ODE 7 (part 1) - Hafiz - Avatar Meher Baba Group of Oregon

Mt. Hood, Oregon
Volume 2, Issue 2
April 2012
Ongoing Meetings
Portland, OR (several meetings)
• We read from Mehera Meher on the
first Sunday of the month. Details in the
Portland Calendar
• Informal monthly meeting, 7 PM on
the first Thursday of the month at the
home of Dan Sanders and Jamie Keeshan. Details in the Portland Calendar.
• Informal monthly meeting, 7 PM on
the third Friday of the month at the
home of Ron Lansing and Miriam Rose.
Details in the Portland Calendar.
Silverton, OR
• Occasional meetings, locations vary.
Call Betty Lowman (503) 873-0415 or
Jim and Jean Wilson (503) 873-2048.
Corvallis, OR
• Currently we meet at 9 AM on Friday
mornings at the home of Linda and
Ivy, 1956 NW Beca Ave, Corvallis, OR
97330. Please call ahead in case the
meeting is cancelled. (541) 908-2384.
An Online Newsletter Dedicated to Avatar Meher Baba
ODE 7 (part 1) - Hafiz
Heart, have you heard the news!
The Spring has come back - have you heard!
With little green shoot and little pink bud,
and the little new-hatched bird,
So glad am I of the new-found sun,
I believe I could kiss the tavern door;
Why, I could sweep the tavern floor
With the lashes of my eyes!
And the Rose - yes! yes! the Rose Nightingale, have you heard the news!
The Rose has come back and the green
and the blue,
And everything is as new as the dew New nightingale, new rose.
O April skies!
The Winter’s done,
O April skies!
The Spring’s begun;
And honey-humming
Summer’s coming
Close behind;
O April skies!
Even the tavern girl is kind.
Wind of the east, flower-footed breeze,
O take my love to the budding trees,
To the cypress take it, and take it, too,
To the tender nurslings of meadows
and leas,
To the basil take it, messenger breeze,
And I send it, my love, to you.
HAFIZ, remember well how short is Spring,
And drain the good days deep ere they depart
Thou nightingale that shall forever sing,
Rose of thine own imperishable art!
Seattle, WA
• Meher Baba meetings every Sunday
afternoon at 3 PM. Locations vary. Call
Judy Robertson (206) 365-8024.
Acknowledgements
Hafiz - Ode 7
Poems from the Divan of Hafiz
pp. 3-5, New Nightingale, New Rose
Translated by Richard Le Gallienne (1903)
copyright by Bardic Press, California ©2004 ODE 7.
Hafiz calligraphy: unattributed
Nightingale art: ©Rosie West, rosecestlavie.
blogspot.com
Baba Khosrow’s story: MeherBabaIrani.com.
Special thanks to Mehrnaz and Iraj
Namiranian.
Small Persian calligraphy (underneath picture): “Oh our beloved king, from the sorrow of being
separated from you, my heart is now crying out to you. It is time to come back.”
Portland Winter/Spring Calendar
Ongoing Meetings
Special Events
Meher Mehera Readings - First Sunday
of the Month, 10 AM-12 noon
Portland Area Baba Group Men’s Meeting
Saturday, April 28, Noon to 8:00 PM
Host: David Raffo, Location: 3804 SW
Condor Lane, Portland, OR (very close to
OHSU) Phone: 503-939-1720
email: [email protected]
We gather to read and discuss the three-volume
book set Mehera Meher. These collections of touching stories from the women mandali’s perspective
are told by Beloved Mehera. Light snack and tea
provided. Call for directions, and PLEASE RSVP.
April 1 - Jo Hussey’s (503) 342-6022
May 6 - Susan Lindauer’s (503) 758-4864
June 3 - To be announced - watch your email.
Meeting at Jamie and Dan’s Place, First
Thursday of Every Month, 7 PM
All are welcome who would like to join as we work
to build open sharing, support and community in
Baba! Join us the first Thursday of every month at
7 PM in our apartment: 6636 NE Tillamook St, Apt
212, Portland, OR 97213. You can call Jamie at
503-778-0489 or email [email protected].
