Sheriar Mundegar Irani

Sheriar Mundegar Irani (or: Shahr-Yar Moondegar Irani) (March 21, 1853 - April 30, 1932) was a mystic and the father of Meher Baba. Sheriar was born into a poor Zoroastrian family in Khooramshar, near Yazd, Iran. His mother died when he was aged five, and he was then raised by his father Moondegar, caretaker of the local Zoroastrian funeral site. The Tower of Silence (dakhma) was a place where the dead were left exposed to the elements and to bir... more

Sheriar Mundegar Irani (or: Shahr-Yar Moondegar Irani) (March 21, 1853 - April 30, 1932) was a mystic and the father of Meher Baba. Sheriar was born into a poor Zoroastrian family in Khooramshar, near Yazd, Iran. His mother died when he was aged five, and he was then raised by his father Moondegar, caretaker of the local Zoroastrian funeral site. The Tower of Silence (dakhma) was a place where the dead were left exposed to the elements and to birds of prey, and Sheriar was often left in charge in these eerie surroundings while still a boy. Alienated from his peers by his occupation, oppressed by the Muslim majority because of his religion, unschooled and illiterate, he left his birthplace at the age of twelve. For the next eight years he adopted the life of a solitary wandering dervish. In 1874 he emigrated from Iran with his brother to India, in search of economic opportunities among the long-established Parsi community. After brief employment in Bombay, he gave away most of the... less