Worthy of worship

Zoroastrians have worshipped the good and wise Lord Ahura Mazda through the medium of fire since prehistoric times. Zoroastrians recognize fire as the symbol of light and life. It dispels darkness and ignorance and has the inherent quality to animate or bring to life the various creations of Ahura Mazda. Doctrinally, Ardibehesht Ameshaspand or Asha Vahishta (best righteousness/best truth/holiness) presides over fire, and therefore it is also perceived as the living embodiment of Ahura Mazda’s truth and righteousness.

The fires burning in our agiaries and atash behrams are no ordinary matchstick fires. They are consecrated fires (ijaila atash) which, doctrinally, are regarded as conscious living entities, worthy of our reverence and worship. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines the word "consecrate” as "make or declare sacred.”

Most religions comprise both the doctrine and the practices of the faith. Rituals are not meaningless as some Parsis seem to think. Rituals may be seen as a process of falling in step with life, as it unfolds within the frames of time and space. Rituals such as the boi ceremony or offering a Nyaish before a consecrated fire give us an understanding of our relationship with both the material and spiritual worlds. When performed with understanding and feeling, rituals can both educate as well as lift the spirit. They help us to experience and recognize the harmony that exists between the material and spiritual worlds.

There is nothing pagan in a Zoroastrian praying before the sun, the moon, the waters, the mountains or fire. Says Prof Max Mueller in his Introduction to the Science of Religion (pg 93), "Their (Aryans’) worship is not, as has been so often said, a worship of nature. But, I should venture to call it a worship of God in nature.”

Three of the oldest spiritual fires that have been referred to in some Pahlavi and Pazend texts include Atar Farbagh, Atar Gushnasp and Atar Burzin (Meher). These three great fires trace their origin to the prehistoric Kayanian dynasty and were believed to be the respective guardians of the athravan (priest), rathaeshtar (warrior) and vastryosh (agriculturist). According to the Bundahishn (the Zoroastrian Book of Genesis), these three great fires are spiritually present in all consecrated holy fires and therefore venerated in our prayers even today, particularly in the Atash Nyaish or the litany to fire. Arabian writers of the 10th century AD have also written about every Sassanian monarch making a pilgrimage to Adar Jusnas (Atar Gushnasp), on ascending the Iranian throne.

It is considered an act of great spiritual merit to consecrate a holy fire. There are inscriptions at Naqsh-e-Rustom in Iran which indicate that the great Sassanian monarch, Shapur I, had several fires consecrated not just for the spiritual progress of his own soul but also several members of his family. His illustrious father, Ardishir Papakan (founder of the Sassanian dynasty) too, had established a number of atash behram fires.

During the Sassanian period there were so many holy fires that it was impossible to enumerate them without official registers maintained by a secretary of state. The 10th century Arab scribe Al-Khvarazmi particularly refers to the office of Atash-hamar-dibireh (secretary of state for keeping accounts of the holy fires). Since Zoroastrianism was the state religion of Sassanian Iran, there were not just ministers holding portfolios concerning various religious affairs, but even the prime minister was the high priest and chief advisor to the King. Almost all the holy fires and the clergy that served them thrived under state patronage.

Iranshah was the very first fire that the Parsis consecrated in India, after coming to Sanjan. For several centuries thereafter, no other atash behram was consecrated. Every Parsi family, rich or poor, had a hearth fire before which they prayed. The holy Fravardegan days, too, were observed at home. The number of agiaries and atash behrams began to grow much later and in direct proportion to the community’s social and economic growth from a predominantly rural and farming community to an urban and merchant community during the colonial period.

Like the monarchs of the Sassanian dynasty, wealthy sethias like Sir Jamsetji Jejeebhoy and wealthy families like the Wadia, Dadysett, Banaji and others helped to establish several agiaries and atash behrams. In Bombay’s Fort area alone, there are six agiaries within a radius of just one kilometer. Tardeo Road in central Bombay also has four agiaries within a stretch of about one kilometer.

