“What distinguishes us”

Dastur Nadirshah P. Unvalla’s response to Dr Dina McIntyre’s lecture: "Zoroastrianism, a universal religion” (Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, May 21, 2007) warrants considerable thought on the fundamental issue of distinguishing between religion and moral precepts.

At the outset, it may be clarified for the enlightenment of all Parsis and even non-Parsis that there is no such religion termed as ZOrOastrian religion (yes, with the two capital ‘O’s in the name!). Our religion is Mazdayasni, established in deep antiquity thousands of years ago, before the advent of Asho Spitman Zarathushtra.

From times immemorial, certain highly evolved souls took incarnation on planet earth. They were known as Maghavs. They laid down certain divine laws which were attributable to God and proclaimed them as the Mazdayasni daen. The creator of the universe was termed ‘Mazda.’ ‘Yasna’ means ‘attuned to.’ And ‘daen’ is the word for divine laws (religion). Thus, the full connotation of the word Mazdayasni is attuned to the creator, Mazda.

The word ‘religion’ is defined in Webster’s dictionary as: "The service and worship of God or the supernatural.” It can be construed as tarikats (disciplines, rules and procedures) that are to be observed for devotion and reverence of the supernatural, the Almighty, whom we call God.

Jamshed Padshah, Shah Fareidoon of the Peshdadian dynasty, the immortal Kai Khushroo, Kai Lohrasp, Kai Vishtasp, Kai Kobad, Kai Kaus and all monarchs of the Kayanian dynasty belonged to Maghav groups. The great Athravan Spitman Zarathushtra was a Maghav born of a family whose genealogy can be traced to nine generations.

Asho Zarathushtra was himself a Mazdayasni born in a family practicing the Mazdayasni religion. Our Ashem Vohu and Yatha Ahu Vairyo prayers date back to times before his advent. Our kusti was prevalent in his time too. Atash behrams were established even before Shah Jamshed’s time.

It would be, therefore, quite appropriate to suggest that Zarathushtra did not establish any new religion but only revived the ancient Mazdayasni religion bringing back to all mankind the occult knowledge and popularizing it by moral precepts through his Gathas. The people thereafter from the times of Kai Vishtasp began to call themselves Mazdayasni Zarathushtrian and the religion became known as Mazdayasni Zarathushtri, a religion which is practiced to this day.

Reverting to the fundamental issue, it may be emphasized that religion and moral precepts are two different concepts. Moral precepts are universal while religion is unalienable for an individual.

Good thoughts, good words and good deeds are not something unique to the Zoroastrian religion or special to Parsis alone. They form the basis of moral teachings of all religions.

For instance, Buddhism dwells on the virtues of compassion and contentment. People may adopt and practice these virtues and other moral principles laid down in the teachings of that religion but they do not have to forsake the religion into which they were born and become Buddhists in doing so. Moral precepts are for all mankind (like Zarathushtra’s Gathas) to adopt and practice. They are universal. However, the tarikats (religious disciplines), mantras (prayers in a particular language) and kriyas (ceremonies) all have mystic science behind them and are individual to each religion.

The aim and purpose of a soldier or a sailor is to defend his country. But each follows a different discipline to accomplish it. The same is the underlying principle for all religions.

The ultimate goal of mankind is to reach union with Dadar Ahura Mazda if one is a Mazdayasni Zarathushti, God if one is a Christian or Allah if one is a Muslim. Different religions prescribe different disciplines to reach this goal depending on the spiritual composition of different forms of humanity. In which group a soul will be born is determined in advance and the corresponding divine fields are established in that soul. Every religion is sent by God with its respective divine fields which must be adhered to. It is ordained and we humans have no authority to alienate it or convert one born in a particular religion to another.

According to the Bundahishn, the Zoroastrian book of creation, our souls themselves have volunteered to take incarnation on this planet, undergo suffering, meet with the good and evil, and gain experience for their progress in the spiritual world. It is predetermined in which religion a soul will be born and which body it will inhabit. Just as a soul cannot change the body in which it has taken habitation, it cannot change the religion with the particular embedded divine fields it has chosen. Thus one is here not because some higher authority has ordained it, but because one’s angelic counterpart freely chose to descend into this world to gain experience to achieve spiritual progress. We may regard this as a definition of life and its very purpose.

We are further enlightened by the book that God, the omnipotent, one without an equal, has appointed by contract His own agent whom we call Satan (the destructive and ephemeral principle of the cosmos) for a fixed period. During the appointed regime Satan is permitted to test all souls by spreading his malevolent and deceitful influence over all beings. Accordingly, Satan is not an adversary of God. The evil aspect has been specifically assigned to him by God. It is all according to the plan of the Lord to enable our souls to undergo the experience for perfection, which alone can lead to salvation.

Births are therefore ordained from time to time in different religions until perfection is attained.

Moral precepts certainly help, but the individual has to faithfully follow the disciplines of each religion in every birth to attain the perfection which the soul craves for its ultimate union with the divine.

D. WADIA

New South Wales, Australia