God Speaks as the Master Exposition of Meher Baba’s Cosmology:
A Two-Day Seminar by Ward Parks
Saturday, August 29 - 10am - 3pm
Sunday, August 30 - 10am - 5pm
2026

God Speaks is Avatar Meher Baba’s magnum opus in the literary domain. As an Avataric revelation, no other account of God and Creation, in the mystical literature of the East or West, can rival it. Undoubtedly, God Speaks will serve as the major foundation in centuries to come whenever man tries to bring the powers of mind and heart to an understanding of his place in the cosmos and relation to the supreme Reality.

The four sessions of this ten-hour, two-day seminar will provide a basic introduction to God Speaks, both as a literary work and as the supreme exposition of Meher Baba’s “philosophy.” After an opening session that studies various historical and textual backgrounds, the seminar will trace through the ten chapters of the book sequentially. God Speaks is organized on basis of the Divine Theme or journey of the soul, which it narrates three times (between the second and ninth “parts” or chapters). In each “pass” Meher Baba relates the Divine Theme from a different point of view; a close examination of this opens up the cosmological account of this book in its detail and fuller articulation.

Each session will be organized on a specific subject around a sequence of topics. Ward will present a certain amount of content in lecture format with Power Point, yet fundamentally the meetings will be interactive. Much of the time will be dedicated to close reading of passages and focused discussion.

 The seminar presupposes no prior knowledge, though of course any reading in God Speaks that you bring to the event will enrich your experience. Irrespective of background, all are most cordially invited and welcome to participate.

A Description of the Four Sessions

Saturday morning, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. “God Speaks in its Historical Contexts.” God Speaks in the context of Meher Baba’s life and teachings; a review of the textual history of the first and second editions, and a projected third (and uncompleted) edition by Francis Brabazon; a survey of the different sections of the book, from the Dedication through the Supplement; a history of the “Divine Theme” and its role in the organization of God Speaks; a review of “Part 1” and the laying of the foundations.

Saturday afternoon, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. “The‘First Pass’ through the Divine Theme: Creation, Evolution, Reincarnation, and Involution.” The Divine Theme is comprised of a movement of descent to human form and a subsequent ascent back to God. Evolution and reincarnation, described in Parts 2 through 4 of God Speaks, comprise the first half of this story, as the jivātmā achieves the state of greatest alienation from the God-Self that is its source. Parts 5, 6, and 7 describe the involutionary journey of ascent (from the ordinary gross-conscious man-state to the Realization of God) from different angles of vision. Part 5 provides a basic account of the seven planes; Part 6 describes the states of higher consciousness; and Part 7 explains the structure of the veil. The involutionary journey concludes and culminates in the Realization of God, which represents the completion and consummation of the Divine Theme.

Sunday morning, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. “The ‘Second Pass’ and Cosmic Architecture in God Speaks.” Part 8 of God Speaks, which constitutes almost two-fifths of the main text, constitutes a second “pass” through the Divine Theme, but this time with a special orientation toward what we could call “cosmic architecture.” Special attention will be devoted to the Everything and the Nothing; God’s trio-nature as Knowledge-Power-Bliss; God’s three aspects as Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer; God’s three states as wakefulness, dream, and sound sleep.

Sunday afternoon, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. “The Ten States of God, and the ‘Palinode.’” The ninth chapter of God Speaks, on the Ten States of God, represents what is probably the most important synoptic account of Meher Baba’s “philosophy.” After an opening review of the spiritual hierarchy and the various “human types,” we will turn to a close study of these ten states, with reference both to the text and Chart XI. God Speaks closes with what could be characterized as a kind of “palinode” or retraction, in which Meher Baba emphasizes that God cannot be found through understanding and the intellect. In view of this, what is the value of studying God Speaks? Why does Meher Baba’s literary masterpiece have so little to say on the subject of love?

Dr. Ward Parks is an author and one of the foremost scholars on the writings of Avatar Meher Baba. He first heard of Meher Baba in 1970 when he was a freshman at Harvard and made his first pilgrimage to Meher Baba’s home in 1972. In 1993 Ward quit his tenured position in Medieval Studies and Old English at Louisiana State University to devote his life to the study of Meher Baba’s words in India. He is the editor or co-editor of the following books authored by Meher Baba: In God’s Hand, Infinite Intelligence, Discourses by Meher Baba (Revised Sixth Ed.), Early Messages to the West, The Divine Theme (Second Ed.), The Tiffin Lectures, Tales from the New Life (Third Ed.) and Creation and Its Causes. He is also the editor of the Fourth Edition of Francis Brabazon’s epic masterpiece, Stay with God. His current project is Imprints of the Silent Word: The Earliest Published Discourses of Avatar Meher Baba. Ward Parks is also a prolific composer of music, writing more than 400 songs and ghazals.