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NOTHING MATTERS BUT LOVE FOR GOD

Once he quite simply stated, “You have asked for and have been given enough words. It is now time to live them”. [2]

Who is Avatar Meher Baba?

               In the Eastern traditions there is the belief that God comes to earth as a man to maintain his creation. This God-Man is called an Avatar, meaning descent from God. In the Bhagavad-Gita is the reference to the Avatar, known as Krishna, “For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for establishment of dharma, I am born in every age”. [3] Some recognize Meher Baba as the Avatar, the Messiah, the Christ. Meher Baba gives this explanation of the Avatar,

In those who contact Him, He awakens a love that consumes all selfish desires in the flame of the one desire to serve Him…The Avatar awakens humanity to a realization of its true spiritual nature, gives liberation to those who are ready, and quickens the life of the spirit of his time. For posterity is left the stimulating power of His divinely human example, the nobility of a life supremely lived, of a love unmixed by desire, of a power unused except for others, of a peace untroubled by ambition, of a knowledge undimmed by illusion. He has demonstrated the possibility of divine life for all humanity, of a heavenly life on earth. [4]

               The avatar comes to clean the world of the unnatural sanskaras or impressions that veil man from his true nature. He takes on human form and suffers as a man for all humanity. Many believe Meher Baba to be the avatar. In each advent the avatar suffers in a manner appropriate to the age. In this advent he suffered two major car accidents. One in 1952, in Prague, Oklahoma, Meher Baba injured the entire left side of his body. In 1956, in India, the entire right side of his body was injured. When the avatar comes, it takes 100 years after the dropping of his body for the completion of his work to manifest to the public. His coming is always anticipated, his present is ignored, and his past is worshiped and remembered.

               Meher Baba states in his previous advents he had been known as Zoraster, Krishna, Rama, Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed. He brings the same message age after age, love God.  The avatar appears in different forms at different times, working uniquely with humanity at the time. When Jesus came, the avatar’s work was to assist humanity to rise from instinct to reason. Meher Baba’s work is to assist humanity in the push from reason to intuition.  His message is always of love; but how he imparts that message each time is different.

Meher Baba on Religion

               Meher Baba stated, “I have not come to teach but to awaken. Understand therefore that I lay down no precepts”. [5] He did not come to establish any religion because what is needed is not another organized religion, but love. Individuals from diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds have been attracted to Meher Baba. When individuals came to him for guidance, he would encourage them to continue to worship God in whatever manner they had been. Meher Baba recognized the unity and value of each religion. There is no set creed or doctrine one subscribes to when one feels an inner connection with Meher Baba. Some may never read many books by or about him. Some have the experience of being directly guided and taught by him, inwardly. Here are Meher Baba’s thoughts on religion:

Though religion has come into existence to liberate man from all narrowness, it can itself become a cage when not understood properly. All the worlds’ religions proclaim the same eternal and universal Truth; yet human weakness has a tendency to carve out some limiting, narrow loyalty which closes its gate upon the shoreless and unbounded ocean of love or divinity. It is not the essentials of religions, but addiction merely to their outer forms which has tended to divide man from man, thus thwarting the very purpose of the great founders of the world religions…

I am, therefore, not interested in founding a new religion. Numberless sects, based upon dogmas and beliefs, already divide the world. I have not come to give another cage for man, but to impart to the world the illimitable Truth. The world needs awakening and not mere verbal instruction; it needs the freedom and the amplitude of divine life, and not the superficiality of mechanized and pompous forms; it needs love, and not the display of power. [6]

               Meher Baba stated that we are all seeking and will realize the same goal. We can reach this goal with or without religion.

I belong to no religion. Every religion belongs to me. My personal religion is my being the ancient infinite one, and the religion I impart is love for God, which is the truth of all religions.[7]

The Role of Intuition in Daily Life

               Don Stevens, one of Meher Baba’s western disciples, in his book The Inner Path in the New Life, discusses the idea that Meher Baba established a new model for the spiritual seeker. “To meet the need for a manner of piecing inwardly to find truth, and yet accept the realities of our modern technical age, the Chirst/Avatar clearly was obliged by his own creations to devise a new system to accommodate the spiritual seeker in this Age”.[8]

Don presents that our daily life is the ground for learning our spiritual lessons, and has replaced the monastery. It is through our developing our inner connection with the Christ/Avatar through intuition that we are guided. This inner connection may be made through prayer and inner conversation with him. “The connection can be cultivated through contact with his words, photos, and projects connected with him”. [9] As we develop and become aware of this connection with our Inner Guide, our life becomes the means for becoming free of the binding effects of the ego.

