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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

Date: Sat Jun 21, 2003 12:53 pm
Subject: Morality in Principle and Practice om_namah_shi...

http://www.sulekha.com/chpost.asp...ilosophy&show=0&cid=64302

A Hindu divine says 'Religion is morality in principle, morality is
religion in practice'

http://www.vohuman.org/Articles/Universal%20Elements%20Forming%20the%
20Fundamentals%20of%20the%20Religion%20of%20Zarathushtra.htm

Respected Chairman, my seniors, scholars, my young friends, ladies
and gentlemen, when people praise you, doubt their judgment; when
people criticize you, doubt your own. I have never heard criticism
about a speaker from the President. All the same, I thank you Sir,
my friend.

In `Doa Nam Setayeshne' prayer, our religion is described
as `farhangan farhang', meaning `Teaching of teachings' or knowledge
par excellence. Mine is not a talk, much less a lecture, mine is a
heart to heart talk to my co-religionists.

In the background we see the three letters W.Z.O. but we read Avesta
and Persian from right to left, so I read O.Z.W. where `O' is
Ohrmazd, `Z' is of course our Lord Zarathushtra, and W for
Wisdom. `W' to me also stands for unity and universality.
Zoroastrians do stand for universality though here and there unity is
sometimes at a discount. If I take `W' for wisdom as two `V's (V and
V), it is vision for values. It is not an academic subject that I am
presenting but a teaching which I am living. For the last thirty
years we are concentrating on the Gathas - the Gathas that fall in
a `Niagara' of spiritual forces. Unfortunately we Zoroastrians have
not appreciated these Gathas - the strength that they give us, the
vision that they develops. There is an academic word for prayer-it
is `orison'. This `orison' is the real prayer that widens our
intellectual awareness and deepens our spiritual consciousness.
One `Ashem Vohu' prayer recited understanding first the dictionary
meaning and then the meaning relevant to life, will go a very long
way than to recite twenty one `Ashem Vohu' mechanically.

My subject for today is the Universal Elements in Zoroastrianism
forming the fundamentals of life - the fundamentals of the
Zoroastrian religion. I request you to distinguish between the
religion of Zarathushtra and Zoroastrianism. Many scholars have
written on `later-Zoroastrianism' and they call it Zoroastrianism.
There is a difference, a world of difference between the religion of
Zarathushtra and the third century Zoroastrianism and between the
Gathas and the Vendidad. Let us know that the late Dastur Dr M. N.
Dhalla has done a yeoman service by distinguishing the. periods in
his History of zoroastrianism. So please, whenever you read some
quotations from the Vendidad, also take care to see that you read
quotations from the Gathas.

I live, I assert my living today. I am .003 in the world census.
Inspite of being .003 in the world census, I keep my head erect in
the world and live, simply because of the strength that I derive from
the Gathas. The Gathas teach me: `give and survive'. Arbab Guiv has
really given me again the strength to say 'O Zoroastrian, what is thy
name? My name is Mr Give'. In Bombay, I tell my people there is
the 'Dena' Bank in Bombay. Some people prefer dealing with 'Lena'
bank and not with 'Dena' bank. The Zoroastrians survive by 'Dena'
bank. Of course there is a certain limit to 'Lena' bank. - Some
people believe that life is a mission. Others believe that life is
out and out a commission. We will not survive if life is out and out
a commission.

Life is a mission - so teaches my Master. When I use the word Master
I use it with all the emphasis at my command. Unfortunately in
Bombay, we see our Zoroastrians believing in other Gurus. It is not a
matter of anger but that of distress and pain that we have not
appreciated Lord Zarathushtra as our Guru, as our only Guru.

What are these world elements? I call the Gathas, 'Gathao, Spentao,
Ratushathrao, Ashaonish, Yazamaide' (We worship the Holy Gathas
ruling as pure spiritual teacher). The Gathas are the prophets of
ages. The author Duchesne-Guillemin taught me the word 'prophet'
embodies two outstanding traits - universality and permanency. The
Gathas embody elements of universality and therefore they are
entitled to permanency. My ancestors were fully confident of the
permanency of Zoroastrianism. Whenever some people are doubtful and
dejected and say 'Will Zoroastrians survive after a hundred years or
five hundred years?' I reply, the answer is in Chapters 10 and 11 of
Visperad-one of our scriptures. These are the chapters I quote.
Whenever we talk something weighty, we must talk chapter and verse,
not through the hat. 'Stiatascha Daenyao Mazdayashnoish'-(Oh we
revere the permanence of the Mazdayasni religion). The permanence of
the Mazdayasni religion depends upon observing this excellent
religion. But we can only do so if we know what it is. So the study
of the Gathas becomes our bounden duty. The latter consists of 17
chapters, 238 stanzas and 895 lines. Study one stanza, three, four or
five lines per day, read it, study it, read between the lines and it
will effect a change in your personality, I guarantee.

