The Announcement
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Meher Baba sent out a circular (Life Circular NO.70) from Meherazad on 1st November 1968 informing His lovers all over the world of His decision to give them His darshan next year (1969) from 10th June in Poona, but only on the terms laid down by Him in this circular. He said, “This is the time for My lovers. The time for the world’s crowds to come to Me will be when I break My silence and manifest My divinity.” The circular was sent out by Adi and also appeared in the family letter sent out by Mani on the 1st of November 1968.
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Meherazad, 1st November 1968
Dearest Family,
This unexpected letter following on the heels of the last one, is a momentous messenger carrying momentous tidings: the announcement from Beloved Baba for which His lovers have been waiting, waiting, waiting. That which seemed so far away such a short while ago, is now so close and large that the years of waiting appear small beside it. The first hint Baba gave us of it, was scarcely a month before His announcement was finalized and formulated in a Circular to reach all His lovers. The Circular, issued on 1st November 1968, is being sent out by Adi to all lovers in the East, and given here by me for all lovers in the West:-
On the 13th October some local workers and a few from other places were called to Meherazad to hear this new circular (Life Circular No.70) informing Avatar Meher Baba’s lovers all over the world of His decision to give them His darshan next year from 10th April to 10th June in Poona.
Baba said: “No doubt you people and my lovers everywhere have been wondering why, when my period of intense Work in seclusion has finished, I still have not allowed my lovers to see me.
“The strain of that 18 months’ Work was tremendous. I used to sit alone in my room for some hours each day while complete silence was imposed on the mandali and no one of them was permitted to enter the room, during those hours every day. The strain was not in the work itself although I was working on all planes on consciousness, but in keeping my link with the gross plane. To keep this link I had to continuously hammer my right thigh with my fist. Now, although my health is good, and I would like to fulfil immediately the longing of my lovers to come to me- many to see me for the first time- it will yet take some time for all the traces of the strain to disappear and for me to be 100% fit to see them all; and so because of this, and for practical considerations also, I have decided to give my darshan only to my lovers but not to the general public.
“This is the time for my lovers. The time for the world’s crowds to come to me will be when I break my Silence and Manifest my Divinity.
The 1962 East-West Gathering was nothing compared with what this Gathering will be. For while I was working intensely in seclusion, my worker-lovers all over the world were intensely active telling the world about me, and my Message is spreading in many parts of the West now as a forest fire before a strong wind – as it had already done in many areas of India.
I will give my darshan daily for two hours in the morning and for two hours in the afternoon to small numbers of up to 500 (five hundred) at a time, but I will not see any of my lovers individually or give private interviews, for it would not be possible. This is my part of the bargain. How the lovers come to Poona and are accommodated will be the concern of each one who comes.”
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The following is the text of the Circular (Life Circular No.70) which is issued and being sent out to all lovers of Avatar Meher Baba as directed by Him.
All lovers of Avatar Meher Baba in the East and the West, are eagerly awaiting work from Him regarding His giving His darshan “sometime, somewhere, somehow.”
Avatar Meher Baba now declares that He will give darshan to His lovers, BUT only on the terms laid down by Him in this Circular.
CONDITIONS for DARSHAN
Of
AVATAR MEHER BABA
10th April – 10th June 1969
1) Baba will give His darshan in Poona, for a fixed number of hours each day, from April 10 to June 10, 1969. 2) The Darshan will be in the central hall of Guruprasad bungalow at 24 Bund Garden Road, Poona -1. (India). 3) The Darshan will be strictly for his lovers, old and new, Eastern and Western. IT WILL NOT BE AN OPEN DARSHAN FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC. 4) Baba will give His darshan daily for two hours in the morning and for two hours in the afternoon to Easterners and Westerners separately. Morning hours will be from 9 to 11 A.M. Afternoon hours will be from 2 to 4 P.M. 5)
a) The two hours in the morning will be exclusively for His lovers
from the West from 9 to 11 A.M. up to 10th June. 6) The lovers from the West should stay in Poona for not longer than a week. They may see Baba only FOUR times during their one week’s stay in Poona. 7) The lovers from Pakistan, Iran, and Africa should stay in Poona for not more than four days. They should see Baba only TWICE during their four days’ stay in Poona. 8) Lovers coming from anywhere in India should stay in Poona for not more than three days. They should see Baba only ONCE during their three days’ stay in Poona. 9) Lovers residing in Poona should see Baba only ONCE during the Darshan period. 10) Baba will not see any one individually. 11) Baba will NOT give any private interviews, and no one should ask Baba for any advice or directive on their personal affairs, group activities or spiritual matters. 12) Group-heads may introduce new lovers to Baba. For the purpose of identity of Baba-lovers and to prevent infiltration of the public, group-heads of zonal centres should devise and issue tokens to all in their zone coming to Poona for the Darshan. 13) As the Darshan will be given solely in the Hall of Guruprasad bungalow, only a limited number of lovers can be accommodated at a time. Hence the Eastern lovers are divided into zones, and each zonal group must abide by the date allotted to it. The term “Eastern lovers” includes those coming from Pakistan, Iran, and Africa, and they must keep to the dates fixed for their seeing Baba and arrive in Poona accordingly.
