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Meher Baba — The Silent Avatar

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Meher Baba, born in India in 1894, stopped speaking in 1925 and kept silent for the rest of his life, communicating by alphabet board and hand gestures. He declared himself the Avatar of the age, the force behind Christ, Buddha, and other messengers.

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Worth knowing · 1 of 5
Who was Meher Baba before his silence?
Born in Poona, India, in 1894 to a Zoroastrian family, he had a transformative spiritual experience as a young man, gathered his first disciples by the early 1920s, and established an ashram called Meherabad.
Worth knowing · 2 of 5
Why did he stop speaking in 1925?
He began silence on July 10, 1925, and kept it for the rest of his life. Asked once how he would teach without words, he said he had come not to teach, but to awaken.
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How did he communicate for 44 years?
At first he spelled out messages on an alphabet board held by an aide; later he relied entirely on hand gestures, which his close disciples learned to read and translate for others around him.
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What did he ask his followers to do?
He urged a simple phrase on his Western followers: don't worry, be happy. It was printed on posters in the 1960s, and decades later became the title of a chart-topping pop song.
Worth knowing · 5 of 5
Did anyone publicly dispute his claims?
A British travel writer who visited him in the 1930s portrayed him in a bestselling book as deluded about his own greatness. Later researchers have questioned that account's reliability, noting the writer was once an admirer.
Words to know
AvatarIn this tradition, a periodic human descent of God, said to renew spiritual teaching for the age.
Alphabet boardA board of printed letters Meher Baba used early in his silence, pointing to spell out words.
MastsPersian term for people so absorbed in longing for the divine that they lose touch with ordinary life.
More words
MeherabadThe ashram community Meher Baba established near Ahmednagar, India, combining spiritual training with charitable work.
A voice · 1 of 5
Meher Baba · Indian spiritual teacher who began the silence

Beginning July 10, 1925, he maintained total silence for the rest of his life, communicating first by alphabet board and later by hand gestures, and declared himself the Avatar of the age.

A voice · 2 of 5
Charles Purdom · British author, his first biographer

After meeting Baba in England in 1931, he wrote The Perfect Master (1937) and its expansion The God-Man (1964), the first full biographies covering Baba's life, travels, and his interpretation of the silence.

A voice · 3 of 5
William Donkin · Physician who documented his work with masts

A doctor who joined Baba in India in 1939, he recorded Baba's travels contacting thousands of masts across India in his book The Wayfarers, a manuscript Baba himself read and corrected before publication.

A voice · 4 of 5
Pete Townshend · Musician and longtime devotee

Introduced to Baba's writings in 1967, he named the song 'Baba O'Riley' partly for him and drew on his teachings while writing Tommy and other Who albums, despite never meeting him in person.

A voice · 5 of 5
Paul Brunton · British writer who wrote a critical account

In his 1934 bestseller A Search in Secret India, he described his visits and portrayed Baba as deluded about his own greatness; later researchers have disputed the reliability of that account, noting he had first been an admirer.

A line to leave them with
Some teachers explain themselves. He spent forty-four years choosing not to.
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