Remembering God

Make me your constant companion. Think of me more than you think of your own self. The more you think of me, the more you will realize my love for you.[10]

The practice of Nama-japa, remembering or repeating the name of God, is found in all spiritual traditions. Meher Baba said that our true work is just to remember Him. Already mentioned is Don Steven’s advice to cultivate the internal connection through pictures, or doing work. Baba explained that remembering Him, by keeping His name through out the day, places a net around one.

Those of you who are unable to meditate should repeat my name without being bothered by thoughts. Thoughts are like mosquitoes, and my name is the mosquito net. When you are within the mosquito net, the mosquitoes may buzz around you, but they cannot bite you. Thus, by repeating my name, like the mosquito net, it will save you from the stings of the mosquito-thoughts that try to distract you, and you will be unmoved.[11]

               Baba in His infinite compassion understands the workings of the bearing on the individual and often made modifications to instructions, to allow anyone to begin from where they are. “If you cannot remember Me constantly, then always take My name before going to sleep and upon waking up”.[12]

The Seven Names Of God

               Meher Baba gave his women disciples direction to sing the Seven Names of God prayer for a half hour each morning. “There are millions of names of God, but those that have a sound effect are few”. [13] Meher Baba did not give any specific practices for all to follow. Perhaps, if one were inclined, repeating the Seven Name of God prayer would be of helpful.

Hari, Paramatma, Allah, Ahuramazda, God, Yezdan, Hu!

Hari, Paramatma, Allah, Ahuramazda, God, Yezdan, Hu!

Hari, Paramatma, Allah, Ahuramazda, God, Yezdan, Hu![14]

Selfless Service

When service is rendered in selfless spirit, it always benefits the karma-yogi…when he renders selfless service with spiritual understanding, it not only confers spiritual benefit upon himself but also promotes the material and spiritual well-being of others involved. Selfless service must be based upon understanding if it is to be an unmixed boon for all concerned.[15]

               Serving a God-realized master gives an opportunity to remain free from the binding effects of action. When doing service for a master, one shares in his universal work and creates an opportunity for spiritual enlightenment. One needs to be careful to become prideful or attached to this service. When done in with purity of intention, the effects benefit all.

How to Love God

               The essence of Meher Baba’s message is that of Divine Love. God can be found within, and that He is love. He stated, “Let these words be inscribed in your heart: Nothing is real but God, Nothing matters but love for God”.[16]

               Meher Baba has given hints as to how we can love God, in a very practical way:

To love God in the most practical way is to love our fellow beings.

If we feel for others in the same way as we feel for our own dear ones, we love God.

If, instead of seeing faults in others, we look within ourselves, we are loving God.

If, instead of robbing others to help ourselves, we rob ourselves to help others, we are loving God.

If we suffer in the sufferings of others and feel happy in the happiness of others, we are loving God.

If, instead of worrying over our own misfortunes, we think ourselves more fortunate than many many others, we are loving God.

If we endure our lot with patience and contentment, accepting it as His Will, we are loving God.

If we understand and feel that the greatest act of devotion and worship to God is not to hurt or harm any of His beings, we are loving God.

To love God as He ought to be loved, we must live for God and die for God, knowing that the goal of life is to Love God, and find Him as our own self. [17]

               There are no books available that were directly written by Meher Baba. However, there are two books that were compiled from messages he gave; these two books were reviewed and approved by him. First, Discourses, is a practical guide to daily life for those sincerely seeking spiritual direction. God Speaks is Baba’s classic work in which he outlines the structure of creation, and details the experience of the soul’s journey towards God realization through the process of evolution, reincarnation, and involution. God cannot be found by reading words on paper, but these works will give clues and provide a map regarding the nature of our search. Perhaps, the most important book we shall ever learn to read is the book of the heart.

I have not come to establish any cult, society or organization; nor even to establish a new religion. The religion that I shall give teaches the knowledge of the one behind the many. The book that I shall make people read is the book of the heart that holds the key to the mystery of life. I shall bring about a happy blending of the head and heart. I shall revitalize all religions and cults, and bring them together like beads on one string.[18]

               Many spiritual teachings tell us that God is to be found within. Meher Baba, also, reminds us that the spiritual path begins when we turn our gaze inward.

