Don't Worry, Be Happy

It may come as a surprise to you to learn a silly little tune Bobby McFerrin turned into a big hit has its roots in Pune, India as it was inspired by a popular quote from a man named Meher Baba, called Avatar of the Age (FYI Avatar is another name for God in human form). And Pune? Well the Sage of Pune, my friend Ramana, is a  resident of that city. Here is the Avatar himself, one looking remarkably like Frank Zappa and one in is later years looking like an Indian holy man.

I was not exposed to Don't Worry, be Happy by Bobby McFerrin. I first heard it by Bob Marley 

Have you ever listened to the song? Really listened to it? 

In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double

No doubt that is true. Worry. Stress. Some folks pay a lot of money to therapists to be taught that stress is harmful and then spend more money figuring out how to relieve that stress. The song, however,  cuts to the chase.

Don't worry, be happy.

Sage advice indeed. And much cheaper than a therapist. Simple but true. Sometimes the simplest answer is the correct answer. Think Occam's Razor. Think Meher Baba - the spiritual master with a good-sized following both in India and in the west.

Baba's followers include Pete Townshend of the Who. Townshend dedicated the Who's rock opera Tommy to Baba as well as several other songs. If you have ever heard the full version of Melanie Safka's (aka Melanie) Candles in the Rain, in the spoken intro is the line "Meher Baba lives again".

Baba said "I was Rama, I was Krishna. I was this One, I was that One, and now I am Meher Baba. In this form of flesh and blood I am the same Ancient One who alone is eternally worshiped and ignored, ever remembered and forgotten. "

Baba discouraged evangelizing, stating he needed no propaganda or publicity.  It was his follower's lives and how they lived that delivered his message of truth and love to others which he wanted spread far and wide. 

Baba described the Avatar as  gauge against which man can measure what he is and what he may become. He trues the standard of human values by interpreting them in terms of divinely human life. Interestingly enough, he stated the Avatar, in Baba's testimony, appears on Earth every 700–1400 years.  The Avatar is "brought down" into human form by the five Perfect Masters of the time to aid in the process of moving creation in its never-ending journey toward Godhood. Baba claimed that in other ages this role had been fulfilled by Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad.

Baba was certainly an interesting fellow with a rather simple, straightforward message. He amassed a following said to be in the millions. There are spiritual centers in several countries.

One thing I have neglected mentioning is that from July 10, 1925 until his death in 1969, Baba was silent. He communicated via unique hand gestures and an alphabet board. His silence was not undertaken as a spiritual exercise but solely in connection with his universal work.

"Man's inability to live God's words makes the Avatar's teaching a mockery. Instead of practicing the compassion he taught, man has waged wars in his name. Instead of living the humility, purity, and truth of his words, man has given way to hatred, greed, and violence. Because man has been deaf to the principles and precepts laid down by God in the past, in this present Avataric form, I observe silence.

Baba's words seem to align with these famous words -- God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I sure wish some of the western evangelicals followed his example.

That is my take on Ramana's chosen topic. I congratulate him for choosing something that is essentially a great googly (crickets version of a curve ball). If you want to read more about Baba, his books are available on Amazon. And, cut down on your stress - don't worry, be happy!

Be sure to check the blogs of my blogging compatriots to see what they have to say -   Conrad, Ramana,  Sanjana, Padmum, & Raju

See ya next week, same bat time and same bat channel.