knows so little of how he was, his great versatile personality, and what he did while he was alive – the full meaning of his universal work. As his life story unfolds, we will come to know the full meaning of Meher Baba's advent and that awareness will help us feel the full impact of his life upon ours. His impact upon our lives will be our experience of his manifestation.

Avatar Meher Baba has declared himself to be the greatest manifestation of God in this cycle of time. He is the greatest of the Avatars, because he brings together for mankind all the pre-existing religions and isms and unifies them in his personal divinity, his truth and love. Unlike the previous Avatars, there was no limit to the scope of his work. The entire world and every race is a vital part of his mission. In India, among the Zoroastrians who met him, some found him to be the return of Zarathustra; for the Hindus, some found him to be the same as Lord Ram or Krishna, and to a few he was Shiva; for the Buddhists, he was Maitreya; for the Mohammedans, he was the Prophet or Rasool; and in Europe and America, Christians found him to be the Christ, and Hebrews found him to be the Messiah. Meher Baba is the first "Universal Avatar."

Meher Baba's Avataric advent is the greatest dispensation of truth. What was once secret or esoteric knowledge becomes a truth he reveals to the general public. He has revealed numerous points regarding the mysteries behind the creation of the universe, the evolution of all forms and species of animate and inanimate life, human life on other planets, the nature of the higher planes and the expansive consciousness thereof. He has revived the ancient gods – Zeus, Jupiter, Indra, Ganesh, Dattatrey. No previous Avatar has been so public with the declaration of his divinity or Godhood. As his life unfolds and the details of his relationship with people all over the world become known, his greatness becomes so much more evident. His mission is worldwide; it is so vast and complex that the results of his universal work take one hundred years to be known and project one thousand years into the future. Although he has departed physically, he has left so much for us to imbibe; we are meant to experience the unfoldment of his manifestation whereby spirit will come back to life.

We are indebted to Bhau Kalchuri, who did not spare himself in making certain that this was a most detailed account of Meher Baba's life; otherwise, the full story could have ended up in fragments or abridged. In its original Hindi, this biography was entitled Meher Prabhu (Lord God Meher) and the selections that you are about to read that comprise this fourth volume was mostly one large chapter entitled Tumultuous Travels. However, the significance of each journey and phase stands out; therefore, the following volume has been divided into chapters that deal with each area in India or other country. There are specific purposes for each of Meher Baba's journeys, either to contact a special person (an abdal, spiritual agent or a circle member), to give darshan to the masses, or to seek seclusion for his inner work which dealt with his personal effect upon the world environment – "purifying the atmosphere" – as well as giving a push to those individuals progressing in their involution. Herein is his