Not through worldly wisdom, but by diving deep to the innermost, is it possible to be united with God, Who is at once the Lover and the Beloved. For this union, one must summon the necessary courage to rise above the alluring shadows of the illusory world of sense-perception. Consciousness loaded with attachments, gets pinned to the sense-world of duality. Mere withdrawal of consciousness from the world of forms presents a vacuum of nothing. But when consciousness is illumined by the Truth, it reveals God as everything and it experiences one uninterrupted and endless continuity of limitless bliss, love, power and understanding. [19]

                What matters is how we life this life. Meher Baba has given us guidelines for living a new life. It is interesting to note, that in a lecture by Bhau Kalchuri in Myrtle Beach, May of 2003, Bhau mentioned that Baba’s Wish, printed on page 13, was for the common man. For those who were serious about God, Baba left the saying of the New Life.

This New Life is endless, and even after my physical death it will be kept alive by those who live the life of complete renunciation of falsehood, lies, hatred, anger, greed and lust; and who, to accomplish all this, do no lustful actions, do no harm to anyone, do no backbiting, do not seek material possessions or power, who accept no homage, neither covet honor nor shun disgrace, and fear no one and nothing; by those who rely wholly and solely on God, and who love God purely for the sake of loving; who believe in the lovers of God and in the reality of Manifestation, and yet do not expect any spiritual or material reward; who do not let go the hand of Truth, and who, without being upset by calamities, bravely and wholeheartedly face all hardships with one hundred percent cheerfulness, and give no importance to caste, creed and religious ceremonies. This New Life will live by itself eternally, even if there is no one to live it.[20]

               Meher Baba was clear that one should not shirk one’s responsibilities. He encouraged individuals to complete their education. Baba asked us to live a normal life, to be 100% honest, to attend to your worldly duties, but to keep in your mind that this is all God’s. This is living in the world, but not being of it.

Meher Baba on Prayer

God is so merciful and bountiful that even without their asking He always gives much more than His lovers can receive. He knows their real needs more deeply than they do. Therefore the element of asking something from God is superfluous.[21]

If you pray with a motive to do good to someone, your prayer may actually bring about good both to him and to yourself… But all prayers with a motive fall short of the ideal prayer which is without motive. In the entire spiritual panorama of the universe nothing is more sublime than a spontaneous prayer. It gushes out of the human heart, filled with appreciative joy. It is self-expression of the freed spirit without any actuation of a motive. In its highest form, prayer leaves no room for the illusory diarchy of the lover and the Beloved. It is a return to one's own being.[22]

               Prayer has many facets, and can be a means of developing a personal relationship with Baba. Baba states that God responds to the heart, so whatever we pray from the depths of our heart will be heard by God. Baba did leave three prayers. He directed his Western disciples to repeat the Parvardigar and Repentence prayer daily.

The Parvardigar Prayer

O Parvardigar, the Preserver and Protector of All,
You are without Beginning and without End,
Non-dual, beyond comparison, and none can measure You.

You are without colour, without expression, without form and without attributes.

You are unlimited and unfathomable, beyond imagination and conception, eternal and imperishable.

You are indivisible, and none can see You but with eyes Divine.

You always were, You always are, and You always will be.

You are everywhere; You are in everything; and You are also beyond everywhere and beyond everything.
You are in the firmament and in the depths.

You are manifest and unmanifest on all planes and beyond all planes;
You are in the three worlds and also beyond the three worlds.

You are imperceptible and independent.

You are the Creator, the Lord of Lords, the Knower of all minds and hearts;
You are Omnipotent and Omnipresent.

You are Knowledge Infinite, Power Infinite and Bliss Infinite.

You are the Ocean of Knowledge, All-knowing, Infinitely-knowing,
the Knower of the past, the present, and the future;
and You are Knowledge itself.

You are All-merciful and eternally benevolent.

You are the Soul of souls, the One with infinite attributes.

You are the Trinity of Truth, Knowledge and Bliss;
You are the Source of Truth, the Ocean of Love.

You are the Ancient One, the Highest of the High;
You are Prabhu and Parameshwar;
You are the Beyond-God and the Beyond-Beyond-God also;
You are Parabrahma, Allah, Elahi, Yezdan, Ahuramazda, and God the Beloved.

You are named Ezad: the only One worthy of worship. [23]

The Prayer of Repentance

We repent, O God most merciful, for all our sins, for every thought that was false or unjust or unclean, for every word spoken that ought not to have been spoken, for every deed done that ought not to have been done.

We repent for every deed and word and thought inspired by selfishness, and for every deed and word and thought inspired by hatred.

We repent most specially for every lustful thought and every lustful action, for every lie, for all hypocrisy, for every promise given but not fulfilled, and for all slander and backbiting.

Most specially also, we repent for every action that has brought ruin to others, for every word and deed that has given others pain, and for every wish that pain should befall others.

