you're not too tired of repeating that story and how that has been a Baba story, I think that would be interesting to our readers.
JEFF: Okay. I guess one thing is that, from the time that I came to Baba in 1977, I had only minor brushes with career success. But for the most part, it's been a real struggle, financially and professionally. Many times, it looked as if projects that I'd worked on would become movies or it looked as if we would finally get our heads above water financially, and then at the last second, the company that I was working for would go out of business or a script that I had written-we would suddenly find out that there was another script that was very similar to it that another studio was going to do, so, the people who were interested in doing the script that I had written would back out of it at the last minute. So there were many frustrations along the way.
BDFN: It's been actually really interesting. Like, my mom [who met Baba in the body] always says, "well, opposition. If Baba puts opposition in your path that makes it that much stronger when it happens."
JEFF: Well, what happened was that a guy that I'd written another script for (that kind of went nowhere when it turned out another studio was doing a similar project) called me in the fall of 1990 and he had a script about the secret service, which was also called In the Line of Fire. His name is Jeff Apple, and he had this script and he wanted to know if I was interested in rewriting it, because he had someone at Hollywood Pictures, which is a branch of Disney, interested in developing the story-doing a rewrite, essentially. And I read the script and I said, ''You know, the script isn't very good. How about if we throw this out and start all over and come up with a whole different story." So, that's what we agreed-that it wasn't very good-and he had the concept, which, actually, Dustin Hoffman had suggested to him, of using an agent who'd
been in Dallas in '63 and had lost Kennedy, and having that be the back story. That wasn't in the first script he had done. So then, I then came up with the story as it exists now-did a lot of research into the Secret Service. Essentially I just read a few books about the Secret Service. And then we went and tried to get what we call a development deal at Hollywood Pictures. A development deal is where they give you a little bit of money to do a rewrite, but essentially they own it. They were interested in Tom Selleck for the role.
BDFN: Really? The role of Clint Eastwood?
JEFF: Yeah. At the time, it looked like they were going to go for it, but at the last minute they decided not to do it, and, of course, being broke, I was a little devastated at the time, but now, looking back on it, thank God! Even the guy who was the executive there, I talked to him not too long ago and he admits that, "If we had made this movie it would have been completely different. And it's a much better movie for our not having been involved in it. 11 I didn't have an agent at the time and I couldn't get any work at the time. I supported myself through various odd jobs and Cathy Thombum, who's aBaba lover here in L.A., got me a job writing dialogue for Ken and Barbie dolls at Mattell. And I kinda took anything that would come along. I would do typing for friends and stuff.
So, then, we couldn't get a development deal at any other place and Jeff Apple tried, I think, one other place or something, so essentially, the project was just dead and we decided to forget all about it. And then, six months later actually, a friend read the treatment that I had written and she said, "Jeez, you should really write this into a script, 'cause the treatment is so
BDFN: Oh, I see. So, a treatment is first. JEFF: I had written a twelve-page story that essentially outlined the plot and the characters. So, you know, she read it, and then Lynn also agreed, 11Yeah, you really should tum this into a script." So I called Jeff Apple, and I said, "You know what, I'm just gonna write the thing on spec,// as we say, which is a speculation. You don't get any money, but you hope that you can sell it. ''I'll just write it on spec and you can be attached as producer and I'll be attached as the
The Broke11 Dow11 Furniture News Nortember- December 1993
writer and then we'll see if we can sell it. 11 And he was almost as broke as I was, but he said "Fine. Go ahead." So that was in August of 1991. And I essentially wrote the script in about a month because I'd done all the research, I knew the story and the characters so it was very easy to write it.
BDFN: Did you write it with anyone in mind?
JEFF: No. Not really. The character of Frank kind of took on his own kind of being in my imagination, you know, as I was writing it. A lot of people have talked about how it's tailor-made for Clint, but I really hadn't seen that many of Clint's I've only seen Clint's westerns. I hadn't seen Dirty Harry, I hadn't seen any of those others. And I didn't know that he played piano, so I didn't write it with him in mind-1 didn't know that either.
So when I finished it, Jeff Apple took it over to Creative Artists Agency, which is probably the most powerful agency in Hollywood. They represent Dustin Hoffman and Sean Connery, Michael Douglas, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson, I think Gene Hackman's there-I'm not sure. But anyway, they represent the vast majority of actors who could have played this role. So, right away, they got interest from Robert Redford's people-that's always what they say in Hollywood-people, Oike, the thing that I just wrote recently, Kevin Costner's people, you know, Kevin's gonna read it soon, I think, 'cause his people have recommended it to him). So anyway, Robert Redford's people upped it, and everyone was urging Robert Redford to do it and we heard this, so we were very excited and we thought, II Ah, this is great. This is gonna be the big break.// It dragged on and finally we heard at the end of six weeks that, ''Redford has
So, again, we were pretty depressed. But in the meantime, Sean Connery had read it and he was interested in playing Frank But he didn't see how he could play it as an American. And so, I did a little research and found out that a foreigner can be a Secret Service Agent. So I typed up a little back story, a kind of biography of his character, about how he could have been from Ireland and came over and went to college at Boston University and saw Eisenhower's
Secret Service detail come through town one time with President Eisenhower, and decided that's what he wanted to do. And of course, when John F. Kennedy died, there would be a young Irishman in the Secret Service-he would have him on his detail'cause Kennedy loved all things Irish.
BDFN: That certainly would have worked well.
JEFF: Yeah, well, I wrote that up for Sean Connery and actually wrote a couple of sample scenes about how he could even be incorporated into the script. That was over Christmas of '91 and into early January of '92. Finally about, I guess, at the end of the first week in January, we found out that Sean Connery was gonna do Rising Sun and he wouldn't pass on In the Line of Fire but he wouldn't commit, either, and so, again, everything was kind of unsettled. Now, in the meantime, that was kind of our worst time, financially, when I had run up all my credit cards. Actually, with the Writers' Guild strike in '88, for six months I couldn't work, so that was the beginning of us being in real severe debt. I was waking up at four in the morning and just, you know, calling out Baba's name and wondering if Baba was there, if He was busy with the situation in the Mideast or something.
BDFN: How were your feelings toward Baba?
JEFF: All day long, through that whole period , I would just be taking Baba' s name as much as I could. I also went through some real dark depression, you know: times when I really wondered what Baba had in mind, and trying to second-guess Him and everything. But it was a real desperate time We had a lot of friends who helped us out. At Christmastime a group of friends helped out.
In the meantime, there was never a lack of hope. It would always seem like every time one guy said he wasn't going to be interested, somebody else got involved. At one point, Harold Becker, who is a director, was interested in working on it and the rumor was that he wanted to do something with Warren Beatty Harold Becker suggested that I make some changes in the script. And I did make the changes and when I was finished making the changes, he had gone on to do another movie. He never even read the changes . The changes that he suggested
were good, although his take on the main character would have been all wrong for the movie. So again, he made some good suggestions but he would have been the wrong person, and in retrospect, it all worked out perfectly, you know, 'cause it made the script stronger. But we didn't have to have him direct it
Looking back on it, it's kind of like Baba' s hand was in everything because everything worked out almost perfectly. But at the time, it was a real trial. You know, I didn't know how to pay the rent in those days and people would always come through for us at the last minute and help us out with loans or else a job, like that thing with Cathy Thornburn.
On St. Patrick's Day, March 17, Lynn said to . me, "how can we go on living like this?" I tried to get a teaching job, but right at that time, the L.A. Unified School District stopped hiring people with emergency credentials so I couldn't do that. And finally Lynn said, "we've got to do something." And I said, "well, let me make one last round of calls and see if I can get anything moving. And if I can't, then we'll start making plans to move back to my mother's attic in New Hampshire and I'll work in a drugstore and write a novel." 'Cause I always knew I would write Also, around that time, a real interesting thing happened where finally, after having been through so many ups and downs and hopeful moments and moments of despair, suddenly-! hit this resignation thing, you know, where I just said, "well, whatever happens to us, I just know that Baba will see to it that we'll be all right. Baba will take care of us." And I wasn't just paying it lip service. For one of the few times in my life I really did get that feeling that He was there . And I didn't feel like anything I did caused it, and I like to tell people that it's proof that Baba is not infinitely patient because He got tired of me complaining. But all of a sudden, it was just this strange thing where I was still waking up at four in the morning in somewhat of a panic, but now, for some reason, I just felt like, hey, what' s the worst thing that's gonna happen: we're gonna end up on the street or we'll end up in my mother's attic or something like that, and wherever we are, Baba will be there. And it's real interesting, too, because I know a lot of peo-
pie who are extremely successful materially, who are miserable. And then I know a lot of people who are not well off at all and who don't have a career or whatever, but because they feel, whether it's Baba or Jesus or whatever-but the presence of God-they can cope with their circumstances.
So, somehow, that kicked in, and from that moment, everything started to go a little better. Nobody returned my calls that week, when I said to Lynn, "let me make just one more round of calls." And so, I kind of was resigned to the fact that we were probably going to have to make some big change, whether it was move back to New Hampshire or find some other place to live where I could work a minimumwage job or whatever I could get. I knew I couldn't support us here in Manhattan Beach. But I didn't know what kind of job I could get. And around that time, also, a woman whom I'd known years before, out of the blue, asked if she could read a piece of my work 'cause she was thinking about trying to get into producing. And she read In the Line of Fire, and thought it was terrific, and she gave it to a friend of hers, who is a casting director, and she gave it to Jeremy Zimmer at United Talent Agency. I had never been able to get any agency to commit to representing me. Their philosophy was that if they could get one of their big stars, like Sean Connery or Robert Redford, to commit to it, then they would sign me on. If they couldn't package it, then they weren't interested in just having another writer they had to try and get work for.
So, Jeremy Zimmer read it and thought that he could sell it, and within a week after I went in and shook hands with him and made arrangements for it, he had a bidding war going on. It sold to Castle Rock Entertainment, which is Rob Reiner's company. And they were just wonderful. They're, like, one of the nicest companies to be in business with, 'cause, unlike a lot of the studios, they don't take an attitude like they have to bully the creative help. They take a real collaborative approach and they treat you with a lot of respect and friendship. And so they said, "well, who do you want for director?" And I said," Aw, I'm glad I don't have to deal with
Tlze Broken Donm Furuiture
that." And they said, "No, no, no! We operate differently here. We really want your input."
In the meantime, Clint Eastwood had gotten ahold of the script through his agent and had read it, and his agent called Castle Rock and said "Clint would like to do this," which was shocking, because it's the first movie that Clint has done outside of Warner Brothers in fifteen years. So he came on board. And then he recommended Wolfgang Peterson, who did Das Boot and Never Ending Story, I think because of being German. Wolfgang wanted me on the set with him. 'Cause, I mean, working in a different language, I think he felt comfortable having the writer there. We also hit it off very well from the beginning. And we got to be very good friends and I was on the set every day and I appear in it as a Secret Service Agent, and I just had a blast.
If the movie had never even been released, it would still have been one of the highlights of my life, 'cause not only did it get us out of debt, but also, it was just such a wonderful opportunity to work with the greatest people I've ever met: the people in the crew and several of the cast members. And Clint Eastwood and I got to be pretty good pals, and it looks like I'm going to adapt a book called Golf and the Kingdom for him. It's a blend of golf and metaphysics. It's the story of a young American who's fresh out of Stanford in 1956, who's on his way to Shri Aurobindo's ashram in Pondicherry, India. He stops off in Scotland to play golf for a couple of days and meets an old, wizened Scottish golf professional, who is, essentially, a mast. He's a guy who's focused on trying to find God through golf and they get into discourses about the subtle body and about the ball being a metaphor for the soul as it heads toward the void of the cup, which is God, and it's pretty fascinating. So, it's amazing-Clint wants to direct it.
BDFN: That's exciting!
JEFF: I've seen Baba's hand in that, and Steven Spielberg called last week, and we chatted for about an hour about India and God and everything else, and he's got a couple of projects that he's interested in talking to me about, too. I've always felt that Baba kind of lifted me up to this height so I'd have further to fall and be crushed to dust at His feet. But maybe, while I'm up here
The Broken Down Furniture New s No ve mber- December 1993
He's got, you know, something in mind for me to do with His work. So it's very exciting to us.
BDFN: So do you mention Baba in some of the interviews you've gotten?
JEFF: Well, at USC there was a very receptive audience. It's funny because on ABC they interviewed me over the course of a couple of days for a couple of hours and they boiled it down to an eight-minute piece. I mentioned Baba quite a bit, but they cut all that out. They were really more interested in sort of a lottery winner angle. And at one point they said to me, "what's it like to go from being a failure to a success overnight?" And I said, "well, wait a minute! I wasn't a failure. I'm a very successful husband and father and I'm a pretty decent human being ."
BDFN: I'm glad you said that.
JEFF: And I said, "And in these fifteen years of struggle, I think they've really informed my work. I've found many of the answers to my spiritual quest, I've got this master Meher Baba, whom I love, and over the course of seven million lifetimes, this success is just a cosmic blip on the big screen!" Naturally, they cut all that out! They didn't want to get into this whole can of worms.
And Baba was mentioned in Th e N ew York Times article.
BDFN: That's great! That's very exciting!
JEFF: It's been funny how many studio executives I've spoken to, 'cause they know I'm going to India on Friday, and so they ask, "what are you doing there?" And I explain a little about Baba. I keep expecting people to roll their eyes, but they end up saying, "Jeez, I' really need to look into something like that for my life." When you have a hit, everybody thinks you've got some secret formula. I think the secret formula in my case is Meher Baba because people constantly say to me, "where'd you come up with the idea for that bit with the rabbit's foot in the movie," and for Baba lovers I say, "it's just something that Baba stuck in my head ; I don't know where it carne from." And with other people, I just kinda say, "I don't know. It's one of
those coffee-fueled three a.m. revelations."
BDFN: Has your relationship with Baba been easier since this or more intense?
JEFF: I just finished another script called Gridiron Gang, which is a little more overtly spiritual in that it's the story of these real dedicated coaches working with teenage gang members to start a football program in an L.A juvenile correction facility. It's based on a true story. That's going to get made now too . They're saying that they're shopping it around for stars and a director. And at several times during the writing of that, I have said to Lynn, "Oh, God, everyone's gonna realize I' rn really no good. I just got lucky with In the Line of Fire." And that keeps me sort of focused on Baba 'cause, in my mind, I'm really not that good a writer. It's that if Baba gives me the ideas, things go well . If He withholds them, then I start to really panic. That's probably good because, in the same way I went through this kind of financial desperation, I still go through creative desperation. Even though financially, now, we're comfortable, I still have plenty of reason to turn to Baba when I'm working. And I think that in my case, if I didn't get a little desperate, with one thing or another, it'd be very easy to relegate Baba to the background. But because everything that I do comes with such difficulty it keeps me focused on Him.
BDFN: Thanks for this wonderful story. You must be pretty excited about your trip.
JEFF: Yeah, very much so. Last time I was there was in 1981. So much stuff has happened in these twelve and a half years, I can't wait to just go and lay my head down on the Tomb and kind of dump all these years of everything, you know, from the frustration to exhilaration and just drop them all down there at His feet. Who knows what sort of calamity awaits me either in India or enroute, but it's great to be going there. Especially, it's the first time that Lynn and I have gone together, which is wonderful'cause she wa s terrific all through those bad years.
[ovE DIGEST; Meher Baba on Film
Tire following message was given at Pickfair House, Bet:erly Hills, Califomin, lJy Meller Babn 011 Jnrwary 6, 1932.
Iwas particularly glad to come to California because of the opportunity which it afforded to contact those who made or appeared in the moving pictures, and I am delighted that this gathering could be arranged for tonight.
I do not need to tell you, who are engaged in the production and distribution of moving pictures, what a power you hold in your hands; nor do I doubt that you are fully alive to the responsibility which the wielding of that power involves.
He who stimulates the imagination of the masses can move them in any direction he chooses, and there is no more powerful instrument for stimulating their imagination than the moving pictures. People go to the theatre to be entertained If the play is stron, they come away transformed . They surrender their hearts and minds to the author, producer, director, stars, and they follow the example which they see portrayed before their eyes more than they themselves realize.
Both the press and the radio influence thought, but both lack the power of visible example, which is the greatest stimulant to action and which the moving pictures offer better than any other medium.
We find ourselves today in the midst of a world-wide
depression which affects everyone, rich and poor alike, and from which all are groping blindly for deliverance. The film companies, the picture theatres and the stars have also suffered from it. If they could help to end the depression, I am sure, they would be glad to. How could the moving pictures help in this respect?
First, it must be understood that the depression is not an accident, nor is it purely the result of over-production and inflation. Those, although the immediate causes, are merely the instruments which were used to bring the depression about. The depression itself was caused by those entrusted with the evolution of humanity. Man has to be stripped of his material possessions in order that he may realize, through actual experience, that his true base is spiritual, and not material. Then he will be ready to receive the Truth which I have come to bring.
This Truth consists in the knowledge that man, instead of being a limited, separate individual, completely bound by the illusion of time and space and substance, is eternal in his nature and infinite in his resources . The world-illusion is a dream of his imagining-a play enacted in the the theatre of his consciousness-a comedy of which he is at once author, producer, director, star. But his absorption in the role which he has chosen to enact
has made him forgetful of his true self, and he stumbles now as a creature through the past he has created . He must be awakened to his true nature. He must see that all material expression depends upon and flows from spiritual being . Then he will be steadfast and serene under all circumstances. There will be n:o further need then for the depression and it will disappear.
Now how can the moving pictures help man to attain to this realization? The character of the pictures exhibited need not be changed. Love, romance, adventure are fundamental things. They should be portrayed as thrillingly, as entertainingly, as inspiringly as possible. The wider the appeal, the better.
What needs to be changed is the emphasis, or stress. For example, courage is a great virtue, but it may, if misapplied, become a vice. So it is with love, the mainspring of our lives, which may lead to the heights of Realization or to the depths of despair. No better example can be given of the two polarities of love and their effects than that of Mary Magdalene, before, and after meeting Jesus.
Between these two extremes are many kinds of love all of which are good, but some of which are better than others. I use the terms "good" and ''better'' simply to desig-
nate the degrees of liberation which they lead to, or confer. Even the love which expresses through physical desire is good to the extent that it frees one from the thralldom of personal likes and dislikes and makes one want to serve the beloved above all other things.
Every human relationship is based on love in one form or another, and endures or dissolves as that love is eternal or temporal in character. Marriage, for example, is happy or unhappy, exalting or degrading, lasting or fleeting, according to the love which inspires and sustains its. Marriages based on sex attraction alone
inevitably to divorce or worse. Marriages, on the other had, which are based on a mutual desire to serve and inspire, grow continually in richness and in beauty, and are a benediction to all who know of them.
To lead men and women to the heights of Realization, we must help them to overcome fear and greed, anger and passion. These are the result of looking upon the self as a limited, separate physical entity, having a definite physical beginning and a definite physical end, with interests apart from the rest of life, and needing preservation and protection. The self, in fact, is a limitless, indivisible spiritual essence, eternal in its nature and infinite in its resources. The greatest romance possible in life is to discover this Eternal Reality in the midst of infinite change. Once one has
December 1993
experienced this, one sees oneself in everything that lives, one recognizes all life as his life, everybody's interests as his own. The fear of death, the desire for self-preservation, the urge to accumulate substance, the conflicts of interests, the anger of thwarted desires, are gone. One is no longer bound by the habits of the past, no longer swayed by the hopes of the future. One lives in and enjoys each present moment to the full. There is no greater romance in life than this adventure in Realization. There is no better medium to portray it than the moving pictures. Plays which inspire those who see them to greater understanding, truer feeling, better lives, need not necessarily have anything to do with so-called religion. Creed, ritual, dogma, the conventional ideas of heaven and hell and sin, are perversions of the truth and confuse
PoETRY:
A Memory?
by Peggy Clover Stipek
and bewilder, rather than clarify and inspire. Real spirituality is best portrayed in stories of pure love, selfless service, of truth realized and applied to the most humble circumstances of our daily lives, raying out into manifold expression, through home and business, school and college, studio and laboratory-evoking everywhere the highest joy, the purest love, the greatest power-producing everywhere a constant symphony of bliss. This is the highest practicality. To portray such circumstances on the screen will make people realize that the spiritual life is something to be lived, not talked about, and that itand it alone-will produce the peace and love and harmony which we seek to establish as the constant rule of our lives .•
The moments flew when I was with
You I never counted them. You were all that existed for me. Why should I care about time now that I've known You?
The distance from me to you is only as great as my fear of not seeing you again The child howls when she wanders away, but the mother is nearby, watching and allowing her little one to grow one step at a time.
Your love for us never stops, darling Baba Please help me keep away fear and worry that block you from my heart's sight.
January 1991
"To
eat meat is detrimental to some extent in controlling one's sexual nature. The main disadvantage is that eating meat increases sexual desires.
Consciousness exists in stones, but there is so very little consciousness in stones-almost nothing.
It is in vegetation that the evolution of consciousness begins. And consciousness increases as an animal form evolves into another animal form; in man it is complete.
With the advance in consciousness, sexuality also increases. The more the consciousness, the more the sexual longing; and the less the consciousness, the less the sexual longing.
So, if we eat meat, the degree of sexuality increases in us; but if we remain on vegetarian food then it neither increases nor decreases."
-Meher Baba
f.JILGRIM'S PALATE: Russian Pies
by Roberta Moll
This recipe was given to me by an old friend and bridge partner, Roberta Moll. These are great for potlucks, or to store in the free zer for a quick meal wh en you're running behind, as I usually am Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. hamburger
1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 onion, finely chopped salt and pepper to taste basic yeast bread dough (or ready-made frozen dough)
Cook hamburger, cabbage and onion together in skillet. After cooking, use equal amounts of meat and cabbage.
Set aside or freeze until ready to use.
Prepare bread dough and roll out to 1/8-inch thickness .
Cut dough into equilateral triangles
Fill each triangle with 1 tbs . filling and pinch three points together to close
Bake 20 minutes at 350 ·.
While hot, brush melted butter on top of each pie.
U using later, cook 15 minutes only; then cool and freeze. Then reheat for 10 to 15 minutes.
BROKEN. DOWN FURNII'Ul{E NEWS
SERVING THE AVATAR MEHERBABA COMMUNITY OF NORTH AMERICA
EDITOR'S CORNER: Letter to the Editor
THIS DATE: Comparisons in Baba History
FEATURE ARTICLE
A Short Biography /Birthday Celebrations/ Birthday Messages from Meher Baba
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Birthday Cake by Elaine Staples
6 LIFE IN BABA: Birthday/ Amartithi Pilgrimages At the Foot of the Christ, by Judi Schoeck A Busy Amartithi, by Mark Jamieson
8 LOVE DIGEST: Alpha & Omega by Irani/Davy /Duce
12 Review: Full Circle Reviewed by Tracy Holloway
Editor's Co rn e r: Letter t o th e Editor
Imagine our surpris e at the breadth of respons e to last issu e's back pag e:
Dear BDFN:
I was fascinated by your juxtaposition of items on the back cover of the November-December issue of the BDFN In reading Baba's quote, I was reminded of the hazards of eating meat, specifically the increase in sexual desires . I then noticed that your recipe immediately below was for meat pies Thanks for the guidance!
-Angry in Albuquerque
-Baffled in Boise
-Celibate in Cincinnati
-Dumbfounded in Dallas
-Emancipated in Erie
-Frustrated in Fresno
-Grumpy in Grand Rapids
-Hurtin' in Houston
-Incredulous in Indianapolis
-Jaded in Jackson
-Kindled in Kodiak
-Lonely in Lubbock
-Meatless in Missoula
-Overwhelmed in Oshkosh
-Peeved in Paris
-Quiet in Quincy
-Restless in Raleigh
-Stymied in Secaucus
-Tormented in Tallahassee
-Unfulfilled in Union City
-Vexed in Vermillion
-Woebegone in Walla Walla
-X-asperated in Xanadu
-Yearning in Youngstown
-Zealous in Zuma Beach
-Naughty in Newport News [Ed: Never mind.]
BROKEN· DOWN FURNITURE NEW;
" You are nil j ust broken-down f unriture. But it is I who /ra ve c/rose1r you , so you must be what I want. "
-M e h e rBaba
A publication of the Avatar Me h e r Baba De nver C e nt e r, serving Baba lov e r s and group s in the Unit ed States and Canada.
Managing Editor
Alice Rybak
Copy Editor/Special Projects
Micha el Haldeman
Art Director
De ni se Gib s on
Production Assistant Vaira Filipovs
Life in Baba!Pilgrim's Palate
Winni e Barrett
Love Digest/Proofreader
Judi Schoeck
News Notes/This Date
Paul Williams
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeg er Reviews
Tracy Holloway
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Address all correspondence to:
Tir e Broken-D own Fumiture News , P.O. Box 6571, Denv e r, CO 80206 USA. Phone(303)333-1727 Facsimile (303) 745-7158
Published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov ) $12.00 per year.
Canada $12.00 (U.S.) per year.
Overs eas $15 .00 per year.
Please make checks payabl e to Tir e Broken-Do wn Furnit u re News.
Avatar Meher Baba Denver Cent e r, except whe re noted.
NEWS NOTES
Bob Brown Goes to Baba
Bob Brown passed away on Friday, December 10, 1993 at 12:10 p.m. ET. We are grateful for Bob's wonderful music in praise of the Beloved, which helps us speak the voice of our hearts Jane received the following cable from India: Baba's Bob is in bountiful bliss with his beautiful beloved. We salute Bob and Jane's dedicated life of song and service to beloved Avatar Meher Baba. fai Baba to dear fane and to all who gave comfort to Bob in Baba's love.
Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai! Mani/All Meherazad mandali
New Releases
• One Dream Away, Cindy Lowe's new tape, is a rich synthesis of folk rock, country, classical, and world music influences. It is available from: Lowelife Productions, P.O Box 1334 #217, Oakland, CA 94661-0217, (510) 399-9094. COs are $14 each plus $1.50 for shipping and tapes are $10 each plus $1.50 for shipping. Cindy's original cassette, Keep Me Near, is still available for $10 plus shipping.
• The Glory of Love, a tape of songs by Buz Connor and featuring Mike Hansen on lead guitar, is now available on cassette for $10.50 . Make checks payable to Buz Connor, Hansen Music, 31 White Oak Dr., Newport News, VA 23601.
