Aug 1970

i €0 K VOL. VI No. 10 lOBugnr, 1 ___ ___________ ii 11 O I i i I ncir mvdium for o9d wisdom Dr. Sohrab Byramji Warden M 8..B.S.. L.D.5.. R.C.S,. D.M.R.E., SB 11 I i I S I II il sr aS Born 27-6-1888 Died 20-7-1970VOL. VI No. 10 AUGUST 1970 Contents: EDITORIAL University of Pennsylvania The Problem of Race in Anthropology —by Jamshed Modi Intrusion of Dualism in The Zoroastrian Religion Contradiction Gatha: the Songs that Zarathushtra Sang —by Mahyar Byramji Patel On Conversion and Converts in Zoroastrianism by Dr. H. K. Mirza . “ Poona Mobed’s Fund ” London News '’IWlHi 'tin, <1^111 iJ^ll^l ^iH^ ^wi^i ... ... Haoma Cult by Ervad Dr. Phiroz Kotwal Shapur Faredun Desai... Mehefil-i-Namdaran Page 3 5 6 11 13 15 30 34 38 47 50 53 55 57 Managing Editor: P. B. WARDEN, M.S. (Bom.), D.P.M. (Bom.) ADVISORY BOARD 1 I ' Dasturji Naorooz D. Minochdir-HcHiiji, M.A., B.Ed. Major Sohrab R. Bamji F.C.R.A., F.R.S.A., M.B.E. Major Adarbad Irani R.A.IM.C., D.O.M.S (Load); D.O.(Oxon) Mrs. Gool K. Savakshah Dr. R. C. Cooper, M.Com., Ph.D. (Econ.), F.C.A. Mr. Jehangir F. Sl^H, J.P. Prof. Nadir Ardeshir Mody, M.A., LL.B. Dr. Sohrab H. Batliwala, Ph^D. Mr. Bejon N. Desai, M.A., B.Ed. Mr. Fariburz Nariman (Architect) Mr. Homi Burjor Dhalla, M-A. (Harvard) Mr. Mahyar Byramji Patel Single Copy: 50 paise. Yearly subscription for 12 issues Rs. 6. SL 12/6 for U.K. and 2 dollars for U.S A. Office Address: C/o Warden’s (Mysore) Pvt Ltd., 378, Grant Road, BOMBAY 7. Inland. Published and edited by Editor-Proprietor P. B. Warden from 378, Grant Road, Bombay 7. and printed by him at Godrej Memorial Printing Press, Gamadia Colony, Tardeo, Bombay 7.riDITOIRIAL r Parsiana wishes all its patrons, subscribers, advertisers, advisers and contributors of articles A HAPPY NEW YEAR Yazdezardi 1340. i Year Yazdezardi 1339 had been a year of many controversies, some with high lights on our ancient faith, some with oddities of obscurantism, some for hybrid mongrel breed, some for pure race, some for a sweeping iconoclasm of all old values and images. It was a good thing. Many a good religion has sunk into obli­ vion for want of resistance for correction. Barring some rank non­ sense the other discussions have revived interest in both our young and the old people. A lively atmosphere now prevails which I look upon as a good sign. t In this issue there is an interesting article by Mr, Jamshed Modi of Vancouver on anthropological concept of race and on negation of racial purity. The authors quoted therein are writers on their research findings and the reading of these volumes is mostly limited to students of that subject. The more widely read popular writer on the subject is Margaret Mead and I mention her here as in her opinion “pure race is a myth ”. The phrase “ethnic group ” is sugges ­ ted as substitute for the word race. The new look of the subject is forced on mankind, by new conditions of life operating in the world by what he calls “population explosion ”, “population implosion ” and “population deplosion ”. Explosion would be all right if the larger numbers could be scattered to find living conditions for them ­ selves. But the living conditions being not unifomly supportive the present increase is huddled into towns, which grow within themselves to become larger and larger cities causing “implosion ” or bursting for space within. This is a term borrowed from the behaviour of atoms. As the in-rushing crowd is not uniform but vastly varied from all sources they and their progeny do not make a race but form ethnic groups without uniformity of their origin, culture or history. This constitutes “deplosion ”. 3 iWe as a small community have been totally urbanized and more so as many of us have cut ourselves off from Nature by selling off immoveable properties in villages or lost them by confiscation under the Land Reform Act. Contact of nature replenishes our “inanimate energy left by God or geology to mankind ”. We secure our re-adjustments from day to day with slow and/or abrupt changes in the phenomenal world. Urban life with all its appearance of ceaseless activity is basically humdrum motivated by the repetition compulsions of many a yesterday. Urban life is supported by gad ­ gets, life in underdeveloped places is supported by nature. Gadgets adjust surroundings to man. In the latter man adjusts himself to sur ­ rounding. The voice of nature is heard early though faint. The man is ready, the family is ready, the village is ready to answer the call. In urban life nature and nature ’s creator are noticed less sharply and tendency grows in shallow thinkers to ask nature to mind its own. “But in the future we cannot but have faith — for all the hope of humanity must rest on that faith — that a new guiding impulse, reinforcing natural instinct and becoming in time an inseparable accompaniment of it, will lead civilized man on his racial course. Just as in the past the race has, on the whole, been moulded by natural, and in part sexual, selection, that was unconscious of itself and ignorant of the ends it made towards, so in the future the race will be moulded by deliberate selection, the creative energy of nature becoming self-conscious in the civilized brain of man ”. (Havelock Ellis — Psychology of Sex. Vol IV.) Let us wait and watch where the wind blows but : 'The Wind may blow East And the wind may blow West But the vessel will flow As the sail is set ” Now Ready and Available At Victory Stall, Apollo Pier Reprint-SPLENDOURED ONE (Life of Zarathushtra in English with simplified Kusti Prayers) Rs, 1/50 per Copy. 4 4UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANtA PHILADELPHIA 19104 133 South 36t,h Street 6th floor June 27, 1970 Dr. P. B. Warden, Managing Editor “Parsiana ” 378, Grant Road Bombay 7 India Dear Mr. Warden, I am writing to thank you for sending he has presented a clear survey of the his- me a copy of “Parsiana ”, Volume VI, torical events which took place in post ­ No. 4 which I received yesterday. The Sassanian times. I am certainly looking article of Rashid Shahmardan Irani on the forward to the publication on the history results of his research tour to Iran was of of the Parsis after the downfall of the particular interest to me. Although one Sassanian Empire, might want respectfully to disagree with some of the statements and conclusions of the learned author, it seems fair t.o say that appearance of “Parsiana ”, With my best wishes for the continued Sincerely yours. Marik J. Dresden Professor of Iranian Studies 5The Problem of Race in Anthropology by JAMSHED MODI New Jersey — U. S. A. Dear Mr. Warden: clear that on this bus (and all interstate buses) any person may sit wherever he pleases. You may recall that I wrote once before for PARSIANA. I was quite pleased with your Editorial remarks on that article. The present article took a lot more work and study than the previous one, and I hope you will use it for publication. Thank you. Now, in India I lived among all kinds of people, and I was told about the many “races ” all around me, but most of the time I was not very conscious of them. I suppose like most other Parsees I was raised to believe no^t only that Parsees were a race unique, but that they were one of the “purest ” races still existing. Except for occasional pleasure when I heard such a statement (usually by another Par- see) I was hardly more conscious of the term “races ” than the shirt on my back. Sincerely, Jamshed Modi J learnt about the historic Supreme Court decision of 1954, which demolished the "separate but equal ” doctrine — the doc­ trine that schools for colored children mr.v It was many years ago that as a new arrival to the United States, I boarded my That sign in the bus was my first indica- first Greyhound Bus to travel from one ^hat in the United States, things city to another. As I Settled down in one flight be different. A few years later I of the high-back, inclinable seats, anc. looked around the softly-lit interior with its special reading lamps and tinted glass windows, I noticed a sign in a prominent spot up front : SEATING ON BOARD be separate, as long as they are equal in THIS BUS IS WITHOUT REGARD TO facilities, standards, etc.. Then, too, the RACE CREED OR NATIONAL ORI­ GIN. BY ORDER OF THE INTER­ STATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. Later it was explained to me that in the South, the “white ” passengers would sit up front and the “colored ” passengers would be expected to sit in the back, and newspaper does not have some item invol­ that the sign was put up to make it amply ving race issues in some part of the world. Nazi atrocities of the thirties and forties figured much more in the papers and periodicals than they ever did in India. Over the years, continuing to the present day, it is extremely unlikely that the day ’s 6Therefore, as a personal educational project, I undertook to find out what is this thing called race, how do you tell who belongs to which race, and how do you distinguish a pure race from an impure race. Of course, when one talks of race one is dealing with a topic in the life sciences, the domain of geneticists, zoologists, bio­ chemists, physical anthropologists, etc., and so to these people I turned. What some of them had to say was extremely interesting to myself, and since it is very relevant for us as a community, I would like to share my findings with my fellow Parsees. One quickly comes to realize that the term race means different things to diffe­ rent people. Some people use it for national groupings; hence we hear terms like “the Japanese race ” or “the English race ”, or “the Swedish race ”. Others use it to stand for religious groupings. One term frequently heard in this country is “the Jewish race ”. We ourselves speak of “the Zoroastrian race ”. At times the term race is used to denote historical origins, as implied in the term “Aryan race ”, a term which has accumulated tremendous notoreity today because of the Nazis ’ hav ­ ing used it. Still other people use the term race for color groupings, and we hear about the “white race ”, etc.. Finally, it is used to denote physical feature aggre ­ gates, and we hear terms like “the Cau ­ casian race ”, or “the Mongoloid race ”. Out of all such diverse usages of the term race, Ashley Montagu, Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, discerns 2 notions in his book, THE CON­ CEPT OF RACE. One, he calls the “social (sometimes mis-called the sociolo ­ gical) concept of race, the doctrine, to put it briefly, that there exist superior and inferior races ”. The second, he calls the biological concept of race which “has it that within a particualr species there exist different populations of the same species which are distinguished from one another by the possession of certain distinctive hereditary traits ”. I suppose most Parsees who subscribe to the concept of race at all, probably harbour both these notions, that is (in reverse order) that Parsees do have certain distinctive hereditary traits and that these traits put us somewhere high up on the list. The history of race concepts is quite interesting and even amusing. L. C. Dunn and Theodosius Dobzhansky, both Profes ­ sors of Zoology at Columbia University mention in their book, HEREDITY RACE & SOCIETY that the term race is attributed to the French scholar Buffon who used it in 1749. Later, the German scholar Blumenbach (1775) decided to dis ­ tinguish five races in man : Caucasian white, Mongolian or yellow, Ethiopian or black, American or red, and Malayan or brown. Skin color was soon recognised to be to superficial a trait, so anthropolo­ gists resorted to measurements on the body, partieular^ly the head. The rest of the history is best told in the authors ’ own words (p. 110): or “The use of such methods led to a great multiplication of races. Deniker, in 1889, recognised 29 of them... In 1933, Von Eickstedt set up 3 ‘basic races ’ . . 18 ‘sub-races ’, 3 ‘collateral races ’, 11 ‘collateral sub-races ’, and 3 ‘interme- 7On The Consider for example the views of Pro ­ fessor Frank Livingstone of the Depart ­ ment of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. In a 1962 article in CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY, entitled Non-existence of Human Races ”, he wri ­ tes (p. 279): “In the last decade there has been a remarkable increase in our knowledge of the complexity of human genetic va ­ riability. To an increasing number of anthropologists the concept of race seems to be losing its usefulness in des ­ cribing this variability. In fact for human populations among which some of us have worked, it seems impossible even to divide these populations into races...