Readers' Forum
“The signs of the age”
In his letter ("The signs of the age,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, November 21-December 6, 2019) what Burjor Daboo has described is not the actual prevalent practice of dakhmenashini but the ideal one as it existed until the scavenger birds disappeared. No one should prevent Daboo or anyone for that matter from opting for this so-called time-tested system.
.JPG)
I do not know in which section of the Vendidad it is mentioned that any other mode of disposal of the dead is unZoroastrian. Readers would benefit from learning more about the flow of the unhealthy vibrations that Daboo has mentioned. He needs to quote the book, section and name of scientist/scholar where such a reference has been made. Nowadays, it has become a trend for self-styled scholars to express concocted theories.
Daboo further states that the Vendidad has specifically abhorred any other mode of disposal as being not in conformity with our religion. Has not the Vendidad prescribed that the clergy should not shave their beards as also the observance of menstrual segregation? Why are these injunctions not observed any longer? Why such selective adherence to the Vendidad?
To say that the system has not failed us but we have failed the system is just a play on words. Would Daboo care to elaborate? Once upon a time there was an abundance of sparrows in Bombay. The birds are virtually extinct now. That is evolution, which people must learn to accept. Birds of prey too have become extinct in cities all over the world.
Daboo mentions that a television mechanic had praised the dakhmas because the tana circuit is very advanced and is used for remote sensing and storage of energy. Was this person a Zoroastrian? How was he allowed to enter the dakhma? What the television mechanic is stated to have said is akin to talk of electromagnetic waves emitted by fire temples. Should not staunch bawas insist on boards displayed outside fire temples stating: "Those wearing hearing aids and pacemakers not allowed to enter?”
According to Daboo, people flout the tenets of the religion by opting for other methods of disposal which pollute nature. He says dakhmenashini is economical and does not pollute nature. Does not the stench of bloating corpses pollute the air? Methods like promession or resomation do not cause pollution. Before averring that the defunct system is economical, one should compare the cost of other ecofriendly methods.
Some people belonging to fringe groups also insist that all four days’ sacraments be performed only at the place where the deceased was consigned, but in the recent past such obsequies of two High Priests were held at an agiary and atash behram respectively. Similarly, applying water on the corpse or using chemicals is frowned upon. My question to such deen parasts (religiously devout) is what about corpses embalmed before being transported to India from abroad? Are fluids containing a mixture of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, methanol, humectants, wetting agents and other solvents, so essential for embalming, permitted by the Vendidad?
Our ancestors made a mark for our community because of their adaptability, flexibility and versatility. But a sad state of affairs is prevalent today where a handful of people, because of their rigidity, want to dictate/impose terms to the ultimate detriment of the community.
Many of those who gleefully wrote the obituary of the Worli Prayer Hall are sorely disappointed at the increase in its patronage.
I do not know in which section of the Vendidad it is mentioned that any other mode of disposal of the dead is unZoroastrian. Readers would benefit from learning more about the flow of the unhealthy vibrations that Daboo has mentioned. He needs to quote the book, section and name of scientist/scholar where such a reference has been made. Nowadays, it has become a trend for self-styled scholars to express concocted theories.Daboo further states that the Vendidad has specifically abhorred any other mode of disposal as being not in conformity with our religion. Has not the Vendidad prescribed that the clergy should not shave their beards as also the observance of menstrual segregation? Why are these injunctions not observed any longer? Why such selective adherence to the Vendidad?
To say that the system has not failed us but we have failed the system is just a play on words. Would Daboo care to elaborate? Once upon a time there was an abundance of sparrows in Bombay. The birds are virtually extinct now. That is evolution, which people must learn to accept. Birds of prey too have become extinct in cities all over the world.
Daboo mentions that a television mechanic had praised the dakhmas because the tana circuit is very advanced and is used for remote sensing and storage of energy. Was this person a Zoroastrian? How was he allowed to enter the dakhma? What the television mechanic is stated to have said is akin to talk of electromagnetic waves emitted by fire temples. Should not staunch bawas insist on boards displayed outside fire temples stating: "Those wearing hearing aids and pacemakers not allowed to enter?”
According to Daboo, people flout the tenets of the religion by opting for other methods of disposal which pollute nature. He says dakhmenashini is economical and does not pollute nature. Does not the stench of bloating corpses pollute the air? Methods like promession or resomation do not cause pollution. Before averring that the defunct system is economical, one should compare the cost of other ecofriendly methods.
Some people belonging to fringe groups also insist that all four days’ sacraments be performed only at the place where the deceased was consigned, but in the recent past such obsequies of two High Priests were held at an agiary and atash behram respectively. Similarly, applying water on the corpse or using chemicals is frowned upon. My question to such deen parasts (religiously devout) is what about corpses embalmed before being transported to India from abroad? Are fluids containing a mixture of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, methanol, humectants, wetting agents and other solvents, so essential for embalming, permitted by the Vendidad?
Our ancestors made a mark for our community because of their adaptability, flexibility and versatility. But a sad state of affairs is prevalent today where a handful of people, because of their rigidity, want to dictate/impose terms to the ultimate detriment of the community.
Many of those who gleefully wrote the obituary of the Worli Prayer Hall are sorely disappointed at the increase in its patronage.
◆ ◆ ◆
From the archive