To quote another reviewer, this book truly is the highest of the high. Truly a desert island book. Manages to be infinitely profound while at the same time infinitely practical.

What a spiritual reference. This book is similar to Aurobindo's book as a spiritual instructional manual. Unlike Aurobindo's book this one wasn't pieced together by letters to disciples. It's much more coherent and consise. The information is very similar to Aurobindo's. Meher talks about Reincarnation, Karma, Maya, Meditation, Sanskaras, Ego, God, Realization, Love and Happiness from his enlightened perspective. His insights and understanding seem to me to be right on the money.

This book gives you essential spiritual insight and answers to all the major questions and problems of life. Meher Baba helps you look at life from a spiritual point of view, allowing you to understand why the world is why it is and why you are the way you are... beware though, you may find the answers to be deceptively simple. Meher Baba speaks with divine authority.. there is no "my opinion is.." or "research shows.." or "..is probably because" written in this book. I cannot recommend this book enough! From a personal standpoint, the person I was when I started reading this book was not the same person who finished reading it... and believe me when I say I had wracked my soul in trying to find answers in life that were provided here. But most importantly, reading this was a catalyst for allowing me to feel God's love that unites all life. Can I logically explain this? No. Will this happen to you? Only if it's meant to. Should you read this book anyway? Absolutely. Did Meher Baba expect everyone to be able to follow these spiritual practices perfectly? I would most definitely guess not... I know I can't. Meher Baba basically wrote a how-to and explanation book about the journey to God.

The story starts in 1969 when, at the age of 44, Bill Stephens went
through a near-death experience that changed him instantaneously
from an agnostic to a spiritual seeker, erased his lifelong fear of death
and eradicated his crippling addictions. He "...exploded into a brilliance
beyond anything I could imagine, and I was immersed in the warmth
and joy of a Living Presence that loved me and accepted me totally."

During the experience, Stephens saw a face in the light that he later
identified as the great 20th century spiritual master, Avatar Meher Baba.
That was the beginning of the author's love affair with God. His
compelling book includes many personal and graphic stories
of the ups and downs of treading the Path of Love by following
the divine footsteps of the Master.

The author has written many previous books about science and the
oceans, marine animals, and undersea research. But this
is his finest work because it comes straight from the heart.

This book is brimful of God's presence. It weaves
His shining light between the sentences,
dancing with the words. The real-life vignettes are wonderful!

I was enthralled, inspired and tickled by the range
of potent, poetic images, intimate and
fascinating life details and real insight into
the nature, direction and synchronicities of
following a God-Realized Master in today's world.

Along with the inspirational material, superb
metaphors, and wisdom, I think the book
fills a significant niche. [Special appreciation
by the way for the material on Repeating God's
Name, tidbits like VP Gore's contact with
Meher Baba, and the light touch in much of the
poetry.] We've never before had published
biographical material about American followers
of Meher Baba that readers can identify with.
I admire the home-movie quality the author
brings to this volume.

Allan Y. Cohen, Ph.D., clinical psychologist;
author of Mastery of Consciousness (Harper),
co-author, Understanding Drug Use:
an Adult's Guide to Drugs and the Young. (Harper)

I considered Eruch my teacher. I had a lot of personal contact with him off and on over a twenty year period. And many of these wonderful stories I heard him tell personally, and often he might tell these stories a little differently depending on who was near to him that day. That is, I found Eruch to be a unique, royal gentlemen around women and children, and with a wordly one like me, he could charm and enchant and surprize on all levels, as the perfect teacher should be able to do.

Eruch most help me deepen my faith in God to where I began to experience God was a absolute certainty. And to an -- at times as I was -- agnostic, this was a remarkably welcomed, magnificent process.

I was able to walk, often just he and I, literally hundreds of miles with Eruch in the early morning (over a period of 10 years), in the beautiful countryside of Western India, near Meherazad where he had lived with Meher Baba for most of his life. And he was a tremendous ingredient with my Hafiz work; I would say he was the impetus behind it and many poems he directly helped me with, even offering very specific word changes at times. And this man was the person who had the most physical contact with Meher Baba of anyone on earth; he most often spoke for Baba as Meher Baba had been silent the last 40 years of His life. And Baba very directly says of Himself: He is the Christ, the Buddha, the Prophet come again. What is one to do when faced with such an EXTRAORDINARY claim?

