Mobed Bhandara honored

"Mobed Zarrir Bhandara, I wish you a life blessed in the service of Ahura Mazda and pray that you will continue to inspire our future generation to serve our community by keeping the flame alive.” Mobed Bahram Shahzadi, head priest of the California Zoroastrian Center in Westminster, California intoned his benediction on the young priest who has already completed 33 years of service, 19 in India and 14 of them in caring for the Zarathushti community of Southern California. The well attended event at the California Zoroastrian Center on April 16, 2005 had been jointly hosted by the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA), the North American Mobeds Council (NAMC), the Zoroastrian Association of California (ZAC) and the California Zoroastrian Center (CZC) at the request of the Zarathushti community of the region. This Parsiana report is based on the information supplied by the event’s principal organizer and joint master of ceremony Meher Amalsad.

In his prayer-benediction Shahzadi was accompanied by the mobeds of Southern California. Thereafter all the other felicitations were read, including India based Dastur (Dr) Firoze Kotwal’s prayer to Ahura Mazda "to bestow his divine blessings on Zarrir till the last breath of his life.” Firdosh Mehta, president of FEZANA, led the various North American dignitaries "to show our gratitude for his selfless service, priestly dignity and deep sense of religiosity. His efforts in creating awareness of our faith amongst the community-at-large has made him a goodwill ambassador of our Zarathushti community.” Noted Ervad (Dr) Jehan Bagli, president of NAMC, "It is gratifying to see that his services in creating heightened awareness of the Zarathushti religion are duly recognized by the community members.”

Bhandara with co-hosts Amalsad and Armita Dalal and with his family (far right)

Mahinbanoo Sassani, president of the board of trustees, CZC, noted her pride in having a dedicated young mobed like Bhandara within the Southern California fraternity while Mehrdad Mondegari, president of the Center’s board of directors called him "a ray of hope and inspiration to all of us,” gratefully acknowledging the priest’s effort in the religious classes that he started at the Center for the spiritual training of children of the area. "Proud to be an integral part of this auspicious occasion,” Dr Khushroo Lakda­walla, president of ZAC, placed on record Bhandara’s "33 years of relentless religious and community service.”

ZAC past president Dolly Malva spoke of Bhandara’s unstinted help to any community member in distress, regardless of whether or not the person was affiliated to the association. She noted that he had performed well over 1,000 funeral ceremonies in the course of his career hitherto. Referring to Bhandara’s "long and distinguished career as a religious, spiritual and business leader,” Rohinton Rivetna, as president of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce, noted, "We shall look to his support to energize the entrepreneurial spirit in our community.”

The encomiums were not restricted to North America. They flowed in from the UK, Pakistan, New Zealand and Singapore. Dorab Mistry, president of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe commended the young priest’s "silent and honorary services,” Karachi Zarthosti Banu Mandal’s Toxy Cowasjee commended not only "a life well spent,” but the host organizations "for unifying and celebrating (it).” "We are all proud of you the world over,” wrote Darius Mistry on behalf of the Zoroastrian Community of New Zealand. And on behalf of the Zoroastrians of Singapore and South East Asia their president Rustom Ghadiali congratulated Bhandara for "a journey well traveled.”

To Amalsad, "this was an occasion not only for Mobed Zarrir Bhandara but also for all those who over the years stood beside him and for every Zara­thushti priest across the globe… who now has a chance to be honored in the future because a special door has now been opened for all of them.” Undoubtedly, a precedent has been set in the diaspora. However, some years ago, the Navsari Parsi Association had held a series of functions in Bombay and Udvada to honor mobeds who had spent their life serving the community, presenting them substantial purses donated by philanthropist NarYman Dubash.

The Bombay born Bhandara is an alumnus of the Cama Athornan Madressa in Andheri at a time when Kotwal was principal of the institution. He became a navar at the Rustam Framna Agiary in Dadar and maratab at the Banaji Atash Behram. At the end of the four-year course of interdisciplinary training organized by the Athravan Educational Trust, Bhandara had graduated at the top of his batch. According to Amalsad, Bhandara "pioneered a tradition of holding a unified communal festival of the souls through only one prayer ceremony.” He is said to be training post-navjote boys for initiation as navar and is planning to organize a weekly humban­dagi for the Southern California community.

Amalsad speaks of Bhandara’s major motorcycle accident in 1994 when his leg was sandwiched between the center divider of the freeway and a speeding car. He is said to have bled so heavily, the doctors doubted his survival. When he did survive, they doubted he’d walk again. Happily, he lived to walk his talk.

Writes Amalsad, "Mobed Bhandara believes that a priest should be a living witness, reflecting a life of a true Zarathushti and taking care of all living beings, as Zarathushtra did. Their lives need to attract and inspire everybody they meet. We know that Mobed Bhandara lives what he believes. It is because in his love of truth he has demonstrated the truth of love and instead of the love of power he has always focused on the power of love for which we salute him…”