Holy Sites in Europe

Here is an infographic generated by Gemini's Notebook showing the four spiritual centres in Europe that Meher Baba identified and visited.

Here is an excerpt from Lord Meher giving more details:

(Oct. 1933) ARRIVING IN AVILA that evening at six, Baba and the group stayed at the Hotel Ingles. Baba appeared very happy to be in Spain, which reminded him of India more than any other country he had thus far visited in Europe. Before dinner, Baba went for a walk with the men past the house of Saint Theresa. (1)  Baba remarked to them, “I feel at home here; it is like Assisi. It is the spiritual atmosphere that you feel which gives value to the shrines of saints.” Pointing to his wrists and arms, Baba revealed, “Saints are like the nerves of my body; they work for me and I guide their lives.”

Baba and the men returned to the hotel and had their last meal for the next twenty-four hours. Baba had explained to them, “I have very special work in Avila. You must all fast and we must walk together over the hills, although no one should touch me.”

The next morning, they visited the cathedral there, and Baba instructed them as they were leaving that four silver coins be given to the sacristan. Led by Baba, the group then walked through the surrounding countryside. The scenery was magnificent.

It was to them as though they were walking with Jesus through the hills of Galilee. In cryptic fashion, Baba revealed to them, “Long ago, before the cathedral was built, I was here in Avila. I used to walk on this hillside, and quietly rest and meditate here. There were no trees there at the time. It was more desert than countryside.” (2)

They returned to their hotel at 4 P.M. and broke their fast with fruits. Baba was in a good mood and revealed to them, “My spiritual work is successfully accomplished. How fortunate you are to be with me! Even those of my followers who are not with me will share in the spiritual benefits of this work.

“In Europe, as on other continents, there are holy places connected to great spiritual work. The four centers of Europe are Saint Mark’s in Venice, a place on the Ligurian Coast of Italy, Assisi and Avila. I have now visited and revisited them all. From their holy grounds have sprung many saints!”

Herbert was ordered to return to Avila in ten days to visit this place, and sit on the same rock on which Baba sat every day.

Baba’s disclosure that Avila was one of the four main spiritual centers in Europe and he had visited it in the ancient past was a surprise to them, as Baba had never before mentioned that he wished in particular to visit Avila.

(1)  Theresa of Avila (1515-1582) was a Carmelite nun and one of the great Christian mystics and saints. A leading figure in the Catholic Reformation, in 1562 she founded in Avila the first of many convents for nuns. Theresa combined intense practicality with the most rarefied spirituality. Although a mystic, she was endowed with great personal charm, tact and boundless good will. With her associate, John of the Cross, she produced a remarkable awakening of religious fervor that spread far beyond Spain. Her writings, notably The Life and Way of Perfection are among the greatest in Christian literature.

(2)  Meher Baba did not explain about this minor advent in Spain.

Here is a map showing the locations of these centres: 

Here are more details of Baba's itinerary:

Here is a detailed chronological travel itinerary of Meher Baba's 1932–1933 European journeys, focusing specifically on the journeys that linked the four great spiritual centres: St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, the Ligurian Coast (Portofino), Assisi, and Ávila [cite: 215, 499].

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1. Spring 1932: The Initial European Traverse (2nd Western Visit)

• 24 March – 4 April 1932: Meher Baba sails from Bombay aboard the SS Conte Rosso, accompanied by six mandali members (Adi Jr., Beheram, Chanji, Kaka, Ghani, and Adi Sr.) [cite: 144].
  
  
• 4–6 April 1932 (Venice, Italy): Baba disembarks at Venice on 4 April [cite: 145]. Accommodated at the Hotel International, he tours St. Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace, and rides in gondolas along the Grand Canal [cite: 145, 147-148]. On 6 April, he departs by train for Milan, continuing onwards to London and the United States [cite: 148].
  
  

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2. Summer 1932: The Ligurian Coast, Assisi, & St. Mark's (3rd Western Visit)

• 29 July 1932: Returning from the West, Baba arrives at Marseilles aboard the Kaiser-i-Hind, met by Kitty Davy and Herbert Davy [cite: 162].
  
  
• 29 July – 5 August 1932 (Ligurian Coast / Santa Margherita & Portofino): Baba establishes headquarters at Villa Fiorenza, situated on the coastal road between Santa Margherita and Paraggi [cite: 162]. He spends days in deep spiritual work and companionship with Eastern and Western disciples, enjoying sea bathing at Galto Pedale, boating excursions to Portofino, and mountain picnics at Portofino Vetta [cite: 162-163, 169-170].
  
  
• 6–7 August 1932 (Assisi & Mt. Subasio): At 2:30 A.M. on 6 August, Baba departs by car for Assisi [cite: 165]. Arriving that afternoon, he ascends Mt. Subasio to a hidden cave associated with St. Francis [cite: 166]. At 7:30 P.M., Baba enters the cave for a 24-hour total seclusion and fast, strictly guarded by Chanji and Herbert Davy [cite: 166].
  
  
• 8 August 1932 (Florence & Monte Ceceri): Following the Assisi fast, Baba travels to Florence and ascends Monte Ceceri to a spot where St. Francis experienced a vision of Christ, directing Herbert to return there for a five-day seclusion [cite: 167-168]. Baba then returns to the Ligurian Coast [cite: 169].
  
