Norina walks down the path to the Samadhi in Meherabad
We asked Norina’s godmother, Shireen Bonner, to write this section. She has very generously provided us with this wonderful passage and we are most deeply appreciative.
Norina is deeply devoted to God and to her life-long spiritual master, Avatar Meher Baba. Her faith and love have always guided her and continue to be a source of strength and calm. Her beautiful relationship with God has often inspired those around her, and when people express an interest to her about her beliefs, she enjoys telling them all about Meher Baba. Terra tells us that in 2006, just after Norina’s second surgery, she said that the best thing about being in the hospital was having the opportunity to explain the photo of Meher Baba that was taped where she could see it from her bed.
Norina has taken three trips to India on pilgrimage to Meher Baba’s Samadhi (tomb shrine), and during those visits she became close to Baba’s remaining Mandali (intimate disciples) and many of the ashram residents. After graduating from high school, Norina took an extended pilgrimage to Meherabad, staying for three months, during which time she volunteered at schools in both Arangon and Meherazad. Under the aegis of the Avatar Meher Baba Trust, there are several schools and medical clinics operating in the area, each of them free to the public. Norina also volunteered at one of these medical clinics, and found great meaning in all of this work, following Meher Baba’s own example, as well as His urging to His devotees, to live a life of selfless service. Norina is greatly loved by the Mandali and residents at Meherabad and Meherazad, with several commenting at the time on her unique and loving qualities.
Norina also loves Meher Baba’s “home in the West”, the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, SC, and has visited there many times. In addition to going there with her family, she also attended the annual Youth Sahavas when she was a teenager, and then continued to participate in that event as a Worker Walla (generally do-all young staffers), kitchen crew, and counselor. The Center has a very special place in Norina’s heart, and she has been hoping to go there again later this summer. Most of you know that Norina has been a dedicated dancer since she was a little girl. She has cherished the opportunity to dance for Meher Baba and his gathered followers many times in India and in Myrtle Beach.
All of us who know and love Norina and have had the privilege to have been a part of her life during these past, extremely challenging five years share one common thought about how she has courageously borne the burden of her illness. We are in awe of her grace, composure, and acceptance, humbled by her courage, her concern for others as she is facing such challenges, and also deeply moved by her complete faith and trust in Meher Baba. Over the years, Norina has repeatedly stated that she feels she is firmly and safely in His Hands, no matter what the outcome. To say that her outlook and example to us all are an inspiration would be an understatement. Norina is the epitome of grace under the most unimaginably challenging and heartbreaking circumstances. Never once has she bemoaned her lot or questioned her faith; on the contrary, she has shown gratitude for the time she has been given, and for every medical success along the way. While this extraordinary courage and grace are intrinsic to Norina’s character, they also spring from her unshakable faith in, and devotion to, Meher Baba. This same faith is shared by many of those close to her, who, through Norina herself, feel His presence at this time ever more closely.
To learn more about Meher Baba you can visit the Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meher_Baba), Avatar Meher Baba Trust website (http://www.ambppct.org), the Meher Spiritual Center of Myrtle Beach (http://www.mehercenter.org), and the Meher Fund (http://www.meherfund.org).
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