This page includes some of my favorite quotes by Meher Baba. They are organized by the book in which they are found.
Discourses by Meher Baba
“There is no sadhana greater than love, there is no law higher than love, and there is no goal that is beyond love – for love in its divine state becomes infinite. God and love are identical, and one who has divine love already has God.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p264
“When one’s experience of this world is sufficiently mature, however,
the repeated disillusionments in life set one on the right track to
discover what is missing. From that moment the individual seeks a
reality that is deeper than changing forms.”
– Discourses, by Meher Baba, p129
“One of the paradoxes connected with spiritual sadhana is that all effort of the aspirant is intended for arriving at a state of effortlessness.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p264
“There is no gift greater than the gift of spiritual freedom, and there is no task more important than the task of helping others to achieve spiritual freedom. Those who have understood the supreme importance of spiritual freedom have not only to strive for it for themselves but also to share the God-given duty of helping others win it.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p342
“Spiritual freedom has to be won by oneself for oneself through watchful and unfailing war against the lower self and the lower desires.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p342
“It is your right to be happy and yet you create your own unhappiness by wanting things. Wanting is the source of perpetual restlessness. If you do not get the thing you wanted, you are disappointed. And if you get it, you want more and more of it and become unhappy. ”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p10-12
“The world is caught up in Maya and is addicted to false values. Therefore the ways of the world run counter to the standards the aspirant has set for himself.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p356
“Just as a person may seek to hold on to his separative existence through escape or identification with external forms, he may seek to hold on to it through identification with some narrow class, creed, sect, or religion, or with the divisions based upon sex. Here the individual may seem to have lost his separative existence through identification with a larger whole. But, in fact, he is often expressing his separative existence through such an identification, which enables him to delight in his feeling of being separate from others who belong to another class, nationality, creed, sect, religion, or sex.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p7
“All the different types of freedom that fasten upon some external conditions must, in their very nature, exist within certain limits … Only spiritual freedom is absolute and unlimited.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p341
“If the worldly-minded turn to God at all, it is mostly for their own selfish and mundane purposes. They seek the gratification of their own desires, hopes, and even revenges through the intervention of the God of their imagination. They do not seek God as Truth. They long for all things except the only Truth, which they regard as unimportant.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p373
“Human consciousness is clouded by the accumulation of various types of impressions deposited by the long course of the evolution of consciousness. These impressions express themselves as desires, and the range of the operation of consciousness is strictly limited by these desires. The sanskaras, or impressions, form an enclosure around the possible field of consciousness. The circle of sanskaras constitutes that limited area in which alone the individual consciousness can be focused.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p10
“Owing to the hindrance of multifarious desires, it becomes impossible for the soul to find free and full expression of its true being, and life becomes self-centered and narrow. The entire life of the personal ego is continually in the grip of wanting, that is, an attempt to seek fulfillment of desires through things that change and vanish. But there can be no real fulfillment through the transient things. The satisfaction derived from the fleeting things of life is not lasting and the wants of man remain unfulfilled. There is thus a general sense of dissatisfaction accompanied by all kinds of worries.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p10-11
“All over the world the spirit of man is crying out for freedom. … And any lesser type of freedom is comparable to a house built on sand, and any lesser type of attainment is fraught with the fear of decay.
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p340-341
“The ego wants to feel separate and unique, and it seeks self expression either in the role of someone who is decidedly better than others or in the role of someone who is decidedly inferior. … The superiority complex is stirred when a person meets someone who is in some way remarkably inferior in mundane possessions. … The inferiority complex is stirred when a person meets someone who is in some way remarkably superior in respect to mundane possessions.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p172-174
“Perfection consists in remaining free from the entanglements of duality. Such freedom from entanglements is the most essential requirement of unhindered creativity. But this freedom cannot be attained by running away from life for fear of entanglement. This would mean denial of life. Perfection does not consist in shrinking from the dual expressions of nature. The attempt to escape from entanglement implies fear of life. Spirituality consists in meeting life adequately and fully without being overpowered by the opposites. It must assert its dominion over all illusions-however attractive or powerful. Without avoiding contact with the different forms of life, a Perfect One functions with complete detachment in the midst of intense activity.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p. 15.
