"It was like seeing a champion boxer just beaten and bloody on the ground..."

Your Friday photo is in honor of Baba’s Tree…

The comments from Ron Holsey, board vice president and guest caretaker, are from his interview for the feature documentary on Baba’s Tree — Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience.

This photo was taken by Margaret Magnus, producer of Tree of Fire, after the 2017 Thomas Fire and high winds felled Baba’s Tree. This picture shows a major section of the trunk lying on the ground after it broke off.

“The first time that I saw the tree after the fire, it was this grand majestic, strong living being that had been just decimated and was suffering.

“It was like seeing a champion boxer just beaten and bloody on the ground. It was this towering giant that had been felled. It was heartbreaking.

“I had a lot of empathy for tree. I just felt bad that Baba’s Tree tree had to go through that.

“It had been through so much. It had survived one fire already.”

— Ron Holsey, Board Member and Guest Caretaker

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Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience

Tree of Fire is the journey of a seemingly ordinary oak tree blessed by the presence of Avatar Meher Baba. For decades, Baba’s Tree fulfills its role of inspiring others. Then one night it is felled by fire and high winds. Its very existence is threatened.

Through the tree’s own resilience and love, it is transformed by fire to emerge even more powerful in radiating Meher Baba’s love.

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"Let my love open the door..."

Your Friday photo is in honor of the 45th anniversary of the release on April 21, 1980, of the hit song, “Let My Love Open the Door,” by Pete Townshend.

This photo of the heart gate at Meher Mount was taken by Caretaker Ray Johnston just after he finished building it in 2003.

Volunteer Stephanie Ervin shares her Meher Baba coincidence involving the heart gate and Pete Townshend’s song.

“Let my love open the door...”

— Pete Townshend, Songwriter & Musician

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Stephanie Ervin recalls her preparations for being a guest caretaker at Meher Mount in September 2018:

“I made a playlist for the two-and-a-half hour drive to Meher Mount with some of my favorite songs — one of which was ‘Let My Love Open the Door’ by Pete Townshend. It seemed fitting, since Townshend is a follower of Meher Baba, and the song always felt like it was surreptitiously about Meher Baba.

“The playlist was on shuffle, so I didn’t know when the song would play during my drive. Just as I reached the heart gate at the entrance to Meher Mount, this song started playing.

“I put my car in park to unlock the gate, leaving the music playing so I could hear it and chuckle as I opened the gates to drive through.”

“Let My Love Open the Door” on the album Empty Glass, was a Top Ten hit in 1980 for musician Pete Townshend of The Who. It was his only solo Top Ten hit.

Townshend, a follower of Meher Baba, originally brushed the song off as "just a ditty" after its release. Later in 1996, he revealed it was about Divine Love.

“It’s supposed to be about the power of God’s love,” Townshend said in a Rolling Stone interview. “That when you’re in difficulty, whether it’s major or minor, God’s love is always there for you.”

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Lyrics — “Let My Love Open the Door”

When people keep repeating
That you'll never fall in love
When everybody keeps retreating
But you can't seem to get enough

Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door
To your heart

When everything feels all over
Everybody seems unkind
I'll give you a four-leaf clover
Take all worry out of your mind

Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door
To your heart, to your heart

I have the only key to your heart
I can stop you falling apart
Try today you'll find this way
Come on and give me a chance to say

Let my love open the door
It's all I'm living for
Release yourself from misery
There's only one thing gonna set you free
That's my love
That's my love

Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door

When tragedy befalls you
Don't let it drag you down
Love can cure your problems
You're so lucky I'm around

Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door
Let my love open the door
To your heart

Songwriter: Pete Townshend

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Sources

• “Lyrics and Meaning of ‘Let My Love Open the Door’ by Pete Townshend,” Song Meanings Blog, accessed April 16, 2025.

• Alli Patton, “The Spiritual Meaning Behind Pete Townshend’s ‘Let My Love Open the Door,’” March 28, 2023, American Songwriter: The Craft of Music, accessed on April 16, 2025.

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"Baba, here is the spirit of Meher Mount."

Your Friday photo in honor of National Pet Day today…

Agnes Baron, Meher Mount’s co-founder and lifetime caretaker, always had pets to keep her company as she was alone on top of the mountain.

In this photo taken by Lud Dimpfl in 1956 — just months after Avatar Meher Baba’s visit — she is with her dog Kali. (Photo courtesy of Joan Dimpfl Harland.)

“Baba, here is the spirit of Meher Mount.”

— Agnes Baron

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When Agnes drove Meher Baba to Meher Mount on August 2, 1956, they were greeted by her dog Kali.

“Baba, here is the spirit of Meher Mount,” Agnes said, indicating her beautiful and intelligent, short-haired, golden, part-collie, part-greyhound dog named Kali, who eased up next to Meher Baba.

