Charismatic

Meher Baba, also known as the "Awakener." Born Merwan Sheriar Irani, February 25th, 1894 in Poona, Maharashtra, India, and died January 31, 1969, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India. His father was a seeker and a mystic, and though Merwan had mystical inclinations and experiences, he was more interested in playing sports such as cricket and marbles. At the age of 19, an aged Muslim saint, Hazrat Babajan, kissed his forehead in a Poona marketplace, and thus began Merwan's odyssey at the hands of four other India spiritual figures (Tajudin Baba, Naray Maharaj, Sai Baba of Shirdi, and Upasni Maharaj of Sakori). His complex cosmology, which has echoes of both Sufism and Vedantism, is summarized in the 1954 book, GOD SPEAKS, although he dismisses intellectual learning about God as "Trying to see with you ears," and emphasizes simply the importance of the remembrance of God and loving one's fellow beings. He did extensive work with a category of people he termed "masts." These were individuals who were dazed by spiritual contacts which they were not capable of assimilating, and though outwardly they appeared irrational, even insane, their spiritual status is actually quite elevated.

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