When the concept of a lay person or behdin assisting a mobed in his priestly duties was first publicly mooted at The Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI) meet in May 1983 the suggestion was welcomed. Lay people would be trained to alleviate the shortage of priests, especially in the mofussil areas. They could conduct a few ceremonies barring weddings and navjotes, elaborated Peshotan Nargolwala of the Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman (see "The resurgence of the Federation,” Parsiana, July 1983). He likened the paramobeds to para medics and the barefoot doctors in China in the mid-1900s. During the intervening 41 years not only did the paramobed nomenclature change to behdin pasbans (BP) as some objected to the word mobed being used, but so also the duties envisioned. The term pasban denotes safeguarding.
For the past several months the BP program has been embroiled in a controversy over one of its reported graduates allegedly offering boi, the ritualistic feeding of wood to the consecrated fire five times a day, at Fort’s Seth Mancherji Khurshedji Langrana (Godiwalla) Agiary.
"They surreptitiously degraded the said agiary into a dadgah grade fire recently by employing a BP to tend the holy fire therein and perform the boi ceremony too,” alleged Ervad (Dr) Rooyintan Peer in a social media post circulated in September last year. A grade three dadgah fire does not require the same rigors of consecration and maintenance as of an adarian or atash behram. "Some good mobeds were available but the said trustee deliberately created such terms and conditions so as to discourage them.”
Another social media post noted that "even a boy from a mobed family cannot enter the sacred sanctorum without (undergoing a) navar (ceremony), forget a behdin.” The BPs cannot even "put on a padaan” (cloth covering the mouth), claimed another writer.
Sixteen-year-old Urvaksh Patrawala who was charged with the offence denied the accusation. "I only went there last year to work as a chasniwala because it was vacation time and I wanted to earn some money… I don’t know why people are saying all this… I was only doing the cleaning… There was a mobed there at that time (Ervad Jal Balsara).” Patrawala says that he had completed the BP course conducted by the Athornan Foundation (AF) in 2023.
AF trustee Ervad Cyrus Dastoor clarified, "The chasniwala was only cleaning the agiary… It is wrong to say that he was offering boi… Ervads Burzin Katrak and Balsara now serve Langrana.” Langrana agiary trustee Godrej Fanibanda told Parsiana on May 24 it was incorrect to claim that the chasniwala offered boi.
Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustee Maharukh Noble who had raised funds for Langrana in the past, has helped secure priests and financially supports the BP program, emphasized, "The BPs do indeed serve a purpose. But only at a dadgah or non-consecrated fire.” The organizers of the BP program need to be more vigilant to ensure they provide lay priests only at an outstation agiary. And that the trustees of fire temples in Bombay should not employ BPs only to save costs, she said.
Top, from l: Ervads Cyrus Darbari, Cyrus Dastoor; Dr Parvez Bajan, Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla
with a young participant at the behdin pasban course;
Khojeste Mistree; bottom: participants of a previous course
"Only if there is no option”
Parsiana requested two High Priests, Dasturs (Dr) Firoze Kotwal and Khurshed Dastoor, to clarify which ceremonies the BPs may perform and whether or not they can offer boi in an agiary, especially, when a mobed is not available.
Kotwal’s prompt reply was: "In the absence or non-availability of an ordained priest, a BP may perform the boi service, following the religiously prescribed rules of the ceremony… It is imperative that a BP should receive rigorous training under a knowledgeable priest, well acquainted with the intricacies of the ceremonies a BP has to perform.” The BPs are to know all the necessary prayers by heart, "just as a good, well-trained priest would. This is very important if the BPs are to play a constructive and positive role…
"Only if there is no option and the choice is between having the BP perform the boi ceremony or just not giving boi to the sacred fire and letting the sacred adaran fire be extinguished, then as a prudent, religiously conscious community member, one must opt for the continuation of the sacred fire rather than allowing the fire to be extinguished. In such cases, the BP can help to keep the fire perpetually burning which is an act of merit…
"When an ordained priest is not available, a BP may be employed to perform only the outer ceremonies, such as afrinagan, frokhshi, jashan and stum ceremonies… The BP cannot perform pav mahal ceremonies such as yasna, visperad and vendidad which are seen as the high inner rituals of the faith.”
Khurshed Dastoor’s verbal responses were similar to Kotwal’s. The Udvada High Priest stressed, "If you are writing about BPs, please specifically mention that they are not allowed to offer services where mobeds are available, for example in Bombay, Poona, Surat and Navsari.”
Discussions at the course
"Any member of the laity”
Whenever there is a need for BPs in outstation fire temples, the primary port of call is the AF. BPs trained by them have served in Kanpur, New Bombay, Jamshedpur, Satara, Kalyan and Akola among other locations, Cyrus reeled off the places while speaking to Parsiana on May 15.
