JuLY — SEPTEMBER 1998

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“The streams of 1ife, with their ancient origin,are ever advancing onward through the formsthat come and go like the waves of the ocean.”

—Avatar Meher Baba

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Center Report

by Lois JonesPresident of the Board

The voting membership overwhelm-ingly approved the Center Opera-

tions and Provisional Renovation bud-gets. So, we are proceeding with plansto raise the funds needed to meet theconditions of our Conditional Use Per-mit.

We are pleased to announce that wehave completely paid off our secondmortgage in the amount of $25,000.00!The interest we were paying on that loanwill now be applied toward the principal on our remaining mortgage.

Meherabode is so beautiful in thespring and summer. It’s the perfect timeto visit during the day and picnic on thelawn! Do come and enjoy your Center.

-—-—

Jai Baba and Welcome!

T my surprise, we have heard aboutonly one new book released this

quarter. No audio tapes and no videotapes. That’s a first!

The new book is a very interestingand informative book written by JudithGarbett, who lives near Avatar’s Abodein Queensland, Australia. Judith hasspent much time with the womenmandali, and is a treasure-trove of stories about Baba’s closest loved ones. 11crnew book is entitledLives ofLove—TheWomen Mandali of Avatar MeherBaba. . . Stories of Their Lives and Recollections of Times Spent With Them.

This unique book is based on the stories the mandali told Judith spanning aperiod of 30 years—during her iñanyvisits to Meherabad and Meherazad, theEast-West Gathering and the Great

Darshan in Poona. To these stories shehas added her own recollections of eachof the mandali and the happy hoursspent in their company, as well as descriptions of Meherazad and Meherabad.

For those who have met Mehera,Mani and the others, this book will remind them of their own times withthem. And those who did not meet theseclose ones of Beloved Baba will gain atleast an idea of their beauty and what it

was like to be with them. The storieshave been checked by each of themandali, and sometimes even added toby one or another of them. The majorpart of this material has not been pub-lished previously. The chapters on

Baba Birthday Celebration at Meherabode

::From the Love Street Bookstore

by Dma Snow

Dma Snow

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continued on inside back cover...

pwelcome

A publication qf the Avatar Melter Baba Center of Soi.ithern (a1tfornia

£ov&Street LamJ2osrfeatures:

The Love Street LampPost is dedicated with

love to Avatar Meher Baba. Its primary pur

pose is to contribute to a sense of community

among all His lovers by providing a place for

sharing His remembrance. All the members of

the Baba family are invited to contribute to

this feast of Love.

Your stories, photos, art work, poetry, letters, articles,and humor are all actively solicited. We seek expressions of Baba’s message of Love & Truth.

Please submit your text on computer disks if possible(in any software format); typewritten copy on whitepaper is also acceptable. Be sure to clearly identify allsubmissions and credit every quote or reference.

submissions, subscriptions, donations:Love Street LampPost

Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California1214 South Van Ness AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90019—3520

213 731—3737— or —

BABABOOKS @ AOL.COM

deadlines:for the January — March issue: November 15th

April — June issue: February 15thJuly — September issue: May 15th

October — December issue: August 15th

Love Street Bookstore:Dma Snow (at the addresses above)

310 837—6419 between 7:00 & 11:00pm310 839—BABA(2222) 24 hour fax

BABABOOKS @ AOL.COM

credits:editors: Dma Snow & David McNeely

copy editor: Clea Sucoff & Marj Sucoffdesign & layout: David McNeely

electronic expertise: Thomas Hartdistribution: Chris Lyttle

Anita ViellardMessage from the Mandali

Dagmar Remembers Anita

Memories of Anita

Anita Vieillard

Anita Vieillard, Baba’s Loving Clown

Lyn OttLyn Ott: A Life Remembered

Lyn Ott

Services & Programs for Lyn Ott

In Appreciation of Lyn Ott

Lyn Ott

Janet LuckA Final Farewell

Letter from the Chapman’s

Janet “Mehery” Luck

Roman BabiakRoman Babiak Moves On

Roman’s Last Day

MikiMiki Follows Mansari

Special FeaturesMani’s Dream Book

Mani

Further Thoughts on Occultism

The Discourses: Seeds of Doubt

departments:Center Report

Step Inside the Love Street Bookstore

News From All Over

Poetry

Humor for lIuma

Children’s Corner

mandali 10

Dagmar Lai 10

Julann Lodge 10

Bhau Kalchuri 12

TomTalley 11

TomRiley 15

MaxReif 16

David Silverman 17

Greg Butler 18

KenNuenzig 18

GregDunn 21

Denise Pliskin 23

1-leatherNadel 26

Judith Garbett 28

Don Stevens 30

FlaggKris 33

2

2

4

Mickey Karger 24

Shireen Bonner 25

Barbara Richstad 27

I

Bhau Kalchuri 19

Sheryl and Rick Chapman 19

JeanBrunet 20,

JamesCox 23

News From All OverHappenings at Meher Mount Kendra Crossen Burroughs 4

Meher Baba Center in New Delhi Shar Wiseman 5

Pilgrimage Journal Jay Schauer 6

Happy 104th ! Jeff Maguire 36

Easter at Meherabode 38

The Cove$tre4J.amjJPosr as publishedquarterly, in January, April, July, and October. Allcontents © 1 996 Avatar Meher Baba Center ofSouthern California. All quotations of Avatar MeherBaba, or books, ©AMBPPCT, India

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Happenings at Meher Mount

by Kendra Crossen BurroughsMeher Mount, California

We were delighted to have RaineEastman-Gannett from Berkeley

here on April 18. Raine gave a benefitconcert for Meher Mount of ecstaticvocal hindu and Sufi music.

The day began with an introductorytalk during which Raine demonstratedsome principles of Indian music. Thiswas followed by a delicious home-styleIndian vegetarian dinner expertly preared by Shree and Bhanu, two volunteers from Ojai, and served outside!thank you Baba for a gloriously warmday). Then we had the concert, with anaudience of sixty-nine people filling theliving room. Raine’s sublime voiceseemed to me perfectly suited for sing-ing bhajans and ragas. She accompaniedherself on the harmonium while herhusband, Bill Gannett, played thetamboura. Raine charmed us with hertwinkly-eyed explanations of the lyrics.In one traditionalbhajan (“RangaJina”),the singer says, “Krishna, you’re beingvery naughty, miraculously changingthe colors of my sari just for fun. Mother-in-law knows very well what color mynew sari is supposed to be, and now cv-eryone at this wedding will know howyou’ve favored me, and they will curse

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“Krishna, you’re being verynaughty, miraculously

changing the colors of mysari jvstforfun. Mother-in-law knows very well whatcolor my new sari is sup-

posed to be...”

me, sojust stop it! I love you very much,I bow and touch your feet, but please,you must listen to me...”

In the second half Raine performedkawali and ghazals, including—to thesurprise and delight of many in the audience who had never heard of such athing—some English ghazals by FrancisBrabazon. Bill impressively recited aghazal of Hafiz in Persian, along with theEnglish translation. (I thought of it as aJewish ghazal, since the repeated phrasewas “Don’t ask! “) Everyone joined in onthe final song, “Allah I-lu.”

Over the past twenty years, in addition to singing Francis Brabazon’s songs,Raine has worked as a studio musicianand singer; has created her own choir,the Love Street Singers; has sung first

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soprano with the Oakland InterfaithGospel Choir; and has continued study-ing, performing, and teaching Indianclassical and devotional vocal music.

The weekend of May 2-3 she returned to Meher Mount for a workshopin Indian singing, and Jonathan and Iparticipated. Only one of the studentswas an experienced musician, and weinexperienced ones were amazed to findourselves actually reading the simplesaregam notation system in no time andsinging ragas and bhajans of Mira,Tulsidas, and others.

Jonathan and I had recently at-tended a bhajan party at the home ofan Indian friend in Ojai where wemuddled along trying to follow theirprinted sheets. Next time we’re going toreally impress them with our new skill!

Notefrom the editor: Everyone is welcomed at Meher Mt. Call Kendra CrossenBurroughs to arrange a visit: (805) 640-0000. And now you can visit MeherMount via the internet! Their home pageurl is http:llmembers.tripod.cornl-EzaWindex.html

Dhonna Marie Sehwertl On May 21, 1998, (the third anniversary of their first date of magical

& hour-long double rainbows over mountain and field!) before more thana hundred guests, and to the tune of “all you need is love” (Kermit’s

Ken Neunzig Rainbow Song), and Meher Baba’s words on love, Dhonna Marie

. Schwertl and Ken Neunzig were wed at the Unitarian Universalist sociMarried ety of Oneonta, New York. We welcome them to a new life in Baba.

There is a brightness that shines from India’s North,shedding light on the poor, the hungry and the disad

vantaged of that area. It is Baba’s Love, and it radiatesfrom the city of New Delhi.The collective efforts of theNew Delhi Baba community in developing a Center therefor his work have been phenomenal. Kussum Mohkam Singhdescribes the building that houses the Center as a three-story site, consisting of five bedrooms, a dispensary, a sew-ing school and a large basement for conferences and meals.There is a Prayer hail with a beautiful Charles Mills paint-ing of Beloved Baba. A kitchen, a caretakers room, and aterrace are on the top floor. And of course, there is a ii-brary.

The rest of the New Delhi Center is in a half-finishedstate, but is coming along nicely. The final plastering on thelast floor is being completed. Kusum is looking forward tocovering the terrace with seven-color plastic sheets. AdeleWolkin provided the very first book for the Center library,and the Center has purchased most of the major books cx-cept for the 6th and 7th edition of Lord Meher. Many morebooks are needed, as well as furniture. The Sewing Schoolhas four sewing machines, but the students sit on the groundon mats. The Center currently rents a video machine toshow Baba movies once a week. They are looking forwardto the day when the library has its own Video/TV.

In commemoration of Meher Baba’s first public darshanin Delhi in 1952, the Center hosted a “Meher Mela” Sahavasprogram on December 1-3. Many Baba lovers came fromthe West and stayed at the New Delhi Baba Center for thecelebration. This past year, Baba Lovers have traveled toNew Delhi from all over the world.

The New Delhi Baba Center provides many vital servicesto the area, including feeding the poor on the last Sunday ofevery month, and a community lunch every month. TheCenter’s dispensary is fully furnished and has been opera-tional for the past two and a half years, treating over 4,000patients in that time. Five doctors donate their services,and are assisted by volunteers from the Center. The mcdi-cines are provided by the Center.

For six months, the Center also had a day care servicefrom 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. for working domestic women whosechildren were roaming the roads. The kids were from twoand a half to six years of age. They were given bananas,biscuits and one nutritious meal per day, and of courseBaba’s Love. Unfortunately their water well failed, and thisprogram has been postponed. Once the water situation issolved, the Center plans to start this much-needed programonce again.

With all of the trials and tribulations this Center hasbeen through, this is certain. . . .Baba’s Nazar is there, andthe love and devotion of the Center’s volunteers flow freelyto the poor, the needy, and all who seek Baba’s Love andkindness. The Light of Compassion truly lives in the heartsof His Lovers.

Meher Baba Center,New Delhi:

The Light ofLove

by Shar WisemanMeher Ridge

Billings, Montana

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M wife and I recently realized a ful as ever. Although some of the resi- sweet wonderful man. lie is in exactlylong-held dream of taking our dents described stress and strain from the same health I’ve always seen; that

whole family to Mcherabad together. the unexpected influx of pilgrims (I is, he still weighs in at about 14 pounds,Following are a few notes I’ve jotted think 130 or so were scheduled to stay and has that same bird-like and flutterydown about my pilgrimage. through Baba’s birthday), none of the fragile-as-blown-glass tough-as-nails

We arrived in Bombay in the middle strain showed through. quality. Very lively and engaged. Wrap-of the night as always. Got picked up at The samadhi is just as wonderful as ping his head with scarves and hats,the airport in the Swanee by the nice ever. Just the center of the earth. It was wearing sweaters, and all this when it’sdriver sent by Irene et al. in the Trust an unparalleled and unexpected bless- about 150 degrees outside.office. Drove to the Leela. In the coffee ing to see my whole family one by one Also saw Goher. She is fading like theshop my family (sons Tim (7) and Kip- laying their heads at Baba’s feet. cheshire cat. Her smile and supremelyper (15), daughter Annika (21), and wife Delivered a letter to Bhau from Ziek soft and gentle hands remain, but theBarbara) and I were seated next to a and Tony about their wedding. Bhau rest of her is becoming nearly transpartable of four bleary-eyed Americans. I looking (slightly) skinnier, but just as ent, as insubstantial as tissue paper. Ifoverheard them talking about North round and bouncy as ever. you want to see her, you’d better moveCarolina, my home state, and butted in. I went to evening arti. fast.Turned out that they were all Baba by- L00000000NG lines. Meheru giving slingshot lessons toers heading to Ahmednagar, same as us. Next day, Meherazad. A wonderful the boys. Arnavaz just beaming. Katy

Outside the hotel as we saddled up quiet day. Spent a delightful little bit of looking wonderful. Aloba looking everto go, we bumped into two more pil- time with Bal. I’d been reading his book more disheveled, like an ex-prize fightergrims. One of them was an American on the Samadhi and I told him that it hanging around the gym.from—of all places—Durham, North was one of the best books on Baba I’ve Of course, another incomparableCarolina. It turned out that Barbara and ever read. lIe calls the picture of Baba blessing, seeing these astonishing livingI had been his Baba connection, and this lying in state at the tomb “Baba’s Uni- saints greet my children.was his first trip to India. I don’t think I versal Face.” This really resonates in The new no-hug rule is not beingcould have been more surprised. me, in a challenging and incomprehen- strictly enforced; it seems a comfort

So 1 1 of us in four cars caravanned sible way. As we talk, Bal says that the designed to give the mandali permissionto Ahmednagar. Baba lovers he meets are, for him, to back off from the demanding pres

The Pilgrim Center was as wonder- “Baba’s Living Discourses.” What a sure of us needy, greedy Baba lovers.

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People now rightly regard a hug from amandali as a special act, and seem tome to be more gentle and attentive whenone occurs.

A big thrill for me is singing at thetomb. There were lots and lots of musicians there and we all have this desireto do our bit in front of the Old Man, tolay the offering of our sincere, mediocrc music at his feet. lie spins all ourstraw into gold. The music is wonder-ful. Lots of Indian music, much of whichseems to go on forever, sung from hand-written books of lyrics, often page afterpage. The long-time pilgrims’ and residents’ eyes glaze over. Also some teen-aged violinist from U.K. plays and playsand plays and plays. Very beautiful, butas she plays variation after variation,people get very agitated about whetherthey’ll get their big chance tonight ornot. I think of what it must have beenlike at Darshan programs, like in themovies: standing in line for hours andhours to have only five seconds at theGod-Man’s feet, how sometimes, just assomeone is weeping and covering hisfeet with garlands, Baba is distracted byAdi or Eruch, not even (apparently)looking at the lover.

Many mornings a Ute (Native Amen-can) chanted, accompanying himself onan hndian drum which he played like atom-tom. Also a woman played a Tibetanbrass “singing bowl,” by striking it, am-plifying the ring by circling the rim witha wooden dowel, then sitting down, justlike that. Also someone has shiepped aharp to India—”tnavel size” she calls it—

but it’s still amazing.. .the clean, small,pure tones of the harp in the morningair, echoing softly inside the tomb.

For the first time I notice how muchfat is used in preparing the PC’s delight-ful and tasty meals. This means, I be-lieve, that I am now an Official Middle-Aged Geezer. It doesn’t stop me fromsucking down six to eight eggs at a time,and mounds and mounds of french fries,however. I’m on pilgrimage, so thehealth consequences are entirely Baba’sproblem, not mine.

Despite my best efforts I get yankedinto singing in the chorus for this Birth-day Play that’s being put on. Every as-pect of this play, as I hear about it, irni

tates me. I have very emphatic opinionsabout theatre in general and plays byBaba lovers in particular, and this playis pressing all my buttons. It’s just toomuch. Nevertheless, kicking andscreaming internally, I begin practicingthe big choral number being recordedfor the opening and closing of this pro-duction. The bass line (my line) is justabout unsingable. I’ve had an easier timefinding the notes in Ives and Shoenbergchorales. I get the distinct feeling thatthis big Birthday Play is just a giantboondoggle designed by Baba to irritatemy theatre aesthetics.

