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"No Highway" and Meher Baba Eschatology

Therefore, go forth, companion: when you find

No highway more, no track, all being blind,
The way to go shall glimmer in the mind.
From "The Wanderer" by John Masefield*
*quoted at the start of Shute's No Highway (1948)

No Highway is the name of a book by Nevil Shute published in Aug.

1948. There is a remarkable synchronicity in the publication date: the
Northwest Airlines flight 421 disaster (Wikipedia) attributed to metal
fatigue occurred in Aug. 1948, at about the same time as this book came
out. The flight time of the plane (1,320 hrs) was very similar to that of the
ill-fated plane described in the book (1,393 hrs). The book was made into
a movie starring James Stewart, Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins and Marlene
Dietrich in June 1951. James Stewart played the aeronautics engineer
Theodore Honey, a person so immersed in intellectual brainwork as to
externally resemble someone with Asperger's syndrome (a mild form of
autism first clinically described in 1944); the other characters appear
relatively normal by comparison. This borderline-autistic kind of
behavior may also resemble "mast-like" (God-intoxicated) behavior,
according to indications found in The Wayfarers by Wm. Donkin (Meher
Baba, 1948). Meher Baba stated in His Introduction to Donkin's work:

"Outwardly, the average man may seem to have equanimity; but his
equanimity is only apparent, and not real. When he gets profoundly
dissatisfied with his uncritically accepted pattern of actions, he struggles
to achieve a standpoint which would be unfailing under all types of
circumstances, and which would ensure for him unbroken peace and
fulfillment. Purely intellectual understanding of the world and its
experience fails to provide him with such an unfailing standpoint. He
therefore re-examines his previous assumptions and ways, and makes
intelligent and new experiments in his own life, in order that he may
discover, and obtain within his own being, a reliable directive.
"Such new experimentation with life entails a severance of
consciousness from the average pattern that is current in the world. It
implies the faith that consciousness would be able to discover, and reach,
a directive standpoint within itself. This is the beginning of true search.
Ordinarily, such a person carries on new experimentation with the help of
others whom he considers more advanced than himself; and in rare cases,
he has the advantage of direction by a Perfect Master. In such cases, his
deviations from the average pattern of life are not very considerable, and
he adopts, as the framework of his new experimentation, some pattern of
the life of an aspirant available from his observation, or known to him
through tradition.
"But if the experimentation proceeds without the help of available
guidance, and loses all moorings, the person may, in his own right and
with his own understanding. take to unconventional patterns of life. The
result is that the person often lands himself into confusing sidetracks and
by-paths, and sometimes into regressive channels of life. Once the
average pattern of life is surrendered, it makes room for infinite varieties
of self-created and provisional patterns of life and action. These patterns
may deviate considerably from normality, and the ways of life that follow
from such patterns may even seem to be insane, to the extent to which
they deviate from the average mode of life. But they do not necessarily
mean real insanity, or even retrogression on the path of inner search."

In particular we take as our exemplar the fully developed "mast" (God-

intoxicated person) Nilkanth (Kalchuri, 1986), who made some startling
predictions regarding the end of the world as we know it: “The earth will
split! Men will become helpless and shelterless like beasts roaming on a
plateau. Men will die in large numbers and will take birth again. Due to
forced circumstances, man will be compelled to eat grass and leaves. Old
human habitations will be wiped out and new ones will be established.
The place of the indigenous languages like Hindi will be replaced by the
English language. Rites, rituals and religious ceremonies will be
eliminated...”