Any male member of the laity can join the BP course conducted at Cama Baug. "He should know the basic prayers…We train them to do the outer ceremonies: afringan, frokshi, stum, geh sarna, uthamna. A BP cannot perform baaj, ijashne, vendidad… He cannot perform marriages and navjotes…not even sit in on the navjote ceremony,” he stated. If a mobed is present at a location, a BP cannot "do any kriyakaam (ceremony).”
The emoluments of a BP "depends on the terms and conditions, the funds (available with) an anjuman… We don’t charge anything to train BPs… We manage their terms and conditions for them… Our intention is not to sidetrack mobeds…We are only trying to help each and every agiary which is in danger of not having mobeds available,” asserted Cyrus.
No survey has been done by the AF to ascertain the number of BPs in India. "There may be some who were trained under the erstwhile paramobed scheme…That scheme is 40 years old…so there may be more we do not know about… We have about 12 trained BPs and more than 10 were in the last batch.” Conducted annually except for the Covid years, two introductory workshops have also been organized over four days in Navsari.
The mandatory prayers, gahs, nyaish, yashts ("Atash Nyaish thoroughly,”) and a demonstration boi are part of the course curriculum for BP as are talks on religious topics, documentaries, quizzes and visits to fire temples. A participation certificate is provided on completion of the course.
No women have been registered in the BP programs. "In olden times there were some ladies even praying for chaar divas ni kriya (four days’ prayers)... This was not formalized,” stated Cyrus. In North America and Iran women, are designated mobedyars (friends of mobeds) after undergoing clerical training. But in India this is "not permissible,” say the priests (see "Not permissible in India,” Editorial Viewpoint,” Parsiana, May 21-June 6, 2023).
"Serious and dedicated”
Speaking at the opening of the annual BP workshop on April 24, 2024 at Cama Baug, BPP trustee Dr Adil Malia stated, "pasbani is not easy… It involves a very serious and dedicated commitment. Therefore the BPs need to follow the deep tenets of our religion, understand the real essence of our prayers and its esoteric meanings, observe purity, tarikats and austerity in performance of liturgies.” Nineteen ostas, ervads and BPs from different parts of India and even Singapore attended the recent training.
Zoroastrian Studies founder Khojeste Mistree told the gathering at the finale on May 6, that in 45 places of worship in Iran where mobeds are not available, "behdins keep the fire burning.” Chief guest former Bombay High Court Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla made an appeal "to work together to find solutions (to the shortage of priests) within the framework of what is acceptable and possible to preserve the faith.”
Why pasbani?
Marzban Wadia who, along with the late Marzban Giara (author) was "among the first” paramobeds, goes to Davier’s Bai Navazbai Goiporia Agiary of which he is a trustee "every week, once or twice” from Bombay to offer boi. There are only a handful of Parsi residents in and around Davier, he noted.
Wadia became a BP in 2010 when he was 70 years old. As a young student at Navsari’s Dosibai Kotwal Parsi Boys Orphanage, "bhantar par bou dhyan aapta hata (there was a lot of emphasis on prayer);” in addition, his family was steeped in Parsipanu. "I loved discussing religious matters with other like-minded people.”
Wadia has also served as a BP in Bardoli; Kanpur (for about eight muktads and three non-muktad stints); Deolali (for four years during muktads); Vasai and Tarapur during their respective salgirahs; and New Bombay. Proud of the "certificates” he has received for his services from the trustees of three places of worship, Wadia says that "Padshah saheb anék maaté chhè (an exalted fire is for all)” so it is the responsibility of all to serve. He cited the example of a deceased woman in Kanpur who was buried after a lay person recited a few Ashem Vohus, because their mobed Ervad Kersi Aibara was too ill to perform the geh sarna. When Aibara passed away, his 10-day prayers were performed by BP Fardoon Patel, Wadia noted with pride.
Among the most recent BPs is 22-year-old student Zahan Jaorewala who has just completed the two-day combined 22nd workshop for Ostas and Ervads and the 15th program for Behdin Pasbaans held from April 24-May 6. (Till some years ago the program was conducted under the banner of the M. F. Cama Athornan Institute Ex Students Association.) "Five years ago I was not so much inclined towards the religion,” Jaorewala told us on May 22. Watching his aunt Yasmine Elavia pray "for hours” during the lockdown aroused the youth’s interest. His aunt taught him the prayers and their meaning. The two pray along with jashans at home, he said. Both are now fourth year students of the Avesta language courses conducted by the Sir J. J. Zarthoshti and Mulla Feroze Madressa. A student of cyber-security, Jaorewala told us that if called upon he would happily serve as a BP in the future. For now, his priority is studies. "I did the course keeping in mind what the future holds.” Queried whether he can perform, for instance, a geh sarna (funeral ceremony), he stated that he could, after brushing up on the prayers and taking guidance on the rituals involved.