"There’s something so unique that happens when people gather in Meher Baba’s name and presence..."
Your Friday photo…
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (also called CometA3) as seen from Meher Mount and photographed by Caretaker Ray Johnston. Baba’s Fireplace is in the foreground.
This is the first time in 80,000 years that CometA3 is visible and expected to come within 44 million miles of Earth.
According to NASA, the comet initially appears low on the western horizon in the glow of twilight about 45 minutes after sunset each day starting on October 12, 2024.
Coincidently, the 12th of the month is when the dhuni (sacred fire) is lit near Avatar Meher Baba’s Tomb Shrine in Meherabad, India.
An additional coincidence, October 12, 2024, was also the groundbreaking for the Darshan Courtyard at Meher Mount.
The courtyard, next to Baba’s Fireplace, is to be an intimate space evoking the atmosphere of the Baba Room where Avatar Meher Baba gave darshan (the grace of seeing the Divine) to His followers in 1956.
Board Member Agnes Montano shares her impressions of the groundbreaking ceremony on October 12th.
Events at Meher Mount are always special. There’s something so unique that happens when people gather in Avatar Meher Baba’s name and presence, so prevalent at Meher Mount.
Saturday’s groundbreaking for the Darshan Courtyard felt extra special to me. It was intimate, solemn, joyful and even nostalgic. The fact that the ceremony was held on dhuni day, symbol of the fire of Meher Baba's divine love, made it even more auspicious.
After discussing the Darshan Courtyard project for almost four years at board meetings, seeing construction started on the site was very powerful.
The simple ceremony was so heartfelt. It was intimate, somber and so distinct. Even though there were only a handful of us on site, there were another 185 followers of Meher Baba lovers from around the world participating through the ashes from the 2021 Darshan Dhuni.
The love and utter devotion to Meher Baba in the dedication was so profound. My husband Juan Mendez and I were deeply touched. Meher Baba was definitely there giving His darshan to us like He did when He sat in the space in 1956.
~Agnes Montano, Board Member
Darshan Dhuni Ashes
In 2021 there was a special Darshan Dhuni on June 12th (dhuni day). For this dhuni, more than 185 personally meaningful Meher Baba quotes were sent from all over the world. Each quote was placed in a special dhuni (sacred fire).
The fire was started with the dhuni sticks — twigs that were harvested from Baba’s Tree at Meher Mount on another dhuni day, January 12, 2019.
Baba’s Tree had been severely damaged in the 2017 Thomas Fire. The fallen wood from that damaged tree was reclaimed and transformed into new expressions of Meher Baba’s presence and love.
The ashes from the 2021 dhuni — from burned paper with quotes from Meher Baba and the dhuni sticks of Baba’s Tree — are symbolically helping form the foundation for the Darshan Courtyard.