How It All Happened

Over five successive lifetimes a soul ("X") makes its journey from a simple caveman to a God-realized person. The story was written by Meher Baba in the New York in 1931, intended as a film scenario. The film below was assembled based on Baba's scenario from movie fragments, and was the brainchild of Dom Rice of Australia. Time is 24 minutes.



Life 1

"Cannibals are eating a corpse around a fire in a jungle. One man, X, catches the eye of a young woman, Y. They smile at one another and he throws her a tasty piece of flesh. She eats it. Another man, Z, is jealous and a fight ensues between the two men. X wins and kills Z."

X as the cannibal that wins the girl

Clips from the 1981 comedy Caveman.

X = Ringo Starr
Y = Shelley Long
Z = John Matuszak


Life 2

"A great but cruel king, Z, is reigning in Turkey; he kills all foreigners who fall into his hands. X, a Persian, is captured by the king and is tortured: he is bound to a tree and lashed; pins are thrust down his fingernails; he is hanged upside down while the soles of his feet are lashed. The king's wife, Y, pities the Persian fellow and asks her husband to forgive X for her sake. Z loves his wife greatly and forgives X, who then becomes a court favorite. Eventually, Queen Y falls in love with the foreigner. The king discovers this and kills them both." (Meher Baba's scenario)

X is the foreigner who comes to Turkey

Clips are from the Kung Fu Panda TV series, season one, episode 2 'The Princess and the Po'

Z: The murdered cannibal is now a cruel king; voiced by Dennis Haysbert
X: The lover of the cannibal woman is now a foreigner; voiced by Jack Black
Y: The cannibal woman becomes the cruel king's wife who pities X and asks her husband to spare him; voiced by Kari Wahlgren


Life 3

"Y, a merchant in China and his wife, X, have three daughters and one son. They are millionaires and live lavishly. The merchant is very honest. However, his son, Z, is a corrupt rogue, interested only in drink and drugs. Secretly, he uses his father's money to his own advantage. Z forges Y's check for a large amount, and Y comes to know about it. Instead of helping his son, Y imprisons him. The merchant's wife, X, loves Z and sorrows deeply. Gradually, she pines away. Soon Y, the merchant, becomes disgusted with his life and dies. Z suffers much in prison, and after being freed, he leads a good life and repents. He dies in peace." (Meher Baba's scenario)

X is the grieving mother

Clips are from It's a Wonderful Life and Jailhouse Rock

Y: The queen killed by her husband now is an honest merchant in China; portrayed by Jimmy Stewart
Z: The cruel king is now the merchant's son, a spendthrift; portrayed by Elvis Presley
X: The foreigner and queen's lover in the previous life is now the merchant's wife who loves her son; portrayed by Donna Reed


Life 4

X is a king who becomes a mendicant and lives a life of renunciation with his wife Y.

Clips from the 2007 Telugu film Gautama Buddha

X: The Chinese merchant's wife is now a reigning prince in India; portrayed by Sunil Sharma
Y: The Chinese merchant is now the prince's wife; portrayed by Kausha Rach
Z: The rakish son is the prince's spiritually-minded slave;


Life 5

X finds a master and becomes God-realized. Y and Z become his followers.

Clips are from Go West, Duck Soup, and At the Circus

X: The former prince has become the elder brother who is a spiritual leader; portrayed by Grouch Marx
Y: The former wife of the prince has become a brother who follows X; portrayed by Harpo Marx
Z: The former slave of the prince has become a brother who also follows X; portrayed by Chico Marx


The Back-Story Behind the Writing of How It All Happened