In your unbounded mercy, we ask you to forgive us, O God, for all these sins committed by us, and to forgive us for our constant failures to think and speak and act according to your will. [24]

The Beloved God Prayer

Beloved, God, help us all to love You more and more,
and more and more and still yet more,
till we become worthy of Union with You;
and help us all to hold fast to Baba's daaman* till the very end.[25]

               The Zoroastrian prayer from the Avesta called "The One Hundred and One Names of God," represents the many attributes of God the Infinite. The Avatar Zarathustra originally recited this ancient prayer several thousand years ago. Regarding this prayer, Meher Baba stated the following, "if one said this prayer with all one's heart, no other prayer is necessary to be said."[26]

Meditation

               People often assume, since Meher Baba came from India, he would teach specific meditations and yoga techniques. During his life, for those who lived with Him and served Him, obeying Baba’s orders was paramount. Sitting in meditation was not something they did not do. Meher Baba did leave four chapters on meditation in the Discourses, that some say are for the future when the avatar’s direct influence is no longer felt.

Love and direct relatedness with the Avatar is the highroad of all road to inner development and while I am in the body and for some time after I drop My body the potential for love and direct relationship is there and should be used.

But one day as the Truth and the Presence of the Avatar begins to diminish, then humanity will have to use lesser, secondary techniques and I must provide for that time, and so I have given out these extensive discourses on meditation.[27]

               Esfandiar Vesali met Meher Baba in the 1920.  At the time Esfandiar was a young boy who attended school at the Prem Ashram, a school for spiritually advanced children.  In April 2002, I met Esfandiar in Myrtle Beach, S.C. a the Meher Spiritual Center.  Esfandiar and he taught the following meditation.  As I recall, he explained the one should sit and repeat the following:

I am not the physical world.  I am not the physical body.

I am not the subtle world.  I am not the subtle body.

I am not the mental world.  I am not the mental body.

I am the soul in love with Baba.

               During his talk, Esfandiar also suggested that, one could gaze at a photo of Baba until one can close one’s eyes and see the picture in front of them.  He continued to explain to bring the attention to the dil, or the abode of God, at the area above the navel.  Closing your eyes, experience Baba’s darshan (loving presence) from the dil.  Sit and be with Baba by gazing inwardly at him.  Esfandiar encourages those who want to meditate, that Baba will guide them. 

Places of Pilgrimage

               Many spiritual traditions stress the importance of making pilgrimage to locations significant to their tradition.  Meher Baba’s samahdi (tomb-shrine) is located in Meherabad, India.  His body, and the bodies of many of his close disciples are buried on Meherabad Hill.  A pilgrimage to this site, offers one the direct and undeniable experience of Baba’s loving presence.  There are still a few of his mandali (close disciples) still living, and they will share stories of their life with Baba.

               Meher Baba also established his center in the West, Meher Spiritual Center, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  This center was built by Baba’s devotes on virgin forest near on the Atlantic Ocean.  Baba visited the center several times, and His presence is also strongly felt on this property.  Baba wanted the center to be for rest, meditation, and regeneration of the spiritual life. By visiting these centers, one can take a break from daily responsibility and imbibe in Baba’s loving presence.

The Moment of Death

               As in many spiritual traditions, the moment of death is very significant. It is important to remember God, when taking one’s last breath. Meher Baba’s Wish includes a statement instruction about the moment of death, and how to prepare for it.

The lover has to keep the wish of the Beloved. My wish for my lovers is

as follows:

Do not shirk your responsibilities.

Attend faithfully to your worldly duties, but keep always at the back of your mind that all this is Baba's.

When you feel happy, think: "Baba wants me to be happy."  When you suffer, think: "Baba wants me to suffer."

Be resigned to every situation and think honestly and sincerely: "Baba has placed me in this situation."

With the understanding that Baba is in everyone, try to help and serve others.

I say with my Divine Authority to each and all that whosoever takes my name at the time of breathing his last comes to me; so do not forget to remember me in your last moments. Unless you start remembering me from now on, it will be difficult to remember me when your end approaches. You should start practicing from now on. Even if you take my name only once every day, you will not forget to remember me in your dying moments.[28]

Meher Baba’s Universal Message

               In this message Meher Baba clearly states who he is and why he has come.  Meher Baba states that every 700 to 1400 years the avatar returns to give a spiritual push to humanity.  A spiritual awakening has been observed by the spiritually awake for some time.  Those who are connected with the Avatar will respond to his call.

I have come not to teach but to awaken. Understand therefore that I lay down no precepts.

