Prayers

PRAYERS

Book Two

SEVEN NAMES OF GOD
BUJAVE NAAR
TUKARAM, TUKARAM
I AM EVERYTHING
PEOPLE DON'T WANT GOD
YOU ARE FORMLESS, PARVARDIGAR
I AM THE ONE WHO LISTENS TO YOUR PRAYERS
GREAT SECLUSION PRAYER
TOMORROW BE DAMNED
PRAYER OF SURRENDER
A PRAYER BEFORE SPEAKING
TO ALL AVATARS
OBEISANCE TO THE FIVE PERFECT MASTERS
SALUTATIONS
PRAYER FOR THE ROAD
PRAYER OF REPENTANCE
THE MASTER'S PRAYER
SAT-CHIT-ANAND PARAMANAND
PRAYERS FOR BABA'S LOVERS AND MANDALI
YOU ARE THE BELOVED OF EVERYONE
CHRISTIAN PRAYER
PRAYER TO THE FIVE PERFECT MASTERS
YOU ALONE EXIST
ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NAMES OF GOD
A ZOROASTRIAN PRAYER
MAY THY WILL BE DONE
PRAYING WITH BABA
PRAYING TO MEHER BABA
OTHER PRAYERS

Padri: God is omnipresent and omniscient, so why pray for his blessing?

Baba: God is omnipresent, but he plays with closed eyes. He is inattentive, so he needs to be awakened by prayer.

26 December 1951, Meherabad
LM10 p3754

"I am the one who listens to your prayers."

Meher Baba
GG6 p52

SEVEN NAMES OF GOD

"Meher Baba had given the following one line prayer to be recited by the Mandali every afternoon for an hour and a half:

   Khuda
   Paramatma
   Allah
   Ahuramazd
   Ram
   Yezdan
   Hu

"This was to be preceeded and followed by the singing of the Arti which he had composed at the toddy shop in Kasba Peth years before."

Bhau Kalchuri, LM2 p607
(April 1924, Meherabad)

A second version was given later:

   Hari
   Paramatma
   Allah
   Ahuramazd
   God
   Yezdan
   Hu

"The following couplet was composed by Baba to be jointly recited by the ashram boys daily at the appointed hours:

'Hari, Paramatma, Allah,

Ahuramazd, God, Yezdan, Hu.'"

G. L. Pawar, RD p518
(16 June 1927, Meherabad)

"On June 16th this simple prayer of seven names of God, representing the world's religions, was composed by Baba for the ashram boys to recite every day:

'Hari, Paramatma, Allah,

Ahuramazd, God, Yezdan, Hu.'

"In the morning, one boy would first recite the names of God alone, and then all the boys would join in together, chanting the prayer for fifteen minutes or half an hour.

"The prayer would be recited for five minutes before and after classes, all the boys standing with folded hands and facing the sun."

Bhau Kalchuri, LM3 p948
(16 June 1927, Meherabad)

Part of the boys' schedule:

"5 a.m.: Rise from bed. After washing, they were to chant the Seven Names of God prayer" (This prayer was also sung before each meal in the dining hall.) - More than 170 boys were enrolled in the school in 1927.

Bhau Kalchuri, LM3 p960

"... Baba had instructed his lovers to chant the prayer of the different names of God,

'Hari, Paramatma, Allah, Ahuramazd, God, Yezdan, Hu,'

for a certain period every day. Baba had given the melody for this prayer, and it held great significance."

Bhau Kalchuri, LM8 p2759
(December 1941?)

BUJAVE NAAR

An Arti is a devotional song sung to a Perfect Master. Meher Baba's Mandali wanted an Arti in Gujerati that they could sing before Baba. Baba told them to write one. Several were attempted, but none of the songs satisfied Baba. Finally Baba wrote a Gujerati arti on January 11, 1926, entitled Bujave Naar. These is an English translation:

O God, command that the fire of our ignorance be extinguished.
Your lovers yearn for you to bestow upon them the light of faith.
O Murshid Meher Baba, we lay our heads at your feet.
O Meher Baba, you have made yourself perfectly aware of your Godhood.
You are the lord of Truth, you are the beloved and lover in one.
Being the torrent of infinite knowledge, you are the ocean of oneness.
O Master, bestow upon us, the wayfarers, the knowledge of Ezad
(the only one worthy of worship)
For you, O Paramatma, are omniscient, and are divine knowledge itself.
Give us to drink of the cup of God's love that we become intoxicated.
O Saki, we offer our lives in sacrifice to you - give us this draught.
Only if you steer our ship while in mid-ocean can we remain afloat.
O Meher Baba, the captain of our ship, you are our protector.
O Meher Baba, the captain of our ship, you are our protector.

translated by Adi K. Irani
From a booklet, 'Avatar Meher Baba's
Arties with Translations'

Another English translation:

O God, command that the fire of ignorance be extinguished.
Bestow upon your lovers the light of faith for which they long.
O Master Meher Baba, we lay our heads at your feet.
O Meher Baba, you are the one who knows the original state of God.
You are the lord of truth,
You are the lover and beloved in one.
You are the torrent of infinite knowledge and the ocean of oneness.
O beloved, bestow upon us seekers the knowledge of Ezad.
For you, Paramatma, are omniscient, divine knowledge itself.
Intoxicate us by making us drink from the cup of love divine.
O Saki, promise us a cup of wine -
We offer our lives in sacrifice to you.
Our ship founders in mid-ocean -
Only if you steer can we remain afloat.
O Meher Baba, you are our captain and protector.

translated by Bhau Kalchuri?
LM3 p773-774

TUKARAM, TUKARAM

"On April 30th, a group of Hindu pilgrims passed by Meherabad chanting loudly, 'Tukaram... Tukaram... Tukaram.' They were on pilgrimage to Pandharpur. Hearing their chant, Baba remarked,

"Even if those people were to dance and sing bhajans for a hundred years, it would have no value. What is essential is deep devotion, without which all else is worthless. 'Tukaram' comes out of their mouths, but he is not in their hearts."

"Baba nevertheless directed the Mandali to feed the pilgrims."

Bhau Kalchuri, LM3 p790
(30 April 1927, Meherabad)

I AM EVERYTHING

I am the worshipper
I am the worship
and I am the one
worthy of adoration.
I am the fire
I am the spark
and I am the smoke.
I am everything.

"I repeat this prayer every night. I pray to myself and bow down to myself. Why? For worldly people, so that God may make them worthy of emancipation. And who is God? I myself.