(I am not saying that) there is no biological or genetic variability ... but simply that this variability does not con­ form to the discrete package labelled races or sub-species. For man, the posi ­ tion can be stated in other words ; there are no races; there are only clines. ” (Gene-frequency gradients). One cannot easily shrug off the whole man diate forms ’. In 1950... Coon, Garn and Birdsell recognised 6 ‘putative stocks and 30 different races. No agreement has emerged from such efforts as to what constitutes a race.” As for “pure races, Dunn and Dobzhan- sky write (p. 115): “If you say that something is a mixture you imply that pure ingredients which have been mixed together exist some ­ where or have existed in the past ....... Such notions are however definitely re ­ futed by scientific data. Race mixture has been going on during the whole of recorded history...Nothing can be more certain than that pure races in never existed and cannot exist. ” The first few times that I encountered such categorical rejections of the race concept, I could not help feeling that ei­ ther we Parsees need to revise our notions about ourselves, or somehow the world of science has overlooked the Parsees of India. With further reading I have come to suspect that the former is probably the case. Of course, there is no need to feel bad about having had erroneous ideas on t - . . gists themselves formulated and pursued among academicians. Within our the theories of racial divisions in man, for lifetime, some 6 million Jews were syste- many years. But that is the way it is with matically murdered at the acquisition of knowledge: further in­ vestigations invariably give rise to newer and more valid concepts. the concept ‘phlogiston ’ once used in com­ bustion theory, and “aether ” once used in electro-magnetic (radio) theory is fast the subject, because the anthropolo- question of race as a mere technical point ¦ ¦ ’ ¦ • own ; extermination camps in Ausschwitz, Belsen and Dachau, because some people thought that Jews “Race ”, like were an “inferior race ”. Race is involved in the atrocities of apartheid in South Africa; race is involved in the riots of the United States, and I leave it to the reader becoming a relic from a bygone scientific to think of similar instances of inhumanity era. However, whereas the anthropolo- ] . gists have moved forward from racial con- concept of race figured prominently. So cepts, the Parsees have not. t ---------- ------- However, whereas the anthropolo- in other parts of the world, in which the there are considerable moral implications 8of what we as a community believe about race. There is a growing group of lay people and scientists who feel a moral and intell ­ ectual obligation to cease speaking of races. For example, on April 7 1941, Professor Montagu delivered a lecture be- bore a meeting of The American Associa ­ tion of Physical Anthropologists, entitled: “On The Meaninglessness Of The Anthro- poligical Concept Of Race ”. In it he tried to show that “the concept of race is a conception which in the light of modern experimental genetics is utterly erroneous and meangless and that it should be drop ­ ped from the vocabulary of the anthropo ­ logist, for it has done an infinite amount of harm and no good at al! ^9 pure ” For one thing, referring to ourselves a pure race makes, some fanciful What significance does all this have for us as Parsees ? I think we should cease referring to ourselves as a rnce> in any case cease referring to ourselves as a race, as implications about others. For another, it places this aspect o(. Parsee ideology if a new communal attitude on race embarassingly close to one which only could be evolved, it would hold many some 30 odd years ago cau^ some of important advantage for us Parsees. the greatest human suffering in recorded Firstly, it would serve to dissociate oursel- history — the racist ideology of the Nazi ves from concepts which are scientifically murderers. Clearly it is contrar^ to the false and inor<| wong; It would ser- best thinking of our times, and should . . , ,, . the side of good sense and good morality. hciX7X> r»n rnAm in fha rzihoiAn />+ * Secondly, it would shift communal atten ­ tion on the real factors that unite us as Parsees —^we declare that what distingui ­ shes us, in fact what makes us Parsees is shed a book in 1936 with the anthropolo ­ gist A. C. Haddon entitled WE EURO­ PEANS, in which they say (p. 106): “Nowhere does a human group now . exist which corresponds closely to a systematic sub-species in animals,, since various original sub-species have crossed repeatedly and constantly. For the existing populations, the non-committal term ethnic group should be used- Ah that exiist today is a number of ar­ bitrary ethnic groups biter-grading into each other”. In reference to this ,Prof. 'Montagu says: “It was from this source, that is from Huxley and Haddon that I in turn adop ­ ted the term etlinic group in 1936 and have consiistently continued to use it since thati time .. The term ethnic group is not offered as a substitute for race. On the contrary tl^ term ethnic group implies a fundamental difference in viewpoint from that which is implied in the term race. 17) T3F a new communal attitude (THE CONCEPT OF 99 •» murderers. Clearly it is contrary to the roor^^ wropg. It best thinking of our times, and should \ , - have no room in the “religion of good J- - ... .. sence ”, which is what our religion has often been called. What are we then, if not a race ? I per- fer the term “ethnic group”. The distin- not our blood and genes, but our ideas guished biologist Sir Julian Huxley publi- and ideals. The Parsee community will < 9survive not by mere biological procreation, might retain an attachment for it, and be but requires ideological affiliation. I do interested in raising their children not have to point out the significance of in the Zoroastrian faith.^ That there is this for our rapidly declining Parsee po­ pulation. Thirdly, we will be making a positive reported. This too has tremendous signi- more such an interest evident, for example, from a recent Newsletter circulated in this country, in which 2 such Navjotes were contribution to the solidarity of certain flcance for our declining population. Parsee families. I am thinking of the increasing number of Parsee men and Women, particularly in the United States, loss of pure-race notions might destroy Canada and the United Kingdom, who pride of membership in our community, marry non-Parsees. If we cease thinking j jj^ve full confidence that our modern, of ourselves as a race, particularly a ‘pure ’ race we allow no room for anyone to think of the spouses as second rate. The community recognises no division in the family, and the family feels one To conclude, let no man fear that the educated Parsees do not need the support of ego-satisfying myths to sustain their pride of membership. There is plenty of good in our ideology which will shine all the couple who might otherwise have been the more brightly when the tarnish of false hurt, alienated and lost to the community notions from a bygone era is removed. And “DIANA CLEANING PASTE” For Spotless Cleaning, Washing, Cooking Utensils, Crockery, Cutlery, Glasswork, Enamelware, Marble, Hies, Metal, Floors, etc. Free Delivery From COLABA To MAHIM. Plume or Drop A CARD. PACKINGS 25-00 Kgs. Tin 6-00 Kgs. Tin 3-00 Kg*. Tin 1-50 Kg. Tin DIANA SOAP CO. I' Sussex Road, Byculla, BOMBAY-27. DD Phone: 37 3799 Also available at all Leading Stores. Distributors : G. ATHEKTON & CO. (P.) LTD. BOMBAY-1 BR. 10Intrusion of Dualism in The Zoroastrian Religion DHUN FRAM BILLTMORIA. Certain authors of the East and West pretation of this ancient religion, calling it essentially dualistic. They take their ins ­ piration from a verse in the Gathas which states that in the beginning there were Thousands of years ago, Zarathushtra, the prophet of Iran, preached monotheism have been deliberately partial in the inter- to an idolatrous mankind. Zarathushtra was the first to acknowledge the unity of God and resolutely refused to be tempted or brow-beaten by the Daeva-worshippers. Zoroastrian ideas gradually influenced Judaism, Christianity to some extent, and two primordial elements one Good and finally Islam. Zarathaushtra ’s contribu- the other Evil. These writers convenient- tion to religious thought has been recogm- ly forget that the Zoroastrian religion is a sed universally as both valuable and pro- monism, that proof of such monism is found. His conception of God and the duty of man is singularly precise and clear. His teachings emphasis Monotheism. found in the Gathas. The du^ism that scholars talk about is an ethical concept and not a religious dualism. Such an Blasphemous views have been held ethical concept nnplies a confrontation of about Zoroastrianism in the past and even Yehu Mano and Ahriman. Vohu Mano today it has not been free from the charge of dualism. Zarathushtra was an avowed umtarian. When writers misrepresent the facts, they do a grave injustice to the basic tenets of the world ’s first religion. The theory that God heads the good spirits and the devil the bad ones is out-right un- Zoroastrian. Logically this implies the existence of two distinct and independent powers striving for the mastery of the Universe. But this concept is not in har ­ mony with the Gathic philosophy of monism. The Zoroastrian concept is that Ahura Mazda is one God, Master and Creator of the Universe, independent of tenet,, thereby reconciling God’s Goodness any every one, with no one as His rival, and sovereignty with the problem of evil. or Good Mind is the sum total of all that is good in the Universe which has the full support of Ahura Mazda. Ahriman (Akarna Mano) is the Iranian counter ­ part of the devil and encompasses all that is evil in the Universe. Yet God reigns Supreme because He is the only True Good and His Perfection is absolute. Zarathushtra has prophesied that victory will go to Vohu Mano in the ultimate scheme of things. The ‘whys ’ and ‘where ­ fores ’ of evil we will probably never know satisfactorily, but Zoroastrian ethics is practical in positing oneness as its basic 11The charge of dualism is thus ill-concei-. Zoroastrian philosophy. Hence the ab- ved. Regarding the Ultimate Reality, surdity of confronting Ormuzd with Zarathushtra ’s affirmation stands bold and clear. Only One Principle governs the Universe and not two. The idea of two powers, two potetialities is basically repugnant to the context and contrary to the facts of His teachings. The so-called Zarathushtra originally said, they would ‘dualism ’ does not enter the domain of not make sweeping statements about the religion. ‘Monothefean is the key-note of inherent ‘dualism ’ of the Zoroastrian Zoroastrian rdigron and monism is of religion. Ahriman. The complexities of the Uni­ verse must ultimately be attributed to one Eternal Uncaused Cause. If Western authors would carefully examine what oo W3 12 15 :CENTRAl -BE YOUR HI Bank upon Central Bank’i assistance to keep you working^ earning and j 1 progressing. ¦ Central Bank has Schemes I to help Small-scale Industry grow BIG If you are planning to move ' up in your industry, plan it with Central Bank. CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA HEAD OFFICE: MAHATMA GANDHI RD. BOMBAY-1 THE 8AHK THAT MOTES OHT TO PEOPLE MB PtAOES I B A X^-v*- £ V 1 4CONTRADICTION 59 < •< An Englishman asked a Frenchman what he would like to drink. The French ­ man replied “Contradiction ”. Englishman — “Never heard of it ” “Well said the Frenchman, “You put strong gin in the glass, then add soda to make it weak, then mix lime to make it sour and add sugar to taste less acid. “You then hold up hand with the glass and say “Here ’s to you ” and you drink it yourself. “Here is to Mr. Dara Cama ”. 