More trips to Meherazad. I get mychance to see Enuch. I’ve really wantedto see him. And of course, he sees mywhole family, and makes jokes to meabout them as he hugs them one by one.I can’t imagine being happier.

Impressions about Eruch’s health aremixed. Barbara thinks he looks betterthan ever. . .1 think he looks like hishealth is failing, particularly his muscular control, but I see that he has developed a skillful ability to compensatefor these weaknesses in a way thatseems very natural and designed to putpilgrims at ease. lie leans casuallyagainst the wall in Mandali Ihall, restinghis butt on a window sill, rather than gothrough the challenge of sitting andstanding, for example. He no longerbows at Baba’s chair. I begin to detect,or think that I detect, dozens of littletricks like that. Later I see him nearlyfalljust trying to climb a step unassisted,and it confirms my impression that hehas carefully reduced his motions to asmall set which he concentrates on cx-ecuting precisely and consistently.

My wife, and others, think I’m over-doing the whole thing.

Eruch doesn’t even pretend the no-

hug rule exists. lie hugs everybody en-thusiastically, clapping the men on theback, roughhousing with the kids. It isquite wonderful. Quite an honor.

Eruch, I notice, likes to call people“brother,” while Bal likes to call them“friend.”

Davonna has really stepped up asEnuch’s assistant. She is quite wonder-ful. They’ve got a whole schtick goingnow—sort of George and Gracie in

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Mandali hail. She tells Eruch’s storieswhile Eruch nods, grunts, disagrees,teases her, adds little details. The storyis told wonderfully and the burden ofconstant storytelling isn’t so much onEruch’s shoulders. Even thoughDavonna is telling the story, her focusis so much on Eruch, it’s as though,when it’s done, Eruch had done thewhole tale and Davonna had done nothing. She has taken on a lot of Eruch’shosting duties as well, asking wherenewcomers are from, how they heard

about Baba, etc. The elegance and craftof this effort is very touching and veryloving. I feel so cared for.

News that Anita Viellard has died hasjust reached Meherazad, so Eruch andDavonna recount the story ofAnita tell-ing Baba that she wants to kill herself.Baba says go ahead, do it now by placing your head at my feet. . .now go andlive the rest of your life as new. Babacalls this the suicide of the brave. Eruchand Davonna then suddenly rememberthe story of the woman who calls theTrust office at the end of her pilgrim-age. Although she’s been at Mandali hailfor many hours over the course of days,she begs one final story from Eruch onher 21st birthday. Eruch, pressed fortime and not a little pissed by the in-convenience, recites this same story toher over the telephone. Later on JackSmall reports that this woman told himhow she had made up her mind years

before that she would end her life onher 21st birthday unless she got someclear sign from God that her life wasworth living. Eruch’s story of Anita washer sign.

Both Eruch and Davonna are amazedas they tell this story—they haven’tthought of it in years. I feel compelledto speak up and say that I have been toIndia five times in 15 years, and everytime I get to Mandali hall, this is thefirst story I hear. I tell them I don’t be-lieve that they even have any other sto

ries.At tea in the PC

one afternoon,Charlie Gardnertells a story. Some-one asked Baba whyMehera’s love was sospecial, and Baba replied, when I askGoher for a drink ofwater, she immediately drops whatevershe’s doing and goesto the water andfetches me a glass.But when I askMehera for a drink,she goes to the cup-board where shekeeps the special

glass that only I use. Even though shewashes the glass every day to keep itsparkling clean, she polishes it with thespecial cloth she keeps next to the glass.Then she pours cool water in the glass,but not to the brim, because she alsopours in a few drops of warm water be-cause she knows that’s how I like thetemperature best.

Charlie went on to say that one dayBaba, after receiving some water fromMehera (who had been cooking), remarked that the water had a faint scentof garlic. It was an offhand remark, butfrom that day forward Mehera nevertouched a clove of garlic again.

The next day in Meherazad, I talk abit with Goher and Arnavaz, and on awhim I step into Mehera and Mani’sroom. That story came back to me as Ilook at Mehera’s bed. I’ve never feltmuch affection for Mehera, she was justtoo hard for me to understand. Too femi

nine maybe? Anyway, staring at her bed,I get a picture of her in my head. Glassesof water for Baba. It’s as though her lovefor Baba, all-consuming all-pervasive,was somehow something I could feel!see!smell in that room. I’m bowled over.I sit down next to Mani’s bed and I’mbowled over again. Mani and Meheralived in that room, but there’s so littlesign of them. The only sign of them areall these mementos of Baba—pictureshung on the walls, taped to mirrors.Twenty-five years after IIis departureand their lives were still focused onlyon Ilim. So little else of them remains.The power of their love and their dedication hits me like a ton of bricks. I weepuncontrollably for about 30 minutes. Ifeel like an idiot.

Finally I pull myself together enoughto decide I need to get out of there. Ineed to go someplace where there isn’tso much Baba. For the next 10 or 15minutes I walk around Meherazad look-ing for that place where there isn’t somuch Baba. Come to find out it’s a prettyfutile effort. Walking around, however,seems to help me get control of my tears.

People inform me that Eruch hasbeen looking for me in Mandali Ilall. lIewanted me to tell a story, but by the timeI get back he’s on to other topics, so I sitand listen. Good thing because I keepfading back into tears. It’s that damnedstory about the glass of water; it won’tgo away.

Eruch talks about his medical eon-dition—he calls his myesthenia “MySin” for short. And about how difficultit was for him to be with Baba. lie foundthat to obey Baba he would shade thetruth and sometimes lie outright if hefelt that the situation demanded it toobey Him. “Where’s Jay?” Eruch askedduring this part of the story. lie foundme and looked squarely at me. “I beganto lie. . .do you hear me, Jay? I began tolie. . . “ He repeated this question to mea couple of times during the story of howbadly he felt about lying to obey Baba.

Baba told him that his work with Ilislovers was like making sugar. The stalksare boiled, and as they boil, scum comesto the surface of the pot and is scoopedoff, until many hours and scoops of scumlater, all that remains is the sweet sugar

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syrup. Baba told Eruch that his lying waslike the scum boiling to the surface ofthe pot.

As we eat lunch on the veranda, Ineed some water, and pour myself aglass. That does it. . I’m a completewreck for the next hour or so.

Barbara tells me that Mani called this“melting.”

On Sunday evening Barbara and Igarland Baba, Mehera, and Mani’s tombat the same time that Ziek and Tony aregetting married on the other side of theplanet.

One morning, sitting at the tomb inthe early light, I was so touched andhonored and surprised by the unexpected beauty of being there with thatstrange collection of odd and wonderfulpilgrims, all of us facing the tomb asthough were seeing the very hub of theworld’s wheel. My family. My home.

Lots of pilgrims for Baba’s birthday.Moved to llostel C. Discovered its won-derful charms—dining al fresco, bath-ing al fresco, but hot water on tap. Verypleasant. The huge dorm with 15 bedswas quieter than the room of four per-sons I left at the PC.

Also discovered a whole class of pugrims I found very intriguing—all these20-year-oldAustralian women. . cheerful,self-reliant, compact, playful, sweet. Iwonder whether they’re typical of allAustralians this age, or whether this isa special breed apart that has found itsway to Meherabad.

Baba’s birthday. The tomb was deco-rated for a party. Very wonderful flow-ers—rows of garlands draped from theawning over the portico, and signs, ban-ners, etc. One sign had fanciful lettersthat nearly everyone read as “IOU”—kind of a profound statement, I thought.Turned out to be “104” (years old), veryoddly embroidered.

Drummers from the town ofArangoan paraded up the hill. Soundedlike a huge marching band. I chased upthe hill to see the excitement, and foundthat it wasn’t (as it seemed) hundredsof people, but two young men with bassdrums and a very loud and energetictechnique.

It was amazing to see the mandalivisiting the tomb. The men in particu

lar were so offhand about coming to thetomb. They just came to the hill one byone, took darshan, and hung around,chatting with people who happened by.Seeing that a long line was forming fordarshan, I ducked into line myself. Theguy in front of me turned and saidhello—it was Bal Natu ( !). As we got tothe threshold, somebody started push-ing a bunch of us inside, for some rca-son I never figured out. I stood next toBal while the four or five of us in thetomb individually took darshan, andstood next to Bal as he prostrated him-self. Naturally I did the same—what arole model...

And the Birthday Play. I draggedmyself to go to it feeling like the prisoner to his last meal. What a shock: Iloved it! Every aspect of it was so heart-felt, so pure of intention, that all my cx-pectations of irritation just vanished.The music was sweet and enjoyable, theactors charming, the play was light andunselfconscious. I had a wonderful timeenjoying it.

It so happened that I chanced to seeeach group of mandali get into their carsto return to Meherazad. It seemed verysurprising to see these astonishing human beings get into such ratty old cars.Bhau’s 1951 Oldsmobile or whatever itis used to look very prosperous (15 yearsago, any kind of enclosed vehicle had acertain cachet in Ahmednagar). Nowwith all the Tata sportutes on the road,it looks like a major jalopy. Very cool, Imust say. Also all the ladies squeezinginto their DeSoto like clowns into a circus car. A 1958 DeSoto for pete’s sake.Complete with drawstring curtains. IlowBaba treats his near and dear ones.

The lines for darshan around Birth-day Artis. . astonishing. Waits of waymore than an hour—sometimes almost2 hours.

For our last visit to the tomb beforeleaving I’ve forgotten to order garlandsfrom Nanakar, so I buzz down to FlowerStreet at the bazaar and start buyingroses. I can’t get enough. . . “Keep ‘emcoming,” I tell the flower-wallahs as theyhold up bunch after bunch of roses, con-vinced I’ve lost my mind. I finally get ahuge basket of about 500 roses (400 rupees = U.S. $10!). At arti the next morn-

ing I ask people to help put these roseson the tombs. Most take one or two budsfrom the basket. I get impatient and startshoveling roses from the basket intopeople’s hands. It’s rose time at thesamadhi ! Roses all over the place ! It’s anice way to leave.

People sing “Ilappy Trails” to us. I’vecried in sympathy while singing it to othcr5, but now I hear it with so much hap-piness, tears run down my cheeks.

Finally, the return trip. I’m con-vinced that Bombay is just Satan’s way

of beta-testing prototypes for newcircles of hell. We arrived at the Leelaand hung around waiting for flights likeevery other westerner in Maharashtra.My young son Tim got a vanilla milkshake at the coffee shop. As he drankit, he found pieces of garlic floating init (hmmmmmm....). The showers at thehealth club are the best I’ve ever taken—perfect plumbing. Nothing is more pleas-ant—or sad—than washing off theAhmednagar dust. At the piano bar inthe lobby, on a bet, I sang “Begin theBeguine” at the top of my lungs and thewhole placed looked on. It was seveno’clock and I think of that as my Bombaygoodbye arti. The whole lobby applauded, but I’d rather have heard

Avatar Meher Baba ki Jai!

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The most important thing in Anita’s- life was Meher Baba. Meeting himduring her youth certainly changed herlife, and several months spent withHim—in Italy and in France—becameher most important memory. She had alovely closeness to him and had the giftto make him laugh. Tier greatest happiness was to be able to speak again andagain of her memories.

When Anita loved someone, she wasadorable, very warm, a real heart companion. When she did not like someone,she was entirely sincere and said whatshe thought. I had the good fortune tobe loved by her, and I loved her, too. Shewas my first contact with the Baba family, and her warm greeting—withoutknowing me in the beginning—completely enchanted me.

Our friendship lasted for 22 years.In difficult or painful moments of my life,she sustained me with her love. She was,for instance, the first person outside ofmy family to visit my daughter Laura,located at that time in a specialized nurscry. She had, moreover, a very specialrelationship with Laura. They had longconversations together: Laura spoke toher of her real worries, and Anita gaveadvice which Laura listened to.

The death of Roger was a deep woundfor Anita, and it took her a long time toget over it. For a while, she did not men-tion Baba. Then, little by little she sawthat Baba had not abandoned her, andher life took on another dimension.When she spoke again of Baba, it waswith deepened love and understanding.

She told of one day when Baba askedher, “Anita, if I asked you to go aboutcompletely nude, would you do it?” Andshe replied, “With your help, Baba.” AndI think this is what it was, the deep real-ization at the end of her life: that Babahad—already at that time in her life—prepared her to be completely naked,that is to say, alone without Roger, andthat Baba’s help for her was there.

I was not there when, on one moreoccasion, she was hospitalized in the fallof ‘97, but she told me afterwards thatat that time she was certain she wasdying, and that this experience had removed all fear of death. She wished onlynot to return to the hospital and not todie alone. This wish was granted, as shedied in her bed without suffering, in thepresence of her dear friend Anne.

I think she was able to leave in peaceto rejoin her beloved Roger and her be-loved Meher Baba.

Memories of Anitaby Julann Lodge

San Diego, California

I am very sad to hear about Anita’sdeath. Anita played an important role

in my coming to Baba. It’s actually kindof a funny story...

Before I knew Baba, I decided thatTIe was either (1) an egomaniac, (2)crazy, or (3) who The said lie was. I fig-ured that I could probably tell a lot aboutBaba based on the kind of followers lieattracted, so I decided to go to a Babameeting.

After the Baba meeting started, Iquickly concluded that Baba was crazy.I stayed away for another year. A yearlater I was in Paris with my friendMehera Makeig, who was my originalBaba connection. She invited me tocome with her to drop in on an elderlylady who had known Baba. As I hadnothing else to do that day, and Icouldn’t see the harm in an old lady, Idecided to join her.

Well, let me tell you how impressedI was with her. She was the embodimentof culture, and she made a huge impression on me. She was refined, elegant,intellectual, and knew many of the famous artists and thinkers of her time. Iwas so impressed that I thought, “Well,if this woman believes that Meher Babawas God and she met IIim herself, thenHe must be God.”

I’m going back to Paris in April, andI’ll be sad that I won’t be able to see heragain.

@ t ( 3 ! t (b

Thank you for your phone message ful personality, bubbling humor, andand fax of 18 Feb. about Baba’s dear her unique gift of amusing Baba. Both

Message from the Anita’s reunion with him. Last evening Anita and Roger will long beat Arti the women mandali placed a spe- bered for their gracious hospitality

Mandali cial rose on Beloved Bab&s bed in his extended to all Baba-Lovers.room on behalf of IIis dear Chuchulu We in Meherazad salute Baba’swho loved her cher Baba from the mo- Chuchulu’s love for him with a unitedment of his embrace. We are happy that “Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai ! ! !“

. Baba granted her wish to be at home With much love to you and LauraTo : Dagmar Laiuntil her last. how blessed she is to have and dear Norman who were such aMeherazad 19 February 1998loved the Lord of Love all these years. help and support to Anita, from all

Dear Anita will be specially remem- Meherabad men and women mandali.Dear Dagmarbered by the Baba family for her delight-

______________

Dagmar Remembers Anitaby Dagmar Lai

Paris, Francetranslated by Don E. Stevens

[This article originally appeared in “The Echo,” which is published by the ParisMeher Baba group. ©1998 Don Stevens, used by permission—ed.]

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Anita Vieillard, Baba’s Loving Clown

by Tom TalleyMyrtle Beach, South Carolina

Compiledfrom talks given by Anita Vieillard at Meher Spiritual Centerin 1 982, 1 987, and 1 988, and at the L.A. Silence Day Sahavas in 1982.

I 1931, Anita de Caro was a youngAmerican art student. TIer primary in-

terests in life were art and painting, andher religious background was Catholic.She was acquainted with NormaMatchabelli through their mutual inter-est in art. One day Norma told her thatsomeone very extraordinary was corn-ing from India, a spiritual master namedShri Meher Baba. Although not a spin-tual seeker, Anita was intrigued andasked if she might be able to meet him.

On November 1 1 she was brought toIharmon-on-Iludson to meet Baba. liennervousness about meeting him wasquickly overcome as soon as the dooropened and she saw Baba. She had animmediate feeling of familiarity withhim. Baba opened his arms to her andshe flew into This embrace. She was sohappy she felt as if she was burning, asif she was on fire.

Baba said to her, “Do you know whoI am?” And she replied, “Yes, Baba.” Thesaid, “Who am I?” She said, “You arethe source of all goodness.”’