The situation depicted by the book No Highway and its movie is an

airplane flight, during which a very few passengers led by an intrusively
investigative engineer (Theodore Honey) come to feel that they will all
probably die in mid-flight due to the imminent loss of the plane's tail
section resulting from prolonged strain and consequent metal fatigue.
Their reactions evince an enhanced display of loving-kindness with
honest concern for each other. The most obvious example is our initially
self-centered boffin's blatant disregard of so-called normal behavioral
limits, leading to his heroic act of pulling a switch to raise the plane-
wheels and thereby destroy its under-carriage, effectively preventing its
further life-endangering usage. Incidentally, though landing had indeed
been without incident, the tail of the plane would later fall off in the dock
after the plane's having been presumably "repaired" & declared fit for
use. The stress-related structural failure described is a mundane,
fortunately uncommon (and relatively unrecognized at the time)
catastrophe resulting from stress & strain combined with structural design
flaws. But in a broader sense the situation seems to metaphorically depict
the transience and egocentric fragility of the human condition, something
which we all experience to some extent, according to our circumstances
and psycho-spiritual or mental impressional makeup. The poetic quote by
Masefield informs us that author Nevil Shute suggests the potential
applicability of the broader philosophic outlook with his apparent
accommodation of mystical metaphors in the poetic introduction of this
exploratory work.

Nevil Shute himself may have had mystical proclivities, as seen in many
passages in his book (though not so overtly apparent in the movie). An
example (found in the book, not in the movie) is Honey's ideas regarding
the possible "end of the world" predicted to come in his child's future:

"I don’t believe the end of the world is coming to us in 1994. But it’s a
theory that has been put forward by a number of very competent
investigators, and the only theory that I know which forecasts what is
going to happen to us in the future. Until a better theory turns up, one has
to base one’s life on that, because it’s the only one...”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said quietly. “Nobody
knows. You and I will live our lives out without knowing; we may know
in half an hour. But I have thought about it; I have read about it; I have
worked on it—a lot. If you like, I’ll tell you what I think may happen in
September 1994... He was silent for a moment. “I think the Principle of
Goodness will appear and take away all sin and evil from the world,” he
said. “I don’t know how it will come about, but I think this, that to
everybody in the world, Buddhist or Mohammedan, Christian or Jew,
there will come a revelation of the truth, at the same time. Every religion
in the world is due for a clean-up; I think they’ll get it then. And when
that is done, the Truth will be seen to be universal, and we shall all
believe in the same things.”
 This is very well-considered thinking indeed. In the movie the author
introduces us to the esoteric science of "Pyramidology" (The Great
Pyramid of Giza is "the only known architectural example of squaring the
circle"), our nerd's parlor game perhaps involving all 3 Giza pyramids
along with the planetary alignment during pyramid-construction
(mentioned in the book), and even the Avataric Sphinx, with its ancient
esoteric riddle. Q: what walks on 4 feet in infancy, 2 feet in adulthood,
and 3 feet in old age? A: Man; the 4 feet represent Evolution, the 2 feet
Reincarnation, and the 3 feet Involution towards God-consciousness.

