Perfect Master (Meher Baba)

Perfect Master is the English term Meher Baba began to use in his writing as early as 1925 to denote the Eastern idea of a sadguru (Vedanta) or a qutub (Sufism). A Perfect Master, according to Baba, is a God-realized person (one whose limited individualized consciousness has merged with God) who can use his Divine attributes of Infinite Power, Knowledge and Bliss for the spiritual upliftment of others. In describing Meher Baba's specialized use of the term Charles Purdom writes, "The title ‘Perfect Master’ . . . means one who has himself reached the goal to which he directs others: one who, pointing to God, has himself realized God."

Meher Baba stated in his book God Speaks that when a spiritually advanced soul loses its consciousness as a separate being, it merges in God in one of three distinct states:

Meher Baba calls people who are in the third state Perfect Masters or Mukammil. He distinguishes the second state from Perfect Masters, calling them instead "Perfect Ones" or Kamil. One of the aspects that he says demarcates the Perfect Master from the Perfect One is that the Perfect Master has disciples, while the Perfect One does not. Also Baba says that a Perfect Master can make like himself any number of souls or even the whole of creation, while the Perfect One can only make one soul like himself. However, Meher Baba makes it clear in his system as outlined in God Speaks that the consciousness of these souls is absolutely One and the same. To explain this apparent contradiction he likens the difference between these two classifications of God realized souls to a difference in the 'office' of the God Realized person.

Meher Baba says that at all times on Earth there are 56 incarnate God-realized souls, but that of these only five are deemed the five Perfect Masters of their era. When one of the five Perfect Masters "drops" his physical body, Baba says, another God-realized soul among the 56 incarnate at that time replaces him by taking up that office in that moment. Thus, Meher Baba says there are 56 God-realized souls on Earth at all times, but only and exactly five hold the office of Perfect Master.

In addition, Baba says there is one very rare type of God-realized person who has no disciples but who has duties included in his office. These he says are called Most Perfect Ones or Akmal.

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