Jai Baba!
The theme of this session is: How might we welcome more new people to Meher Baba and Avatar’s Abode? Alternatively, I also had another titled in mind: Where do we go from here? Two questions that I believe are related, I will try to explain.
First of all, its pretty obvious that here at the Abode and also elsewhere in the Baba world, we are in a transitional phase. At present with the exception of a few lovely drop souls, it is primarily still the initial wave of baby boomers and their children who make up the majority of Australian Baba lovers. Looking at it realistically, I’m afraid one could be forgiven for speculating, especially now as the boomers begin to fade from the scene, that the number of Australian Baba lovers seems to be declining. Hence, where do we go from here?
Of course none of us normal human beings can predict the future, but we can reflect on what Baba has indicated may happen from hints He has given. He said that Avatar’s Abode would be a place of world pilgrimage, and we have seen this already happening to some degree. We know as well that He has suggested that there will be difficult times ahead, He said that eventually man will finally, in absolute desperation, call out to God, resulting in Baba braking His Silence, that this singular supreme event would resonate within each individual, dependant on their capacity to receive it. From this would emerge The New Humanity and the fulfilment of this Avataric manifestation.
Returning now to the question: Where do we go from here?
There probably are thousands locally and millions nationally who have never heard of Meher Baba, nor know of the existence of this special place, Avatar's Abode, that He visited and is dedicated to Him, as well as Meher House in Sydney. I’m not in anyway suggesting we proselytise or try to “convert” anyone, absolutely never! But perhaps we could still find ways to at least attempt to get the word out that Meher Baba existed, that He offered fresh, contemporary spiritual insights, and was a living personification of spiritual perfection, which is in fact our own true Self, and ultimate destiny. And that there is a place called Avatar’s Abode that you can visit and find out more about Meher Baba, and maybe even sense His presence.
The period since Baba dropped the body seems to have been a phase when only those with a close connection were drawn to recognise and revere the Avatar, but is that still the case, might the consciousness of the world be silently shifting in unexpected ways, becoming more accepting and even actively seeking, a deeper inner experience and a heightened sense of self awareness? Here locally, a few years ago I stumbled upon a new type of healing modality that incorporates within its construct levels of personal awareness. For a particular stage they refer to it as “the Awakening of the Heart”, where one experiences oneself as a spiritual being living in the world, with a heartfelt sense of connection to all life. They also describe what they see as a growing trend of those seeking a deeper, more vital spiritual awareness, and refer to this as: “The New Humanity”. This is not your old school, ego centred self preoccupation, its about an expanding sense of self as a spiritual being, awakened and seeking to be of service to humanity. As far as I know they have never heard of Meher Baba. Whose to say whether or not Baba may be subtly and silently using many channels to do His work as He continues to awaken humanity.
While preparing this presentation I was encouraged by a friend in the US to contact Daniel Stone because they felt that we were thinking along similar lines of exploring ways to more broadly share Baba’s treasures. I emailed him and he too has noticed in his many contacts outside the Baba community, that there is a growing sense in what is generally called the Mindfulness Movement of a higher potential within each one of us, and that there seems to be an increasing receptivity to Baba’s messages about our true spiritual nature, and our shared oneness with all life. He recently was a guest speaker on a program called Buddha at the Gas Pump, you can watch it on youtube, 18,000 viewers have tuned in so far.
I also spoke to Jeff Wolverton who many of you know from India and Myrtle Beach, and he passed on a story of a couple who decided to put a simple ad in their local paper containing Baba’s message “Love is essentially self-communicative: those who do not have it catch it from those who have it ...”, along with Baba’s name. It was very low key, but it worked, and people responded according to Jeff.
This brings to mind what Baba has referred to as “Spreading my message of truth and love” Here then, are some selections from a message about what Baba referred to as Real Work delivered in 1954:
WHAT BABA MEANS BY REAL WORK - Here are some highlights:
“The meeting for which you all have assembled here, and which is the first of its kind that I have held in this sixty years of my life, is for the Divine Cause. This assemblage reminds me of former meetings during my previous Incarnations. Then the circumstances were different; but since eternity the same God-Incarnate has been presiding over such meetings for the same Cause — the Divine Cause. Thus never has it been more truly said than in the spiritual cause that history repeats itself.
"What I want from all my lovers is real, unadulterated love, and from my genuine workers I expect real work done.
"You have been called upon to do "Baba's work," and you have been called "Baba's workers." But, is it necessary for you to work at all for "Baba?" If I am the Highest of the High and God-Incarnate, then where is the necessity for me to have workers and to be entangled with Centres and Organizations, mass Darshan programmes, and other channels through which to spread my Message? Can I not, in my own silent way do the Universal Work.
"The reason I have called upon you individually to work for me is so that each one of you may share in the Divine Cause; and these programmes such as mass Darshans are created to give an opportunity for the expression of individual and collective love.
"Therefore, if you are prepared to share my Universal Work, the work which falls as your share must be done whole-heartedly and honestly. That work is to spread my Message of Love in every corner of the world — all, rich and poor alike — without any distinction as to religion, caste, creed, sect or sex. My Message always has been and always will be of Love Divine — let the world know it. I entrust this share of the Universal work to my real workers who genuinely desire to serve in the Divine Cause.
"Outwardly you may establish hundreds of centres for Baba, or none at all; that is your own responsibility. But bear in mind that for my work it is not necessary to have centres, or offices, nor the "botheration" of accounts and the collecting of money. Let Baba's Love be the Centre, the Office, the Help and the Work.
