Francis Brabazon
Encyclopedia
Francis Brabazon was an Australia
n poet
and a member of Meher Baba
's mandali
.
Brabazon was born in London
, but moved to Australia with his family when he was still a boy. At the age of 21, Francis Brabazon embarked on a quest to discover the relationship between beauty and truth. He studied music and painting and finally found his niche in poetry. In the 1940s, Brabazon became interested in Eastern spirituality and soon became a student of the Australian Sufi
leader Baron Friedrich von Frankenberg
.
With the death of his Sufi teacher in 1950, Brabazon became the head of the Sufi Movement in Australia. He met Meher Baba on a trip to America
in 1952 and later described Baba as "the very personification of truth and the very embodiment of beauty." After returning to Australia, Francis and a party of helpers managed to complete "Beacon Hill house" near Sydney in time for Baba's first visit to Australia in August 1956. It was later renamed "Meher House". In 1958 Brabazon established a new center on a 100 acres (40.5 ha) estate on Kiel Mountain, Woombye, Queensland
to host Meher Baba on his second visit. While he was there, Meher Baba named the area Avatar's Abode
and said it would become a place of world pilgrimage.
Francis' grave is on Avatar's Abode overlooking the ocean. The Avatar's Abode Trust holds copyright of Francis Brabazon's works.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n poet
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and a member of Meher Baba
Meher Baba
Meher Baba , , born Merwan Sheriar Irani, was an Indian mystic and spiritual master who declared publicly in 1954 that he was the Avatar of the age....
's mandali
Mandali
Mandali from the Sanskrit mandala meaning circle, connection, community, is a term that Meher Baba used for his closest disciples.-Inner circle:...
.
Brabazon was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but moved to Australia with his family when he was still a boy. At the age of 21, Francis Brabazon embarked on a quest to discover the relationship between beauty and truth. He studied music and painting and finally found his niche in poetry. In the 1940s, Brabazon became interested in Eastern spirituality and soon became a student of the Australian Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
leader Baron Friedrich von Frankenberg
Friedrich von Frankenberg
Friedrich von Frankenberg was one of the early founders of Sufism in Australia.Friedrich von Frankenberg was an early Australian representative of Sufism, the mystical order of Islam first brought to the West by Hazrat Inayat Khan. He was born to an aristocratic and cultured family and raised...
.
With the death of his Sufi teacher in 1950, Brabazon became the head of the Sufi Movement in Australia. He met Meher Baba on a trip to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1952 and later described Baba as "the very personification of truth and the very embodiment of beauty." After returning to Australia, Francis and a party of helpers managed to complete "Beacon Hill house" near Sydney in time for Baba's first visit to Australia in August 1956. It was later renamed "Meher House". In 1958 Brabazon established a new center on a 100 acres (40.5 ha) estate on Kiel Mountain, Woombye, Queensland
Woombye, Queensland
Woombye is a town located on the Sunshine Coast hinterland in Queensland, Australia, approximately 100 km north of the Brisbane CBD. The name is derived from words from the local Aboriginal language - a place of black snake or black myrtle or axe handle made from black myrtle...
to host Meher Baba on his second visit. While he was there, Meher Baba named the area Avatar's Abode
Avatar's Abode
Avatar's Abode is a spiritual retreat about north of Brisbane, Australia dedicated to Meher Baba. It was established by Australian poet and disciple of Meher Baba Francis Brabazon in 1958 on the summit of Kiel Mountain near Woombye on Queensland's Sunshine Coast...
and said it would become a place of world pilgrimage.
Francis' grave is on Avatar's Abode overlooking the ocean. The Avatar's Abode Trust holds copyright of Francis Brabazon's works.
Publications
- Early Poems, Luxton & Hooper for Beacon Hill, Sydney, n.d.
- 7 Stars to Morning, Designed and produced by Edwards & Shaw (Sydney) for Morgan's Bookshop, 1956
- Cantos of Wandering, Beacon Hill Press, 1957
- Singing Threshold, Beacon Hill Press, Sydney, 1958
- Stay With God: A statement in illusion on Reality, Edwards & Shaw (Sydney) for Garuda Books, Woombye, Queensland, 1959. Meher House Publication, Bombay, 1977. New Humanity Books, Melbourne, 1990 (ISBN 0949191078)
- Let Us the People Sing, Published by: Meherjee A. Karkaria, India, 1962
- The East West Gathering, Sydney: Meher House, 1963
- The Word at World's End, John F. Kennedy University Press, Berkeley, 1971
- Journey With God, Sheriar Press, Myrtle Beach, 1971
- Three Talks of Meher Baba, Meher Era Publications, 1971
- In Dust I Sing, Beguine Library, Berkeley, 1974
- Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Sheriar Foundation, Myrtle Beach, 1975
- The Silent Word, Meher Baba Foundation, Australia, 1978
- The Golden Book of Praise, Awakener Press, 1982
Further reading
- Ross Keating, Francis Brabazon - Poet of the Silent Word - a modern Hafiz, World Axis Press, 2002 (biography)