  
• 17–19 August 1932 (St. Mark's, Venice): Baba and the entire group travel to Venice, staying again at the Hotel International [cite: 171]. On 18 August, Baba inspects St. Mark's Cathedral from the square [cite: 172]. He instructs the group to count the 120 pillars, domes, and arches, explaining that they correspond to the Avatar's 12 Inner Circle and 108 Outer Circle disciples [cite: 172]. He reveals that he had sat on that exact spot as Jesus with two of his apostles one month prior to the Crucifixion [cite: 173].
  
  
• 20 August 1932: Baba sails from Genoa back to India [cite: 41, 204].
  
  

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3. Winter 1932: The Return to Venice (4th Western Visit)

• 21 November – 2 December 1932: Baba sails from Bombay on the Conte Verde with Jalbhai, Adi Jr., Vishnu, and Kaka [cite: 176].
  
  
• 2–3 December 1932 (Venice, Italy): Baba arrives in Venice on 2 December, met by Elizabeth Patterson, Princess Norina Matchabelli, Countess Nadine Tolstoy, and Quentin Tod [cite: 178]. After brief visits to Milan, Paris, London, and Zurich, he returns to India in early 1933 [cite: 42, 178-180].
  
  

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4. Summer 1933: Portofino & Villa Altachiara (5th Western Visit)

• 23–28 June 1933: Baba arrives in Genoa aboard the Conte Verde and travels to Portofino [cite: 43, 191].
  
  
• 28 June – 24 July 1933 (Portofino, Italy): Baba and his mandali take residence at Villa Altachiara, a cliffside mansion overlooking Portofino's main piazza [cite: 191]. During this month, Baba dictates messages, guides disciples, and holds outings on the Mediterranean [cite: 191-195].
  
  
• 6–8 July 1933 (Excursion to Rome): Baba takes a brief side trip to Rome, visiting the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and the Basilica of St. John Lateran for spiritual work [cite: 196-197].
  
  
• Revelation of Portofino: While at Villa Altachiara, Baba reveals that in an ancient "minor advent," he had come to that exact hill in Portofino with members of his circle when only a few fishermen's huts existed there [cite: 199]. He prophesies that Portofino will one day become a major sacred pilgrimage site like Vrindavan [cite: 203].
  
  
• 24 July 1933: Baba sails from Genoa on the Victoria, returning to India [cite: 202].
  
  

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5. Autumn 1933: Ávila & The Four Spiritual Centres (6th Western Visit)

• 25 September – 6 October 1933: Baba sails from Bombay on the MV Conte Verde with Adi Jr., Chanji, and Kaka, arriving in Venice on 6 October [cite: 207, 212].

• 6–7 October 1933 (Venice, Italy): Rejoining Kitty Davy, Minta Toledano, Enid Corfe, and Bill Precey at the Hotel International, Baba circumambulates St. Mark's Square before proceeding through Milan, Paris, and London to Spain [cite: 212-214].

• 22–24 October 1933 (Ávila, Spain): Arriving in Ávila on 22 October, Baba stays at the Hotel Ingles [cite: 214]. On 23 October, Baba and his party observe a 24-hour fast [cite: 21, 215]. Baba walks past the birthplace of St. Teresa and sits on a solitary rock in the desert hills outside the town walls [cite: 214, 216].

• The Four Centres Declaration: While in Ávila, Baba declares:

  "In Europe, as on other continents, there are holy places connected to great spiritual work. The four centers of Europe are St. Mark's in Venice, a place on the Ligurian Coast of Italy, Assisi and Avila. I have now visited and revisited them all. From their holy grounds have sprung many saints!" [cite: 215]

  He reveals that he had walked and meditated on those same desert hills of Ávila in the ancient past long before the cathedral or town was built [cite: 216].

• 2 November 1933: After visiting Madrid and Barcelona, Baba sails from Marseilles back to India [cite: 43, 217].

The Sanskaric Haystack

I had to copy this extract from Lord Meher because it really sums up the whole of our existence:

ONLY A MATCHSTICK IS NEEDED TO SET THE SANSKARIC HAYSTACK ON FIRE

(Oct. 1922) No yogi can gain eternal freedom or emancipation, even though he might have reached the highest yogic state of samadhi through his practices, because sanskaras (bindings) are still there and all ties have not yet been snapped.

Sanskaras mean the impressions in the mind left behind while doing any good or bad action. Even a thought creates sanskaras. Talking, listening, thinking, seeing, eating, sleeping, in fact, even subtle motions, produce many more sanskaras which have to be experienced with mechanical precision unless removed or nullified by a Sadguru’s grace.

Our present life, with all its experiences of pain and pleasure, virtue and vice, is the result of our past sanskaras. The very breath we breathe, the blinking of our eyelids, the finger we lift are all due to past impressions. It is the mere unfoldment of our past subtle impressions reflected in our present life. And our present life goes on creating more sanskaras. A good word or action has its beneficial result compressed in an impression – imagine it in the form of a circle – and a bad word or action likewise stores up a bad result in a similar subtle form. Thus good deeds of this life assure a happy future life, and bad actions in the present life result in a miserable future birth.

