:Meher Baba

Meher Baba's teachings concerned the nature and purpose of life. He described the phenomenal world as illusory, and taught that the Universe is imagination. He taught that God alone exists, and each soul is God passing through imagination in order to realise its own divinity.God Speaks, 2nd edition, 1973. p. 170 He advised followers wishing to attain God-realisation, emphasizing love and selfless-service.Discourses, 7th edition, 1987. p. 315 His other teachings included discussion of Perfect Masters, the Avatar, and those on the various stages of the spiritual path, which he termed involution. God Speaks and Discourses are regarded as among his most important written works.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26609184|title=Sanskrit Pathshala to a Deemed University|author=Shigwan, Ramchandra |journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute|date=9 March 2024 |volume=77|pages=261–270|jstor=26609184 }}{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20024777|title=Spiritual Innovation and the Crisis of American Civil Religion|author1=Anthony, Dick|author2=Robbins, Thomas|year=1982|journal=Daedalus|volume=111|issue=1|pages=215–234|jstor=20024777 }}

For decades he declined to speak and later refrained from communicating via written language. This practice has remained a topic of discussion among some of his followers.Purdom (1964) p. 407  "Why he ceased to speak and write Baba has explained only vaguely, though much natural curiosity is aroused; the first question asked when people come to know about him or to see him is why he does it. That both silence and nonwriting are of great significance is certain; not surprisingly Baba does not explain. Silence is the answer to silence."Meher Baba's Silent Semiotic Output, José Sanjinés, Signs and Society, Vol. 2, No. S1, Supplement 2014, The University of Chicago Press, p. S121

His legacy includes the Avatar Meher Baba Charitable Trust he established in India, and a handful of centers for information and pilgrimage. He has influenced pop culture creators and introduced the common phrase "Don't worry; be happy". This was used in Bobby McFerrin's hit 1988 song of the same name. Among his followers were well-known musicians such as Melanie Safka and Pete Townshend, as well as journalists including Sir Tom Hopkinson.{{Cite book|last1=Anthony|first1=Dick|title=Religious Movements in Contemporary America|last2=Robbins|first2=Thomas|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1975|isbn=978-1-4008-6884-1|location=United States of America|pages=479–514|chapter=The Meher Baba Movement: Its Affect on Post-Adolescent Social Alienation|doi=10.1515/9781400868841}}{{Cite book|last1=Hopkinson|first1=Tom|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1124575231|title=The Silent Messenger: The Life and Work of Meher Baba|last2=Hopkinson|first2=Dorothy|publisher=Gollancz|year=1974|isbn=978-1-78904-057-9|location=Winchester, UK|pages=|oclc=1124575231|access-date=15 December 2020|archive-date=20 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220034724/http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1124575231|url-status=live}}

In 1971, Meher Baba's following in the United States was estimated at 7,000. Some commentators have suggested that the size of the movement has been underestimated due to the rarity of proselytising by Meher Baba's followers, and that in 1975, the movement was larger than the more visible Hare Krishna movement.

Meher Baba was accepted as the leader of a Sufi organization based in California which he renamed Sufism Reoriented.{{Cite web |date=October 1, 2023 |title=Meher Baba {{!}} Sufism Reoriented |url=https://www.sufismreoriented.org/meherbaba}} Meher Baba's Sufi influence is said to have drawn from Sai Baba of Shirdi, whom Meher Baba designated as a Qutb.{{Cite journal |last=Srinivas |first=Smriti |date=May 1999 |title=The Brahmin and the fakir: Suburban religiosity in the cult of Shirdi Sai baba |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537909908580865 |journal=Journal of Contemporary Religion |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=245–261 |doi=10.1080/13537909908580865 |issn=1353-7903 |via=}} However, some commentators have asserted that Meher Baba's interpretation of Sufism shared very few similarities with the Sufi Movement apart from universalism and anti-dogmatism.{{Cite book|last=Sedgwick|first=Mark|title=Western Sufism: From the Abbasids to the New Age|publisher=Oxford Scholarship Online|date= 2016|isbn=9780199977642|location=Online|pages=|chapter=Conclusion|quote=One branch of the Sufi Movement retained the word "Sufi" in its title, but joined the Meher Baba movement, which had nothing in common with the Sufi Movement other than universalism and anti-dogmatism.}}

File:Meherwan irani.jpg

Meher Baba was born to Irani Zoroastrian parents in 1894 in Pune, India (formerly Poona).In an Indian context, an Irani is a member of one of two groups of Zoroastrians of that subcontinent, the other being the Parsis. They are called Iranis by other Indians because they spoke an Iranian language. "Those who left Iran soon after the advent of Islam to escape persecution, reached the shores of Gujarat 1,373 years ago. Their descendants are the Parsis. While the Zoroastrians who migrated to India from Iran relatively recently -- 19th century onwards -- are called Irani Zoroastrians." (Quote from Padmaja Shastri, TNN, [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/What-sets-Zoroastrian-Iranis-apart/articleshow/572604.cms "What sets Zoroastrian Iranis apart"], The Times of India, 21 March 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2008.)Sutcliffe (2002); p. 38. He was named Merwan Sheriar Irani, the second son of Sheriar Irani and Shireen Irani. Sheriar Irani was a Persian Zoroastrian from Khorramshahr who had spent years wandering in search of spiritual experiences before settling in Pune.Purdom (1964), pp. 15–17

As a boy, Baba formed the Cosmopolitan Club, which was dedicated to remaining informed on world affairs and donating money to charity.Kalchuri (1986) pp. 186–188 He was a multi-instrumentalist and poet. Fluent in several languages, he was fond of the poetry of Hafez, William Shakespeare, and Percy Bysshe Shelley.Kalchuri (1986) pp. 190–192Purdom (1964), p. 20Haynes (1989), p. 37