Most of these agiaries were generously endowed for their maintenance and upkeep. However, with inflation and gradual decline in patronage, the trustees of some of these agiaries have a major challenge at hand. In the Fort area, for example, the Dadysett and Banaji Limji agiaries (among the oldest in Bombay) are well patronized by Parsis who work in this banking and commercial hub. However, very few Parsis visit the other four agiaries in the vicinity and many have not even seen or heard of the Langrana Agiary tucked away in a small lane behind the Sir Jamsetji Jejeebhoy School.

My favorite fire temple in Bombay is the Boyce Dhanapatel Agiary situated at Tardeo. Try walking into its portals around dawn or dusk and you will find yourself enveloped in an atmosphere of intense serenity and piety. It is probably the only agiary in the city which is maintained like an atash behram. No electricity is used in the building housing the sacred fire and the priests who serve this Agiary observe strict ritual conduct and tarikat (spiritual discipline). The fire which is of adaran grade was consecrated 91 years ago and was earlier housed in a building at Do Tanki, further away from Grant Road. It was ceremonially shifted to Tardeo in 1940.

There is no panthaky system at this Agiary and as such, the trustees are responsible for the day-to-day management. Managing trustee Hosi Dastur attributes the smooth functioning of the Agiary to the spirit of cooperation and harmony with which his colleagues on the board work and the quiet efficiency with which the manager Marzban Palse­tia handles the accounts and the ritual needs of the devotees. Dastur, who lives in the adjoining building, keeps a hawk’s eye on the day-to-day affairs of the Agiary and ensures that the priests perform their duty at the optimal level and without any compromise.

Dastur is a successful entrepreneur in the field of travel and tourism and attributes much of his success to the blessings of the holy padshah. His wife Dinaz is a creative artist and a spiritual healer who spends most of her mornings praying at the Boyce Agiary. I have personally experienced her healing powers when I was ill last year.

According to Dastur, one of his biggest challenges is finding dedicated and qualified priests. At the moment, there are three full-time and about eight part-time priests serving the Agiary. There are also two chasniwalas and a manager. The main items of expenditure include kathi, oil for the divas (since there is no electricity) and salaries to staff. The Agiary has a modest corpus fund, but there is always need for voluntary donations for kathi, oil and general upkeep.

Recently, the trustees introduced a scheme whereby a devotee can contribute a sum of Rs 5,500 for a 24 hours’ burning diva for one year or a sum of Rs 75,000 for life. According to Dastur, the Agiary’s need for oil is now fully met with under this sponsorship scheme. Dastur also hastens to inform us that these are full oil divas and no water is used at all.

There has been a steady increase in the number of devotees at the Agiary particularly after the renovations in the mid ’90s, as per Dastur who says the renovation was carried out after consulting various religious scholars and learned priests and keeping the sanctity and the ‘old world charm’ of the Agiary uppermost in mind. "We did not change anything and merely tried to strengthen the original structure and improve the natural flow of air and light,” he added.

On an average day about 75 to 100 devotees visit the Agiary. However, the numbers may rise to 300 to 400 on important religious days like Hormazd, Ardibehesht, Bahram or Adar roz, says Dastur. "During the holy Fravardegan days we have about 55 tables. But we measure our worth by quality and not quantity. We ensure that the behdins get full value for their money and those who really know us well will vouch that the ceremony is always meticulously carried out even if they are not present at the Agiary,” he added.

Most of us have our favorite place of worship. What one essentially looks out for is a clean and serene natural environment surcharged with that special energy which one can only experience and seldom describe in words. Speaking for myself, praying at the Boyce Agiary or just quietly sitting there, soaking in the spiritually charged environment, is an ennobling experience.

Noshir Dadrawala is a community activist and executive secretary of the Centre for the Advancement of Philanthropy.