During the day, as they walked around Meher Mount, Kali followed them everywhere, always close to Meher Baba. 

At the end of the day just as the sun was setting over the scenic hills of Ojai, Meher Baba got into Agnes’ station wagon to leave. He patted Kali’s head saying the dog would incarnate as a human being for having met Him.

Agnes often shared this story with those who visited Meher Mount. She said that Kali was a very special and intelligent dog.

Before learning about Meher Baba and becoming one of His followers, Agnes Baron lived the life of a Vedanta nun for several years. During that time, she probably learned about Kali, or Kalika, the Hindu goddess.

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"Warm wind, if you blow through the lands of my Beloved..."

Your Friday photo is in honor of World Poetry Day…

The clouds over Meher Mount — moved by a gentle breeze — inspired former caretaker and photographer Buzz Glasky. He suggested this poem as an expression of his feelings toward Meher Baba and being at Meher Mount.

“Warm wind, if you blow through the lands of my Beloved,
Bring me the Beloved’s scents.

I would give my life to the Beloved,
for but one sound brought as message by the warm wind.

If by misfortune I’ve missed the Beloved’s presence,
then bless me with the dust
from somewhere the Beloved walked.

What a sorry sight, a Sufi in distress.
I can only see the Beloved, others think me mad.

My firm heart trembles like a reed,
wishing only the kiss of the Beloved.

The Beloved has bought my heart for free,
And I will not sell the Beloved
for all the world’s fortune.

Hafez, if your heart is ever truly freed from sorrow,
it will miss such a faithful servant.”

— Hafez-e Shirazi

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Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammed Hafez-e Shirazi (1315-1390) was a Persian lyric poet who was called Hafez or Hafiz (meaning “memorizer”) because he memorized the Quran and the works of other Persian poets.

Hafez primarily wrote in the literary genre of ghazals — Meher Baba’s favorite poetic from. This form is considered by some to be ideal for expressing the ecstasy of Divine inspiration in the mystical form of love poems.

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Source

Gates of Wisdom: The Poems of Hafiz, A New English Adaptation by Swami Anand Nisarg. (c)2010 by Swami Anand Nisarg.

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"There's something magical that occurs when light shines on ordinary objects."

Your Friday photo...

Agnes Montano captured the sunlight emanating from a glorious sunrise as it reflected on the veranda at Meher Mount’s Visitor Center.

Looking outwards from the picture window in the reception area: The shadows of two Adirondack chairs, a small side table, a vase, bird decals on the window (used to deter birds from flying into the glass), and the branches of a Toyon tree are reflected on the sunshade, bringing to life this serene scene.

It is reminiscent of the softness, grace and elegance of an Asian silk screen painting.

“There’s something magical that occurs when light shines on ordinary everyday objects.

They can be transformed into beautiful aesthetic scenes.

Avatar Meher Baba’s light has that transformative effect in those that seek Him”

— Agnes Montano, Board Member, Meher Mount

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"Baba never went wrong in choosing His Watchdog!"

Your photo Friday is honor of Meher Mount co-founder Agnes Baron’s birthday today…

“In looking for a photo of Agnes (1907-1994) to share on her birthday, I was particularly drawn this one of Agnes (left) with Mansari (Mani Behram Desai) in India in 1982,” noted Sam Ervin, board president.

“It’s such a loving and sweet photo of them together.”

Agnes only visited Meherabad and Meherazad – places of pilgrimage in India for followers of Meher Baba – once for three weeks, but she and Mansari immediately became life-long friends.

“Many years after Agnes Baron went to India, I was visiting with Meherabad resident Jal Dastur and others,” remembered Sam. “The subject of Agnes and her friendship with Mansari came up.

“Jal said, ‘I feel that Meher Baba took the fiery part of Himself from His early days and split it into two parts: Mansari Desai in the East, and Agnes Baron in the West.’”

“Baba never went wrong in choosing His Watch dog! Yes, Sweety, He has chosen you for that! Bravo!

Ideal fit to do His duty for good. With the best in ‘One’, your Eastern partner dog.”

— Mansari Desai, Letter to Agnes Baron*

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Both women had strong personalities and tender hearts and were profoundly devoted to Meher Baba.

Each lived alone on a hilltop watching over a place of pilgrimage dedicated to Avatar Meher Baba. Agnes was the caretaker for Meher Mount in Ojai, California. Mansari lived in Upper Meherabad, India, caring for Meher Baba’s Tomb Shrine.

They were both known as “watchdogs” — one in the East (Mansari) and one in the West (Agnes).

Agnes and Mansari corresponded until Agnes’ passing in 1994. They wrote one another teasing, loving letters, bonding over their love of dogs.