His spiritual transformation began when he was 19 years old and lasted for seven years.Hopkinson, Tom & Dorothy: Much Silence, Meher Baba Foundation Australia, 1974, p. 24Purdom (1964) p. 20 At 19, he met Hazrat Babajan, an elderly Muslim saint. He was cycling past a tree that she had made her abode, when she called to him. When he approached her, she kissed him on the forehead, causing him to enter a nine month-long trance which he described as "divine bliss", with a lack of consciousness of his body.{{Cite journal|last=Sovatsky|first=Stuart|date=2004|title=Clinical forms of love inspired by Meher Baba's mast work and the awe of infinite consciousness|url=http://www.atpweb.org/jtparchive/trps-36-02-134.pdf|journal=The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology|volume=36|issue=2|pages=134–149|quote=At 19 years of age, Meher Baba (nee Merwan Sheriar Irani, 1894–1969) received a kiss on his forehead from the highly venerated Muslim, Hazrat Babajan (alleged to be 122 years old at the time), and then kissed her hands. That evening, he entered an altered state of blissful, electrified consciousness wherein he did not sleep or eat for nine months.|via=|access-date=15 December 2020|archive-date=3 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903154624/https://www.atpweb.org/jtparchive/trps-36-02-134.pdf|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|last=Landau|first=Rom |title=God Is My Adventure: A Book on Modern Mystics, Masters, and Teachers |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|year=1935|isbn=|location=New York|pages=105–118|oclc=525882}} Babajan predicted that he would become a spiritual leader.{{Cite book|last=Chryssides|first=George D.|title=Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements|publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc.|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8108-6194-7|location=United States of America|pages=213|quote=As a youth, he became acquainted with Hazrat Babajan, a Muslim who was said to be one of the five "Perfect Masters", and she predicted that he would become a spiritual leader.}} He then encountered Upasni Maharaj, who he later said helped him to integrate his mystical experiences with ordinary consciousness, thus enabling him to function in the world without diminishing his experience of God-realisation.{{Cite book|last=Chryssides|first=George D.|title=Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements|publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc.|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8108-6194-7|location=United States of America|pages=213}}Listen Humanity, ed. D. E. Stevens, 1982. pp. 247–250

Over the next several years, he encountered other spiritual figures, namely Tajuddin Baba, Narayan Maharaj, and Sai Baba of Shirdi, who, along with Babajan and Upasni Maharaj, Baba later said were the five "Perfect Masters" of the age.Purdom (1964) p. 270{{Cite book|last=|first=|title=Encyclopedia of World Religions|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Incorporated.|year=2006|isbn=978-1-59339-491-2|location=|pages=706}} By early 1922, at the age of 27, Baba began gathering his own disciples.Haynes (1989) pp. 38–39 They gave him the name Meher Baba, which means "compassionate father".Haynes (1989) p. 40

In 1922, Meher Baba and his followers established Manzil-e-Meem (House of the Master) in Mumbai. There, Baba commenced his practice of demanding strict discipline and obedience from his disciples.Purdom (1964), pp. 29-30 A year later, Baba and his mandali moved to an area a few miles outside Ahmednagar that he named Meherabad (Garden of Blessing).Kalchuri (1986) p. 501 This ashram would become the center for his work. During the 1920s, Meher Baba opened a school, hospital, and dispensary at Meherabad, all of which were free and open to all castes and faiths.Purdom (1964), pp. 49–50

From 10 July 1925 until the end of his life, Meher Baba maintained silence.Encyclopedia of Religion, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1995, vol. 9, p. 346Haynes (1989) p. 2Baba (2007) p. 3 He now communicated first through chalk and slate, then by an alphabet board, and later via a repertoire of gestures unique to him.Haynes (1989) p. 41 On 1 December 1926, he wrote his last message, and began relying on an alphabet board.{{Cite book |last1=Dowling |first1=Elizabeth |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412952477 |title=Encyclopedia of Religious and Spiritual Development |last2=Scarlett |first2=W. |date=2006 |publisher=Sage Publications, Inc. |isbn=978-0-7619-2883-6 |location=California |pages=285–286 |doi=10.4135/9781412952477}}Purdom (1964) p. 66 With his mandali (circle of disciples), he spent long periods in seclusion, during which time he often fasted. He also traveled widely, held public gatherings, and engaged in works of charity with lepers and the poor.Haynes (1989) p. 70

Beginning in 1931, Meher Baba made the first of many visits to the West. Throughout that decade, Meher Baba began a period of world travel and took several trips to Europe and the United States. It was during this period that he established contact with his first close group of Western disciples. He traveled on a Persian passport, as he had given up writing, as well as speaking, and would not sign the forms required by the British government of India.Kalchuri (1986) p. 1249 Here, he attracted more followers.Kalchuri (1986) p. 1405ff

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On his first trip to England in 1931, he traveled on the SS Rajputana, at the same time as Mahatma Gandhi, who was sailing to the second Round Table Conference in London. Baba and Gandhi met three times on board. One of these exchanges lasted for three hours.Purdom (1964) p. 95. The British press publicized these meetings,See articles from the Daily Herald, 4 April 1932 (quoted in Kalchuri (1986), p. 1573) and from Sunday Express, April 1932 (quoted in Purdom (1964), p. 99) but an aide to Gandhi said, "You may say emphatically that Gandhi never asked Meher Baba for help or for spiritual or other advice."Landau, Rom: God Is My Adventure: A Book on Modern Mystics, Masters, and Teachers, Faber & Faber, London, 1936. p. 111.Indian Mystic in New York, Associated Press, 20 May 1932, The Lowell Sun{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Meher Baba Hopes to Elevate People Here to "Infinite State" He Enjoys. He Will Establish Spiritual Retreat at Harmon, N.Y., and Seek to Break Religious Barriers |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0CE0DD163EE633A25755C2A9659C946394D6CF&legacy=true |newspaper=The New York Times |date=26 March 1932 |access-date=10 September 2017 |archive-date=8 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808075549/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0CE0DD163EE633A25755C2A9659C946394D6CF&legacy=true |url-status=live }}