1 hold up my glass with water. Strong drink prohibited in public. All the best (in contradiction.) He writes to the Times of India (14th June 1970) that Farsi priests indulge in distillation of liquor in their agiaries (fire- temple.) Subsequently he contradicts his own reckless statement apologising to the priests and the community as if he were threatened with legal and other dire con­ sequences. He offered an explanation. “I would like to say that all they do is to pound Haoma (twigs) in water in a vessel. The Haoma plant is supposed to be intoxi ­ cant but if just pounded in water it could not possibly produce even a little percen ­ tage of liquor ”. This was contradiction No. I disowned. This was followed by contradiction No. II contradicting the disowned contradiction explaning the apology as a mischievous attempt by some unknown person to be­ little him. He alleges that the signature on apology was forged and that he still approved of the mischief he did. He thinks that we are all out of our sense for lifting up to him our glasses containing only water which was boiled and never distilled. The entire episode does not look inno­ cent. There is a method in the madness and the method is contradiction as a spur to controversy. There is a lingering sus ­ picion that behind all this correspondence there is only one man and if there is no second person there can be no forgery and no forgerer. Mr. Cama likes the controversy to go on and harbours a belief that opposition to him in press and in public sustains and vivifies his nascent sense of grandeur. The commuity should guard against fos ­ tering that folly by clearly visualising the method in the madness and not feel upset by any amount and any number of con­ tradictions. That purpose must be defeat ­ ed by silent understanding. There is a dictum from Wall Street — “Once you pledge, don’t hedge”. Once you commit yourself to buy or sell do not try to protect your commitment by hedg­ ing which is betting on both sides. If the deal is going good hedge is a handicap. If the hedge protects you you lose on the deal. Hedge may protect commodity. It cannot protect an airy nothing. Wherever the action and reaction are equal and 13opposite the remainder in mathematics is based upon tradition and faith of the faith ­ zero; in physics it is Inertia and in sociology ful and has to win because it is in tune status quo. with the infinite. However, we have to keep at bay the “minor spread ” from what was once the “initial drive ” now held back to resort to contradictions. We teach, they grumble. We stick, they wab ­ ble. Once God said “Let there be light ”; and “there was light ”. Once more God said “Let there be light and we have swit­ ched it on. From Bode-Cama-Hirjibehdin initial drive the initiative has passed on to the stalwart veteran Jame-Jamshed assisted by Parsiana. Their first united opposition resulted in status quo. In nature there is no Inertia — Nature is in incessant flux. The latent flux is always operative some ­ how, somewhere and is called “extension ” or “spread ”. Our “spread ” is powerful P. B. W. 14 U s E E S S O G A S Esso, Hcsanga^ DISTKIBUTORS: I KOSANGAS COMPANY The clean, safe and efficient Domestic and Industrial fuel with KOSANGAS SAFETY HAT Your neighbour has it why not you ? Sole Agents KOSANGAS COMPANY Bombay and Poona Distributors THE NATURAL GAS CO. PVT. LTD. 53/57 Laxmi Buildings, Sir P. Mehta Rd.. Bombay- 1. %GATH A: THE SONGS THAT ZARATHUSHTRA SANG: by MAHYAR BYRAMJI PATEL. “O ! Saki, let the red wine flow where the wild rose blows, for that is where I awoke to the beautiful song, pouring melodiously, from the ruby lips of my Beloved !” “URVAKHSHANGHA GAYA JIGHAESHA, TAO KHSHAPANO YAO JVAHI!” — Yasna 62.10 “May you live a joyous life, the nights that you live!” — Atash Nyaish INTRODUCTION « OPTIMISM IS THE KEYNOTE of the message of Holy Zarathushtra ! His teaching is best summed up as the effort to live the Religion of the Good-Life and of treading the Path to Happiness ! Monotheism is the root of his inspiration ! It is the foundation-stone on which rests his claim to a prophetic dispensation. There is no fury of fire and brimstone in his teaching, but only Perpetual Progress culminating in a Final and Universal Salvation ! Love and Wisdom are the two ever-watchful Guardians who help us on our way ! Zarathushtra never threatens us with the Wrath of Heaven, but always cautions us about the Immutability of the Cosmic and Moral Law ! He constantly warns us against the inadvisability and utter futility of attempting to throw our puny might against the Invinci­ bility of Just and Beneficent Plans that unfold under the Dispensation of a Benign Divine Order ! Wisely, he teaches us to understand the Will of Ahura-Mazda, which manifests Itself as Universal Love ! The more we get ourselves attuned to the Infinite Voice of Silence, the more we shall be pursuing the Path to Happiness ! 15He lived in an age which believed in many Gods, wherein each tribe, having a collection of several deities of its own, claimed control over magical incantations and rituals whereby through various sacri ­ fices, most frequently bloody, it sought to secure the favours of these savage and wanton Gods exclusively for the benefit of its own adhe ­ rents. The religious reform he introduced was of a momentous issue. With one mighfy sweep, he did away with every one of these deities, and installed Ahura-Mazda, the Monotheistic and Moral God in the hearts of all men ! Good thoughts, good words and good deeds were to be the only sacrifices to be offered to the Ethical God he introduced to his people ! Surrounded on all sides by believers in magical rites, fore-most amongst whom, perhaps, stood his own father Pourushasp, he proclaimed that the Truth of a Religion lay in its Moral Signifi­ cance and not in any outward and ceremonial show ! Religion meant the perception, pursuit and practise of Truth ! Right Conduct and Moral Motivation received the Prophet ’s fullest attention. Boldly, he did away with the ancient practice of appeasing the various Gods with intoxicating and other gruesome offerings. He discountenanced the religious belief then prevailing, which allocated the favours of tribal Gods exclusively upon their own chosen people, and offered to all Mankind the One Universal God ! He addressed his message to all Humanity, regardless of all time and distance. Because of this, the voice of Zarathushtra is an Eternally-Living force, uniting all from far and near. Lighting the Fire-of-Eternal-Truth from the unquenchable Sun-of-Righteousness, Zarathushtra fed it with the fuel of Love- and-Wisdom ! He protected it with the might of Divine-Power, and kept it glowing with the splendour of Faith ! Blazing with Perfection, the Fire shed its Lustre-of-Immortality upon a Waking-World ’ Reverently, he stood before this Holy Fire, radiantly happy, and his uncontrollable heart burst forth into paeans of song ! The Enlight ­ ened-Seer arose, and faced the East. The Sun-qf-Truth shone 'brilliantly upon his beautiful, moon-like face! Its reflected Light Illuminated the entire World! t Hallelujah ! Hail and Rejoice ! The Herald of Bliss has arisen gloriously in the East ! The Virgin-Heaven has given birth to its most Resplendent Golden Star ! The Banner-of-Righteousness flut ­ ters proudly with its head raised high up in the sky ! And through every part of the seven regions of the World, champions of Mazda- yasna rally around the focal-point of the magnificent trumpet-call : 16“Mazdayasno Ahmi ! Mazdayasno Zarathushtrish !” — I am a worshipper of the One God Ahura-Mazda alone ! An Ahura-Mazda- worshipping follower of the Holy Prophet Zarathushtra ! Pronunciation of Vowels :— a as in abide; e as in echo; i as in in; o as in odd; u as in pull a as in after; e as in ate; i as in eel; 0 as in ode; u as in pool; a as in aunt; n as in announce; Every contiguous Vowel, that is Vowels following each other, must always be Pronounced separately, and never as one long Vowel. A. B. C. TRANSLITERATION FREE TRANSLATION. COMMENTS. A. GATHA USHTAVAITI—1. THE SONG OF REJOICING. YASNA HA 43. VERSE 1. Ushta ahmai yatunai ushta kahmaichit, Vase-khshayas Mazdao dayat Ahuro; Utayuiti tevishim gat toi vasemi, Ashem deredyai tat moi dao Armaite, Rayo Ashish Vangheush gaem Manangho. (102) B. Happiness to those who bring happiness unto others. May the Ruler-at-Will Mazda Ahura give; Eternal-Life and Strength-of-Soul do I desire from Him, For upholding Righteousness grant me that, O! Holy-Faith, The Radiant Blessings for living the life of the Good-and-Loving- Mind. C. There is only one way to he happy, and that is by striving to bring happiness into the lives of others! Such is the Will of God, Ahura-Mazda the Omnipotent ! He is the only God 17whom Zarathushtra recognises, whilst he rejects all other deities as the false-figments of primitive man ’s imagination. From Ahura-Mazda alone, the Prophet desires to acquire by virtue of his merit, the rewards of a Life-made-Eternal and a Soul-made- Perfect. He longs for the Blessings showered upon the Faithful, so that strengthened by it, he may act Righteously according to the dictates of a Good-and-Loving-Mind. He will bring Happiness to all Mankind, and that shall be the greatest source of his own Happiness ! VERSE 2. A. B. C. Atcha ahmai vispanam vahishtem Khvathroya na khvathrem daidita Thwa Chichithwa Spenishta Mainyu, Mazda! Ya dao Asha Vangheush mayao Manangho, • • Vispa ayare daregojyatoish urvadangha. (103) Similarly, to them shall come all the best — Who strive for Glory, to them shall Glory come Through Your Enlightened and Most Holy Spirit, O ! Mazda; You Righteously gave the Divine-Wisdom to those with the Awakened-Conscience, For daily enjoying long-enduring happiness all our lives. They that strive for Glory shall surely be blessed with the best and most glorious rewards. There is no place for a capricious fate to work its favours here. Ahura-Mazda, is never to be deceived, such is His Enlightenment, and His Most Holy Spirit showers bounteous rewards and blessings only upon the deserving. One of the greatest blessings He has been pleased to grant us is a Discerning-Mind. We have to keep this Mind in a good and pro ­ gressive condition. We have to put it to maximum use and awaken it to Divine-Consciousness. It must serve us as the most power ­ ful instrument for establishing the Kingdom of Righteousness here upon Earth. Happiness is an internal experience, and is at no time and under no circumstances conditioned by any external influence! We experience pleasure and pain only according to our own inherent qualities. If we choose to mould our Minds in the Right way, we shall certainly enjoy unbounded Happiness for an unlimited Time ! / 18VERSE 3. A. At hvo Vangheush Vahyo na aibi-jamyat, Ye nao erezush savangho patho sishoit — Ahya angheush astvato mananghascha; • Haithyeng astish yeng a*shaeti Ahuro, . • ¦ Aredro Thwavas huzentushe spento, 'Mazda! (104) • • • B. Now may that one attain to the Highest Good, Who to us the Righteous Path of Bliss reveals — For the material life as well as that of the spirit; Leading upto the Truthful Existence where Ahura dwells. Such a wise and holy'one is in tune with You, O ! Mazda. *4 C. Our Prophet discloses that the Perfect-Teacher of the Most- Exalted-Knowledge is fully deserving of the highest rewards that the Almighty grants. True Knowledge is meant for spreading and never for hoarding! What is the worth of erudition if it is to eke out its life in a miserable and lonely haunt ? Knowledge is Light and only serves its true purpose when it Illuminates Universally. Gnana-dana, the philanthropy of Knowledge is the most meritorious of acts ! It blesses both, those that impart it, as well as those who receive it ! The true dispenser of Right Knowledge is to be prized over all other men ! He stands like a beacon-light, guiding our steps towards the Path to Happiness, and cautioning us against pit-falls. He helps us to make our way safely across the hazards of material as well as spiritual realms. The learning that he imparts is useful to us in this life and also in the life that we shall live in the here-after. He is Master of both, the acquired as well as the in-born Wisdom ! What he teaches us, opens the portals of Heaven for us, and leads us to the Presence of the Almighty. Such an initiate, by virtue of his wisdom, goodness and piety, most resembles the concept of Ahura-Mazda which we cherish. 