Meherana Update
Meherana means "Meher, Corne" and is an organization formed with the intent to establish a retreat center, focused on Meher Baba, in the western US. The center is to be located in the Mariposa County area of California in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Meherana now has more than 110 members and has raised $23,000. They have just released a video to help introduce the Meherana project to Baba lovers throughout the world. The video includes an interview with Bhau Kalchuri, scenic shots of Mariposa countryside, interviews with Baba lovers, and other information. They have a limited number of videos available free of charge to Baba lovers.
To receive a video, contact Meherana , 5311 Italian Creek Rd., Mariposa, CA 95338 or call (209} 966-5078.
'IHIS DATE ... Comparisons In Baba History
Sunday, February 25, 1894:
- O'Neill's in New York sale.prices on single al)d . · double breasted tailor-made suits nm from $4;98 to $13 75. · ; ·
-Coldestday · ·'
-Sunday New York Titnes sells for $.05;d3ily.for$.03.
-Steele Mackaye, and dramatiSt.- m La Junta, ColoradO! '
Friday,January 31,1969:
-Greater RichfieldinNewYorksale prices on€fupus brand suits run from $77.50 to $132.00. · ·
-High and low temperatures for the dayin NewYork City both at 40°F; national low at -16°Fin Ed1TlOJ'\tOn/ Kansas. ·
-Daily New York Times sellsfor$ 10.
1894
-Automobile race; the first, between Paris andRouen, France.
- Nikita Khrushchev born (died -Nicholas II succeeds Czar Alexander II.
-Louis Lurniere invents the cinematograph.
-Oscar Wilde is jailed for -Captam Alfred Dreyfus of the FrencharmyaJ.!ested on charges of treason; convicted "in camera" and deportedtoDevil's Island, French Gl.lia:na.
1969
-Woodstock Music and Art Fair near Bethel, N.Y. attracts over300,000 fans.
-Dwight D. Eisenhower dies {born 1890).
- Yasser Arafat elected Chairman of Exerutive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization.
- Alexander Solzhenitsyn expelled from Soviet Writers' Union.
- Hundredsof thousands of people in several U.S. cities demonstrate against the Vietnam war;Jirst U.S. troops withdrawn; 75,000 sent home by the end of the year
The;§cfapl1ook · by i . TJie f.Q.rnilY are . >
ofhdw ·[11z}!aHim§elfand His >< (lnd the U10J'ld the bfrlh .ofthe ·Avatar Oflhe From our dearest 1vfani, sometimes in just a or two' y,e a deli.. ·cious tifSte of BaiJa's·.tver,-cJtang.. ing ways. and catch ll glimpse of it •.•
begin io fathom the Profound«ift He came tobestow, as the time of ·His
arejustafew sna,1s1Wts; · · infull cclo.r.
195'7: .
'Beloved
brated.ot:l a in .·· .·... India artd Pakistan. ashram observeq
than us\lCl}. Balm us to · i'epeatGod' s nanteseven ·• time5atthe stroke offive (the oil earth)/
before tllc1t, garlanded the · 10()11\$ 'rangooli' •· · the ltldian tOm on festive oc.casions. IJE!loye(t J.3<lba si!fingup · in light · bluejaCl(etan<J gar- > land, with t1te and mai\Y cards and greetfil.gs by cable, sent from lovers round the IJeside OJ'l >: o'cl(,)Ckwe ..•·..· <
times an(j sang our Birthday .Greetings... 0 ··· ··
Merwan Sheriar Irani, known as Meher Baba, was born in Poona, India, on February 25, 1894, of Persian parents. His father, Sheriar Irani, was of Zoroastrian faith and a true seeker of God. Merwan went to a Christian high school in Poona and later attended Deccan College. In 1913, while in college, a momentous event occurred in His life ... the meeting with Hazrat Babajan, an ancient Mohammedan woman and one of the five Perfect Masters of the Age. Babajan gave Him God-Realization and made Him aware of His high spiritual destiny.
Eventually He was drawn to seek out another Perfect Master, Upasni Maharaj, a Hindu who lived in Sakori. During the next seven years Maharaj gave Merwan "Gnosis" or Divine Knowledge. Thus Merwan attained spiritual Perfection. His spiritual mission began in 1921 when He drew together His first dose disciples. It was these early disciples who gave Him the name Meher Baba, which means "Compassionate Father."
After years of intensive training of His disciples, Meher Baba established a colony near Ahmednagar that is called Meherabad. Here the Master's work embraced a free school where spiritual training was stressed, a free hospital and dispen-
sary, and shelters for the poor. No distinction was made between the high castes and the untouchables; all mingled in common fellowship the inspiration of the Master. To HIS disciples at Meherabad, who were of different castes and creeds, He gave a training of moral discipline, love for God, spiritual understanding and selfless service.
Meher Baba told His disciples that from July 10, 1925 He would observe Silence. From that day until He dropped the body on January 31, 1969, He maintained this Silence. His many spiritual discourses and messages have been dictated by means of an alphabet board. Much later the Master discontinued the use of the board and reduced all communication to hand gestures unique in expressiveness and understandable to many.
Meher Baba travelled to the Western world six times, first in 1931 when He contacted His early Western disciples. His last visit to America was in 1958 when He and His disciples stayed at the Center established for His work at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
In India as many as one hundred thousand people came in one day to seek His Darshan, or blessing; many from all over the world journeyed to spend a few days, even a single day, in His presence.
An important part of Meher Baba's work throughout the years was to personally contact and to serve hundreds of those known in India as "masts." These are advanced pilgrims on the spiritual path who have become spiritually intoxicated from direct awareness of God. For this
work He traveled many thousands o f miles to remote places throughout India and Ceylon. Other vital work was the washing of the lepers, the washing of the feet of thousands of poor and the distribution of grain and cloth to the destitute.
Meher Baba has asserted that He is the same Ancient One, come again to redeem man from his bondage of ignorance and to guide him to realize his true Self which is God. He is acknowledged by His many followers all over the world as the Avatar of the Age. Meher Baba said, '1 had to come, and I have come. I am the Ancient One." •
1959: , "At Baba's',wisll)\His birthday is .· observed at Meherabad this year-rid f everi fu plest form., so that our just , . day wotild constitute 'ccleOn,,the itis every- \/ where else; in many p<lfts of · India on ·a tremendoui-'S.crue/' ':
1960: < "... This ratri (a Hindu artnivers,<lcy ''\/% 'the greatNightof worship of<> the Lord.Shiva'l was on the ,. 25th of a · 0i; day of w orship'L:for rrullionS of Hindus in honor of'LOrd ·'"' and o£>\,, Baba-lovers in .·,
Birthday of theirLord and ILGRIM's PALATE: Birthday Cake by Elaine Staples
Elaine Staples had a knack for cooking up something wonderful for any Baba occasion. Here is her recipe for chocolate cake, just perfect for Beloved Baba's Birthday!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
2cups sugar
1 /2 tsp. salt
1 stick margarine
1 cup water
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup crisco
1 /2 cup buttermilk
2eggs
1 slight tsp. baking soda
1 /2 tsp. vanilla
1. Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl.
2. Heat the margarine, cocoa, water, and crisco in a saucepan until a rolling boil
3. Pour over the flour mixture and mix together.
4. Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Beat well.
5. Pour into a greased 9"x 13" pan . Bake at 350° for 1/2 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Frost while cake is hot.
FROSTING:
1 stick margarine
1 I 4 cup cocoa
1 /3 cup plus 1 tsp. buttermilk
1 package powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla dash of salt
1. Bring margarine, cocoa, and buttermilk to a boil in saucepan. Remove from heat.
2. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt.
3. Serve from the pan. Don't forget to sing Happy
Beloved, 1961: "Agai nst silence of this present $00usion during which as ·it were, 'hung 'up receiver' as far as any gutward c?ntact JUs .v,; lovers IS conceO).ed (except ; ,.\ the residents at M$erazad), .> ·the Great bay .bf:His Bftth ' it stood out in startlingtx :., · happy contrast/ (f,, ,· ' '
1962: · . <til , "Rep<>rts ·oftlijs Birthday celebrcitions ha:ve been streaming j.Il{ in from all over, anc:i the combined effect is that of a"gran,d t chorus of different ,:; · singing the Beloved's DAY SONG with,one heart, .;, to the offfis EOve." >. continued 011 next page
1963:
1
'
• • [Feramrojl is a thin man whose looks belie his age and whose serious demeanor fails to hide his inexh.austible' store ofwit.... He ahvays has .his to the grindstone ofBaba work. Ori Baba'.s this year, the deluge ofitegrams and cables to Baba came from all over the world and IC1Sted for nearly aweek! This has been too much for the small and staJfed telegraph office at Ahmednagari and an extra rush of work for Feram who was kept legging it to the T.O. allday long; Feram's note to Meherazad spokevoh.mtes: 'My Dear · Eruch)The T.O.is in a hustle and bustle, as also, I hear, the P00 na T.O Even Bombay is wondering who Meher Baba is, becau5e for an intii.vidual this rush of cables and telegrams is unprecedented. The local T.O, is hard and the clerk told me thafforthelast few days they were dealing only 'Meher So much the better, as theh san5bras will be lessened. Even -w!th my ·. overgrowth of hair on the chin, I was sirred ·and stooled (meahlng I was ad<lresSed as 'sir'.and offered astOOlto sit on, whiCh is a rare honor for a
ual as I Butlam not flat'teredbecause 1 have hadno reSt! .HoweverJlookforward ·to oeiter ,_ ·
tells of.ail¢arth:.
hjt Western lnclia.¢cirlfprill
She continues: is
another kind of shake-up tak-
continued on next page
[IFE IN BABA: Birthday/Amartithi Pilgrimages
At the Foot of the Christ
by Judi Schoeck
My first pilgrimage to the Samadhi of Beloved Avatar Meher Baba took place from February 16 to March 4, 1984. I went to Meherabad for Baba's90th birthday.
Although Baba first drew me to Him late in 1970, it wasn't until I came into the community of Baba lovers in mid-1982 that I even considered going to India . Then, I heard "you must go" often enough that it finally came into the realm of the possible for me. I began planning my first pilgrimage for Christmas. When I was young, my folks always shepherded me and my brothers out the front door before dawn on Christmas morning before we saw the tree. We walked to church for the first Mass and always stopped at the large creche to wish Jesus a happy birthday! I think I wanted to make that connection between Jesus and Baba.
But by October things were not looking good for this journey. I had been waiting for some funds to come through and I was still waiting! Meanwhile, I could reserve a flight either from New York to Europe or Europe to India but not all the way through. What to do? After trying to shake this out every which way, I knew I just wouldn't get to Meherabad until Baba wanted me there I knew to let go. Thank you, Baba!
So, it's a Saturday morning, and I'm cycling up to the main road to get a bun and the paper. The joke of it all hits me and the joke's on me!-maybe Baba wants me to come to Meherabad for His birthday, not Jesus'!
And that's what happened. Before February rolled around, I had cause to write to Kitty Davy. In her response, she said she knew I'd be inspired and happy, "even if Baba chooses to work on your ego." (Uh-oh, sez I, waiting for the other shoe to drop.)
By the time I arrived at Meherabad, preparations for Baba's birthday were well underway. One of the pilgrims tried to enlist me to help make decorations. That was about the last thing I wanted to do, but Meherabad and Meherazad were beautiful in spangles and garlands because many did help. I wanted to sing for Baba and that meant practicing guitar. Baba used that as one of His gifts to me. Two fellow pilgrims asked if I'd accompany them with songs each was preparing for the birthday program. It was the first time I'd played with anyone else.
Oh, and what a lesson! I'd adopted one of my songs as the song I'd sing for Baba's birthday. It was reverent and serious. On the morning of Baba's birthday, there was a singing program planned outside Mansari's kitchen. I was doing my deep breathing and finally took my turn on the stool to sing for the women mandali and the pilgrims. I started to introduce the song and Mani said, "Have you got anything upbeat? Baba always loved lively songs!" I stammered, my mind went blank and I had no courage to wing it. It may have been my first true knowledge of the kind of flexibility I would need to respond to the pleasure of my Lord.
During those days, there was also a birthday program at the Ahmednagar Baba Centre at the Trust compound. I was thrilled to be able to take part in it, playing and singing
''Rubbing Salt," which is an adaptation of one of the ghazals Baba had given to Bhau. There was qawaali singing late into the night and the energy was so strong there were times I thought I was levitating!
On the 26th, we all went to Meherazad for another birthday party. The children from the Pimpalgaon area came and there was a play put on by the residents and pilgrims, and more music. Afterwards, we all took darshan at Baba's chair in Mandali Hall. We filed out to where Pendu and a helper were giving out ladhus as prasad (a ladhu is a meatball-sized sweet made of chickpea flour). I stepped out of Mandali Hall after having Baba's darshan and Pendu handed me two huge ladhus . I responded with a wide-eyed laugh, thinking this was gonna be sweet! Pendu held my hands in his and plopped on a third, a fourth, and a fifth! By then, of course, I was really laughing. I brought four ladhus home and happily made a custard for the next Baba meeting, thinking of Pendu's mischievous smile.
But here's the real story: On Baba's birthday, arti took place at 5 am. and the air resounded with the hearty cries of AVATAR MEHER BABA KI JAI! We then had a quick breakfast back at the Pilgrim Centre and dressed . The mandali were coming for arti as well, and for the program under the tin shed outside Mansari' s kitchen.
There was much anticipation in the air as we hurried back up the hill. I found myself seated on the floor in Baba' s Samadhi, leaning on the raised slab that supports the cover stone. Drums began to sound in the distance and as they grew louder I realized it was the villagers from Arangaon coming to celebrate the birth of the One
who embodies Godness. They were chanting and rhythmically clacking sticks with the drums, and I was vibrating . And I was struck with the enormity of having been invited halfway around the world to sit at the foot of the Christ as He enjoyed His birthday festivities. "With what excess of love You do love us!"
Jai Baba!
•A Busy Amartithi
Aby Mark Jamieson
martithi 1985 was my one and only experience with this event. I missed much of the celebration since I was volunteering in the food service tent at lower Meherabad. The tent accommodated several hundred pilgrims at several seatings for three days. In back of the tent was the kitchen area run by the Pilgrim Centre kitchen staff and operated by many paid workers from the neighboring village.
My task was to help seat the pilgrims and direct the young boys hired to do the serving. Not speaking the language, both these tasks were accomplished by a lot of gesturing and at times frantic arm waving! It was exhausting work compounded by the high-spirited and wild nature of the boys.
At the end of the last meal the boys were up to their usual mischief when John from the Pilgrim Centre grabbed the wildest one and told me not to let him go. Almost instantly the whole group quieted down-it really felt like a wave of Baba's silence swept over them. For the first time during Amartithi I felt Baba's presence, although just for a brief moment. •
ing place in India at this time, not an earthquake but an 'earth wake.' It is caused by Baba Centres who are holding a continual round of public meetings, every day for seventy four days, in celebration of His 74th Birthday. And we .can imagine what it must be like in Andhra, a state which has over a hundred and fifty Avatar Meher Baba Centres! These people would dive into the ocean if. they could tell the fishes about Baba! a Meherazadian once remarked "
1969:
"Meher Year 75 was celebrated byHis lovers everywhere. Never was the Beloved's presence felt as much as it was on this 75th anniversary of His birth, felt by His lovers and by the people who witnessed its celebration... "It is customary in India to give a 'bhandara,' a feast for the poor, in the name of a Master. On this 25th of February, the Baba Centre at Ahmednagar gave a massive bhandara in Beloved Baba's Name. Some twenty thousand people ... came to the Centre that day and had their fill of the feast which continued for twelve hours! They feasted on the delicious food ... they feasted on His Name... they feasted on His .love that brought them there."
Thoughts on My Master's Birthday February 25th, 1954 by Adi K. Irani from The Awakener Vol. 11, No. 2, Fall1954
Used with permission
ove for the Sadguru flowers into God-Realization, merging Jivatman (soul) into Paramatman (Oversoul); while obedience to the Sadguru begets power (in terms of Sat-Chit-Ananda), to help the world and its people." This is what was dictated to me by Meher Baba in 1929, in July, at Nasik. Every one of us has love, in some form or the other. It may be dormant or active, dim or glowing, varying in its object, self-chosen, or created by circumstances and sanskaras
Every one of us has a tendency to serve and obey the one we love, in some form or another, directly or indirectly, discriminately or wholeheartedly, intellectually or blindfoldedly. During the time-flow of life, nature provides us with certain stations in age, where we are given the opportunities for the fullest expression of love and obedience. Nevertheless, the law of nature does not wait for us to give discreet guidance to action. A wrong movement on our part may waste our energies and land us in disaster. We have, by our discretion of mind and strength of heart, to choose the object worthy of our sustained love and obedience. Where head predominates heart with an ego-propelled action, the heart needs to be looked to, for guidance. Where heart runs into a sentimental riot of preconceived notions, thought-
lessly chasing objects of self-gratification, the head needs to direct the course of action. In a perfect balance of head and heart lies the aim of correct movement.
By the law of karma, we get birth in a human body-but an occasion for the birth of true love and obedience to a Sadguru is a rare event in life of which we hardly deem ourselves worthy! Except by acts of most unselfish love and most selfless obedience, there cannot be a greater landmark in the journey of life, than to resolve to give all our love and obedience to the Master.
Choose your Beloved thoughtfully and with the warmth of heart sufficient to enlighten your thought! But beware-not all that glistens everywhere is gold. Not all that looks unworldly is Truth. Not all that carries with it volumes of teachings and pleasantries of Sadhus is real. Not all that seclusion, posturized in Dhyan and Dharma, is Godly. Not all that ashramized yoga is Nirvikalpa. Not all that parroting of Mantra is Ananda. Not all that reading of Pathi is Knowledge. The Master may present all of these or none of them at all He is the Master of time, space and circumstances, and makes use of them towards raising humanity to the Highest.
However, the world is never without true Sadhus, real Saints, honest aspirants, and enlightened Wayfarers on the Path. Every generation gives birth to a few God-realized souls; and to a very few who can make others God-realized. In the last category are the Perfect Masters, Sadgurus, or Kutubs. Rising from the dust of materiality, crossing over every stage of spirituality, they reach the highest
peak of Divinity.
An Avatar, besides being a Sadguru, is the only One who has as His orbit of work, the whole world. Unlike all souls, worldly or unworldly, or other-worldly, ethereal, elemental, or spiritually advanced-Saints, Rishis, Munis, and Sat-Purushas-the Avatar did not, does not, and need not pass through the stages of evolutionary development, either in the sub-human or human form. He descends from the disembodied SatChit-Ananda state, retaining this same Divine state of consciousness, to the human form, from time to time throughout eternity-about once in every 700 to 1200 years. He sets right the balance of the world, which has once again tilted to the extreme of disastrous materiality and egoism.
To such a One, on His birthday, is due our homage, our reverence, and our obedience.
Amongst all the ills of human life, ignorance is the worst. It is neither dispelled by intellectual knowledge nor dissolved .by performing good deeds. It is said by serving one's parents one gains heaven; surely by serving a teacher one gets learning; but ignorance, so far as the spiritual Reality is concerned, persists in intellectuals as well as in morons. It persists equally as much before and after the diverse modes of existence, one of which we call birth, another death. We rejoice in birth and weep in death, neither of which is worth the trouble. Ignorance enshrouds us in our mental and emotional makeshifts, which wean us away from Knowledge.
To permeate through our eyes, the windows of our heart, to make us feel the Soul through the cover of the body, Knowledge had to humanize itself into a multi-faceted Spirit of Love, Grace, and Beauty-the Perfect Master.
This is how the Birth of Baba I hail This is how the Love of Baba. I declare, This is the Day of Grace I hold, This is the Life of Knowledge I behold-
Leanz ye all to sit at His Feet, With our woes and wealth and whims, and greet .
The Lord of Lords, the King of Kings."
he following two excerpts tell of the events that occurred when Baba dropped His body:
"In the Family Letter of January 26, 1969, came news from Mani that Baba's health had not been good for some time due to the tremendous strain of His seclusion work
... Mani wrote: "Baba says that the pressure of His universal burden reflects upon His body and as the strain of His work in seclusion was severe, the effect on His body is consequently severe-but though the effect is human, the cause is divine, and it is therefore in His hands. We get fleeting glimpses of this, at moments when unaccountably He looks more well and glowing than one in the pink of health. Indeed, in the light of recent tests made, the doctors are much puzzled and amazed by certain favorable factors that are contrary to all rules of medical science!"
This was the very last news on Baba's health. In the early morning hours of January 31, Elizabeth ' received a telephone call from Fred Winterfeldt in New York with the shocking news that Meher Baba had dropped His physical form. When we
"ALi'HOUGHI TAKE BIRTHF'()R4I..L MANJ<INI)F@RTUNATE ARE THOSEWHO LOVE ME WHILE !.AMON
1965: 9 ''BE TRUE TO THE TRUSTTREPOSEIN YOU ANDREMEMBER ME WHOLEHEARTEDLY. MY LOVE A@ BLESSINGTO YOU."
"ALL TALK ABOUT THE ·PATH ·•AND THE GOALIS ASALANTERN CARRIED BYABLIND MAN.A ·BLIND MAN NEEDSA:'STAFEINHIS HAND; THE SEEKER NEEDS HIS HAND IN GODMAN'S."
1968: "ONTI-IJS¥:Y ··APPARENT PHYSICAL BIRTHDAY I SEND MY HOM4GE AN.DOBEI·· SANCETOMYLOVERS WHO LIVE FORME AND WOULD IF ORDERED DIE FOR ME."
1969:
''TO LOVE ME FOR WHATlMAYGIVE Y0U ISNOTLOVINGME AT ALL. TO SACRIFICE ANYTHING IN\ MY CAUSE TO GAIN SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF
·SACRIFICINGH.IS EYES FOR SIGHT.! .AM THE DIVINE BELOVED WORTHY OF BEING LOVED BECAUSE I AM LOVE. HE WHO LOVES ME BECAUSE OFTIIIS WILL BE BLESSED WITH UNLIMITED SIGHT AND WILL SEE ME AS I REALLY AM."
continued on next page
were able to get through to Adi Jr. in London, he confirmed the news. From Adi K. Irani's office in India a cable was sent out to Baba lovers all over the world:
"Avatar Meher Baba dropped His physical body at twelve noon 31 January at Meherazad to live eternally in the hearts of all His lovers. Beloved Baba's body will be interred at Meherabad on 1 February at 10 a.m. in the tomb He had ordered to be built long ago."
I was stunned but I did not experience a loss. I felt strongly that Baba was present where we were. I remembered the words from the Bible that came to remain with me more strongly than ever, words which daily seem a part of my being: ''I live, yet not I, the Christ liveth in me." Elizabeth recalled the words that she heard clearly during the night: ''I know that my Redeemer liveth."
It did not occur to either Elizabeth or me to go quickly to India. Our shared thought was to remain in Myrtle Beach and immediately contact all the Baba lovers in the area. All those from nearby gathered at the Saroja Library and we announced the unbelievable news. Various passages and statements from Baba's books referring to His Infinite Self were read ....
In the course of time, the longawaited Family Letter from Mani, dated March 14, 1969, arrived and we were able to read all that had franspired in India after Baba gave up His physical form. From an account by Francis Brabazon included in this Family Letter, we read: ''Two days before Baba dropped His body He told us to call the doctors. The one from Poona came the next morning and said he could do
nothing until further tests were done so that a definite diagnosis could be arrived at; and this could only be done if Baba went to Poona. Baba said to him, 'My time has come.'
''The next day the doctor from Bombay came, and also one from Ahmednagar. By the time they arrived a great spasm shook His body, the pulse rate fell to nothing, and breathing ceased. This was at 12:15 p.m. At 12 noon He had been joking with us about all the medications He had been given.
''In the evening we brought His body to Meherabad. The sun was setting and the moon was rising as we placed it in the Tomb for His lovers to take His darshan."
In the midst of the mandalis' stunned anguish, Eruch reminded Mani to bring to Meherabad the gramophone and record of ''Begin the Beguine" as Baba had told him to play this song by His side when He dropped His body. Seven times this song was played on the 31st of January: first in Baba's bedroom at Meherazad, and then at Meherabad in the cabin by the Tomb where His body rested for awhile, and later in the Tomb.
"While the song played," Mani recalled, "it seemed to convey to us His message that this was not an end but the beginning-the beginning of His completed work bearing fruit."
Ivy 0. Duce recalled the event in How a Master Works:
... On the night of January 31,
word traveled around the world by cable and telephone that our beloved Baba had dropped his body. Don Stevens telephoned me from London at 12:30 a.m. our time and I simply could not register what he was trying to tell me, but he had received the news from Baba's brother Adi Jr., who lived in London Adi Sr., Baba's faithful secretary sent a very moving cable, as follows: "2nd day, 50th Week, Meher Year 74
''This is the true account of Avatar Meher Baba's dropping his body according to the resident mandali.
"The three years of intense work in seclusion had an untold effect upon His body and a faint reflection of this on us caused a deep depression among us. But beloved Baba warned us that this was disobeying His order to be always cheerful in His presence. And He quoted as He had many times over the years Hafiz's couplet:
'Befitting a fortunate slave, carry out every command of the Master without any question of why and what.'
"On 13 October 1968 Baba told us that He would give His darshan to all his lovers all over the world from 10 April to 10 June 1969. Considering His physical condition we were apprehensive of His body standing such a strain. But He said, 'It will be easy for me to give my lovers my darshan so you are not to feel concerned about it. I will give darshan reclining and that will be no strain on my body. It will be different from all previous darshans and it will be the last in silence. Although I will be reclining I will be very strong. My physical condition now is because of My work, but by then My work will be complete and my exaltation will be great. A very poor man winning a rich lottery
can become so excited over hiS fortune that he collapses and dies. My fortune will be in My work being finished and in the knowledge of its certain results, but My exaltation will not cause My collapse-it will be My glory.'
"Despite these assurances, Baba's health became worse. But the symptoms were completely confusing to the doctors we called from Poona and Bombay. His blood urea was so high that the doctors said usually an ordinary man in such a condition would go into a coma, but there was not even the least sign of mental confusion or the faintest trace of uremic odor. Similarly when muscular spasms were occurring, when a specialist from Bombay examined Him he asked why he had been called because there were no symptoms at all. Saba's condition deteriorated still further and we wanted to take Him to Poona so that further tests could be carried out, but He refused to go and warned us that we should not try to take Him against His wish. He said, 'If you want me to drop My body now, then take Me to Poona. My condition has no medical grounds at all, it is due purely to the strain of My work. Do not call the doctors again until I tell you.' And so, helpless before His will, we had to obey His will.