Meher Baba, 4 December 1927, Meherabad, LM3 p991

PEOPLE DON'T WANT GOD

"During this period, Padri once brought a qawaal singer to the P. W. D. bungalow to entertain Baba. Baba met with him for awhile, and the man said,

'How good is my luck that I have met you today. I wish someday to compose ghazals and sing them before you, Hazrat.'

Baba replied, 'If you want to sing, sing now, as I am in the mood to listen to music.'

But the man said, 'Hazrat, forgive me. Now is the time for my namaz (prayers). I must leave or I'll be late.'

Baba motioned, 'Then go and offer your prayers.'

The qawaal left to go to the mosque, and Baba caustically remarked,

'People don't want God, they want namaz. What can poor God do? God wants to give them God, but they want to pray.'"

Bhau Kalchuri, LM7 p 2307
(August? 1938, Ahmednagar?)

YOU ARE FORMLESS, PARVARDIGAR

Baba gave a chant to be sung daily by his women Mandali:

You are formless, Parvardigar, Ahuramazd, Allah, Hu

You are Yezdan, you are God, Ahuramazd, Allah, Hu

You are Paramatma, Parabrahma,

You are almighty God, Ishwar,

You are Parameshwar, Ezad, Ahuramazd, Allah, Hu.

Meher Baba, October? 1940
Meherabad, LM7 p2622

Referring to this prayer-song, Baba explained:

"Ezad means the one who is the first - God the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. There are millions of names of God, But those that have a sound effect are few. Every sound you make, every thought you think, good or bad, stays. But that sound which results in feeling has force behind it which helps or hurts others.

"All this noise of guns, bombs and airplanes, etc., of war, will be utilised for the spiritual life of the world in the future. Yes, it all stays. It cannot go. Where can it go? It is like water which evaporates, forms into clouds, and then comes down again as rain. But you all must sing the song of God's names together with rhythm and timing to produce an effect.

"When the name of God is sung with feeling and rhythm, it even has the effect of temporarily bringing down the Majzoobs from their superconscious state. Abdul Baba of Bombay was a known Majzoob. He was always unconscious, did not eat or drink anything, simply lay unconscious. But when one singer would come to his door every day singing 'Allah Hu, Allah Hu' in rhythm, within half an hour Abdul Baba would come down to consciousness, begin to look about, talk, eat, and then again merge into his former state."

Meher Baba, ll October 1940
Meherabad, LM7 p2622

I AM THE ONE WHO LISTENS TO YOUR PRAYERS

"Kohiyar's father was a very devout Zoroastrian who habitually spent long hours in prayers. He had heard of Baba as far back as the 1930s, and though not devoted to Baba, he did regard him as a saint. It was another fifteen years, however, before he or any of his family saw Baba in person.

"This good fortune finally befell them in August 1947, when Baba was giving darshan in a villa in the cantonment area of Satara... By the time they reached the villa in the early afternoon, a good-sized crowd had gathered in the hall where Baba was seated. Singers were entertaining Baba with bhajans as the darshanites lined up to great him...

"Baba called Kohiyar's father to him. As he approached, Baba raised his right arm and put his thumb to his index finger, (a gesture) meaning 'a good person.' Baba gave him an orange as prasad. Then, without using the alphabet board, but relying on gestures, Baba conveyed to him,

'I am the real one. I am the one who listens to your prayers. I am very happy to see you. Remember me.'

"In this way Baba responded to the old man's long years of devotion."

Bal Natu, GG6 p51-52
(The man's last name was Satarawalla, and his son Kohiyar became a close devotee of Meher Baba.)

GREAT SECLUSION PRAYER

May God,
whom the Muslims call Allah,
whom the Zoroastrians call Ahurmazd,
whom the Hindus call Ishwar Paramatma,
and whom many others call by many other names,
may he whose union the lovers seek in self-annihilation,
whom the seers see as the only reality,
and whom the knowers know as their own real self,
may this supreme conscious being,
this conscious soul of souls,
who eternally manifests as Avatar and Perfect Masters,
may he through his all-merciful act bestow on us his grace,
and may he solve all our difficulties by the end of this year,
and may he decide everything for us by the end of this year,
and may he, according to Baba's circular of 1949,
finish everything by the end of this year,
to enable Baba to break his silence in the beginning of next year,
to speak the one and the last word of all-embracing divinity.
Amen
Aamin
Tathastu

Meher Baba, July 1949, Meherazad
'Meher Baba in the Great Seclusion'
by Ramjoo Abdulla, p17
Also GG2 p45
* Amen, Aamin, Tathastu = So be it.

This prayer was read out in Baba's presence before a gathering at Meherazad on August 1, 1949 in English, Marathi, Gujerati and Urdu. A number of people who had observed silence and a partial fast during the month of July had been invited. After the reading of the last translation, all those present ended their individual silence with Amen, Aamin or Tathastu. Baba distributed rava, a sweet dish, to all, thus ending their fasts.

TOMORROW BE DAMNED

"For saying good night before retiring, Baba has asked Dr. Ghani to repeat in a sing-song voice the following words in Urdu language:

"Old life has passed in different ways.

Today also has passed somehow.

Tomorrow be damned - who cares?"

Abdul Ghani, November 1949
'Diary of the New Life of
Meher Baba and His Companions'
by Abdul Ghani Munsiff, p85-86

Another version:

Yesterday passed somehow.

Today passes by this way.

To hell with tomorrow!

Aw 19:2 p9

PRAYER OF SURRENDER

"O God, I leave my fate in your hands."

Jamnadas, the mahant (headman) of the village of Manjri Mafi, had been sentenced to prison for shooting and killing two villagers in a dispute. He was released temporarily because he was sick with tuberculosis. He was to report back to prison on June 17, 1950, to continue serving his sentence.

On April 20, 1950, Baba asked Jamnadas, "Would you sincerely and faithfully carry out two instructions I give you?"

Jamnadas said he would. Baba continued,

"Then don't worry in the least about your permanent release from prison until the very last minute of your going back to prison on June 17th. And every night, before going to bed, offer this heartfelt prayer:

O God, I leave my fate in your hands."

Jamnadas agreed to follow the two instructions. Baba told him,

"I feel inwardly that if you obey these instructions faithfully, God will not fail you."

On June 14th a government order was received that Jamnadas had been permanently released from prison. Baba was the one to tell him the news. Baba left for Kalyan and Satara the same day.