In the West, Meher Baba met with a number of celebrities and artists, including Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, Tallulah Bankhead, Boris Karloff, Tom Mix, Maurice Chevalier, and Ernst Lubitsch.Landau, Rom: God Is My Adventure: A Book on Modern Mystics, Masters, and Teachers, Faber & Faber, London, 1936. p. 108 Available as a [https://books.google.com/books?id=_9DxiBTKdJsC Google book] On 1 June 1932, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. held a reception for Baba at Pickfair at which he delivered a message to Hollywood.Purdom (1964) pp. 103–105 As a result, says Robert S. Ellwood, Meher Baba emerged as "one of the enthusiasms of the '30s".Ellwood 1973 p. 281

In 1934, after announcing that he would break his self-imposed silence in the Hollywood Bowl, Baba changed his plans abruptly, boarded the RMS Empress of Canada, and sailed to Hong Kong without explanation. The Associated Press reported that "Baba had decided to postpone the word-fast-breaking until next February because 'conditions are not yet ripe'."Associated Press, 13 July 1932, as cited Kalchuri (1986), p. 1670 He returned to England in 1936Kalchuri (1986) p. 2040ff but did not return to the United States again until the early 1950s.Kalchuri (1986) pp. 1661–1668

In the late 1930s, Meher Baba invited a group of Western women to join him in India, where he arranged a series of trips throughout India and British Ceylon that became known as the Blue Bus Tours. When the tour returned home, many newspapers treated their journey as an occasion for scandal.Kalchuri (1986) pp. 2338–2421 Time magazine's 1936 review of God Is My Adventure describes the US's fascination with the "long-haired, silky-mustached Parsee named Shri Sadgaru [sic] Meher Baba" four years earlier.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848514-4,00.html |title=Men, Masters & Messiahs |date=20 April 1936 |access-date=26 June 2008 |magazine=Time Magazine |archive-date=2 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602032109/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848514-4,00.html |url-status=dead }}

File:Wayf 154.jpg in Bangalore, 1940]]

In the 1930s and 1940s, Meher Baba worked with masts, or those "intoxicated with God".Donkin (2001) p. vff According to Baba, these individuals are disabled by their enchanting experience of the higher spiritual planes. Although outwardly masts may appear irrational or insane, Baba claimed that their spiritual status was elevated, and that by meeting with them he helped them to progress spiritually while enlisting their aid in his spiritual work.Donkin (2001) p. 9 One of these masts, Mohammed, lived at Meher Baba's encampment at Meherabad until his death in 2003.{{Cite web |url=http://www.trustmeher.com/message/mohd02.htm |title=A Tribute to Mohammed Mast |access-date=30 August 2007 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210408/http://www.trustmeher.com/message/mohd02.htm |url-status=live }}

During his journey in 1946, Meher Baba went to Sehwan Sharif to meet a Sufi saint and descendant of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Murshid Nadir Ali Shah, whom Baba referred to as an advanced pilgrim.{{Cite book|title=The Wayfarers: Meher Baba with the God-Intoxicated|last=Donkin|first=William|publisher=Sheriar Foundation|year=2001|isbn=1-880619-24-5|location=Myrtle Beach, S.C}}

In 1949, Baba began a period that he called the New Life. Following a series of questions on their readiness to obey even the most difficult of his requests, Baba selected twenty companions to join him in a life of complete "hopelessness and helplessness".Purdom (1964) p. 177

He made provisions for those dependent on him, after which he and his companions otherwise gave up nearly all property and financial responsibilities. They traveled around India incognito while begging for food and carrying out Baba's instructions in accordance with a strict set of "conditions of the New Life". These included acceptance of any circumstance and consistent good cheer in the face of any difficulty. Companions who failed to comply were sent away.Purdom (1964) pp. 163–176

Concerning the New Life, Meher Baba wrote:

{{blockquote|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.Purdom (1964) p. 187}}

Meher Baba ended the New Life in February 1952Purdom, (1964), p. 194 and once again began a round of public appearances throughout India and the West.Kalchuri (1986) p. 3762

After being injured as a passenger in two serious automobile accidents, one near Prague, Oklahoma in the United States in 1952,Kalchuri, Bhau (1986). Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba. Manifestation. and one in India in 1956, Meher Baba's ability to walk became limited.Haynes (1989) p. 60Purdom (1964) p. 376

In the 1950s, Baba established two centers outside of India, namely the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in the United States and Avatar's Abode near Brisbane, Australia. He inaugurated the Meher Spiritual Center in April 1952. On 24 May 1952, en route from the Meher Spiritual Center to Meher Mount in Ojai, California, the car in which he was a passenger was struck head-on near Prague, Oklahoma. He and his companions were thrown from the vehicle and injured. Baba's leg was severely broken and he sustained facial injuries including a broken nose. The injured were treated at Prague Memorial Hospital, after which they returned to Myrtle Beach to recuperate.Kalchuri (1986) pp. 3834–3840 While recuperating at Youpon Dunes, a home owned by Elizabeth Patterson, he worked on the charter for a group of Sufis, which he named Sufism Reoriented.Glimpses of the God-Man, Meher Baba, vol. 3, by Bal Natu, Sheriar Press, 1982, pp. 64, 65

Meher Baba began dictating his major book, God Speaks, The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose, using an alphabet board in Dehradun, in August 1953.Kalchuri (1986) p. 4208 He dedicated this book "To the {{nowrap|Universe{{hsp}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}}}the Illusion that sustains Reality". In September 1954, Meher Baba gave a men-only sahavas at Meherabad that later became known as the Three Incredible Weeks.Three Incredible Weeks with Meher Baba: 11–30 September 1954, by Charles Purdom & Malcolm Schloss, Sheriar Press, 1979, pp. xi–xii During this time Baba issued a declaration, "Meher Baba's Call", wherein he once again affirmed his Avatarhood "irrespective of the doubts and convictions" of others.Meher Baba: "Meher Baba's Call", Pamphlet, 12 September 1954 At the end of this sahavas, Meher Baba gave the completed manuscript of his book God Speaks to two members of Sufism Reoriented, Ludwig H. Dimpfl and Don E. Stevens, for editing and publication in America.Kalchuri (1986) p. 4551 The book was published by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year.