This book would help any, tremendously, in chipping away at such a claim, if they have an interest to do so. I have been exploring that "claim" myself, now, for over 30 years. And one of the still evolving conclusions I have come up with is this: I do believe in God, a God of Infinite Power, and thus a God who could easily appear on this planet as Mohammad, Krishna, Buddha and Jesus -- as the Avatar, that is, as the descent of God in human form. And as to if Meher Baba is that -- God in human form: Well... I feel that history over the millenniums votes in their Prophets, their Buddhas, their Christs, their Rams, their Krishnas -- by some sacred means that takes place in the most discerning (intuitive as it may be for most) regions of the heart and soul. How could I really cast an objective vote about this after investing a big part of my life in the search for Truth that so entwined me with Meher Bada and many of His close disciples. Is Meher Baba the embodiment of the Divine - "The Being of all beings," the Root of all consciousness and space and form?

My vote is: Yep. I think the Big -- Gigantic -- Bang happened again on earth.

Daniel Ladinsky
Bestselling Penguin author of the anthololy: "Love Poems from God", and "The Gift: Poems by Hafiz."

This is a cool book. It has a lot of stories about Meher Baba which can greatly inspire you. Eruch Jessawala is one of the best storytellers I've ever come across. Reading these stories is like sitting in Meherabad on a saturday morning. Spectacular.
Jai Baba!

Eruch tells Baba stories in a way that makes you feel like you were there. Eruch talks about his personal experiences from living with Baba. If you love Baba stories this is the book. I have many Baba books but this is one of my favorites. I also recommend Ivy Duce book on How a Master Works. It also is well written with good Baba stories.

The formal set of "teachings" of Meher Baba are called the Discourses, and they number around 70, and in their present edition (Sheriar Press) they run to about 375 pages.
In 1944, Alexander Markey, a Hollywood screenwriter and follower of Meher Baba, with Meher Baba's permission, edited and published a version of the Discourses that numbered 27 and the total was approximately 65 pages in length. In their original 1944 publication, they were referred to as "excerpts" of the Discourses, but they are much more than that. What Markey had done was to reorganize, rearrange, and very frequently rewrite the material of the Discourses, so that in those "Silent Teachings" we find a condensed, very accessible, and accurate presentation of the original material from Meher Baba. Not that they are a substitute for reading the full version of the Discourses, but they are an excellent introduction to the material as well as the essential gist of what Meher Baba communicated in his silence of the last 44 years of his life on earth as the long-awaited Avatar.
The term "teachings" as applied to Meher Baba has often been recognized as ironic. When Meher Baba announced to his small group of disciples in 1925 that it was necessary for his work that he be silent for a period of time, one of them asked, "But if you are silent, how will you teach us?" Meher Baba's answer, which was to become one of the hallmarks of his spiritual mission was, "I have come not to teach, but to awaken." Little did these early followers or those to come later realize that this silence of Meher Baba was to continue for the rest of his life until its physical termination in 1969.
One of the questions then is, if Meher Baba did not come to teach, why did he give these discourses, as well as many other messages? I believe there are two main answers to this. The first answer is that Meher Baba's "teachings" do more than just teach; they awaken, as he said about the effect of his mission. I think that almost any reader of even this slim volume of Meher Baba's teachings will start to find this result, not necessarily overnight or immediately, but soon enough. The second answer is that even though Meher Baba's purpose was not to teach, that does not mean he does not teach as well. The matter of awakening means that Meher Baba's life has other significance beyond the mere imparting of ideas and concepts.
If all of this were not enough for this lovely little volume, the above is only half of its contents, or rather about two thirds. The remainder of the book is a reprinting, with some slight editing, of a heretofore out of print collection of questions and answers that various people had in dialog with Meher Baba (Baba's answers being conveyed through his alphabet board).
While we don't have, of course, Meher Baba's physical presence in these conversations, which was no doubt the most important part of the answers he gave to the earnest and heart-felt questions of these seekers, we still gain invaluable advice and direction by seeing how Meher Baba responded to the queries, which are easily ours as well. His answers were usually brief, direct, and often contained images or phrasing that were unique to Meher Baba, particularly in the sense of the certainty that seemed intrinsic to his being. I will close this review by quoting one such exchange, which, for me, contains striking points in response to a critically compelling question.
The questioner asks, "It has been said that a person can, by increasing his own intensity of awareness and effort, break through his bonds and attain freedom. If one can thus free himself, why is a Master necessary?"
Meher Baba answered (through the alphabet board), "How can you free yourself when your hands and feet are bound? I can set you free because I am free. If you think that by relying upon yourself you can attain the Truth, you depend upon a teaching. But then why not rely upon the ocean of Truth - the living embodiment of Truth, rather than a dead formula or principle?"