Manjri Mafi (now Meher Mafi)
near Dehra Dun, LM10 p3596

A PRAYER BEFORE SPEAKING

"Baba sent me and Pendu on a tour of six months to India and Pakistan for Baba work, beginning from the 1st April 1953, at Meherazad. Baba told me to repeat the following prayer before addressing the people each day:

"O God

Baba is sending us

both in your name and Baba's,

and we ask that your will be done in this work."

Eruch Jessawala, Aw 19:2 p12

TO ALL AVATARS

To all Avatars
all God's Messengers
all Perfect Masters
all Sadgurus
all Qutubs
all Walis
all friends of God
all Saints
all lovers of God
I bow down

Meher Baba
1953, Dehra Dun
Aw 19:2 p12

OBEISANCE TO THE FIVE PERFECT MASTERS

Baba had one of the Mandali read out the following, and then he would bow down:

"O Ahura Mazda, please accept the obeisance that is from Baba to his five Perfect Masters: Sai Baba, Babajan, Upasani Maharaj, Tajuddin Baba, and Narayan Maharaj."

Meher Baba, 1953

SALUTATIONS

"My salutations to all the past, present and future Perfect Masters, Qutubs, Majzoobs, masts, lovers and seekers of God. I today remember with my love, in accordance with their love and faith, the following physically departed lovers of mine..."

Meher Baba,
19 June 1953, Dehra Dun

Eruch Jessawala explained that after this statement was read, "a complete list of the names of his departed followers was read out while Baba stood silently with the other Mandali."

(Aw 19:2 p12)

PRAYER FOR THE ROAD
DURING MANONASH WANDERING

"As for some of the different prayers he gave us, here is one written in Gujerati. Its a 'Prayer for the Road During Manonash Wandering,' given to us in November 1951. Who will now translate this into English? It would take a lot of time... but it's so beautiful... It shows us how he became a simple human being aspiring for God. Do you know what Manonash means? It means the annihilation of the mind. Who annihilates the mind? A person who has a mind, who is striving to seek God, who is a seeker and is imploring the Lord to help him. So you see, Baba becomes all that. He is all, everything, on all planes. He's here, and he as a seeker now dictates the following prayer.

So there was a period of four months when we were traveling when Baba began the Manonash phase and came here. We had to recite the prayer here in the Manonash Cabin. So now you see the conditions for such prayers. See how Baba became a seeker, see how he implores the Lord to help him."

Eruch Jessawala, 1980, Meherazad, Aw 19:2 p8-9

O Parvardigar
O ocean of infinite mercy
Baba, with great humility, implores you
that you bestow upon him courage and help him
so that he would not retrace his steps
during the phase of Manonash.
Forgive him for his trespasses
due to weakness of his mind
and give him such courage
that he will never tell a lie
never hurt the feelings of anyone
will not do any injustice to anybody
and that he will not harass his companions
who are serving him faithfully and wholeheartedly.
And bestow upon him such grace
that while abiding by all the conditions and fulfilling them
he brings about the end of the endless New Life
in four months through the Manonash phase.

Meher Baba, November 1951
original in Gujerati, Aw 19:2 p8

PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

We repent
O God most merciful
for all our sins.
For every thought that was false
or unjust or unclean
For every word spoken
that ought not to have been spoken
For every deed done
that ought not to have been done.
We repent for every deed and word and thought
inspired by selfishness
and for every deed and word and thought
inspired by hatred.
We repent most specially
for every lustful thought
and every lustful action
for every lie
for all hypocrisy
for every promise given but not fulfilled
and for all slander and backbiting.
Most specially also, we repent
for every action that has brought ruin to others
for every word and deed that has given others pain
and for every wish that pain should befall others.
In your unbounded mercy
we ask you to forgive us, O God
for all these sins committed by us
and to forgive us for our constant failures
to think and speak and act
according to your will.

Meher Baba
November 1951, Khuldabad
LA p703, also LM10 p3951

Although the prayer was initially presented in this collection with the last line as "according to your wish", it was brought to the webmaster’s attention that in the first reference: LA (Love Alone Prevails, Kitty Davy) p. 703, the word "will" is used and not “wish,” and that in LM (Lord Meher, Bhau Kalchuri) p. 3951 also, "will" is used, although on p. 3738 of the same book the word "wish" is used. Other printed sources that have it with "will" are C. B. Purdom's God-Man (1964) p. 238, and Bal Natu's Glimpses of the God Man, Volume III, 1952–Part VIII, p. 180, and Volume V, 1954–Part VIII, p. 157.

The webmaster

Preface to THE PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

When Baba had the Prayer of Repentance recited in his presence, he had this preface read out:

"O eternally merciful Paramatma,
Allah,
Most merciful benevolent God,
Most merciful God almighty,
Yezdan, the bestower,
you are absolutely independent.
O infinitely merciful Paramatma,
knowing that you are so absolutely independent
I have taken hold of your independence
and I am approaching you.
I, Baba, with absolute humility,
on my behalf and on behalf of all who love me,
and on behalf of all worthy penitents,
I wish to express my repentance.
Please accept what I now say on behalf of all:"

(Then the Prayer of Repentance was read out)

Meher Baba
2 May 1953, Aw 19:2 p12

Eruch Jessawala commented: "So at that moment we thought and felt that we all were absolutely absolved from all our sins."

(Aw 19:2 p12)

THE MASTER'S PRAYER

O Parvardigar
the preserver
and protector
of all:
You are
without beginning
and without end
non-dual
beyond comparison
and none
can measure you.
You are without color
without expression
without form
and without attributes.
You are unlimited
and unfathomable
beyond imagination
and conception
eternal
and imperishable.
You are indivisible
and none can see you
but with eyes divine.
You always were
you always are
and you always will be.
You are everywhere
you are in everything
and you are also
beyond everywhere
and beyond everything.
You are in the firmament
and in the depths,
You are manifest
and unmanifest,
on all planes
and beyond all planes.
You are in the three worlds
and also beyond
the three worlds.
You are imperceptible
and independent.
You are the Creator,
the lord of lords,
the knower of
all minds and hearts.
You are omnipotent
and omnipresent.
You are knowledge infinite
power infinite
and bliss infinite.
You are the ocean
of knowledge,
all-knowing,
infinitely knowing,
the knower of the past,
the present,
and the future,
and you are
knowledge itself.
You are all-merciful
and eternally benevolent.
You are the soul of souls,
the one with infinite attributes.
You are the trinity
of truth, knowledge, and bliss.
You are the source of truth
the ocean of love.
You are the Ancient One
the highest of the high.
You are Prabhu
and Parameshwar.
You are the Beyond God
and the Beyond Beyond God also.
You are Parabrahma
Allah
Elahi
Yezdan
Ahuramazda
and God the Beloved.
You are named Ezad,
the only one worthy of worship.