"I want my lovers and workers to know that there is no greater "Baba Centre" than the heart of my lover. Those who truly love me are my Centres in the world. Let each "Baba-lover" wherever he or she may be, be a "Baba's Centre" personified, radiating the eternal message of Love Divine, living the life of love, sacrifice and honesty.
"If you had even the tiniest glimpse of my Divinity, all doubts would vanish and love — Real Love — would be established. Illusion has such a tight grip on you that you forget Reality. Your life is a Shadow. The only Reality is Existence Eternal — which is GOD.” - End quote.
So then, my question for us now is, does any of this stir your interest and if so are there things we, as a group or as individuals, might wish to consider taking on to try and help bring an awareness of Baba to the broader Australian community?
Obviously I have already given this some thought, here then are a few potential options we could consider:
We could extend invitations to local media; news, radio, tv, and invite them to come to the Abode, introducing them in the simplest, most digestible form, to Meher Baba as the Avatar, and the story of the Abode and Baba visit in 1958.
For the more social media savvy, Tian told me about a dedicated blogger in China who posts a Baba quote daily, and now has thousands of followers. There may be as yet other unexplored uses for these mediums. One point though that we shouldn’t forget, even though the internet is filled with Baba material, you still have to know His name in order to search for Him.
Another thought that comes easily to mind, would be to somehow make his image and his name more publicly available, as some here did back in the 60’s with their beautiful posters, or place ads in newspapers or other media. We know of many stories where just seeing Meher Baba’s face was all that was needed to stir certain individuals to find out more about the God-man. Baba is completely capable of awakening someone’s heart once they are made aware of Him, our job might simply be to just provide them with that opportunity. As with the folks Jeff Wolverton spoke about; a quote and His name was all that was need, people could then do their own search on the web, and it worked.
Large gatherings such as music festivals, or universities might also be places we can try to spread an awareness of Baba. At festivals we could offer free Baba material; posters, pamphlets, cards, photos etc, perhaps display a monitor showing Baba videos. At Universities an introductory talk and film could be offered followed by a Q & A. We could also reach out to nearby churches and explain to their leaders about the Universal, all embracing nature of Baba’s spirituality, highlighting our shared values and our common good fortune in knowing and loving the Lord. We could Invite them to come to the Abode for a look around, explaining that the Abode is for all lovers of God, no matter the form or content of their beliefs. If they seemed receptive, perhaps inviting their community to come to the Abode as our guests for a meal that we would prepare for them and where our two communities could get to know each other. Place like Chenrezig might be a place to start? By the way, the translation of Chenrezig is “the Buddha of Infinite Compassion”.
The main goal is simply to let more people know about Meher Baba and His Abode; that’s it. No mission to convert or sell Baba to anyone, definitely not. Just to make his name more available, and his image. If asked a question, naturally we’d reply as best we could, but never challenging their personal beliefs.
Along similar lines, I was talking to Debbie and Peter Nordeen, they mentioned that the Asheville group are planning, once the MAC Center is open, to offer a Community Open House, or Open Days, specifically inviting nearby locals who are not Baba lovers, to welcome them to MAC and introduce them to Baba, along with an introductory film.
In a sense this is about expanding our vision of who Baba is for, beyond the borders of our established Baba family. That the Avatar belongs to all, that He is for all, and all are welcome. Baba would never accept any separation based on creed or caste, His Darshans were open to one and all, those who believed in Him and those who did not, we know of many stories where individuals came to a Darshan specifically to expose and humiliate Baba, but found themselves instead overcome with love for Him.
Finally, two additional questions follow from the first. If we share with more people about Baba and they respond, and if these new people start showing up at the Abode, are we prepared to receive them? Basically at present its completely hit or miss, sometimes there is someone here, sometimes not, but if we made an effort to let more people know about the Abode, don’t we then need to be set up on site to receive them, whenever they may show up?
Thirdly, if we made the initial effort and people start coming, and we are able to receive them, what about supporting them as they take their first steps on their personal journey with the Beloved?
These three components, first; letting more people know about Baba and the Abode, secondly, being prepared and ready to receive those who may respond, and thirdly creating a special followup program designed specifically for new people, creates a complete package designed just for new people.
The issue of whether we are set up to receive the random new person, who even now turn up out of the blue, is a serious question to consider, is this not one of the core services at the heart and purpose of Avatar’s Abode? Resolving it is difficult as we are such a small group, and volunteers can be scarce, but then if that is the case, might we perhaps need to consider creating a paid position, if this were the only solution?
The concept of the special program for new people, could be perhaps a monthly event specifically designed to assist new people in their developing understanding of Meher Baba. These could include simple presentations about some of the core fundamentals, such as reincarnation or the Divine Theme, followed by an open Q & A, including possibly as well a video, since video’s of Baba carry so much feeling and insight into his life and his enchanting, divine personality.
I have some additional ideas to discuss, such as about serving monthly meals for the homeless, and other ideas about ways to expand and increase the Abode’s and Baba’s public profile and seed new growth, but I think this is already plenty for us to discuss at this particular session.
Let’s open it up now for discussion and your feedback, positive or negative, please consider this is a wide open forum. Does anyone else have any thoughts or ideas about where we might go from here, or how to welcome more people to Baba and Avatar’s Abode?
Jim Frisino
Comments