On 30 September 1954 Meher Baba gave his Final Declaration message.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ambppct.org/messages.php#final |title=The Final Declaration |access-date=8 February 2014 |archive-date=8 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708051427/http://ambppct.org/messages.php#final |url-status=dead }}

In October 1954, Meher Baba discarded his alphabet board and began using a unique set of hand gestures to communicate, which he used for the rest of his life.Kalchuri (1986) pp. 4457, 4464

On 2 December 1956, outside Satara, India, the car in which Meher Baba was riding lost control and a second serious automobile accident occurred. Baba suffered a fractured pelvis and other severe injuries. Nilu, one of Baba's mandali, was killed.Purdom (1986) p. 289 This collision seriously incapacitated Baba. Despite his physicians' predictions, Baba began to walk again, but from that point was in constant pain and had limited mobility. During his trip to the West in 1958, he often needed to be carried from venue to venue.Kalchuri (1986) p. 5450

In 1956, during his fifth visit to the United States, Baba stayed at New York's Hotel Delmonico before traveling to the Meher Spiritual Center at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In July he traveled to Washington, D.C., and received friends and disciples at the home of Ivy Duce,Awakener Magazine, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 38–39 {{cite web |url=http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/heroines7c.html |title=Heroines of the Path, Part 7C |access-date=25 June 2008 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165218/http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/heroines7c.html |url-status=live }} wife of James Terry Duce, the vice-president of the Arabian American Oil Company.Man hasn't spoken in 31 years, Big Spring Daily Herald, 30 June 1957 Note: this article identifies the visit as Meher Baba's 10th US visit, and places the planned date as July 1957, not 1956 as generally accepted. He then traveled to Meher Mount at Ojai, California before proceeding to Australia. His final visits to the United States and Australia were made in 1958.Kalchuri (1986) p. 5457

In 1962, Baba held one of his last public functions, a mass meeting in India called the East-West Gathering. At these meetings, at which his Western followers were invited to meet his Indian disciples, Baba gave darshan to many thousands, despite the physical strain this caused him.Kalchuri (1986) p. 6000Awakener Magazine, Volume 9, Number 1–2, 1963, p. 1 Despite deteriorating health, he continued what he called his "Universal Work", which included fasting and seclusion, until his death on 31 January 1969. His samadhi in Meherabad, India, has become a place of international pilgrimage.Haynes (1989) p. 62 In the mid-1960s Baba became concerned with the drug culture in the West and began correspondences with several Western academics, including Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, in which he discouraged the use of hallucinogenic drugs for spiritual purposes.Kalchuri (1986) p. 6412ff In 1966, Baba's responses to questions on drugs were published in a pamphlet titled God in a Pill? Meher Baba stated that drug use was spiritually damaging and that if enlightenment were possible through drugs then "God is not worthy of being God".God in a Pill? Meher Baba on L.S.D. and The High Roads, Sufism Reoriented, Inc. 1966 Meher Baba instructed his young Western disciples to spread this message; in doing so, they increased awareness of Meher Baba's teachings. In an interview with Frederick Chapman, a Harvard graduate and Fulbright scholar who met Meher Baba during a year of study in India, Baba described LSD as "harmful physically, mentally, and spiritually" and warned that "[its continued use] leads to madness or death".Spiritual Leader Warning on LSD, United Press International, 27 July 1967 Baba lovers in the United States, Europe, and Australia initiated an anti-drug campaign during this period. Though some contend that this campaign was mostly futile, it attracted new followers to Meher Baba.Bruce Hoffman, 'Something on an Inner Level,' Glow International Feb 1990, p. 17 Furthermore, some of Baba's views entered into academic debate on the merits and dangers of hallucinogens.Albert Moraczewski, 'Psychedelic Agents and Mysticism,' Psychosomantics Vol. 12:2 (1971), 95–96

From the East-West Gathering of 1962 onward, Meher Baba's health deteriorated. Despite the physical toll it took on his body, he continued to undergo periods of seclusion and fasting.Haynes (1989) p. 61 In late July 1968, Baba stated that he had completed a particularly taxing period of seclusion and noted that his work was "completed 100% to my satisfaction".Awakener Magazine, Volume 13 Number 3-4, p. 75 He was by then using a wheelchair. Within a few months, his condition had worsened and he was bedridden, wracked by muscle spasms without clear medical origin. Despite the care of several physicians, the spasms worsened. On 31 January 1969, Meher Baba woke up in the morning. He had a few pieces of papaya. At 12:15{{spaces}}p.m. he died at 74 years of age after a violent spasm wracked his body.Encyclopædia Britannica, retrieved 7/2/14, He conveyed by his last gestures, "Do not forget that I am God."Kalchuri (1986) p. 6713 In time, his devotees called the anniversary of his death Amartithi (deathless day). Meher Baba's body was placed at his samadhi at Meherabad, covered with roses and cooled by ice. His body was kept available to the public for one week before its final burial.Kalchuri (1986) p. 6735 Prior to his death, Meher Baba had made extensive preparations for a public darshan program to be held in Pune. His mandali decided to proceed with the arrangements despite the absence of the host. Several thousand attended this "Last Darshan", including many hundreds from the United States, Europe, and Australia.James Ivory, The Talk of the Town, "Jai Baba!", The New Yorker, 21 June 1969, p. 28

From 10 July 1925, until his death in 1969, Meher Baba was silent.Kalchuri (1986) p. 738 "Meher Baba had observed silence three times before, but the silence beginning July 10th, 1925, was to last until the end of his life." He communicated first by using an alphabet board and later by unique hand gestures which were interpreted and spoken out by one of his mandali, often Eruch Jessawala.Purdom (1964) p. 52 Meher Baba said that his silence was not undertaken as a spiritual exercise but solely in connection with his universal work.