"Over the last days Saba's body manifested severe spasms and He told us, 'This is my crucifixion.' Two days before He dropped His body He told us to call the doctors. The one from Poona came the next morning and said he could do nothing until further tests were done so that a definite diagnosis could be arrived at, and this could only be done if Baba went to Poona. Baba said to him, 'My time has come.'
"The next day the doctor from
Baba stated,"CO¥JNG COMING COMING CAME;] AM TIRED OF THE mi.usiON GAME."
J..et.ter relates that Baba had said the f()Jlpwing: 7AL11iQUGHIAM
ETERNALLY IN MY FORMLESS INFINITE gATEr:f'ROM11ME TO TIMETTAl<E FORM. THIS TAI<ING OF THE FORM AND LEAVING IT IS TERMED MY PHYSICAL BIRTH AND DEATH.INTHISSENSElAM BORN AND (IN THIS SENSE) I DiE WHEN MY UNIVERSAL WORK IS FINISHED." In the same letter there are two the Beloved One concerning the next few months: HAVE SAYING, 111J:: 1JMEIS NEAR, IT IS FASTAPPROACfiING, IT IS CLOSE AT HAND. TODAY I SAY THE TIME HAS COME. REMEMBER THIS!"
Then, in reference to the ullper way, Baba spoke toJhe deep concerns of His closest ones regarding 1-Iisfai)jt;tg •health: ''ll'Wil.LBE EASY FOR ME TO GIVE MY LOVERS MY DAR.W!J.L(;!Ye ·• SHAN RECLlNIN.<;.;.At\J'D THAT WILL BE NO STRAIN ON MY BODY_.;.ALTHOUGH I WILL BEi{EQLJNiNGlWILL BE VERY sTRONG.';··
· . Baba gave nofurther clues 29,1969, at which fune He.stated,"MY TIME HAS COME." The folloWffig d(l}? Babel ''.ALL THIS;ALLTHATIHAVE BEEN THROUGHAl.L ALONG, HAS BEENAP&E¥ARATI()N FOR THE WORO....::FOR JUST THE ONE WORD! JUST IMAGINE!" Finally1 onJanuary 31st, Bapa said, ''TODAY IS MY CRUClfD(J:ON."
"I never come, I never go. I am never born, I never die."
-Meher
Baba
Bombay came and also one from Ahmednagar. By the time they arrived a great spasm shook His body, the pulse rate fell to nothing and breathing ceased. This was at 12:15 p.m. At twelve noon He had been joking with us about all the medicines He had been given. "In the evening we brought His body to Meherabad. The sun was setting and the moon was rising as we placed it in the tomb for His lovers to take His darshan, fulfilling beloved
f{EVIEW:
Full Circle audio tape by Margaret Bernstein Growing Azalea Productions POBox 117
Lagunitas, CA 94938 (415) 721-3727
Baba' s word that He would give His darshan reclining."
Later on, Ivy Duce read to the Sufis what St. Therese d' Avila said once to her nuns:
Christ has no body now on earth but yours, No hands but yours, No feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which is to look out Christ's compassion to the world; Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; Yours are the hands with which He is to bless men now."
•Circle"-the quiet of the evening and the crickets singing and serenading her-I was mesmerized. It is a rich, enchantingly peaceful piece.
I am not a reviewer, nor a musician. I am a lover of music. I believe someone has to merely exist to appreciate good art and good food, as well as good music. That is where I come in.
The other songs flow out of that peaceful place and warm the senses. I have found it the perfect thing to listen to while reading or meditating.
The title of this album is so appropriate for this issue of the BDFN, where we are celebrating the 100th birthday of our Beloved as well as His 25th Amartithi. Birth, death, life, and love; the cycle of our existence and how special this becomes with Baba in our lives, is borne out in these exquisite pieces of music.
I feel very fortunate to have met Margaret Bernstein, a flutist, and her fiance Peter Fogle at the 1993 Los Angeles Sahavas in July. One evening she performed pieces from this album. When she opened with the title cut "Full -Tracy Holloway •
BROKEN. DOW.N FURNI'I'Ul{E NEWS
MARCH-APRIL 199 4
SERVING THE AVATAR MEHERBABA COMMUNITY OF NORTH AMERICA
EDITOR'S CORNER: Until We Meet Again by Wmnie Barrett
NEWS NOTES
THis DATE in Baba History
MEHERABAD MEMO: The Right Painting for His Samadhi
A Letter from Mani
FEATURE .ARTICLE:
An Interview with Charlie Morton by Denise Gibson
SPECIAL: Pilgrimages from and to India
Letters from Mani hani and from Dr. Goher Irani
LOVE DIGEST: Excerpt from The Turning of the Key by Bill LePage
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Bonney Miller's Mocha Nut Bread by Bonney Miller
POETRY: (Untitled) by Fills Frederick
Editor's Comer: Until We Meet Again
by Winnie Barrett
Baba loves change!
Over the past 27 years I've been with Baba, this fact has been abundantly evident. ·As soon as life finally settles down, suddenly it's all in flux again. This can be incredibly disturbing and make life feel like nothing more than one loss after another. Baba does say He comes to take evertyhing from us everything's illu8ory...and that He must do so in order to make room for the new. Nevertheless, we feel the pain as He performs His spiritual surgery. And, as an amputee feels the phantom limb, we feel the pull of lost hopes, past attachments and renounced dreams, at least until the incision heals and we discover that we actually do feel better than ever.
This is the backdrop for His eternal play. Today I find myself in the wings once again, awaiting my cue to go on stage in Baba's Myrtle Beach community theater. After a total of 27 years in Denver, it's something of a shock to be in the midst of this major life shift, even though I have chosen it freely.
As I prepare for the move, selling my home, closing my business, saying goodbye to dear friends and precious Baba family here in Denver, I see the Beloved closing doors, opening doors, and ushering me through at such a rapid pace I have to run to keep up! Isn't that so like Baba, to keep things in a whirlwind?
Continued on next page.
BROKEN·DOWN FURNITURE NEWS
"You are all just broken-down furniture. But it is I who have chosen you, so you must be what I want."
-Meher 'Saba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managins Editor
Alice Rybak
Copy Editor/Special Projects
Michael Haldeman
Art Director
Denise Gibson
Production Assistant
Vaira Filipovs
Ufe in Baba!Pllpim's Palate
Winnie Barrett
Love Disest!Proofreader
Judi Schoeck
News NotesfJ'his Date
Paul Williams
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger Reviews
Tracy Holloway
AMBDC Meetins Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manaser
Jan Cohen
Address all conespondence to:
The Broken-Down Furniture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO &1206 USA.
Phone (303) 333-1727
Facsuatile(303)745-7158
Published bimonthly Qan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $12.00 per year.
Canada $12.00 (U.S.) per year. Overseas $15.00 per year.
Please make checks payable to The Broken-Down Furniture News.
Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, except where noted.
NEWS NOTES
Meherana Update
A 188-acre parcel of land has been purchased in Mariposa, California to be used as Meher Baba's Center in the Western U.S .. The inaugural event will be Bhaustock V tentatively scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, 1994. ·
Meher Mount, Ojai
A new home/center for Baba has been built since the original one burned down after Baba's visit in.the 1950's. Call Bing Heckman at (415) 494-6443 for more details.
New Release
Newly discovered: seven minutes of 35mm black and white sound film of Meher Baba in May 1932! Sheriar Press has put this incredible interview of Baba at Graham Phelps Stokes' home in Greenwich Village, New York on video. Baba is answering questions by Meredith Starr about His mission in America. The footage includes some amazing close-ups of Baba. The video is available for $15 plus $3.50 for shipping (add $ .75 for each additional tape) from: Sheriar Press, 3005 Highway 17 North Bypass, Myrtle Beach, SC29577.
Radiant Heart
A new catalogue of fine jewelry by Radiant Heart features some beautiful new pieces depicting Meher Baba. To receive a copy write: Radiant Heart, 7415 Keen Way North, Seattle, WA 98103 or call (206) 524-7455.
Manifestation Inc. Reorganizes
Manifestation Inc. has been renamed and organized under the title MAN. Lord Meher has become too costly to publish in its current form, so the remaining 3,000 pages of the manuscript will be printed in text form only under the title The Incarnation of God. The first of three volumes should be out by the end of 1994 with the remaining two by the end of 1995. The text from 1894-1934 will be reprinted in 1996 in a matching volume.
A blowout sale of all its remaining books is going on to raise money for the publication of the rest of the biography. For only $56.00 you can have Volumes ill, IV, and V of Lord Meher, The Nothing and the Everything, Avatar of the Age Meher Baba Mnnifesting, Meher Sarod, Meher Roshani, The Immortal Hafiz, Ramjoo's Diaries and a surprise. This is a $225.00 value for only $56.00 plus $8.00 shipping (for a copy of Volume II, add $25.00). The offer expires Aprill, 1994. Send a check to: MAN, P.O. Box 7355, Myrtle Beach, SC29577.
•'fins DATE .••
In Baba History
March 1, 1954 Baba gives the discourse ''What Baba Means by Real Work" in Andhra State.
March 9,1953 Bhau Kalchuri comes to stay with Baba permanently.
March 21, 1952 The start of the "complicated free life" phase of the New Life in which ''bindings were to dominate freedom."
April4, 1932 Baba embarks on His first world tour.
April 7, 1933 Kitty Davy, Delia DeLeon, Margaret Craske, Norina Matchabelli, Minta Toledano, Elizabeth Patterson, Mabel Ryan, Audrey Williams, Christine McNaughton, and Vivienne Gieson land in Bombay on their first visit to India to see Baba.
April20, 1952 Baba arrives in New York and visits Myrtle Beach for the first time.
•Editor's Corner-cont.
I look forward to continuing as an editor on BDFN, and will always consider my Denver Baba family as beloved kin, even as everything else here will recede to the background. The move to Myrtle Beach holds the promise of a new life in many senses, and I expect that the present mixture of sadness and exdtment will eventually soften and transmute into cherished memories and the joy of new beginnings, knowing that Beloved Baba knows all, does all, and has solutions worked out to the minutest detail, before He presents the challenge. ]ai Baba!
fEATURE: An Interview with Charlie Morton
On January 10, 1994
Denise Gibson interviewed Charlie Morton, who has completed the new painting for the central windaw in Baba's tomb. They started the conversation with the history of haw Charlie first got involved:
Charlie: Around 1970, we had a Baba bookstore in Tacoma, Washington. It was in a big art bus and there must have been ten artists who worked on decorating the interior of this two-story portable bookstore. It was really fun
BDFN: What was the name of it?
Charlie: It was called the "Mehera Bus." We made life-sized windows of Baba out of stained glass-also of Mehera. We created pictorials of Baba' s life, of all the different Avatars, and of the world religions. It had 40 or 50 different stained glass windows. And that gave me a background in art, looking at things in terms of creating them in stained glass.
BDFN: Had you been doing stained glass before that time?
Charlie: No, I started with Baba, working on that bus.
BDFN: How wonderful!
Charlie: Then in 1972, about the time I was moving to California, I went to India. The first time I was in India was in '69, and I hadn't really noticed the murals in the tomb, because they weren't repainted yet. But when I
returned, Pande had just finished repainting them, and it struck me, Is this colorful in here!
BDFN: Pande?
Charlie: Yes, Pande repainted the Samadhi around 1970. This was 1972, and I was struck with how vibrant and powerful the overall feeling was. I immediately thought, This would look beautiful with a mural of glass. It would tie in so perfectly. At that time, there was nothing painted on the back boards. I had no idea why fate seemed to bring that thought to mind. But then I decided, Forget about it because if you even mention something like this, it leads to too many discussions of what sort of art it should be, and who should do it . ... I decided to measure it and take it home to sketch what I thought would look nice, and then send it to the mandali.
BDFN: What happened next?
Charlie: A month went by and the last day I was there was my birthday. The women sang at the Samadhi that day, and as I was going to the car, Rano and Mansari passed and they had a tape measure. I said, ''Rano, are you going to measure something?" And she said, "Just a window." And I immediately knew what she was up to, so I said, ''Let me help you!"
BDFN: Did you tell her you had measured it?
Charlie: I didn't tell her. I just said, ''What's going to go in here, Rano?" And Rano said, ''We originally had a painting, and then that was painted over. Then we had a sketch of something but Mehera didn't like it. So now, we're thinking of something else." I said, "I thought stained glass would look very nice because it would tie in with the tomb." And she said, ''We had the same idea! But, unfortu-
nately there's no one here in India who can do that." I said, '1've done some, so I'd be willing to try it but I can't guarantee it'd be any good. But if you didn't want it, you wouldn't have to keep it." And she said, ''We'd be delighted for you to do it!" Immediately she called to Mani, "Mani, come here. Charlie's going to do a window for the tomb!" Mani carne over and, literally, within five minutes they had a photo in my hand and said, "This is the picture, and we want it to look like this," and they gave me exacting instructions .
BDFN: How did that feel?
Charlie: It was as if they arrived at the tomb with the picture and aU the specifications and had it all planned. I was just sitting there, dumbfounded, thinking Is this funny or what? And Rano said she thought I must have been a lawyer because at the time I said, ''Well, Rano, I'd be really happy to do this, but you have to promise me one thing-don't hold me to any time period because it has to look perfect." She said," No problem." So I agreed to do it.
BDFN: And you had no idea how significant that agreement would be?
Charlie: Oh, boy. It's unbelievable. We started out with stained glass and did a layout. Immediately we realized it just wasn't elegant enough. It needed to be refined. So, we started exploring cameo glass Cameo glass is layers of glass that are carved. We created a carving studio that had every type of equipment imaginable to blow the glass, put it in layers, melt it in layers, etc. It was one of the most complete glass-carving shops I've ever seen.
BDFN: Did you set up this shop specifically for Baba's portrait?
Charlie: Yes. As a matter of fact, the Stueben Glass people did all the notes on how it should be done. So, I started the glass carving, but as I got into it, we decided it would take forever to get it correct. In glass you're working in the negative when you're carving; you're subtracting, which means if you make a mistake, you start on another piece. So I thought, I better first get it in a
painting. As we started the painting we realized the carved glass was going to be too much, so we decided to do it as an enameled glassan enamel transparency of the painting done in glass. We then realized it would be even easier to do a photo transparency. So, with that in mind, we made four different paintings, maybe five. With each one I'd say, No, this isn't working right. And I'd change it. Finally, I had one that was nice and I took it to India. They liked it, except they wanted Him to be a little bit larger and they also wanted the background changed.
BDFN: How many years did it take you to get to that point?
Charlie: Well, all this time practically. This painting has gone back and forth to India only twice. And each time it has gone through a gamut of people. First through Rano, then Mani, then Mehera. And when it went through Mehera it would also go through all the other women, too. Everyone would give their input-completely. Nothing was held back. You're put on the rack, but it's really fun. The painting slowly developed to the mural form. Then we made the transparency and I took it, with the mural, over to India last year. When Mani saw the transparency, she felt it didn't work-it was too much. She preferred to have it simple. So it went back to being a painting. It was very interesting. I really enjoyed seeing the transparency in there.
BDFN: Because that was what you envisioned in the first place?
Charlie: Well, it was the direction we were going. On the other hand, for India, the simplicity of the painting was really important. I think that medium just seemed to work better. I don't know why. Mani was correct. She knew the feeling of the Samadhi and she wanted to keep that. Even now, it isn't finished. There's a variety of other things that need to be changed. But it's as close as close can get.
BDFN: Do you expect it to look different to you each time you see it-as though Baba' s been working on it while it's in the tomb?
Charlie: Gosh, I don't think so. The truth is, with my own skills I never could have done it. He really made it happen. I worked and worked-! couldn't believe how much time would go by, changing and rechanging it hundreds of times. Baba was somehow playing with me, saying, "I want you to remember this." It was interesting-once something was completed, it was quite obviously completed, and I didn't have to look at it twice. Until that point, it was obvious it needed work.
I got help from other people, too. The truth is, when I got the project I thought, This is such a major project, I better see what other Baba artists would like to see it look like. So, I had Lyn Ott and 3B do paintings of it and I thought, Those are really good and thet;' d work well in glass, but I'd better
change it to something very photographic
BDFN: More realistic?
Charlie: Yes. It had to be realistic, because when people come to the Samadhi they don't want to see art. They want to see Baba. It has to be extremely real so that one feels like they make contact with Baba.
A lot of people had personal experiences when they walked into my studio and saw the painting. It really shocked me. People would see it and say ,"This is the dream-! had a dream of Him sitting this way'' or, "I came to see Him and He sat me down ne xt to Him and He was looking just like this " Then I've had people over in India come up to me and say, "That's exactly the way Baba sat when He was sitting with me personally." You don't realize how many different people Baba's working on at the same time. He'll use one little thing in so many ways .
BDFN: I can't wait to get back to India and see it!
Charlie: A lot of people helped on different parts of it. Teri Adams came in and did a lot of the background . Several other people came in too, and each person did something different-little flowers, the background sections So, it really wasn't just one person working on this painting.
If you want to get even more outr ageous, I'm totally color blind to subtle colors so I had to always have someone else looking over my shoulder. People would come by and say, "You're painting it the wrong color, you ' d bette r start over." I got to the point where I threw out every color that wasn't a color that you'd see in nature
BDFN: Had your color blindness been much of a problem to you before that?
Charlie: I wasn't even aw a re I was color blind. Once I started I realized I could no more tell a light green from a light brown from a light yellow. It's not just ma ddening, it's ridiculous .
BDFN: How many time did you feel like giving up?
Charlie: Never It's completely the opposite. Painting it was the
Continued on pag e 8
Continued from page 6 only thing that made me completely relax. If I wasn't painting for an hour or two every day I didn't feel comfortable. It had a very wonderful feeling. Later, two years ago when I was helping Dot Lesnick and Rick Flynn paint the inside of the Samadhi, I realized, This is the exad same feeling I always have when I'm working on the painting. All of a sudden, I realized, It's like I was in the Samadhi the whole time. It's like a meditation-this comfortable feeling of concentrating on Baba; just thinking about Him and concentrating on one part of His form. You have the feeling you're working on something directly connected to Baba. You feel comfortable when you're doing a little something for Him.
BDFN: Did you experience any other surprises?
Charlie: One of the big shocks was seeing the . painting in the Samadhi. To first put it there was one thing, but to walk up the Hill a day or two later and still see it there kind of shocked me. I thought, Wait a minute. That's supposed to be back in the studio, it's in the wrong place.
BDFN: Do you miss it at home?
Charlie: I guess so. I've been so used to painting it. Yet Baba keeps me jumping so much, I don't have time to think. It's amazing to me how much fun it was. All I can say is I was glad it took that long, because it became part of my life. It was my life. And doing it made my life complete.
BDFN: Do you feel that you know Baba's form better now, having worked on the painting?
Charlie: It's funny. I think everyone feels like they've met Baba before. I've definitely felt like I have been with Baba. When He died, I was in shock because I couldn't imagine Him being old. That might sound crazy, because of all the letters coming from Mani about how He was suffering. But I just couldn't believe that He died because I thought, Wait a minute, I just got here and He's still young. And I relate to the age that I was painting Him, which is a young Baba. I must have been desiring to see Him like that, although I have no real knowledge of it.
BDFN: Do you know why Mehera chose that specific photo?
Charlie: I can go into a little bit of that. If you go to Myrtle Beach, you'll see a drawing that Helen Dahm did of Baba looking down. This
The Broken f)qwn
is the sketch for the painting that was originally in the tomb. It is amazing. The picture is almost 100% identical to the way Baba looked when He was in the Samadhi, in the interment. It really upset Mehera. It was done before Baba dropped His body and although it was a beautiful painting, it didn't work for Mehera. I think that's why the sketch was sent to Myrtle Beach. The painting of it was also done by Helen. Baba's orders were for Rano to paint over that painting, although I didn't know this.
BDFN: Oh, so that was the painting that Rano painted over?
Charlie: Yes. That painting's in the Rahuri Cabin. One time, after one of the critiques, Rano took me down to the Rahuri Cabin and said, '1 want you to see this painting." She showed me the one she had painted over Helen's painting. She said, "This is one I did, and I just want you to see it and think about this one." The reason she wanted me to look at it was it was the one that had been in the Samadhi, and she had painted over it. And here I was, doing paintings over and over and repainting over the next and over the next. There was something very significant and profound there, but she didn't give me the clue that she had painted over that original painting. I would have understood.
With Baba, the painting isn't the important thing, it's the experience of concentrating on Him that is important. It doesn't matter if you do the painting over 50 times. It's like this idea of digging the hole and filling it in right afterwards. You get the practice of learning how to dig great holes. The truth is, had I set out to do it on my own, there would be no feasible way to have done this. He wanted me to have this relationship with it, and so He provided materials and helped with the funding. He allowed it to happen for that experience. A good artist probably could have whipped off a wonderful painting in an hour or two. But it wasn't to be that way. It was 20 years plus getting it completed. And I was delighted that He had the compassion to put up with a slow-poke like me. It wasn't that I was working slow. I was working hard all the time. It was always under construction-literally every day. Sometimes the work would involve phenomenal studios that would be built, then disassembled to try it a different way.
SPECIAL: Pilgrimages from and to India
Meherazad 24 November 1993
To the members of the California steering committee for the united West Coast Sahavas and all Petitioners who have asked me in Baba' s Love to attend the West Coast Sahavas in Mariposa in 1995:
Dear Petitioners in Baba's Love, I am indeed so touched and honoured by your hearts' call to me to come to the States and be with you in His dear Sahavas to be held on the West Coast in 1995.
I know how much you want me to come, and despite my age (75) and my health (a heart condition which requires constant medication and care) you must surely know how much I would like to come! But I am unable to accept your dear invitation for one reason alone: which is, that I'm not sure Baba would want me to go. In fact, He has made it very clear to me that He wants me to be here where He has placed me. This is why I have had to decline invitations from various countries abroad, and indeed from different parts of India.
There's nothing more I can say on the subject, since your object and mine is the same: our Beloved's pleasure. So until He lets me know clearly that He wishes me to visit and attend His world centres and homes, I will continue to stay here, snuggled up in His Silence and in your loving understanding.
Love to you each in Beloved Baba and Mehera, {signed) Mani
Interview-continued from p. 8
BDFN: Does that remind you of how Baba would build schools and buildings and then tear them down?
Charlie: Exactly the same thing. The funny thing is, there was never a question that He was in the center. There was always controversy, always changes-all those things that let you know that Baba, personally, was right in the center of everything that was going on. The impossible was always out in front of you. And that's what made you feel like it was Baba, which is a good feeling because then you know He has His hand in it.
Ahmednagar
20th September 1993
To pilgrims with serious illnesses who plan to travel to India:
Dear Friend,
Since Beloved Avatar Meher Baba dropped His body in 1969, an increasing number of pilgrims have been coming to Meher Baba's Home in India. Just as the number of pilgrims keeps increasing, so do the number of Baba-lovers who have some serious medical problems when they arrive at Baba's HomHhat is, a serious condition suffered by the individual before coming to India.
Over the years, a number of medical emergencies involving pilgrims have arisen. The medical facilities at Meherabad are very limited, and we have learned that the medical facilities in Ahmednagar are inadequate and not fully equipped to manage serious illnesses. When a pilgrim is serious! y ill (whether a foreigner or Indian) he or she very often has to go to a hospital in a larger dty for specialized medical treatment and tests. The nearest large city, Pune, is at a distance of several bumpy hours drive by car, and it is difficult to find suitable and comfortable transport for the patient. In most India hospitals, the patient's personal attendants, food, drinking water and special care are all provided by the patient's relatives or friends. Making arrangements for these puts a great strain on the pilgrim, the resident staff, the mandali and often the pilgrim's family.
Continued on page 11
BDFN: Any sad times during this experience?
Charlie: Not at all. The funny thing was, I knew this was not for the immediate time. This was for the future. There was this solid knowledge inside me that once the painting was put in the Samadhi things were going to start changing. It would be a different world that would start coming It's like things have been on hold for twenty years and now it's a new time period I'm just glad to have been here-to be with the Mandali and to be with Baba as much as this time frame allowed. It was really special. ]ai Baba! •
LovE DIGEST: His Attributes of Compassion and Forgiveness
(Bill Le Page, Francis Brabazon and John Ballantyne were the three Australians who went to Meherabad when Meher Baba called Western men to attend the important meetings He planned in September 1954--the Three Incredible Weeks. BDFN)
•
• • During the days that followed, Baba did not embrace me or pay me any of the special attentions that He gave to the older Westerners.
(Actually John Ballantyne was the youngest and I was the second youngest of the seventeen men.) Yet Baba did not neglect me. On one of the early days, He directed that the Australians should occupy the Seclusion Cabin situated very close to the tomb, Francis to stay for the whole period and John and myself to share the time, there being room for only two beds.
Again on one of the early days Baba suddenly pointed to John and me, saying, "These two lads have a love for Truth," and directed that we should spend half an hour at midnight in the tomb for seven nights. Francis was to shut us in each night and be responsible for our well-being. We were to sit where we wished, completely still, with eyes open and mouth shut, and mentally repeat Baba's Name. I sat on the edge of the crypt the first night; the tight wooden doors were firmly closed and the tomb became utterly black. I was not aware of John or my surroundings, and I could not think of Baba. The more I tried and the more I failed, the harder it was to even say ''Baba" mentally, and the awareness of being absolutely alone and adrift increased. Gone were the warmth and comfort of the distractions of everyday life, gone were the companionship and attention of family; there was only myself alone, and somewhere Baba, Who did not seem real to me at the moment. I experienced acute panic, and it seemed as though I passed the
" ... one must not let the mind know what it has lost, must not give it the opportunity of dwelling upon loss; and to do this, one should constantly feed the heart from the Source of love, Meher Baba."
entire half-hour in that state.
The next morning my mind was still chaotic, and I was not able to blurt out more than a few words to Baba when He asked me what I felt in the tomb. I tried to say something about the panic that I had experienced in the pit of my stomach and then managed to say, "My heart pounded all the time and I could not say your Name."
''What was there to frighten you?" asked Baba. Again I stammered something about "images of the outside world."
