Who is Meher Baba?
Meher Baba (born Merwan Shehariarji Irani, 1894-1969) is a philosopher to some, a spiritual guide to others and the messiah to many more. Beginning in 1927 he establishes a convent or ashram in the Sufi tradition and surrounds himself with a small group of disciples, some of whom remain with him for the rest of their lives. Meher Baba spends much of life exemplifying his motto of Mastery in Servitude by helping the poor, lepers and the mentally ill. To Westerners Meher Baba may seem like any other spiritual master from Asia, and much of his teachings are little more than a reflection of ancient teachings. Yet, there are significant differences that set him apart. His universal acceptance of all major religions as legitimate paths to salvation is paramount. It is not the dedication to a particular dogma and ritual that offers salvation, it is the absolute faith and devotion to God. To truly love God requires that we love and embrace everyone and everything as a dimension of God. Living
Merwan Sheriar Irani, known as Meher Baba, was born in Poona, India on February 25, 1894 of Zoroastrian parents. His father, Sheriar Irani, was a true seeker of God. Merwan went to a Christian High School in Poona and later attended Deccan College. In 1913, while still 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, Upasani 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 close 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 establi
He is the Avatar of the Age. Here is what the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1987 Edition, had to say: Meher Baba, also called The Awakener, original name Merwan Sheriar Irani. (born Feb. 25, 1894, Poona, India died Jan. 31, 1969, Ahmednagar, India), spiritual master in western India with a sizable following both in that country and abroad. Beginning July 10, 1925, he observed silence for the last 44 years of his life, communicating with his disciples at first through an alphabet board but increasingly with gestures. He observed that he had come “Not to teach but to awaken,” adding that, “Things that are real are given and received in silence.” He was born into a Zoroastrian family of Persian descent. He was educated in Poona and attended Deccan College there, where at the age of 19 he met an aged Muslim woman, Hazrat Babjan, the first of five “perfect masters” (spiritually enlightened or “God-realized” persons) who over the next seven years helped him find his own spiritual identity. That i
By Charles Haynes (Excerpted from the Treasures from the Meher Baba Journals, Sheriar Press, 1980) It was love that drew Meher Baba’s early disciples to him and it was for the sake of love that they remained with him. Today it is still love that draws those who seek him. This is as he would have it; for Meher Baba’s only message has always been of Divine love. His is a message given not in words but through an awakening of the heart. The story of this extraordinary man is thus a story of love. For while there are many who speak of Divine love, Meher Baba lived it. His live was a life of such love, purity and service that it will stand for all time as the divinely human example of life as it should be lived. To those who have witnessed the simple beauty of his ways, he is the Ancient One: the One who comes age after age to reveal the love of God in the world. Meher Baba was born Merwan Sheriar Irani on February 25, 1894, in Poona, India. His parents were Persian, and his father, Sheriar
In 1931 he made the first of many visits to the West. During these travels, a number of western mandali joined him. In the 1940s, along with selected mandali, he traveled incognito about India, in what he called “The New Life.” On February 10, 1954, Baba declared that he was the Avatar (an incarnation of God).