To Agnes, Mansari wrote:

“My ever dear, respected Agniji, Jai Baba.

Hope you are fine and happily doing the duty given by our One! Your photo is on my table along with Baba’s. You dear are unforgettable one.

Thank Baba that I had a chance - unexpected - to see you for 3 weeks, 11 years ago!

I think of you and talk of you to the people [here] – His lovers. Jai Baba!**

Wish you the best in Baba to burn bright as Agni! Thank you Baba, to meet your Spark at least once.”***

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Sources

*Letter from Mansari Desai to Agnes Baron, February 12, 1993. Meher Mount Archives.
**Letter from Mansari Desai to Agnes Baron, December 10, 1993, Meher Mount Archives.
***Letter from Mansari Desai to Agnes Baron, January 12, 1993.

Photograph: Thank you Linda and Mario Zavala for this special photograph. They also visited Meherabad in September 1982.

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"This afternoon, you all have a chance to laugh and feel relaxed." - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo...

“Avatar Meher Baba’s presence is very much imbued in Meher Mount’s landscape providing that sense of relaxation He felt in 1956,” said photographer and board member Agnes Montano.

“On a more tangible level, that peaceful feeling is also evident in Meher Mount’s many contrasts.

“This image of the mighty oak and the wildflower at sunset celebrates the diverse and contrasting beauty found in nature,” she continued.

“It is where both large and sturdy trees and the delicate flowers contribute to the overall landscape and harmony of Meher Mount.”

“This afternoon, you all have a chance to laugh and feel relaxed. Baba also has a chance to relax here for five minutes.

You had no chance at New York; in Myrtle Beach, little chance; in Los Angeles, none.

But here today, we feel relaxed, happy. I come down to your level so that we can laugh and be free together; but do not forget at the same time that I am the Highest of the High.”

— Avatar Meher Baba, Meher Mount 1956

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Source

Bhau Kalchuri, Lord Meher: The Biography of the Avatar of the Age Meher Baba, Online Edition, pg. 4066, accessed December 26, 2024. (c)Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust.

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"Meher Baba could be strict with his own people, but the animals could have what they wanted."

Your Friday photo is in honor of National Visit the Zoo Day…

“Wherever we landed, Baba invariably took us to the zoo,” said Mani S. Irani, Meher Baba’s sister. [1]

 “We used to think it was for sightseeing, but it wasn’t only that.” Baba was doing his work with animals and, as usual, he did it deftly and quickly. “Baba once or twice walked so fast that we hardly had time to see the animals.” [2]

Meher Baba and His disciples also collected various animals that stayed and traveled with them. His followers referred to them as the Meherabad zoo, wherever they were staying. (Meherabad is where His Tomb Shrine is located and where He and His disciples lived in the early years.)

The following 1951 photo is of Meher Baba with Begum*, one of the pets in the Meherabad zoo.

“Baba could be strict with his own people [about the bazaar list], but the animals could have what they wanted.”

— Mani S. Irani, Meher Baba's Sister & Close Disciple

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Animals came and went in the Meherabad zoo. Various descriptions include: a gazelle, a peacock, a lamb, a white rabbit, some geese, five dogs, three monkeys, and an assortment of pet birds. The zoo was augmented with mixed-breed puppies, Bingo and Jingo. [3]

Another time, besides the goat, monkey, cats, dogs, birds, the Meherabad zoo included two pigs, Nutty and Gutty; a rabbit, Snowy; a lamb, Mary; and a gazelle. [4]

“Baba was so concerned with animals,” Mani continued, “the last thing he did before going down the [Meherabad] hill in the evening was to visit the animals, to go to each one’s cage, to each animal and pet, before sleeping.” [5]

Meher Baba showered much love and attention on the pets in the Meherabad zoo.

“Baba could be strict with his own people [about the bazaar list],” Mani observed, “but the animals could have what they wanted. One could order what was needed for the pets. Later, we found people were ordering things not just for the animals but for themselves.

“For instance, we were permitted to order nuts for the monkeys, but Kitty [Davy] kept ordering more, as people kept eating them up. So much was being ordered for animals. This one was ordering that for the lamb; this one things for the dogs. Our mouths watered with what the animals were being fed!

 “One day [at Bangalore], there were raisins on the bazaar list. Baba said, ‘What’s this? Raisins for which animal?’

