Meher Baba

Meher Baba Biography

Meher Baba was an Indian spiritual leader from Pune, Maharashtra who called himself as an Avatar, a descent of the Supreme Being/God. "Meher Baba" literally means "Compassionate Father” and this name was given to him by a group of disciples in the early 1920s. His real name is Merwan Sheriar Irani. His samadhi in Meherabad is an international pilgrimage.

Meher Baba was born as Merwan Sheriar Irani on 25 February 1894 in Pune to Irani Zoroastrian parents. Merwan led a normal childhood until 19 years old. During his first year at college, he encountered Hazrat Babajan, a centenarian Muslim saint who invited him to the state of God-Realization, by sealing a kiss on his forehead. He also prompted Irani to contact the other four Perfect Masters. He also began 7-year spiritual transformation. By 1921 Merwan was recognized as a Perfect Master and had a following crowd of disciples.

From 10 July 1925, Meher Baba began observing silence and maintained for 44 years. Throughout these years, he communicated by pointing to letters on an alphabet board which a disciple would read out. He spent long periods in seclusion, held fasting, travelled extensively, held public gatherings and got engaged with charity works. In 1931, he visited foreign nations and in the 1940s he worked with a category of spiritual aspirants called masts. In the year 1949, he started a journey called, "New Life" with a selected mandali. Since 1954 he started communicating in the form of hand gestures.

After two accidents in 1952 and 1956, he couldn’t travel too long. In February 1954 for the first time Meher Baba publicly declared himself to be the Avatar. In 1962 he invited his western followers to India for "The East-West Gathering". He continued his "Universal Work" despite his health deteriorated. He established Avatar Meher Baba Charitable Trust. Perfect Masters, the Avatar and involution were the major teachings of Baba. In July of 1968, Meher Baba announced that he had completed his work with 100% satisfaction. Baba's silence still remains a mysterious issue.

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Updated: December 05, 2015