Then she sat at his feet, as if it wasthe most natural thing in the world, asif she had always sat there. Later dun-ing that first meeting Baba asked hen,“What do you want to do?” And she replied, “Baba, I’d like to be an artist.” Sohe said, “You’re going to paint My portrait.” She was taken aback by this request because she hadn’t studied pontrait painting and didn’t feel qualified topaint Baba, but she did not dare say no.

(Later she would comment that this washer first lesson in obedience.) Baba con-tinued, “You come in a couple of dayswith your paint box and you’ll paint Me.”

After that first meeting, as shewalked out of the room, she felt such ajoy that it was “. . . as if the whole worldhad changed. I saw everything golden,everything was on fine. I myself wantedto write poetry, I wanted to say poetry.”’

In a couple of days Anita returnedto harmon to paint Baba’s portrait. “Iarrived with my paint box and themandali were seated in a corner, and Iarrived and Baba posed. Now it wassomething very extraordinary to seeBaba. lie looked at me and I looked atITim. I have no recollection of time. Icouldn’t tell you how much time it took.All I know, that I was painting and look-ing at him, and what was so fascinatingwas that, you know, the skin changed,the colon changed, the eyes would goback, and then the eyes would comeforward. I found it most difficult, but atleast I tried. And after a while, Baba said,‘Be stopped.’ I didn’t even think of show-ing it to Baba. I took the portrait, put itin my paint box. I said to TIim, ‘But noone can paint you.’ And lie said to me,‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Because you are even-changing.’ And The said, ‘Yes, I am ever-changing.’ And lIe looked and He

pointed to the nature, and The said, ‘Itoo am an artist.’ “

Baba asked Anita to come back toharmon any time she had a spare moment. So she would come often, andspent a great deal of time in Baba’s presence. “I didn’t realize I was so fortunate.I didn’t take that as something extraordinary. To me, it was very natural. It wasnatural the joy that I experienced withHim. . . TIe would take my head [andpress on it, much to Anita’s delight] , andI wouldn’t be serious, and Norma some-

times would be shocked. She said, ‘Youknow, darling, you have very bad man-nens. Now you have to control yourself.’But Baba didn’t mind at all. lIe toldNorma just to keep still and I should bethe way I was.”’

It was at this time that Anita beganhen role as Baba’s clown. “It was mostdelightful, because Baba would alwayswink at me, and lie inspired me withsuch joy that if I saw Ihim a little bit sadI would immediately think of somethingto sort of, you know, make him happy.”

For example, Baba coughed one dayand Anita quipped, “Baba, that’s wh-atyou get for talking too much.” On an-other occasion, Baba asked to be drivenaround Sing-Sing Prison while lie didsome inner work of contacting one ofthe inhabitants there. Afterwards, Babasaid to her, “Anita, make me laugh.” Andshe found that whenever Baba madesuch a request, she would feel inspiredto naturally and instantaneously nespond with some bit of nonsense, inventsome incredible stony, that would amuseBaba.’

Another time, Anita wasn’t feelingvery well and Baba came to give hensomething to drink, and Baba put hisfinger in the drink and stirred it beforegiving it to her. “I’m glad it’s God’s fin-gen,” she said, much to Baba’s amuse-ment.’

Anita used to spend a lot of time withNorma, going to art exhibitions, etc. Butlater, when Norma became friends withElizabeth Patterson, through their con-nection with Baba, these two wouldspend a lot of time going places and do-ing things connected with Baba’s work,and Anita would be left behind and

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asked to take care of Norma’s cat. Soone day Anita told Baba, “You knowBaba, I’mjealous ofElizabeth,” and Babasaid, “Go right now and kiss Elizabeth.”1Anita went outside to where Elizabethwas sitting and kissed her on eachcheek, and as she did so, she felt thatBaba was inwardly communicating toher, “This is my work, and Elizabeth isyour sister, and Norma is your sister, andshe has work to do.”2 After that Anita’sfeelings of jealousy towards Elizabethdisappeared.

Once when Anita and Norma weretogether and getting ready to go and staywith Baba, Anita was present during arather stormy telephone conversationbetween Norma and her husband,Prince Georges Matchabelli. Georgeswas opposed to Norma’s involvementwith Baba, but Norma was adamantabout going to be with him anyway. Atthe end of the conversation, Norma appeared devastated. She told Anita thather husband had said, “lie’s seducedyou, and now lie’s going to seduce Anitaalso ! “ After that, Norma just spent dayslying in bed listening to sad classicalmusic up until the time they were to goand meet Baba. When they met Baba,Norma told him the whole story. Babareplied, “The physical seduction is noth

ing. But the spiritual seduction?Ahhhhhhh ... [indicating blissj” Every-one laughed and it brought Norma outof her depression.3

In the Summer of 1933 Anita wasamong those called to come and staywith Baba at a beautiful seaside villa inPortofino, Italy. For Anita, being in thatbeautiful setting with Baba was likeheaven. She describes the Baba of thosedays as young, walking with a tremendous stride, radiant, and full of energyand vitality.

When they first arrived Norma toldher, “Look darling, now this place is veryexpensive. So see that everybodydoesn’t make too much of a mess.” ThenAnita noticed some beautiful flowersand thought wouldn’t it be nice to cutsome and put them on the table forBaba. But as she reached up to get a vasefrom high up on a cupboard the wholecupboard fell, spilling all the dishes onthe floor. Everyone came running to seewhat had happened. Anita didn’t darelook at Norma. She looked at Baba, cx-pecting to be chastised, but Baba caressed her face and sent her to go andrest.’

Another of Norma’s concerns had todo with the name of one of Baba’smandali members, Kaka Baria, usually

referred to as just “Kaka.” Norma wasvery uncomfortable with using thisname while they were in southern Eu-rope, because in Spanish it is the wordfor excrement. She conferred with Anitaabout what to do, “Anitina [Normawould often address her with the Italian version of her namel , don’t you thinkwe should tell Baba that that is a wordthat we can’t use?” But Anita thought itmight be upsetting for Kaka if he knewabout it. So they decided just to startcalling him “Uncle Kaka.”’

On one especially gorgeous day inPortofino, Anita was sitting outside look-ing at the landscape. It was very beautiful and she was feeling happy. Then Babacame and sat beside her, which madeher even happier. Baba said, “You know,Anita, I am both God and man.” She wasshocked. She replied, “Baba, I don’t understand You as a man. how can I understand You as God?” Then, in a humorous vein, she said, “Baba, You don’thave to say these things to me. You knowI love You anyway. What does it mat-ter? You know, we all make mistakes inlife. You know, these things are of noimportance.” Baba called the mandaliover and told them, “You know whatAnita said? She doesn’t care at allwhether I’m God or man. And she even

Anita Vicillardby Bhau Kalehuri

Kushru Quarters, India

group of six people came to meetaba at Croton harmon on Novem

ber 11th 193L Among them was NormaMatchabelli, who brought a young ladynamed Anita de Caro.* Anita was a talented art student in whom Norma hadtaken an interest and was helping financially. On one occasion, Anita recalledher first encounter with Meher Baba.

I had been brought up Catholic. Know-ing I was about to see him—all of a suddenI was frightened. I thought: “If this is such agreat religious man, how am I to behave? Ican’t shake hands with him. The only thingto do is kneel. I’ll make the sign of the crossand say ‘Bless me, Father,’ and kiss hishand.”

go through all this masquerading andfear when it’s you! It’s incredible!” And Ilaughed and laughed.

Baba opened up his arms and welcorned me. I was absolutely enrapturedand felt a tremendous sense of joy. Mywhole being felt as if I was in a furnace.Words cannot describe the encounter.It was like meeting someone I alwaysknew, as though I had come to my realhome. I experienced a great beauty andgreat joy.

*Anjta later married and as-sumed her French husband’sname—Vieillard

My heart was pounding with fear. Thedoor opened. Baba was seated Persian fashion. I looked at him and went into peals oflaughter. I laughed and threw myself on him.“My heavens! it’s you,” I cried. “You made me

Lord Meher Vol. 4Pg. 1474-1476

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says, you know, I could have made amistake, and she loves me anyway” 2

The group used to take lovely walkswith Baba when they were in Portofino.On one of these walks, Baba decided totake a narrow path along the seasidecliffs. Anita and three others went withhim. They reached a point where thepath had given way.Baba and an Indianboy were able to jumppast it, but whenllerbert Davy andVivienne tried, theygot stuck and were leftclinging to a shrub anda tree, with a probablyfatal drop to the seabeneath them. Anita,seeing herbert andVivienne’s predicament, just stayedwhere she was and saton a small rock, look-ing out at the sea. Shethought to herself,“Well, if Baba is wholie is, nothing willhappen. And if it does,I won’t die a coward.”She kept reciting, “Acoward dies a thou-sand deaths, a hero .

only one,” over andover in her mind.’

Then suddenlyPendu arrived with a rope to pull eachone up. And when Anita was pulled upand she saw Baba, it was an amazingsight. lie was clapping his hands andfacing the sun, and his clothes appearedbrilliantly white, and somehow lie wastransfigured into a vision of perfectbeauty. “. . . the most beautiful sight Ihave ever seen. No picture, nothing canever give me the beauty that I saw.” 2

Later, in October 1933, Baba saidAnita was to go to an art school in Zurichwhile the rest of the group continuedon to Spain. Anita protested, “Baba,Switzerland is such a small place, andso far away.” Baba said, “You’re going toSwitzerland. It will be lovely for you.”When the time came for her to leave shewas heartbroken and cried her heartout, but there was no changing it. Baba

escorted her into a taxi and lie put hishead in and indicated to her not to cry.The taxi man looked at Anita and said,“Mademoiselle, don’t cry, you’ll see yourfather again.”’

At first she didn’t like it at the schoolin Zurich, but after a while she madefriends and came to enjoy life in Swit

zerland.Baba visited Zurich in July 1934.

When Baba went to do inner work inseclusion on Fallenfluh mountain, lIeasked Anita to stay behind and rest inbed and fast until lIe returned. Whenlie returned, she was astonished at hisappearance. “ht was simply glorious.When Baba arrived I looked at him andI said, ‘Baba, what authority You have.’The had such authority; lie was so radiant. And Baba said to me, ‘Yes, but realauthority means having great responsibilities.’ “

Later, Baba instructed Anita to go toParis and continue her art studies there,and wait until Baba called her to cometo India. But when the call finally came,it was to meet Ihim in Cannes in August1937.

In Paris she had met her future husband, Roger Vieillard. Roger studied lineengraving at the same art school thatAnita attended, and he also worked andwas a tennis champion. She had toldRoger about Baba, so Roger accompanied Anita to Cannes to meet him.Roger was very impressed with Baba. In

later years he translated Baba’s Discourses intoFrench.

In Cannes, thosewith Baba stayed intwo separatehouses. Anitastayed in the housewhere the womenwere, which was ata higher elevationthan the otherhouse. Baba wouldoften appear tiredwhen lie came tovisit them, and theywould put togetherlittle entertain-ments for hhim.Anita said it was likewaiting for your father to come homefrom work. And

.when lie did, he’dbe tired, so you’dwant give hum comfort and lighten his

burden. You’d want to be veryjoyful andhappy, to lift This spirits. When visitingthe ladies, Baba would say, “There isheaven. Below is hell.”’

Mohammed the mast had beenbrought to Cannes. One day Baba askedAnita, “hhave you seen Mohammed?”She hadn’t, so Baba said “You come to-morrow and see him.” So she came verytimidly down to the little hut they hadbuilt for Mohammed in the midst of thisupper-class French neighborhood. Sheopened the door of the hut to findMohammed standing there completelynude and Baba was scrubbing him, whileThis men were bringing hot, steamingbuckets of water. She was shocked andshut the door and ran away. But it gaveher some idea of the work Baba wasdoing in the house below and how diffi

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Several of the Cannes group, including Anita, took a trip to Paris. It wasAnita’s job to warn Mehera if a man wasin the vicinity, because at that timeMehera was not allowed to look at anyman except Baba. Anita found this verydifficult and confusing, keeping a con-stant lookout for any men in the vicinity and saying “eyes up” or “eyes down”accordingly. She said to Baba, “Baba,didn’t you create man also? Now You’vemade me see them as monsters.”

At one point during that same visitto Paris in 1937, Baba was looking out a

She was so happy she feltas if she was burning, as

she was onfire.

window with a sad expression, and said,“Ahh, if you were to see what I see...”(In later years Anita was to say she feltlie was envisioning the devastation ofthe world war soon to come.) Then lieturned to Anita with great authority, andsaid, “Anita, if you saw a dog all coy-ered with sores, you’d kill him, wouldn’tyou?” Anita was taken aback. She couldonly mutter that she didn’t know, didn’tknow if she would do that. In later yearsshe would say that if Baba asked her thatnow, she would say, “Yes,” because herunderstanding had grown deeper thanit was then.’

Anita and Roger were married abouta year and a half later. Baba had said,“When you love, don’t fall in love, risein love.” Anita described their relation-ship that way, that they didn’t fall inlove, they rose in love, and their lovehad become even deeper as the yearswent on.’

The war years were very difficult forAnita, living in France. Even so, she feltBaba helping her get through it. Whenshe was in Paris with Baba in 1937, liehad fed her with Ills hands. Later, during the war, she had the feeling that Babawas “feeding” her, sustaining her,through those difficult times.

When Baba visited the West in 1952,it was planned that lie would spend timein Paris, so Anita stayed in Paris to prepare a house for him. But after Baba’s

car accident in Oklahoma, the trip toParis was canceled.

She was able to spend time with Babaduring his visit to Myrtle Beach in 1958.She can be seen in movies of that timeholding an umbrella over Baba on someoccasions. Even so, there were quite alot of people there compared to the earlydays, so she didn’t get the intimate, per-sonal time with Baba as she had in the‘30s. She felt Baba’s work was becomingmore and more impersonal. “The Babaof here [Myrtle Beachj was already different from the Baba of before.”’

11cr most profound memory of thatvisit in 1958 was a time when Babaseemed to withdraw inwardly to do hisuniversal work. “I never experiencedsuch a silence, as if the whole universe,for me, stopped . . . It has remained asone of the great moments that I havehad with Baba. Not a leaf [movedi , therewas no air [movementj , no one walked,no one talked, and Baba with his hands,and as if lie was looking very far . . . but

“When you love, don’tfall inlove, rise in love.”

—Avatar Meher Baba

completely silent. It wasAnita came to India to see Baba at

the East-West Gathering in November1962. Baba was on a pedestal in front ofa large number of his lovers. Since therewas practically no opportunity to be in-timate and jovial with Baba, Anita wasmiserable. however, Baba did joke withher a little. At one point I-he asked,“Where is Anita? When she’s there Ican’t be serious.” Then when Anita waspointed out to him, lie looked at herand said, “You know, this is very serious. Now don’t you make Me laugh.”’

Even so, in general it was a very sadtime for Anita. “So in that terrible sorrow that I went through, I was very unhappy, you know. I saw Baba was sick.We all knew this, the older ones likeKitty, Margaret and all of us. And we allexperienced the same thing, but noneof us told it to each other, as if wecouldn’t tell it, and yet I felt as if I wouldnever see Baba again in the flesh. But I

couldn’t tell it, I thought maybe it’s justme. But when I read Kitty’s book, I real-ized that we all went through the samefeeling of sorrow.”

So with the personal Baba less andless available, Anita felt she had to reachout more towards the impersonal Baba.Concepts Baba had communicated,such as the “Inner Journey,” the soul’sprogress towards knowing its real Self,began to become fascinating to her. And

It’s a great adventure,isn’t it?

she would focus on some of Baba’swords, and seek a deeper understand-ing of their meaning. For example, “Ihave come not to teach, but to awaken,”and “Things that are real are given andreceived in silence.”’

“And that’s where I had to learn theimpersonal side of Baba, and in learn-ing that, there are moments which areso wonderful. When Baba says, ‘I’m inall of you. I know that I’m in you. Youdon’t know that you’re in Me.’ And yousometimes have a glimpse, when you’rewith someone you love and you’re talk-ing to, you have a glimpse, and you say,‘Ahh, it’s like that thing that Baba wantsto make us realize.’ It’s such a beautifulmoment that you experience.”’

Through this process she gained adeeper understanding of who Baba is,and she began to feel more “the sacred-ness” of Baba. In later years, she sum-marized her journey with Baba as a pro-gression, “from the personal, to the impersonal, to the sacred.”

