Baba’s contact with Masts in Hyderabad and Secunderabad
Mast work or contact with masts assumed a very significant portion of Baba’s work in this Avataric advent. ”Meher Baba’s work with masts in Hyderabad was extremely significant. Indeed, in no other city in India did he work with as many masts as he did in Hyderabad – almost seventy in all! It could be concluded that Baba’s contacts with so many masts all at one time had much to do with bringing the war to an end.” – Volume 8 pg 3016 of Lord Meher.
The following material is extracted from the classic source of Baba’s work with masts “The Wayfarers” edited by William Donkin, Shariar Press, ISBN 0-913078-65-4. For a detailed account on masts and Baba’s work with them, refer the above book. Baba stayed in Hyderabad (Deccan) from 10th March 1945 until 6th September 1945. He contacted masts all over Hyderabad state (now called Andhra Pradesh), and also in Hyderabad city. Baba has contacted more masts in Hyderabad than in any other city of India. (See footnote of pp 248 of The Wayfarers)
Baba with an unidentified mast in Hyderabad
Who is a Mast?
All masts are intoxicated with God; they are intoxicated by divine love. When a normal person is intoxicated by alcohol or drugs he enjoys this sensation so long as the intoxicant is in sufficient concentration in his physical tissues: a drunkard feels happy, cares not for anyone or anything, and has one dominant sensation of drunkenness, in which the past, present or future has practically no meaning. But as soon as the ordinary intoxication passes away, the drunkard suffers the reverse – the hangover. Stimulated physical intoxication is inescapably temporary, because it is limited by the very stimulant itself, the conditions of the environment, the cost of the stimulant and the resilience of one’s condition. Now a person who is God-intoxicated experiences the same sensation that a drunkard enjoys, and cares for no one and nothing, in proportion to the extent of his inner intoxication; the vast difference is the mast’s intoxication is continual, that it may increase but can never decrease, and that it has no harmful physical or mental reaction. It is an inner state of permanent and unalloyed intoxication, independent of anything external.
The principal sensation of a mast is this permanent enjoyment of divine intoxication. The creation is full of bliss and the mast enjoys this bliss and thereby becomes intoxicated to an almost unlimited extent, virtually consuming him and absorbing him and thereby making the world around him vanish. Absorbed in God, such a person is continually absorbed in thinking about God, and with that comes like a bolt of pure love consuming him further in a state of divine intoxication. [Lordmeher.org, p2031 – http://www.lordmeher.org/index.jsp?pageBase=page.jsp&nextPage=2031]
Mama mast of Hyderabad
How does it happen that some men and women become masts?
There are those who have become masts whose minds have become unbalanced through unceasing dwelling upon thoughts of God so that they neglect all normal human requirements. There are those whose minds have become unbalanced by sudden contact with a highly advanced spiritual being. There are those who have sought spiritual experience and have met a crisis from which they do not recover. What characterizes all masts is their concentration upon the love of God. (pp 2031 Lord Meher Vol. 6).
Mastani Mai, a woman mast of Hyderabad, seen on the right side
Significance of Baba’s mast-contact:
Baba, by His contact with masts, gives effective guidance and a spiritual push. He initiates masts into a greater clarity and lucidity of consciousness, into a deeper ecstasy, a purer and more expansive love, and into a truer stronger creativity of response. Baba draws them out of the “self-sufficiency state” of being absorbed in the Divine Love to a state of rendering true service to others who are in need of spiritual help. A mast can therefore be a more effective agent for spiritual work than the most able persons of the gross world. The mast mind is also often used directly by Baba as medium for sending his spiritual help to different parts of the world.
Baba feeding a mast
Courtesy: These pictures were taken from “The Wayfarers” and “Lord Meher”.
Baba’s mast contacts in Hyderabad:
Here are the details of mast work done by Baba in Hyderabad city during 1938 and 1945. Most of the contacts were made during 1945. The table is sorted on mast name.