“It turned out that Nadine [Tolstoy] thought that since everyone was ordering different things for the animals in their charge, why not something for hers? She ordered raisins – ostensibly for the cat!” [6]

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Footnotes

[1] David Fenster, Mehera-Meher: A Divine Romance, Volume II, pg. pg. 71. (Ahmednagar, India: Meher Nazar Publications), E-Book Edition: April 2016. (c) 2003 by David Fenster.
[2] Ibid., pg. 71.
[3] Ibid., pp. 53, pg. 486.
[4] Daivd Fenster, Mehera-Meher: A Divine Romance, Volume I, pg. 494. (Ahmednagar, India: Meher Nazar Publications), E-Book Edition: April 2016. (c) 2003 by David Fenster.
[5] Ibid., pg. 494.
[6] Ibid., pg. 493.

Photo

Avatar Meher Baba and Begum, the pet horse., by Faredoon (Padri) Driver, February 15, 1951, in Mahabaleshwar, India. (c) Meher Nazar Publications, Ahmednagar, India.

Story

"Begum, The Little Lady," by Mehera J. Irani, from Baba Loved Us Too, pp. 95-100.

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"I belong to no religion..." - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo is in honor of this season when much of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus…

Avatar Meher Baba said God incarnates in human form every 500 to 1400 years. Each incarnation is referred to as an Avatar. Past incarnations include Meher Baba, Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Rama, and Zoroaster.

“The Avatar is always One and the Same, because God is always One and the Same, the Eternal, Indivisible, Infinite One…the Highest of the High,” Meher Baba explained.

“This Eternally One and the Same Avatar repeats His manifestation from time to time, in different cycles, adopting different human forms and different names, in different places, to reveal Truth in different garbs and different languages…” [1]

“I belong to no religion. Every religion belongs to Me. My personal religion is My being the Ancient Infinite One, and the religion I impart to all is Love for God, which is the truth of all religions.

This Love can belong to all, high and low, rich and poor. Every one of every caste and creed can love God. The one and only God who resides equally in us all is approachable by each one of through love.

Religion, like worship, must be from the heart. If instead of creating churches, fire-temples, mandirs and mosques, people were to establish the House of God in their hearts for the Beloved God to dwell supreme, my work will have been done.

If, instead of mechanically performing ceremonies and rituals as age-old customs, people were to serve their fellow-beings with the selflessness of love, taking God to be equally residing in one and all and knowing that by serving others they are serving me, my work will have fulfilled. ”

— Avatar Meher Baba [2]

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Sources

[1] The Silent Master, Meher Baba, pg. 45, (c) Irwin Luck, 1967. Quotations from Meher Baba with permission of the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, India.
[2] The Message of Meher Baba, “Truth of Religion,” Meher Baba Publications, pg. 5. (c)Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, India.
[3] Photo: Avatar Meher Baba. (c)Meher Nazar Publications, Ahmednagar, India.

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"I am the Sun which is hidden by the shadow of yourself." - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo...

“Last weekend I went out to Avatar’s Point to watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. As I turned around, I saw my shadow in the trees and took this photo,” explained visitor Margaret Magnus.

This message from Avatar Meher Baba, on the occasion of His 72nd birthday on February 25, 1966, seemed appropriate. Thank you Wayne Myers for the suggestion.

“I am the Sun which is hidden by the shadow of yourself. Cease thinking that you are your shadow, and you will find that the Sun which I am is your own Reality.

All that frightens and confuses you and grips you with despair is your own shadow. When the Sun of Love manifests in Its Glory, and all faces are turned towards that Radiance, all shadows will have disappeared — even the memory of them will have vanished.

I am the joy in your heart and the despair of your mind — for Love can attain that which the intellect cannot fathom.”

— Avatar Meher Baba

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Source

The Awakener: A Journal Devoted Meher Baba, Vol IX, Number 2, 1966, pg. 44.

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"Will you please tell me, then - what is gratitude?"

Your Friday photo…

The following is an excerpt from Conversations with The Awakener, written by Bal Natu, a close follower of Avatar Meher Baba. This conversation, “An Ever Flowing Stream of Gratitude,” is part of a collection of internal conversations between Bal and his Divine Beloved, Meher Baba.

“Will you please tell me, then - what is gratitude?”

— Bal Natu, An Internal Conversation with Meher Baba

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Meher Baba: "Gratitude is a most lovable way of acknowledging My unconditional compassion. And it strengthens your relationship with Me. I have no expectation of it, for My own sake, but it is for your personal good."

Bal Natu: "In what way?"

Meher Baba: "It opens up new informal avenues through which you may feel My presence more and more."

Bal Natu: "Will You please tell me, then — what is gratitude?"

Meher Baba: "In a sense, gratitude is the art of accepting life, moment by moment, in whatever situation one finds oneself, as being My Will. You offer everything to Me, and receive everything from Me."

Bal Natu: "I wonder how in my daily living I can remain grateful to You."

Meher Baba: "Well, if you are honest about wanting to do this, then you will recognize My tender little graces — and these are many — while attending to daily chores or any important work."