At the conclusion of one talk, refer-ring to life with Baba, both for herselfand the audience, she said, “It’s a greatadventure, isn’t it?” Then she chuckledand added, with her characteristic wit,“True or not true, it’s a great adventure.”

1. Meher Spiritual Center,September 25, 1987

2. L.A. Sahavas, 19823. Meher Spiritual Center, 19824. Meher Spiritual Center, 1988

14 r• £ove5trectJamj1J?ost

Lyn Ott:A Life Remembered

by Tom RileyNorth Carolina

I first met Lyn Ott in Woodstock,NewYork in the summer of 1954

which, as it so happened, was the samesummer I discovered Meher Baba. Lynhad recently moved to Woodstock withhis wife and lived in a 19th centuryLutheran church wonderfully situatedon a wooded knoll outside of town. Amutual friend introduced us becauseLyn wanted to establish an art galleryin a building he owned down the hillfrom his house. lie wanted me, a fellowmember of the Woodstock Artist’s As-sociation, to submit a painting for hisfirst group show, and so we met.

At that time, artistically, Lyn felt anaffinity for the non-objective school ofart out of New York. My roots were inAmerican impressionism which evolvedinto allegory and this essential differ-ence in our painterly directions verynaturally estranged us for the time be-ing.

I first met Phyllis Ott while a fresh-man at the Tyler School of Fine Art atTemple University in Philadelphia. Thatwas in 1949. She had come to Tyler as aspecial student in painting after graduating from Radcliffe. It wasn’t until thefollowing summer, however, that we be-came acquainted.

The remembrance of my relation-ship with Lyn is very poignantly linkedwith his wife Phyllis and to my formerwife Yvonne. It is important at this pointto realize that from the very beginningMeher Baba referred to Phyllis and Lynas “Phylyn,” joined in one essence. It iswithin the context of this understand-ing that I am writing these remembrances.

In 1963 Yvonne and I were living inWoodstock with our two children.Yvonne was a practicing physio-therapist. At this time Phyllis and Lyn werealso living in Woodstock with their two

children. Because of my relationshipwith Meher Baba, the artistic community was well aware of him, essentiallythrough the exhibition of my paintingsin recurring shows at the Associationgallery. My work was allegorical, in verysharp contrast to the domination of theabstract and non-objective influences inthe art world. No one inquired afterMeher Baba, no one sought his presence.

. .. the four of us were filledwith the brightness of

Baba Love and lifted uptogether in gladness and

oneness.

I had heard that Lyn’s health was notat all good. The local physician recommended physio-therapy. lie referredLyn to Yvonne who had her office in thelocal medical clinic. During the initialtreatment, Yvonne discovered that Lynand Phyllis had been reading The LifeDivine by Sri Aurobindo, and so, naturally, the discussion turned to MeherBaba. Within a day or two we were in-vited to the Ott’s house for dinner. I alsowas a fan of Aurobindo and that eveninginitiated the most extraordinary discovcry. It established a friendship and acommunion which was like nothing ci-ther they or we had experienced before.

We were ecstatic. here were peoplelike ourselves who loved Beethoven,Brahms, Bach, the Russian writers,James Joyce, Dylan Thomas, Chinesepainting, Indian philosophy and somuch more ! And besides this they weretruly hungry to know more and moreabout Meher Baba ! We were so gratefulto have discovered these kindred spirits. I loved their intellectual clarity, and

their perceptions entered into wonder-fully wide fields of awareness. What canI say but that the four of us were filledwith the brightness of Baba’s Love andlifted up together in gladness and one-ness. We were intimate companions formonths and months after our first corn-ing together.

These early weeks brought a desperate illness to Lyn which had beenbrought about by the use of toluene as amedium for his painting in his studio. Itwas discovered that he was bleeding in-ternally. The situation became criticaland he was rushed to the hospital. Wewere told of the gravity of his conditionand that there was no certainty of recovery. We sent a telegram to MeherBaba, who quickly responded that Lvnwould be well again.

Throughout this time Meher Babawas in strict seclusion, wishing no oneto contact him in any way. Phyllis andLyn longed for nothing more than to seehim. I was desperate that they shouldhave that opportunity and I communicated inwardly with Baba that thischance might come for them. I advisedthem to tell absolutely no one but tosecure a flight and leave for India as soonas possible. Yvonne supported me inthis. They came face to face with theimmensity ofthe challenge ofbeing withMeher Baba. The conflict in this, how-ever, was that an order prevailed andLyn found it impossible to supersedeBaba’s wish. Phyllis, on the other hand,had a tremendous faith as well as a deepintuition, and determined to go. Tierchoice was heroic. I remember sayingto her, “When you arrive before Baba,He will say to you, ‘I am happy to seeyou.” I continued, saying, “He will alsoinquire as to why Lyn isn’t with you.”Baba did say these very things to herand then added, “Come back and bring

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Lyn with you.”They did return together, and I ree

ommend that anyone who has not heardthis unique experience should inquirefrom Phyllis. It is an uplifting privilegeto hear of this event.

Sometime later, perhaps it was thelatter part of 1964, Yvonne and I becameenthralled with the idea ofliving on theMeher Center near Myrtle Beach. Wedrove there and communicated what wehad in mind with Elizabeth Patterson.TIer response seemed poised. She heardus out very thor-

________________

oughly and askedus to please articulate our con-cept in writing toMeher Baba. Wereturned homeand wrote him.his answer cameat once by cable: liethe idea and approved of our movingonto the Meher Center and of design-ing and building our home there. lIeidded, “If Elizabeth thinks it is practicable to do so.”

- Upon Baba’s approval of our plan,Phyllis and Lyn also wished to committhemselves to setting forth in this newdirection. They then wrote to Baba andwere also given permission.

Both our families placed our homeson the market. The Ott’s property soldrelatively quickly and they left rightaway for Myrtle Beach, but ours wasinaccessible and hidden away on themountainside, so it did not sell for quitesome time. By the time it did finally selland we had the wherewithal to actuatethe transition, a significant factor hadarisen which altered our ability to real-ize our dream.

It seems that as the awareness of ourproject became generally known, a goodmany people, especially those long con-nected to Meher Baba, suddenly desiredto have their homes on the Center aswell.

Now Elizabeth phoned us, suggest-ing that we come to see her for a con-ference. When we arrived, she was hold-ing a telegram which had recently comefrom Meher Baba saying that the gatesof the Center had now been perma

nently closed to any further residency.Baba asked Yvonne and me to be resigned to his will as what had happenedwas in our best interest. We acceptedhis decision without question.

Phyllis and Lyn were conscious andeducated people, placed on the MeherCenter by Meher Baba for his specificpurposes and for the benefit of all thosepeople—especially the young—whowere now drawn there. The Ott’s newhouse was barely completed when these

to arrive. What theyfound was a havenof receptivity, an is-land of repair. WhatLyn and Phyllisgave in the way ofunderstanding,insightfulness andselflessness at that

————--— time and thereafteris beyond measure. The hundreds whocame to the Center knew without doubtthat the Otts gave unequivocal friend-ship as Baba’s Love and work movedthrough them. And through their workas artists they inspired so many whoentered their home. Those wonderfulconversations, the laughter and—whatunique and incomparable meals ! Forthat alone there is a special place inheaven for Phyllis.

At their best as artists, both Phyllisand Lyn are second to none. Lyn’s paint-ings of Meher Baba transcend portraiture and reflect valuable artistic andspiritual insights. Phyllis’ work on themurals at the Pilgrim Center in Indiaare a manifestation of her artistic capacity and her inner beauty.

Lyn once told me that as he kneltbefore Baba in India he could not reconcile the fact that Baba was God andat the same time man. Baba told himto place both his hands on Baba’s faceand then said to him, “I am infinitelymore human than you.” As I recall this,I think of Jesus as TIe wept upon hear-ing of the death of his friend Lazarus.And as I remember Lyn Ott and amgrieved over his leaving us, Shelley’spoem on the death of Byron comes intomy mind, “I weep for Adonias, he isdead.”

Lyn Ottby Max Reff

Baba, now dear Lyn has come to You.No doubt You are happy and he is

free ofhis sick, blind body and so happyin Your ocean!

What a wonderful, generous soul!What a great life in Your Love ! To be soinspired as a painter; to meet You inthe Body, and then make the radicaldecision to enshrine Your form in cv-cry subsequent work of art; to lose theexternal vision that as a painter he wasso in love with, and to live the rest ofhis days in “inner vision;” to learn toturn his prodigious vision and talent andpassion to the written word, giving usIn Quest of the Face of God (a magnificent book about art, God, and civilization), and his long autobiographicalopus, Journey Out of Darkness,(still,hopefully,to be published); to takeresponsibility as an active participantin literally thousands of friendships inYour love, sharing his house, time, family, sense of humor, love for You, andbrilliant, wide-ranging mind with somany, in such utter discipleship to YourPresence—in, with, and all around him;and to support, as a friendly ear andheart, so many artists of all kinds thatone person has referred to Lyn as (witha lower case a) an “avatar in the arts;”and certainly not least, to receivephone calls at all hours of the day andnight from the brilliant, powerful, andrespected, as well as those who mayhave had no other real, flesh-and-bloodfriend in the whole world:

All these are attributes of a lion of aman who was at the same time a lambof a lover to You, Baba. This world is avery different place without Lyn Ott. Butat the same time, he continues, and willcontinue to reside in the thousands ofhearts his great love and life havetouched, the hundreds of paintings thatwill refresh the eyes and spirits of manygenerations to come, his eloquent “wordpaintings” already in the world and yetto make it into print; and not the least,the creative and life-affirmative acts thatwill proceed unto eternity in hearts andminds he has helped nurture in theirjourneys to God.

r- 3 @ t ( !

seekers began

What Lyn and Phyllis gavein the way of understand-

ing, insightfulness andselflessness at that time. . .is

beyond measure.

very much liked

r £ov&Stree,tfamjLPosr

-

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Services & Programsfor Lyn Ott

The visitation for Lyn Ottat the McMillan-Small Fu

neral home reminded us of yetanother of the many gather-ings of Baba lovers—at Lynand Phyllis’s, at FlorenceChilds’, at John Dennison’s,and at Lyn’s own place, wherewe would all sit around andshare our hearts and mindswith each other, in Baba’spresence, where Lyn would bethere helping and guiding, of-fering his always-thoughtfulperceptions and providing aloving environment for talk-ing about Baba. here, we allsat in a circle near to the casket, which was covered witha beautiful green and whitecloth that had previously lainover Baba’s resting place inthe Tomb before the marblewas installed. We talked aboutLyn, about our love for himand each other, and his love for us.

Leslie Walsh played the guitar andsang many beautiful, touching songs,including one she wrote especially forher father. It was hard to keep a dryeye, but we had each othcr and Lynsloving spirit was there. And of coursethere was Baba, Love itself, theSustainer of all, the One Who givesand Who takes away, all at the propertime.

In the cremation room, we putroses on the container holding Lyn’sbody, recited the Parvardigar andBeloved God prayers as well as theJewish prayer for the dead, and as

by David SilvermanMyrtle Beach, South Carolina

the coat that was Lyn’s body was givento the flames, we all sang Meher BabaVidnyanand.

Later in the afternoon there was aremembrance gathering at Dilruba, arranged by Lyn’s children Leslie andChris. There was a lot ofgood food, andthe comfort of many hearts holdinghands, as it were. So many attended thatthere was hardly room to stand. Allcame to hear and tell about their lifewith this wonderful man and wonderfulsoul, who was so close to so many. Chris

did a fine job of coordinatingthe sharing, and, in a gentlemanner reminiscent of Lynhimself, told about what a by-ing and attentive father Lynhad been, and how he hadbeen almost a second fatherto so many others.

It is beyond my power tosummarize everything thatwas said and felt and cx-pressed about Lyn— his mar-velous intellect and his won-derful sense of humor, and.particularly his love and en-couragement of and attentionto and availability for his family and for so many, manypeople around Myrtle Beachand the country and the world.He truly lived his love forMeher Baba, in service to others, not only in his beautifulpaintings of Baba, many ofwhich were co-painted with

his wife Phyllis, but also in his justbeing there for all of us.

Lyn was blind, but his heart hadan eye that was bigger and clearerthan that of most who have physicalsight. You could see that eye in hispaintings of Baba, in his kind and generous and gentle and loving facial expressions, in the way he moved, inthe sound of his laughter and in hisgenial conversation. It was an eyethat was always looking at MeherBaba, Lyn’s Beloved.

I

17.

Lynn Ott

..

In Appreciation of Lyn Ottby Greg Butler

en I heard the news that Lyn haddied, I was deeply saddened,

knowing that I will miss his humor, hislaughter, his personality, his intellectand his friendship. I then picked uphis wonderful book, In Quest ofthe Faceof God and opened to this passage, onpage 20:

“I have always had the freedom toexplore the vast domain of paintingpurely for the sake of Existence, whichis God. And now that I can no longerpaint another painting, still the painterexists; but that painter is no longer ‘me.’The painter exists in his paintings—no-where else.”

. So we still have his paintings, and hiswords. And as I was reading through hisbook last night, I could still hear hisvoice, with his enthusiasm, speakingthem. I remember conversations withhim from 15 years ago, when he wouldcall me on my toll free number at theLos Angeles Times to discuss MeherBaba’s manifestation before Bhau’s bookwas published. Lyn not only loved Baba,he was excited and enthusiastic aboutBaba. lIe always managed to see thingsfrom Baba’s perspective.

“Jesus Christ, in His unlimited mercy and beneficence,

healed the blind. MeherBaba, in His unboundedwisdom and compassion,performed an even greater

miracle, the miracle ofinner vision, which is theBeloved in one heart.”

I remember being dejected about oneof our political figures being elected. ButLyn was happy. lie would exclaim withlaughter, “lie’s Baba’s man. lie will helpin getting us down on our knees, help-less and hopeless.”

I also remember portraying Lyn in afilm that his son Chris—a film studentat the University of Southern California—was making. I had to be the painter,going blind, losing my place in the paint-ing because of my ever-narrowing fieldof vision. I was able to get in touch withthe despair he went through in the finalyear of losing his sight. Chris sharedwith me that he would come home fromschool and see his father crying, not ableto find his place in the painting he wasworking on. But Lyn, as everyoneknows, climbed out of that despair andcultivated his inner vision. here are hiswords:

“What is illusion? Illusion is that which isnot real and hence false. And what is vi-sion? Vision is the Beloved in one’s heart.When I came into the presence of the Be-loved in physical form, and He had me sit atHis feet, He gestured to His mandali, Hisdisciples, ‘Lyn is very fortunate, for he doesnot see so much of the illusion.’ Without thisreinforcement I would not have had the courage to attempt what was virtually impossible.

“Jesus Christ, in His unlimited mercy andbeneficence, healed the blind. Meher Baba,in His unbounded wisdom and compassion,performed an even greater miracle, themiracle of inner vision, which is the Belovedin one’s heart.”

I remember, on one of my visits tothe Center many years ago, taking Lynby the arm and guiding him—since I wasthe one who could see—on a walk tothe ocean. But that was just the Atlantic Ocean. Lyn, through the years, hashelped me, and I’m sure many others,with his Inner Vision, walk the paths ofthe Center in our hearts to that InfiniteOcean we know as Meher Baba.

I will miss him.

I woke this morning about five andwent out to see Jupiter, Venus and

the moon, together in the dawn sky.At six I was still gazing at them, hang-ing out with Baba. It was a good timefor our friend Lyn to travel on. I havea lot of memories of Lyn over theyears, working with him on his book,amazed at his command of languagewhich he gained through listening to

Lyn Ottby Ken Nuenzig

hundreds ofbooks on tape. And helpingbriefly on one of the very large (we usedladders) landscape paintings he did after losing his sight completely back inmaybe ‘79. I remember for me it felt likebeing in a Renaissance art studio. IIis

ability to create a visual work viamemory and verbal feedback only wasextraordinary. I enjoyed hanging outin the Original Kitchen while Lynshared his always-original ideas ofBaba. Yes, He will be missed. Sharedthoughts of love to all those close tohim: to Leslie, Chris, Phylis, and thegrandchildren.

18 £ove.Street,Camj1’.osr .

