DISCOURSES Volume II - Avatar Meher Baba Trust

INTRODUCTION 3Ahmednagar. This became known as Meherabad. Here heinstituted a number of pilot plant projects such as a free hospitaland dispensary, shelters for the poor and a free school wherespiritual training was stressed. In the school no caste lines wereobserved, as the high and the low mingled in common fellowshipforged by love of the Master. To all Baba offered regularinstruction in moral discipline, love for God, spiritualunderstanding and selfless service.All these activities moved at high speed despite Baba'ssilence, which he announced with little advance warning andcommenced on July 10, 1925. At first he communicated bypointing to letters on an alphabet board, but in 1954 he gave upeven this device. He now converses through his own uniqueshorthand system of representative gestures. Both Discourses andGod Speaks, however, were dictated on the alphabet board.During the early 1930's Baba's travels began to reach intoEurope and then on to America. Contacting literally thousands onboth continents, his name rapidly became known to those deeplyand sincerely interested in the spiritual disciplines. Some of thesehe selected into small groups, arranging for them to come later toIndia. Their visits ranged generally from weeks to years, but beforeand during World War II all but a small handful were sent back totheir homes.After the war his own travels resumed, but visits ofWesterners to India were now normally individual and brief. Anexception was the great East-West gathering of November 1962.Thousands of his devotees from all over the world converged onPoona by ship, plane and special trains. For almost a week Babagave unstintingly of himself in mass darshans, group meetings andpersonal interviews. The fare was as varied as the assemblage:brief discourses, give and take with old