HUMA: SELECTED POEMS OF MEHER BABA

by Meher Baba, Paul Smith (Translator)

SELECTED POEMS OF MEHER BABATranslation & Introduction by Paul SmithMerwan S. Irani (1894-1969), known world-wide as Meher Baba, took Huma (Phoenix) as his takhallus or pen-name when he composed enlightened ghazals in a mixture of Persian, Urdu and Gujarati in his twenties as a realized disciple of the Qutub or Perfect Master Upasni Maharaj, and also later on. He knew the ghazals of Hafiz by heart as did his father, the dervish Sheriar Irani, who had originally walked to Pune in India from Khooramshah in Iran. Merwan went on to reveal himself as Qutub and later also declared himself as the Rasool or Messiah (Avatar). The correct rhyme-structure has been kept as well as the beauty and meaning of these beautiful, mystical poems (the most ever translated). The Life of Meher Baba, The Ghazal and other forms & History, Selected Bibliography, Ghazals, Qasidas, Qit’as (Fragments), Slokas (couplets. Pages… 116. Front cover painting by John Parry.COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH’S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ’S ‘DIVAN’.“It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece.” Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran.“Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith.” Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of works into Persian and knower of Hafiz’s Divan off by heart. “Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz.” Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author).Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 80 books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, ‘Attar, Sana’i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu’in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Omar Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Bulleh Shah, Shah Latif, Khushal Khan Khattak, Mahsati and many others, and his own poetry, fiction, childrens books, plays, biographies, screenplays.

239 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 3, 2012

About the author

Meher Baba was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, God in human form.

From 10 July 1925 to the end of his life, Meher Baba maintained silence, communicating by means of an alphabet board or by unique hand gestures. With his mandali (circle of disciples), he spent long periods in seclusion, during which time he often fasted. He also traveled widely, held public gatherings and engaged in works of charity with lepers, the poor and the mentally ill.

In 1931, Meher Baba made the first of many visits to the West, where he attracted followers. Throughout most of the 1940s, Meher Baba worked with a category of spiritual aspirants called masts, who he said are entranced or spellbound by internal spiritual experiences. Starting in 1949, along with selected mandali, he traveled incognito about India in an enigmatic and still largely unexplained period he called the "New Life".

Meher Baba gave numerous teachings on the cause and purpose of life, including teaching reincarnation and that the phenomenal world is an illusion. He taught that the Universe is imagination, that God is what really exists, and that each soul is really God passing through imagination to realize individually His own divinity. In addition he gave practical advice for the aspirant who wishes to attain Self-realization and thereby escape the wheel of births and deaths. He also taught about the concept of Perfect Masters, the Avatar, and those on the various stages of the spiritual path that he called involution. His teachings are most importantly recorded in his principal books Discourses and God Speaks.