The Silent Messenger

This must be the definitive book on Meher Baba, about whom I previously knew comparatively little. The book is divided into two parts, the first describing his life and the second key elements of his teaching. He said about himself that he came not to teach, but to awaken, and remained silent for 44 years. He is right that we have been given enough words and that it is now time to live them with an orientation of love. It is clear that he was an avatar in the sense of being one with God and having transcended the ego – he also remarks that there is no evil, but only degrees of good. There is much inspiration to be derived from his teachings and realisation of Oneness on a path of love and surrender in seeking true fulfilment: 'though each form is separate from other forms, in reality they are all forms of the same unity of life..life and love are inseparable from each other.' It is not so much a question of establishing anything new, but rather breathing life into the old, but within a context where 'destruction must precede construction, out of suffering is born peace and bliss, and out of struggle comes liberation.' All of this is a profound message for our time.