Bhau Kalchuri is an Indian author, poet, trust administrator, and one of Meher Baba's mandali (close disciples). Bhau Kalchuri is also the principle biographer of Meher Baba's life and was Meher Baba's night watchman.
When asked -- what really happened that Easter. Bhau wrote the following message, which I reprint here in its entirey.
Some questions I cannot answer, because such questions cannot be answered by anyone except God.
Jesus wanted the world to know that He had been crucified, but he never wanted people to know that He had survived the crucifixion. It was the main sign of His Universal Work. He kept this secret, and nobody came to know about it.
Meher Baba (1927)
When I went to England in 1985, somebody told me that a recent book on Christ said that it had been found that He had come to India after the Resurrection. I cannot say anything more about this, because I am quite ignorant.
I do know this much: Baba told us this was the truth. In 1929, Baba went to Kashmir. He remained in seclusion in Harvan, six miles from Srinigar, the village where Jesus had dropped His body. When Baba came out of seclusion, He disclosed that when He had been Jesus, He had been buried there.
There is no reason to feel amazed that Peter did not know that Jesus had survived. Nobody knew. The Lord did not tell anyone. After the crucifixion, none of the Mandali of Jesus could think of anything. They were all hiding here and there. The time was quite unimaginable. No one thought about Peter, Thomas, Bartholomew or anyone else.
Those who were with Jesus -- Peter, John and others -- were so full of grief that they did not think of anyone except the Lord, not even themselves. Those who were with Jesus when He was crucified and placed in the tomb may have felt as if their own life had departed from them, though their mind and body lingered in order for them to experience the pain [of separation]. Peter did not know about the resurrection; even the mother of Jesus did not know.
Peter and Jesus had been separated such that they never again met. Then they were crucified. I feel that Peter was also crucified for the cause of Lord Jesus, as he was a medium for His Universal Work. Whatever the Lord wanted Peter to do, Peter did.
The Ancient One's ways are innumerable, and He uses those that are suitable at the time. He came out of the burial pit after three days, and perhaps His two Mandali members, Thomas and Bartholomew were there. Thomas did not believe that He was the same Jesus Who had been crucified, but Lord Jesus showed him the wounds in His side inflicted during the crucifixion.
Everyone knows that Lord Jesus performed many miracles. He gave life to the dead. He gave sight to the blind. Could He not save Himself? Why did He allow this crucifixion?
That is the glory of the Lord. The One Who was All Power, All Knowledge and All Bliss was crucified. What a glory! Can anyone understand this?
He was crucified for the world. But on the day of the resurrection, He came out of the pit.
Then He walked to India with His two Mandali members, Thomas (now called "Doubting Thomas") and Bartholomew. It was He Who made those two Mandali members accompany Him. They walked to Burma and from there to India. Jesus visited all the places of pilgrimage in India, walking and walking. Really speaking, this was His seclusion work for the universe.
Age after age, the Avatar comes down upon the earth. He spends time in seclusion for His Universal Work. Beloved Baba also did this. Generally, Mandali members would be with Him, but once, it so happened that when Baba was in seclusion, He said, "This is My seclusion-in-seclusion."
No Mandali members except Eruch and me were allowed to see Him. I would keep night watch and do correspondence. Sometimes, He wanted the letters He had received read out. Eruch would read those in English, and I would read those in Hindi. Baba would not dictate any replies. He would just listen.
He was deeply engrossed in His seclusion work. This seclusion-in-seclusion made other Mandali members restless. He would not come to Mandali Hall; He would remain in His own room, not seeing anyone. That last phase of seclusion, which started in 1967, was really most exhausting."
In 1969, when Baba was getting spasm after spasm, He said, "When I was Jesus, I was only crucified for one day. But no one knows how now I am crucified every day."
Those two years of His seclusion were unimaginably hard because He remained so engrossed with the world. Not only did He take upon Himself the burden of the world, but He also created a situation for the world to free itself from that burden, so that the world might get awakened towards God.