Baba then asked if we were prepared to carry out what He asked for seven nights. We said yes. Baba replied:
"Do not be frightened, there is nothing to fear. Don't force your attention; keep awake and don't move. Even if a snake crosses your legs, let it pass by. And love Baba during the half-hours. Fear means there is no love. Think of Baba from the bottom of your hearts; after seven nights you will have a glimpse of Baba. Why this fear? Francis of Assisi and Francis Xavier loved Christ with all their might, and what they suffered, none of you could guess, but fear was foreign to them. Do not fear, love Me. Don't be troubled, think of Baba and be happy."
Because of a. .very early start the next morning, Baba instructed us to miss one night and resume the next. This we did, and again the following
morning Baba asked us how we felt. For myself, the halfhour had been much easier, and I said something about being "fine." Perhaps I should have said that the experience of fear was lessening, that I was still troubled but that I wanted to continue. In any case Baba looked at me thoughtfully, I would say, as He did from time to time during the various periods with Him, and then said to discontinue the half-hours. And that was that. H the fact that He withdrew the order spelt failure on my part, then so be it. Although I have failed Baba many times, I am not giving up my efforts to serve Him because of continuing failures; and in any case I think He enjoys exercising His attributes of compassion and forgiveness. I have given this experience in full because it has had a strong and continuing effect on my life. It signalled the beginning of a very real and personal development for me as a human being. It was a
use a trite phrase, I shall never be the same again. From it, words read in spiritual discourses came to life, or rather, the minute beginnings of life: the relationship of Baba to self is one to one; Baba is truly the One to take and not to give until the two become One; fear is a fear of loss of self and its world in the mistaken belief that the self and its world must exist; one must not let the mind know what it has lost, must not give it the opportunity of dwelling upon loss; and to do
this, one should constantly feed the heart from the Source of love, Meher Baba. Love conquers all, love alone prevails The experience helped considerably to dispel my spiritual pride, but it did not stop me wanting to stick with Baba and try my best to serve Him. Per-
Continued
from page 9
We therefore request that any Baba-lover with a serious illness please consult their doctor before undertaking a trip to the Beloved's Home. A serious illness has a high chance of worsening here, leading to a hospitalization in Pune or Bombay. So if you have a serious illness and plan to come to India, you should first get the approval of your physician and the assurance that your condition is stable. Then when you write to Pilgrim Reservations for accommodations at Meherabad, please openly state your medical problem in your letter. Among the illnesses considered serious are: cancer, AIDS, heart disease, severe asthma or other serious respiratory diseases, unstable neurological disorders (such as M.S.), unstable diabetes, psychiatric disorders (especially those managed by medications), handicaps such as paraplegia, etc.
If a pilgrim comes with a serious illness that is stable and we are prepared ahead of time, then it may not present serious problems. On the other hand, when a visitor has a serious illness and we have not been informed about it and are not prepared for it, any resulting emergency places a great bur-
haps Beloved Baba's answer was given to me and Francis on an occasion in 1956 in the big room of Meher House, Beacon Hill, with only ourselves and Eruch present: '1 know that you two will stick to me to the end."
•
den on the mandali, the resident staff and other pilgrims.
It is best that any Babalover with a serious illness in an unstable condition wait until the condition stabilizes before considering a visit to India. H a Baba-lover is suffering from AIDS and has active infections, or if the white blood cell count is very low, or the immune system is down cr cells under 400), then a visit to India would place the individual at great risk. We are not medically equipped to handle any life threatening situation that might arise. If the pilgrim has to go to the hospital then a serious problem arises because, under Indian Government regulations, private hospitals are not allowed to accept patients with AIDS or even those testing positive for the HN virus. The only alternative would be the government welfare hospitals in Pune, which are an experience few people would want to go through.
We are prompted to send out this important information to our Baba family by our deep concern for you in your deep love for the Beloved.
MEHER BABA ki JAI!!!
In Avatar Meher Baba's Service (signed) Dr. Gober Irani •
"Think of things that you will not hesitate to think in My presence, speak words that you will not hesitate to speak in My presence, and do things that you will not hesitate to do in My presence."
Old-timers in the Denver group will remember Bonney's years in Denver and her many endearing her wonderful humor and her culinary talents. She used to serve this cake at Baba gatherings. Bonney now lives in her hometown of Smithfield NC. Hey, Mary Bonney, from all your Denver family!
INGREDIENTS FOR BREAD:
2 112 cups flour
1 Ths cocoa
112 stick butter, melted
2eggs
1 cup minus 1 Tbs sugar
1114 cup plus 1 Tbs water
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts
114 tsp salt
1 cup raisins (optional)
3 I 4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs instant coffee (or decaf)
1I 4 tsp allspice
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, spices, coffee, and cocoa.
In separate bowl, beat eggs
until lemon colored. Add water and melted butter to eggs and mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
Fold in nuts (and raisins). Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350° for about an hour or until toothpick comes out clean
OETRY: (Untitled)
Towards the end of her life, Filis Frederick of Los Angeles wrote a beautiful collection of poems about her relationship with Meher Baba entitled Light on Running Water. So that a wide range of this work can be appreciated by many Baba lovers, Man; Lloyd Dugan has sent different samples of Filis' work to various newsletters in the United States, England and Australia. We at the BDFN are delighted to present the following two poems.
COFFEE FROSTING:
2 Ths butter
1114 cups powdered sugar
1I 4 tsp vanilla
1 Ths instant coffee
1 Tbs milk
Cream butter and powdered sugar. Add vanilla, coffee and milk; mix until smooth. Spread on sliced bread
by Filis Frederick
Even Sun-Avatar
Sets at last Ringed by flaming clouds of mandali-hearts.
Courageous
As a red poppy in a green field
That's my heart shoutingLove, after all Is the loudest season.
FEATURE ARTICLE: One Hundred Years of Awakening compiled by Alice Rybak
LIFE IN BABA: Baba's Cambodians by Chanthan, Paul, and Ann Smith
LoVE DIGEST: ''Who Is That Man?" by Countess Nadine Tolstoy
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Spinach Casserole by Carol Setapen
POETRY: For Meher Baba's Centenary by Susan Paul
Editor's Corner:
One of my fondest memories of India is that of a weekend when a group of Baba lovers from Navsari came to the Centre. It was after Labor Day and there were very few of us westerners left when the busload of Indian lovers arrived. Their first day there, we stayed out of their way, letting them have the tomb and the mandali to themselves, as they had not been there for a while. However, on the second day, in mandali hall, there was a wonderful melding of cultures through His love. We shared our stories and our songs and there was an incredible feeling of real unity. All cultural and social barriers fell away and I remember being quite elated by the experience. That evening in the dining hall, we cemented our togetherness by sharing a meal, the Indian women of the group making sure the skinny westerners were eating enough. And when they left, we all lined up in front of the bus for hugs and heartfelt goodbyes. I remember thinking about how Baba's life reflected the importance of bringing together different peoples. He could have just had disciples in the East, but instead very intentionally courted people from Europe, Australia, and America who would become part of His close circle. This month's issue reflects the international unity of Baba's world: We tell of the world-wide celebrations of His birth, have a story written by a Cambodian who came to Baba, and an article by one of His earliest disciples, the Russian Countess Nadine Tolstoy. These stories stand in stark contrast to the horrific events happening in the world today due to intolerance and hatred among people of different ethnic backgrounds. Through His life and words, and in our own experiences, He shows us that we are truly "not we, but one." -AR
BROKEN·DOWN FURNITURENEW3
"You are all just broken-down furniture. But it is I who Juroe chosen you, so you must be what I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, sei:ving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor
Alice Rybak
Copy Editor/Love Digest
Judi Schoeck
Art Director
Denise Gibson
Production Assistant
Vaira Filipovs
Life in Baba/Pilgrim's Palate
Winnie Barrett
News Notes/This Date
Paul Williams
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger Reviews
Tracy Holloway
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Furniture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA.
Phone (303) 333-1727
Published bimonthly
Qan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $12.00 per year.
Canada $12.00 (U.S.) per year. Overseas $15.00 per year.
Please make checks payable to The Broken-Down Furniture News.
Mani has recently requested that we print the following notice: "For the benefit of Baba Lovers/Pilgrims who ask our advice whether to invest in land offered for sale in the vidnity of Meherabad for a housing project, I must make it clear that this is an independent project and neither the Avatar Meher Baba Trust nor the Mandali are involved in any way in its financial aspect."
Bronze Medal
In 1964 Vivian Agostini created a bronze medal depicting Baba on one side and the Mastery in Servitude symbol on the other. This design was approved and blessed in its execution by Baba. Upon completion the reproduction rights were assigned to the Meher Spiritual Center, Inc., at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Now a 100th Birthday commemorative edition is being issued for $30 which includes postage and handling. All the profits from this project will be donated to the Phoenix Renaissance project developed by Associate Members of Meher Center. This project promotes alternatives to drugs and violence in communities where Happy Oub families reside. Happy Club was blessed by Baba in 1966.
Send your check/ money order to: Meher Baba House Medal Project, c/o Sue and Hugh McOeneghan, 27 Nixon Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10304.
Meherana Update
The first edition of the Meherana Messenger has come out and has as contributors Dr. Goher R. Irani and Meheru Irani. The newsletter includes a map of exactly where the 188-acre parcel of land for Baba's Center in the Western U.S. is located. The land near Mariposa, California was purchased for $160,000 and requires a monthly payment of $1400 on the loan, to be met by donations.
Bhaustock Vis still tentatively planned for Memorial Day weekend in May and will be the Grand Opening for Meherana.
To be placed on the mailing list contact: Marilyn Buehler, Box 191606, Sacramento, CA 95819-7606.
Discourses for the Blind
Through the dedicated work of Alan Goldman and others, Meher Baba's latest edition of the Discourses is now available on special tape for the blind. These special tapes require a four-track, variable speed tape player, such as many blind people have. It will not fit in your car's cassette player. The Florida Division of the Blind Service of the Bureau of Library Services, Daytona Beach, FL 32198-0001 now has the Talking Book Discourses and may be borrowed by any sightless person in the United States, through his or her local Library for the Blind, via an interlibrary loan arrangement.
'luiS DATE ...
Kn Baba History
May,1913
Baba' s first meeting with Hazrat Babajan.
May15, 1870
Upasni Maharaj's birthdayone of the five Perfect Masters of Baba' s Advent.
May 15,1930
Saba begins His seclusion in the cave specially dug by the Mandali in Tiger Valley just outside Panchgani.
May21, 1932
Elizabeth Patterson drives for Saba for the first time, through Central Park, New York.
May24, 1932
Baba gives Elizabeth a pink flower and says "Always keep this flower and write down today's date. Someday you will know the meaning of it."
May24, 1952
Baba's auto accident in Prague, Oklahoma. Elizabeth Patterson_ is driving.
May 29,1932
Saba's arrival in Hollywood corresponds with the Summer Olympics.
June 6,1931
Baba spends two hours a night for three nights in seclusion in a mosque in Meshed, Persia (Iran), which is the principle point of pilgrimage in Persia. This night time seclusion would normally be forbidden, but the head priest sees Baba in a dream before His arrival and recognizes Him. •
fEATURE: One Hundred Years of Awakening by
Meher Baba's lOOth Birthday was celebrated throughout the world, in a joyous outburst of various events. Lovers came together and organized a wonderful array of activities in their areas, as per Baba' s wish that His lovers celebrate His Birthday at their respective centers
Bllill
which included talks by Roshan Kerawala and Bill LePage, videos, an Indian Feast, programs of music and song, and a series of skits entitled "Here and Now with Baba." The group in Brisbane, Queensland held their centenary program at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It included an exhibit of paintings and photography from February 18-22 and programs of music and poetry on the 19th and 20th. On the Gold Coast, a birthday party was held from January 14-16 at the New Age Aquarius Festival.
lliiB!JD
West London Institute. The Friday evening program included a professional Qawali group while Saturday's had music, singing, and poetry from members of the community, culminating in a bam dance. The Meher Baba Association produced a booklet of quotes and photos of the Beloved.
Here in the States, the celebrations ranged from one day events to month-long extravaganzas.
FW!M.J.fitijftijij'\ In Washington , D.C. the main event was held at St. John's Episcopal Church on Saturday the 26th. The program featured a talk by Charles Haynes, dinner, and the performance of a play written by Greg Butler and Maggie Shackford.
short film of Baba in New York in 1932 at the Madison Avenue Baptist Church and presented music, poetry, talks, and readings. Members of New York's Meher Baba House are reissuing a bronze medal created by Vivian Agostini in 1964
"I never come and I never go. I am present everywhere. lsn 't it wonderful that I never leave?"
Alice Rybak
Meher Baba and approved and blessed by Baba. As it is a commemorative issue, the dates 1894-1994 have been added on the portrait side. All proceeds from this pro-
ject will be
donated to the Phoenix Renaissance work being developed by Associate Members of Meher Center (See News Notes.)
\j::\:'llllltll:i::i!
tains March 24-27, was dedicated to Baba's 100th. Special guests included Charmian Duce Knowles, Tex Hightower, and Trisha Alexander. A Saturday night rock dance with the band Planet 13, an auction and bazaar, and whitewater rafting are some of the more original ways this group chose to honor their Darling. !JJ:::J!JIIJilili!
month of February. Many meetings were held, one as a introduction to Meher Baba, another for an informal gathering of songs and storytelling. Concerts were held in Albany and San Francisco and included local Baba lover musicians and a special performance by Jim Meyer. Works by Baba's visual artists worldwide were displayed in a slide and sound collage at the Albany Methodist Church, and the Love Street Singers and Players performed an artistic, musical, dramatic and dance production based on the events of Baba's life. Local Baba lovers were interviewed on the radio program "Seeing Beyond" on station KEST. Of course, many parties were held. Besides the main one on February 25, the groups in Sonoma County and West Marin put on galas of film, music, refreshments, and fun. And if that weren't enough, a booklet of Baba's messages and information about the worldwide community was published and distributed in Northern California.
Here are some firsthand accounts of other celebrations:
ed simply, but beautifully, in the Tucson Mountains in Arizona. Wishing to correspond with India time, a group of about thirty lovers gathered on Thursday the 24th at 4:30 p.m. to perform Baba's arti. With the Sonora Desert landscape as a backdrop, Baba's photograph was placed upon a rock centered in a wash in the foothills of Gate's Pass. The photo was garlanded and a tin of prasad placed before Beloved's image. Baba's prayers were recited and His artis sung. At 5:00 p.m , shouts of "Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!" vibrated the hillsides. Edward Box, Sr. (a Southern Ute Red Indian) then sang the Buffalo song and played his drum and flute. Happy Birthday was then sung and individual members offered heartwarming poems and songs as the prasad was distributed.
Thursday evening, a potluck dinner was held at the home of Nancy Wall, ending with chocolate birthday cake, candles, and more choruses of "Happy Birthday." There was one more treat beautifully matted photos of Baba and His ''To penetrate into the essence of all being and significance ... " message were handed out to everyone to forever remind us of this auspicious day. Jai Baba!
-Diane Box
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ed in the Denver area in an entirely new form. As with other centers around the country, we celebrated in a more elaborate style than usual, with three days of festivities.
Beginning on Friday, February 25th, those of us who were able to, took the day off work so as to provide services to seniors. Two work crews totalling ten people spent the day painting interiors of the homes of two elderly women, both physically handicapped. Those who participated were enthusiastic, and while the day's labor was taxing, many voiced a desire "to do it again next year." The women who were served voiced deep gratitude to the group and showed curiosity about the Friend whom we were honoring.
On Friday evening, the larger community gathered for a festive birthday party complete with streamers, balloons, and of course a huge birthday cake featuring Baba's picture placed within an icing frame of pink roses and "Happy tOOth Darling Baba." Both the bakery personnel and the grocer's check out clerk (who rang up the number candles "1-0-0'') were delightedly curious as to who was so special and asked, "is He really 100?"
One highlight of the evening was the "universal" debut of a music and story-telling work composed by Leonard Taligatus and performed by the Mile High Qawali Singers and Musicians. The theme, of course, was ''When God Comes Into the World." The performers wore tribal-type costumes and ethnic jewelry, completing the · ambiance of this very special presentation which featured elaborate rhythms, chants and speaking about the advent of the Avatar.
The other highlight was the silent auction of a genuine Eruch Jessawalla tee-shirt, which brought $300. Proceeds have been donated to the Sheriar Foundation.
Early Saturday morning a large group of us left for the mountains (Estes Park to be exact) for an overnight retreat. Our site was the Ayerie on Eagle Cliff. Several charming cabins housed two to twelve people each, and there was a large dome for group activities. The downstairs of the dome was for cooking and dining while the large upstairs room, used for group meetings, was complete with clouds painted on the skyblue ceiling. This lent a decidedly celestial atmosphere!
Many arrived in time for noon arti and midday meal. And others arrived throughout the afternoon and evening. Two Baba lovers even joined us on Sunday morning. Discussion groups were held on "Living in Baba's Presence," "Community," and the discourse, 'Work for the Spiritual Freedom of Humanity." Music, videos, communal cooking and cleaning, and much informal conversation highlighted the remainder of the weekend. Most of all, a wonderful feeling of Beloved Baba's love, harmony, and unity was felt by everyone who attended, as we drew closer to one another as well as to the One behind the many.
In all, twenty-six participants agreed that the retreat has become the first ''Rocky Mountain Sahavas" of many. As this becomes an annual winter gathering, it completes a nationwide and year 'round network for Baba lovers to come together in His love. It is so like Baba to begin this next step in the life of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center on the auspicious tOOth anniversary of His birth. Here's to the next one hundred years! Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jail -Wmnie Barrett
Having recently concluded the enormously exciting celebration of Avatar Meher Baba' s Centennial, we looked back to review the many events and episodes that made this monumental ten-day "festival of love" as extraordinary as it was.
Much advance planning had taken place to facilitate the successful flow of people, cars and projects, while maintaining safety on the Center and the sanity of the caretakers.
The events began on Friday, February 18, with a memorable presentation by Charles Haynes in the Meeting Place, opening the gates to a flow of remarkable energy and focus for the duration of the commemoration.
Day after day we were treated to delights of
all the senses, singing, dancing, in stereophonic sound. These included a children's play, entitled ''Majnun and Layla;" slide, film, and music presentations; refreshments every night; celebratory Baba buttons; and very enchanting, lovingly made Baba cards, given to all attendees at the end of the indescribably entertaining Baba Birthday Play.
A one-hundred-hour jappa, or repetition of Baba's name, began at one a.m., Monday, February 21, in the Lagoon Cabin. We took turns, signing up for a shift with Jenny Califf, so that every hour around the clock was covered for the duration, until the time of Baba' s birth. It was widely experienced that the opportunity to repeat His name in this sacred room altered our sense of time and space. The Lagoon Cabin radiated palpably for days after we completed the Jappa at five a.m. on February 25, the time of Baba's birth.
The Monday discourse meeting with Darwin Shaw as the guest speaker was a highly charged event, evoking powerful emotions in all those present.
The Special Music Program, featuring the community's varied singing talents in seventeen acts, provided a wide array of entertainment to a cheering crowd.
Bernice Ivory spoke of her moving experience of coming to Baba, and her inspiring encounters with Him over the years. According to one observer, there wasn't a dry eye in the house and the emotional impact was felt throughout.
Two recently discovered newsreels of Baba in America in 1932 were viewed to the delight of all. Baba's radiance was most apparent, even in black and white.
The actual day of Baba's birth was a feast for the soul. Rising early in the morning, we met at Baba's Compound at 4:45a.m. Arti began at 5:00 a.m. in His bedroom. The darshan line extended through the hallway into the living room. Singing and hugging took place after arti, the sun still not yet up. We all were reluctant to leave this "gathering of the hearts." The traditional breakfast at K and W Cafeteria took place with approximately seventy-five local and Center guests gathered. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Baba, and continued the elevated mood of this special day.
Anticipation of something very special had been building since the appearance, in the parking lot several days earlier, of a three-pointed, sparkling white, Fellini-esque circus tent, flanked by two smaller pandal-like canopies. This space had been bustling with activity and preparations for days, the site of rehearsals for the magnum opus of the entertainment roster, The Baba Birthday Play. Live music was playing as people entered the tent. The play was a reenactment of songs, skits, and dances which had been performed for Baba during His life, or theatrical pieces which Baba had especially liked. The Five Perfect Masters called down the Avatar and a Heraldic Choir of Angels glided in, singing to the accompaniment of two flutes. Diverse and charming episodes too numerous to describe in their entirety followed, including Krishna and Radha dancing with the Gopis, the March of the Siamese Children, an unusual camel, a raucous troupe of gypsies, Coconut Woman and Men, (you had to be there) and Fred-and-Ginger look-alikes dancing to "Begin the Beguine." A multi-tiered birthday cake resembling Seclusion Hill was carried in and shared by all.
Continuing the festive mood and ebullient spirit of the occasion, an Indian feast for 300, served in the tent, was prepared in the Refectory kitchen by Mina Brustman and her crew of gastronomic gopis. All was prepared from scratch, including yogurt, dosas (fermented rice and lentil pancakes), masala (dry pan-roasted spice mixtures), rice pullau, spicy potato filling, dal, and of course, chai. Imagine the sanskaras removed by hours over the dosa griddle or by peeling lakhs of potatoes and chopping many crore of onions!
Following the dinner all repaired to the Meeting Place for a phenomenal Babalesque production produced by Larry Green. (And you thought vaudeville was dead!) We were treated to unusual talents such as "The Great Cush," A Hole in the Bucket with an unusual Liza, and comedy skits from unexpected sources, ie: Marshall Jiay and Walter Witkowski. (You really had to be there.) Of the more legitimate theater, there was ethnic dancing, songs including a touching rendition of "Memories" by Jane Brown, and an unusual multimedia video by Larry Karrasch, enjoyed by all present.
After each evening program, we gathered in the Refectory or Original Kitchen to enjoy refreshments, live music, dancing, and the camaraderie of our fellow Baba lovers.
An impromptu talk in the Library was given by Ann Conlon and Bernice Ivory, in which they shared their personal experiences and histories with the Beloved.
The culmination of this ten-day party was the gala Square Dance, held in the Meeting Place, not the tent, due to the cold weather. Bev Smith and company provided us with expert calling, fiddling, and instruction. Dancers ranged from the older to the younger, and a good time was had by all. This the famous Pot Luck Cookie Night! We also had punch.
Many new Baba songs and poems were written for this once-in-an-Advent happening. Scores of people spent hundreds of hours over months of time, dedicated to the successful realization of this opportunity to honor our Beloved.This was Baba' s loving gift to His lovers, for His birthday.
MyCambodian name is Sem Chanthan. How I became Chanthan Smith is a story of how Baba saved my life and worked through me to benefit my country.
I was born in 1966 in Phnom Penh and was orphaned when still very young. Suffering from polio in one leg, I was placed in a staterun orphanage where life was very difficult. The children were very neglected and most died very young. I was one of the few who survived. The staff were cruel and lazy and I, at five years old, worked hard cleaning floors, feeding babies and helping in the kitchen.
By the time I was six, the war was close enough for us to hear the bombs in the distance. Soldiers passed by and more babies arrived.
Upstairs was a room with a statue of Buddha where I went to pray. I felt peaceful there. The situation was so terrible that in desperation I asked Buddha to take me away or let me die. A few days later, two foreign women arrived to select five babies for adoption in Australia. They were Annie Gillison and Rena Briand, journalists from Melbourne. Annie told me years later that they'd gone there for only five babies, but when they saw my desper-
by Chanthan, Paul and Ann Smith
ate, defiant face which seemed to say, "You would never take me!" their hearts melted, and against their better judgement they took me, although having no prospective parents.
After formalities had been completed (including an Act of Parliament to release us, as we were the first-ever children to be adopted outside Cambodia), we set out for Australia. It was exciting, but frightening. At the airport in Melbourne the babies and smaller ones were given to their new parents. What about me? Where were my new parents? It was confusing at the airport, journalists everywhere ... front page news! I went home with Annie and her adopted daughter Davi and she looked after me while I waited for my new parents. The next part of my story should be told by my soon-tobe adoptive father, Paul Smith:
•My wife Ann and I read about the arrival of the Cambodian orphans through newspaper headlines. We'd been talking about adopting for some time as Ann had had a number of miscarriages. We had met Rena Briand, the journalist, at Ossie and Betty Hall's place and I'd been to Cambodia in 1965 and found it to be a beautiful, peaceful place. We talked it over and decided to approach Rena...
perhaps in future they'd bring in more babies... we felt confident as Ann was a children's nurse. We left a message on her answering machine the next day explaining the situation. Perhaps within a year we'd hear the patter of little feet? We'd forgotten how fast Baba sometimes works.
That night while writing a poem, I heard a sound that I took to be Baba's "word"-the primal sound-and in the midst of that profound experience, I saw a vision of a small Asian girl's face making the same cry from the depths of her heart.
The following morning we woke to a phone call from Rena's husband, who asked us for references-we gave Ossie and Betty's names. He called back later explaining the story of Chanthan and how they had no parents for her-were we interested in a six-year-old who had polio and was extremely distressed? I felt that Baba was prodding us along and Ann felt the same, so we answered we'd come and see the child and see what happened. Outside Annie's house we could hear the wailing of a frightened child. Annie opened the door and there she was! She immediately stopped, smiled, then came to us. She seemed to recognize us. Soon there was laughter, smiles, hugs and a
That night while writing a poem, I heard a sound that I took to be Baba's "word" -the primal sound-and in the midst of that profound experience, I saw a vision of a small Asian girl's face making the same cry from the depths of her heart.
feeling that we belonged together. Of course, it wasn't plain sailing as soon as we got home. She spoke no English and we, no Cambodian. She missed Annie, who she'd spent the past two weeks with. She would wail her heart out while watching TV. She was inconsolable we could not break through to her.
On her third day with us, that haunting cry drove me into another room. I had to do something, take my mind elsewhere. I picked up a poem, it was the one I'd written when I heard the sound: I'd titled it "Aeoum." My memory flashed back and I realized it was Chan than's face I'd seen, and she cried the same sound from the other room: the original sound that comes from the heart, connecting all languages. I rushed to her and from the depth of my heart, cried the same sound. She stopped crying, smiled and looked into my eyes. I touched my heart and
said "Paul;" she repeated my name. She pointed to herself and said "Chanthan."
Soon we were naming everything-we'd crossed over language, despair, cultures all the gaps dissolved. She pointed to a photograph of Baba on the wall and said, ''Buddha, Buddha!" I tried to "correct" her by pointing to a statue of Buddha but she was adamant that Baba was Buddha. How right she was. We'd adopted a Baba lover! She was soon speaking English and going to school. We treated her polio in the leg with acupuncture and swimming, with amazing results. For legal reasons we had to wait until 1978 to formally adopt her. Immediately we set off for India Chanthan couldn't wait to get there ... her love and longing for Baba was great.
