“Westward look, the land is bright”
Two facets stuck out from the articles written by several articulate and prominent North American (NA) Zoroastrians who have been associated with the historic evolution of the community in the New World. Four of the seven pieces referred to the role of the priesthood in the religious and moral development of the community and four to the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) bringing the community together.
Ahead of the 17th North American Zoroastrian Congress to be held in Los Angeles, California this December 29-31, Parsiana invited them to comment, at very short notice, on the thought processes involved in the growth of the NA Zoroastrian community and whether the community was "liberal/conservative/indifferent/uninformed…" Parsiana made no mention of the North American Mobeds Council (NAMC) or FEZANA in the letter. The write-ups appear in this issue and are listed alphabetically (except for space constraints) according to their surnames.
Unlike the full-time dasturs and mobeds in India, their NA counterparts have been employed in professions/corporates/secular institutions most of their working lives. They are ordained priests who, in addition to their professional commitments, practice mobedi as a service to the community. Hence they are not isolated or cushioned from day-to-day realities. They serve on and even head Zoroastrian associations, participate and initiate seminars, prayer classes, publish religious literature for the laity... In addition to all this they also most importantly formed NAMC.
In India the priestly associations are moribund or a shadow of their former selves. Efforts to form a council of high priests fell flat. In North America too, the going was not smooth. Differences in outlook almost prevented the formation of a representative body. Yet they persevered, compromised and today are a respected voice.
It is possible that the educational qualifications, financial independence, the more open and inclusive quality of life in the West, enabled the NA priests to tread a different path. Their Indian counterparts have to make a living from mobedi. Their energies are largely absorbed in managing the numerous fire temples, performing navjotes, marriages, jashans and funerary services. They have to oversee the repairs and maintenance of ancient buildings. They are dependent on trustees of fire temples for their employment. A liberal priest cannot follow his conscience if the trustees do not give him the leeway to do so. Similarly some trustees may be liberal minded but are fearful of a backlash from orthodox high priests, mobeds and lay people.
When Goolrookh Gupta wrote to the trustees of four or more fire temples in Bombay on whether they permit entry to Parsi women married to non-Parsis under the Special Marriage Act if the ladies continue to profess the Zoroastrian faith, not one of them had the courage to reply that they did, though they all do so. So great is their fear of retribution that even otherwise bold trustees shied away from acknowledging the fact. Similarly, when the priests at the Dadysett Agiary performed the four-day rites for someone who was cremated, they received so much flak that they had to backtrack. And, of course, the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) victimized the two priests who perform funerary rites for those being cremated.
In such an environ, for the priesthood to be liberal is problematic. But the fact that a high priest such as Dastur Khurshed Dastoor manages to voice a sensible and rational line of thought is reflective of a growing segment of the community being open to change. His advocacy of donating organs touched a sympathetic chord among readers (see "Organ donation debate," Events and Personalities, page 14). One priest, however, sadly averred the practice of donating organs is alien to Zoroastrianism. Saving the lives of others or giving them sight must take a backseat to some esoteric interpretation of texts written at a time when organ transplantations were unknown. In the West there are fewer such reservations.
While the writers credit the cohesiveness of the NA Zoroastrians to the formation of FEZANA amongst other reasons, in India the Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI) cannot, to date, make such a claim. Divisional rifts tore the body asunder eight years after its formation. Even after issues were ironed out and the body functioned smoothly for over 20 years, ideological differences continue to render it ineffective. Meetings are held or not held depending on the exigencies of the warring factions; many anjumans shy away from hosting the supposedly bi-annual meets.
The chair of the all-India body over the past 40 years has always been from the BPP since the rule book specifies: "The president from time to time of the Parsi Punchayet of Bombay shall be the president of the Federation." This clause was introduced to lessen the initial BPP hostility to forming an all-India body. The BPP trustees believed they represented the Parsis all over India!
The BPP funds the FPZAI and the offices of the BPP are used for Federation work. Many Parsis from Bombay represent out-of-town anjumans, exposing the façade of the body being a representative one.
Contrast this to the functioning of FEZANA which has completed 27 years. While the 26 member associations and 14 corresponding members of the pan American body may have their differences, wiser counsel has kept them together. It is a truly representative body, financially independent and autonomous.
The articles also stress the inclusive policy of the NA Zoroastrian associations. Not only are the children of interfaith marriages made welcome, but also the non-Parsi spouses who may even hold office! Thus while Parsis and others in India debate the merits and demerits of the Jiyo Parsi program, the NA Zoroastrian population grows because no one is driven out. They know that in order to survive they cannot afford to lose a single individual. Race and gender are no grounds for exclusion. In studying the articles of our NA brethren those in India may find a partial solution on how to de-escalate their slide into oblivion. Or maybe even prevent it.