“Divine love is qualitatively different from human love. Human love is for the many in the One, and divine love is for the One in the many. Human love leads to innumerable complications and tangles, but divine love leads to integration and freedom.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p115
“Love is the reflection of God’s unity in the world of duality.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p116
“When love is deep and intense, it is called bhakti, or devotion. … The purity, sweetness, and efficacy of the love that the lover receives from the Master contributes to the insuperable spiritual value of this highest phase of love.”
– Meher Baba, “Discourses”, p55-56
“The ego is activated by the principle of self-perpetuation and has a tendency to live and grow by any and all means not closed to it. If the ego faces curtailment in one direction, it seeks compensating expansion in another. If it is overpowered by a flood of spiritual notions and actions, it even tends to fasten upon this very force, which was originally brought into play for the ousting of the ego. If a person attempts to cultivate humility in order to relieve himself of the monstrous weight of the ego and succeeds in doing so, the ego can, with surprising alacrity, transfer itself to this attribute of humility. It feeds itself through repeated assertions like “I am spiritual,” just as in the primary stages it achieved the same task by assertions like “I am not interested in spirituality.” Thus arises what might be called a spiritual ego, or an ego that feels its separateness through the attainment of things considered to be good and highly spiritual. From the truly spiritual point of view, this type of ego is as binding as the primary and crude ego, which makes no such pretensions.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p170-171
“The ego thus marks and fulfills a certain necessity in the further progress of consciousness. However, since the ego takes shelter in the false idea of being the body, it is a source of much illusion, which vitiates experience. It is of the essence of the ego that it should feel separate from the rest of life by contrasting itself with other forms of life. Thus, though inwardly trying to complete and integrate individual experience, the ego also creates an artificial division between external and internal life in the very attempt to feel and secure its own existence. This division in the totality of life cannot but have its reverberations in the inner individual life over which the ego presides as a guiding genius.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p161-162
“Every thought, feeling, or action that springs from the idea of exclusive or separate existence binds.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p167
“Human actions are based upon the operation of the impressions stored in the mind through previous experiences. Every thought, emotion, and act is grounded in groups of impressions that, when considered objectively, are seen to be modifications of the mind. These impressions are deposits of previous experiences and become the most important factors in determining the course of present and future experience. The mind is constantly creating and gathering such impressions in the course of its experience.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p32
“All these methods of negating the positive sanskaras are ultimately based upon the control of the body and mind. … When this energy locked up in the sanskaras is thus diverted, they get dispersed and exhausted.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p49-51.
“The descent of the grace of the Master is conditioned, however, by the preliminary spiritual preparation of the aspirant. This preliminary preparation for grace is never complete until the aspirant has built into his spiritual makeup some divine attributes. For example, when a person avoids backbiting and thinks more of the good points in others than of their bad points, and when he can practice supreme tolerance and desires good for others even at cost to himself – he is ready to receive the grace of the Master. One of the greatest obstacles hindering this spiritual preparation of the aspirant is worry. When, with supreme effort, this obstacle of worry is overcome, a way is paved for the cultivation of the divine attributes that constitute the spiritual preparation of the disciple. As soon as the disciple is ready, the grace of the Master descends; for the Master, who is the ocean of divine love, is always on the lookout for the soul in whom his grace will fructify.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p114
“Separative existence derives its being and strength from identifying itself with one of the opposites and contrasting itself with the others. An individual may seek to protect his separate existence through identification with one ideology rather than another or with his conception of good as contrasted with his idea of evil. What results from identification with narrow groups or limited ideals is not a real merging of the separative self but only a semblance of it. A real merging of the limited self in the ocean of universal life involves complete surrender of separative existence in all its forms.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p7
“For most persons, spiritual sadhana, or practice, consists in the external observance of rituals and ceremonies prescribed by their own religion. … However, since the goal is the same for all, the differences with regard to sadhana are not of vital importance; and the deeper aspects of sadhana have importance for all aspirants in spite of their differences.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p. 258.
“Once the aspirant experiences the bliss of the darshan of a Master, that sight gets carved on his mind. And even when he is unable to establish frequent personal contact, his mind turns to the Master again and again in an effort to understand his significance. This process of establishing mental contact with the Master is essentially different from merely imaginative revival of past incidents. In the ordinary play of imagination, the recall of past incidents is not necessarily animated by a definite purpose; whereas in establishing mental contact there is a definite purpose. Owing to the directive power of purpose, imagination ceases to be a mere revolving of ideas and reaches out to the Master and establishes contact with him.
