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1 The Alphabet Board A Collection of Sayings of AVATAR MEHER BABA Compiled by Chris Maier This collection © 2014 by Chris Maier. See pp. 2-4 for further copyright information. 2 Preface Words can clarify or confuse; they’ve always had this dual identity, but in this “Information Age” words have proliferated to such an extent that mankind seems in danger of drowning in a sea of verbiage. Inasmuch as we depend on words, we need those which give meaning to our lives; we need, ideally, words defined by God! And—thank God!—we have them. For although He kept silent for forty-four years, Avatar Meher Baba spoke to us through His alphabet Board, His flying fingers giving the true meaning of everything from Art to Zero—all the while pointing us away from words, towards His silence and the unnamable mystery of His Love. Note: When “you” is referred to in a quote from Meher Baba, it is sometimes a general and at other times a specific “you,” but if the gist of the message seemed generally applicable, it is quoted without indicating who was being addressed. Omissions are noted by ellipsis points (…), paragraph breaks are omitted, editor’s interpolations are enclosed in brackets, and spellings and capitalization are rendered as in the source text: thus, for instance, Baba is sometimes “me” and sometimes “Me,” God is “he” or “He,” and so on. SOURCES The words of Meher Baba are copyright by the Avatar Meher Baba Perpetual Public Charitable Trust (AMBPPCT), Kings Road, Ahmednagar, M.S. 414001, India. See below for further copyight information. Unless otherwise indicated, the copyright belongs to the Trust. Each quote is followed by a notation of the source text, volume number (where relevant) and page number. Thus Aw/VI/1/5 means The Awakener Magazine, volume 6, number 1, page 5; GS/1 means God Speaks, page 1; and so forth. The texts cited are abbreviated as follows: A = AVATAR: The Life Story of Avatar Meher Baba (1947) by Jean Adriel (John F. Kennedy University Press, 1971) AOGCL = AS ONLY GOD CAN LOVE, by Darwin Shaw (Sheriar Foundation, 2003) Aw = THE AWAKENER Magazine, ed. Filis Frederick; copyright by Universal Spiritual League in America, Inc. 3 B = BEAMS from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama, by Meher Baba (Peter Pauper Press, 1958). Copyright by Sufism Reoriented. Be = THE BELOVED: THE LIFE AND WORK OF MEHER BABA, by Naosherwan Anzar (Sheriar Press, 1974). D = DISCOURSES, 7th rev. ed., by Meher Baba (Sheriar Press, 1987) DH = DARSHAN HOURS (1971), edited by Eruch Jessawala and Rick Chapman (Beguine Library, 1973), copyright by AMBPPCT DL = THE DANCE OF LOVE: My Life with Meher Baba, by Margaret Craske (Sheriar Press, 1980) DTBH = DETERMINED TO BE HIS: Stories Shared by Eruch in Mandali Hall, ed. Steve Klein (Meher Nazar Books, 1987) EN = THE EVERYTHING AND THE NOTHING, by Meher Baba (Meher House Publications, 1963) FL = 82 FAMILY LETTERS to the Western Family of Lovers and Followers of Meher Baba, by Mani S. Irani (Sheriar Press, 1976) GG = GIFT OF GOD, by Arnavaz Dadachanji (Beloved Books, 1996) GGM = GLIMPSES OF THE GOD-MAN, MEHER BABA, by Bal Natu, 6 vols. (Sheriar Press, 1977-1994) Gl = THE GLOW