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The extended internal conversation between Bal and Meher Baba is included in the free Meher Mount eBook on gratitude, "Does Meher Baba Want Us to Thank Him?"

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Sources

• Bal Natu, Conversations with the Awakener, pg. 24. (c) 1991 Sheriar Foundation. Used by permission.

• Image: Avatar Meher Baba in Mahabaleshwar, India, on December 25, 1950. Photographed by Faredoon (Padri) Driver. MSI Collection, Meherabad, India. Used with permission.

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"No one requires an introduction to me..." - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo is in honor the construction of the Darshan Courtyard at Meher Mount…

Thank you to Jon Meyer and Scott Lesniewski of the In His Love group for the quote from Avatar Meher Baba. It seemed fitting for caretaker Ray Johnston’s photo of the “daily inspectors” at the Darshan Courtyard worksite.

“No one requires an introduction to me, for no one is a stranger to me. However, I am a stranger to most, and those coming and remaining in my presence do not do so without introduction.

As a matter of fact, they have come with many introductions - for many times in previous lives have they been introduced to me and have gone away and forgotten me and met me again.

All these introductions are their introduction to me this time.”

— Avatar Meher Baba

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Darshan is a Vedanta concept meaning “to receive the grace of seeing the Divine.”

Those who met Avatar Meher Baba had His darshan — seeing Him, paying homage to Him, and receiving His blessings. Even after dropping His physical form, followers of Meher Baba still take His darshan.

The Darshan Courtyard is in the space of the Baba Room where Meher Baba gave darshan to His followers in 1956. That building burned to the ground in the 1985 New Life Fire.

All of Meher Mount’s guests — now and in the future — have the opportunity to take Meher Baba’s darshan in this space. They need no formal introduction to the Avatar.

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Source

• Meher Baba, The Everything and the Nothing, Avatar Meher Baba Trust eBook, June 2011, pg. 38. (c)1989 Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, India. (c) Meher House Publications, Beacon Hill, Australia.

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"True sportsmanship is concentrated ability, enlivened with appreciation of the performance of others." - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo is in honor of Meher Baba’s affinity for the game of cricket…

Today, the India National Cricket Team plays South Africa.

Meher Baba enjoyed playing and watching cricket. Cricket and other games were often played in the ashram with His close followers.

In this photo, Meher Baba is playing cricket in Lower Meherabad, India, in 1936.

In 1959, He gave the following message to the players of the Poona Cricket Association before they left India to go to England for a test match.

“True sportsmanship is concentrated ability, enlivened with appreciation of the performance of others. And when this is manifested, everyone present, both players and spectators, receives spiritual upliftment as well as good entertainment.”

— Avatar Meher Baba

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“In going to England [1959] to represent India in the field of sport, you also have the unique opportunity of practicing and of conveying to the people there the great spiritual lessons of concentration and love.

When you take the field, and if you play as eleven men with one heart, each enjoying the excellence of performance in another player as he would in himself, whether that player is on your side or on the side of the opposing team, and so eliminating feelings of jealousy, anger and pride, which so often mar the sport — you will not only be entertaining the spectators, but demonstrating the real spirit of sportsmanship.

True sportsmanship is concentrated ability, enlivened with appreciation of the performance of others. And when this is manifested, everyone present, both players and spectators, receives spiritual upliftment as well as good entertainment.

Some of you are ‘all-rounders.’ I am the greatest spiritual ‘all-rounder’ of all times, because I feel equally at home with saints, yogis, philosophers and cricketers, as well as with so-called sinners and scoundrels.

I give you my blessing that in all your actions you show forth the spirit of love.”

~Avatar Meher Baba

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Sources

• Bhau Kalchuri, Lord Meher: The Biography of the Avatar of the Age Meher Baba, Online Edition, pg. 4510, accessed September 14, 2024. (c)Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, India. Used with permission.

• Photograph: Faredoon (Padri) Driver, Meherabad, India, 1936. Meher Nazar Publications. Used with permission.

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"I really need that right now..."

Your Friday photo…

Nearly 300 stickers carrying Meher Baba’s well-known message, “don’t worry, be happy,” were given to visitors at Meher Mount's booth during Ojai Day 2024.

When offered the free "don't worry, be happy" sticker, a common response was, "Yes. I really need that right now." And then the person smiled.

At the booth are Sam Ervin, Juan Mendez, and Ron Holsey talking to one of the many people who stopped by to chat.

See below to see why there’s always a happy ending — and to get your own free sticker.

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“I really need that right now..”

— A Visitor Reaching for a "Don't Worry, Be Happy" Sticker

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A Happy Ending

Mani S. Irani, Meher Baba’s sister and close disciple, reinforced the “don’t worry, be happy” message when she shared this story:

“When Baba said a thing it was with the authority of supreme knowledge, knowing everything. So when He says be happy, don't worry, He knows there is no reason to worry.