This bondage of actions is the tie that is deep-rooted and cannot be easily uprooted and gotten rid of. Good actions bind a man with a golden chain, and bad actions with an iron spiked one. But the chain is there in either case, and the man is never set free. Yoga and other practices are good and merit an aspirant a good life in the next birth, but a man is never free from bondage or given mukti (liberation) as a result of them.

Therefore, to achieve emancipation, one must be without virtues or sins – without any kind of sanskaras. One’s slate should be quite clean without credit or debit in one’s account, and this is impossible without the grace of the Perfect Master. But for the Master, it is the work of a fraction of a second! The vast, nearly infinite number of impressions in a person’s mind are like straws in a haystack which are impossible for the person to wipe out on his own. Even the process of cleaning them away through yogic practices, without the help of a Perfect Master, means contacting some kind of sanskaric impressions again in a different form.

Sanskaras keep one separate from God. To realize God, the sanskaras have to be removed. Only a matchstick is needed to set the haystack on fire. It is a moment’s work, but only a Sadguru has that match! He uses it for his circle members and thereby, in even less than a second, brings them to his own divine level of Realization. Even those persons who have no direct connection with a Sadguru from past lives can derive the greatest possible benefit merely through his physical contact and company.

Lord Meher, Original Publication, Bhau Kalchuri, Vol. 2, pp. 414 – 416.

 I especially like the very last sentence:

Even those persons who have no direct connection with a Sadguru from past lives can derive the greatest possible benefit merely through his physical contact and company.

To be reborn and to come into contact, even peripherally, with a Sadguru is the key to getting off the merry-go-round.

The Spiritual Hierarchy

 This follows on from the previous post The Journey of the First Soul. 

Gemini asked me: 

Would you like to explore how the First Soul, upon attaining God-Realization, established the eternal "Spiritual Hierarchy" and the role of the Avatar to guide subsequent souls?

I said I would and here was Gemini's response:

The First Soul and the Origin of the Divine Plan

When the First Soul (also referred to as Adi Purush, Adam, or the Ancient One) completed His direct, unencumbered journey through evolution and involution, He became the very first drop-soul to achieve God-Realization independently on the seventh plane (Ars-e-Maula or Vishnu Pad).

Unlike souls who might remain solely absorbed in divine bliss (Majzoobs or Brahmi-Bhoots), the First Soul simultaneously gained complete, direct consciousness of all Creation. Realizing that millions of other drop-souls remained trapped in the illusion of separateness, He felt infinite compassion and laid out the Divine Plan [cite: 583, 590, 602]. To execute this plan, He established the Spiritual Hierarchy—the permanent, universal administrative structure designed to guide all subsequent souls through the maze of illusion back to God-Realization.

The Structure of the Spiritual Hierarchy

According to Meher Baba, the Spiritual Hierarchy operates continuously on Earth:

The 56 God-Realized Souls: At all times and in all ages, there are exactly 56 God-Realized human beings (Shiv-Atmas) living on Earth.

The Five Perfect Masters (Qutubs or Sadgurus): Out of these 56, exactly five souls hold the active governing offices of the Five Perfect Masters. They control the movements of the universe, maintain the cosmic balance, and guide pilgrims through the inner subtle and mental planes [cite: 17, 60, 136, 517, 595]. One of these five acts as the Qutub-e-Irshad, the head of the universal administration.

The Unique Status and Return of the Avatar

The First Soul, by virtue of being the first to achieve God-Realization, established the eternal office of the Avatar (the God-Man, Christ, Messiah, or Prophet):

Man Become God vs. God Become Man: A Perfect Master is an ordinary human soul who progressed through evolution, reincarnation, and involution to become God (Man become God) [cite: 137, 138, 400, 425]. In contrast, the Avatar is God directly descending into human form (God become Man) without undergoing evolution or reincarnation.

The Avataric Advent: Every 700 to 1400 years, when spiritual decline reaches its lowest point and materialism reigns, the Five Perfect Masters conjointly precipitate the direct descent of the Avatar into human form.

The Veil of Vidnyani Sanskaras: To allow the Avatar to function in a human body, the Five Perfect Masters place a temporary veil (vidnyani veil) over His infinite consciousness at birth. At the designated moment in His life, the Perfect Masters rend this veil, awakening Him to His divine Avataric identity and handing over the sole charge of the universe into His hands.

Guiding Subsequent Souls & The Avataric Circle

Because subsequent souls carry a heavy burden of accumulated, unnatural sanskaras, they cannot cross the inner spiritual planes or the final abyss between the sixth and seventh planes by independent effort; they strictly require the grace and direct help of a Perfect Master or the Avatar.

The Universal Push: When the Avatar manifests on Earth, His physical actions release immense spiritual forces across all planes, giving a simultaneous "Universal Push" to all animate and inanimate creation, accelerating the evolution and involution of consciousness everywhere.

The Eternal Avataric Circle: In every advent, the Avatar brings with Him His permanent Inner Circle of 12 men and 2 women (a total of 14 offices), alongside outer circles totaling 122 members. While the specific human personalities change in each age, the 14 specific cosmic offices/roles (such as the roles filled by Peter or Judas in the time of Jesus) remain identical across all Avataric advents. All members of the Avatar's Inner Circle attain God-Realization during or shortly after the Avatar's life on Earth.

