Dear Meher Mount Friends,
In response to your recent email, Charles and I have a special treasure that we'd like to give to Meher Mount: a photograph of Meher Baba that He touched and blessed. Elizabeth [Patterson] and Norina [Matchabelli] kept it in in their belongings, and now it hangs in our house. The photo shows Baba in Portofino, and it was taken by Elizabeth. May this artifact, blessed with His touch, bring Baba ever closer to everyone there.
Love in Baba,
Christopher and Charles
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After the first ascent, there was a small clearing and a downed tree trunk that made a perfect place to pause and take in the beauty of the Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) woodland.
As we sat there having a thoughtful discussion about life, life decisions and whatever else was on our minds, a beautiful burned tree trunk stood in front of us. We began to fantasize about what the burned tree trunk represented. It felt as if the right side looked like angel’s wings with the left side representing a hand reaching toward the heavens with the support and encouragement of an angel.
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“’In 1968, while doing his strenuous seclusion work in Guruprasad [in Pune, India], Baba said that listening to the music of Jim Reeves was his relaxation,” noted Mani S. Irani, Meher Baba’s sister and close disciple. “While Baba was having breakfast, we always began with ‘There’s a Heartache Following Me.’’”
“’It [‘Heartache’] was always the first record played, then others [such as ‘Take My Hand Precious Lord’] were played, then ending again with ‘Heartache’,” Mani explained.
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Meher Baba later spent time in the Nalavala home playing with their four-year-old son, Naosherwan, and nine-year-old daughter, Mahroakh. Freiny complained to Meher Baba that her husband Keki was always worried about something.
Meher Baba advised:
“If you worry about yourself, God does not worry about you. And why should He? If you stop worrying, God has to begin to worry for you! Remember Him wholeheartedly; leave your troubles to Him. Then you will be free to remain cheerful.”
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On the morning of March 10, 2020, the temporary seclusion fence that had been around Baba’s Tree for two years was taken down. Ironically, the next day, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus or COVID-19 a pandemic. That evening, the Meher Mount Board met in a previously scheduled conference call to determine whether to close Meher Mount (and have another kind of seclusion for Baba’s Tree).
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It’s safe to say that no one associated with Meher Mount foresaw that two years – almost to the day – after high winds and the 2017 Thomas Fire felled most of Baba’s Tree, that what was left of the tree would be recovering nicely and is now the centerpiece of what is emerging as Baba’s Tree Grove.
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The Ojai Valley has long been regarded as a place of spiritual pilgrimage even before Avatar Meher Baba visited on August 2, 1956, and blessed Meher Mount with His presence.
"The magnetic center of the earth is here," the Los Angeles Times declared in 1878. Ojai is the place where "Spirit-minded people come to reach the God-centers within themselves." [1]
The Ojai Valley “has always been special to its inhabitants,” says Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, tribal chair of the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians, writing in the Winter 2011-2012 issue of the Ojai Valley Visitors Guide. [2]
“Today’s residents and visitors are amazed at the powerful energy here. Many say it is because of the way the valley is situated, running east and west, in the same manner traveled by the sun and moon, making their journey through our sky.”
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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.
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.
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I want to thank all involved in Meher Mount’s rehabilitation efforts, particularly in the care of the coastal oak known as Baba’s Tree.
The gift of the ashes that was given to me has had a profound effect on me with many layers and I want to share with you, as a reminder, that our efforts of love touch each other in ways we often can’t predict.
My father and mother, Earl and Madeline Butler became caretakers to Meher Mount and Agnes Baron in 1988, after the fire in 1985.
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In the days immediately following the devastation of Baba’s Tree from the December 2017 Thomas Fire, volunteers looked for rays of hope. One of those rays of hope was the growth of new sprouts on Baba’s Tree.
Another ray of hope was the realization that there was a small Coast Life Oak (Quercus agrifolia) that had been ‘hiding’ in plain sight very close to Baba’s Tree. And this tree, most probably Baba’s Tree progeny, had only been slightly burned by the Thomas Fire.
Meanwhile, in another spot near Baba’s Tree and previously hidden under the canopy of Baba’s Tree was a growth-suppressed tree stump of a Coast Live Oak that had been cut down sometime in the history of Meher Mount.
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Current Meher Mount caretakers Ellen Kwiatkowski and Eric Carlson didn’t have to ask twice. When they suggested we fill in for them and care for their sweet dog Oday while they were away winterizing their Blue Vista Farm in Bayfield, WI, we immediately said, “Yes.”
The plan was for former Interim Caretaker Cassandra Bramucci to cover the first week of Ellen’s and Eric’s leave, and we would take over on October 30th for another seven days.
