Meher Baba Begins Silence

Date: July 10, 1925 • Location: New Delhi, India

Indian mystic and spiritual master Meher Baba began his silence until his death in 1969, only communicating by means of an alphabet board or by unique hand gestures.

Guru is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple or student, with the guru serving as a "counsellor, who helps mould values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student". Many spiritual texts are written in a language which is not commonly understood by masses, or sometimes the scriptures present contradictory concepts. Hence, only a qualified teacher or the guru is required to interpret scriptures in the right context and avoid misunderstandings. A guru is also one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the same potentialities that the guru has already realized.