Beloved Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!
"When the Work I release manifests fully, the world will realize the worth of My Mandali members."
THE AWAKENINGS OF BHAU FROM BELOVED AVATAR MEHER BABA, p. 33
In 1967, Beloved Avatar Meher Baba stole my heart. As the years rolled by, I found everything connected with Baba became very, very important to me.
I hungrily sought out every story of Baba's life, the beautiful photographs and films of Baba, all of His Discourses and messages, the incomprehensibly profound book He authored, GOD SPEAKS, wherein He explained the purpose of Creation and revealed the roles that His Circle of 122 people, His Mandali members, fulfilled in His Work. And all these words and images become my spiritual diet.
Meher Baba dropped His gross body in 1969. But He had revealed to the world the names of some of His Circle members, and my heart was drawn to meet, listen to, and learn from them how to love and serve Him; how to just be with them in Baba.
Time appears to fly, and now that Meheru (who accompanied Baba on His New Life) has rejoined Him, there remains only one member of Baba's Circle still on earth, Bhau, the last (but far from least) person to join the Mandali.
In 1969, Baba said, “Eruch is my Peter; Bhau is my John,” referring to John the Apostle, Jesus’s Beloved Disciple and writer of the gospel. Jesus instructed John to look after His mother, Mary. Tradition informs us that John lived to be over 90-years old, and he is known as the last of Jesus' Circle to remain alive after Jesus dropped His body.
For the age in which we live, Avatar Meher Baba has left Bhau with us for all these years. As I write, Baba's Bhau remains very active. Time has taken a toll on his body and health, but he remains extremely conscientious in fulfilling the work that Baba has left for him.
In 1998, Mitchell Rabin, the founder of a BetterWorld.net conducted a half-hour interview of Bhau for television broadcast. The interview went so well, and Bhau was so voluble and full of information and insights, that the interview continued for another half hour. Rabin was entranced, and encouraged Bhau to return the following day for a further interview, a request that Bhau eagerly accepted, and in all, four half hour interviews were conducted.
Recently, Rabin compiled these interviews and mastered them on DVD, MEHER BABA AND BHAU.
From the website:
"Bhau Kalchuri is the last, closest living disciple of the world-famous spiritual teacher from India, Persia originally, who took a vow of silence early in his life. These four 28-minute interviews with Bhau (made when he was visiting NYC and still in excellent health) are thought of as classic by Meher Baba's and Bhau's students around the world, as perhaps the finest interviews and video documentation of Bhau speaking about the Master at length."
I [Maharjah of Kashmir] have just watched the entire DVD of Bhau in his younger years, and it is a treasure.
As a child, I eagerly looked forward to my grandmother's cooking. All I needed to hear was that Grandma has prepared a meal. I never asked, "What is Grandma making or what ingredients did she use?"
As soon as I heard that Grandma has cooked for me, I'd come running.
This is how I respond when I hear that Bhau is giving a talk, or is on his weekly Chat/Webcasts, or has written down what has come to him from Meher Baba, or has a request of me.
Even though I am not a reviewer, I happily agreed to write this one. To write reviews requires objectivity. But with respect to Meher Baba and His beloved Bhau, I have only my heart from which to speak. So I asked Baba: "O Baba, help me! How can I write a review of Your Bhau talking about You?"
And with Baba’s help, I wrote the following:
When I saw the first minute of Bhau on the DVD, I felt both joy and sadness.
To see Bhau in his enthusiasm speak about Beloved Baba; to watch Bhau's gestures as he spoke; to witness his sincerity and humility, and to feel the love he has for Baba through his kind smile and dancing eyes is so special. So there was some sadness when I allowed myself a twinge of melancholy as I remembered the "old days," when every summer I would look forward to Bhau's tours to the West.
But I quickly shook off that mood by remembering that Baba has still kept Bhau here to help us, and even deeper, that Baba is always with us, and Bhau is always with Baba.
Bhauji's loving enthusiasm is awesome as he shares the good news with the world that God has come to us once again as the Avatar, the Christ and that this time He is called Meher Baba.
To hear the rhythm and tone of Bhauji's voice caresses my soul, as if I were a child, hearing lovely lullabies from someone who is most dear to me. To watch Bhau's beautiful hand gestures as he speaks of Baba, to see Bhau smile and the sparkle in his eyes that emphasize the love and humility Beloved Baba granted him, makes my heart both sing and weep at the greatness of the Avatar and the total surrendrance of His Mandali in their love and service to Him.
Whenever I find Baba providing me with an opportunity to come closer to Him, challenging, often exhausting situations, both, external and internal, arise before this can happen. All I can do is to ask Baba, “Please, may I meet these situations as You Wish for me to do.”
It was wonderful to see Bhau in action in his younger years in this DVD, and I am filled with gratitude that he remains in action in his older ones. Only after watching these interviews one night that I awoke the following day for the first time in months, filled with a great sense of relief and a feeling that Baba is happy with me. I hope so.
For those who knew Bhau when he was younger, for those of us who know him today, and for those who will come after us, watching this film is like watching a home movie of a very, very dear family member, who speaks to us of our Beloved Father, Meher Baba. These interviews evoke memories of things past and hopes of things to come, but Bhau does not allow us to dwell in the past or future, for he ever reminds us that to be with Meher Baba is to be with Him Here and Now.
Beloved Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!
In His Love and Service
Maharajah of Kashmir (Tom)
ORDERING INFORMATION FOR THE DVD: MEHER BABA AND BHAU:
(Run time = 4 x 30 minute interviews. Please note that this is an NTSC video, playable on computer or on NTSC compatible video players. It will not play in PAL or SECAM video recorders).
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008BD7R5E?ie=UTF8&seller=A1D0QAQWKX0LCW&sn=ABetterWorld
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