The Journey of the First Soul

 Using my Meher Baba notebook, I asked Gemini the following question:

Can you summarise what Meher Baba said about the differences the first person’s reaching the seventh plane of consciousness made to the attempts of subsequent aspirants wishing to attain this state.

This was the response:

Meher Baba explained that the journey of the very first soul to attain the seventh plane of consciousness was fundamentally different from the path of all subsequent spiritual seekers in its speed, ease, and requirement for external guidance.

The Journey of the First Soul

• The "First Soul" or "First Pilgrim" navigated the evolutionary kingdoms in just seventy-seven forms and progressed through the seven planes of involution very easily.

• His journey was significantly quicker than that of any subsequent soul because He lacked a heavy burden of accumulated impressions, or sanskaras.

• When facing the vast abyss between the sixth and seventh planes, He transcended His own mind and crossed over completely independently, without any external help.

• This First Soul instantaneously passed from Majzoobiyat (a God-merged state) to Qutubiyat (Perfect Masterhood).

• By doing so, He established Himself as the Personal God—the "Nameless Ancient One"—and was the first to occupy the eternal throne in the seventh heaven.

The Challenge for Subsequent Aspirants

• Unlike the First Soul, subsequent seekers accumulate innumerable sanskaras during their long evolutionary process, forcing them into a slow, zigzagging cycle of reincarnation to wear these impressions down.

• Because of these dense impressions, their progress through the inner planes is fraught with the risk of becoming enchanted or trapped by the ecstatic experiences of the subtle and mental heavens.

• It is entirely impossible for later aspirants to cross the deep abyss separating the sixth and seventh planes through their own independent efforts.

• To attain the seventh plane and achieve God-realization, subsequent souls absolutely require the direct grace, touch, or guidance of a Perfect Master (Sadguru) who has already realized the ultimate truth and can pull them across the final threshold.

The figure of 77 forms for the first soul prompted me go directly to the notebook and ask the following:

"The "First Soul" or "First Pilgrim" navigated the evolutionary kingdoms in just seventy-seven forms and progressed through the seven planes of involution very easily." I find this confusing as normally 500 million forms are required. The number 77 seems preposterous. Can you clarify my confusion.

Here was the response:

The contrast between the 77 forms taken by the First Soul and the millions of forms and lifetimes required for all subsequent souls is one of the most unique aspects of Meher Baba's cosmology.

1. The Journey of the "First Soul" (The First Pilgrim)

According to Meher Baba, the First Soul (also referred to as the First Drop, Adam, or the Ancient One) was the very first individual drop-soul to emerge from the unconscious state of God at the OM Point when the original Whim ("Who am I?") arose.

• Only Natural Sanskaras: When creation first emerged, there were no accumulated "unnatural" sanskaras—such as complex desires, lust, greed, or binding psychological attachments. The First Soul gathered only the bare minimum of natural sanskaras strictly necessary to unfold consciousness.
  
  
• A Direct 77-Form Evolution: Because His journey was completely pristine and unencumbered by unnatural impressions, He did not need to branch off into millions of sub-species or repeat evolutionary forms. He moved smoothly and directly through key archetypal stages—the First Stone, First Metal, First Plant, First Worm, First Insect, First Reptile, First Fish, First Bird, First Animal, and into the First Man—taking exactly 77 major forms in total.
  
  
• Independent Realization: During involution, because He had no dense web of desires entangling Him in the inner heavens, He traversed the seven planes effortlessly. When He reached the vast abyss between the sixth and seventh planes, He transcended His own mind completely independently—without any external help—becoming the first God-Conscious human being.
  
  

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2. Why Subsequent Souls Require Millions of Forms

For every soul (jeevatma) that follows the First Soul, the process is radically different:

• Accumulation of Unnatural Sanskaras: As creation develops, subsequent souls accumulate dense, complex, and unnatural sanskaras through their experiences and desires in illusion.
  
  
• 50.4 Million Evolutionary Forms & 8.4 Million Species: To develop full consciousness and wear out these impressions across the seven evolutionary kingdoms (stone, metal, vegetable, worm, fish, bird, animal), subsequent souls must pass through approximately 8.4 million species (or 50.4 million total sub-human forms).
  
  
• 8.4 Million Human Reincarnations: Once human form is attained, the soul is caught in a cycle of 8.4 million human births and deaths (reincarnations) to balance and thin out its accumulated impressions before involution can begin.
  
  
• Need for a Perfect Master: Because of their heavy sanskaric burden, subsequent souls cannot cross the spiritual planes or the final abyss on their own; they strictly require the direct grace and intervention of a Perfect Master or the Avatar.

In short, 77 forms applied exclusively to the First Soul because His journey was 100% natural, direct, and free of unnatural sanskaras. For all souls following Him, the web of accumulated impressions expands the journey into millions of forms and reincarnations.

God and Ego

For some reason I was reminded of the equation:$$ \text {GOD}=\frac{1}{\text { EGO}} $$It's an effective way of communicating a spiritual truth to someone with some mathematical or scientific understanding. As Meher Baba said:

The less you think of yourself and the more you think of Baba, the sooner the ego goes and Baba remains. When you - ego - go away entirely, I am One with you. So bit by bit, you have to go.

Here is what Gemini had to say about the equation.

