Meher Baba's Life & Travels
Born : 1870 - Estonia ( then a province of Russia
)
Died : 29th October 1929 -Meherabad, India
Buried : Christian cemetery
in Ahmednagar, India ( Grave - No. P19
)
Spiritual Aspirant
Estonian
The image above and below is from a photo taken in Toka, india in 1928.
This is an enhanced imaged ( left ) of Leik courtesy of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust in India, which appeared in their newsletter 'In His Servce' June 2024. The image on the right was coloured by A. Zois
He [ Mr. C. Leik ] had been a spiritual disciple of the late Shri Ramakrishna, another Perfect Master of the last century, and was inwardly directed by him to leave the Himalayan Retreat and go to the Master Baba.
When his companions heard of his decision they tried their utmost to dissuade him. He would, they assured him, be hypnotized by Baba and paraded by him as a European convert to further his 'propaganda.' At first he would be full of enthusiasm, but soon this would dwindle. Consequently he was somewhat bewildered when he arrived at Meherabad in October, 1928.
"But how utterly different I found Meher Baba and his Ashram to be!" he wrote.
"The Master is a personification of the highest spirituality and love; and the atmosphere of Meherashram reflects the deep peace and radiance of my beloved Master, Baba, as he is affectionately called by the devotees. There is nothing about him of the awe-inspiring solemnity that is attributed to the occult hierarchy."
"That love, which all my life I have craved, here I experience more and more as the days pass. One day Baba said he would help me by awakening in my heart the realization of his divine Presence, and later this happened. I became aware of the Self as the Self of all beings — and I know also that the One we call Baba has always been with me and will ever be, for all Eternity."
Then he added: "Truly it has been said that it takes a saint to recognize a saint, a Christ to recognize a Christ. Only those fortunate ones who have this grace given to them by the Master can know his true greatness and realize who he really is."
Courtesy of "AVATAR" book, pp. 128-129 by Jean Adriel
1928
The thirty-fourth day of Baba's fast and the fourth day of his seclusion, all gathered at five o'clock near the entrance of the Manzil for the lighting of the dhuni.
At about noon the same day, Adi Sr. and Nusserwan Satha arrived, bringing with them a gray-haired Russian called Sadhu Christian Leik. He was the European that Baba had mentioned, and Leik was overjoyed at finding the atmosphere in Toka so congenial and uplifting, as he had been searching a long time for a guru. Vishnu accommodated him in the room previously occupied by Chhota Baba. "There is something here," Leik said. "I feel it. After 20 years of longing and worship of such departed Masters as Ramakrishna, today I have finally met and seen a living Master!"
Leik was 58 when he came to Toka. Born in the Russian province of Estonia in 1870, from childhood he had a contemplative, scholarly nature, and he became interested in Western and Eastern philosophy at an early age. As a young man, he had a lucrative position as the manager of a business firm in Moscow, but in 1902, he quit his job and traveled to England and France seeking knowledge of spirituality. During the subsequent years, he served as a naval officer and met Meredith Starr with whom he shared similar interests.
After reading about Sadguru Ramakrishna and his chief disciple Vivekananda, Leik traveled to India in 1910 and began staying in Ramakrishna monasteries.
He had been to the Himalayas, but found the atmosphere spiritually dry. After some years, however, he found himself longing to be under the guidance of a living guru. He heard that his old acquaintance, Meredith Starr, had recently gone to India and surrendered to a Master. He wrote letters to Starr and was informed of Meher Baba's ashrams at Meherabad and Toka.
The day after he arrived, Baba sent for Sadhu Christian Leik. When Leik was taking the Master's darshan, Baba rested his head on Leik's back. Baba did not embrace him then, but later that night he did. Baba personally showed him around the Prem Ashram where the boys were meditating.
The following morning, Baba ordered Leik to observe silence and then instructed, "Remain here with a completely free heart. Keep silence from tomorrow. Do not worry. Whatever you may need, ask Vishnu. Don't let your mind think of things that have bothered you. Have patience. I will make you steadfast in the Path. I am pleased with you because despite so many hardships and sufferings, you have stuck to the Path for years."
Leik replied, "As for patience, I have enough of it. I know I will be given the right thing — at the right time — when I deserve it."
Baba then instructed, "As long as I do not send for you, do not come to me. Even if I don't call you for days, don't come and don't worry. I am with you. I will speak with you internally."
"I know," said Leik, "Masters always speak internally."
Leik was a humble and unassuming person, which impressed the mandali. (For instance, he washed his own clothes, which was unusual for a European in India.) Baba too was pleased that he had come and indicated that he was a genuine seeker.
Lord Meher Online Edition Page 982-3
1928
After the move from Toka, Meredith Starr and Margaret and ( Josephine ) Esther Ross were accommodated at Akbar Press in Ahmednagar and would occasionally visit Baba at Meherabad. From Toka, Sadhu Christian Leik had been sent on pilgrimage to different places in India but subsequently returned to Meherabad.
Lord Meher Online Edition Page 993
1929
At noon in the dining hall on the 24th, Baba spoke admiringly of Sadhu Leik and made these remarks about him: "He is the member of the circle about whom I have been speaking often. He is a real man. There is a world of difference between Meredith Starr and Sadhu Leik. They are poles apart. Starr, however, was instrumental in bringing him here."
