I had barely arrived when already the familiar sights and sounds pulled me into a feeling of being taken in, embraced, welcomed. A stillness settled in around me as I breathed in the sense of loving care that emanated all around me.
As I meandered over to Baba’s Walkway, running my hand along the golden cord that protects it in its repose, I suddenly felt a loving presence. A wisp of blue cloth, an imagined hand lifted to point the way. The proud tour guide leading me around back to see the recently planted flowers.
If Meher Mount has taught me anything, it is this: Avatar Meher Baba is ever-present to those who seek Him, and sooner or later, we all find that special place where He always awaits.
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In the time of a world pandemic, protests against ongoing racism and social injustice, economic disruption, and human rights violations, the divisions in our society are all the more evident.
During another tumultuous time in world history, World War II (1939-1945), Avatar Meher Baba gave a series of talks or discourses to political leaders in India and to His followers all over the world. The following is an excerpt from those discourses:.
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In this time of sheltering, when so many places are understandably closed to visitors, Meher Mount being open feels like a huge blessing, affording an intimacy in this time of seclusion. It continues to radiate His Love and His Call from the top of Sulphur Mountain.
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It was a unique experience — with Baba so near in this tranquility, the silence — so far away from everyday life.
Sometimes Meher Mount was surrounded by fog and you found yourself on an island. Cold nights. Drizzle. Clear, sharp days when the Channel Islands stood out of the Pacific [Ocean] like sentinels; once, wet snow, lasting only overnight. Some moonlit nights, magic!
And always Baba, Baba, Baba….
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Agnes Baron recounts her first moments with Meher Baba:
“There are no words to describe it. It was so fantastic. All my doubts just flew out the window. The first thing Baba did was to open his arms and put my head on his shoulders. Something out of this world happens to you when Baba puts his arms around you. It's indescribable. What I saw sitting on the couch and what I felt was sitting on the couch were two different things. Without any more rationalizing, I accepted him one hundred percent.
“The love just poured out of him. His vibrations were like a hummingbird…you couldn't see the vibrations, but you knew the vibrating. You felt that in Baba...his eyes were so full of compassion, just utterly irresistible…. I was hooked…that was it. I didn't care about obedience. I didn't give a damn about anything like that. He was utterly irresistible.”
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As we learn to navigate the uncharted territory of the current global pandemic, how very fortunate we are to have Meher Baba watching over us.
Throughout His lifetime, so often Meher Baba would go into seclusion, leaving His lovers all over the world to discover the power of their inner connection with Him. Even for those of us who never met Him physically in this lifetime, He continues to make His presence felt by us in ways that seem so personal.
This connection could be a timely reminder in an unexpected email from a close friend or perhaps a post on Facebook or Instagram. Suddenly, we are re-awakened to His presence in our lives – no matter how caught up in thoughts of toilet paper and hand sanitizer we may become.
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What follows is the story of how one of Lyn Ott’s paintings came to Meher Mount. The story is told by Jim Whitson, a member of Meher Mount’s Board of Directors since 2005 and a long-time visitor and supporter of Meher Mount. The year was 2007.
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Dear Meher Mount Friends,
In response to your recent email, Charles and I have a special treasure that we'd like to give to Meher Mount: a photograph of Meher Baba that He touched and blessed. Elizabeth [Patterson] and Norina [Matchabelli] kept it in in their belongings, and now it hangs in our house. The photo shows Baba in Portofino, and it was taken by Elizabeth. May this artifact, blessed with His touch, bring Baba ever closer to everyone there.
Love in Baba,
Christopher and Charles
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After the first ascent, there was a small clearing and a downed tree trunk that made a perfect place to pause and take in the beauty of the Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) woodland.
As we sat there having a thoughtful discussion about life, life decisions and whatever else was on our minds, a beautiful burned tree trunk stood in front of us. We began to fantasize about what the burned tree trunk represented. It felt as if the right side looked like angel’s wings with the left side representing a hand reaching toward the heavens with the support and encouragement of an angel.
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“’In 1968, while doing his strenuous seclusion work in Guruprasad [in Pune, India], Baba said that listening to the music of Jim Reeves was his relaxation,” noted Mani S. Irani, Meher Baba’s sister and close disciple. “While Baba was having breakfast, we always began with ‘There’s a Heartache Following Me.’’”
“’It [‘Heartache’] was always the first record played, then others [such as ‘Take My Hand Precious Lord’] were played, then ending again with ‘Heartache’,” Mani explained.
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Meher Baba later spent time in the Nalavala home playing with their four-year-old son, Naosherwan, and nine-year-old daughter, Mahroakh. Freiny complained to Meher Baba that her husband Keki was always worried about something.