During one night's watch, I was thinking, "Baba does not see anyone. His lovers write letters, but sometimes He does not have them read out. His lovers expect a few loving words from Him, but He neither listens nor responds to their letters. How must they be feeling?"
"What are you thinking?" Baba asked me.
As usual, I replied, "Nothing, Baba."
"Nothing? You are thinking, and still you say nothing? You think that I don't meet My lovers, that when they write letters to Me, I don't listen or respond to them?
"You have no idea what will happen to those who have seen Me physically, as well as those who have not. Do you have any idea what I am doing for them?"
He pounded His legs, the sign for His seclusion work. "This I am giving to them. Afterwards, you will see what will happen to them, who have seen Me physically as well as those who have not. You have no idea what I am doing for them. If they come to Me, what will they see?
"This physical body. What is there?
"I am giving them the Real thing."
And again He made the sign for His seclusion work.
Another night, again after I had received many letters, I was thinking, "How to reply?"
Once more, Baba asked, "What are you thinking?"
Again, I said, "Nothing."
"You have no idea what I am passing through because of My seclusion work," Baba said. "I am stretching and stretching My bow. When I release My arrow, that arrow will touch every heart in the world. You will see what happens afterwards."
During His seclusion work, He continued to stretch and stretch that bow. Ultimately, on 31st January 1969, He dropped His body and released His arrow.
This is the reason more and more people are coming to Him. A day will come when the whole world will come. That will be His Universal Manifestation.
I cannot say anything more. But this much I know: When Beloved Baba dropped His physical body, there was no thought in us except that of Him. I cannot furnish you with an explanation about this time, because I cannot express it or put it into words. It was so painful. It seemed as if this world were receding away from me, and I had nowhere to stand.
Before He dropped His body, Baba had arranged a darshan program for April 1969. During this program, despite His physical absence, we were wonderstruck to see many new faces. How did this happen?
Since then, we always see new faces coming to His Samadhi at Meherabad.
What Lord Jesus was doing after He was crucified, no one has any idea. He lived in India, many, many years, secluded from those who knew Him. He was wandering and wandering with His two disciples to different places. He went to Rameshwaram, where Rama had killed Ravana, and Dwarka, too, the kingdom where Krishna ruled.
He would walk and walk, never staying in one place. Ultimately, He went to Kashmir, and after completing His Universal Work, He dropped His physical body at Harvan. Then, after a hundred years, His Universal Manifestation took place.
Generally, His Universal Manifestation takes place one hundred years after He drops His body. But for Lord Jesus it took more than one hundred years from the time He was crucified. Why?
Because He did not die on the cross. Instead, He started His seclusion work for the universe. Actually, when He was crucified, He remained unknown to the world except for His Mandali members. How is it that the West and some parts of the East accepted Him?
How He suffered for humanity! How He would walk all the distances in India! No one understands even an iota of His suffering for the universe. It is unimaginable.
The Lord always comes down to give a Universal Push, not only to humanity, but also to all kingdoms of evolution and involution. He is love. And He is compassion. How He suffers for Creation. How He has bound Himself to it for all time, though in His own form, He remains eternally free.
He is our only Compassionate Father. No one has any idea why He is called this.
Because He does not find anyone, anywhere, other than Himself. He is active, infinite consciousness. And He's the One Who remains active, even after dropping His physical body.
But there is a difference. Until His Universal Manifestation, He helps everyone, whether a saint or a sinner. At the time of His Universal Manifestation, the devil bows down to Him and remains bowed down. After His Universal Manifestation, the Lord will help those who remember and follow Him. He will not pay attention to those who do not call Him, nor those who forget Him or do not care for Him. Once again, the devil will start raising his head. Ignorance will gradually grow and grow and grow.
When ignorance crosses the limit, He has to come back again. Sometimes, He is called the Son of God, sometimes the Messenger of God, sometimes the Avatar or the Christ. But He's one and the same, the Ancient One.
Nobody thinks, "Who did all His work?"
