Meher Baba’s Sahavas in America, 1956, 1958

Of Meher Baba’s six visits to America, his last two, in 1956 and 1958, were unique. They were sahavases. The word “sahavas” literally means “close companionship” and is used to denote being in close physical company with a spiritual master.

Meher Baba had never held a sahavas in America before. It was something his Western lovers had never experienced. But in the spring of 1956, Baba interrupted his work in seclusion in India to share his intimate companionship in sahavas with his lovers in the West for the first time.

Baba specifically arranged for the American portion of his tour to be filmed so future generations might see and share his sahavas, his divinely human company.

After his serious automobile accident in India in December 1956, Baba was rarely able to walk unaided. Nonetheless, he made the long journey to the West one more time, to give his sahavas at the Meher Baba Universal Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in May of 1958. On this occasion, Baba told his lovers, “This sahavas will be unique in the sense that you will witness and share my suffering.” This was his last visit to America.

This program offers a selection of these sahavas glimpses, many of them shown in slow motion so they can be clearly seen. Out of love, Meher Baba ensured that these moments would be filmed and preserved.