Meher Baba Books Los Angeles
 
Meher Baba, 1921,
a year before he completed his seven year training with Upasni Maharaj

God is everywhere and does everything. 

God is within us and knows everything.
God is without us and sees everything.
God is beyond us and IS everything.

God alone IS.

 

Meher Baba  

  

Excerpted from God Speaks by Meher Baba (1955, 1973), p. 298

 

                     
Weekly Reflections No. 31
from Meher Baba Books
(Los Angeles, California)
Hello Dear Companions:

Greetings from Los Angeles, California. Wishing you well in Beloved Baba's Love and Compassion. We had some rain this week. The soil was wet and our souls were happy. The trees, plants and green were all smiling and displaying joy. Thanks to Beloved God.  

Well, it is time for us to meet again in our appointment with Meher Baba -- this time to remember Him in  early days, mostly 1922-1923. 

This mini-circular is now celebrating its 31-weeks birthday. Almost 8 months. Keeping Happy in Baba's Love.

The theme of this week's Reflection is on Meher Baba's Manzil-e-Meem, "The house of the Master", which was his first ashram, located in Bombay (now called Mumbai).

M eher Baba, 1922 (MSI collection)

1922 marks an important and intense period of Baba's life and work. 

First Baba (then called Merwan) completed his final six-month stay at Upasni Maharaj's ashram in Sakori. He then arranged the immediate construction of a jhopdi (thatched hut) for his own personal use, and began staying at the jhopdi. near Poona. Around him there was a group of young local men who formed the core  of the mandali (circle members). They were his friends, as well as his disciples. Among them, one Sayyid Saheb started addressing Merwan as "Meher Baba." Meher signifies "compassionate" and Baba (literally "father") is a respectful address.

Manzil-e-Meem was the Bombay residence Meher Baba used for His work with His close, early disciples (mandali) for about 10 months from 1922 to 1923. This was a period of preparation and of intense activity for these disciples, who were trained in self-discipline and obedience. The slightest disobedience of a mandali member would mean dealing with serious consequences.


As you may recall, we lately started reflecting on the topic of "Women In the West and their Roles." Filis Frederick notes in The Awakener Magazine (a periodical she edited and published) that "In the early Twenties, Meher Baba predicted His work in the West would be done by women, and in the East by men."  Filis, wrote a great series of articles on this interesting topic, from which we are continuing to draw. This week, we continue with Filis' account of the life of Elizabeth Chapin Patterson (part 2), a very interesting and charismatic Baba woman, who played a major role in establishing Meher Baba's Home in the west, Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle beach, South Carolina. 


We hope you enjoy these small occasions for reflecting on the divinity of Beloved Baba's words and life. Be Happy. Meher Baba said, 

"It is a divine art to look cheerful, it helps others."
 
In His Love and Service,
Meher Baba Books 

 
Manzil-e-Meem - "The House of the Master"    

 

 Meher Baba and Gulmai 

 

 

During March 1922, Gulmai returned from Ahmednagar for Baba's darshan. Outside the hut, Baba presented her with a photograph of himself and declared in the presence of all, 

 

"Gulmai's connection with me is very old. She is my spiritual mother." Tears of joy welled up in Gulmai's eyes. Then he asked her, "I want a promise from you today. Will you give it?" 

 

Gulmai replied, "I would offer my very life to you."

 

Pleased, Baba then said, "Give me your son, Adi, and your daughter, Dolly. I want them free for my own purposes. Fulfill your parental responsibility by arranging [your other son] Rustom's marriage soon. Later arrange [your daughter] Piroja's marriage."  

 

Gulmai accepted his wish and, without consulting her husband, Kaikhushru, she gave her promise that Adi and Dolly belonged to him. She could not deny his request. The spiritual mother is she who does not care what others do or say, and never hesitates in fulfilling the Beloved's slightest wish. Because of her love for Baba, Gulmai's relatives were to harass her terribly, but she always remained staunch in her faith in Baba.

 

Upon leaving, Gulmai presented Baba with a pair of sandals specially stitched by a cobbler in Ahmednagar named Kanhoba Rao Gadekar. Baba accepted them with deep appreciation, immediately putting them on. From that day on, he wore no other sandals for years. If any repairs were needed he would call Kanhoba to do them. These chappals along with Yeshwant Rao's kamli coat were the two chief articles of Baba's attire. He would not stop using them despite the mandali's efforts to persuade him to accept new ones. He would care for them as if they were the most precious items in his possession.

