“What distinguishes us”

I have read the letter "What distinguishes us” by Kersee Kabraji (Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, September 21, 2007). Kabraji should thank D. Wadia for trying to open his eyes to the inner meanings and understanding of our most pristine religion and scriptures. He may not get such a chance again.

Many people talk about the Gathas. If they really understood/respected even the following Has, they would be mortally afraid to make any false, incomplete statements in respect of our religion:

Gatha Ha 32: Misguided incomplete and false information, about our religion cannot (under the penalty of sin) be allowed to go unrefuted; Gatha Ha 32.7: Serious punishment for those sinful persons giving wicked teachings; Gatha Ha 32.8: Punishment for persons of pompous pride and ego; Gatha Ha 32.9: The terrible fate of persons who teach false doctrine, distort the sacred verses of the religion and through them destroy the wisdom of men; Gatha Ha 32.10: Such persons distort totally my sacred verses; Gatha Ha 32.11: Such persons corrupt the manner of living of men living by ‘my’ teachings; Gatha Ha 32.12: Ahura Mazda considers such persons as wicked. Gatha Ha 32.13: Ahura Mazda considers as wicked all who hold back in the face of the truth of the messenger of the holy verses (Zarathushtra).

Regarding freedom of choice, Gatha Yasna Ha 30.2 correctly understood is the choice only between the two paths of life, ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ mentioned in Ha 30.3. Gatha Ha 30 speaks of choice only between good (right), and bad (wrong), between Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu. Here the Prophet is talking about his initiates ­­— highly developed souls and Yazatas with all the timeless knowledge of the unseen world, Vohuman. He is not referring to ordinary ignorant humans like us, who were not even in existence at that time. There is not even a hint of conversion as there was no other organized religion except the Mazdayasni Deen against the forces of evil Deviayasni.

Gatha Ha 30.4 and Gatha Ha 30.5: The result of the choice of ‘good’ will be good, the result of the choice of ‘bad’ will be bad. Gatha Ha 45.3: "Then do I declare the foremost of this life, which the wise Ahura Mazda revealed unto me: those of you who shall not practice here this holy word, as I think and speak, unto them shall be woe at the end of life.” The penalty for misguiding people of our faith, mentioned in Gatha Ha 45.3 is worse than execution. It is "woe at the end of life.” The ‘life’ referred here is not human life, but the life of one’s soul which may mean endless lives.

In Vendidad Fargard 19, Asho Zarathushtra speaks: "Even if my bones are broken, even if my soul leaves my body and even my memory is lost, I shall not forsake my good Mazdayasni religion.”

The Khordeh Avesta, Patet Pashe­mani Karda 3 by Prof Ervad Kanga: Any one guilty of misguiding people will have to answer for it (mediosast —to tell utter lies and to point to the wrong path). Patet Pashemani, Karda 6 and 7: It is a sin of commission and would also be a sin of omission on all of us to allow such things.

The definition of a heretic by Dastur (Dr) Maneckji N. Dhalla in The Zoroastrian Theology is: "Whosoever teaches, speaks or acts, respecting the beliefs and practices of the national faith differently from that which the ancients have done is a heretic. Heretics are of three kinds: the deceiver, the deceived and the opinionated, all of these misrepresent the teachings of the elders, and pervert the sacred writings.”

Regarding the question of whether we are Zoroastrian or Mazdayasni Zarathushti, Parsis should refer to the first few lines of our Jasame Avanghe kusti prayer, "Mazdayasno Ahmi, Mazdaysano Zarathustris.” In Kanga’s Khordeh Avesta, the learned Dastur explains: "Oh Creator Hormazd. I am a Mazda worshiper. I am a Mazdayasni follower of Zarathushtra, an ardent devotee and an ardent believer — a Mazda­yasni Zarathushti.”

We have mistakenly called ourselves Zoroastrian because the Western world, beginning with the Greeks, corrupted the name of our Prophet (from Asho Zarathushtra Spitaman to Zoroaster), our religion (from Mazdayasni Zarathush­trian to Zoroastrian) and our ethnicity (from Mazdayasni Zarathushtrian to Zoroastrian).

Here are some undisputed and recorded facts about Dhalla. All the foundations of Dhalla’s books were utterly demolished by Ervad Pheroze Masani, a learned savant and scholar of our religion and its religious texts in his scripturally well researched Zoroastrianism — Ancient and Modern.

Dhalla was called as an expert witness in the case of Bansda navjotee, Sukhadia. The reformists withdrew Dhalla after his volte face in the courtroom. After that courtroom debacle, none of Dhalla’s books has ever been used in any court of law anywhere in the world to support religious reform.

We must learn from community history. Groups of Zarathushtis who left Iran after the Arab conquest to settle in Europe and Asia perished because of their ‘open-door’ policy of inter-communal marriage and proselytism. They were absorbed into the ethnic and racial identity of the larger host communities It was only in India that the migrant Irani community of Zarathushtis, the Parsis, not only survived but flourished because they adhered to their traditions and rituals, and practiced boonak-pasbaani or the ‘closed door’ non-conversion policy. They are the only group outside of Iran to survive for over 13 centuries. MEHLLI BHAGALIA

San Diego, California, USA

mehlli@roadrunner.com