Summer 2010

Dear Center Family,

Jai Baba to you all, and happy summer! Hoping you are feeling the break in routine, the opportunity for reflection, and the joy that this season often brings. The photo on the cover is an image of the timelessness of the Center. It was taken probably thirty years ago. This spot, that bench, the lovely secluded setting of Gator Lake remain as they were then - welcoming Meher Baba's guests to His Home in the West, awaiting their arrival, and offering His companionship. How fortunate we are to know of the Center, to be able to come here and to experience His enduring presence.

We just celebrated Silence Day, July 10 - the 85th anniversary of the beginning of Meher Baba's 44 years of maintaining silence in His physical form. For the past forty or so years, we have gathered in the Barn on the evening of July 9th to remember the meaning of Baba's silence. These words of Baba's (from 1954) were shared in the Barn this year, along with other readings, music and reflections; "If you were to ask me why I do not speak, I would say I am not silent, and that I speak more eloquently through gestures and the alphabet board. If you were to ask me why I do not talk, I would say, mostly for three reasons. Firstly, I feel that through you all I am talking eternally. Secondly, to relieve the boredom of talking incessantly through your forms, I keep silence in my personal physical form. And thirdly, because all talk in itself is idle talk. Lectures, messages, statements, discourses of any kind, spiritual or otherwise, imparted through utterances or writings, are just idle talk when not acted upon or lived up to." It was a wonderful evening, and the day of silence that followed was, as always, exquisite and filled again with that timeless sense of Baba's abiding love.

Program News

Since our winter newsletter, there have been many special times at the Center. For Baba's Birthday in February, we enjoyed three short plays by Joe DiSabatino, performed in the Meeting Place on the 24th and 27th, and a wonderful talk on the 25th by Ralph and Stella Hernandez. In March, a panel of Baba lovers returning from India (Price Branch, Scott O'Neil, Bevan Robinson, David Walsh, and Jonathan Burroughs) shared their "Amartithi and beyond" experiences. Another evening, Anne Ross told stories of being with Baba in the 1950s. In April, Digambar Gadekar gave two talks and a concert, offering all those here such a special experience of his love for Beloved Baba and what it was like to be with Him.

At the end of April, Bhau arrived and thus began a three and a half week celebration of listening to his talks and enjoying the humor, the inspiration and the profound meaning of just being with him. All were grateful that he was able to come to the Center again, and for all that he gave to us while he was here. On May 20, the anniversary of Mehera's passing, Raelia Lyn provided a beautiful slide presentation of days with Mehera in India, along with readings and music. On Memorial Day, Farhad Shafa, a member of Sufism Reoriented from California, spoke in the Meeting Place about Baba's New Humanity and showed several new films of Baba created by Mischa Rutenberg.

In June, Meherwan Mistry, son of long-time Baba lovers Jimmy and Rhoda Mistry, shared stories of many times spent with Baba and His mandali, beginning when he was a child growing up in India. Meherwan Merchant also visited the Center in June. He first met (and was named by!) Meher Baba as a baby, and grew up in a family of close Baba lovers, including his grandmother, Kharmanmasi, who was with Baba since the 1920s. Don Stevens, author of Listen Humanity and other writings about Meher Baba, came for a Center visit and spoke on June 30 about his long and close relationship with Baba. And finally, Bill and Diana LePage arrived from Australia in mid-June, and have been graciously sharing with Center guests and visitors as they do every year when they come. Bill, who spent many times with Baba, including during the "Three Incredible Weeks," is telling stories every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons in the Original Kitchen (as well as at several weekend evening programs) throughout the summer while he and Diana are here. What a treat! And they will also participate in the annual Youth Sahavas, which begins July 27. Seventy-five high school young people, and nearly as many young adult staff and helpers will participate in this year's five day gathering. This is its twentieth year!

Center Life . . .

The daily life of the Center continues, by Baba's grace and with His help. It is busy and full; the Gateway reports that there has been a waiting list every weekend since March, and this usually continues well into the fall. There are programs each evening except Wednesdays, monthly afternoon gatherings with Wendy Connor, Adele Wolkin, and others. Saroja Library opens twice daily, Meher Abode opens four days a week, and there is Dilruba Tea on Sundays and chai in the Original Kitchen on Thurdays, Fridays and Saturdays. But of course, beneath and beyond all of the activity, is this place that is like no other, Meher Baba's Home - a place of refuge and retreat where, as Elizabeth Patterson said, each one of us can "renew that contact, you might say, with God . . . let God, that still small voice speak."

The focus on maintaining the unique tranquility and simplicity of the Center, as reflected in the photo, guides the work here. From the careful removal of dead trees and limbs near Meher Abode to the replacement of field lines and septic tanks, from delicate structural repairs at the Barn and Meher Abode to the yearly cleaning and repair of at least 100 fans, from the daily cabin cleaning, path raking, bush pruning to replacing mattresses, cushions and lamps - -all is done to keep the Center as Baba asked: in 100% repair, ready for His return, where all those who love and follow Him, and all those who know of Him and want to know more, can find rest and spiritual renewal. In the midst of all the activity and the challenges of ongoing care of the Center, Baba is always here, as He promised, "I never leave. Remember, I do not leave because this place is my home."

We send you, the Center family, gratitude for your faithful support of Meher Center. Your loving donations, your time, your interest, your devotion, your work, your love are what keep the Center thriving and rich with His blessings. We look forward to seeing you here when you are able to visit again, and hope that your summer and fall are filled with His love and companionship.

In His Sustaining Embrace,

Barbara Plews, for Meher Center

P.S. From the Gateway: Holiday reservations

Once again we will be using the lottery process in the hope of being fair to all who want to be on the Center for the Christmas and/or New Year holidays. If you would like reservations any time from Friday, December 17, through Sunday, January 2, 2011, send the form included with this newsletter to the Gateway. An explanation of the process is on the form. If you want to be included in the lottery drawing, we must receive your form anytime before Saturday, September 11, 2010. The drawing will begin at 9:00 a.m. on September 11, and any reservations received after September 10 will be placed at the end of the lottery drawing. Please help spread the word to those who may not be receiving our newsletters.

Click here to download the Holiday Reservations Form