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Editor’sCorner

JaiBaba to you all.

Thankyou to the many readers who havetaken the time to write in and tell us how

much you appreciate your Love StreetLampPost. It gives us greatjoy to create it foryou and to know that it brings the light andlove ofBaba into some very remote outposts.Remember, it isyourmagazine, filled with thearticles you have sent us. But we have notexactly been inundated with jokes for theHumor for Huma page, nor the amazingBaba sayings from the little ones. Let’s hearfrom you!

It is a year since the beautiful coloredmemorial issue David McNeely created forMani’s passing. So many ofyou saw that is-sue, donated very generously, and asked to beon our mailing list. A year has passed, andthat money has been depleted, so we mustask you once again to consider the worth ofthe magazine and send in a new donation.We realize we have picked up many new sub-scribers throughout the year, so unless you feeltralyimpelled to donate at this time, wait till

your year is up. We do not have anything assophisticated and commercial as do the news-stand magazines to trackyour ‘expiration date,’so we are leaving that up to you—whateveryour heart moves you to do. Each issue costsaround $1,800 to get out to you, so all donations are greatly appreciated.

One ofour readers feels so strongly aboutthe LampPost that he donated a very specialarchival piece to raise funds for the magazine.He suggested it be given as a Silent Auction.See the box for details.

For those of you submitting articles,please note our changed deadline. Two weeksjust isn’t enough time for the Design and Lay-out person to create the beautiful magazineyou hold in your hands. Remember, all thework we do for Baba, we do in the eveninghours after our regular day jobs. Tom Hart,still here after a beautiful first effort on theJuly - September Silence Day issue, is puffingin 22 hour stints at the computer! Baba neverpromised us a rose garden now did He?!

While on the subject ofsubmissions wemust ask that you not only get it in by the 8th,

but also in itsfinal, correctedform. Ifyou dorealize a mistake before we go to press, pleaseresubmit the entire piece rather than ask us tochange a word here or there. We did have youe-mailing your piece to bothTom and myselfbut we have found this creates confusion at

Tom’s end when he has all his regular work emails coming in too. So please send all disksand e-mails to me alone.

August 1997 marked the anniversary ofthe Independence oflndia. I noticed anumber ofmagazines wrote lengthy, in-deptharticles on the occasion,Time and Vanity Fairamong them. They were analyzing how farshe has come, where she needs to go, etc. ButI found to my amazement, thanks to EricSolibakke of Norway posting on the BabaListserv, Baba Himselfhad written the mostprofound, insightful piece yet, and He hadwritten it in 1943—four years before Liberation. It could have been written today! It isfeatured on page 24.

We have notices of three weddings onthe Announcements page, but in case you skipover that, I do want to mention here the joy-ous nuptials of a couple that have affectedthe health and welfare of thousands of pilgrims—not the least ofwhich was saving myson’s life—see “A Fatal Illness” on page 13.Dr. Gus, as he is affectionately called, and hissidekick Radajoined in the Beloved’s love inJune.Theywill continue dispensing their potions and advice at the Pilgrim Center inMeherabad. We all wish them Much Love.

Dma

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I A VERY SPEcIAi. AUCTIONat&t thxsyearlrtcezveda SpecnlDeliverypadcagefromafrtendmAnzona Hewasdortatmganongmalmanusenpt ofaplayBhau Kaichun hadwritten in 1%1 Bhau had gntn it to my fitend sit 1973, asking him to put tt into colloquial American English D , as a curator of priceless

tnanuscrtpts has kept it vetycarefully all these years and it is in the same condition as when Bhau gave it to hun—old and battere& America is odyjust

I begmningtoleam eonservatioa—the lnthanshavebeenpracucingttforcentunesiAnoldheavycardboardledgerformstbeeovfront andhadswrth“1954155 Business - no 12”wntten inblun penedontt khas a thmwhtte shoelacebmdingit through the2 holepunchedpapers

Theplayistyped onthebackofsheets talcenfrom a 1972 - ‘73 Tbeftontpageisuded TheSznnreSouflndrapencdBhau has linedthrougbthatandretided it TheAnamtOne(htshandwnting) and ssgaedss It thensays Dtdttation -BiovedRaba TbeAnnern’ One is dethcatedtothc/ove qfyourkvenv.xath aIllov4 —Bhau Kalehun, Meherazad2e Nov 1972

:i asked Bhau lit was all right to auction offthis prenous document as a flirts! raiser He told me “I am happy that0 setityon this as a donationandyesyou mayauctaonthtsfortheLampPost In 1961,BelovedBabaliadaskedmetuwraeaplayforHis birthdayand solwrote it Then BabacalledHis lovers from Ahmednagar Center and asked them to stage it, and they did it in Sarosh Cinema Baba and men and women Mandá caine iowa tosee the play at Sarosh Cinema, and theywere allvery happy Some Baba lovers from different partsofMaharashta had also come Itwas really a verygoodperformance Therewasone RustomKaka whowas averygoodsmger,and hebad the knowledge to stagethe play andhedid it verywell Songswere really very good It was written in Hinds, and itwas translated on2&h November 1972 “

In the hundreds ofynats to come this precious manuscript: and others like is, could take on the value ofSt Paul a Letters to the Epistles

I Now, we look on Bhau as ajolly good fellow and a wonderful friend but I have a feeling the world hundreds ofyears from non will not beseeing things that wayt

We felt rather thanjust auction this offat our annual fund-raise; we would allow people from all overtheworld a chance to own it Accordingly,

I wewillhave asilent auction with the manuscript goxngtothe highesthidwehave recentdbyNotember3Q, 1997Accordingly, write the amount you wouldlike to donate for ownership ofthrspiece ofhistory on a slip ofpaper and include italong with srnr

regular donation lfyours is thewinning bid for the auction we can take paymenthy credit card but foryour yearly donationwewould need a check II made out to Love Street LampPost Because of extremely high postage costs I in afraid we must ask a minimum donation of$20 for all overseas

I addresses Goodluckon theaucuon (ffyouwish to partictpate)—rernembereverypennygoes tohelpthe LampPost keep a-shining...: . . :. ... - --e,nzm .

rL2 CoveSrcetCamflbsr . -

The Love Street LampPost is dedicated with loveto Avatar Meher Baba. Its primary purpose is tocontribute to a sense of community among allHis lovers by providing a place for sharing Hisremembrance. All the members of the Baba familyare invited to contribute to this feast of Love.

Your stories, photos, art work, poetry, letters, articles, and humorare all actively solicited. We seek expressions ofBaba’s message ofLove andTruth.

Please submit your text on computer disks if possible (in anysoftware format); typewritten copy on white paper is alsoacceptable. Be sure to dearly identifr all submissions and properlycredit every quote or reference.

submissions, subscriptions, donations:

Love Street LampPostAvatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California1214 South Van Ness AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90019—3520phone (213) 731—3737 ;:i::.e-mail Bababooks@aol.com

deadlines for submissions

Jan Mar issue November 8.::::::AprJun issue F’ebruary Bth.:

Jul Sep issue May 8Oct Dcc ‘ Aug 8th

New Caretakers at Meher Mount Kendra Crossen Burroughs

A K and Leela Kasthuri Peter RavazzaNumberless Impressions Meher r

spcc:iaI teätures:

Grand Opening ofMeherabode JeffMagui

Silence Day at Meherabode Fred Stankus

The 23 Annual Silence Day Sahavas HarryThomas

The J Baba Catalog Billy Goodrur’

Mani s DayA Fatal Illness Michael

He Builtitwith Love—Meher Babas Shrine RichardJRoshan Kerawala’s Story . •

ARoshan’s Recipes.,:

WhoAmi?A School Work Project

9a11eyf’t64earr.:.An Experience in MiracleMyHeartis Calling You

ofMani’s s..

A publication of the Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern Ca1fornu

LoveStreet LamPosrwelcome

ada S

The J.ou&Strcet £ctmç1JP.osris published quarterly,

in January, April, July, and October. All contents © 1997,Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California. All quota-tions of Avatar Meher Baba or books, © AMBPPCT, India.

[ ( 3 ® ® e

GrandOpen

MeheiBaba Manifests in L.A.

by Jeff Maguire

OnJuly 1st ofthe great mysteries ofthe Baba World was finallyand definitively solved. We may

never in our lifetimes know what happenedto Baba’s Book; and the debate over whenand how Baba will break, or has broken,His silence will go on for a while; but after along and arduous ordeal, the Avatar MeherBaba Center ofSouthern California has of-ficially opened a permanent site,affectionately known as Meherabode.

Opening night found some 200 peoplegathered in the pleasant summer twilight totour the buildings and gardens. It was wonderfiil to see so many old friends and out-of-town guests in attendance, and it drove homethe fact that a Baba Center belongs not toone group orlocalitybutto theAvatar and allHis Lovers.

The crowd gathered near “Mehera’sRose Garden” where our President, MikeRamsden, offered abriefhistoryofthe South-em California group’s nomadic existence andsearch for a home.

We gave thanks to Baba and remembered our spiritual fairy Godmother FilisFrederick who providedlove and leadershipto the L.A. group for over 20 years until herpassing in 1987. We also offered our gratitude tolongtime Baba Lovers, Adele Wolkinand Marguerite Poley, who’ve served as shin-ing examples as we strive to grow ever closerto our Beloved.

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Then our great friend and brother Bhau Kaichuri, cut the ceremonial ribbon stretchedacross the driveway, amidst repeated shouts of”Avatar Meher Baba kiJai!”We felt itwas Baba’sblessing to have Bhau present, for he long ago dubbed L.A. the “Lunatic Asylum” and has beena great inspiration, both in our search for a permanent site and in our efforts to become lunaticsin Baba’s Love. To show our appreciation, a motion was made and voted upon by the Center’s

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The 23’’Annua1

Silence Day Sahavasby Harry Thomas

The 23rd Los Angeles Silence DaySahavas wafted once again throughPilgrim Pines as a gentle, loving

breeze blew throughout the gathering. All inall, it was a wonderful Sahavas. The intentionwas to reurnte everyone who had been a guestofprevious Sahavases. By Sahavas time, thirteen people had graciously accepted theinvitation. The speaking guests were BhauKalchuri, Henry Kashouty LeatriceJohnstonand her sister Renee Shaw, Adele Wolkin,Pascal Kaplan, Allan Cohen, Donald Mahler,andJack Small. Fiffing in for Irwin andJanetLuckwas Irwin’s brother, Edward.The musical guests were Jane Brown, Raphael Rudd,and Debbie Nordeen. The following accountprovides only a briefglimpse ofthe treasuresshared by this remarkable group ofguests.

On day one, Adele provided the as-semblage with wondrous recollections. She revealed her deep con-

nections with Norma Matchabelli and IvyDuce and told how Baba instructed Ms. Duceto live with Filis, Norma and her. In 1952, atthe Meher Spiritual Center, Filis and Adelewere the only outsiders permitted to stay onthe grounds. It was a great honor to have thisprivilege conferred. She fondly recalled howFilis played a major role in the Los Angeles group (in fact, she was one of thefounders of the Sahavas) and referred toher as “the mother of the hippies.” (Shealso said that Elizabeth and Norma kepther out ofa lot ofmischief!)

Henry Kashoutywho interviewed Adele,asked, “Is there anything you asked Baba in‘52 along spiritual lines?” Adele had askedBaba, “What can I do for you?” Part ofBaba’sresponse was, “I heard about you from Normaand Elizabeth and I heard from within, when

I see such souls who love me I feel happy andstrong. I love you because you love Me somuch.” Later in Adele’s meeting with Meher

Baba, He stated, “Iwant love, nothingelse; love Me and letGod love us. That iswhat I want—whenyou love Baba, Godwill love you. AndGod’s loving meanseverything. So Filisand Adele, I am veryveryhappy. One whois the humblest ofthe humble is thegreatest ofthe great,butithastobeinaflhonesty and alltruth.”

One final state-ment made to Adeledeserves mention.Baba stated, “I doeverything for you,but I cannot bring

harmony into your lives. That, you have to do.”

Pascal Kaplan was next to be inter-viewed and was asked how he cameto Meher Baba. He explained that he

was brought up in a Jewish family in Man-hattan. He recounted that at the age ofsix, hewitnessed a simulation of a hydrogen bombexploding and its destructive capability wasillustrated againstManhattan. This shook himto his core and instilled in him a chronic despair about life. His Jewish affiliation didn’thelp because God belonged to the Biblicalpast; He wasn’t a part ofthe present. While

growing up, Pascal said, “I didn’t meet anyonewho cared about God.”

Pascal was in college during the 60’swhere he was involved in the SDS and theanti-war movement. At this time, however apsychological dichotomy raged inside ofhim.He wanted to right the wrongs ofthe world,yet was plagued with the questions “Whoam I?” and “Does God exist?” He later at-tended graduate school at Harvard andmajored in Theology. One day while he waswalking in Cambridge (after Baba haddropped His body in 1969), he happenedupon “The Universal Message.” (He read it

the same summer he became a fill fledgedhippie living in Vermont.) He later got a callfrom a friend who said, “I’m with someonewho is onto what w&ve been looking for.” RamDass (the former Richard Alpert, Harvardcolleague of Timothy Leary) was teachingmeditation and yoga techniques he hadlearned in India.

Pascal departed Vermont and headed forNew Hampshire where he met Ram Dass,who was “the first person who took my questseriously.” One day, on the back Ram Dass’schalkboard, Pascal spied a small card withMeher Baba’s picture and the message, “Don’tworry; Be Happy.” Pascal later secured thecard from Ram Dass and spent the next several months looking at it. Ram Dass suggestedto Pascal that he read Meher Baba’s works,but he wasn’t interested.

With his wife, they endeavored to hitch-hike across Europe to India. Later still, Pascalbegan reading the Discourses. “The first fewsentences of the Discourses,” he recalled,“went right through my analytical mind andhit me in the heart. .. here was Someone whoknew the truth.” He sought out other BabaLovers, which carried him to Myrtle Beach.

Adele Woilcin

He walked into the kitchen and “found peoplesmoking, talking, and frying up bacon andeggs.”This shattered his preconceptions abouta spiritual lifestyle. From here, progressivesteps brought him more and more into thefold ofMeher Baba’s all inclusive embrace.

InJack Small’s intervie he recalled, withsome angst, that he had had the opportunity to travel to India after Baba had

dropped his body. Fills had said, “Don’t go;the mandali will be nurturing sad feelings andyou’d be in the way.” Later he spoke with bothAllan Cohen and Rick Chapman, who reiterated what Fills had said. However, a few dayslater both ofthem were on their wayto India!

“I was totally stunned. I wanted to goand could have but didn’t.” Following this disappointment, Jack received from Filis a copyof a tape sent from India by Don Stevensindicating the mandali’s greatjoy at receivingthe western visitors. Jack subsequently tray-eled around the country and played the tapeto many others who had canceled their planereservations upon hearing ofBaba’s droppingHis body. So, with the sting ofregret at nothaving traveled to India, he didn’t just hearthis tape once but several times.To him, thisbrought forcefullyhome the notion offollow-ingyour heart.

LeatriceJohnston and her sister ReneeShaw delivered several talks. Reneerelated how she and Leatrice, with the

rest ofthe family, had undertaken upon Baba’sdirection a month long fast and silence. Reneerecalled one ofthe difficulties ofa Meher Babahousehold—all those pictures ofBaba. Hergirlfriends would ask, “Who’s that in thephoto?” Renee would explain: “He’s a verydear friend of the family” Leatrice added,“Renee would say Baba was her Godfather.”

Leatrice shared that prior to meetingBaba, she was afraid she’d have no feelingsfor Him because “my parents loved Him somuch.” She was first in line on the bench wait-ing to enter the Lagoon Cabin in 1952 andwhen the door opened she thought, “Oh, I’lllet my mother go first.” Before being embracedby Baba, “I had no thoughts in my mind.”After the embrace, “Ijust melted into His armsand I thought, ‘I’ve come home to my realhome at last.” Renee remarked of this firstmeeting, “As Baba embraced me, I lost all con-sciousness ofself All I could feelwas completejoy.” Her next recollection was ofsitting on a

couch, in an atmosphere ofquietude with Adiinterpreting Baba’s gestures.

They each recalled an experience oflooking into Baba’s eyes. Renee, upon anoccasion of saying goodbye to Baba, “Ileaned over and He took my face in Hishands. I looked into His eyes and I felt eternity and I don’t know how long this lasted.I felt I was eternity.” Leatrice recounted ofher farewell from Baba in 1952 that, priorto His embrace, she had really wanted to‘know Baba.’ As she decribed, “He held meso that I could look directly into His eye... Ientered and there was no stopping point. Ikept going on and on and on and it was aninfinite journey into infinity. And what Isaw was colorless, formless, boundless lightand beauty. And then the embrace wasover, and Baba was smiling.”

rom Donald Mahler’s interview byfour Meher Miniatures, he shared thefollowing anecdote. In 1958, Baba in-

formed Margaret Craske that he wanted thefive male dancers to carry him. This was afterthe 1956 accident, and Baba still had somedifficulty walking. But the original woodenchair only needed two people to carry him.Harry Kenmore found a chair that had longpoles on it and four dancers could carryBaba with the fifth rotating in. The dancers carried Baba in and out ofthe Barn andsometimes to and from the Lagoon Cabin.

The dancers were told that ifyou wereassigned ajob by Baba, you shouldn’t giveit to anyone else, even if they wanted it.

