A Treasure Discovered (MANUSCRIPTS)

NEW MANUSCRIPTS FOUND

We are delighted to share that a remarkable find has been uncovered in the Trust’s Archives. In July 2024, several batches of documents were identified as possibly written in Meher Baba’s own handwriting. After careful and thorough analysis, we can happily confirm that these manuscripts are indeed written by Beloved Baba Himself.

Background of the Manuscripts

The documents were found among Framroze H. Dadachanji’s (Chanji) papers. Chanji served as Baba’s devoted secretary from the 1920s until the mid-1940s and was present during the early days at Meherabad when Baba was actively delivering lectures and writing multiple discourses and essays by hand.

Following Chanji’s passing in 1944, the files which he had kept for Baba were transferred to Adi K. Irani in Ahmednagar and became part of what was known as “The Record.” Baba sent out an epitaph upon Chanji’s passing, highlighting his dedication to preserving this record of Baba’s life and work, “For time to come, he leaves a vast record of events of Baba’s life with their spiritual significance explained. With Baba, he travelled the world several times, drawing up itineraries and gathering records of His Master’s work with untiring energy. As one of Baba’s most trusted and dear ones, he laid down his life with Baba’s name on his lips.”[1]

[1] Gift of God, Arnavaz N. Dadachanji,1996. p.84.

Baba was very particular about preserving this record. Adi K. Irani, who succeeded Chanji as Baba’s secretary, continued this vital work. On November 30, 1958, during a meeting with Adi in the Trust Office, Baba emphasised the importance of safeguarding these records, “Do you keep all the office records in steel trunks or almirahs? As a precaution against insects and fire, you must do this. The importance and significance of these records is such that you can hardly imagine it today.” [2]

[2] Lord Meher, Online edition, www.lordmeher.org, accessed 13/08/24, p. 4474.

This treasured paper record of Beloved Baba’s advent, meticulously maintained by Chanji and Adi, is now carefully preserved in the Trust’s Archives. It was within this incredible collection that these precious manuscripts were discovered.

Significance and Availability

As we know from past Advents, the words of the Avatar have a deep and lasting impact on humanity. That Baba has revealed to His Lovers more of His words in His own handwriting is a gift beyond measure for which we are forever grateful.

In this Age, the Avatar has bestowed many blessings upon His lovers, not least among them are the tools to access His words for themselves. The widespread ability of individuals to read, the invention of the printing press, digital images and the Internet allow direct access to the words of the Avatar in a way undreamt of in previous Advents. However, the potential to both access, duplicate, and spread His words far and wide also comes with responsibility. The integrity of His message and writings must be upheld now and in the future, and His lovers must have confidence in the authenticity of the words of the Avatar.

As humanity comes to Baba and the power of His words is felt not only in our hearts but also in human affairs and the course of civilization, great pressure will be brought to bear on these words. Humanity will naturally question whether the writings of the Avatar have been accurately transmitted. It is the duty of those who care for the physical record of Baba’s advent to do our best not to come between Baba and His lovers. Therefore, our policy is to provide digital access to His words in their original form, making them available to all exactly as they appear physically.

Over the coming months and years, researchers and scholars will examine these documents in detail, creating authoritative editions of these previously unpublished writings. This process will involve transcription and translation, particularly of the Gujarati script and other languages. However, making the documents available to all in facsimile is the essential first step.

Authentication Process

It’s important to note that these documents are not signed by Baba, nor do they state that He wrote them.

These pages were flagged as potentially in Baba’s handwriting during the cataloguing of the approximately 500,000 documents in this collection. This triggered the Archives team to undertake a careful review of these pages. The team thought the handwriting could be Baba’s and asked the Publications-Copyright Department for their opinion. They agreed it likely was Baba’s handwriting.

To be certain, two independent forensic handwriting experts, one from Mumbai and one from Pune, were engaged to examine the document pages. They compared the documents against samples of handwriting previously confirmed to be Baba’s by His Mandali. After a thorough comparison, both experts independently concluded that the handwriting was indeed by Meher Baba.

Content and Condition of the Documents

The documents were found mixed among various typed and handwritten materials in folders labelled “Dadachanji’s Records Manuscripts.” They mostly consist of loose 8.5”x13” single or double folios that were preserved with relatively minor damage.

The first batch consists of 64 pages. Mostly handwritten in ink, these pages include a number of essays, many of which are untitled, and some without clear beginnings or endings. The text is primarily in English but includes Indic terms and Gujarati script. Some pages are entirely in Gujarati, with diagrams that require further deciphering.

The second batch is a two-page story in English, written in pencil.

The third batch comprises three essays written in pencil, mostly in English, with some words in Perso-Arabic script for Sufi terms.

Original cataloguing marks in blue pencil and page numbers in regular pencil suggest these pages were organised after the main text was written. The handwriting often changes in appearance, with many corrections and additions by Baba, indicating possible future revisions were intended.

The writing style is reminiscent of early Meherabad manuscripts, where Baba interjects Indic equivalents to restate concepts just expressed in English, and extensively connects His trains of thought with logical conjunctions such as “so”, “thus” and “then”. The topics are diverse, and the vocabulary is often new in Baba’s known literature or used in a new way; but in one section the contents are directly related to the manuscript that was published under the title In God’s Hand. The entire texts and diagrams will necessitate a very careful and close study in order to bring out all the nuances and deep meaning and to try and give a clear picture of what Baba ultimately intended to convey.

Viewing the Manuscripts

The entire documents were digitised, including blank pages, in the order in which they were kept in the original files. To aid in understanding, we then reconstructed the inferred order based on page numbering, punched holes, and environmental damage. The documents are available for reading in both the original order and the inferred order in a special gallery on the Trust Archives Document website.

Additionally, we are delighted to present a special temporary exhibit featuring some of the original handwritten manuscript pages and diagrams at the Meherabad Museum on the Hill. We warmly invite you to visit the Museum and share in the joy of this extraordinary discovery, starting this September.

In Beloved Baba’s Love and Service,
Avatar Meher Baba Trust, Archives.

AVATAR MEHER BABA ki JAI !