Editorial Viewpoint
The temples of the fires
Parsis and Zoroastrians are often referred to as fire worshipers, much to their chagrin and embarrassment. While worshiping of fire as well as other natural elements was part of ancient religious practice, even today many Parsis attribute divine qualities to fire. Many worshipers kneel and prostrate before the consecrated fire in the atash behrams, agiaries and dadgahs.
Non-Parsis are barred from entering or viewing the ‘holy’ fire on grounds that their presence will pollute the fire and disturb the vibrating fields surrounding it. Thus the fire is not only sacred, it is also vulnerable. In Iran however any person can enter specified areas of a fire-temple; the Iranian fires can either withstand this ‘disturbance’ or they have lost their potency and are no different from non consecrated fires!
Priests tell us of the rites and rituals involved in the shifting of consecrated fires. No non-Parsi eye should behold the fires on their journeys. The flames have to be covered from prying eyes and even the sun. The shifting of the fire from Aden to Lonavla near Bombay in 1976 and the fire from Navsari to Godrej Baug in 1999 have become part of our folklore. Thousands witnessed the shiftings and the ‘enthronements.’ The media gave the events considerable coverage. Is it any wonder then that we are referred to as fire worshipers?
Islam permits no idols, no images. In Christianity Christ is considered the son of God and the cross is a symbol of his suffering. In Buddhism two schools of thought prevail, one that says no image of the Buddha is to be worshiped, the other worships before his statues. In Hinduism the elements and nature are revered as also the pantheon of Gods and deities.
When we enter some of our fire-temples we see portraits of Shah Faredoon and Dastur Kookadaru amongst others. In some agiaries garlands are placed on their photographs/pictures. At the Sagdi at Doongerwadi a photo of Kookadaru is mounted on the bars through which Parsis view the fire. We seem to be diversifying in our worship.
On Avan mah, Avan roz, Parsis pay homage to water. Sweetmeats, coconuts and flowers are thrown in the sea/water. At the Bhikha Behram Well Parsis drink the water declared unfit for human consumption by the Bombay Municipal Corporation. The devout believe the water has miraculous or other powers to help heal ills.
At the meeting convened by The Parsee Voice at the Framjee Cawasjee Hall on June 10, 2004 one orthodox scholar cited scripture stating fire to be the son of God. The meeting had been convened by the conservative journal to protest against the proposed housing developments at the Dadysett Atash Behram in Bombay’s Fanaswadi area.
With the shift to the suburbs, the fire-temples in South Bombay languish for worshipers, while in the suburbs, Parsis face a dearth of places of worship.
With 46 agiaries/dadgahs and four atash behrams in Bombay and a Parsi population of maybe 45,000, the spectre of survival of our religious institutions looms large.
Trustees and priests bemoan the financial burden they face running their agiaries. Assuming each fire-temple employs two people at an average salary of Rs 4,000 a month, the annual cost for the 50 or so fire-temples to the Bombay community is (Rs 4,000 x 2 = Rs 8,000 x 50 = 4,00,000 x 13 months, one bonus included) Rs 52,00,000 a year.
Add to this property taxes, maintenance costs, kathi and miscellaneous expenses of around one lakh per agiary per annum, Rs 1,00,000 x 50 = Rs 50,00,000. Hence the total comes to around Rs 1,02,00,000. Divide the figure by the number of Parsis in Bombay, say around 45,000, the amount works out to Rs 226 a Parsi a year. Part of the cost is met from the trust funds and part from donations and offerings made by devotees.
Most fire-temples cannot afford security guards but if you were to add three security guards (each on an eight-hour shift) at Rs 3,000 a guard
Non-Parsis are barred from entering or viewing the ‘holy’ fire on grounds that their presence will pollute the fire and disturb the vibrating fields surrounding it. Thus the fire is not only sacred, it is also vulnerable. In Iran however any person can enter specified areas of a fire-temple; the Iranian fires can either withstand this ‘disturbance’ or they have lost their potency and are no different from non consecrated fires!
Priests tell us of the rites and rituals involved in the shifting of consecrated fires. No non-Parsi eye should behold the fires on their journeys. The flames have to be covered from prying eyes and even the sun. The shifting of the fire from Aden to Lonavla near Bombay in 1976 and the fire from Navsari to Godrej Baug in 1999 have become part of our folklore. Thousands witnessed the shiftings and the ‘enthronements.’ The media gave the events considerable coverage. Is it any wonder then that we are referred to as fire worshipers?
Islam permits no idols, no images. In Christianity Christ is considered the son of God and the cross is a symbol of his suffering. In Buddhism two schools of thought prevail, one that says no image of the Buddha is to be worshiped, the other worships before his statues. In Hinduism the elements and nature are revered as also the pantheon of Gods and deities.
When we enter some of our fire-temples we see portraits of Shah Faredoon and Dastur Kookadaru amongst others. In some agiaries garlands are placed on their photographs/pictures. At the Sagdi at Doongerwadi a photo of Kookadaru is mounted on the bars through which Parsis view the fire. We seem to be diversifying in our worship.
On Avan mah, Avan roz, Parsis pay homage to water. Sweetmeats, coconuts and flowers are thrown in the sea/water. At the Bhikha Behram Well Parsis drink the water declared unfit for human consumption by the Bombay Municipal Corporation. The devout believe the water has miraculous or other powers to help heal ills.
At the meeting convened by The Parsee Voice at the Framjee Cawasjee Hall on June 10, 2004 one orthodox scholar cited scripture stating fire to be the son of God. The meeting had been convened by the conservative journal to protest against the proposed housing developments at the Dadysett Atash Behram in Bombay’s Fanaswadi area.
With the shift to the suburbs, the fire-temples in South Bombay languish for worshipers, while in the suburbs, Parsis face a dearth of places of worship.
With 46 agiaries/dadgahs and four atash behrams in Bombay and a Parsi population of maybe 45,000, the spectre of survival of our religious institutions looms large.
Trustees and priests bemoan the financial burden they face running their agiaries. Assuming each fire-temple employs two people at an average salary of Rs 4,000 a month, the annual cost for the 50 or so fire-temples to the Bombay community is (Rs 4,000 x 2 = Rs 8,000 x 50 = 4,00,000 x 13 months, one bonus included) Rs 52,00,000 a year.
Add to this property taxes, maintenance costs, kathi and miscellaneous expenses of around one lakh per agiary per annum, Rs 1,00,000 x 50 = Rs 50,00,000. Hence the total comes to around Rs 1,02,00,000. Divide the figure by the number of Parsis in Bombay, say around 45,000, the amount works out to Rs 226 a Parsi a year. Part of the cost is met from the trust funds and part from donations and offerings made by devotees.
Most fire-temples cannot afford security guards but if you were to add three security guards (each on an eight-hour shift) at Rs 3,000 a guard
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