M EHER S PIRITUAL C ENTER April Newsletter 2019

"I use the circumstances of everyday life to liberate my devotees, but I use them in a way that is beyond the comprehension of the intellect.  So, you must not expect me to provide you with blueprints of my plans, either individual or universal. Have faith in me, supreme faith." Meher Baba  Online Lord Meher, p. 1812.

Dear Meher Center Family and Friends,  A loving Jai Baba to you from your Meher Center family. We are reaching out in this, our April newsletter, to share with you some of what's happened in the past month, as well as some upcoming events. One special milestone we want to share is that Meher Center will be celebrating its 75th birthday in May! Looking back, it’s incredible to think of all the moments of love that have taken place on the Center over the decades since Elizabeth first wrote to Baba that the 500 acres was "deeded in my name on May 15 th , 1944." We can only imagine what Baba’s work will be over the next 75 years on His Home in the West.  We look forward to seeing you at Meher Center one day soon. In Meher Baba's love and service,  Buz Connor For Meher Center board and staff

Meher Baba visiting Brookgreen Gardens 1952 (Shaw family photo)

Operational Projects Completed & Underway

Projects Completed Monthly intensive mold and mildew treatment in the Meeting Place. Two new safety handrails created—one leading into the Original Kitchen from the patio porch, the other coming down the walkway leading into the patio porch from the outside. Repairs and painting of several wall areas in Meher Abode treasure room. Annual intensive cleaning of all Center cabins and public buildings. Projects Underway Fire mitigation and vegetation ecology consultants continue work on their studies, due to provide recommendations in May. Restoration work on the Lantern near completion: roof replacement, rebuilding access ramp, window and siding replacements, kitchen restoration work, repairs and painting inside and out. Post-hurricane restoration work on the Original Kitchen near completion; kitchen area opened for use. Creation of an access ramp at main entrance to the Original Kitchen. Continued road work due to more heavy rains. Lands End (southern boundary) fence repair and establishment of emergency gate in that area. Cabin upkeep intensified with the arrival of spring, more guests and pollen season!

Original Kitchen Re-opens By Jamie Keehan

Original Kitchen, Meher Center (L-R) Kitty Davy, Elizabeth Patterson, Murshida Ivy Duce & Laura DeLavigne The original Original Kitchen, the tiny six by eight foot hut on the northern end of the kitchen complex overlooking Long Lake, was constructed in 1944 - one of the first buildings on the emerging Meher Center property. Later, before Baba's first visit in 1952, a dining room with an open patio was added. As many of you know, in September of last year, at the end of Hurricane Florence, a giant tree fell right on top of this original part of the building. The damage was severe and structural, from the roof to the foundation. Aside from the broken boards and shattered roof, it looked like part of the structure was drooping, sliding down the hill toward the lake.   At most facilities, this would mean it was time to call in contractors to tear down significant parts of the building and create something new, using the most efficient techniques and whatever materials would do the job.   But in 1952, Meher Baba sometimes walked into the Original Kitchen to chat with His lovers after breakfast. Later in the day, people leaned against the building, watching the radiance of the faces emerging from the Lagoon Cabin and waiting for their own interview with Him. In 1956, Elizabeth Patterson’s 60th birthday party was held there, and Baba cut the cake. In 1958, Baba was carried there during His final tour of the Center just before leaving the U.S. for the last time.   And so, fixing the Original Kitchen is not like fixing any other building. It’s a process of remembrance, of working to ensure those who are loving or learning about Baba now and over the next century can continue to step back in time, stand somewhere that is still the place that He stood.   We could not overestimate this task, or the dedication of the community members and staff who accomplished it. Over the past seven months, they rebuilt the smashed side of the structure from top to bottom, inside and out. This included a complete replacement of the roof, and a rebuilding of the foundation.   At each step, the team prioritized keeping the Original Kitchen the Original Kitchen. They salvaged everything they could. They analyzed similarities in new and old materials. They scraped and stained. They went to an extended effort to acquire cypress siding that would match the original. They spent countless painstaking hours on the roof or on the ground or facing the walls-- not just fixing the building, but bringing it back.   And then, last month, it was finished.   When asked what it feels like to be done, a leader of the project says, “It’s rewarding. It’s rewarding to get it back the way it was … and it’s an honor, you know, to work on these old buildings, in this setting and this site. It’s a great privilege.” When asked why the team went to such extraordinary lengths, he says, “Meher Baba was in there.”   For me, I remember my first moment walking back into the building, after months of seeing these dedicated workers sawing and nailing and painting and puzzling over the beloved structure. And what I felt was— that nothing had happened. I went back in time, not only back a few months before Hurricane Florence, but really back— all the way back to when Baba’s lovers were in there, finishing breakfast and awaiting a day with Him, and when suddenly His form appeared unexpectedly behind them, to chat and joke before He began His work for the day.

