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Meher Baba

Bhakti and devotion

Portrait of Meher Baba

1945

Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Teaching

Love for God as the path, with selfless service and remembrance of God in daily life. His books describe a cosmology in which God alone is real and the soul passes through evolution, reincarnation and seven inner planes to God-realisation. He said he came 'not to teach but to awaken'. 1, 3, 4

Who it is for

For readers interested in devotional paths and in the movement around Meher Baba; the texts assume that he is the Avatar.

Life and places
  • He was born Merwan Sheriar Irani in Poona, India, on 25 February 1894, to Zoroastrian parents. 7
  • He established a community called Meherabad near Ahmednagar, India, where his tomb shrine (samadhi) now stands. 8
  • He travelled to America six times, first in 1931 and for the last time in 1958. 7
  • He died at his home in Meherazad, India, on 31 January 1969. 7

Where to start

  • The Discourses, a free eBook from the Avatar Meher Baba Trust, collect his talks on practical spiritual life; the chapter 'Love' in volume I is a short start. The Path of Love collects his main public messages. 2, 3, 4
Public context
  • In February 1954 he publicly declared himself to be the Avatar of the age. His followers regard him as such; this is a religious claim. 1
  • He announced several times that he would break his silence; this did not happen during his life. 5, 6

Works

  • God Speaks: The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose

    Book · 1955 · Dodd, Mead

    His systematic account of creation: God's urge to know himself, the evolution of consciousness, reincarnation, the seven inner planes and the ten states of God, with charts. Like the Discourses, it was dictated on an alphabet board.

    avatarmeherbabatrust.org

  • Discourses

    Book · 1939 · Sufism Reoriented

    Talks on practical spiritual life given to his close disciples, on subjects such as selfishness, the ego, sanskaras (impressions), love, selfless service and meditation, together with an outline of his account of creation.

    avatarmeherbabatrust.org

  • The Path of Love

    Book · 1976 · Samuel Weiser

    A collection of short messages and statements given at public gatherings, among them 'The Universal Message', 'The Highest of the High' and 'Meher Baba's Call'.

    avatarmeherbabatrust.org

The short summaries are ours.

More works of Meher Baba in the library

In their own words

Short passages in the words of Meher Baba, each with its source. Where the quoted text is not in the language of this page, a translation follows and says whose it is.

  • I have come not to teach but to awaken. Understand therefore that I lay down no precepts.

    The Path of Love · 'The Universal Message', p. 7 (2000 edition) · avatarmeherbabatrust.org Recorded: Message issued under his name during his silence; how it was taken down is not stated in the edition.

  • To get nearer and nearer to God you have to get further and further away from "I," "my," "me" and "mine." You have not to renounce anything but your own self.

    The Path of Love · 'The Universal Message', pp. 7–8 (2000 edition) · avatarmeherbabatrust.org Recorded: Message issued under his name during his silence; how it was taken down is not stated in the edition.

  • Life and love are inseparable from each other. Where there is life, there is love.

    Discourses · Vol. I, chapter 'Love', p. 156 (sixth edition); the first word is set in capitals in the edition · avatarmeherbabatrust.org Recorded: Meher Baba kept silence from 1925. According to the editors, the Discourses were dictated on an alphabet board and later edited with his approval.

Documented teaching relationships

  • Personal encounter with Paul Brunton

    According to the Avatar Meher Baba Trust, Meher Baba allowed the journalist Paul Brunton to interview him in the Panchvati Cave on Meherabad Hill during a seclusion that began on 15 November 1930, and Brunton later wrote about him in his book on India.

    Stated by an institution · avatarmeherbabatrust.org

Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.

Sources
  1. A Brief Biography · Avatar Meher Baba Trust Trust set up under a deed he gave in 1959; devotional biography accessed 10 Oct 2026
  2. Books by Baba (Online Library) · Avatar Meher Baba Trust The Trust's library page with short publication histories accessed 10 Oct 2026
  3. Discourses, vol. I, sixth edition (1967), Trust eBook 2011 His own work in an edition by his followers; introduction by the editors Ivy Oneita Duce and Don E. Stevens accessed 10 Oct 2026
  4. The Path of Love, Trust eBook of the 2000 edition Collection of his messages edited by Filis Frederick accessed 10 Oct 2026
  5. Meher Baba is Silent · Avatar Meher Baba Poona Centre, 1961 Devotee booklet for the 36th anniversary of his silence; scan with poor OCR accessed 10 Oct 2026
  6. Meher Baba · Osho News, 2013 Excerpt of a talk by Osho, another teacher, published by a magazine of his followers; outside view with factual errors accessed 10 Oct 2026
  7. Avatar Meher Baba (1894–1969) · Meher Abode Short biography on the website of a Meher Baba centre in Los Angeles; devotional accessed 11 Oct 2026
  8. Meher Baba's Life · Meher Mount Short biography on the website of Meher Mount, a centre devoted to him; devotional accessed 11 Oct 2026

Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 11 Oct 2026.

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This description is factual. It contains no recommendation, ranking or assurance. Statements about effects are those of the respective source.