Meher Baba in Dutch?

I'd never heard of him before seeing this topic and subsequently reading a wikipedia article so unfortunately no tales of Meher and I kicking back with some Indian tea and waxing lyrical about non dualism but I have some questions / thoughts on the wiki article.

Why do you suppose he declared himself as an Avatar, i.e. an incarnation of God? I think I'd probably say we're all manifestations/expressions of God but it seems he meant it in a different way, it seems to have more of an exclusive tone to it in the article. My mind can't make sense of that in some ways, it's such a lofty thing. Few things seem more intrinsic than drawing conclusions and distinctions regarding the quality of things/people/statements though. He obviously seems to have had man's plight at the forefront of his mind, I wonder what he felt the nature of an Avatar was with respect to the rest of us or what such a declaration's purpose was? I guess we all often love to be lead, to be shown a path, to be given that guide which becomes the stepping stone between happiness and hatred. A focal point of adoration and inspiration is tempting, maybe more so than looking inwards, who knows what might be there? There was also a mention of this Baba lovers / likers distinction, wiki says:



This reminds me of Jesus in some ways, the necessity for faith in the divine, where does it get us? Charismatic, inspirational figures seem to bind many different types of people together but also turn many others away, like some weird balancing act, in itself creating division.

The vow of silence...



...seems both impressive but also strangely drastic and foreign to me. I've read that many sages have said that for their "best" students, silence was the greatest teaching tool. The Buddha's Flower Sermon, when he simply held a flower aloft in silence seems his most spiritually fulfilling to me somehow, poignance certainly seems an understatement at any rate. Thanks for bringing Meher Baba to my attention anyway!

Meher Baba
Thank you so much for your reply, Ashers. Your spiritual insight and sense of humour suggest Baba might just be your cup of Indian tea with a Persian flavour. Young Merwan S. Irani was spiritually unveiled by the Perfect Master (Muslim saint) Babajan and recognised as "Parvardigar" by other Perfect Masters, both Hindu & Muslimones. Having met him in Bombay, Sister Teresa of Avila called Baba "a Christ-like figure". Should you feel like reading more about his life and works, please click on the LordMeher link at the end of the Wikipedia entry. I wrote the Dutch entry, which also contains links to the film maker Louis van Gasteren who interviewed Baba way back when. Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Re: Meher Baba
Oops, sorry, missed your reply.



Your welcome, I guess the topic didn't take off, hope you're not discouraged anyway. I have looked at some more via Wikipedia though. Hopefully in time, more and more of us can find our "Christ Self" inside.



Always

Meher Baba felt that he was born into this world specifically to bring out a God-teaching that was needed for the world at this time. Who can say whether that is true or not? Perhaps it is true, or perhaps his state of spiritual intoxication was so great that it caused him to conclude this. Other contemporary teachers have spoken of themselves as avatars or divinely-inspired teachers, such as Ad Da Samraj (Da Free John), Satya Sai Baba, Mother Meera, Narayani Amma. Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus were all supposed to have been avatars. I've heard the notion put forth that at any time on the earth there are always a certain minimum number of enlightened, God-inspired teachers who uphold the dharma (righteousness) in society. I rarely think about this stuff though. I think it is more important to find a teacher or teaching that you feel comfortable with and stick with that (while maintaining an open mind towards other teachings).

IFF, yes I think personally speaking I would just wish everyone good luck irrespective of these questions. Speaking in a wider sense though I naturally, for better or for worse, tend to wonder who is this person, what authority does he hold to say this or garner that support/prestige etc (not specifically Baba, just generally of course).

I watched a programme that explored the world of the Sadhus around India and the respect and honour that was paid to them was incredible, such a drastic change to what I see with regards to the religious and holy men. People of all stripes and colours were eager just to sit in the Sadhus presence, it seemed to me that the contemplation of such a figure was taken to be "spiritually rewarding" in itself so there again, take away the personal feelings of individual position/influence in a society such as this and you do see a kind of joyful participation in the situation as it is and not as they'd wish it to be. That kind of joy was not a forced smile of course. There seemed to be a real social cohesion in that sense too. It was very interesting.



What really resonates with me in much of eastern religion is the way it asks us, I feel, to step beyond the labels and the teachings, to see the symbolism for what it is and to discover as it were that which the teaching is really pointing at. But maybe that's my teaching for me if you like. It's in the wider sense of how, unfortunately, we've come to expect many people to react to avatars and great teachers, either positively or negatively, that begs the questions of the responsibility such teachers have in guarding against ego centric devotion (and by definition in this case, closed mindedness to other teachings) for example.

Meher Baba was extremely explicit about what he meant by the term "avatar." He lays this out in his primary book God Speaks.