After the storm Today

After the storm Today

After the storm Today

Recent Events

Artist in Residence Steve Klein’s Incredible Story Telling By Preeti Hay Pendu, one of Meher Baba’s Mandali, lovingly called Steve Klein, “Junior Hafiz.” Those were the days when Steve was a young seeker and a resident scribe in Meherabad. His stories of intimate times with the Mandali were at the heart of his Artist in Residence program last month. It was evident that those times with the Avatar’s closest disciples shaped him, trained him and turned him into the poet, the storyteller and the disciple that he is today. Steve’s focus this week was on stories that were passed on directly from the Mandali and not necessarily documented, thus tapping into the rich oral history tradition in the Baba world. Steve’s storytelling is not surreal by any stretch of imagination. It is not laden with philosophical concepts or universal dilemmas. Much like the Mandali, he draws from the personal. His stories are set in the most mundane realities of life with Baba. A lesson a mandali member might have learned during a disastrous travel trip with Baba, or through a missed cup of tea over and over. These stories illustrate the obstacles, the hardships and the annoying nudges that are caused in the life with a Master, but Steve points out that these kind of stories are told because they are humorous and entertaining. As seekers we find these stories vicariously relatable. The truth behind the prevalence of such re-tellings is that there are no words to describe the intensity of love felt at all times while being with the Master. The secret pearls of this love are hidden behind the shells of everyday life. “If you allow yourself to be possessed by love, then anything and everything is the Beloved’s whispering in your ear, ‘I love you,’” says one of his poems. This very love and the pining toward it, in essence is the poet’s pursuit. Steve’s talks were beautifully interspersed with poems from four of his published works of poetry. His Tagore-esque style and structure captures the state of being of a seeker without pretense. What Steve thought would be a handful of people at each meeting, turned out to be a Meeting Place full of close to eighty people! If you thought the mystic poet seeking the Friend was only found in the aging pages of sepia toned poetry books, then this event would have made you change your mind. What Steve reminds us is that this longing is as old as the Avatar Himself, in all His incarnations. He also reminds us of our good fortune to experience this love in the present. And most of all, he lights the flame and rekindles it, through art and devotion to take home with us. “Once one truly learns to bow down, Mecca is everywhere.”

Upcoming Events

Bernard & Jo-Anne Buford May 15, 3 pm May 17, 8:15 pm Meeting Place Bernard & Jo-Anne Share Their Times with Meher Baba and Life at Avatar’s Abode Bernard and Jo-Anne Buford Bernard is pleased to share his fortunate times with Meher Baba in 1956 and 1958 in Australia, and in India at the 1962 East West Gathering. Bernard will also share about his life in service to Baba, the early settlement and development of Avatar’s Abode, the early Baba movement in Australia, life at the Abode after Francis Brabazon’s return in 1969, and present day life at Avatar’s Abode. Bernard’s wife Jo-Anne has been an integral part of the Baba family in Australia for nearly 50 years, and together they raised their three children on the Abode. As part of Bernard and Jo-Anne’s 10 week travels, they will be staying at the Meher Center from May 11-20, 2019. Two programs are planned for Bernard to share his experiences with beloved Meher Baba: Wednesday, May 15th at 3 pm at the Meeting Place and Friday, May 17 at 8:15 pm at the Meeting Place.