“…Baba would always like a happy ending. That is because His story, the story of His creation, has a happy ending. We are simply going through chapters.

“But somebody who has read the book and who knows the end, can very authoritatively say, ‘Don't worry, don't worry’ while you are in the midst of a chapter which is terrible.

“So whenever we go through something that seems so difficult, so disagreeable, don't worry, remember it is only a chapter... the next chapter might be different.

“When the end of the story comes, the story is finished. So, we might as well enjoy the story while we are in it too.”

Source: Bill Le Page, ed., The Divine Humanity of Meher Baba, Volume II, pp. 183-184.  (Woombye, Australia: Meher Baba Foundation).  ©Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Trust, Ahmednagar India.

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"There’s something so unique that happens when people gather in Meher Baba’s name and presence..."

Your Friday photo…

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (also called CometA3) as seen from Meher Mount and photographed by Caretaker Ray Johnston. Baba’s Fireplace is in the foreground.

This is the first time in 80,000 years that CometA3 is visible and expected to come within 44 million miles of Earth.

According to NASA, the comet initially appears low on the western horizon in the glow of twilight about 45 minutes after sunset each day starting on October 12, 2024.

Coincidently, the 12th of the month is when the dhuni (sacred fire) is lit near Avatar Meher Baba’s Tomb Shrine in Meherabad, India.

An additional coincidence, October 12, 2024, was also the groundbreaking for the Darshan Courtyard at Meher Mount.

The courtyard, next to Baba’s Fireplace, is to be an intimate space evoking the atmosphere of the Baba Room where Avatar Meher Baba gave darshan (the grace of seeing the Divine) to His followers in 1956.

Board Member Agnes Montano shares her impressions of the groundbreaking ceremony on October 12th.

“There’s something so unique that happens when people gather in Avatar Meher Baba’s name and presence, so prevalent at Meher Mount.

Saturday’s groundbreaking for the Darshan Courtyard felt extra special to me. It was intimate, solemn, joyful and even nostalgic.

The fact that the ceremony was held on dhuni day, symbol of the fire of Meher Baba’s divine love, made it even more auspicious. ”

— Agnes Montano, Board Member

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Events at Meher Mount are always special. There’s something so unique that happens when people gather in Avatar Meher Baba’s name and presence, so prevalent at Meher Mount.

Saturday’s groundbreaking for the Darshan Courtyard felt extra special to me. It was intimate, solemn, joyful and even nostalgic. The fact that the ceremony was held on dhuni day, symbol of the fire of Meher Baba's divine love, made it even more auspicious. 

After discussing the Darshan Courtyard project for almost four years at board meetings, seeing construction started on the site was very powerful.

The simple ceremony was so heartfelt. It was intimate, somber and so distinct. Even though there were only a handful of us on site, there were another 185 followers of Meher Baba lovers from around the world participating through the ashes from the 2021 Darshan Dhuni.

The love and utter devotion to Meher Baba in the dedication was so profound. My husband Juan Mendez and I were deeply touched. Meher Baba was definitely there giving His darshan to us like He did when He sat in the space in 1956.

~Agnes Montano, Board Member

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Darshan Dhuni Ashes

In 2021 there was a special Darshan Dhuni on June 12th (dhuni day). For this dhuni, more than 185 personally meaningful Meher Baba quotes were sent from all over the world. Each quote was placed in a special dhuni (sacred fire).

The fire was started with the dhuni sticks — twigs that were harvested from Baba’s Tree at Meher Mount on another dhuni day, January 12, 2019.

Baba’s Tree had been severely damaged in the 2017 Thomas Fire. The fallen wood from that damaged tree was reclaimed and transformed into new expressions of Meher Baba’s presence and love.

The ashes from the 2021 dhuni — from burned paper with quotes from Meher Baba and the dhuni sticks of Baba’s Tree — are symbolically helping form the foundation for the Darshan Courtyard.

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Related Stories

• The Darshan Dhuni Quotes & Contributors

• The Special Darshan Dhuni Film

• Meher Baba Calls Everyone into the Baba Room - 1956

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“What hurts me most is the loss of Meher Baba’s pictures and writings.”

Your Friday photo is in remembrance of Meher Baba’s New Life and the 1985 New Life Fire at Meher Mount…

On October 14, 1985, the Ferndale Fire, whipped by Santa Ana winds, came up the southwest ridge of Sulphur Mountain. By 9 p.m. on that Monday night Meher Mount was ablaze. 

The fire burned everything – buildings, equipment, fences, Baba’s Tree, and a 1950 Ford Woody station wagon. This was the station wagon Agnes Baron drove to take Avatar Meher Baba to and from Meher Mount in 1956.

