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Meher Baba lived from 1894 to 1969.
He was born Merwan Irani of Persian parents,
raised in India and educated at an English school in Poona.
At the age of 19, after a fairly ordinary childhood,
he was befriended by an aged woman called Hazrat Babajan, one of
the five Perfect Masters of the time.
This encounter was to change his life forever.
She kissed him on the forehead, unveiling him
to his spiritual perfection; and thus he fully realized himself
as God.
"This child of mine," declared Babajan, "will
create a great sensation in the world and do immense good to humanity."
After contact with the other four Perfect Masters,
Merwan's consciousness as God and Man was complete. His mission
on earth had begun.
Meherabad
His first task was to gather a group of
dedicated disciples, known as his Mandali, who gave him the name
Meher Baba, which means 'Compassionate Father'.
He was soon to establish an ashram, free hospital,
and school, for all castes and creeds, built in the remains of
a deserted English military post, in a remote corner of India.
This became known as Meherabad, now the location
of Meher Baba's tomb and a place of worldwide pilgrimage.
Silence
In 1925 he spoke for the last time and maintained
a silence for 44 years, until his death.
He did, however continue to communicate. At first
by means of an alphabet board, and later by signs and gestures.
"You have had enough of words…it is now time
to live God's words. It is not though words that I give what I have
come to give. When I break my silence the whole of creation will
hear and know who I am."
Travels
It was about this time that His travels
begun.
Initially Baba and the Mandali covered thousands
of miles of the Indian subcontinent.
And in spite of intolerable conditions, He gave
immeasurable care and attention to the poor, the sick, the lepers
and the mad.
Eventually His travels brought him to the West,
first setting foot on British soil in 1931. In England Baba formed
the Meher Baba Association.
He went on to America, and around the world on
a number of occasions during the 1930's and again in the 1950's.
Although He continued to center Himself in
India, Baba established His "Home in the West" at Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina, USA.
The Myrtle Beach Center still serves as a beautiful
spiritual retreat for those who are drawn to Him.
Physical Suffering
It was whilst traveling in the USA that
Baba had the first of two major accidents.
He had stated many years earlier that He would
spill His blood on American soil.
In 1952, true to His word, Baba was severely
injured while crossing the USA by car.
Four year later He had a second inexplicable
car accident that resulted in His suffering the intense pain from
a broken hip for the remaining years of His life.
The Final Years
Apart from a few mass gatherings at which,
for the first time, He allowed the thousands who believed in
Him and loved Him to come and receive His blessings. His final
years were spent in seclusion.
Here He concentrated on His 'Universal Work'.
In 1968 he declared that this work was completed
one hundred percent to His satisfaction.
On January 31st 1969, He left His earthly body,
"To live eternally in the hearts of those that
love Me."
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