"You have no idea what just one scrap of My sadra will mean to the world in the future.” – Avatar Meher Baba
“You have no idea what just one scrap of My sadra will mean to the world in the future.” – Avatar Meher Baba
By Margaret Magnus
A sadra (also sadhra) is a thin muslin shirt traditionally worn by Zoroastrians. Meher Baba adapted the sadra into an ankle-length garment which He regularly wore. [1]
Meher Baba always wanted to wear the same, well-worn sadras, as they were soft; He did not like a new one, which would be stiff. [2]
AVATAR MEHER BABA wearing a sadra. This photograph was taken by Meelan in Poona (now Pune), India, in 1957. (©Meher Nazar Publications. Used with permission.)
One of His women disciples, Meheru Irani, washed Baba’s sadras, and she had to be careful when washing them, as they were so sheer from wear.
She hung the sadra up to dry and often thought, “This is Baba’s daaman [the hem of His sadra]. Baba says for us to hold on to his daaman [3], but the threads are so thin. I don’t know if it will hold even one of us!”
But then Meheru reasoned, “The threads are his and All-powerful.” [4]
Regarding His daaman, Meher Baba said, “Hold fast to My ‘daaman,’ whatever the trials and difficulties you may be passing through. Think of Me more and more and all your worries will dwindle into nothing, for they really are nothing…” [5]
“…irreplaceable link to His human form.”
“When Beloved Baba walked this earth as the beautiful God-Man, He left His imprint in everything and everyone He touched,” Meheru and Bhau Kalchuri wrote in a 1996 letter from the Archives and Museum Committee of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust. [6]
AVATAR MEHER BABA wearing a sadra during His visit to Portofino, Italy, in 1933. (Photo: Elizabeth Patterson)
“The dishes that He ate from and the cups that He drank from, the clothes that He wore, the games that He played with… these tangible links to Him come to us today suffused with His fragrance,” [7] they continued.
“Baba’s sadra, His alphabet boards, His precious hair – each is a unique and irreplaceable link to His human form.” [8]
Meher Baba’s Sadras Are Kept for His Lovers
The women mandali (close disciples) repaired Meher Baba’s torn sadras as best they could, but when they were irreparable, they were sent to the east room at Upper Meherabad, which had become a storage room.
The cupboard was getting full, so one day Mehera (Irani) asked Baba, “Do we still have to put all your old clothes and torn sadras there?”
Baba answered, “Yes, keep them.” [9]
Although Mehera had been entrusted with the charge of Meher Baba’s personal belongings, she never felt she should give them away to those who asked without first asking Meher Baba. Sometimes with a particular item He would say, “No, not that one – that one should be kept.” Thus was Meher Baba Himself making provision for His lovers in the days to come. [10]
Meher Baba’s Sadra at Meher Mount
A visitor like you can now see, sit with, and be in the presence of Meher Baba’s sadra at Meher Mount. This sadra, which dates to the 1950s, is encased in an archival box and covered to protect it from harmful ultraviolet light.
The Stand Is Made of Baba’s Tree Wood
The sadra sits on a stand lovingly crafted from the fallen wood of Baba’s Tree by artisan Harold Greene. This wood was harvested from Baba’s Tree after the 2017 Thomas Fire burned the tree and high winds toppled the canopy.
Avatar Meher Baba spent time alone under Baba’s Tree when He visited Meher Mount in 1956 leaving an invisible fountain of spiritual energy. Baba’s Tree still stands as a beacon of His love welcoming all— and another artifact of His Advent.
Footnotes
[1] Frank Davis, editor, Baba Words: The Master’s Glossary, Edition One online, accessed February 6, 2023.
[2] David Fenster, Mehera-Meher: A Divine Romance, Volume III, 2016 PDF Version 2016, pg. 255 (Ahmednagar, India: Meher Nazar Publications) (c)2003 by David Fenster.
[3] Holding onto Meher Baba’s daaman implies holding on to Him, the Avatar. Op.cit., Davis.
[4] Op.cit., Fenster, pg. 255.
[5] Meher Baba, Meher Baba Calling, Section 2, “Worry Not,” PDF version. (Bombay: Meher House Publications) ©1966, 1978 by Mr. Adi K. Irani.
[6] Meheru Irani, Bhau Kalchuri, and the members of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust Archives and Museum Committee, “Letter from the Archives and Museum Committee of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust,” May 1996, pg. 1, accessed February 6, 2023. (Ahmednagar, India: Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust)
[7] Ibid., Irani & Kalchuri, page 1.
[8] Ibid., Irani & Kalchuri, page 2.
[9] Op.cit., Fenster, pg. 255.
[10] Op.cit., Irani & Kalchuri, page 2.