60 Facts About Meher Baba

Meher Baba taught that the goal of all beings was to awaken to consciousness of their own divinity, and to realise the absolute oneness of God.

At the age of 19, Meher Baba began a seven-year period of spiritual transformation, during which he had encounters with Hazrat Babajan, Upasni Maharaj, Sai Baba of Shirdi, Tajuddin Baba, and Narayan Maharaj.

Meher Baba died on 31 January 1969 and was entombed at Meherabad.

Meher Baba described the phenomenal world as illusory, and taught that the Universe is imagination.

Meher Baba taught that God alone exists, and each soul is God passing through imagination in order to realise its own divinity.

Meher Baba advised followers wishing to attain God-realisation, emphasizing love and selfless-service.

Meher Baba's legacy includes the Avatar Meher Baba Charitable Trust he established in India, and a handful of centers for information and pilgrimage.

Meher Baba has influenced pop culture creators and introduced the common phrase "Don't worry; be happy".

In 1971, Meher Baba's following in the United States was estimated at 7,000.

Meher Baba was accepted as the leader of a Sufi organization based in California which he renamed Sufism Reoriented.

Meher Baba was born to Irani Zoroastrian parents in 1894 in Pune, India.

Meher Baba was named Merwan Sheriar Irani, the second son of Sheriar Irani and Shireen Irani.

Meher Baba was cycling past a tree that she had made her abode, when she called to him.

Meher Baba then encountered Upasni Maharaj, who he later said helped him to integrate his mystical experiences with ordinary consciousness, thus enabling him to function in the world without diminishing his experience of God-realisation.

Meher Baba now communicated first through chalk and slate, then by an alphabet board, and later via a repertoire of gestures unique to him.

Meher Baba traveled widely, held public gatherings, and engaged in works of charity with lepers and the poor.

Meher Baba traveled on a Persian passport, as he had given up writing, as well as speaking, and would not sign the forms required by the British government of India.

In 1934, after announcing that he would break his self-imposed silence in the Hollywood Bowl, Meher Baba changed his plans abruptly, boarded the RMS Empress of Canada, and sailed to Hong Kong without explanation.

In 1949, Meher Baba began a period that he called the New Life.

Meher Baba made provisions for those dependent on him, after which he and his companions otherwise gave up nearly all property and financial responsibilities.

Meher Baba ended the New Life in February 1952 and began a round of public appearances throughout India and the West.

Meher Baba inaugurated the Meher Spiritual Center in April 1952.

On 24 May 1952, en route from the Meher Baba Spiritual Center to Meher Baba Mount in Ojai, California, the car in which he was a passenger was struck head-on near Prague, Oklahoma.

Meher Baba's leg was severely broken and he sustained facial injuries including a broken nose.

Meher Baba began dictating his major book, God Speaks, The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose, using an alphabet board in Dehradun, in August 1953.

Meher Baba dedicated this book "To the the Illusion that sustains Reality".

In September 1954, Meher Baba gave a men-only sahavas at Meherabad that later became known as the Three Incredible Weeks.

On 30 September 1954 Meher Baba gave his Final Declaration message.

In October 1954, Meher Baba discarded his alphabet board and began using a unique set of hand gestures to communicate, which he used for the rest of his life.

On 2 December 1956, outside Satara, India, the car in which Meher Baba was riding lost control and a second serious automobile accident occurred.

Meher Baba then traveled to Meher Mount at Ojai, California before proceeding to Australia.

In 1962, Meher Baba held one of his last public functions, a mass meeting in India called the East-West Gathering.

At these meetings, at which his Western followers were invited to meet his Indian disciples, Meher Baba gave darshan to many thousands, despite the physical strain this caused him.

Meher Baba instructed his young Western disciples to spread this message; in doing so, they increased awareness of Meher Baba's teachings.

Furthermore, some of Meher Baba's views entered into academic debate on the merits and dangers of hallucinogens.

On 31 January 1969, Meher Baba woke up in the morning.

Meher Baba's body was placed at his samadhi at Meherabad, covered with roses and cooled by ice.

Meher Baba's body was kept available to the public for one week before its final burial.

Meher Baba's mandali decided to proceed with the arrangements despite the absence of the host.

Meher Baba communicated first by using an alphabet board and later by unique hand gestures which were interpreted and spoken out by one of his mandali, often Eruch Jessawala.

Meher Baba said that his silence was not undertaken as a spiritual exercise but solely in connection with his universal work.

Meher Baba often signaled the moment "that he would 'break' his silence by speaking the 'Word' in every heart, thereby giving a spiritual push forward to all living things".

Meher Baba asserted that the breaking of his silence would be a defining event in the spiritual evolution of the world.

On many occasions Meher Baba promised to break his silence with an audible word before he died, often stating a specific time and place when this would occur, but according to all contemporary accounts, Meher Baba remained silent until his death.

Some of his followers speculate that "the Word" will yet be "spoken" or that Meher Baba broke his silence in a spiritual rather than a physical way.

Meher Baba's metaphysics is mostly found in his principal book on the subject, God Speaks.

The Discourses are a collection of explanations that Meher Baba has given on topics that concern the advancement of the spiritual aspirant.

Meher Baba's suggestions include putting theory into practice, internally renouncing desires, offering selfless service to humanity or the master, spontaneity, and avoiding actions that bind one to illusion.

Rather than lay out moral rules, Meher Baba explains why some actions bind the individual whereas others aid emancipation.

Meher Baba related that there are 56 incarnate God-realised souls on Earth at any given time.

The Avatar, according to Meher Baba, is a special Perfect Master, the first soul to achieve God-realisation.

Meher Baba claimed that in other ages this role had been fulfilled by Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad.

The Trust follows the charter Meher Baba left for it, but does not act as spiritual authority over groups.

The primary focus for many followers is living as Meher Baba would approve, such as by abstaining from marijuana and psychedelic drugs, and trying to remember God with love.

Meher Baba had gained public attention in the West as early as 1932, due to contacts with celebrities of the time, and from the rather disillusioned account of Paul Brunton in his A Search in Secret India.

Meher Baba received further attention posthumously via various mentions in Western pop-culture.

For example, Pete Townshend of the Who, became a follower of Meher Baba and dedicated his 1969 rock opera Tommy to him in the gatefold.

In 1969, Indian filmmaker Jagat Murari co-produced the ethnographic film on Meher Baba titled The Awakener.

Works particularly influenced by Meher Baba include DeMatteis' scripts for Doctor Fate and DeMatteis creator-owned comic book Seekers into the Mystery.

In 2012, the feature film Nema Aviona za Zagreb premiered in the Netherlands with an exclusive interview with Meher Baba filmed in 1967.