“He does live in our hearts and His love is stronger than ever and always is with us”
With a gentle clarity, Leatrice Shaw Johnston shares her rich, detailed experiences at the 1962 East West Gathering. She begins in 1956 when Baba first planted a desire in her to go to India. She then launches directly into what it was like to be in His presence at Guruprasad, where “the love just flowed out of Him.” She also talks about what it was like to have the rare experience of being with Baba with a group of only women. “lt felt like all of the finest attributes of womanhood were heightened, all of the loveliness, all of the beauty – everything that a woman stands for was being accentuated so we could be more aware of it and enjoy being what we are.” She also talks about the difference between being with Baba in Myrtle Beach, New York, and India, among many other wonderful experiences.
Audio, 36:03
Location Unknown, September 6, 1985
Courtesy of Mandali Hall Talks
Uploaded 11/14/2025
“The spiritual life consists of turning selfishness into selflessness.”
In this delightful talk, Buz and Wendy Connor paint a picture of three of the key women mandali of Meher Center: Elizabeth Chapin Patterson, Kitty Davy and Margaret Craske. While each woman differed from each other in personality and demeanor, they were united in their unwavering dedication and love for Meher Baba. Interwoven with history, personal stories and video clips of Elizabeth, Kitty and Margaret, this presentation leaves the viewer with a sense of what each of these inspiring disciples were like, and of the love they held for the Avatar above all else.
Video, 1:37:36
Meher Center Meeting Place, September 26, 2025
Meher Center Archives
Uploaded October 24, 2025
“I didn’t feel that love that people talk about, I felt His pain, I felt His suffering.”
Anne Ross tells her Baba story, starting with her parents who were both early followers who met Meher Baba in the early 1930s. Her father met him in England (in East Challacombe) and her mother in New York in Harmon on Hudson. They later met in the United States. Replete with stories of intimate times with Baba and her mother’s poetry, it’s also got glimpses of fires, bagpipes, and brown lentils and brown rice (which her mother would make for them as children, saying, “This is what Baba ate!”) It’s a delightful story of a family’s long relationship with the Avatar.
Video, 56:03
Dilruba Reading Room at Meher Center, August 30, 2025
Meher Center Archives
Uploaded October 10, 2025
“All of the questions that I had asked the priest, He answered… my mind was satisfied.”
We are delighted to share a talk from our latest series of informal talks at the Dilruba Reading Room!
Arsenio Rodriquez’s Baba’s story is rich in details, delightful coincidences and unusual signs. Raised in a Catholic family in Puerto Rico, he had a great love of Jesus as a child. He also had an imaginary friend he sometimes thought was Jesus. At one point, Arsenio even wanted to be a priest. But he eventually lost that faith in God. He first heard Meher Baba’s name in 1969 in a song by the artist Melanie. Several years later, after moving to Miami and having had a series of extraordinary experiences, he read God Speaks, Listen Humanity, and the Discourses. But it wasn’t until he went to the Center that he became a Baba lover.
Video, 1:07:24
Dilruba Reading Room, Meher Spiritual Center, August 23, 2025
Meher Center Archives
“… When you think of Him, that engenders the link, and the link engenders the love, and the love makes it easier for you.”
In Part Two of this humor-filled recording, Bili Eaton talks about the challenges of following Baba’s direct orders and how she once got an order wrong and the subsequent fallout. She also shares her experiences during the 1962 East West Gathering – including getting soaked in the unexpected rainstorm as well as how hard it was to go back to India after Baba dropped His body. When she did finally go back in 1979, she shares how Baba melted her concerns and criticisms when she arrived. She also says of loving Baba, “All He asks of you is that you try.”
Audio, 47:04
Location Unknown, October 4, 1988
Courtesy of Mandali Hall Talks
“Every time He would see somebody He’d let out the flood gates of His love…”
Bili Eaton first met Meher Baba in 1952 in New York and upon first seeing Him felt a shock, “as if I had stepped on a live wire” and then a love “greater than any love I’ve ever experienced.” In this 1988 recording she shares some “little instances… of what Baba was like” during his 1956 and 1958 visits to the US. From times when she was lucky enough to be alone with Him to seeing Baba after knowingly disobeying Him to hiding in the shrubbery just to be near Him more, this recording is full of humorous episodes as well as what it was like to get a small glimpse of Baba’s profound suffering.
Audio, 59:02
Location Unknown, October 4, 1988
Courtesy Mandali Hall Talks
Uploaded September 12, 2025
“Those were the Days” A Talk by Glenn and Laurel Magrini
In this lively and intimate talk, long time Baba lovers Glenn and Laurel Magrini share their recollections of being at Meherazad, Meherabad and the Trust compound with Beloved Baba’s mandali. These simple memories are accompanied by a slideshow of images that reflect the love, devotion and dedication of Meher Baba’s exemplary mandali.
Video, 1:16:35
Meeting Place at Meher Center; August 22, 2025
Meher Center Archives
Uploaded September 5, 2025
“Always say ‘Yes’ to the Master.”
Meherwan Mistry, the son of Rhoda and Jimmy Mistry, spent time in Beloved Baba’s company as a child and teenager. His entire family had intimate contact with Baba from very early on in His advent. In this heartfelt talk, he talks about important subjects like Baba’s will, sticking to Him, remembering Him and more. Interspersed with stories, personal reflections, Huma poems, and sayings from Baba and the Perfect Masters, this is a treasure from the ocean of Baba’s love.
Video, 1:28:15
Meeting Place at Meher Center; August 10, 2025
Meher Center Archives
Uploaded August 22, 2025
“This dynamic love flowing from Him embraced all of the parts of me.”
In Part Two of this lively audio, Robert Dreyfuss talks about what it was like to be in Baba’s presence for the first time. He then shares Baba’s message about drugs being “harmful mentally, physically, and spiritually” and Baba’s direction to spread that message. Initially feeling daunted, Robert went back to the states and ended up working with Rick Chapman and Allan Cohen, the three of whom Baba called His “Boston Baba Boys.”
Audio, 25:46
Mandal Hall, Meherazad, India, Date Unknown
Courtesy of Mandal Hall Talks
Uploaded August 22, 2025
How Meher Baba’s Messages on the Dangers of Drugs Laid the Foundation for a Whole New Generation of Meher Baba Lovers: A Presentation by Rich Blum
Starting in the mid-1960s Baba expressed grave concern about the use of hallucinogenic drugs by the youth in the West, and He issued a series of messages explaining the dangers of these drugs. He stated that not only was the experience induced by hallucinogens an illusion into illusion, and a far cry from real spiritual experience, but also that their continual use could cause physical, mental, and spiritual damage. This presentation focuses on how His messages led to millions hearing His name, which in turn fostered the formation of a new generation of Baba lovers.
Baba gave great importance to the spreading of his drug messages, and he specifically instructed his three young “Baba boys”, Allan Cohen, Rick Chapman, and Robert Dreyfuss to do that work. He referred to the boys as his apostles and often expressed how proud He was of them. This presentation chronicles their work through their own firsthand accounts, and illustrates how their efforts led to Baba’s statements penetrating the very core of the growing counter-culture in the U.S.
Video, 1:19:30
Meeting Place at Meher Center; May 16, 2025
Meher Center Archives
Uploaded August 15, 2025