Meher Baba

Meher Baba (pronounced /ˈmeɪər ˈbɑːbə/ ; born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual leader who said he was the Avatar, the reincarnation of Muhammad, Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Rama and Zoroaster, or the total manifestation of God in human form. A spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly in India, with a smaller number of followers in North America, Europe, South America, and Australia. Meher Baba's map of consciousness has been described as "a unique amalgam of Sufi, Vedic, and Yogic terminology". He taught that the goal of all beings was to become conscious of their own divinity, and to realise the oneness of God. At the age of 19, Meher Baba began a seven-year period of spiritual transformation, during which he had encounters with Hazrat Babajan, Upasni Maharaj, Sai Baba of Shirdi, Tajuddin Baba, and Narayan Maharaj. In 1925, he began a 44-year period of silence, during which he communicated first using an alphabet board and by 1954 entirely through hand gestures using an interpreter. Meher Baba died on 31 January 1969 and was entombed at Meherabad. His tomb, or "samadhi", has become a place of pilgrimage for his followers, often known as "Baba lovers".