19A. VERSE 4. At Thwa menghai takhmemcha spentem, Mazda! • • Hyat ta zasta ya-Tu hafshi avap,— Yao dao asliish dregvaite ashaunaecha; Thwahya garema Athro, Asha-aojangho, Hyat moi Vangheush haze jimat Manangho. (105) • • • Thus I recognised You to be the Most-Powerful and Holy-One, O! Mazda, B. C. When I beheld You distributing our deserts, — When You dealt out the fruits of merit to the False and to the True; Through Your Fire-of-Inspiration, replete with Righteousness, To me shall come the strength of the Good-and-Loving-Mind. Zarathushtra extolls the Greatness of Ahura-Mazda ! How Strong and Pious is the Mighty Creator ! He rules over us ail single-handedly. He does not require any Lesser-Beings to keep His House in order. He is Self-Sufficient by Himself. The entire army of Spiritual Beings required to maintain the Universe, is a mere figment of men’s imaginations, who cannqt conceive of the Immensity of God! Ahura-Mazda is a Ruler-at-Will, and the entire Creation is a manifestation of His Divine-Wish ! It is His Cosmic Law which creates, just as it is His Moral Law that governs. Rewards and Retributions are meted out in accor ­ dance with well-regulated principles. His Vision reaches every ­ where and marks everything. Virtue is suitably rewarded, and Vice is aptly punished. The Prophet is well aware that all who live according to the prescribed Moral Code will profit thereby. The Inner-Fire-of-Illumination shall awaken within the hearts of the pious,, and the strength of the Awakened-Conscience will come to the aid of the Righteous. VERSE 5. A. t 20 Spentem at Thwa, Mazda ! menghl, Ahura ! Hyat Thwa angheush zathoi daresem paourvim; Hyat dao, shyaotthana mizhdavan yacha ukhdha — Akem akai, vanguhim ashim vanghaove — Thwa hunara damoish urvaese apeme. (106)B. Holy are You, O ! Mazda, thus have I recognised You to be, O Ahura, I When first I beheld You at the beginning of Life; Since You ordained that all acts and words shall bear appropriate fruit — I Evil to the wicked, good blessings to the holy — Through Your Wisdom so shall it be with creation till the final consummation. •< C. Ahura-Mazda is the Holy of Holies ! Zarathushtra is thrilled when he realizes that Ahura-Mazda has existed since all Eternity! He recognises Him to be the Cause of all causes, and also the Causeless-One. It is part of the Divine-Plan that no thought, word or deed shall ever go unrequited ! Heaven does not single out any one for meting out capricious judgements ! It rules according to the Divine-Plan. The wicked will be punished and the good will be blessed ! This Law is impersonal and inviolable ! There is no element of wrath in the punishment of God, but it is only an effective corrective The Holy Father punishes the erring son with loving concern for the errant one in His Noble Heart! The punitive rod is administered with a regard for the future well-being of the misguided. We have all of us to reach the Final Goal of Perfection and Immortality. It is the Infinite- Wisdom of Ahura-Mazda, that has laid down the path that leads to the Final Beatitude. The lighter the burden of our guilt, the more pleasant will be the journey, and more congenial the company. VERSE 6. Yahmi^ Spenta! Thwa, Mainyu! urvaese jaso, Mazda! Khshathra, ahmi Vohu Manai^ha, Yehya shyaothanaish gaethao Asha fradente; Aestbyo Ratush senghaiti Armaitish Thwahya Khratensh yem naechish dsibayeiti. (107) B. When, O ! Holy Spirit, Your Goal is reached, O ! Mazda, there with the Divine-Power and Good-and-Loving- Mind, A. There work^ of Righleously-lead lives advance; 21To these the Prophet teaches Holy Faith Born of Your Wisdom which no one may deny. C. The Righteous soul advances to the Goal where the Holy Spirit, that is Ahura-Mazda resides. The Faithful shall be accompained by the Divine-Power and the Awakened-Conscience which they have acquired by leading lives of Rectitude. To these advanced souls, the Prophet imparts the Revelation he brings from Ahura- Mazda, which he has gleaned through his inner-receptivity. The Wisdom which the Prophet displays is God-Inspired and born of Holy Faith. None may deny the authenticity of the Prophet's message, nor the Divine source of its origin! VERSE 7. A. Spentem at Thwa, Mazda! menghi^ Ahura! Hyat ma Vohu pairi-jasat Manangha; Peresatcha ma: “Chish ahi ? Kahya aid ? Katha ayare dakhshara ferasayai disha Albi thwahu gaethahu tanushicha ?” (108) B. Holy are You, O! Mazda, thus have I recognised You to be, O ! Ahura, me; 22 When the Good-and-Loving-Mind awakened within One asked me : “Who are you ? To whom do you belong ? What path do you pursue when assailed with daily doubts That pertain to your body and mind ?” C. When Zarathushtra became proficient in Wisdom, he realised the full Grandeur of Ahura-Mazda ! He learned to get acquain ­ ted with Ahura-Mazda through his inner-perception. He began to shower Ahura-Mazda with his heart-felt adorations. When he went on in this strange manner, someone, getting surprised at his behaviour began to question him : “Who are You ? To whom have you given your heart ? Why do you behave in this manner ? Whose songs of praise do you sing ? How do you meet with the daily requirements of your physical and mental needs ?” This was a reflection on the God-Intoxicated state of Holy Zarathush ­ tra. He was steeped in the condition of God-Realization ! Ahura- Mazda had taken full possession of his sensitive heart. >VERSE 8. A. At hoi aoji: Zarathushtro paourvim, Haitjhyo dvaeshao hyat isoya dregvaite, At ashaune rafeno khvvyem aojonghvat; Hyat abushtish vasase khshathrahya dya, Ya vat a Thwa, Mazda! sfaumi ufyacha. (109) B. I answered him so : Firstly, I am Zarathushtra, The inveterate foe, with all my might, of the followers of Untruth, But to the Righteous, I shall be the bearer of the joy of the Inner- Life; Therefore I pray for the acquirement of the Divine-Power for all time. Whenever I sing my songs of praise to You, O! Mazda. C. Zarathushtra answers the questioner accordingly; He informs him that firstly, He is named Zarathushtra. It is his mission in life to fight the Evil of Falsehood, Ignorance and Wickedness! He is unsparing when assailing the Unrighteous. He is deter ­ mined to resist and repel them with all his might. He never appeases them, or compromises with them. But to the Righteous, he is the bearer of Constant Joy ! He shall side with them till the day we reach the final Consummation of Life. He seeks for the Might of Divine-Power, whenever he prays to Ahura-Mazda, for he knows that none may ever harm those whom Heaven pro ­ tects ! None can similarly withstand the onset of the Virtuous, who have Ahura-Mazda ’s Divine-Power to help them. Ahura- Mazda is the Most Potent of all Allies. All Power and Strength flow out from Him alone. VERSE 9. A. Spentem at Thwa, Mazda ! menghi, Ahura ! Hyat ma Vohu pairi-jasat Manangha; Ahya ferasem: ‘"Kahmai vividuye vashi ?” At a Thwahmai Athre ratam nemangho, • • Ashahya-ma yavat isai manyai. (110) 23B. Holy are You, O ! Mazda, thus have I recognised You to be, O '. Ahura, When the Good-and-Loving Mind awakened within me; One questioned me : “Who do you wish the most to know ?” I answered that I would dedicate my homage to His Fire, And esteem Righteousness over all else whilst I have the will. C. The Holy Prophet reiterates that he was astounded by the Magni ­ ficence of Ahura-Mazda, when Divine-Consciousness first dawned upon him ! Someone queried further ; “Whose thoughts occupy your mind all the while ? In which direction do your thoughts become absorbed ?” He answered that he was fully absorbed with contemplating the Divine-Spark within him. Zarathushtra was deeply engrossed with the task of fanning the Inner-Spark-of- IHuminatiop into a Mighty Conflagration! Zarathushtra was pursuing the Path of Self-Illumination, and was well aware that living a life of stead-fast Rectitude was most essential for all spiritual progress. VERSE. 10. A. At Tu moi daish Ashem hyat ma zaozaomi, Armaiti hachimno it arem; Peresaeha nao ya Toi ehma parshta, Parshtem zi Thwa yathana tat emavatam, Hyat Thwa khsshayas aeshem dyat emavantem. (Ill) B. Then grant me Your Rectitude, for which I yearn. Full of Holy Faith have I become; You may question me with all Your queries. Your questions only tend to make me strong. For through Your strength You make me powerful. C. Zarathushtra assures Ahura-Mazda that he is full of Faith in Him, and is quite fit to receive the responsibilities which the prop ­ het has to bear. He is bursting with Righteous zeal to carry out the mission entrusted to him. He finds himself growing in the Wisdom of God, and believes that he is now in a fit position to answer all the queries put to him about his Prophetic mission. He is full of confidence in his capabilities to answer and satisfy the yearnings of all who thirsted to know about the new Dispen- 24 sation he had come to fulfil. He finds that he is fully competent to meet any adversary in Religious controversies. Flawless Know­ ledge makes him strong, bold and invincible! How can anyone match him in Wisdom and Strength, when the source of his Powers is Ahura-Mazda Himself ? VERSE 11. > A. B. C. Spentem at Thwa, Mazda! menghi, Ahura! • I • Hyat ma Vohu pairi-jasat Manangha; Hyat Khshma ukhdhaisli didainghe paourvim; Sadra-moi sas mashyaeshu zarazdaitish Tat verezyeidyai hyat moi mraota vahishtem. (112) Holy are You, O ! Mazda, thus have I recognised You to be, O ! Ahura, When the Good-and-Loving-Mind awakened within me; When through Your Teaching I first grew wise; In my difficulties with Mankind, Faith sustains me To carry on my purpose which You have told me is the best. Zarathushtra is astounded by the Glory of God, when his Inner- Perception awakened from within, and revealed to him what none other had ever perceived before ! He acknowledges that he owes all his Learning to the Source of all Wisdom, which is the Creator Himself. This puts the lie to the belief that a human preceptor is indispensible for attaining to Spiritual-Insight ! Ahura-Mazda is quite capable of imparting direct Knowledge to those that yearn to know ! At all times and under all conditions and eventualities, o^ur approach to Ahura->Mazda should always be direct, and* never through that of any other agency, whether human or divine, ecclesiastic or lay ! Our Prophet finds Mankind un-receptive to the noble Message which he brings, but this does not lead him to despair, for he is well-grounded in Faith. Ahura- Mazda has assured our Prophet that the Mazdayasni-Daena is the Best Religion in the whole wide world, and is the Only One most acceptable to Him The Eternal-Truth of this Mighty Religion shall liVe thrqugh the vehicle of this and all other Future Creeds, and traversing through all Lands, shall endure upto the en d of Time! 25VERSE 12. g5 p I I £ I A. Hyateha moi mraosh: “Ashem jaso frakhshnene!” At Tu-moi noit asnishta pairyaog^hzha; Uzeredyai para hyat moi a-jhnat Seraosho) Ashi maza-raya haehimno, Ya vi ashish ranoibyo savoi vidayat. (113) B. When I was told : “Pursue Righteousness wisely !” You did not tell me then of things un-heard-of before; But did so when from within me arose The Inner-Voice-of-Infallible-Intuition, accompanied by the Blessing of Divine-Illumination, Which alloted the proper reward and retribution to both the sides. C. It is easy enough to hand out the mandate: “Be Righteous! ” But what is this Righteousness ? How may one become Right ­ eous ? This requires to be very carefully considered. It requires an Inner-Illumination to answer these questions. Those who pursue a Spiritual-Life learn to draw their attention Inwards! When we develop our Minds to attain to a state of Selflessness, our Mind becomes Good-and-Loving. When the Mind has pro ­ ceeded along these lines, an Inner-Awakening takes place within Unfathomable Intuition begins to guide us unerringly. Divine-Illumination enlightens us from within. We being to dis ­ criminate between Right and Wrong with dependable precision. We become fully aware of the Law of Consequences which brings us our rewards and punishments as we rightly deserve them ! VERSE 13. US. A. Spentem at Thwa, Mazda! menghi, Ahura! Hyat ma Vohu pairi-jasat Manangha; Aretha voizdyai kamahya tem moi data,— Daregahya yaush yem Vao naecldsh daresht ite, — Vairyao stoish ya Thwahmi khshathrdi vacht (114) 26Roly are You, O ! Mazda, thus have I recognised You to be, O ! Ahura, When the Good-and-Loving-Mind awakened within me; In order to attain the gratification of my desire, grant me that, — Life of such a long duration, which no one before has dared to ask You for. The best of existence, which is in Your Divine-Power to bestow. « C. When Illumination first came to Zarathushtra, he realised the Splendour of Ahura-Mazda ! He became aware that He alone was the Gratifier of all pious wishes. It was the devout wish of the Prophet to live a long life and personally attend to the successful completion of his mission. It was no easy matter to induce the Daevayasnis to give up their perverted beliefs and false practices, and to convert them to the enlightened ways of the Mazdayasnis ! All this would take a great deal of time and effort to bring to fruition. If Ahura-Mazda would only grant him a long life, he would work with tireless energy to bring the Best of Existence within the reach of Human Experience. It was his ardent desire to establish a Heaven on Earth ! To bring Paradise within the reach of atH men ! * VERSE 14. ( ij ! A. Hyat na fryai va^amno isva daidit, Maibyo, 'Mazda! Tava rafeno fr^hshnenem; Hyat Thwa Khshathra, Ashat hacha frashta; _ • Uzereidyai azem saredanao s^hahya Mat t^h vispaish yoi-Toi Mathrao merenti. (115) • • B. What the wise adept bestows upon his favoured one. Upon my followers, O ! Mazda bestow. Your all-refreshing Bliss; Which is within the keeping of Your Divine-Power, by reason of Rectitude; Awake, O ! Champions of the Sacred Teaching And all those who are mindful of Your Revelation. C. The Master-of-Wisdom lavishes all his love, knowledge, skill and care upon his beloved disciples ! Zarathushtra regards Ahura- Mazda as the Sole Preceptor and Benefactor of his followers. He does not lay claim to any EHvinity, but regards Ahura-Mazda * * nbroadcast adherents learn by A. B. alone as the Inspirer of all his thoughts, words ancT^B^B Accordingly, he depends upon Him to bless his followers with the choicest Blessing of a never-ending Bliss. Ahura-Mazda, Who is Omnipotent and Ever-Righteous alone can confer this supreme gift upon the deserving. The Prophet exhorts the cham­ pions of Mazdayasna to arise and attend to their duties and obligations! The Sacred* Revelation has to be over al the seven regions of the World! The new will be keeping their eyes fixed upon the veterans to precept and practice. VERSE 15. Spentem at Thwa, Mazda! menghi, Ahura! Hyat) ma Vohu pairi-jasat Manangha; Dakhslhat ushyai tushna maitish vahishta; Noit na pouruslh dregvato 'khwyat chlikhshnusho. At visqpeng angreng Ashauno adare. (116) • • • Holy are You, O ! Mazda, thus have I recognised You to be, O ! Ahura, C. When the Good-and-Loving-Mind awakened within me; Declaring to me that quiet meditation is the best, pursuit; Let no man be a compromiser with the Leaders of Untruth, For they always regard the Righteous as their foes. How Great and Good are You, O! Creator-of-M alter and Lord- of-Spirit ! Now does my Awakened-Mind perceive You distinct ­ ly for the first-time ! 