Meher Mount

MEHER MOUNT

9902 Sulphur Mountain Road
Ojai, CA 93023-9375

Phone: 805-640-0000
Email: info@mehermount.org

HOURS

Wednesday-Sunday: Noon to 5:00 p.m.
Monday & Tuesday: Closed

MANAGER/CARETAKERS

Buzz & Ginger Glasky

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sam Ervin, Preident
Ron Holsey, Vice President
Ursula Reinhart, Treasurer
Jim Whitson, Director
Richard Mannis, Director

OFFICERS

Margaret Magnus, Secretary

9902 Sulphur Mountain Rd
Ojai, CA, 93023
United States

(805) 640-0000

Story Blog

Anecdotes, activities and stories about Meher Mount - past, present and future.

Filtering by Tag: Avatar Meher Baba

"Now, go out and see the view and try to love Baba through nature." - Avatar Meher Baba

Margaret Magnus

It was a foggy day when Avatar Meher Baba arrived at Meher Mount on August 2, 1956. “It wasn’t clear. You couldn’t see out across the vistas,” remembered Leatrice Shaw Johnston who was at Meher Mount that day.

“The steep hill of Meher Mount was shrouded in mist as our bus climbed tortuously upward, and when we stepped out we saw, instead of the celebrated view of the Ojai Valley, only a rolling sea of fog, recalled Filis Frederick.

Later, with everyone gathered around Him in the ‘Baba Room’ of the guesthouse, Meher Baba gestured toward the outdoors and said…

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“It was a hot day, so I thought I would go with them…” – Agnes Baron

Margaret Magnus

One afternoon, Jean Adriel approached Agnes Baron, who was renting a cottage at the New Life Center at the time, and said, “We are going out for a drive this afternoon, looking for a place, would you like to come?”

In 1944, Jean Adriel and Alexander Markey had established the 500-acre New Life Center in La Crescenta, CA, which was dedicated to Avatar Meher Baba.

Then sometime in 1946, Jean received word from Meher Baba that He wished for them to relocate to a place farther from the Los Angeles area, somewhere one or two hours outside a big city.

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“You don’t know how hard I had to work to prevent a catastrophe.” - Avatar Meher Baba

Agnes Baron

After Avatar Meher Baba’s visit to Meher Mount on August 2, 1956, He was scheduled to to continue His around-the-world trip and go to San Francisco next with a group of His followers.

The following is the interchange during His visit – as told by Agnes – between her and Meher Baba about her intention to drive to San Francisco the following day.

“Baba,” I said, “I am going to drive up in the station wagon. A lot of people have given me books to take.”

“No!” Baba said, “You have to come with Me in the plane.”

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"Baba, I've always thought of this as Your tree." - Agnes Baron

Sam L. Ervin

In 1956, when Avatar Meher Baba visited Meher Mount, caretaker Agnes Baron took Him on a tour of the property.

As they crested the hill overlooking a corner of the property, now known as Avatar’s Point, a large oak came into view. Agnes turned to Meher Baba and said, “Baba, I’ve always thought of this as Your Tree.”

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Agnes Baron Remembers Meher Baba's 1956 Visit

Agnes Baron

Agnes Baron, Meher Mount co-founder and lifetime caretaker, describes Avatar Meher Baba's 1956 visit.

She takes filmmakers Irwin and Edwin Luck on a tour of the property, including Baba's Tree and the 'Baba Room' where Meher Baba gave darshan (His blessing) on August 2, 1956.

The 14:56-minute film was made in 1970 and has been restored. However, the sound is still difficult in some places. It’s easiest to watch the video and get the flavor of Agnes Baron’s personality while reading read along from the transcript.

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Newspapers Announce the Founding of Meher Mount - 1946

Margaret Magnus

For $42,500 – or about $608,250 in today’s prices – the New Life Foundation acquired the Sulphur Mountain property, now known as Meher Mount, on July 31, 1946.

At least two of the area newspapers carried news of the purchase:

  • “Shri Meher Baba to Establish Center in Upper Ojai Valley” (The Ojai, August 9, 1946) and

  • “Baba Will Start New Foundation” (Santa Paula Chronicle, August 13, 1946).

The Ojai article began, “Of interest to the numerous valley residents who follow the history and development of the numerous religious groups that are prominent in the world today… is the news that Shri Meher Baba will come to Ojai from Europe within a few weeks to establish a center of his New Life Foundation up on Sulphur Mountain.”

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"I can't imagine a better painting for Meher Mount."

Margaret Magnus

Just days before the December 4, 2017 Thomas Fire struck Meher Mount, well-known Meher Baba artist Charles Mills approached Meher Mount about doing a painting that would represent Meher Baba’s 1956 visit to Meher Mount.

“I didn’t know if a painting was needed,” Mills said later, “I just made myself available.”

In discussions with Board President Sam Ervin, they talked about a painting that would represent the energy of Meher Baba’s visit as captured in the 55-minute film Meher Baba, The Awakener made in 1994 by Tim Thelan. The footage of Meher Baba at Meher Mount starts at 43:22 minutes.

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Karma Yoga Is a Central Practice in Agnes Baron's Life

Sam L. Ervin

Agnes Baron (1907-1994) was a co-founder and lifetime caretaker of Meher Mount. Her natural desire to serve led her to care for Meher Mount for 48 years, often with great difficulty, or as she put it, “through hellfire and damnation.” She also found ways to serve others in the community.

By Sam L. Ervin

Karma Yoga Is a Central Practice in Agnes Baron’s Life

Through the study of Vedanta [1], Agnes found a conceptual construct that supported a driving force that had always been present in her life: Karma Yoga. Agnes often said that service to others had always come naturally to her.

