“A sane philosophy”

In a recent issue of your magazine I read several excellent articles, among which was the piece "A sane philosophy” (Books, Parsiana, June 7, 2009). Until I read the article I had thought Ookerjee was a Bengali surname! Can any Par-siana reader enlighten me as to the origin of the surname?

In his lecture on philosophy at the Wilson College Dr Sheryar Ookerjee cited the belief among some African tribes that large trees, especially the Baobab, embody the spirits and souls of their ancestors and hence they treat each tree as a revered living being. When commercial logging companies took over the interior of Africa they cut down trees over very large areas using engine-driven mega saws. The tribesmen could do nothing but look on helplessly as they were outgunned by the logging mafia. One tribesman remarked that to see their trees cut down one after another, day after day, was like seeing someone cutting up your own grandmother! The shock and distress to the tribes people was extremely great.

Who are we to question their beliefs? We Parsis used to pray to the moon. Then the Americans landed on the moon and discovered that it was once part of earth. Recently I saw on TV that a considerable amount of junk was left behind after the moon landing of 1969, the largest item being the lunar module launch pad. Several unmanned probes are also lying on the moon’s surface. Maybe this is something for the Wilson College philosophy students to ponder over.

Dr ARDESHIR B. DAMANIA

Davis, California

abdamania@ucdavis.edu