Transcript Slide 1

For best results in viewing this show…
•
If you are viewing via a live internet connection and you can still see
your “Back” button and other internet browser menu options at the top of
your screen, then please right-click anyplace on this slide and select Full
Screen.
•
You can advance to the next slide by left-clicking your mouse or pressing
the <Space>, <Right Arrow>, or <Down Arrow> key on your keyboard.
•
To return to a previous slide, press the <Left Arrow> or <Up Arrow> key.
•
To end the show at any time, press the <Escape> key.
•
If you have saved this show to your hard drive and you are now viewing
it within Microsoft PowerPoint, click on Slide Show in the menu bar, then
select Run Show. Use the same navigational keys as for online viewing.
We have only tested the slide show viewing with recent versions of Internet Explorer. If you are using
another browser or otherwise have difficulties viewing the show, please contact the webmaster.
Dedication
We the friends and workers of the
Avatar Meher Baba Heartland Center
dedicate our hearts to Meher Baba
in appreciation of the suffering
he undertook for us in 1952,
in the heartland of America.
It was in 1952 that
Meher Baba first came
to his “Home in the
West,” to visit the place
that his devotees had
lovingly built for him in
Myrtle Beach and
called the Meher
Spiritual Center. This
was a joyous time …
an event that was
many years in
preparation.
Meher Baba is pictured here along with with Adele Wolkin, Filis Frederick, his sister
Mani, Rita (Sparkie) Lukes, Ivy O. Duce, Mehera, Delia DeLeon and Meheru.
After several weeks visiting with Baba lovers old and new, it was time for them to
go. On May 21, 1952, Meher Baba and the women mandali left in two cars for
California to visit devotees waiting for him there. (The men mandali had been
sent on ahead, the day before.) Perhaps no-one realized the significance of it
then, but the route Baba chose very closely followed the Trail of Tears.
Trail of Tears Map source: U.S. National Park Service
“Kitty Davy writes in Love Alone Prevails…
“Elizabeth drove the blue Nash,
Baba seated beside her; Mehera,
Mani and Meheru behind….
On the night of May 23 we stayed
at Pond Crest Motor Court in the
Ozarks [Arkansas]….
We were up early as usual.
…After breakfast the group stood
waiting in front of the motel for Baba’s
signal to step into the cars. This
morning Baba delayed starting, however.
He came out of his room and stood quite
still for some minutes on the doorstep,
withdrawn, sad and unusually still. No last
minute questions, no haste to be off….
Ten minutes elapsed before Baba walked to the car, followed by the eastern
women…. After a short distance, Baba’s car stopped suddenly and Baba got out
and paced up and down the right-hand side of the road. We too got out and
stood by the car. Not a word was uttered.” (pp. 397-398.)
The automobile collision occurred later that day on this stretch of
road about seven miles away from Prague, Oklahoma.
This photograph was taken from the collision site, facing east.
“With lightning speed we jumped out of the car and rushed forward.
The anguish of that moment is unforgettable…. Baba’s face with
blood pouring from his head, the extraordinary expression on
Baba’s face, his eyes just staring straight ahead as if into
unfathomable distances. He made no sound or sign...just lay there
motionless…. Elizabeth was in the car doubled over the wheel. Her
first question had been, ‘Is he alive?’”
--Kitty Davy, Love Alone Prevails, p. 398.
The injured are rushed to the Prague Clinic
When the ambulance
came, they went to Baba
with a stretcher, but he
motioned toward Mehera,
asking that she be helped
before him. After arrival
at the hospital, again he
refused assistance until
Mehera had received
attention. Mehera was
unconscious at the time,
having received a very
serious head injury.
This image shows the emergency room
entrance looking about the same as it did
in the early 1950s. Kitty recalled, “The
whole Prague Clinic was turned upside
down to make the party comfortable.”
Dr. Ned Burleson later wrote:
“When I finally got around to attending to
Baba, I was surprised to see an individual
who was injured as badly as he was still
smiling. I was also astounded to find that
he did not speak a word, or make any
sound denoting discomfort….
Dr. Burleson standing in
front of the Emergency
Room entrance in 1959.
The most attractive quality of his
personality that first day was they way he
looked at me with those big brown eyes as
if he were reading my mind. Later, I
determined that the most astounding
quality was that something which made it
possible for him to receive such profound
devotion and loyalty from so many fine and
educated people. That quality cannot be
forced. Such devotion can only be
possible because he deserved it or earned
it.” (p. 400, Love Alone Prevails)
During the twelve days that Baba,
Mehera, Meheru and Elizabeth
were cared for in Prague, the
townspeople expressed such loving
helpfulness that all the party were
deeply touched.
Baba’s connection with the
Burleson family continued through
the years primarily by way of
correspondence through his sister,
Mani. Baba did not forget the
Burlesons. Once, much to the
delight of Mrs. Burleson and the
children, he sent the family a
leopard skin from India.
Mani and Mehera
Fast forward 50 years….
