Meditation on Meher Baba’s Wish

I first discovered Meher Baba as an adult through His writings—reading the Discourses in college, and then later God Speaks, Listen Humanity, and the many other texts that bear Baba’s name as their author. There was so much advice to be gleaned from these books, whether on the subjects of marriage and sex or on the appropriate uses of violence, that I rarely bothered to ask the question, “Is there anything in particular that Baba would like me to do?” I could meditate on Baba’s picture, or repeat His name, or make a pilgrimage to Meherabad–all of these felt like worthy forms of bhakti, but it could be challenging to state definitively what someone who considers himself a Baba Lover actually does.

Over time, I came to consider myself part of the Baba community, and it often seemed like every Baba Lover had a slightly different conception of what Baba really wanted. Some people would talk about not backbiting, and others would try their hardest to resist worry. “Mastery in Servitude” was a constant theme through service to others. Baba Lovers stressed an individualistic interpretation of Baba’s words, but it was hard to know which words to even start with!

During Baba’s life, the Life Circulars occasionally provided specific instructions to Baba Lovers–these were usually limited to a specific period of time. Similarly, there were many stories of the strict orders Baba gave his mandali either collectively or individually. Orders changed over the course of Baba’s life and work, as the mandali sought His pleasure in obeying whatever the Master willed them to do. Many years later now, when Baba’s physical body and direct orders are not present, a lover like me asks if there were any specific orders Baba gave His lovers in the world at large, that would carry on after His dropping of the body?

This indeterminacy for me was bolstered by Baba’s Universal Message, which states, “I come not to teach but to awaken…Understand therefore that I lay down no precepts.” No precepts! That meant that there would be no “Ten Commandments of Meher Baba,” nor a ready-made answer for what to do next. The precept approach had been tried in previous advents, and we’d turned them into stagnant religions—so this time would be different. What was left for a young Baba Lover to do, except try my best to remember Baba and await an awakening? I felt confused.

Of course, I had an idea of what not to do: the Prayer of Repentance was posted in the Lagoon Cabin in Myrtle Beach. This prayer suggested that lustful thoughts and harming people–among other things–should be avoided. I figured a person could spend his whole life attempting to not do the things repented for in this prayer. The Prayer of Repentance was repeated often in Baba gatherings, and I quickly came to know it by heart. Yet, I continued to wonder if there was a more positive message that Baba left behind: if not precepts, then was there anything that Baba specifically directed His devotees to carry out?

In 1958, Meher Baba had a message now known as “My Wish” read aloud before an audience in Meherabad. Later that same year, Baba had the same message read before a gathering of His Western followers in Myrtle Beach. To emphasize the message’s importance on this occasion, it was read aloud three times. Baba stated here, “the lover has to keep the wish of the Beloved,” He then laid out six distinct points on how He would like His lovers to behave if they would like to please him:

1) Do not shirk your responsibilities, such as home, family, office, jobs, et cetera.

2) Attend faithfully to your worldly duties, but keep at the back of your mind that all this is Baba’s.

3) When you feel happy, think Baba wants you to be happy. When you suffer, think Baba wants you to suffer.

4) Be resigned to every situation and think honestly and sincerely that Baba has placed you in this situation.

5) With the understanding that Baba is in everyone, try to help and serve others.

6) I say with my divine authority to each and all that whosoever takes my name at the time of breathing his last comes to me. So do not forget to remember me in your last moments. Unless you start remembering me from now on, it will be difficult to remember me when your end approaches. You should start practicing from now on. Even if you take my name only once every day, you will not forget to remember me in your dying moments.

Out of everything I’ve read from Meher Baba, this message stands apart in its immediacy and directness. I believe that “My Wish” is the most encapsulating answer Baba gave to the question of what Baba Lovers should actually strive for in their lives.

Baba’s use of the word “wish” carries a special significance, as He would clarify in 1960, “I want you to do this means I would like you to do it if you can. That is, it is a request. I wish you to do this means I want you to obey whether you can or you cannot. That is, it is an order.”1 It would appear that Baba has given His lovers direct orders with the “My Wish” message. Baba even conditioned their being on the path of love with this obedience: “Don’t take it for granted that you are all in that state of love! […] For those who want to love me, I have given them specific points to follow.”

The distinction between obedience and love itself is a line that Baba blurred, as He once commented strikingly, “Remember, my wish is supreme! It is not love if one fails to carry out my dictates!”2 and also “Obedience is higher than love.”3 Having understood Baba’s Wish, we are given more than a hint of what this obedience and surrender should look like. Most Baba Lovers don’t like to tell other people how to follow Baba, and I include myself in that camp. However, I also feel that the “My Wish” message should be at least as well-known to every Baba Lover as the Master’s Prayer–it provides clear guidance, and is certainly less difficult to remember.

The Beloved God Prayer, originally given to Baba’s mandali, concludes with an entreaty to God to help us all, “hold fast to Baba’s daaman until the very end.” It took me too long to discover what Baba meant by His “daaman,” but in 1955 Baba explained it clearly: “It means to keep Baba pleased always. And how to please Him? By your obeying Him wholeheartedly!”4 It is up to each of us to interpret how we obey Baba’s Wish during the course of our daily lives. My strategy recently has been to stop and ask myself, “In this moment, am I obeying Baba’s Wish?” and then run through each point like a checklist, comparing them to my present actions. I appreciate this structured approach, though I always find myself lacking under self-examination.

However Baba Lovers attempt to follow Baba’s Wish, it is important that we make an effort to do so. We know that the path of love will not always be so readily available to humanity as it is now. This is a special time in Baba’s advent, where we have a unique opportunity to receive His grace. Baba explains how this grace is bestowed, “To receive my grace, you must obey me wholeheartedly with the firm foundation of unshakable faith in me. And you can only obey me spontaneously as I want, when you completely surrender yourselves to me so that my wish becomes your law, and my love sustains your being.”5

1. Lord Meher, Online Edition, by Bhai Kalchuri, p.4715
2. Ibid, p. 1628
3. Ibid, p. 4979
4. Ibid, p. 3698
5. Ibid, p.3411