Avatar Meher Baba was silent for 44 years of his life. This means he did not speak, however, he did communicate via an alphabet board in the early days of his chosen silence and, later, through hand gestures to his trained disciples. "Silent Teachings" is a compendium of excerpts taken from Baba's words, which have been compiled into a book entitled "Discourses," and a work based on Meher Baba's exchanges with disciples and seekers from various parts of the world, meticulously recorded, and ultimately published as, "The Answer: Conversations with Meher Baba."
Meher Baba "said" he was not a teacher, rather, that he had come to awaken. "Silent Teachings" is a selected group of discourses that addresses issues of interest to all who aim for understanding the truth of what life is-and is not.
Topics addressed include, "The Quest," "War and Beyond," "The Rule and Overthrow of the Ego," "The Search for God," and "Universal Selfhood." Each topic is generally covered in two to three pages of text.
The brevity of the individual essays, and the slim volume allows me to keep it handy in my briefcase, for dips into Baba's message of hope and truth, to be read during those odd moments of time that might be lost in a vacuum without something to reflect upon.
Too, this book is the perfect choice as an introduction to Meher Baba's words for the seeker who is looking for order amidst the chaos we all face in today's world.

I highly recommend this book as one to anyone interested in exploring spirituality.

A fine glimpse at the life of Meher Baba. This was the first book I read on Meher Baba, and it left me wanting more. It tends to have that effect I think. The life of activity is orderly presented, with photos gracefully deployed to facilitate a strong identification with the nobility of Meher Baba's cause. The extended messages (some of the many famous messages of Meher Baba) in the appendix are all the more meaningful after reading the drama within the biographical material. - over -

Bal Natu is a gifted contemplative whose writings sound a clarion note in the heart of the reader. He un-dogmatically writes about the love affair with God, and one feels blessed by the encounter with Natu's text. This book is the first of a trilogy and echoes the profundities of the Blessed Julian of Norwich or Imitation of Christ. Natu conveys inspiration through these dialogic meditations that promise to be of special interest to students of mysticism regardless of tradition.

Margaret Craske (AKA Margherita Craskova), the prodigy dancer with the Ballet Russe who later taught in New York until her death in the mid-90s, writes movingly and convincingly about her experiences with a remarkable spiritual figure. That person, Meher Baba, was so sensitive as to awaken her heart. He opened an entire world of love and art for her. The lessaons she learned have immediate relevance to us -- whether or not we see ourselves as "dancers." Margaret Craske was truly an amazing woman. Great reading!

One can't read this book whole-heartedly and remain neutral. Meher Baba sums up Heidegger & Spinoza in a few lines here & there (not explicitly, of course, but see the "The One and The Zero" and "Is" sections), then casually moves on to talk about his Avatarhood/Christhood. Such claims take time to settle in (since their vehicle isn't "ideas"), or maybe they never do for some people, but the humor, compassion, and wisdom is there nonetheless. (Particularly elegant or noteworthy are sections 1, 14, 38, 43, 50, 51, 54, 55...)

This isn't the easiest book to read on your own. I read it with a group every week for 4 months. It was better that way for me. Very deep material. Well worth it in the end. Meyer Baba said to read this book at least 5 times to understand it. I've read it twice, so far.

Yes, I wholeheartedly recommend reading this book. Here's my story so far that may shed some light on why I rate GOD SPEAKS so highly.

I read GOD SPEAKS a year and a half ago on a lark. I'm interested intellectually in syncretism, and I like The Who (Pete Townshend is famously a Baba devotee), so I figured that GOD SPEAKS with its charts delineating Baba's vocabulary in Sufi, Vedantic, and Plain Vanilla terms would be a worthwhile diversion.

Instead, it set off an earthquake. I began unconsciously to compare everything I read or thought about or experienced to what I gleaned from Baba's book. It seeped into the pores, so to speak, and now even my breath is stained with it. And I have to say I'm better for it. I hadn't realized this until last week, when I finally figured out that something has been going on right under my nose.

This is the Being and Time of twentieth-century spirituality.

Peace to all.

What a book worth reading. It's kind of hard to get into, but please keep going. No matter what you think about Meher Baba, this book should be read if not for answers, then for his gentle soul.

Nov. 30, 2001

A Book Review by Eva Smith from the Center for Esoteric Studies
Meher Baba - Avatar of the Tortoise
By Kenneth Lux

