orig. Merwan Sheriar Irani
born Feb. 25, 1894, Poona, India
died Jan. 31, 1969, Ahmednagar
Indian spiritual master.
Born into a Zoroastrian family of Persian descent, he created a system of spiritual beliefs according to which the goal of life was to realize the oneness of God, from whom the whole universe emanates. Convinced that his calling was to awaken the world to that realization through love, he worked zealously with the poor and the physically and mentally ill. Though he attracted a sizable following in India and abroad, he did not try to establish a religion. For the last 44 years of his life he maintained silence, communicating by means of gestures and an alphabet board. His tomb at Meherabad is a place of pilgrimage.