Meher Baba,
20? August 1953
Dehra Dun (original in Gujerati)
LC p33-34

SAT-CHIT-ANAND PARAMANAND

Keshav Nigam asked Baba to send one of his Mandali to the laying of the cornerstone of a temple to be built at Nauranga, Hamipur. The temple was called Meher Mandir; later the name was changed to Meher Dham, which means 'Meher's abode.' Baba sent Bhau Kalchuri, and gave him a 'message' for Baba's lovers:

Sat-Chit-Anand

Paramanand

Meher Baba

Vidnyanand

R. S. Singh Baghel of Ichhaura put the words of the 'message' to music, and it has been sung ever since.

January 1955, GG6 p218

PRAYERS FOR BABA'S LOVERS AND MANDALI

Beloved God
help us all to love you
more and more
and more and more
and still yet more
until we become worthy of union with you
and help us all
to hold fast to Baba's daaman
till the very end.

Meher Baba
25 August 1959, Meherazad
Aw 19:2 p12

I have been told that the original version of this prayer read,

Beloved God
help us all to love you
more and more
and more and more
and still yet more
until we become worthy of union with you
and help us all
to hold fast to Baba's daaman
till the very end.

The story was that one of the Mandali had suggested that some of Baba's followers would not be happy with the words, 'until we are no more.' So Baba substituted the words 'until we become worthy of union with you.' Anyone who knows if this is true, please communicate with me.

The Editor

PRAYER FOR THE MANDALI

I am not the body.
I am not the mind.
I am not this.
I am not that.
I am nothing but a living lie
of that truth that is me
and unless the lie is dead
the truth cannot be.

Meher Baba

Q. What about the Mandali's prayer? Was it given by Baba?

Eruch Jessawala: Yes. He gave it. But we didn't recite this out loud in his presence. It was given to the Mandali as their personal prayer.

1980, Meherazad, Aw 19:2 p8-9

ANOTHER PRAYER FOR THE MANDALI

"Each of the Mandali was asked by Baba to repeat the following prayer whilst he bowed down to the feet of each of us:

'Almighty God
help Baba to finish his work by December end
and help us all to hold on to Baba's daaman to the very end
and to share both his humiliation and glorification.'

Meher Baba, 1953

YOU ARE THE BELOVED OF EVERYONE

O Meher
you are the beloved of everyone.
You are the life and heart
of every soul.
You are the guide,
you are the follower.
You are the path,
you are the abode.
You are the winegiver
and the wineshop,
You are wine;
you are the lover.
You are Majnun
and Leyla.
You are the caravan
and the palanquin.
You are worship
and the worshipper.
You are sadhana
and sanyasi.
You are Tulsidas
and Mira.
You are Surdas
and Ajamil.
You are the desert
and a grain of sand.
You are the Moon
and the Sun.
You are a drop
and you are the sea.
You are the ocean
and the shore.
You are
because you are being itself.
If you sleep
the universes will disappear.
You are the cup
and the bottle.
You are the guests
and the host.
Bhau says you are everything.
You are God infinitely conscious
and God infinitely unconscious.
You are butter
and you are stone.
You are innocent
and you are most knowing.

Meher Baba, 1968, Meherazad
dictated to Bhau Kalchuri in Hindi
'Meher Sarod' ghazal 72

Note: In ghazals the poet 'signs' his name in one of the last verses. In this case Baba dictated Bhau's name, though Baba wrote the ghazal himself.

CHRISTIAN PRAYER

This prayer seems to have been assembled from several Christian prayers at Meher Baba's direction. Parts of it appear to have been dictated by Baba.

In the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
O Lord, hear my prayer
and let my cry come unto thee
Thou who are the God of the God
the Father almighty
art the Father everlasting.
O God
almighty Father
the Lord of lords
the king of kings
All the earth doth worship thee
To thee all Angels
to thee the heavens and all powers
to thee all saints and all beings
with unceasing voice do cry
'The holy, the holy of holies'
Full are the heavens and the earth
of the majesty of thy glory
Thou the glorious
Thou the exalted effulgence
Thou the praiseworthy
in the assemblage of the Prophets
Thou the celestial beauty
art the eternal song of thy lovers
Thou who art acknowledged, praised
and worshipped throughout the world
in all churches, synagogues,
mosques, temples and pagodas:
to thee I most humbly bow down
Thou of unbounded majesty
art the Father of the creation
Thy true adorable
and only-begotten son,
the Christ
art the king of glory
the saviour of mankind
the Ancient one
the highest of the high
O Christ
the Messiah
Thou of the Father everlasting
art the Son everlasting.
Thou most merciful Lord
has taken upon thee
to deliver man
from bondage to eternal glory
O the Ancient one
the redeemer
Thou, having first overcome
the sting of ignorance
didst open to all the kingdom
of bliss, knowledge and power
I most humbly praise thee
O my God.
I most firmly acknowledge thee
O my God.
O my soul of souls
I believe in thee
because thou art Truth itself.
I worship thee
O highest of the high
because thou art the only one
worthy of adoration.
I love thee
above all things and beings
because thou art love divine itself.
I beseech thee
because thou art mercy itself.
I offer thee
all my thoughts, words and actions,
my sufferings and my joys
because thou art the only beloved.
I therefore beseech thee
my God
my Lord of lords
the highest of the high
the Ancient one
to have mercy on me
according to thy unbounded mercy
and let my cry come unto thee:
O my beloved
suffer me not
to be separated from thee
for ever and ever
Amen

Aw 19:2 p11

PRAYER TO THE FIVE PERFECT MASTERS

"This is the poem read out at 6.45 pm, 7th October 1954. It is the occasion when he gave up the alphabet board. It is the last thing he dictated on the board".

O Sai Baba
O Upasani Maharaj
O Babajan
O Tajuddin Baba
O Narayan Maharaj
You, the five in one
and the one in five,
the divine beings representing the absolute one,
I bow down to you in perfect homage.
It is due to you five Men-Gods
that I am what I am,
the Ancient one,
the everlasting one.
May the beloved God
with whom you five are one,
for whom you five are working universally,
give me in your names
the strength, the power and the wisdom
to fulfill all that I have taken this form for,
and see that all I have declared
at the last Meherabad gathering
comes to pass.
I am now giving up using the board,
it being my gesture before God
for breaking my silence soon.

