A young American couple, intrigued by a bird repeatedly saying “Avatar Meher Baba,” visited Meher Baba’s tomb in India. They learned about Meher Baba through the bird and were drawn to his teachings. This story inspired Bob Brown to suggest training birds to spread Meher Baba’s name.

A Christian prayer recited at Mandali Hall, Meherazad, India, praises God as the Father Almighty, the Creator, and the Savior. The prayer acknowledges God’s majesty, mercy, and love, and seeks His guidance and protection.

Eruch recounts a story about driving Baba to Meherabad for His birthday. Despite Baba’s urgency to use the restroom, He insisted on stopping to greet His devotees, demonstrating His compassion and love for them. Eruch highlights Baba’s humanity and His ability to be both approachable and unapproachable, embodying the Being of all Beings.

The Absolute, defined as unapproachable and inconceivable, is made approachable through the God-Man, or Avatar, who embodies divinity in human form. The Avatar, through infinite compassion, comes to humanity repeatedly, allowing people to love and yearn for Him, ultimately leading them to their true nature of infinite bliss. To love the Avatar, even when He is not physically present, one must remember Him constantly, using reminders and gradually allowing remembrance to precede seeing Him as He truly is. A seeker, initially motivated by mechanical reminders, embarks on a journey to places associated with Meher Baba. Through this pilgrimage, the seeker’s remembrance evolves from mental to heartfelt, culminating in a profound experience of seeing Meher Baba as He truly is. This experience ignites an unquenchable love for Meher Baba, leading to a union where the seeker becomes the beloved. The scent of the divine is the same for all prophets, including Jesus and Muhammad.

Eruch explains that longing for Meher Baba, even without having seen Him, keeps one close to Him. The mind can bring one to the threshold of being with Baba, but it is the heart that keeps one there. Controlling the mind, like riding a steed, allows one to reach Baba and remain with Him.

Eruch recounts a biblical story about Moses, who persistently asks God for the ability to feed all of creation for a day. God agrees, but with the condition that Moses remain unseen and silent. That night, Moses witnesses a man committing a heinous act on a dead woman’s body, but is unable to intervene due to his promise. When Moses tells God about the incident, God explains that He provides for all, regardless of their actions, and that Moses cannot choose who to feed.

A cat named Pegu, belonging to a couple living near Guruprasad, repeatedly visited Baba and the pilgrims. The couple, grateful for Baba’s acceptance of their food offerings, became devoted followers. Pegu later died after being accidentally locked in a cupboard and later hit by a vehicle.

Meher Baba, formerly known as Merwan, introduced himself to his followers as the same Ancient One who had come before as Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, and others. This caused confusion and disrupted the devotion of those who followed these religious figures. Baba clarified that his followers should not belittle other religions but instead teach others how to worship their own Lord, while also revealing that he was the “fresh stock” of the same “Quaker Oats” that had nourished humanity throughout history.

Vivekananda, a revered Indian spiritual leader, was invited to the palace of the king of Alwar. Despite the king’s insistence on worshipping the unmanifested God, Vivekananda explained the importance of the manifested God, who brings the absolute closer to humanity. He used a metaphor of a portrait to illustrate how the manifested God serves as a reminder and conduit to the absolute, ultimately convincing the king of the value of this approach.

Vivekananda, a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, is credited with heralding Meher Baba’s advent in America. He was a renowned speaker who, upon returning to India, was invited to speak by many, including rulers. While vegetarianism is healthy, Meher Baba’s followers were not initially allowed to eat eggs, but this restriction was eventually lifted.

A young man, inspired by his parents’ devotion to Paramahansa Yogananda, traveled to India after a vision of Yogananda instructed him to visit Meher Baba. Despite not knowing much about Meher Baba, he followed the guidance and stayed at Meherabad for six weeks. Later, another visitor, Stuart Jenks, shared his own story of being brought to Meher Baba by Yogananda, revealing a deeper connection to the spiritual teacher.