In February 1958, Avatar Meher Baba indicated to his disciples and lovers that Meherabad would become the greatest place of pilgrimage in the world. Over the years he had told them that when he passed away, his body should be interred in the Tomb (known as the Samadhi) which had been built under his instructions on Meherabad Hill in 1938. After Meher Baba passed away on 31 January 1969, people from around the world did indeed begin to come to his Tomb in gradually increasing numbers. In response to the increasing number of pilgrims, and in keeping with Baba’s own directives in the Trust Deed, the Avatar Meher Baba Trust became increasingly involved in providing facilities for visitors.

During his lifetime, Meher Baba repeatedly said he did not intend to start a new religion. Rather, as the Divine Beloved, he had come to establish a relationship with each individual through love. The Trust appreciates, therefore, that pilgrimage to Meherabad, though it occurs in a public setting, is in its essence deeply personal and inward. Thus it strives to balance its responsibility of providing facilities for increasing numbers of visitors with its goal of preserving an intimate atmosphere supportive of each individual’s unique experience of Meher Baba.