B
ba sifat ba surat: Qualitied and manifest in form. -Sufi. Vedanta: saguna sakar. (1a)
Baba Farid/Fariduddin: See: Ganj-e-Shakkar. (1b)
Baba House (India): Down an alley off Dastur Meher Road is the home where Meher Baba and His family lived from 1918 on. The address is 765 Dastu Road, and the alley is located to the left of Fatima General Stores and across from Ahuramazda Cycle Stores. Inside is a room (known as Baba’s room) where Meher Baba kept Himself secluded after being unveiled by Hazrat Babajan. The room contains a number of personal items associated with Meher Baba’s life. Baba’s house is a private family residence, but Baba followers are welcome to visit Baba’s room between 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. (EBF)
The house owned by Meher Baba’s parents, Sheriar and Shireenmai Irani, on "Dastur Meher Road" in Pune, where Baba periodically resided; during the early 1920s when the Perfect Master Upasni Maharaj was preparing Baba for His ministry as the Avatar, owing to the agony Baba experienced from being brought down from the Bliss-state to awareness of Illusion, Baba often secluded Himself in His room at this house and knocked His forehead against a particular stone which protruded from the floor. (I)
Baba House (USA): The house built for Meher Baba at the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which He referred to as His "home in the West"; Baba stayed there during each of His three visits to Myrtle Beach in 1952, 1956 and 1958. (I)
Baba House (elsewhere): There were a number of sequels to this. Baba stayed overnight on Memorial Day 1958 at the new house we had built. He named it "Baba House" after this stay. (Du, pp. 278-280; by way of Lud Dimpfl)
Baba’s Room: (Part of the Meher Nazar Compound, Ahmednagar proper, India. -Ed.) This room in the compound, dedicated to Meher Baba, contains a number of photos and mementos from the past. Upasni Maharaj Himself came and performed Baba’s arti in this room on February 16, 1936. (EBF)
(Part of Upper Meherabad, Ahmednagar, India. -Ed.) This tin and wooden building is the place where Meher Baba’s body lay on January 31, 1969, before being placed in His Tomb. The English stretcher used to transport Baba’s body still rests there. This cabin was built in 1935 by Padri, one of Meher Baba’s close disciples. The contrast between the sturdy stone foundation and tin walls is explained by the fact that Baba originally gave Padri several months to erect the building. Then when it was only partly done, Baba ordered it finished in a week, and started using it for His work. (EBF)
(Part of Meherazad, Ahmednagar, India. -Ed.) Baba’s room in the main bungalow was the one where He rested at night after 1956. It is still furnished as it was in the latter years. The bed was the one He used up until January 26th, 1969. (EBF)
Babajan High School: Originally Hazrat Babajan School, it was a school established by Meher Baba in 1925 in Lower Meherabad for the children of Arangaon village, many of whom were untouchables; it was named for Hazrat Babajan of Poona, one of the five Perfect Masters of Baba’s time; sometime after it was started, the school was extended to become a high school. (I)
Babajan’s Tomb: Hazrat Babajan’s Tomb. About three blocks south of Baba’s house on Dastur Meher Road (Pune. -Ed.) is Hazrat Babajan’s Tomb. Part of the neem tree still remains where Babajan used to sit and where Meher Baba first met Her. The tomb is clearly marked and open to the public during daylight hours. Please remove your shoes before entering. (EBF)
Backett, Will and Mary: Will, a commercial insurance broker in England for about thirty years, and his wife Mary were initiated into the Sufi Order by Hazrat Inayat Khan and remained under his guidance until his death in 1927. They met Meher Baba in London in 1932, visited Him in India later, and were his faithful, hardworking disciples until Mary died in 1962 and Will in 1963. They were married about fifty years; Baba always referred to them as his "archangels". (Du)
Bahlul: A Persian king who left all and became a great mystic. (1b)
bairagi: (plural: -s.) Wandering ascetics or renunciates. (1b)
A mendicant with long matted hair and ashes smeared over the body. (N2)
bakri: Heavy tortilla bread made from millet flour. (EBF)
baksheesh: A gratuity, tip, or gift. -Persian. (Du)
balak: Child. (Gr)
bandah: Literally, slave, servant. The limited soul bound in illusion. -Sufi. (1a)
(see also bandhan. -Ed.)
bandhan: (verb) To bind, tie, fix, fasten, chain, or fetter. (adjective) Bound. (noun) A binding. -Sanskrit. (Du)
(see also bandah. -Ed.)