One day, Baba was scheduled to be at the

Lagoon Cabin but afterwards would be atthe Barn. The dancers readied His chair atthe Barn for His later arrival. The LagoonCabin session was winding up and severalpeople were milling about Baba, includingDonald’s four artistic friends. Several morepeople were outside this configuration, sothe four dancers were boxed in. There wasa certain young man, about the same age asthe dancers, who desperately wanted to beone ofthe carriers ofBaba’s chair. Whenthis fellow recognized the dancers’ predicament, he took offswiftly down a trail to theBarn to secure a place on the chair. Donaldwas on the periphery ofthis large crowd, and,receiving eye contact communication from hisfriends, took off down another path to theBarn. By the time the earnest young man arrived at the chair, Donald was waiting there,

securing his and his friend’s position on thechair. About this Donald said, “This was anact as near to perfect as I’ve ever done.”

llan Cohen was also interviewed bythe Meher Miniatures, who asked

im to speak about his involvementin spreading Meher Baba’s anti-drug message in the West in the mid to late sixties. Atthat time, Allan Cohen, Rick Chapman andRichard Dreyfus, began their Baba-commissioned crusade. Drug usage wasrampant yet very little was known aboutdrugs’ deleterious effects. Baba instructedthese three to usc the print and electronicmediums to spread the message. They wereencouraged to say that Meher Baba was

God in human form. They had no personalcredentials, but this only strengthened theirposition. Allan recalled having thought, “IfHe’s God, He should be able to pull thisoff. Let’s see how He does it.”

Allan had the idea that they could writeletters to editors ofcollege newspapers, and inthese, they could quote Baba. Surprisingly,several newspapers printed their letters. Theywere stunned when the Chris-tian Science Monitor printedone. As momentum gathered,they began conducting severalinterviews. From this range ofexperience, Allan narrated thefollowing story:

He had met the head ofPalmer Chiropractic College,located in Florida, who invitedAllan to speak at the gradualion. He even flew our fearlessspeaker down on a private jet.This gentleman owned a TVstation and he gave Allan anentire evening to deliver hismessage. Allan arrived at thestudio for his seven o’clock in-terview. This was a local cableoperation that employed one camera, whichAllan couldn’t see, to capture the proceedings.A telephone would allow viewers to ask questions. The show got underway, and at somepoint, the owner flashed an indecipherablegesture to Allan, then disappeared. On thenext phone call, Allan extended the answerto five minutes, thinking he had to stall.

Viewers called in, Allan answered theirquestions, and all was well. As more timepassed, physical needs began kicking in. Hehad run out ofwate; had to go to the restroomand, knowing he was on TV, couldn’t evenscratch an itch! 8:30 arrived, but he maintainedhis cool. By 9:00 the phone was still ringing,and he really had to go to the bathroom. Hismouth was parched and he was running outofmaterial. 9:30... 10:00... and the phone wasstill ringing. By now he was starting to lose hiscool. Time ticked on as he wondered ifhe wasliving a nightmare. Eleven o’clock arrived.Then itwas five minutes before midnight. Wasthere no end to this madness? “By this time,”said Allan, “I was free-associating and making no sense.” Finally, at wit’s end, he blurted,“Thanks very much and this concludes thebroadcast. Good night.”

Walking to the camera room, Allan discovered it was pitch black and deserted.“Where is everybody?” Everything was onautomatic. He called a cab and arrived atthe mansion to find everyone asleep. Hewalked into his room, fficked on the TV andvoila, “There it is!” The show was still run-ning. His final comment, “This experiencereally humbled me.”

The second anecdote involved a talk atthe University ofAmherst. On a cold, winternight, about 1300 people showed up to theauditorium where the talk was scheduled.Allan showed a film of Baba and began histalk about the dangers ofdrug use. He thenopened up the floor to questions. The questions began getting more and more hostile.Towards the end ofthe program, about 500people were still there, but they were gettingnasty and he was losing ground. Another really negative question was asked and shortlyafterward, a blood curdling scream permeatedthe auditorium. A millisecond later, he wasthrown back, blinded, and he couldn’t breathe.There was screaming all about and hethought, “My God, someone’s finally shot me.”

People began rushing forward and thescene was total chaos. However, a few seconds later, Allan felt a strange sensation in hismouth—the taste ofbanana creme. Someonehad run up from behind him and smashed abanana creme pie into his face! The culpritwas an escaped mental patient who thoughtAllan was promoting LSD usage, which heblamed for his condition.

The college people were mortified andconsidered arresting the man but Allan re

turned to the podium and said “Don’t worryguys, my friends in Berkeley will so lovethis.” With whipped cream dripping off hisface, he continued answering questions;however, the audience had been transformed into a docile and receptive group.Later, an editorial in the school’s newspaper said how embarrassed they were overthis incident; then later stated, how gra

cious the speaker was andthat the students should takehis message seriously.

Edward Luck, who hadnever been a Sahavasguest, proved to be an

engaging speaker who relateda remarkable association withthe God-Man. He recalledthat his brother Irwin had senthim a picture ofBaba, accompanied with literature. Edrelated how on three differentoccasions, Baba’s picturelooked different. Realizing hehad to study the photo ear—nestly, he noticed two things:first, that Baba was suffering,

and secondly, that he was looking at theChrist. Edward then said to himsclf “So He’shere again.”

Ed was living in Miami at the time,and shortly after this experience, receiveda phone call from Irwin in New York suggesting they meet Meher Baba. Irwin hadwritten to Baba and been given permissionfor both ofthem to do this, but they wereallotted only one hour. But first, they hadto raise the money. Irwin returned to Mi-ami, came to work for his father’s real estatecompany and shortly afterwards, put in abig advertisement for many of thecompany’s land parcels. On the second day,they received an avalanche of buyers andthis supplied the necessary money. Theyleft for NewYorkwith the ambition ofgo-ing to see Baba.

Enter the father who pronounced to theyoung men, “Only one ofyou can go.” Irwinwas the designated one and a few days laterwas in Indiawith Baba. About this same time,however, Ed related, “I began to experiencethis presence ofGod.” He later went to thebeach and a friend looked at him and remarked, “Eddie, you’re radiant.” Other friends

made this observation. One said, “Yeah, heglows these days.”

As time pressed on, the spiritual presence intensified. He recalled passing a couplewho turned completely around and staredwide-eyed at him. He began realizing thatsomething mystical was happening and laterreceived a telegram from Baba which read:“Time and distance mean nothing to me.”Thetelegram also informed him that he wouldbenefit equally by Irwin’s visit to India. Irwinlater returned, unhappy he didn’t receive GodRealization. They began planning the nexttrip to India, this time financed by HarryKenmore at Baba’s instructions.They arrivedat Guruprasad and went searching for Baba.Theylocated him and when Edward enteredthe room he immediately felt, “that invisiblepresence ofGod permeating the room.” Whenhe looked at Baba, He appeared as a baby toEdward. “What was coming through Babawere the most innocent and purest of emolions.” Baba later embraced both brothers andtold them that He wanted them to remainclose to Him while they were there.

ing process, Henry deduced that this mean-ing could best be exemplified by finding ahuman being who embodied great qualities such as courage, honesty, compassion,and humor.

He discovered the teachings of theVedanta Society and by 1955 was avidly read-ing literature from the society when a friendin NewYork mailed him a copy of God Speaks.Henry, only seeing Baba’s picture, immediately called her and exclaimed, “Liz, He is theone! Find out how we can meet Him.” Hewrote a letter to Baba beginning with “DearMeher Baba, I have your book God Speaks,which has great meaning for me. I want tomeet you.” Baba’s reply was, “Your connection with me is oflong duration. You’re one ofthe fortunate ones.”

The storyleaps ahead to the DelmonicoHotelin NewYork Cit where itwas Henry’sgreat fortune to meet the God-Man. As heembraced Baba, he whispered into His ear, “Iadore you.”

At one point duringthe Delmonico meet-ing, Baba said to Henry, “I brought you intothis world blindfolded with your hands tiedbehind your back. You had to find a miracle.You have found it; now I want you to forgetyour past.” Henry said that Baba would sayto people, “You have the God-Man, use Him.”And as Henry said, “Baba’s with you everysecond, consciously. Baba is always withinyou and Baba will never leave you.”

Bhau Kalchuri has graced our gathering numerous times, and to have a reunion Sahavas without him would

seem unthinkable. Of course, all thatBhau said in his several talks could betranscribed into a booklet, only a fewchoice morsels follow.

Bhau explained that there are two typesofintellect: perverted and constructive. Per-verted intellect is when mind controls theheart; constructive intellect is when heart con-trols the mind. Mind is illusion; mind is theobstruction. On the New Life, he said, “Atthis time, the Beloved is following us, and weare coming closer and closer to him.” He alsosaid, “Since the dropping of His body, Hisphysical suffering is absent, but His mentaland spiritual suffering is still present.”

While talking on Baba’s Silence, Bhautold us, “The gradual breaking ofHis Silencemeans a gradual awakening.This is going on.”He also said, “A Perfect Master works for theUniverse in a general way and for the selectedones in a chosen way, whereas the Avatarworks for the Universe in a chosen way andfor the selected ones in a special way.”

Bhau left us with these final words fromhis concluding talk: “He’s the most Compassionate One and you are all very fortunate tohave come in His contact. But know well thatHe has taken the responsibility ofeach one.Have that trust and whatever you can do for

.. . . . .

Henry Kashouty was our guest at thevery first L. A. Sahavas, so his return was both appropriate and hon

orary “The most important thing in Creation,”he declared to the audience, “is to focus onBaba.” Henry told us the story ofhis comingto Baba. “Before Baba, my need was to findmeaning in life.” Through an internal search-

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Him, do it! Ifyou cannot, dont worry for thatalso. Just remember Him. Ifyou can’t remember Him, then ofcourse, also, dont worryc

Just love Him, more and more.Justlove Him. Jai Baba.”

Musical guest Jane Brown sungmagnificently. Her initial seleclion was “IfI FollowYou,” accom

panied by Raphael Rudd. Additional songsincluded”Ishtiake” and “I’m Yours.” Jane’svoice caressed the audience with its sweetpurity She closed with “ Victory Unto Thee,”one ofBob Brown’s most popular compositions. She wasjoined on stage by several othermusicians for a powerfid, moving performanceofthis song.

Debbie Nordeen opened her musicalsegment with “Begin the Beguine,”followed by a string of pop stan-

dards whose love lyrics, Debbie explained,lend themselves well as songs for the Beloved.These songs included “I’ve Grown Accustomed to your Face” and “My HeartBelongs to Daddy.” With the audiencejubilantly joining in, “Those Were theDays” spirited us away on a singalong, madeespecially sweet by knowing that Meheraand Mani so loved this song.

aphael our third musical guest,entertained us with several originalcompositions, including “Coming

Home,” a piece he had played for Mani in her

last days. He concluded with a medleydevoted to the theme of Awakening.This was an energetic musical surgethat dazzled the audiencc. Later in theshow, Jane Brown joined him for the“Gujerati Arti.”

Then there was Bobby Mononash.What can one say?Only that many agreed this

may have been the best Mononash yet.You had to be there,* and ifyou were,you were laughing!

Besides all the wondrous discourses andpersonal stories from the guests, andthe always popular and entertaining

Childrens’Talent Sho the Sahavas was onceagain a place for regrouping and sharing inthe fellowship ofBaba’s love.The toddy shop,in splendid fashion, was the meeting place forattendees to converse, listen to live music, seeart, snack, catch their breath or reflect uponthe gathering.The Love Street Bookstore (dedared by Bhau as being the best Meher Bababookstore in the world!) was sumptuouslyfilled with books, posters, tapes,jewelry, pins,tee-shirts, cards, and even a Baba screen-saver.And the dhurti, as always, was a hallowed event,

Top: Rob Thornburn, Billy Goodrum,and Raphael Rudd.Bottom: David Miotke, DebbieNordeen, and Keith Gunn.

.:.;..: ..4.:•i• .a. ::::. :: • .•

Above: Bobby Manonash grooves withMichael Campagna.

[•*

i ••3.

where afterwards people gathered, basking inthe persistent glow ofBaba’s grace.

The Sahavas Committee deserves ahearty thanks for all its dedicated year-longwork towards the fulfillment ofthis event.Thisyear three people in particular are to be singledout: LoisJones and David McNeely, for theirtireless dedication to the nuts and bolts ofor-ganizing the Sahavas; and Fred Stankus, whoconceived the idea ofthis year’s guest reunion.

*4fld fyou weren’t there, you can check out the video ofthe Bobby Manonash Showfrom our lending library

(see page 19).

Thej Baba Catalog

This year at the L.A. Sahavas BillyGoodrum introduced to us his “fool

proofplan to solve all the financial needs ofallBaba Centers worldwide.” Catalog sales, heinformed us, can generate millions ofdollarsin revenues. “You’ve heard ofj Peterman and

I Crew, now I present to you thej Baba catalog”, Billy said as he proudly held up the firstcopy fresh offthe press.

He then treated us to descriptions ofsomeofthe items in the catalogwhich included Prayand Wipes, TheA/i-Linen Mohammed TheMastGardening Smock and Mandali Trading Cards.

Then Mitchell Rose came out and mod-eled the Bhau Kaichuri SpiritualEnsemble asBilly read the description “Springtime atMeherana.” “On first arriving you make your

way over to the kitchen area where a crowdhas already gathered. It is clear once againthis Sahavas season that the fashion conciousset has followed in the footsteps ofthat greattrend-setter Bhau Kalchuri. Simply put:accessorize, accessorize, accessorize. The BhauKalchuri accessory ensemble includes suspenders, Avatar Meher Baba string tie, andstone-washed, distressed plastic ffip-flops.”

“You walk around greeting old friendsand mingling.These ffip-flops feeljust right.They don’t pinch your big toe and the soundthey make as they flop back against your heelis full and resonant. Whether spending a casual afternoon in Mariposa or dining underthe pandal at Meherana, you will feel confi

dent and saintly in this smnning accessoryensemble. Availaible in mango chutney, okra,and ‘lawender.”

Billy then informed us that pre-seasonresponse had been so overwhelming in thefashion world that Bhau had been offered aflip-flop endorsement deal with NikeTM andthat the Air Bhauji would soon be on themarket. Not only that, but Bhau had beenoffered a three picture deal by Warner Broth-ersTM and would be reprising his Ahmednagar

Iones role in a series offilms.It is comforting to know that all our fi

nancial troubles are now solved through thislittle bit ofingenuity and effort. •

Thanks guys. Jai Baba!

.

Top left:Danny Maguirc—

the nextDavid Cassidy?!

Top right:Don’t Worry,

Be Happy“15 year Reunion”plus new voices.

Ages 3 to 29 years.

by Meheru

Mani’s DayAugust 19t, 1997

e have come here to bowdown to Mani, to honorone who led such an exem

plary life oflove and service for and in herBeloved God-Brother, Avatar Meher Baba.In her life with Him she played, nay, livedall the roles asked ofher with naturalnessand perfection, her humor never far fromthe surface. Her many talents in variousfields were an innate part of her that sheused unstintingly in Baba’s cause.

The numerous plays and skits Manicomposed and enacted for Baba’s entertain-ment and amusement could fill a volume.Within a day or two she would not onlyhave the plot with dialogue and evensongs ready, but have everyone rehearsing and making or procuring costumesunder her direction.

Mani wrote her own special songs toBaba, after He dropped His Physical Form,which most of you have probably heard.They were the outpouring expression ofherlove for Him and are sung everywhere bythe Baba world. They keep alive hermemory and are such a gift to all.

But her life and responsibility on theserious side, which was against her naturalbent, but which she carried out with suchflair and grace, was the work she did asChairman ofthe Avatar Meher Baba Trust.This role was entrusted to her by Baba,which she carried out until the end ofher life.

Mani was one of Baba’s best readersand interpreters ofthe Alphabet Board asHis fingers would fly with lightning speedover the letters with His own version of

shorthand, cuts in spelling, and evenchanges in language. She did a lot ofBaba’ssecretarial work and typing, and expecteda high standard ofwork from all the Babahelpers around her.

Mani will always be loved and remembered by all the children as a child amongstthem, who found time to play with themeven in her busy schedule, and by thegrown-ups to whom she gave so much ofherselfin every way she could.

Today as we honor this day ofher firstanniversary of going to Baba, rememberMani as ajoyous being whose life was complete in fulfillment ofhaving spent it withher Beloved Lord Baba, whom she alwaysaimed to please.

112 ,L:ovestrcet£amsr

by Michael Franklin

I was April oflast year when my motherDma asked me ifl wanted to go to Indiawith her on her biannual pilgrimage in

October. It was about then that I contractedthe fatal disease.

At first I wasn’t too thrilled aboutthe ideaofgoing to India; my idea ofa vacation usually includes white sandy beaches andswim-up bars. Ijust couldn’t get enthusiasticabout going to a third world country whereplaying chicken with oncoming traffic anddodging bewildered bovines was the order ofthe day, even if it was to see Baba’s tomb.Although I grewup knowing that Baba is God(I’m a third generation Babalover), itjust wasntsomething that I could get excited about.

I became aware ofmy sick-ness a few months before the trip.I became increasingly lethargic,feeling drained as thoughl hadiñquite got over a cold and I wasalso having very bad nightsweats. I went to see a local doctor and complained of mysymptoms. At the time, my tern-perature, heart beat and bloodpressure were all normal. Thedoctors “thorough” exam con-sisted ofmy sitting in a corner ofthe examination room while helistened to me explain why Ithought I might not be well. Hecame to the conclusion that if Ididn’t have tuberculosis then it was just job-related stress and not to worry about it. Whenthe TB test came back negative, I began tothink he maybe right. But the symptoms keptgeffing worse.

In the few days before I was to leave forIndia I couldn’tget offthe couch. I would wakeup, feel normal for about an hour, then sleepuntil dinner. After eating, I was okay again foranother hour, then I’d sleep until noon thenext day and itwould start all over again. Dmaeven suggested that I shouldn’t go to India ifI

felt thatpoorly, but as I’d made a commitment(and thinking that it might get better ifI justgot out ofthe house) I reaffirmed my decisiontogo.

By the time we got to Poona all I coulddo was sleep. Though I did get hungry, thesmells from the small kitchen wafting up tothe dormitory did nothing to make me wantto get out of bed. Nor did the noise andsmell ofthe diesel powered trafficjust out-side my window excite any interest inexploring the greater surroundings of thePoona center. Ifthis was India, I couldn’twait to get back home. Little did I knowthat my life would soon be saved here.

