Mehera's story of coming to Baba,told exclusively in her own words, makes this first Witness Series video a classic collector's edition. The story line of this video presents one facet of the life story of love's pure witness to the divinely human God on Earth seen through the eyes of his chosen female consort. Filled with interesting anecdotes, poignant memories and profoundly intimate moments, this full-color and finely crafted program takes you directly into present moment with Mehera as she comes alive on her porch, gives a tour of Baba's bedroom, and leads a walk through the garden at Meherazad. Filmed 1986. Edited by Bill Haviland.

Mani S. Irani was Meher Baba's sister, 24 years his junior, who had a unique access to her brother whom she as a young child already knew to be God. Her earliest memories include the story keying the video's title. It tells of the bullseye candy she thought she could enjoy while sitting with Baba before a gathering, and the drama Baba casually created which led her to conclude it would, in the future, have to be either candy or Baba, but not both at the same time.

Eruch Jessawala joined Meher Baba in 1938 when he was 21 years old. He was big, bold and intelligent, willing to serve but not yet in love with this man he had known as a family friend since childhood. He came to be Meher Baba's closest companion, his personal valet and interpreter, a quick-witted and reliable bodyguard, the one whose company the Beloved said He most enjoyed. Out of his intimate relationship with Meher Baba, this objective observer of life and no man's fool turned into a lover and an articulate witness to the life and ways of God while in human form. This video shows Eruch at his insightful best, speaking of the journey of love with passion and humor. The last story reveals both the unique intertwining of his life with that of the God-man and the deep humility which many might identify as the premier hallmark of this remarkable disciple.

Master storyteller, Eruch Jessawala, reclaims his earliest childhood memories of family, school and life with Meher Baba, a frequent guest at his home in Nagpur. Eruch tells tales of Baba's ways which captured the heart of this spirited youth, so full of manly pride and diffident openness. His dramatic capture began at Christmas, 1925 when the family went to Ahmednagar to meet "Zoroaster come again." Eruch literally fell for Baba, jumping from a moving tonga at his mother's cry and then quickly finding himself in the Compassionate One's lap, bleeding arm being cleansed with ash and bandaged. Amazed at this total stranger's display of love, Eruch was further taken in by Baba's generosity when He "doled out a heavy load of sweets" to this self-proclaimed "born" glutton. Eruch goes on to reveal more of the kind of family unity and congenital felicity which made him so perceptive and responsive to genuine love. One day in 1930, he told his shocked mother: "If he he is Zoroaster, what do I have to do with that? I have to play my games!" Baba, who had heard this outburst from the next room, came in and relieved a 13-year old Eruch of any quilt. In externals, this first round went to the boy. Filmed in 1986.

During Baba's frequent visits in the 1930's, Eruch begins to like His games and is reading his alphabet board with greater speed. At school, Eruch knows more about Jesus than the Catholic boys. At home, he has become very handy. Life is good; "nothing is wanting." When Baba appears at the family vacation in Nasik in 1937k, Eruch quips, "My God, is He here too?" Stories follow of becoming "Baba's engineer," getting enraged, passing exams. Now it is 193. Baba cables: "See me in Panchgani!" There Baba asks, "Is it possible for you to leave everything and come to me?" Eruch agrees to come "by your grace" and then to bring his entire family and family car. ON August 1, Eruch and his family sat before Meher Baba, but they had come without the car. The video ends with Eruch musing: "'If a simple thing like a car creates a scar (on Baba's Heart),' what scars will I cause in the future over things of greater import? 'It acted as my lesson for my lifetime as to how I should obey him.'" Filmed in 1986.

Eruch's mother and father have their story told by Eruch, mother Gaimai herself, and sister Manu. "Why have you thrown me out of your house?" is an early drama centering on a loaned photo of Baba. Other tales follow, with Upasni and Babajan figuring in. Eruch's first two lessons in 1938 close this family portrait. Filmed in 1986.

Eruch exhibits his character as the obedient observer, recounting, in his humorous matter-of-fact way, stories of saving from suicide a man humiliated for being honest; of how he came to go on the Blue Bus tours, get married yet remain with Baba, and more. It's his life up to the end of the mast tours just before beginning The New Life. Filmed in 1986.

In 1922 at age six, Goher first met the One whom she would later serve as personal physician. In 1931 Meher Baba first encouraged her to study medicine, which she did in spite of intense family opposition. Goher studied in Bombay, living with the Dadachanji family, becoming like one of the children. The atmosphere of love in this home, visited often by their Beloved, buoyed Goher and aroused her love and conviction for Meher Baba as God in human form. In this video, Goher tells of going to live with the women mandali, being given initially such chores and duties as caring for the chickens. Allowed finally to practice as a physician, Goher became caught in a net made of her deep respect for Meher Baba as God, interwoven with her compassion for his suffering as a man. This attitude colors Goher's stories of her early days at Meherazad, the poignancy of her struggle to accept the possibility of being left behind on the New Life journey, and her 22 years of tending to the varied and often strange disorders and treatments that were associated with Meher Baba's physical suffering for His universal work.