The word "eschatology" in the title of this paper was employed loosely,
somewhat tongue-in-cheek, in reference to Meher Baba's teachings, as He
did not predict the end of the world, but rather the death of the "old life"
as we know it, and the subsequent birth from its ashes of the "New Life"
for all humanity (Kalchuri, 1985). As to the timeline, it may be personally
informative to know that Meher Baba has stated that in 2030 His Tomb-
Shrine in Meherabad, Ahmednagar, India will be "the center of world
pilgrimage" (Natu, 1997, page 9). What will trigger this re-orienting shift
to effectively bring all the world religions together "like beads on one
string" if not the occurrence of a world shattering event at that timing?
Bal Natu quotes Meher Baba's statement (Natu, 1997), that the "Avataric
period... is of one hundred years' duration after the Manifestation of the
Avatar on earth." Avatar is the word for 'God in human form.' Baba said
that "the 100 years after the Manifestation of the Avatar is the period
encompassing the direct living and personal radiation of the Avatar."
Does this mean that Baba has not yet dropped His body (while His
radiation is there)? He has in our language certainly (31 Jan. 1969), but
has He in His language? Our next obvious question follows: when was
the timing signaling the start of the 100 year Avataric period? Bal Natu
hangs his timing on a postulated beginning of the period in 1954, when
Baba made a public announcement to the world regarding His
Avatarhood (read Bal Natu's interesting discussion in pages 42-52). Our
estimate antedates Bal Natu's, pivoting as it does on the time-priority of
Meher Baba's declaration of His Avatarhood to journalist Paul Brunton
during His Panchvati Cave seclusion in 25 Nov. 1930 (Kalchuri, 1986).
This event is described by J.S. Rathore: "In the Panchavati Cave, Meher
Baba, the Avatar of the Age, declared his advent and his Mission on
earth." (Rathore, 2006). The Avataric advent was also signified by the
daily ½ hour chanting of the "7 Names of God" outside the Cave during
the seclusion (the chant, which links all of the world's religions together,
states the outward purpose of Baba's Avatarhood clearly). Brunton
reported his interview with Baba in his book A Search in Secret India
(pub. in 1934), substituting the word "Messiah" which means "Avatar" in
Meher Baba's usage. Brunton's reportage was colored by his adverse
criticism of Meher Baba; nevertheless it now appears that he had been
unknowingly used by Baba, who had ordered him: "Go to the West as my
representative!", and stated that He would go with him (Brunton, 1934).
Brunton interpreted this in gross terms, imagining that it did not happen,
but we might be justified in believing that Baba's words always come
true, and Brunton was simply voicing his disappointment regarding
personal expectations (Shepherd, 2015).
In April 8, 1932 Meher Baba announced His mission in a Paramount
newsreel as follows: "I intend to bring together all religions and cults like
beads on one string and revitalise them for individual and collective
needs. This is my mission to the West." (Meher Baba, 2009). Only the
Avatar has the authority to make such a statement. This is a re-statement
of Baba's Avatarhood as emphatic as the 7 Names of God chant,
reaffirming His statements made to Brunton during the 1930 Panchvati
Cave seclusion: "I shall not attempt to establish any new religion, cult or
organization. But I shall rejuvenate the religious thought of all peoples,
instil a higher understanding of life into them... Remember though, that
every prophet considers the times, the circumstances and the prevailing
mentality of the people before his public manifestation." (Brunton, 1934).

On the subject of Meher Baba's "eschatology" presented in scientific

language, we have a book by Paul Otto Hesse (Der Jüngste Tag), written
in German; shortly after it was pub. in 1950, Dr. Donkin, one of Baba's
close disciples was sent to give a copy to His Swiss disciples Max &
Gisela Häfliger. "Supposedly William had been acting on Baba's orders
in delivering the book to the Haefligers, but the purpose was never
explained." (Mossman, 2012). It is also said that Meher Baba has stated
that Hesse's book was "very accurate" (Butler, 2009). Interestingly,
Hesse's 2nd book, privately published in 1953, concerns the subject of
pyramidology. We will summarize some relevant contents of "Der
Jüngste Tag" here (Lange, 2009). Note to the publisher: the German text
should be translated and made accessible to potential readers amongst the
English-speaking public: this will be very timely and well worth the
effort required, as some of the translation work has already been done.

According to Hesse, our solar system is slated to pass into what he

called a "photon belt". This shift will happen quite suddenly, and will be
for all practical purposes fairly permanent, lasting for 1000 years or so. It
is something which happens at periodic intervals of 12,000 years of our
Sun's orbit around Alcyone of the Pleiades, and it will result in a subtle-
mental spiritualization of those members of mankind who can tolerate
this kind of an internal shift. This photon belt is not at all like the gross
"poison belt" jocularly described by Arthur Conan Doyle: it is composed
of subtle energies, the so-called split electrons, which are completely
undetectable to scientific instruments. The quality of this barrage is Love.
Our human bodies can well withstand this kind of love-barrage, if our
heart-minds have the required loving tolerance, but it will also
incidentally cause a sudden shift in the magnetic axis of the earth, with
very powerful consequences, in respect of land-mass shifts, flooding, etc.,
and other such-like catastrophes already anticipated by some members of
the scientific vanguard (Stearn, 1967). The important thing for us to do
now as God's creatures is to make a point of consciously holding on to
our All-knowing Creator as much and as often as we can, in whatever
form we can relate to, and try to be ever-loving to one another in our day-
to-day ongoing existence on this planet.