Meher Baba, 7 October 1954, Meherabad
commentary by Eruch Jessawala, Aw 19:2 p10-11

YOU ALONE EXIST

O priceless treasure of knowledge
you are within and without
and you are the ocean of mercy.
You are in all the worlds
you are the ocean of attributes
O Meher, God incarnate, you alone exist.
You are Yezdan, you are Ezad,
you are Allah and Ishwar.
You are Ram and you are Buddha,
you are beloved Lord Krishna,
who with one finger lifted the mountain.
You alone exist.
You are the Beyond God
and the Beyond Beyond God also.
O ocean of kindness,
you alone exist.
You are Muhammad,
you are Perfection personified,
you are knowledge itself,
and you alone exist.
You live in everyone
and you are everyone.
O beloved, you are the enlightened one
and you alone exist.
You are with attributes
and without attributes.
You are the sole player
in the divine game.
You alone exist...
You are man,
you are birds,
you are fish and animals,
for you alone exist.
You are bugs and gnats,
you are snakes and scorpions,
you are ants and mosquitoes,
for you alone exist.
You are insects.
You are lice.
You are dogs, asses and pigs.
You alone exist.
You are deer and elephants.
You are cats and monkeys.
You alone exist.
You are the Moon and the stars,
the dawn and the night,
and the Sun,
and also the light.
You alone exist.
You are wind and water
and the animals of the water.
You alone exist.
You are silver and gold.
You are copper and iron.
You are brass and stone.
You alone exist.
You are tea and coffee
and the sugar also.
You alone exist.
You are paper and the book.
You are the school and office.
You alone exist.
You are pen and ink,
and you are the gifted writer.
You alone exist.
You are the door and window.
You are the marble floor.
You alone exist.
You are the medicine and the disease,
and the doctor also.
You alone exist...
You are the soldier, the army,
and the supreme General.
You alone exist.
You are the sailor, the ship,
the wide ocean.
You alone exist...
You are mother and father.
You are master, brother and friend.
You are family and relatives.
You alone exist.
There is no one besides you.
Eternally you are,
for you alone exist.
You are pran* and you are heart.
You are also the beloved of the heart.
You alone exist.
You are the beloved and the lover,
and you are the nectar of love,
as you alone exist...
You are Khwaja.
You are Qutub.
You are Pir and Qalandar.
You alone exist.
You are Hafez.
You are Sanai.
You are Dara and Alexander.
You alone exist.
You are Jesus Christ.
You are Elahi.
You are the ocean, infinite and pure.
You alone exist.
You are the Koran
and the one who prays.
You are Vali
and you are the Messenger.
You alone exist.
You are the beginning
and you are the end.
You are also beyond the beginning
and beyond the end.
You alone exist.
You are infinitely beautiful
and infinitely close.
O Meher, God incarnate,
you alone exist.
You are Brahma and you are Vishnu.
You are the guileless Shankar.
You alone exist.
Bhau says,
'O beloved Meher,
you are the word
and you are the letter.
You alone exist.'

Meher Baba
source: 'While the World Slept' by Bhau Kalchuri, p70-72
pran = energy

'You Alone Exist' was dictated in Hindi in 1959 and 1962 in India. Later it was translated into English (not by Baba?). It was written to be sung in Hindi. Bhau Kalchuri also wrote eleven couplets for this prayer which are not printed here. For the complete prayer including Bhau's verses, see 'While the World Slept p70-72, or NE p xii-xix. Bhau's couplets were in the places marked with '...'

Bhau was criticised for putting such things as snakes, scorpions, mosquitoes, bugs and gnats in the prayer. Actually it was Baba who put them in. Bhau told Baba,

"Baba, we should change that prayer. It is not so good. We should use other words to describe God's attributes. It offends some people, and they do not like it. People are laughing at this prayer, Baba!"

Baba replied, gesturing,

"No, do not change a single word. The prayer is from me... It is all right. You have no idea of the importance of this prayer. In the future, this prayer of mine will be sung in every house throughout the world."

Later Baba gestured,

"It is important, very important, that people find God in disagreeable things, that they find me in disagreeable things. I am there in everything, and in every creature. I am there in the dirt, the scorpion, the snake, the elephant and the mosquito, everything.

"Do not pay heed to what people think. I like this prayer because it tells people who I am, what I am. People do not know who or what I am, and so they need this prayer to know me, to understand me. I gave this prayer to them, not you. You wrote what I ordered you to write. A day will come when they will know this."

1962, Guruprasad, NE p xii-xiii

For more about the background of this prayer, see NE p xii-xiii

ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NAMES OF GOD

An ancient Zoroastrian prayer, translated by Meher Baba.

"If you repeat this prayer with love, no other prayer remains to be said...

"Anyone can repeat these names with love, irrespective of the religion he belongs to.

