Meher Baba Invites His Dearest Friends
By Buzz & Ginger Glasky
Meher Mount, this sacred place that Meher Baba visited on August 2, 1956, appears to be the best kept secret of all the Meher Baba Centers we have visited.
It is vibrant with His love and presence, but it is a bit remote.
Yet, it seems to attract more guests that have never heard of Meher Baba than any other center. Some visitors want to know more about Him, but most just seem to fall in love with the "feeling" of His place.
In welcoming these visitors, we just make sure to mention Meher Baba's name and leave the rest to Him.
The best thing for us in taking care of Meher Mount is greeting the guests. It is as if Meher Baba is bringing His dearest friends to His home for a visit.
As caretakers, we get to witness and feel His divine leela [the divine sport of creation], His game of Love.
Here are a few of our encounters with the visitors.
THE SUN RISES over Baba's Tree at Avatar's Point in preparation for the day at Meher Mount. (Photo: Buzz Glasky, 2014)
A Friend’s Recommendation Brings British Actor
In January 2014, the actor Sir Anthony Hopkins stopped by and spent the afternoon. He knew absolutely nothing about Meher Baba or Meher Mount. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon with him, and he was so happy being under Baba's Tree.
He loves Scottish shortbread and English tea and enjoyed Ginger’s shortbread so much that he ate it all. He planned to bring his wife, Stella, back soon.
“Tony” heard about Meher Mount from Khalid, owner of the Primavera Art Gallery, who was a dear friend of Agnes Baron’s. We contacted Khalid, and he promised to visit Meher Mount and share his stories of Agnes, co-founder of Meher Mount.
Local Concierges Scout Meher Mount
In that same month, Veronica and Patty, who are concierges at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, were both driving around looking for places to send guests and just happened up Sulphur Mountain. They were not sure they wanted to tell anyone about Meher Mount so they could keep it to themselves.
A month later, February 2014, the first group visited Meher Mount as a result of the concierges from the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa.
Another group visited after reading a booklet sold at the local pharmacy - Roam: Ojai’s Little Hip Hiking Book - which includes a very nice little piece about Meher Mount.
Our Grandkids Guide Visitors to Baba’s Tree
AUSTIN BERNARD AND TAJUDDIN GLASKY spend a school break working at Meher Mount and helping to greet visitors. (Photo: Buzz Glasky.)
A lovely family, Nabbin, Shoukoun, and Meher Lalchandan, came all the way from Florida just to visit Meher Mount.
Shoukoun was deathly afraid of snakes and was terrified of going to Baba's Tree. Our two grandchildren, Tajuddin Glasky and Austin Bernard, grabbed their walking sticks and escorted them to Baba's Tree.
Tajuddin and Austin were visiting Meher Mount during their spring break. Turned out to be a working break.
They cleaned under the Eucalyptus tree just west of the Visitor Center and the pool area. They worked and just about ate us out of house and home. Maybe that is just a teenage thing.
A Long-Ago Visitor Returns
In May 2014, Anthony Guttman visited and shared that his parents were friends of Agnes Baron’s. He used to come here as a child in the 1950s. He didn't remember if he was here on August 2, 1956, when Meher Baba visited.
Visitors Come from Afar
Afek Arezeemanian, Valed Maeilian, Anita Yerayan and Armon Toumasian stand by Meher Baba's chimney at Meher Mount. (Photo: Buzz Glasky, October 2014)
Anita Yerayan came for a visit from Tehran, Iran, with Afek Arezeemanian, Valed Maeilian, and Armon Toumasian who now live in Glendale. Her husband Joseph found out about Meher Baba by picking up a Meher Baba book laying in the streets of Tehran. The book led him to Esfandiar Vesali, a student in Meher Baba’s Prem Ashram, where Joseph learned more about Meher Baba.
In December 2014, the Kallinath family drove from Foster City in the San Francisco Bay Area to visit Meher Mount. They spent about 45 minutes and drove all the way home. About seven hours each way.
Linda and Charlie Mills visited twice in March 2014. They came all the way from Myrtle Beach, SC. On one visit they brought their long-time friends Phil and Ina from Painted Cave near Santa Barbara. Charlie donated his book, Meditations on the Ancient One, to the Meher Mount Library.
AT THE KITCHEN TABLE (left to right) Ginger Glasky, Charles Mills, Phil and Ina from Santa Barbara, and Linda Mills. (Photo: Buzz Glasky, 2014)
Indian Visitors Learn of Meher Baba at Meher Mount
It was a lovely, warm and clear Thanksgiving Day in 2014 at Meher Mount. A family of three visited for the first time from nearby Simi Valley.
We were talking and learned they were from Pune, India. They were taken aback that Ginger and I had been there many times.
They had not heard of Meher Baba so we were chatting away about Meher Baba’s places in Pune, India. It turns out our visitor went to St. Vincent's High School in Pune as did Meher Baba.
We had a good laugh that our visitor was born in Meher Baba's city and went to Meher Baba's high school, but had to come all the way to California to find out about the Avatar.
Driving Around Trying to Find Agnes Baron
Devinder Chana, his sister Harjinder, and son Devin came for the day in April 2015. Devinder is from Pennsylvania and had not been to Meher Mount for 30 years, February 1985. He was driving around trying to find Agnes.
He went to Meditation Mount and asked someone who had been there since 1980 if they knew of Agnes Baron, and they said he was looking for Meher Mount.
They gave him directions so he drove up the hill but was thinking that this place looked very different. He was here before the “New Life Fire” in October 1985, so nothing remained from his first visit.
Deviner Chana, his sister Harjinder, and son Devin are sitting at the kitchen table with our grandson Austin Bernard and Ginger Glasky. (Photo: Buzz Glasky, April 2015)
Singing the Gujarati Arti under Baba’s Tree
In September 2014, Chandra Pai visited several times bringing his family, Kalpana and Mahesh Merchant.
They came up one day before sunset to enjoy the changing light from Baba's Tree. Evidently, in the Hindu culture there is a very special time of day, just before sunset, in which they like to participate.
Chandra lives in Pune, India, for six months and Dallas, TX, the other six months. He found out about Meher Baba in Pune where his wife teaches classical Indian dance. They are moving to Ojai to open an Indian cultural center, offering classes in dance, music and cooking.
In April 2015, they made their second visit to Meher Mount. They all speak Gujarati so they were very happy to hear the Gujarati Arti and joined in singing it with me under Baba's Tree. We are looking forward to their new Indian Cultural Center in Ojai.