We should have known it wasn’t going to be a smooth ride when, on the day we were set to drive up to Meher Mount from Oceanside (about 180 miles south of Ojai), we received a message from Cassandra advising us against driving up that day due to strong Santa Ana winds.
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The following is from an email sent on July 14, 2019 by former Manager/Caretakers Buzz and Ginger Glasky to the new Manager/Caretakers for Meher Mount, Ellen Kwiatkowski and Eric Carlson.
Dear Ellen & Eric,
You asked for the 10 important things on Meher Mount for caretakers. There are only five or six.
You will come to realize that Meher Baba really does everything on Meher Mount. As one gets caught and immersed in the daily activities and living at Meher Mount, Meher Baba will remind you that He does everything.
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When representatives from the Ojai Raptor Center (ORC) arrived at Meher Mount on August 15, 2019, to release an American Kestrel and a Red-Tailed Hawk, Jaclyn DeSantis, wildlife rehabilitator and ORC supervisor, warned all of us to have our cameras ready.
Her 11 years of experience in doing bird releases taught her that these gorgeous creatures take their chance at freedom very seriously. “This will be over in ten seconds once I open the box,” she said, “so don’t anybody blink.”
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The two-year, world-wide search for on-site, residential Manager/Caretakers at Meher Mount is – in hindsight – a clear example of who, when and what happening in Meher Baba’s time.
Recruitment for volunteer caretakers started in August 2017, and it wasn’t until the last days of June 2019 that new caretakers Ellen Kwiatkowski and Eric Carlson were settled in at Meher Mount.
In hindsight, it seems obvious why no new caretakers were at Meher Mount at the time Buzz and Ginger Glasky were leaving. They would have been homeless. There was some smoke damage, no heating/cooling, no power and no water in the Caretaker Quarters, thus, making it temporarily uninhabitable.
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Shireen Bonner, Meher Baba’s niece, shares memories of her three visits with Meher Baba when she was seven- and eleven-years old, respectively. She also talks about being part of Meher Baba’s family and how her father (Adi Irani, Meher Baba’s brother) explained who Meher Baba was.
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Meher Baba repeatedly stressed how fortunate His followers were to be with Him that day at Meher Mount - August 2, 1956. It was a time of relaxation and laughter in the presence of the Avatar of the Age. The following is from first-hand accounts of the day by Filis Frederick, Darwin Shaw and Jeanne Shaw with photographs from Darwin Shaw.
“Thursday, August 2 [1956], 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,” wrote Darwin Shaw in his book, As Only God Can Love.
“Everyone was in a happy mood for the day’s outing,” Darwin continued.
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Meher Baba in the USA, 1956 is filmed by Charmian Duce Knowles and produced by Sufism Reoriented ©1972. In the late 1960s, assisted by Henry Mindlin and Charmian’s future husband, Duncan Knowles, she added a soundtrack. Charmian and Duncan provide the narration.
The entire film is one hour and 23 minutes long. Meher Baba’s visit to Meher Mount starts at 50:21 minutes into the film and continues for approximately six-and-one-half minutes.
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On July 10, 1925, Avatar Meher Baba began His silence that lasted for 44 years until He dropped His body on January 31, 1969.
After Meher Baba started His silence, He communicated by writing on a slate board. After that, He pointed to letters on an alphabet board to spell out words. Later, he used a series of hand gestures that were interpreted by His close disciples (mandali).
Meher Baba said that His silence was not undertaken as a spiritual exercise, but solely in connection with His universal work.
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"Now take the other case of two people in love. When two individuals are in love with each other, how do they speak?"
"They speak softly," we answered.
"Yes," Baba agreed, "they do speak softly and the greater the love between them, the softer is their tone of speech. And when they are still further in love, no words are needed and they just look at each other, and eventually there is not even the need to look — no need at all."
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Baba’s Tree continues to grow healthy new branches — aided by the winter rains, the extra measures of care given over the past 18 months, and the love and prayers from around the world.
Consulting with ISA® Certified Arborist Michael Inaba, Meher Mount put in place a care plan starting in early 2018 for Baba’s Tree recovery and regeneration. One of the steps in the plan is sheltering the limbs with a fabric to help protect them from sunburn and pests while new growth creates a protective canopy. More than a year later, it was time for a new ‘sadra’ for Baba’s Tree.
A sadra (also sadhra) refers to a thin muslin shirt traditionally worn by Zoroastrians. Avatar Meher Baba adapted the sadra into an ankle-length garment which He regularly wore. Meher Baba said, “You have no idea what just one scrap of My sadra will mean to the world in the future.”
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