L ( E:X 3 ® t ( 3 t ( 3

I received e-mail from Arvind sayingthat Janet was hospitalized. And

when I read that e-mail, I went to Baba’sSamadhi, and I was praying there forher, saying, ‘0 Beloved Baba, relieve herfrom this suffering.’ Immediately myMira Auntie Janet appeared before myeyes in pink sari, smiling and very beau-tiful. And I felt very happy.

Then I came back from the tomb.At night, I received the phone call fromLaurie Blum informing me that my MiraAuntie had passed away. I asked thetime, and she gave me the time. It wasexactly the time when I was praying andshe appeared before my eyes, smiling.

Letter from theChapman’s

by Sheryl and Rick ChapmanCalifornia

T anet “Mehery” Luck, Belovedqi Baba’s songbird, his dear JanetLuck, inspired everyone who had theGod-fortune to hear her sing to herBeloved God. For Meher Baba hadgifted her with a voice which sprangfrom her soul and soared to his Di-vine Ear in the highest heavens.Janet sang as no one else, with herheart in her throat and his light inher eyes, and it was all as natural asa smile, as natural as Baba’s gifts usiially are.

Janet was also gifted with suffer-ing, and in her living with the suffer-ing she experienced, she also in-spired. All of us who were blessed toknow her will remember the strengthof her heart and the strength of herlove for her family and her friendsthroughout her pain: this is spiritual-ity, and Beloved Baba is surely proudof his dear lover who lived so close tohim.

Our very dear “Mehery,” we willremember you as much as we willmiss you! Fly straight, fly fast, fly di-rectly to the Great Loving Embraceof your Divine Beloved, Meher Baba,and into the company of His dearestMehera and Mani, who loved you sodearly. Now you are His songbirdalone, so continue to entertain himwell, and we will console ourselves inyour absence with the songs you haveleft us and the smile you will alwaysbe in our hearts.

Avatar Meher Baba hi Jai!!!

Thursday, April 09, 1998

£ov&sfreetL:amj1bsr

Janet Mehery Mira LuckMay 20, 1953 — April 5, 1998

My darling wife Janet joined her Beloved Lord, MeherBaba to sing and dance in the company of His angels.

—Irwin Luck

A Final Farewellby Bhau Kaichuri

Kushru Quarters, India

Bhau Kaichuri shared this gfftfrom Baba with thoseattending the Meherana Sahavas this year:

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Janet Anne Leach, Baba’s Songbird,passed away at 11:45 AM on Palm

Sunday, April 5th, at the Grand Strandhospital in Myrtle Beach after a long andcourageous struggle with cancer. Shedied with Baba’s name on her lips andhis sign of perfection made by the fin-gers of her left hand.

She was born in Florida on May 20,1953 to Cynthia and Ralph Leach, andhad one brother James and a sisterElizabeth. When she was quite young,perhaps three or four, and riding in acar with her parents, she saw Baba ashis car was passing by. lie was smilingand making the circle of perfection withhis thumb and index finger. She tried totell her parents about this wonderfulman who she thought must be the President, or some such important person,but then lie was gone. She felt quitedepressed, thinking she would never seethis incredible man again. Only muchlater did she realize that it was MeherBaba. Although she was never quite surewhere this incident happened, she be-lieved it was either in Myrtle Beach orin Washington because she was in bothof those places as a young child.

While growing up, her family livedall over the world since her father wasin the military, so she had the opportunity and was encouraged to learn themusic of different cultures. Later on asa student at Northwestern Universitystudying ethno-musicology, she heard ofMeher Baba and soon became part ofthe Chicago Baba group. She first wentto India in the late ‘70s.

On Feb. 14, 1980, Janet marriedIrwin Luck in Miami. They lived forawhile in Somerset, New Jersey andthen in 1981 moved to Myrtle Beach. In1982 Janet gave birth to her son Merwan.

Janet had a beautiful soprano voiceand was a natural-born actress evenwhen young. While in India in 1987,Mehera asked Janet to play the part ofSt. Mira in a play for her birthday eventhough Janet was not an Indian singer.It was difficult for her to learn the Flindipronunciations and dances necessary

She died with Babas nameon her lips and His sign of

perfection made by thefingers of her left hand.

for this role. But Janet agreed becauseMehera had wanted a Western womanto play the part of St. Mira for quite sometime and had even discussed this withMani back in the ‘70s. She was person-ally tutored by Mehera in learning boththe bhajans and Ilindu dances andMehera even designed her costume.Janet said she was forever grateful toBaba for the opportunity and experienceof being chosen to play St. Mira and toconsequently become so close to hisbeloved Mehera. Much later, when shewas quite ill, she recorded thesebhajans. An album has been made of hersinging and is available for all to hearher exquisite voice.

After passing away, her body wasbathed and dressed in the St. Mira costume she had worn for the play in In-dia. Prior to her cremation, Janet layfor four days looking beautiful and very

much at peace with a sweet smile onher lips. 11cr body was covered withpeach roses placed most lovingly byIrwin and others. The Master’s Prayer,Prayer of Repentance and the BelovedGod prayer were said by about 60people, and this was followed by every-one singing Bob Iloldt’s song “The Oceanof Love.”

On Good Friday, a memorial servicewas held at Mt. Calvary Church inBrooksville, NC just outside MyrtleBeach. This church was chosen becauseof her beloved friend Bernie White whowas her caretaker and companion during the last four years of her illness.Janet had sung in this church on EasterSunday a couple of years ago at Bernie’srequest.

At least 200 people attended for amost moving and loving celebration ofJanet’s life and work. Songs were playedof Janet’s singing followed by Julie KohlSkiffplaying “Begin the Beguine” on theviolin. 11cr friend Maraiya sang a songshe wrote for Janet and then her long-time friend Pam Lane gave a most beau-tiful tribute to her. Jenny Zenner read amessage sent by Sheryl and RickChapman, and Janet’s niece delivered amessage for the family, followed by areading by Christopher Wilson, and thenCharles Haynes gave the eulogy. The 5cr-vice ended by her dear friend Bernie delivering a most moving remembranceand singing of “Amazing Grace.” A shortclosing prayer by Charles and it wasover. A reception was held at the homeof Laurie and Richie Blum.

Janet “Mehery” Luck is an exampleto all of us who knew of the strength ofher love for her family, friends and mostof all for her Beloved Baba. We will missyou, dear Janet, but thank you for thebeautiful songs you have given us andfor your example of how to hold on toHim with cheerfulness and a smile whilesuffering greatly.

E 20 , J1oveStreetJamjUbsr

Janet “Mehery”Luck

By Jean BrunetManalapan, New Jersey

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Roman Babiak Moves On

by Greg DunnPleasanton, California

oman Babiak, most recently of Paloto but well-known and loved by

Baba friends in Los Angeles where helived from 1984 until 1991, passed awayMay 16 at the home of Denise and DanPliskin, where he had lived for sometime. FTc breathed his last early that Sat-urday morning after a peaceful night’ssleep, with niece Christina Ciepley,friend Kevin Mossberger, and thePliskins at his side. Roman fell victimto esophageal cancer.

Roman was born April 9, 1948, in asmall village near Frankfurt, Germany.lIe was christened Jaroslav Roman byhis parents, who were from the Ukrainebut who had been detained in intern-ment camps during the war. A few yearsafter Roman’s birth the family moved toAltoona, Pennsylvania, where Romangrew up, attending a seminary highschool in nearby Connecticut as a teen-ager. Shortly after Roman’s graduationthe family moved again, this time toDetroit, where Roman attendedMcComb County Community Collegebefore transferring to the University ofMichigan. Sometime after leaving col

lege Roman moved to Chicago, wherehe lived until relocating to Los Angelesin 1984. During one period in ChicagoRoman was an executive for a tradeassociation for the concrete industry,with the responsibility for organizingtheir trade shows. While in L.A. heworked at a succession of part-time andfree-lance jobs, many in the computerindustry, and several having to do withelectronic musical instruments. Aftermoving to the San Francisco Bay area afew years ago he worked for severalmore computer companies, includingMindscape (in Novato, a maker of gamesand educational software), and mostrecently 3COM, where he was a projectmanager for the very successful PalmPilot hand-held computer.

Roman is survived by a half-sister,Maria, who lives in Poland; by his nieceChristina and nephew Stefan Ciepley,whose (now deceased) mother wasRoman’s sister; and by many membersof his Baba family who count him as atrue brother of the spirit.

Roman loved Baba, music, city life,ideas, and laughter. He worked for a pe

nod of time with a company known asBreakaway Technologies, a startup thatmarketed a musical instrument named“The Vocalizer”, a hand-held synthesizer into which one could sing, producing a variety of instrumdntal soundssuch as one might hear from an dcctronic keyboard. Roman once designeda radical piano keyboard intended to improve upon the conventional keyboard’sfit to the human body. Split into twobanana-shaped sections and designed tobe worn in front of the body, Roman’skeyboard allowed the player’s hands tofollow a natural arc as they moved upand down along the keys. In the yearssince Roman’s invention, split computerkeyboards have come into widespreaduse because the ergonomical deficiencies of the standard keyboard havecaused Repetitive Use Syndrome amongthousands of typists. Perhaps we’ll seesomething like Roman’s ergonomic mu-sical keybcrard on the market before longas well.

Many of Roman’s friends have paidtribute to him in the last few weeks ci-ther in postings to the Meher Baba list

£oveStreetJamEPosr 21

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server or in pieces composed for the LosAngeles memorial service. here aresome excerpts:

From Rocky Rodgers:“Roman was the consummate social-

ite on a budget. lie was definitely un-conventional, quite unassuming andnonjudgmental. I Ic befriended everyoneand was afraid of no one. It would nothave fazed his equipoise in the least tohave approached Cindy Crawford to askher out for lunch: Dutch treat even ! AndI guarantee you she would have accepted. Because he was Roman. But hewould have insisted on paying for cv-erything even if it was his last fifty cents.

“his charm was based upon a guile-less apprecation of people. lie was notinterested in competing with or usingpeople, hejust genuinely enjoyed peopleand they could not resist his honestyand magnetic warmth.”

From Fred Stankus:“When my wife Gigi and I travelled

1:0 India in November, 1987, Romanhouse-sat for us. We missed the 1987annual Thanksgiving feast at our housethat year so Roman used some of hiscreative talent to produce a cardboardcutout of Gigi and Fred in early Pilgrimtall hats with a buckle in front. Duringthe Thanksgiving dinner prepared byRoman and Baba lovers and friends, heused this cutout of GigiFred as a centerpiece on the table.

“When Roman picked us up at LAXInternational Airport two days beforeChristmas, he was in jolly spirits. lIeurged us to take rest at home first be-fore we did any Christmas shopping,because the first thing on my agenda wasto buy a Christmas tree and get it upquick. Roman said, ‘We’ll go out laterand get the tree,’ Well, we arrived home,and as soon as I opened the door, thescent of pine and evergreen filled mynostrils. 0 Tannenbaum! There it was!The most beautiful Noble Fir decked outwith lights and tinsel and angels andChristmas balls. As I looked behind me,Roman was just glowing: he was beam-ing in a radiance with great joy thatcould only be love! WELCOME HOMEPILGRIMS was printed on a sign and

strung across the tree. It was the mostloving welcome home that I ever experienced.”

From Julann Lodge:“I was able to drop by Roman’s house

in Palo Alto as many of his friends didlast night, Sunday evening. I was veryhappy to meet Denise and her familyand spend a few minutes with Kevin,who has been with Roman all week.

(Thank you so much, Kevin.) Denise wasso sweet and welcoming to everyone.What a great family. I was fortunate tohave a few moments to spend inRoman’s room, where he died. Whatstruck me most about it was the tranquility and peace there. There was alovely lightness and sweetness in the air.

“I just thank Roman for what hetaught me through both his gentle lifeand gentle death. Thank you Roman,thank you. Last Friday night a thoughtcame to my mind: Baba standing byRoman’s bed saying, ‘I’m a jealous lover.Roman is completely mine now.’ It wasa comforting thought. How is it possiblethat Baba’s jealousy is so sweet?”

From Greg Butler:“You’re born, you work, you die, you

move on.’ —Roman Babiak, May 10,1998, while discussing his philosophy onlife.

“And if you are fortunate enough tohave a heart as big as Roman’s, youtouch the lives of many, many people.So Jai Baba, Dear Roman. Your life andcourageous death was truly one of Baba’svictories. And though you have movedon, you will remain in my heart’smemory for the rest of my life. Thankyou for your friendship, your encouragement, your generosity, your insight,and your companionship on the longroad to the Beloved. You made a differ-ence in my life over the many years Ihave known you. And in your final days,you taught me how to live. I will missyou greatly.”

From Tom Hart:“I’m surprised by the depths of emo

tion that Roman’s illness and death hasmade me feel and am reminded, onceagain, never to take these relationships

with friends and loved ones for granted.have you hugged someone today? Lifeis so short and goes by so quickly thatsometimes it’s hard to remain focusedon the important things, like love,amidst all the little details of life in illusion. May I never forget the importanceof nurturing and maintaining my linksto my loved ones. Farewell to Roman,who touched and was loved by so manypeople, who was unassuming in theworld, but kept a high profile in ourhearts.”

From Kevin Mossberger:“Roman meant much to many

people. To me, he was the Best Man atmy wedding; he was my roommate forthree years; and he was my co-workerwho started me on my current career.But most of all he was my friend, andabove that, a spiritual brother.

“I thank Baba that I was able to saygoodbye to Roman, as I cannot counthow many times he went out of his wayfor me; I still feel indebted to him. Thatwas how he was—he went out of his wayfor many people, and he so dearly lovedpeople.

“Roman first learned about Baba inthe bookBe Here Now by Ram Dass; hethen saw an article about Baba in a pub-lication, tore it out, then filed it in his‘spiritual teachers’ folder, and thoughtnothing of it again. Later, he got a jobwith a Baba-lover in the Chicago area,who then invited him to a Baba meet-ing. Roman was convinced by the endof this meeting that Baba was God.

“When I asked him two months agoabout his condition, he said this: ‘Deathis inevitable. So what if it comes at 30,50, 70, or 100? It comes. For the per-son dying, they get to move on to a newadventure in living. For those left be-hind, life goes on and life is beautifulbefore death and after death.’

“And that is so very true. A few daysbefore he moved on, I reminded him ofBaba’s Wish, to keep thinking of Him andrepeating IIis name until the very end.Roman nodded, then said very clearly:‘Meher Baba. Meher Baba.”

I 22 çovestrect£amjthsr .

,fore they left they said the Master’s

Roman s Last Day Prayer. Roman responded with his ethereal smile and a “JAI BABA.” As far asany of us can tell, those were his last

by Denise Pliskin words.

Palo Alto, California That night Prasava came and sat upwith him so we could all sleep. At

Thanks for all your warmth and by- Roman was in and out of consciousness around 7:00 I got up, and shortly after I

ing wishes towards Roman. lie died and could no longer speak very clearly, came into the room he started having

very peacefully at 8:02 on Saturday but his answer was clear. gaps in his breathing. My foster-son

morning, May 16. I will briefly tell you Christina rode with him in the am- Francesco, who has been one of his

how his last day with us went. bulance and I drove ahead while Kevin main care-takers, got up and we sat with

Friday morning I arrived at the hos- collected his things and brought up the him together. The gaps got longer and

pital after Kevin Mossberger (from Aus- rear. Roman made the trip well and he longer and finally I went in and got

tralia) and Roman’s neice Christina had knew—there was no question—that he Christina and Kevin. They walked in as

done the night shift for the fourth time was home. They got him into his bed he took his last breath. lie slipped away

in a row. The morning was spent pre- and I cannot tell you how right it felt. peacefully with his face inclined to-

paring to bring him home (to his physi- The hospital staff had been wonderful, wards a picture of Baba. I swear he

cal home, that is). We needed to take but there is no place that feels as safe smiled as we recited the Master’s Prayer

care of some difficult issues. I was not and warm as home. At this point we over him. We spent the morning sitting

sure he could make the trip and I knew that we had very little time left. with him and dressing him for his final

needed a doctor’s order that no matter Jeff Maguire and Fred Stankus arrived journey. Tom hart came in time to say

what, the ambulance would bring him within the hour and when Roman saw his final farewell and see him off. We all

home and not take him back to the them he responded with his glowing (including the guys in the ties and the

hospital. We felt that we had to have smile. There are people who live 89 plaid shirts from the mortuary) sang a

Roman’s final okay on this and Kevin years and never experience the joy that bad rendition of Amazing Grace before

asked him if he was ready to “go to this man not only felt, but generated. they took him away. lie would have

Baba.” The answer was yes. At this time Fred and Jeff stayed for a while and be- loved that.

