Musician and raconteur Jamie Newell has a Baba story rich with coincidences and early skepticism. It starts with a harrowing childhood injury that led to his becoming a musician. His first sight of Baba was years later on a “Don’t Worry Be Happy” poster in the bathroom of a fellow musician. Jamie loved the saying, which he thought sounded like it came from a yogi, but he wondered why it was paired “with this smiling Italian pizza maker.” Thus began a search for the poster, that eventually led him to the Discourses, and his first recognition of Baba. Upon seeing Baba’s picture in the third volume, Jamie says “It was like an electrical shock. I said, ‘Wait a minute. This is the pizza guy!’” And that is just the beginning of Jamie’s Baba story.

Video, 1:00:49
Dilruba Reading Room, Meher Spiritual Center
February 28, 2026
Meher Center Archives
Uploaded 5/15/2026