Two days later we were in Meherabad. Ibecame immediately familiarwith the PilgrimCenter’s resident medical staff Dr Gus andRada. By this time I had lost 30 pounds, myresting heart rate was 120 beats per minute,the night sweats were becoming annoyinglyprofuse and I was throwing up all night. Ofcourse they didn’t believe the conclusion ofthe doctor I saw in the States nor did theythink it may be psychosomatic as others hadpreviously suggested. Instead they poked,prodded, tested, X-raycd and tested again. I

was sent to Ahmednagar for EKG’s, X-raysand Sonagrams. When every test came backnegative and it was nearing the time we hadto leave India, the blood cultures Mike andSarah, the resident lab technicians, had takendays earlier, finally gave up the answer: Strep-tococcus. Sarah said she had never seen thatmuch strep in anyone’s blood stream before.

In consultation with Dr. Arvind, (Mani’snephew) and 2 cardiologists they determinedthat the disease I had suffered from for theprevious six months was called Subacute En-docarditis, a bacterial infection ofthe bloodwith a concentrated growth on the Aortic valveofmy heart. Fatal ifleft untreated!

Needless to say Mum and I were horn-fled but at least we knew what we were upagainst. The cure? Two weeks ofhospitalization on round-the-clock antibiotics. The cost?About $700 for everything. I wouldn’t havebeen able to afford the barrage oftesting andultimate treatment in America and so wouldsurely have died from lack of treatment if Ihadn’t gone to India with my Mother.

The Mandali were extremely support-ive. Immediately upon being told of mycondition, Dr. Goher reserved a room at Ruby

Hall, telling me it was imperative I get started on the treatmentright away. She told me RubyHall was the best hospital inPoona, and itwas where Maul wastreated. Arnavaz had a long talkwith me and gave me her supportby telling me to up-root my fearand give it to Baba.

After Mum saw that I wassafely admitted, she reluctantlywentbackto the States.That afternoon I received a call fromBhau. He was in the hospitaldown the road and he called meto find out how I was doing. Hemight have cancer and was in

for some tests, and he calls me.Three days ina row! I truly felt blessed by all the attentionI received from such special people and can-not begin to guess at the healing effect it had.

Looking back I can almost see Baba’sHand lifting me from my house in Los An-geles and gently placing me in His home atMeherabad. I don’t knowwhyHe chose to savemy life on what He has in store for mc, but youcan be sure that whatever happens from nowon, it happens with Baba in my heart.

A Fatal Illness

---

Eruch and Michael embrace. [Note: see No More Hugs, page 37]

.•I•EI•.•.•.•.•: :::::::::. ..... ......ov

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He Built it with Love Meher Baba’s Shrine

by RichardJ. Procyk

he gleamingwhite dome ofthe shrineshone in the desert sun like a welcoming beacon in the distance. As I

drove closer and turned into the last street,“The Perfect Man Shrine” loomed up in itsbeauty and splendor against the contrastingstark desert sand and muted mountains inthe background. Built as a replica of MeherBaba’s tomb in Meherabad, it stood tall, like asurreal painting in gentle pastels ofblue, pink,grey, and white, accentuated by the shades ofthe brown and grey ofthe desert floor. Em-blazoned over the entrance was the message“Mastery in Servitude.” Five sculptured religious icons, placed on each corner ofthc roofand at the top ofthe dome, symbolically pro-claimed the five major religions ofthe world.The smile that covered my face was one ofappreciation andjoy as I viewed this state-ment made in stone—a monument builtwith love.

I meditated quietly as my mind flashedback to the beginning ofthisjourney. In theearly 1960’s Earl Starcher, who was mybrother-in-law, came to my house in Miamifor a visit. Earl, at this time, was employed bythe Federal Aviation Agency as an air trafficcontroller at the Miami International Airport.He was a man ofthis world—single, some-what materialistic, living in the fastlane withstewardesses and pilots—and he had no par-ticular direction regarding religious philosophyor the spiritual life. Myparents were Theosophists, and my library included books writtenby Krishnamurti, H.P. Blavatsky, Besant,Gurdjieff, Yogananda, Ouspensky, AlanWatts, and others on metaphysics and religious philosophy. Earl inquired about thismaterial and we were soon discussing thesearch for the spiritual path, the need for en-lightenment, and how the serious neophytehad to reach the state ofawareness before thelife oftransformation could begin. When Earlwas leaving, he asked where he could go toexpand on these ideas and was directed totheTheosophical Societyin Miami.

Several months later he visited again andstated that his friends, Lois and Gerry Seeley,had introduced him to the philosophy ofMeher Baba. He appeared different in hisdemeanor, and bore a quiet, contemplativeattitude that was new and powerful. I listenedwhile he spoke of a higher purpose and theneed to live the spiritual life. It was obviousthat his interest was sincere, and I was impressed with the level ofintensityhe displayedso soon in his spiritual quest. Apparently, asan old soul, he recognized the spiritual pathas part ofthe process ofreawakening and askedme tojoin him in several ofthe Meher Babameetings at the Ann Forbes home. After oneof the meetings Ann Forbes joined us andsmiled as she advised me that I had been amonk in a prior existence and that Earl and Ihad been brothers. It would be years later thatI would realize how deep the karmic ties ran.

Earl’s love ofand service to Meher Babatook a dramatic turn in 1965, when he resigned from the FAA. He gave up the materialworld and began the life of surrender andtransformation by adopting a role ofpoverty,service, celibacy, detachment, and completedevotion to Baba. The detachment was severe and included his family whom he lovedbutwould not see for the next 30 years. A fewyears later I was no longer married to his sister, making it possible in his eyes to reestablishhis concern for them through me. When theFederal government learned Earl had givenup his position in order to serve the poor thehandicapped, and the needy, and to devotehimseifto the spiritual path with no means ofincome, they suggested a disability pension;they assumed that onlyjob-related stress atthe Miami Air Tower could account for suchunusual behavior. It was unusual, indeed, forthose still caught up in the material world.

Earl was soon at the Baba Center inMyrtle Beach, South Carolina and later tray-eled around the countrylooking for a spiritualsite. He had a vision ofa Baba learning centerand shrine that would attract those whowished to study in a retreat-like atmosphere

without having to travel to India. When hereached Columbus, NewMexico, he remarkedhow much the aura ofthe surrounding country side—the silence ofthe desert, the powerof the mountains, and the spirituality—re-minded him oflndia, where he had traveledmany times.

Earl began the shrine in the mid-1980sand immediately faced many difficulties.When he applied for a building permit, hewas denied until he submitted a plan designed by an engineer.Then they insisted thata contractor build it, with more time lost andadditional anxiety and frustration. Finally, ina strange turn, he suddenly had permission tobuild it himself. He writes in a letter datedOctober 12, 1988, “At present I am workingwith white cement trying to get the propermix to build the dome. The white cementshould look very nice and will need little or nomaintenance. The shrine walls will be con-structed with “split face” blocks. These blockswill be ofa charcoal color and should go verywell with the white cement. It should lookvery much like the fieldstone that they usedin the Samadhi.”

Speaking ofthe shrine in one ofhis let-ters, he states, “This shrine is not a temple ora place of worship. It is a replica of theTomb-shrine ofAvatar Meher Baba that islocated in Ahmednagar, India.The shrine hasa temporary reality and existence. Its valuelies in pointing to Avatar Meher Baba’s real-ity of eternal existence and life eternal. Thesole purpose ofthis shrine is to inform visitorsofMeher Baba’s divine mission ofredeemingthe world and His love for all. At first, I wantedto name it the Perfect Man Shrine, however,as this name could have been confusing tothe general public, the Avatar Meher BabaShrine appeared more appropriate.”

Before working on the shrine, Earl con-structed a combination information center,library, and museum that he envisioned oneday to be staffed by Baba lovers for thosewho made the pilgrimage to Columbus. Thisconstruction, in addition to a garden and guest

house, is in a compound surrounded by eight-foot concrete walls. The research centercomplex was to accommodate serious studentsas a retreat and provide information to thevisitor ofthe shrine.

Earl Starcher dropped his physical bodyon November 1, 1994. His monument andresearch center is now a reality and awaits thepilgrim-visitor to view one man’s effort to serveGod. An archaeologist and his wife, who is ateacher have shown a serious interest in Earl’splace, and ifthe sale is completed at the endofthe year, theypromise to preserve the Shrineand add flowers and a fountain. When askedwhy they would perpetuate its care, the wifesaid, “I can feel he built it with such love.”

For those going west into the “land ofenchantment,” there is someone who is incharge ofthe property and arrangements canbe made for a visit.You will find Columbus isa charming village-town at 4,000 foot elevalion where there are no traffic lights, and alocal phone call is still a dime. The museum intown had been the old train depot when Babarode through Columbus on his way to Albuquerque in the 1930’s. Earl had no way ofknowing when he purchased the land thatBaba had been there before him, but he feltthe spirituality and he knew that if he builtthe shrine, “theywould come...” .

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Roshan Kerawala’s Storyby Linda Zavala

[Editori note: Last September we wereprivileged to have as our guest Roshan Kerawala,wft of ‘Sam the Story Teller Roshan certainlyhad aJèw stories ofher own with which to regale us! She spoke twice at the Center andattended many teas heldfor her. Roshan grewup in the Jessawalla household and sofelt theinfluence andpresence oftheAvatar throughouther childhood and on through her marriage toSam. Baba had His nazar very closeiy on thislady. He even toldher to give her wedding dress,which she hadjustshown Him, to Mehera to lether tiy it on. So Mehera put on this gorgeous,beaded, bejeweled, goldthreadedwhite sari andpresentedhersqfto her Beloved Wouldthat wehadaphoto ofthat.’]

w1ç%

.. . . .

oshan informed us that Emch’s motherwas Roshan’s aunt—her father’s siser. So, the Satha’s and the jessawalla’s

were a close knit family. Roshan’s father, HomiSatha, lived with his wife and children inAhmednagar in a home called Akbar Press, aname inherited from the previous tenant. Thename stuck, so it was always referred to thatway. In 1922, Homi, Roshan’s father, heardthat a Parsi saint had come to the area nowknown as Meherabad. He and a few familymembers trekked across the open fields, whichsurrounded Ahmednagar, to meet him. Theyfound Baba sitting under a tree, singing. Herfather said that he had never heard such abeautiful voice. Baba called the family to sit

near him. He asked how manymembers there were in thefamily. Homi said, “We are 5brothers and 4 sisters. Babasaid, “No, now you are sixbrothers and 4 sisters. I am oneof you.” This was the begin-ning of a long and intimaterelationship with Baba. In theearly days Baba would oftenvisit Akbar Press unexpectedlyand, as part ofthe family, Hewould go into the kitchen tosee what was cooking.

The first time Baba cameto their house, Roshan’s grand-father was sitting at his usualplace on the porch. After Babaleft he called all the childrentogether and said, “Dont thinkthat He’s an ordinary man. Heis a very, very high soul—likeLord Zoroaster.You should allrespect Him.” Roshan said,“And so we all respectedBaba from the very begin-ning. There was never even

Left: Roshan in her wedding sari(now dyed blue) that Baba toldher to give to Mehera to try on.

the slightest doubt. Whatever He said, wewould do wholeheartedly.”

In 1942 her mother died. Her father wasleft with many children, all ofwhom developed muscular dystrophy. Shortly after hermother’s death, she was taken with the familyto meet Baba. Baba took Roshan and cuddledher on His lap.Then He had everyone sit andHe told Homi, “You don’t have to worry aboutthis child. I am going to take care ofher. But, Iorder you not to take her to any saints, shrines,or physicians. You havejust to obey my ordersand do as I tell you to do.” So Roshan wasalways under Baba’s care and she would livewith whichever family Baba wanted.

In 1955 Roshan was directed by Babato stay at Bindra House where she remaineduntil her marriage. Over the years Baba visited there many times and sometimes Hewould bring carloads ofpeople to be fed.

Roshan recalls that in 1957 Baba calledthe whole Bindra House family to the Botanical Garden where Babawas staying. Heruncle Naosherwan-mama was there but nother father. Baba said to Roshan, “I think it’shigh time you got married. I want you to getmarried.” Being careful to say the right thingin Baba’s presence she told Baba, “Baba, youknow,when I used to go for mymedical check-up in school all the doctors told me that Ishould not get married because all my broth-ers and sisters have this polio [musculardystrophy]. So they told me that I shouldn’tget married. But ifyou say, ‘Get married’ thenI’ll get married.”Then Baba called Goher, whowas standing at a little distance and said,“Goher, come here.”When Goher came Babasaid, “Go inside and check her, whether she isfit to get married or not.” So she took her in-side and checked her from “top to bottom”.When Goher had completed the examination she said to Roshan, “Now go out.” Babawas reclining on the sofa and He asked,“There is nothing wrong?” Goher replied,“Baba there is nothing wrong with her she isfit.” So Baba said to her, “I want you to getmarried to Sam [Sam Kerawala, her cousin

I

whom she had known all her life]. Do you sweetly, “Very nice.” Then Roshan presentedthinkyou are happy about it?” She said, very her sari andjewelry made from her mother’strustingly, “Baba, whoeveryou tell me to marry jewelry. Baba said, “Everything is very nice.”I will marry.” Roshan recalls that in those days Then he told her to take her sari and the jew—they never asked questions oftheir parents. dry to the women mandali. Baba then gaveWhatever they said, they would say yes to. the instruction, “Tell Mehera to wear your sariWith Baba they would say, “Baba, ifyou are and your jewelry. When I come for lunch Ihappy, I am happy to do what you say.”Then want to see her wear it.” Mehera put every-Baba said to her uncle, “Her father is not yet thing onjust as the bride would. When Babapresent, so I represent you as her father. And, saw her He looked very happy. Then He said,you also tell me ifyou are happy with this.” “Mehera, youlookvery sweet. Nowtake theseThen Helooked at Gaimai Mai, Banu Mama, clothes off fold them nicely and give them toGula Masi, Manu, and Merwan and said, Roshan.” [To Roshan:] “Now you can wear it“Tell me ifyou are all happy.” Naturally they for your wedding.”werehappybecauseitwasBaba’swish.Baba Mr. Meelan at Meelan Studio inthen said, “Now start getting things done for Pune came to take the wedding pictures.themarriage.” Baba said to him, “You will take nice

The marriage was set for the 21st of photos oftheir wedding, no?” “Yes Baba,March, 1958.Theybegan allthepreparations. don’t worry, I will take everybody’s wed-Then,oneday,Babasaid,”Wheneverytbing ding picture”, he replied. But for someis ready, bring it all to Meherazad for me to mysterious reason, when the photos weresee.” When the time came to take everything developed, Sam and Roshan appeared asto Baba, theywere waiting for Sam, who had white shadows while everyone else in thejust gotten offa ship, and he arrived verylate. photo looked wonderful and clear. MrHe refused to buy the special Zoroastrian Meelan was very disturbed by this phewedding clothes needed for the wedding. He nomena. So Baba told Meelan, “They willsaid to Roshan, “I will be at sea, who is going come to your studio, you must make atto wear those clothes, they willjust be lying least one good photo for their weddingaround.I don’tfeellikebuyingnewclothes.” picture.” So they had one picture takenRoshan said, “No, you must wear them.” In together which came out very well.some haste, they decided to have Sam reviveEruch’s wedding clothes which were still in- [In our next issue we wiieellyou ofBabac verytact at that time. So he got Eruch’s clothes dry strange and disturbing order to Roshan. It hadcleaned and washed and they were finally to do with the way she was to treat herfirstready to place everything in the trunk to take born child.]to Meherazad. When they arrived, Baba wasreclining on a sofa in mandali hall. Baba care-fully reviewed each item and then said, very

A Ghazal for Roslian

byJim Wilson

OIi Bloved, such sense ofhmior Youhav& Sometimes when we gather to re

member You It is Your plaaurc to send amember ofYour intimate family to relive forus those divine days ofYour physiclpresnccIn thairlives We get dreased up we clean ourhomcwe scurryiround—prcpar our minds

.

a donkey*

cm , he s strong and beautiful and canwork cidlcsly and energetiaIly withouturrng Shepulisherplough forYouultivating’

som there Your donkey is not lazy like tha&rmcrs mules wholong for guien paturcs

No Your donkey &e across Your ocears toclean the cobwebs fom our memories And tofeed us the curries ofYour gracious fragranceanct mtimatcwarmth

Such a donkcy she is that ic even siciepswcll in trangc places and unfamdiar beds,And shc asks onlyfora taste ofMcDonald’s

:.:.:.:.:.:for.lier noshment . . ....

.•

Oh Beloved how can we not recognize Yoursmile in her loving eyc& And Your tendermotlici4iood in the heavenly kod she makesfor us And how can we not weep tears of

reunion whenemdueus in the family ofYGurubmatelover?