Miki FollowsMansari ome of you might remember a rather Sometimes you could not imagine

worn-looking, dusty, white dog that that an animal could bear such injuby James Cox used to doze on the wooden bench out- ries and survive, but he did, healing

side the Samadhi. That broken-down to fight again and again. One was left

bench is now gone, and so is the dog; with the impression that this washis name was Mild, and he was Mansari’s some kind of warrior dog, strictly

last male dog. Tie had been sick for some business, and he never looked frivo

time with a strange swelling around his bus or obsequious.neck; he died at lower Meherabad last When Mani passed away, Miki fol

Friday afternoon, June 5th, about 1:30 lowed the funeral procession down

p.m. the hill and lay by the pyre for three

Miki was never mushy or fawning on days until it burned out, only leav

people for attention, and he never bit ing to get his food, then returning to

anyone that I know of, but he fought off continue his final shift. And after

plenty of dogs while Meherabad Hill was Mansari died, he did the same watch,

his territory, and frequently came back but after that he hardly returned toquietly bearing his battle wounds. lie the hill, as if the charm for him wassuffered the clumsy affection of many a gone, settling instead in Lowerchild on the bench outside Baba’s Meherabad for his final days.Samadhi without protest, and when his Like others that have gone before

wounds became infected and obviously him, he was an expression of an ear-

painful, he endured the administrations her Meherabad which has now slowly

of Jal and others without complaint. slipped away, leaving us with onlythe memories.

t£v&StrcetfamjEthsr 23

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Life Is Eternalauthor unknown

I am standing upon the seashore.A ship at my side spreads her white sails

to the morning breezeand starts for the blue ocean.

She is an object of beauty and strengthand I stand and watch her until at length

she hangs like a speck of white cloudjust where the sea and sky come down

to mingle with each other.Then some one at my side says:

“There ! She’s gone.”

Gone where? Gone from my sight - that is all.She is just as large in mast and hull and spar

as she was when she left my side,and just as able to bear her load of living

freightto the place of destination.

TIer diminished size is in me, not in her;and just at the moment when some one at my

side says,“There! She’s gone” -

there are other eyes watching her coming,

.

and other voices ready to take up the gladshout,

“here she comes!”

I’ve Passed Awayby Mickey Karger

I’ve passed away on palanquins and mattresses of straw, on aeroplanesand baggage trains where fate obeys its law. I’ve died on fields ofbattle and fields of flowers wild; while I’ve never lived past ninety-five I’ve often died a child.

I’ve been carried off by fevers and every known disease, bubonic plagueand symptoms vague, and once a violent sneeze. I’ve shuffled offthe mortal coil of woman and of man, unhelped by pharmacopoeiaor the wafting of a fan.

I’ve been guillotined and garroted, shot and stabbed and hung; at theend of planks, inside of tanks, from cliffs have I been flung. I’ve feltthe link snap suddenly in trenches stained with blood where I diedin the arms of comrades half-buried in the mud.

One Life’s Not Enoughto Love Youby Mickey Karger

One life’s not enough to love you,So a thousand times we returnTo live our lives in a thousand ways,Your grace to try to earn.

I’ve died in the arms of lovers and once in the arms of a maid whotried to lift me from my chair in the sun into the shade. I remember once I slipped away in the middle of a speech, the papers fluttering to the floor, forever out of reach.

I’ve watched with growing anguish unassuaged and unrelieved as Idied a hardened prisoner unforgiven, unreprieved. I’ve watchedbeloved spouses shed tears on my behalf and seen my rivals gatherwho scarce supress’d a laugh.

I’ve died in the act of fathering and once to save a life; I’ve died thedeath that cowards die to the strain of drum and fife. But of all thedeaths I’ve never died there’s one I’ve yet to try -the death of self toself’s travail when to self I finally die.

Each life’s a single movie frame,A simple, childish rhyme.IIow sad it is we need so many livesTo become that which we were all the time.

We drag our pasts behind usLike Marley’s well-forged chain.We wear the fabric of our sinsWhich shows each bloody stain.

Yet if we could love for a momentWith all our lives and hearts,We might cancel all our tomorrowsAnd never have to learn new parts

L 24 £ovc5treetCamjLPost

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‘1 Then my Mother and I went to In-V V dia in 1968—1969 for the occasion

of my brother Dara’s wedding to Amrit,I was 11 years old. I knew that Babaenjoyed entertainment, especially of thesort that made him laugh, such as skitsand jokes. Since I didn’t have any realtalents that I was aware of (!) I decidedto tell Baba a fewjokes that I had memo-rized, hoping that TIe would find themas funny as I did.

On British TV at that time there wasa regular comedy show hosted by an cx-tremely funny Irish comedian namedDave Allen. The show consisted ofAllen’s very witty monologues as well ashilarious short skits, and our familyloved to watch it every week. What wasso entertaining about the programme,apart from Dave Allen’s dry humour andinevitable Irish charm, was his irreverence towards his favourite subject mat-ter: religion; and more often than not,the Catholic Church. Week after weekAllen would poke fun at the pomposityof his particular organized religion; forgood measure, he would often throwsome barbs at other denominations aswell (there was a running skit involvingthe Pope and the Archbishop of Canter-bury sitting in their respective carriagescharging at each other, as if in a joust-ing match!).

The humour was certainly irreverent, but it was good-natured too; Allenwasn’t attacking God or one’s faith inIlim. Allen would end his show as hebegan it, sitting on a stool with a glass ofwhisky beside him; and—having pubned religion for the preceding hour—would say “Goodnight, and may yourGod go with you!”

So, unbeknownst to my father(Baba’s youngest brother, Adi Jr.), Ilearned a few of my favourite Dave Allenjokes to tell Beloved Baba during ourvisit to India. It did cross my mindbriefly that I was running the risk ofBaba finding such jokes “cheeky,” but Iwas sure lie would really enjoy them. Istill remember the look on my father’sface when I asked Baba if I could tellIIim some jokes from the Irishcomedian’s TV show. . . Fortunately,Baba did enjoy the jokes as much as Ihad hoped, in fact lIe loved them. lIe

would ask me to repeat them frequently

(which was wonderful for me), andlaughed uproariously (but silently) ateach telling, as if lIe were hearing themfor the first time. TIe was so very sweet.I told Baba three Dave Allen jokes; oneabout a nun, one about a driving testand the joke that follows, Baba’sfavourite of all (I would get many requests to re-tell it!).

On a final note: supposedly, DaveAllen was excommunicated by theCatholic church. This may or may notbe the case, but one day I hope he mightlearn that even though the church didn’tappreciate his humour, the Avatar of theAge did!

In a village somewhere in Ireland,two naughty schoolboys decided to goout one night to steal apples from a treegrowing in a cemetery. The cemeterywas surrounded by a high wall, whichactually made the boys’ task easier,since they would climb the tree, thenmove on to the wall where they couldeasily pick the apples. The boys satastride the wall, each one with his ownsack, so they could steal as many applesas possible. They had almost filled theirsacks, when one of the boys dropped twoapples into the street below, outside thewall’s perimeter. “What about those twoapples?” asked the one boy. “Nevermind for now” replied the other, “we’lldivide up the apples equably once we’vefinished picking them, and we’ll remember to include those two outside.” So,the boys climbed down, and haulingtheir sacks, they sat behind a gravestoneso they’d be well hidden while they di-vided up their spoils. They emptied allthe apples on the ground, and began di-viding them thus: “one for you, one forme, one for you, one for me, one for you,one for me” and so on.

Meanwhile, Paddy, the village drunk,had just left the local pub for the night

(having had a few too many) and wasstaggering home as usual. IIis winding

path took him past the cemetery, andas he walked past the high wall hestopped dead in his tracks. “What’sthat?” he mumbled to himself. As hestopped to listen, he heard “one for you,one for me, one for you, one for me.”TIe cautiously entered the cemetery andlooked around. lie saw no one, but couldhear the same voices coming from be-hind a grave stone, “one for you, onefor me. . . “ A look of horror came uponhis face and he sobered up instantly andran screaming to the priest’s house. lIebanged on the door, and when thehousekeeper answered and saw Paddy,she was furious, “Oh it’s you, is it, youold drunk. Now be off with you and stopwaking up the whole village.” “No,missus, I was drunk but I swear I’m notnow. I must speak to his holiness, thepriest.” “Away with you, you old fool!I’ll not wake the Father for your ray-ings ! “ And so it went on, until the priest,hearing the noise, came downstairs andasked Paddy what was wrong. “Oh Father, Father, you must come at once tothe cemetery, for didn’t I hear with myvery own ears God and the Devil count-ing out the souls! !“ The priest sighçd,“You’ve really gone too far this timePaddy—too much to drink. Now gohome, there’s a good fellow.”

Paddy begged him and swore blindthat he was telling the truth, until, forthe sake of peace, the priest agreed togo with him to the cemetery. “Now,enough of your nonsense after tonight,Paddy—you’ve got to stop imaginingsuch things. Stay off the drink!”

As Paddy and the priest approachedthe cemetery wall, Paddy grabbed himby the arm, and said in a terrified whisper, “See, what did I tell you?” Sureenough, to the Father’s horror they bothclearly heard “One for you, one forme. . . “ They stood transfixed, and theFather crossed himself. “Lord havemercy, it’s true, God and the Devil havecome down to earth and are dividing upthe souls.” “One for you, one for me,one for you, one for me. . there, that’s it,then” said one voice, “all divided up.”Paddy and the priest stood motionless.“Wait a minute” they heard one of thevoices say “how about the two outsidethe wall?”

£veStrcetfnmfPosr 25

IUd4OR FOR NU$\A\

Yssuagg oiia

______J

Mani’sDreamBook

Being that she was one of the mostimaginative and creative people in

the world, it is hardly surprising thatMani, Baba’s sister, had wonderfuldreams—dreams that many Baba by-ers have heard her tell in vivid personin Mandali hail. She loved Baba-dreams,loved telling hers, loved listening toother people’s.

Following the success of God-Brother, her book of stories of her child-hood with Baba, people urged Mani towrite another book—perhaps stories ofher adult life with him? She always replied, “If I do, it will be a book about mydreams,” her dreams of Beloved Babaand Mehera, of Babajan and other Per-feet Ones. Creating a book of her dreamshad been in her mind for some years,but in Mani’s tremendously busy schedule there had never been any time todo it.

Sometimes for fun and relaxation,Mani would come up with a list of herdreams for the dream book. SheilaKrynski, of Sheriar Foundation (thepublisher for God-Brother) had heard a

was finally written,Mani would be critically ill. The bookbegan one morning in March 1996. Inthe previous five months, Mani had undergone two brain surgeries, from whichshe had not recovered well. That morn-ing, tired and in pain, while in the midstof a superfluous editing chore she suddenly conveyed, “lleck with this, whynot start the dream book?” Everyone gotvery excited, and she dictated twodreams then and there.

This began one of my most touchingand heartbreaking times with Mani. Thegreat effort it cost her to give dictation

while in pain, her incredible care andmeticulousness in choosing the precisewords to convey her “dream pictures,”her focus on the work despite her worsening condition, were heartbreaking.

_______________

And yet, so typical ofher when doingsomething for Baba:to go beyond her self,to never consider herown needs or comfort. Sometimes she

would get up from her much-needednap, tiptoe over to her chair and go overwhat she had dictated, straining to seethe words as her eyesight had becomediminished by cataracts. Goher, especially, would be appalled by this, andwould urge her to rest. One day, when Iremonstrated with her for getting up,Mani said simply, “I feel a push to dothis. I feel a push.” That was when Iknew it was not just a recreation ortime-pass for her, but something she feltfrom him.

Through the rest of March, with a

by Heather NadelMeherabad, India

whisper or two about the “project” andwould occasionally send Mani encouraging messages. In many ways, thedream book was always right around thecorner, a sweet “dream,” the projectMani was going to

_________________

do when she finally got old!

Little could weimagine that whenthe dream book

This began one of my mosttouching and heartbreaking

times with Mani.

26 £ov&StreeLCamjPosr . . .

short break in April (while the “ladies”went to Poona for their annual break),and then on into May, Mani continuedto dictate her dreams. A letter went toSheila: would Sheriar Foundation beinterested in publishing it? (They were.)Soon after that, Mani sent Wodin an in-vitation to illustrate the book. She hadbeen charmed and delighted with hisdrawings for God-Brother, and for thisnew book she particularly wanted the“whimsical aspect” that he brought tohis art. Wodin’s acceptance made hervery happy.

When the 23rd dream was finishedon the 23rd of May, we were thrilled! Itwas done ! There was some talk by others in the household, “Shouldn’t it be24 dreams, a round two-dozen, an auspicious number?” to which Manilaughed; you can’t have another dreamon demand! The book was typed andready to go to the publisher! But thatvery night Mani had another dream ofBaba, the 24th dream, one of the mostbeautiful and significant of all, whichyou will find at the very end of her book.

In early June, the manuscript wassent off to the publishers in America.The very next day, Mani went to Poonafor a medical checkup, was soon diagnosed with cancer, and three weeks latercame back to Meherazad to prepare forher reunion with her Beloved. She hadbeen right to “push.”

In her last weeks, while she could,Mani continued to take a keen interestin the dream book: incorporating someminor corrections in the manuscript,talking about the cover, approving thebook’s shape and size, setting the direction for the illustrations in response tosketches sent over by Wodin. A few daysbefore she went into a semi-coma, I wasable to tell her that the illustrations weregoing to be in full color, something shehad always wanted but had not thoughtpossible because of the expense.

Now, a year and a half after Mani rejoined Baba, the dream book is nearlyfinished. The book design is done, andWodin has completed almost all of the24 huge pastel illustrations for it. ByBaba’s grace , before too long Mani’s long-time “dream” will come true.

Jai Baba!

Things

curing

the winter of 1971—1972, Iworked at a daycare center serving

the housing projects in downtown Al-bany, New York. The following storiesare from four- and five-year-old African-American children; I recorded theirquestions and comments as soon as possible so I’d remember the wording cx-actly.

One day at the daycare center, aweek after I’d started teaching, the littlefour-year-olds were sitting with me onthe floor and Bobby noticed the sparkleof a gold chain at my throat. lie reachedhis fingers up, pulled, and discovered mylocket, which he opened to find picturesof Baba (and Baba’s hair concealed under one of the pictures). Bobby held thelocket in both hands, looking at the pie-tures very seriously. Just then Claytonpassed behind him, turned his head tosee what Bobby was looking at, saw thepictures, pointed at Baba, and declared,“That’s God! “ So Clayton passed by andBobby continued to stare at Baba’s pie-tures, but now muttering, “That’s God,that’s God.” Then he looked up at meand asked, “Who took a picture of God?”I said I didn’t know who had taken thepicture and Bobby then asked, “how dothey come down so that we can seehim?” I stammered out that once in awhile God comes down as a man so that

i we can see IIim. Bobby nodded as if heunderstood perfectly. Although I neverexplained more and only said His name,“Baba,” many children would dig out mylocket, kiss it and say, “I love Baba.” One

i. said, “I see his halo.” One day I askedJoyce, at the easel, what she was plan-ning to paint. She looked at me, smiled,

—

and said, “Baba!”One day in the gym,

one of the three-year olds from anotherclass came over to me and said, “I seeBaba in there,” pointing to my class-room. I turned quickly, but wouldn’t youknow it, I didn’t see a thing!

Charlene, a five-year-old from an-other class, looked at Baba’s picture forthe first time and asked if lie was myfather. I replied, “Yes,” and she said,“TIe’s my father, too. Tie everybody’s father!” Then, a month or so later,Charlene’s teacher approached me andtold me a few of her girls were playingtogether and one had said that she didn’thave a father. But Charlene declaredtriumphantly, “Yes you do ! Baba’s yourFather! “ Again, a few months later, I waschatting with a group of five year olds,each teasing the other about “boy-friends,” when suddenly Charlene pipedup, “Baba’s my boyfriend!” And a littlewhile later when I got up to leave,Charlene reached for my locket so shecould kiss Baba. Meanwhile, Bobby hadgraduated to the five-year-old class andI didn’t see too much of him. But oneday we were visiting and he took out mylocket. lie pestered me to tell him whoBaba is, and I finally said, “Well, who doyou think Tie is?” And Bobby repliedsolemnly and softly, “I think he’s God.”