…to May 24, 2002
Baba lovers gathered in Prague, Oklahoma to attend a special
Sahavas to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Baba’s automobile
collision. More than 100 people from around the country and abroad
attended, and Baba really lit a fire in these hearts, deepening the
appreciation of His suffering and sacrifice for humanity.
With the intention of one day having an actual center in the Heartland
of America commemorating this monumental event, and also to
facilitate pilgrimage to this sacred site, a group of people organized a
501(c)(3) non-profit, and named it Avatar Meher Baba Heartland
Center.
Inspired to purchase the properties associated with the accident
site, the Board of the Heartland Center raised some funds but
were not at that time successful in several seemingly hopeful
attempts. The right time came a few years later, in 2005….
The Burleson House
Dr. Ned Burleson's house,
located just across the alley
from the Prague Clinic/
Hospital, came up for
sale in 2005. Hundreds of
Baba lovers from around the
world made love donations
within four short months,
making it possible to
purchase the house and
establish it as a pilgrimage
center of the non-profit
Avatar Meher Baba
Heartland Center.
Baba's sisterMani and other mandali
had visited the Burleson family here.
Over 100 Baba lovers came in May 2005 to remember Baba’s
suffering, and celebrate the opening of the new Center.
2005 Oklahoma Sahavas
We stayed at the beautiful, rustic St.
Crispin’s Episcopalian Retreat Center.
2005 Oklahoma Sahavas
We heard a variety of interesting
speakers, including Ed Flanagan (left),
…with Adele Wolkin, Roshan Kerawalla,
Ralph and Stella Hernandez, and Duncan
Knowles.
Roshan and Adele with Debbie Nordeen.
Murshida Carol Conner,
spiritual leader
of Sufism Reoriented
There were also musicians…
…and a choir.
Editor’s note: We also enjoyed many more speakers and musicians not pictured here.
The absence of photos certainly does not diminish the significance of each person’s contribution.
At the Sahavas, outgoing AMBHC president Carolyn Ball recognized workers
and volunteers for their efforts in founding the AMBHC and developing the
Burleson House Project. Shown here are Julia Margaret Burleson, Debbie
Nordeen, John Poag, Carolyn Ball, Art Nordeen, Ed Flanagan, Lynn Whilhite,
Peter Rippa, Dan Sparks, and Angela Chen.
We gathered at the Burleson House
for the formal dedication of the house to Baba.
During the dedication,
Michael Burleson very
generously donated a
family treasure to the Avatar
Meher Baba Heartland
Center: a signed copy of
God Speaks
which was a gift directly
from Baba to the family.
Avatar Meher Baba Ki Jai!
We celebrated, played the piano,
sang, toured the house, and
visited in the shaded back yard.
Mychal, Dr. Ned Burleson’s
granddaughter, even served us tea
(below, right).
It couldn’t have happened if this “early bird crew” hadn’t worked so many
long hours to get the house functioning and spiffed up for opening.
Front row: Carolyn Ball, Lynn Wilhite, Jeanne Felknor, Michael Ivey.
Back row: Art Nordeen, Julia Margaret Brigham, Debbie and Peter Nordeen.
Later we got to hear memories from all the Burleson siblings:
Beth, Julia Margaret and Michael. They told us about their father,
and shared a few memories of meeting Baba themselves.
Dr. Michael Burleson led us on small group tours to see the Prague
Municipal Hospital. He showed us the surgeon’s private office where
Baba was placed, and the area where Mehera and Elizabeth were,
which at the time, was the only hospital room available.
We went to the place where the collision occurred
to pray, sing, place flowers, …and simply to remember.
We went to the place where the collision occurred
to pray, sing, place flowers, …and simply to remember.
We went to the place where the collision occurred
to pray, sing, place flowers, …and simply to remember.
On the last evening together,
we symbolically burned our silent offerings to Baba
in the dhuni fire.
May we be worthy of the suffering he underwent for us.
Would you like to visit the Avatar Meher Baba
Heartland Center?
Contact information:
Avatar Meher Baba Heartland Center
1319 Barta, NBU 7804
Prague, OK 74864
Phone:(405) 567-4774
E-Mail: [email protected]
The Avatar Meher Baba Heartland Center
was founded in 2002 with the intent to facilitate
pilgrimage to the areas associated with
Meher Baba's accident. This non-profit is
simply made up of any and all
Baba-lovers who wish to participate.
CREDITS
PHOTOGRAPHS
•
•
•
•
Slide 3 - © Lawrence Reiter
Slides 4, 6, 11 and 34 - © Sufism Reoriented
Slide 10 - Burleson family
Other photos provided by Jean Cassidy, Michael Ivey, Pat Cook and M.
Concannon
BOOKS
•
•
•
Davy, Kitty. Love Alone Prevails: A Story of Life with Meher Baba. Second
edition. North Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Foundation, ©2001.
Irani, Mehera J. Mehera. East Windsor, NJ: Beloved Books, c1989.
Meher Baba. God Speaks:The The Theme of Creation and its Purpose.
Walnut Creek, CA: Sufism Reoriented, ©1955.