Is 2030 to be the actual timing of Meher Baba's breaking of His Silence?

Meher Baba has many times announced He was breaking His Silence at
various future timings, whereupon nothing would happen visibly. There
would ensue general disappointment and subsequent loss of Baba's so-
called credibility to some of His followers. Baba explained that He was
making these silence-breaking announcements as a doctor might do to
appease the queries of his long-suffering patient. But the 2030 prediction
was inserted into the record almost invisibly, and has gone unnoticed
almost up to the critical timing. What will happen 100 years after the
start-up of Baba's Silence in July 10, 1925? The energy accumulated from
Baba's Silence must be incalculable. Baba's Silence is after all a true
Silence; I imagine that from the pressure of 100 years of Silence the
world as we know it will start to come apart at the seams, like the stress-
related metal fatigue of the plane alluded to by the movie. The succeeding
5 years (2025-2030) will perhaps be a real trial even for Baba-lovers, who
have faith in the benevolence of the Creator. May God help us all!

To look on the bright-side, there are certain spiritual similarities of this

prediction with respect to Meher Baba's predictions given in dictation to
Bhau Kalchuri shortly prior to dropping His body (as reproduced from
Avatar of the Age Meher Baba Manifesting, 1985 © AMBPPCT):

The Seven Doors

In 1967 before Meher Baba instructed me to write his biography and

to write about his work and manifestation, he gave me several points.

It was during night watch and Baba told me to get a pen and some
paper. Baba began, ”I am going to give you a few important points
about my manifestation. Write each point down.
“My abode is infinite...it is formless ...But there are seven doors in my
abode... each door remains closed to all those bound in illusion ... The
aim of involution is to open these seven doors to experience my
Infinity.

“The first door is extremely difficult to open ... All the kingdoms of
evolution stand at this door ... Humanity has its back to this door ...
all faces are turned toward illusion ... Humanity is the nearest
kingdom to this door.

“I come to open these seven doors ... I work to cut a hole in the first
door ...That door leads to the first plane ... This cutting is my work
during my lifetime.”

Bhau has explained: "The infinite abode of the Avatar has seven
doors, and each door remains closed to those bound in illusion. The
aim of human consciousness undergoing involution is to open these
seven doors, one after another, and finally to experience the Infinity.

"It is extremely difficult to open the first door. All the kingdoms of
evolutionary consciousness remain outside this first door. All the
kingdoms of evolution, as well as humanity, have their backs toward
this door, and all faces are turned gazing into illusion. Humanity is
nearest to the first door. Blessed are those rare persons who have
turned to face the first door. More blessed are those who have
managed to open the first door and have entered the subtle domain of
infinite energy.

"It is most difficult to open this first door, as the pull of illusion is so
overwhelming that it keeps most of humanity turned away from this
door. Humanity has forgotten even that there is a door to the domain
of infinite energy, because the overwhelming pull of Maya has kept
human consciousness immersed in illusion. Humanity does not know
where to turn to find this door. Humanity, though very near the door,
gropes in the darkness of ignorance, not knowing where this door is to
be found.

"When God descends into human form as the Avatar, he comes from
his formless abode through the seven doors. His work on earth is to
cut a hole in the first door. This door leads from the gross world into
the first subtle plane. The cutting of a hole in the first door is to allow
individuals to pass through into the subtle domain. This is the work he
does during his physical lifetime on earth. It is his universal work for
humanity as a whole.
"This work is most difficult and the Avatar undergoes tremendous
suffering as he works cutting this hole in the first door. If the Avatar
did not cut this hole, it would not be possible for individuals to find
the entrance into involution. Though it has already been cut, the hole
does not open until after the Avatar has dropped his physical body.

"When the preparations for the opening of the hole are complete, the
Avatar sets the time for the hole to open, and then drops his body.
When the hole is opened, light from the domain of pure energy
emanates into the gross world. As soon as the hole is opened and the
light is emanating through it, humanity becomes overpowered with
joy from seeing the light. It irresistibly faces the light and turns away
from illusion.