1 declare that You are the Holiest of the Holies ! You are the Fountain-Head of all Wisdom ! You lead me Ho a quiet spot and there reveal Ytnirself to me, as I meditate upon You in solitude. Knowing You, I too have grown full in Wisdom ! This have I learnt from You that the man of perfect integrity keeps himself aloof from all those who are steeped in Untruth. He will never have anything to do with them, for it is their mission to distort, pervert and destroy the pristine Religion of Righteousness, which is the essence of Mazdayasna. They look upon the virtuous whh malice and scorn in their hate-filled hearts. Keep them far away from me, O! Ahura-Mazda, for I wish to be saved from their evil pollution. Thus sings Holy Zarathushtra, when Realization dawns upon him. * 28VERSE 16. A. B. C. At, Ahura ! hvo mainyum, Zarathushtro Verente, Mazda ! Yaste chishcha Spenishto; Astvat Ashem khwyat ushtana aojonghvat. Khveng daresoi Khshathroi khw^at Armaitish, Ashim shyaothanaish Vohu daidit Manangha. (117) Therefore, O! Ahura, lor his own spirit does Zarathushtra Choose, O! Mazda, that which is Your Holiest Spirit; May the life-of-flesh be strengthened by Rectitude. With Sun-like brilliance may the Divine-Power abide with Holy- Faith, May Blessings be showered upon works inspired by the Good- and-Loving-Mind. Zarathushtra has made his irrevocable choice ! He has dedicated his body and soul to the service of Ahura-Mazda ! He has recognised Him to be the Holiest and Purest Spirit, Who is the Good, Wise and Loving Creator of all. He prays that the human ­ body with its many frailties and limitations may be strengthened by pursuing the course of Righteousness. He longs for the attainment of the Divine-Power of the Selfless-in-Spirit,- whose main function is to enable us to uphold and execute the behests of the Universal Law, when it clashes with the interest of our own selfish-pursuit. He prays for the help of Holy-Faith, so that he might find guidance and succour when he is pressed by difficult times and conditions. He calls upon Ahura-Mazda to shower His choicest Blessings upon those who follow the dictates of the Good-and-Loving-Mind. Repeatedly, he sings: ‘‘Happiness only comes to those who bring Happiness into the lives of others!” (To be continued) •j* The article under my name Faribourz Nariman was the report of my lecture and not reproduction in July 1970 issue of ‘Parsiana ’. Although I am coming from the priestly class I am not a navar, and hence it was incorrect to call me ‘Ervad ’. some misprints and errors. There are 29On Conversion and Converts in Zoroastrianism by Dasturji Dr. Hormazdiar Kaiyoji Mirza MJA., Ph.D. is there Neither in the Gathas nor in the entire Avestan literature is there any reference or hint suggestive of the practice of conversion. There is no such word as CONVERSION in that language. History is devoid of incidents of enforced conversion even in the days of the then Mighty Iranian Empires. With the advent of Zarathushtra our fore ­ fathers had not given up our original Mazdyasni daen. Zarathushtra only correc ­ ted and purified the original Mazdyasni Religion and even today we are Mazdyasnis in faith and Zarathushti by elimination of unwanted and correction of undesira ­ ble elements by Zarathushtra in the original daen. Therefore today we are Mazd ­ yasni Zarthushtis. Zarathushtra did not establish a new religion he corrected the Old existing one. We are not converts from Mazdyasni daen but Mazdyasni mended, amended and re-vivified by Zarathushtra. Ervad Kavasji Kanga ’s English-Avastan Dictionary contains no word in Avasta to mean Conversion. Except Dr. Eruch Taraporewala and Shri Jetindra Mohan Chattarjee none have given the translation “Convert ” to any Avastan word. (Probably the word is used by them in some interpretative sense and not as literal meaning). Dastur Dr. Hormuzdiar Mirza deli­ vered a very enlightening lecture on some historical aspects of Zoroastrian Religion under the auspices of Jashan Committee, Bombay. ; He said at present, propoganda is going on in favour of Conversion of non-Parsis into our fold. The topic is presented before the ignorant public in the form of false arguments utterly lack ­ ing studies, understanding or authority in supporting such wild and childish state ­ ments such as that Gathas enjoin Conver ­ sion and Avasta supplies corroboration. Childish talk is circulated that Prophet Zarathushtra converted King Vishtaspa. For this there is no support either from history of the religion or from Avastan literature. Many persons talking losely miss a ‘n essential issue that Gayomard was the first person in Iranian Avastan lore to hear direct from heaven the commandments of Dadar Ahurmuzd. That way Dadar Ahurmazd’s own daen Ahurmazdi or Mazdyasni daen came into existen­ ce amongst the people of Iran since Peshdadian dynasty which was the oldest known organised Society. Hoshang, Jam- ar' 30shid, Faridun, Haoma, Kaikhushru and such other Soshyants thereafter establi ­ shed Mazdyasni daen. That fact is stated in Avasta. Zarathushtra was born ages thereafter in the time of King Vishtasp. Zarathushtra devoted 10 years of his life to prayer, meditation and devotion in the solitude of Ushidaran. mountain. It was during this time that he got intuitively more messages from Mino Yazadas about our daen, upon these revelations Zara ­ thushtra acted, corrected, modified and preached his messages. That is what we acknowledge in our daily prayer while reciting the words “Mazdyasni Ahmi, Mazdysno Zarathushtris ” I am a Mazd ­ yasni, I am a Zarathushti Mazdyasni ” This is known in Avasta also as “Ahuirish Zarathushtris ” or the Zarathusti daen as given by Ahurmazd. Our forefathers have never forsaken our original Mazdyasni Daen nor have we. > We read of King Vishtasp in Avasta of Kyani period but there is nowhere any mention or even suggestion of Conversion. Zarathushtra never claimed to have con­ verted Shah Vishtasp. • It is clearly stated in Avan Yasht that Zarathushtra prayed and pleaded “May I make King Vishtasp think according to Daen, May I make King Vishtasp utter words according to daen and May I make King Vishtasp act according to daen ”. This implies that the daen was already there in existence. All that Zarathushtra wished for was that King Vishtasp shall listen to the call of the conscience and live and act as said above. It is never stated anywhere by the Prophet that King Vishtasp shall give up his own original daen in which he was born and assume and adopt a new daen of Zarathushtra. Accord! ng to the Gathas King Vishtasp was a righteous friend ( i Hl ) of Zarathushtra. Farvardin and Jamyad Yashts describe Vishtasp as one supporting daen and the pillar of strength of Hormuz- di Zarathushti daen. There are several such descriptions of Vishtasp in Avasta but nowhere is there any suggestion or in­ sinuation of Conversion to a new faith. Avastan vocabulary has no equivalent for Conversion. Ervad Kavasji Kangaji ’s Dictionary of Avastan language contains no such word. There are innumerable translations of the Gathas but except for Dr. Taraporewala and ShriJotindra Mo­ han Chatterjee no one has accepted Con­ version as legitimate translation and the present day ignoramus propagandists are the only ones to welcome and accept this erroneous version because it. suits them and not because they know the intri ­ cacy of the Avastan language. The pecu­ liarity around it is that these ignoramuses accept these translators ’ version when it suits them and discard the very same authors ’other versions when they do not suit them. Gathas describe man as mortal to sug ­ gest the idea of life after death and empha ­ sise the eternal law of cause and effect applicable also in the other world where Minoi Justice prevails precisely. It rs difficult to understand why Gatha 30-11 is put up for favouring Conversion by persons doing false propaganda. Gatha 30-11 only clearly states the law — “good to the good, punishment to the sinners and that law is good for all times. ” Where do the distortionists see Conversion in this simple straight-forward mention of the inexorable law ? 31The opportunists in their propaganda custom in the Society. The protagonists a Gathas mention the Turanians as ene­ mies of Iranians. From that simple fact for Conversion are bringing in the fact of also the opportunists seek some hint of some Iranian Kings having married out- Conversion. Far from it. The real fact side. That may have been the misuse of is that Shah Faridun distributed his King- Royal prerogative but that was not the dom amongst his three sons. Iraj, word which phylologically is allied to Iran, of Conversion appear to be ignorant of or got the main portion of Iran. The area are deliberately suppressing their horrible which his son Tur got came to be known consequences as recorded in history, as Turan and the remaining part went to This led to strife and quarrels between Salm. Because of jealousy amongst members of the Royal families and fur ­ brothers Iraj was murdered and Tu- ther led to fissiparous tendencies in the ranians waged a war against Iran. Kingdom. That led to jealousy, intrea- But all that is political matter that gues, plottings and political murders and had nothing to do with religion in the resulted in untold evils. Sassanian Empire begining but just as when a war is going of 400 years fell in a few decades. on it changes phases and Turanian Aiv jasp made Zoroastrian religion the largest of his vengeance. Despite that tension many Turanian families were staunchly on the side of Zarathushti daen. They both were basically Iranians even though in opposing military camps. There is no question of Conversion in this historical episode and one wonders wherefrom the under temptation of money are perform- opportunists see into it the suggestion of jng Juddin Novjots and Juddin marriages Conversion. but they are thereby exposing the Commu ­ nity and the religion to danger of extirpa ­ tion. Violent and vicious propaganda harmful to the general long term good of the Community are causing a clash of interests which is clearly undesirable and Unworthy. In ancient days Iranians had settled in India as can be confirmed from ancient Sanskrit archives. They did not try to preserve their identitly and got merged in the masses and nothing is now left of them except reference in books of history. May be that now a days a few mobeds t It is an open question why a man born is very suggestive why those who advocate Conversion of others to Zoroastrianism never explain the why and the whereof of Iranian Kings in their history of thou ­ sands of years never resorted to converting persons of other faiths. Members of other faiths lived at peace in the Hakhamani, Arshkani and Sassani Empires : not only that but the Iranians protected and also helped the believers of non-Zoroastrian religions. For this reason the names of in one religion of his forefathers should some of the Akaemanian Shehnshahs are give it up in favour of another new one. It written in letters of gold in ancient history. In the Treaty between Rome and Iran both countries pledged freedom of faith to such a change. They epitomise our religion their subjects. into good thoughts, good words and good 32 Ideeds as the be all and the end all of our , to us by Ahuramazda. Conversion and religion. Do they imply that other reli ­ gions have contrary beliefs to the above ones ? faith in Religion of Revelation are in­ congruous. God has given us our Religion under His own Laws of making up an appropriate set of beliefs of His own Despite adverse records in history of Choice and man takes birth in an envi- harm and damage suffered by various ronment best suited for him to carry .out nations who encouraged Conversion why the allotted mission in life. Just as a man are we keeping our eyes closed to their cannot change his parents he cannot chan- dire consequences ? Those propagating conversion are doing great dis-service to the Community. Parsis are the very Com­ munity that has already suffered most under the mania for Conversion by the Arabs. For a small Community like ours Ancestors suffered a good deal and sacri- conversion campaign is open enmity to our tied much to preserve promote and defend religion and to our group. this divine heritage and pass it on to a succession of generations. We pray to If we believe that religion is made by to help us fulfil our allotted mission, man then only can we change it like a new coat. But our religion is the religion sent Amen ; ge his religion because the whole is one complex unity of purpose divine. It is our Prophet and our Ancestors who have put us in charge of our divine heritage. Our JEWELS. ANTIQUES. Gazdar Private Ltd. TAJ MAHAL HOTEL, BOMBAY. TELE: 255577 TELEGRAM: " MANUSCRIPT.” 