baqa: Abiding. See: fana-baqa. -Sufi. (1a)
Abiding. -Arabic. (Du)
Abiding, in the sense of ‘Abiding in God’. (Gr)
baqa-billah: Abiding in God at the end of the Second Divine Journey. -Sufi. Vedanta: atmapratisthapana, sahaj samadhi. (1a)
See: Sahaj Samadhi. (1b)
The "abiding in God" by some souls after God-realization. -Arabic. (Du)
Abiding in God; the state of consciousness experienced by the Perfect Ones. (N6)
baqa-ul-baqa: The state of God becoming God-Man (God’s knowing Himself as Avatar). -Sufi. (1a)
barfi: Sweet milk fudge. (EBF)
barzac: Darwin Shaw also had a chance to wheel Baba around on this Zoo trip. At one point we entered the Penguin House. I was ahead of Baba and facing Him. At the top of the rock, in the penguin pool, a large handsome penguin was poised in his Grover Whelan tux. The moment Baba entered, he "bowed," dove into the pool, and came up against the glass, waving his flippers at Baba, so it seemed. I know Dar tells it differently. Anyway Baba's eyes twinkled, and He made His "circle" gesture of approval. Don't forget, Baba had said the penguin is the "barzac" or last bird form, also the most intelligent of all birds. (FF; From "Memories of '52, Volume XIV, No. 2, Page 19)
basundi: A sweet dish of condensed milk. (N4)
Bayazid of Bistami :Bayazid of Bistami, an eleventh- century Perfect Master. (N8, pg.s 34 – 41)
Beheram: Baba’s brother Beheram’s daughter, Gulnar, was three years old and his son, Sheroo, was four. Sheroo was named after his grandfather, Sheriar. (Ka 2403 )
Behram Roj: Behram is the "archangel of protection" in Zoroastrian lore; one of the five auspicious days of the month according to the Parsi calendar. (I)
bemaries: Illness. (N4)
Benares: Benares is among the oldest cities in the world, thriving since the time of Babylon. When Buddah was there, it was called Kasi. There are over one thousand five hundred temples of worship in the city, many dedicated to Shiva. (Ka 2368 )
Beyond state: A state of God beyond time and space; also the highest state, in which God in manifested form is infinitely conscious of both Reality and Illusion. (See God Speaks for further information). (1b)
Bhagavad Gita: See under: Krishna. (1b)
Sacred book of the Hindus, featuring the teachings of the Avatar as Krishna discoursing with His chief disciple Arjuna. (Gr)
Literally, "Song of the Blessed One". A section of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, consisting of a colloquy between Krishna and Arjuna on the eve of battle. (N2)
Literally, "Song of the Lord"...It was in the Bhagavad Gita that the Avatar, as Krishna, revealed the Avatar’s status as being everyone and everything, and also beyond everyone and everything. (L)(N5)
Bhagavan: The Supreme Being. The God Vishnu, q.v. A revered person. -Hindi. (Du)
God. (Gr)
The Supreme Being. The God Vishnu (The Sustainer). A revered person. (N2)
Bhagwan: See: Bhagavan (N2)
bhajan: A devotional song sung in (a traditional style of (-Ed.)) India in praise of God. (Da)
A devotional song. -Hindi. (Du)
A devotional song sung in (a traditional style of (-Ed.)) India in praise of the Lord in His Avataric form. (Gr)
A devotional song, or the singing of devotional songs. (L)(N2)
bhaji: A dish prepared from rice, curds, etc., cooked together. -Hindi. (Du)
bhajia: A traditional Indian snack food made from very thin slices of vegetables dipped in a batter of chick-pea flour and deep-fried. (I)
bhakta: (plural: -s.) A devotee. -Vedanta. (1b) -Sanskrit. (Du)
bhakti: Devotion or love. See also para-bhakti. -Vedanta. (1b)
Deep devotion; intense love. (C)
Devotion. (N4)
Wholehearted devotion. (N6)
bhakti yoga: See: yoga. -Sanskrit. (Du)
The yoga (path) of devotion and love. (N4)
A path of devotion. (N6)
bhas (also bhasa): (singular) Illusion. Cf. Maya. -Vedanta. (1b)
bhav: Ecstasy. Form of devotion (in relation to the Deity). Trance. -Vedanta. Sufi: hal. (1a)
bhayya: Dear, beloved. -Hindi. (Du)
bhed: A secret. (N4)
bhiksha: Charity, alms. -Hindi. (Du)
Charity, alms. Anything received by one who goes out begging, especially for food. (N2)
bhujiya: Tempura-type vegetables fried in batter. (EBF)
bhumika: Plane. Stage. -Vedanta. Sufi: asman. (1a)
Bible: See under: Abraham, Jesus Christ. (1b)
bidi: An Indian cigarette. (N3)
bihoshi: Literally, unconsciousness. An involuntary loss of interest in the world caused by setbacks or personal tragedy. Of little spiritual value. -Sufi. (1a)
bikhudi: Forgetfulness of self. Among the first steps on the Path. -Sufi. (1a)
Billo, Irene: Met Meher Baba in Zurich at the age of nineteen. When He stayed at Cannes, she spent three months helping Hedi Mertens take care of the household. She went to India with Nadine Tolstoy, Hedi Mertens and Helen Dahm after the Nasik ashram period, and they stayed in Ahmednagar in an old office; Norina, Elizabeth, Kitty and Rano were already there. Later they all lived at Meherabad. She accompanied Baba on His far-flung mast trips; when she got ill, Margaret Craske took very good care of her. Irene was in India some seven to eight years. She is today * (* at this authors writing. -Ed.) back in Switzerland and works for the telephone company. We all hope she will write her memoirs. (Du)
biryani: Spicy rice dish with almonds and sliced meat. (EBF)
Blue bus: This bus carried Meher Baba and His women disciples throughout India in the late 1930s through the early 1940s. In 1949 its body was put on a brick foundation. After this it served as a small cabin where Meher Baba spent forty days during the period known as the Great Seclusion. The bed inside is the one Meher Baba used from January 26 through January 31, 1969 (the day that He dropped His physical form). (Part of Meherazad, Ahmednagar, India. -Ed.)(EBF)
boka: Literally, a large male cat. (N4)
Bombay: See: Mumbai. (-Ed.)
