Tag Archives: Mandali
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Champagne, Curry and Chicken
On April 18, 1952, Meher Baba and the women boarded a TWA (Trans World Atlantic) flight from Bombay heading for New York. After several postponements, the time had finally arrived for Baba to travel to His ‘home in the West’ and for the first and only time, the women Mandali accompanied Him to the Center….
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Padri’s Immortal Master
On January 30, 1969, Meher Baba called Padri from Meherabad to Meherazad for seven days. As he was leaving Meherabad, Mohammed, the God-intoxicated Mast, said, “Padri will come back tomorrow.” When he was told that Padri was to stay with Baba for a week, Mohammed clarified, “Tomorrow, Dada [Baba] is coming here and is going…
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Finding Beauty and Truth
To tell the story of Australian poet and Mandali member Francis Brabazon’s first meeting with Baba without telling the story of the man and his search would be an erroneous and incomplete account. About his first meeting with Baba at Meher Center in 1952, Francis wrote, “This meeting was a culmination of ten years of…
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When you Suffer
“When you feel happy, think: ‘Baba wants me to be happy.’ When you suffer, think: ‘Baba wants me to suffer.’”* This was one of Baba’s five wishes for His lovers, which He had read out in the Barn three times one morning in 1958, while He sat in a yellow chair that had belonged to…
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Mehera’s Fortitude
The account of Baba dropping His body and the events leading up to it were full of contradictions, intense suffering and shock. He had hinted of a time when His physical body would no longer be present, but absorbed in His intimate companionship, the Mandali could never have imagined the prospect and meaning of an…
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“We caught it from her”: Lessons from Margaret Craske
Ella Marks didn’t know about Meher Baba when she first attended Margaret Craske’s advanced ballet class. In a video of her speaking at the Center in 1997, she describes seeking out Miss Craske because she wanted to be a professional dancer— and finding a dedicated, witty, exacting teacher, one of the best in the world….
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What Kitty Wanted
Talk to Baba lovers who first came to the Center in the 1970’s, and they’ll tell you about Kitty. She was a constant presence—zipping around cheerfully in her golf cart, attending evening programs, or, most frequently, sitting in her office while an endless stream of friends, new and old, sought her companionship and advice. She…
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Remembering God’s Sister
August 19 of this year marked the twenty-fourth death anniversary of Mani Irani, Meher Baba’s sister and disciple. As I set upon a journey to write something about her passing, I was bereft of words because if there was anyone whose death couldn’t define her, it was Mani. Mani Aunty, as I called her, was…
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The Yellow Chair
As she approached the end of a rare interview on January 31, 1977, Elizabeth Patterson remarked, “I don’t know if I have time to tell, but there’s a very beautiful story.” It was a story about a yellow chair, a big, beautiful, high-backed Italian chair that has sat in the Barn at Meher Center for…
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Elizabeth Patterson: A Life in Discipleship
Baba’s sister Mani once shared that Elizabeth’s nickname among the Eastern women Mandali was ‘Yes Baba dear.’ This was because whatever Baba asked of her, she instantly replied, “Yes Baba dear.” Elizabeth was the founder of the Meher Center along with Norina Matchabelli, charged with the responsibility of finding the Center and then developing what…