De Simple Silence.

Meherabad, December, 1944

« You are today witnessing a solemn occasion of supreme importance. While the world is feverishly occupied with the vanishing things of the moment, there are always those who gain a true perspective of life through the Grace of the Master ; and these lucky few are ever willing to make their whole lives an ever-renewed and ceaseless dedication to the universal and ageless truth of the imperishable and undivided Life Divine.

The spiritual grandeur of those who set aside all thought of the self and make their lives an offering to the divine and imperative Cause of the Master is in itself ineffable. While the beauty of such lives surpasses all description, the Memorial Tower to be created here is something much more than an ornament of crowning glory for those souls themselves. A visible memorial like a Tower can itself become a medium for inspiring the generations to come.

The Memorial Tower of my departed devotees which will be erected on this spot will be a reservoir of inspiration and power for posterity. Their memory is not being perpetuated for their sake ; they had absolutely no desire for name or fame. Their memory is being perpetuated because it will be an example for those who are living, as well as for those who are to come. A life of sacrifice based on love is never lost ; it is not only beautiful and fruitful in itself but also in the creative inspiration which it leaves behind.

The foundation of the Tower is being laid on the tomb of My dearest Masaji and on the bedding of one of My beloved disciples, F. H. Dadachanji, whose selfless service to My Cause was wholehearted in its devotion and signal in its attainments. There are also others, like Buasaheb and Munshisaheb, who served My Cause with unimpeachable integrity of character before dropping their physical bodies. For each one of them, a separate flower is placed in the foundation of the Tower, and the names of all of them will be inscribed on the Tower of Glory which will be erected on this foundation.

The symbolic representation of these departed souls through flowers dispenses with the separative burial or cremation ceremonials which are prevalent in different societies, and the putting of all these flowers in the same foundation is intended to emphasize the truth that though the bodies of these devotees were different, they were all parts of One Eternal and Indivisible Soul.

The Memorial Tower has completely dispensed with the physical bodies of departed souls, for the physical body is only the illusory shadow of the soul. Those devotees whose names are likely to be inscribed on this Tower after their demise will have free choice in respect to the disposal of their bodies. Their bodies may be buried or cremated or disposed of on the tower of silence, according to the rites of their respective religions or according to any desire expressed by them during their lifetimes. They all shall be represented on the Memorial Tower by their names.

The Tower will be in memory of men belonging to different religions and will, in fact, represent the fundamental unity of all the great world religions. All the great world religions have in their own ways revealed the same One Truth which I bring anew, and this unity of all religions will be clearly emphasized by placing on the Tower the emblems of all the important world religions. The Tower shall thus be a silent proclamation of the unity of all religions.

The unshakable peace of Life in Eternity and the unfading glory of Conscious Divinity shall crown the souls which are represented by this Memorial Tower. They are eternally mine. I bless them all ! »

Contents 1 Faithful To His Master Under "All" Circumstances 2 Pilgrimage 3 On The Way 4 The Beloved's Poem Of His Dhuni=

[modifier] Faithful To His Master Under "All" Circumstances

In Meherabad, as I mentioned before, there has always been the problem of water shortage. At the time of this particular story there were nearly five hundred people staying at the ashram. To alleviate the water problem Rustom asked Baba for permission to dig another well, and Baba agreed.

Rustom hired all the necessary equipment, but in spite of drilling to a great depth no water was found. He persisted with great effort in the work but without success, and he became quite disappointed. Now it so happened that at this same time a dejected man from a nearby village came to Baba and complained, « Baba, I have incurred a great debt digging a well, but still I have not found water—even at a depth of forty feet ! How will I ever be able to pay back my loan ? Only if some water is found will I be able to maintain my crops and provide for my family, as well as pay back the money. » Considering his pitiable condition Baba consoled him and said, « Go five feet deeper and you will get water ! »

The man gratefully bowed before Baba and left. Baba then turned to the mandali, and pretending ignorance, said, « Today I have made a mistake in telling that man to go five feet deeper ! If he does not strike water, what will he think of Me ? He will hold Me responsible. I don’t know how I could have made such a mistake ! I don’t know why I said such a thing ! When we can’t find water, how can I expect him to ? »

After a week, however, the same man, along with several others from his village, returned to Meherabad, bringing with them the various articles traditionally used for performing arti. With obvious joy the man exclaimed, « Baba, with Your blessing I have struck water ! » He then sang Baba’s Arti with great devotion, and after receiving prasad he and his friends departed.