We have studied the Gathas ever since 1935 casually and intensively
ever since 1951 and we have agreed with Rev. Dr Mills who was here in
Oxford. He said 'I have come to the conclusion after a study of the
Gathas for forty years, each syllable of the Gathas is loaded with
thought'. Not every line, not every word but every syllable. He said
syllable because it is poetry. Because it is poetry, it has survived
the ravages of time and the vicissitudes of change. Mohammad lqbal,
the famous poet has said in one of his poems 'Younan-o, Misr-o, Roma
sub mit gaye jhanse, Koi bat hai ke hasti miti nahi hamari'. He says
that Greece and Rome and Egypt are mere words in ancient history. It
is some intention of God that there must be some secret why
Zoroastrians have survived, in spite of being .003 in the census of
the world. And it is our responsibility on this occasion of the World
Zoroastrian Conference that we become and live as world citizens. A
Zoroastrian is a universalist, he is a world Zoroastrian and a world
citizen. He never thinks of his family only; he thinks of the world
as his family.

My friends who know Sanskrit know this very fine dictum 'Yatra
viswarm bhavati ek needum' (Holiness is unity). This is the motto of
Rabindranath Tagore's Shantiniketan University for the last so many
years. A Zoroastrian believes in the 'family of nations. The Hindus
call it 'Gokula'. The word 'go' in Avesta' is 'gao'. Unfortunately
for the last so many centuries of course in the wake of the Pahlavi
traditions (and it is Zoroastrianism and not the religion of
Zarathushtra) that 'gao' has been translated as 'cow' instead of
the 'world' and 'life'. It is heartening to know, that 'the Avestan
student in particular and for every Zoroastrian in general that there
are two meanings of the word life. One life is any sentient life for
which the word is 'gao' and the latter in another context stands for
human life. The highest in the scale of evolution is 'Gaya'- you
recite in Khorshed Nyaish `Nemo Geush Nemo gayehe, Nemo Zarthustrahe
Spitamahe'.

If I understand these expressions, I need not have separate religious
instruction. I shall be very choosy in presenting to you this fact of
universality in Zoroastrianism. I can teach my children 'Look at your
religion, look at your noble religion that will make your life
noble'. When I recite in Jasme Avanghe Mazda, 'mazishtacha,
vahistacha, sraeshtacha', many say that, 'is not self glorification
that you call your noble faith the best, the finest and the
noblest?', my reply is 'I will not say it verbally, I will show it in
my life' and that would be undebate-able. No one will be able to
say - your life as a Zoroastrian is not the finest and the best, one
whose name is Mr 'Give'. If I you believe in giving and very little
in receiving, you will come up in the estimation of the world. The
second element that I see is that my religion is infinite. There is
no narrow-mindedness in my religion. It becomes so when it is
institutionalized. All religions of the world when institutionalized
become narrow and then inevitably at the expense of the noble
philosophy of life. In the Bible, John VII, it says (to paraphrase
it) 'Ye are so busy with the traditions of men that ye neglect the
commandments of God'. It is so true, so true with all religions of
the world. After several centuries of the advent of the prophet men
revert back to smaller issues of life, ignoring the larger ones. We
are today here to emphasize the larger issues of life that make
religion a universal one and not confined to narrow issues.

The third element according to Zarathushtra, as expounded in the
Gathas is to accept the sinner and not hate him. The Avestan word for
the sinner is 'dregvant' and for the righteous person 'ashvant'. I
have learnt this as a custodian of religion. Einstein calls us the
custodians of religion and he requires of us to be very precise when
speaking in the name of religion. When I use the word precise and
precision I am reminded of the terms 'razishtayao, chistayao',
meaning 'the most upright and divine knowledge' which our religion is.

Three months back I performed a Navjote ceremony of an Iranian girl.
That girl of course knew Persian, so when we recited
together 'razishtayao, tayao', she was quiet. Then from the seventh
word onwards 'Mazda-dhatyao, onyao Daenyao, Vanghuyao, Mazdayasnoish.
Din-beh rast va dorost ke Khodae bur khalk ferastadeh' (The excellent
religion of Mazda worship which is noble, just, complete and
effectual which God has made known for the people of the world) the
child began to nod so as to say 'Yes, Dasturji, what you say is quite
true'. Because she knew the language, she understood and appreciated
the words. For the first time she made me realize that I must also
now make every Parsi-Zoroastrian child realize these words and then
it can be a red letter day in the life of that child. The Navjote
today is a social event, a social gathering. Let us cease to make
Navjote a social gathering and let us make it a day of awareness for
the young soul.