Such mental contact with the Master is often as fruitful and effective as his physical darshan. The inward repetition of such mental contacts is like constructing a channel between Master and aspirant-who becomes thereby the recipient of the grace, love, and light that are constantly flowing from the Master, in spite of the apparent distance between them. Thus, the help of the Master goes out not only to those who are in his physical presence but also to others who establish mental contact with him.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p188
“The progressive manifestation of life through evolution is ultimately brought about by the will-to-be conscious, which is inherent in the Infinite. … Whether the act of manifestation is looked upon as a sort of expansion of Reality or as its timeless contraction, it is preceded by an initial urge or movement, which might (in terms of thought) be regarded as an inherent and latent desire to be conscious.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p34-35
“Within the undifferentiated being of the Absolute is born the mysterious point (the Om Point) through which comes forth the variegated manyness of creation.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p34
“The work of the Perfect Masters in the universe is fundamentally different from the kind of thing most priests or clergy of established religions aspire to. Most of them attach too much importance to external forms, rituals, and conformity. Since they themselves are not free from selfishness, narrowness or ignorance, they exploit the weak and the credulous by holding before them the fear of hell or the hope of heaven. The Perfect Masters, on the other hand, have entered forever into the eternal life of love, purity, universality and understanding. They are are therefore concerned only with the things that really matter and which eventually bring about the inner unfoldment of spirit in all whom they help.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p283
“Those who are themselves in ignorance may, out of self-delusion or deliberate selfishness, use the same language as that of the Masters; and they may try to imitate them in many of the external things associated with the life of the Masters.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p283
“The hypocrite, however, knows that he does not know and pretends to be what he is not for selfish reasons. In doing so he creates a serious karmic binding for himself. Though he is a source of considerable danger to the weak and the credulous, he cannot go on indefinitely with his willful deceit, for in the course of time he is automatically exposed by some claim which he is unable to substantiate.”
– Meher Baba, Discourses, p283-284
God Speaks by Meher Baba
“Only so long as man’s ignorance lasts will there seem to be no end to the plural diversity of illusory things. When divine knowledge is gained he realizes that there is no end to the indivisible oneness of God.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p68
“On the one hand, God, and the capacity of man to see and become one with God, are always there. On the other hand, Truth remains hidden from man until he actually arrives upon the path or realizes God. This apparent anomaly is due to two different factors: man’s ignorance of Truth, and the fact that Truth is beyond the faculty of reason and far, far above the sphere of intellect.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p68
“There are always, at all times and in all ages, fifty-six God realized souls or Shiv-Atmas in human form on earth; and out of these fifty-six only eight have public recognition.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p256
“Truth can only be known after one transcends the cosmic illusion which appears as real owing to Maya.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, section 35, p270
“One should live in the world, perform all legitimate duties and yet feel mentally detached from everything. One should be in the world but not of it.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p195
“The illusion which most aspirants find difficult to shake is the belief that infinite Truth is an object which has to be attained in some distant future, and that all life is just a means for this attainment. . . . Life is not meant to be rich in spiritual significance at some distant date, but it is so at every moment, if the mind is disburdened of illusions.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p118
“To understand the infinite, eternal Reality is not the goal of individualized beings in the Illusion of Creation, because the Reality can never be understood; it is to be realized by conscious experience.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks
“In short, there are always, at all times and in all ages, fifty-six God-realized souls or Shiv-Atmas in human form on the earth.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p150
“As compared with dreams, the physical life is indeed a reality. Similarly, compared with the reality of the path, the world and all worldly life is vacant dreaming on the part of man. But as the world and all of its experiences are illusory, so is the spiritual path that leads to Reality. The former may be termed false illusion and the latter real illusion. Nevertheless, despite the vast difference between them, they are both illusions, for God alone is the only Reality.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p68
“God cannot be explained, He cannot be argued about, He cannot be theorized, nor can He be discussed and understood. God can only be lived.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p190
“It necessarily follows that while this gross–conscious God in the man state experiences the opposites in the gross world, He reincarnates a number of times, sometimes as a male, sometimes as a female, in the varied castes, creeds, nationalities and colours and in varied different places and continents, always reviewing opposite impressions and exhausting them by experiences of opposites.”