Immediately after they had gone Rustom shouted, « Baba, if he got water, why can’t we find it ? » Baba replied, « I have done nothing for him. Only because of his faith in My word has he succeeded. »

Rustom retorted, « But Baba, this is Your well ! »

« That is the reason we don’t get water, » explained Baba. « Besides Myself there is none in whom I can have faith to produce water ! »

« But we have faith in You, » insisted Rustom.

« Yes, you do have faith in Me, but that man’s faith brought him success. »

Rustom felt hurt. « Does that mean that his faith in You is greater than ours ? »

Just to tease him Baba jokingly replied, « I don’t know about that, but I do know that he reaped the fruits of his faith. »

At that Rustom became even more upset, so finally Baba explained to him. « I have trust in you, and I know that whether we strike water or not, your faith in Me will remain the same. But that man’s faith doesn’t count, because it is connected only with whether or not he gets water. Had he not found water, he would no longer have faith in Me. This the difference between you and him—that man I cannot trust, but I can trust you. »

Hearing this, Rustom was very pleased and felt reassured. Only when a disciple remains faithful to his Master under all circumstances—favorable or otherwise—can he be said to possess real faith !

[modifier] Pilgrimage

While talking with His lovers on Meherabad Hill during the Sahavas program in February of 1958, Beloved Baba said:

"After I drop My body, the physical remains will rest here, and this hill will become an important place of pilgrimage for the whole world. You all do not realize the importance of this day. After seventy years this place will be a place of great privilege and pilgrimage. A big town will grow up here. How fortunate you are that you are hearing about the importance of this place in the physical presence of Him to whose Samadhi (Tomb) will flock one day, from all over the world, all the lovers of God, philosophers and worshippers to pay their homage!

"Those who are determined to bow down and worship here will do so, will grow more and more in Baba's Love, will try their utmost to love Baba with all their hearts and will please all others in their own joy."

[modifier] On The Way

Bhau Kalchuri

(It is a hot afternoon in the south of India. Prem (Love) and Geet (Song) are sitting in the shade of a huge banyan tree by the side of the road. They are on a pilgrimage to Meherabad to the tomb of Avatar Meher Baba, their beloved

Master. They have decided to rest for the remainder of the day before resuming their journey, and naturally their conversation turns to their Beloved.)

PREM: You know, Geet, I feel that it is our joyous duty to spread Beloved Baba's message of Love with all our hearts, so that the whole world might be awakened to the glory of Beloved God!

GEET: Yes, that seems to be the very purpose of our lives!

(pauses) Do you know, Prem, traveling with you like this has added a great strength and inspiration to my songs. The echoes of my music now, inspired by Love, seem to be resounding throughout the world!

PREM: Sing one of your lovely songs, Geet. Sing about

Meherabad, our Beloved's home, so that all the world may hear about it.

(In a very melodious voice, Geet begins singing. Suddenly

Jagat (the World) happens to pass by along the road and hears the irresistibly lovely strains of Geet's music.)

GEET: (singing)

THE SONG OF MEHERABAD

Come, let's go to Meherabad

For the darshan of Meher Prabhu!

Calling to Him with all our hearts' yearning

Will keep the flame of His Love in us burning!

To free us He calls, "Come all unto Me!"

Let's surrender our bondage to Him and be free!

Come, let's go to Meherabad

For the darshan of Meher Prabhu!

His wine shop is brimming with cupfuls of Wine

For all those who thirst for His Love — so divine!

He who ruins himself, loses all in Meher,

Gains all — and is freed from life's every care!

So come, let's go to Meherabad

For the darshan of Meher Prabhu!

(Jagat, who was standing at a distance listening to the song, is welcomed by Prem and Geet. Returning their greeting, he sits down with them in the shade. Prem and Geet notice a troubled look on his face.)

PREM: Tell us, friend, why are you so troubled and silent?

Perhaps you are wondering about the meaning of the song which Geet was just singing. As you can see from our luggage, we are on a journey. Our road and pilgrimage leads to

Meherabad, the blessed home of Meher Baba, the Avatar of the Age. Come, join us on our journey, for the God-Man may be approached by all. He who is our Friend is yours also.

JAGAT: I could never join you, feeling as I do now. Somehow, meeting you so unexpectedly here along the road and hearing your enchanting song has... well, I feel strangely confused. When I heard your song a moment ago, it made me think of another song I once heard, so faintly... long, long ago. I know this may not make much sense. (Jagat is silent for a moment) I don't understand this feeling which has suddenly come over me!

