The sacred encounters

Our story begins in a small house in Surat. A Parsi lady, a widow, resides with her two children, a boy and girl. The year is 1875. The boy is about 17 years young. His name is Behram, the son of Nowrojee Shroff.

He was an almost written-off youth. He stammered heavily while speaking, was dull at school, had hardly reached Gujarati fourth standard, and had a bad temper. One day, some quarrel in the family took a serious turn and Behram impulsively decided to leave his home. He put on one shirt over another and two rings on his fingers, took some money, walked out to the railway station and boarded a northbound train. He had no idea where he was going. He had not the faintest thought that he was being led by higher forces. He first reached Ahmeda­bad and then proceeded to Kathiawar (Saurashtra), to Godhra and from there climbed the then Punjab Mail to reach Peshawar in the NorthWest Province of India.

Behram’s maternal uncle (mamaji), one Mr Tarachand, was a resident of Peshawar. Behram found out his house and knocked. Mamaji opened the door. There, standing before him, was the haggard and tired Behram in tattered clothes. Mamaji already knew about his exodus from Surat. He took him in.

Events then started unfolding fast. In a solitary stroll near the border of India and Afghanistan, Behram encountered two Zarathosti mobed-like men with radiant smiling faces and glittering eyes, standing as if waiting for Behram. Though frightened, he could perceive such a loving demeanor in them that he was tempted to talk to them. They spoke with him softly in Persianized Gujarati and took him to a tent nearby. Behram found himself standing before an impressively holy Abed Saheb, a Zarathosti saint with high spiritual radiance, seated amongst several other holy mobed-like men. A beautiful dialog took place between the Abed Saheb, whose name was Rashidji and Behram. He was brought there with the intention of taking him to a secret and sacred place in Iran; such was his destiny, Rashidji Saheb told him. This was Behram’s first encounter with a highly advanced Zarathosti "Nar-Ashavan.” The word has "Asha” in it which has a seven-fold meaning: Ahura’s law, order, beauty, truth, righteousness, purity, freedom. (Freedom is "Frasho­gard,” the starting point of the final goal on the path leading to Ahura.) "Nar-Ashavan” or "Nari-Ashavan” is a holy man or woman of very high divine spiritual status. He or she is the Master of the ultimate knowledge of Ahura’s law, truth and reality having reached certain levels of divine stature, living a holy life of spiritual practices which is beyond our comprehension, and guiding Ustad — Guru of ignorant human creatures like us. Ashavans are referred to in our holy scriptures at numerous places.

Behram hesitated. Mamaji had already warned him about the ferocious Pathans of Afghanistan. Rashidji Saheb read his thoughts and told him that they would take him only after Mamaji gives his permission. He sent Behram back.

When Behram talked to Mamaji about the episode, he was frightened. He fabricated a story that a postman had brought a telegram from Surat conveying that Behram’s mother was very seriously ill and he should rush to Surat. Mamaji went to buy the railway ticket and Behram rushed to the holy tent. He told Rashidji Saheb about his mother’s illness and his consequent inability to go to Iran with the Abeds. Rashidji Saheb smiled, closed his eyes for a moment and then told Behram that his mother was not at all ill and that day being her birthday, she and her daughter had just finished their sagan-nu-dhandaar, fish, curd, etc. The telegram was fake. Behram was astounded. That was his second encounter.

Behram went home. The uncle’s astonishment knew no bounds; these were not Pathans; surely they were holy men. Ultimately, he gave his permission.

With a smile sparkling on his face, Behram entered the holy tent. The group stood up, all smiles. The tent was wound up and they proceeded on horseback. Destination: Mount Daemavand. There was a shorter westerly route to reach the spot of entry to Daemavand. But for some unknown reason the caravan took a longer, circuitous route — to Kafristan towards the north, crossed the northern border of Afghanistan, reached Khora­san and from there southward to Azerbaizan, then in northwest Iran, ultimately to the Daemavand entry spot [Behramshah Shroff (Frashogard) Memorial Volume (pg 14) carries a map showing the journey].

At that spot an elderly but strong-looking mobed and a few others were ready to receive the caravan. They pulled out a big stone from the wall of the mountain and then removed some other neatly arranged stones. An arch-type gate opened and they entered.

