The Most Beautiful Voice

On July 10th, 1925, after thirty-one years of speaking, Meher Baba, began observing silence. On the 99th anniversary of that day, I found myself wondering about the sound of Meher Baba’s singing voice. My interest sparked, I spent the coming afternoons searching for and reading about the voice that Mehera, Baba’s closest female disciple, described as,”the best in the world.”

“‘Baba’s singing and talking voice was medium in pitch, not a tenor or a bass but in-between,’ Mehera reported. ‘He sang with all his heart. He could take high notes beautifully, as well as low notes. Baba was particular about taking the high notes. He would look up to take them, and every note was perfect.”'[1]

As a boy, Merwan Irani, (named Meher Baba in 1922 by His devotees), would sing at dawn each morning. Aspandiar R. Irani (nicknamed Pendu) recalled, “In my childhood, Baba used to sing Persian poems in praise of God very loudly at the crack of dawn. Every morning at 5:00 A.M., I remember hearing his voice as I was sleeping in my bed. None in the neighborhood would complain about it disturbing their sleep, because they liked the song and his voice. They would say, ‘Ah, Merwan is singing.’ ” [2]

Pendu’s sister, four-year-old Naja, would sit on her bed by the window and listen as Merwan and His father, Sheriar, sang their morning prayers. A childhood friend, Bairam Jamshed Irani (nicknamed Baily), rose early to listen to Merwan sing. He recalled, “The melodious sounds of his prayers would strike my eardrums from a long distance. It would create unique waves in my soul. As I drew nearer and nearer, the sounds would create more and more uncommon experiences in my heart.”[3]

In 1914, Merwan and five companions journeyed to Udwada to visit the sacred Zoroastrian Temple, Atash Behram. During the three day visit, their mornings were spent in prayer at the temple. One afternoon as they were returning to their rooms, Merwan sang a song in Persian. His voice was a magnet that drew people out of their rooms and He honored their requests and sang ghazal after ghazal -some were well known and others composed on the spot.

One older man in the impromptu audience patted Merwan on the back and said, “The glow on your face while you sang, and the ghazals you, yourself, composed to the glory of God, lead me to believe that someday you will be a great man whose name will be known throughout the world.”[4]

Merwan loved to sing devotional songs. He sang for hours at a time. He sang while sitting near Hazrat Babajan. One night, at Sakori, He sang so much that Upasni Maharaj asked Gulmai Irani (Meher Baba’s spiritual mother) to bring Merwan tea, as His throat must be parched. As co-proprietor of a toddy shop in Kasba Peth, Merwan was often found leading spiritual discussions and joining patrons in bhajan singing, and on occasion, the whole group would move to Bund Gardens, where the singing would last until the wee hours of the night.

Adi K. Irani met Meher Baba in1921, he wrote: “At that time Baba used to speak. Baba has a beautiful voice. He could sing and play the dhol and I used to play harmonium or sitar as an accompaniment. His voice is “juicy” as I used to call it, and considered as the best voice I ever heard. When Baba spoke I always felt that, in a way, his voice, when he talked, excelled his voice when he sang.The sound of his song and talk always ring in my ears when I think of it and feel that, were it not for the great spiritual work of redeeming humanity from illusion that Baba took upon himself to this silence, I would for one go on a hunger strike till death than to see Baba give up speaking all these years. But surely what we wish is for our self satisfaction and what the Avatar wishes is for the redemption of humanity. We have to be resigned to His wishes.” [5]

Khorshed Irani, one of Meher Baba’s early women disciples, met Meher Baba when she was twelve. She recalled, “I first heard Baba speak when He was still with Upasni Maharaj at Sakori. For more than three years, from 1922 until 1925, I heard Baba speak. During those years, I felt the pleasure, the happiness, and the joy of listening to His lovely voice. It was a deep and strong voice, yet gentle. Baba’s voice would draw us to Him. And Baba sang so beautifully.

“…So on July 10, 1925, Baba began observing silence. Until then, we had not needed any interpreter or medium to talk with Baba. The words were spoken through His lips and pierced directly into our hearts.” [6]

Naja observed,“For one who loves to talk, keeping silent was very difficult and a great sacrifice. No one believed it when Baba first announced his plans to keep silence, because he was always so talkative, singing and joking. Before this time, Baba would sometimes say, ‘I am talking too much, no? I talk the whole day long.’” [7]

I continue to spend my afternoons in search of stories about Meher Baba’s voice, as I read accounts of Baba singing Tukaram bhajans that He loved; Baba teaching bhajans to the nearby Arangaon village children who sang for sweets; and of Mehera teaching Baba to sing the American popular song “Swanee.” Fortunately, some of the world’s best storytellers have left accounts of what it was like to be amazed by His beautiful voice.

[1] Mehera Meher, Vol I, by David Fenster p.118
[2] Lord Meher, Online Edition, by Bhau Kalchuri,p.175
[3] Lord Meher, Online Edition, by Bhau Kalchuri, p.124
[4] Lord Meher, Online Edition, by Bhau Kalchuri,p.160
[5]”Avatar Meher Baba’s Silence”, by Shri Adi K. Irani, Divya Vani, Vol I no. 2 p. Oct. 1961 p. 9
[6] Fortunate to Love Him, Stories of My Life with Meher Baba, by Khorshed Irani, pp.152-153
[7] Mehera Meher, Vol I, by David Fenster p.171