To enable all of them to have Baba’s darshan, particular dates have been fixed for particular groups in the particular zones. Group-heads in their respective zones should divide the number of Baba-lovers in their zone into one or two more groups according to the number of Baba-lovers in their zone into one or two or more groups according to the number of groups each zone contains, as follows:
ZONES Afternoon hours from 2 to 4 P.M. GROUPS 1969 |
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) Group I --- 10th April |
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a) POONA (& suburbs and Panshet)...................... |
) Group II – 11th April |
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) Group III –12th April |
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) Group I ---13th April |
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b) BOMBAY (& Parel Village and suburbs)…….. |
) Group II---14th April |
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) Group III—15th April |
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c) GUJERAT .......................................................... |
) Group I----16th April |
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d) PAKISTAN... (for TWO days) .......................... |
).........17th &18th April |
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) Group I ---19th April |
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e) HAMIRPUR (& Jaluan Dist. Only) ................... |
) Group II—20th April |
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) Group III—22th April |
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) Group IV—23rd April |
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f) UTTAR PRADESH (Kanpur, Jhansi, Varanasi, |
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(Dehra Dun, Agra, Lucknow, |
) Group I---25th April |
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( Allahabad, Saharanpur, |
) GroupII---26th April |
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( Sultanpur, Mokimpur, |
) GroupIII—27th April |
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( Aligarh, Mathura, Roorkee |
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(etc. |
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g) DELHI, KASHMIR, W.BENGAL, HARYANA |
) GroupI------29th April |
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PUNJAB, BIHAR, ORISSA…………… |
) GroupII-----30th April |
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) GroupIII-----1st May |
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h) NAGPUR (&Saoner & rest of Maharashtra |
) Group I------3rd May |
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(State.................................................... |
) GroupII------4th May |
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) GroupIII-----5th May |
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i) MADHYA PRADESH (Jabalpur, Raipur, |
) Group I-------7th May |
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(Bilaspur, Bhopal, |
) GroupII-----8th May |
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(Indore ect........................ |
) GroupIII----9th May |
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j) ANDHRA PRADESH (Srikakulam, Vizagapatnam |
) GroupI-----11th May |
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(& East Godavari Dists. |
) GroupII---12th May |
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) GroupIII---13th May |
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k) ANDHRA PRADESH (West Godavari Dists…. |
) Group I----15th May |
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) Group II---16th May |
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l) ANDHRA PRADESH (Krishna Dist.................... |
) Group I---18th May |
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) GroupII---19th May |
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m) ANDHRA PRADESH (Guntur Dist................... |
) GroupI----21st May |
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) GroupII—22nd May |
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n) ANDHRA PRADESH (Hyderabad, Secunderabad |
) GroupI—24th May |
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(& rest of Andhra, |
) GroupII- 25th May |
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(Madras, & Kerala States |
) GroupIII-26th May |
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o) IRAN & AFRICA...( for TWO days)................... |
)...28th and 29th May |
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p) AHMEDNAGAR DIST. (Patherdi, Kup Bhalawani, Padali, Pimpalgaon, Arangaon, ( ect. , Baba will fix the dates of these places later.) |
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--x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x –
14) Western lovers should try and spread out their arrivals in Poona over the two months of the Darshan period. This is in view of the shortage of good hotels and accommodation suited to Western needs, and to help avoid crowding in Guruprasad Hall at Darshan time. 15) Baba wants all His lovers, both Eastern and Western, to return home directly on leaving Poona after seeing Him. Therefore, any who plan to do sightseeing in India or outside India should do so before coming to Poona. 16) Only those who can afford to make the trip for His darshan should do so, and it must be on their own responsibility in all respects and without risk to health or livelihood. 17) No one from abroad should come for Baba’s darshan without guaranteed passage of their return home soon after the week’s stay in Poona. 18) Baba wants all of His lovers coming for His darshan from overseas, to transact their financial dealings through the Indian banks and authorized agents according to the law of the country. 19) Baba does not wish any of His lovers to bring gifts for Him or for any of His people. 20) No one should seek or expect to receive any special permission or instructions from Baba about coming for His darshan. Any lover who wishes to come, and who can afford to come, is free to do so. Each one visiting Poona for Baba’s darshan must understand that he or she comes on his or her own responsibility in every respect. 21) Baba does not wish His lovers to write to anyone at Meherazad, or to Adi K. Irani, on any problems or queries regarding their visit to Poona for the Darshan. 22) Baba wants all His Eastern lovers visiting Poona for His darshan to make their own arrangements as regards conveyance, stay, food and other personal comforts. These arrangements must be seen to by individuals or their own group-heads concerned without seeking the least aid from Meherazad Mandali or from Adi and his office. 23) Western lovers may seek help in fixing hotel accommodation for their stay in Poona from Meherjee who has been appointed to this task by Baba. For this, the individual Western lovers should intimate Meherjee by a short letter as soon as passage has been booked, informing him of date of arrival in Poona and duration of stay in Poona, with his or her full name and address given in clear block letters. Please note his home address: Meherjee Karkaria, Meher Villa, Salisburry Park Road, Poona-1, India. Cable address is: WHITECLOUD, Poona, (India). 24) As
appointed by Baba, His brother Jal will be in charge as general assistant and
guide to the Western lovers during their stay in Poona. Taking the
help of some Eastern lovers, Jal will, on request, assist in arranging transport
to and from Guruprasad or a sightseeing drive of Baba-places in Poona for the
Western lovers who wish it. 25) Baba says that those who want to come and cannot come to Poona for His darshan should not feel upset or disheartened but remain resigned to His Love knowing that “sometime, somewhere, somehow” His darshan is assured to them also. 26) Baba wants the present restriction on correspondence to continue as now and be MORE STRICTLY OBSERVED.
Kindly share all the information given in this Circular with all lovers of Avatar Meher Baba in your sphere of Baba-work. Please NOTE that this Circular is NOT meant for the GENERAL PUBLIC as Baba has made it quite clear that this DARSHAN is ONLY FOR HIS LOVERS old and new.
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