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Spirituality is not about escaping from life; it's about living fully, embracing the divine presence in every aspect of our existence. -Meher Baba
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Coming Up!
The Heartland Center is pleased to announce a seminar by Ward Parks
The New Life Then and Now
October 6 - 12, 2024
The History and Significance of Meher Baba’s ‘New Life’
From 16th October 1949 to the Conclusion of Manonash in February 1952
On the 16th of October 1949, Meher Baba renounced the Old Life with all its trappings of Perfect Masterhood and so-called “spirituality” and with twenty companions set out on a New Life of “helplessness and hopelessness.”
This six-day program will explore this important phase of Baba's life which remains profoundly enigmatic and often baffling.
It will examine such questions as: What exactly was the New Life?
How does one reconcile its stark contradictions?
And what are we to make of Meher Baba Himself and the roles He played - stepping from His Old Life into a New Life where He became an ordinary seeker of God.
And afterward, of course, there was Manonash, signifying the annihilation of the mind - the culmination of the New Life.
Participants can expect lively conversations led by Ward Parks as we imagine the experiences of the Mandali and explore the implications of the New Life on our daily lives with Baba.
The Heartland Center in Prague, OK, is also a particularly appropriate place for this seminar. It was only a few months after Baba completed the New Life that He had his long-foretold "personal disaster" in the form of His 1952 accident in Prague.
Participants will also have the opportunity to visit the accident site and the hospital where Baba, Mehera, and other mandali spent 12 days recuperating. These two sites have become major places of pilgrimage for Baba-lovers from around the world.
The cost of the six-day seminar is $340.
Comfortable accommodations include breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea.
Information about convenient travel to the Heartland Center can be found here.
Space is limited so please register early!
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND THE REGISTRATION FORM PLEASE
Must See Films
Titled in Meher Baba’s own words, the Heartland Center’s feature-length documentary film tells the story of Meher Baba’s 1952 accident. It begins with Baba’s early contacts with His Western disciples and culminates with His fateful crash near Prague, Oklahoma.
“The Greatest of My Sufferings” was previewed in 2021 at the 11th Annual Meher Baba Legacy Program 'Discovering the Avataric Treasure' held at Meherabad.
After Meher Baba’s fateful 1952 accident, He and His mandali were treated and recuperated at what was then the Prague Hospital and Clinic.
This 20-minute film presents a vision for preserving the building which is now the Prague Regional Memorial Hospital. It’s also a call to action for Baba lovers around the world to contribute and help memorialize this sacred place for generations to come.
Click Below for Our Latest Newsletter
Highlights of Past Sahavases
The 72nd Anniversary of Meher Baba’s Accident
On May 24, 2024, the Heartland Center presented a virtual program on BabaZoom with special guests Peter Booth and Jacob Horsey.
We also held an in-person Sahavas in Prague.
More details on both events can be found here in our June Newsletter.
You can also view the full two-hour presentation by clicking on the image below.
“When it is recognized that there are no claims greater than the claims of the universal divine life which, without exception, includes everyone and everything, love will not only establish peace, harmony and happiness in social, national, and international spheres, but it will shine in its own purity and beauty.” - Meher Baba
For a transcript of Peter Booth’s talk, please click here.
“I say on my divine authority that I am the only one pervading everything – the only one in creation. Don’t treat these as mere words from a learned man or a philosopher . . . . I am the Ancient One, the
Only one, and [you] should always repeat my name, think of me, remember me. I tell the same thing
not only to you all, but also to saints and advanced souls on the Path.” — Meher Baba
WORKSHOP BY WARD PARKS
“An Integrated Darshana: Creation and its Causes in the Context of God Speaks, Infinite Intelligence, and other Major Dictations of Avatar Meher Baba”
Six Days – October 8 - 14, 2023
The Heartland Center was pleased to host Ward Parks for this six-day intensive workshop.
The workshop sessions were organized into four major subject areas:
God Speaks in the foundation of Meher Baba’s darshana
Infinite Intelligence and In God’s Hand in the foundation of Meher Baba’s darshana
Cosmology in Creation and its Causes in the context of Meher Baba’s darshana
The spiritual path as described in Creation and its Causes in relation to Meher Baba’s other expositions on the subject.