The equation GOD = 1/EGO is a spiritual metaphor meaning that God and the ego have an inverse relationship, where as one increases, the other disappears. 

The Inverse Relationship

• Opposite forces: You cannot be full of your own self-importance and fully aware of the divine at the same time.
• Growing the ego: When your ego goes up toward infinity, your connection to God approaches zero.
• Surrendering the ego: When your ego drops toward zero through humility, your experience of God approaches infinity. 

What the Ego Means

• Separation: The ego makes you feel like a separate, isolated creature fighting for survival and status.
• Edging God out: It traps your identity in your body, possessions, and reputation.
• Blindness: A loud ego blocks you from feeling love, peace, and unity with others. 

What God Means

• The infinite whole: God represents the universal reality and unconditional love that exists beyond human pride.
• What remains: God is what you experience when you finally let go of the illusion of your separate, fragile self. 

There are many variations on this theme:

You Alone Exist

I've copied the following from the Avatar Meher Baba Bombay Centre's daily email so that it can be easily located:

(Sept. 1962) . . . Bhau was translating some of the discourses into Hindi. One day, Baba handed him the manuscript and gestured, “I want you to translate this into Hindi and make it interesting [for the Hindi speaking people].”

Bhau said, “If it is interesting in English, naturally it will be interesting in Hindi.”

Baba replied, “That I don’t know. I want you to make it interesting and the language should be simple.”

Bhau thought over what Baba had said. It occurred to him to put the whole book in dialogue form, and he completed one discourse in this style. He read it to Baba, who was pleased and complimented him, “Yes, this is what I meant.”

Baba also suggested songs should be included, and mentioned there should be a prayer, too. Bhau remembered that back in 1959 Baba had given him a special couplet in Hindi: He found the couplet, made it the first couplet of the ghazal, and composed eleven more to go with it.

The next evening when he went for watch, Baba asked, “Did you compose the prayer?” and hearing that he had, Baba asked Bhau to read it to him. Baba was pleased, but stated the prayer should be longer. Baba was in a very good mood that day and, drumming his thighs with his fists in rhythm to the lines, he began composing new couplets, which Bhau wrote down. Sitting on his bed, Baba dictated seventeen more couplets, and thus, the poetic prayer Tumi Tau Ho (God, You Alone Exist) came into being. In a later period, Meher Baba stated that one day this prayer would be recited by people in their homes throughout the world. The following is the entire prayer. (1) 

YOU ALONE EXIST

 

O priceless treasure of Knowledge!

You are within and without, and You are the Ocean of Mercy.

You are in all the worlds; You are the Ocean of attributes!

O Meher, God-Incarnate, You alone exist!

You are Yezdan. You are Ezad.

You are Allah and Ishwar.

You are Ram and You are Buddha.

You are Beloved Lord Krishna,

Who with one finger lifted the mountain; You alone exist!

You are the Beyond God and the Beyond-Beyond God also.

O Ocean of Kindness, You alone exist.

You are Muhammad, You are Perfection Personified.

You are Knowledge Itself, and You alone exist. 

You live in everyone and You are everyone.

O Beloved, You are the Enlightened One, and You alone exist.

You are with attributes and without attributes!

You are the sole player in the divine game. You alone exist.

You are matchless, the Only One!

You reside in every heart, and You alone exist.

You are eternally motionless, and immovable is Your abode.

You are the Highest, for You alone exist.

You are the Doer, the deed, and the cause of doing!

The sustainer You are, and the Master of Masters.

You alone exist.

You are the seeker, the worship and the sadhana. (2)

O Meher, God-Incarnate, You alone exist!

You are in front and behind, You are above and below,

O Lord, You live in every house, and You alone exist.

You are beyond Beyond, yet You remain within everyone.

You are All-Pervading, and You alone exist.

You are in each neighborhood. You are the Sustainer.

You Yourself are all worlds, and You alone exist.

Everywhere, whether above or below,

You are complete; You alone exist.

You are unseen, yet seen also.

You live in everyone forgiving each his sins. You alone exist.

There is no one without You!

You are manifesting and unmanifest, as You alone exist.

You are man. You are birds.

You are fish and animals, for You alone exist.

You are bugs and gnats, You are snakes and scorpions,

You are ants and mosquitoes, for You alone exist.

You are insects. You are lice.

You are dogs, asses and pigs. You alone exist.

You are deer and elephants;

You are cats and monkeys; You alone exist.

You are the moon and the stars, the dawn and the night,

and the sun and also the light. You alone exist.

You are wind and water,

and the animals of the water; You alone exist.

You are silver and gold, You are copper and iron,

You are brass and stone; You alone exist.

You are tea and coffee, and the sugar also; You alone exist.

You are paper and the book,

You are the school and office; You alone exist.

You are pen and ink and You are the gifted writer. You alone exist.

You are the door and window.

You are the marble floor; You alone exist.

You are the medicine and the disease

and the Doctor also; You alone exist.

You are the game and the Player,

and the spectator also; You alone exist.

You are the flower and the thorn,

and You are the fragrance. You alone exist.

You are the Singer. You are the musical instrument.

You are the sweet tunes, for You alone exist.

You are the Prayer and the words of the prayer.

You are the forces of evil and the powers of light. You alone exist.