Oh Beloved, Your humor is Your compassioni It can so quickly dart past our stubbornminds and pierce our hearts so that the eyes of

our hearts can open and see Youhere, with us,now and always

Oh Baba, let us be playflul and happy aschildren in Your family And give us guidance in caring for Your dnnke Your FoolNo 9, and all the remaining crown jewelsof our precious family

1* Wbn Rrhan wasj(s1 €bdd skpie1kd a

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Roshan’s Recipes Announcements

from Diana Goodhearts notesilowing is a small listing ofthc meet-

ings in various locations around the USIfyou would like your group to be represented

Fish inTomato Gravyt here call Dma at (310) 837 6419, evenings

(alsocalledPatta) or e-mail your announcement toBababooks@aol com

I Miilcc tomato gravy—tomatocs,ginger, garlic water—chop and lIend2 Sprinkle and rub tnrmeric and salt an the inside and outside ofwhde cleaned fish (anybig strong,

;fsh) [WnusedwtutefIsh, trout, and salmon J Meetings3 Pour some tomato gravy over fish and mnrinate a short w}ule (5-7 minutes)4 Saute lots ofc1opped onion in oil with somi whole curryleavcs

I Meherana in Northern California holds aJ Wncn onions arc weu cookea aou caycrrnc paprika, andlots and lotsofcsh, chopped conander

th6 Cook more Dhuni on tne 12 ofevery montn i nere w

7 Add afewprnces tQm2±*s, u little water adash salt be a New Life Sahavas on the 17th, 18th, and

Cook more 19th ofOctober Featured guests will be Babas9 AddmarinatectfIsh and cookbriefly Itis done when fish springs backandis still firm twin nephews Rustom and Sorab This time

there will be no limits on the amount of at-Of.#z2ns Make with chkn rnstead offith tendees To make your reservation call Christie

Pearson at (209) 966-5078Ntfr;m &sha AIwayr taste beforeycrn gwe tt ethers Meherana will also host a Women s Retreat

November 8th and 9th

ObsrvahQi RShifl $ays 7as Babd’ whn sh adé rngr€dwnttFor Meher Mount (Ojai, CA) meeting infocall Kendra andJonathan Burroughs at (805)

BasmatiRice 640-0000 Meher Mount 9902 SulphurMountain Road Ojai CA 93023

I Cleannee2 Soak it for ½ hour before conling SoCal desert area Baba lovers meet occasion-3 Conkwith waterand hutier (so it doesut stickat bottom)

3 I ally contactJavMohlerforinformation (760)4 Whenaone auaverywcllfricdonion andgarlic (cnspygoldenbrown)366-3537 orwrite

C Chicken P0 Box 94 JoshuaTree, CA 92252-0094-m jay mo er eeecom(for4O-50 people) .

I &gmwith2ttns coconutmilk, I tmtomatoauce, I hotdetahini, I bottic crcmypeamitbutter Seattle we have a regularly scheduled

2 Heatsomevegetableoilanlsa1tinpan meeting every Friday night at different

3 Pouroilfromtahmimtopanwith oil people s homes, as well as other events, such4 Add small amountofchckpcaflour rest oftaliini, and fl nfpeanutbuttcr Stm as Baba music every second Saturday nightS Add curryleaves (from Meheraad) garam mas1a turmeric, and cayenne to make the currypae at John and B arbara Connor s house C all6 Adcllots andlots ofchickpea flour Catherine Alpert at (206) 525-7424 for7 Add tomato gravy (hleiided tomatoc ginger garhc water) informationS Stir again.9 Md aconut milk, tomato sauce and water

:. • ::.:. : : :

: • . •

: • • •

: : : :“

•:

: :: Denver area meetings are on Sunday eve-10 tir unni itleaves the side ofthepan. (When currypaste is ready, put a finger intot Finger hould

come out clean ) nings at 7pm Contact Judi Schoeck 303

ii Takcoutcurrypate .733-9950forlocation

12 Addwatertopot13 Addth&n3d sah The Fifth Annual Rocky Mountain Sahavas15 Cookon higI forawhdc will take place FridaythroughMonday Febru16 When chi&en1acooke4 addeurrypaste andbrmgto abil Wien itboit, thecirryis done y 13-16, 1998 The group will return to a

wonderftil retreat site outside ofDenver COMfgg On€ cup curypaxtesmrfan wugbftr2-3ppk Ony htthpa#€ st usc Make over Presidents and Valentine s Dayweekendtt and$a’t!e #t Frez if Qrrefrsrak -

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Guest(s) to be announced. For information andupdates, send your address to: Judi Schoeck,1456 5. Sherman St., Denver, CO 80210, ore-mail thejoodster@worldnet.att.net.(303) 733-9950.

In the Ann Arbor, Michigan area we havemonthly meetings. Anyone interested shouldcontact Lindajones at (313) 761-2497.

For the Nashville area the point ofcontact is:Scott Tycer, 1004 Gracelawn Court,Brentwood, TN 37027. Phone (615) 661-9990, fax (615) 661-9223 or send e-mail tostycer@worldnet.att.net.Meetings are approximately once a month atvarious locations.

Scott is also the trustwalla for Friends ofAvatar Meher Baba Trust and will send aquarterly reminder letter to any Baba loverwho requests it, that we are gathering contributions to send to the Avatar Meher BabaTrust (Ahmednagar) for that quarter.There isno obligation and the reminder letters can bestopped at any time.

Hampton Roads, Virginia area: HenryKashouty hosts the Baba meetings Monday nights at 8pm last meeting of 1997 isDec. 15, theyresuthe onjan. 5, 1998. Fordirections to Henry’s house in Hampton,call him at (757) 244-7865.

Lord Meher Meetings

Now on Monday nights 7:30pm at the LosAngeles Center—Meherabode. Come andshare the wine provided by Bhau Kalchuri inhis biography Lord Meher, Avatar ofthe AgeMeherBaba, (we are nowin Vol. 3).Hosted by Fred Stankus

Audio Tape Lending Library

Do you ever find yourselfin a ‘dry spell’ spin-tually? Are you bored listening to the sameold negative news, weather and traffic reportson your way to work? Would you rather havesomething inspiring to listen to? Do you needan interesting theme for your Baba meet-rngs. . .? Well the audio library has manyinteresting and intellectually stimulating dis

courses on life with Baba. We have over 150titlesjust waiting to be delved into by inquiring minds. What unsuspecting treasures tobehold! Don’t waste your time on this tiredold world any longer. Make your choice tomove into the cosmic Baba linkup. LynneBerry (official tape walli) is ready to assist you.For catalog or info write to: AMB LendingAudio Library cJo Lynne Berry 267 HanoverDr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Video Cassette Rental Library

Another treasure trove of inspiring talks isavailable through the Video Cassette RentalLibrary Seeing the guest speakers again fromthe L.A. Sahavas, from the many years past,brings back old memories from so many goodtimes of Baba enrichment which the L.A.Sahavas has never failed to provide. We havemany titles from over ten years to choose from.These are also excellent for meeting themes.For a complete listing oftitles and particularswrite to: AMBCSC Video Cassette RentalLibrary, EQ. Box 3247, South Pasadena, CA91031-6247, or phone Karma Page at (213)225-3910.

Arts Festival II

Saturday, November 8th, 1997. The first heldat Meherabode. Those interested in participaring, i.e., music, dance, painting, sculpture,poetry food, and refreshments, etc, please callRichard at (310) 208-4764.

Meher Babaon the

World Wide Web

Announcing a new Meher Baba internetmagazine, “The Whim.” The first issue in-cludes a Bal Natu story, “Kiciner’s Korner,”humor and cartoons from “The Word,” theformer Chicago Baba magazine, as well as newmaterial. The next issue is scheduled for Dc-cember. “The Whim” can be seen at thefollowing URL:http://cccinfo.sunycrie.edu/zine/the/whim.html.

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New Caretakers at Meher Mountby Kendra Crossen Burroughs

“Come Up and See Us Sometime!”

Jonathan Burroughs and Kendra CrossenBurroughs have become the new care-takers at Meher Mount, the beautifulproperty in Ojai that Meher Baba called

his second-favorite place in the West afterMeher Center in Myrtle Beach. Given in loveby its late owner Agnes Baron, Meher Mountis now held by the corporation she set up be-fore her death. Dedicated to and inspired bythe teachings ofMeher Baba, Meher Mountis a universal center that will be used for van-ous humanitarian and educational purposes.

Kendra, a longtime Baba lover, had beenan officer and board member ofMeher BabaInformation Center in Cambridge,Massachussets, and was working as managing editor at Shambhala Publications inBoston. Jonathan had formerly been in changeofguest services at the Mahanishi Ayur-vedaHealth Center in Lancaster, Massachusetts,where he also lectured and taught meditanon. Jonathan had long known about MeherBaba, since his parents, by a strange coincidence, had moved next door to Meher Centerin Myrtle Beach during the 1960’s. In 1993,when he read an article about Baba in aNew England publication, he was remindedofthe Center, and a self-styled sabbaticalled to a two-month stay there in 1994, followed by two trips to India (includingHamirpur, Baba’s “heart”) and attendanceat most ofthe U.S. Sahavases.

Kendra andJonathan’s engagement lastfall came as a surprise to themselves and theirfriends. However theyfelt itwas pant ofBaba’ssilent working all along: it turned out that thearticle about Baba thatJonathan had read in1993 was written by Kendra! They met inMay 1996 and married on November 17 inCambnidgewith the intention ofexploring themove to Meher Mount, wherejonathan hadbeen accepted for a caretaker position. Visit-ing Meher Mount together in December ledto their acceptance for the position as a couple.They arrived in California in time to attendthe L.A. Silence Day Sahavas, where Leatnice

Johnston recalled Baba’s visit to Meher Mounton August 2, 1956, and His remark to thegroup: “Now go out and see the view and tryto love Baba through nature.This is all due toMy love-this whole creation, this nature, allthe beautyyou see, all came out ofMe.”

Bhau Visits Meher Mount

llowing the Sahavas, Jonathan andKendra hosted their first Baba eventat Meher Mount, Bhau’s talk on July

8. On arrival Bhau greeted manypeople fromthe front porch, and then a picnic lunch gotunderway beneath a big oak tree while Bhauate at an extended table in the kitchen alongwith eight companions.There was a deliciousturkey that GiGi had put in the oven inthe wee hours ofthe morning, Oriental ricesalad, green salad, an Indian-style potatosalad, cheese, fruit, and other goodies. Bhautook a rest after lunch while preparationsfor his outdoor talk were completed. It wasestimated that seventy to ninety peopleattended the event.

Bhau prefaced his talk with some remarksabout Meher Mount:

“I’m really ver very happy to see that nowyou all are taking interest [in Meher Mount]...because Baba’s visit [in August, 1956] wasnot without reason. The reason is behind it,and posterity will come to know what is thevalue ofthis property. For the present, thosewho love Baba, particularly from L.A. andSanta Barbara, they come sometimes, but infuture because ofHis visit, people will comehere and it will become a big center. And Hisvisit also means some work here. And what isthat work? He put some treasure [here] also.. . . Under this tree [the BabaTree, which Hesat under] the treasure is there. But don’t startdigging! [Laughter] You have to dig in yourheart. Go on digging and you’ll get the treasure. It is there.

Now I’ve come here just to feel happy,and GiGi’s responsible for this. When she

came to know that I was intending to comehere [to L.A.], she contacted me at the eleventh hour, of course. . . [Applause], so she isreallyresponsible, and I amjust observing thatshe is taking much interest in that.

And now I see there are two persons,Kendra and Jonathan. Kendra is associatedwith Baba [and] in His contact since manyyears. I know her. And when she has come, itshows that there is something—it is Babawho has invited her andJonathan to work forHim, and theywill be looking after this placevery well.”

Bhau shared many stories oflife with Babaincluding an extensive account ofHis anonymous service to the lepers, mad, masts, andthe poor, as well as the destitute middle class.After the talk and entertainment (songs andrecitations ofghazals), prayers and Artiled byBhau were offered at the Baba Tree. Severalpeople had pointed out where Agnes Baron’sashes were placed in front of the tree, andBhau suggested that a memorial marker withher name and dates be placed there. After ahearty send-offfor Bhau, those remaining hadtea, drinks and many sweet treats at the house.

Getting to Work

In addition to caning for the property host-ing visitors, and faciiitatingvarious events,

Jonathan and Kendra are taking cane ofAgnes’s aging pets, kitties Blanca and Negnita,and dogMax. Unfortunately, one ofthein firstchores was to provide a fiffingbunial for Negnitaand Max, both ofthem having recently passedaway. Negnita the cat was buried on the slopeoverlooking Topa Topa Mountain. Max,Agnes’s faithful and beloved dog, was buriedalong with a well worn toy and a Baba card,near the tree under which Baba sat and closeto where Agnes’s ashes were placed. The survivor is Blanca, a white cat who has had hisears removed because ofskin cancer. Agnes’slast remaining pet is active and eating well.He will, however, require further surgery at acost of$260. Ifyou wish to help, make your

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by Linda Stine

WhoAmi?A school work project

The following is a love story made special by the purity ofan eleven-year-old child who loves Baba with all his

being, as naturally as he breathes. Baba comesinto each person’s life in the way that will mostserve that soul, and this little boy, my son, is afortunate one in that Baba has made His loveso apparent and guiding. Nikos, now a fifthgrader in a small independent school on theOregon coast, has been blessed by the An-cieht One in every way.

The school Nikos goes to attempts toteach the children in an integrated way, usingas many real life experiences to teach the lan-guage arts as they can. The classes consist oftwo grades and it was the third/fourth gradedass that was making a study ofresearch whenthey were assigned a biography project. Tomake the study more relevant, the childrenwere asked to choose a famous person thatthey would then research and finally portrayin the “Biography Ball” that would be presented to the parents. Nikos had a difficulttime choosing his character and in an attemptto help him, I asked what person in historydid he feelwas most important. Without hesitation he answered, “Baba, ofcourse.” I couldsee his eyes light up as he imagined the difficult project turn into an exercise oflove andjoy. The children worked six weeks on theirprojects which included extensive reading,note taking, and a written biography oftheirchosen person. They were also asked to drawa picture, and Nikos suffered this assignment,feeling like he could not do his Beloved Babasface justice. We together studied some ofWodin’s drawings in Maul’s book, GodBrotherand Nikos said, “Well, I’lljust have to do my

best.” When he was finished, he felt as ifBabahad helped him draw the picture.

The night ofthe ball arrived, and Nikosprepared himselfin his homemade sadra andcotton pants, with a large painted moustache.He then wrapped his head in a white piece ofcotton (to disguise his blond hair). The “famous persons” were asked to give three hintsas to their identities and then stay in theircharacter throughout the dinner and activities. The crowd ofparents and friends werethen allowed to mixwith the celebrities, inter-viewing and attempting to identify them. Ifthey were successful, they could ask for a signature in the autograph books that had beenprepared for them by the students. Nikos allowed me to interpret from his alphabet boardas the many curious folks tried to identify thissilent celebrity The most beautiftil calm filledNikos’ every gesture and answer. His face wasradiant with his love for Baba, and he latersaid that he began to feel like he would besilent forever as “it was so peaceful.” Babaundid that when Nikos dropped his board onhis bare foot and yelped in pain before hecould catch himself

There were 75 adults touched thatevening by the genuine quiet and beauty portrayed so lovingly by this little boy. No onewent home without knowing about MeherBaba, as revealed and related by one of Hissmall servants. As for Nikos, he went homefeeling Baba’s presence in a newway. For several weeks after the Biography Ball, Nikosdonned his sadra and observed silence for theday,justto feelthe quiet and the peace throughthat experience. We sometimes observe silence together as a family, which brings us closeto one another in the practice ofother forms of

communication as well as the powerful reminder ofour Baba.

I have enclosed Nikos’s biography ofBaba, the picture he drew, and a photographfrom the gathering.

In His Love,Linda Stine (mother ofNikosJ. Parse)

Meher Baba

by Nikos Parse

O ne beautiful February morning1894, I, Merwan S. Irani was born.I was our family’s second child, and

I lived to be the oldest out ofthe seven kids inmy family. I was brought up in the Zoroastrian religion, but I went to a Christian school.My childhood was very spiritual due to myparents’ guidance. I loved sports like cricketand games like chess and marbles.

One daywhen I was riding to school onmy bike I saw an old lady sitting under a neemtree. I was drawn to her like a magnet to metal.I came closer and she embraced me. Over thenext five days I came back to this lady, whosename turned out to be Babajan. She was oneofthe five Perfect Masters. On the fifth day,she kissed me on the forehead. I went unconscious and I remained that way for three days.My mom became very worried. She called in avariety ofdoctors, none ofwhich could healme.This was my first experience ofdivine bliss,although I was unaware of the world. Overthe next seven years I worked with the otherfour Masters who brought me back to normalhuman consciousness.

122 £oveStr&0CamtI3sr

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My first workwas writing down the verycomplicated experience ofdivine bliss. I toldmy brother Adi, this book would be foundafter my death. In 1920 I established a boys’schoolwith strict spiritual mles. I began train—ing my mandali who travelled across Indiahelping me in myuniversalwork. In the 1930’swe made seven trips to the West includingChina, Europe, Australia and America. In the1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s I opened hospitals, fedhundreds of thousands of poor people andestablished ashrams all over India.

In 1925 I purposely stopped talking.There have been enough words. I communicated by an alphabet board and hand gesturesthe remaining forty-four years ofmy life. I camenot to teach but to awaken love in the heart ofevery human being. My life was a living example oflove and selfless service.

My wish for my lovers is as follows:

1. Do not shirkyour responsibilities.

2. Attend faithfullyto yourworldly duties, butkeep always in the back ofyour mind that allthis is Baba’s.

3. When you feel happy, think “Baba wantsme to be happy.” When you suffer think“Baba wants me to suffer.”

4. Be resigned to every situation and thinkhonestly and sincerely: “Baba has placed mein this situation.”

5. With the understanding that Baba is ineveryone, try to help and serve others.

6. I saywith myDivine Authorityto each andall that whosoever takes my name at time ofbreathing his last comes to me: so do not for-get to remember me in your last moments.Unless you start remembering me from nowon, it will be difficult to remember me whenyour end approaches. You should start practicing from now on. Even ifyou take my nameonly once every day, you will not forget to remember me in your dying moments.

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The Needfor Creative Leadership

by Meher Baba

in India

Throughout the hoary ages ofthe past,India has played the most prominentpart in shaping the spiritual history

ofhumanity She has been a home ofAvatars,Prophets, Masters, seers and sages, whosecontribution to the spiritual evolution ofhumanity has been unparalleled. Thecontribution oflndia to the solution ofmundane problems has also been remarkable, sinceshe has produced scientists, poets, philosophers, emperors, leaders and statesmen ofthefirst order. In the past, India has attained cmi-nence in spiritual as well as mundane spheresof life; and her place in the post-war NewWorld ofthe future is going to be unique.