Meeting at Ron and Miriam’s Place, Third
Friday of Every Month, 7 PM
Hello to all! We are starting a monthly third Friday
evening get-together at 7 PM in our apartment:
635 SE 41st St., #48, Portland (SE Alder and SE
41st). Please invite any new people to come. For
information, call Ron at 503-706-8124 or email
[email protected]. Hope to see you! In
Beloved Meher Baba’s Love, Ron and Miriam
Upcoming Events - Save the Date!
Ladies’ Tea for Mehera,
Sunday, May 20, 2pm
Please bring your precious
stories of Mehera and a treat
to share. Chai and tea cups
provided. Jo lives at 11509
SE 48th Ave. Milwaukee OR
97222. Phone: 503-342-6022.
• NOTE! Summer Womens
Retreat rescheduled. New date to be announced.
• August 17-19 - Northwest Sahavas at Baba
House, Scotts Mills, with guests Jane Brown
and Ward Parks
This meeting will focus on discussions about Meher
Baba’s presence in our lives today and reading His
words. We will also discuss Baba Community news
and do a little planning. Hope to see you there.
Please RSVP via email or call. Optional cost: $5
contribution for lunch; $10 contribution for dinner.
Saturday, May 5, 10:30 to 12:00, Reading
followed by Pot Luck Birthday Party lunch
for Khorshed at David Raffo’s place
We will read stories from a not-yet published book
on Khorshed’s life. The stories were dictated by
Khorshed in the 70’s and 90s.
Khorshed met Meher Baba in 1922 on a train
headed to Sakori to celebrate Upasini Maharaj’s
Birthday, when Meher Baba was still speaking. She
was a close friend of Mehera’s and was one of the
first female Mandali to live at Meherabad under
Baba’s guidance. Many of the stories in the book
feature Khorshed’s early life with Baba through the
New Life. The stories are almost (but not quite) in
publishable form. Your comments and suggestions
for improvements will be greatly appreciated.
After the reading meeting, we’ll have a lunch.
I’ll provide salmon, salad and a birthday cake
(Khorshed’s birthday is May 2). She would have
been 102 years old. If someone knows how to
make Chai, that would be a big help. I brought
back some “Jessawala” tea from India which I think
will be great for chai. If people would like to bring
other things to share, it will be greatly appreciated.
Please coordinate with me on bringing things. Also,
at this time, I’ve got seating for 8 people. If someone
can bring some additional folding chairs, it would
be greatly appreciated. Jai Meher Baba. Please note:
This meeting is open to all members of the Baba
community. Phone: 503-939-1720,
email: [email protected]
Baba’s Prem Ashram Boy
Khosrow-e Toos Namiranian
March 23, 1918 – December 24, 2007
On December 24, 2007 about 11:00 PM Khosrow-e Toos Namiranian (Baba Khosrow), the last living student
from Meher Baba’s Prem Ashram, was united with his Divine Beloved Meher Baba. Two of Baba Khosrow’s
children currently live in the Northwest: Iraj Namiranian lives in Seattle, and his sister Mehrnaz lives in Santa
Clara, CA. Baba Khosrow lived in Seattle with his son Iraj for a couple of years in the 1980s, where the group
had lovely meetings reading God Speaks and Baba’s other works in both English and Persian.
Baba Khosrow was born in Yazd, Iran, on March 23rd 1918. He and his twin brother Khodayar were 8 years
old when they and 12 other children were taken from Iran to India by Baba’s Mandali Agha Baidul. The twin
brothers went to study in Meher Baba’s school, called the Meher Ashram, with over a hundred other children
from all over India. Their parents sent these children to get an education. They could not know that their children would also receive the burning fire of Beloved Meher Baba’s Love.
Meher Baba with His Prem Ashram boys
After some time, Beloved Baba had chosen 28 of
the Meher Ashram students for His special Universal work. He called this special group the Prem
Ashram (Ashram of Love). Baba Khosrow was one
of the 28. The work Beloved Baba did with these
children is beyond our human understanding. Their
hearts were lit with the fire of Divine Love for the
Avatar of the Age. Sometimes they would sob for
days and nights. These special children must have
yearned many lifetimes for their Beloved, and now
the Avatar of the age had called for them.
