Simon and Carla at Meherabad
“Out of a number of practices which lead to the ultimate goal of humanity – God-Realisation – Bhakti Yoga is one of the most important. Almost the whole of humanity is concerned with Bhakti Yoga, which, in simple words, means the art of worship. But it must be understood in all its true aspects, and not merely in a narrow and shallow sense, in which the term is commonly used and interpreted. The profound worship based on the high ideals of philosophy and spirituality, prompted by divine love, doubtless constitutes true Bhakti Yoga.” —The Path of Love, Sheriar Press, 2000, pp. 57-58.
Simon and Carla work in India on Meherabad Hill, Arangaon village, near Ahmednagar, Maharashtra – the home of Avatar Meher Baba’s tomb-shrine. Their work spans many cultures and religious traditions embodying, for us, an example of ‘Beads on One String’.
Translation:
- Having studied languages at University and then worked as a translator from French, Spanish, German and Italian, Simon helps the Publications Committee coordinate translations of Meher Baba literature into European languages.
Carla works for the Manzil-e-Meher Archives
- Preserving, scanning and making available photos of Baba and letters He dictated
- Converting recordings of Meherazad talks into digital format
- Supervising the cleaning of historic rooms in Upper Meherabad
Teaching Personal Care Assistants
- Last pilgrim season (2014-15) Simon created a short program to teach English to the care assistants working for Meher Care (a new setup aimed at looking after ageing Residents – both Eastern and Western).
- It was a great success, so this coming season it will be stepped up with greater resources of text books purchased specifically for the group of Arangaon villagers working for the program
International Music
A main focus of our music is international collaboration.
Bringing together different musical cultures (Western, Latin, Persian and Indian) and fusing them into a new sacred music.
For Amartithi Simon and Carla sang a Brazilian Samba version of Baba’s Beloved God prayer.
For the performance they had singers and percussionists from eleven different countries:
Argentina, Sweden, Italy, Russia, India, Serbia, Iran, England Mexico, Germany, USA…
… but no one from Brazil!
In the Moonlight:
Tu Hai Khuda:
In true Karma Yoga or the life of perfect action, there is proper adjustment between the material and the spiritual aspects of life. In this type of life consciousness is not fettered to the mundane and material things, but at the same time it is not allowed to fly away from everyday existence. The mind is not allowed to be immersed in the material life of gnawing wants, nor is it allowed to be merged in spiritual bliss. It is used to face and tackle the problems of life from the point of view of spiritual understanding. –Volume I Page 121 § The Life of the Spirit