Grant Us to See What the Wise Men Saw
The following is an excerpt from a letter sent to Meher Baba's Western followers describing Christmas 1961 with Meher Baba. It was written by Mani S. Irani, a close disciple and sister of Avatar Meher Baba. All the Family Letters were approved by Meher Baba and written at His wish.
AVATAR MEHER BABA painted by Charles Mills. The “Red Robe” painting is oil on acrylic. (Charles Mills Studios)
Dear Family,
Babe in the manger,
cradled in straw,
Grant us to see
What the Wise Men saw.
Grant us to know
what the Wise Men knew:
All Beauty and Power and Love
in YOU.
This Christmas prayer was in a greeting card that was amidst others heaped on the dining table, along with a pile of cables that expressed the love of many of Baba's western family and greeted the Beloved as He came in to breakfast on that Birthday morn.
To us Christmas is a "living" Birthday as are all the birth-days of the Ancient One, since we know that in His greatness He is once again as Man amidst our littleness. We express this rejoicing of our hearts in varied little ways, and for our sake He shares in our expression of it, playing with us our "dolls-house" games as any loving Mother with her children.
The dining [room] wore a very Christmassy air, and the table was laid with tall white paper angels and a colourful scene of the occasion at Bethlehem 1961 years ago, in fascinating details (even to a mouse in the thatched roof of the manger!). The weather too contributed its share in the atmosphere and it was a really cold morning.
There was a lovely cake a Baba-lover had sent and joy was complete when Baba gave a prasad* of chocolates to each one including as always the staff at Meherazad. Music was provided by a little golden ball (a Swiss musical toy) that played "Silent Night"…
As for the New Year, what best can we wish us? Let us wish that whatever it holds, may it hold our hold on His daaman*; and, whether we deserve it or not, may we earn a little more of His Love.
I remember Baba once said to a keenly intellectual aspirant, that it is impossible to "learn" God but one can "earn" His grace, and His grace can descend only when we can love with that love, and so it is an endless divine circle of which we can divine little!
Very lovingly,
Mani
A CHRISTMAS WREATH at Meher Mount made by Caretakers Ellen Kwiatkowski and Eric Carlson from plants found on the property. The circular shape of a wreath is thought to symbolize eternal life, perfection, unity. A wreath hung on a door is said to invite the spirit of Christ inside. Meher Baba brought the Christ spirit to the world with His Advent. (Photo: Ellen Kwiatkowski, December 2019)
Notes
*Daaman: Hem of a garment; as used by Meher Baba, holding on to His daaman implies holding on to Him, the Avatar; the process of holding on to the Master.
*Prasad: A precious gift from God; a small gift, usually edible given by the master as a concrete expression of His Love.
Source
Mani S. Irani, 82 Family Letters: To the Western Family of Lovers and Followers of Meher Baba, page 117. Copyright © 1976 Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, MS, India. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
82 Family Letters is available in paperback from Meher Baba Books in Los Angeles, Sheriar Books in Myrtle Beach, SC, and online at the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust, Ahmednagar, India.