At times one comes across articles regarding our religion and rituals based on personal opinions rather than facts. There is a danger of such articles leading people astray. One such piece, which is very far-fetched and impractical, states that no non-Parsi should be allowed to gaze upon the dead body of a Parsi Zoroastrian before or after the sachkar. According to that writer, if a non-Parsi casts a glance on the dead body, the soul of the dead person suffers and its onward journey is hampered. This speaks of the exclusive nature of Zoroastrianism, utterly ignoring its universal appeal.
Let us look at this theory factually. The writer states that if a dead body of a Parsi falls on the road and if a non-Parsi looks at it, the corpse is declared reeman. I personally was unable to find a reference to this word. All I can say is if a Parsi falls on the road, it is the duty of a Parsi or non-Parsi to ascertain whether he is alive or dead. If alive, prompt medical aid should be rendered. If, unfortunately, the person is dead, who looks at him makes little difference.
The article then mentions strange words like frado and nasa druj. We gather the writer means zantu frado or the evil eye and the demons which contaminate the corpse. How he has linked these with a non-Parsi is difficult to fathom. He forgets that several Parsis die abroad and in places where the likelihood of being gazed upon by non-Parsis is high. Does this mean that their souls are tortured?
He then attacks the reformists whom he describes as wisecracks. Venturing into the field of nuclear science, he says something about emanations from atoms of a dead Parsi clashing with the atoms of non-Parsis. We would remind him that radiations and emanations follow the laws of physics and chemistry. These laws don’t play favorites. The article presents a very judgmental theory where customs are more important than individuals. There is subjective picking and choosing.
It is true that it has been a tradition to prohibit non-Parsis from viewing the dead body of a Parsi, especially at Doongerwadi. However, tradition is not religion. It is merely a custom which has come down through generations. I am not advocating the use of the Prayer Hall but the article is highly unfair to those Parsis who would like to opt for cremation.
Traditions are useful in bringing the community together but they can also hamper progress. A classic example is that of the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. When he proved that the sun was the center of the universe and not the earth, the traditional church tortured him because he dared to go against its prevailing belief.
To test the veracity of this view take a look at the story of Zarathushtra/Zoroaster who was born at a time when mankind was probably coming out of the Stone Age. The erstwhile tradition of animal sacrifice and belief in idol worship and pantheism appealed neither to his head nor his heart. He went into solitude in the wilderness and meditated. There, in the lap of nature which he loved so much, he found his answers. He was the first prophet to establish monotheism. His God was based on reason.
Zarathushtra was filled with an ardent desire to preach his doctrine to all mankind. He tried to promulgate his teachings, but each time established traditions that people were used to managed to hinder him. He was met with hostility and suffered humiliation. It was only over a decade later, when he was able to convert King Vishtaspa, that he could establish his religion. Conversions to the new religion followed rapidly when it became known that the ruling house of Iran had embraced Zarathushtra’s faith. Zoroastrianism spread throughout Iranian lands, into Central Asia along trade routes, and further into East Asia. In those days the concept of Parsis and non-Parsis did not exist.
Perhaps the universal nature of the religion is best summed up by Rabindranath Tagore in his eulogy on Zarathushtra. He states: "Zarathushtra was the first prophet who emancipated religion from the exclusive narrowness of the tribal God, the God of a chosen people and offered it to the universal man. This is a great fact in the history of religion.” Zoroaster did not ask his followers to what religion or caste they belonged. He asks each one of us to use our "light of reason” and then formulate our own belief. He has left the choice to us. YAZDI KOHIAR
yazdikohiar@yahoo.co.uk
The editors reply:
The Stone Age ended between 8700 BCE to 2000 BCE. Most scholars put Zoroaster’s birth around 1200 BCE or after.
Some consider Judaism as the first religion to "conceive of a personal monotheistic God within a monist context,” notes Wikipedia, citing Prof Robert Karl Snuse of Loyola University in New Orleans.