“Insulting the community”

Farrokh Vajifdar’s letter ("Insulting the community,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, February 7, 2011) on the subject of dakhmenashini or khurshed nagirashni states that the system of "exposure to the sun” has broken down and failed. This is entirely wrong from the scientific point of view as the sun is shining more harshly and stronger than before due to global warming and is likely to increase in intensity in the future. So can Vajifdar explain how this system has failed in simple, scientific terms?

If Vajifdar is referring to the "rotting” bodies at Doongerwadi to claim the failure of the dakhmenashini system, as Kersee Kabraji does in his letter on the same subject in the February 21 issue of Parsiana, stating that the CD he has of these rotting bodies would deprive any one of sleep, why don’t these good doubtidox (doubting Thomas) friends dig up a buried body and make a CD out of it, which would be equally, if not more appalling with "worms coming out of the bodies?” If he makes CDs of bodies being burned — of the twisting sinews and bone breaking scenes with fire coming out of the mouth — they would be just as appalling and deprive anyone of sleep! Gentlemen, any type of disposal of the dead body is petrifying, so if you do not want the same to happen to you, kindly embalm yourselves and save your bodies from such grotesqueness.

When the whole world is proceeding towards using green systems in every field, why should we move in the reverse direction and turn to polluting modes of disposal? Our wise forefathers were practicing this green method of disposal of the dead when such technology was not even heard of.

Let these doubtidox allow the so called dhongidox to practice what they feel is the best method of disposal, as followed by their forefathers (and the forefathers of the doubtidox also), and let the doubtidox also follow any method of disposal as they please. Let them engage priests willing to perform their paidast and uthamna prayers (as I feel all Zarathushti souls whose bodies have been disposed of in any manner deserve the after death prayers as enjoined in our religion). But let the doubtidox not encroach upon the institutions of the orthodox (the so-called dhongidox).

The late Ervad (Dr) Minocher Karkhanawala also recommended the scientific method of disposal by solar exposure. He cited a finding in a Public Health and Hygiene Research work (Dr L. C. Parks and H. R. Kenwood, pg 731), that even after a lapse of several hundred years, microzymes (disease producing organisms) were found to be alive; becoming the cause of death of the workmen engaged in digging up the burial ground of those who died of the plague of Modana some 300 years ago. In fact the plague started anew and killed many more.

Similarly, he states that burning of the human body with wood or electricity emits acrid foul smelling gases which contain contaminating microorganisms and viruses together with carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, adversely affecting those who breathe the surrounding air. Karkhanawala also states that no Zarathushti can pray to the atash, sanctify it in the atash behrams and adarans, offer it sandalwood and fragrant dry wood and then desecrate and profane it by putting a corpse on the very same element, fire.

So which mode of disposal does not produce infectious microorganisms?

Our forefathers practised khurshed nagirashni as mentioned in the Vendidad Pargarad 5 and 8; these are the principal, authentic sources of establishing dakhmenashini as a Zarathushti practice, the only exception being the ancient Tibetan practice of exposing dead bodies to nature on the mountains. In Vendidad Pargarad 8:2, it is said that "we, Zarathushtis should always wish for dakhmenashini. It explains that a dakhma is a place where khurshed nagirashni (direct rays of sun-light) is abundant is the only place where a deceased body of a Zarathushti should be exposed to nature and the disinfecting rays of khurshed, the sun.

So my dear sirs from London and Poona, our forefathers followed the time tested mode of solar disposal, a very green method of disposal of a human body since ages; and those who call their forefathers fools and dhongidox, so wise are they; their children shall call them so!

RUSTOM M. K. DABU

Baroda

zrustom_d@yahoo.com