75th Birthday Celebration Program of the Founding of Meher Center May 18, 8:15 pm Meeting Place

(ECP photo archive)

On Meher Baba’s first visit, He expressed His pleasure with all that was done to establish the Center, saying, "I am so happy to be here, and most of all I am deeply touched with the love and devotion shown by both Elizabeth and Norina throughout the past years in preparing such a unique spot for my work and comfort … of all the homes I have visited, this is the home that I love the best, because it was given to me and built for me with such love.” Please join us for this program celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Baba's home in the West.

Ross & Jenny Keating April 26, 8:15 pm April 27, 8:15 pm Meeting Place On Friday April 26, Ross Keating will give a talk in the Meeting Place. This talk will primarily focus on his time with Francis Brabazon who was one of Meher Baba's Mandali from Australia, who Baba called, "His Poet." Ross was one of a small group who spent weekends with Francis Brabazon at Avatar’s Abode during the 1970’s. He completed a doctorate on Francis’s life and poetry which was later published,  Francis Brabazon Poet of the Silent Word: a Modern Hafiz  (2002). Ross will also talk about the impact Francis had on his own collection of poetry called  A First Act  (2015) and his fictional work  Reading Stay With God  (2017).   On Saturday April 27th, Jenny and Ross Keating will present stories and music in the Meeting Place. Francis was like an uncle to Jenny. He lived with the family off and on until his departure for India in 1959. From there, he sent a lot of his early songs to Jenny’s mum Joan and, along with Jenny’s sister Maree, they were the first to learn them. A tape recording of Jenny and Maree's singing was heard by Baba in 1967 and again in 1968. Jenny will be sharing the intimate stories of performing for Baba and will perform her music along with Ross.

A First Experience of the Center By Jamie Keehan (ECP photo archive)

Before she came to the Center, Kyleigh jokes that her life was like a chess game where she kept getting “taken by the pawns.” But once she learned about Baba, things started changing for the better. Kyleigh’s first few years in Myrtle Beach weren’t an easy time for her: she’d moved to the city to live with her parents, but the home situation was unhealthy, and she was unemployed. She started taking yoga classes to get out of the house and deal with the stress, and it was there that she heard about the “meditation center” across from the Myrtle Beach Mall. A year later, working at Fresh Market, exceptionally friendly people with Baba lockets would talk with her and invite her to the Center. But Kyleigh never went — she always assumed she couldn’t afford a “meditation retreat.” Then everything went really wrong, all at once. It was a check-mate: her home situation deteriorated further; she got diagnosed with pre-cancerous cells; and she dislocated her knee, so she couldn’t do the yoga that had become a critical way of dealing with the negativity in her life. She was at her wits’ end. At that critical moment, Kyleigh did her taxes. Unexpectedly, she saw that she was getting a $600 tax return. Enough for her retreat. She stood up, walked out of the tax preparation office, and dialed the Center. That weekend, Kyleigh walked into the Gateway for her required tour. From the very beginning, subtle things made her feel connected to the Center. Hearing about Baba’s mission of bringing all religions together like “beads on one string” addressed lifelong questions about the interrelatedness of “different” religions. Driving down the road, under the canopy of trees, she felt like she was going back in time to her grandmother’s lake house. The tour guide had her mother’s name. There was a familiarity, a family-ness, to the place that she wasn’t expecting. After the tour, she found herself in the Boathouse, listening to what she describes as the first silence she’d heard since she’d moved to Myrtle Beach. She broke down in sobs. Then she fell asleep. When Kyleigh woke up, she started exploring the Center, and, with her naturally exuberant personality, she started building relationships. She met Center staff members, and followed them around while they told her Baba stories. She met other young people who would become close friends and partners on the path. And she met some of Baba’s disciples, especially Mehera, through reading and contemplating books that she found. And slowly, over weeks and months returning to the Center, Kyleigh started to build a relationship with Meher Baba Himself. Baba became a key player in Kyleigh’s life, and that’s when she started to notice things changing for the better. She decided to get into counseling, and eventually she developed the courage and conviction to move out of the living situation that had been so unhealthy. She feels that Baba put the right people in her path on the Center, and those people eventually helped her find a place to live. “Baba moved all the pieces in the right direction for me,” Kyleigh says of how her life has changed. “When I was just trying to navigate things without Him I was getting taken by the pawns, but …I feel like He was the only reason I was able to really get there and really improve my life, and start working on myself.”

For more information go to our website Mehercenter.org