It's a must for me to travel to this place once a Year, it's Meherabad Pilgrim Retreat. The name sounds fancy, but let me tell you, life here is like 50 years behind and I so love that. I like to come here and spend a few days in total silence. There is so much of simplicity and peacefulness here that when I am here I forget that I have a life outside of this place also. The rooms are very basic. There are metal old fashioned beds, so in a room there is a single bed, a cabinet which is made in the wall itself, just with wooden doors, a table and a chair, and a bed side table. The electrical fittings are still like what we had 30 years back in our homes. No Air conditioner, there is a fan and a light in the room. Bathroom are on sharing basis, which are again clean and simple. No wi-fi connection.
The stay is separate for male and females, during the day time everyone can visit each others room, but after 9 you have to be in your section. The retreat gates will close at 10:00 p.m. so after that no one can go out or come in. For meals there is a big common dining area and no meals will be served in the room or can be carried to the room. Everyone has to have the meals in the dining or in the outdoor designated area. There are fixed timings for the meals so if you miss that, you have to go hungry because nothing will be available in-between.
This time I missed my lunch. I had a night train by which I arrived to the retreat early morning, I got fresh and then visited the Meher Baba tomb, which is the main purpose to visit the place and then breakfast. After all of it I was feeling sleepy so I decided to take a short-nap which was at around 11, I kept the alarm for 1 to wake up for lunch, but then when it rang, I thought 10 more minutes and that became an hour, after which the lunch service was closed. Anyways I had my breakfast so I was ok and did not feel very hungry.
Some outdoor pictures of the retreat that I clicked. I missed to click the room pictures this time. The retreat is in middle of a forest, surrounded by trees from all sides, except for the sound of th birds you do not hear anything in this place.
People who visit here generally observe silence and talk very less, else most of the time we send in meditation at the tomb.
This is the tomb building. In the evening there is a prayer that is done here and then everyone can pay respect at the tomb of Meher Baba.
The tomb is a km away from the retreat and one has to walk it up, from the forest. There is a motorable road but not from the retreat, for that there is another road from the outside of the retreat. I enjoy this walk so whenever I am here twice in the day I make it a point to visit the tomb and sit there for sometime. There is so much silence and peace here that it feels like you are absolutely by yourself on this planet.
At night one has to enter the gate before 9 p.m. after that it gets closed, if you are stuck out, not that you will not be taken inside, but it will be a hassle because there will be no one around at the gate to open.
That's the outdoor dining area
These are the tombs of some of Meher baba's very beloved followers, just outside the room of his tomb.
A very beautiful sculptor of Baba taking care of an old man.
People from all over the world come here. Even if there are 1000 people out here, there will still be complete silence. Meher baba had gone into silence for 44 years of his life and till the end he did not speak. Whatever he wanted to communicate was through his eyes and gestures and with all of that he gave some beautiful preaching's. Rich and poor everyone came to him and still do visit him and his doors are open for everyone in the same manner.
The charges for a day stay along with 3 meals breakfast, lunch and dinner is 700 rupees, which is not even 10 dollars a day. There are no special privileges for the rich or any lack for the poor, all are treated equal in this place. Everyone is served the same food and has to use the same rooms and facilities. There are no special arrangements for anyone, even if one is willing to pay.
I feel it is so important to spend time in these kind of places on a regular basis, not only it is peaceful but it will also ground us. I spent a day here and then proceeded to the next stop which was also a Temple and day 2 was all visits to the temple in Shirdi, where there is the main Sai Baba Temple, the Temple of Lord Shani (Saturn) and a Temple of Lord Ganesha in Panchmukhi form. There are very few temples of Lord Ganesha in the Panchmukhi form, it is where Lord Ganesha holds 5 faces. It has a long story which I can park it for some other day.
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