Essential texts for the workshop included Creation and its Causes, Infinite Intelligence, and God Speaks, as well as other books and messages, especially In God’s Hand; Discourses (any edition); “How It All Happened,” part 5 in Early Messages to the West; Tiffin Lectures; Divine Theme; and Beams on the Spiritual Panorama.
Ward Parks giving his ‘God Speaks’ seminar at Avatar Meher Baba Heartland Center, 2016.
71st ANNIVERSARY SAHAVAS
9th INTERNATIONAL JAPA
May 23 - 24, 2023
Videos of the Heartland Center's two-day virtual Sahavas commemorating the 71st anniversary of Meher Baba’s 1952 automobile accident can now be viewed online (links below).
May 23 featured a film excerpt of Dr. Ned Burleson describing the challenges he faced treating Meher Baba and His injured mandali, followed by a live talk by Dr. Burleson's daughter Julia Margaret Burleson Brigham recounting her memories of Baba and the events after the accident. The program closed with the announcement of a critically important Heartland Center project, the Heartland Memorial Initiative.
May 24 included the 9th International Japa, Arti, and a panel discussion focusing on the significance of Meher Baba's sacred sites with participants Daniel Stone and Philip Lutgendorf.
The Sahavas was animated with heartfelt devotional music by Julie and Rusty Rust.
SAHAVAS VIDEO LINKS
Video recordings of the two-day program can be accessed through the following links:
–May 23 (with Dr. Burleson Film and Julia Margaret Burleson Talk):
https://vimeo.com/837177475
–May 24, Morning Arti: https://vimeo.com/838394804
–May 24, (with Sacred Sites Discussion): https://vimeo.com/840266615
TEA WITH JULIA MARGARET
During the anniversary gathering, the Heartland Center hosted a tea for the hospital staff and management where Julia Margaret Burleson shared her recollections of her father's work and his founding of the original Prague Clinic and Hospital.
A video recording of Margaret's talk at the tea may be viewed on Vimeo by clicking on the following link:
–Afternoon Tea with Julia Margaret Burleson: https://vimeo.com/837312472
An aerial view of U.S. Highway 62. Meher Baba’s accident occurred just before the driveway in the left foreground.
70TH ANNIVERSARY SAHAVAS AND
8TH INTERNATIONAL JAPA
Meher Baba gesturing in His unique method of silent communication.
May 23 - 24, 2022
The Heartland Center honored the 70th anniversary of Meher Baba’s 1952 automobile accident near Prague, Oklahoma, with a two-day virtual Sahavas.
The Sahavas was enlivened with offerings by gifted musicians Maraiya Latulippe, Patrick O’Neil, Bobbi Bernstein, John Collins, and Buz Connor. Sahavases joined the morning Arti on May 24th, which culminated with a moment of silence at the exact time of Meher Baba’s accident.
Wendy Haynes Connor, who shared her experience of Baba’s suffering conveyed to her personally through Mehera's vivid recounting of the 1952 accident.
Participants Daniel Stone, Pamela Butler-Stone, Preeti Hay, and Keith Sheridan offered diverse perspectives on the meaning of Meher Baba’s accident, from the universal to the personal.
SAHAVAS VIDEO LINKS
Video recordings of the two-day program can be accessed through the following links:
–May 23 (with Wendy Haynes): https://vimeo.com/719971010
–May 24, Morning Arti: https://vimeo.com/719956564
–May 24, (with panel speakers): https://vimeo.com/722203858
Burleson House
Jane Montgomery, the Heartland Center’s caretaker, has completed supervision of interior renovations of the Burleson House and she began receiving guests for day visits and overnight stays in May of this year.
Extensive work on the house over the last several years has included structural shoring of the house foundations, re-tiling of the roof, completion of the kitchen refurbishment, complete interior renovation of the library, and interior wall restoration and painting.
Morrison House
We’re pleased to announce that after four years of extensive renovation the Morrison House is again open to accomodate pilgrims.
Renovation of the house has included the lifting of the entire building for the replacement of its earthquake-damaged foundation with steel reinforced footings; replacement of the original brick facade with new weatherproof siding; rebuilding of the front veranda; new insulation and replacement of all windows; bathroom and kitchen renovations, and new electric and plumbing.
Our heartfelt thanks to all who have continued to support the Center throughout this challenging period—it is only through your loving gifts that the Center continues to fulfill its mission of preserving Meher Baba’s legacy in the heartland of America.