IRAN

Bam, Iran

Isfahan, Iran

Mashad, Iran

Zahedan, Iran

Fall of Shah of Iran—Meher Baba Connection

by Mehernoush McPherson
February 1, 2011

A few friends questioned me if I knew anything about the fall of the Shah of Iran and its connection to Meher Baba. That and the current affairs in Egypt and the recent death of the Shah's youngest son are inspiring me to share with you what I know.

After Merwan Irani (Meher Baba) was kissed by Babajan (one of the five perfect masters) and was experiencing the Infinite Bliss, Shirin mai (Merwan's mother), concerned about her son, took Merwan to Bombay to a Zorastarian Saint named Ostad (teacher) Khodarahm (God's Mercy). Ostad comforted Shirin mai and said, "Your son Merwan's Spiritual Status is higher than me and I can't help Him, Take Him to Upasni Maharaj of Sakori and he is the One who can help him." Shirin mai followed his direction and took Merwan to Upasni.

Later, after Meher Baba visited Iran three times and the country was ruled by Reza Shah (father of the last Shah), the Zorasterians in Iran got their legal and social rights back. Some Irani's started to move back to Iran from India. Ostad Khodarahm with his wife Khorshid and 5 other Zoroastrian families who were devotees of Him, including my grandma Firozeh and grandfather Shah Faraydoun, sold all their properties and changed all to gold, rented a truck and moved to Yazd, Iran. My grandma (Ostad Khodarahm was her maternal uncle) was three months pregnant with my mother then and it took them 21 days to get to Yazd. My mother was born in September 1932.

In Yazd, Esfandiar Vesali meets Ostad and is impressed by his sainthood and his devotion and connection to His Divine Beloved Meher Baba. He marries one of the girls from the group of devotees from Bombay named Shirin. After one year the whole group moves to Shamiran, in northern part of Tehran (the capital then). They sell their gold and purchase lands, hire some villagers and start farming and agriculture.. Ostad Khodarahm had predicted in Bombay that his tomb will be on the hill next to a lake which is fed by underground water, and decades later that was exactly what happened.

Doulat mai (Mehera Irani's mother) was a childhood friend of Khorshid mai (Ostad Khodarahm's wife). She stayed with them in their home in Shamiran for a few months. At that time, based on Meher Baba's instruction, she donated a lot of money to build schools for Zoroastrians in Yazd and Tehran.. Interestingly about the same time many Parsis and Iranis from India start bringing money to the country to build homes, schools, hospitals, water wells, roads and so on. Doulat means wealth in Farsi. My mother was then about 8 years old and remembers that Doulat mai was silent because of Meher Baba's instruction, but she was always very happy, gave her many hugs and enjoyed fixing my mother's hair.

Later Ostad Khodarahm died (it was known that he was a sixth-plane saint) and based on his wish and his prediction he was buried and a structure made of brick was built on top of his tomb. It did not have a door but a small window so that from it no one could see his tomb from any angle. It was on a triangle shape of land about 2000 sq feet and was fenced by a brick wall and a door. The continuation of the road ended at a lake which was fed by ground water. Years later, as a child, I used to walk with my grandmother to his tomb area and she would sweep the floor, and perform her Zoroastrian prayer, burn incense, and feed the stray dogs.

Mohammad Reza Shah (the last Shah) chose to move close by us and build his Niavaran Palace which was about less than half a mile away from us. In fact the south border of my mother's land was connected to the northeast border of his land. The army was guarding every corner of his property. I remember as a child every time that the royal helicopter would take off or land, I and my sisters would run to the balcony of our home and wave to them, and they would wave to us, specially the Queen. The pilot always chose our property to fly over, as it was safer.

Later, the Shah built a private school attached to his property for his kids and for the children of heads of government and Darbar. So more officials started to move into the neighborhood and buy lands and build palaces.

They even built their palaces next to and across from Ostad Khodarahm's tomb. Ostad's tomb perhaps was not pretty or good enough in their eyes or just the fact of staying next to a dead body was scary for them. They thought they had the power and wealth and could do anything they want. One night without us knowing it, they took a crane, trespassed on the property, destroyed the wall and his tomb, and removed everything! In the morning we just saw the bare land and the crane.

We all got upset and very sad. My grandma was crying. I remember Esfandiar with tears in his eyes said: "Their time is over! As they removed Ostad from here, they shall be removed." That was the summer of 1978. The fire had started, no power in the world could stop the revolution of Iran. At the same time Aloba, who has kept a picture of the royal family hidden close to Meher Baba's Chair in Mandali Hall, Meherazad, removed the picture and when asked by Farhad Shafa, "Why, Aloba?" he says: "Their time is over!" Farhad begged Aloba, "Please put it back." Aloba says, "Don't push me, ever. Their time is over."

After the removal of Ostad Khodarahm's tomb, the flow of fresh, clear water that was pouring down from a standing rock started to slow down and shortly afterward it stopped completely. The lake started to get stagnant, locals threw their trash there, and mosquitoes started to breed. Finally the city officials under the new government filled up the lake with dirt and that was the end of it.

The Queen, Farah Pahlavi, was in communication with Aloba, and she always was interested to come and visit Baba. She had sent their family pictures to Aloba, with little notes here and there. In fact, she had sent messages to Baba through Aloba. Aloba once brought me a box of pictures and letters from the Iranian Baba group that over the years he had collected and he told me to sort through them and pick up any picture I wanted because after I die they will keep everything in the archive. Among those letters and photos, I found my family and others, and among them there were notes, letters and pictures from Queen Farah. I didn't pick any photo or letters, because I thought how blessed and lucky we all are to be part of Meher Baba's Archives!

Around the same time, Mehera Irani gave a pink sealed envelope to Farhad Shafa and asked him to hand deliver it to the Queen of Iran. On the envelope it said: From The Queen of Hearts to the Queen of Iran. Farhad had not contacted the queen before, and surprisingly in two days he was able to get an appointment, and visit her at her office in Niavaran Palace. She welcomed him, offered tea, and he gave the letter, saying this is from Mehera Irani, the chief woman disciple of Avatar Meher Baba. She opened the letter and as she started to read it the tears started falling from her eyes; she excused herself and left the room, and after a few minutes she returned and thanked Farhad for delivering the letter. No one knows what was written in that letter.

Luckily the Queen, the Shah and their children left the country unharmed. Some high officials escaped, some got captured and killed, and all the palaces became vacant. It was a ghost town!

Years later, I was watching a TV interview with the Queen of Iran. The reporter asked her, "Do you regret what happened to you and your country?" She answered, "We had our time there ... It was all God's will ... and I am resigned to God's will."

Courtesy of :Kendra's Notebook