Eight-year-old Baba Khosrow’s little heart burned
with love throughout his entire life. He visited
Meherabad several times toward the end of his life,
and would cry like a baby every time he visited the
museum on Meherabad Hill. In Prem Ashram days,
the older children were allowed to pull Baba in the
hand-pulled rickshaw (which you see in the museum) but Baba Khosrow was only 8 years old, and
had a very small body, so he was considered too
small to help pull the rickshaw. The longing to show
how much he loved his Beloved Baba was still as
strong as ever. This quotation from Beloved Baba is
true about Baba Khosrow’s life: “Be like a child in
heart and like an old man in wisdom.”
Baba Khosrow served Beloved Meher Baba with
a heart full of love and compassion. He believed
in the oneness of all beings. He lived in Iran and
served his Beloved in the people of Iran. His house
in Shiraz is known to Baba Lovers as the Tavern of
Divine Love. In this tavern a very unique divine
wine of love was served throughout the day and
night, to whomever would enter that place.
Baba Khosrow would always kiss the dust off the
feet of whoever would enter his house. He would
tell them, “It is Beloved Meher Baba’s will that you
are here so you are very precious to me.”
So many lost people came to this tavern and left
with a heart full of God’s Love. Time after time in
this tavern problems would be solved so simply,
like a miracle. These events would help Baba Lovers
to understand why Beloved Baba says:
“If understood, life is simply a jest;
If misunderstood life becomes a pest.
Once overcome, life is ever at rest.
For pilgrims of the path, life is a test.
When relinquished through love,
life is at its best.”
Beloved Meher Baba through His student (Baba
Khosrow) had a very profound effect on whomever
Baba Khosrow would meet. This is an indication
that Baba Khosrow lived a life of complete surrender, dedication, love and service to his Beloved
Avatar Meher Baba.
On Wednesday, November 6, 2007 as usual, shortly after midnight, Baba Khosrow woke up to do his
prayers and meditation. At 3:00 AM, he fell and
broke his right hip. From where he had fallen, it
took him nearly six hours to get to the phone and
call one of his daughters for help.
Before this accident, Baba Khosrow lived by
himself and took care of all his needs very independently. After his surgery, he was brought home
and was cared for around the clock for 47 days by
Baba Lovers and his children.
He walked again, slowly, using his walker. Baba
Lovers and his students would say in fact that this
was a chance that Beloved Baba gave to His lovers
to serve and love His last Prem Ashram student.
They knew they were serving Beloved Meher Baba
in Baba Khosrow, and they were very pleased and
thankful to Baba Khosrow for that opportunity.
Every night, two of his students would come to
the tavern to attend the needs of Baba Khosrow.
On the night of December 24, Khosrow looked
at the student who was helping and said, “Good
news, good news, and you should pass it to others. From tonight on there is no need for anybody
to stay here for me. I’ll be taking the burden off
your shoulders. There is no need anymore for you
to come her every night. I have no special work
anymore and if I do, my daughters can do it.”
But when one of the students insisted, Baba Khosrow (by using his set of prayer beads) consulted the
matter with Beloved Baba and got His approval
that they should and could stay for the last time.
That night, after Baba’s Khosrow’s daughters left to
go back to their own house, he asked to be moved
from his chair to his bed so he could lie down.
After a few minutes, while lying on his bed, all of a
sudden, his breathing slowed down and he started
repeating Beloved Meher Baba’s name, then he
raised his hands and said “Beloved Meher Baba
rescue me, Baba, Baba, Baba.” Then he looked like
he was feeling a lot of pain and waved his hand
good-bye. Baba Khosrow joined his Beloved Baba
and drowned in Him.
Baba Khosrow had a jasmine plant in his house (the
tavern). Very unusually, this tree would blossom all
year round. Every morning Baba Khosrow would pick
some flowers and place them on the picture of Beloved Baba’s feet, and those flowers would fragrance
the tavern. The morning after Baba Khosrow had
gone to his Beloved, to our surprise, all its flowers
were shriveled on the plant except one. That one was
picked and placed on Baba Khosrow’s chest.
Meher Baba says, “I say with my Divine Authority
to each and all that whomsoever takes My Name at
the time of breathing his last comes to Me; so do not
forget to remember Me in your last moments. Unless
you start remembering me from now on, it will be
difficult to remember me when your end approaches.
You should start practicing from now on. Even if you
take My name only once every day, you will not forget to remember Me in your dying moments.”
