THE MOBEDS' AMELIORATION SCHEME OF THE BPP

WHITE PAPER ON A COMPREHENSIVE MOBED AMELIORATION SCHEME (MAS)
PROMOTED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE BOMBAY PARSI PUNCHAYET

The Problem:

There are hardly any Mobeds, is a lament that is heard all over India, when Parsis meet. It is true that the number of Mobeds has shrunk considerably in the recent past and today it is a serious problem to all Zoroastrians who wish to practice their religion, faithfully. Whilst, there is a global interest in the study of Zoroastrianism, it must never be forgotten that it is only in India, and that too now in some parts only, that Zoroastrianism exists with traditional ritual fidelity. Already, it is becoming increasingly difficult for high rituals like the Pav Mahal Kriyas to be performed as there are very few priests willing to undergo the austere and hard life required to perform these complex ritual, for which the strict laws of ritual purity must be observed as per the tenets of the faith.

The writing is on the wall, which means that if we do not have properly trained priests to perform both inner and outer rituals, then it will result in the decline of important religious practices. The lament of the laity is that the priests do not give good service and are unable to answer religious questions when asked by the laity and therefore often the laity feels that the priest does not deserve a higher salary in order to maintain a better standard of living. Due to this unwritten struggle between the priesthood and laity, bright boys who come from the priestly class have moved into secular careers and done brilliantly for themselves. In the old days, the brightest boys from Athornan families were inducted into the priesthood and the other brothers worked in other secular fields. Today, it is exactly the opposite, the bright ones avail themselves of a Madressa education and then move on to becoming professionals like lawyers, doctors and engineers, whilst those not so bright, end up being priest, with of course a few exceptions.

The Solution:

Keeping this in mind, the Trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet wish to announce its Mobed Amelioration Scheme (MAS), which has as its aims:

1. To make Mobedi a more attractive profession,
2. To encourage boys from Athornan families to study in either of the two Madressas, in Mumbai,
3. To encourage qualified priests to work as fulltime Mobed Sahebs,
4. To help the Mobed Sahebs improve their educational and social standing in society.

THE MOBEDS’ AMELIORATION SCHEME OF THE BPP

This scheme will be implemented as follows:

First Phase (commencing 1st April, 2013)

The Trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet have decided to cater to the needs, first, for the following five categories of Mobed Sahebs:-

a) Students from either of the 2 Madressas, in Mumbai.
b) Pav mahal kriya karnar Mobed Sahebs including Atash Bahram boiwallas.
c) Retired Mobed Sahebs who have worked as full time priests throughout their lives.
d) Mobed Sahebs working as full time priests in Agiaries employing just one or two mobeds with no other secular work having been undertaken, in the past.
e) Doongerwadi bhoi bhantar full time Mobed Sahebs with no other secular work having been undertaken, in the past.

To identify the above categories of Mobed Sahebs a detailed analysis has been done to categorize fire temples all over India into five categories. The first category comprises the eight Atash Bahrams, the second comprises of Agiaries with over six mobeds; the third category are Agiaries with three to five mobeds, the fourth category are Agiaries with two mobeds and the fifth category are Agiaries with only one mobed.

Each of the above mobed