A number of years later my ownyoung daughter, just learning to talk,became fascinated with a large paintingof Baba. I thought, “This is it! She’s go-ing to say Parvardigar!” Instead, shesaid, “Big nose!”

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Kids Say the Darndest

By Barbara RiehstadColumbia, South Carolina

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£ov&StreetfamjJEbsr 27

Mani—Avatar Meher Baba’s dear sister, his lifelong loving companion,

and devoted tireless worker. She was unusually gifted—her many different talents and capacities endeared her to cv-eryone, as well as gaining admirationand respect.

To entertain her beloved God-Brother, Mani wrote many skits andplays, poems and songs. She could act,mime, and mimic someone or some-thing with delightful fidelity. She wasartistically creative, even designed andmade hand-puppets, manipulating themherself to present a particular show forBaba. She taught or encouraged theother women mandali to act in the playsso that all could help to lighten his burden. She was highly imaginative and in—novative, quickly producing unusual oramusing effects and costumes out ofwhatever basic and often quite unlikelymaterials were available at the time forher plays and skits. She could sing delightfully, and played the sitar well. ForBaba’s enjoyment and relaxation in hisRoom, she often read aloud from hhisfavourite detective or humorous stories,making the characters come alive by herclever voice changes.

During Baba’s physicallifetime Manidid much secretarial work for hhim,spending countless hours at the type-

writer. She also wrote well and in a styleinimitably her own. She composed theFamily Letters for Baba’s approval tosend to Western lovers from 1956 to1969. God-Brother, her book of spar-kling childhood stories with him, waspublished in 1993; and in spite of serious illness and pain she completed themanuscript for Dreaming Of The Be-loved in May 1996, with the loving as-sistance of hheather Nadel and one or twoothers who did all the typing for her.

Mani was very witty with an infectious sense of humour, and her effervescent personality often helped to lightenand uplift the feelings of those aroundher. She was also very loving, wise andbalanced in her comments and advice.She had an excellent memory and clearunderstanding of Baba’s statements andmessages, and wove these into her talksand beautiful stories about hhim and herown life with Ihim.

As well as all this, the many yearsshe spent as Chairman of the AvatarMeher Baba Perpetual Public CharitableTrust brought out her impressive administrative abilities in the day-to-day con-stant workload of dealing with all man-ncr of people and problems affecting theTrust, in addition to carrying on a largeamount of correspondence with Babalovers all over the world.

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ManiBy Judith Garbett

Excerpted from Judith’s new bookLIVES OF LOVE—The Women Mandali ofAvatar Meher Baba

© All Rights Reserved

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Mani was beautiful, and often a facial expression or head movementwould remind one most touchingly ofBaba. She was of medium height with agood figure, had a fair skin, lively browneyes, and dark wavy hair which laterchanged gradually to a becoming grey.She moved quickly and gracefully, andone was aware of energy and purposein whatever she did. For special occasions she dressed in lovely saris, but atMeherazad and in the Trust Office shewore attractive Punjabi outfits whichwere very practical and suited her ad-mirably.

As one of Baba’s two closest womendisciples, Mani had the inner beauty,strength and purity of spirit which overcountless lives finally brought her to bechosen by him for that role in this Ad-vent. Although she was more outgoingthan Mehera, she too had a quiet presence, a gentle but distinct authoritywhich was recognized and unreservedlyacknowledged by all the mandali, pugrims, residents and workers alike. Atthe same time she was very vivacious,full of fun, always natural, warm andgenerous, perceptive and thoughtful forothers, ever friendly and approachable—a unique and delightful person toknow, and spontaneously loved by cv-eryone.

TIer own total love for her belovedGod-Brother and Lord was always there,shining in the clear depths of her beau-tiful eyes, felt in the circle of her em-brace, enriching her actions and words.

+ + . + ‘ + - +

From the moment of meeting Manifor the first time at Guruprasad, Poona,on 31st October 1962 in Beloved Baba’spresence, and also throughout the sue-ceeding years, I always felt a very deepand strong connection with her asthough I had known her in many previous lives. Even during the year beforemeeting her I had a vivid impression ofher personality from letters she wroteto Bill Le Page and his family, but mainlyof course from her delightful FamilyLetters.

On the first afternoon of the East-West Gathering, Thursday 1st Novem

ber 1962 when all the Western womenwere called to the women mandali’srooms for changes of clothing after thesudden rain- storm, I did not talk to Manior any of the others, being too shy andtoo overwhelmed by all that had alreadyhappened.

But on Saturday afternoon I did seeMani, and to this day I do not know howthis touching encounter came about. Ihad not been at all well that morning,and at Guruprasad after lunch was toldto see the Indian woman doctor on dutythere (not Dr. Goher). Somehow Manimust have heard I was sick, for she cameand took me into one of the main rooms,telling me to lie down for a while. Sheleft the room but returned after a few

she will always remain theperfect example of the manyattributes which grace a lifeofunquestioning obedience,one-pointed devotion and

seWess servicefor the God-Man, Avatar Meher Baba.

moments with a large square chiffonscarf which she gently spread over me.A little later she came back to see how Iwas getting on. I said I felt better andwould like to go and join the others forthe programme. So she led me throughthe women mandali’s rooms, that beingthe quickest way.

+ . + - + ‘ + . +

Ilere is another little picture of Mani,at the Trust Office in 1987:

When I went to the office at 3:30 fortea with Mani, she called me to sit opposite her at her desk. Two others werealready there, and Mani chatted to uson various subjects.

Tea was brought in by Lakshman, theold servant who had been there for somany years with Adi Senior. Drinkingthe tea, I sat listening to Mani, enjoyingbeing there with her. Now and then shewould interrupt her story-telling to readthrough and sign a letter, or carefullycheck a draft, making changes here andthere. She picked up a postcard some-one had sent her and chatted about the

dog pictured on it. Then the woman sit-ting beside me began talking about hersmall child, and Mani listened as thoughit was the most important thing for herat that moment. I thought, ‘lIow lovingshe is always, to everyone!’

At Meherazad on 19th August 1996at 7:01 AM Beloved Baba called Ilis dear-est sister to leave her sweet form as Manito be reunited with Ilim.

At about 6:00 PM that evening herfuneral pyre was lit at lower Meherabad.For all those present it was extraordinaruly beautiful. It lasted for three days,an unusually long time, with many rareand meaningful occurrences. TIer asheswere kept at Meherazad until Saturday7th September, then taken toMeherabad and placed in the Samadhiovernight. During a touching farewellceremony at 11:00 AM on 8th September Mani’s ashes were laid in her shrinenext to the Samadhi at Baba’s left hand,as lie had instructed years before.

I know that everyone—the mandali,members of her family, staff, and thou-sands of Baba lovers around the world—all who were associated with her, whoknew and loved her over so many years,will always miss her specially-warm anddelightful company at Meherazad,Meherabad, the Trust Office and Poona.From far-away Avatar’s Abode I too missMani. I think of her every day remembering her with love, and continuallythank Beloved Baba for allowing me tospend so much time with her on everyone of my many visits.

Stories about her and her total lovefor her beloved God-Brother are alreadylegion, and will continue to be added toover the years as people of all ages andbackgrounds remember and talk abouttheir times with her.

Mani held a unique place as one ofthe two women closest to Beloved Baba.In her lifelong work for him she demonstrated most beautifully that work forIIim was ever synonymous with love forHim, and she will always remain theperfect example of the many attributeswhich grace a life of unquestioning obedience, one-pointed devotion and self-less service for the God-Man, AvatarMeher Baba.

--; --

£ovcStredfmLPosr 29

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Having read and listened with greatinterest to various comments on

the subject of Occultism, severalthoughts come to mind which I feel areimportant to add to the record at thistime. While personal experiences havebeen recounted in some instances, andalso quotes from Meher Baba’s Discourses, there remain two principal areas clarified by Baba himself that areessential to balance out the picture Babagives us. These are his description ofthe natural development of occult pow-ers in the spiritual ongoing of the aspirant, and secondly, some of his corn-ments on why and how the Perfect Onesalso make use of their own powers tohelp an aspirant at a critical point inhis ongoing.

Because of my own predominantlynegative personal experiences and reactions to the occult, I have on severaloccasions committed serious errors inpresenting and commenting on the sub-ject. I would not like to see similar mis-

takes made inadvertently by devoteesof Baba because of incomplete knowledge of what Baba himself has put intothe record to guide us. As I have justcompleted a project for a Spanish pub-lisher on Baba’s life and philosophy, Ihave abstracted several portions from achapter on Occultism which cover portions of the two aspects mentionedabove, and offer them for whatever lightthey may bring.

“The spiritual path leading to theemancipation of consciousness bringswith it an unfoldment of many psychiccapacities which are latent in the human soul. This unfoldment increases thescope and range of human conscious-ness. These new elements often play animportant part in helping or hinderingthe spiritual emancipation of conscious-ness. Therefore, the aspirant not onlyhas to understand the value of such cx-pcriences as unusual and significantdreams, visions, astral journeys, andglimpses of the subtle world, but he alsohas to learn to distinguish real occult

experiences from hallucinations and delusions.

“Although it is customary to exaggerate the importance of occult experiences, it is not uncommon to doubt theirvalidity, and to treat them with the con-tempt usually accorded to all forms ofmental aberrations and abnormalities.The attitude ofunqualified contempt foroccult experiences is of course mostpronounced in those who are not evenabecedarians in direct knowledge of theoccult. It hurts the ego to admit and feelthat there might be vast unexploredfields of the universe that are accessibleto just a limited number of persons, andfrom which one happens to be excluded.The undeserved contempt that occult-ism at times receives is almost alwaysthe outcome of profound ignoranceabout its real meaning. This attitude ofcontempt is of course different from acautious and critical attitude. Thosewho have a cautious and critical approach and who are endowed with humilky and openness of mind are everready to recognize and admit occultphenomena when they occur.

“An aspirant is usually helped by aPerfect Master through ordinary means,and the Master prefers to take him veiledalong the spiritual path. But when thereare specific indications, he may also useoccult techniques to help the aspirant.Special types of dreams are among thecommon methods used for touching thedeeper life of the aspirant. Masters havenot infrequently first contacted aspirants by appearing in their dreams. Suchdreams, however, have to be carefullydistinguished from ordinary dreams. Inordinary dreams the subtle body is aetive in exercising its functions of see-ing, tasting, smelling, touching and hear-ing; but the soul is not using the subtlebody with full consciousness. As theseexperiences in ordinary dreams are received subconsciously, they are in mostcases purely subjective, relating tophysical activities and concerning thegross world, and are the creations ofnascent sanskaras stored in the mind.In some cases, however, a dream that isindistinguishable from ordinary dreamsmay be the reflection in the subconscious of some objective experience of

r ° £ove5treetJ.amj1?osr

Further Thoughtson

0Ccultism

by Don Stevens

E:x3t @t3@öZthe subtle body and not merely a prod-net of fancy.”

Such completely contrary reactionsto occult experiences is not uncommon,given the diversity of human nature. Itdoes serve to alert one however to theimportance of a very careful analysis ofthis area, whether one is attracted to orrepelled by it. Above all, those hypnotized by occult phenomena should beaware of the fact that they will needeventually to refocus on more importantavenues of endeavor. Correspondingly,however, those who reject outright therealm of the occult must make the opposite adjustment of gradually accept-ing this realm for the value that is finally to be embodied for them in suchexperiences.2“The beginner is apt to cx-aggerate the importance of his glimpseinto the inner worlds and to develop anungovernable craving for repetition ofthese experiences, or tries to treat themas abnormal phenomena and underratestheir significance. Of these two alternatives, the attitude of exaggerating theimportance of occult experiences is themost common, because the novelty andrarity of occult experiences are factorsthat contribute to charging them withoverwhelming “

An even more important misuse ofthese occult experiences that Babapoints out is to come to depend on themas a goad to action. The aspirant refusesto budge unless he has a divine portentindicating the way. It is especially insuch instances of over-dependence thatit is important to be under the directguidance of a real Master.4 “In order toavoid the pitfall for the aspirant, theMaster takes good care not to cater tohis new craving for occult experiences.Such experiences are vouchsafed to theaspirant if and when they are absolutelynecessary for spiritual purposes and notwhen he wants or asks for them. “ . . Theintroduction of the aspirant to occultphenomena is necessarily a very gradualand prolonged process. The Master isnever anxious to expedite it, as few per-sons are really qualified to stand theexpansion of their experience in thisnew dimension.”5

Although Meher Baba rarely referredto occult phenomena in these words, TIe

did frequently discuss the subject ofmiracles. There is no ready rule to differentiate one from the other. Often, theword miracle is used simply in a politecontext for a happening associated withreligious exercises and experiences. Inother words, the best clarification wouldbe to suggest firstly that all events whichcannot be explained through any established physicallaws are almost certainlycaused by occult forces, and secondlythat miracles are always on the whitemagic side and never on the black.

This is by no means intended to be-little events established through the centunes, especially by the CatholicChurch. There is every reason to believethat those who caused them or participated in them were in most cases mdi-viduals of great spiritual stature. Theonly point we are suggesting is that theforces involved are impossible to differ-entiate from what are termed in esotericliterature as occult forces. Indeed thereis even a tradition that when JesusChrist was about to perform a miracle,

he deliberately established himself onthe fourth plane, where the infinite di-vine forces are readily and naturallyavailable 6

It is singular that Meher Baba repeat-edly made a strong point of his declaration that lie did not perform miracles.And yet many of those closest to IIimduring his lifetime love to recount stun-fling tales of the most miraculous nature. If Baba was accosted with such astory, at least in Ills later years, he always said simply that TIe had not con-sciously participated in the event beingdescribed.7“Even when real occult cx-perience can be clearly differentiatedfrom illusion, it suffers in its power andefficacy if it becomes the object ofdoubt. This can happen when the per-son who has had the experience discusses the matter with others who, be-cause of their incapacity to understandsuch things, throw out contrarythoughts and shake his conviction. Forthis reason, the Master usually requiresa disciple to maintain strict secrecy

£vtrcetfam2osr 31,

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about his experiences. Even a deep cx-perience is likely to become weakthrough the contradiction and skepticism of others, unless the aspirant haslearned to follow his own inner experience irrespective of what others thinkor say. If the aspirant is to make quickprogress and to profit most from theiviaster’s help, he must develop immenseand unshakable confidence in himselfand the Master. lie must not look to others for guidance, because those who willunderstand his problems or his experiences are very few. The aspirant mustindeed be prepared to face the possibility of not being completely understoodby any of his friends or relatives, for theymay be in the dark about the groundsfor his ideology and course of action.

“If at the time of its occurrence anoccult experience has served the purpose of giving new momentum to spin-tual endeavor, it often does not matterif the aspirant considers it in retrospective analysis and thought as being a formof delusion. however, there are someoccult experiences that are deliberatelyvouchsafed to the aspirant in order thatthey should be standing sources of in-spiration and guidance. With regard tothese special experiences, it becomesnecessary that the aspirant cease doubt-ing their validity and importance.

“The general attitude of seeking end-less corroboration of occult experiencesis definitely unhealthy, and the Mastergives corroborative confirmation onlywhen he considers it necessary. Further,

he takes the initiative in the way hejudges best in the situation. Whateverhe does arises from his unfettered discretion and is in no way related to ordependent upon any expectation developed by the aspirant. But when it is spin-tually necessary, the Master does in-crease the efficacy of occult experienceby confirming its validity and authoritythrough some direct or indirect corroboration from the aspirant’s normal rangeof experience.”8Meher Baba finishes offthis aspect of the subject with a finalprod for the aspirant not to neglect hisown inner effort in the intoxication ofhaving had some supernatural expenience: “The harnessing of occult forcesis not to be regarded in any way as asubstitute for the inner effort the aspir

ant must make to advance further. Whenoccult experiences are gifts from a Per-feet Master, they serve the purpose ofunveiling much of the hitherto obscuredintuition, removing some of the difficulties leading toward the spiritual path,and filling the aspirant with the greatconfidence and enthusiasm that are nec-essary to cope with new requirementsat each stage. But the aspirant makesreal progress by putting into practice thebest intuitions of his heart, not by beingthe merely passive recipient of occult cx-peniences.”9“In the hands of the Masters of spiritual wisdom, occult power isnot only safe but has immense capacities that can be harnessed in the service

of humanity; yet even they are verysparing and economical in its use. Byits very nature, occultism as an art hasits own natural limitations. It cannotbe widely used for helping the materialneeds of humanity or helping it in itsmundane purposes. The introduction ofan uncertain and incalculable factor,which the free exercise of occult powerwould involve, is bound to create muchconfusion and disturbance in the ordinary pursuits of man, who must be leftto his own limitations, resources, andpossibilities for the equal and uninterrupted working out of the law of karma.The use of occult power, therefore, hasto be strictly restricted to the further-ance of spiritual purposes.”°

1. Discourses, pp.180—1812. TheMaster, ©1997 by D.E. Stevens,

planned for appearance shortlyin Spanish.