Katie, 4 years junior to her sister Goher, grew up in a household in Quetta, a favorite stop for Meher Baba on his way to Persia. At age 3 in 1923, she recounts, the two sisters had already been chosen to serve Him. During the next 15 years Katie learned obedience in practical detail. At age 11, bringing Baba a fruit bowl from mother, she at first would not eat a plum he held out to her. It was her first lesson never to refuse anything he gave her. The Quetta quake of 1931 led the family to move to Ahmednagar. The change was difficult for Katie, except that Baba was now close by, and she could see a new Western movie every second day at the Sarosh theater. Under Baba's tutelage, she took singing lessons and learned the harmonium, slowly overcoming her shyness by performing. Her mother several times blocked requests from Baba for Katie to join him but then in 1936 when she became very ill, Katie was there to see her through. The video ends with Katie singing a Baba-taught love song to God in Persian which is subtitled on screen with an English translation. Filmed at Meherazad in 1986.

Katie describes first coming to join Meher Baba at the beginning of the Blue Bus Tours on December 8, 1938. She shares her intimate experiences and thoughts during these tours, including the importance of obedience to Baba's seemingly small instructions, being assigned to cook for the entire entourage despite having never cooked before, Baba's sightseeing tours, having to be ready for any occasion, funny stories of flies and monkeys in Jaipur, the story of her chipped tooth, learning to swim in the ocean, and the importance of keeping one's poise. Filmed at Meherazad in 1986.

Katie shares many wonderful memories from the Blue Bus Years. At Meherabad she talks about entertaining Baba with plays and performances; she also tells several stories of the "Meherabad Zoo," including Lucky, Norina's pet monkey, Moti the peacock, and Jumpu the monkey, who had a very close relationship with Kitty. On the road Katie describes a visit to Rishikesh and wading in the Ganges, adventures making soup in Benares, and her return to Quetta for the first time since she and her family left. Katie also tells the touching story of how, while cooking, she decided she was fed up with life in the ashram and how Baba mollified her and showed her how lucky she was to be living the real spiritual life. Filmed at Meherazad in 1986.

Meher Baba set out on the New Life on October 16, 1949 with twenty of His disciples, including His sister Mani Irani and Eruch Jessawalla. Join Mani and Eruch together in Mandali Hall as they share some of their very special stories from this time of "helplessness and hopelessness." Mani talks about the Song of the New Life, how she perceived this time with Baba as "fullness amongst nothingness," and how so many of the people the group encountered would give selflessly without knowing explicitly whom they were serving with their gifts. Eruch tells the story of their stay near Benares including how Meher Baba had him take the idea of bhiksha (alms of food and other items but no money) to new levels with their host. Filmed at Meherazad in 1986.

Irene Billo, from the small mountain village of Heiden, Switzerland, met Meher Baba on His 1937 visit to Europe. Swept off her feet, Irene left soon thereafter by ship for India where she lived in the woman's ashram for eight years. Articulate in English, Irene recounts her experience with both lighthearted humor and spiritual sophistication. Her manner is lively; her heart warm. Irene offers a valuable European perspective as well as bringing to life the obscure figure of her friend, Helen Dahm, the Swiss artist who created the murals inside Meher Baba's Samadhi on Meherabad Hill. Filmed on location in Switzerland, 1984. Edited by Bill Haviland.

The Meher Baba retreat at Meher Mount in Ojai, on the central California coast, has a rich history here recounted by its principal figure, Agnes Baron. Uniquely her own person, while also devoted to Baba, Agnes tells her life story, including the saga of saving the land for Baba, Baba's sole visit in 1956, and the fire on New Life day years later that mysteriously swept away the old monuments of this magnificent site on Sulphur Mountain. Filmed in 1985 both in Ojai and at a surprise birthday party for Agnes in Berkeley, this video is remarkably earthy, enlightening and entertaining. Edited by Bill Haviland.

Lud Dimpfl first heard of Meher Baba in 1949 while an initiate in Sufism. He was 29 and a fledgling chemist with Chevron of California. Sharing an office with Don Stevens had already led this evangelical atheist to become a passionate seeker of God. Now he wanted only to meet Meher Baba, and even abandon his life in the world to become a close disciple in India. Lud's story from that point on was to become one of discipleship, not in India, but in America with his family and through his work life, both at Chevron, and in the active role he played for nearly forty years within Sufism Reoriented. Three years before Lud died in 1988, he was videoed in Walnut Creek, California. The material was later edited by Sufism into the following programs, full of practical lessons. Laced with keen observations and easy humor, Lud's comments from 1985 are fresh and of value even today for anyone seeking to follow divine guidance without sacrificing personal honesty or integrity of mind.

Lud meets Meher Baba for the first time in 1952 in Myrtle Beach. In this video, he recounts his life leading up to that visit, the meeting, the lesson that he was to be a disciple in the West, and then the beginning of his next encounter, when Baba finally allowed him to come to India in 1954.

Lud relives his experience as one of the 20 Western men whom Meher Baba called to stay with Him in 1954 for what was later dubbed the "Three Incredible Weeks." Crammed into that short stay were lifelong impressions bearing on obedience and trust of Omniscient God. Unique film footage taken by Lud documents this sahavas, with many exceptional shots of Meher Baba.

