for those who are interested in MEHER BABA and NONDUALITY

[Guest guest]

Meher Baba Prayers sans reference to Meher Baba

Created 2009-02-03 06:59

 

By M Rama Rao, India Editor, Asian Tribune

Meher Baba Speaks -5

Meherabad (Ahmednagar, India), 03February (Asiantribune.com): The annual congregation of Meher Baba followers is just over. And Meherabad, the venue for the gathering has returned to its old sleepy ways. It will come alive once again later this month when the birthday of Meher Baba is celebrated on February 25.

The birthday is generally a low key affair for reasons unclear.

'No huge turnout is expected', say the local residents but they are unanimous that 'new comers' are dominating the gatherings these days. New comer is a euphemism for neo-converts to the Meher Baba path.

But Meher Baba did not propound a new religion or new creed, according to V.S Kalchuri, (Bhau to every one), the chairman of the Trust that overseas the assets created in and around Meherabad

Interestingly, the prayers Meher Baba followers recite every day also don't carry Meher Baba's name. These prayers are given by Baba himself in the fifties and are recited at every gathering of his followers and every time a function like Amartithi (Baba's death anniversary) is held

Says Bhau ' Meher Baba gave two prayers – one a Universal Prayer addressed to God, the Almighty, and the other Prayer of Repentance for the daily inability to live up to God's wish. Both prayers were recited in his presence by his devotees when he was alive'.

Why there is no reference to Meher Baba, the Avatar as he himself proclaimed? The question appears to puzzle many followers of Meher Baba. Old as well as new, whose number is swelling. And it was put to Bhau at the post-Amartithi gathering in Meherabad itself.

He began his reply saying "It (the doubt) is an important question".

According to him, the Universal Prayer to the Parvardigar is an ode to the attributes of God in all his manifestations, his non-duality, his status as preserver and protector and all other infinite attributes God is known to have been associated with.

The Repentance Prayer, likewise, is an earnest appeal of the seeker to the God for forgiveness for his constant failures to think, speak and act in the way God wants us to live, speak and act without backbiting others, without a lustful thought and without speaking a lie.

"You are right both prayers don't refer to any one particular Avatar. But then where is the need when the Avatar himself had dictated the prayer", asked Bhau.

In the same breath, the lone surviving Mandali (Baba's close circle who lived with him) member pointed out that reference to Meher Baba comes prominently in a small prayer, Baba had given to his Mandali.

Like the other two prayers, this prayer is addressed to the God. Where it differs is in its direct appeal to God to help the seeker to hold fast to Baba's daman. It urges the Almighty to help the 'seeker' in loving god 'more and more and still yet more'.

Why this special stress on 'love'?

'Because God is absolutely independent. The only way to approach God is through love, constant repetition of His name and invocation of His Mercy', according to Lord Meher, the biography of Meher Baba.

So much so, why 'conversions' to Meher Baba path as they say.

I put this question to a group of Armenians who had come to attend the Amartithi. They are all Christians. And in fact they are proud to be Christians.

Armenians are found in Armenia as also Iran which is their second home. 'In a way we hold dual citizenship as some of us are born in Iran', said Joseph, a software expert, who leads the group of Armenian Baba lovers in Teheran.

'Where did Baba ask us to give up our religion', he put a counter question to me. Not knowing the answer, I posed the very question to people of other nationalities besides Indians.

According to them, Meher Baba did not advice anyone to give up his or her faith, religion or religious practices. What all he said was he is the Avatar and to love him and to repeat his name would suffice. 'I am God .100 per cent. So, there is nothing beside me. Therefore think only of me and constantly repeat my name every second, every moment. If it becomes natural in your sub-consciousness, automatically it will come out during moments of difficulty to help and save you'.

'There is no Sadhana greater than love. There is no law higher than love. And there is no goal beyond love. God and love are identical', remarks Mohsen Khatami, quoting Meher Baba. A broadcaster by profession and temperament, Mohsen relocated himself from Iran to India some years ago. He presently stays in Meherabad and spends his days glued to Internet.

How did he hear about Meher Baba, I asked Joseph. I was also keen to know how and why he accepted Meher Baba. For the first question he gave a direct reply. He heard about Baba from his friends and learnt more about the new god through books. For the second question, he offered no direct reply. Like fellow Meher Baba lovers, he said it was an intense internal feeling.