The Lord Himself did it, and He remains always in the form of the Holy Spirit. He is very active, infinitely active.
You find people performing prayers to the Holy Spirit in their churches. Who is that Holy Spirit?
It is the Lord Himself, Who remains active.
And what is Easter?
Easter is the time to remember Lord Jesus wholeheartedly, to become attached to Him and try to detach yourself from the devil. The devil is in everyone, and it is because of the devil, that the world forgets the Lord.
But what a Compassionate Father He is!
Whether someone is a saint or whether they are a mischief monger or thief, He is for them. He cannot neglect them. They are all His children, because He IS them. [No one can be with Him.] He is thousands of times closer than our very breath. He is our life. There are none except Him, and besides Him, whatever appears as existing is nothing but Illusion, which does not exist. If at all it exists, it exists in non-existence.
As we celebrate this Easter, let us resolve to dedicate our lives to Him and live for Him and die for Him in His love. We should become desireless. We should create longing to be with Him, so that nothing remains for us except Him, the Beloved Avatar, the Compassionate Father, the real Oceanized Ocean, Who looks after us all the time. Let us therefore not hesitate to make this resolution and dedicate our life in order to surrender to Him for all time, so that our false self may disappear, and our real self remains to see the beauty of the Lord.
With all love and Jai Baba to you,
In His love and service,
Bhau
Trust Office
Kings Road
Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India
Thank you for posting this, Isabella. I hope you will add additional related posts in the future. - Jeanne
ReplyDeleteThis is challenging to answer from a Roman Catholic perspective - and I mean the challenge is in how to reconcile my perception of evident charity (and maybe SOME truth?) in this letter and in Meher Baba's life, while refraining from subscribing (or recommending that any Catholic subscribe) to the several heresies which appear at least on its literal face. But I think the best answer would be one informed by charity - the cardinal virtue which appears in this letter.
ReplyDeleteSo that's my first response: there is much charity evident in this letter, and in Meher's life, and so I find very little if anything personally objectionable in Mr Bhau or his Teacher - and quite a lot that is admirable. And Jesus said, "Whoever is not against us is with us." And as Evil always flees from the sign of the Cross, Mr Bhau's acknowledgment of the Cross of Christ indicates (from a Christian perspective) that he is not of the darkness.
There are, however - again, from a Catholic perspective which I will not compromise - some heresies here, to which no Catholic can subscribe (not even a very ecumenical one like me), UNLESS they are not meant literally:
1. Docetism, the belief (shared by Muslims) that Jesus died only in appearance. There is a HINT of Docetism here, but a very diluted kind, because at least here there is acknowledgement that Christ really did suffer. (The Docetist heretics denied this.) However,
2. Although many Catholic theologians would disagree with my belief that God has sent "prophets" outside the Jewish-Christian tradition (and I think Muhammed was
one of God's prophets, for a particular purpose - but then I disagree with Muslims who say Muhammed was the "ULTIMATE and final" prophet) - and I think The Buddha was another (and maybe in a way, so was Shakespeare?) - still, every Catholic must draw a line against any suggestion that Jesus incarnated more than once. Meher Baba was NOT a reincarnation of the one and only person of Jesus Christ. Christ's temporal Incarnation was unique, and Christ's death and resurrection happened only once in Temporal history; he spoke the truth in His last words, "It is finished." HOWever, I am willing to
suggest a CHARITABLE INTERPRETATION of what Meher Baba said about himself being another incarnation of "Jesus":
3. Meher Baba's belief that Jesus was "incarnated" in himself, IS acceptable if it's a metaphor similar to how St Paul said, "Christ lives in me." Insofar as all Life comes from, and through, Christ's incarnation, wherever you find truth and compassion in ANY Human, there you find Christ incarnate, and it seems Christ was incarnated very much in Meher Baba. But then a distinction must be made:
4. Christ "lives in" Meher Baba the SAME WAY Christ lives in ALL sinful children of Adam who aspire to truthfulness and compassion. (And not only in nominal "Christians.") But what I find missing in all this - this letter from Mr Bhau, and in what he describes of his good Teacher - what I find missing, is any acknowledgment of Original Sin in Meher Baba. It seems that he claimed not only to have Christ "in him" (that is not objectionable) - but he went further, to claim PERFECT IDENTITY with Christ...