Karma Yoga is one of the major “ways” or yogas for the life of the spirit. [2] It is the discipline of selfless action, working and serving without attachment, egoism or expectation of gain or reward. [3]

Throughout her 48 years at Meher Mount, Agnes continued to find ways to practice Karma Yoga.  

AGNES BARON and an unidentified woman working in the garden at Meher Mount. (Photo: Meher Mount Archives, late 1940s)

AGNES BARON and an unidentified woman working in the garden at Meher Mount. (Photo: Meher Mount Archives, late 1940s)

Agnes would often advise the young Meher Baba lovers who showed up at Meher Mount to, “forget yourself in service to others.” She would paraphrase a quote from Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, “To work thou hast the right, but not to the fruits thereof.” [4]

“Don’t say you are helping others,” she would say. “You don’t know whether you are helping someone or not, you just serve as best you can.

“When you are serving others without attachment or thought of reward, you are serving God in them.” Agnes echoed Avatar Meher Baba’s words, “Real happiness lies in making others happy.”

Agnes Baron’s Work in the Community

Agnes devoted her life to helping others.  After having helped many refugees escape terrible fates in Europe before World War II, she assisted many immigrants over the years to adjust to life in America.  She helped them find jobs and make connections.  Agnes stayed in touch with many of these people from various countries, and they admired her and appreciated her always being there for them.

AGNES BARON writing instructions to volunteer Sam L. Ervin during a “work party” at Meher Mount on Silence Day.  (Photo: Margaret Magnus, late 1970s/early 1980s).

AGNES BARON writing instructions to volunteer Sam L. Ervin during a ‘work party’ at Meher Mount on Silence Day. (Photo: Margaret Magnus, late 1970s/early 1980s).

She helped start the first Head Start program for pre-school children in Ventura County.  She studied Montessori education and taught in Montessori schools.  She also worked as a substitute teacher in public schools to support herself and pay Meher Mount expenses.  Agnes inspired quite a few young adults to study Maria Montessori’s books, and some went on to become Montessori teachers.  In the 1950s, Agnes helped start a school at Meher Mount that operated for a few years.

Inspired by Meher Baba’s admonitions in the 1960s regarding the dangers of drugs and His call to help young people get off drugs, Agnes provided a temporary residence for a dozen people in a drug rehabilitation program at Meher Mount in the late 1960s.

She also “bullied” the Ventura County Board of Supervisors into funding the DART (Drug Abuse Reorientation Training program) for teenagers arrested for drug offenses in 1970. [5]

AGNES BARON also loved animals.  For a brief period of time, she boarded horses at Meher Mount as a way to support herself and Meher Mount.  (Photo: Lola Long, 1970s)

AGNES BARON also loved animals. For a brief period of time, she boarded horses at Meher Mount as a way to support herself and Meher Mount. (Photo: Lola Long, 1970s)

Separately, Agnes worked to assist many programs for alcoholics, ex-convicts, juvenile delinquents and others.  

Agnes was a regular phone volunteer on the Suicide Prevention Hotline.  In the evenings, she would sit by her phone, and if a call was routed to her, she would talk to the person contemplating suicide.  She would both counsel them and determine if she thought intervention by police or mental health professionals was appropriate.

Agnes worked and advocated on behalf of various social and environmental causes.  She encouraged the young people who came to Meher Mount in the late 1960s and 1970s to work for the causes that were important to them.

As part of her regular routine – even with all the responsibilities she faced caring for Meher Mount – Agnes would search the newspapers to identify people in need.  Then she would contact them, even driving down the mountain to find them, and offer whatever assistance was possible.  She would advocate fearlessly and passionately for people she felt could not represent their own needs. 

Agnes Baron did not just talk about selfless service or Karma Yoga.  She practiced it as her way of serving Meher Baba.

Agnes’ immersion in Vedanta and the study of the great Perfect Master Ramakrishna appears to have helped prepare her for her complete dedication to Avatar Meher Baba when the opportunity came.

Thus, when Meher Baba asked her to take care of Meher Mount for Him, she responded that she would keep it for Him through hell, fire and damnation. Accordingly, Meher Baba nicknamed Agnes His "watchdog."


Footnotes

[1] Vedanta is one of the great schools of Hindu thought and tradition. Vedanta is based on the Vedas, the sacred scripture of India. It affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of all religions. Vedanta is one of the world's most ancient spiritual philosophies and one of its broadest.
[2] There are four paths of Yoga: Karma Yoga –The Yoga of Action; Bhakti Yoga – The Path of Devotion or Divine Love; Raja Yoga – The Science of Physical and Mental Health; and Jnana Yoga – The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom. (International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres
[3] International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, accessed October 17, 2021.
[4] The Bhagavad Gita, often referred to as simply the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. (Wikipedia) The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana. (Wikipedia)
[5] Sam Ervin & Margaret Magnus, “I Bullied Them into Funding the DART Program,” October 4, 2016, Meher Mount’s website, accessed September 11, 2017.




Australian Paints Meher Baba's Visit to Meher Mount

Margaret Magnus

There are several photos of Avatar Meher Baba's 1956 visit to Meher Mount, including one in which Meher Baba is walking the property while the then Caretaker Agnes Baron points out various sights and facts. Eruch Jessawala holds an umbrella to protect Meher Baba from the sun.

Artist Karl Gallagher of Melbourne, Australia, painted that moment of Meher Baba's visit to Meher Mount.

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