A mast (pronounced "must"), in

Meher Baba Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) 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 ...

's teaching, is a person who is overwhelmed with love for God, accompanied with external disorientation resembling intoxication. The word was coined by

and originates from the Sufi term mast-Allah meaning "intoxicated with God" Haynes, Charles, ''Meher Baba, the Awakener'', Avatar Foundation, Inc., 2nd ed. 1993. p. 45 from

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

mast, literally meaning "intoxicated." Another interpretation of its origin is that it is derived from ''masti'', a Persian word meaning "overpowered."

Overview

According to Meher Baba, a mast is one who is entranced or spellbound by internal spiritual experiences and ecstasies, who cannot function outwardly in an ordinary way, and may appear mad to a casual outside observer. Such experiences, according to Meher Baba, stem from the station of a mast's

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

(his or her state of consciousness) on inner planes of involution. In ''The Wayfarers: Meher Baba With the God-Intoxicated,'' British medical doctor William Donkin documents at length Meher Baba's contacts with masts throughout

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

(primarily Iran, India, and Pakistan). The introduction, written by Meher Baba, explains their unique state and their outward characteristics. He carefully distinguishes the mast state from madness and explains that in the case of the mad person, the mind is sped up, while in the case of the mast it is slowed down.Donkin, William, M.D., "The Wayfarers: Meher Baba with the God-Intoxicated", Adi K. Irani, 1948, ''Sheriar Foundation'', 2001, p. 19 () Meher Baba made a Sufi analogy (reflecting the poetry of

Hafez Khwāje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī ( fa, خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمّد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hafez (, ''Ḥāfeẓ'', 'the memorizer; the (safe) keeper'; 1325–1390) and as "Hafiz", ...

) to the drunkenness of one intoxicated with wine, but in this case, the wine is the love of God. Meher Baba contacted thousands of masts all over India, Pakistan, and Iran, saying that he was freeing them from enchantment and helping them to continue on the spiritual path and to be of inward service to humanity. Masts can be in varying degrees of the states of ''

salik A sālik is a follower of Sufism, from the verb ''salaka'' which means to travel or follow, related to ''sulūk'' "pathway". ''Sulūk'' here specifically refers to a spiritual path, i.e. the combination of the two "paths" that can be followed ...

'' or '' majzoob''. ''Salik'' means more in touch with outward surroundings, meaning grounded and ordinary. ''Majzoob'' refers to that state of being immersed in the inner plane and divorced from the outside world.

References

External links

God-Intoxicated Pilgrims
{{Meher Baba Anti-psychiatry Islamic practices Islamic terminology Persian words and phrases Sufi philosophy *