Meher Baba's Life & Travels
"Memo"
Born : 9th October 1878 - Bombay, India
Died : 25th February 1943 - Poona, India ( Meher Baba was in Mahableshwar)
Burial Location : Poona Parsi Tower of Silence
** there is a grave for both Sheriar & his wife Shireen in Upper Meherabad, which contains worldly items of theirs, but not their
bodies.
Married : Sheriar M. Irani - 1892, Poona, India ( she was 14 y.o. )
Children : ( 9 ) - Jamshed, Merwan ( Meher Baba ), Beheram, Jal, Adi, Mani.
Freiny, Shirmund & Jehangir died in infancy.
Parents : Dorab Irani & Golandoon Irani
Siblings : Piroja, Dowla, Rustom, Banu & Dinshaw
Nationality : Indian
Meher Baba's ( Merwan S. Irani ) mother
Dowla married : Faredoon Naoji Irani
Banu married : Khodadad Masa Irani
Rustom married : Piroja Irani
Dinshaw married : Rawatmani ( Rowat )Irani
Piroja married : Rustom ( Masaji ) Irani
Although Shirinmai’s body had been disposed of at the Parsi Tower of Silence in Poona, (she died on February 25, 1943), Baba ordered a memorial for her and
Sheriar erected on Meherabad Hill, and this work was carried out in June 1943. When the memorial was ready, with His own hands Baba placed a few of their personal effects in it: a
silver
snuffbox of Sheriarji’s and Shireenmai’s were - eyeglasses, petticoat and blouse.
Baba dictated the inscription on their tombstone as follows:
“In eternal memory of Meher Baba’s blessed parents, Sheriarji and Shireenmai, who are now merged in Baba’s infinity.”
Mani placed a garland on their memorial every year on Baba's birthday and which is still performed presently.
Photos are courtesy of Lord Meher , various volumes : Bhau Kalchuri
Shireen's children
Shirmund Sheriar Irani
- died aged 7 months
Jehangir Sheriar Irani
- died aged 2 years old
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Baba's mother SHIREEN IRANI (Shireenmai) died February 25, 1943. Baba said,
"She is now freed." Later he explained to members of his family, "Memo has come to me and is now fully in bliss. She helped me so much in my work, and after playing her part she has come to me. She was an exceedingly adventurous woman, and extremely fearless... "Now Memo is quite happy, and free of all worldly ties." |
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LM8 p2853 |
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Baba had said earlier, "My father Sheriar was an extremely good soul. His heart was very good, and he was quiet by nature. But the nature of my mother Shireen is just the opposite. I have to balance both the favorable and unfavorable dispositions. I tolerate a lot, and have to suffer much because of her nature. Still, I love them both, and both will be emancipated and gain salvation." |
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4 Dec. 1941, LM8 p2739 |
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"Although Shireenmai's body had been disposed of at the Parsi tower of silence in Poona, Baba ordered a memorial for her and Sheriar erected on Meherabad Hill, and this work was carried out in June 1943. When the memorial was ready, Baba with his own hands placed a few of their personal effects in it: a silver snuffbox of Sheriar's, and Shireenmai's eyeglasses. Baba dictated the inscription on their tombstone as follows, 'In eternal memory of Meher Baba's blessed parents Sheriarji and Shireenmai, who are now merged in Baba's infinity.'" |
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Bhau Kalchuri, LM8 p28962 |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shireen Irani | |
|---|---|
 Mother of Meher Baba |
|
| Born |
1878 Bombay, India |
| Died |
February 25, 1943 Pune, India |
| Religion |
Zoroastrianism |
| Spouse(s) |
Sheriar Mundegar Irani |
| Children |
Jamshed, Merwan, Freiny, Jal, Beheram, Adi, Mani |
Shireen Sheriar Irani (born Shireen Dorab Khuramshahi) (1878 - February 25, 1943), was the mother of Indian spiritual master Meher Baba.
Contents |
Early life
In 1878 Shireen's Zoroastrian parents, Dorabji and Golandoon Khuramshahi, migrated from Iran to Bombay, India fleeing religious persecution while Golandoon was still pregnant with her. When Shireen was a few weeks old, her parents relocated to Pune, India and joined the large Parsi and Irani community there. There her father Dorabji opened a small tea shop.[1] By an unusual set of circumstances, at the age of five Shireen was engaged to Sheriar Mundegar Irani, a spiritual mendicant who had spent many years of his life as a wandering dervish and ascetic and was 25 years her senior. Tired of being pressed by his sister Piroja to get married, Sheriar had pointed out the window at a passing school girl (Shireen) and said he would marry that little girl or no one, apparently to get his sister to stop troubling him. However Piroja went to Shireen's mother Golandoon and arranged for a marriage that took place when Shireen was 14.[2] Constrained by his promise, Sheriar was obliged to settle down and begin a householder's life and find work. He first worked as a gardener, then took charge of an estate, and afterwards opened a tea-shop like Shireen's father, which later expanded into a successful Palm wine business.
Motherhood
Shireen is especially well known as the mother of Merwan Irani, who was her second child and was later named Meher Baba. When Merwan was 19 he began to have mystical experiences after a short contact with a Muslim master Hazrat Babajan. Shireen did everything to cure his "illness" and even after Meher Baba began to be more stabilized, she urged him to give up the ascetic life he had begun like his father and to get a career and be married. Meher Baba of course never did and this conflict caused grief for both of them. However, eventually Shireen came to believe that her son was a true spiritual master and was resigned to his choice when she died.
In all Sheriar and Shireen had nine children, seven sons and two daughters: Jamshed, Merwan (Meher Baba), Freini, Jal,
Shirmund, Jehangir, Behram, Ardeshir (Adi), and Mani
Irani. Of these, three died in childhood: one son named Shirmund at seven months, another son named Jehangir at two years, and a daughter named Freiny, who died of the plague in 1902 when she
was six years old.[3]
Death
Shireen died in her home in Pune on her son Meher Baba's 49th birthday. She was 65.[4]
There is a memorial for her and her husband near Baba's samadhi in Meherabad. Meher Baba dictated the inscription on their tombstone as follows: "In eternal memory of Meher Baba's blessed parents, Sheriarji and
Shireenmai, who are now merged in Baba's infinity." [5]
References