Meher Baba, 2 April? 1963, Poona
from a printed prayer-card

1.	Yazad	Worthy of Worship
2.	Harvesp-tawan	All Powerful
3.	Harvesp-Agah	All Knowing
4.	Harvesp-Khoda	Lord of All
5.	Abadeh	Without Beginning
6.	Abi-Anjam	Without End
7.	Bun-e-stiha	Root of Creation
8.	Frakhtan-taih	Endless Bliss
9.	Jamaga	Primal Cause
10.	Prajtarah	Exalted One
11.	Tum-afik	Purest of the Pure
12.	Abaravand	Detached from All
13.	Paravandeh	In Touch with All
14.	An-ayafeh	Unattainable
15.	Hama-Ayafeh	Attainer of All
16.	Adro	Most Righteous
17.	Gira	Upholder of All
18.	A-chem	Beyond Reason
19.	Chamana	Sovereign Reason
20.	Safana	Bountiful One
21.	Afza	Ever Prolific
22.	Nasha	Reaching Equally to All
23.	Parwara	Nourisher
24.	Ianaha	Protector of the World
25.	Ain-aenah	Never-changing
26.	An-aenah	Formless
27.	Kharoshid-tum	Most Steadfast Among the Steadfast
28.	Mino-tum	Lord Invisible
29.	Vasna	All-pervading
30.	Harvastum	All-in-All
31.	Hu-sepas	Worthy of Our Profound Thanks
32.	Har-Hamid	All-embracing Goodness
33.	Har-naik-faraih	All-embracing Holy Light
34.	Baish-tarana	Remover of Affliction
35.	Taronish	Beyond Affliction
36.	Anah-aoshaka	Immortal
37.	Farasaka	Fulfiller of Holy Desires
38.	Pajohdehad	Creator of Holy Attributes
39.	Khwafar	Compassionate Judge
40.	Avakhshiaea	Merciful Giver
41.	Abaraja	Bountiful Giver
42.	A-satoha	Unconquerable
43.	Rakhoha	Freest of the Free
44.	Varun	Deliverer from Evil
45.	A-farefah	Never Deceiving
46.	Be-farerftah	Never Deceived
47.	A-dui One	Without a Second
48.	Kam-rad	Lord of Desire
49.	Farman-kam	Decreer of Sovereign Desire
50.	Aekh Tan	Soul Supreme
51.	A-faremosh	Never forgetting
52.	Hamarna	Just Accountant
53.	Sanaea	Knowing All Things
54.	A-tars	Fearless
55.	A-bish	Devoid of Pain
56.	A-frajdum	Most Exalted One
57.	Ham-chun	Ever the Same
58.	Mino-satihgar	Invisible Creator of the Universe
59.	A-minogar	Creator of the Profoundly Spiritual
60.	Mino-nahab	Hidden Within the Spirit
61.	Adar-bad-gar	Transmuter of Fire into Air
62.	Adar-nam-gar	Transmuter of Fire into Dew
63.	Bad-adar-gar	Transmuter of Air into Fire
64.	Bad-nam-gar	Transmuter of Air into Dew
65.	Bad-gail-gar	Transmuter of Air into Earth
66.	Bad-gerd-tum	Supreme Transmuter of Air into Dust
67.	Adar-kibritatum	Supreme Transmuter of Fire into Divine Sparks
68.	Bad-gar-jae	Spreading Air Everywhere
69.	Ah-tum	Creator of Lifegiving Water
70.	Gail-adar-gar	Transmuter of Dust into Fire
71.	Gail-vad-gar	Transmuter of Dust into Air
72.	Gail-nam-gar	Transmuter of Dust into Water
73.	Gar-gar	Master Craftsman
74.	Garo-gar	Rewarder of Sincere Desires
75.	Gar-a-gar	Creator of All Humanity and its Actions
76.	Gar-a-gar-gar	Creator of All Human and Animal Life
77.	A-gar-agar	Creator of All the Four Elements
78.	A-gar-a-gar-gar	Creator of All the Planets and All Other Worlds
79.	A-guman	Never in Doubt
80.	A-jaman	Ageless
81.	A-Khuan	Eternally Awake
82.	Amast	Ever-Alert
83.	Fashutana	Ever-Protecting
84.	Padmani	Recorder of Man's Actions
85.	Firozgar	Victorious
86.	Khudawand	Lord of the Universe
87.	Ahuramazd	Lord of Life and Wisdom
88.	Abarin-kuhan-tawan	Preserver of Creation
89.	Abarin-nao-tawan	Renewer of Creation
90.	Vaspan	Embracing All Creation
91.	Vaspar	Giver of All Things
92.	Khawar	Infinitely Patient
93.	Ahu	Lord of Existence
94.	Avakhshidar	Forgiver of Sins
95.	Dadar	Divine Creator
96.	Raiyomand	Rayed in Glory
97.	Khorehmand	Haloed in Light
98.	Davar	Lord of Justice
99.	Karfaigar	Lord of Just Rewards
100.	Bokhtar	Liberator
101.	Farsho-gar	Awakener of Eternal Spring

"One of the prayers is so intriguing, so beautiful. The prayers were given to us, but he (Baba) would also participate while we recited them. Why he wanted us to recite them we did not know. They were not just for writing down. They required active and sincere participation on our parts.

"We were asked to recite the '101 Names of God' according to the Zoroastrian prayer book. We used to recite them without knowing the meaning behind them, for they are in a dead language of ten thousand years ago.

"Baba translated each one of the 101 names of God, what each name meant. For example, Ezad means the one worthy of worship."

Eruch Jessawala,
1980, Meherazad,
Aw 19:2 p8

A ZOROASTRIAN PRAYER

In the name of God almighty
I praise and utter
almighty God
full of glory
full of radiance
all-knowing
preserver of all
God of gods
king of kings
protector of all
creator of all things created
bestower of bounties
and giver of food to all
Lord of nature
almighty God
the Ancient one
forgive us
bestower of grace
O merciful
O omnipotent
O omniscient
O Lord of all
O nourisher of purity

Aw 19:2 p13
translated from Gujerati(?) by Meher Baba

"This prayer is from the Avesta, the Zoroastrian book of prayer. Meher Baba said it is the heart of that book, that it came from Zoroaster himself. He also said that when he was Zoroaster he sang this song."

Elaine Cox, from the liner notes of
the recording 'Song of Huma 2'

MAY THY WILL BE DONE

May thy will be done, O Perfect one,
my will not prevail.
It's of no avail
where union with thee is concerned.
I will toil and I will strive
while I am alive
to love and obey
all night and all day
till union with thee I have earned.

Meher Baba
4 October 1959,
Meherazad, AO p174

PRAYING WITH BABA

"When we were in Poona last summer, in Guruprasad, the Parvardigar Prayer and the Prayer of Repentance had to be recited. The men would be on one side, and the women on the other.

"Baba would come to the men, and then Eruch would recite the prayers. All the men stood up, and Baba stood up every time with joined hands.

"And then he would come to the women Mandali. They would all stand up, I would recite the prayers, and again Baba would stand with hands joined.

"Even then it didn't strike us, because this was the first time he did that. And Baba said that such a prayer had never been before, and never will be, and that his 'reciting,' his participating in the prayer while we said it (he stood only because he would not utter the words; it was him praying, really), his joining in the prayer with us would mean benefit for each one who recited this prayer. And after he dropped his body, the benefit would be great for them."

Mani Irani, Poona, 14 April 1969, HM p 609-610

"When a prayer was given by him... some words were in Gujerati, Urdu, some in Hindi or Persian, most in English. Then we'd do a little dressing-up in English, and read it out to Baba, and he'd approve what he'd dictated. He also inspired the ones who were doing the dressing-up. The whole thing was 'rattled out' in the first place, given quite spontaneously...

"Then there were the traditional 'orthodox' prayers Baba wanted us to recite. I still remember them: a Christian prayer, a Zoroastrian prayer, a Sikh prayer. These were sorted out for special occasions. A Christian woud be asked to read a Christian prayer, a Hindu a Hindu prayer, a Muslim a Muslim prayer, a Buddhist a Buddhist prayer. Followers of Guru Nanak would be asked to read a Sikh prayer...

"We were asked to recite the '101 Names of God' according to the Zoroastrian prayer book. We used to recite them without knowing the meaning behind them, for they are in a dead language of ten thousand years ago. Baba translated each one of the 101 names of God, what each name meant. For example, Ezad means 'the one worthy of worship.'