Lord Meher online, p. 269 

    



 

Meher Baba in 1922 -- MSI collection

 

 

In 1922 Baba remained in Mandwa [a popular seaside village in Maharashtra, south from Bombay] for a few days, and it was during this stay that he referred to himself as being a God-conscious Master, a Sadguru or Qutub, and mentioned his mandali -- circle of disciples -- for the first time:

 

"From the very beginning, I have a circle consisting of a fixed number of individuals. In the near future, these men will gain the ultimate experience of Truth and Knowledge.

 

Out of millions of souls, only one becomes perfect. Perfection entails unimaginable hardships and sufferings. The Perfect Man can bestow divine consciousness upon anyone in the twinkling of an eye. He bestows it at the right moment upon those who have an age-old connection with him.

 

To clarify this, suppose a man has suddenly come into wealth. After becoming rich, however generous he may be, he will not distribute his riches to every poor person in the world.


He will give it to the selected few who are closely connected with him.

Further suppose that this wealthy man is driving in his car and passes a pauper lying beside the road. He will either leave him there or stop and hand him some money. But if he comes across a poor man and discovers him to be his long lost brother, how will he react then? Despite the importance and essential nature of his errand, he will stop the car and, without the poor man's asking, he will take him in his car to his house and keep him there in luxurious comfort.

 

The same is true in the spiritual path. To acquire the gift of divine knowledge, a person must have a close connection with a Perfect Master. It was because of this spiritual relationship between myself and Babajan that she - without my asking, striving or longing for it -- bestowed on me the experience of God I now have. And it is this intimate, spiritual relationship which will make me, in the very near future, share the infinite treasure with the twelve of my circle."

 

Hearing this conclusion, each naturally wondered whether he was among those chosen to be in the Master's circle.  

Lord Meher online, pp. 260 -261 

 


 

The MANZIL-E-MEEM Structure

 

 ~ Search for Manzil-e-Meem Location ~     

 

Baba and the group then started their walking journey on the road to Bombay. The number of men accompanying Meher Baba totaled 45: 22 were Hindus, 12 were Muslims, and 11 were Zoroastrians. Upasni Maharaj had sent Yeshwant Rao from Sakori to join the group on the journey, which they called "a pilgrimage."

 

They walked in rows four abreast. Baba ordered Gustadji to make certain everyone kept in line. Gustadji had to walk back and forth telling the men to stay in line and consequently he tired more quickly. Behramji had been overworked for some days and was so exhausted that he would actually fall asleep while walking; every now and then, the sitar he was carrying would slip and fall to the ground. Gustadji would reprimand him, but soon Behramji would succumb to fatigue again.....

  

Merwan with Gustadji in the 1920s  (Glow International online)

An intense search for a suitable bungalow for Baba and the men was begun. On the fourth day, a large vacant bungalow, which Baba approved, was found in the Dadar area of the city, at 167 Main Road, opposite the Dadar railway station. It took two days more to settle the terms of rental with the landlord, a Muslim named Haji Abdur Rehman. The bungalow was rented in Behramji's name for the amount of Rs.350 per year.

 

Later, the carpentry work of partitioning the house into different rooms began under Slamson's supervision. A large room on the north side, leading to the upper floor, was turned into a kitchen. Upstairs there was a large hall and on the right two small rooms. One of the rooms was especially for Baba's use; Gustadji stayed in the other. Sadashiv, Behramji and one other stayed in the central hall, as instructed by Baba. The rest of the mandali stayed on the ground floor, which was partitioned with whitewashed gunnysacks stretched on wooden frames into thirteen smaller bedrooms, eight feet square. Baily was given a room on the left side of the front verandah, and one of the mandali stayed in a room on the right side as a watchman.

  

Meher Baba sitting on the steps of Manzil-e-Meem in 1922 
(Courtesy of MN Collection)

 

The bungalow was located in a clean neighborhood and was well ventilated with a large verandah. It had a small compound in the front and a large backyard, but no trees. Another kitchen and toilets were located outside to the north, and a small watchman's hut stood to the south.

 

After the interior renovation was completed, Baba and the men moved in on 7 June. They met in the large hall, and the first topic of discussion was what to name the place. Different names were suggested, but Baba decided it should be called Manzil-e-Meem -- the House of the Master. That evening he requested a music program of qawaali singing and invited many of the neighborhood Muslims to his new abode.

