“What distinguishes us”

I have read Dastur Nadirshah P. Unvalla’s views on the lecture by Dina McIntyre organized by the Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism (ARZ) and Association of Inter-Married Zoroastrians ("What distinguishes us,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, May 21, 2007). I wish to respond to his contentions and leave it to the good sense of community members to form their own opinion.

Unvalla states that "ARZ forgets that Holy Zarathushtra preached His Divine message thousands of years ago when no other religion was in existence.”

I would like to draw his attention to Chapter I titled "The Primitive Faith of Iran” from Zoroastrian Theology by Dastur (Dr) M. N. Dhalla, in which he brings out the fact that the people of Iran practiced "worship of personifications of nature and other heavenly beings. People instinctively paid homage to these deified elements. Mithra, Airyaman, Hoama, Verathraghna, Perendi, Nairo­san­gha, Vayu, Ushah and other old Aryan divinities… as also Anahita, the female divinity of Semitic origin, were individually worshipped in Iran.”

Therefore, to state that "no other religion was in existence when Zarathush­tra preached his message” does not tally with facts otherwise stated.

Unvalla avers: "Zoroastrian religion does not teach proselytism. In the scriptures there are no ceremonies to convert people from their religion to ours.” The only known ceremony to initiate a person into the Zoroastrian religion is the navjote ceremony. What other ceremony should one be looking for in the scriptures? One fails to see his point.

I would also like to draw Unvalla’s attention to Chapter XXIII, "The Active Propaganda of the Faith” in the book mentioned above. "Zarathushtra first preached his new religion to the people of Iran where he was born; but Ormazd has commanded that the excellent religion should be spread among all races of mankind throughout the world” (Din­kard, Vol. 10, Bk. 5. 14, pg 12).

In their commentary on the oft-recurring Avestan formula farvarane, the Pahlavi versionists add an explanatory gloss that every believer undertakes to proclaim the Zoroastrian religion of Ormazd to the entire world. "It is said that the act of highest merit that a non-believer can perform in his life is to renounce his religion and embrace the Mazdayasnian faith” [Sacred Books of the East (SBE), Vol. 18 Appendix pg 415).

The great Sasanian monarch, Shapur II, zealously worked for the restoration and promulgation of the faith among the unbelievers with the aid of his illustrious Dastur Adarbad. (Dinkard, Vol. 9, pg 579). The Dinkard sanctions even the use of force for the conversion of the aliens (SBE, Vol. 37, Bk. 8.26, pp. 88, 89). A Pahlavi treatise devoted mostly to the Zoroastrian rituals attests to the practice of admitting outsiders into the Zoroastrian fold (Nirangistan, ed. Sanjana, folios 16a, 17a, Bombay, 1804).

Writing that McIntyre has given most of the evidence from western scholars, Unvalla maintains that he did not find evidence from Zoroastrian scholars. Well, all the above-mentioned quotes are from a Parsi scholar. What has Unvalla to say about that?

Instead of making a very specific comment against the quotes cited by McIntyre and responding specifically to each one regarding why it would not be acceptable, Unvalla tries to brush off everything as not acceptable since it was sourced from translations by western scholars! Is this the way to respond to a scholarly work? Can Unvalla give his own translation and interpretation of each of the quotes McIntyre has referred to for the benefit of community members and then allow them to come to their own conclusion? If he did so, he would be doing a great service — rather than misleading the community, as he is doing with his unauthenticated comments and personal views.

Incidentally, if Unvalla had cared to see the footnotes to McIntyre’s lecture, he would have read the names of Oriental scholars such as K. D. Irani and F. J. Vajifdar, C. P. Mehta, Dr Kersey Antia, Bode and Nanavutty, Kanga, Sethna, Sidhwa, Taraporewalla and others whom the scholar has referred to.

It is rather sad and disappointing that a high priest of the community could write such casual and off-the-cuff comments on the very enlightening talk given by a good scholar like McIntyre who had done her homework thoroughly for the benefit of community members.

KERSEE KABRAJI

Poona

I attended a seminar organized by the Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism (ARZ) on February 10, 2007 and was impressed by the speakers there. What can one say about Dr Dina McIntyre? I wonder how many hours and days this noble lady must have spent selflessly to give laypersons like us insights into some complex issues of our religion. She was absolutely brilliant ("What distinguishes us,” Parsiana, April 21, 2007).

However, two discrepancies have always bothered me.

We attend the funeral ceremonies of many of our non-Zoroastrian friends and none of the religious authorities forbids us to pay our respects to the departed soul with whom we have shared so many memories, both sad and happy. In fact, they welcome us. Nor do they cover the face of the deceased when we go to bid them farewell. Yet we, an intelligent community, deny this privilege to those who come to pay their last respects to a Zoroastrian friend or colleague with whom they have shared a part of their lives. This is a despicable rule and must be withdrawn by our religious authorities as soon as possible.

In a similar fashion, no other religion restricts entry into its places of worship, whether it be a mosque, temple, church or gurdwara. Yet Parsis do not allow anyone from outside the community, even members of our own community who have married outside. What a shame!

It is time we forgot about our Aryan blood and superiority. Did our forefathers not build institutions like schools and hospitals for members of all communities?

Finally, here is a small example to illustrate ‘purity of blood.’ If one’s beloved child is injured in an accident, taken to hospital, requires an immediate blood transfusion, and the only blood available in the matching group is that of a non-Zoroastrian nurse present there, would one remain seated on one’s high horse and not accept that blood? Everybody knows that there are only a few basic blood groups in the world – A, B, AB and O, positive and negative — and Aryan blood does not figure anywhere!

S. J. COLABAWALA