33Poona Mobed’s Fund »> (ESTD. JUNE 1966) (Under the auspices of the Poona Zarthosti Seva Mandal) 1st Vice Pres. Mrs. Gool Wadia : 2nd Vice Pres. Mr. Savak Patel Chairman, Mr. Bejon F. Boywala : Hon. Treasurer Mrs. Aimy Master Hon. Secretary Mrs. Frannie Boywala. Members of the Managing Committee Mrs. Mehroo R. Boga, Mrs. Tehrni S. Poonawala, Dr. K. Feniwala, Mrs. Aban Bhathena, Miss Frannie Vakil, Mr. Hor- masji Kanga, Mr. Marzban Kaikobad, Ervad Rustamji Kotewal. This Poona Mobeds ’ Fund was started in sacred memory of late 'Mr. Jehangirji R. Sopariwala, by his daughter Mrs. Meh­ roo R. Boga who was deeply touched by the economic stress and social condition of our poor Mobeds, who attended the first four days death ceremonies of her father. To her it seemed expedient to take some immediate steps for the amelioration of these poor priests. A meeting of friends and well wishers of our Athornans was, thereafter, called at her residence, East Street, Poona on 27th June 1966, with a view to find ways and means for their ame ­ lioration. A small fund was raised on the spot : Donations, Patron, Life and Ordinary Members were invited to meet with the planned activities for this fund for the future. Donations from Re. 1/- to any amount above Rs. 1,(XX)/- Patrons Rs. 5(X)/- and above Life Members Rs. 100/- Ordinary Members Rs, 12/- per year. AIMS AND OBJECTS OF THE FUND: To enlighten our community of Poona of the very sore and sad economic and social condition of our Parsi Priests in Poona. In view of the above, to take steps to raise their living and social status in keep­ ing With the sacred dignity of their profes ­ sion. The fund does not envisage giving of cash doles. However, it aims at giving free medical aids to our Athornans and their families through its fixed panels of Doctors. Hos ­ pitalization and operations are being taken care of. Subsidised and/or free grain on their ration cards is being given. Educational aids, by way of giving school, college fees, school, college books and other necessary equipments needed by their children are being resorted to. On important festive occasions like our New Year or Jamshed-i-Naoroze, the Fund distributes amongst our Mobeds and their families Gift Parcels containing uti ­ 34lity articles for their home consumption, Sudras, Kushties, utility cloths like Muis, Long cloth, Jama-Pichories, daglies, legas and Pugri cloth, Pakav, Tea, Sugar, Gol, Grams etc. During its short existence, we have col­ lected, roughly Rs. 15,000/- and spent Rs. 4,OOOZ- in numerous aids given to our Mobeds and their families, leaving on hand a balance of over Rs. 11,000/-. We are presenting to our local Athor- nans, with families, Rs. 75/- worth of household articles, like Pakav, Tea Sugar, Gol, Grains and 10 Yards of Long Cloth, each. To each single individual mobed, Mulmul and Long Cloth pieces worth Rs. 50/- each. These as Pateti presents. I shall deem it a favour if you. Sir, would thoroughly study our various efforts to ameliorate their social and financial con­ dition, and we would feel grateful if you would further give us your valued sugges ­ tions to better their status. End of 1968, we inaugurated a “SmaU- saving-cum-Aid” scheme. In this, every participating Athornan can pay into this Pool 2% of his monthly income. At the end of the year, every such member ’s account will be credited with an equal amount, of his collection from the Fund. This, though a very insignificant scheme, yet is introduced primarily for five years on trial, with a view to provide even a meagre saving plus the aid from the Fund, at the time of retirement, of our Mobeds from their priestly profession. Our Fund further aims at giving our Parsi School Children some Primary knowledge of our sacred religion through holding extra hour classes at their respec ­ tive schools. our Arrangements are afoot to hold monthly lecture-cum-reading meetings for Athornans as well as for all those Zoroas- trians who are interested in such a move. It is intended to bold prize giving Elo­ cution Competitions on simple religious subjects for the yougsters of our commu ­ nity. During the past year a group dinner and a social were held and our Athornans and their famflies were pleased to join. The dinner was very lavishly hosted by Mrs. Sopariwala and Mrs. Mehroo Boga, who gave a very happy time to all who joined in this function. This dinner could very likely be the very first one in which the whole Athornan group with their wi­ ves were invited to partake of a very happy and sumptuous fare. To widen their knowledge and to give them a good time we intend taking these friends to sight seeing spots of interest, Industrial Concerns and other educational centres. We fervently request all those who read through this report to kindly come forth with whatever donations that they can willingly give to enlist themselves as Pat ­ rons, Life Members and/orOrdinary Mem­ bers, to keep our torch burning, for this laudable cause. Dasturs and Mdbeds have been the torch bearers of our Sacred Zoroastrian Religion for the past over 1300 years, since we landed on the shores of our adop ­ ted land, India. 35a few others. I am impressed with their earnestness of purpose and zest for matters pertaining to aids to be given and all other matters are being discussed and decisions taken therein. Pray you, send us your names and your valued donations to enable us to enlist you as our esteemed supporters. Thank you all ! 6, Salisbury Appartments, Salisbury Park, Poona- 1. Mrs. Frannie Bejon Boywala, Hon. Secretary, Poona Mobeds Fund. “No Mbbedss, No Religion” is the age- I am its Life Member. I personally know old saying. Advancement of our Mobedi Mr. Bejon Boywala, Mrs. Amy Master Tola, is the advancement of our Ancient ^nd Zoroastrian Religion. The Fund is systematically managed by self-less service; Donations and lump- an active group of selfless workers, hold- f^es constitute the corpus of the Fund, ing every month its meeting, wherein all make ordinary membership fee of Rs. 12/- per year readily available for dis- ij-ibution. I hereby once again become ordinary member and have sent the amount to the above address from my belief t hat many a mickle makes a muckle. Give whatever you like. The cause is worthy and so are its workers. The beginning of all great things are small. Let us all make a success of this experiment. A sutxessful experiment is a diminutive of a vast uidverssd fact and an exercise in hanging it — when we will handle one for all our Mobeds — Amen. To Readers of Parsiana I heartHy recmnmend this modest but earnest and most useful Fund for their liberal support. P. B. WARDEN — Editor. Tel. 26266 1 H. O. 254, Mistry Bldg. Bazar Gate, Bombay I. KEROSENE DEPOTS: I) 15 Colaba Causeway. 2) I2A, Nana's Chowk. 3) 177, Tardeo Road, 4) 167, Grant Road Corner. (Ranji Agiari Compound) ; J. E. MISERY PETROLEUM & AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALITIES Esso Service Station. i83,Dr. Annie Besant Rd, ( Near Worli Nakn) Bombay 18. ALWAYS HAPPY TO S^RVE YOU! 36Dr. Sohrab Byramji Warden of London has passed away FUNERAL ORATION Although in his expressed wish and arrangement, Soli had donated his body to the Paddington General Hospital for me ­ dical research and dissection by students, because it was not in the Will, his Barc ­ lay ’s Bank Executor and Trustee told us that they were not obliged to carry out this wish,and Cremation was then carried out at Golders Green at, which a large number of our people were present. At the conclusion of the Religious ceremony and after the coffn was taken in Mr. Moos delivered the Funeral Oration ; Our Soli has passed from our midst, but he is living on the other side of the veil, and I am sure that he has earned a special place in Pairi-Daeza or Paradise, to rest and to enjoy the fruits of his labour and work on this Earth. 4 In our Religion as in other true faiths, there is nd such thing as death being the end of all existence, but it is a promotion to higher realms of activity and service, which Soli will surely take up after he had rested a while. ‘ Mrs. Rose VVa ’.'deii, Mr. Jimmy War ­ den, Dr. Soli Karani, Ladies & Gentlemen, With our sacred Prayers on our lips and with deep love and affection in our hearts, we have committed the mortal remains of our elder Brother and Friend of all to the care of Ahura Mazda. May our Soi ibji Byramji Warden, our very dear Soli to us all, rest in Peace and receive the lich reward of a lifetime of Righteousness and Service given by Soli to a multitude of people. This is not a day of mourning, but a day of thankfulness that this World of ours had been blessed with a person of the qua ­ lity of our Soli, as an example to us all of uprightness, clean and righteous living, and a helping hand to all those who came to him for help of any kind. Our Soli’s life is that of truimph over physical affliction which he suffered dur ­ ing all his life and in spite of recurring handicap of asthma, he achieved far more success than even thoroughly healthy and capable people achieve. Our Soli lived well and to a venerable age of 82, and in that he had the examp- lary help of a wife. Rose, who understood - him and kept him active throughout all .the years of their marriage. The numerous acts of kindness will be remembered by countless friends in this country and in India, and his deeds and acts were such that he could never be forgotten. 