...and that is a heresy to which no Catholic, not even the most open-minded and charitable one, can ever subscribe.
In sum, my main objection to what Meher Baba said about himself,
is that I see no acknowledgement that he was just another son of Adam born with Original Sin, who required salvation FROM Christ, who
is (eternally) an entirely, ESSENTIALLY, different person from Meher Baba.
5. A few more details. Actually, I think there MIGHT be SOME truth (perhaps even some "literal" truth) in the proffered story of how Christ visited India after His resurrection. After all, Jesus appeared to MANY of his Disciples MANY times after the resurrection - and the New Testament indicates that not all of His appearances were recorded. So maybe He really did appear in India too. Such a miracle would be no more extraordinary than the Resurrection itself, and it would NOT be contrary to the Bible or to the essential teaching of the Caholic Church.
6. But then, although I believe it IS possible (or probable?) that Jesus visited India after the ressurection, on the other hand it is heretical to say he "dropped his body" in India - UNLESS this is meant in some kind of SYMBOLIC way!
Christ was not buried in India, because Christ's resurrected body transcended the conditions of burial. But if Mr Bhau means this in a symbolic way (as is typical of
Indians, who tend to think and speak very non-literally), then I have no objection.
7. Similarly, if Meher Baba was speaking only symbolically when he called himself "THE Avatar" (impying PERFECT identity with Christ, if taken literally) - then I have no objection if he meant it in a symbolic, poetic way like St Paul did. But if he meant it literally, then it was heresy - perhaps well-intentioned, but heresy nonetheless, and even the best-intentioned heresies are invitations to confusion, then to untruth, and then to Evil. And the deadliest heresies are the most beautiful ones, the ones which APPEAR to be very close to God - and Evil always mixes truth with lies, and the most seductive lies have the most truth mixed into them.
8. Another objection, at least to the LITERAL meaning of this letter:
Christ was not the "Ancient One"; He is Eternal. And (and this is an important point) the very condition of Christ being Eternal, is WHY His death and resurrection in time needed to happen ONLY ONCE.
Christ needs no reincarnation, although maybe all the rest of us SINNERS DO? ;-) And on that note...
9. ...on that note, I segue into another essential Catholic truth which is missing in this letter - a truth which, in fact, this letter is contrary to: The reason WHY Christ does not "reincarnate", is because through the Eucharist, Christ is ever present on this Earth. The Body of Christ IS HERE, in the Mass, in the Eucharist. And so, during the good (perhaps Saint?) Meher Baba's life, Meher Baba was NOT the incarnation of Christ - because the Body of Christ is ever present in the Eucharist.
THAT is an essential truth upon which I, a most ecumenical Catholic
(and one who even believes Muhammed was a true Prophet of God), will not compromise. Meher Baba did not incarnate Christ. The Body of Christ is ever present among us, in the Eucharist.
10. Finally, in this letter I see no acknowledgement of - and I see much which contradicts - the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. I find that categorically objectionable, categorically heretical and untrue. BUT...
11. ...BUT, I do not find it to be "dark", at least as far as it goes here. This letter by Mr Bhau is (in my estimation) NOT from the darkness. I find it to be, rather, a letter full of slightly confused and clouded Light, and both my gut and my logical mind tell me that Mr Bhau's intentions are directed TOWARD the Light of Christ. As St Paul said, "For now, we see through a glass darkly", and I think Mr Bhau (and his good Teacher, Meher Baba) were and are men (my fellow sinful men, both of them) who strive toward the Light. And so, in closing...