“What hurts me most is the loss of my documents, library and Meher Baba’s pictures and writings.”

— Agnes Baron, Ojai Valley News, 1985

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Meher Mount calls the Ferndale Fire the ‘New Life Fire’ because Meher Baba’s New Life phase started on October 16, 1949.  The fire at Meher Mount was still burning right through the start of the anniversary of the New Life.

Meher Baba’s New Life was a phase of His work. It was a life of helplessness and hopelessness, relying only upon God.

“When the New Life Fire happened at Meher Mount, it literally required Agni to give up everything and start all over,” remembered Bing Heckman.  

She was left shoeless, homeless and with just the clothes on her back.

“What hurts me most,” Agnes told the Ojai Valley News, “is the loss of my documents, library and Meher Baba’s pictures and writings.”

The Baba Room — where Meher Baba spent most of the day with His followers in 1956 — was completely burned by the fire.

The stone fireplace from the Baba Room remains as a touchstone of His visit and His Presence at Meher Mount.

Almost 40 years later, there are plans underway to build the Darshan Courtyard in the footprint of the Baba Room. It will celebrate Meher Baba’s physical presence at Meher Mount.  

The courtyard is planned to create a space to sit, reflect, meditate, enjoy the outdoors, and remember the Divine.

 ~Margaret Magnus, Communications Director

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Sources

• Margaret Magnus & Sam L. Ervin, “The New Life Fire — Keeping Meher Mount through Hellfire and Damnation,” Meher Mount Story Blog, accessed September 1, 2024.

• “Meher Baba’s New Life,” Meher Mount Story Blog, accessed September 1, 2024.

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"Why were the saints, the saints?" - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo is in honor of the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi…

The feast is on October 4th every year to commemorate the life of Saint Francis (1181- 1226).

This story and photo from Agnes Montano is particularly apropos because Saint Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment.

One day Avatar Meher Baba dictated the following about saints, especially in regard to Saint Francis.

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“Why were the saints, the saints? Because they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful and patient when it was difficult to be patient.

And because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still, kept silent when they wanted to talk, and were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable. That was all. It was quite simple and always will be.”

— Avatar Meher Baba

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Not all Meher Baba’s guests at Meher Mount come in human form.

When my husband Juan Mendez and I were caretaking at Meher Mount, a yearling buck visited on a daily basis. He would spend most of the day leisurely resting in a spot by the statue of St. Francis.

Francis — as we started calling the deer — was not frightened by our presence.

One day Francis ventured onto the veranda. He nuzzled against one of the glass doors in the reception area. Then he seemed to look straight at Meher Baba’s photos hanging on the wall.

He pressed his nose hard against the door, as if wanting to come inside.

The gentle nature of this deer was an endearing reminder of the connections we – animals, plants and trees – share with the Divine and how God expresses Himself in all living beings.

~Agnes Montano, Temporary Caretaker & Board Member

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Sources

• Bhau Kalchuri, Lord Meher: The Biography of the Avatar of the Age Meher Baba, Online Edition, page 2098, accessed September 11, 2024. (c)Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust.

• Carolyn M. Ball, Meher Baba in Assisi . (Myrtle Beach, SC: Arti Books). (c)2019 by Carolyn M. Ball.

• Agnes Montano, “Francis (the Deer) Visits St. Francis (the Statue),” Meher Mount Story Blog, accessed September 11, 2024.

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"This photo brings back fond memories..."

Your Friday photo...

This photo from 1978 brings back fond memories of Agnes Baron, Meher Mount's co-founder and lifetime caretaker.

“This photo captures the Agnes Baron I remember. She really enjoyed having visitors and hanging out.”

— Margaret Magnus, Communications Director

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Agnes Baron was fierce. She was fearless. Determined. Uncompromising. And yet she had a softer side. That's the Agnes I often remember.

And that's why I like this photo. It captures the Agnes Baron who enjoyed having visitors and hanging out.

The time is winter 1978. We’re in the Baba Room at Meher Mount before the 1985 New Life Fire destroyed all the buildings.

In this picture (left to right) are Agnes Baron, Elizabeth Hartzell (my sister) and me, Margaret Magnus. Sam Ervin (my future husband) is taking the photo.

We’ve probably had a day of chopping and hauling wood so Agnes could heat her own house (separate from the Baba House).  

We are bundled up in the Baba House because it’s cold. I don't know why there's no heat. Maybe it didn't work. Maybe Agnes didn’t want to turn it on because of the cost. Maybe the original source of heat was the fireplace that wasn't in use.

But we’re here regardless.

