A Story about Meher Baba and the Imam Shrine in Iran

Tomb of Imam Reza in Mashhad, Iran in 1936

In June 1931, having been given unprecedented permission, Meher Baba spent three nights meditating in complete seclusion inside the tomb of Imam Reza in Mashhad, Iran. The Imam Shrine is where the eighth Imam, Imam Reza, was interred in 818 AD. 

Today, the shrine over the tomb of Imam Reza in Mashhad is considered the holiest religious site in Iran. Between 20 and 30 million pilgrims and travelers visit the shrine each year. 

In 1943 Meher Baba said, "The tree of my Divine Manifestation is to be planted at Mashhad, where it will grow and spread, ultimately covering the whole world."

Below, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, performs a ritual cleaning of the inside of the tomb.

On February 28, 2026, Ali Khamenei was assassinated with a missile strike by the United States, killing him along with his daughter, son-in-law, and two-year-old granddaughter.

The funeral procession, that lasted a week in July 2026, drew 45 million mourners in the largest gathering of its kind in human history. The procession culminated with the interment of Ali Khamenei in the Reza shrine on July 9, 2026.

The week-long funeral procession of Ali Khamenei ending in Mashhad. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

In 1954, in his Final Declaration, Baba wrote, "With the growth of consciousness, manyness also went on increasing, until now it is about to overlap the limit. Like the wave that reaches its crest, this height of manyness will dissolve itself and bring about the beginning of oneness in illusion."

In November 1955 Meher Baba said, "Sixty years after I drop my body, you will find what wonderful changes take place in the world and how many people will take my name. There will be thousands who will sacrifice their very life in my name. But how fortunate you are that I am in your midst, that you are sitting before me and I am telling you to take my name when about to pass away! There will be no one to tell them to take my name after 60 years." (LM, 1986 print edition p. 4777)

The time he foretold corresponds with January 2029. This post was written on 'Silence Day' 2026, the day after the Ayatollah's interment.