INTERNATIONAL magazine, ed. Naosherwan Anzar; copyright by Beloved Archives GM = THE GOD-MAN (1964), by C. B. Purdom (Sheriar Press, 1971) GS = GOD SPEAKS, by Meher Baba (Sufism Reoriented, 1955), copyright by Sufism Reoriented GUWG = GROWING UP WITH GOD, by Sheela Kalchuri Fenster with David Fenster (Meher Nazar Publications, 2008); copyright by David and Sheela Fenster ISH = IT SO HAPPENED, stories told by Eruch Jessawala, compiled by Bill Le Page (R. J. Mistry for Meher House Publications, for Meher Baba Foundation, Australia, 1978) ITS = IS THAT SO? stories told by Eruch Jessawala, compiled by Bill Le Page (Meher Nazar Books, 1985) JtLH = JUST TO LOVE HIM, by Adi K. Irani (Sheriar Press, 1985) LAP = LOVE ALONE PREVAILS, 2nd ed., by Kitty Davy (Sheriar Foundation, 2001) LB = LIFE AT ITS BEST, by Meher Baba (Peter Pauper Press, 1957); copyright by Sufism Reoriented LH = LISTEN, HUMANITY, by Meher Baba, ed. D. E. Stevens (Dodd, Mead, 1957) LJ = LIFE IS A JEST, by Meher Baba (Avatar Meher Baba Jabalpur Centre, 1969) LM = LORD MEHER, 20 vols., 1st ed., by Bhau Kalchuri (MANifestation, Inc., 1986-2001), copyright by AMBPPCT (The current online revised edition may have different wording for some sayings.) MB = MEHER BABA, BY HIS EASTERN AND WESTERN DISCIPLES (Publication Committee, Meher Baba Universal Spiritual Centre, 1939) 4 MC = THE MASTERY OF CONSCIOUSNESS, by Allan Y. Cohen (Harper & Row, 1977), copyright by Ira G. Dietrick (Sufism Reoriented) M-M = MEHERA-MEHER, 3 vols., by David Fenster (Meher Nazar Publications, 2003); copyright by David Fenster NE = THE NOTHING AND THE EVERYTHING, by Bhau Kalchuri (MANifestation, Inc., 1981) OL = THE OCEAN OF LOVE: MY LIFE WITH MEHER BABA, by Delia DeLeon (Sheriar Press, 1991), copyright by Meher Baba Association, London PL = THE PATH OF LOVE (1976), by Meher Baba (Awakener Press, 1986) PM = THE PERFECT MASTER (1937), by C. B. Purdom (Sheriar Press, 1976) RD = RAMJOO’S DIARIES, 1922–1929, by Ramjoo Abdullah (Sufism Reoriented, 1979), copyright by Sufism Reoriented SS = SILENT SPLENDOUR, by Kavi Yogi Maharshi Shuddhananda Bharati (Shuddhananda Library, 1963) ST = SILENT TEACHINGS OF MEHER BABA, ed. Naosherwan Anzar (Beloved Archives, 2001) SW = THE SILENT WORD, by Francis Brabazon (R. J. Mistry for Meher House Publications, 1978) TAO = THE ANCIENT ONE, by Eruch Jessawala, ed. Naosherwan Anzar (Beloved Books, 1985) TIW = THREE INCREDIBLE WEEKS WITH MEHER BABA, by Malcolm Schloss and Charles Purdom (Sheriar Press, 1979) TK = THE TURNING OF THE KEY: MEHER BABA IN AUSTRALIA, by Bill Le Page (Sheriar Press, 1993) TMBJ = TREASURES FROM THE MEHER BABA JOURNAL, 1938-1942, ed. Jayne Barry Haynes (Sheriar Press, 1980) WHTO = WHEN HE TAKES OVER, compiled by Bal Natu (Meher Nazar Books, 1988) WWS = WHILE THE WORLD SLEPT: Stories from Bhau Kalchuri's Life with Avatar Meher Baba, by Bhau Kalchuri (MANifestation, Inc., 1984) 5 Contents Abandoned, Abortion, Acceptance, Accident (Baba’s), Acting/Actor, Action, Action & Inaction, Action (Baba’s), Addiction, Add-ons, Adoration (of oneself), Advancement (spiritual), Advent, Adventures, Adversity, Advice (Baba’s), Aggression, Agnosticism, Aim, Alcohol, Alone, Alphabet Board, America, Ancient One, Angel, Angels (& Fairies), Angels (& Man), Anger, Anger (Baba’s), Animals, Annihilation, Annoyance, Antagonism, Antidote, Ants, Apocalypse, Appreciation (of Baba), Argument, Arms Race, Art, Arti, Asceticism, Ashram, Asking, Aspects, Aspiration, Assassination, Astral World, Astrology, Atheism, Atom Age, Attachment, Attitude, Avatar, Avataric Periods, Avatars (traits of), Awake, Awakener, Awaking, Awareness Baba, Baba (coming to), Baba-lover, Babies, Backbiting, Bad, Balance, Barbarism, Barber, Bargain, Battle, Beauty, Becoming, Beggars, Begin the Beguine, Beginning and End, Belief, Belongings (Baba’s), Beloved, Benefit, Beyond, Bhakti Yoga, Binding/Bondage, Birth, Birth and Death, Birth Control, Birthday (Baba’s), Births and Deaths, Blame, Blank, Blasphemy, Blessing, Blindness, Bliss, Blue Bus, Body/Bodies, Body (and Mind), Body (and Soul), Body (Baba’s), Body (God’s), Books, Books (Baba), Boy (search for the perfect), Boys (Prem Ashram), Bravery, Breath, Britain (and India), Brotherhood, Bureaucrats, Business Call, Call (Baba’s), Cancer, Caste, Cause (Baba’s), Cause and Effect, Celibacy, Centre (Baba), Ceremony, Change, Chanji, Chaos, Character, Cheek, Cheer, Child, Childhood/Children, Children (God’s), Children (teaching of), Choice, Christ, Churches, Circle (Baba’s), Circumstances, Cleanliness, Climate (Baba’s favorite), Coat (Baba’s), Commandments, Communications (modern), Companionship (Baba’s), Compromise, Concentration, Confession, Conscience, Consciousness, Consciousness (Baba’s), Consciousness (development/evolution of, gross, loss of, mature, seven states of, Super), Contact, Contribution, Control, Control (through love), Conveniences, Conviction, Cooking, Cosmos, Creation, Creation-Preservation-Destruction, Creativity, Creed, Criticism, Crucifixion (Christ’s/Baba’s), Cruelty (Baba’s), Crying Daaman, Dadachanji (Nariman and Arnavaz), Dance, Darshan, Darshan (Last), Death, Death (after), Death (Baba’s), Deceit, Dedication, Deeds, Defect, Degrees, Denial, Dependence, Depression, Depression (the Great), Desire, Desperation, Destiny, Destruction, Detachment, Detective Story, Devil, Devotee (Divine), Diet, Diet (Baba’s), Difficulty, Dignity, Disappointment, Disaster, Disciples (hardships of), Discipleship, Discomfort, Discontent, Discretion (and emotion), Discussion, Disharmony, Dishes, Disturbance, Divinity, Divisions, Doctor, Dogs, Doing, Drama, Dream, Dreams (Baba), Drugs, Duality, Dust, Duty Earning, Earth, East and West, East-West Gathering, Economy, Education, Effacement, Effort, Ego, Ego (3 types of), Ego (elimination of), Embrace, Embryo, Emotion, Emperor, Emptiness (and Nakedness), End, Enemy, Energy, Environment, Equality, Equilibrium, Equipoise, Error, Eruch, Escape, Eternity, Evil (and Good), Evolution, Excellence, 6 Excitement, Execution, Existence, Expectation, Experience, Experience (inner), Experience (of opposites), Explanation, Exploration, Expression (God’s) Failure, Faith, Fall, Fame, Family (Baba’s), Farmer, Fasting, Fate, Father, Fathom, Fear, Feces (Baba’s), Feeding (Baba’s), Feelings, Feelings (Baba’s), Feet, Fidelity, Fighting, Film World, Finding, Finite, Flag (Baba’s), Focus, Followers (of Baba), Food, Food (Baba’s), Food (Fast), Forgetfulness,