Baba Khosrow would be repeating Beloved Baba’s
Name even when sleeping or being unconscious. His
unique and strong love for Beloved Meher Baba had
united Baba’s Name in Baba Khosrow’s existence.
He always welcomed Baba Lovers and all those who
would come to visit him in the tavern with his special
greeting. They had learned to reply all in English:
Baba Khosrow says: You are Baba
Baba-lover answers: All is Baba
Baba Khosrow says: Baba is Everything
Baba-lover answers: Everything is Baba
Baba Khosrow says: Baba is God
Baba-lover answers: God is Baba
Baba Khosrow says: Baba is Love
Baba-lover answers: Love is Baba
Baba Khosrow says: Thank you Baba
Baba-lover answers: Thank you Baba.
If someone were not familiar and would not answer,
he would look into his or her eyes and say their part
with a sweet smile on his face.
For the last few years of his life, Baba Khosrow
wouldn’t allow people to adore him by hugging
him or kissing him, but during the last 47 days that
he was in bed in his tavern, Baba Lovers had a
chance to be close to him. His pain and suffering
were his last dedication and selfless
service to his Beloved.
He had also promised us that if
someday he united with Beloved
Baba, first he would reach out his
hand to all the lovers of the Truth.
Always, if someone would praise or
even respect him, he wouldn’t allow
it and would point to Beloved Meher Baba’s
picture and say,
“When you have 100%
don’t go to any lower than that.”
Also he would say,
“I am just an old bear. You
should hold tight to Beloved
Meher Baba’s daman and don’t
let it fall. All your respect, compassion and love should be laid
down on that supreme form of
Love and Lover.”
Baba Khosrow was right, but we also knew for a
fact that he was our Beloved Meher Baba’s burning torch, which was giving light in Iran. In the late
1920s, when Beloved Baba was closing the schools
in Meherabad, He said those schools were just like
scaffoldings for His real work. Perhaps the students were the real structure, doing Beloved Meher
Baba’s spiritual work in the world.
There is no end in talking abut Baba Khosrow. The
same way that there was no end to his love for Beloved of all Avatar Meher Baba.
On May 25, 2007, Baba Khosrow made his last trip
to India. Beloved Meher Baba had called His last
Prem Ashram student (after 81 years, at the age of
89, with a Student Visa, back to his old school.)
Not even one step of that trip was done with Baba
Khosrow’s own will. Only Beloved Baba himself
knows what inner spiritual work had to be done.
Baba Lovers and students who lived
close to Baba Khosrow say that his selfless service, compassion and love was
very unusual and unique. We were witnessing that some days Baba Khosrow’s
tavern (his house) would be filled with
people who had come with their backpacks full of problems and questions,
and they would leave like free birds.
This would happen all through the day, and sometimes he wouldn’t have a chance to prepare his
lunch and have it. But still, with that old and brittle
body, he would keep talking, and with the Name
of Beloved Meher Baba, he would solve their
problems. Most of the people who would come
to him were strangers who had heard about Baba
Khosrow, and they weren’t even Baba Lovers! That
wouldn’t matter to him and he would do his best
in helping them.
In one of His darshans, Beloved Meher Baba asked
the Mandali to find and bring Khosrow to Him.
They did find Khosrow in the middle of thousands
of people and brought him to Baba. That was a
very special moment for the old Prem Ashram
student. Beloved Meher Baba gave him a private
darshan. Baba Khosrow explained,
“After that moment most of the
obstacles of my path were taken
away by the Beloved.”
Baba Khosrow was the true messenger of his Beloved Meher Baba. He lived a life as it was his Beloved’s wish. Once in his life, with just one quote
from a Baba book, he got almost naked and gave
away all his worldly possessions. His living place
(the tavern) was his late wife’s legacy — she had
purchased it with her life savings. Baba Koshrow
never wished to be in his name, but He did wish
it to remain Baba’s center in Shiraz forever — the
only tavern for Baba-lovers in Shiraz and a lot of
other cities in Iran.
Meher Baba’s Wish
“Spread My Message of Love. Those who truly Love
Me are my “centers” in the world. Let each Baba-lover,
wherever he or she may be, be a “Baba Center” personified, radiating the eternal Message of Love Divine, living
a life of love, sacrifice and honesty.