You are the soldier, the army, and the Supreme General.

You alone exist.

You are the Sailor, the ship, and the wide Ocean;

You alone exist!

You are the storm’s turbulence and the tranquil waters.

You are the pearl and You are the shell. You alone exist.

You are the shore, the Ferryman, and the sea also, 

for You alone exist.

You are the Beggar, the giver, and the charity; You alone exist.

You are the slave and the Lord;

You are the Beyond God. You are God. You alone exist.

You are Mother and Father;

You are Master, brother and friend.

You are family and relatives; You alone exist.

There is no one besides You!

Eternally You are, for You alone exist!

You are Pran (3) and You are heart.

You are also the Beloved of the heart; You alone exist.

You are the Beloved and the Lover,

and You are the nectar of Love, as You alone exist!

You are breath and life itself.

Our minds are enthralled by Your beauty! For You alone exist!

You are the house. You are the inhabitants

and the bricks and furnishings. You alone exist.

You are the Worshipper, his worship,

and the One worshipped, as You alone exist.

You are Consciousness and the Way to Consciousness!

O Meher, God-Incarnate, You alone exist!

You are Khwaja, (4) You are Qutub!

You are Pir and Qalandar! (5) You alone exist.

You are Hafiz, You are Sanai! (6)

You are Dara and Alexander! (7) You alone exist. 

You are Jesus Christ! You are Elahi!

You are the Ocean, infinite and pure; You alone exist.

You are the Koran and the One who prays!

You are Vali, (8) and You are the Messenger; You alone exist.

You are the Beginning, and You are the End.

You are also beyond the Beginning and beyond the End.

You alone exist.

You are infinitely beautiful and infinitely close!

O Meher, God-Incarnate, You alone exist!

You are Brahma and You are Vishnu;

You are the guileless Shankar. (9) You alone exist!

Bhau says, “O Beloved Meher, You are The Word

and You are The Letter! You alone exist!”

 

1. This prayer was first printed in its entirety as part of the introduction to The Nothing and the Everything by Bhau Kalchuri, which was his first book published in English written under Meher Baba’s direction, 1982.
   
   
2. Sadhana is a yogic spiritual practice or discipline. Refer to Meher Baba’s Discourses.
   
   
3. A Sanskrit word, Pran is the original underlying Force or Energy in the universe, as the original Space is called Akash. Refer to The Nothing and the Everything, pages 32-34, regarding the original conflict between Pran and Akash causing the beginning of creation or Matter.
   
   
4. Khwaja, meaning Lord, may refer to the Persian Perfect Master Khwajah Khizr, who is a legendary figure who discovered and drank the water of life and became immortal, and from time immemorial presides over the well of immortality.
   
   
5. Khizr is a divine post of a Perfect Master who bestows Realization and Perfection upon a man who has no physical connection with a living Perfect Master. In such instances, Khizr takes a physical form and bestows his divine grace of Perfect Masterhood. Two known instances when Khizr intervened was the perfecting of Francis of Assisi and Narayan Maharaj of Kedgaon.
   
   
6. Qalandar, literally meaning freespirited in Persian, is a Muslim ascetic or monk who gives up all possessions and wanders in the world.
   
   
7. Sanai was a Persian Sufi Perfect Master and renowned poet of Shiraz, Iran, author of Hadiqatul Haqiqat — Garden of Truth. Died 1131.
   
   
8. Alexander refers to the Greek conqueror of Persia, Alexander the Great, king of Macedon, (356 B.C.-323 B.C.) 
   
   
9. In Arabic, a Vali or Wali-Allah means a Friend of God, a fifth plane mental conscious pilgrim who is said to speak with God, or hear the voice of God. In Vedanta, a man of the fifth plane is called Shiv. In Sanskrit and ancient Hindu mythology, Vali was the name of a king who was punished by God (Vishnu) in his incarnation as Vamana (the Dwarf), for his excessive charity and condemned to rule over the nether world. The name Vali was also of a monkey chieftain mentioned in the epic Ramayana. He was killed by Ram.Shankar is another name for Shiva; in Hindu mythology, the First Man. Shankar is also the abbreviated name for the Vedic philosopher, Sankaracharya (788-820).

Lord Meher, Original Publication, Bhau Kalchuri, Vol. 18, pp. 5932 – 5935

After Death

I got Gemini to create the following report based on this query:

What has Meher Baba to say about the life after death and that time between our physical death and a new incarnation.

Life After Death and the Transition of the Senses

According to the spiritual teachings of Meher Baba, physical death is not an end, but a transition. He described ordinary physical death as a temporary state of rest—comparable to a long, dreamless sleep—from which the soul inevitably awakens. While the physical body is discarded like an old garment, the limited ego, mind, and subtle body remain entirely intact, carrying the accumulated impressions (sanskaras) that shape the soul's next destination and its ultimate journey back to oneness.

The Immediate Aftermath of Death

Following the dropping of the physical body, the soul undergoes a specific transition before entering its subjective after-death state:

• The Threadlike Link (1 to 5 Days): For the first one to three days, the subtle body retains a highly sensitive, threadlike connection to the discarded gross body.
• The Astral Transit (40 to 72 Hours): During the first 40 to 72 hours, the disembodied soul remains stationed in the sub-subtle or astral world. The soul is highly sensitive to its physical surroundings and the emotions of its loved ones.
• The Harm of Grieving: Because the departed soul is drawn to those it loved, intense grieving and weeping by relatives can distress the soul and anchor it to the earth plane. Conversely, when loved ones celebrate the soul's release, it becomes much easier for the soul to sever its attachments and progress.