"... Whenever Baba expressed his desire, his pleasure that we should collect ourselves and gather for prayers, it was a serious and solemn affair. It was not as we now are, in good humor, talking in a lighter vein about this solemn and serious matter.

"We still have that water pot and that blue basin here in Mandali Hall which he used to wash his hands and face before the prayers. He would not only participate with us in the prayers, but prepare himself for such prayers. He didn't say anything to us, that we should keep prepared for prayers. But knowing his ways, and how he would want us to keep clean and tidy for prayers, we also remained prepared, not knowing when he would ask us to recite the prayers. We would keep our feet ready, washed and clean, for who knows when he would want us to put our foot forward for him to bow down to. With the God-man putting his head on our feet, we couldn't stand around dirty or with wet feet. We had to keep ourselves clean and prepared for all such occasions. But many times we were caught unawares. Then he would say, 'It's all right, it doesn't matter.'

"He would be the first one who kept himself prepared for the prayers. After having washed his hands and splashed water on his face, and after properly drying his face and hands with a napkin, he would call the rest of the Mandali in his presence. He wouldn't want anybody to miss the occasion. He wanted all his Mandali around him at the time of prayers. Then he'd start. He would stand up and gesture, 'Say the prayer.'

"Naturally, in the beginning, we had to read it out, the Master's Prayer. It came to my lot to read the prayer aloud while all would remain silent. All present had to be silent, while any one person would recite or read the prayer. Baba would stand up, and remain standing, during the whole prayer, and all of us would be standing around him in a circle. He remained the central figure, either here or at Guruprasad or anywhere in the country, wherever he chose to pray.

"At the time of reading aloud the Master's Prayer, I once felt that Baba would want me to recite it instead of reading it out. So I tried to learn it by heart. Also just in case no prayer book was available. I felt confident that I could now do away with the book. When Baba called as usual for the prayer book printed by Warren Healy. Remember him? A beautiful soul. He lived a dedicated life printing so many Baba booklets.

"I replied, 'Baba, I have learnt it by heart.'

'So you learned the prayer?'

'Yes, Baba.'

'Good. Recite.'

'O Parvardigar, the preserver and protector of...'

"I couldn't even remember a word beyond this. So Baba waited for awhile, and I tried again? Eventually he gestured 'Go get the book.'

"Never again did I attempt to recite it by heart. I always read the prayer in front of him. To this day, I don't know any of the prayers by heart.

"So I had to read them out from the prayer book every time he asked for the prayers. All would be there. Baba would join his hands and stand as one of us in our midst, and his look and his gaze woudl be of one deep in the act of adoration, totally absorbed, participating in the prayers... After the prayer ended with 'You are named Ezad - the only one worthy of worship,' he would bow down, like this, in the act of worship. After a minute of this, Baba would want the prayer to be followed by the Prayer of Repentance. Everyone would be in readiness as I would begin to read out 'We repent, O God most merciful...'

His gesture for the Repentance Prayer was that he would begin to softly slap his cheeks with both hands. Now this is the gesture denoting repentance (Eruch slapped his cheeks). It's not just this... patting your cheeks. Among the worshippers, may they be Muslims, Hindus, Zoroastrians, while they pray for repentance, it is customary for the one to slap one's cheeks with both hands while saying, 'I repent, I repent.'

"The Mandali were there with Baba for the prayer, but he didn't want the Mandali to slap their cheeks as a mark of repentance, because it was he who did it on our behalf. We could hear him constantly slapping his cheeks during the entire prayer, but this was not at all disturbing, as he slapped softly but audibly.

"Once Baba guided me to say at the end of this prayer, 'Amen.' So I do it every time I end the prayer..."

"The sequel to the Prayer of Repentance in presence of Baba was very thought-provoking. This is how it was: he would sit down in Mandali Hall after the prayer on his sofa chair, and some sort of high footstool would be improvised in front of Baba, so that he could easily bend down while sitting and place his forehead on the foot of the Mandali. He would gesture,

'Put your right foot here. At the moment of contact, when my forehead touches you, you call aloud one name of God that's dear to you, as many times as my forehead touches your foot.'

"So Zoroastrians used to call out 'Ahuramazda' at the moment of contact... 'Ahuramazda' would be heard by the rest of the Mandali each time Baba made contact. It might be six or seven times - we wouldn't know the number of times he'd want to do it. The Muslims say 'Allah' at the moment of contact. Christians called out 'God the Beyond.' And some called out 'Parvardigar.' The Iranis called out 'Yezdan.' The Sikhs were heard saying 'Wahi-Guru,' which means God in the Beyond Beyond state.

"We were a cosmopolitan group around Baba. It would not be a crowd, but just a few Mandali, about ten, eleven or twelve of us around him, that's all, but we were a cosmopolitan group.

"So this would happen day after day. Sometimes for months together, there would not be such prayers, and sometimes it would be a daily affair. There was no set schedule, no such thing as a daily repetition. Yet, if it was his pleasure, you had to present yourself at the time of the prayer call, when you had to leave everything and be in attendance....

"But in later years, in 1968, when his health was visibly deteriorating, going from bad to worse, he ordered for the prayers to be read out daily... At the time of the prayer, Baba would ask someone to help him stand up, because one must stand up for prayers, and he said he had to participate in the prayers. So he started with one person helping him stand up. Then I would begin to read the prayers. Often he would gesture, 'Let's finish it off soon.'

"Now the prayer he had dictated for humanity is meant for human beings to say with all their heart and soul, so you can't rush through any prayer, much less the Master's Prayer. Yet the author, while he participates as one of humanity, says 'Finish it off soon.' So naturally I say it out a little bit more rapidly, knowing that his health condition does not permit him to stand up for a longer time.

"Then, with the passage of time, as months passed by, it wasn't possible for him to stand alone; someone had to hold him. And all the time he remained standing with hands folded and joined like this (Eruch demonstrated). The time did come when each day he gestured, 'Read it faster.' So I read the prayer faster and more rapidly each day.

"Then a time came when two people had to hold him, and he looked as if he wasn't there with us - far away, somewhere else... but he continued to participate solemnly as ever before. Then he'd say, snap-snapping his fingers, 'Hurry up, hurry up, read it faster.' Later on, at the very end of this period, I'd read it very, very rapidly, skipping periods, commas, and so on.One day it came to such a pitch, when he gestured 'Do it (snap) - fast! I can't stand up longer.'