When you spread My Eternal Message of Love to others,
show them first that you really love Me. Do not merely
make them read my books and messages. Do more – live
such a life of love, sacrifice, forgiveness and tolerance
that others will love Me.”
Baba Khosrow lived to fulfill Meher Baba’s Wish.
He was such a pure and compassionate lover
that his love and compassion for Beloved Meher
Baba had made him a center for his Beloved in
this world. He had a pure childlike heart and an
old man’s wisdom, and his mind was under his
control to the last moment of his life. Like other
students of Beloved Meher Baba, he radiated the
eternal Message of Love Divine by living a life of
love, sacrifice and honesty.
Every day standing in front of Beloved Baba’s picture he would recite this couplet from Hafez:
“I sacrifice my soul and I am so embarrassed
because this is such a worthless sacrifice for the
Beloved.”
Baba Khosrow would explain to us that sacrificing our soul for the Beloved Meher Baba could be
done by living a life of selfless service filled with
love and compassion. He lived in Shiraz, but his
students, who are from all over Iran, are still using
his path of love as their guide. Hafez says:
“It’s impossible to talk about Love. Saki, pour us
wine and let’s cut short this conversation.”
Eventually there is nothing to say, because as
Beloved Meher Baba says: “What is Real is Given
and Received in Silence.”
Thanks to Beloved Avatar Meher Baba and, as
Baba Khosrow would say, “Avatar Meher Baba Ki
Jai, True Friend forever.”
Catching Up
with
the News
Our awesome Fundraiser and
Summer Sahavas, 2011
Patients waiting their turn at the old Meher Free Dispensary, Meherazad.
W
ow! Baba pulled out all the stops the weekend of August 19-20, 2011 and gave our group a whopping
dose of His love. Our Friday Night fundraiser at the Body Vox Studio in Portland was an incredible success. We had
a scintillating evening of music, dancing, wine, delicious Indian food, scrumptious desserts, and an elegant assortment of donated items for silent auction, all of which helped us earn over $10,000 for the Meher Free Dispensary.
This was an evening not only for Baba Lovers, but the general public as well. Many of the newcomers commented
on the great time they were having. A special treat in the evening was DJ Anjali - a beautiful young Indian woman
who, with her partner “The Kid” played Bhangra and Bollywood Indian dance music for those who wanted to rock
out! Anjali is a well-known Portland celebrity who kindly donated her services. As it turned out, her Indian grandmother hails from Ahmednagar! Our Fundraiser Committee spent several intense months putting this event together,
working out the innumerable details. This over-the-top evening was a sweet, sweet “thank-you” from our Beloved.
O
Steve Essley took this photo of Charles at Sahavas.
n Saturday, we had a Sahavas day
with Charles Haynes at The Columbia
Dance Center in Vancouver, Washington. Given Charles’ intelligence, humor and remarkable experiences with
Baba, he has always been a wonderful
speaker, but on Saturday, he outdid
himself. He is a consumate mimic! He
had us in stitches with his renditions of
Eruch and Pendu, and his “Auntie Boo”
(Elizabeth). Then, with great honesty,
Charles shared a sense of his own suffering at a particularly dificult time in his
life, and the profound insights Baba gave
him. He gave us a peek into his process
as he delved as deeply as one can in
their relationship with God only to find
Him afresh and infinitely bigger than one
could imagine. For all who have experienced that smashing when everything
one hoped, dreamed, or expected is destroyed, Charles’ openness and honesty
and love for Beloved Baba touched every
heart, which Baba filled to the brim with
His love. It was an incredible day.
Featured Artist
Portland artist Helen Hill is one prolific woman. She paints,
exquisitely: images of Baba, landscapes, and recently, a mural for the
Tillamook Library on the Oregon coast. She designed the poster and
brochure for our Meher Dispensary fundraiser this summer, she is a
new grandmother, a photographer, a baker of artisan bread, and she
is now a doula, studying to be a midwife. She also commutes around
Portland almost exclusively on her bicycle in all weather. Mon Dieu!
Dale
Helen at Zubin and
Sheenal Kalchuri’s wedding,
Meherabad, January 2012
Painting the mural
at the Tillamook Libary
Helen’s
artisan bread