Mast or God Mad | Spiritually Intoxicated Persons
Masts are spiritually advanced souls who are deeply absorbed in Divine Love to such an extent that they lose normal awareness of the world around them. They are intoxicated by their connection with God, often unable to function in ordinary ways, and their behavior may appear erratic or even similar to that of a mad or insane person. However, their madness is not of the mind but of the heart, overwhelmed by the immense power of divine ecstasy and grace.
Masts experience intense inner states, receiving glimpses of the divine reality. This contact with God fills them with such joy and spiritual exaltation that they are unable to maintain worldly composure or balance. Instead, they move from one state of spiritual intoxication to another, each more overwhelming than the last, or remain stationed in one state. This unbalanced exaltation is a natural result of their profound experiences of God’s love and grace.
Masts may exist on any of the inner planes of consciousness. Some progress steadily, while others may become “stuck” on a particular plane, unable to move further due to the sheer intensity of their experiences. This state of being “stuck” is not a failure but a result of being overwhelmed by divine love. They become lost in the beauty and wonder of the “beatific vision,” a state of divine absorption where they are completely immersed in God’s presence.
Meher Baba had a unique relationship with masts and sought them out during his lifetime. He contacted countless masts across India and beyond, recognizing their spiritual significance and the role they play in the divine plan. He personally cared for them, establishing seven mast ashrams in India where he would bathe, clean, and feed these God-intoxicated souls with his own hands. After providing them this care, Baba would release them back into their environments. He described this work as giving them a spiritual push, helping to create a balance in their consciousness and enabling them to become more useful to the world in their future lives. For Baba, this sacred service was a way of enhancing their spiritual journey and aligning them more closely with divine will.
मस्त वे आध्यात्मिक रूप से उन्नत आत्माएं हैं जो ईश्वरीय प्रेम में इतनी गहराई से डूबी होती हैं कि वे अपने आसपास की दुनिया के प्रति सामान्य जागरूकता खो देती हैं। वे ईश्वर से अपने संबंध के आनंद में इतने सराबोर होते हैं कि वे सामान्य तरीकों से कार्य करने में असमर्थ हो जाते हैं। उनका व्यवहार अक्सर अनियमित या पागल जैसा प्रतीत हो सकता है, लेकिन उनका यह “पागलपन” मानसिक नहीं, बल्कि हार्दिक का है, जो ईश्वरीय आनंद और अनुग्रह की अपार शक्ति से अभिभूत है।
मस्त ईश्वर के संपर्क में आकर तीव्र आंतरिक अवस्थाओं का अनुभव करते हैं। यह संपर्क उन्हें दिव्य वास्तविकता की झलक देता है, जिससे वे इतना आनंदित और आध्यात्मिक उल्लास से भर जाते हैं कि वे सांसारिक संतुलन बनाए नहीं रख पाते। इसके बजाय, वे एक अवस्था से दूसरी अवस्था में चले जाते हैं, और हर अवस्था पहले से अधिक प्रबल होती है, अथवा एक ही अवस्था में अटक जाते हैं, यह “असंतुलित उत्कर्ष” उनके अनुभवों की गहराई का स्वाभाविक परिणाम है, जो ईश्वरीय प्रेम और अनुग्रह से उपजा है।
मस्त किसी भी आंतरिक चेतना के स्तर पर हो सकते हैं। कुछ लगातार आगे बढ़ते हैं, जबकि कुछ अपने अनुभवों की तीव्रता के कारण एक विशिष्ट स्तर पर “अटक” जाते हैं। यह “अटकना” असफलता नहीं है, बल्कि ईश्वरीय प्रेम से अभिभूत होने का परिणाम है। वे “दिव्य दर्शन” की स्थिति में खो जाते हैं, जिसमें वे पूरी तरह से ईश्वर की उपस्थिति में डूबे रहते हैं।
मेहर बाबा का मस्तों के साथ एक अनूठा संबंध था, और उन्होंने अपने जीवनकाल में भारत और अन्य स्थानों पर असंख्य मस्तों से संपर्क किया। बाबा ने मस्तों की आध्यात्मिक महत्ता और दिव्य योजना में उनकी भूमिका को पहचाना। उन्होंने उनकी व्यक्तिगत देखभाल की और भारत में सात मस्त आश्रम स्थापित किए। इन आश्रमों में बाबा ने मस्तों को स्वयं स्नान कराया, साफ किया, और अपने हाथों से भोजन कराया। इसके बाद, कुछ दिन रखने के बाद, उन्होंने उन्हें उनके परिवेश में वापस भेज दिया। बाबा ने इस सेवा को मस्तों को एक आध्यात्मिक धक्का देने के रूप में वर्णित किया, जिससे उनके चेतना में संतुलन पैदा हो और वे अपने भविष्य के जीवन में विश्व के लिए अधिक उपयोगी या कल्याणकारी बन सकें। बाबा के लिए, यह पवित्र कार्य मस्तों की आध्यात्मिक यात्रा को बढ़ाने और उन्हें दिव्य इच्छा के साथ और अधिक संरेखित करने का एक तरीका था।