 

Lord Meher online,  p.298
 


THE MANZIL-E-MEEM disciples with Meher Baba (center with a white headscarf) in 1923.
Meher Baba Travels

 

~Seven Orders ~ 

 

Two days prior to moving into the new bungalow, Baba had Ghani prepare a list of seven orders which every man was given to sign. The seven orders were to come into effect on the day they moved into Manzil-e-Meem. These seven orders, as dictated by Baba, were:

 

1. To follow to the letter the spiritual instructions given by me.

 

2. To keep or break the special connection with one other man or more than one from the group or otherwise that I order.

 

3. To abstain totally for twelve months from alcoholic drinks or intoxicating substances, as well as sexual intercourse, except when allowed by me with your legal wife.

 

4. To eat, drink and dress in accordance with the other residents in the house. To avoid eating fish, meat and eggs under any circumstances.

 

5. To be present in the premises from 7:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M -- barring accidents or mishaps.

 

6. To perform faithfully the external duty given to each. 

 

7. Under no circumstances to give up my company, even if one finds that the whole world turned against me, except when ordered to leave me.  

 

Note: If any of the above seven orders is intentionally broken by anyone who binds himself to my orders, I shall lock myself up in my room, avoiding completely all food, drink and company.

 

Order number two can be understood by taking Adi Sr.'s relationship with Gustadji's brother Slamson as an example. In Poona, months before this rule was made for the men, Adi was ordered not to have any association with Slamson. When they arrived in Bombay, Adi was also ordered to keep aloof from Asar Saheb, as well. This meant that Adi could not point at Asar, talk with him, or even accidentally look at him, unless Baba ordered him to do so.

 

Order number four was directed particularly at the Muslim and Zoroastrian disciples since non-vegetarian food was a staple of their diet, whereas the Hindus were traditionally vegetarians.

 

Lord Meher online, p. 299 

 



  Meher Baba with Gustadji in Manzil-e-Meem, 1922

[CLICK to hear]

Singing Meher Baba Name.

Meher Baba - Meher Baba - Meher Baba - Meher Baba - 
Meher Baba - Meher Baba - Meher Baba -Meher Baba  ....


   Meher Baba, Manzil-e-Meem, 1922-23


April 19, 1923 -- Manzil-e-Meem Period Ends

 

In Manzil-e-Meem, this relationship completely changed. The mandali were made to be aware that Meher Baba was their Lord and Master, thereby establishing the relationship that exists between any spiritually perfect Master and his disciples. In different ways, the mandali learned the paramount importance of obeying Baba's instructions. He would constantly impress upon them how important it was to obey his every command - no matter how insignificant it might appear.

 

In matters of spirituality, too, Meher Baba had imparted much esoteric wisdom. Through numerous discourses, the Master had outlined the inner path and divine love, explaining the wisdom of both Hindu mysticism (Vedanta) and Islamic Sufism; and the mandali each day had grown more and more intoxicated. They were now not only dreaming of the Himalayas (spiritual heights), but the fire of enthusiasm inside them had been ignited, urging them to venture its ascent!

 

Merwan sits outside the jhopdi in Poona and plays the ektara. Mehera described His voice as "mellifluous". 

(Glow International online)

 

In Manzil-e-Meem, the men had also accepted being away from their homes and thus remained detached from their families. They were given the opportunity of living with men of different religions and communities - something none of them had ever done before. In Baba's camaraderie, they were inspired to shed their various individual differences, prejudices and respective likes and dislikes, for the general benefit and welfare of all. During this phase of their discipleship, Meher Baba prepared the mandali for future strenuous training which would not have been possible without having spent these preliminary months living with him in Manzil-e-Meem.

 

Leaving memories behind, Meher Baba and the remaining thirteen men left Manzil-e-Meem on the night of April 19th (1923) for Ahmednagar. The train was crowded and their compartment was packed with luggage and other passengers. Amidst this bustle, strangers did not recognize who was in their presence, and the mandali did not realize his purpose;

 

Leaving memories behind, Meher Baba and the remaining thirteen men left Manzil-e-Meem on the night of Thursday, 19 April 1923 for Ahmednagar. The train was crowded and their compartment was packed with luggage and other passengers who did not recognize who was in their presence. None of the mandali had any idea they were about to stay on land which was to become the ever-flowing spring of bliss. "Meherabad appeared barren and deserted at the time," Age observed, "but its cooling, hidden waters would soon quench the earth's dying thirst!" 

