The Baba Room Becomes the Darshan Courtyard
Margaret Magnus
By Margaret Magnus
The Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, spent the day at Meher Mount on August 2, 1956. During that visit, He told His followers:
“...here today, we feel relaxed, happy. I come down to your level so that we can laugh and be free together; but do not forget at the same time that I am the Highest of the High”
“Thursday, August 2, was a day we had all been looking forward to, a day when Baba would be free of interviews, when we could all be more closely with him in the beautiful setting of Meher Mount,” remembered Darwin Shaw who was with Avatar Meher Baba that day in 1956. [2]
Two buses were chartered to bring the group of Meher Baba’s followers to Meher Mount. Meher Baba and His men mandali (close disciples) rode separately with co-founder Agnes Baron in her Woody station wagon.
When they arrived on the mountain, Meher Baba said, “I love Meher Mount very much and feel happy here.” [3]
AVATAR MEHER BABA with His followers at Meher Mount on August 2, 1956. The building in the background was a farmhouse and garage on the property, which burned in 1985. In the picture are: (Left to right): Adi K. Irani (light grey jacket); Eruch Jessawala (dark suit); Bili Eaton (light scarf); Meher Baba (blue coat); Agnes Baron (orange skirt); Tex Hightower (striped shirt); Frank Hendrick (light grey suit); Marie Adair (black suit and pants); and Peter Saul (green shirt). Agnes Baron drove Meher Baba to Meher Mount in the ‘Woody’ station wagon pictured in the background while many of His followers traveled by bus. (Photo: Darwin Shaw, ©Meher Nazar Publications)
After the buses arrived, Meher Baba called everyone into the Baba Room of the guesthouse.
THE GUESTHOUSE as it looked in 1956 when Avatar Meher Baba visited. At the extreme upper right edge of the photograph is the outside of a bay window. Meher Baba sat inside in front of that window when He greeted guests and gave darshan (the grace of seeing the Divine). (Photo: Lud Dimpfl, November 1956)
“…we all went inside and sat wherever we could, all sort of crowded around Baba, but in a comfortable way. Baba sat where everyone could see Him. He seemed very relaxed and happy to be among his lovers,” Darwin Shaw continued. [4]
Meher Baba spent much of the day in this room giving darshan (the grace of seeing the Divine).
He reminded His followers of the tremendous opportunity to be with Him. “You are so lucky to be with me so closely,” Meher Baba said. “You do not realize how very fortunate you are when I embrace you all.” [5]
AGNES BARON & AVATAR MEHER BABA sitting in front of the bay window of the Baba Room in the guesthouse at Meher Mount on August 2, 1956. The window looks north to the Ojai Valley. The guesthouse was completely destroyed by the 1985 New Life Fire. The only remaining artifact is the chimney and flagstone fireplace that was in the room.
Meher Baba’s time in the Baba Room is captured in the photograph of Him sitting in a wingback chair with Meher Mount co-founder and lifetime caretaker Agnes Baron by His side. The bay window in the background looks north toward the Ojai Valley.
In the 1970s, Irwin Luck came to Meher Mount and filmed co-founder Agnes Baron on a tour of Meher Mount sharing her memories of Meher Baba’s visit.
AGNES BARON, Meher Mount co-founder and lifetime caretaker, describes the Baba Room at Meher Mount in a 1970s recording by Irwin Luck. Here’s a link to the full video "Agnes Baron Remembers Meher Baba’s 1956 Visit to Meher Mount."
“This is Baba’s Room. We called it that from the very beginning,” explained Agnes Baron in the 1970s Irwin Luck film. “And it had been set aside in the early days as a meditation center.
“Not too many people were interested in meditation. They said, ‘Baba isn't interested in it.’ So, it finally became just a general room where people met.”
Just months after Meher Baba’s August visit, Lud Dimpfl and his family returned to Meher Mount in November 1956.
Lud took a picture of three of his children — Joan Dimpfl Harland, Claudia Dimpfl O’Hanrahan, and Diane Dimpfl Cobb — sitting in the bay window seat in the Baba Room that overlooked the Ojai Valley to the north.