| Mast | Description | Date of contact |
|---|---|---|
| Abdulla | A moderate mast who wanders about, | 1945 August 10 |
| Abkari(Captain) | A very good mast. he is tall old man of darkcomplexion who wears dark glasses and is dressed like a lascar ( a seaman)in blue cotton clothes. He carries a tin about, and hits it with a rat-tat-tat-tatlike a drum; his talk is not understood by ordinary mortals and soundsnonsensical. He sleeps in a NawabÂ’s house. At BabaÂ’s second contact, heasked to be taken for a ride in the car (AdiÂ’s car), and he himself directed,by sweeps of the arm, which way to go. He went first to certain house andwalked inside it, causing a flutter among the zenana ladies, and was thendriven to Secunderabad station. Finally. from the station, he was drivenback to Hyderabad, to a certain shrine there, where he was left. | 1945 March 181945 Sept 3 |
| Abliwala Baba | Near the Charminar; no further record. | 1945 April 7 |
| Abdul Qadir | A moderate mast who sits behind the railingof the verandah of an old house in Rikabganj. | 1945 August 7 |
| Ali Shah | Of Ahmednagar.Brought to Hyderabad; stayed till 1st May 1945.Brought to Hyderabad; stayed till 25th June 1945.Brought to Hyderabad; stayed for three days. | 1945 April 211945 June 161945 August 21 |
| AllahwalaMurshid | No further record. | 1945 April 8 |
| AmduMastan | No further record. | 1945 April 16 |
| Amir Rehman Maulvi | A good mast, fiftyish, fat who carries a bigstick and wears a sherwani ( along coat much worn by the Muslimsof Hyderabad). He was contacted in Abid Road, one of HyderabadÂ’s main thoroughfares. | 1945 August 6 |
| Ashaq Mian | A moderate mast, middle-aged, who sleeps outsidea certain mosque, wanders about the town all day, and is well known. | 1945 March 17 |
| Bhaiwala Mastan | A young man, perhaps twenty-five years old,who stays near a mosque in "Mecca Madina" ( a Part of Hyderabad). He isa moderate mast. | 1945 August 6 |
| Chaman Ali Shah | An advanced pilgrim, about forty years old,who stays near a wears a black kafni and keeps per pigeons. He lives ona plinth near a certain shrine beyond The Arab troopsÂ’s barracks. He speaksaloud to himself in a constantly changing voice, so that an odd passer-bymight think that five or six different men were talking together. Whenapproached for the last contact with Baba, he was overheard to say, "Merwanwas to come yesterday, but he has come today." He asked BabaÂ’s umbrella.and was given it.(N.B.- it is not certain that his name is correctly given.) | 1945 Match1945 (?) |
| Chaous | A man with hawa only. He is a Chaous, an Arabfrom southern Arabia (Yemen). | 1945 August 11 |
| ChaousMastan | An Arab mast (see note above) ; nothing special. | 1945 April 16 |
| Chunu Mian | A good mast with a weakness for toddy. He waskept by a senior officer of the NizamÂ’s State Forces in his (the officerÂ’s)house, in a special room . When Baba and his attendants called at the houseto contact the mast, they were asked to wait for a few minutes, and werethen shown up to the mastÂ’s room. Chunu Mian had been neatly dressed bythe officer in a fine sherwani(long coat worn by Muslims), good shoes andso forth.Each day the mast roamed about Hyderabad, and at the second contactwith Baba, he was run to earth in a toddy shop and was brought to Babafor contact. If given money, Chunu Mian would give it away at once to someoneelse. | 1945 April 13 1945 August 11 |
| Datar Saheb | No further record | 1945 Feb 23 |
| Ganga Bhai | A very old man near the shrine of Baba Shrafuddin;a seeker | 1945 June 10 |
| Ghulam Hussein | A very high, salik-like mast, a mixture of jalaliand jamali types. he wears good clothes, one of BabaÂ’s group thus referringto him as "the gentleman mast". he is of moderate height, perhaps fiftyyears old, and is so well known and so much revered by all and sundry thatalmost all salute him respectfully as they pass. He is allowed to go wherehe pleases, even into the zenana quarters of muslim houses, which are normallynever entered by strangers. | 1945 March 181945 April 151945 August 81945 August 11 |
| Gundawala Baba | No further record | 1945 April 8 |
| Gunu Baba | No further record | 1945 April 16 |
| Habib Chaous | An old Arab with hawa; contacted in a graveyardat Sultan Shahi. He is well known. | 1945 August 11 |
| Hamid Chaous | A seeker; also an Arab; to be found near theMir Alam tank. | 1945 August 81945 August 23 |
| HiralalChunilal | A ragged old man; nothing special. | 1945 August 11 |
| Islam Mastan Chaous | An Arab seeker with a jolly temperament; hecracks jokes with everyone always seems happy. He is usually to be foundnear the Charminar by day, and sleeps in a cemetery by night. Baba likedhim. | 1945 August 7 |
| Jubbe Shah Mastan | Nothing special | 1945 June 13 |
| Kala Nawab | A young man, perhaps with hawa; who wandersabout Hyderabad, having given up worldly ties. | 1945 April 7 |
| Keshwa-nandji Sadhu | An intimate disciple. For many years he hassat in the Hindu cremation ground. | 1945 April 15 |
| Khaki Saheb Baba | An elderly man, of more or less normal consciousness;an advanced pilgrim. He lives in his own little house opposite the shrineof Baba Sharafuddin, and spends most of the day in one room of his house. | 1945 June 101945 August 8 |
| Lakshman Das Maharaj | No further record | 1945 April 16 |
