It has occurred to me that we don't hear much about Meher Baba's "Last Warning to His Lovers" these days. A bit odd that, as I remember the impact when it was first issued on July 10, 1968.

The message was aimed first at a Baba group in India torn by a rift, but the last paragraph said it was intended "for all his lovers and workers everywhere." I assume that means even those who were not around in 1968. In other words, brushing it off because "I wasn't there," is probably a bad idea.

There were seven points in the warning, including a call to hold Baba's damaan "very firmly so that it does not slip out of their hands under any circumstances;" not getting "intimately involved with the family affairs of one another" nor should they be emotionally upset by such affairs; they should mend any rifts by "forgiving and forgetting one another's trespasses;" they should not succumb to lust; and they should be less aggressive towards others and less tolerant towards themselves.

But it was points four and five that brought everybody up short:

4. It is equally important at this critical period of the Avataric Age to beware at all times of persons who lead others into believing that they are saintly and pious and profess to possess supernatural powers. However pious such persons appear to be, a Baba-lover must never mix such piety with the Divinity of the Avatar!

5. A true Baba-lover must remember the repeated warning given to all Baba lovers time and again to stay away from persons who feel and assert that they are masters and saints and possess powers to help human beings. His lovers and workers should never get involved with such persons and affairs, much less with perverted 'helpers of humanity' who have no reverence or regard for the Perfect Masters and the Avatar of the Age. Beware of them who exploit spirituality to gain their selfish ends and dupe others in the name of Sadgurus and the Avatar.

This all seems very clear to me: no ambiguities, no room for misinterpretation. So the only way we could get away from it would be to totally ignore it. Which, obviously, some people have found easy to do. One Western visitor to India many years ago told Adi K. Irani he regularly visited a self-proclaimed spiritual master in California and said he couldn't see anything wrong with that. "If you're sure you can safely dance on the edge of a well," Adi replied, "go ahead. But are you so sure of your footing?" I heard some years later that the young man continued to "dance on the edge" of a number wells, until he got to one that was too slippery for him. I don't understand why, once you know you are safe with Meher Baba, you would go on looking for someone else. Does anyone really think there's something better than the Avatar out there?

When we first received Baba's Last Warning, it was a very sobering experience for most people, I think. It was ten years after Baba's last visit to the West and only a handful of Westerners had seen him in India during that period. So, the question was, what was going on that would prompt Baba to send such a strong message to "everyone?" All I knew was that a few Baba lovers at the time were drifting hither and yon from one so-called spiritual personality to another, looking for what? Possibly for some kind of entertainment value? Whatever it was, it was one of those times when Baba stepped in, read the riot act, so to speak, to those who needed it and at the same time warned everyone else to be careful.

Rereading the message now, after a long time, is still a sobering experience and I think that's good. I've always felt that any Baba lover worth his salt needs a good set of street smarts. This Last Warning hands us those street smarts in a very concise package, and we'd be well advised, I think, to look at them again and to remember them.

Clicking this link will open up a copy of the Last Warning, it's print ready so feel free to make copies for your friends. Consider it one of the essential safety items you'll need on your spiritual journey.