A Grand Celebration

In an invitation letter dated February 4th, 1937, Meher Baba’s secretary Chanji wrote to Mahatma Gandhi about the celebration of Shri Meher Baba’s forty-third birthday at His Nasik Retreat. “Among the principal functions on this occasion is the distribution of grain and cloth, as special prasad personally given by Shri Meher Baba to over ten thousand poor and destitute and others to be invited and collected from the villages in the surrounding districts, irrespective of caste, color or creed.”[1] While Gandhiji declined the invitation, the grand scale of celebration are demonstrated in the extension of the invitation on such a public level.

For years prior to 1937, Baba’s birthday had been a quiet affair. After a lapse of many years, Baba allowed His birthday celebrations to be held publicly in Nasik on February 17 and February 18. What made this two-day birthday celebration even more special was that Baba had been in seclusion for a long time and had stopped giving darshan to outsiders. The only ones who were able to see Him were those staying at His ashrams in Meherabad, Nasik and Rahuri. Thus, lovers from Bombay, Poona, Ahmednagar, Nagpur, Karachi and other distant places throughout India were expected to come. To add to that, Baba had been fasting for forty days beforehand.

Westerners had recently arrived to live under Baba’s direction at the Nasik Ashram. Leading up to the celebration, they had partaken in His fast of forty days. “I’d never fasted before and my first effort brought on a terrible headache,”[2] wrote Rano Gayley. Along with fasting, the preparations for a grand event such as this required the disciples to work under Baba who supervised every minute detail of the planning. “Six weeks before the birthday, every available moment was spent tying up thousands of bundles of homespun cloth filled with grain,”[3] said Kitty Davy.

On February 17, the gifts were finally distributed. From eight in the morning to six in the evening, Baba, in His radiant human form, gave prasad to ten thousand people, handing them prasad with one hand and touching their feet with the other. Baba said, “This is the first time I am touching the feet of those who come to pay me reverence. I salute the divinity in them, as they salute the divinity in me.”[4] The Westerners had never watched anything like this before. “There was only one break when we all sat on the ground and had a meal with Him, but His kindness, thoughtfulness, and humor were always in evidence, hour after hour,”[5] wrote Delia DeLeon. When someone asked Baba if His back ached from all the bending to hand prasad to so many, He replied, “My back aches so much it does not ache at all.” Smilingly He added, “The whole evolutionary scheme is passing through my spine today.”[6] The day ended with Baba talking to the westerners about the significance of the birthday activity for His universal work.

The next day, February 18, was the actual day of Baba’s birthday celebration according to the Zoroastrian Calendar. His mother, Shireen, washed Baba’s feet with milk and honey. The holy milk was then distributed as prasad to the fortunate lovers present there. Baba explained that the Perfect Master’s feet collect the sanskaras of the world and those who wish to lighten his burden wash his feet with honey (representing mental sanskaras), milk (representing subtle sanskaras) and water (representing gross sanskaras).

In a spirit of love and reverence, Baba’s Mohomaden followers draped Him in a sehera, a long veil of jasmines and roses. Later, Baba and the guests enjoyed a dance performed by Ahmednagar villagers and a music concert by an acclaimed musician from Poona. Speeches in Baba’s praise were made by His lovers, and finally, a message about Spiritual Birth, dictated by Baba, was read by Rustom, “… the physical birth of human beings connotes an important and, if they are circumspect about it, perhaps a final stage of their evolutionary progress … And this means that human beings having passed through all the travails of lower evolutionary processes, should insist upon the reward thereof, which is Spiritual Birth in this very life, and not rest content with a promise in the hereafter.”[7] [1] Lord Meher, Volume Six, p. 2095
[2] Because of Love, by Rano Gayley, p.14
[3] Love Alone Prevails, by Kitty Davy, p.174
[4] Lord Meher, Volume Six, p. 2103
[5] The Ocean of Love, by Delia Deleon, p. 93
[6] Lord Meher, Volume Six, p. 2102
[7] Lord Meher, Volume Six, p. 2110