| Mai Mastani | No further record | 1945 April 8 |
| Majzoob Saheb | No further record | 1945 March 17 |
| Mama Mast | An old, dried up tiny man, and a good mast,who cannot walk and who smokes cigars. Some shop keepers look after him. | 1945 March 171945 April 8 |
| Maqdum Ali Shah(Shah Saheb) | An old man, perhaps 80 years of age, of shortstature, who wears a many colored robe, carries a pair of large iron tongs,and shouts "Ya Hussein" every now and then. He lives in a littleroom beyond the jail, in which he has collected an assortment of odds andends, and has several puppies with him. He has a fair and lustrous face.He is an advanced pilgrim. | 1945 May 17 |
| Miskin Shah | Near the place of Nizam; nothing special | 1945 April 15 |
| Mast Baba | No further record | 1945 April 8 |
| Mastani Mai | For many years has sat in a room near the shrineof Ujala Shah;a good mastani. | 1945 August 61945 Sept 3 |
| Maulvi Abdul Razzack | A seeker; of no special importance | 1945 April 7 |
| Maulvi Bukhariwala | A seeker. | 1945 April 7 |
| Maulvi Wahab | A seeker. | 1945 April 7 |
| Mir Saheb | A good mast; old, respectably dressed. And nowsometimes in a majzoob-like state and sometimes in salik-like state. Hehad previously been completely majzoob-like. He is well-known in Hyderabad,where he has a quite a number of followers. | 1945 march 171945 April 8 |
| Moeinuddin Baba (Nanne Mian) | A good mast, to whom Baba gave the nick namePinjrawala Baba because he sat in a cage-like hovel (pinjra meansa cage). During the day he would roam at large all over the city, and bynights he would sit in this curious cage. He was always naked and carrieda stick when he walked abroad. | 1945 March 171945 August ? |
| Mohammed | This is "our" Mohammed. He stayed for a fewdays with Baba and his party in Hyderabad. During the course of the Bustour that began in December 1938. | 1938 December |
| Mohammed Hussein | Wanders about the city; no further record | 1945 April 7 |
| Mohammed Sharif | A good mast. He is fattish old man, with a finewhite beard. He wears a dirty hat and carries a bundle of rags under hisarms. A younger, perhaps his son, walks about with him and looks afterhim. He was difficult to contact but was eventually found sleeping on averandah one night and, was contacted there. | 1945 August 8 |
| Nawab Yaqub Ali | A moderate mast from a village called Karwan,who was brought for BabaÂ’s contact and given five rupees. | 1945 August 11 |
| Nuruddin | A tall and lanky mast who canÂ’t keep clear ofa toddy shop for very long. He was taken in a tonga for BabaÂ’s contact,and, enroute, having spotted a toddy he insisted on getting downand refreshing himself. But he is a good mast for all that. | 1945 July1945 August |
| Patrinwala Mast | No further record | 1945 April 15 |
| Qadir Mian | Of no special interest | 1945 Feb 23 |
| Rajiah Mastan | A good mast, and rather an entertaining fellow.He is naked except for a loin cloth and a huge dirty turban, has a holein his neck, perhaps from an old laryngotomy operation, and he carriesa gigantic bundle of old rags and numerous broken pieces of china plates.If any one asks him for prasad ( a gift of spiritual significance),he gives a piece of broken plate.One day when Baidul and Eruch were in a rickshaw following Baba (whowas in atonga with Nuruddin described above), they spotted Rajiah on theroad, and sat him in their rickshaw. Rajiah disposed himself in the rickshawas if he were a king, to the very vocal delight of a crowd of school childreninj the street who surged round the rickshaw shouting and laughing, andjoined in pulling and pushing the rickshaw along the street with theirsmall and eager hands. Rajiah was taken thus for BabaÂ’s contact, and Babaand his men throughly enjoyed by the rousing reception by this crowd playfulchildren. Rajiah too seem to relish being the focus of so much fun. | 1945 August1945 Sept |
| Rajullah Shah Saheb | An initiate pilgrim; very well known in Hyderabad | 1945 June 12 |
| Rehmatullah Shah | No further record | 1945 April 16 |
| Sadhu Upaswala Baba | A sincere sadhu and a good soul | 1945 April 7 |
| Saiyid Abdul Maulvi | A seeker; very old, lives in a mosque, and muchrevered | 1945 August 7 |
| Saiyid Amiruddin (Chindiwala Baba) | An old mast and a good one, who collects oldpieces of cloth and rags (Chindi); hence his second name of chindiwalaBaba. | 1945 August 7 |
| Saiyid Jalaluddin | A moderate mast who wanders about, and was thusdifficult to contact. | 1945 March 18 |
| Saiyid Mehdi Saheb | No further record | 1945 March 17 |
| Saiyid Moenuddin (Majzoob Mian) | The spiritual chargeman of Hyderabad; a majzoob-likemast of sixth plane, and a typical jalali. He is a lame, elderly man wholives in a woodstall at Fateh Gate in Hyderabad. He sweeps the road withhis hands, is very fond of barfi (a sweetmeat rather like fudge),and he smokes exclusively an atrocious brand of cheap, local cigarettes.Be cause of his jalai nature, he was never easy to contact, and at thefirst attempt to meet him Baba and his group were repulsed with epithetsand objurgating. The following morning Baidul, while again trying to bringhim for contact, was hit with a stone. Baidul, however, nothing dauntingoffered him a cigarette of his favorite brand-which Majzoob Mian accepted-andhe then asked for his equally beloved sweetmeat, barfi. |