Lord Meher online, p. 408 

  

Meher Baba in Meherabad in 1924 (Beloved Archives)
 
 

 Heroines of the Path

By Filis Frederick

  

 

  1930s: Elizabeth with Meher Baba
(Courtesy of Glow International)

   

  IV. Elizabeth Chapin Patterson 
Dilruba, meaning "stealer of hearts" -- part 2

Filis continues her account of the lives of notable Western women disciples of Meher Baba:

  

When she (Elizabeth Patterson) returned to America in '41, she, together with Norina, began her search for a property for a spiritual center, as Baba had requested. He had prophesied that there would eventually be five centers in the United States. One would be virgin land, with a freshwater lake beside the ocean, and be a gift from the heart. Of the other four, one would be in a big city, one in the mountains, one in the desert, and one in the center of the United States. So far, only one has materialized Meher Spiritual Center "on the lakes" in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina -- 500 acres of secluded woodland which embraces Long Lake, Alligator Lake and a fabulous mile of beach. It also, being opposite Bermuda, has the temperate climate Baba wished.  

 

  Meher Spiritual Center - Lake view
 

Simeon Chapin, Elizabeth's father, was a wealthy stockbroker and sportsman who had purchased this property and others in the sleepy little town of Myrtle Beach primarily for the good duck hunting on the lakes, and the golf links close by. He gave it to Elizabeth, who, after fruitlessly searching throughout the U.S. recalled this gift; it was on Easter Sunday, 1943, that she and Norina first viewed it. When she dedicated it solely to Baba's cause His requirement that it be a "gift from the heart" was fulfilled.

 

  Simeon Brooks Chapin, Elizabeth's Father
(Courtesy of The Chapin Foundation)
 

Together with Norina, Elizabeth turned this raw virgin jungle into a beautiful spiritual retreat. Only one who has lived through those nine years of hard work can appreciate what a task she accomplished. She poured both her personal fortune and her love into it. Above all, at every decision point, she consulted Baba. It was totally His. It is this dedication and purity of purpose that I believe made it a success. Others have failed to create viable centers because of mixed motives but in Meher Center there was always a blending of head and heart: Elizabeth's immense practicality and her devotion to her master. The biggest legal problem or a detail like a broken light bulb could claim her whole attention.

 

Elizabeth Patterson and Norina Matchabelli on a balcony of the Palazzo Vendramin in Venice, early 1930s (Courtesy of Charles Haynes)
 

She also very generously let others share in its development. I was lucky to be one, and spent a great deal of time at the Center and at Youpon Dunes, her home in Myrtle Beach proper. The story of the Center has been told many times elsewhere and would be too long to record here; sufficient to say, when Baba came at last in '52, He was well-pleased with His Dilruba's gift. Now 31 years later, it is still functioning as she planned and a road through Briarcliffe is appropriately called Patterson Drive. Her love for the Center extended to the whole community of Myrtle Beach, which she served in many ways. She helped found Ocean View Hospital, and Community Volunteer Services; was a "pillar" of the Methodist Church, etc.

 

Elizabeth's love of animals is well known. Her pets take their place in Baba history, especially Kippy, the miniature Boston terrier and Foundy, a Newfoundland dog deserted by his master in India and which Baba gave permission to keep. She brought him back to America in '41 and returned with him to India in '46 (Foundy rode in a carrier specially built by Abercrombie and Fitch). One day in January, 1948 Elizabeth was crying. Baba queried "Why?" on His board. "Foundy is dying," she replied. Baba answered "He will live longer than Gandhi". Gandhi was shot the next day and Foundy lived two days more. In the ashram, the pet animals were usually in her care. Baba once said, a person who had met the Avatar many many times and skipped many human incarnations may feel very close to the animal world.

 

Lord Meher, p. (1637) 

 

Besides her love of animals, Elizabeth had a strong literary side. In India Elizabeth edited the Meher Baba Journal. She said the staff pinned Baba down to "contributing" one article a month; the first discourse was, naturally, on the Avatar. It was from these articles the collected Discourses evolved. She wrote up her Spiritual Journey with a Modern Guru in the Journal. In a section called Follow Love , she writes:

 

"Love often stirs the heart through a little thing in life, and at the same time has the possibility to end with the greatest thing in life. As much as we all desire love, it is rare to find one soul who dares even the thought of its ultimate completion, rising above all duality and play of opposites to become truly One through God-realization. The personification of Divine Love on earth is the God-Man, who is Love, Lover and the Beloved."