A friend of mine, Howard Babus from Santa Barbara, is also visiting and volunteering. He has offered to do an impromptu flute performance which we are enjoying.

Now the Baba Room has been gone for almost 40 years. There are plans underway to create the Darshan Courtyard in the Baba Room space.

It is planned to provide a sense of intimacy with the Divine. A place of personal reflection and contemplation. A moment to feel Meher Baba’s eternal embrace.

“Darshan” is in the name because Meher Baba spent most of the day in August 1956 giving darshan (the grace of being in His presence) in this space.

~Margaret Magnus, Communications Director

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"To the living Christ whose beauty the very heavens cannot contain..."

Your Friday photo is in honor of National Read a Book Day…

Jean Adriel, Meher Mount co-founder, wrote one of the first biographies of Avatar Meher Baba — Avatar: The Life Story of the Perfect Master Avatar Meher Baba, published in 1947.

She’s pictured at Meher Mount during the month of silence, July 1949. Escrow closed on the property in Ojai which became known as Meher Mount on July 31, 1946.

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“To the living Christ whose beauty the very heavens cannot contain, but whose presence may be found in every humble, living heart.”

— Jean Adriel, Book Dedication of Avatar

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Jean Adriel writes in the preface of Avatar: The Life Story of the Perfect Master Meher Baba:

When Meher Baba told me, in India, to spend most of my time meditating upon him and writing down the fruits of my meditation, I little thought that they would find their way into print.

I finally came to the conclusion that the most fruitful course for me would be to write the life-story of my Master, Meher Baba, as I knew it, with particular emphasis upon my own experience with him.

Now, as the book is finished, word has come from him that he places his blessing upon and wishes it given to the world.

In anticipation of his coming again to America a Center has been established for him at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, and on the West coast, in the Upper Ojai Valley, a beautiful place, Meher Mount, awaits him.

~ Jean Adriel, Meher Mount
Upper Ojai, California.
September 1, 1946

“Avatar is one of the earliest descriptions of the atmosphere of love and grace that surrounds Avatar Meher Baba. Jean Adriel performed an enormous service to the world by writing this book,” wrote Laurent Weichberger in his Amazon review.

“As one of the first major works on Meher Baba it is a classic,” said Amazon reviewer Bing Heckman. “The story was still in progress when written. This book captures the times and travels of Meher Baba's life and works in a dynamic time for the world, up to and through WW II. It covers a range of topics that touch the heart and inform. His work is for the awakening of humanity; it is universal.”

Avatar: The Life Story of the Perfect Master Meher Baba, A Narrative of Spiritual Experience was first published as a special author’s edition in 1947 by the J.F Rowny Press, Santa Barbara, CA.

A paperback edition, Avatar: The Life Story of Avatar Meher Baba, was published in August 1971 by The Beguine Library, Meher Baba Information, in Berkeley, CA.

The book is out of print. Avatar is available online at the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust website.

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National Read a Book Day

National Read a Book Day on September 6th encourages all book lovers to spend some time of the day reading. Bringing new worlds to life, books enlighten us and transport us. They can challenge our perspectives on the human experience in ways unmatched by other media. National Read a Book Day encourages us to silence the noise and turn the pages for a while.

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More Information

• ”Jean Adriel Writes Avatar — A Biography of Meher Baba,” by Margaret Magnus, Meher Mount Story Blog, September 11, 2017.

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"I want Agni to know that I love Meher Mount very, very much." - Avatar Meher Baba

Your Friday photo celebrates the 68th anniversary of Meher Baba’s visit to Meher Mount on August 2, 1956…

“I want Agni to know that I love Meher Mount very, very much.”

— Avatar Meher Baba, Meher Mount, 1956

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Agnes Baron, Meher Mount co-founder, describes one of her interactions with Avatar Meher Baba at Meher Mount in 1956:

So on one of the occasions when Meher Baba called me over, He was looking very solemn and very impressive as only Baba can look.

And He stood. And one of the mandali [close disciple who interpreted His gestures] was there.

And Baba said, “I want Agni to know that I love Meher Mount very, very much.” And then, of course, that typical gesture of “very, very much. I am very happy.”

And He really beamed, I mean, He just glowed.

He just gestured, “very, very happy.’’ And He looked it.

And then He said, “And I want her to know that Meher Mount has a very spiritual atmosphere.”

And of course, I made my usual wisecrack, I knew it wasn’t. He stared at me and repeated, “A very spiritual atmosphere.” 

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Sources

• “Agnes Baron Remembers Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit,” Meher Mount Story Blog, October 11, 2021.

• Photograph of Meher Baba at Meher Mount with co-founder Agnes Baron by Darwin Shaw, August 2, 1956. (c)Meher Nazar Publications, Ahmednagar, India. Used with permission.

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