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| Founded | 1944 |
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| Type | Religious Pilgrimage |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 26°47′44″N82°11′39″E / 26.7956°N 82.1943°E |
Key people | Simeon B. Chapin |
| Website | mehercenter.org |
Meher Spiritual Center is a universal spiritual retreat and religious site located in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. [1] The Center adjacent to Briarcliffe Acres was co-founded by Elizabeth Chapin Patterson and Norina Matchabelli in the early 1940s under the direction of spiritual master Meher Baba. [2] [3] [4]
Elizabeth Patterson and Norina Matchabelli originally sought land in other parts of the United States including California. But no land met all the requirements stated by Meher Baba such as equitable climate, virgin soil, ample water, soil that could be made self-sustaining to a large number of people, and the property should be given from the heart. [5] Eventually Elizabeth Patterson's father, Simeon B. Chapin, who was one of the original developers of Myrtle Beach, gave her the land as a gift. [6] [7] He felt that it was not suitable for his resort plans since its lakes obstructed access to the beach. [8] [9]
The Meher Spiritual Center is 500-acre (200 ha) designated wildlife sanctuary, with more than 200 species of plants, 100 species of birds and 44 species of animals. [10] [8] [9] The Center has two lakes, many nature trails, and a mile of Atlantic shoreline. The Center has a house built for Meher Baba which is named "Meher Abode" but usually referred to as "Baba's House." Meher Baba stayed there during his three visits to America in the 1950s. Meher Baba inaugurated the Meher Center in 1952 and also visited in 1956 and 1958. [11] [12]
Meher Baba was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A major spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly in India, but with a significant number in the United States, Europe and Australia.
Briarcliffe Acres is a town in Horry County, South Carolina, United States, located between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach. The population was 457 at the 2010 census.
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous 60-mile (97 km) stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its year-round population was 35,682 as of the 2020 census, making it the 13th-most populous city in South Carolina.
Meherabad is a universal spiritual retreat in Arangaon village about 9 kilometres (6 mi), south of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India. It is home to Indian Spiritual Master Meher Baba's Samadhi Mandir. Meherabad was originally established as an ashram by Meher Baba in 1923.
The Grand Strand is an arc of beach land on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina, United States, extending more than 60 miles (97 km) from Little River to Winyah Bay. It is located in Horry and Georgetown Counties on the NE South Carolina coast.
Myrtle Square Mall was the first enclosed shopping mall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States, located in the heart of the city. It bordered the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Kings Highway, Oak Street, and it was in very close proximity to residential neighborhoods and many oceanfront hotels. Its size, for the time, was quite large with a total area around 442,965 square feet (41,152.8 m2) set on 48 acres (190,000 m2) of land. The parking lot contained more than 2,800 spaces.
Broadway at the Beach is a shopping center and entertainment complex located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Broadway at the Beach is owned and operated by Burroughs & Chapin. The $250 million attraction is set on 350 acres (1.4 km2) in the heart of Myrtle Beach and features three theaters, over 20 restaurants and over 100 specialty shops as well as attractions, Clubs for the night, and hotels, all surrounding the 23-acre (93,000 m2) Lake Broadway. Broadway at the Beach receives upwards of 14 million visitors annually.
Lama Foundation is a spiritual community founded in 1967, located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, seventeen miles north of Taos. The original commune was co-founded by Barbara Durkee, Stephen Durkee, and Jonathan Altman.
Francis Brabazon was an Australian poet and a member of Meher Baba's mandali.
Daniel Ladinsky is an American poet and interpreter of mystical poetry, born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Over a twenty-year period, beginning in 1978, he spent extensive time in a spiritual community at Meherabad, in western India, where he worked in a rural clinic free to the poor, and lived with the intimate disciples and family of Meher Baba.
Princess Norina Matchabelli was co-founder of the perfume company Prince Matchabelli, a stage and screen actress, publisher, and a disciple of Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba. Her stage name was Maria Carmi.
Tukdoji Maharaj, born on 30 april 1909 died on 11 october 1968 was a spiritual saint from, India. He was born in 1909 in a poor family in the village of Yawali in Amravati. He was a disciple of Aadkoji Maharaj. Tukdoji Maharaj was involved in social reforms in the rural regions of Maharashtra, including construction of roads. Tukdoji maharajwrote Gramgeeta which describes means for village development. Many of the development programs started by him have continued to work efficiently after his death. He was once even claimed as a mad by one of the British officers.
Gadge Maharaj was an Indian mendicant-saint and social reformer from the Indian state of Maharashtra. He lived in voluntary poverty and wandered to different villages promoting social justice and initiating reforms, especially related to sanitation. He is still revered by the common people in India and remains a source of inspiration for various political parties and non-government organizations.
Roland Meredith Starr was a British occultist and poet. He is credited with introducing Meher Baba to the West.
Charles Benjamin Purdom was a British author, drama critic, town planner, and economist. He was one of the pioneers and founders of the first garden cities, Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City, the latter of which he was appointed Finance Director between 1919–1928. He was then made Honorary Secretary, then Treasurer of the International Federation for Housing and Planning (1931–1935). He was also founder of the Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City Theatre Society, now the Welwyn Drama Club. He won the Howard Walden cup at the Welwyn Garden City Drama Festival and the David Belasco cup in New-York in 1927. He was an author of many books on city development, on Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw plays, Harley Granville-Barker, and on producing plays. He was editor of an English literary periodical called Everyman, covering books, drama, music and travel and featured articles by renowned authors such as Ivor Brown, Arthur Machen, G. K. Chesterton, A. E. Coppard, and Bertrand Russell. He was General Secretary of British Equity (1939–1940) and joint secretary of the London Theatre Council. He was also the earliest biographer of Meher Baba. He was father of the actor Edmund Purdom. He died in Welwyn Garden City in 1965.
Barefoot Landing is a large shopping complex located in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It consists of several divided sections of stores and attractions located on filled land over top of Louis Lake, next to the Intracoastal Waterway. Barefoot Landing was previously known as the Village of the Barefoot Traders which was a collection of 15 unusual gift shops that was located on 3½ acres along a natural marsh and in 1988 was rebuilt and opened as Barefoot Landing. The complex, a popular tourist attraction, has over 100 stores and restaurants, on all sides of a small lake, plus it has adjoining areas with Alabama Theatre, House of Blues and Alligator Adventure.
Margaret Mayo, born Lillian Elizabeth Slatten, was an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter.
Charles Stephen "Steve" Jameson is a United States painter and children's book illustrator. Jameson paints under two brush names: "Cedar" and "Wodin".
The Theme of Creation : An Exploration of Meher Baba's "God Speaks" is a 2005 American documentary film produced, written, edited and directed by Tim Thelen. The film is an analytical exploration of Meher Baba's "God Speaks", and William Donkin's "The Wayfarers", with interviews from religious scholars Carl W. Ernst, Rick Chapman, Allan Cohen, Kendra Crosen Burroughs, Robert Dreyfuss, Charmian Duce Knowles, Bhau Kalchuri, Pascal Kaplan, Phyllis Ott, Tom Riley, Don Stevens, and Adele Wolkin. Tim Thelen adapted, and co-wrote the film with God Speaks editor Don Stevens.
Sufism Reoriented Sanctuary is a universal spiritual retreat located in Walnut Creek, California, United States. The sanctum sanctorum is located at 11 White Horse Court. The Sanctuary was founded and rechristened by spiritual master Meher Baba in 1952.
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