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O Parvardigar

O Parvardigar is the common name of a prayer composed by Meher Baba, sometimes called the Master's Prayer or the Universal Prayer. It is also a song and album by Pete Townshend.

Meher Baba wrote the prayer at Dehradun in August 1953 and made it public on September 13, 1953.^[1] Near the end of January, 1968 (almost exactly one year before his death) Meher Baba dictated a circular to his followers to recite the O Parvardigar Prayer and the Prayer of Repentance each day until March 25, 1968.^[2] On February 21 of that year he issued a second circular requesting that the prayers be continued until May 21, 1968.^[3]

Use and meaning

The prayer has become a part of a canon of prayers regularly repeated by Avatar Meher Baba's followers, along with the Prayer of Repentance and the Beloved God Prayer. The three prayers are repeated morning and evening at Meher Baba's samadhi in Ahmednagar, India at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. each day, followed by devotional songs which compose Baba's arti.

The prayer is a prayer of praise, listing the attributes of God. It specifically uses names of God from various traditions including Sikhism (Parvadigar = "cherisher", also Hindi "preserver"), Hinduism (Prabhu, Parameshwar, Parabrahma), Islam (Allah), Judaism (Elahi), Zoroastrianism (Yezdan, Ahuramazda, Ezad), and Christianity (God Almighty). The attributes praised are those of omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, and infinite love. (See notes below)

Pete Townshend's Musical Rendition

The prayer became well known after Pete Townshend, lead song writer for the rock band The Who and a follower of Meher Baba, wrote and recorded an interpretation of the prayer. While there are earlier recordings, the song reached a wide audience with the release of Who Came First in 1972. In 2001 Townshend released a solo EP, O Parvardigar, with three versions of the song: his studio version, a live recording made in India at Meher Baba's third Amartithi in January 1972, and a German language version that Townshend recorded specifically for the opening of a European Baba Center. Other Townshend albums that contain the song include I Am (1972) and Jai Baba (2001).

Text of the prayer

While later versions of the prayer make certain punctuation changes and omit the names "Paramatma" and "God Almighty" from the final stanzas, the original 1953 version was written as follows.^[4] (See notes at bottom for meanings of terms)

O Parvardigar! The Preserver and Protector of All,

You are without beginning and without end.

Non-dual, beyond comparison,

and none can measure You.

You are without color, without expression,

without form and without attributes.

You are unlimited and unfathomable;

beyond imagination and conception;

eternal and imperishable.

You are indivisible;

and none can see you but with eyes divine.

You always were, You always are,

and You always will be.

You are everywhere, You are in everything, and

You are also beyond everywhere and beyond everything.

You are in the firmament and in the depths,

You are manifest and unmanifest;

on all planes and beyond all planes.

You are in the three worlds,

and also beyond the three worlds.

You are imperceptible and independent.

You are the Creator, the Lord of Lords,

the Knower of all minds and hearts.

You are Omnipotent and Omnipresent.

You are Knowledge Infinite, Power Infinite and Bliss Infinite.

You are the Ocean of Knowledge,

All-knowing, Infinitely-knowing;

the Knower of the past, the present and the future;

and You are Knowledge itself.

You are all-merciful and eternally benevolent.

You are the Soul of souls, the One with infinite attributes.

You are the Trinity of Truth, Knowledge and Bliss;

You are the Source of Truth, the Ocean of Love.

You are the Ancient One, the Highest of the High.

You are Prabhu and Parameshwar;

You are the Beyond God and the Beyond-Beyond God also;

You are Parabrahma; Paramatma; Allah; Elahi; Yezdan;

Ahuramazda, God Almighty, and God the Beloved.

You are named Ezad, the Only One Worthy of Worship.

Notes

• Parvardigar (also Parwardigar): The Preserver or Sustainer - Sufism
• Prabhu: The Lord (God). Vishnu. Literally: master, lord, king. A name applied to God. - Vedanta.^[5]
• Parameshwar: a Hindu concept that literally means the Supreme God. - Vedanta
• Parabrahma: Supreme Spirit; God in the Beyond Beyond state (see God Speaks). - Vedanta
• Paramatma: Supreme Soul or Over-soul - Vedanta
• Allah: The one God - Islam
• Elahi (pronounded with a long "a") is Aramaic and means My God. - Judaism
• Yezdan (also Yazdan): "worthy of worship" - Zoroastrian
• Ahuramazda: Name of God's attribute of Life and Wisdom. - Zoroastrian
• Ezad (also Izad, Yazata or Yazad): The one God. Literally: worthy of worship - Zoroastrian

References

External links

• Quotes on Prayer by Meher Baba
• Prayers by Meher Baba