The problems which India has to facetoday are, in some ways, more complicated thanthe problems which any other country is calledupon to solve. Men ofall races, creeds, cultsand religions have found a home in India; andifthis lack ofuniformity in composition haspresented some difficulties in arriving at solidarity and concerted action in the national lifeoflndia, it must in no way be looked upon asa pure handicap. The various streams ofculture which have poured into the life-historyoflndia have added to the wealth ofher national personality; and they have not onlycreated a suitable opportunity for arriving at anew cultural synthesis, but have necessitatedits emergence. Ifhandled with creative lead-ership, the presence ofconflicting elementsin Indian life can be utilized for bringinginto existence a rich world-culture, whichshall not only rejuvenate and harmonizeIndian life, but will also give a new tone tothe life ofthe whole world.

The process by which we arrive at thenew world-culture cannot be purely mechanical. We can never have any vigorousworld-culture by merely piling together cer

tam isolated elements selected from thepresent diversity ofculture; that waywe shallonly succeed in getting a patchwork of littlevitality. A hodgepodge ofcollected ideas cannever be a substitute for a direct and freshperception ofthe Goal. The new world-culture will have to emerge from an integralvision ofthe Truth independently of exist-ing traditions and not from the laboriousprocess ofselection and compilation ofcon-served values.

The newworld-culture which will emergefrom integral vision will, however, automatically bring about cultural synthesis. Since thevision that inspires the newworld- culture willbe comprehensive, it will not negate the values ofdiverse traditions; nor will it have merelypatronizing tolerance for them. On the con-trary, it will express itself through activeappreciation ofthe essentials ofdiverse religions and cultures.Thevastvision oftheTruthcannot be limited by any creed, dogma or sect;however, it helps men to transcend these limitations, not by blind and total denial of anyvalue to the existing creeds, dogmas and sects,but by discovering, accentuating, unfoldingand developing such facets of the Truth asmight have been hidden in them.

Evolving a transcendent and syntheticculture which will express the Infinite Truthis one task before India. The other task, forwhich India is particularly qualified, is to helpother nations in arriving at mutual under-standing and harmony.This second task, again,requires creative leadership which will havean unclouded perception ofthe mission whichIndia has to fuffill in relation to the destiniesofthe other nations ofthe world. In her for-eign policy India must in no waybe a party tocolor prejudice and color war. Black, yellow andwhite are differences ofthe skin; they are not

differences within the soul itself Through herpast history, India has been a link betweenthe East and the West; and the two have comecloser to each other through her.

The third task before the creative lead-ership in India is to strive for political poise inspite ofthe difficult situation in which she isplaced. India can never make her full contribution to the world unless she is free frompolitical domination and fear offoreign aggression or conquest. If she is to fulfill hermission in the sisterhood ofnations, India mustbe free to shape her own national life and todetermine her policy towards other nations.But insistence upon this fundamental needshould not be allowed to disturb her politicalpoise. While leadership in Indiawould bejustified in striving for national freedom and self-determination, it must not allow itselfto bevitiated by reactionary isolationism. In thesame way, while discharging the clear duty ofresisting foreign aggression, India should tryto keep free from hate, malice or revenge.

Aggression must be met with resistance;and here it is unpractical to insist upon non-violence. Pure non-violence or incorruptiblelove can come spontaneously only where duality has been completely transcended in therealization ofthe last and the onlyTruth; andnon-violence ofthe brave is possible only foradvanced sou1swho have, through rigorousdiscipline, eradicated from theirmind all formsofgreed and hate. But so far as the masses areconcerned, it is undesirable to ask them to stickto the external formula ofnon-violence whenit is their clear dutyto resist aggression in self-defense or in the defense of other weakbrothers. In the case ofthe unevolved masses,universal insistence upon non-violence can

Continued on page 50

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ecember 6MtherBabarnHalfrwoadJcif Maguire w I explore the iigrnficMehir Babas v in worldSaturday) 7:30 p.

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Thefrsi ( 1 MRHERABOL••Join usto cd e Cbristrnas spirit ‘

your spiritual family Gift exchange, foodfreihmeni:s and music are includcd

7) 7:30 pan.

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Arti in Babac Room in the

All events, unless otherwise

noted, are held at the Center:

1214 S. Van Ness AvenueLos Angeles, Ca(213)731-3737

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Meetings arefree

and open to thepublic.

Ifyou have ideas or requestsfor

future programs, please contact

Mahoo Ghorbani at:

(714)725-9552

Theseprograms are subject to change.Call the Centerfor verflcation.

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5OyearswfhMtherBaba MeherBabaantCelebration ofMarguente Poley s 5O anmver— An explanation tiC

sary with Mehr Baba Saturday, 7 30 p m and madmen by MahrnoudOctober II Saturday, 7 30 mMymemores mthMeberBaba November 8

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Murshida Duces daughter, Charmian Duce AttFernval/ExhtbiiwnKnowles, spent timewith Meher Baba in India, Attists will liue their cAmerica, and Europe and has manylovtlysto- expreision dedicated to Mehr Balrics to ihare Saturday I 30 m Call Richard Stermer at (310) 208October 12 ticipation Saturday, 7 30 p ii

Sharrngsweet nwmeiztswttb Cbarmzan November15Potluck, sweet storics, and muisc Bringa dish Lfè With MeherBabaand drrnks to share Sunday 12 00 noon Mr A K Kasthuri and his wife Lee a, whoOctober 16 fromMa&as India and have been wil1iBabe inMeherRabaand:heNevLfe 1930 will shrtheir ‘

Codmthe thiaNew Lftfrrallofusasuccess Saturday 7 30andjoy “ Come share a special evening with November 16music, stories, and film Coordinated by Lois DZSftO Meber)iJones Thursday> 7 30p in The Kastliurii will be visitlobOctober24 are welcome Please bnng food,Afoyfidev€nmgiithMeherBabasnepbews Sunday 12 00 noon

3oin us to welcome our dear guests Rustom and November 22Sobrab Irani who will share some of their PQ1hY/MUSW1flVmemories ofMeher Baba Friday, 7 30 p in Celebrating Divinelove and tastinOctober25 wine through poetrmusic, andMemorieswuhMeherBaba Saturday, 7 30 P inSpecial guests Rustom and Sohrab Irani from November 29India will share their wtalth of stories of life FiliWArtiNight Dome Prayers and song startingwith Mcmi Baba Saturday 7 30 p in Godin humanformonifim Arti rnduded Hosted at 7p m every Saturday night

by Charlie Morton Saturday, 7 30 P in

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Notes

Bob Holdt Swimsin the Ocean of Love

B aba’s dear Bob Holdt died quietly ina hospice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Sunday, August 10, 1997,

after along boutwith a slow-developing formofliver cancer.

Bob was born in Huntington, West Virginia, on January 19, 1944. At the age ofeighteen months he was diagnosed with a rareform ofretinal cancer to which he lost his sight.Bob went to live in Massachusetts at the ten-der age of six to receive his education at thePerkins School for the Blind in Watertown,and he subsequently attended HarvardUniversity. He first learned ofMeher Babain 1968.

Baba-lovers the world over know Bobthrough his beautiful song, “The Ocean ofLove,” which is sung so often on MeherabadHill that DollyDastur has called it an Arti. Atmany Baba gatherings on the East Coast—including Boston celebrations, NortheastGatherings, and the concerts at Meher Center in Myrtle Beach all enjoyed Bob’s singingwith his autoharp accompaniment. His resonant baritone voice was well suited to songslikejim Reeves’ “Welcome to MyWorld” and“These Four Walls” (to which Bob had writ-ten Baba-lyrics).

Bob’s daughter, Michelle, learned ofhispassing just after arriving at Meher Centerand felt that Baba had planned the momentwith perfect, compassionate timing. Bob’s sonErich died in 1990 at the age ofeighteen, alsofrom cancer.

A memorial service in Cambridge is be—ing planned for September. In the past year, arecording was made of Bob singing “TheOcean ofLove,” and his friends hope to makeit available soon. A more complete story aboutBob and his famous songwill be published inthe next Glow International.

Kendra Crosscn Burroughs,Meher Mount

Mark Palmer posted thefollowing touching story:

Jane Brown told us that she had gone tothe Meher Center beach Sunday(Aug.10) with Ira Gross and DamienTriouleyre. Ira noticed the shells on the

path to the beach that spelled out “I am theOcean of Love.” He was concerned by theweeds,etc, among the shells and proceeded todo cleaning. When theygot back to the Center, they were informed that Bob had passedon about the same time theywere at the shells.

Years ago, Bob was going to the beachwith friends. When they got to the bridge,one ofthem asked ifhe had ever been shownthe shells spelling out Baba’s words, “I am theOcean ofLove.” He hadn’t, so he got down onhis knees and felt the shells. Then as theywalked on the beach, the song idea (wordsand music) came to him quite magically . -

from the Internet

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®:i1A Letter from Bhau

July 7, 1997

D earest Beloved Avatar MeherBaba’s Dear Ones—

I’m veryhappyto havevisited Melbourne,Sydney, Brisbane, and Avatar’s Abode in Australia, and Meherana, Myrtle Beach, and L.A.in the States. The Sahavas programs inMeherana and L.A. were reallyvery very in-tensive. People came from many differentplaces to attend the Sahavases. The new center in L.A. is verybeautiful and the L.A. Babalovers have made it most beautiful in theirlove for the Beloved.

The gathering at Avatar’s Abode, Australia made Beloved Baba’s visit to Avatar’sAbode very fresh and His Presence very active there. The Baba lovers are preparing forthe fortieth Anniversary of His visit there(1998) and they expect that Babalovers fromother countries too will take part in this.

Myrtle Beach is the home for the Be-loyed ofthe West and Avatar’s Abode is Hisabode in the West. The name Avatar’s Abodewas given by Baba Himself and it is reallyHs Abode.

The programs in Myrtle Beach were fulloflove, and it appeared as ifthe waves fromBeloved Baba’s Ocean were touching everyheart. The divine garden was full ofbeautifulbirds who sing His glory in the garden andthe sweet voices ofthese birds touch the heartofeach listener.There were radio programs, atelevision program and interviews with news-paper reporters. The Myrtle Beach presspublished a very nice article in the paper.

This is the sophisticated age and the moresophistication is progressing, the more billspeople are receiving. This is the age ofreasonand because of that people have no time tothink about the will of God. They have tomeditate on bills, and thus the will ofGod isignored. But Beloved Baba is very very active at present and His work is speeding up.There is material progress on one side andthere is also spiritual progress on the otherside, and those who are in His contact arelearning how to make use ofmaterial thingswithout getting attached to them. BelovedBaba has said, “I have come not to teach butto awaken” and He is awakening the people

gradually. The dirt (sanskaras) which we havecollected must be wiped out in order to getawakened towards the Divinity, and this workBeloved Baba is doing gradually. This dirt isalso found inlower kingdoms—right from thegas, stone, vegetable, worm, fish, bird and animal kingdoms because ofthe exploitation ofthese kingdoms by the human beings, andtherefore Beloved Baba has to give a Universal Push which will clean the dirt of everykingdom and the consciousness will becomenatural and clean, and mankind will have theawakening towards the Divinity.

This awakening will differ from personto person. For instance when it rains, thosewho are in the open get fully drenched.Thosewho hold umbrellas, they get a few drops ofrain here and there. Those who sit on the ye-randa see that it is raining, they shout withpleasure that this rain is ver very pleasant.Those who remain behind closed doors, hearthat it is raining and that the rain is pleasant,and then they open the door in order to seethe rain.

Thus, the experience of those who arefully drenched is different from those who,because of the umbrella, have received thedrops only. Those who are on the veranda,their experience is different yet again.

Similarly, when Beloved Baba’s Universal Manifestation takes place, the entire worldwill be awakened and the experience will differ from person to person.

This is the time when Beloved AvatarMeher Baba is following each one, becauseHe has to wipe out the dirt. And when thisprocess ofcleaning begins, people come intoHis contact. The entire world will come toHim because He is not only in everyone andeverything but He is everyone and everything,and He is the one who is responsible for thewhole creation, animate or inanimate andtherefore He works for all.

May you all love Beloved Baba moreand more and follow His wish and makeHim pleased.

In His Love,Bhau Kaichuri

Bhauji’s Chat-session

A you will read from Jerry Edwardsposting, the Computer Age has hitThe Trust Office full force. As just

about the whole industrialised world isrealising, ifyou don’tjump aboard the corn-puter band wagon, you wont be riding intothe new millennium! Mr. Kalchuri has morethan got his feet wet in this medium duringhis recent world tour. Starting in Australia hewould sit in front of someone’s computerand they would enter a program/placecalled The Palace.

Somewhat like a ‘virtual reality’ game, thePalace was, for this occasion, the Barn atMyrtle Beach, with a photo ofBhau hoveringover Baba’s chair. There were 30 or morepeople around the worldjoining in, each onerepresented by a smiley face on the screen.As each one took a turn, theyidentffied them-selves, and their question or comment to Bhauwould appear written on the screen in a car-toon-like balloon.

The response was sometimes a tad delayed, seeing as the words were beingtransmitted all over the world. But as youreditor and her son Michael found out, seatedaround his monitor, it was very exciting to be apart ofsuch a strange new happening. Bhaujigot quite the expert at it, and so at every stopalong his route, when it was convenient, hewouldjoin with a group ofcyber buddies andanother meeting would be set up. It was frequently heard, amongst the cyber-ites, “Hey,did you go to The Palacelast Saturday night?Wasn’t Bhau great?!”

Following is the account David Israelposted ofBhau’s finalvisit to The Palace.

Gathered in Dan Stone’s basementoffice this afternoon, Bhauji wassurrounded by a group ofcheery on-

lookers as he doled out, with characteristiceloquence and humor, thoughts, replies, andwarmth, in the final Baba Palace real-timechat session in what we might caliThe FirstSeries—this being a mode ofcommunicationwith Baba lovers globally that Bhau has returned to periodically amid his travels on thecurrent world tour. That tour now winds to itsclose—the man from Meherazad will be seenofffrom Dulles airport tomorrow evening, ashe returns to mother India. He concluded hispost-chat day with a group dinner followedby a 3-or-so hour talk.

The number ofparticipants ranged fromabout 8 tol2—and we tried (for the first timein these Bhau sessions) a more free-form, unmoderated format. I enjoyed serving as BhauKalchuri’s amanuensis for the event.

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Ramarao, a residentatMeherabadwho has metBaba numerous times, told this story atArti onthe morning ofSeptember 7th, 1997.

B eloved Baba, in His Infinite Corn-passion, first took me in His Lap inJanuary, 1953 . At that tirne, Bhau

Kaichuri and Nana Kher were sent to Bilaspur,Andhra Pradesh, as part of a tour to spreadHis Name and Message ofLove in CentralIndia. One of these meetings was presidedoverby Rai Saheb Krishnand Verma, SupremeCourt Advocate. At the time I had heard thathe used to send regular gifts ofmoney, clothesand food to MotherTeresa, so it was throughBaba’s connection that I first became awareofher work.

During the period ofmy suspension fromthe Railway Services, I served in many firms,one ofwhich was an eight year employmentwith Rajrishi Exports Ltd., Bilaspur. I was anexport executive, in charge of of Sri Rishi’soffices at Calcutta, Bhubaneswar, Paradeepand Hyderabad. ShriJ.C. Rishiwas the ownerof our company, and the founder of a charitable trust, which used to donate to theMissionaries of Charity, 54 Lower CircularRoad, Calcutta, which is the wonderful, simpleand sacred service group of dear MotherTeresa. I had the privelege to meet her manytimes, and she was always gracious and by-ing, at one point autographing for me a copyofherbook, SomethingBeautfulftr God. Later,on one occasion when I visited her, I sent hermy business card, which on the reverse sidewas printed one ofBaba’s messages. After Iwas seated in her simple room, which con-tamed two tables, some chairs, a typewriterand a telephone, she very sweetly questionedme, “You are a lover of Meher Baba?” Oh-serving herinterest, I told herin Bengali, whichshe spoke fluently, “Yes, Avatar Meher Babais the Living Christ.”

In my hand, I carried my small briefcase,and in those days, tape recorders were all reelto reel, and the portable ones were about thesize ofmy briefcase. She pointed to the brief-case in a questioning manner, and asked meifit were a tape recorder. I opened the brief-case to show her that it was not, and in a quietmanner on that Sunday, alone in her room,

she told me in a very reverential manner,“Meher Baba is a Christ-like person.”

Prompted inwardlyby Baba, I told her,“Ma, Baba Thakur achey.” (Mother, Bahais God.)

She was silent for a few seconds, thenshe told me in a very simple way, “I am a Roman Catholic nun, governed by VaticanDictates, but I know this: Baba started work-ing on lepers, then we four became involvedwith lepers—myself, Baba Amte, Gandhiji(Mahatma Gandhi) and Albert Schweitzer.Following thatwork, the Government ofIndiais now pursuing leprosy eradication, and theWorld Health Organization has a program towipe outthe disease bythe end ofthe century!”

After affirming her feeling about Baba’sdivinity, she asked me, while she was alive,not to tell people ofher acknowledging Baba’sChrist-like life. I met her a total ofseven times,and the last three are recorded in my diaries.