By this time the situation in Cambodia was terrible under the dictatorship of Pol Pot.
Many millions had died. Genocide! Many of our Cambodian friends had suffered greatly. I'll let Ann tell you what happened in India:
•I remember Chanthan's first visit to Meherazad and Mani cupping Chan than's face in her hands and saying, ''I know this girl. .. somehow I know this girl."
Because she was the first Cambodian to visit there, everyone made a big fuss of her which she enjoyed, and all the hugging really softened her as she had still been rather wary and defensive, especially with people she didn't know well. She became much more open and warm. Chanthan was especially impressed by Mehera and really looked forward to the days we went to Meherazad. She would later visit India many times and often write to the mandali.
Padri asked Chanthan to light the dhuni fire for Cambodia as it would help her country. She did this it was a very beautiful experience for her and all who were there. A few months later, the Pol Pot regime was overthrown by the Vietnamese. Baba had stopped ''The Killing Fields."
Chanthan now has a son Daniel who is almost three. Often he looks lovingly at a photograph of Baba and, without prompting, whispers, "Baba, Buddha, Baba, Buddha."
Meher Baba's humor and wit is subtle and to the point; He will lift the lower moods in laughter and fun, making everybody light and · alert, free from heaviness and limitations of self-consciousness. His greatest words of Truth become alive, sparkling in wit and inspiration. In His subtle way He stirs the joyous qualities in human nature and changes one's moods accordingly. He likes cheerfulness as a sign of real, free response to Him. In all of life, in beauty and humor, in ugliness and misery, in richness and poverty, He is the One in each heart-in joy or sorrow. One moment He works and plays with joy, another moment He works and plays with pain, always turning the game into glimpses of spirituality and greater detachment.
To help the control of the mind He gave a wonderful message about the mastering of disturbing thoughts to someone in a desperate state of mind: "As long as you do not interpret thoughts into actions you get the opportunity thereby to exercise control." And
further to calm the troubled seeker He says: ''If no thoughts assail you, what is the difference between you and the stone that has no thoughts at all?" Yet He will show the outlet and the way, saying: "Cease the mental tension, train your mind to pass over thoughts; don't countenance them until such time that you can surrender the mind itself. When the mind is surrendered there is no q11estion of happiness or unhappiness. Because of the thoughts, the past lives' sanskaras are spent away-they come and go. It is like a wound-up alarm clock: it will ring at the appointed time, but only so long as the winding js there will it ring and run its course. But take note not to wind it again by indulging in action. Still if you want to die, die in Me, in my Naad, by getting hold of Me firmly. That is salvation, that is real dying. Worldly dying is not the thing. Remember that the whole world is a zero. Mind is the universe, mind is the man, the woman, the beast.
"Life in the ashram is not only a bed of roses, but of thorns too."
As His work is in life, through life and for life, as One Life in its ultimate meaning, He links all life events with their spiritual good. All our inclinations are used naturally for their perfected expression
by Countess Nadine Tolstoy
In all of life, in beauty and humor, in ugliness and misery, in richness and poverty, He is the One in each heart-in joy or sorrow.
in a detached, impersonal, free way. His main concern is to see that it is done with love, from the heart: work, write, speak, serve from the heart and with that He awakens Love. He makes one rich with love and pure in heart. He says: "Love is God-lust is Satan." He compares the lustful man to a cart on one wheel. Disentangling man's consciousness from bindings, He makes it free. He says: "Spiritual freedom ought to be the only goal of all, for it includes everything elsemoral, mental and material.
"Love is the very essence of Godhood. But not the spider type of love. The spider says, 'Oh fly, for you I have built this palace, come and become one with me.' It is the life-giving love I want, not the life-taking love. All yoga can be done only with love. But it needs the
grace of one who himself has that Love. Love holds all keys to all mysteries of life. Love awakens."
The fundamental law of being is One for all. This happy wise Man says: ''The self is self's curtain. That is why it is almost impossible to know self. It is so completely one that unless there is duality the experience cannot be had; but when the duality is there then ignorance creeps in. Eyes cannot
see themselves unless the mirror reflects them. The sparrow to see itself needs a mirror; but when it sees itself in the mirror, it thinks it is some other sparrow and fights with the reflection. Why? The duality caused by the mirror made the sparrow see itself; but ignorance made it think its own reflection to be another sparrow. Unless there is a mirror the sparrow cannot see it-self and when the mirror comes, the ignorance comes too.
''For the soul to know itself, the medium of Maya and its creations is necessary. But Maya and its creations come, ignorance comes too, and instead of knowing itself through Maya it goes on fighting with Maya. Ignorance must go, and soul will know itself."
Meher Baba says: ''Material freedom binds you to Maya and leads to spiritual avoidance-it is no freedom. The freedom that helps towards truth and spirituality is real freedom. But some who have faith and believe in God lead a life without character and fail
to make any progress; while there are others who do not even believe in God but lead such a noble life that they automatically come closer to God. Whereas atheism is generally born of intellectual vanity, agnosticism may more often than not be the outcome of intellectual humility. Humble, honest agnosticism is sure sooner or later to be converted into firm conviction of the reality of God.
''Uncontrolled mind plays havoc with your soul. My mind is like the ocean: all the • filth, all the good and bad is absorbed in it. In a small pool filth upsets the water. In the ocean all is drowned. So is My mind. Your limited mind
becomes stagnant with a few bad thoughts. Universal bad thoughts cannot affect My ocean-like mind."
So He serves humanity, continuously bearing its burdens. One can well see in Him that, as He says: "Selfless service and love are the twin divine qualities. Only the one who loves can serve."
One day when His work will be done He will lay aside His body, and then His body will be buried in the place assigned. Millions of pilgrims will be drawn to this Abode of Peace and Love; to this Abode of Rest, of Hope, of unforgettable memory, as a unique place for the comfort of the heart. •
fJILGRIM'S PALATE: Spinach Casserole
This dish has been served at many a holiday gathering in Denver. The recipe came to us first from Carol Setapen who, with her family, now lives in Amarillo. It serves eight.
INGREDIENTS:
310 oz. pkgs. frozen spinach
1 /2 cup herbed stuffing mix
1 medium onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 to 2 cups sliced fresh mushroom
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs butter
1 I 4 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Cook spinach and drain well.
Saute mushrooms and onion in butter. Remove to large bowl.
To this mixture add sour cream, stuffing, eggs, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Add spinach and mix.
Place in greased 2 qt. casserole dish.
Sprinkle a little stuffing mix and cheese on top. Dot with butter.
Bake at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes.
This dish can be made the day before, and refrigerated until ready to bake.
OETRY: For Meher Baba's Centenary, February 25, 1994
Wandering in the desert forty years Must have been a myth, a fable, Wouldn't really happen, didn't Couldn't be possible to be lost so long, Caught in hot, dry drifts of sand in an alien land, Feet scorched, eyes swollen shut, skin parched, mouth caked, with shriveled tongue, I thought, a long time ago, Long before this day, Meher Baba's Centenary, When I realized, Because it is so no longer, That my own desert days lasted forty years and seven, Seemingly solitary, No comfort of clan, No knowledge of cables hidden deep, binding me to Him, Though momentary surface glimpses caught my ·· eye in a special way, Since childhood, Only to dive deep again, Awafting the time to reveal themselves.
This ended when I reached the oasis of the Ocean of Love, In Meher Baba's Tomb, Meherabad, India, Two years ago, today. ·
Though brought there before, Just short of two years prior, in 1990. He had shown His face, but I had not truly seen, Had not clearly heard His call, though I was curious, Interested, later fascinated, drawn to Him, Warmed by Him, and His lovers.
But still, a tourist, a visitor, a traveller through this realm.
He worked slowly, knowing my resistance, In spite of my longing for Him.
And when the moment was right, He sprang from my heart, Singing in Gujarati, A private, never ending serenade from the Avatar, Day and night for six weeks. A song which welcomed me home, Out of the desert.
He gave me no choice. I wanted no choice.
Happy, filled with gratitude to be caught in His net, Of His tribe, Again.
AA Atlast.
Susan Paul -Myrtle Beach, S.C., February 24, 1994
"The aim of life is to love God. The goal of life is to become one with God.
BROKEN. DOW.N
SERVING THE AVATAR MEHERBABA COMMUNITY OF NORTH AMERICA
Bhaustock V-Meherana's Inaugural Sahavas
Editor's Corner:
BDFN AT BHAUSTOCK VI
When we decided to do this edition of the BDFN about Bhau
Kalchuri's visit to Mariposa, California we knew we would be up against
a tight deadline. We also knew there would be no better way to capture the
spirit than to be there in person. So a plan was hatched and Baba's play
with His luoers began .... Published bimonthly
The Players: eight Denver Baba lovers sharing "companion" (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $12.00 per year. fares to San Francisco, then renting an"AstroVan" to drive to Canada $12.00 (U.S.) per year. Meherana. Rich Sander, Janet Jacobs, Paul Williams, Judi Schoeck,
per
Denise and Bill Gibson, Janet Dascalos, and Carolyn Adam. Please make checks payable to The Hosts: in Walnut Creek on Friday, six were lovingly
Furniture News. cared for by laurie Brook and Dana, her son. They joined us for
copyright«.? 1994 the drive to Meherana, where Chris & Christi Pearson and
Baba
Center, California Baba lovers were secondary hosts (THANKS, BABA) except where noted. for BHAUSTOCK V.
The Location: Outside the town of Mariposa at Meherana, a fledgling two-hundred-acre Baba retreat in the Siena Nevada Mt.
Range near Yosemite National Park.
The Event: Bhaustock 1994. A sahavas featuring guest speaker
per year (U.S.) Brother (Brave Lion) I<alchuri. Call or write today! (See information above.)
We hope you will get a sense of Baba's fragrance It was diuine.
NEWS NOTES
UPDATE ON LORD MEHER, VOL. VI:
Because MANifestion Inc. received a genuine outcry from those responding that photographs of Avatar Meher Baba MUSf continue to be included in the volumes of LORD MEHER, the prior new plan for publishing has been cancelled.
The next volume of the biography will be over 700 pages, spanning the years from June 1934, where Vol. Vended, to Aug. 1939 when World WarD began. The book is to be printed in Jan. 1995 and will include nearly 200 photographs of Meher Baba.
LORD MEHER (Vol. VI & part of Vol. VD) will cost $75 prepaid until Nov. 1994. Only 1000 copies of the book will be printed, for sale to individuals. People can contribute in a benevolent manner with a minimum of $100 for any one person or family you wished to have named. These Benevolent Spirits can also be listed in all upcoming volumes with a prepaid contribution of $575.
Mail only to MANifestation Inc., POB 7335, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577. Fax: 803-272-9984; phone 803-272-4411.
THE 1994 NOKI'HWEST CENTENNIAL GATHERING FOR AVATAR MEHER BABA will be held from Friday afternoon, July 15 until Sun. afternoon, July 17, at BabaHouse, the 5-acre home of Jim and Jean Wilson, in the Wlllamette valley village of Scotts Mills, about an hour south of Portland, Oregon. Special guest is Bhau I<alchuri, and Bhauji will also be giving a public talk in Portland on Thursday evening, July 14. For further information call Sarah Schall at 503-253-5563.
STRUGGLE FOR NON-INDUSTRIAL ZONE NOW AT CRITICAL POINT
News of a fire at Praveen Organics chemical plant, which is just down the road from Meherazad, was confirmed by Buz Connor. He'd spoken with Ward Parks (who's residing in India). The fire occurred around the sixth of June and was not terribly serious, but city officials have said they would reinspect the facility.
It is critical that Baba Lovers write or re-write officials now. A delegation from Washington, DC recently met with the visiting (federal) Minister of the Environment and Forests, Mr. Kamal Nath. He said his department received many letters, was sympathetic to our cause, and has written an Envr. Impact Report that is being submitted to the Indian Supreme Court. Previously scheduled hearings are to take place shortly after the court resumes July 11.
In addition, a letter of support has been sent by Mass. Sen. John Kerry, who was advised of the problem by aBaba follower on his staff. 1\vo new addresses have been given, and campaign organizers in India urge that we also write to them:
-The Ambassador, The American Embassy, Shanti Path, Chamakyapuri, New Delhi 110 021, INDIA (they should know of potential dangers to foreign visitors)
-Mr. Bimal Jalan, Executive Director for India, World Bank Group, Rm. MC12-433, 1818 H St NW, Washington DC 20433, (currently considering loans to India)
If you have written before, please write again to reiterate. Continued on p. 12.
'fins DATE•••
In Baba History
July 1, 1932 Baba visits Hong Kong.
July 6, 1932 Baba visits Singapore.
July 9, 1932 Baba visits the Buddha and Snake temples in Penang, Malaysia.
July 10, 1925 Baba begins His Silence.
July 10, 1952 Baba begins the Full Free Ufe.
July 18, 1932 Baba leaves India for France accompanied only by Chanji and Kaka.
July 20, 1925 Baba begins writing "The Book'' in the Jhopdi.
July 24,1956 Baba visits Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. for the second time.
July 30, 1968 Baba declares "My work is done 100% to my satisfaction."
August 1, 1949 Baba ends the "Great Seclusion".
August 6, 1932 Baba arrives in Assisi to meditate in a cave used by Saint Francis.
August 9, 1956 Baba visits Australia for the first time.
August U, 1953 Baba gives and partidpates in the Master's Prayer.
August 15-17, 1949 Baba lays out conditions for the New Life.
August 17, 1925 Perfect Master Tajuddin Baba, one of Baba's five masters, drops His body.
August 25, 1949 Mansari is told to stay on the hill near Baba's Samadhi perma· nently.
FEATURE:
Me herana oHAUSTOCK
BHAUSTOCKV
MEHBRANA'S INAUGURAL SAHAVAS
May 28-30, 1994
Bhaustock 1994was trulv a celebration-at the first Baba Center in the fvest to be created after Baba dropped His body! Meherana means ''Meher, come.'' Bhau wrote a ghazal (see next page); which- was put to music by a number of musicians and became the theme song of this Sahavas.
On Saturday afternoon,after opening with arti and the premiere of
rounding villages) in a fashion that does not imitate Beloved Baba's work (bathing and bOwing down to lepers, for example) but honors the fragrance of His work. ·
On Sunday morning, Bhau told us about Naranseva-service to unconscious God. That is what our selfless service could be, and it becomes natural meditation. The following story was shared with us: .
Baba had spedftc work to do with all people and performed service to the middle class and rich as well as His work with the poor. As it was, Baba at one time want''Meher, Come," we were treated to a multimedia program (sldts, song, and dance) celebrating Baba's life. It had first been performed during the Northern California tOOth birthday celebration. David
"Song of the New Ufe'' .was a moving awakening and invitation to alL The quality and amount of talent in this California group was inspir-
The breaking of Baba's silence was originally "Who Am I?" in each
soul. When we answer that question, Baba's silence breaks in our hearts.
ing. It alone was worth the price of admission. Jeff Maguire's humor kept everyone laughing and included the novel idea of creating a tomb at Meherana-for Bhauji!
On the rear of the stage in the meeting place, under a pandal, was a chair used by Baba in India that the Pearsons were given for Meherana; a photo of Baba from Fills Frederick's bedroom, garlanded with flowers; and a cast of Baba's hand. All this was surrounded by beautiful floral arrangements which included tube roses, with their echo of India!
On Saturday evening, Bhau gave us a brief history of Meherana. He enthusiastically applauded its beauty and the hard work of everyone who made this event possible.
Bhauji then related how Baba's birthday is being celebrated in India for 100 DAYS (with programs such as games for children in sur-
ed to work with the middle class in need. Because pride was there, he planned a feast for people in a particular · area, who would not have been able to accept Baba directly assisting them.
One of Baba's mandali members went to make arrangements with a grain dealer, from which gift packets would be made up for
the many who would attend the feast. The man was asked if he could provide this grain as a gift and was happy to do so. Then Baba's mandali member said: another thing we will need is a place to hold this feast. The grainwallah happily. offered his large bungalow, saying he would be glad to move to servant's quarters. It was made clear to him that he would not be able to try and meet the elder brother of the group and he complied. He also helped arrange for preparation of the feast.
Baba then did His work with the needy middle class, hosting a great feast, and then giving gifts with His darshan. Afterwards, as the group was preparing to leave, Baba sent one of the men to thank the grainwallah and tell him he could stand in the distance to have a glimpse only of Baba as the group left. The man wept as Baba walked by.
During Bhau's talks with us, he reminded us of Baba's circular in which He said: ."Be true to the bust I have reposed in you."
As with the Prayer of Repentance, we must have the confidence that as soon as we ask Baba for forgiveness, it is done. What is Baba's business? He told us it was to uturn my liabilities into assets" (sinners into saints). Bhauji encouraged us, saying Baba takes on the duty and responsibility of us as His slaves.
You be here during night
Meher come. Meher come. Meher Come. Meher come. Meher come. Meher Come. began immediately looking for land on which to create a Baba Center for a California Sahavas.
And you be here during day
And let our hearts hear
(chorus)
You are our Beloved
A year later, they had found a location which Bhau blessed on his visit last year. But that was not to be. The contract fell through and the What you want to say.
We are your children
And you are our friend And we want to lose that Which is uselessly gained. (chorus) search continued. Five months ago, a 188-acre site came on the market, which the Pearsons and others saw, fell in love with, and bought.
And you are our Father And we want to surrender Everything to you dear Master. (chorus)
You are here and you are there And there is not away from here. We call you and we call you Come beloved come here. (chorus) would have had the land!
We must forget about the language of sins, Bhauji urged-that makes us weak. Really, we are very, very strong; Baba is quite active in us.
Meher Baba, as Avatar, is Oceanized Ocean, infinitely active. The difference between Avatar and Perfect Master is that Perfect Master is Ocean Oceanized-Perfect Masters have a given span of time in which they are active for the sake of the universe. But the Avatar is infinitely active for creation--Oceanized Ocean.
Baba makes our way clear to the divinity, Bhau said, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. It is not for Him to perform miracles. He has drawn us to Him to embrace us, not to turn us away. He makes us clean, and that is His love.
A Brief History of Meherana
Two years ago, Bhau Kalchuri suggested that in the future the L.A. Sahavas should be held in conjunction with the gathering held at the Pearsons' in Mariposa. Chris and Christi
It is an area with undulating terrain, a creek, abundant water, trees, meadows, and beautiful views of magnificent mountains. Had their purchase been delayed by five minutes, another buyer
Within a two-and-a-half month period, the California Baba groups and other volunteers cleared camping and meeting sites, built roads, constructed shower stalls and dorm areas, built a stage and pandal, rented chairs and outhouses, organized a schedule and entertainment, prepared a menu, and brought in provisions for 400 people! It was an astounding feat and the work that was done was done as carefully and with as much love and attention to detail as it it were done for Baba Himself.- which it was!
On the last moming, Bhauji told us we are so fortunate to have this opportunity to serve His cause. This is the beginning-we must avail ourselves of this opportunity. Always take opportu· nities to come together in Baba's name, Bhau said, unless it is inconvenient, because when we are together in Baba's love, manyness disappears.
sELFLESS
Me herana sERVICE ...
A Messag·e from Bha..u
ers here and I came to know that they are working here continuously-every week-I thought,
It once so hapPened that there was a famine "What an opportunity they have. How they are. in one of the of India and every day it serving!" I should say, when you are serving would aPP.ear m the newspaper about the plight Him you are serving the whole creation. You of those people. But after a few days it appeared have no idea. Nobody knows. Whom you are in the same newspaper .that · , helping you do not know. "I one 'of the capitalists fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiliij;ljjjjjjiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiliiiliiiliiiillliiiiillliiiiiiiiiiliiiiillliiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiliiiil am just serving Baba," that is oplmed a kitChen for the peo-
I see the glory of the thing. Self i$ not there ple. I was very happy. I · th B l d h u · becaW!e you don't know thought;·I/God has given him. . e e ove ere. ne lS . whom you are serving. To wealth but he knows how.to glorified in every heart serve God is the duty of . . use that He is doing because all the hearts everyone. When we serve selfless service." I went to God we are free from the Baba in the evening because I have become one. bindings. was the night watchrilan. Baba The other day when I asked me to press His feet. AS came here and they were just I was pressing the thought came, "That capitalist working and working I knew I could not have is doing selfl5.5 service." And Baba said imme- done such a thing. That is why I feel happy to diately, ''What are you thinking?" "Nothing, bow down to such workers. BabeL" "No, tell me what you are thinking." "About the plight of the people with so many starving, but this man, that capitalist, is doing selfless service. He opened a kitchen." And Baba said, ''That is not selfless service. He is doing good work, but that is not selfless service. He is doing selfish service. How? He is doing this and his name appeats in the newspapers and he feels happy. So he is doing it for the sake of name and . fame. Also, he is doing this knowing full well that if he spends so much he will get a tax deduction. So he is doing good work, but this is not selfless service. Good work, but he is bound.
"And here you are serving me without any expectation. Whatever I say, you do it So you are serving the whole creation because the whole creation is within And you are serving me. So through me you are serving the whole creation and you are free from the binding. You are not bound by that That man is doing good work but he is bound. And that binding he does not know. He feels very happy."
And that is why when I saw so many work-
Wherever we are when we go to Him, He is not far away. He is within, very very close to us. Just go on giving to Him, offering to Him. When we wholehea-rtedly do it, He accepts. And you get inner strength. ·Our Beloved, most compassionate one, most loving oneocean of love.
LIFE IN BABA:
My Fiist to the .L:A. SahavaS by Jack Small
Ed. note: One of Jack's endearing qualities is his ability to laugh at himself. This poignant story certainly illustrates that. It must have taken a lot of strength, as you will see/
I love to Baba by giving talks about Him. Next to feeling Baba's presence, I love sharing Baba with others, and so I had always wanted to' be invited to speak at the L.A. Sahavas. Therefore, the invitation to the 1992 Sahavas was very welcome. But this was not the first time I'd been invited to an L.A. Sahavasf
My friends in Ahmednagar used to encourage me to talk about Baba, but mostly teased me, rightly saying that I was immature and really had nothing to say. In 1984, Bhau Kalchuri was invited to the Sahavas, but was unable to go. One day I came to the Trust Office-on my birthday-and a cable had anived for me. The cable said something to this effect
"DISAPPOINTED BHAU CANNOT COME TO TiiE SAHAVAS SI'OP BY PHONE VOI'E WE INVITED YOU TO BE OUR GUESf IN TiiE SAHAVAS PROGRAM STOP WE ARE THRILLED SI'OP PLEASE CABLE YOUR RESPONSE SI'OP JAI BABA OIRis PEARSON."
As I read the cable I was stunned. I was oveljoyed. I had wanted to visit my family in California for some time, not having been there in seven years, and now I was going to go to California and be the chief guest of the Sahavas, no less! I could see my family and talk about Baba at the same time. And of
all things, the cable came on my birthday! I thought, What a wonderful birthdJly present from Baba. I was ecstatic.
I first went to John Connor to show him the cable. He appeared to be very happy for me. Attempting to be casual, I walked over to Bhauji's office and calmly showed the cable to him, barely containing my excitement as I asked his permission to go. He smiled and said he was happy for me and that it was fine for me to go. The first hurdle was passed.
Then I went to see Mani to show her the cable. She read it lfelt the atmosphere in her office turn to ice. She very seriously looked at me and saic:l, "What will you talk about?" Then she said, "I neither object nor approve." I was shaken by her cool response, but undaunted. At least she didn't say I couldn't go. Then I showed the cable to · Eruch and he read it and smiled.
After I left Eruch, I went to my office and brought Mania poster that described a series of talks I had given in California in 1975, showing her the poster as evidence that I had given talks before. Her demeanor was just as serious as before.
My next plan was to cable my family in California to tell them I would be seeing them next year. Then I got a message to see Eruch. . He asked me to sit down with Craig Ruff, another resident.
Eruch said to me, "Jack, read the cable." I read the cable. Eruch said very lovingly, "Jack, one day you will go out and give - talks about Baba. Now read the cable again, all of it." I read the
cable again, repeating out loud enthusiastically and happily the contents of ·the cable. ·Then again Bruch asked me to read the cable, which 'I did.
Finally, Bruch said again very sweetly and lovingly, ''Jack, you will one day give talks about our Lord." He pointed to the cable and said, ''Where is the cable from?" l looked at the place and date it was sent, u,td saw it was sent that same day I received it Then I saw it originated in Ahmednagar.! With that, I went totally limp, bowing my head at the table, murmur- · ing, ''It's a joke•• .Kleiner and Brown-they did it to me again."
I tumed to John Connor and, like a little boy pleading to his father, hoping he would make it all right, I said to him, ''John, not a joke, is it John?"
John smiled sadly-it was true, it was a joke. I was devastated. All the years of my longing to talk about Meher Baba, to go out and spread His message of Love and 1iuth, all that was suddenly pulled out from · underneath me. Then I found out what had happened.
The night before, Gary Kleiner and Ralph Brown were talldng about how much I wanted to go to the West and talk about Baba, and what a great joke it would be to send me a fake telegram inviting me. Craig Ruff was with them when they came up with this idea. Gary and Ralph went to Poona early in the morning, and Craig thought it was a great idea for a practical joke, espedally since it was my birthday.
So Craig went to John Connor, who having been from
Continued on p. 12.
PILGRIMSMehera na
The Rainbow Connection:
As the eight Denver pilgrims taxied away from the gate at Stapleton Airport into the dark of a threatening storm, we looked out the window of our airplane and saw...a rainbow! We knew the Sahavas had started. Our flight to San Francisco was full of Baba spirit and laughter. In San Francisco, six of us rented a van to take us to Laurie's house, while Janet and Carolyn went off to visit with Kate and Michael ·Mathey. We drove through the bay dty at night, excited by the lights and descriptions pouring forth from Judi and Paul who at various times had each lived there. Laurie and Dana opened their hearts and their home to six .. weary Denverites. Richard helped repay the kindness in the morning, checldng a problem with Laurie's car. Then we headed for Meherana.