Book, The: Refers to the book written in the 1920’s directly by Meher Baba which contains many of the secrets of Creation; it is the only book written in Baba’s own hand. This book remains unpublished. * (I)
*(current whereabouts ostensibly unknown is the major factor in this book remaining unpublished. Baba said it would be published when the time was right. The Book traveled with Baba at times, including the US. Gandhi was one of the few to have read The Book; and is said to have a significant role in the book’s future, in a future lifetime of Gandhi’s. -Ed.)
Meher Baba’s book (actually handwritten pages of short "points;" for example, King of the angels = Zeus = Jupiter = Indra; angels = devas = hooris or fairies) was at that time brought back to India and given into Ramjoo Abdulla’s, Sarosh Irani’s and Kaka Baria’s care with instructions that it be kept locked up in a safe deposit box under their names in a bank in Bombay. The Book remained there for the next twenty-one years before it was brought back to Baba and then disappeared in 1958. One person (as recounted by Frank Eaton suspected to be either Malcolm Schloss or Elizabeth Paterson) had been chosen by Baba to be responsible for the safe keeping of The Book while it was in a bank safety deposit box in America. (Ka 2044 )
boy (also good boy, ideal boy, perfect boy, udley): When Baba used the expression "good boy" He was referring to the ideal or perfect boy that He was always in search of and that different men mandali, such as Raosaheb, Chhagan, brother Jal, had to find and bring to Him. (Ka 2319 )
Udley was the name or term Baba used for the ideal or perfect boy, or simply a good boy. (Ka 2320 )
See also sexuality and work, Baba’s. -Ed.
Brahma: The Creator. -Vedanta. Sufi: Afridgar. (1a)
The Creator (in the Hindu trinity Creator-Preserver-Destroyer). -Sanskrit. (Du)
Brahman: Reality. -Vedanta. Sufi: Haqq. (1a)
brahmananda: The bliss experienced by the Mukta, q.v. -Sanskrit. (Du)
brahmand: The cosmos. The illusory universe. -Vedanta. (1a)
Brahmi Bhoot: The God-merged soul. God in State VIII. -Vedanta. Sufi: Majzoob-e-Kamil. (1a)
See: Majzoobs-e-Kamil. (1b)
For an explaination about the state of the God-Realized majzoobs or brahmi-bhoots refer to God Speaks, pages 137 – 140 and 196 – 197. (Ka 2383 )
Brahmin: A Hindu of the priestly class who is ordained to perform religious ceremonies. (A)
Member of the orthodox Hindu religious class; Hindu priests. (AJ)
A Hindu who belongs to the priestly caste. (I)
Buddha (also Siddhartha Gautama): The Avatar whose teachings come to us through the Buddhist religion. He was born in Magadha (Bihar, India) around 568 BC and died about 477 BC (1a)
Gautama Buddha, the Enlightened One; the Avatar (q.v.) whose teachings come to us through Buddhism. (1b)
The Enlightened One, The Avatar who lived in India around 560-480 BC. (L)
Buddha, the: The Enlightened One, the Avatar (q.v. for full definition). (1b)
Bujawe Nar Arti (also Gujarati Arti): Arti composed by Avatar Meher Baba in Gujarati. (Da)
Bund Gardens: Meher Baba often visited these gardens on the banks of the Mula River. Near the parapet wall is a large mango tree with a cement base where Babajan often sat. Later Meher Baba also sat here on various occasions with His followers. (EBF)
buraq: The animal which the Prophet Muhammad rode on the miraj (the night journey to heaven) during the twelfth year of His mission. The place of His departure is enshrined at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. -Arabic. (Du)
(my house is) burning: When one loves the Beloved, fire is lit in the heart and tears flow. They are described here as "rain", which adds fuel to the fire so that the fire rages even more. "House" refers to the heart. The rain (tears) is the outward expression of fire which actually sets the heart on fire and goes on adding fuel to the fire. The outward expression of the fire remains, temporarily, and the fire dries the tears after some time. But the tears remain within -- and these tears become fire itself. So the expression is, that "my house is burning" and at the same time "it is raining." (Ka3)
Burrakatha: A ballad story. (N4)
| Author's Forward | Key to sources | Dedication | Glossary index |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| Anthology | | Main Page Norway | | AvatarMeherBaba USA | | HeartMind |