LETTER TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Beryl Williams wrote this letter on May 12, 1956 inviting the Kings for Meher Baba's darshan. We do not know whether Reverend King responded.

Dear Rev. & Mrs. King,

This brings to both of you, your able associates and each member of the congregations of souls in Montgomery, deep Love and Blessings from Meher Baba.

The accompanying biographical sketch and photos will tell you more about Him than I can include in the brevity of this letter; but, He is widely recognized in the East (India being His birthplace), and by an increasingly large number of people all over the world as the Avatar (Saviour) of the Age. The one who emanates the rare quality of Divine Love and who by his Presence and Spiritual working in the world, enables the Humanity of the present day to imbibe It and progress more rapidly in the awareness of itself as soul and realize the Spiritual Emancipation and Freedom, which is and ever has been the birth-right of every soul born on Earth into a human body (regardless of the sex, shape, color or size of that body).

It is out of a profound respect for your inherent wisdom and sensitivity to the human plight and your determined efforts to serve the cause of Truth with spiritual weapons that I, and many others take our hats off to you. Yet, I can never be content merely to cheer you (even though sincerely). Only one who loves God deeply, can have the courage to declare in the face of such tremendous odds and before God and the whole world that His Truth is worth living for and worth dying for — this Truth that we are all One — and for you there is no other way but to live it. For me, your work derives spiritual significance from the fact that many other God-lovers like yourselves, are cooperating today in living and serving (each in his/her own way) their various roles in the larger task of which yours seems to be part and parcel, in order that human consciousness may be prepared to receive a fresh Dispensation of Light from above and reshape the conditions of human life into a more perfect harmony for the furtherance of the Divine Plan for the Earth. Perhaps we may not ever meet personally in this life, still, I bow in recognition of yourselves and your associates as kindred souls who are making their own contributions to this glorious venture. In the spirit of sharing the treasures of lasting value I send this priceless contribution to your cause, and by the Grace of God it then will abide in your own and many other deeply receptive hearts. It is in this faith, I greet you all.

Dear Rev. and you Mrs. King, Because I simply cannot regard you and the many dear ones of whom you are leaders as merely a group of Negro People engaged in a struggle only for social and economic equality in a society dedicated to the denial of it and determinedly opposed to it, I've felt you would welcome the information enclosed with this letter. It is intended to be a very brief introduction to a very vast subject as well as an invitation to a feast of Love — which will take place in America, in July of this year. In the course of a life-time comparatively few have the good fortune to attend it personally, not being aware of it for the most part and because it is only those who in the secret of their own souls can recognize its worth, who feel impelled to simply make the most of it.

I've also sent this same information to Rev. Abernathy and having had a card with your address, I want to sent you this personal invitation.

Meher Baba will once again make one of His infrequent trips to the West, arriving in New York about July 20, where he will spend 4 days then go onto Myrtle Beach, S.C. for 5 days and lastly fly over to Calif. 17 days for the whole visit. In the course of this itinerary, He will see all those who have been in one way or another drawn to Him, including some who have been waiting very patiently for many years for this personal contact and all who want to meet Him. It is in full confidence of its truth that I say to you, "He understands completely the complex significance of all our human struggles and endeavours, our aspirations and our aims — including the immediate and ultimate meaning of the struggle in which you and all are presently engaged — and is fully capable of rendering undreamed of Spiritual help towards its successful completion. True, it follows naturally, the recipient if such help needs on his part a willingness to receive it, if it is to have the intended result. In Meher Baba one finds a true friend, a constant companion who by the stimulating power of His Presence, enables the individual so aware of Him to untangle all the knotty problems of his/her life, and in so doing, progressively uncover and discover for him or herself the real meaning of existence and the hidden purpose of human life in a physical body. In knowing Him, one also knows truly that the Divine guidance does surmount every limitation imposed by time and space.