Dma Snow Reports

Shortly before we went to press the worldgot the sad news ofthe death ofPrincess Diana. There have been a great

many postings on the Baba List Sen’, withmost everybody seeing Baba’s hand very definitely at work. An editorial from an Indianmagazine written after the death ofPresidentKennedy showed many parallels: “ it isindeed amazing how President Kennedy’sdeath has been felt as a personal loss by theman on the street everywhere! This could onlybe because he sincerely made his fellow human beings feel he was a brother to them, andchampioned the cause ofthe downtrodden.”And then, quoting from the Family Lettersdated 10th December 1963, by Mani:“ Beloved Baba said ofhim: He was a greatman, good and sincere. Dying as he did, hasnot only made him immortal in mankind’smemory and history, but it has given him agreat push forward spiritually. However although he was assassinated because it wasordained to be, it is not a good thing and itportends more suffering ahead for the world.”Does this hold true for Diana too? The following arejust averyfew ofthe many thoughtspresented on the List Sew It wasjust too

coincidental that the two most famous womenin the world, renowned for their love ofhumanity, their caring for the poor, thedowntrodden and forgotten, should die withina week of each other! Baba set it up with aone-two whammy! One hopes that the cumulative effect of their lives and deaths hascreated a tidal wave in Baba’s Ocean ofLove

As Baba used movie theaters to do HisUniversal work, at Diana’s funeral He had overtwo billion people with hearts wide openBaba performed an operation on the heart ofEngland and it was such an incredible procedure that we were all deeply touched

Simon Reece writes: “In Britain, which ispretty high up on the world scale ofemotionalsuppression, thousands were crying in public.There was the story of a truck driver whostopped in a lay-by to observe the minute’ssilence and hugged all the other people there,even tho’ complete strangers. Many peoplethink they are feeling grief, since a shockingdeath was the catalyst for it all. But I thinkwhat has really gone on has been a megasanskaric bonfire ofindividual and collectivedimensions.The sense ofHope is very, verystrong, and we mustn’t let it slip.” Baba hasalways used the media to His advantage, andHe certainly used it this time Both Priñcess Diana’s and MotherTeresa’s deaths andfunerals occurred on the weekend, so thatpeople could stay glued to their TV sets theentire time He doesn’t miss anything!

And we know that both women knewof Baba. We were also told that SonjaDavies ofAvatar’s Abode in Australia gavethe Princess a copy ofJean Adriel’s bookAvatarwhen Diana visited a tourist attraction not a mile away from the Abode. Thelove that was awakened at the deaths ofthese two women has had a profound impact on the world. Lets hope it lasts.

James Cox writes from India

Today marked the first anniversary ofBaba’s sister’s passing, and Goher,Katie, Meheru, Manu, and Rhoda

Mistry, came from Meherazad for a Women’sArti. Aloha was already at Meherabad. Hun-dreds of people from all over the worldattended, as did almost all ofher family. TheTwins sung rousing renditions of songs thatMani wrote or that were her favorites, andrecordings ofMani performing were playedat the Samadhi. As usual, many other people

Meher Baba, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana

The Connection

[ 3 ® -:F- 3 t 3

also sang, and profttse amounts of flowersadorned Baba’s, Mehera’s, and Mani’s tombs.In perhaps a leftover flavor oflndia’s 5O in-dependence anniversary, a curtain of smallorange and white flowers interspersed withtiny bundles ofgreen leaves was tied in frontofthe door to Baba’s Samadhi......Today, someone that had spent a lot oftime with Mehera told me that Mehera, inthe late ‘80’s, had once gotten up in theafternoon, doubtlessly not feeling so well,straightened her clothes, and asked, “Buthow would it look ifwe didn’t go out there(referring to her porch), and share, whenwe have been given so much?”

L van Gesteren, accompanied byhis wife, is now here for the first timein 30 years, since he filmed Baba in

1967. For the first time, he showed his foot-age ofBaba to the remaining Mandali, andwill show it again in a few days to the rest ofus. Mani reportedly once told someone thatBaba had hugged Louie more in a shortamount of time than He had ever huggedanyone else, and at least one ofthose hugs ison film. Louie also wore the famous turbanwhich Baba had given him, and which he worewhen he filmed Baba. Evidently the sameperson at Meherazad also tied it for him now,30-years later.

One ofmy oldest memories ofa Baba film isseeing a man with a goatee and turban hug-ging Baba in a chair against the backdrop ofSeclusion Hill. I was told the man was Louisvan Gesteren, a Dutch filmmaker who hadmet Meher Baba in 1967, and had filmedsomething like a whole reel of35mm film ofBaba, but almost no one had ever seen it, asLouis would not release it. Several attemptshad been made to persuade Louis, but nonewere successful. So it was something of anevent when Louis and his wife, at the prod-ding ofPaul Comar, for the first time in 30years, showed up in Meherabad a short timeago.Theybrought a video version ofthe film,and showed it here several times. It was thefirst time that most ofus had ever seen it.

When he filmed Baba, Louis brought acameraman and a sound man, and the film isspectacular in its clarity ofimage and sound,although there are some slightly amusing moments as the cameraman shifts the focus to abranch ofbougainvillaeawhich has fallen fromBaba’s lap to the ground after having been

given byLouis to Baba earlier. Baba, or some-one offcamera, gentlypicks the branch backup and places it back on Baba’s lap as thecamera follows and refocuses on Baba. Thecamera does wander to local color from time totime, but mostly it is incredibly clear footageofBaba gesturing and Eruch interpreting.

Perhaps the thing that impressed me themost about this film was the apparent difficulty that Eruch had in translating Baba,which I had never experienced before in anymedium. I had always assumed that Eruch’stranslationsjust flowed, almost telepathically,but that wasn’t the case. He struggled withwhat Baba was trying to tell Louis, and it wasapparent that to understand and translateBaba’s gestures, one had to have one pointedconcentration. It wasn’t easy or smooth, andthe Mandali confirmed to me that this washow it was.

Much ofBaba’s explanation in the film isdirected to Louis in answer to his questions,which dealt with drugs, spiritual experiences,degrees ofconsciousness, etc., and there wasnothing said that I had not read elsewhere,but the clearness and expressiveness ofBabawas incredible. Baba did, however, emphasize that a telltale indication of whether anexperience was real or not—was whether ornot it was permanent.

Later I had the chance to speak withLouis and his wife,Joke (pronounced Yokeh),and theyboth maintain that theyare not devotees in the sense that they think most of therest “us” are, and that they didn’t care for whatthey perceived as pressure from some peopleto bow down to Baba’s chair and bed, etc., andto generally conform to the way in which otherpeople showed their devotion to Baba.

Louis told me that he first heard aboutBaba by a series ofcoincidences, starting withriding in Irwin Luck’s taxi from Manhattan toKennedy Airport. The coincidences went onto include meeting Robert Dreyfus, I believeRick Chapman, and maybe Alan Cohen

(Guys, please correct me ifl am wrong,) in ashort span oftime. So Louis wrote to Babaand asked ifhe could come film Him. Babawrote back and said, “Yes,” and that Babahad a message for Louis. Louis wrote back tosay that he was coming and that he also had amessage for Baba.

When he met Baba, Louis described theexperience as “one lonely man meeting an-other.” He felt that one ofthe reasons Babawent into seclusion was that, in the midst of

having so many people around, He was reallylonely. Louis said that he dislikes the practiceofpeople putting everything on Baba, and heemphsized that one must take charge and responsibilityofone’s own destiny. I didn’t reallymeet Louis until the night before he left, so Ididn’t have a lot of time to pursue his ideasand the effect that meeting Baba had had onhis life, but I liked both him and his wife verymuch, and I hope that theywill indeed comeback again, sooner this time.

Louis did say something about perhapsreleasing a video of this film later this year,and ifhe does, itis deflnitelyworthwhile to trytoseeit.

August 15th

Today marks the 50th anniversary ofIndia’s independence, and in ‘Nagarit was celebrated by processions of

schoolchildren blockingtraffic, waving Indianflags and pushcart floats with young, dhoticlad Gandhijis sitting at styrofoam replicas ofspinning wheels (cute), politicians givingspeeches (boring) and the opening ofAhmednagar Fort where Nehru was imprisoned, sort oflike a county fair atmosphere withcamel rides and snake charmers (interesting).The road in front ofMeherabad was chokedwith bullock cart and tonga races, envelopedin a moving sea ofmotorcycles (definitely dan-gerous). For the first time, I saw someone hitcha horse and a bullock up to the same cart. Itdidn’t workverywell.

Much has been written in the press aboutthese first 50 years in India’s history as a democracy, but one cath help wonder what thefounding fathers would think oftoday’s political situation, iftheywere here to observe it.

It reminds me ofUpasni Maharaj’s comment 50 years ago tonight, which wentsomething like, “India is giving up her for-eign masters for a worse slavery at the handsofher own people....”

. . There hasn’t been much rain this year, onlyaround 6 inches sincejune 1, although we dostill have mostly cloudy days, and from time totime we get a drizzle. But it is about half ofwhere we would now normally be.

After a slowJuly, the Pilgrim Center andDharmashala are continuously ftill, with HostelD now also filling up in anticipation ofthefirst anniversary ofMani’s passing. The line

L[ £ov&5freet0Casr

for darshan at evening arti hardly ever getsfinished by 8:00 pm, and it often carries onuntil 8:30.

Work on the excavation for the foundalion at the Archive building goes on, and thereis a large hole in the side ofthe hill, where thebuilding will eventually stand. An approachroad offthe Kedgaon Road has also been cutthrough the bundh, leading up to the build-ing, and shortly the Wadari gang under thedirection ofMr. Ramdas Fulari, will start dig-ging footings for the foundation walls.*

The physical condition ofthe remainingMandali is more or less the same as it hasbeen for the past few months, and Eruch isstill complaining oflingering.

As always, it is a “good time to come.”

[*See photos on page 38—Ed.]

No More Hugs !!!

Heather made an announcement lastnight at the Pilgrim Center thatfrom now on, people should not hug

Goher or Eruch, as they are extremely susceptible to catching colds and flu from thepilgrims.Theyregretverymuch havingto takethis decision, but they are getting sick withincreasing frequency, and they realize that thisis a real burden on the people who have totake care ofthem. So Meherazad todaywas a“no hug” day for Goher and Eruch. Then onthe return bus ride, Flagg Kris announced thatAloba had informed him that the rest of theMandali would also abstain from huggingpeople from now on, as they felt to do other-wise would be unfair to Eruch and Goher.

Somehow Ijust don’t think Meherazadwill be quite the same...

Jai Baba,

James Cox

Tony Paterniti Writes

Perhaps the saddest news I’ve everheard to come out oflndia. Makes mefeel Baba may be ready to take them

all home and is “breaking it to us gently.” Still,what a thought!

Over the years, I’ve gotten used to peopletelling me I’m a “great hugger.” And some-

times I’lljust say, “Well, I’ve been hugged bythe best.” At another time, in a more thought-ful mood, I wrote hugs: (Saturday, 7/13/96)

hugs

seven degrees of separationmake hugs a beautiful thing

i hug you and you hug herand down the line it goes

till everyone’s hugged everyone—a message in a bottle couldn’tcommunicate more quickly

my love for you is for your loveand for her love and for his love,

so take this message to the one i love ...

take me with you there

andjust as the rivers flow to the sea,the Ocean’s hugs flow back to mesometimes in a single “generation”

by a Meherazad embrace

so tell me then: is it my love i sendor the love ofthe Ocean,

flowing through me?water is water in the end, my friend,

and hugs are liquid reality

so please, take this hug back home for me,by accepting it — no need for thought

for water always seeks its own levelwithin the human heart

© Tony Paterniti, 1996

I remember my first arrival at Meherazadand being hugged by Mani who was Baba,my old girlfriend, God’s sister and the beautiful Irish woman with the lovely smiling eyeswho was my babysitter when I was three yearsold all rolled into one. .. .and Eruch’s warm andloving bear hugs and Bal Natu’s back-pattinghugs, accompanied by a rapid ‘jaibabajaibabajaibabajaibabajaibaba!” ...and Arnavaz; andlately I was lucky to see a picture of Katieembracing me (albeit a somewhat ‘weightier’me) in Bill Stephens’ book Footprints, radiantwith love. and all the rest.

Beloved Meher Baba, thankyou for theblessing ofthese dear ones ofYou in our liveswe will miss them ... ah, time, love, You.

JaiBaba! —Tony

Youth Sahavas

Angela Ucceio was a happy Sahavasee, whoupon her return homefrom Myrtle Beach inJuly,postedthefoiowing:

I recently returned from the YouthSahavas that was held at the MeherSpiritual Center in South Carolina. I

want to tell you all how much I enjoyed mytime there. This was such a wonderful experience. It was my first year going, and I willdefinitely be returning next year. I met somany caring and loving people there. I don’tlive around any Baba lovers, so to be aroundso many Baba lovers really helped to expressmy love for Baba.

You could really feel Baba’s presence dir-ing the whole week. You could also feel His loveshining through everyone. I had the best timeand I didn’t want to have to leave, but as always, good things come to an end. I am soglad that there are the Youth Sahavas, and Ithank Buz and Linda for putting this wholeprogram together for the past seven years.They, and everyone else connected with it, dosuch awonderftdjob.

We are all very grateful. -

Pilgrim Pines Bliss

JaiBaba Cyber-family! I have a feeling that

I will be greeting the mailman and answer-ing the phones, etc., with ‘Jai Baba!’ for weeksto come, after being drowned by the Ocean ofLove at the Los Angeles Baba Group’s 23rd

Annual Silence Day Sahavas. Ijust got home,and have a strong desire to share with you allmy impressions and experiences of the lastfour days with 338 other Baba Lovers in thebeautiful San Bernardino mountains. Whatfin it was to meet so many listies in person andget to know them better in that other part ofillusion (what is the cyberspace term for non-cyberspace? One can hardly call it the realworld). Wendy Ward gave us ‘CyberspaceAshram’ stickers for our name badges, and onenight some ofus sat at one dinner table and gotto talk face to face with what had previouslybeenjust names on our computer monitors.

The quotation (from Sparks) setting thetheme for this year’s retreat was the following:“One who hears the music ofGod in his ownheart—suchwonderfiil music, foritis the original music—loses his bodily consciousness and

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sees God everywhere.”This appeared in cal-ligraphy, mounted and matted with a bigcolorized photo ofBaba in blue coat and garlands, the original ofwhich had been signedbyBaba, as part ofthe registration packet. Andmusic there was throughout each day. Theseeing-God-everywhere part was easy.

The musicians were fabulous (DebbieNordeen,Jane Brown, and othervocalists, gui-tars—includingTony Paterniti, and RaphaelRudd on piano)! Performances in programs,Artis, the toddy shop, and dhuni included in-struments such as the balalaika, du1cimer cello,violin, drums (including a 13-year-old prodigywho brought the crowd to its feet), recorders,accordion, and harmonium. There was aSahavas Chorus who managed to put so muchlove into theirtoo-briefperformance that whenthey chanted ‘Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Bud-dha, Jesus, Mohammed, Meher Baba’ in anelaborate, complex round (with one voice declaiming that familiar quote ‘To penetrate intothe essence and significance ofall things. ..‘ andother voices in the audience and on stage takingyct other parts) ... I felt tears welling up inmy eyes. Well, I have to admit that happenedoften, and I am not under normal circumstances particularly prone to weeping, but Iwas so moved by the sounds all around mcthat I wondered ifpcrhaps Baba wasnt break-ing his silence!

I particularly loved listening to AllanCohen’s talks. . . for those who weren’t aroundin the sixties, he and two other BL’s underBaba’s direct instructions used to go around totalk shows, college campuses, etc. to give Baba’santi-drug message to the west. In fact, theygave thousands ofpresentations in a very shorttime. (Allan or Rick Chapman spoke at mycollege, October, 1968, and I sat in the back ofthe hail snickering. A few weeks later I wasexperiencing that honeymoon we know sowell...) Allan said many delightful things; heradiates insight and humor. Here, from Allan,are my two favoritcjewels: “We read the wordsof many spiritually advanced souls, gurus,teachers, masters, but Baba’s the only one witha good sense of humor!” There was a lot ofhumor at the Sahavas, like the BobbyManonash Show featuring Ed McMaya.“Baba gave us a definition ofBliss. It is thatwhich has no opposite.” (Mytake on this comment: That takes bliss entirely out ofthe realmofillusion, therefore, when we experience thisemotion, it’s a direct experience ofBaba’s presencc in our lives.)

Bhaujiwas there...looking happy, healthy,and aglow... and spoke at great length. I ambubbling over with Sahavas-excitement (orsomething?) and could go on and on, (I evengot a tour ofMeherabode!) but I have to putdinner in the oven and unpack my bookstoregoodies (Bhauji said that Dma’s Baba Book-store is the finest in the world, by the way).

In His LOVE,Kathy Hill

Footprints in the Sand

posted byjeannie Taylor

This book [by Bill Stephens] is brim-ful ofBaba’s presence, it weaves HisShining Light in-between the sen

tences, dancing with the words. It had me onthe edge of my seat, waiting to see the out-come ofsome ofthe real-life vignettes.

The compilation ofshort stories and poems are refreshingly filled with His palpablepresence. Do get a copy and breathe in Hisessence.

Thankyou Bill Stephens for sharing thispart ofHis Stream ofLove.

This book is wonderful, BABAFULL!

Heather Nadel Writes

[And we don’t mind printing it!]

es, yes, yes we did get copies of theLSLP; in fact, theywere a very, very,very hot item around here—can you

believe it, someone stole someone else’s copyoffthe mail table for an hour, read it and put it

back (that was me).... it was too full of greatarticles to resist.

Ofcourse I had plenty oftime to browsethrough it again when the issue came for thePilgrim Centre, which is now being enjoyedbypilgrims.

What a wonderful issue! Loved the report on your new and absolutely amazingCenter in LA—WOW!

The mandali got their issues too, andcould be seen reading them in spare moments.

I was very impressed with the graph-ics, content and quality ofit; notjust sayingthis now either—I rea11yTHOUGHT it atthe time!

Numberless Impressions

by Meher Baba

posted by Eric Solibakke

The give-and-take ofsanskaras or impressions is constantly going on in theplay oflife. Where there is mutha1it

there is this give-and-take, but it is not a me-chanical process. The same action can createdifferent impressions, according to the motivewhich inspires that action. A man who, out ofthe motive ofdoing good to another person,gives him food or clothes, at once catches hisgood impressions. The man who slandersanother person with an evil motive orsteals his belongings at once catches hisevil impressions.