{{blockquote|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 wars 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.ambppct.org/messages.php#u_message |title=The Universal Message |author=Meher Baba |publisher=Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust |access-date=16 December 2013 |archive-date=8 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708051427/http://ambppct.org/messages.php#u_message |url-status=dead }}}}

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Meher Baba often signaled the moment "that he would 'break' his silence by speaking the 'Word' in every heart, thereby giving a spiritual push forward to all living things".Haynes (1989) p. 66

{{blockquote|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 own 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.{{cite book|last=Ullman|first=Robert|author2=Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman|title=Mystics, Masters, Saints, and Sages|publisher=RedWheel / Weiser|year=2001|isbn=1-57324-507-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781573245074|page= 125}}.}}

Meher Baba asserted that the breaking of his silence would be a defining event in the spiritual evolution of the world.

{{blockquote|When I speak that Word, I shall lay the foundation for that which is to take place during the next seven hundred years.Haynes (1989) p. 67}}

On many occasions Meher Baba promised to break his silence with an audible word before he died,Purdom (1964), p. 278 often stating a specific time and place when this would occur,See for example: Kalchuri (1986), pp. 900, 915, 5648, 5655, 5787, 5807, 6015, 6024, 6027, 6037, 6105, 6061, 6090, 6151, 6166, 6170, 6172, 6206, 6164, 6318, 6319, 6341, 6370,, 6425, 6532, 6548, 6579, etc. but according to all contemporary accounts, Meher Baba remained silent until his death.Two close disciples have reported hearing Baba speak or make sounds in the days preceding his death. In 1992, Eruch Jessawala, a close disciple of Meher Baba, recalled that "a few days before Meher Baba dropped his body [...]Meher Baba had covered his mouth with his hand and shouted with great intensity:...'Mmmmmmm!'" [Glow International, May 1992, pp. 13-18]. Similarly, Bhau Kalchuri recalled in 2001 "Baba actually spoke two words to Bhau: 'Yad rakh [remember this]!' and then gestured, 'I am not this body!'[...]'Although Baba's voice was feeble,' Bhau recalled, 'the sound was audible and clear, and its intensity and impact very, very forceful. It conveyed so great an impression, that my mind itself neither registered nor questioned the fact that Baba was speaking." [see {{cite book|last= Kalchuri |first=Bhau|title=Lord Meher|publisher=Meher Mownavani Publications|year=2005|edition=Second (India)|volume=8|page=4765}}] although this recollection contradicted his own earlier accounts [see Kalchuri (1986) p. 6710] and Kalchuri later clarified those recollections, saying that actual words had not been spoken [Glow International, Spring 2012, p. 3]. His failure to break his silence disappointed some of his followers, while others viewed it as a test of their faith.Kalchuri (1986) p. 1668 Some of his followers speculate that "the Word" will yet be "spoken" or that Meher Baba broke his silence in a spiritual rather than a physical way.

For many years Meher Baba asked his followers to undertake austerities on 10 July, the anniversary of the day his silence began, such as keeping silence, fasting, and praying. In his final Silence Day request to his followers in 1968, he asked only that they keep silent.Glimpses of the God-Man, Meher Baba, vol. 6, by Bal Natu, Sheriar Foundation, 1994, p. 77 – "I want all my lovers to observe complete silence for twenty-four hours, from midnight of July 9th to midnight of July 10th, 1968." Many followers continue to celebrate Silence Day by keeping silence in his honor.

Meher Baba's teachings can be divided into two main categories: his metaphysics on the nature of the soul and the Universe, and practical advice for the spiritual aspirant. The two are interrelated. His metaphysics is mostly found in his principal book on the subject, God Speaks. It contains detailed statements on his cosmology, the purpose of life, and the progression of the soul. His teachings on the practical spiritual life are mostly contained in the Discourses, although it also covers many metaphysical areas mirroring or amplifying God Speaks.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ambppct.org/library.php |title=Avatar Meher Baba Trust Online Library |access-date=4 June 2013 |archive-date=3 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703045254/http://ambppct.org/library.php |url-status=live }}

{{Main|God Speaks}}

God Speaks describes the journey of the soul from its original state of unconscious divinity to the ultimate attainment of conscious divinity. The whole journey is a journey of imagination, in which the original indivisible state of God imagines becoming countless individualised souls which he likens to bubbles within an infinite ocean.God Speaks, Revised 2nd edition, 1997, p. 7 Each soul, powered by the desire to become conscious, starts its journey in the most rudimentary form of consciousness. This limitation brings the need of a more developed form to advance it towards an increasingly conscious state. Consciousness grows in relation to the impressions each form is capable of gathering.God Speaks, Revised 2nd edition, 1997, pp. 8–27.

According to Meher Baba, each soul pursues conscious divinity by evolving; that is, experiencing itself in a succession of imagined forms through seven "kingdoms" of stone/metal, vegetable, worm, fish, bird, animal, and human.God Speaks, Revised 2nd edition, 1997, pp. 28–30 The soul identifies itself with each successive form, becoming thus tied to illusion. During this evolution of forms, the power of thought increases, until in human form thought becomes infinite. Although in human form, the soul is capable of conscious divinity, all the impressions that it has gathered during evolution are illusory ones that create a barrier against the soul knowing itself. For this barrier to be overcome, further births in human form are needed in a process known as reincarnation.God Speaks, Revised 2nd edition, 1997, pp. 31-40

The soul will reach a stage where its previously gathered impressions grow thin or weak enough that it enters a final stage called involution. This stage also requires a series of human births, during which the soul begins an inner journey, by which it realises its true identity as God. Baba breaks this inner journey into seven stages he called "planes". The process culminates, at the seventh plane, with God-realisation, at which the goal of life for the soul is reached.God Speaks, Revised 2nd edition, 1997, pp. 41–54

