The Beginning of Sufism in Australia - Michael Le Page's presentation at Avatar's Abode on 6/10/14 on Youtube





Michael Le Page delights the Avatar's Abode audience with previously unearthed documentary evidence of the life and legacy of Baron Friedrich von Frankenburg (1887-1950), a German teacher of Sufism of the School of Hazrat Inayat Khan*.  Son of an Australian heiress, the Baron moved to Australia in 1927 to lay claim to his and his mother's inheritance.   In 1939 he accompanied his Murshida, Jewish American Rabia Martin, head of the International Sufi Society, on a tour of Australian states.  It was later, under her enlightened guidance, that this Sufi order took shelter of the renown Indian Master, Meher Baba (1894-1969)^.

During the early 1940's, the Baron lectured widely and attracted a small number of interested people to the teachings of Inayat Khan, Sufism and later, Meher Baba.  With his health declining in 1946, the Baron sent dedicated Australian student Francis Brabazon (1902-1983) to California for further training and to accompany Murshida Martin to India to meet Meher Baba.  However, Rabia Martin died in 1947 and this meeting did not occur.  In 1950 the Baron passed away in Camden, NSW.  A town close to which he had inherited a dairy property and had been recommended to move by Inayat Khan. The Baron was active in local affairs and much loved by his community.  

From the late 1940's with the Baron's support and as heir to his estate for the purpose of continuing his teaching work, Francis established two centers of pilgrimage in Australia.  One in Sydney prior to Meher Baba's first visit to Australia in 1954; and another, upon Baba's specific request, in Queensland which was to serve as a place where Meher Baba could stay with his Australian followers.  This was in June 1958, at the very end of his tenth and last visit to the West.  Some months later, Francis travelled to India for a short visit, but ended staying and serving as Meher Baba's resident poet until Baba's death in 1969.  

Before the end of that year, Francis returned to Australia and began living on the pilgrimage center which he and others had established on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.  It had been given the name Avatar's Abode by Meher Baba during his 3 day stay there.  Francis lived there up until his death in 1984 and is buried on the property.  In the intervening years many young people gathered around Francis on weekends, and helped him, and the two resident families, develop the property and establish the archive which now enables anyone to freely access Avatar Meher Baba's rich Australian history.  On the front gate is a brass plaque which states that the property is held in perpetuity for Meher Baba and those who love him, or wish to know more about him.  It is open daily, appointments are not required. Independent guest accommodation is by reservation - visit avatarsabode.com.au.

Francis is best know for his book-length poem Stay With God (1959), and his many Ghazals - the first time this Persian form of poetry had been written in English.  Meher Baba's most prominent books are God Speaks, Discourses, and his 7,000 page searchable biography Lord Meher, all of which and more can be read online at ambppct.org or lordmeher.org.

* Meher Baba stated the Indian Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan was a 5th Plane Saint.
^ In 1952 Meher Baba prepared a Charter for this movement and renamed it Sufism Reoriented.  In 1954 He publicly proclaimed Himself to be Avatar of the Age.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Sufism became Meher Baba in Australia - by A Foley in USA, 9 Jul 2017

"How Sufism became Meher Baba in Australia" Speaker: Tony Foley Occasion:   Usual Sunday program at  Meherabode, Los Angles, 9 July 2017 Purpose •          To provide a chronology of how Sufism became Meher Baba in Australia •          In doing so, I hope share information which might bring clarity to two contentious issues in the Baba and Sufi worlds, namely: •          Murshida Rabia Martin’s role in recognizing and adopting Avatar Meher Baba as her Sufi Order’s leading light •          Shiek Momen’s (Baron Von Frankenberg) acceptance of Meher Baba as the leading light of the International Sufi Order for which he was the Australian Representative. 1880’s – Baron’s parents & birth •          Parent marry in San Francisco on 29 Jan.1887   ...
Read more
John Meyers from Vermont, USA was keen to visit the Great Barrier Reef during his pilgrimage to Avatar's Abode in June 2018 to attend the 60th Anniversary Celebration of Avatar Meher Baba's visit to the Sunshine Coast property which was purchased and developed as a Pilgrimage Centre for Him in 1958.  He gave it its name during His 4-day stay. John chose to visit the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef owing to an absence of coral bleaching events thus far, and for its reputation as being home to the largest gatherings of Manta Rays in the world.  Access if via light aircraft from either Hervey Bay or Bundaberg.   Charmaine and I had entertained accompanying other overseas pilgrims who wished to visit the Reef during their visit, but that trip did not come to pass, so John was aware of my interest in visiting the Island, and my desire to dive with the Manta Rays. When he approached me about accompanying him, I was hesitant to spend that much money...
Read more

Meher Baba's Elucidations on Reincarnation by Dr Ward Parks - Australia 2015

Image
Meher Baba's Elucidations on Reincarnation  by Dr Ward Parks - Australia 2015 In this modern age of high intellectual development conjoined with mass confusion in the domain of values, one of the Avatar's great gifts to the human understanding has been His elucidations on the subject of reincarnation.  The idea of reincarnation is, of course, an ancient one. In various formulations it dates back to the misty dawn of recorded history especially in the East, but at various times and places in the West as well. Reincarnation and karma - ideas ineluctably linked with each other provide essential metaphysical backgrounds to Hinduism and Buddhism. In a less developed form the belief in reincarnation won a place in the philosophy of Plato and other religious and philosophical systems of the eastern Mediterranean. But in the main part reincarnation has faded in the awareness of the Western world over the last two millennia. The great monotheistic religions of Christ...
Read more