Killing an animal for sport, pleasure or foodmeans catching all its bad impression sincethe motive is seffish. But no such bad impressions are caught from snakes or germs and thelike, which are a danger to humanity, whenthey are killed out ofphilanthropic motivesand onlywhen absolutely necessary. Such kill-ing, when it is not a duty will certainly createbinding impressions....

Impressions are contagious. Eating meat isprohibited in many spiritual disciplines be-cause the person thereby catches theimpressions ofthe animal, thus rendering him-self more susceptible to lust and anger.Sometimes, innumerable strong impressionsare transmitted through the mere touch ofthephysical body ofanother person. gross body,even a corpse, can quickly impart numberlessimpressions to the person who touches it.

Sparks ofthe Truth, Ed., C. D. Deshmukh, pp.24, 26 Copyright 1971,The Universal Spin-tual League in America, Inc.

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e t e:x3@ t ez3@ •EflAn Experience in Miracles

by Mary Marmowith Joanna Tompkrn

4abngthe videoA flew qfGod— offootage ofBaba aceompamed by music)

Mekr Baba Throigh the Eyes of Except for Avatar Mther Betha ki Ja withBhau Kaithun was an experience sitar and vocals byMani, the rematmngmusic

m miracles—one after another after another was recorded by Janice Reman and severalBabils Hand was continually and tangibly at Rabalovers in St Lows, Missouri The songswork, as ifilewere physicallywith us From were written by Bhau and set to music by hethe first, each momentwas filled with Him in andJamce, a professional musician Not to beHis timeless presence To begin with, Bhau left out, they too were saddled with chaland Jeff Maguire graciously agreed to do lenging restrictions, without benefit ofan interview on videotape for the purpose appropnate notations as to timing and place-ofmaking a halfhour introductory program mentin the not-then-completed video Janicefortelevision mduded cymbalsto eoincidewith Baba play-

Forthreeyears afterthefilmmg,the doors mg cymbals—a miracle done by feel not bywere shut to all attempts to complete the video technicalguidance since theylacked the pro-Once the Beloved opened the doors, how- fessional euemg equipment necessary forever, it was as ifBaba Himselfbreathed down synchronization ofmusic and video Miracuour necks personally tellmg us “Hurry up. lously Steve the professional editoijiappenedhurry up complete it ‘ Neither of us knew to ahgnthemperfectly on his first try—and inanythingabout makingvideos Smeewe had such a way that the last cymbal chimed byno knowledge, skill or aptitude, and also had Baba is silent’ This in spite ofBabas having(still have)veiy opposite personalities, we felt changed rhythms mid-streamwe probably possessed the basic pre-requt- Probablythe smgle-tnost strikmg eventsites for plungmginto Baba work So we took that occurred was the recognition that Babaup the challenge in spite of—and because of wanted a segment on His suffenng included—our deficits in the video We intended to cut parts of it,

Often we recalled Mani speaking ofher but Editor Steve uncharaetcnstically inter-first exposure to Trust meetings and budget- rupted us, insisting the viewers would notmg When the numbers came out exact all understand the significance ofBaba s suffer-she could think of was “1ts a miracle Ifs a mgifwe cutit At that pointsomethingmtensemiradet”which practically became our man- and personal happened to each ofus and thentra as the onginal 45-minute interview went we felt Beloved Baba wanted it included forthrough melt-down to about2O There was theworldtoknowofFbs suffenngfor allno way to know beforehand ifthe cut-and- The final miracle was that it was corn-paste we had done throughout the pleted at allwhichitwas onJanuary27, 1997,transcript—dissectingsentences, re-position- 2 days before access to free editing wouldmg seetions—wouldworkwhen the technical eeasc. to be availableeditor eut the videotape Continuallywe observed Baba’s Hand smoothing the way, All proceeds from A View of God by Hismaking it work We were supposed to be male Hand Productions will be donated to thcmgavideo lnsteaditwasasifwewerewatchrng Trust for the Conservation Project For aafllmoftheTrueFilmmakermakingit copy of the video contact the LoveStreet

Andso itwentforthe integrationofbeau- BookStore Cost $25tiful, heart and soul-full music thataccompanies the magnificent footage ofBaba(The video consists ofan introduction to Babafollowedbyalternating3-7 mmute sequencesofBhaus interview and 2-3 minute segments

I

I

AMB Trust Computer Project

The collection for the computers in In-dia is moving along slowly. So far, wehave two 4 Gigabyte Hard Disks do-

nated, a laser printer and software on CD’stotaffing about $3,500. Our need has beenreduced from $8,000 to $4,500.

The computers for the education of thechildren in the Trust Office is being handledseparately. The original total need was for$2,000 (probably as older model portablesestimated at $1000 each).This need has beenmet, computers have been promised.

No donation is too small! It is estimatedthat $1,000 cash is the minimum to begin theproject. We have $150 total cash donated todate. Shirla and I are leaving as usual (Our10th Yr.) at the end ofSeptember (returningin March) for Meherabad and will be work-ing on this project, among other things, andminimum funding is required at that time.

As many of you know, Bhau Kalchuri,chairman AMBPPCT has asked me to coorclimate computerization ofthe Avatar MeherBaba Trust office in AhmednagaL I feel he isespecially interested in computerizing theTrust Office work at this time because oftheincreased work pressures there on the mandali.Ofprime consideration at this time is coordination of all computers and software sothat programs and information are easilyinterchangeable.

Please make checks payable toAMBPPCT and indicate for “CORPUSTrust computer fund.”

The status of the fund will be reportedvia Listserv periodically.

Anyone interested in finding outmore about this or donating equipment,please contact Jerry Edwards, AvatarMeher Baba Trust, Kings Road,Ahmednagar, MS, 414-001 India.

In HIS service, Jerry Edwards

[For more information about the AMB TrustComputer Project please refer to the articleon pg. 20 oftheJuly - September, 1997 issueofthe Love StreetLampFost, tided ‘MeherabadGets Wired. “—Ed.]

Pt° C.oveStre4Camfthsr ]

-I-.’ 11i1 • rTTrona iviemories or riome

Thefoiowing item wasfound in the travelsection ofa British newspapei

Traveling in India is an almost hallucinatorypotion ofsound, spectacle andexperience. It is frequently heart-

rending,sometimes hilarious, mostlyexbilarating,always unforgettable—and,when you are on theroads, extremely dangerous.

Most Indian road users observe a version ofthe Highway Code based on an ancient text.These 12 rules of the Indian road are pub-lished for the first time in English.

ARTICLE IThe assumption ofimmortality is required ofall road users.

ARTICLE IIThe following precedence must be accordedat all times. In descending order, give way to:cows, elephants, heavy trucks, buses, officialcars, camels, light trucks, buffalo, Jeeps, ox-carts, private cars, motorcycles, scooters,

auto-rickshaws, pigs, pedal rickshaws, goats,bicycles (goods-carrying), handcarts, bicycles

(passenger-carrying), dogs, pedestrians.

ARTICLE IllAll wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim:“to slow is tofalter, to brake is tofail, to

stop is defeat.”This is the Indian drivers’ mantra.

ARTICLE IVUse ofhorn (also known as the sonic fender oraural amulet):Cars (IV,1,a-c):Short blasts (urgent) indicatesupremacy, i.e., in clearing dogs, rickshaws andpedestrians from path. Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication, ie to oncoming truck“I am going too fast to stop, so unless you slowdown we shall both die”. In extreme casesthismaybe accompanied by flashing ofhead-lights (frantic). Single blast (casual)means “Ihave seen someone out oflndia’s 870 millionwhom I recognize”, or “I have not blown myhorn for several seconds.”

Trucks and buses (IV,2,a): All horn signalshave the same meaning, viz, “I have an all-upweight ofapproximately 12½ tons and have

no intention ofstopping, even ifl could.”Thissignal may be emphasized by the use ofheadlamps (insouciant).Article IV remains subject to the provision ofOrder ofPrecedence in Article II above.

ARTICLE VAll manoeuvres, use ofhorn and evasive aclion shall beleft until thelastpossible moment.

ARTICLE VIIn the absence ofseat belts (which there is),car occupants shall wear garlands ofmarigolds.These should be kept fastened at all times.

ARTICLE VIIRights ofway:Traffic entering a road from theleft has priority. So has traffic from the right,and also traffic in the middle.Lane discipline(‘111,1): All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective ofdirection oftravel shall occupy thecentre ofthe road.

ARTICLE ‘[IIIRoundabouts: India has no roundabouts.Apparent traffic islands in the middle ofcross-roads have no traffic management function.Any other impression should be ignored.

ARTICLEIXOvertaking is mandatory Every moving ye-hide is required to overtake every other movingvehicle, irrespective ofwhether it hasjust over-taken you. Overtaking should only beundertaken in suitable conditions, such as inthe face ofoncorning traffic, on blind bends, atjunctions and in the middle of villages/citycentres. No more than two inches should beallowed between your vehicle and the one youare passing—and one inch in the case ofbicycles or pedestrians.

ARTICLEXNirvana maybe obtained through the head-on crash.

ARTICLEXIReversing: no longer applicable since no ye-hide in India has reverse gear.

ARTICLEXIIThe 10th incarnation ofGod was as a dieselsmoke spewing truck.

r[ .

.. .. .. . .

Humor for Huma

My Heart is Calling You

The making ofMani’s song-tape

by Heather Nadel

One afternoon about three weeksbefore she went to Baba, Mani wassitting upon her bed in Meherazad.

We hadjust been discussing some copyrightbusiness and I was walking out ofthe roomwhen Mani called me back. “What about thesongs?” she chirped. “The songs, Mani?” Istuttered, trying to catch up, “You mean youwant the copyright ofyour songs to be withthe Trust?”“That of course,” she replied, “but what Imean is, I’d like them to be sharedShe sat looking so sweet and expectant that Isaid, “We could do a songbook!” Her eyesbrightened, she said, “Yes!” and then lay backdown to rest. We never spoke ofit again. Shewas referring, of course, to the many songsshe had written over the years for her Be-loved God-Brother Baba, and for Mehera.Songs oflove, longing,joy, celebration, separation—Mani loved to sing and she lovedsinging, so it is natural that many songs hadcome out from her heart for the ones she loved.

In the difficult weeks following Mani’sreunion with Baba, I began to think aboutthe songbook. Problems ofhow to do it, whowould do the notation, how to print it, couldanybodyread music anymore?, etc., were puzzling me when one day Meredith (Klein)casually remarked out-of-the-blue,” Thereshould be a tape ofManis songs.” And thatwas my answer. Of course people pick upsongs by listening! You share songs througha tape, not through a songbook!

From that moment the Mani song-tapeproject took offon wings ofits own. It wasone ofthose Baba-projects where everythingfalls into place seemingly by magic. And themagic, I soon saw, was people’s deep feelingfor Maul. Everyperson I contacted to participate was immediately ready. Not only ready,but excited, enthused, eager! It amazed andtouched me. This willingness on the part ofthe singers, musicians, recording engineers,the wonderful arrangementwallis and wallas(Judy Ernst, Hugh MacDonald, MikeHansen, Debbie Nordeen and Buz Connor),and other friends, and their love for Baba andMani, fueled it from the first to the last.

So now, what songs to put in? First andforemost, a Mani-tape naturally has to haveThe Songbird, Mani herself, singing—andeven better, singing and playing the sitar. Soincluded are three songs ofMani singing andaccompanying herselfon sitar and one sing-ing a capella. Maul used to recount how Babahad told her to learn the sitar and often askedher to sing and play for Him. I must say thatto my ears and heart, Maul’s singing and play-ing is the highlight of this tape. When youhear her, you will know why we titled it MyHeart is Calling You.

As for the Baba-songs that Mani wroteand others sang, it seemed we should put insongs that she liked to sing and liked to hear,with singers doing versions that she herselfheard, approved, and enjoyed. So these arethe eleven songs that came to be included:

Open Up the Door: Allyou L.A.wallas knowthis one! Buz Connor singing his rousing version ofthis song oflonging that Mani gavehim and he made famous at the L.A. andYouth Sahavases. This is the live version recorded at a recent L.A. Sahavas, with manySahavaseesjoining in with Buz.

Be Be Be Be Be With Baba andJaiJaiJaiJaiMeher Baba: Ifyou’ve ever heard the Twinssing, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten it! Theseare two fun and lively Baba-songs Mani speciallywrote for Baba’s twin nephews Rustomand Sohrab to sing on their visit to the Westin 1987.

To the Glory ofLove:This ofcourse is the songthat Mani wrote for Mehera’s Birthday in1989 after Mehera’s reunion with Baba. Thewords were sent out to Baba-singers aroundthe world and there are many different tunesto it. The chorus tune for this version waswritten by Mani. We use a live recordingmade at the Samadhi on Mehera’s Birthday,1989, when Debbie Nordeen and I sang thesong as a duet with Mani, the Meherazadladies and othersjoining in.

Baba, You FoundMe: A lyrical Mani-poemput to an old Italian tune and sung by JanetLuck. Mani was touched when Janet sangthis song to her in the hospital last year.

Lord of the Universe: One women’s arti atMeherabad when sitting outside Baba’s

L . ............;..... ............................ ...

[[Wi t

.i. Open 1

2 25th February3J(adiJangeYaK4. Baba, You.Found.Me

.

5Be Be. Be Be BeWithE6 BabaNuNaam7 Lord of the UniverseB Mahara Bha4 Jaan

Samadhi with the women mandali, Manispontaneously gave the words and tune of asong chorus to Ward Parks asking him to addverses. He did (a few days later) and she likedthe result.

Keep Me with You: Familiar from an earlyBaba-album, this is a poignant song ofseparation that Mani wrote in the early 1970’sas if from Mehera to Baba. AndreaWinzimer sings it, as she would on occasion for Mehera and Mani at the Samadhi.

Baba Nu Naam: Katie from Meherazad,with friends, sings Mani’s Gujerati call-and-response song about B aba’s N ame—thechorus (translated) is: ‘Babac Name, Babac

Name, keep on repeating Babac Name

A Singing to the Beloved: Most ofyou knowthis one (‘Oh Baba, Meher Baba, my heart is

calling You. ..“). It is Mani’s song written forthe 1973 In His Love album, here sung byJanet Luck with a slightly modified tunetaught to her by Mani.

0 Youth ofthe Ancient One: One of Mani’sgifts to the young people at theYouth Sahavasat Baba’s Center in Myrtle Beach was thissong. Tedjudson and I sing it accompaniedin fine country style by Charlie Chu Kehieron the banjo.

25thFebruary: Mani’s song for Beloved Baba’sBirthday in 1990. The song was included in

the Meherabad 100 Baba-Birthday Spec-tacle designed by Mani, and this is a live

recording from that amazing occasion (wish

we could have put in the confetti!) —So that’show Mani’s song tape came to be. It certainlyseems Baba’s special timing that it was released this August, which is, ofcourse, Mani’sone year anniversary ofreunion with Him. Ithink I speak for all the participants when Isay it was a gift to work on. And now for manyothers, I’m sure, it will be a gift to listen to.

Isn’t thatjust like Mani to give us a surprise, alittle anniversary present; we think she’s gone,but in so many ways she goes on sharing herlove andjoyin Baba with us.

JAI BABA!

I A4yI1eart

:•:

2A. .... .i.iaiiai.MeherBa4 Gopichand Raja5 Keep Me with You

6O Youth of thIAn7Jo the Glory of Love

My Jfeart Is Ca(flnq y6u

Songs to

9lvatar Uvfeb r.1rom HIs Sister, ManI

( 3$

Step inside...

77w Love Street 13ookstoreby Dma Snow

hink Christmas!I know this is only October butnow is the time to start thinking of

all the Baba lovers to whom you would liketo give a special Baba gift. And this is theright place to choose those gifts.We are also starting something new for youthis year: something to make your gifts evenmore beautiful and your gift givingeasier for an extra $3 we will gift wrapin beautiful, very special, Christmas paper.Or, ifyou like, Chanukah. (I think we needsomeone to design Mehermas wrappingpaper.) Cherie Plumlee is designing us abeautiful Baba Christmas card which, for$3 (the regular price ofall her photo cards)we can also add to your gift, or you canpurchase them outright in quantities tosend to your very best Baba friends. Atpress time it is still fermenting in her artistic mind, so we can’t show it to you, butjudging by all her others, it will be a beauty.

So here follows the top 28 all time favorites. . . . I’m sure you will be able to findsomething for everyone on your listamongst the proceeding eclectic selections!A must are the five new items, all just hotoffthe presses. (Isn’t it amazing, how everyquarter, there are more new items?! Babalovers are such prolific artistic producers!)

A beautifully produced hardcover book Let-ters ofLoveforMeherBaba, byjane BarryHaynes, is illustrated with over 100 photographs, many published for the first time.It consists ofa collection ofletters to onefamily, which forms a kind of journal—deeply personal yet universal because ofthe unique scribes who penned them: the

family and disciples ofAvatar Meher Baba,including His beloved Mehera, His sisterMani, Elizabeth Patterson, Kitty Davy AdiK. Irani and Charles Purdom. In particularit was Mani who was Meher Baba’s “pen,”bringing His spirit oflove, purity and self-less service to the ever-growing MeherBaba family across the world for forty years.It is 6 x 9, 656 pages, $25.