The Discourses are a collection of explanations that Meher Baba has given on topics that concern the advancement of the spiritual aspirant. These topics include: sanskaras (mental impressions), Maya (the principle of illusion), the nature of the ego, reincarnation, karma, violence and non-violence, meditation, love, discipleship, and God-realisation.Discourses, 7th edition, 1987, p. v His explanations often include stories from the lore of India and the Sufi culture. One such story, the wise man and the ghost, shows the power that superstitious beliefs can have on a person, while another, Majnun and Layla, shows how selfless love, even in human relations, can lead one to discipleship.Discourses, 7th edition, 1987, p. 147

Meher Baba's suggestions include putting theory into practice, internally renouncing desires, offering selfless service to humanity or the master, spontaneity, and avoiding actions that bind one to illusion. Rather than lay out moral rules, Baba explains why some actions bind the individual whereas others aid emancipation.Discourses, 7th edition, 1987, pp. 5, 42, 46, 53, 62, 65, etc. Several chapters discuss the mechanisms by which consciousness gets caught up between the opposites of experience, such as pleasure and pain, good and evil, and suggest how to transcend these opposites.Discourses, 7th edition, 1987, pp. 26, 61, etc.

{{Main|Perfect Master (Meher Baba)}}

Meher Baba related that there are 56 incarnate God-realised souls on Earth at any given time. Of these souls there are always five who constitute the five Perfect Masters of their era.Kalchuri (1986) p. 944 When one of the five Perfect Masters dies, another God-realised soul immediately replaces him or her.Adriel, Jean.Avatar: The Life Story of the Perfect Master, Meher Baba (1947), p. 49, J. F. Rowny press

The Avatar, according to Baba, is a special Perfect Master, the first soul to achieve God-realisation. This soul, the original Perfect Master, or Ancient One, never ceases to incarnate. Baba indicated that this soul personifies the state of God called Vishnu in Hinduism and Parvardigar in Sufism, i.e. the sustainer or preserver state of God. Baba taught that the Avatar appears on Earth every 700–1400 years and is "brought down" into human form by the five Perfect Masters of the time to aid creation in the endless process of moving toward Godhood. Baba claimed that in other ages this role had been fulfilled by Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad.The Path of Love, by Meher Baba, Sheriar Press, US, 2000, p. 30.

(originally published in 1976 by Samuel Weiser, New York)

Baba described the Avatar as "a gauge against which man can measure what he is and what he may become. He trues the standard of human values by interpreting them in terms of divinely human life."Meher Baba: "Discourses", Sufism Reoriented, 6th ed., 1967. Vol III, p. 15

Most of Meher Baba's followers accept his claim of avatarhood,New Religious Movements in the United States and Canada: A Critical Assessment and Annotated Bibliography. Contributors: Diane Choquette – compiler. Publisher: Greenwood Press. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 1985. p. 12. and he is said to be "revered by millions around the world as the Avatar of the age and a God-realized being".

File:Meher Baba Samadhi2.jpg]]

Meher Baba's travels and teachings left a legacy of followers and devotees worldwide.

The Avatar Meher Baba Charitable Trust, established by Meher Baba in 1959, maintains his tomb and pilgrimage facilities, as well as a free school and dispensary, a cataract clinic, and a veterinary clinic.[http://www.ambppct.org/medical.php Medical facilities at the Trust] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122154512/http://ambppct.org/medical.php |date=22 January 2016 }}), [http://www.ambppct.org/education.php Educational programs at the Trust] (). The Trust follows the charter Meher Baba left for it, but does not act as spiritual authority over groups. Likewise, the Trust does not engage in propaganda, promote creeds or dogmas, or seek converts.[http://www.ambppct.org/arts.php Avatar Meher Baba Trust Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123072235/http://ambppct.org/arts.php |date=23 January 2016 }} "Meher Baba never wanted nor encouraged propaganda. The Trust does not, accordingly, work to promote creeds or dogmas, nor does it seek "converts"." Baba discouraged evangelizing, stating, "I need no propaganda or publicity."Baba, Meher (1954): [http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/realwork.html "What Baba Means by Real Work"] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928180109/http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/realwork.html |date=28 September 2011 }}), Universal Spiritual League in America, Inc. Rather, he encouraged his followers to "let your life itself be my message of love and truth to others"Luck, Irwin: "The Silent Master Meher Baba", 1967. p. 17 and to "spread my message of Love and Truth as far and wide as possible".Purdom (1964) p. 282. Though some followers of Meher Baba have no established rituals, others perform practices such as pujas, aartis, prayers, music, plays, and viewing films of Baba.Cohen (1977) pp. 152–154 The primary focus for many followers is living as Meher Baba would approve, such as by abstaining from marijuana and psychedelic drugs,Eastern Mysticism and the Resocialization of Drug Users: The Meher Baba Cult, Thomas Robbins, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Autumn, 1969), pp. 308–317 and trying to remember God with love.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

Gatherings of Baba followers are generally informal. Special effort is made to gather together on Amartithi, the anniversary of Baba's death, and on his birthday. Many Baba followers keep silent on 10 July (Silence Day), observing the request Baba frequently made of his followers during his lifetime.Kalchuri (1986) pp. 5476, 4933, 5609, 6465, 2294, 3179, 3864, etc. Aarti is performed morning and evening at Baba's samadhi in India. At Meherabad, his followers maintain Baba's practice of lighting a dhuni fire on the 12th of each month.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