3. Discourses, p. 1814. TheMaster, chapter on “Ocultism”5. Discourses, pp.181—1826. For a detailed discussion of just

who uses just which powers, seethe Supplement of God Speaks,

pp. 222—232.7. TheMaster, Occultism.8. Discourses, pp.183—1849. ibid, pp. 184—185

10. ibid, pp. 195

I

. ,.‘‘.

32 £vestrectJ:amtf1b . •. :

The Discourses:Seeds of Doubt

by Flagg Kris

I read the article “Don Stevens Speaks” we were, after almost LI years, still ques

(LoveStreet LampPost, April-June . ——--—-—-—-————tioning and doubting. As the article said,

1998) with great anticipation, aware of . .“(From the audience) . . . people say

Don’s deep involvement and knowledge . . . ..

%•. ‘Don’t trust the Sheriar edition’ . . . .“

of Baba’s major works. When I read the . \ . Then an obvious solution to this situa

section on the Discourses, my first re- .. .tion occurred to me: Read the editors’

action was to become defensive about . • Foreword! After rereading the Foreword

his comments on the lack of trust in the : to the ed. several times, it seemed7th, 1987, one-volume edition (the . .. clearlythebestrebuttal. Everything that

“Sheriar edition” he called it) lie also ¶ Eruch, Bal and I did is given in great

implied that I personally made changes detail, including the philosophy of our

about which “I [Donj quite frankly don’t / approach and the reasons for a revised

know the significance “ edition of the Discourses The follow

After some time my mood changed L • ‘ ... ...... . . ing are two excerpts from the Foreword

to distress and a kind of sadness: here . . . .to exemplify these points:

Avatar Meher Baba’s Last Warningto those who love Him, obey Him and all who would want to do so

by Meher Babathrough Adi K. Irani; July 1968

Baba wants all His lovers to know that:

This is a very critical period of the pious such persons appear to be, a Baba- fairs of one another, and they should

Avataric Age and all his lovers must lover must never mix such piety with not be emotionally upset by the per-

strive to their utmost to hold his the Divinity of the Avatar! sonal affairs concerning any of their

daaman very firmly so that it does not A true Baba-lover must remember families. They should NOT let any

slip out of their hands under any cir- the repeated warning given to all Baba- personal affairs vitiate their relation-

eumstanees. lovers time and again to stay away from ships with one another, or affect their

It is very important for all his by- persons who feel and assert that they efforts in the work they do for the

ers, especially in this critical period are masters and saints and possess pow- cause of Truth.not to succumb to lust. Temptations ers to help human beings. his lovers and lIe wants Ilis lovers and workers

are and will be great, but your love workers should never get involved with who are spreading his message of

for him should be greater. Remem- such persons and affairs, much less with Love to others, to share his love

ber him wholeheartedly and rise perverted “helpers of humanity” who among themselves and to uphold the

swiftly from where you have fallen to have no reverence or regard for the Per- spirit of harmony and understandingmarch ahead in his love & service. feet Masters and the Avatar of the age. in Ills name. lie wants them to be less

It is equally important at this eriti- Beware of them who exploit spirituality aggressive toward others and less tol

cal period of the Avataric Age to be- to gain their selfish ends and dupe oth- erant towards themselves; and above

ware at all times of persons who lead ers in the name of Sadgurus and the all lIe wants them to love him whole-

others into believing that they are Avatar. heartedly for lie is the Ancient One

saintly and pious and profess to pos- his lovers and workers should not get who loves them more than they can

sess supernatural powers. however intimately involved with the family af- ever love themselves.

£QveLStrcet LamjPosr 33

,- !:x3

Over the years, readers made inquiriesabout various points in the Discourses andasked Meher Baba and His close disciplesfor clarifications. The problems of misinterpretations and the possible need for revisionswere addressed by Mani (Manija S. Irani),Meher Baba’s sister, in a letterthat appearedin TheAwakener(vol. 3, no. 1 , 1 955): ‘Thereare those who believe thatliterally every wordin the original Discourses is Baba’s and arereluctant to accept any revised version; butactually, though Baba dictated for hours onthe board, Professor Deshmukhembellished and worked up thepoints. Though Deshmukh hasundoubtedly done brilliant workin many places we feel there aremany places where simplificationof sentence structure or correction of grammar would enhancethe beauty and simplicity whichare the essence of Baba’s teach-ings. . . . Now we find there areplaces in the original Discourseswhere Deshmukh obviously mis-interpreted the point, with the resuIt that there are several important errors This quotation isgiven here, not to disparage Dr.Deshmukh or in any way mini-mize his and the other editors’monumental work, but to indicatethatthe original edition ofthe Discourses did contain some stylistic problems and points thatneeded rectification.

The Seventh EditionWhen the sixth edition was

almost out of print, the Avatar Me-her Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust made plans to havethe Discourses republished. Atfirst it was planned to simply reprint the text as it appeared in thesixth edition; thus the initial em-phasis was on completing thesupplementary material to beadded: a new introduction, a glossary, andan index. But it soon became clearthat sometextual changes would have to be made. Inthe years since the 1967 edition, additionalinquiries had accumulated, and some pointsneeded further clarification. As translationswere being prepared for French, German,Italian, and Spanish editions, linguistic aswell as textual questions came up. It also be-came apparent that stylistic changes had tobe made. The individual discourses, it mustbe remembered, appeared over a period ofyears, mostly as journal articles—which in-advertently resulted in inconsistencies in

spelling, capitalization, use of italics, punctuation, and so forth.

Once the decision was made that a revised edition was needed, it was decided thatthe text should be gone over as carefully aspossible. As mentioned earlier, Meher Baba’sexplanations had become more detailed andprofound over the years, as He expandedand further elucidated many points. For in-stance, terms that had been used in theirbroadest sense were redefined to becomemore specific—often coming to mean only

one aspect of a larger concept they had ear-her encompassed. Meher Baba unfolded thedivine theme, in God Speaks and throughdiscussions with His close disciples, to anaudience now ready to understand and accept ideas and concepts of greater profundity.

My role in the revision (other thanthat of secretary) is also specifically discussed in the Foreword. I had no authority or intention to change Baba’swords or teachings. We worked on therevision for over four years. For the first

two or so years, we went over everyword and line and inset heading of thetext: Eruch and Bal deliberating overevery meaning and nuance, seeking precision and clarity; I checking every as-pect of capitalization, punctuation,grammar, italics, spelling, and so on. Thelast two years, while I was out of India,were the page-proof years.

By that time the text was set. Ofcourse there were still minor correc

_______

tions during that time, mostlyof a stylistic nature. Due to thegreat distances between me inKuwait, Eruch and Bal in In-dia, and Sheriar Press inMyrtle Beach, there weresome over changes in the frustrating times of mis-, non-,and slow communications

. (I’m still upset with Sheriar’schange of format of the Glossary). however, these problems were mostly changes dueto type and page size andpage-proof corrections andmailings, and nothing to dowith Baba’s textual content.And it is true that very few ofthese types of changes werecleared with Eruch and Bal onindividual bases. On visits,

‘ general approaches were discussed and agreementsreached. All of this does notprovide Baba-lover readerswith an “escape hatch,” asDon said, for distrusting ordoubting the 7th edition. The

— Foreword excerpt below describes my responsibilities:

Because people are oftenwary of any change in a work such as theDiscourses, which is much studied and of-ten reread, the editors thought it best to allay any fears of massive revisions by specifying just how the editing was approachedand what types of changes have been made.The following criteria and guidelines wereused: make as few changes as possible;make textual changes only when points con-flicted with GodSpeaksor later explanations;change obsolete or archaic words and rephrase awkward sentence structure onlywhen the reader might be misled or con-fused; and correct stylistic inconsistencies.

The stylistic changes fall into the follow-

I 34 £ov&SfreetFCam1Lthsr

DiSCOURSES

Meher Baba

ing broad categories: (1) regularizing spell-ing, hyphenation, grammar, and punctuation,using authoritative style manuals and dictionaries—especially the latest editions of TheChicago ManualofStyle and Websters NewCollegiate Dictionary, which were the mainsources consulted to achieve editorial unitormity in usage, style, and form; (2) arrivingat a pattern for capitalizing spiritual termsand applying it consistently, except for rarecases of emphasis; (3) adjusting the spell-ing and form of non-English terms andnames to God Speaks usage or other refer-ence sources if appropriate; (4) eliminatingmost italics, exceptfor their standard use foroccasional emphasis and for the first occur-rence of non-English words.

To put all this in perspective, I fondlyremember a meeting I had with Mani,Eruch, and Bal at the Trust Office, several years after the publication of the7th ed. I cried as I related the years ofanger, fears, frustrations, guilt, alien-ation from Baba and the Baba community I had experienced during and sincethe Discourses project—having tried toachieve a “perfect” edition. As we driedour tears, they laughed and remindedme that ego-bashing work for Baba nevercomes out perfectly: only Baba is Per-feet. Then Mani insisted that I unloadthe whole painful experience on Baba’sTomb. I did so immediately, and thoughscarred, I’m much lighter of spirit.

The reason for this article and mymessage to the Baba family is: Do notallow seeds of doubt to be planted inyour minds and hearts about what isnow TIlE edition of Baba’s Discourses.I close with the final paragraph of theForeword, but please note that Eruchand Bal had nothing to do with this artide:

The editors have taken great care to seethat the meaning behind the words of MeherBaba in the text remained unchanged whenmaking any revisions. All the efforts of theeditors are offered to Meher Baba insurrenderance to His will and pleasure, andit is hoped that Meher Baba Himself will helpeach reader understand the meaning Hewished to convey through His Discourses.

The Editors

Meherazad, India Eruch B. Jessawala,J. Flagg Kris, Bal Natu Discourses, 7th ed. pg. 302

1986 ©I987AMBPPCT

. - ,: • •

. .‘._4’

Continuity of Lifeby Avatar Meher Baba

The overwhelming importance of death is derived from man’s attach-ment to particular forms. But death loses much of its sting and im

portance, even for the worldly, if one takes a broader view of the courseof life. In spite of the transitoriness, there is an unbroken continuity oflife through these forms—old ones being discarded and new ones beingcreated for habitatin and expression. The recurring incidence of death ismatched by the recurring incidence ofbirth. Old generations are replacedby new ones; life is reborn in new forms, incessantly renewing and refreshing itself. The streams of life, with their ancient origin, are everadvancing onward through the forms that come and go like the waves ofthe ocean.

£vfreetfnmjfJPosr 35

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“Whenever people call Me I listen, but not so much as I do tochildren. Grown-up persons call Me a lot, they cry and theyweep, but at times I remain as if I’m deaf. But if children callMe softly, I listen immediately to their sweet voices. My earsare very sharp to their call. Why is this so? Because I am soclose to you and with you.”

—Avatar Meher BabaLetters From the Mandali, Vol. II pp. 151-152

ed Jim Mistry, 1983 © AMBPPCT

Meherabode

clockwisefrom above: Janani Lee, Danny Maguire& Josh Lee have fun painting the eggs. Janani helpshide the eggs. Danny Maguire wins first prize for themost inventively colored egg.

,/ / Jov&5trectJamLthsr38

e:!:x3® t ‘( x:K3t

From the Love Street Bookstore

Mehera and Mani take up half the book,and the remainder consists of one chap-ter each for the other eight mandali.Within these covers I believe you willfind all you ever wanted to know aboutMehera, Mani, Goher, Meheru, Katie,Arnavaz, Mansari, Rano, Korshed andNaja.

The book is roughly 8 ½ x 1 1 , spiralbound, and has an attractive laminatedcover featuring color photographs ofeach of the women mandali. The 180pages are in clear type and photocopied on good white paper, and include agiossary, a detailed general index, andan index to the captions of the stories,anecdotes and comments by each of thewomen. The book is equivalent toaround 400 pages of a normal paperbackedition. $17

We had an advance of only five cop-ies brought over from Australia for us,and they flew off the shelves as soon asI put them out; so alas, we have no coverto show you! however, we do have foryou an excerpt of her story on Mani onpage 28.

Judith has previously written twolittle booklets entitled A Garland forAvatar Meher Baba vols. one and two.In them she tells of times with Meheraand how the beloved of the Belovedwould show her love for him in a thou-sand ways each day. They are beautifully produced booklets, each having asumptuous color painting of Baba byDiana LePage on the cover. $4 each.

Many years ago Pascal Kaplan wrotea very informative little book called

Understanding Death. It draws uponknowledge given by Baba and generalresearch by Pascal. It can be a very corn-forting book to give friends who may not

even believe in reincarnation, let aloneBaba ! If they are facing the death of aloved one, or even their own, this bookwill help them to be better prepared.Paperback, $5.

e had been out of Jamie Newell’stapes for a while now, but we have

just received a large shipment. Seeingas he is the musical guest for the L.A.Sahavas, they will go fast there, but wewill reserve some for our mail order customers. Jamie is our most prolific pro-ducer of Baba musical tapes and westock five of them: IDreamed I Saw MySavior, The Second Coming, WindowTo God, Zen and the Art of Blues, andBlues is My Business. All are $10 each.

film that is often shown in the Pilrim Center is the beautiful Meher

Baba in Italy. With a gentle classicalmusic background and an easy-on-the-ear narration, it tells of the places inItaly visited by Baba. The cinematographer has so cleverly mixed today’s foot-age of the breathtakingly beautifulPortofino and other locations in Italywith stills of Baba and his companionsfrom the ‘30s that it flows seamlesslyfrom one scene to the next. You are notreally aware that you are not seeing livefootage of Baba. The video is approximately 45 minutes. $35.

e also have five new books to lookforward to. Bal Natu has followed

up his latest release, Samadhi, with In-timate Conversations with the Awakener. This completes the trilogy of theConversations series. Sheriar tells us itwill be out in time for Christmas.

We also hear from Sheriar that there-release date of Love Alone Prevails,Kitty Davy’s great book, comes ever

closer. . . perhaps by Christmas?hermes tells us that Volumes XIIIJ

XIV of the great Lord Meher biographyseries could well be out by Christmas.It will have about 700 pages and over150 photographs. hopefully it will beavailable for the usual $80.

Bill Stephens is on a roll! Last year’srelease, Footprints in the Sand, was avery popular book. Now Bill tells us thathe is readying his next book for a Christ-mas release. More about it in the October issue.

The book that I know will be theyear’s best seller is the Mani dream boCK.Over the latter years of her life, Babahad sent her what she felt were manyvery profound dreams. She told themoften in Mandali hall, but as the end ofher life with us was drawing to a closeshe made a heroic effort to put them alldown for us in a book. She chose Wodinto illustrate these dreams—the artistwho drew the delightfully whimsicalsketches for her book, God-Brother.Wodin has been working on this projectfor almost two years, Sheriar Foundation is publishing it, and it will be readyby Christmas. It wifi be hard-bound withlavish full-color artwork; but beyondthat, I have no details other than thatthe official title is Dreaming of The Be-loved. Watch this column for details!

For the October issue I will be repeat-ing last year’s very successful listing

of the Bookstore Best Sellers. This wayyou can make your choices for holidaygift giving andlet us do the workfor you.Looks like there will be a great new Se-lection to choose from!

That’s it for now folks, hope to see alot of you at the Sahavas. If not. . . seeyou in the Bookstore.

£oveStrcet£amfPosr ..

39,

...continuedfrom insidefront cover

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