"I rattled off the prayer at such high speed that it echoed in my mind as if I were an express train going through a station without any stops. I'm in the midst of reading like this, and all of a sudden I burst out laughing, because it was so ridiculous to me to pray like that. I could hear my own voice echoing as if I were rattling through all the stations. The picture came to me of a speeding express train, and I laughed loudly halfway through the prayer. Then I controlled myself and resumed my reading of the prayer.

"Baba didn't say anything. He just stood there. Everyone around me was serious. After the prayer ended, he sat down in his chair. Everything was finished and we settled down. After awhile, he asked, 'What made you laugh? What made you do that in that prayer?

"So I said, 'It happened uncontrollably, because I could hear my own voice rushing through the whole prayer. It appeared to me I'm a railroad train rattling through all the stations without stopping, without caring for passengers. Something happened in my mind and gave me that picture. The situation was so ridiculous that I burst out laughing.

"He gestured, 'You're mad. You have no idea what is happening here. To you it seems ridiculous. For me it is no joke, in this state of my health, to participate in this prayer. I have given it to humanity, to posterity, to say it. And whenever anyone recites it after I pass away, because of my participation now, it will help the one who repeats this prayer.

"'So that's why I want the prayer said. It has nothing to do with your speed or how you read it out, or anything of this sort. All that matters is my having participated in the prayer. So every time anybody repeats the prayer, I am there with him. My presence is there."

Eruch Jessawala, 1980, Meherazad,
Aw 19:2 p8, 13-17
Another version of part of this talk is in IT p84-85

"We had a wonderful talk with Eruch yesterday on the other side of the garden wall (mandali quarters), and he told us many things. One was that at a certain time Baba would have him read the Master's Prayer and the Prayer of Repentance to the mandali.

"Each day Baba would say, 'Read them faster and faster,' until Eruch realised that Baba would always stand for the prayers, and that his hip must be paining him to stand.

"Eruch said, 'Baba, why don't you sit? After all, they are your prayers, and there is no need to stand.'

"Baba replied, 'I must stand. I want to put life into these prayers so they will go on forever.'

Elizabeth Patterson, in a letter to
Jane Haynes, 11 February 1970
LL p463-464

An interesting story told by Eruch about Dr. Deshmukh and his reaction to Baba's prayers can be found in Aw 19:2 p14-16, and another version in IT p85-87

PRAYING TO MEHER BABA

"Baba said that we should pray to him without any expectation of material or spiritual reward.

"Prayer is just to remember him wholeheartedly with deep love for him. And if you happen to ask him anything after praying, you can do so with love for him and faith in him; but do not expect any answer from him to your asking. Just leave it to his sweet will and compassion. That is what beloved Baba told us about prayers."

Mani Irani, 23 October 1980, LF2 p84

Eruch Jessawala remembered some of the things Meher Baba had mentioned about praying to him. These are not direct quotes, but a paraphrase:

'About prayers, Baba has always said, pray. It is good to pray. But the prayer that reaches me is not a long list of your wants.That will never reach me. But just say my name. Even if it be just my name, it will reach me.

'But then, man's heart is such, when it pours out, it pours out in many words. So let those words help you to glorify me. And even if there is a long, long list of all the glories that you attribute to me, that will reach me.

'But when you pray asking me for something, that prayer does not reach me. But if you ask me and don't expect an answer, then that reaches me too.

'Sometimes we follow him the way he wants us to, and sometimes we make him follow us, and that's where the trap is... Religions crop up, dogmas form, churches, temples and mosques are built, trying to edify him. But we forget him and adore the mansion of the Lord.

'As Baba himself has put it, very humorously, you pray, you pray with great devotion, but you pour your devotion into the prayer, and you forget the Lord to whom you pray. You remember the prayer and forget the Lord.'

from a tape recording,
November 7, 1977
The Love Street Lamppost,
January-March 1998, p.8

OTHER PRAYERS

MONAJAT

"... One day Baba said to Naja, big Khorshed and myself, 'Come, girls, bring a pad and pencil and sit down.'

"We sat in front of Baba with our pads and pencils, and Baba asked, 'What prayers do you say?

"We told him, 'Our sacred thread prayers, Baba.' Baba knew this prayer only took five minutes to say.

"What,' Baba said, 'you only give five minutes to God? All day long you are eating and talking and washing and sweeping and enjoying yourselves. All day you're tending to yourselves, and you can spare just five minutes to remember God and to praise him? That's not enough. I'm going to dictate a prayer to you, and you write it down.'

'I had had my schooling at a convent where we had learned to write in English, not in Gujerati. And while I spoke Gujerati fluently, I wrote it very slowly. However, I started writing. It took Baba about five minutes to dictate the prayer.

"When he had finished, Baba took big Khorshed's pad to see if she had taken the prayer down properly. He corrected it, and gave it back to her. He then took Naja's pad, corrected that, and gave it back to her. It was my turn, and I was still struggling with the first line.

"Baba looked at my pad and said, 'You've written only one line. Why is that?'

"I replied, 'Baba, I have had very little practice in writing Gujerati. I went to a convent, and not a Parsi school, and before that I studied Gujerati for a very short time. All these years I've had no practice writing it.'

"Baba was all smiles, and he said, 'All right, give me your pencil.' He took my pencil and wrote down the whole prayer for me. I was very glad that I did not know how to write Gujerati, because now I had the prayer in Baba's own handwriting.

"The prayer is a very beautiful one called 'Monajat.' When Baba was a young boy at his parents' house, he would get up early every morning, and with his beautiful voice sing this prayer with his parents. It must have been so lovely to hear Baba's voice singing this beautiful prayer."

Mehera Irani, M p50-51 (1924, Quetta)

SAINT FRANCIS' PRAYER

'Why were the saints saints?
Because they were cheerful
when it was difficult to be cheerful,
patient when it was difficult to be patient,
because they pushed on
when they wanted to stand still,
kept silent when they wanted to talk,
and were agreeable
when they wanted to be disagreeable.'

"Then he'd* say, this is Saint Francis' prayer... That was all. It was quite simple. I don't remember why it was written."

Eruch Jessawala, Aw 19:2 p10
(It's not clear who wrote this prayer)
*Baba

MAY WE BE WORTHY

Beloved Avatar Meher Baba ki jai
May we be worthy
of your most beautiful, precious love,
Baba darling.
May we keep loving you
more and more
through good thoughts,
good words,
and good deeds,
and may we please you
by remembering you always.

Mehera Irani
1960s?

Prayer Book One

Index - Book Two