The journalist in me pressed him. But failed to make him open up. And many others at Meherabad. It appears that Meher Baba had told them not to speak about one's experience. Why? 'It is possible we could be misunderstood, or not understood at all. More over an experience is some thing personal to be cherished and not distributed as a sweet', remarked a Baba lover, who said, he had not seen Baba but came into Baba-fold as a 'long lost lover' some seven years ago.

Muncher and Ferozie Wadia (Manuchehr and Firuzeh to go by their original Parsi names) have no such reservations. Both have survived a nightmarish experience in Mumbai on the day of their 14th wedding anniversary on November 26.

About it in their own words.

'A friend of ours who works for the Taj gave us a free night in the Palace wing on the 6th floor of the Taj Mahal Hotel. We were to get a sea facing suite but the person who was to check out was delayed. Our room then was a pool facing room facing the back (in the end it proved to be lucky as the sea facing rooms were badly gutted)

'We checked into the room after a heavy lunch at the Thai Pavillion. … For dinner we were toying between going down to the Shamiana (Coffee shop) and just staying in the room and ordering room service. We decided to stay back as we were quite exhausted after the walk and were feeling lazy too. We opened a bottle of wine and were listening to music. A short while later we got a SMS from a friend telling us to be careful as there was some shooting going on at Colaba. We switched on the TV and saw reports of a shoot out at Leopold cafe. Within minutes the cable TV went off.

'We then heard gunshots in our own hotel on our floor. At first we thought they were fire crackers. Later we realised they were gun shots which were being fired quite close to our room on our floor. By this time friends had also started to call us and alert us about the shoot out going on in our hotel. The shooting went on for two to three hours on our floor. We kept moving from the bathroom to the balcony. Our friends kept calling us and updating us ….. Friends were calling us from all over the world and praying for us. Friends were also sending various prayers ranging from Sai Baba, Meher Baba and the Koran & Bible. Reciting these prayers is what calmed us down and gave us hope.

'At about three in the morning the fire started spreading towards our room. We moved ourselves to the balcony as the thick black smoke was filling up in our room and it was becoming very difficult to breathe and keep our eyes open. The gunshots were still being fired from our floor, the fire was spreading, we tried to break the windows and were contemplating on jumping out of the window. When we looked down there were no ledges. We could hear people screaming out for help and we could see the fire burning in many rooms and on the terrace on the opposite side. This was one of the worst things we saw that night and felt terribly helpless too.

'On hearing us trying to break open the grills with our bare hands a man standing near the poolside spoke to us. Muncher asked him if he was speaking to us and he said that he was speaking to everybody. He instructed us to open our room door and run towards the left till we reach the fire exit. We did just that! (What really seems a mystery is how we heard this man's voice through all the screams, firing and blasts that were heard simultaneously?)

'While we were running I could not see Muncher who was a foot away from me, the smoke was so thick. Luckily the corridor lights were on and we found the fire exit after about a hundred meters .We started running down the stairs, in spite of gunshots being fired in the background. When we reached the second floor the staircase was blocked by huge steel cupboard and metal chairs stacked up. On the right was a door leading out to an open terrace which had AC ducts and pipes. We were not too sure about going out in the open.

'When we tried to move the blockage we saw some bodies that may have just been killed as the blood was still oozing out. So we changed our minds and ran out. Luckily the army guards standing across the road pointed out to a metal ladder which we climbed down and ran across the road, after which we were safe. ….We are glad to be back and grateful to god for answering all the prayers of our friends and even people we had never met before'.

I caught up with Muncher when she was about to leave for Dubai. And asked her whether she visited Meherabad.

She replied that they had visited Meherabad a week after 26/11 and offered their prayers at Meher Baba's tomb.How and when did she hear about Meher Baba? She gave full credit to Leopold Café (the café too was targeted by terrorists) owners, who are her friends. 'She (the lady owner) was away in Chennai but she remained in touch with us on phone and SMS. She asked us to just keep saying Meher Baba. Meher Baba and this we did

Who was that person who guided them from his pool side post? It seems no body knows that person's identity. In fact, there are doubts as to whether any one could be at the poolside at that time and even if there was one, how could he make himself heard by the family on the sixth floor.

'O dear it was all nothing but a miracle,' said Muncher as she signed off.

- Asian Tribune -

 

Source URL:http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/15431

 

Copyright 2006 asiantribune.com. All rights reserved. The information contained in the Asian Tribune report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Asian Tribune.