Baba concluded with this comment: "The real one comes; the unreal goes!"
Lord Meher Online Edition Page 1012
Late in the evening on Saturday, 30 March 1929, Baba went to Nasik with three of the men to visit the women mandali. He returned at 2:00 A.M. on 3 April. Meanwhile, at the end of March, Manekar left for Dhulia where he had found a job. On 1 April, Sadhu Christian Leik left on Baba's instructions to tour India and speak about Baba to whomever he met ( orders similar to those given to Rustom before he left for England). Leik described his first stop at Madras, in a letter to K. J. Dastur:
The only service I can render [to Baba] is to visit houses and have a talk with those to whom I am introduced. I have a feeling that Shri Baba wants me to go to different parts of India to establish a spiritual or inner connection with those parts, just as he sent Mr. Rustom K. Irani to England in the spring of 1928 to establish a connection with the West ... Since Baba said he would be with me and I must not worry, I am gradually getting proofs of such care and this makes me grow in faith. I can see that through his inner workings he brings me in touch with those whom he wishes to help and bless.
Leik subsequently traveled to Bangalore, Mysore, other parts of India, sometimes spending two weeks at each place. He was gone for six months.
1929
Adi ( K. Irani )reported the news that Sadhu Christian Leik had recently expired. Leik had returned from his tour of India on 16 October in an emaciated and debilitated condition and stayed at Akbar Press. He was moved to Meherabad two days later, seriously ill and extremely weak. He died at 5:15 P.M. on 29 October, and was buried at ten the next morning in the Christian cemetery near Bhingar, Ahmednagar (the same one where Louis Nelmes was buried).
1930
On the 6th May, Padri and Vishnu brought in a bundle of clothes belonging to the deceased Sadhu Christian Leik (who had died six months before), and Baba distributed the garments among the men. Baba offered a pair of trousers to Raosaheb, who reluctantly said that he had enough pants. His reply displeased Baba, as it was only an excuse, because Raosaheb did not like the idea of wearing someone else's clothing. Baba angrily ordered him, "Put those trousers on right now!"
Raosaheb replied that they were too small. Baba gestured, "Even if they don't fit, when I offer you something, you should accept it humbly. You people have to learn humility! Don't answer back like that! Don't go on repeating, 'This is useless ... That is not right.' " Why are you so proud?"
The following letter is courtesy of the Avatar Meher Baba Archives in India. There is no date mentioned.
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Today's President* cannot be any other than Beloved Baba Himself, but, evidently, you have chosen to print my name because I happened to have come into contact with Meher Baba over thirty-five years ago.
I among several others in Madras first learnt of Meher Baba through Sadhu Christian Leik, whom I always remember with gratitude. He was a Russian by birth and first belonged to the Salvation Army. He was at first a student of Vedanta and was attracted to Swami Vivekananda. Later, he came to India to stay in one of the Ramakrishna Ashrams. He was disappointed in his expectations because the Brahmin monks of the Ashram, though they spoke high Vedanta, treated him in actual practice as an untouchable. He came to see Meher Baba on the suggestion of Mr. Meredith Starr and there-after was drawn to Meher Baba. He was the first missionary disciple of Meher Baba (in those days Baba was called "His Divine Majesty”), and did excellent work in that capacity. He died at Ahmednagar on 29th October, 1929 (then 59 years old) and was buried at the Government Cemetery the next day. At that time Meher Baba was in Persia.
Many of you are "old souls," but with younger bodies in this incarnation. Though we may not recognize Meher Baba, he remembers us and knows us well.
Sri Bhagavan said in Chapter IV, Verse 5 of The Bhagavad Gita: "Arjuna, you and I have passed through many births. I remember them all; you do not remember. "
Today, in the worldly way, we all say this is Meher Baba's 71st birthday. But Bhagavan said again in the Gita: "Though birthless and deathless, and the Lord of all beings, I manifest Myself through My own Yogamaya divine potency—keeping My Nature—Prakriti—under control."
By calling Himself birthless and deathless, the lord means to say that He never takes birth, as ordinary beings do, nor dies; yet He appears to be taking birth and dying like ordinary beings. Even so, though Lord of all created beings, He appears just like an ordinary human being. That is to say people, not knowing the secret of Divine descent, imagine, at the time of His manifestation, that He has taken birth; and when He disappears from their midst, they take Him to have died.
* Delhi Baba Center
Courtesy of the Awakener Magazine - Volume 11 Number 1 1966
The following is from the "Meher Message" magazine - Vol.1 , No.3 1929 pages
30-33
The following is from the "Meher Message" magazine - Vol.1 , No.3 1929 pages 27-31
The following is from the "Meher Message" magazine - Vol.1 , No.7 1929 pages 39-41
The following account was in the "Meher Message" magazine - Vol.1 , No.11 1929.
The following account was written by K.J. Dastur, the editor of "Meher Message" magazine - Vol.1 , No.12 1929.
The following account was in the "Meher Message" magazine - Vol.2 , No.1 1930.