– Meher Baba, “God Speaks, p. 112–113
“Not only is nonreaction to adverse circumstances essential, but also non-reaction to favorable and pleasurable circumstances. Of these two the latter is the harder and is less often described, although it matters just as much.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p201
“The consciousness of the soul therefore utilizes this perfect medium to experience and completely exhaust all impressions so that the fully conscious soul becomes devoid of any impression whatsoever, and thus is able to realize its own real, eternal and infinite state in the Over-Soul.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p8-27
“A soul becomes perfect after passing through evolution, reincarnation and the process of realization.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p220
Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama by Meher Baba
“Thus the consciousness gained by the unconscious soul, instead of experiencing reality through unity and identity with the Over-Soul, experiences illusion through duality and identity with the gross form, multiplying diverse, innumerable impressions in a series of experiences while associating with the gross form and gradually gaining or evolving more and more consciousness.”
– Meher Baba, God Speaks, p11
“The whole world is pining for light and freedom. To meet this recurrent and poignant demand there always arises a plentiful supply of those who claim to meet it adequately. Most of the claimants are impostors. Those who can meet the demand adequately are extremely rare.”
– Meher Baba, Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama, p49
“Conscious and deliberate impostors in the field of spirituality are at once the most confirmed culprits and the most piteous victims. They get stuck deeper and deeper in the quagmire of their own creation until everyone, including themselves, loses all hope of their redemption.”
– Meher Baba, Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama, p51
“The world or creation comes out of the eternal and infinite being of God through the creation-point, which is referred to as “Om.” No one can attain lasting peace unless he contacts and transcends this Om point. We therefore find the sacred symbol Om often appearing in juxtaposition with the word “Shantih,” which means peace.
The phonetic similarity between Om, Amin and Amen is suggestive of many things. The sacred words Amin and Amen are frequent at the end of Muslim and Christian prayers. They both mean “So be it”. Coming from a man, “So be it” is a blessing or a wish; but coming from God it is creation. Creation is God’s Amin or Amen, i.e., an immediate and instantaneous fulfilling of His will into actuality. The Arabic word Amin comes from the root Omn, which means safety or peace and thus Amin may be regarded as an equivalent or at least a kin of Om, which also is associated with peace.”
– Meher Baba, Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama, p18-19 pdf
Lord Meher by Bhau Kalchuri
“God has been everlastingly working in silence, unobserved, unheard, except by those who experience His Infinite Silence.”
– Meher Baba, Lord Meher, Chapter 22
The Path of Love by Meher Baba
“A person of a particular plane of consciousness reincarnates as of that respective plane of consciousness and, then gradually gets established in the plane of consciousness of his previous life. He may or may not make further progress in the planes of higher consciousness. Progress will depend on the help of a spiritual guide of a higher plane, on the grace of a Perfect Master, or on his own efforts.”
– Meher Baba, The Path of Love, p84
“Love is dynamic in action and contagious in effect. Pure love is matchless in majesty; it has no parallel in power and there is no darkness it cannot dispel. It is the undying flame that has set life aglow. The lasting emancipation of man depends upon his love for God and upon God’s love for one and all.”
– Meher Baba, The Path of Love, p67
“Of all the forces that can best overcome all difficulties, is the force of love, because the greatest Law of God is Love, which holds the key to all problems. This mighty force not only enables one to put the ideal of selfless service into practice, but also transforms one into God. It has been possible through love for man to become God; and when God; and when God becomes man, it is also due to His Love for His beings.”
– Meher Baba, The Path of Love, p67
“To realize God, we must love Him, losing ourselves in His Infinite Self.”
– Meher Baba, The Path of Love, p70-71
Infinite Intelligence by Meher Baba
“Sanskaras are both the cause and content of all experience.”
– Meher Baba, Infinite Intelligence, p230
“Sanskaras give rise to false thinking, which creates the illusion of Maya.” – Meher Baba, Infinite Intelligence, p42
“Maya makes this universe, which is false, appear as real.”
– Meher Baba, Infinite Intelligence, p134
“Sanskaras give rise to experience, which in turn generates new impressions.”
– Meher Baba, Infinite Intelligence, p230
“Though man is capable of realizing the Self, he is prevented from doing so by sanskaras.”
– Meher Baba, Infinite Intelligence, p125
