Jal Sheriar Irani, born on September 15, 1902, in Poona, was the eldest of Meher Baba's three surviving younger brothers, growing up in the same household where the Avatar spent his childhood. As the sibling of one who would be recognized as God in human form, Jal's life presented a unique spiritual challenge—how does one accept that their own brother is the Divine?

Initially, Jal struggled with this reality. As a seventeen-year-old he mocked his brother's claim and challenged him to prove that he was God. Merwan replied: 'I will place a burning coal on the palm of your hand, but you won't feel any pain.' At Merwan's signal, Baily placed a red-hot coal from the household's Zoroastrian prayer fire-pot on Jal's palm, and Jal watched in astonishment as the skin burned, yet he felt no pain at all. Jal later recalled that he lost consciousness afterwards and was taken to the hospital. Remarkably, whenever Baba visited him during his recovery, Jal was completely free of pain.

Another transformative experience came when Baba ordered Jal to bring him several lepers to bathe. Jal, believing leprosy was highly contagious, hesitated to comply. Baba persisted with his characteristic firmness: 'Obey me or leave me!' Jal agreed to obey, and Baba promised he would see Him in the lepers. As Jal watched his brother washing the lepers, before his very eyes they were transformed—the lepers became Baba. These experiences dissolved Jal's doubts and anchored his faith.

For many years, Jal lived at 750 Dastur Meher Road in Poona—Baba's boyhood home—and became known as 'The Poona Greeter.' Throughout the 1970s, he welcomed pilgrims to Poona with his distinctive appearance: white clothes, a black 'Parsi cap,' and a black umbrella. His benign and good-natured personality, combined with an endless stream of jokes and stories, made visits with him memorable experiences that pilgrims never tired of.

Jal would take pilgrims to visit significant Baba places: the two childhood houses, Babajan's Samadhi, the caves where Baba used to meditate, and the zoo where the elephant Sumitra would trumpet upon hearing Baba's name. These tours were punctuated with teaching moments delivered through stories, jokes, and even magic tricks.

His teaching style was uniquely effective. At a chai shop, he might gaze into a pilgrim's eyes and ask 'Who are you?' If they answered 'I am God,' Jal would make a sour face and correct them: 'No! Don't say you are God! Don't say you are a Saint! Don't say you are this or that! Just say Baba, Baba is God! That's it!' When a couple came to him with a disagreement, he simply said 'Talk in song'—intoning those words as a gentle melody. The couple followed his charming advice and were completely harmonious for the rest of that day.

Walking down a crowded Poona boulevard, when a pilgrim asked him 'Who are all these people?' Jal's reply was simple and serious: 'They are illusions.' His favorite jokes, which he told repeatedly, often contained hidden wisdom—like the tale of the railway engineer who arrived early only to reveal it was 'yesterday's train.'

In 1932 Jal was among the mandali sent ahead to China, and he met Baba at Shanghai when Baba arrived in June. He also wrote letters to pilgrims in the spirit of the Epistles, addressing them as 'Dear Loving Brother' and reminding them that he could see 'Baba's Love shining in your eyes.'

Jal Sheriar Irani passed away on February 21, 1982, and was laid to rest in the Poona Parsi Tower of Silence. He remains beloved as the brother who learned to see the Divine in his own sibling, and who spent his final decades helping pilgrims from around the world connect with Meher Baba's legacy in Poona.