THE BABA ROOM in the guesthouse at Meher Mount in November 1956, just months after Meher Baba’s August 2, 1956 visit. The flagstone fireplace is to the left of the photo. Now known as Baba’s Fireplace, it is the only remaining artifact of this special room where Meher Baba gave darshan to His followers. The wingback chair used by Meher Baba is to the right. The children are (left to right) Joan Dimpfl Harland, Claudia Dimpfl O’Hanrahan, and Diane Dimpfl Cobb (also known as 3B as nicknamed by Meher Baba). (Photo: Lud Dimpfl, 1956)
To the right of three Dimpfl children is the wingback chair Meher Baba used when He was in the Baba Room with His followers. This is the same chair seen in the photograph with Agnes Baron.
The next archival photo of the Baba Room is from 1978. This photograph is of the fireplace in the Baba Room — this is the flagstone fireplace that remained after the 1985 New Life Fire.
THE FIREPLACE in the Baba Room at Meher Mount before the 1985 New Life Fire. There is a photograph covering the fireplace opening to close out the cold air. It was not being used as a fireplace at the time of this photograph. Meher Baba’s wingback chair (not seen) is to the right in front a bay window. (Photo: Sam Ervin, 1978)
There is a photograph or painting covering the fireplace opening to keep out the cold air. The flagstones of what is now called Baba’s Fireplace are visible and frame the photograph or painting.
In the years after Meher Baba’s visit, Agnes Baron periodically invited visitors into the guesthouse and the Baba Room.
AN IMPROMPTU FLUTE CONCERT in the Baba Room at Meher Mount by Howard Babus and friend. (Photo: Sam Ervin, 1978)
During one chilly winter visit in 1978, Agnes invited a small group inside the Baba Room to listen to an impromptu flute concert.
Sam Ervin and Margaret Magnus were visiting with Margaret’s sister, Elizabeth Hartzell. Their friend Howard Babus and his flute partner had been helping at Meher Mount that day. In the evening, they offered to give a concert for Agnes.
AGNES BARON, Elizabeth Hartzell and Margaret Magnus are bundled up against the cold in the Baba Room one winter evening. This was before the 1985 New Life destroyed every building at Meher Mount. They are listening to the impromptu flute concert. (Photo: Sam Ervin, 1978)
The Baba Room — and all the other buildings and vehicles — were destroyed by wildfire in 1985.
The October 14,1985 date of this fire — officially known as the Ferndale Fire – is coincidental with the first day of Avatar Meher Baba's New Life in India, October 16, 1949. Hence, the fire has come to be known as the New Life Fire at Meher Mount.
THE GUESTHOUSE and Baba Room at Meher Mount after the 1985 New Life Fire. The fireplace was part of the Baba Room where Avatar Meher Baba gave darshan in 1956. He was seated perpendicular and to the right of the fireplace. (Photo: Sam Ervin, October 1985)
When the fire hit Meher Mount, Agnes Baron had no advance warning. She evacuated just in time with herself and her pets. All her mementos, artifacts, papers and all valuables burned in that fire — including the chair Meher Baba used and any other artifacts of His visit.
THE FIREPLACE — now known as Baba’s Fireplace — marks the Baba Room where Avatar Meher Baba gave darshan (His blessing) in August 1956. The photo was taken days after the October 14, 1985 wildfire burned everything at Meher Mount. (Photo: Sam Ervin, 1985)
The flagstone fireplace – Baba’s Fireplace – remained as a touchstone of Meher Baba’s visit.
BABA’S FIREPLACE remained as a touchstone of Avatar Meher Baba’s 1956 visit. (Photo: Wayne Myers, 2010)
In the years after the New Life Fire, the area around the fireplace was often used for group meetings and events.
A TEMPORARY AWNING is erected to provide shade by Baba’s Fireplace for an Anniversary Sahavas of Avatar Meher Baba’s 1956 visit. (Photo: Margaret Magnus)
In 2017, high winds and fire toppled and severely burned Baba’s Tree. Several of the tree’s large limbs had fallen and were later salvaged. From these limbs, three benches were made and placed in the area around Baba’s Fireplace — connecting Baba’s Tree and Baba’s Fireplace.
BABA’S FIREPLACE with benches made from the fallen wood of Baba’s Tree. The wood from the 2017 Thomas Fire was salvaged. Several of the large limbs were used make the benches placed around Baba’s Tree.
