Resolution refrain

I am glad that three of our priests have seen the light to a limited extent. However they need to explain why they favor the Parsi fathers. At one time, in male dominated India of decades ago, that was just a legal ruling. However there is no basis in science to think that the children of Parsi mothers are any less than the children of Parsi fathers. A basic knowledge of genetics tells you that the child inherits equally from both parents. The children of one Parsi parent, whether mother or father should be welcomed by them, as they already are welcomed by the community at large.

The children are not born with any religion so there is no question of converting them, just starting them off with the Zarathushti religion and Parsi ethni­city, if both parents are of one accord on this matter.

JAMSHED R. UDVADIA

Lansing, Michigan, USA

"Do not believe anything on the authority of either priests or teachers. Whatever accords with your experience and after thorough investigation agrees with your reason and is conducive to your own welfare and that of all other living beings, that you accept as truth and live accordingly,” was the message of Gautama Buddha.

Bertrand Russell, a noted philosopher held that: "Some very important virtues are more likely to be found among those who reject religious dogmas than among those who accept them.”

Over the centuries our priests have filled our lives with all manner of rituals and customs, so much so that we seem to be pushing our Prophet’s concepts to the background.

We socialize with non-Parsis, eat and drink with them, share our joys and sorrows but refuse to let them participate in our religious practices. This vicious practice of social apartheid must be removed. We are no holier than any parjaat (non-Zoroastrian); many of us are worse in fact.

We Parsis should decide what we want or do not want. No priests can assume the prerogative to do so. Religion is a personal equation between a Zoroastrian and Ahura Mazda. Let us keep it that way.

All priests should be employees of anjumans or the punchayets under written contract so that it is the Parsi community which controls the priests and not the other way around. Such a contract must include a clause which debars a priest from stating anything orally or in writing what is considered by the anjuman to be detrimental to any living being. Any priest who infringes this clause must be removed from service for "undesirable activity.” We will of course consider the advice of priests but will accept only what is good for the welfare of all living beings.

The Bombay Parsi Punchayet should organize a computerized data base of all priests in the community. The data should include name, age, state of health, education and religious qualifications, whether involved in any police case/litigation, personal deportment, etc. All dismissals must be reported to the data base. This will help the anjumans in selecting good priests. Anjumans will also do well to select their trustees with care. Trustees must declare in writing their assets, their education qualifications, whether involved in any police case or litigation.

We need to review all our rituals and customs so that irrelevant, obscurantist items are discarded. A community poll should be taken on their retention/dismissal.

Burning fire 24 hours a day, 365 days a year does not bestow any sanctity to an agiary. It uses enormous quantity of wood which denudes the forest cover of our planet. The fire produces smoke and poisonous gases that choke our lungs and hurt our eyes.

How can the boi practice maintain the sanctity of a structure we call an agiary? The boi is probably an invention of our priests to justify their perpetual employment. We believe that our prayers create power through vibrations. We need to pray in our spoken language. Total silence should be maintained during religious ceremonies to show some respect for the performing priests and also not to disturb people who want to pray.

Our traditional system of dakhmen-ashini is unworkable due to absence of birds, and the ritual of showing the body to a dog to establish final death or some such obscure reason makes a mockery of our intelligence.

When Zarathushtra began his preaching there were no Zoroastrians. It was when the parjaats embraced his teachings that Zoroastrianism was born. Zarathushtra did not place any cut off date after which no more parjaats can join the faith.

Our customs promote the intake of nirang (consecrated bull’s urine) by Zoroastrians to make us "pure.” May I suggest to our priests to replace the urine with Scotch whisky and annoint this liquid with the non-stop prayers by a battery of priests? I am sure we will all be happy and demand one for the road on every occasion we are required to sip this sacred liquid.

Lt Col (Retd) K. G. JALNAWALA

Ahmednagar