Bill Stephens, head ofwhat is probably thelargest bloodline ofBaba families (around20 at last count I think!) has given us alittle gem ofa book. The beautiful cover ina multitude ofsunrise colors is a paintingby Roger Stephens ofBaba walking on thesand by the ocean. Titled Footprints in theSand, it is a collection of stories of eventsthat happened to Bill and his family thatshowed Baba’s ‘footprints’ all over them.Normally I have to rely on other’s opinionsof all the new books we get in as I simplydo not have time to read them, but luckily Iwas flying north for a weekend visit andtook the book for plane reading. It was any-thing but plain! I found it absolutelydelightful! So many of the little stories Iwill be sharing with friends and family.Eruch gives it a great write-up: “The flavourofour dear Bill Stephens’ wholehearted lovefor and faith in our Beloved Lord AvatarMeher Baba comes shining through! Howblessed you are, dear Bill, to be surroundedby so many drops ofHis Ocean that wavesofHis love splash upon the sands ofyourlife, wherever you may be, keeping you anddear Peggy ever refreshed and renewed,finding His Footprints in the Sand. “ Paper-back, 142 pages, with manyphotos, $12.

The long awaited My Heart is Calling Youtape is a collection ofthe songs that Mani hascomposed to her GodBrother. Many ofthemshe sings herself while playing on the sitar.For the songs ofwhich there were no record-ings of Mani’s voice, we hear differentaccomplished Baba lovers singing them. ReadHeather Nadel’s account ofthe making ofthisbeautiful tape on page 42. At only $10 it

makes a wonderful stocking stuffer!

Our next item is familiarly referred to bymany as The Wedding Cake, but it is, ofcourse, the amazing picture that Baba hadRano Gayley paint of The Ten Circles oftheAvatar. It will make a wonderful giftwhether you want to go expensive, and haveit framed for the recipient, or spend only$15 and give them (or yourself) the posteras is. See the picture on page 31.

I had wanted to take some of Rano’swords from her book Because ofLove that tellsabout the execution ofthis most amazing, in-triguing and enigmatic work Baba had herdo. But I find short oftaking whole pages,there is no way I can excerptjust a paragraph- it is all sofascinating! The hardcover book,8.5 by 11, was originally published at $45but is now available for $35. Apart from manycolor reproductions and full page photos ofher charcoal sketches of Baba, it tells us ofher life with Him from the time she went tolive in His Ashram in 1937 until her death inher eighties. It has a very detailed accountingof the painting of this chart. Rano tells us“From beginning to end, the sole concept wasBaba’s; I just blindly followed whatever Hewanted. Sometimes itwas very difficult to findpictures ofthe various animals Baba wanted

[48 £ov&5treei0L:amji:sr

on the chart, but Mother found a book withbirds, animals and insects, and I just hap-pened later to find a magazine with picturesof the bombers and warships Baba designated.” Baba declined to give any explanationfor this rntriguing five foot by eight foot chart,either to Rano or anybody else. She gave upher quest for explanations after being toldthree times by Baba in the course ofwork onthe chart, “Don’t ask questions; just do as Itell you.” Our high quality reproduction ofthe chart is printed on .10 semi-gloss coatedstock and measures 11 x 17, $15.

Our fifth new item this month is a wonder-ful video superbly put together by theOregon group using all commercial facilities, so we not only have a tape of greatspiritual content, but it is wonderfully preseated. It is titled A View ofGod—MeherBaba Through the Eyes ofBhau Kaichuri.Read more about this tape on page 40, $25.

The Sheriar Foundation has given us two newvideos oftalks by Mani. When the pangs ofseparation grow strong, put in one of thesetapes and get immediately transported backto Mandali Hall to be sitting enraptured ather feet listening to her talk about her Be-loved God-Brother. Both videos run about30 minutes and cost $15. The first talk shegives is titled DoingAilForHis Sake and theother is Accepting His Way. Hard to choosebetween the two, both equally rewarding.

A video that has been out for two years nowbut is still our best seller is EternalBeloved.Produced by Meher Prasad, it has a run timeof4O minutes and some fabulous footage ofBaba that has been color corrected and sharp-ened to the point where the quality is justabout equal with the recently filmed inter-views with Mani, Goher, and the otherMandali who tell us about what Baba wasdoing and where He was in the preceedingframes. Very well worth the $50!

Ifthere is anyone left out there who does notown a copy ofDaniel Ladinsky’s ‘renderings’ ofHaflz I will be very suprised. These books are

enjoying great success in the commercial book-stores across the country proving that you don’thave to be a Babalover to enjoythem. Dannyiscurrently working on a third. But until that’sreleased, we have the two super sellers IHeardGodLaughing $14, and The Subject Tonight is

Love $10.Anyonewho has the slightest interestin matters spiritualwould totailyenjoyeither of

these books.To put it in the vernacular—it’s ano brainer! Buy them! Give them!—or enjoythem for yourselfifyou are one ofthe very few

who do not already own a copy.

The latest from the very erudite pen of Dr.

Carl Ernst is his translation of Ruzbihan

Baqli—The Unveiling ofSecrets—Diary ofa

SufiMaster. I sent one to Heather Nadel and

she responded with a note saying “I flipped

over your wonderful present The Unveiling

ofSecrets. What ajoy to have it to read. It is

quite astonishing and very moving. I have

never read anything quite like it!” (and

Heather has certainly read a lot!). It has a

dynamite color cover paperback, 5½ by 8, 150

pages, and sells for $15.95.

A book that is only available in India or

The Love Street Bookstore is Much LovebyT.K. Ramanujam. Ifyou can only afford

one book about Meher Baba this is the one

to get. It is incredibly comprehensive—the

index alone covers eight pages. It is

hardbound, 6 x 9 with 606 pages, and sells

for $20. Part 1 contains a calendar ofevents

in the life ofthe Avatar from birth to death;

Parts 2-7 cover all His important messages

and declarations, prayers, songs and on and

on. Apart from making good reading, hay-ing it all under one cover, it is also an

excellent reference work.

The best selling book ever in our Bookstore,has been the autobiography of Arnavaz

Dadachanji, GflofGod (excluding, ofcourse,

God Speaks and The Discourses). It is a very

intimate accounting ofher life with Baba andher struggles to abide by His wishes at all

times. Paperback, 242 pages, $18.

Another must have is that wonderful collec

tion ofBaba stories from Eruch. If a trip toIndia is not on your horizon, purchase ThatcHow It Was and be transported to MandaliHall, sitting comfortably, listening to Eruch

speak ofhis life in the service ofthe Master.

Hardbound $25, paperback $15, 412 pages.

Delving back into the musical realm wehave the incredibly popular, runaway best-selling CD by Marc DeMatteis—HowMany Lfetimes?Words, music, melodies,

instrumentation—it has it all; ballads,

gentle sweet numbers, poignant, rousingrock and roll—everything for $15.95.

There is also the double CD from RaphaelRudd that was a major seller at our Sahavas.People would hear him play, then come upto the bookstore and buy The Awakeningso they could take some ofhis magic homewith them. One ofthe CD’s is a rereleaseof Skydancer which contains the exquisitely sung GujeratiArti byjane Brown. Theother disc in the set is a selection of songsand instrumentals Raphael recorded in thelate ‘70’s with Pete Townshend and a pickup drummer name ofPhil Collins! $20 is afabulous deal for two CD’s!

Relentless Love is a tape (no CD unfortunately) by the incomparablejim Myer. It hasbeen around for a fewyears now, still his latest release though, so ifyou don’t already own

it, this tape comes highlyrecommended. $12.

Also two tapes (I’m bolting forward to theday when they will both be on one CD!)from Simon Reece ofEngland. They created quite a stir when first released. Iwouldn’t call them ‘background’ music, although I love to ‘shut out’ the world when Iam doing heavy concentration work by play-ing them, but they are gentle, exquisitepieces, slow, hypnotic (don’t play them onthe Freeway while driving or while operating heavy machinery!) For those who areinto meditiation, you couldn’t find bettermusic to do it by. We have Sun and Moonand Echoes ofthe Infinite both $10 each.

Along the quieter lines also, is a lovely album put out by Margaret Bernstein—sheofthe beautiful flute playing. It also incorporates the outdoors with crickets, etc., inthe background chirping along to the harps,synthesizers, and tablas. CD is $15 andtape is $10.

The Wine Shop was much frequentedthese past few months. We have 2 suchCD’s, the first being from the trio ofDavidMiotke, Ron Greenstein, and Darrell Rupeentitled Meher’c Wine and the second fromJudi Schoeck—The Very Best Wine. BothCD’s are $ 15 each and Judi’s is also avail-able on tape at $10.

.:...

t3@t

Next we have the spoken word on tape.Michael daCosta of England gave us anabsolutely delightful performance piece inhis readings ofA GarlandofEgos. This is aconversation between Self and Ego—thelatter, as we all know—is a stubborn littlebeggar and very hard to beat down. Theperformance is terrific, but so too are thewords, and gratifyingly Michael has madethem available in a little booklet. The book—let is $6, the tape is $10.

Song ofHuma, Volume 2 is another bestseller. For those ofyou unfamiliar with thisbeautiful tape, it was produced by ElaineCox who took top recording equipment toIndia and recorded the women Mandalisinging the ghazals that Baba had writtenunder the pen name ofHuma in the early‘20’s. As the women were singing a capella,Elaine then had the recordings beautifullyaccompanied by some very Indian sound-ing flutes, tablas, and synthesizers. Beforeeach song Elaine reads the English translation so we get the full beauty ofthe piece.The words are all written on the inside ofthejay card, and at over an hour of superbBaba music, $12 is a very reasonable price.

Have you got God-Realization yet? No?Well you didn’t buy the great board gamethatJim Meyer (yes, he ofRelentless Lovefame) designed for us to have fun with andpractice for the Real Event. Hey, maybe forsome ofyou it’s just around the corner—then for the rest ofus, there’s another 6-7million lifetimes to go! For $10 it comes complete with instructions and game pieces. Putit under the Christmas tree and then youcan all sit around after the turkey stuffingand practice God-Realization.

We have made our best selling card evenmore affordable for you. It is the black andwhite close up photo ofBaba’s face (one ofMani’s favorites) taken from the 1939 groupshot ofHedi Mertens’ nieces and son Toby.(It was shown in our April 1986 issue)Beautifully printed on white gloss coverstock with the “Mastery in Servitude” logoon the back, we have shrink wrapped them6 to a pack (with envelopes) for only $6.

It’s that time ofyear again where you canorder your Avatar Meher Baba Calendarsfor 1998—something everyone wants and

needs to start the year off right and keep itgoing all year long as each time you look at ityou see a beautiful face ofBaba looking backat you, read His inspiring words and see justwhat in the Baba world transpired on whatparticular day—especiallyyour birthday! Seethe add on page 51. Christina Arazmo, thevery talented Floridian who creates theseworks ofart for us each year has been able tohold the price at $8 while giving us a largerformat, 14 months and including much moreinfo in an easier to read design.

Our 28th item (who says we don’t havesomething for everyone?!) is the collectionofbeautiful cards we have by the talentedtrio of ladies, Margot Watson, CheriePlumlee, and Carolyn Parker. (WalnutCreek is a hot bed oftalent!!) We are show-ing some more in this issue, and we had 6featured in ourJuly issue. In that one I mis-takenly attributed D to Cherie Plumlee...it was in reality, Margot Watson’s. Theseare all full color photos on good quality cardswith matching envelope for $3 each. Theyfeature Baba, Mani, and Mehera.

In the way ofcorrections, we were misinformed about the closing of BookCrafters.It is still a place where you can order theLordMeher volumes, no inquiries, ordersonly, credit card only, $82 per copy—call(800) 879-4214. Or you can place your or-der with us when you are ordering yourother items. Either way, its a great series ofbeautifully produced books. Hermes tellsme volumes 11-12 will be available beforeChristmas, so we should have that editionfor you too.

There are getting to be quite a few Bababooks published in foreign languages.Most of them done under the auspicesof Companion Books in Europe, man-aged by Don Stevens, but the latestaddition to our collection is MeherBaba—an Introduction translated intoPortuguese by Ray Spagnuolo and hiswife Sonia. It is in the format ofthe original, a small compact paperback for $1titled Meher Baba—uma Introducto.

Well I think that should give you a greatselection of Christmas gifts. Hopefully Ihave taken all the hard work and anguishofgift choosing out ofthe Christmas sea-

son, so you just need to write out your or-der, phone fax write or e mail it in to me, sitback and relax, and let The Love StreetBookstore handle all the rest.

Jai Baba,Dma

“The Need” continued from page 24

ronly lead to their being cowardly, irresponsible and inert. True love is no game of thefaint-hearted and the weak; it is born ofstrength and understanding. The ideal ofnon-violence, in the face ofaggression, isimpracticable for the masses; and it willhave a tendency to be readily used as asubterfuge for servile acceptance of ignobleconditions and contemptible desertion of aclear duty. In its enthusiasm for the highestideal, wise leadership can in no way affordto lose all sense ofthe relative and the practical. Human evolution proceeds by gradualstages from selfish violence to unselfish violence, and then from non-violence of thebrave to the pure and incorruptible non-violence ofTruth as Infinite Love.

All narrowness limits love. In India, aswell as in every other part ofthe world, humanity is breaking itselfinto narrow groupsbased upon the superficial and ultimately falsedifferences of caste, creed, race, nationalityreligion or culture. Since these groups havebeen long accustomed to separative distrustand fear, they have indifference, contempt orhostility towards each other. All this is due toignorance, prejudice and selfishness; and itcan only be mended by fostering the spirit ofmutualitywhich breaks through artificial iso-lationism, and which derives its strength fromthe sense of the inviolable unity of life as awhole. Creative leadership (which has so muchscope in the soil oflndia) will have to recognize and emphasize the fact that all men arealready united with one another not only bytheir co-partnership in the Great Divine Planfor Earth, but also by virtue oftheir all beingequallythe expression ofOne Life. No life ofaction can be really helpful or fruitful unless itis in entire harmonywith this deep Truth.Thefuture of humanity is in the hands of thosewho have vision.

Treasures, pp. 227-231 Copyright 1980AMBPPCT

1L9 £ove&eetJ:2sr

2ALL PROTS cOTO:AMBPPCT

50%TO ARGI 1V ANP MU5 UM PRO)CT N MEHERA13AP

20%TO AVATAR MEHER BABA PERPETUAL PUBLIC CHARTA3LE TRUST GENERAL FUNP

15%TOMEHERAZA FRLE PISPENARY15%TO RAES E FUNE5 FORA BOOK TENTATVELYTiTLW:

COMPA55IONATE FATHER: STORIES ANE ME$SAGES BYANt ABOUT

MEHER BABATH E AVATAR OFTHE AcE.3

NEW LARERTHAN EVERFORMAT12.5 INcIHES XIS INc1L5 UNFOLDEE4

YOU GET 14 MONTH5, JANUARYI99BTO FEB RUARY199

PACKER PACKED PACKEP, ANE STILL YET MORE PACKW

WITH AVATARMEHER BABAS LOVfN ME$SAGES6

BEAUTIFUL BREATH-TAKING PHOTOS OF

THEANCIENTONETHE HIHETOFTHE HIGHJ7

5EETHE 1’ATESATA cISTANEANP REAP EVERYTHINcCLEARfl’

WITHTHE NEWCLEAN DE5INANE LARGE FORMAT.8

ELIMINATETHENEW FORANOTHERCALENPAR

US HOLIPAYSARE 1OCATED INTHETOP LEFTOFTHE PAGE.

SOTHEYDONT INTERFEREWITH THE BABA 1ATES.

(EVENTHE HOLIPAflTHATCHANEPATE,

LIKE EA5TERANt PASOVER,ARE INGLUPEP FOR PRACTICAL REASONS.)9

I2AYLIGHT SAVI NG TIME ANO OTHER U.S. EVENTS ARE INGLUPEP.10

MOON PHASESANP EARTH SEASONSARE INCLUPEP.11

A COPY OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 15 INCLUPEP WITH YOURCALENPAR

itliough there are numerous Baba lovers around the world, for some reason the calendar has never broken the 1 ,000

unit barrier. The low printing quantity and the fact that it is time-based (not like a book whose sales can go on for

years) seriously influence the price of this product. If we can increase the sales, we can maintain this price and also

increase the proceeds that are forwarded on to the non-profit Meher Baba projects mentioned. Please inform all your

Baba friends around the world that this calendar is available and lets all keep this calendar going strong for years to come

:. :. See “1e Low Street BookStore”article by Dma Snow (page 48) for ordering information.

. IT’S A CALEN PAR ABOUTTH E AVATAR OF THE AE

—YOU CAN’T FINOTHAT IN BARNES AND NOBLE!

Photograph Credits

Page or Item Photographer or Owner Page or Item PhGtographer or Owner

Frontcovei . Pariday Ari&udoBackcover Meelan Studio4,5 Dma Snow and Marc Brutui

6 KathyWiederhold7,8,9 DinaSriøw10,11 SharWisemanandFlintMednick

15 RchardPro*1 • . DiriaStiow21 • KathyWiederhold(A.K.,Lecla,atidEhauphotos)

38 FromMeherazadandDouglas Fratik

.41 Tom!lart

Phcitoeand cards for sale. (MI cards arecolorprintsonwhite card stockwithowelopeuriless

notedotherwise. $3 each,)

•CardsA,G Diana LePage,blackandwhite

C,D,E MargotWatsoriB Totnllart,blackandwbte

9i&ug’-t1;ec+1arr .

—credits continued

PhotosH SalO colorphoinofaCharlieMortonpainting, $12

1,K,W .WinCoates,4,c6 colorphoto$6,5x7$1O

.j Beheramlrani, Bx1Qphoto, $12 •

L Panday,SxlO photo, $12

M Ade!eWolkin’sarchives,SiilO,S12

N Meelan,4x6,$20 .

Ralphjackson,4a6color,$6

P .Panday, SxlO photo, $12

QR,S,T .. •KirkAflen,5x7color,$6each

U Paintingby Rano Gay!ey llxl7colorposter $15

V •..: unknown,4x6photo,$1.50

x . Rano Gay1e4x6photo,$1.5Q

Y • MeeIan,3x5$2

z Panday. BxlO, $121 unknown, 4x6colorphoto,$1.50

2 Adele’s archives, originalissigned,color5x7, $12

3 Mce!an, SxlO, $1251