In the van, music was provided by a special ''baby tape" loaned by Laurie (created to celebrate a birth). After the occupants laughed their way through 'The Potato Song," they found themselves listening to Over the Rainbow." ·.They applauded the repeat omen, only to be astounded when Kermit the Frog struck up, "Why are there so many songs about rainbows ...and what's on the other side?'' As they howled in delight, a huge billboard appeared on the side of the road with an equally huge rainbow, saying ''Welcome to Mariposa." Not to be outdone, the entrance to Meherana was marked by Baba's rainbow flag!
From Paul:
Meherana means "Meher, come" and Meher Baba definitely came to Mariposa over Memorial Day weekend. In fact, He brought along almost 400 of His lovers to inaugurate the "Center in the West" For three days, he rained down His Love into the parched throats of His lovers (note rainbow story above!).
There was always some new contact being made or an old one renewed. It had all the ele-
ments of an intimate sahavas: hugs, smiles, outdoor showers, pit toilets, dust, poison oak, and lots of noise.
Amid it all, the hand of Baba attending to every detail: the hole under my tent could have been a sleepless disaster, but it fit my hip perfectly and enhanced my comfort; a child comes up to an unnoticed heat exhaustion victim and asks if he can help and then with alacrity fills the request for ice; He prompts me to look up at the last moment and avoid brushing against that stray poison oak branch. Comments like, ''I wish.we could live like this all the time," or ''I wish everyday were like this," were common.
The·tractor acting as Meherana Shuttle chugged up and down over the steep fold of land between the meeting hall and camping area. Children with spray bottles and water balloons ran amok through the dust to cool unwary adults. Spirited water fightS broke out as the day's heat increased.
Bhau Kalchuri was tenderized for his royal "roasting'' which was to take place the following weekend in the Bay Area as a fund raiser for the work now being planned for Meher, come!
Through Carolyn's Eyes
I am a newcomer to Baba. I can't believe I have opened my heart to God, because I have resisted the truth all my life!
Until recently, I had led a very active and productive life, but then everything seemed to lose its significance.
A friend introduced me to Baba and an urge inside me compelled me to learn more. I began reading and assodating with other Baba lovers. Their love ofBaba and the stories of their spiritual journeys to India made me long for a similar experience. I know that Baba is within me, but to see Him in the flesh, to touch Him... well, I knew that was impossible.
Then I heard about the spring Sahavas in Mariposa, California. Six of my Baba friends
The Broken Dcnon Furniture News july-August 1994
were going and I was encouraged to join them. Meeting Bhau would provide the physical connection I felt I needed between myself and Baba.
As we drove to Meherana, I began reading "While the World Slept," and learned about Bhau's coming to Baba, his trials and his joys. I was excited and a bit nervous for my own meeting.
Meherana was beautiful I could see that a great deal of thought went into providing for the comforts of this gathering, without extravagance. I felt very at home with "simple."
I was introduced to Bhau before the first evening program began and was awestruck. Baba's picture was behind me with His loving yet powerful eyes pushing me closer to Bhau. I didn't know what to say, so I smiled and enjoyed Bhau's embrace. My heart was racing. The smile on my face lasted for many minutes after meeting Bhau. It has remained in my heart ever since.
Bhau's stories were thought provoking, humorous, informative and full of love and devotion for Baba. My heart spilled over with my own love. Over three hundred Baba lovers were One with this Love.
A play about Baba's life, and hours of music, much of it original, was performed for our enjoyment. I listened to every word of every song and was brought to tears many times by the loving messages of the performers.
Sunday evening I participated in my first Dhuni. I had learned earlier from Bhau about listening less to my mind and more to my heart. The Dhuni was a very moving experience for me and I truly felt more connected with my heart. I could have stayed up all night, lost in my vast and "unlimited" surroundings.
As the evening came to a close, I moved closer to the fire. The group began singing the American Arti. "Consumed is my mind in your fire and flame " and there He was, Baba, in the two remaining small flames. Whew! He's got me where He wants me. Jai Babal
Janet's story:
I have spent many years longing for India. In April, Judi Schoeck called me about this gathering for ''Bhaustock'' and said some of the
Denver Baba group were going to do "companion fares" to get there and asked if I were interested. I said yes, but I knew that even though I could probably scrape the money together it would not be right, because that would mean that three bills would not get paid. Immediately afterwards I took my daughter, Anna, to Jeffco Recreation where Carolyn Adam works and told her about the bip. I told her it would be absolutely wonderful and that she should give it some thought. She called Judi to get details, and she decided to go! But she didn't know who her buddy would be-there were already an even number of people going. She went home and had a very rough night-once she decided to go she was on fire-and at 1:00 in the morning she said, '1'm going to take Janet, thafs who my buddy has to bel"
The next day she tried to call me, but it was one of those days when I didn't go home after work so I didn't call her back. I didn't get home until after 6:00 and by that time Carolyn was frantic. I kept getting the messages that called, Carolyn called," and finally the last message was, '1'm coming over to see you." When I heard that, I knew.
Had it been anything else I would have been terribly disappointed. Apparently she had spent a lot of time with Nick on the phone asking how to approach me. She was worried about how I would receive this offer. So they had the whole presentation worked out. And the whole time I knew just what it was about. I said I would be absolutely thrilled!
Earlier that day, after day after days of feeling down and depressed, I had suddenly felt as though Baba had lifted a great weight from my shoulders and I didn't know why. After this happened I knew and I pulled out my journal to write in it. My last entry was at our retreat for Baba's birthday. The last paragraph mentions my longing to go to India and I had written, "if not India, I would like to go to Myrtle Beach... or even Bhaustock.1'!
As I wrote in my journal that evening, I remembered that I had told Baba the only way I could go would be if sc>meone would give me the trip, because if someone just gave me the money I would need to spend it paying bills!
DHUNI Me herana
·rHE NEW LIFE
Wlu&tever one thing you throw, make it the medium for your remembrance. And do not think you will not be helped; you will be helped. Throw tmything into the Dhuni. When you confront it again don't think you are disobeying Baba. Don't experience fear. There is no fear in love. Lo'De makes one 'Dety, 'Dety strong. Such lo'De we must ha'De and for that purpose make anything the medium for.J!is remembrance. And the rest Be will look after! Don't worry about anything.
My first Dhuni-DeniseGibson
There were hundreds of people gathered around the stones which formed a ring around the fire. Everyone was we could the procession of forms moving toward the fire, one by one. out of the darkness a song began which filled the night air. One at a time a person would move forward to bow down in front of the Dhuni choose a chip of wood and throw it into the fire.
It took a long time and many songs before I was ready to join the line. I then waited in line, listening, singing, enjoying the moment but unsure of the next step, as I would need to go forth to the Dhuni alone. What would it feel like? Would I find the wood? Heaven forbid, would the flame leap skyward in a great burst as I added my humble offering?
Suddenly I was the front of the line. Someone asked to take my shoes and I walked forward barefoot. As I stopped before the fire I looked down, and there was a casting with the impression of Baba's feet in it! "Oh, Baba!" I said aloud, for it was Uke finding myself standing before the Master. I bowed at His feet, found the wood immeruately at my right hand, named it and tossed it into the fire.
Later Adele Wolkin, who lived with Baba's women mandali, informed me that the feet are the most spiritual part of the body. In allowing people to touch His feet, Baba removed their sanskaras.
Bhauji also spoke to us about the New Life. When Meher Baba established the New Life, He also lived much of it for us. It consists of four phases: the begging phase, the langoti or loincloth phase, the gypsy phase, and the labor phase. It would not be possible, Bhau reassured us, for us to
• empty ourselves-symbolized by the begging phase
• become naked and free from desires-symbolized by the langoti phase
• eliminate expectations and become helpless and hopeless-5ymbolized by the gypsy phase
As our brother told us-without hope, how can you live Ufe? . · .
Our Beloved, Who is very great, the Ancient One, the Highest of the High, has taken the responsibility for these three phases and us only to live the labor phase of the New Life. Bhau said we should have that trust We must only obey the insbuctions Baba gave in His Wish. . .
''The lover has to keep the wish of the Beloved. My wish for my lovers is as follows:
1. Do not shirk your responsibilities.
2 Attend faithfully to your worldly duties, but keep always in the back of your mind that all this is Baba's.
3. When you feel happy, think: 'Baba wants me to be happy.' When you suffer, think: 'Baba wants me to suffer.'
4. Be resigned to every situation and think honestly and sincerely: 'Baba has placed me in this situation.'
5. With the understanding that Baba is in everyone, try to help and serve others. ·
6. I say with my Divine Authority to each and all that whosoever takes my name at the time of breathing his last comes to me; so do not for. get to remember me in your last moments. Unless you start remembering me from now on, it will be difficult to remember me when your end approaches. You should start prac-
tieing from now on. Even if you take my name only once every day, you will not forget to remember me in your dying moments."
Bhauji said: "Do labor phase with all trust and see what happens!"
·The
Pil9,fims get a "Vision ' of the New Life ...
When Richard fixed Laurie's car, their ensuing conversation led to Laurie relating a dream she had during a very difficult period in her life. As she went to sleep one night, she asked Baba how she would possibly make it through In Laurie's words:
''That night I dreamt that I had a bright green classic car-50s era-which I parked to
Any religion is founded just to be a river to lead to the Ocean. When there is no water in any river, we cannot proceed further because they are dry. Baba has come to flood the rivers!
go into a restaurant and show to my friends. As we went outside, my car was gone. I was horrified! I looked up and down the road- and there it was, being driven away by an older man. I recognized him!
He was the town's Master Mechanic and I understood immediately. He was merely taking it for a ride and it was in good hands. As I awoke, I knew I, too, was in the hands of the Master Mechanic."
As we motored from Laurie's house to Mariposa, there ahead of us on the road, being towed-was a classic, bright green car. A coincidence? No way. In three-dimensional gold letters inside the rear window-visible for a long distance-were two words: "NEW LIFE."
Plans for Meherana
On Memorial Day Christi spoke of the future of Meherana and the plans the California Baba group has developed for it.
1. Several Sahavas a year; one this fall.
2. Sponsoring 'teenage and college students to live and work through the summer.
3. Young adult, youth and children's Sahavas.
4. Construction of:
• Toilets and showers 41 priority!
• Baba's home out of stone, down by the river
• Mehera's gal'den around house; roses and other flowers
• Community kitchen
• Meeting hall, including music and art center
• Permanent dining hall with kitchen
• Ubrary and cm:hive center, and video/ computer center
• Cabins
Christi gave out this list before one of Bhauji's talks and said the intent is to take it one building at a time. ''It is a lifetime work, which takes sacrifice. The fragrance ofworkisso precious,"
Christi said, ''I now know
Memorial Day, May 30,1994 was Filis Frederick's birthday.
why Kitty did everything by . herself that she possible could." She added, "Nothing is cast in stone. Come help. Give us yourself, your ideas, your labor. We need your input. This is a place to be with our Beloved-a family home. There is no home without a family-so come and help."
She especially thanked Roz and Mark, Bobby Manonash (Jeff Maguire), all workers, Marilyn, Noreen, Harold, Fred, Dave, Chris, Mik, and BABA! •
Los Angeles, knew how such a cable would be worded. Craig and John then wrote the and Craig went to the telegraph office early in the morning, pleading with the man in charge to send the cable on a foreign telegram form because he wanted me to think it was from the · West rather than a locally sent telegram. Craig explained it was a joke. The man said to Craig, '1 hope he has a sense of humor," and Craig said, "Yes, he does."
Craig showed the cable to Bhau, telling him he was going to pull this joke on me for my birthday. Bhau wondered whether I would find it funny. Craig said that later on, Jack would find it funny; which I do now. Then when Craig heard I was going to cable my family about seeing them in California, · he showed the cable to Bruch and told Bruch to look where the cable originated from. Bruch saw it was sent from Ahmednagar. Bruch looked at Craig and said, "You did this,
News Notes--cont. from p. 3.
An urgent appeal was published in the April-June 1994 issue of "Love Street Lamp Post." This contains very simple sample letters plus all the necessary addresses.
For further information: West Coast Lynne ·Berry at 714-966-1262; Adele Wolkin at 310-540-8404 East Coast Buz/Wendy Connor at 804-723-6259; Charles Haynes/Christopher Wilson at 703-257-1652
High Plains: Judi Schoeck at 303-733-9950.
THE PHOENIX WILL RISE
As Baba would have it, a couple of days after the fire at Praveen
and on his birthday." Bruch then called me over to make me look at the cable.
After Bruch showed me the cable, he put it in his pocket Then I went to Mani and she smiled and told me she knew it was a joke all the time. What a great sense of humor Mani basI was completely fooled by her austere attitude. Bruch then said to Craig, 'Why did you do this? And especially on his birthday!"
I thought that, except for my disappointment, the joke was over. But then throughout the rest of the day, Bruch showed the · cable to whoever came to the office, pretending that it was real. The cable became a litmus test about how people felt·abOut me. He showed it to one person who burned with irritation. I saw the person smoking because I was going to the West to speak about Baba. He showed it to another person who was happy about me going. 1bis went on throughout the day.
Then Bruch took the cable to
(around June 8th), the Meher Center's Happy House was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Jane Haynes reports that the house was not occupied at the time and BDFN's Winnie Barrett said the house was completely gutted and only portions of exterior walls remained standing. Jane said that concern was there since Happy House is so close to Beloved Baba' s house, Dilruba, and Meher House, but not one bush one foot away was even singed. Jane said thoughts of Baba as His penname, Phoenix, came into her consciousness and gave her peace about this incident.
Meherazad, again showing it to the people there. A Westerner who was staying at Meherazad commented, ''They are sure scraping the bottom of the barrel." There was a mixed reaction to my going to the West Ba1 Natu and other Mandali were particularly encouraging that one day I would indeed go to the West and talk about Baba. So that was my first invitation to be a guest of the Sahavas program. But a funny thing happened after this experience. Baba brought up all my desires to go to the West and in a strange way they were satisfied for a few minutes. I didn't feel so enthusiastic about going to · the Wes t for some time after that, until I went to Bangkok in 1986. But that's another story. Craig, by the way, is one of my best friends.
Ed. note: Jack's Bangkok stmy appeared in the March-April,1990 issue of BDFN. "
Wmnie shares some history: Happy House, located in town several miles south of the Center, had been the home of Jane Haynes and her family. When Jane moved to Meher House, other Baba lovers lived in Happy House. It was eventually given to the Center and moved there. The main portion of the house was placed near Baba's House (Margaret Craske lived there during her final years). Other portions of the original home are Cove I and ll, the Thee Room, Cedar Nook, and the Breezeway next to Lantern Cabin-all recycled for use at Baba's Home.
BROKEN. DOW.N FURNII'Ul{E NEWS
SERVING THE AVATAR MEHERBABA COMMUNITY OF NORTH AMERICA
FEATURE ARTICLE: The Magic of Baba's Eyes
EDITOR'S CORNER: Windows by Denise Gibson
THIS DATE in Baba History
FEATURE ARTICLE: The Magic of Baba's Eyes compiled by BDFN Staff
LIFE IN BABA: Homi by Rhoda Dubash
LOVE DIGEST: "Creation's Inner Demand" by Bhau Kalchuri
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Wantons by Ella Dascalos
REVIEW: The Second Coming by Jamie Newelli reviewed by Melodee Koska
s a young girl I can remember hearing my mother say, ''The eyes are the window to the soul." And I knew instinctively that this was true, although I may not have understood fully what the "soul" was. Certainly, when she yelled at I would always look beyond her stem face for a tWinkle in her eyes to know whether I was "safe." In many of those instances her eyes belied her words and spoke more effectively of her underlying love and understanding.
Throughout my life I have loved looking into people's eyes to see their inner beauty. For that matter, I have also enjoyed looking into my dogs' eyes, my cats' eyes, my parakeets' eyes .... They feel so much like doors to the Being beyond our being. So I have paid particular attention to stories about people looking into Baba's eyes, for these were, after all, opporhmities to look into the Soul of souls I longed to know what that was like. This month our newsletter staff has compiled a series of such stories. I couldn't read them without an accompanying kleenex, for tears kept welling up through my "windows." Enjoy!
B ROKEN· DOWN FURNITURE NEWS
"You are all just broken-down furniture. But it is I who have chosen you, so you must be what I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada
Managing Editor
Alice Rybak
Copy Editor/Love Digest
Judi Schoeck
Art Director
Denise Gibson
Production Assistan t Vaira Filipovs
Life in Baba!Pilgrim's Palate Winnie Barrett
News Notesffhis Da te Paul Williams
Poetry Editor Bob Jaeger Reviews Melodee Koska
AMBDC Meeting Schedule Local News Dixon Staples
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Furniture News, P O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA
Phone (303) 333-1727
Facsimile (303) 745-7158
Published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $12.00 per year. Canada $12.00 (U.S.) per year. Overseas $15.00 per year.
Please make checks payable to The Broken- Down Furniture News.
The second annual Rocky Mountain Birthday Gathering for Meher Baba will be held February 2426, 1995. This year we're planning on having a guest join us in celebrating our Beloved's love for us. OUT -OF - TOWNERS: Think about combining this fulfilling Baba retreat with other Colorado business and/ or pleasure!
Because of last year's enthusiastic response, we're encouraging everyone to sign up early. The cost will be $60 per person (room and board), $45 for children under 12 A $20 deposit per person is required by September 30. If you're interested in attending, please contact Janet Dascalos at 303-279-8829.
When in Europe ...
The European Baba Community is planning a gathering in Brittany (France) on the Bay of Morbillian during the weekend of October 21 - 23. The venue is the town of Vannes which is on the Atlantic Coast, gently warmed by the Gulf Stream. The gathering place is located on a small island just in front of the town, within easy reach by boat or a medium length swim. Besides this island accommodation, there are many other practical small hotels on the mainland. Three nights hotel (two persons sharing a room) including breakfast, lunch, and supper is charged at 230 F (£25 or approximately $38) per night per person. The theme will be the New Life and group related topics with, as usual, much opportunity for all to contribute to the discussions. The language will be French and English with reverse concurrent translation. Known and future Baba followers are all very welcome to attend. For details, please contact John and Carol Pullen, 76 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 2BE U.K. telephone (071) 485 7042. Or in French, Christiane Lecourt, Les Rosiers, 72110 Terrehault, France telephone 43 29 32 73.
New Baba Tape
Dancing Pony Productions presents a new audio tape by storyteller Mary Lloyd Dugan entitled ''BA-BA-BOOM! Tales for the Telling." Described as suitable for ages three to nine (or 90!), the tape is $10 plus $2 for shipping and handling. Order from: Dancing Pony Productions, Box 1862, N. Myrtle Beach, SC 29598.
'IHIS DATE...
In Baba History
Septembe)# 1956
God Speaks is released.
September 3, 1945
Narayan Maharaj drops his body in Bangalore.
September 7, 1953
Baba gives the ''Highest of the High" in Dehra Dun.
September 11, 1931
Baba visits Europe for the first time landing in Marseilles, France. It was on this trip from India to Europe that Baba met with Mahatma Gandhi.
September 21, 1931
Hazrat Babajan drops her body.
SepteD1ber29,1954
"Special Meeting" of male followers from both the east and west takes place in Meherabad.
September 30, 1954
Baba gives ''Final Declaration" from Meherabad where He states some of the changes that will occur in the next 700 years, including His next Advent after that time.
October 15, 1918
Sai Baba of Shirdi drops his body.
October 16, 1951
Baba begins Manonash phase of the New Life to accomplish complete mental annihilation.
October 17, 1941
Baba and Upasni Maharaj meet . for the last time.
October 23,1933
Baba spends 24 hours fasting in Avila, Spain.
t is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. Then what of the eyes of the God-Man?
For many, it was through Meher Baba's eyes that they received knowledge of His divinity and supreme love. He often wordlessly expressed significant messages to an individual through a glllnce--a quick look that somehow seemed to be an infinite
But here was the real thing... a being who exuded wit, joy; whose face radiated love and happiness, with a brilliant capacity for handling problems and questions of people from every faith all over the world, and who had around Him a group of strong, keen, selfless men, all beaming the same joy.
His Eyes
False self looking in
Real Self seeing
(From "Never Had I Seen Such moment to the recipient. Many, upon looking into Baba's eyes for the first time, felt as if they had finally come home, mercifully having found what they had always been looking for.
Frequently one felt that Baba knew everything about them with one look into their eyes and yd there was always complete acceptance and unconditional love from Him.
We offer here a sampling, in prose and poetry, of what a glimpse into the eyes of the Beloved can mean to the beholder.
Liquid brown
Compassion infinite
Wholeness that is
Holiness
Fathermother
Love unbound
False self seeking in Absorbed
Drowning
Peace at last.
Never had I seen such eyes before-! did not have any idea Ulat such eyes could exist-and yet, here I was
Robert Dreyfuss 10July1994 looking straight into them through a mist of tears. I scarcely noted that they were brown, very large, keenly intelligent, flashing, expressive, for they had another quality that inbigued and tantalized me as I sat before Him. I kept trying to analyze it in the back of my mind while still striving to focus on a person who was going to mean, I hoped, the end of a long quest.... [S]uddenly I realized what the indefinable lustre in those eyes was-it was bliss! I had read about such but I had never seen it, and little expected to, in our time. Most of the paintings of saints I had seen portrayed them as a mournful and emaciated lot. I couldn't see how communion with God, who is posited as Love, could produce such painful piety.
Eyes," Ivy Oneita Duce: "Notes from a Few Pilgrims." The Awakener, Vol. 11, No. 31966.)
Jean Adriel
I walked to the small courtyard upon which the doorway opened and lit the hanging lantern, then stood in the passageway, waiting. The cars pulled into the driveway. Meredith Starr got out first and came forward with outstretched hand. I returned his greeting, but my eyes were on the Master, who was directly behind him, looking into me with a deeply knowing smile. How long His eyes embraced me I do not know, but at some moment Meredith's voice recalled me to temporal
surroundings: "Jean, this is Shri Meher Baba."
My most outstanding impression of that first meeting is one of peering into bottomless pools of infinite love and tenderness, as my eyes met His. My heart pounded with tremendous excitement and for a while I could not speak. I felt that in an inexplicable way He was the reason for my very existence: That I had never really lived until this moment; that He was deeply familiar and precious to me, even as I was no stranger and very dear to Him.
''I'm so happy you have come," I finally managed to say. Hearing myself say it, I felt acutely the inadequacy of this greeting from one
who had just experienced the merging of time and space into fathomless Eternity in which the cosmic drama, portraying God, was again being cast with the age-old characters re-living their ordained parts
Now, once more, it came to life as I looked into the divinity of Baba's loving eyes and knew that this was indeed the moment for renewing an age-old and sacred relationship
filled with tears which overflowed from a heart that knows only eternal love. I knew then that it was a momentous meeting, not only for me, but also for Him; for reunion with His 'own'
The Painter's Oath
by Phyllis Ott
By magic of the magician of Your eyes. By the enclosed garden of vision within the dwelling of my mind, is ever a joyous experience for the Master.
standing beside the head of the bed) how much He had been helped by the funny stories and jokes sent by Harold-stories and jokes Baba had requested be sent to speed His recovery. I could hear, and slowly my ego was rising with the truth that it was not Harold, but I who had sent these daily helps! I almost made a claim, but thought: Baba said these helped Him. Am I not happy? Did I come here for credit? The ... His eyes were thought had barely reach my consciousness when Baba turned away from Harold to glance at me hanging at the bottom of the bed. And I saw Baba for the first time-His beautiful eyes, His glance and He winked at me.
. . . He looked so deeply into my eyes that to this day, whenever I think of His face, I see those pools of infinite love reflecting into my soul, as if re-establishing an eternal connection
I swear that if You favorable look at my eyes, That I won't hold back my life or my money.
When people hear that I gazed on Your face they want to kiss my eyes.
My eyes are not ignorant for they saw You, Beloved, perfectly.
Lyn Ott
I was looking into one huge eye of Meher Baba, into the seemingly infinite cavern that was His pupil. That was all I could see. He was holding my face so between us.
By the magic of the magician of Your eyes, Phyllis holds You imprisoned in the garden of real vision within (From Avatar, by Jean Adriel.) the imagination of her mind.
Virginia Rudd
Myrtle Beach, the Barn, May 19,1952
Harold said I'm going to look Baba right in the eyes and I'll know whether He is a master or not. But Baba slew Harold with a first glance. When the screen door opened for me, before I could look at Baba, He must have looked at me--l saw only light, beautiful golden light filling the universe. I saw no form, I heard no sound. I was unconscious of the world. But I was in divine bliss.
New York, Ivy Duce's Apartment, July 1952
Standing at the foot of the bed where Baba was bandaged all over from the accident, I did not see him, and I cried inwardly, I want to see You!! Baba was telling Harold (who was
close to His, I didn't know what He wanted me to see when He asked me, "Can you see My face?" What did He want me to see that even far superior eyes could not see? He was holding my cheeks firmly between two cool hands. There was nothing I could do. Though half-blind, I was being asked to see-1 felt I wasn't measuring up to His wish. What did it actually mean for an artist to look into the face of God and confront TilE END? I saw clearly just one thing, that I had come to a critical point within myself. I could never have imagined that in the future I would be spending a considerable portion of my life finding my way with paint into an imagemanifestation of the face of God. But wasn't the whole of painting in its way an offering of sacrifice?
I had come as close as I might ever approach to the throne of God. It is said, no one can see the face of God and live. That is why it is written that Moses was afraid to look in to the face of God. And so, God had to show Himself to Moses in the form of the burning bush for the sight of God is humanly impossible-beyond the endurance of man's mind.
Nevertheless I was definitely in quest of the sight of God. Nothing mattered but that.
... May 22nd was the day that Baba gave me that glimpse. I was drained each day and went to bed early. On that morning I woke before dawn. There was a beautiful fragrance in the room and I heard my name called. I was weeping, unable to stop, and it was painful, yet strangely joyous. Charles came and asked, ''What is the matter mom?" I said: "I must go to the Center." He said the children would manage to get to school.
I stood by the Lagoon Cabin. Someone came and said: "All are to go to the Bam." I sat in the back as usual, on the aisle. The graceful dancers brought Baba in the lift chair. Suddenly He gestured to them to drop the chair. Then He put His beautiful hands beside His face, tilting His head. I knew that He was saying: Did you sleep well, Jane? My mind raced. I said "Yes-No" remembering the waking. He just gestured (there was no interpreter with Him), '1t's all right," and He went on. All through the discourses that Baba gave that morning, He again stilled my mind. I paid attention but did not understand. Maybe once I thought How did He know? Then at the very end I heard Adi's voice, Baba's words: "Only in deep soundless sleep does the Soul return to God. So it will be when you reach the end of your journey. Only then you will be conscious of it. You will see Me and know Me, the Beloved."