Meher Baba had gained public attention in the West as early as 1932, due to contacts with celebrities of the time, and from the rather disillusioned account of Paul Brunton in his A Search in Secret India (1934).Brunton, Paul, A Search in Secret India, First published in England by Rider & Co., London, (1934), First American publication, New York, S. Weiser, (1935){{cite book |editor1-last=Kemp |editor1-first=Daren |editor2-last=Lewis |editor2-first=James R. |title=Handbook of New Age |date=2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-15355-4 |quote=Meher Baba came from a Zoroastrian background. He took a vow of silence in 1925, claiming to be the avatar for the present age, just like Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad had been in their time and place. His messianic teachings are recorded in Paul Brunton's A Search in Secret India (1951/1934). }}{{page needed|date=June 2023}} Baba received further attention posthumously via various mentions in Western pop-culture.{{Cite magazine|last=Townshend|first=Pete|date=26 November 1970|title=In Love with Meher Baba, by Pete Townshend|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/in-love-with-meher-baba-by-pete-townshend-237859/|access-date=18 February 2022|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=18 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218003240/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/in-love-with-meher-baba-by-pete-townshend-237859/|url-status=live}}

For example, Pete Townshend of the Who, became a follower of Baba and dedicated his 1969 rock opera Tommy to him in the gatefold.Tommy, The Who, Gatefold cover acknowledgements, 23 May 1969 The Who's 1971 song "Baba O'Riley" was named in part after Meher Baba,{{cite AV media notes|title=The Who: The Ultimate Collection|title-link=The Ultimate_Collection (The_Who_album)|author=The Who|year=2002|pages=12|publisher=MCA Records}} and Townshend recorded several Meher Baba tribute albums and music videos including Happy Birthday, I Am, Who Came First, With Love, and You Alone Exist.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thewho.info/PTAlbums.htm |title=The Who – Pete Townshend Albums |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-date=23 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423104131/http://www.thewho.info/PTAlbums.htm |url-status=live }}

In 1969, Indian filmmaker Jagat Murari co-produced the ethnographic film on Meher Baba titled The Awakener. The 35-millimeter, 118 minute found footage film was distributed by Films Division of India.{{Cite web |url=https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/700814.pdf|title=The Awakener – Meher Baba, Jagat Murari productions |access-date=24 October 2023}}

In 1970, Melanie Safka (stage name "Melanie") mentioned Baba in the spoken word intro to her song "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)". Listed as a standalone piece entitled "Candles in the Rain", the lyrics are "Meher Baba lives again".{{Cite web |url=http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/melanie+safka/candles+in+the+rain_20605400.html |title=Lyric Freaks – Melanie Safka Candles in the Rain Lyrics |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-date=26 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226030037/http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/melanie+safka/candles+in+the+rain_20605400.html |url-status=live }} Bobby McFerrin's 1988 Grammy Award–winning song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was inspired by Baba's adage, which has appeared on many posters and inspirational cards depicting him.Bruce Fessier, USA Weekend Magazine, 21–23 October 1988

Various Indian films produced by Edida Nageswara Rao have depicted Meher Baba's images.{{Cite news |date=8 August 2009 |title=Frame by frame |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/Frame-by-frame/article15919290.ece |url-status=live |access-date=2020-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308133632/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/Frame-by-frame/article15919290.ece |archive-date=8 March 2021}} Works such as Swathi Kiranam (1992) were exclusively filmed at the Meher Baba center in Tapeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, depicting life size images of Meher Baba.{{cite web|author=30 Jun 2011 – Ranjana Dave |url=http://www.asianage.com/dance/meaning-movement-323 |title=The meaning in movement |publisher=The Asian Age |date=30 June 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406122118/http://www.asianage.com/dance/meaning-movement-323 |archive-date=6 April 2012 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.mirchi9.com/movies/chit-chat-with-edida-nageswararao-parts3tv1/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320100029/http://www.mirchi9.com/movies/chit-chat-with-edida-nageswararao-parts3tv1/|url-status=dead|title=Chit chat with Edida Nageswararao Parts(3):TV1 | Mirchi 9 – Telugu TV Shows | Telugu Movie Trailers | Telugu Movie Interviews | Telugu Game Shows | Telugu Serials|archivedate=20 March 2014}}

Elements of Meher Baba's philosophy, as well as an unnamed character based upon him, have appeared in the works of comic book writer and screenwriter J. M. DeMatteis. Works particularly influenced by Baba include DeMatteis' scripts for Doctor Fate and DeMatteis creator-owned comic book Seekers into the Mystery.{{Cite web |url=http://www.jmdematteis.com/2013/02/avatar-meher-baba-short-answer.html |title=jmdematteis.com – Avatar Meher Baba: the Short Answer |access-date=27 August 2013 |archive-date=1 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301020843/http://www.jmdematteis.com/2013/02/avatar-meher-baba-short-answer.html |url-status=live }} The Theme of Creation (2005) was an American documentary film produced, written, edited and directed by Tim Thelen.{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/the-theme-of-creation-an-exploration-of-meher-baba-s-god-speaks-2005|title=The Theme of Creation: An Exploration of Meher Baba's 'God Speaks' (2005)|website=The A.V. Club}}{{Cite web|url=https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=origxorig:format=jpg/path/se80bcf7e1bbfb507/image/i8d4d400d66e5f3d1/version/1459066172/image.jpg|title=Tim Thelen, Filmmaker, White House Journal, Dec 1995|website=whitehousehistory.org}}

In 2012, the feature film Nema Aviona za Zagreb premiered in the Netherlands with an exclusive interview with Meher Baba filmed in 1967.[http://www.eyefilm.nl/nema-aviona-za-zagreb EYE film] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228011936/http://www.eyefilm.nl/nema-aviona-za-zagreb |date=28 December 2013 }} In the interview, Baba explains the difference between God-realisation and drug-induced hallucinationsKalchuri (1986) p. 6531Draaiboek, Nema Aviona Za Zagreb, Een film van Louis van Gasteren, Eeen Spectrum Film Publicatie, (2012), pp. 18–19. and the scene plays a pivotal role in the documentary's narrative.Seventy Fourth Family Letter, 1 September 1967, 82 Family Letters, Mani S. Irani, Sheriar Foundation, 1976. "The appearance of the Avatar in my film is more than functional, it is necessary, to give all the other happenings and sequences the final and right dimension." (Louis van Gasteren to Meher Baba in 1967)

