Perfect Master (Meher Baba)
Perfect Master is the English term
States of God-realized souls
Meher Baba stated in his book God Speaks that when a spiritually advanced soul loses its consciousness as a separate being, it merges in God in one of three distinct states:
- The soul becomes conscious of itself as God and enjoys eternally His divine attributes of Infinite Power, Knowledge and Bliss, but remains completely unconscious of Creation.
- The soul becomes conscious of itself as God and retains consciousness of Creation but does not use His divine attributes in it.
- The soul becomes conscious of itself as God and uses His divine attributes for the spiritual advancement of others.[4]
Meher Baba calls people who are in the third state Perfect Masters or Mukammil. He distinguishes the second state from Perfect Masters, calling them instead "Perfect Ones" or Kamil. One of the aspects that he says demarcates the Perfect Master from the Perfect One is that the Perfect Master has disciples, while the Perfect One does not. Also Baba says that a Perfect Master can make like himself any number of souls or even the whole of creation, while the Perfect One can only make one soul like himself. However, Meher Baba makes it clear in his system as outlined in God Speaks that the consciousness of these souls is absolutely One and the same. To explain this apparent contradiction he likens the difference between these two classifications of God realized souls to a difference in the 'office' of the God Realized person.[5]
Meher Baba says that at all times on Earth there are 56 incarnate God-realized souls, but that of these only five are deemed the five Perfect Masters of their era. When one of the five Perfect Masters "drops" his physical body, Baba says, another God-realized soul among the 56 incarnate at that time replaces him by taking up that office in that moment. Thus, Meher Baba says there are 56 God-realized souls on Earth at all times, but only and exactly five hold the office of Perfect Master.
In addition, Baba says there is one very rare type of God-realized person who has no disciples but who has duties included in his office. These he says are called Most Perfect Ones or Akmal.[6]
The Five Perfect Masters
Meher Baba is unique among Indian teachers in that he said that the number of Perfect Masters on the Earth is exactly five at all times.
Meher Baba also said that while there are numerous planets in the Universe with human life on them, Earth is the only planet where God realization is possible and where the five Perfect Masters take birth.[11]
The Avatar
Meher Baba asserts that beyond the five Perfect Masters of the age, (distinguished as those God-realized souls which fulfill the office of Perfect Master temporarily until they drop their physical bodies), there is also the
Majzoob
Besides Perfect One (Kamil), Most Perfect One (Akmal), and Perfect Master (Mukammil), Meher Baba described one other type of incarnate soul that has transcended the finite ego and merged in a state of God-consciousness, but cannot help others. This type is the
See also
- Satguru
- Jivanmukta
- Qutub (Sufism)
References
- ^ Infinite Intelligence, Meher Baba, Sheriar Press, 2005
- ^ Meher Baba, The Awakener, Charles Haynes, Ph.D., The Avatar Foundation, Inc., 1989, p. 21
- ^ The God-Man: The Life, Journeys & Work of Meher Baba with an Interpretation of His Silence & Spiritual Teaching, C. B. Purdom, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1964, p. 9
- ^ God Speaks, The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose, Meher Baba, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1973, Sec. Ed. p. 61
- ^ God Speaks, The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose, Meher Baba, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1973, Sec. Ed. pp. 148-149
- ^ God Speaks, The Theme of Creation and Its Purpose, Meher Baba, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1973, Sec. Ed. pp. 148,301
- ^ University of Chicago Journals, Signs and Society, Vol. 2 S 1, 2014
- ^ Kalchuri, Bhau: "Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba", Manifestation, Inc. 1986. p. 4930
- ^ C. B. Purdom, The God-Man: The Life, Journeys & Work of Meher Baba with an Interpretation of His Silence & Spiritual Teaching, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1964 p. 208
- ^ The Everything and the Nothing, Meher Baba, Meher House, Sydney, 1963, pp. 23-6. Available online "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-28. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Kalchuri, Bhau: "Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba", Manifestation, Inc. 1986. pp. 618-619, 5651
- ^ Kalchuri, Bhau: "Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba", Manifestation, Inc. 1986. pp. 618-619, 815
- ^ Kalchuri, Bhau: "Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba", Manifestation, Inc. 1986. p. 4216
- ISBN 1-880619-24-5)