“The broken barrier”

In his letter ("The broken barrier,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, December 21, 2005) Ervad Darius Sethna contrasts the "pseudo” reformist Jews with the real orthodox Jews. While most reformist Jews believe in God, there are some reconstructionists Jews who do not. There is also a large group of conservative Jews. The reformist and conservative Jews accept converts as do the orthodox. They may not accept converts in Israel unless he or she converts to the orthodox branch.

Even before the reformist movement began, a Jew was defined as a person who had a Jewish mother. If a Jewish woman married a Christian or Moslem and the family wanted to raise the children in the Jewish faith, the children and the mother were welcome in the synagogues.

So according to the logic of Sethna’s letter real Zoroastrians should accept converts and they should welcome the children of Zoroastrian women who have married a person of another faith.

EDWARD WOOLF

Georgia, USA

Once again, I am in total agreement with the editorial viewpoint "The broken barrier,” (Parsiana, September 7, 2005) stating: "The breaking of the arbitrary barriers and social taboos meant that the intermarried who had been shunned and ostracized were willing to assert their religious rights (their fundamental right to worship). More importantly, the children of such marriages could now enter a place of Zoroastrian worship with their heads held high, rather than surreptitiously be taken into the portals of a house of God.”

Obviously, the writer means that the "children of such marriage could now enter a place of Zoroastrian worship as established by this newly formed ‘pseudo Zoroastrian order’ without trespassing upon the time-honored and established consecrated places of Parsi/Irani Zoroastrian worship. Needless to say, these revered places of worship are only meant for the specific use of those born of both Parsi/Irani Zoroastrian parents. Every trust deed endorsed by our forefathers substantiates this fact and this principle without a shadow of doubt.

The immense benefits that this newly formed pseudo Zoroastrian order will bring to our controversy torn community is unimaginable.

The noble founders and initiators of this newly formed pseudo Zoroastrian order need not waste their valuable money, energy and efforts on giving threatening and intimidating advertisements in the Jam-e-Jamshed pronouncing doom and gloom for the Parsi/Irani community with the decline in numbers. They are now totally free to increase the numbers of the so-called Zoroastrians as they wish or deem fit, assuring, not harming, those who wish to maintain their pure origin and those who prefer quality against quantity and above all, their spiritual and physical identity as ordained in nature and by genetics.

This newly formed order embraces the basic philosophy, agenda and the mandate of the World Zoroastrian Organisation (WZO) and can fully accommodate their needs and requirements by serving the so called Zoroastrians which the WZO wishes to serve. In fact the WZO has no logical reason now to form another new world body to fulfill its modus operandi.

Unfortunately, in the light of the formation of this order the newly formed World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis (WAPIZ) becomes purposeless as the sole purpose of WAPIZ was to counter the proposed world body by the WZO. The Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism (ARZ) eliminates any dramatically created fears by WAPIZ suggesting that our established religious institutions and their trust funds are in danger of being taken over by those considered non-Zoroastrians (may they be inter-married or converts).

My traditional and orthodox comrades are up in arms and rightly so. We read view points like "Hypocrisy – Thy name is ARZ – cruel mockery of Zoroastrian rituals and an abject insult to our Holy Prophet.” Obviously I am in total agreement with their sentiments, their feelings and their expression as we share common goals and purpose.

But the pertinent question to be asked and answered here is: Would they rather suffer mockery of the Zoroastrian rituals and religion in their own consecrated places of worship or let it happen outside that perimeter? At least the desecration and defilement which is currently taking place by those who are considered unacceptable will now continue in their own form of worship. And what is so wrong with that?

The double standards adopted by the practicing athornans is the root cause of all this controversy and decadence in our noble community and it is also destroying all that we wish to preserve and protect.

Dasturs and mobeds will now have no reason or any flimsy excuse to bow under pressure, intimidation and threats of ‘legal action’ from the Bombay Parsi Punchayet or the agents of WZO harboring therein. There will be no need for the clergy now to violate and withdraw from their own religious convictions and worse still, revoke and alter their confirmed religious resolutions passed and signed strictly as per the ethos of our faith and religion. Unless, of course for personal gain and vested interests as has been known to happen.

There is no shortage of Mullas, Madons and Masanis and now even Mirzas have joined the circus to cater to and serve the needs of this newly formed pseudo Zoroastrian order and therefore there will be no need for any dastur or mobed to act or perform any rituals which may be against the dictates of our sacred faith and religion, unless of course for personal gain and vested interest.

The theory of relativity, also known as relative dynamics, is no longer a theory. Unity only exists in diversity. Only chaos can create order and not the other way round.

Ervad DARIUS N. SETHNA