PREM: (winking at Geet) What you say, Jagat, makes perfect sense to us. Come on, you can speak freely with us. If there's anything troubling you, don't hesitate to share it.

JAGAT: Oh, it's not so much that I'm troubled. I think it's that I feel confused. Something in your song and in what you've said has touched me, but I don't know what it is.

There must be something to what you're saying for me to feel this way, but I can't explain it! I do have one question that I would like to ask you, though — it has to do with what you've just said about the "God-Man." It's not that I don't have faith in God — I believe in God and feel that He is here with us. In fact, I feel sure that He's everywhere, looking after us all —

He's infinite. But when you speak of Baba as the "Avatar," you are speaking of God in the form of a man, and this is something I have never been able to understand. How can a man, who is merely finite, be Infinite God? How can God's

Infinity be bottled up in a human form? I really just don't see how it can be possible!

PREM: An excellent question, Jagat. Excellent. Hmmm.

Let's see... I think the best way to answer your question is through an analogy. Perhaps this sounds silly, but let me ask you this, Jagat — when you look down the road there, what do you see?

JAGAT: (a little surprised) Well, I see the road going off to the right, with trees on both sides of it, and in the distance

I see some rice fields. Why?

PREM: What else do you see?

JAGAT: Well, I see the low hills there, and the higher ridge of hills beyond them along the horizon. But...

PREM: And what else?

JAGAT: Well, there are a few billowy clouds, and the blue sky overhead — but Prem, I really don't see what you're getting at...

PREM: Now, Jagat, here is my point. You see many things before you, including the vastness of the sky, and yet your eye, which sees all these things, is quite small, isn't it?

JAGAT: Yes.

PREM: Well, this is simply an example of how something very small can include within its scope something quite vast.

The same may be said of Baba, though I'm merely giving you an analogy. Although Baba appears to us in the finite form of a man, His Consciousness, which is infinite, actually encompasses everything. He is conscious of the whole Creation — everything throughout all the universes, including the entire realm of imagination! Yet, while His Consciousness pervades all Creation, it is not limited or bound by it. It is boundless and infinite! The Avatar's Consciousness is so unlimited that the whole of Creation — in spite of its vastness — cannot contain it!

JAGAT: I have a sense of what you are saying, Prem, and I must admit that I am fascinated. But tell me, if you don't mind — I have one other question to ask you, this one about

Meherabad. You invited me to join you in your pilgrimage, but why should I go there? What is in Meherabad that I would not find right here? If indeed Meher Baba is everywhere — if as you say His Consciousness is all-pervading, then why do you encourage me to go to Meherabad to find

Him? I can't understand why one place should be any more special than another, especially for One Who is meant to be everywhere — it just doesn't make sense to me.

PREM: Ah, Jagat, another very good question! Why are

Geet and I on this pilgrimage to Meherabad? It is a difficult question to answer, very difficult to put into words... (Prem pauses for a moment, reflecting). If only there were some way we could describe Meherabad to you so that you could feel what it's like to be there! If we could convey just a touch of Baba's Love which emanates from there, then you would surely become our immediate companion on this road to Meherabad! All your questions and confusion would then just vanish into thin air if we could only give you a tiny glimpse of what it's like there. Perhaps Baba will come to our rescue and help us — (Prem gives Geet a wink) His Love can do wonders!

JAGAT: Well, I must say, you have really made me curious to hear more — so tell me, what is Meherabad like?

PREM: Meherabad is a very special place, my friend, where the Avatar has worked tirelessly during His current

Advent to lighten our suffering so that one day we might be free to turn entirely to Beloved God! It has been, you might say, the "playground" of the Lord Himself, where Baba has done unfathomable work for the benefit of the entire universe, and at the same time, He has also "played" with His children there, enjoying their company and helping them to forget themselves in their love for Him and His Love for them.

GEET: Every atom of Meherabad is drenched with the

Wine of His Love — every particle of earth there rings with

His Divine Song! Day and night the breeze which blows softly through Meherabad carries with it the melody of this heavenly Song, caressing His lovers and gently lifting away their cares!

JAGAT: If such a place existed, it would be like paradise!

Can it really be so? How are these cares mysteriously lifted away?

PREM: Geet is being poetic, but what he says is true! I'll try to explain what he means. Though Baba as God is eternally free, He allows Himself to become apparently bound in order to descend into the world to do His work of uplifting humanity. In the process He takes upon Himself the Divine

Impressions — or "Yoga-yoga Sanskaras" as they are called — which enable Him to make His "descent" into the world of forms and work in it. These Divine Impressions hang loosely about the God-Man, like a coat, and their purifying power is so great that merely to come into contact with them can uplift the heart and drive out its cares. Do you follow me so far,

Jagat?