Of course, it is possible to only indicate to another what a personal meeting and interview with this Being — whom we affectionately call "Baba" — could mean to any one — the actual occurrence is the only way of knowing each for him/her self; since it is a spiritual experience and much more than a mere belief. Many acknowledge it as the most precious Gift, of all Life's precious gifts and the heart can embrace it as its full compensation for the sorry state of affairs in our world of today, which on all sides would appear to make a mockery of and contradict Man's age-old awareness of himself as Soul (an eternal portion of Divinity) also that human birth entitles and enables this soul to realize its noble aspiration of finding and experiencing Itself through the various conditions of Life. But, God (truth) is not mocked! To meet One to whom and in whom that is not merely an inarticulate aspiration, but, an accomplished fact; a Self-evident Truth, is to add significance to one's own life and gives meaning to one's Religion. Baba, His life and work with the various types of Humanity makes us know our own latent possibilities and even though we become more keenly aware of the numerous obstacles to their fulfillment in the individual as well as in the collectivity, He, out of Infinite Mercy and Compassion does provide the means of our transcending every barrier that hides the Truth (Reality) from our conscious experience.

As you are a Christian minister I'm happy that it is not necessary for me to go into lengthy discussion of Christ's beautiful invitation to all who would know that Soul is Eternal Existence, to ". . . take up the cross and follow me. . ." as you and so many others are actually doing and because it was the living God (Christ in human form) who of necessity had to become the "Way, the Truth and the Light", it follows that the human being of the present day has the same need of a Divine Guide in human form, if he is to come into his inheritance of the Kingdom Within. It is also becoming increasingly clear that the Supreme Intelligence makes the provision in every Age throughout the long history of human life on Earth and the Supreme Soul (God) becomes man in every Age for the redemption of humanity; eternally groping and struggling to experience Light and Truth, yet, how few make it a point to discover the deeper secrets of Life by their own personal and conscious experience — while they can.

When we once have tasted of this Pure Love of God, we begin to see and understand more clearly what motivates all human endeavor, and aspiration in the various spheres of our existence on Earth and ascertain that the heart of mankind can never be satisfied with anything less than its own perfect fulfillment which Divine Love alone can satisfy. To know that the thing really exists not only in the glowing descriptions of spiritual writings in which in we may or may not have faith, but, which our own hearts can verify and come into communication and Divine communion with, is to see the justification of all the great religions of the world. You ministers of the Gospel who have contributed so much towards keeping the lamp of faith and love burning in the human heart (amidst the attitude of cynicism and cold, stark indifference to the finer aspects of man's spiritual nature and the primary need of his being to experience and express the soul that he is) do have great cause for rejoicing today with utmost confidence in yourselves and your work; for, no one can serve God in vain. His Law is that by such service we can ever move closer to the realization of our Oneness with Him. I could not refrain then from yielding to this deep urge to share with you dear ones in Montgomery this guarded secret of many lives and hearts — "We are not alone!" Because you have every right to know that he is in incarnation in our lifetime, just as surely as He has been in the past, it would be betraying a sacred trust not to share the information with you lovers and worshippers of Truth.

Christ in His incarnation as Jesus declared, "Lo, I am with you always; even unto the end if the world:" Certainly, our faith in His Word has to become knowledge by experience of its eternal Truth. We are learning today that the concrete experience of the "Word made Flesh" was never intended by Him to be an event in the lives of a certain few of His childern who happened to lived at a particular time in human history, while the rest of us could only have the dubious consolation of yearning for His Love to embrace us from the cradle to the grave. It is in the nature if love to respond to love, even in our every-day human experience; so, Rev. and Mrs. King, who would deny to the Supreme Being who is Perfect Love Itself, the power of a recurrent Advent and manifestation of Divine Love in His own Universe, in response to the ceaseless cry of the human soul in spiritual bondage and which after all is His own self? If Divine Love could clothe Itself in human form once, in order to lead man out of the impasse of false consciousness, it is not a preposterous assumption on man's part to ascribe to All-Power and All-Mercy, the power to assume human form for the sake of all His human selves of every Age.