Lud introduces his wife, Bea, to Meher Baba in New York in 1956. He is again with Baba on His last visit to America in 1958. Drawing on clear memories of both visits, Lud is redolent with stories and lessons bearing on family life and finances, what Baba expects of us when we love Him, and how Lud learned to be free of anxiety by trusting in Baba as the one who does everything.

Lud hosts Meher Baba at his San Francisco home in 1958, learning on that visit how to obey and remember Him in novel ways. Lud is later gifted a week's stay with Baba in 1960 at Guruprasad in Poona and learns to play a card game at which Baba always wins. In 1962, he recounts how he, by no ordinary miracle of timing, is able to leave Iran to participate in the "East-West Gathering."

In 1947, Charmian's mother, Ivy Duce, was named the Murshida or spiritual teacher of the Sufi Order in America, succeeding her teacher, Rabia Martin. Both Rabia Martin and Ivy Duce had become devotees of Meher Baba, and he had agreed to accept spiritual responsibility for the Sufi Order. Meher Baba called Ivy Duce to India for a series of meetings to begin the work of reorienting the Sufi Order to create a new spiritual school in America under his direction. Charmian, an 18-year-old college student, accompanied her mother to India to "protect her" from being misled by "some swami." In this tape, Charmian describes the eventful journey to India to meet Meher Baba at his newly established residence, Meherazad, in January, 1948. This five-day visit transformed her from a skeptic to a lifelong devotee. Charmian shares many personal vignettes of Meher Baba's omniscience, His tenderness and His sparkling humor. She reviews some of the Master's discussions about His work with Murshida Duce and Sufism. And she describes the harrowing process of traveling to and from India during the political and social upheavals surround India's independence, partition and Gandhi's assassination.

Meher Baba's 1952 tour of America included His first visit to His center at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, His automobile accident in Prague, Oklahoma and a long period of recuperation in Myrtle Beach and New York. Charmian describes her participation in all these events. Charmian was one of the few people Baba summoned to Oklahoma after the accident to help the injured companions. Later He invited her to join Him and the women in Myrtle Beach. When the group traveled to New York, she served as a driver for Baba and the women, and Baba held Sahavas meetings at the apartment she shared with Murshida Duce. Throughout this visit, Meher Baba continued His work with Murshida Duce to establish Sufism Reoriented as a spiritual school in America. He invited Murshida Duce's assistance in drawing up a formal charter for the organization, which He completed later that year in India. Charmian attended many of these discussions and reviews some of the issues associated with Meher Baba's plans for Sufism in America. Next, Baba invited Charmian to accompany Him to Europe, and she shares some very funny vignettes about the difficulties of traveling with the Master.

Charmian continues her account of visiting London and Switzerland with Meher Baba in 1952. She served as driver for Baba and the women, and shares many sweet and humorous stories of interactions with Mehera, Dr. Goher, Meheru, Rano Gayley, Delia deLeon, Anita Vieillard and others. Also included are rare glimpses of Baba and the group through 8-millimeter home movies Charmian shot in Switzerland.

Meher Baba toured America in 1956 and He asked Charmian to make a documentary film of the tour. Scenes from the film are interspersed with Charmian's descriptions of the events of the tour, including a birthday celebration for Meher Baba at Longchamps restaurant and meetings at the Delmonico hotel in New York, a flight with Baba to South Carolina, and intimate moments with the Master in Myrtle Beach. Charmian also recounts her part in a hilarious, disastrous attempt to entertain Baba with a fireworks display on the lake at Myrtle Beach.

Charmian continues her account of Meher Baba's 1956 tour of America, accompanied by scenes from her documentary film. She describes playing by the seashore with Baba at Myrtle Beach, a dinner with Him at Murshida Duce's home in Washington, D.C., and the journey to California, where Meher Baba visited devotees in Los Angeles, at Meher Mount in Ojai, and in San Francisco. Among the many vignettes are an account of a trip with Meher Baba to Muir Woods near San Francisco, and Meher Baba's playful interactions with children, including a very young Diane Cobb (3-B), whose paintings of Meher Baba are now well known. A montage of 3-Bs work is included in this video.

In 1958, Meher Baba made His last trip to America, holding a Sahavas in Myrtle Beach. Charmian filmed many of the events of this gathering, and scenes from this film illustrate her account of the Sahavas. This visit differed from 1956 in several ways: Meher Baba had suffered a second auto accident in India and had to be carried from place to place in a chair because walking was painfully difficult for Him. However, Charmian describes many light moments, including a performance by "the Alligator Club" to entertain Baba, and a delightful party for children. Next, Charmian recounts events of the 1962 East-West Gathering in Poona, also accompanied by films. For her, this event was also a cherished reunion with her close friends, the women, and she describes the gathering from their "behind the scenes" perspective, blended with her own personal narrative.

The final program in the series offers a selection of additional vignettes and reflections from Chairman's many years with Meher Baba. She tells stories of gatherings in California, picnics in Switzerland, Baba's work with individual members of His mandali, and personal stories about her own learning in life, in marriage and with her children, under Meher Baba's guidance.