TOUR OF SOUTH INDIA
TOUR OF SOUTH INDIA
Meher Baba in Andhra Pradesh in 1954
Meher Baba in Andhra Pradesh in 1954
In January 1954, Meher Baba visited Andhra Pradesh and later went to Madras where he gave darshan to nearly 150,000 people. The traveling went on. At Vijayawada Baba sat with the people and told them that he wanted them to feel that he was one of them and that was why he was sitting with them on the ground. He said, "I am on the level of each one of you. Whether poor, rich, small, big, I am like each of you, but I am approachable only to those who love me.” On his birthday, which was celebrated at Tadepalligudam, he gave a message: "I am never born. I never die. Yet every moment I take birth and undergo death. The countless illusory births and deaths are necessary landmarks in the progression of man’s consciousness to Truth — a prelude to the Real Death and Real Birth. The Real Death is when one dies to self; and the Real Birth is when, dying to self, one is born in God to live forever His Eternal Life consciously. At Rajamundry Baba addressed a large gathering of his followers and Baba-workers. The meeting was held on March 1 and it went on from 9:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. the following morning. Baba spoke to them about what he meant by doing real work for Baba. In January 1954, Meher Baba visited Andhra Pradesh and later went to Madras where he gave darshan to nearly 150,000 people. The traveling went on. At Vijayawada Baba sat with the people and told them that he wanted them to feel that he was one of them and that was why he was sitting with them on the ground. He said, “I am on the level of each one of you. Whether poor, rich, small, big, I am like each of you, but I am approachable only to those who love me." On his birthday, which was celebrated at Tadepalligudam, he gave a message: “I am never born. I never die. Yet every moment I take birth and undergo death. The countless illusory births and deaths are necessary landmarks in the progression of man’s consciousness to Truth — a prelude to the Real Death and Real Birth. The Real Death is when one dies to self; and the Real Birth is when, dying to self, one is born in God to live forever His Eternal Life consciously. At Rajamundry Baba addressed a large gathering of his followers and Baba-workers. The meeting was held on March 1 and it went on from 9:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. the following morning. Baba spoke to them about what he meant by doing real work for Baba.
The tour of South India ended at Kakinada on March 24 where he gave his last message: "It has been possible through Love for man to become God; and when God becomes man, it is due to His love for His beings. If people were to ask me, 'Have you seen God?' I would reply 'What else is there to see?' If they were to ask me, 'Are you God?' I would reply, 'Who else could I be?' If they were to ask me, 'Are you Avatar?' I would reply, 'Why else have I taken this human form?'"