I don't know what your personal views on this aspect of Truth are, or how deeply you have delved into the recorded Spiritual Lore of Human history, but, somehow I feel you are well aware of all this and so I do not hesitate to speak frankly; your wisdom and the strength of character expressed in handling this task assigned to you, is not the way in which someone insensitive to spiritual Truth would handle it. So, since we are indeed members of one vast family, living for a supremely noble purpose, your work is no less than a part of the Great Drama that is (silently) being enacted on the wider stage of the world today; all who work for the betterment of mankind and the eradication of the human ignorance concerning each human soul as an eternal portion of the Supreme Soul (God), are working for the highest good — and in the nature of things — the love you're all employing is the very thing which will draw to your aid Divine Love. When we through love form an alliance with the Power that created and sustains the Universe, we can rest assured that we can never have loved in vain; for it is the means by which mankind is won back to the God Of Love.

This then is not an invitation for you to join a new organization or accept a foreign creed, nor abandon your Religion of love in Christ, certainly it is not everyone's good fortune to meet a Being of Meher Baba's Spiritual Greatness in person: One who just by His Presence is able to impart to those who come to Him as much of the sublime awareness of the Soul as each is capable of absorbing, so that the soul knows once and for all its own worth in the sight of God. To Him it is unimportant what we take Him to be, it is quite sufficient if we have love Through the interplay of love with Divine Love working through the fabric of our lives, our humanity is gradually transformed into Divinity. Then God is known to be our Self and the Real Self of all. All this becomes quite intelligible of we study the lives of the Avatars (Saviors) of the past i.e. Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Mohammed etc; not to mention all that has been written about and saints and Perfect Masters of our own day: No, our Age is no exception in God's Plan for His Creation!

Perhaps you would want to give all this adequate reflection and consideration, though I'm well aware that many people on hearing about Meher Baba are able to perceive as most natural, the fact that Christ walks the Earth a man among mankind today just as He did in Ages past: Their hearts have always known it intuitively, so, to them it is but a final confirmation. I wouldn't be surprised if you are among these enlightened men and women, or potentially so. If you should feel this to be of value to you and yours and wish to have further information as to time and places for the interviews, then, do write that I may send you all the particulars. Then you and all who are able to can make full use of a golden opportunity.

You will find in this sacred assembly, true brothers in God — of every race, nationality and religion — who out of a profound love for God, have offered their lives in their entirety on the altar of His selfless service. They have no time to waste in superficial considerations of sect, class and the racial distinctions between one member of the human race and another since the object of their lives is to love and serve the One God who resides in us all. They understand humanity to be the living flower garden of Divinity, each by his very being contributing in a unique way to the perfect blending of the whole, so, every one has his place and his importance equally in the eyes of God. These noble souls, by the life they lead confirm man's dreams of brotherhood as a living breathing truth, which all can and will experience: In spite of all that those misguided by appearances may say or do in the desperate struggle to maintain the edifice of self-created horror in which they attempt to encage their own soul. Eternal Truth has again decreed a New Dawn and is making all the necessary preparations for what will be. Therefore, the gate is open to all who are ready to be not only witnesses, but intimate participants in the era of light, Love and Truth, that is rolling back the clouds of darkness of a dying Age. Those like yourselves who have found that darkness intolerable and are playing an active role in its dissipation should be able to take the Name of our Beloved Jesus with a new fervor: The certainty that God does answer prayer, in Person should bring to your steadfast hearts a new treasure to foster and cherish.

It won't be long, dear ones before each one finds himself/herself a conscious part of this Mighty, Infinite Ocean of Love, that is once again spreading Itself over the face of the Earth, easing the hearts of men in order to erase completely from his memory, eventually, the lie of separateness, difference, hatred and fear including all that is based upon it. Love will restore to each soul its own forgotten Unity of Being, ones only credentials for admittance into its ever widening embrace is his or her love for God. In that love lies our guarantee of participation in the New Dispensation of Divine Love.