"Your treasure is the envy of kings."
Meher Mount
Your Friday photo is in honor of the December 22nd celebration of the birthday of Mehera J. Irani (1907-1989), Avatar Meher Baba’s divine female counterpart…
In each Avataric advent, when God manifests on earth as man, He has a female disciple who personifies absolute purity and one-pointed love for Him. She sets the example for all mankind on how to love God as He ought to be loved.
In this photo, Mehera J. Irani is garlanding a bust of Avatar Meher Baba in Meherabad, India. It was given to her by the artist and sculptor Jurgis Sapkis for her birthday in 1987. The artist’s proof of this bust was recently donated to Meher Mount to display in the Visitor Center.
Bhau Kalchuri, a close disciple of Meher Baba, wrote this ghazal to Mehera for her birthday in 1967.
“What a life you lead, O Mehera!
Your treasure is the envy of kings.”
Song for Mehera’s Birthday, 1967
By Bhau Kalchuri
[Chorus:]
What a life you lead, O Mehera!
Your treasure is the envy of kings.
Love, sacrifice, devotion, and prayer –
One should learn their true meaning from you.
To dance to every tune of the Beloved
Is your sole desire in life.
How fortunate you are, O Goddess
To be that which makes the Beloved yours.
[Chorus]
You are the beautiful, smiling bud of his garden;
Bhaunra buzzes nearby, serenading you.
He composes couplets & sings them for you.
Your every breath draws him near.
Your life is blessed to be bound by love;
Such a life is better than liberation.
[Chorus]
Your goal is to see that the Beloved is pleased;
You breathe for this purpose alone.
You are filled by the pain of separation,
But within it lies the smile of Union.
Though you bear the infinite agony of longing,
Springtime blossoms wherever you step.
What a life you lead, O Mehera!
Your treasure is the envy of kings.
Notes
Bhaunra: a large black bee, thought to be enamored with the lotus flower; symbolic of marriage.
Springtime denotes bliss, which is present in the pain of longing for the Beloved.
“Song for Mehera’s Birthday, 1967” written by and translated from Hindi by Bhau Kalchuri; edited by David Fenster.
A ghazal (or gazal) is a poetic form originating in 6th-century Arabia, and later adapted by Persian, Urdu and Indian cultures. The ghazal is characterized by rhyming couplets that are thematically linked and often self-contained. The poetry explores themes of love (both divine and earthly), loss, longing, and mysticism, and are often set to music.
Jurgis Sapkus (1928-2017) Jurgis Šapkus was a Lithuanian painter and sculptor who lived in Southern California. He was born in Lithuania, and came to the United States in 1952. He studied art at the Ecole des Arts et Métiers in Freiburg, at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich, Germany, and later at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.
Meher Irani's birthday is celebrated on December 22nd, although she was born on January 7, 1907. In 1968, Meher Baba directed that her birthday be celebrated on December 22nd, which aligned with the Zoroastrian calendar that year.
Sources
Poem: David Fenster, Mehera-Meher: A Divine Romance, E-Book Edition: April 2016, Vol. III, Appendix, pg. 601. (Ahilyanager, India: Meher Nazar Publications) ©David Fenster 2007.
Photo: Mehera J. Irani garlanding a bust of Avatar Meher Baba. ©Meher Nazar Publications. Used with permission.