Meher Baba's New Life
Meher Mount
Period of Work Known as "The New Life"
Avatar Meher Baba started the period of His work known as "The New Life” on October 16, 1949. For Avatar Meher Baba, God in human form,
“The New Life was the voluntary suspension of the state of Perfect Master to become a common man and a Perfect Seeker…” [1]
AVATAR MEHER BABA (center) walking with His close disciple and secretary, Adi K. Irani (left). This is the cover photo of the book, Tales of the New Life with Meher Baba, edited by Don E. Stevens.
"I am the Seeker, the Lover, and the Friend”
Meher Baba said:
“My old life places me on the altar of Absolute Godhood and Divine Perfection. My New Life makes me take the stand of a humble Servant of God and his people. In my New Life, Perfect Divinity is replaced by Perfect Humility.
"In my New Life, I am the Seeker, the Lover and the Friend. Both these aspects – Perfect Divinity and Perfect Humility – have been by God’s will and both are everlastingly linked with God’s eternal life.” [2]
Complete Reliance on God
To His companions – the 20 people who eventually accompanied Him on the New Life – Meher Baba said that the New Life was a complete reliance on God.
“It will be a life of complete helplessness and hopelessness. Hopelessness means renunciation of all hopes. Aimlessness means renunciation of all aims. Helplessness means renunciation of all help.” [3]
In the New Life, Meher Baba and His companions gave up all property and financial responsibilities. They traveled throughout India without money, begging for food, and living in strict accordance with Meher Baba’s conditions of the New Life.
These conditions included absolute acceptance of the circumstances of their lives and consistent good cheer in the face of any difficulty.
Expect No Spiritual or Material Reward
Eruch Jessawalla, one of the companions and a close disciple, explained:
"He set out rules and disciplines for those who would follow him in what he called the New Life, the most important being that we should not expect any spiritual or material reward.
"We should follow him in the New Life as his companions, and he would be our companion. The life would be one of complete helplessness and hopelessness, and we would have to beg for food.
“Further, we would have to travel about on foot, and most certainly we would have to live in the ‘now,’ as he called it. We should not give a thought to the past, present or future, only concentrating on living with him as his companion.
'"At the same time,' he said, 'although I will be your companion, you will have to obey any and all orders that I give, good or bad.'"[4]
Devoid of Any Hardship Despite Being in the Midst of Difficulties
In explaining the New Life, Aloba, a disciple of Meher Baba, said:
“If in the New Life you were willing to become a dead man, the life was easy. But if there was anything you held on to, the New Life was a tremendous suffering.” [5]
Eruch added,
“…his very presence was such that we never felt deprived. It was really a very healthy and pleasant life, devoid of any hardship in spite of our being in the midst of difficulties.” [6]
The New Life Will Live Eternally
The New Life phase of Meher Baba’s life culminated in early 1952 after more than two years. About the New Life, Meher Baba said:
“This New Life is endless, and even after my physical death it will be kept alive by those who live the life of complete renunciation of falsehood, lies, hatred, anger, greed and lust; and who, to accomplish all this, do no lustful actions, do no harm to anyone, do no backbiting, do not seek material possessions or power, who accept no homage, neither covet honor nor shun disgrace, and fear no one and nothing; by those who rely wholly and solely on God, and who love God purely for the sake of loving; who believe in the lovers of God and in the reality of Manifestation, and yet do not expect any spiritual or material reward; who do not let go the hand of Truth, and who, without being upset by calamities, bravely and wholeheartedly face all hardships with one hundred percent cheerfulness, and give no importance to caste, creed and religious ceremonies.
"This New Life will live by itself eternally, even if there is no one to live it.” [7]
References
1. The God-Man, by C.B. Purdom, Sheriar Press, Inc., © 1971 Meher Spiritual Center, Inc., page 197.
2. The God-Man, page 189.
3. Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, by Bhau Kalchuri, "Manifestation, Inc.", 1986, pp. 3481
4. Tales from the New Life with Meher Baba, Narrated by Eruch, Mehera, Mani and Meheru, Edited by D.E. Stevens, Rick M. Chapman, James M. Hastings, Gary and Patty Freeman, The Beguine Library, © 1976 Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, pages 19-20.
5. Meher Baba’s New Life, by Bhau Kalchuri, Introduction by Jeff Wolverton, © 2008 by Bhau Kalchuri, page viii.
6. Tales from the New Life with Meher Baba, pages 20-21.
7. The God-Man, pages 187-188.