1 Apart from that his relationship and services to The Parsee Association of Europe, and his generous benefactions 38could only be appreciated properly by friends who were very close to him and to his heart. Soli was a pillar of strength to us all. A friend has departed from us, but never in the real sense. So I say to Mrs. Rose Warden, to his near and dear relatives in this Country and in India, that we were all priviledged to have known and loved this God’s Good Man. We shall all miss him. But we do not begrudge him the casting aside of his frail body, as thereby he will shine in the Glory of Ahura Mazda, as he really was. On behalf of the Committee of this Association, on behalf of our Dasturji ^Saheb and the Members of our Commu ­ nity, I offer to Mrs. Warden, Mr. Jimmy Warden and other members of the family our deepest sympathies, and may they all have the courage to bear this great loss, and may they keep our Soli’s memory green as long as we are alive. May the Blessings of Ahura Mazda be on our Soli, and on all those who have come from far and near to pay their last respects. “Glory Be to Ahura Mazda”. THE INCORPORATED PARSEE ASSOCIATION OF EUROPE Zoroastrian House,” 88 Compayne Gar­ dens, London, N. W. 6. % Report of Memorial Meeting held in honour of the late Dr. Sorab Byramji Warden at Zoroastrian House on Sunday, 2nd August, 1970 at 5 pm. A large gathering of Members and fri ­ ends attended. Mrs. Rose Warden and her relatives and Mr. J. B. Warden, the brother of the deceased represented the families. Mr. Jehangir D. Moos, the President of the Association, took the Chair, with Dasturji Saheb Dr. Sohrabji Kutar, and Vice-President, Dr. (Mrs.) Shirinbanoo Kutar and Hon. Secretary, Mr. Cyrus Mehta on the rostrum. The Chairman requested all those who had come to pay their tributes to the late Dr. Sorabji Byramji Warden to observe two minutes silence upstanding in honour of the deceased. CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS AND TRIB UTE The star that shone so brightly in our Association for past fifty years and more is no longer visible to our dimmed eyes, but the same star is shining ever brightly in another sphere in a better World free from the handicaps and turmoils of this World — a World which is a battle-ground to which the righteous and the noble are heaven sent to play their parts for the evolution of Man. It has been ever thus throughout the long history of Human Beings. And who was not the friend of Soli ? My Motabhai (Elder Brother) has depart ­ ed at the conclusion of a higly successful mission on this Earth — the mission being of living with us as a Brother, an utterly loyal friend, a generous heart hiding inside a frail body, a dedicated worker not only in his own chosen field of healing people, but also a dedicated worker in the cause of his Zoro|astrian Community in Gt. Britain and elsewhere, sometimes mis ­ understood, but always coming up with words and deeds and indeed thoughts which could be an example to all of us of how a Man should behave, think rightly, and live rightly, no matter what the odds. 39Born 82 years ago in a family famed for its righteousness and religious zeal, our Soli during his College years took up . Avesta & Pehlavi our sacred languages — but innate wisdom goaded him on to his true destiny. The Spring of 1914 saw Dr. Warden in England as a student of Dentistry. Soon on the outbreak of the First World War on the 4th August, 1914, Dr. Warden joined up as a Lieutenant in I.M.S., and for four and a half years he served in France, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and England as the Medical Officer with his Regiments. At the conclusion of the War he resumed dentistry and was soon quali ­ fied. Thereafter he took a course of Radiology in Germany and took Diploma of Medical Radiology and Electrology, and settled down in practice in England. He carried on his Practice well into his seventies, before honourably retiring. lied with service of his own community alone. He did considerable work for the emerging Independence for India. Soh- rabji loved people, he was happy in their company, as a member of various Indian Institutions, Medical Societies, cultural movements, and in turn he was highly res ­ pected and loved by those with whom he came into contact. It was my priviledge to have known Soli, my Motabhai, for a long period of years intimately, as a friend, a colleague, a co-worker, with people having similar ideals and objectives. There were most refreshing sides to his Character; there was not a mean streak in his entire nature — he had the generous nature of an an ­ cient Iranian King but was limited by the arrow extent of an ‘individual. He never spoke evil of anyone, nor do I ever remem ­ ber Soli using an unworthy word — he was entirely free from jealousy, seldom showed anger, there was no malice of any kind for anyone. He hated injustice, meanness in people, exploitation, the com­ mon human frailties. Sohrabji was an optimist throughout his Persons who are destined to be servants of Humanity are born with that quality, and for them it is not enough that a Man may work and enjoy the fruits of his la ­ bour in comfort. The narrow limits of such a life were not enough for Sohrabji — life. Afflicted by periods of Asthma for a man could not live by bread alone, the best and the total part of his life, he While there was so much to be done on the was a living example of the power of mind spiritual side, the uplifting of Humanity over body, and he won through each time by personal example, Sohrabji could not without a complaint or self-pity which he take a back seat and let opportunities for never displayed in all these years I have doing good to Human Beings slip by him. known him. » I remember tihe number of times we dis- g Our Sohrabji threw himself heart and soul into the activities of our Association cussed the problems of life, family life, the for the service of Zoroastrians as giving problems of our Zoroastrian Association him the best opportunity for pouring out fn Europe, the larger outer problems of his generous heart. Nor could he be satis- this World and its people, their aspirations, 40When the new Scheme for a Larger their deficiencies, and it proved to me that he was remaihahly at the centre of life Zoroastrian House with House of Prayer as is knnwn In us. And ft came out that was started in 1957 he threw himself all this was the result of his knowledge, whole-heartedly into it. He did every- insight and belief in his Religion of Zara- thing in his power to collect Donations thushtra. In this world living in the midst for its purpose. For three months Soli of people of all kinds it is difficult to prac- and I ran a campaign in India to interest tise the cardinal principles involved in our best in India and very largely succeed- Humata, Hukhta and Huvareshta. Soh- ed. I remained in India for further three rabji was trying hard and very largely months during which I had the co-opera- succeeding. tion and help of his brother Eh. Pesi Warden and his Sisters Mrs. Aimai Spen- A few words about his relationship with (now deceased) Mrs. Goolbanoo our Association. I remember well over Adenwalla and Mrs. Jerbanoo Patel. forty years ago Dr. Warden was giving his support and co-operation to our Asso ­ ciation during the days of our illustrious President, Chairman & Trustee, the late Sir Muncherjee Meherwanjee Bhowna- ggree, K.C.I.E., when our Association, though small in numbers, was vital to our Community. The Result of the success of that Scheme is today visible in this noble edifice and this enlarged Institution, this House of Zarathushtra which is being utilised by all the members of our Community for Wor- ’ ship, for Weddings, confirmation and other ceremonies. Lectures, cultural meet ­ ing Social meetings and for such other In the year 1937 Sohrabji was elected a purposes. The dream which we shared Member of the Managing Committee of with Dr. Sorabji, our Dasturji Saheb Dr. our Association and he had the record Kutar and Dr. Mrs. Kutar, and the mem- unbroken by anyone, before or since, of bers of our Committee was translated into having served on the Committee continr uously. During this period Dr. Warden filled the post of Hon. Secretary for five years during the second World War. Thereafter he was elected Vice-President and also the highest office of President was filled by him with dignity and high purpose. Apart from giving his Honorary Services breaking up unfortunately, only tempora- in ample measure he was a patron of our rily I hope, into permissiveness and Association. He knew the needs of pur irreligious chaos. Sohrabji was a truly people and he did all he could to donate religious man without making a show of collect Donations, Subscriptions, etc. reality and we were able to establish a £45,000 Institution successfully and with provision for its continuation into the forseable future. Such an achievement could only be brought about by stalwarts such as our Sohrabji and others who were resolute and dedicated to file religious cause, in the midst ojf a society which is his inner character. 41t- -J—. Sohrabji, we will not deny you the rest and peace and the Blessings of the Almighty in Paraddse which you have well deserved cm tllris Earth. We shall meet again. We have decided to bury our Soli’s ashes at our Brookwood Cemetery, and I propose to place a Memorial Plaque in our saggree at Brookwood. The Trus ­ tee has limited our expenses to £100 for funeral and such other expenses. How­ ever, we shall see to it that nothing is done which would be less than worthy for our Soli. Glory be to Ahura Mazda. ___ _ __ _ ________ _ Thereafter Dasturji Saheb Dr. Sohrabji who saw to all his creature comforts and Kutar, recited passages from the Gathas has been a companion for all these years, appropriate to the occasion and gave a In his own profession of Medicine and Dentistry, Dr. Warden worked very hard, inspite of occasional bouts of Asthma, but these attacks were not so frequent, as to take away from him the well-deserved credit of having his best professional ser ­ vices to a large number of his patients, as could be testified by a number of our members and friends who were ministered personally by Dr. Warden. (Congress members going to London were his patients for dentistry — amongst them Shri Vithalbhai Patel.) In 1932 Dr. Warden married and he h.as been looked after by Mrs. Rose Warden years. w sharing the happiness and responsiblities translation of same in English,^and^ he also of a wife. On behalf of the Members of our Asso ­ ciation gathered here today, and others who have been prevented from coming, ------------- on behalf of his friends and on behalf the wonderful life and achiewments^oi of my wife and myself I express to Mrs. Warden, to his brother Mr. Jimmy War ­ den, to the members of Dr. Warden ’s and paid his religious tribute to Dr. Warden upholding his life and righteousness of life. The following other Speakers also paid their trubutes and one and all admired •f this God’s Good Man, the Grand Old Man of our Association. Dr. Rustom M. Post who was a collea- Mrs. Wardens ’ Families in England and gue of Dr. Warden spoke of their college in India our expression of our deepest feel- days at the Grant Medical College in ing in their great loss, and may they have Bombay and how they came to England the grace of God with which to remember together and settled down, and cherish the memory of our dearly loved Sohrabji. I thank you all who have come from years, far and near t.o pay your tributes and to honour the memory of a Man who can Association, be taken as an example in our own lives in human relatioship and behaviour. We salute our old comrade and we give our thankfulness to God for the presence former chairman of Scindhia Steamships, in our midst of our Sohrabji for so many London. The following expressed their sentiments Mr. Rustam Medhora, a friend of many' Mr. Nariosang Maneckji Dhalla, a Trus- Mr. Cyrus P. Mehta, the Hon. Secretary of the Association Mr. Rustom Kumana, life member and 429 A sheaf of letters of condolence produc- members and an official of the ed at the Meeting. At the conclusion of these proceedings, the Hon. Secretary, Mr. Cyrus Mehta read out the Resolution of Condolence and the same was put to vote by the Chairman and was carried unanimously in silent agreement. Mr. Pestonji B. Press representing the younger Borough Council of Race Relations. Mr. Behli R. Irani, Committee Member Mr. Shahpur Captain, Committee Mem­ ber & financial adviser Mr. Summers, a near relation of Mrs. Rose Warden, expressed much surprise and deep satisfaction that Dr. Warden was held in such high esteem and honour. Mr. Rutton Shroff, a Committee Mem ­ ber. Mrs. Rose Warden ’s niece also paid her tribute. Mr. Kaiku Shroff, an elderly member and friend. Dr. (Mrs.) Shirinbanoo Kutar, the Vice- President, besides paying her tribute to Services be and are hereby Dr. Warden, also spoke about Mrs. Rose acknowledged with gratitude. ” It is also Resolved that the deepest sym ­ pathies of all present, be conveyed to Mrs. Warden, in this Country and other members of his family in India. This concluded the proceedings of the Memorial Meetings The Chairman thereafter invited all RESOLUTION “It is hereby Resolved at this Memorial Meeting, convened by the President, Vice-President, and Committee of The Incorporated Parsee Association of Euro ­ pe to place on record the outstanding Services and Benefactions of our Past- President, Honorary Member and Com­ mittee Member Dr. Sohrabji Byramji Warden over a period of half a century I Warden who had looked after her late husband for so many years and without which Dr. Warden could not have survi ­ ved for so long, also read a hand-written tribute of Dr. Warden to his wife thanking her for looking after him and acknowledge all she did for him. Mrs. Rose Warden at the conclusion of the Tributes thanked all those who had those present to proceed to the Dining come to honour her husband, on her own Hall for