Then the dancers took Him through the crowd. Just as they reached me, to my amazement, Baba again gestured to put the chair down. This time He was so close, facing me. Again He made the same gesture: ''Did you sleep well, Jane? Now do you understand?" The words were felt deep within. The Broken Down Furniture
Then He let me look for the first time fully into His glorious eyes ... everything disappeared. There was only Baba, no Bam or people. He was so young and so beautiful. He was the Christ that I had tried to know and love since a child. And I knew Him. I cried out, silently, with all my heart, But it is You. And Baba replied, "Yes, Jane. It is I."
Bill LePage
Conviction about the spiritual status of Meher Baba is somewhat like love, you cannot will it into existence. One day it simply arises and manifests in a feelingful certainty, which while based on countless aspects of His words, actions, and qualities, is also beyond such facts.
As an example of one person's reaction to Meher Baba I would like to read a passage written about 13 years ago by a man after meeting Meher Baba . It appeals very much to me.
'Whether Meher Baba is the totality of Godhood or not, I have personally no way of knowing-! can only measure to my own degree. But to that degree, He is the embodiment of that ideal which I call God. Since Beauty and Knowledge has been the only God I have ever worshipped or pursued, and since this man appeals to my eyes as the very embodiment and manifestation of beauty and knowledge, I call Him God. Not only the all-forgivingness and humor in His eyes, but the very movements of His hands and body, have unlocked regions within me which were unknown to me before. No man or woman, no flight of thought, no aesthetic experience, no sublimity of nature, has touched the depths of me as this man has. I have met no-one, or experienced no experience, which has melted my heart or sharpened my intellect as He has.'
(From "Avatar Meher Baba" -a talk given in Australia by Bill LePage. Divya Vani, December 1967.)
........_
Rick Chapman
. .. Here was Meherazad. A few stone buildings of One Story with a dusty court(ing)
yard between them. When we first arrived I saw no one: a couple of chickens and a dog-now there's a dog's life-looked up a s a trailing cloud of dust caught up with the stopped car. ... I was thinking that it would be a few minutes before Baba called me to see Him, and I added my shoes to the ring of chappals at the threshold of one of the buildings and
... Baba says: "Now is the time for all to understand that I am God in human form." walked in .
Hey, I said to myself, what're all these fellows doing sitting around on the floor and being so quiet? And I recognized Nariman Dadachanji and Francis Brabazon, and I thought, You'd better get your eyes mavin' fast, to find the Man Who's in charge here! I started looking fast but slow all around the room-fast, to find Him quick, and slow, so as not to look right past Him, since it was kind of gently dark. And after wasting two or three year-long seconds, I finally saw Him sitting in a chair in the comer, no more than fifteen feet to my right. Baba was smiling His beaming Babasmile, and I stepped over to His chair and reached out to embrace Him. As I leaned over to lay my heart onto my Heart, I glanced into His light - flashing eyesmoment of Sunbrightness, moment of wordless joy, moment of moments in the arms of God.
(From "Strive to See Me as I Really Am." Divya Vani- January 1967.)
The cloak of Human - ness that God puts on for our human sake is the highest revelation of His God - ness. Tune and time again God manifests His glory to man in the supreme image of the God
Your Eyes
I've searched in faces everywhere for eyes that meeting mine engender no surprise, but joy and sorrow and a wish; a longing that is flame, consuming all that isn't, illumining your Name. To bring you love is but to offer you your own. To worship is but yielding fruit you've sown.
Your et;es, my love, are promises of kisses no mortal man can know. Do I dare? Do I dare to turn around in me and set on trembling foot upon the path known also as abyss and face the windswept desolation of my heart? And could I think to win where gain is loss?
Your eyes, my love, are portals to unfathomed night where purity in silence lies; where light, one piercing ray may turn my inner night to brightest day.
Sam Ervin
From The Awakener, Vol. XIV, No.1 -1971
- Man. In the silence of suffering assumed by the Infinite in finite Form, God tells His creation: "I love you." So that we may love Him as He loves us, He gives us His supremest Blessing in disguise, walking as Man among men, taking on our human - ness which hides His glory from the eyes of the many and reveals it in the hearts of the few. One of my unforgettable moments of sharing in such revelation was at the East - West gathering. A charming and accomplished woman had accompanied her husband across thousands of miles to see Baba for the first time. Nevertheless she had come not prepared to accept Him as the Avatar. After she met Baba, I heard her say with dazed wonder shining through her tears: "Never did I dream I would look into a man's eyes and know without a doubt that I looked at God!"
Although she had His darshan through His beloved eyes, she was given it in her heart-as He has given it to many who have yet to see His human Form.
(From "Letter from Meherazad from one of the Mandali, 14th December 1966." Divya VaniJanuary 1967.)
[IFE IN BABA:
Homi
This story is taken from a talk Rhoda gave in Denver in July 1978. was expecting our first son, our first child. The doctors told me that I was going to have a miscarriage. With confidence in Baba, with love, I told Baba, Baba, I want a child. If you will give me a child, I wiU dedicate him in Your service. It was said in Karachino letters written, nothing. Our son was a full term baby, he was born. At the time of delivery, I had no thought about Baba but simultaneously with this birth, I felt a wave with the love of Baba just passing through. When we sent word to Baba that a son had been born, Baba sent a cable, "My love and blessings to Rhoda and Adi, and the child," and then later on, ''RhodaAdi's child to be named 'Merwan."'
Merwan was one and a half years old a hadn't said anything about my prayer) when we took him to Baba. This time, Baba's darshan was given in what was later to become Adi Sr's. office in the Trust compound. Baba came there. Baba called for Merwan first. Merwan was taken in. Later on, we were called for. When we went in, Merwan was playing in the room, just as though he was at homecompletely at home; a 1-1/2 year old baby just crawling on the floor or running about, and we were sitting in front of Baba. We had no questions, The Broken Down Furniture
by Rhoda Dubash
nothing. Suddenly Merwan said, '1et's play, Baba," like a child, spontaneously. Baba turned to him and then took up His board, and on the board Baba spelled out, "Out of the many on the waiting list, I have selected him." And I remember vividly, J}lat I just garlanded Baba silently saying inwardly, Thy will be done.
Before I tell you this incident, let me quote Baba's words, because just telling incidents has no meaning. Baba has said, "People should look upon physical and mental suffering as gifts from God. They bring their own lessons of the futility of the world and the intrinsic worth of the Eternal. When accepted with grace and understood in their very root cause, they chasten the Soul and introduce it to the abiding happiness of Truth." This is what Baba has told us about suffering.
Merwan was our eldest son. We had another son by the name of Homi. Whenever I was with Baba, I always noticed one thing, that Baba would ask me about Merwan, but somehow or other, Baba would never ask me about Homi. When we saw Baba at the Karachi airport also, I put Merwan in His arms but the minute I tried to put Homi in Baba's arms, He stopped me.
Once, when I was with Baba in Satara, alone, Baba asked me a question. He said, "if I were to ask you to give Me your son, would you give him
to Me willingly?" I interpreted this as Baba asking me that He would take my son for His resident mandali, and of course, with joy in my heart, I told Baba "yes, of course, Baba." Here is a glaring instance of what happens when we try to comprehend His words intellectually. Even words that are spoken directly to us fall short because we try to understand that which is beyond intellect and beyond human comprehension.
So eight months later, in April1955, when our son Homi was 4-1 /2 years old, he fell from our first floor window and within half an hour, he died. When the doctors told us that Homi had died, it was a complete shock. We brought him home and of course, by that time, friends and family had already started coming. Suddenly, Adi comes to me and says, "Look. It's time for our jap. Do not allow anybody to touch Homi's body 'til I come down from my jap."
Now I must explain to you what this jap is. Jap is an Indian word meaning something like "meditation." This was an order that Baba had given us to repeat His name out loud. He had sent a circular saying that round-thedock jap should be made for a certain period of time. All the Baba people had collected and we had decided who will start from 5:00 to 5:30; somebody else will pick it up from 5:30 to 6:00, and from 6:00 to 6:30, so
we had given each a time. You had your time and you do it, you continue it in your own place or where you wanted.
So this was round - theclock jap, and Baba had ordered us. Adi comes to me and says that it is time for the jap and he must go; and Adi went Five o'clock was my time for the jap. As soon as it was 5:00, I went up to continue with the jap. Minoo, one of Baba's disciples there, he knew, and he immediately followed us and said, ''Look, a lot of people have already collected downstairs and your presence is necessary. You must go down, and I will continue the jap for you." I told him I must go in, and I must start the jap. For five minutes, I went into the room to continue the jap. When I came out of the room, I stopped moving like an automaton and I was quite normal.
Looking back, two things stand out. One is that I kept telling my son silently, go to Baba; Homi-go to Baba; find Him and tell Him that "I have come to You." Second thing, that some way or the other I had heard or read that Baba does not wish that His disciples should weep and moan. People in good faith tried to make me weep, but tears would not come, and I did not want to cry. These are the two things that stand out here.
When it was time for Homi's funeral, there was such a beautiful smile on his face. The face was so radiant, that I
felt, instinctively, I knew that he had met Baba; he had met his Maker. Confirmation of that fact came, when Dr. Gober wrote to me and said, ''Baba says little Homi has come to Him, and is with Him." As always, the Compassionate Father heard our prayers. He heard, and when little Homi's photo was sent to Him, Baba very lovingly took little Homi
Here is a glaring instance of what happens when we try to comprehend His words intellectually. Even words that are spoken directly to us fall short because we try to understand that which is beyond intellect and beyond human comprehension.
in His hands. Then He asked for a torch [flashlight]. Baba focused the torch on Homi, looked at him for a few seconds and handed over the photo to Bruch to be sent to Adi and me both with the following instructions: ''Baba with His hands touched Homi. Frame the enclosed photo and
keep it near you. When you say that Homi has come to Baba, then you too, must feel great relief and with this knowledge, Baba wants you both to feel happy/' Today, Adi and I thank Baba from the bottom of our hearts, for the 41/2 years that He gave us Homi' s company. Also, that very early in life, He taught us a lesson, that only Baba is real. His is to give; His is to take; ours is to accept with grace. Don't lose sight of the fact that He also gives us the courage and the fortitude. Because of Baba, one had, one has, and one will always have the courage to face the so-called tragedies and calamities that one has to pass through in life. I am saying from experience that without Baba, the same tragedy would have left me a sour, impudent woman. He is always beside us, upholding us; He is the rock. No matter how much you lean on Him, He will support you. He is our rock; He is our haven; He is our refuge. Baba has said "At times, you feellOO% miserable; be sure that I know everything. When everything goes wrong, the mind becomes helpless and has to rely on the heart. These are the moments when you resign to My will and rely solely on My help. When you leave all to Me, I dare not neglect you. You get relief from your predicament. I am the Ocean of Love and Compassion."
OVE DIGEST: Creation's Inner Demand
from Avatar of the Age Meher Baba Manifesting by Bhau
The human form, or human consciousness, is the apex of creation. Because man is at such an evolved position in creation, the way that he uses his consciousness affects the whole evolutionary scheme. In this age, man has approached his inner problems by depending upon himself; and that has been by activating and exploiting his scientific genius. Since mankind has spent most of its creative energy in the pursuit of sdence and technology, man's point of view about the creation has changed. The natural inner demands of the soul for unity have been displaced by increasing outer demandsmaterialism. Mankind has mechanical devices and inventions which have compelled the world to produce a life style that tries to keep pace with machines. In this way, man's mind has increased in speed. Though the mind of man has speeded up in full force, it has proven a futile pursuit to fulfill the outer demands of materialism. Because man has been diverted from the natural process of fulfilling his inner demands, unnatural tendencies have arisen in his behavior and mentality.
When the world is viewed as only a place to fulfill materialistic demands, automatically alienation from one's fellow man intensifies. Alienation intensely increases as antagonisms and hostilities break out between persons, families, societies, and nations. Self-interest and exploitation become prevalent in every walk of life, whether it be business and finance, industry and science, politics and religion.
In an overpopulating world the scientific mind is challenged to meet outer · demands with a greater supply of the world's resources-food, housing, comforts, medicine, etc. The mind of man, now acquiring more unnatural tendencies from the speed with which it moves, attempts more unnatural methods to solve the problems of the world. Because of man's state of unnaturalness and the unnatural methods his mind pursues, the structure of the earth changes and the whole environment of the world becomes unnatural. By now there is not one stage in the evolutionary scheme that is not adversely affected. Chemicals are used to produce large yields of crops, but these exhaust the soil. These chemicals produce dangerous by-products in the grain, fruits and vegetables discovered to be the cause of disease. Animals and poultry are bred unnaturally by being injected
by Bhau Kalchuri
with chemicals to grow faster and larger, but the dangerous side-effects of disease also lurk in this meat. The mammoth factories producing machines for every purpose, war or by breeding more and more materialistic desires. Factories have polluted the environment-the air, the waters, the lands. Disease, if not death, lurks in all the pollution. The grafting of various animals or vegetation brings unnatural sanskaras into the animal and vegetable stages of evolution. The experience of the evolving soul is hampered through man's actions, and no progress can be made for these souls in evolution until these unnatural sanskaras are wiped clean. In each man, these unnatural sanskaras must also be wiped clean or there will be no progress toward involution. The process of evolution is a natural one. But, when the evolving species face the unnatural sanskaric tendencies of man, they also become unnatural. Nature's law is balance. Constant adjustments are being made between heat and cold, light and rain, soil and the elements. When proper balance is maintained the process of evolution flows smoothly. However, by man's actions now being so unnatural, the balance of nature is drastically disturbed resulting in destructive chaos
resulting in destructive chaos in the world. Nature tries to adjust itself. Floods, droughts, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, hurricanes, even diseases are among some of the ways by which nature seeks to balance itself on earth. The reaction of nature's forces is a warning to man that his actions are unnatural, that he should be true to his inner demands. When the inner demands are acted upon, automatically they set a proper balance within the human mind's consciousness and adjust the physical condition.
When creation is thwarted with unnatural processes it seeks divine intervention. This is the time when the Avatar must descend upon earth and intervene. With the Avatar's intervention at every level of evolution, the whole of creation once more comes into harmony with the divine plan, which is the natural process in evolution and toward involution.
Avatar Meher Baba's manifestation will be the greatest of this cycle, since the extreme unnaturalness in the world demanded more of His work than ever before. He has to work universally to bring the necessary equilibrium between the forces of nature and man, so that the process of evolution will once again flow naturally throughout the universe. Because of His work on earth human beings will receive an inner push toward involution.
Life in the world is at such an extreme speed. This shows that unnatural sanskaric tendencies in man have overwhelmed life and mind; therefore, the limited mind of millions of human beings will need to rest for a long while. During this long rest, the minds of those human beings will be shedding their sanskaric unnaturalness. This long rest will involve the destruction of three-fourths of the unnatural sanskaric tendencies in the world. This sanskaric destruction will also happen through natural forces
and man -made forces. Whatever means are necessary to restore natural balance on earth have to be utilized by the Avatar, so that nature can be renewed and maintained to fulfill the purpose of the creation. The purpose of creation is that the process of evolution and involution continues to go on smoothly and harmoniously throughout the universe. The Avatar's work makes certain that this happens in the universe and on earth, in accordance with the original divine plan of creation.
f>ILGRIM'S PALATE: Wontons
This wonton recipe was served as part of Ella Dascalos' birthday menu in December 1993.
1 -6 oz. pkg. of frozen snow crabmeat, thawed
4 oz. of cream cheese, room temp.
1I 4 red pepper, minced 1 scallion, minced
4 water chestnuts, chopped 1/4 tsp. freshly grnd. black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced 1 -16 oz. pkg. of wonton skins
Vegetable oil for frying
Drain the crab, squeezing out as much moisture as possible. Put it in a mixing bowl and combine all ingredients together. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Heat oil to 375° in a or wok. Put 1 tsp. of the filling into each wonton wrapper and fold. Fry the wontons a few at a time until they are golden brown (about 2 minutes). Drain on paper towels and serve hot. (Makes 50 wontons.)
Garlic - Soy Dipping Sauce
4 Tbs. soy sauce pinch of sugar
3 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. minced scallion
1 tsp. oriental sesame oil (use half hot oil, if you wish)
Mix all ingredients together shortly before serving.
What one seeks with all one's heart one gets. When you say you sought and did find, it means you did not seek as you ought to have sought.
f{EVIEW: The Second Coming by Jamie Newell; reviewed
by Melodee Koska
treasure of new Baba songs is presented to us in Jamie's latest tape, The Second Coming, which he has dedicated to "my personal savior, Avatar Meher Baba."
The tape begins with the only song not written by Jamie, The Seven Names of God,' composed by Meher Baba. It is simply performed, a cappella style, and is hauntingly beautiful.
The next song, 'Returning' ("eternally returning to You"), touched and opened my heart, bringing to mind images of all souls trudging across miles of desert sand, for lifetimes, on our way Home to Him.
There are plenty of slowpaced, heartfelt tunes on this tape, with lyrics expressing the longing for God and a constant yearning to be free from this
world. Among these are 'A Song Not of This World' and 'Blessed Savior' ("won't you take my hand tonight, won't You guide me through the darkness, and lead me to the Light'').
•
Two of my favorite songs I found to be very comforting and brought tears to my eyes are: 1 Tum to You' and 'I Have a Friend' (''I will never understand why You love me so; when You take my hand all I really know is I have a Friend!").
There's also a song of the lover's question to the Beloved, 'Oh Meher, What Shall I Do?' The answer is given at the end of the song, providing a beautiful reminder to all of us whenever we find ourselves worried over this question.
Remember the story of the mast who saw Baba and exclaimed: "Can't you see Who He is?" Jamie created a wonderful blues-style piece from those words uttered by that lover of God.
The tape ends with the delightfully lively 'Praising My King,' which made me want to dance for joy, with a heart full of praise and love for Baba.
Also available from Jamie is Zen and the Art of the Blues. As the title suggests it is blues music with a zen flavor to the lyrics, such as this saying attributed to the Buddha: There is no way to happinesshappiness is the way.
Inquire about these and Jamie's earlier tapes from Minor Incarnations/Blue Sadhana, PO Box 120064, Nashville, TN 37212. •
BROKEN . D OWN
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1994
Ihave learne d how difficu lt it is to follow Him, and how impossible it is not to.
I once had a dream; I was pouring my heart out to Baba, and I said: "Baba, my life is a wasteland; my life is a desert." And Baba's reply to me was, "Henry, I am the desert."
It's in our hands whether or not we can eliminate the 99% of suffering that Baba says zs unnecessary and leave only the one of sufferzng for Goa.
Take great heart, because this one habit that you're · developing, · within a very few years can
·counteract the habit that has been developed
in your consciousness from the beginning of time
EDITOR'S CORNER: by Judi Schoeck
THis DATE in Baba History
FEATURE ARTICLE: 100 Minutes with Henry Kashouty by Judi Schoeck
LIFE IN BABA: Three Great Personalities by Najoo Kotwal
LoVE DIGEST: 11What Is Worthwhile?" by A.K. Das
PILGRIM'S PALATE: Chicken Nut Stew
POETRY: The Privilege of Your Love by Fred Schwager
Editor's Corner:
We hope you will find this issue of the Broken Down Furniture News meaningful in your journey towards your Beloved. It has come time for the newsletter in this form to dissolve-too many pieces done by too few people too little money coming in to cover expenses.
Perhaps, though, as one form dissolves, another gels. A few staffers, former staffers, and more ofBaba's "communicators" are talking about what we could offer as a real national group, producing a publication that would help us commune and cohere as sisters and brothers in Baba's love.
Stay tuned! And for those with time left on their subscriptions, please be assured that you'll be the first to see the fruits of this dream.
So, until another external link is formed, may we cherish the internal links between us that have been formed and fired by the Ancient One, Who alone exists.
Avatar Meher Baba, Ki Jai! • -JS
BROKEN· FURNITURE.Nmw
uYou are all just broken-down furniture. But it is I who have chosen you, so you must be what I want."
-MeherBaba
A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Denver Center, serving Baba lovers and groups in the United States and Canada.
Managing Editor
Alice Rybak
Copy Editor/Love Digest
Judi Schoeck
Art Director
Denise Gibson
Production Assistant
Vaira Filipovs
Ufe in Baba/Pilgrim's Palate
Winnie Barrett
News Notesll'his Date
Paul Williams
Poetry Editor
Bob Jaeger
Reviews
Melodee Koska
AMBDC Meeting Schedule
Local News
Dixon Staples
Business Manager
Jan Cohen
Address all correspondence to: The Broken-Down Furniture News, P.O. Box 6571, Denver, CO 80206 USA.
Phone (303) 333-1727
Facsimile (303) 745-7158
Published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.). $12.00 per year.
Canada $12.00 (U.S.) per year. Overseas $15.00 per year.
Please make checks payable to The Broken· Down Furniture News.
All contents copyright e 1994 Avatar Me)ler Baba Denver Center, except where noted.
NEWS NOTES
Seclusion Hill
The following information has recently been posted at Meherabad at Mimi's request:
Seclusion Hill is a treasure left to us from the life of the God-Man. Beloved Avatar Meher Baba stayed on the Hill in for several days at a time on many occasions over the years. In 1947, Baba had two cabins built on the HillI one in which He did His universal Work, and one for Him to rest in. In 1951, returning to Meherazad at the end of the New Life phase, Baba remained atop Seclusion Hill for 30 days. After this, Baba had the cabins taken down and reassembled at Meherazad for completing His Man-o-nash work.
The slopes of Seclusion Hill have been blessed with His footsteps on numerous occasions. In 1955 Baba Himself led groups of Sahavasees up the Hill and told them of its importance, for now and for posterity, when thousands will come to the Hill because of the Universal Work Baba did there in seclusion.
It is only natural that Baba lovers, especially children, like to take souvenir stones from the Hill. But the mandali ask all to please be aware of the longterm effect of carrying away stones. They request that, if prompted, pilgrims take only one small pebble as a sacred - memento, and help preserve Beloved Baba's Hill at Meherazad.
-Meherazad Mandali, 8/94
Good News About the Chemical Plant
This is excerpted from a letter dated August 2, 1994: "happily, recent developments have given us hope that the end of this chapter is drawing near. One of the respondents in the case filed by our dear Dr. Goher Irani in the Supreme Court at New Delhi is the Ministry of Environment and Forest. This department has taken our side in the dispute, and filed a supporting affidavit on 11 July, 1994 when the case first came up for hearing.
You will be glad to know that in the final disposition the Director has openly declared that 'In these circumstances, it is submitted that this HonourCourt may allow the SpePetition filed by the Petitioner and direct the respon?ent industry (Praveen OrganIcs) to stop production, processing, storage and handling of the chemicals which are of hazardous nature.' In an earlier paragraph the same agency also suggested to the court 'In • I v1ew of the nature of the chemicals processed by respondent the industry needs to be shifted from the present site.'
· · · We understand that another agency of the Central Government, the Pollution Board, has also filed an affidavit on similar lines. The Supreme Court justices have given the appropriate agencies of the State of Maharashtra (who are also defendants) fifteen days to file affidavits of their own.
Although this submission will definitely be very helpful to our cause, we cannot say what the ultimate result will be.
'luiS DATE•••
In Baba History
November 6, 1931
Baba's first visit to the U.S. He arrives in New York and stays at Harmon on the Hudson.
The lighting of the first Dhuni.
December 2, 1956
Baba's car accident near Satara, India. His face and head are badly hurt, His tongue is tom, and He sustains a fracture of the right hip bone socket.
December 22, 1907 Mehera J. Irani's birthday.
By way of clarification, we would like you all to know that the Trust is in no way involved in this campaign, and not a single rupee of Avatar Meher Baba Trust funds is being spent for this purpose. The matter has been undertaken solely by private individuals. We hope that you will inform all concerned accordingly.
In any case, we feel that this confrontation is Baba's fame; His name is now known to the Central and State governments, the Judiciary, and the public at large through the press.
We were really very happy to receive the beautiful response from you all and highly appreciate it. It has had an impact. Baba willing, we shall all rise to the occasion of preserving the precious lives of His Mandali His loving legacy to us all. ' Jai Here, In His Service, Jal P. Dastur •
fEATURE: 100 Minutes with Henry Kashouty by
Henry Kashouty serves as a general district court judge in Virginia. Kecha and Henry Kashouty live in Hampton, VA.
BDFN: My understanding is that you were introduced to Baba in 1955 through God Speaks.
Henry: That's right.
BDFN: And that you had correspondence with Him. You met in 1956 for the first time, and then you attended the Myrtle Beach Sahavas in '58 and the 1962 East-West Gathering.
Henry: Right.
BDFN: Would you like to add anything to that?
Henry: My first letter to Meher Baba was in effect, '1 have your book, God Speaks-it has great meaning for me, I want to meet you and I don't think that's impossible." I still remember those words, and that I knew He was the spiritual authority. And, His response: He pointed out that my connection with Him was of long duration . And that wasn't a surprise, as strange as it may sound. Anyway, the feeling I had about Him was that no, it wasn't impossible, I wanted to meet God in human form-that wasn't impossible.
BDFN: How is your relationship with Baba different now from when Baba was in the body?
Henry: Well, the growth that we all feel is the same with me. Looking back on first having conviction about Him-the difference between myself then and myself now, I would say really-all the difference in the world. Because conviction about Baba has to become something that enables you to face all the many things that we have to face in life. In order to do that and to hold onto Baba, that conviction has to become very, very strong. It has to become 100%, like a small flame growing into a great flame. And I had the conviction from the very beginning. As a matter of fact, I had certain experiences even before Baba, through my own efforts at desperately trying to find meaning in life. I began to recognize the greatest thing that I could understand about life was what a human being was capable of, in terms of becoming truly a beautiful human being, in terms of compassion, understanding, intelligence-all the things that I could recognize in some people and imag-
Judi Schoeck
ine about a human being. I really wanted to become like that-unselfish, full of humor, nothing bothering me, having great courage, all these things . That was how my spiritual growth began. I began to examine every single fault that I had. All my faults, I found, were really selfish, they were all concerned about my own enjoyment in one way or another I began to change all of my habits, all of my thinking. And then I began to experience some very beautiful feelings inside, so I really didn't think I needed anybody because I was improving. I was finding meaning and putting into practice what I could recognize. And in asking Baba if these experiences were real, He said: "yes, but you had no spiritual responsibility then."
