MEHER SPIRITUAL CENTER

The Heart of Every Lover:
Weekly Offerings

September 3, 2021
Meher Nazar Publications collection
"My center is the heart of every lover. 
Every lover with a heart that loves Baba is a center."

Meher Baba 
At Meher Center, 1956
Dear Meher Center Family and Friends,

Our sharing this week focuses on entertaining the Beloved, an important feature of His advent that He always encouraged in those around Him, His Mandali and other close followers.

In The Joyous Path, Mani, Baba’s sister, points out: 

“The lighter, innocent recreations have always been a part of the way Baba conducted our life. We would be asked to put up plays, skits, entertainments for Him.”*

“We did a lot of entertainments for Baba, and I’m happy that I was blessed with a kind of nonsense that enabled me to give Baba a smile, to amuse Him, delight Him. He loved it.”**

We hope you enjoy these offerings.


Buz Connor
For Meher Center board and staff

*The Joyous Path, by Heather Nadel, p. 135
**The Joyous Path, by Heather Nadel, p. 442
Entertaining Baba at Meher Center
This silent video highlights some of the joyful entertainment put on for Baba at the Center during the 1958 Sahavas. First, Lenny Willoughby leads the crowd in a rousing version of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” with a backup band including Henry Kashouty on the trombone. Then, after a video of Baba being carried in His lift-chair by some of Margaret Craske’s dancers, we see a skit put on by a group of men dubbed “The Alligator Club.” In the skit, Dana Field portrays a baby being wheeled around in a wheelbarrow “carriage” by his “mother.” Finally, there is a video of more Alligator Club members before a playful shot of Kitty Davy. Baba said that watching the Alligator Club’s work made Him laugh so hard He almost broke His silence. 

Video, 2:27
Meher Spiritual Center, May 1958
Used with permission from Sufism Reoriented
The Secretary: A Comedy of Discipleship
The Secretary is a 35-minute play written by Philip Lutgendorf in 1973. Its sole character is the secretary for Meher Baba’s production company, Parvardigar Productions, played whole-heartedly by Susan Smith. Through her focused and tireless work for her boss, who is “out of the office” for 700 years, we catch a glimpse of how we might dedicate our lives to, and ultimately please, our own Beloved. The play is bookended by a musical performance by Susan’s husband and stage manager Darryl Smith, as well as the story of the original actress who starred in the play as a long-awaited response to Baba’s call. 

Video, 1:06:47
Meher Center Meeting Place, March 23, 2019
From the Meher Spiritual Center, Inc. Archives
Dr Ghani: Meher Baba's Childhood Friend
This is an excerpt (dubbed in English) from a play performed by the Bombay Group at Meherabad in October of 2019 and in Mumbai for Baba's birthday in 2020. Here, we see an incident with Dr Ghani, one of Baba's childhood friends and close disciples. Baba has asked all His Mandali to write an article about His Avatarhood. What follows during the process is a demonstration of His harsh early spiritual training where He tested and tried His disciples and expected nothing short of equipoise in return. Will Ghani pass the test?

Video, 8:29
Meherabad, India, October 2019
Courtesy of the Avatar Meher Baba Bombay Center