The Transition of the Senses Across the Planes

As a soul progresses up the planes of consciousness, it gradually sheds its reliance on the physical senses until only a singular, spiritual sense of "seeing" remains on the sixth plane:

• The Gross Sphere: The soul experiences the outer world through the physical body and is bound to a wide range of experiences, including seeing, hearing, smelling, eating, sleeping, and clearing the bowels.
• The Subtle Sphere (Planes 1–3): As consciousness turns inward, sensory experiences are reduced to three subtle faculties: seeing, smelling, and hearing.
• The Mental Sphere (Planes 5–6): The soul becomes completely unconscious of both the gross and subtle worlds. On the fifth and sixth planes, only a single sense remains: the mental sense of "seeing." On the sixth plane, the soul uses this inner eye to see God face-to-face continuously in everything and everywhere.

The Metaphor of the Seven Doors

Meher Baba likened the spiritual journey to passing through the "Sevenfold Veil," comparing the stages of involution to the seven physical openings in the human face:

• First Plane: Entered through the first door, represented by the mouth.
• Second and Third Planes: Crossed via the second and third doors, represented by the right and left nostrils.
• Fourth Plane: Crossed via the fourth and fifth doors, represented by the right and left ears.
• Fifth Plane: Crossed via the sixth and seventh doors, represented by the right and left eyes.
• Sixth Plane: The pilgrim arrives at the center of the forehead. Here, the inner "third eye" is fully opened, allowing the soul to see God everywhere.

Comparative Chart: After-Death States and Destinations

The table below summarizes the different spiritual paths, experiences, and resolutions for souls transitioning from the physical world, depending on their state of consciousness and the nature of their death:

State / Destination	Condition / Cause	After-Death Experience	Duration & Resolution
Normal Reincarnation	Average human life with a standard balance of positive and negative impressions.	Subjective states of heaven or hell experienced in the subtle body. Experiences are magnified tenfold or a thousandfold compared to earthly life.	Temporary. Once the predominant impressions are exhausted, the residual opposite impressions goad the soul to reincarnate.
Sudden / Accidental Death	Physical life cut short abruptly by accident, illness, or disaster before the natural lifespan is complete.	The soul is reborn almost immediately in order to complete the exact remaining "time-span" of the previous life.	Reborn quickly. This explains the spiritual cause of childhood deaths, as the child is finishing the residual time-allotment of their past life.
Immediate Reincarnation	Good and bad impressions happen to achieve near-perfect balance at the exact moment of death.	Bypasses the heaven and hell states entirely, avoiding the intensive subjective period of review.	Immediate. Reincarnates directly into a new physical form on earth.
Suicide	Violent, self-inflicted termination of physical life, violating natural spiritual laws.	The soul remains bound to millions of unspent gross impressions without a body to exhaust them. Suspended in the astral world.	Can remain suspended as a "ghost" for centuries. Can only be released through the direct, merciful intervention of a Perfect Master or Avatar.
Spiritually Advanced	Pilgrims who have actively progressed on the inner planes of consciousness.	The soul travels upward beyond the lunar sphere. They bypass heaven and hell, remaining in high spiritual stations.	They may temporarily utilize the bodies of earth-conscious individuals to help work out impressions until they reincarnate to finish the path.
Connected to a Master	Disciples and lovers who are deeply connected and surrendered to a Perfect Master or the Avatar.	The soul completely bypasses heaven, hell, and the general laws of after-death illusion.	The Master absorbs the soul directly into Himself, allowing them to rest or live eternally within His divine presence.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Meher Baba's teachings emphasize that the transition of death is a highly organized, purposeful process designed to thin out our bindings. Whether through the slow, subjective processing in heaven and hell, or the swift cycle of accidental rebirth, the soul is continuously guided toward the ultimate goal: the final "Real Death" of the limited ego, resulting in the realization of its true identity as infinite, eternal God.

Functioning on the Higher Planes

I asked the following question of Gemini using the sources in my Meher Baba Notebook:

I find it hard to understand how people on the higher planes of consciousness can be oblivious of the physical world and yet continue to function in it with a physical body. What do the sources have to say about this?

Here was the response:

To understand how an individual on the higher planes of consciousness can be completely oblivious of the physical world yet continue to eat, walk, and function within it, Meher Baba compares their state to that of a somnambulist or sleepwalker . While this appears contradictory to ordinary human understanding, Meher Baba explains the mechanics of this phenomenon through several core principles:

A somewhat flawed graphic generated by Gemini
based on its response to my query

The Analogy of Sleepwalking and Reflex Actions

• When a person walks or talks in their sleep, those around them can hear and observe these physical actions, yet the sleeping individual is completely unaware of performing them.
  
  
• Similarly, individuals on the subtle or mental planes are totally unconscious of gross physical actions, even though they appear to ordinary observers to speak, eat, drink, or move around.
  