The difference between then and now is all the difference in the world, because if I couldn't find Baba's immediate presence, seeing Him or not seeing Him wouldn't matter. We have to find Baba's Reality within. Baba's totally Universal. He is as dose to you as He is to Mehera, or to anyone that we don't know anything about who is way up there. Well, Baba had to become something so concrete and something so immediate to me, because I envied, I had deep regrets about not being with Baba, during the Three Incredible Weeks-I found out too late. I used to eat my heart out about not having known, not having been over there. It was Kecha who finally asked Baba, and Baba said, "Had he come, he would not have returned." It's wonderful to hear that, but it's not enough-it's not enough. The only thing there is "enough" about Baba is to find His presence right now-each one of us can do that. And the best thing in the world is the difficulties. I don't want them, but I recognize those difficulties made it more necessary for me to make the effort to put my mind more and more on Baba. That's all that is required.
From the very beginning I could believe Baba saying He was God in human form without the slightest doubt. Since then I have learned how difficult it is to follow Him, and how impossible it is not to. That's basically what it is. The impossibility of not following Him. Following means to obey Him, and obeying Him means to do what Baba wishes, which is to put
Him first in every thought, word and deed. And that is the work for each one of us.
It's fine to analyze all the discourses, the many things that Baba says. Why? First of all they're extremely interesting-they point to the whole meaning of life! But, that doesn't give you an experience. The experience is given to you by focusing on Baba, and making Him first. By making Him first, you're likely to try to please Him. And trying to please Him is to try to accept everything that happens in your personal life as His Will. And you need Baba desperately to be able to do that.
BDFN: How do you understand the difference between Baba's wish and Baba's will?
Henry: First of all, do we know what Baba' s Will is? Only in the broadest strokes. Baba is doing all that which brings about the greatest pressure for the individual to give up and say: I surrender, Baba. His Will is to bring about that which will cause the individual to struggle to cry out for God because he's at bay in the world outside, and he's at bay within his own conflicts in his own mind.
We have to find that there is no possibility of happiness in illusion. In every slight imaginative recognition that there is a possibility of a good life, a happy life (if I achieve this, if I achieve that, if I do this, if I do that)-the bankruptcy has to become very clear. The Source of everything is God, and it's the real God we're talking about now-not the God of the subconscious, not the God of the emotions.
What did Baba say? There are 7,000 people on the spiritual path out of 5 billion, or something like that. Yet, no one's ahead of anybody else. If you've been through the school of life in the gross world so many times, why shouldn't you know more than someone who hasn't had that advantage, but who will have that advantage at one point. So, it's very fair I used to wonder: Baba, do you really mean 8,400,000 human lifetimes? I said, "it can't be!" But it's precisely that. It's in His writings here and there, eight million four hundred thousand HUMAN lifetimes. I honestly believe that for all of us in Baba's family, those 8,400,000 lifetimes are pretty much behind us. We have gained the conviction, so now, in my opinion it is in our hands-not how many lifetimes we have yet to go, I don't know that-but it's in our hands whether or not we can eliminate the 99% of suffering that Baba
says is unnecessary and leave only the one percent of suffering for God
In that sense, our conviction is a very precious thing because it was given to us by God the Beyond Himself-Baba. Baba gives that gift of conviction immediately when the individual comes to that point in his journey to the goal where it will bear fruit, it will germinate. He gives that gift, He can't wait to give that gift to the person whose interest in illusion has waned sufficiently as a result of all those millions of lifetimes where he or she has experienced every conceivable kind of life.
So, the most important thing now for each one of us is to desperately try and find how we can manage to keep in the front of our minds this magnificent gift that we have, and to not let go of that daaman. The whole reason for creation is now within our grasp. We must not allow our minds to succumb to the habit that those 8,400,000 human lifetimes have made into an impossibly formidable obstacle: identifying so totally with the body. We have the means of stepping out of illusion, with our hand in the God-Man's hand. Everything that happens in life catches our attention, because we've come from duality, our consciousness grew to evolve that way. Everything in life is looked at and searched for because we want relief from boredom. Duality means boredom. The absence of conscious experience of Reality, which is our own real Self, means boredom. The only answer to boredom is the God-Man. We have to find the way to make the God-Man the antithesis, the antidote, to timeless boredom by constantly struggling to find happiness in illusion, where it cannot exist, where it has never existed.
That's what I think of when I think of the words to ''Begin the Beguine"-"now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted, I know but too well what they mean"-letting Baba' s daaman slip from our grasp. He places in everyone's path the least difficult obstacles for us to confront and, with Baba, overcome. Everything that happens to you and to me is the least difficult ....
BDFN: The least difficult?
Henry: Absolutely, I'm 100% convinced that if we only knew the enormity of Baba's compassion for those that He's gently trying to awaken-we're already being taken directly to Him. That's what He's there for, to bring us as -continued on next page.
rapidly as possible, once that gift of conviction is given, directly to the goal.
Impersonal karma is out. In 1958, Baba said something about our being veiled. Veiled to me means that when the Avatar comes, He veils those who are connected with Him. There are many who are on the planes. Well, not many, but there are a number who are consciously on the planes. What they experience sounds magnificent to me. And yet that is the impersonal God that they have been focusing When the Avatar comes, He is the personal God.
During an Avataric period the greatest change in creation comes about My way of understanding Baba is that each succeeding Avataric advent is a continuation of the last advent. So we are at the highest point, in terms of access to the goal, that we've ever been in our human history. And that's what we must pay attention to, because pre-human history is so difficult . It's lust, greed and anger-and you know how difficult those things are to get rid of. It takes God Himself. The entire human past, let's say 8,400,000 human lifetimes, can be counterbalanced in one lifetime substantially enough so that you don't care how many lifetimes you had. It's like that Saint who said, ''I would be born a hundred times as a dog just to be near Baba!"
Once you get to that point of love being awakened inside, you begin to fall in love with Baba. People think that's an easy thing. It's a difficult thing because to fall in love with Baba you have to obey Him. What does obedience mean? It means turning your back on your own desires. And you know your desires should be turned away from, you know that. But how difficult is it to do that? It's very difficult, isn't it? All right, but that's what Baba enables us to do. Baba enables us very much to do the impossible. That's why it's so important that we not allow His daaman to slip from our fingers, not forget that the greatest thing in creation we already have.
Now we have to work to focus on that greatest thing in creation. The means of stepping out of illusion, carried in the arms of the Avatar, is to focus on Him every single moment. It doesn't . make any difference if you're the President of the United Nations or the United States, if you're the richest person in the world, if you're a beggar someplace in some derelict community, having a hard time just surviving. None of those things make any difference once you have conviction, because then suffering, or the difficulties in life, all help. What we need to do is to elimi-
The Broken Down Furniture News November-December 1994
nate the 99%. We can do it. We must do it. We can find the happiness of Baba's Reality no matter where we are.
You asked about the difference between His wish and His will. We can't know Baba's will. He does everything that is for the best interests of the entire creation. That's His will. His wish is that we make an efforf to focus on Him. This simply means remembering Him, because when we remember Him, we know that we try to put Him first in everything. We try to be honest in the things that we do and say; we try to be considerate, to avoid reactions that are just very natural for us when we confront people who do things we don't like. His wish is that in remembering Him, we make the effort to put Him first and by putting Him first, we develop that equanimity that quiets down emotions.
Remember, emotions are ignorance. And the only way that we quiet them is to either bottle them up inside, or truly sublimate them by putting Baba first. That's the ultimate sublimation Our effort to do that is very, very possible because when Baba said ''I am God," we believe Him. That is Baba's wish-to remember Him, say His name, surrender to His will, obey Him. However you want to line those up. And accept all as Baba's will; everything that happens. It's like Baba says, everything that happens to you is My will. How you take it is your will.
BDFN: When you say "emotions are ignorance," do you mean that they are from an earlier make-up, or more primitive responses?
Henry: No, I think that is the condition of a human being. Until the human being becomes so advanced, the individual is bound to have emot,ions; and emotions are not knowledge. You remember Baba' s statement: "mind working normal is man; mind working fast is mad; mind slowed down is saint; mind stopped is God"? Well, you can reflect on some beautiful thing, and say you have a lovely emotion, okay? It is still ignorance because you're not experiencing · the truth .
I once had a dream; I was pouring my heart out to Baba, and I said: "Baba, my life is a wasteland; my life is a desert." And Baba's reply to me was, "Henry, I am the desert." See, the oasis is the illusion. In trying to figure out how emotions are ignorance, I was able to see I don't want anyone to disturb my nice emotions. And the equanimity of someone who is focused on Babahe's not tossed about like a leaf in a turbulent stream so much, you see? He's like a rock in the
turbulence of life.
BDFN: When you spoke about the practices that you were doing to change before you met Baba-how you responded to things to grow into the embodiment of truth as you saw it-you said Baba told you: ''Yes, but you didn't have responsibility at that time." Please say a little more about that in terms of living our lives forBaba.
Henry: That was before I consciously knew of Baba. Now that we know about Baba, we have spiritual responsibility, duty. We have to make the effort to focus on Baba although we just don't see Baba, Who is ever present, physically, as we see other things. He is very much present and very much accessible, and very much attainable. Those of us who are conscious of Him and believe Him are channels, and by focusing on Him more and more, we come clearer and clearer channels for His work. It's incredible that the sole Authority in creation, the infinite power of creation, is able to work through each one of us little ones as His channels. It doesn't take us doing something that the world recognizes as great. What it takes is our focusing on Him and trying to put Him first, before every thought, before every word. That requires effort, but Baba makes it clear in so many different ways that the effort will become less and less difficult and finally, it will become effortless. It will become a sheer joy for you, and for me-for all of us.
Baba doesn't make us unhappy. Getting out of the unhappiness? Yes, it takes effort; yes, it takes confronting all these many pressures. I do believe it is real and true to say that when the God-man accelerates everything, that puts pressure on everybody, but particularly on those close to Him. Because He uses us, if we pennit Him. Now, if we want to go off on a tangent, and indulge ourselves in our own desires, our own reactions, our own self-pity, then Baba has to wait for us. He's not going to abandon us, because we're His. But He has to wait for us. And, as it dawns on us, all of us feel: how much better we could have done. Okay, if you have that feeling, good. You can't do anything about the past, but you certainly can do something about now, can't you? Can't we?
That's the point. We will always fall down, we will always get back up. But we will get back up more quickly. It will take a little bit more to make us fall down again. And that's our growth. The smallest things that represent not focusing on Baba become bigger in our eyes as we recog-
nize what a great journey we are on. We are on the direct journey to the goal; not indirect. Our karmic past, in my judgment, is wiped clean. Our karma is placed there by Baba, for our most rapid unfoldment. But He will wait; He will wait for you.
It's not what you've learned. You could memorize every book about genuine spirituality but it means nothing unless you put it into practice. And you won't put it into practice unless you have connection with a God-realized being. Because otherwise, it will be, again, your strengthening the ego. You'll take satisfaction in that rather than satisfaction in forgetting self.
I remember one talk that Adi gave out on the West Coast. Someone said, "Adi, what is the greatest thing Baba ever said about you?'' Adi seemed a bit surprised and he said: ''He told me to forget myself." He said it with such emphasis, not really realizing that the young person who asked this question had not gone through what Adi had gone through-Baba chiseling away his ego. With Adi, the ego was death itself.
Of course, there are great things about everyone who has been awakened to the existence of the real God-man. There are great things in their noble past; they have struggled, they have put up with all kinds of things. And Baba could tell you many things that would uplift you about your own self. I'm sure that's inevitable when we come to the place where the gift of His conviction will bear fruit in us And at times, we need to lean on that. But if Baba told us the greatest things about ourselves (and He could), it doesn't give the experience of His presence and that's what we desperately need. The effort we have to make is focusing on Him and again, I mean put Him first before every thought, word and deed.
It takes practice, doesn't it? What you're doing is developing a new habit. Take great heart, because this one habit that you're developing, within a very few years can counteract the habit that has been developed in your consciousness from the beginning of time, and from the beginning of your human birth, eight million lifetimes, I would say. All that is counteracted by your conviction of the God-man. If you just let it sit there, He's still taking you directly to the goal. But you're not enjoying it, you see. You're not finding His presence which awakens you to begin to love Him.
BDFN: Would you share a heart experience that you've had?
on page 9
[IFE IN BABA: Three Great Personalities
Najoo Kotwal grew up at Meherabad in close contact with the women mandali. She attended graduate school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1960, during which time she spent weekends with Kitty and Elizabeth at Dilruba. Nuw living in Bombay, she visited the Center in Myrtle Beach in July 1994. The following is excerpted from talks given at that time.
I want to tell you three little stories which are unwritten in any book. And I feel it is my duty to tell you. It is so beautiful, about three personalities that I have loved very, very, dearly.
One is about the founder of this Center, the instrument for finding this Center and establishing it, Elizabeth Patterson. In 1962, during the East-West Gathering, the Westerners were seated in the front row; the first two rows were occupied by them. Everybody was so very well dressed sitting before Baba. And suddenly there was a downpour of rain and they all got soaking wet. They were all soaked with Baba love. ''You see, Baba blessed them with rain," I would say. That's the way the Indian mind thinks. They didn't move an inch. Of course we were all drenched, there were thousands taking Baba's darshan at that time. And then Baba signaled the Westerners to go inside and change before they caught a cold. Baba always said, "During My Sahavas you should be healthy so that you may enjoy Me 100%-and not less than that. And when you
come for My Sahavas, leave everything behind. Leave your family behind. I am here to take care of you. I am there to take care of them. You just enjoy Me." And that is how He wanted it.
So of course they went to the ladies' side and changed. Elizabeth could not find a suitable dress. Rano had been given a robe, it was dark purple with black rhinestones in it a beautiful silk robe. So Rano said, ''Well Elizabeth, this is something which you have given to me and which will be useful to you now." So Elizabeth said okay and wore it. She looked so sweet in that robe, with a belt tied around her. She went out to sit down in her seat and Baba said, "No. You sit beside me." And He made her sit next to Him on the left hand side. On the right hand side was a yogi in an orange robe. And do you know what Baba said to those thousands of lovers in front of Him? He said, ''Here is the swami from the East, a yogi." He then pointed to Elizabeth and said, "and this Elizabeth is the yogi of the West." It touched my heart so much, and I thought this is exactly how she has led her whole life, like a yogi. She has renounced all the pleasures of the world. All she was interested in was Baba, in establishing a Center for Baba. In everything, in her thought and word and deed, it was Baba, Baba and Baba. Another story is about our dear Kitty. You see, Kitty was always filled with exuberance to do her duty. She loved to
by Najoo Kotwal
work. She had that energy to work and work and work. This happened when we were living in Meherabad. I was a child at that time. It was early morning, about six o' dock, when the door opened. We just woke up and somebody was coming in. It was Kitty. She was coming to my mother and she whispered something in her ear. And after that they both went out. That much I saw.
Then in the morning there was the call from Baba. You see, Baba would call for "everybody'' and a tinker would go around and say gently, "everybody," and ring a bell and we would go and collect in Mehera's room. Baba would be seated on Mehera's bed. And He looked like the King of Kings. We would sit on our little stools. (Elizabeth had bought each one of us a wooden stool according to our size. The children would have small stools, then some of us who were slim and tall would have higher stools, and some of us who were stout had bigger stools. So everybody was given a stool by Elizabeth and do you know each one was made with such good wood that even today I still have that little stool up in the attic at my house.) Somebody told Baba, ''Baba, the sweeper who comes to sweep the toilets has not turned up for two days." So Baba said, "if the sweeper didn't come for two days, then the toilets must be smelling. What did you do about it?" Someone said, ''No Baba, the toilets are clean." So Baba said, ''Who cleaned the toilets?"
There was somebody who had seen Kitty and my mother going with those baskets, taking them in the back, cleaning them and putting them back. Kitty and Mama didn't say a word, but the lady who had seen them got up and said, ''I saw Kitty and Narges [my mother) cleaning the toilets." Baba said "that's very nice," and called them both and embraced them very lovingly, as if to say "you have done this work because you love Me." And this gives us a lesson that anything that we do in love for Baba, never think that is is menial work. Because whatever you do is for Him, the love of Him and His love. It is He who gives us this love to love Him.
Now the third story is about our most darling Mani, Baba's sister. My Mummy told this story to me, it is not written anywhere. Before Mani was born, Gulmai (Adi Sr.'s mother) went to Upasni Maharaj and said, "You know, Shireen (Baba's mother) is expecting a baby." He said, "very good." Merwan (Baba) was sitting there and said, "Maharaj, this time I want a sister." The Avatar asked His guru to give Him a sister. And this precious sister, Mani, was born. Even before she had a bath, He embraced her and gave her a kiss. So you see what a precious person we still have with us. We must make use of the best opportunity we can, to visit Meherabad and meet Mani. Because, as my sister says, The King, Baba, has gone. The Queen, Mehera, is gone. Both no longer in physical form. But the princess is still here. •
FEATURE
-continued from page 7
Henry: After Baba dropped .the body, I went through a very painful period (as many of us did). In my mind it was like: I should have done so much more; I should have focused on Him so much more. I should have found Him within much earlier. I was leaning on His external form, leaning on His direction, cables or whatever it may be, or going to see Him. Those things. I finally began to realize, again out of necessity, He's not there physically; what are you going to do about it? You have conviction. Those who have conviction have what it takes to begin the real work of finding Baba's presence all the time. Bear in mind, you have no choice. Consequently, when we all went to the Last Sahavas, I was in wonderful spirits. Kitty asked me to bring my trombone to India and I did. That was really something farfetched if you were to look at it rationally, but she asked me, and I never thought of it at that time as being far-fetched. She asked me and I just took it. So, it was three days after the Myrtle Beach group got there that we had three buses going to the tomb. And I went back and got the trombone out and I began playing in sort of an upbeat way, at a little faster tempo, ''Begin the Beguine." And then, something happened to me-l felt Baba's love to the point where I almost died. It was so overwhelming. It completely took all of my energy. It was such an agony for me to exist apart from that
love. I put the horn away; all I wanted to do was to disappear. And everywhere I went, it was as though Baba was pushing me onstage. After that, I had to play ''Begin the Beguine" in that state. It was most painful-but I never felt love like that. I never dreamed that something like that existed. It was an agony to exist apart from it, but I felt it. And I felt the beauty of Baba like I'd never felt before. That was one heart experience.
There was another powerful experience in '58. I was so dependent on Baba. I didn't like being a lawyer; I didn't like anything. And I finally found the miracle in correspondence with Him. I poured out my heart, trying to find ways to say that praise and expressions of love towards Him were the only thing I was trying to do. Anyway, we went to Myrtle Beach in '58. I had these beautiful feelings about Baba. I had been writing to Him when I wanted to, but at Myrtle Beach it was as though I didn't exist as far as He was concerned. I was dying, literally dying inside. The only way I could handle that impossible conflict-what meant most to me paid no attention to mewas to come to a somewhat cold, incisive but true conclusion: God is there. He did not want to see me and His Will should be my will. I totally surrendered because I had no choice, and then I felt such bliss. I knew what it was to surrender to God.
He didn't want to see me, and I didn't care if He never sent for me because I had surrendered to His Will. And it
Lue is an opportunity, and we all want to do the best we can with it and make the most of it. But how to accomplish this with the limited resources at our command? We must make a choice: what is really worthwhile? We are constantly asking ourselves this question, as we go on with our lives Trme slips away in useless or misdirected effort, in experiment, in idle thought. Life is harder to handle than we thought at first. Duty is not always so dear, nor work so well-defined. One is baffled when one finds theories fail, and cherished ideas delude; and yet, one's experience is not sufficient for detecting just where the defect lies.
Life is large and we cannot possibly grasp the whole of it in the few years that we have to live. What is vital? What is essential? What may we profitably let go? Let us ask ourselves these questions today.
To begin with, what may we let go? Who can answer that, and by what standard shall we measure and by what authority shall we decide? Each of us has to answer that question for himself or herself It may sound a platitude, but I find that we Il)ay let go all things which we cannot carry
in the Eternal Life. Here are a few subtractions with which we can start our account of what is worthwhile.
First of all, we may drop Pretense, because Baba condemns hypocrisy in no uncertain terms. Whatever we are not, that let us cease striving to be. If we can rid ourselves of all untruth of word, manner, mode of life and thinking, we shall rid ourselves of much rubbish, restlessness, and fear. Then we need not hide anything, we have no fear of being found out. Let us assume nothing and we shall not be hurt in our feelings. Let us do and say nothing untrue then there will be no make-believe about us. We shall then have dignity and the uprightness that goes with it, and courage that adorns it.
We may drop Worry. The Eternal Life is serene. And Baba is serene. Has not Baba said, day in and day out, "not to worry'' and leave it to Him and love Him more? Can we not take to ourselves that large spirit of serenity and cheer that is Baba? For only the serene soul is strong and strength grows in silence. Worry is an infirmity, there is no virtue in it, it is a fumbling way of looking at things and of magnifying their value.
We may let go Discontent. Lack of harmony with one's environment makes for discontent. The other is dissatisfaction with one's present opportunities. Both indicate the absence of a tranquil heart, and lack of
by A.K. Das
Love for God. Let us say: "Baba put me among these scenes, these people, these opportunities, these duties. This is exactly the place Baba means me to be in. There is no mistake. Baba cannot make a mistake."
Last of all, we may let go of self-seeking. Because Baba wants us to be of service to others. And whoever has heard that one can serve without sacrifice? Self-sacrifice is the first law of Service. The richest experiences of life never come to those who try to win them selfishly. If they do gain their desires, they find them as ashes to the taste. But all blessings are in the way of him, who, forgetful of self, tries to be helpful to the world and who spends his life in loving deeds, because Service is materialization of Love. If a man has no love in his heart, he cannot serve.
Therefore, Pretense, Worry, Discontent and self-seekingthese are the things we may let go.
Now, what are the things in life that are worthwhile... that we should lay hold of, keep, guard, use?
The answer to that, according to Baba's spiritual alphabet, is Love and Faith. Love is the keyboard. Let us place the four letters in it one above the other and read against each:
Own V Very E Existence and then, we shall get a true
glimpse of its nature. Baba asks us above all to give Him our love. We should give God our love, not only because He is our real Self, but also because love is the miracle of miracles in itself and works wonders. And because Baba loves us, more than we love Him or can ever love Him.
But, how can we have Love, unless we have Faith in its magic potency? Faith is that something to live by. Faith opens the gate of the blessedness of the eternal life. Strong, serene,unquenchable faith in the loving kindness of Baba, the guidance of His divine presence, the wisdom of His perfection, will enable us to win the battle of life and to look fearlessly toward the end of the temporal existence and the beginning of the Eternal, and will make it possible for us to live our lives grandly, effectively.
Letting go the unworthy things that meet us ·Pretense ... Worry ... Discontent and self-seeking .. . and taking loyal hold of Love and Faith, let us so live our lives as to be an inspiration and strength and blessing to those whose lives are touched by ours. And let us radiate love and let us serve to be perfect. Let our service become as serene and perfect as the full moon reflecting the sun of Meher Baba to all around us. His loving kindness and service are before us to remind us of our duty to Him our Master, who is Perfect, and our quest to be perfect in our love for Him. •
FEATURE
-continued from page 9
will know. You'll have the benefit of His proximity. He is constantly aware of us, each one; every fraction of a moment. He was within minutes that He is consciously aware of us. We sent for me. That was a magnif- have to struggle to become icent feeling. Nothing would aware of Him more and more have made any difference, even and more. That does bear fruit. if He had taken me back to Make it happen. Get rid of the India. I was surrendering to 99%; you're already on the His Will and that was the most high road. Baba says go after beautiful experience. I think He this saint or that saint if you gives that to people who need want this, that or the other it on occasion. That was anoth- thing, but don't come to me er heart experience. unless you want God Himself. Everything Baba has writ- But what is God Himself? ten, everything He's said, It's falling in love. My God, in there's only one importance to the greatest infatuation -in the it all-it makes you think about world there is some resemHim. Because remembering blance to what it's like to fall in Him is the key. We have the love with Baba. And when you conviction already-forget do that it's all about what you know, just said some time ago: the spirituremember Him. Because you al path is not difficult, it's makhave the conviction, your own ing mind to take it . reality will serve us all by that'sClifficu}!. All you're domg remembering Him. It's all you is leaving your worries behind. need to do. That's difficult Well, with the God-man, you're enough. The best way to in the desert and you're in parremember Him is to put it to adise. "I am the desert," and practice by not reacting, by it's paradise. That's all sorting out your you have to give, reactions my dear-real through Him. love.
That's Look what what we • false love haveto makes do . If people do _ this that world. for one week, you
fJILGRIM'S PALATE: Chicken Nut Stew
Serves4-5
4 ea. chicken legs and thighs, cut apart (about 2lbs.)
3 Tbs. salad oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2cupswater
1/2 tsp. liquid hot pepper seasoning ·
1 Tbs. lime juice
1I 4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1I 4 tsp . ground cloves
1 cinnamon stick (2 in.)
5 carrots, cut diagonally into 3-inch pieces
2 medium green peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbs. cornstarch
Condiments as suggested below.
In a 5- to 6-quart kettle, brown chicken well in oil over medium-high heat; lift out and set aside. Add onions to pan and cook, stirring until limp.
Then add tomatoes, bouillon, 1-1 /2 C. of the water, hot pepper seasoning, lime juice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and carrots. Return chicken to pan; bring to boiling. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Add green peppers and cook, covered, until chicken is tender when pierced, about 15 minutes more.
In a small bowl, blend peanut butter with cornstarch, then smoothly stir in remaining water. Stirring, add peanut mixture to stew and cook until
sauce thickens, about 5 min. Serve stew with condiments as shown below
Condiments:
2 to 3 cups hot cooked spinach
4 cups hot cooked rice
1 /2 cup chopped scallions (include tops)
1 cup each salt roasted peanuts & shredded unsweetened coconut in separate bowls. Spoon rice into wide soup bowls or rimmed plates; top with spinach, stew, scallions, peanuts and coconut.
1 1 OETRY: The privilege of Your Love
as the silence in rain dissolves sadness and happiness into sunlight is spun, so Your hand is offered to me giving me The privilege of Your Love and the special joy that is revealed in Your Presence
- · by Fred Schwager
"It is only after experiencing bondage and misery that the true value. of freedom and happiness is really appreciated."