 

Baba called His way the path of love. No matter what other route one takes to God, in the end it is love alone that brings union. What easier way than to begin with love? What matter if the Beloved puts all His brides "under the veil" so they neither see, hear nor use the delights and powers of the Planes, if at the end they join Him? "If you have love, union with the Beloved is certain," Baba has stated.

 

Elizabeth in front of the Lagoon Cabin at Meher Spiritual Center (Photo courtesy of Charles Haynes)
   

Elizabeth Patterson passed away in Myrtle Beach on December 6, 1980 at 84 years of age. Her ashes were placed near Baba's Samadhi close to His feet. The inscription on her grave, "Elizabeth is with Baba" was chosen by her and approved by Baba many years before.

 

P.S. Someone once asked Elizabeth how she was able to give so much to each person, to each and every thing, every day, and she replied "If one sets a time each morning to listen to God in silence, that day becomes the answer." And as her monument she has left us "the Center" where an ongoing stream of visitors may find Him in silence.

    Elizabeth is standing next to Beryl Williams at the Center (Meher Baba Travels site)

The Awakener Magazine online, Vol. 20, No. 2 (1983), pp. 27-29, 

used by permission.  

 

To be continued ... 


Editor's Note :

Born :      July 26, 1896 - Chicago, Illinois, USA

Died :       Dec. 6, 1980 - Myrtle Beach, SC, USA

Buried :   Upper Meherabad, MS, India

Married : Kenneth Patterson - date : November 9, 1929. Died ; March 30, 1956

 




   

THE MASTER SINGS
Meher Baba's Ghazals
The Beloved's Face
Ever since I saw the Beloved's face,
its lines have etched themselves on my heart.
I still nurse the wound of separation within me -
it has left me broken.

Flowing tresses may be a snare and a net:
those are pagan tresses
whose lure, like the bulbul, has sprung from the head,
bogged in the heart.

When ego is erased, duality disappears:
God's lover is himself God.
This is the heart's only home -
the heart in the lover, the lover in the heart.

O Seeker, you make a show of public worship,
then claim your share of desires.
The true lover carries within him, in secret,
the name of God.

Strange are the ways of the enlightened ones.
They weep and laugh in one breath,
scorn on the lip, grace in the heart,
profanity on the tongue, praise in the heart.

Some say God dwells in the temple,
others put him in the mosque.
What do you seek abroad, ignorant one?
Realize, oh Huma, God is within you.
Note: These ghazals were written and sung by Meher Baba during his years of intense spiritual training between January, 1914, when Hazrat Babajan tore away the veil of his limited individuality with a kiss to his forehead, and February, 1922, when his consciousness stabilized in both the individual and universal states, and Upasni Maharaj declared him to be Adi Shakti (the Primal Force of the universe). He then assumed his Avataric duties and began the process of attracting and training his inner circles of intimate disciples.

Ghazals, usually sung in Persian or Urdu in the Sufi and Islamic traditions of spiritual discipline, have a very formal structure of two-line verses, each line divided in two parts. The last part usually ends with the same words throughout the entire song. Meher Baba wrote in Persian, Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati. It is customary for the author to identify himself by name in the last verse. Meher Baba's literary name, Huma, refers to the Persian "bird of Paradise," similar to the Egyptian phoenix, which is superior to all other birds in ability to fly, and which consumes itself in fire every few hundred years, only to rise anew from the ashes. It joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg. It avoids killing for food, rather preferring to feed on carrion. The Persians teach that great blessings come to that person on whom the huma's shadow falls.

      
 

Film Footage of Meher Baba 1933
 Film Footage of Meher Baba 1933
 
This film contains rare footage of Beloved Baba, a real joy to behold.  (If you don't care for the background techno music, you may turn the sound off.)
 
Lyrics and Music by Gareth Emery / Vocalist: Christina Novelli

Watching the sky light fall to black
Feeling like the lights never coming back, no
When it's dark and there's no one
I will be here, Ill be here

And its all for you
Every spark in every flame
All for you
And all the stars they know your name

Like a blazing light, ready to ignite
We are made of dynamite
Fireflies falling through the night
We are made of dynamite

Good bye. See you at our next appointment, next week.
Keep Happy in His Love. Have a good weekend. 

Jai Ba
ba!



Meher Baba Books (Los Angeles)

 

www.meherbababooks.com

Avatar Meher Baba Center of Southern California 
1214 S. Van Ness Avenue 
Los Angeles, CA  90019 


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