“Worli Prayer Hall”

This refers to the letter by Khorshed Oomrigar regarding her objection to using the Prayer Hall and the reactions it elicited ("Worli Prayer Hall,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, September 7, 2016). If Oomrigar indicates that the disposal of the bodies of Parsis in a dakhma is a tradition, one cannot fault her. However, tradition is not religion. Tradition is merely a social custom which has been followed over several decades. Religion, on the other hand, involves any specific belief, worship and conduct involving a code of ethics and philosophy. It has nothing to do with deep religious conditioning, which goes against the Zoroastrian tradition of tolerance and good mind.
The Gathas show that the Zoroastrian religion is a progressive one based on reason. There is no place for bigotry in our religion. The best solution to the problem is to live and let live. I recently read an article by one of our learned priests referring to those who opt for cremation as "our ignorant brethren.” This is at best an unfair statement and at worst deep religious conditioning based on feelings rather than reason.
YAZDI B. KOHIAR
yazdikohiar@yahoo.co.uk