“The real danger”

Vispy Wadia, trustee, Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism (ARZ), asks what did Zarathushtra preach, Zoroastrianism or Parsi-ism ("The real danger,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, January 2005)?

The answer to the above question clearly lies in the proclamation of the great Achaemenian King, Darius the Great. This proclamation has been etched at Naqsh-e-Rustom, Iran stating, "Parsa Parsa-ha Puthra, Arya, Arya Chithra [I am Darius, the great king, king of kings, king of the countries of all races, king of this far-reaching earth, son of Hystaspes, the Achaemenian, a Parsa (Persian), the son of a Parsa, an Arya (Aryan) of Aryan lineage].”

The intentions of Wadia may be good, but his objective remains suspect. He writes, "It is important ‘not’ to lose any intermarried Parsi and their progeny.” Since there is no such thing as "half a Parsi Zoroastrian,” these intermarried Parsis and their progeny are already lost and, of course, through their own personal choice.

Ethically, morally and logically "the intermarried Parsi and their progeny” have no locus standi, and to accept them into our religion against all our fundamental ethos, precepts and tenets could only be "tantamount to hypocrisy and deceit.”

Some of our revered priests and trustees are totally responsible for bringing upon us this current situation created by their vested interests, lies, double standards and above all, their despicable failure in the performance of their solemn duty — to preserve and protect their race and religion — the only reason for which our forefathers left their Fatherland, Ayran, and took refuge in our Motherland, Hindustan.

I wish to quote the legal opinion of my very dear friend, the late Justice Jamshed E. Sanjana, on the Neville and Nusli Wadia navjotes: "There is no provision of law to recognize non-Parsi persons as Parsi Zoroastrians after performing rituals like the navjote and hence no priest (mobed) or dastur can legally perform any rituals such as a navjote and admit any person who is a non-Parsi in the Parsi (Zoroastrian) faith... I am basing my legal opinion in this behalf of law pronounced in the case of Maneka Gandhi vs. Indira Gandhi (see A.I.R. Vol. 72, 1985 October, pp 81-83 in the article by Justice M. L. Jain).”

Over the last 35 years or more, ever since I have been involved with this controversy at home and abroad, I have maintained that we must seriously consider adopting the solution wisely accepted by the Jewish community. When faced with exactly the same dilemma as ours, after a lot of squabbles, ill feelings and violent confrontations, the intermarried Jews and their progeny were helped by the entire Jewish community to form a separate identity — that of ‘Reformist Jews.’ New institutions were formed giving the intermarried Jews and their progeny the dignity and the right to worship Judaism in their own way and in accordance with their own rules and values and yet accepting them as equals in all other aspects with mutual respect. The Jewish community today vibrates with prosperity and power all over the world and the members are in total harmony amongst themselves.

I am in agreement with Wadia when he says, "The creation of a Zoroastrian world body is a step in the right direction.” Take this opportunity and call this new body — The World Reformist Zoroastrian Body because that is what it actually would be in reality.

Ervad DARIUS N. SETHNA