On Sacred Ground

The Memorial Tower

In a simple and beautiful ceremony in December 1944, Beloved Meher Baba laid the foundation of His Memorial Tower. On this historic occasion, Baba had read out the names of all those who would be inscribed on the “tower of glory”. As each name was read, Baba placed a flower into the graves of His beloved disciples Masaji and Chanji, their tomb being the very foundation of the tower itself.

While the graves were being covered, Baba too threw in some earth, as did each of His lovers gathered for the occasion. Picking up the last few rose petals, He scattered them on top of the graves and said, “For all my future lovers to come.” Afterwards, Adi K. Irani read Baba’s Message of The Memorial Tower of Meherabad. It is an extraordinary message. It is in this Message that the purpose of the tower can be gathered.

“While the world is feverishly occupied with the vanishing things of the moment, there always are those who gain true perspective of life, through the grace of the Master … (those) who serve My Cause with unimpeachable integrity of character … who set aside all thoughts of the self and make their life an offering to the divine and imperative cause of the Master. …

“A visible memorial like a tower, which symbolizes their life of unfailing loyalty and love can itself become a medium for inspiring the generations to come. …”

Meher Baba has directed in His Message that the emblems of all the important religions of the world be placed on the tower. “The tower will be in memory of men belonging to different religions and will in fact represent the fundamental unity of all the great world religions. … The tower shall thus be a silent proclamation of the unity of all religions. …”

Moreover, Baba used the flowers symbolically. “The putting of all these flowers in the same foundation is intended to emphasize the Truth that, though the bodies of these devotees were different, they were all part of one eternal and indivisible soul. …”

Eruch Jessawala has said of the Tower, “We can see that the purpose of the Memorial Tower from Baba’s Message is to inspire future generations toward living a life of surrenderance, and at the same time proclaiming the unity of all religions and the unity of the spirit.” (extract from the 122nd Meeting of the Board of Trustees, 2001)

The tower is presently being constructed on the land consecrated by Baba, bestowing on that sacred ground, in His words, “… a reservoir of inspiration and power for posterity. …”

—Suzan Iimura for Avatar Meher Baba Trust, 5 March 2015