Kenneth Lux a clinical psychologist and social theorist takes us on a journey within a journey. He begins by taking us back to 1967 where he was first introduced to the name of Meher Baba. He describes how Meher Baba's literature and the "Baba Lovers" (those who follow Baba's teachings) impressed him and how be became a believer. This begins his long process of personal spiritual development. He gives us accounts of the various people he meets along the way; how the more he got involved with the Baba Teachings the more his philosophy and spiritual developed changed; how he had to come to grips with the Avatar; the Baba teachings played an important role in the vocations he ended up choosing and creating and his psycho-spiritual transformation as a person. The coincidences of meeting Baba Lovers at every turn on the road through all the years confirmed for him that he was on the right track. His experiences are both engrossing and revealing.
All this is done while simultaneously giving us an account of Baba's life, from his beginnings in what was then Persia, his move to India, and the development of the Baba establishments and teachings. The story of Baba's life is most captivating and engaging. From the moment that Kenneth describes Meher Baba's life through stories and through descriptions of Baba's experiences with his followers, the reader recognizes the quality of this man.
As an esotericist I particularly enjoyed the various quotes of Baba's teachings derived from the Meher Baba Discourses. The Teachings parallel very much those offered by other evolved beings and so as the reader I enjoyed how Baba expressed his truths. His intention is to reveal the ONE Supreme Self which is in all. He says he was Jesus, he was Krishna, he was Buddha, he was all the other Avatars who have come to bring love to humanity in the past. He professes to be here again. "Come All Unto Me."
Baba spends the majority of his life in Silence. His followers and believers keep waiting for him to break his silence, which is his promise. He assures them that the right time will come and he will do so. Unfortunately to the chagrin of his followers, right up to his death - the dropping of his body, he does not break his silence.
The premise in the book is that Baba was an Avatar, being the total manifestation of God in human form. "As an Avatar he brings a new release of power, a new awakening of consciousness, a new experience of life-not merely for the few, but for all."
The rest of the book is spent on justifying why Kenneth believes that Meher Baba was in fact the Avatar. He addresses questions like, "Was Baba only a spiritual authority? Was Baba a Charlatan? Was Baba an ordinary man? Or Was Baba in fact, the Avatar?"
Upon reflection, as a spiritual person, teacher and lover of the Ageless Wisdom the Kenneth's presentation that Meher Baba is God is somewhat difficult to swallow. Kenneth leaves the reader with having to decide whether Baba, this spiritual figure, is God or whether he is not. Had the author presented Baba as an extremely evolved being, representing the principle of love, (which is what an Avatar does) the extreme polarities, of either or, would have been diffused.
The book itself offers photos of Meher Baba's life, which has helped this reader have a sense of almost knowing the man. It involves one to the point that often I would just look at his picture and almost feel the energy jump off the page. I found the size of the book a bit awkward especially for carrying around as well as the print on gray paper difficult to see.
Kenneth's writing is intelligent, totally honest, goes directly to main issues, inspiring and captivating. The message of love is extant throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. (...)

Meher Baba: Avatar Of The Tortoise is, in some ways, the story of how author and clinical psychologist Kenneth Lux came to believe in the spiritual wisdom of Avatar Meher Baba. Chapters cover Meher Baba's life, the nature of Karma and how psychotherapy can be sensitive to it, and much more. A thoughtful, moving account of true faith, Meher Baba is highly recommended reading for students of Eastern philosophy and spirituality in general, and the teachings and life of Meher Baba in particular.

This is the story of an unusual spiritual master named Meher Baba, who was born in India in 1894 into a Persian Zoroastrian family. But it is much more than that-it is also the intimate story of how the author awakened to the search for truth in response to the charm of Meher Baba's personality, the power of his message of divine love, and the intellectual challenged posed by his teachings.

The book provides an excellent introduction to Meher Baba and various aspects of his life, such as his work with the mad and the "God-intoxicated," his establishment of a center in South Carolina, and his warnings to American youth about drug use. In addition, it is distinctive for being the first personal memoir by a second-generation Baba-lover who never met Meher Baba in person.

A political activist and a psychology professor at Indiana University in the sixties, Kenneth Lux was skeptical when he first heard Meher Baba's claim that he is the "Avatar of the Age," that same Ancient One who came before as Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, and who had returned to redeem the world-a world very much in need of redemption. Also fantastic was the fact that Meher Baba had kept total silence since 1925 and told his followers to prepare for the breaking of his silence with a divine Word, an event that would signal his manifestation as God in human form and the advent of a New Humanity.

Despite the fact that Meher Baba died in 1969, seemingly without having uttered the Word, Lux continued to be drawn by Baba's extraordinary love and compassion, which not only were reflected in his life's activities but also continued even after his death through a deep inner relationship with his devotees. The detailed story of how this inner relationship took shape for Kenneth Lux-a process marked by synchronicities, transformative encounters, and important insights into his own attachments, weaknesses, and psychological makeup-makes for fascinating reading.

Even though Meher Baba had stated that the mind had to be "annihilated" in order for spiritual realization to become possible, Lux felt that his intellect grew more effective after coming into Meher Baba's orbit. A keen observer of his own mental and emotional processes, Lux is able to show us specifically how he wrestled with the koan that is Meher Baba-examining, questioning, reasoning, contemplating, and ultimately arriving at an understanding that is as satisfying to the mind as it is to the heart. The significance of the book's subtitle-"Avatar of the Tortoise"-comes as an interesting surprise toward the conclusion, tying together the threads of Lux's longing for a revolution of consciousness to bring redemption to our suffering world.