  
• In the case of a Majzoob - a God-merged soul on the seventh plane who is conscious only of the "I am God" state and utterly oblivious to the three worlds - any apparent physical preference, emotional reaction, or bodily movement is an automatic reflex action of which they are entirely unconscious, much like the sound of snoring is to a fast-asleep man .
  
  
• When a Majzoob walks, he is functioning as a "divine sleep walker," and if he speaks, he is talking in his divine sleep .

Subconscious Energy and Divine Sustenance

• Once an advanced pilgrim directs their conscious energy entirely toward the inner spiritual life beyond the domain of the intellect and physical senses, they become unconcerned with bodily requirements.
  
  
• All conscious energy is absorbed in the inner planes, leaving the physical body and its ongoing sustenance to its own subconscious energy and to direct support from God.
  
  
• Meher Baba noted that when the mind stops paying attention to the physical body, the body automatically survives and looks after itself.
  
  
• For those in states of deep divine intoxication (*masts*), the divine power of *Vidnyan* (superconscious knowledge) that vibrates the universe directly sustains and cares for their physical frames.

Indirect Utilization of the Body

• Although an aspirant on the subtle or mental planes is unconscious of the gross body, they still work through that body indirectly from their respective spiritual station.
  
  
• An individual with subtle consciousness functions consciously in the realm of energy, while one with mental consciousness functions in the realm of mind.
  
  
• Because their subtle and mental bodies are fully developed, they can unconsciously utilize the gross body for basic functional aspects such as eating, drinking, seeing, and sleeping, while their actual awareness remains exclusively anchored in the inner spiritual worlds.

The Reflection of Consciousness

• Meher Baba clarifies that what ordinary gross-conscious people observe as physical actions performed by someone on the mental plane is merely the gross interpretation of the reflection of their mental activity.
  
  
• He illustrates this using the reflection of the moon in a lake: as long as your gaze is directed at the water, the moon appears to be in the lake, but it is actually only a reflection.
  
  
• In the exact same way, the true consciousness of an advanced soul is not present in the physical world; only the reflection of their consciousness is here, making it appear to observers as though they are conscious of the gross plane.

Ultimately, while the physical shell continues to operate through natural laws, automatic bodily reflexes, and divine support, the individual's true awareness is entirely detached from matter . Their physical form remains visible and active to ordinary observers, but their consciousness is fully absorbed in the profound grandeur, power, and beatific vision of the inner spiritual realities .

About The 84 Lakhs

I asked the following of NotebookLM:

Meher Baba mentions that "The soul goes through 84 lakhs (8.4 million) of shakes (births and deaths) during this process". I'm unclear as to whether these are human births and deaths or whether these are the total through all the stages of evolution: stone, metal, vegetable, worm, fish, bird and animal. Can you seek clarification within the literature?

Here was the response:

Source: Gemini

The number 84 lakhs (8.4 million) is highly significant in Meher Baba's cosmology and actually applies to both the stages of pre-human evolution and the cycles of human reincarnation, which often causes confusion. Meher Baba explicitly noted that "Ninety-nine percent of the pundits have blundered in taking both evolution and reincarnation changes and rounds of births and deaths as 84 lakhs".

Here is how the literature clarifies the exact meaning of this number across the two different stages:

1. Reincarnation (Human Births and Deaths) When Meher Baba speaks of the soul going through 84 lakhs of "shakings" or reincarnations, he is directly referring to the exact number of times a soul takes a human form.

• Once the soul has attained the human form, the process of evolution is complete, and the process of reincarnation begins.
  
  
• To wear out the accumulated impressions (sanskaras) from evolution, the soul must experience exactly 8,400,000 human lifetimes (births and deaths), alternating between male and female, rich and poor, and different nationalities to gather a complete balance of opposite experiences.
  
  
• Meher Baba refers to these 84 lakhs of human reincarnations as "shakings" because the soul is being shaken loose from its tight grip of sanskaras before it is ready for the process of spiritual realization.

2. Evolution (Pre-Human Forms) Before the soul ever reaches the human form, the number 8.4 million also dictates the exact number of species the soul must traverse during evolution.

• During the evolutionary journey, the soul passes through six primary pre-human stages: stone/metal, vegetable, worm, fish, bird, and animal.
  
  
• Meher Baba explained that there are exactly 14 lakhs (1,400,000) of species in each of these six pre-human forms. Multiplying 6 by 14 lakhs equals 84 lakhs (8,400,000) of species or "bindings".
  
  
• Thus, the soul experiences 84 lakhs of changes in species during evolution.

The Distinction: "Shakings" vs. "Sleeps of Death" To further clarify this distinction, Meher Baba's close disciple Eruch Jessawala provided an important note in God Speaks. He explained that the "Eighty-four lakhs of shakings or reincarnations are in human form". However, if one were to count the actual number of individual "deaths" or shedding of forms during the entire pre-human evolutionary process (moving from one individual stone to another, one plant to another, etc., rather than just counting the broad species), the soul goes through approximately "fifty crores [500 million] of sleeps of death" before it even reaches the human form.

In summary, the 8.4 million "shakes" or "reincarnations" strictly refer to the number of human lifetimes a soul experiences. However, during the prior evolutionary journey, the soul also traversed exactly 8.4 million species of pre-human forms (from stone to animal). The number is fixed for both processes independently.