“Resolution refrain”

Now that it has been shown

•that the six High Priests had not done their homework either in law or religion

•that the diktat sought to make legally valid marriages invalid, and legitimate children illegitimate

•that they had no locus standi in the first place, since they are not the Pope, and we are not Roman Catholics

•that in their view it is more religious to ‘live in’ with a non-Parsi than marry him

•that there are sufficient right thinking priests who are willing and able to follow the law and their conscience

we should not give these persons any importance by writing any further on the subject. Their act of folly probably prompted by the realization that they are losing their hold on the laity has only resulted in their losing whatever respect they enjoyed. Their being allowed to fade into oblivion would be a fitter punishment than writing against their views.

KHORSHED JAVERI

I am giving hereunder an extract from the Vendidad which throws some light on ‘sins and punishment’ and which has some relevance for accepting people of other faiths into our religion.

Extracts from the Vendidad — Translated by James Darmesteter from The Sacred Books of the East:

"36(122). O maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within half a year, what is the penalty he shall pay?

"Ahura Mazda answered: ‘500 stripes with the Aspahe-astra (a thong), 500 stripes with the ‘Sraosho-karna.’

"37(126). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within a year, what is the penalty that he shall pay?

"Ahura Mazda answered: ‘1,000 stripes of the Aspahe-astra, 1,000 stripes with the Sraosho-karna.’

"38(130). O maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the earth, either the corpse of a dog, or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not disinter it within the second year, what is the penalty for it? What is the atonement for it? What is the cleansing from it?

"39(135). Ahura Mazda answered: ‘For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone, nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no atonement, for ever and for ever.’

"40(137). When is it so? ‘It is so, if the sinner be a professor of the religion of Mazda, or one who has been taught in it. But if he be not a professor of the religion of Mazda, nor one who has been taught in it, then his sin is taken from him, if he makes confession of the religion of Mazda and resolves never to commit again such forbidden deeds.

"41(142). ‘The Religion of Mazda indeed, O Spitama Zarathushtra takes away from him who makes confession of it the bonds of sin; it takes away (the sin of) breach of trust; it takes away (the sin of) murdering one of the faithful; it takes away (the sin of) burying a corpse; it takes away (the sin of) deeds for which there is no atonement; it takes away the worst sin usury; it takes away any sin that may be sinned.’”

Some simple questions which come to our mind are:

If we go by the above extract, does it not mean that a practice of ‘accepting’ people into our faith existed in those days?

If a person, who is a great sinner but of alien faith can be accepted in the religion of Mazda, why should the innocent children born out of inter-caste marriages (where one of the spouse is a Zoroastrian) be denied acceptance into our religion?

One more question, this is just by the way: If the scriptures prescribed the practice of consigning the corpse of a dog also to dakhma, why have we stopped it now? Are we not committing a great sin by burying our dogs, at least in towns where dakhmas are available?

KERSEE KABRAJI

Poona

People may say I am still inexperienced and that I know nothing since I am only 12 years old. But I do know. Sometimes children understand things in simple ways, while adults need to find complicated reasons and ways to achieve things. I know what it feels like to be left out of things such as secrets, friendships, those tiny things that matter. It makes you understand what it feels like to be left out of something you were rightfully born into and have every right to. Ban non-Parsis from entering our temples if you have to, but to ban a true pure blooded Zoroastrian from believing in his or her own God, is true ignorance on every side. Our community has rich customs; a heritage like ours should be preserved for a long time. We have always been known as a peace-loving community. By excommunicating us, you are not in any way stopping our minds from still believing in the same God or prophet we always believed in. You are stopping us from entering temples, the Towers of Silence, from openly practising what we believe in. And from this rule, we expect our community to stop dying out? Imagine the number of old people who are going to convert, and think of different ways to be buried or cremated because you have forbidden their loved ones from entering the Towers of Silence, from paying their last respects to people they have loved and shared their lives with. You will only have caused anger towards yourself.

Where, in our community, does it state that Parsis can be excommunicated? Even if they are married to people of different faiths, they do not have to suffer, because marriage and religion, are totally different things. Marriage is about finding your soul mate, someone you want to live with forever. Religion is about peace, unity, love, devotion and a person’s belief in God. You do not need to be in a temple to pray. You can be anywhere, anytime, in need, or just praying as a tribute to the person who created everything that you enjoy today. Today, religion is just another way to gain attention, or power, whichever comes first. Let’s not be like everyone. Let’s be a different kind of religion, one that takes into consideration, thinks of what our own God would say.

What will eventually happen is our community will have different thoughts towards people we once respected. Zarathushtra will still love the people the High Priests may banish. You cannot tell him not to. Just as you cannot tell a person not to celebrate Navroz, not to pray, not to wear the sudreh and kusti, not to believe in God.

Let’s not allow our precious, special religion to fade away in such a state. Let it prosper, even if that means performing the navjote of a half Parsi.

RHEA CAWSI DHANBHOORA

The experience I have gained by being in Delhi and Bangalore is worth narrating. In Delhi no distinction is made between girls married to Zoroastrians or outsiders. The clergy/anjuman encourages the girls to visit places of worship, religious and social gatherings and to take part in the welfare development activities. These girls are an asset and pride of the community. On the other hand, in Bangalore, girls married to outsiders are treated shabbily. It is not known what good has come from the unwarranted attitude of the clergy/anjuman. Doesn’t the community have any responsibility towards their sisters?

DALI J. GUNDEVIA

We, the trustees of The Bangalore Parsee Zoroastrian Anjuman, are distraught to see the name of Dastur Nadirshah P. Unvalla in the recent articles published in the media with regard to the High Priest status of our revered Dastur.

Way back in 1996, out of genuine respect, admiration and appreciation of not only his religious but also social leadership, the Parsi Zoroastrian community of Bangalore honored and elevated Ervad Unvalla to the position of a Dastur. Since then several institutions, anjumans, scholars, high priests and dignitaries have extended their felicitations to Unvalla, thereby recognizing his elevated status of a Dastur. Vada Dasturs of the eminence of the late Dastur Kai­kobad Dastoor (Udvada), the late Sardar Dastur Hormazdiar Dastur (Poona), had extended their respective felicitations to Unvalla. Institutions like the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, Athornan Mandal, The Bombay Jashan Committee, Poona Par­see Panchayat, Dadar Jashan Trust, Iran League, the Madras Parsi Zarthosti Anjuman, Parsi Zoroastrian Anju­man of Secunderabad and Hyderabad and the World Zoroastrian Organisation had recognized the status of the Dastur conferred upon Unvalla by the ever appreciative and grateful Zoroastrian community of Bangalore.

Further, scholars and well wishers like the late Ervad (Dr) Peshotan F. Peer, Ervad (Dr) Rooyintan P. Peer, the late Roni Khan, Eruch B. Desai, Rustom S. Gae and Rusi A. Dhondy had acknowledged and felicitated the Dastur’s status bestowed upon Unvalla. Even the Jam-e-Jamshed dated June 16, 1996 widely covered the stated felicitation held in Bangalore. In effect, the very fact that the other Dasturs have signed the recent resolutions with Unvalla, has unequivocally put a stamp of approval of the Dastur status.

We have no intentions to either enter into any kind of debate or even offer clarifications in the matter. As far as the Bangalore Anjuman is concerned Unvalla is our respected and revered High Priest and will continue to remain so for all time to come.

ADIL J. GOVADIA

Honorary secretary, for and on behalf of the board of trustees of The Bangalore Parsee Zoroastrian Anjuman