The Wayfarers – By Dr. William Donkin
[About Meher Baba and Hist mast contact and work]
Please download a free PDF copy of the Book
Who is a Mast? – According to Meher Baba
Masts are God-intoxicated souls. They are intoxicated by Divine Love. Their external behaviour often is like that of an insane or mad person. The glimpses of divinity that they get are accompanied by a joy that breaks through any type of sordid composure. One state of unbalanced exaltation is replaced by another state of unbalanced exaltation. A mast may be on any plane of consciousness. Some masts get stuck on the inner planes. They are over powered by the onflow of grace and love, and get into a state of divine stupor. They are entirely absorbed in the “beautific vision.”
The principal sensation of a mast is this permanent enjoyment of divine intoxication. The creation is full of bliss and the mast enjoys this bliss and thereby becomes intoxicated to an almost unlimited extent, virtually consuming him and absorbing him and thereby making the world around him vanish. Absorbed in God, such a person is continually absorbed in thinking about God, and with that comes like a bolt of pure love consuming him further in a state of divine intoxication.
Masts do not suffer from what may be called a disease. They are in a state of mental disorder because their minds are overcome by such intense spiritual energies that are far too much for them, forcing them to lose contact with the world, shed normal human habits and customs, and civilized society and live in a state of spiritual splendour but physical squalor.
How does it happen that some men and women become masts?
There are those who have become masts whose minds have become unbalanced through unceasing dwelling upon thoughts of God so that they neglect all normal human requirements. There are those whose minds have become unbalanced by sudden contact with a highly advanced spiritual being. There are those who have sought spiritual experience and have met a crisis from which they do not recover. What characterizes all masts is their concentration upon the love of God. (pp 2031 Lord Meher Vol. 6)
Significance of Baba’s mast-contact:
Baba, by His contact with masts, gives effective guidance and a spiritual push. He initiates masts into a greater clarity and lucidity of consciousness, into a deeper ecstasy, a purer and more expansive love, and into a truer stronger creativity of response. Baba draws them out of the “self-sufficiency state” of being absorbed in the Divine Love to a state of rendering true service to others who are in need of spiritual help. A mast can therefore be a more effective agent for spiritual work than the most able persons of the gross world. The mast mind is also often used directly by Baba as medium for sending his spiritual help to different parts of the world.
[Source]
“Meher Baba has explained that the majority of masts are to be found in India*, which is the most important country in the world from the spiritual point of view. Apart from those in India, there are a few masts in Arabia, a very few in parts of Iran (these few are mostly in Meshed and Tabriz), and a very few in Egypt, China and Tibet. As far as countries outside Asia are concerned, there are, with the exception of Egypt, no masts in any other part of the world. There are, however, God-lovers, a few advanced souls, and certain people who are Agents of the Saheb-e-Zaman (Avatar).”
William Donkin, from notes dictated by Meher Baba
before 1948, W p373
*Now partitioned into India and Pakistan.
REFERENCES
TAGS: | MEHER BABA’S MAST- MOHAMMAD, CHACHA | THE WAYFARERS BY DR. DONKIN | SHOBHA MAST | MEHER BABA’S MAST ASHRAM : JABALPUR, MEHERABAD, DELHI |