History

History of Pune Centre

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Pune (or Poona as it was called during the British Era) has been one of the prominent and historical cities of Maharashtra State and of the Western India. Apart from rapid expansion of its geographical spread, the city has also evolved through various identities and characters. It has been the land of rulers during Peshva’s regime; has been considered a historical city; has been recognized for its cultural heritage and intellectual capital; has remained a major educational hub for many years and was once acclaimed as “Oxford of India”. Recently, the city which had once established itself as “Pensioners’ Paradise” has metamorphosed itself as a major IT Centre of new-age India, with virtually all biggies in IT industry opening up their major offices here. The city is also rapidly adapting to a cosmopolitan character.

However, there is another extremely unique distinction of this city which is not yet widely known. This city had been bestowed with the fortune of making way to the God man, Avatar of this present age, to take birth on its soil; thereby carving out its crowning position in the spiritual history of the humankind.

Avatar Meher Baba was born here on 25th February, 1894, at David Sassoon Hospital.

During fifties and sixties, the Baba activity at Poona was always at a peak. Meher Baba’s Poona Bhajan Mandali had become well-known across Baba lovers in India. Baba Himself was visiting Pune during His summer break every year to stay at Guruprasad. His stay at Pune would offer special privilege and enviable opportunity to local Baba lovers to see and meet Baba, whenever He allowed, to play with Him, to listen to music along with Him from highly accomplished and professional singers, and above all, to come and feast their eyes on His Divine Beatitude.

However, Poona, despite being Avatar’s birthplace did not have its own place to house Baba Centre. The group was meeting at home of Mudaliar, a Baba lover, at Somwar Peth. Prior to that, in 1954, a young man, KK Ramakrishnan – KKR, has joined the group.

KKR had had Meher Baba’s darshan on the Pune Railway station when Baba was leaving for Andhra tour from Pune. This was on 19th February, 1954 in the morning at 8 O’Clock. KKR Ramakrishnan has noted in his diary that he was watching Meher Baba for almost an hour and half from steps of the railway bridge as he could not take his eyes off. He found Baba’ face as beautiful and lustrous as the setting sun. “I have seen no other man like Him” is what came to his mind and he was so moved that he made on-the-spot resolve to dedicate entire life to Meher Baba. Thereafter, he started meeting Baba people in Pune and attending Baba programs.

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