It was an entry in the unobservable part of the earth, called "Aivi-thrishva,” located in the fourth, fifth, sixth....nth dimensions. This lies beyond our observable earth of only three dimensions viz. length, breadth and height, which is called "Drujo-Deymaan.” [The concept of the fourth and further dimensions was already there in the mathematics of the 19th century. The Fourth Dimension and How to Get There by Rudy Rucker is a brilliant book on the subject (Penguin, 1986-1988). The concept has now entered the physical science through String Theories which deal with 26 and 10 dimensions. The Elegant Universe by Brian Green (Vintage, 2000) and Superstrings by David Peat (Contemporary Books, 1989) are excellent treatises on string theories.] It was pitch dark as they travelled further. Ultimately they arrived at the beautiful abode: Firdaus-E-Saheb-Delaan.

Behramshahji was in that sacred abode for about three-and-a-half years. He was made to pass through certain manthric and spiritual exercises and disciplines. His stammer was gone. His intellectual level was raised to a much higher level. Spiritual and mystical knowledge was infused in him. The springs of knowledge were opened up within him. He was taught many spiritual practices and sciences. He was no longer that stammering, bad-tempered and dull youth.

After three-and-a-half years of his stay in the holy orbit (Karsh) of the Abeds, he was sent back to Peshawar. One day somewhere in 1878, he once again knocked the door of his uncle’s house. The second knock. He was not that haggard boy. A tall youth in a fine cap and clean clothes with an impressive beard on a naturally pink, handsome face and shining eyes was sweetly and respectfully smiling at Mamaji.

After his return, Behramshahji travelled all over India and then stayed in Surat. He did not reveal the miracle of his life for about 27 long years.

A 100 years back, somewhere in 1906, Behramshahji was commanded by his Masters of Daemavand to open the lid of his knowledge, Ilm-E-Khsh­noom, the mysticism of the Zarathosti din. In an agiary, Baag-e-Parsa of Surat, he opened the treasure chest before a small group of youths who had assembled there to discuss matters of our religion, under the leadership of one Manchersha Pallon­ji Kaikobad, the then headmaster of Mission School. Behramshahji spoke there about different kinds of atash referred to in our holy scriptures.

The propagation of Ilm-e-Khshnoom began. Behramshahji was brought to Bombay. He was presented before a large number of western-oriented Parsi scholars of our religion. They were amazed at his mystical knowledge touching every aspect of Zarathosti din. K. R. Cama, Khodabux Poonegar, Sohrab Bulsara, Rustom Dastoor MehrjiRana were some of the erudite scholars who were greatly impressed and influenced by Khshnoom. Phiroze Masani, a sharply intelligent savant of the western studies took up the propagation with great zeal. Jehangir Vimadalal, Jamshed Mehta of Karachi, Cursetji Suntoke, a renowned lawyer, and many, many others became Behramshahji’s disciples. Mobed Beh­ramji Unwalla of Udvada, Dastur Ma­neck­ji Bhathena and several others accepted Khshnoom as the standard guide in the matters of kriyakaam (rites and ceremonies). There was a band of devotees who accepted Behramshahji as their spiritual master. Dr Edulji Coyaji of Poona was one such devotee. Masani made his magazine, Frashogard, the organ of Ilm-e-Khshnoom. Lectures, classes and seminars were organized. When Behramshahji himself spoke, everybody was amazed at his fluent presentation. How could a once dull, stammering boy have been transformed to such an astounding spiritual personality?

After the death of Behramshahji on July 7, 1927 at the age of 69 (birth: August 3, 1858), a Memorial Volume of 773 pages was published under the auspices of Frashogard wherein 36 witnesses have testified on the strength of their personal experience that Behram­shah­ji was surely the disciple of the spiritual advanced Zarathosti Abeds and Ashavans of the sacred karsh of Daema­vand.

After his death the flow of Khshnoom has steadily continued in the community till today. The chief disciple of Behram­shahji, Dr Faramroze Chiniwalla expounded the principles, doctrines and teachings of Khshnoom in marathon writings spread over 50,000 pages. His brother, Jehangir Chiniwalla published a weekly magazine Parsi Avaz as the official organ of Khshnoom for 27 years, till his death. He was also a powerful orator. Today Dini-Avaz, Parsi Pukar and Mazdayasni Connection are the three magazines propagating Ilm-e-Khsh­noom. The first two are from Bombay, the third from California. Lectures, classes and camps are conducted in India and North America.

2006-2007 being the centenary years of the propagation of Khshnoom, a grand celebration was organized on December 30, 2006-January 1, 2007, chiefly by an ardent devotee, Silloo Mehta of California.

The concluding episode will appear in the next issue of Parsiana.

A lifelong student of comparative religions, science and Ilm-e-Khshnoom, Ervad K. N. Dastoor is editor of the quarterly Khshnoom organ, Parsi Pukar and is a practicing lawyer.