Tea. and on behalf of her family. The Portrait of Dr. Warden was pro ­ Mr. Jimmy Warden, the brother, thank- minently displayed throughout the proce ­ ed the Committee on behalf of his family edings with flowers. in India and his own behalf for arranging BOMBAY DIARY ON LATE SOH'RAB the Memorial Meeting, and the Speakers 'WARDEN for their tributes. minimum that Parsiana must insert. Telegram from the Warden Family in He was from his college days a member Bombay was read. of The Vegetarian and Temperance So- Also letter from Lady Frainy Dhunji- ciety of Bombay and a member in the bhoy Bomanji from Harrogate. true spirit in sympathy with the cause 43espoused by the society. He never drank, are sincere and have divined the people’s he never smoked and never ate meat. ‘He - instinct by passionately trusting their was a true vegetarian and at heart a own” (George Santayana). natural member of Jiv Daya Mtindali. His heart melt at the sufTering of any hu­ man being in distress. He passed from Grant Medical College in first batch of M.B.B.S., in 1914 and though away from home since then (with occasional visits to India) he remained deeply attached to the family till the last day of his life and re ­ mained equally attached to his land of birth. Unlike some shallow minds who disown their native tongue in one year of stay abroad he corresponded in Gujara ­ ti. He respected customs and religious It is not known to many that the idea behind securing a larger Zoroastrian House in London was to start a Dad-gah where fire could be kept and attended to night and day. The sincerest exponents of this idea where Dasturji Dr. Kutar, Mr. Jehangir Moos and Late Dr. Sohrab Warden and all others who now form the committee. An elderly parsi lady will­ ing to come over to London was invited to take charge of the new building and insti- tuition of Dadgah but due to international " rites and rituals. It was his wish that all inimigration rules, despite all assurances his ceremonies be performed in Fasli by the Parsee Association that she will not FireTeniple and there should be no excuse try to earn her living by any other em- for omission of any ceremony from the ployment and that the Association will orthodox list after his death. Mr. Jehan- maintain her for their own religions wel- girji Moos writes from London that all fare immigration permit was not given, the ceremonies that they could perform Even a whole-time mobed was not out of in London are done and will continue to be done. Here in Bombay we, his family members, likewise have all his ceremonies performed and have a programme to com­ plete them in toto including the presribed number of Vandidad as also Muktad in due course. We all believe in life after death. We all harbour the hope to meet again. Some of ms have already started reciting- 100,000 Atha Ahuvairyo for the salvation of the soul of the deceased. the picture but it was not in the luck of the Zoroastrians of Europe to get a Dad- gah. Some indiscreet person had wirtten in a newspaper that as a Setayashgah is established in London our Parsis will now go ceremony crazy in England too. acres. This is a healthy craze that sustains a high moral level. Individuals, families and nations degenerate from the point of time they begin to relax in this craze until We all believe in the effectiveness of their new wisdom proves them to be wise ­ ceremonies performed by priests and pra ­ yers recited by ourselves. “This is no machinatibn — Those will gain best who « P. B. 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Lakshmi Ins. Bldg. Sir P.M. Road, Bombay-1 Phones : aS-2lt6l6T. • Cables ; DAVERENGEM • Telex: BY 418 50HAOMA CULT * explained by : Ervad Dr. Phiroz Kotwal Go Groggy Turn Tipsy Look Lost. Someone amazed by his own dream centre of Avestan rituals. Prophet Haoma rose from the bed to find a bottle tugged introduced the ceremony of sanctification on to his boot. Who did it and why ? of ^nd by Haoma plant using its twigs in It was to make a dazed reformer sober with a drink of Haoma juice,. He who sought intoxication discovered exhilera- tion in the Haoma juice and Ervad Dr. Phiroz Kotwal of Bandra gave the sur- for officiating on and supervising over its prise to him, who had mis-matched the ceremonies. Haoma Yasht is dedicated bottfe. to Haoma Yazad. It comprises fragments of HAS 9, 10 and 11 of Yejashne and forms principal part of liturgy. In this the ceremony and the ritual of “Yeja- shne ”. After setting up this ceremony he made Haoma Yazad the governing diety •» Under the auspices of Bandra Zoroas- tfian Association Dr. Kotwal explained that there was a man named Haoma ceremony twigs of Haoma plant are poun- during Peshdadian dynasty. He had ded in a brass mortar with a brass pestle attained a very high spiritual level reach- ringing out the metallic sounds as a part ing that of a Prophet. In short he was a gf common practice in most religions. Like prophet in his days and He was the one who had started Mazdayasni daena that continues down to this day in the basic religious tenets we Parsis hold dear to our heart. Intuition impelled him to the dis- :covery of Haoma plant as a Means of Grace, divine ordiii^yces by which divine grace reaches the Smarts of men by cere- Haoma retained the good elements of and monial and ritualistic iM^actice^ followed from the ancient Mazdayasni religion of sincerely. Haoma plant grows in the high Haoma — particularly the rituals of Hao- mountainouS districts of Iran ind'Central ma and Barasam, tying of Kusti round Asia. In Bundehshn Haoma plaflit is des^ the waist and the worship and the praise cribed as “Urvaran Rad ’V (dy^f of the of fire as in Atash-ni-Nyas. Likewise our plants) as it has medicinal properties for basic most ancient prayers Yatha-Ahu good of the bodily health, and spiritual Vairyo, Ashem Vohu and Yenghe-Hatam, properties for the uplift ‘of man ’s soul which are known prior to advent of Zara- to the understanding of divine wisdom, thushtra were retained from Prophet For the latter reason Haoma forms the Haoma ’s religion of Mazdayasnism. twigs of most plants Haoma also gives out a juice but it is invigorating and not into ­ xicating. It does not ferment to give any beverage for any hard drink. Any such insinuation is mischievous and mean. Prophet Zoroaster who came ages after ¦ 3f * 53Haoma is a prophet, Haoma is a plant,, Haoma is a ritual and there is also a divine athelete of the same name. Haoma as a cult is the most effective ritual if sincerely practised. Vivanghan, Athavian, Thraeta and Pourushasp by de­ voted worship of Haoma got noble sons like Jamshid, Faridoon, Kershasp and Zarathushtra. How noble and lofty must be the cult to bestow on the worshipper such supreme gift of such superb souls as sons. Such fathers with such devotion and such noble sons to them make our ins ­ piring religious history. Haoma gives noble children to women who worship Him sincerely and Haoma punishes an insincere mobed who makes fun of his ritual and petforms the ceremdny per ­ functorily without due adherence to the prescribed form. References to Haoma come also in Gaosh Yasht and Ashiswangh Yasht. Therein the powerful athelete Haoma catches hold of Turani Afrashiab from the belt around his waist and carries him bodily to King Kaikhushru for justice. Our Kushti around our waist has a similar implication of a powerful grip of extra ordinary moral strength in the wearer. Haoma has been treated in full details with interesting and instructive explana ­ tions in Parsiana of April 1968 (VOL. IV. No. 6) (Few copies are available) Haoma cult soon became the pivotal ritual in all ceremonies. Haoma Yazad had advised Prophet Zarathushtra to per ­ form this ceremony preferably in Havan Gah, which he did with success in induc­ ing Queen Hutoxa (wife of King Gush- tasp) to accept his teachings. 4 54 K. BOMANJI SONS Sandalwood Dealers (Retailer and Wholesaler) * DADYSETH AGIARI DR. DADABHAI NAOROJI ROAD, FORT, BOMBAY-I. ¦» «¦ 1 I» SHAPUR FAREDUN DESAI Shapur F. Desai, Secretary to the Parsi Punchayat of Bombay has retired for reasons of health after diligent uninterrup ­ ted service to the institution, looking after the management and welfare of the com­ munity in a very laudable manner. After retirement of Mr. Jal Bulsara the Former Secretary, the post was divided into two for more efficient handling of the wide affairs. 38 years ago Mr- Shapur Desai joined the office and took over the burden and discharged it with admirable success, in their respective assignments. Shapur had a broad, cultured and re ­ fined outlook on all the departments he handled. He was a man of tact, quick grasp and ready decision which expedited a lot more work than would have piled up. He was a man of letters and has written a number of books on the sociological aspects of Parsi society in evolution with an anthropological bias towards it. This was natural to him as he is inclined to ­ wards and well-versed in the broad bases of anthropology and acts as the Hon. Secretary of Bombay Anthropology Socie­ ty, which owes much to him for his series of lectures and contributions to its journal. He has not only done the Secretarial work but it being the secretarial work of an institution with innumerable ramifica ­ tions and problems he has not allowed his experiece to go waste but collected them, commented on them and correlated them with other men occupying similar chair. One amongst his good publication is “Trust Secretary ” acclaimed by a wide number of its readers and recommendable to young men hereafter aspiring to that onerous and thankless post. Shapur had travelled wide and his ex­ perience and studies helped him to start a number of productive and educative institutions and departments, which func­ tion to-day as aids to our community. They all function to his credit. SHAPUR is an author of several learned and interesting books; amongst them Changing Social Structure, Parsees and Eugenics and Community at the Cross- Road are outstanding contributions to the understanding of the problems of the Com­ munity. Our population. Housing, Edu­ cation, Health are narrated on scientific, methodical and~ statistical bases. They can permanently be our ground work for' study and application but statistics must always change and we must keep track of it if any long term plan is to be operative for the good of the community. Shapur ! You have done wonderfully well. Wish our community a worthy successor in the New Year and thereafter. 55I (A Meeting of the Worthies) WELCOMING Y. Z. 1340 9 1 1 f In the glorious garden of Muktad on the Roof Garden of the Palace of King Jamshid was held a meeting of true Parsi Zoroastrians to inauguarte the New Year Yazdezardi 1340. King Jamshid had visualised this ages ago in his Jam-eJam- shid (the cup of Jamshid in which future could be seen). During an imposing sacred ceremony of Yazeshne invitations were extended to the Heavenly Powers, included or failed to be included in the Gathas,. as the august energies that propel the community forward on its march to healthy survival and progress. Owing to His Universal Engagements Ahura Mazda did not attend. Those present were : Other Amesaspands. Yezatas (33 Farishtas) Farohars of the Forgotten Worthies and the Anjuman-e-Parsianan-e-Hind I ! * I, I It was proposed that Mr. Siavux Vakil be asked to take the chair as the problems of Y. Z. 1340 are likely to be legal — to introduce such Acts or modify such other Acts to bring the community in line with the advances made by other communities with regard to Law of Adoption and Testamentary restrictions, which have al ­ ready been published in Parsiana. Mr. Hirjibehdin then rose and gave a forceful speech advocating changes in several out-dated and outmoded Trusts and to release those hide-bound trust moneys for use of present day needs of the community. He reminded the Mehefil that he had in mind one of the Trustees who would put all trusts in line with pre ­ sent, needs in one year. A Jame-Jamshid reader got up and ask ­ ed what stopped him ? Reply was reserved by the Chairman pending inquiry from Kaiser-i-Hind. A member of the Irani Anjuman pro ­ posed that all Parsi Newspapers, which are now behaving as problem papers should grow to adult stature ahd hot wash dirty linen in non-Parsi districts. The Mehefil passed the following reso ­ lution. “Resolved that the entire com­ munity shall behave itself with dignity and that “Parsi teri Arsi ” will reflect more cheerful aspects of Parsi Samachar. Approved and noted. Some Parsiana members proposed that priority be given to Housing and suggested that Trustees should form^ and Farohars With malice to P. B. W. your friends and 59