Religion and customs

Many ignorant "Gathas only” sects pooh-pooh our present customs as being savage and redundant. The so-called western educated ultra modern liberals are playing into the hands of the reformists, people quoting from the very scriptures they do not believe in and even degrade! They forget that freedom of choice has a condition; it is between good and evil, and the choice made will decide your fate. If you choose good, good will come, and if you choose evil, that will be your fate.

Our religious tenets have stood the test of time. Scientists are ‘discovering’ today what our religion revealed ages back. Our religion is perfect, as the following instances will illustrate.

In Ancient Iran, during the reign of the Muslims, a ruler heard of the Zarathushti religion which some people were practicing. He labeled this as being sacrilegious and evil and wanted to ban it. The king ordered them to prove their religion and ceremonies were not black magic, so the mobeds took up the challenge and decided to perform a high liturgical ceremony. They requested the king and his aides to remain at a distance as the ceremonies required purity and only Zarathushtis could be present.

After selecting and purifying a secluded space in the royal gardens, an old mobed with a flowing white beard began the ceremony. The atmosphere was permeated with purity. Then, suddenly, the clouds darkened, the angelic shapes took on menacing forms and evil was present in the atmosphere. The king was furious. "This is black magic!” he exclaimed.

Urging the king to be patient, the mobed asked for one more chance to find out what was obstructing the ceremony. Reluctantly, the king agreed. The mobed closed his eyes and found out what the culprit was. The hindrance was caused by a hair falling into the fire during the ceremony. He restarted the ceremony and soon the dark skies cleared as if the whole world was bathed in purity! In our religion even slight tinkering can cause evil to prevail. We are experiencing enough of the vagaries of nature as a result of scientists tinkering with nature, trying to play God.

Here are some additional proofs. More than a year old sample of nirang (consecrated white bull’s urine) obtained after performing the nirangdin ceremony, was tested in a laboratory, along with a normal urine sample. The latter contained bacteria while the old consecrated nirang was clean and pure. It even contained medicinal properties that could kill bacteria. That’s the power of our prayers!

The fruits and flowers used during the jashan and other ceremonies such as offerings to departed souls, were tested in a laboratory — one set after the prayers were said and the other before. Those tested after the prayers were found to contain no essence, while the ones that had not been prayed over had retained their essence. It was almost as if the essence had been "sucked up” during the prayers, proving that the offerings were "accepted” by some unknown force!

When Kirlian photography, which is meant for photographing the aura around a body, was used on priests of all religions who were performing religious ceremonies, only the priest performing Zarathushti rituals was found to have a white colored aura, the purest form of all.

In another instance, a magician who performed black magic was able to control many able minded persons and bend them to his will. A Parsi gentleman passing by in his horse-drawn carriage saw what was happening and asked the magician to give up his black art. The magician smiled and challenged the thin, frail-looking gentleman to do his worst. The Parsi washed his hands and face, performed his kusti ritual and with a prayer on his lips faced the magician’s might. Ten minutes later the magician fell at the Parsi’s feet, begging to know what kind of ‘magic’ he had used to make him lose concentration, never mind exercise control over others. On being informed that it was by the might of prayer, the magician was impressed and agreed never again to practice black magic.

An electronics expert who had come to service some equipment in a Parsi home once sought information about the religion. Regarding the dakhmena­shini system he was shown a chart of the tana ceremony performed underground. Astounded, he exclaimed that such intricate circuits were being used in the latest electronic equipment for remote sensing and storage of solar energy!

Today, those in favor of conversion are using propaganda to increase the declining numbers by letting any Tom, Dahya or Ismail into our fold on the pretext that our religion is universal and anyone can follow it. True, a religion can be followed by anyone. If I am impressed by some other religion, I can very well follow its tenets, but to do that I do not have to enter its fold. Religion is a way of life. No one can become a tiger merely by putting on a tiger skin!

What is dying out: the Parsi race or the Zarathushti religion? Religion never dies, for anyone can follow its tenets. Whom are we trying to increase? Only the followers of the Zarathushti religion will increase. What about the Parsi race that is dying out? That cannot be increased by an influx from outside.

How can a person who is not loyal to the religion, caste or race in which he is born be expected to remain loyal to some other religion, caste or race? There have been demands that outmarried persons and their children should be allowed inside to partake of the fruits of the community. In answer to this I would ask: If you are working in a firm and choose to leave that firm, would you be permitted to continue receiving perks and allowances from that firm?

BURJOR M. DABOO

Ahmedabad

burkhurdar@yahoo.com