Meher Baba advised:
“If you worry about yourself, God does not worry about you. And why should He? If you stop worrying, God has to begin to worry for you! Remember Him wholeheartedly; leave your troubles to Him. Then you will be free to remain cheerful.”
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On the morning of March 10, 2020, the temporary seclusion fence that had been around Baba’s Tree for two years was taken down. Ironically, the next day, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus or COVID-19 a pandemic. That evening, the Meher Mount Board met in a previously scheduled conference call to determine whether to close Meher Mount (and have another kind of seclusion for Baba’s Tree).
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It’s safe to say that no one associated with Meher Mount foresaw that two years – almost to the day – after high winds and the 2017 Thomas Fire felled most of Baba’s Tree, that what was left of the tree would be recovering nicely and is now the centerpiece of what is emerging as Baba’s Tree Grove.
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The Ojai Valley has long been regarded as a place of spiritual pilgrimage even before Avatar Meher Baba visited on August 2, 1956, and blessed Meher Mount with His presence.
"The magnetic center of the earth is here," the Los Angeles Times declared in 1878. Ojai is the place where "Spirit-minded people come to reach the God-centers within themselves." [1]
The Ojai Valley “has always been special to its inhabitants,” says Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, tribal chair of the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians, writing in the Winter 2011-2012 issue of the Ojai Valley Visitors Guide. [2]
“Today’s residents and visitors are amazed at the powerful energy here. Many say it is because of the way the valley is situated, running east and west, in the same manner traveled by the sun and moon, making their journey through our sky.”
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The following is an excerpt from a letter sent to Meher Baba's Western followers describing Christmas 1961 with Meher Baba. It was written by Mani S. Irani, a close disciple and sister of Avatar Meher Baba. All the Family Letters were approved by Meher Baba and written at His wish.
This Christmas prayer was in a greeting card that was amidst others heaped on the dining table, along with a pile of cables that expressed the love of many of Baba's western family and greeted the Beloved as He came in to breakfast on that Birthday morn.
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I want to thank all involved in Meher Mount’s rehabilitation efforts, particularly in the care of the coastal oak known as Baba’s Tree.
The gift of the ashes that was given to me has had a profound effect on me with many layers and I want to share with you, as a reminder, that our efforts of love touch each other in ways we often can’t predict.
My father and mother, Earl and Madeline Butler became caretakers to Meher Mount and Agnes Baron in 1988, after the fire in 1985.
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In the days immediately following the devastation of Baba’s Tree from the December 2017 Thomas Fire, volunteers looked for rays of hope. One of those rays of hope was the growth of new sprouts on Baba’s Tree.
Another ray of hope was the realization that there was a small Coast Life Oak (Quercus agrifolia) that had been ‘hiding’ in plain sight very close to Baba’s Tree. And this tree, most probably Baba’s Tree progeny, had only been slightly burned by the Thomas Fire.
Meanwhile, in another spot near Baba’s Tree and previously hidden under the canopy of Baba’s Tree was a growth-suppressed tree stump of a Coast Live Oak that had been cut down sometime in the history of Meher Mount.
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Current Meher Mount caretakers Ellen Kwiatkowski and Eric Carlson didn’t have to ask twice. When they suggested we fill in for them and care for their sweet dog Oday while they were away winterizing their Blue Vista Farm in Bayfield, WI, we immediately said, “Yes.”
The plan was for former Interim Caretaker Cassandra Bramucci to cover the first week of Ellen’s and Eric’s leave, and we would take over on October 30th for another seven days.
We should have known it wasn’t going to be a smooth ride when, on the day we were set to drive up to Meher Mount from Oceanside (about 180 miles south of Ojai), we received a message from Cassandra advising us against driving up that day due to strong Santa Ana winds.
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The following is from an email sent on July 14, 2019 by former Manager/Caretakers Buzz and Ginger Glasky to the new Manager/Caretakers for Meher Mount, Ellen Kwiatkowski and Eric Carlson.
Dear Ellen & Eric,
You asked for the 10 important things on Meher Mount for caretakers. There are only five or six.
You will come to realize that Meher Baba really does everything on Meher Mount. As one gets caught and immersed in the daily activities and living at Meher Mount, Meher Baba will remind you that He does everything.
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When representatives from the Ojai Raptor Center (ORC) arrived at Meher Mount on August 15, 2019, to release an American Kestrel and a Red-Tailed Hawk, Jaclyn DeSantis, wildlife rehabilitator and ORC supervisor, warned all of us to have our cameras ready.
Her 11 years of experience in doing bird releases taught her that these gorgeous creatures take their chance at freedom very seriously. “This will be over in ten seconds once I open the box,” she said, “so don’t anybody blink.”
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