"When light pours into the gross world from the subtle world this
brings on the universal manifestation of the Avatar on earth for
humanity as a whole. The experience of this light establishes a new
world order, and a new humanity emerges out of this light. It is during
this universal manifestation of the Avatar's light that humanity then
accepts Meher Baba as divine, as the Christ, the Prophet, or as the
Messiah. It is through the experience of this overpowering light that
humanity universally accepts Meher Baba as God.

"Those individuals who are nearest to the hole when it opens see more
of the light and they accept him as God, long for union with him and
become inspired so intensely that they pass through the hole in the
first door, and enter into the domain of infinite energy. Some
individuals accept Meher Baba as God and aspire to find the hole by
the light they experience. The rest of humanity accepts him as God, to
some extent, and by the light they experience, they move toward the
hole. This mass inclination is due to the natural pull of Truth, though
humanity as a whole does not enter involution. The entire mass of
humanity turns toward the light which emanates from the hole; but the
hole is not found by all of them. Though awareness of his
manifestation will become evident all over the world, this awareness
will differ in each human being. When humanity, as a mass, accepts
Meher Baba's divinity, the pull toward Truth becomes increasingly
powerful as the pull of illusion becomes increasingly weaker. During
the Avatar's manifestation the era of Truth begins, and it culminates
as illusion becomes overpowered by the Truth he has manifested.

"The manifestation of the Avatar brings the evolutionary process back

to a natural state by wiping out three-fourths of the unnaturalness in
the world. Three-fourths of the darkness of mankind's ignorance is
 dispelled by the sun of the Truth shining through the hole onto all of
mankind. It is the Avatar who brings a total change in mankind's
consciousness through this light during his universal manifestation.
This light in mankind's consciousness naturally brings a total change
in the world. People everywhere will recognize that this light is divine
and that it comes from the Avatar's abode of God.

Works Cited (all Meher Baba quotes © AMBPPCT):

Brunton, P. (1934). A Search in Secret India. London: Rider.
Butler, G.A. (2009). Online at: www.meherbabamanifesting.com/prophecy/der-jungste-
tag
Doyle, A.C. (1913). The Poison Belt. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Hesse, P.O. (1950). Der Jüngste Tag. Switzerland: Die Arve (5th ed. pub. 1995, by
Turm-Verlag).
Kalchuri, V. S. (1985). Avatar of the Age Meher Baba Manifesting.N. Myrtle Beach, SC:
Manifestation, Inc. Available online at: https://www.ambppct.org/library.php
Kalchuri, V. S. (1986). Lord Meher. N. Myrtle Beach, SC: Manifestation, Inc. Online at:
http://www.lordmeher.org.
Lange, U. & D. (trans. & ed.). (2009). "A Book Called "Der Jüngste Tag"; private pub.
This translation of selections from the book is "only meant for private use."
Meher Baba. (2009) Meher Baba's early messages to the West. N. Myrtle Beach, SC:
Sheriar Foundation.
Meher Baba. (1948). Forward. In: W. Donkin. The wayfarers. Ahmednagar, India:
AMBPPCT. Online at: https://www.ambppct.org/library.php
Mossman, B. (2012) Slave of Love. Lunenburg, Can: Oceanic Pub.
Natu, B. (1997). The Samadhi – Star of Infinity. Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Found.
Online at: https://www.ambppct.org/library.php
Rathore, J.S. "Meher Baba's work in seclusion", Glow International, Feb. 2006.
Shepherd, K. (2015). "Meher Baba and Paul Brunton." Online at:
https://www.citizenthought.net/Meher_Baba_and_Paul_Brunton.html
Shute, N. (1948). No Highway. London: Wm. Heinemann.
Shute, N. (1951). "No Highway in the Sky" (Twentieth Century-Fox video). Online at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eCvwtKPKRY
Stearn, J. (1967). Edgar Cayce – the Sleeping Prophet. NY: Bantam. Online:
https://archive.org/details/EdgarCayce-theSleepingProphet