Where is Meher Baba Now? (Page 2 of 2)
Meditations by Francis Brabazon

At the Beloved’s Feet
From a letter written by Francis Brabazon from Poona to his group of Baba lovers in Australia in 1959

The other day, according to the Hindu Calendar, was Guru’s Day, which occurs once a year. Baba had all of us pray collectively to God to help us hold onto Baba to the end. Baba is not a Guru in the sense that He teaches us. He had said, “I have come not to teach but to Awaken.” But He is our Guru in the sense that He takes over the direction of our lives. Thus he is at the same time our Personal Guru and AVATAR to the whole creation.

In the evening He sent for me to come to His room and among other things He said, “Your stay with Me so far has been entirely fruitful for Me, for you and your group.” That ‘your group’ surprised Me.

Francis Brabazon photographed by Ralph Jackson in 1978 at Meherazad.

I had always felt since 1956 when you all (the Australian Sufis: Editor) met Him, that there was no longer any ‘group’ but that each one was under his ‘own steam.’ But, the point that makes me happy is that ‘somehow’ my being with Baba had been of benefit to all, because I have always felt that the final fruit of anything He does for an individual will be when all enjoy it. Even when I have seen him giving the blessings of His embrace to thousands, I have not been able not to think about ‘the millions.’ The answer, apparently, is that through the thousands He does touch the millions — and this touch is a preparation for when He breaks His silence and manifests His full Divinity.

The longer one is with Baba the more one realizes that the only solution to the condition of the world is a New Humanity; a humanity oriented to a completely different set of values than that which humanity has now; a humanity oriented with ‘new ears for music’, this new music of ‘love God and each other as oneself’; an end of the piggish separateness of ‘mine and the world’ — and the beginning of the NEW WORLD. The trouble is the beginning of this New Humanity cannot be effected until Baba breaks His silence — which means dropping His body. One cannot imagine a world without Baba, a Man-Baba Unit.

Then again, when one sees daily what is one iota of His suffering, one cannot help but wish He would drop His body. One really feels like begging Him to finish His suffering, and let the whole world, (including myself) go to hell or annihilate itself through war. Then again — one sees that oneself is a mere infant before the Ever-blissful, Ever-suffering God and He will do what He will when He wills. But Baba tells us we can allay some of His suffering and even help Him with His work by trying not to do anything that might displease Him, and be obedient to His orders and be happy. BE HAPPY. (Something like this: “Daddy has a lot of work to do. So do happily whatever little jobs He gives us to do and when He calls us, come with smiling faces.”)

Baba takes time off His work to play with us and often reminds in the play that He is God, and that God is playing with us: that we should be careful not to allow His familiarity with us to become the cause of our slackness in obedience to Him. A few weeks ago, Baba took us to see Charlie Chaplin’s film, “Limelight” and He enjoyed it. Afterwards He said, “How fortunate Charlie is that I have seen his film and enjoyed it.” Since that time most mornings we have seen films. These consist of Eruch reading out selected pieces of newspaper articles — both tragic and comic. Baba particularly enjoyed one little article about two married partners travelling in a railroad carriage when an argument developed into a free-for-all fight about which way an electric fan should be directed — each party wanting it. Just at the height of it a man appeared with a gun and threatened to shoot them all. Baba, himself enacted the ‘tough with the gun’ perfectly.

Baba uses the film to show us the ‘unreality of the world.’ We go to see the films and if we enjoy it we get so much absorbed into it what we imagine real men and women are doing it. When it ends we recognize the unreality of it — no actual existence — appearance only. Creation itself is only a ‘film’ with each individual life just one ‘little film’ — all within a great film. Our little joys and sorrows, successes and failures, our likes and dislikes — in short — all our personal pre-occupations with ourselves and others — in relation to ourselves seems so real. Eventually the film must end and we pass away. So on until we awaken to the fact that we are all ‘only acting’ in a little film. As the film unrolls we then realize ourselves as the eternal Infinite existence. So long as we identify ourselves with it, it continues to keep unrolling along.

Baba is not only a ‘perfect mimic’ but His mimicry of others is perfect also. He often entertains us mimicking our peculiarities of manner. What a loss to the world’s stage that none of our great actors have become Baba lovers! For that matter if any artist in any form or any field could only realize that the secret of their success is contained in His physical person. I have treated fully with this in “ Stay with God “.

We take turns entertaining, also when Baba orders us to do so — command performance — either to whistle a tune or make some other sort of noise, after which Baba singles out the very weakest performer and has them perform singly. It may be making a speech in an unfamiliar tongue (Kaka’s lecture on New York in English was excellent) or we tell stories, etc. I am ordered sometimes to do a piece of mimicry, other times rhymed verses on the different Mandali.

These command performances are a wonderful idea of what Baba means by obedience. We usually think of obedience as doing some job, or not doing as ordered. But He does mean to start immediately to do whatever He asks them to do — even bursting out with laughter or simulating tears.

July 19th (1959) was the “ Family Darshan” for the Poona devotees — their final opportunity to see their Beloved during His period here. Baba gave them His whole day and many brought picnic lunches. On August 7th Baba will return to Pimpalgaon. The other day I was taken out to see if I required any dental work and to shop for necessary things as I am to return with Baba. Baba wishes me to have no further correspondence until the end of October unless it is absolutely essential in connection with my book, “ Stay with God.” May I add here that Baba considers this book second only to “ GOD SPEAKS “ and that it will help greatly in understanding His book. So whatever any of you feel like doing in making it known to others I may say will be regarded as Baba’s work. Baba sends all his love...