In 2004, Meher Mount started the development of a master plan with a community meeting. One of the areas of focus was Baba’s Fireplace and the area around it. Volunteer planners wanted to create an intimate space that would evoke the atmosphere of the Baba Room.
Pictured below is a group photo after one of the master plan sessions. On the bottom right are Nancy and Byron Pinckert. Throughout the planning process, they designed several options eventually creating the final Darshan Courtyard plan.
OVER THE YEARS volunteers met at Meher Mount to discuss the options for Baba’s Fireplace and the area around it. (Left to right, top row): Mark Swearingen, Ken Pellman, Ron Holsey, Michael Markley, Ray Johnston, Elizabeth Arnold, Sam Ervin and Bing Heckman. (Left to right, bottom row): David McNeely, Kanji Miayo, Jim Whitson, Margaret Magnus, Nancy Pinckert and Byron Pinckert. (May 2008)
The plan for the courtyard is designed to provide a sense of intimacy with the Divine. A place of personal reflection and contemplation. A moment to feel Meher Baba’s eternal embrace.
It is called the Darshan Courtyard because Meher Baba spent most of the day in August 1956 giving darshan (the grace of being in His presence) in this space.
A TOP-DOWN DRAWING of the Darshan Courtyard space. The roof is irregular to evoke the sense of a tree’s canopy. It does not touch Baba’s Fireplace and leaves it in full view. The design of the courtyard has been adapted and refined over the years by Byron and Nancy Pinckert. (Drawing: Alonzo Banuelos, Contractor)
A MODEL of the proposed Darshan Courtyard by Baba's Fireplace at Meher Mount. The entire courtyard will be made of concrete brick and steel given the constant threat of wildfires. (Model: Nancy Pinckert)
In 2021, followers of Meher Baba from all over the world were invited to send their favorite Meher Baba quote to Meher Mount. Each quote and the person’s name was printed on a special piece of paper.
These quotes were read aloud and then placed in a special dhuni (sacred fire) on June 12, 2021.
THE 2021 DARSHAN DHUNI when 185 personally meaningful Meher Baba quotes were read aloud and placed in the dhuni (sacred fire). These ashes are to be placed under the spot where Meher Baba sat in the Baba Room with His followers in 1956. (Left to right): Eric Carlson, Margaret Magnus, Sam Ervin, Robert Turnage, Kristina Somma, Fred Stankus and Jim Whedon. (Photo: Screenshot from “Darshan Dhuni - Meher Mount”)
The ashes from this Darshan Dhuni were placed under the spot where Meher Baba sat in front of that bay window giving darshan on October 12, 2024. They are symbolically helping to form the foundation for the courtyard.
THE DARSHAN COURTYARD GROUNDBREAKING on October 12, 2024. Juan Mendez is one of several volunteers burying the ashes of favorite Meher Baba quotes sent by 185 people from around the world. These quotes were burned in a special Darshan Dhuni on June 12, 2021. This is the spot where Meher Baba sat in the Baba Room when He visited Meher Mount in 1956.
“Saturday’s groundbreaking for the Darshan Courtyard felt extra special to me,” said board member Agnes Montano. “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.
“The simple ceremony was so heartfelt. 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.
“Meher Baba was definitely there giving His darshan to us like He did when He sat in the space in 1956.” [6]
Baba’s Fireplace and the Darshan Courtyard are touchstones for remembering the Divine. They are a connection to Avatar Meher Baba and His infinite love, compassion and presence at Meher Mount.
AVATAR MEHER BABA’S photograph adorned with flowers as it sits in Baba’s Fireplace. (Photo: Juan Mendez)
Footnotes
[1] Bhau Kalchuri, Lord Meher: The Biography of the Avatar of the Age Meher Baba, Online Edition, pg. 4066, accessed October 5, 2024. (c)Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust.
[2] Darwin C. Shaw, As Only God Can Love: A Lifetime of Companionship with Meher Baba (North Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Foundation, 2003), pg. 391. (c)Darwin C. Shaw.
[3] Kalchuri, op.cit., pg. 4066, accessed online October 4, 2024.
[4] Shaw, op.cit., pg. 392.
[5] Kalchuri, op.cit., pg. 4065, accessed online May 11, 2021.
[6] “There’s something so unique that happens when people gather in Meher Baba’s name and presence….” Meher Mount, Photo Friday Blog, posted October 15, 2024.