12. ...in closing, even though I disagree with many of the theological implications of this letter, I find it to be full of charity and love of Truth (however imperfectly), and so I return Mr Bhau's charitable Easter Greetings, and thank him for his generosity in sharing this story. And I hope to be greeted by him AND Meher Baba in Christ's Kingdom, after I get through serving my 10,000 years in Purgatory! ;-) :-)
(By the way, sometimes I speculate about who I would like to have as neighbours when I'm in Purgatory.
I think, when I'm in Purgatory, I will invite Stalin to my parties (some of my Russian friends in Heaven will send some vodka down to us!) so that Stalin and I can throw
our trash and empty bottles onto the head of Hitler down in Hell.
But then, that's assuming that Hitler is in Hell, and no Christian can assume that. Hmmm....
...I also hope to meet Nixon in Purgatory. When I heard the news of Richard Nixon's death in 1994, I had a VERY Catholic thought - I imagined Christ greeting Nixon in Heaven and saying, "WELCOME, Richard! But there's one thing I want you to know: you really ARE A CROOK!" ;-) :-)
And so was the soul of Meher Baba, a man born WITH Original Sin! He was NOT The Christ. But I would not be surprised if he is a Saint, a repentant sinner who is very close to Christ.
One more thing: Contessa Isabella has my permission to send my personal email address to Mr Bhau, if Mr Bhau might want to discuss any of this with me personally.
I am doing so as a matter of integrity; because, as I have challenged Mr Bhau's beliefs so personally, I must be willing to discuss this with him further, personally.
Mr Bhau, Salaam, Shalom, Shantih, and may the Peace of Christ be with you.
PS, one more objection to one more heretical statement in Mr Bhau's very loving and generous and mostly truthful letter:
ReplyDeleteHe wrote, "the devil is in everyone."
That might be accetable as a metaphor, but if taken literally it is heresy, and a doorway to a lie which Satan wants us to believe.
If by "the devil" you mean Satan the Fallen Angel, then, NO, "the devil" is NOT in everyone.
But IF by "the devil" you mean what we Catholics call "Original Sin" (meaning an imperfect soul which is naturally inclined toward evil) - then I totally agree that "Original Sin" is in all of us. Except for Jesus Christ. There was/is no "devil" in Him; there was/is no Original Sin in Him.
But there WAS such a "devil" in Meher Baba, who was not The Christ.
As far as I can see, it looks like Meher Baba is probably a Saint. But there is an essential difference between him (and "all of us") and Christ: there was/is NO sin, NO "devil", in Christ.
That's the essential difference between Christ and (Saint?) Meher Baba. There was a bit of "the devil" in Meher Baba. But there was never any devil in Jesus Christ. And this is an important distinction, of eternal dimensions, which we might be tempted to blur or to confuse upon peril of our souls' salvations.
Meher Baba was a sinner like all others. Christ is not.
Oops, PS, the above comment was by me, John Ball.
ReplyDeleteApart from rest of your comment, partying with Stalin is in seriously bad taste. Quite the same butcher as Hitler, if not worse...
ReplyDelete-Jakub Lach
Jakub Lach,
ReplyDeleteWould you feel better if I said I'd be willing to party with Hitler too, in Purgatory? Of course I'd treat Hitler pretty rudely, just on principle, but if I meet Hitler in Purgatory I'll invite him to my place. Of course I'll only serve him
Israeli wine.
There's no need for you to instruct me about the evils of Stalin. I lived in Russia for two years and among my friends was an elderly Jewish lady (recently departed, God rest her soul) whose father - one of the early Bolsheviks - was exiled to Siberia under Stalin because he was Jewish. Every year, on the anniversary of Stalin's death (March 5) I celebrate his death with a shot of vodka. Many older Russians do the same. But that doesn't mean Stalin is damned for all time; it just means he did great evil in his life, and his memory deserves to be cursed in THIS world!
But remember Saint Dimas, the "good thief" who was crucified alongside Christ. No one except Christ can judge anyone's life beyond this world - and that applies to Hitler, too.
And then, as Mark Twain said, "For climate, choose heaven, but for company, choose hell." ;-)