"The ideal prayer to the Lord is nothing more than spontaneous praise of His being." - Avatar Meher Baba
Meher Mount
Your photo Friday is in gratitude of Avatar Meher Baba…
In June 2001, visitor Arnie Goldstein attended a concert in Southern California performed by Pete Townshend of The Who and a follower of Avatar Meher Baba.
“I also decided to take a journey afterward to Meher Mount in Ojai,” Goldstein remembered. “It was a sunny day. My mind and spirit were open as I walked the grounds and took in the sights.
“Eventually I entered Baba’s Tree canopy. I brought my portable CD player and had decided to listen to ‘O Parvardigar’ by Townshend while sitting and praying (for Mother Earth) under the Baba Tree.
“There was a bench, and hanging by a string on one end of the bench was indeed a paper with the words to Meher Baba’s Universal Prayer. I sat on the ground, turned on the song, put on my headphones, and prayed.”
He suggested a link to ‘O Parvardigar’ — the Universal Prayer in music form — as a way to express gratitude to Meher Baba.
“The ideal prayer to the Lord is nothing more than spontaneous praise of His being.
“You praise Him, not in the spirit of bargain but in the spirit of self-forgetful appreciation of what He really is. You praise Him because He is praiseworthy.
“Your praise is the spontaneous appreciative response to His true being, as infinite light, infinite power and infinite bliss.”
O Parvardigar, the preserver and protector of all
Without beginning are you, Lord, without end
Non-dual, beyond compare and none can measure You
Without color, expression or form, nor attributes to live
You are unlimited and unfathomable
And none can plumb your depths
Imperishable beyond conception by our minds
No one can divide You, oh God, You are eternal
None can see You but with eyes divine
You always were, You always are and always will be
You are everywhere in everything and beyond
In the firmament above and in the deep
On all the seven planes and farther on
And in all that’s hidden to our eyes in all we see
Beyond the trinity of words and in the vow
You cannot be perceived or no one shall repent
O Parvardigar, preserve, protect us all
Without begging are you, Lord, without end
You always were, You always are and always will be
You are the Creator, the Lord of lords
The knower of all minds and hearts
Omnipotent, omnipresent, from you we cower
You are knowledge, infinite bliss, infinite power
You are the ocean of knowledge, knowing all
Infinitely knowing would can but tell
The knower of the past, the present and future
Crowning even this, Your knowledge itself
Oh merciful, benevolence eternal
You're the trinity of knowledge, truth and bliss
You are the source of truth, the One with infinite attributes
You are the ocean of love we sorely miss
You always were, You always are and always will be
You are the Ancient One, the Highest of the high
You are Prabhu and Parameshwar
You are the beyond God, beyond, beyond God are you
Parabrahma, Elahi and Allah
Yezdan, Ahuramazda and God, the beloved
O Parvardigar, the preserver and protector of all
Without beginning are you, Lord, without end
You are named Ezad, the only One worthy of worship
We sing the universal prayer to You, amen
~Avatar Meher Baba & Pete Townshend
Sources
Photograph: Avatar Meher Baba in Guruprasad, India, 1965. ©Meher Nazar Publications. Used with permission.
Arnold Goldstein’s story is from a forthcoming book of stories related to Baba’s Tree to be published in 2026.
Pete Townshend, “Parvardigar” from the Who Came First album. ℗ 2018 Eel-Pie Recording Productions Ltd., under exclusive license to Universal Music Operations Limited. Released on: 1972-10-01. Composer Lyricist, Recording Engineer, Producer, Engineer, Associated Performer, Performer, Mixing Engineer: Pete Townshend Mastering Engineer: Jon Astley
Beams from Meher Baba, pp. 74-75, © Sufism Reoriented, Inc., U.S.A., 1958, 4th printing May 1996.
Margaret Magnus, “The Ideal Prayer to the Lord,” Meher Mount Story Blog, February 17, 2022. ©Meher Mount Corporation.