JAGAT: I think so, but what do these "Divine Impressions" you speak of have to do with Meherabad?

PREM: I'm coming to that. The Avatar always selects a special place as the center of His activities. Meherabad, because of His Presence through the many years that Baba lived there, has become a vast treasure-house of the Divine Impressions of the God-Man! Everyone who visits there with love and devotion finds his heart renewed and brightened in its divine atmosphere. Even the "whiff" of these Yoga-yoga

Sanskaras which comes from visiting Meherabad gives a tremendous lift to the heart, for such Divine Impressions are a means of wiping out one's sanskaras of bondage. Beloved

Baba labored there ceaselessly for the welfare of the whole world, often secluding Himself in the different places where

He did His Universal Work. Many of these spots can still be seen today, and the Love stored within them will nourish the hearts of His lovers for centuries to come! Whoever goes to

Meherabad with love for God will receive untold blessings as their bindings are consumed in the atmosphere of Divine

Love there.

JAGAT: What you describe, Prem, sounds almost unbelievable! If such a place actually exists on this earth and not just in your imagination, how is it that the whole world hasn't discovered Meherabad?

PREM: I am sure that it will, undoubtedly, but that will be in "Baba's time," when He wants it to happen. He said that one day Meherabad will be a great place of pilgrimage for people from all over the world. Today, Meherabad is like a secret sacred garden for His lovers — His "love-birds" — where they find water and sweet fruit and where they sing sweet songs in praise of their Beloved. The more lovingly and sweetly they sing, the greater the force of the breeze of the

Yoga-yoga Sanskaras which blows away the sanskaras of their bondage.

In this way, the work of an age is done for the world, and the lucky ones who come to Meherabad have their sanskaric burden of ignorance lightened by the wind of the holy Yoga-yoga Sanskaras there.

The result of Beloved Baba's Universal Work will continue to manifest throughout the coming age of time, and the love-birds from around the world will continue to flock there to sing His praises.

GEET:(singing)

MAY YOUR BLESSEDNESS PREVAIL

O Meherabad, holy place of pilgrimage,

The Light of the Beloved burns within you!

His lovely Song echoes over your sacred ground.

Jai, jai Meherabad! The reflection of Meher Prabhu!

May your blessedness ever prevail!

O Meherabad, place of pilgrimage supreme,

The depriver of the burden of all —

The chosen place of His Holy Work.

May your blessedness ever prevail!

O Meherabad, in you resides everlasting Bliss!

You lift away the cares of this world.

The Divine Grace of the Beloved

Lives eternally in you!

May your blessedness ever prevail!

JAGAT: Geet, your singing touches me more than I can say. Between the two of you I am becoming almost desperate to see Meherabad for myself.

[modifier] The Beloved's Poem Of His Dhuni=

My pen has not the strength to sing your praise —

At the first glow of your flame there was rain!

How marvelous is your gift!

To cool your radiant blaze, God Himself, honoring you,

showered rain on you for hours on end.

May you come to the rescue of thousands, may you receive the blessings of the poor.

To those who pray to you, may you give protection.

You have the attribute of a Wali —

He who loses himself in you becomes like you.

Wonderful is your effect, wonderful is your play, wonderful is your nature.

Yours is the gift which nurtures or destroys —

The seed you fructify, while the tree you uproot —

Both are your blessings.

One who uses you with care can cook hundreds of dishes.

But to the ignorant who treat you carelessly, you are a calamity.

You are like the Wali, full of virtues as well as faults.

You make one swim and another drown — that is your nature!

The whole region of Ahmednagar was without water,

But at the perfect time you rewarded the labor of the farmer.

In the form of fire you were hot;

By becoming water you were cool.

As those near you were warmed by your flame,

So also was the world made happy by your light.

When you have surrendered to Baba, let your lips be sealed —

Brave are those who serve at the feet of the Sadguru.

Limitless is your greatness, O Dhuni —

Only rishis and munis can fathom you.

You made Beheram the fire sleep and the sky weep.

Your warmth melted the heavens, wetting My sadhra.

You are the real servant of the Sadguru —

Stay near Him always!

Difficult was it to live in the heat of the famine,

And it made you sweat.

You are the true slave of the Master —

A fiery rod in My cool hands!

Bhau Kalchuri. © 1985 Bhau Kalchuri.