"THE VISA – A Meher Baba film" was produced by Sufism Reoriented's American Young Adult Sahavas team in 2018, and stars followers of Meher Baba such as Natasha K. Mehta.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ99JJ1K6C4|title=THE VISA – A Meher Baba film|date=9 January 2019 |via=www.youtube.com}} Meher Filmworks produces and archives remastered film footage of Meher Baba.{{Cite web|url=https://www.meherfilmworks.org/|title=Meher Filmworks|website=www.meherfilmworks.org}}{{cite web | url=https://trustmeher.org/meher-baba-websites/meher-baba-online-resources-publications/meher-baba-media-websites/meher-film-works-2.php | title=Meher Film Works | date=13 August 2008 }}{{Cite web|url=http://mehermedia.com/video.html|title=Meher Baba Media :: Video|website=mehermedia.com}}

File:Upper Meherabad.jpg|Upper Meherabad, near Ahmednagar, India

File:Meherazad, Ahmednagar, India.jpg|Mandali House in Meherazad, Ahmednagar, India

File:Meher Baba's House.jpg|Meher Baba's House in Pune, India

File:Byramangala.jpg|Universal Spiritual Center in Byramangala, Karnataka, India

File:Meher Baba Cave Khajaguda.jpg|Meher Baba's Manonash Cave in Khajaguda, Hyderabad, India

File:Main Entrance, Meher Spiritual Center.jpg|Meher Spiritual Center Entrance in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA

File:Meher Baba Heartland center.jpg|Meher Baba Heartland Center in Prague, Oklahoma, USA

File:Meher mount.jpg|Meher Mount Center in Sulphur Mountain, Ojai, California, US{{Cite news |last=Netburn |first=Deborah |date=2025-02-26 |title=Looking to calm your mind? 6 places in Ojai to meditate, recharge and find peace |url=https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/list/spiritual-meditative-things-to-do-ojai-california |access-date= |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

File:Sufism Sanctuary.jpg|Sufism Reoriented Sanctuary in Walnut Creek, California, USA

File:Baba's House Avatars Abode.jpg|The Avatar's Abode in Kiels Mountain, Queensland, Australia

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin|2}}

• {{cite book |author= Abdulla, Ramjoo|title=Ramjoo's Diaries, 1922–1929: A Personal Account of Meher Baba's Early Work |publisher=Sufism Reoriented |year=1979}}
• {{cite book |author= Baba, Meher|title=Discourses |publisher=Sheriar Foundation |location=Myrtle Beach, S.C. |year=1987 |isbn=1-880619-09-1 |edition=7th }}
• {{cite book |author= Baba, Meher|title=Discourses |publisher=Sheriar Foundation |location=Myrtle Beach, S.C. |year=2007 |isbn= 978-1-880619-34-6 |edition=rev 6th }}
• {{cite book |author= Baba, Meher|title=God in a Pill? Meher Baba on L.S.D. and the High Roads |publisher=Sufism Reoriented, Inc |year=1966}}
• {{cite book |author=Baba, Meher |title=God Speaks |publisher=Sufism Reoriented |location=Walnut Creek, California |year=1997 |isbn=0-915828-02-2 }}
• {{cite book |author= Baba, Meher |title=Silent Master |publisher=Spartacus Educational Publishers |year=1989 |isbn=0-948867-25-6 }}
• {{cite book |author=Choquette, Diane |title=New religious movements in the United States and Canada: a critical assessment and annotated bibliography |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |year=1985 |isbn=0-313-23772-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newreligiousmove00choq }}
• {{cite book |author=Cohen, Allan Y. |title=The Mastery of Consciousness: An Introduction and Guide to Practical Mysticism and Methods of Spiritual Development |publisher=Harper & Row |location=San Francisco |year=1977 |isbn=0-06-090371-6 }}
• {{cite book |author=Donkin, William |title=The Wayfarers: Meher Baba with the God-Intoxicated |publisher=Sheriar Foundation |location=Myrtle Beach, S.C. |year=2001 |isbn=1-880619-24-5 }}
• {{cite book |author=Ellwood, Robert S. |title=Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location=New York|year=1973|isbn=0-13-615641-X }}
• {{cite book |author=Haynes, Charles C. |title=Meher Baba, the Awakener |publisher=Avatar Foundation, Inc |year=1993 |isbn=0-9624472-1-8 }}
• {{cite book |author= Kalchuri, Bhau |title=The Nothing and the Everything |publisher=Manifestation, Inc. |year=1982 |isbn=0-932947-02-6 }}
• {{cite book |author= Kalchuri, Bhau |title=Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba |publisher=Manifestation, Inc. |year=1986}}
• {{cite book |author=Landau, Rom |title= Magazine |publisher=Books for Libraries Press |location=Freeport, N.Y. |year=1972 |isbn=0-8369-2848-2 }}
• {{cite book |author=Purdom, Charles B. |title=The God-Man: The Life, Journeys & Work of Meher Baba with an Interpretation of His Silence & Spiritual Teaching |publisher=George Allen & Unwin |location=London |year=1964|isbn= 1-880619-36-9 }}
• {{cite book |author=Sutcliffe, Steven J. |title=Children of the New Age: A History of Alternative Spirituality |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=2002}}

{{Refend}}

{{Sister project links | wikt=no | commons=Meher Baba | b=no | n=no | q=Meher Baba | s=no | v=no | voy=no | species=no | d=no }}

• [https://avatarmeherbabatrust.org/online-library-2/ The Trust Online Library] Books by and about Meher Baba available as PDF files
• [http://www.theawakenermagazine.org/ The Awakener Magazine Archive] Principal Meher Baba magazine from 1953–1986
• [http://www.avatarmeherbaba.org/erics/glossary.html The Master's Glossary] Glossary of Meher Baba's terminology

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