Throughout eternity I have laid down principles and precepts, but mankind has ignored them. Man's inability to live God's words makes the Avatar's teaching a mockery.  Instead of practicing the compassion he taught, man has waged crusades in his name. Instead of living the humility, purity and truth of his words, man has given way to hatred, greed and violence.

Because man has been deaf to the principles and precepts laid down by God in the past, in this present avataric form I observe Silence. You have asked for and been given enough words -- it is now time to live them. To get nearer and nearer to God you have to get further and further away from "I", "My", and "Mine". You have not to renounce anything but your own self. It is as simple as that, though found to be almost impossible. It is possible for you to renounce your limited self by my Grace. I have come to release that Grace.

I repeat, I lay down no precepts. When I release the tide of Truth which I have come to give, men's daily lives will be the living precept. The words I have not spoken will come to life in them.

I veil myself from man by his own curtain of ignorance, and manifest my Glory to a few. My present avataric Form is the last Incarnation of this cycle of time, hence my Manifestation will be the greatest. When I break my Silence, the impact of my Love will be universal and all life in creation will know, feel and receive of it. It will help every individual to break himself free from his bondage in his own way. I am the Divine Beloved who loves you more than you can ever love yourself. The breaking of my Silence will help you to help yourself in knowing your real self.

All this world confusion and chaos was inevitable and no one is to blame. What had to happen has happened; and what has to happen will happen. There was and is no way out except through my coming in your midst. I had to come, and I have come. I am the Ancient One.[29]

Drugs and the Spiritual Path

               In the 1960’s a few Americans came to see Baba, and he addressed the issue of drugs. He implored those who came to know of him, to stop using drugs, as they are both physically and spiritually damaging.

The experiences which drugs induce are as far removed from reality, as is a mirage from water. No matter how much you pursue the mirage you will never quench your thirst, and the search for truth through drugs must end in disillusionment. [30]

A Personal Note

               “Lectures, messages, statements, discourses of any kind, spiritual or otherwise, imparted through utterances or writings, is just idle talk when not acted upon or lived up to”.[31]  From what I have learned from Baba’s disciples, it was not Baba’s words that were so significant in their experience with him, it was his presence, his love. That love is always and eternally present. We serve God by serving God in others; we love God by loving others. Baba’s emphasis on living the truth, had led me to examine my actions, reactions and relationships with family and friends.  Looking at my daily life as the teacher, and life incidents are lessons to dislodge the stuck egoic structure of who I believe I am.

               Regarding my own transformation with Baba, what is significant is growing in the understanding of his omniscience and surrender to the Divine Plan. It becomes difficult to speak ill of another, when you come to know that the divine is within each one, and that Baba is quite aware of what you are doing. There is no hiding from God.  Baba implores us not to hurt or harm another being, so I think twice when an angry or revengeful feeling surges up. 

               I feel a morning practice of saying Baba’s prayers, and remembering him aligns me with him for the day.  At the end of the day, I can surrender the actions of my day to Him.

               We can get lost in the explanations of the evolution and involution of the soul, and all that the mind seeks to understand. But, I know the mind must stop and then love of God dawns in my heart. Meher Baba reminds me that this is actually very simple:  “The best is to just remember me and forget everything else, leaving everything to me. This is a complicated matter for those who are very interested in spirituality, but not for those who love me”.[32]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anzar, Naosherwan. The Beloved, The Life and Work of Meher Baba. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press, 1974.

Baba, Meher. Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama. USA: Dharma Enterprises, 1966.

________. Discourses. 7^th ed. Revised by Eruch B. Jessawala, J. Flagg Kriss, and Bal Natu. Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Foundation, 1995.

________. The Path of Love. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Foundation, 2000.

Davy, Kitty. Love Alone Prevails, A Story of Life with Meher Baba. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Sheriar Press. 1981.

Fenster, David.  Mehera-Meher, A Divine Romance, vol. 2. Ahmednagar, India: Meher Nazar Publications. 2003.

Grant, John A. Practical Spirituality with Meher Baba. Milson Point, Australia: Merwan Publications.1987.

Kalchuri, Bhau. Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age Meher Baba, 20 vols. Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Ashville, N.C.: MANifestation, Inc. 1986-2000.

Luck, Irwin. The Silent Master Meher Baba.. North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: Meher Baba Archives, 1967.

Ramarkrishnan, K.K. Meher Baba on Love. Poona, India: Meher Era Publication, 1990.

Stevens, Don. The Inner Path in the New Life.  Jersey, Channel Islands: Companion Books, 1989.

Swami Nikhilanda, The Bhagavad Gita. New York: Ramakrihna-Vivekananda Center, 1987.