Double standards

An advertisement in your magazine reads: "Why double standards? The famous navjotes of respected Mr Neville and Mr Nusli Wadia were performed and blessed by prominent priests of our community. But at the same time, other intermarried Parsi couples and their children are barred and stopped from following the Zoroastrian religion.”

At the outset, it may be stated for the knowledge of readers that Vada Dastur Kaikobad Dastoor of Iranshah had vehemently opposed these navjotes. If the other priests did not pay heed to what he emphatically stated, they may have had certain personal reasons to sacrifice their moral and spiritual principles at the altar of materialism. On second thoughts, they may have realized that it was a mistake. Nobility and moral integrity would lie in acknowledging the error of any misguided belief they may have had.

We, as right-thinking Mazdayasni Zarathushtrians, should not expect other priests to follow suit. On the contrary, we should appreciate their courage of conviction to do the right thing if they refuse to perform such nav­jotes.

I, for one, feel that Justice Dinshaw Davar sitting with the British judge Frank Beaman should not have concurred with the opinion of his colleague in the classic judgment. Perhaps his conscience may have whispered to him that it was right and proper from our religious point of view and against the norms of spiritual principles. But the basic human nature may have prevailed and accordingly he may have given in for some personal reasons best known to him. Perhaps he may have been under the spell of some erroneous concept.(Justice Beaman concurred with Justice Davar, and not vice versa — editors.)

On this matter of "paternal seed,” which forms the basis of the judgment, I am reminded of a letter published in Parsiana some years back. In it the writer had cited the case of mango trees in the Parsi cemetery at Macau. The story goes that the Zarathushtis of that bygone era living in Macau had brought top quality mangoes from India and sowed the seeds in the cemetery compound. The mango trees grew in due course and after several years gave their first fruit of tiny sour mangoes. In spite of all the special care given to see them flourish, the trees bore similar very poor quality fruits for a couple of years more and then all of them became infertile.

The elders of the community referred their problem to the chief agriculture officer of the Macau government and sought his advice. After giving them a very patient hearing he calmly told them, "Yes, the seed is Indian, but the soil is foreign. So, how can you expect such high quality Indian fruits from those mango trees?” It is left to readers to draw their own conclusion from learning this basic fact of nature.

To preserve the classification of creatures living on this earth, intercourse between different breeds in not encouraged in nature. In our Mazdayasni Zarathushti religion, intermarriages are specifically prohibited. The ancient divine laws contained in the Vendidad clearly state that mixing the Mazdayasni genetic breeding pool with the genes of individuals born under a different religion is a sin. See quotation from Vendidad (faragard 18, para 62): "Then Ahura Mazda replied: ‘O Holy Zarathushtra! Those Mazdayasnis who are mixing their seeds with non-Mazdayasnis are committing sin.’”

Ervad KERSI KAPADIA

Singapore