Unfortunately whenever there is some discord amongst the community,
be it in India or elsewhere, it is not religion but it is some 'ism'.
It is for this 'ism' that again another Urdu poet has said 'Mun huque
nahi shikhata afatme ber rakhna'. `Religion never teaches to harbor
rancor amongst brothers.' When I use the word brother, I always tell
my people in Bombay that the 'r' in the word brother stands for the
right attitude and if it is removed, my brother becomes a 'bother'.
Then life suffers because my right attitude to my brother is not in
the whole warmth of my family but outside it.

My prophet has taught me another universal element, that religion
stands for progress. The word for progress in Gujerati and Sanskrit
is 'gati'. There is a phrase in Avesta 'utayuiti tevishim gat toi
vasemi' (In truth I crave from you God's desire for perfection and
immortality-Yasna 43. I). My religion further teaches me 'fradat-
gaethem'. In so many references Zoroastrians read 'Sraoshem ashim'.
When you return home, if you recite Sarosh Baj prayer, you will
recite 'Sraoshem ashim huraodhem verethrajanem fradat-gaethem,
ashavanem ashae ratum yazamaide', meaning 'We worship Sraosha the
holy, the beautiful, the victorious, the bringer of prosperity to the
world, the righteous of righteousness, the Master'. So I try to
imbibe in my life Sarosh, the Divine Intuition and Asha Vahista, the
Best Righteousness and thus acquire Khordad, Perfection and Amurdad,
Immortality.

In order that my life will be a pleasant continuity from life to
life, I look beyond this life and I recite the Gathas. By praying
Gathas and contemplating them, I widen my horizon, increase my
intellectual awareness and elevate my consciousness to higher planes.
The five Gathas are called in Persian 'Panj-bokh'. In the list of
names for our children, I saw this name; it was in the Iranian list
of names sent to me by an Iranian Zoroastrian friend. The Panj means
five and the five that liberates are the Gathas. The Gathas mean
songs and these songs enjoin on you to practise goodness in this
life' Collectively and individually. I live my life, my
Zarathushtrian life, by contributing goodness. To me the word God is
synonymous with goodness. If a man says 'I don't believe in God', God
doesn't mind whether you believe in Him or not, but please do believe
in goodness at all cost. Be good, do good. These are the two lessons
of my Sudreh and kusti. Sudreh teaches me 'be good' and kusti teaches
me 'do good'. Teach the child to do these two things daily, to think
upon these cardinal lessons of life, of be good and do good so that
continuity of life and gathering of the spiritual strength from day
to day occurs from life to life. All these processes end in the
ultimate perfection and immortality of my soul. Immortality is
another universal element in my religion. Immortality is nothing but
a distant but destined goal of the progressing soul. We have learned
this both from the Gathas and from the Farvardin Yasht. Paragraph 58
of the Yasht specifically mentions this. I have chosen these lessons
at random to onvince you my friends how the follower of Zoroaster is
a universalist. He never believes in narrow confines.

There is a very fine but sad anecdote as far as a custodian of
religion is concerned. It is said about a priest that he prayed to
God 'Oh Lord reserve a place for me in Heaven; in it may there be a
spare place for my wife'. If such is my prayer in life, if such is my
attitude in life, I don't think I can be Mr Give. So selfish an
attitude will not make my life 'Utayuiti tevishim gat toi'. 'Gat toi'
means for progress. The word for progress is (gat toi' and there is
also in the later Avesta 'fradat-gaethem'. I will not go into details
but merely mention what every Zoroastrian should believe. A Persian
has said 'Vahdak dar zad, kafarat dar shifa' meaning unity in
fundamental, diversity in details. The religion of Zarathushtra, this
noble faith, teaches me that man has to develop himself from humanity
to divinity. That is the progress of man. The six Gahambars in their
essence are not festivals only. They are a lesson in the scale of
evolution. I only mention this in passing. Zarathushtra taught me in
Yasna 31.11 about the making of man. He says 'I gave you reason, I
gave you mind'. In Yasna 19, some later Zarathushtrian Apostles tell
me 'Mind is man's magnificence'. In the seventeenth century,
Descartes, the French philosopher taught 'Cogito, ergo sum', 'I
think, therefore I exist'. A Zarathushtrian collegian came to me and
asked 'Is there any equivalent of this in Zoroastrian scripture?' I
replied pointing out Yasna 31.11 and Yasna 19. In both of them
emphasis is laid on reason which should be the guiding principle in a
man's life.

This World Body is also concerned with culture. Some forty years
back, a Spanish professor taught us this very fine idea. 'Politics is
the art of the possible. Economics is the science of the useful and
culture is the essence of the worthwhile'. We are all here for
culture. Culture, which according to Zarathushtra, means
selflessness. Selflessness engenders sweetness. Selfishness engenders
bitterness. This is the equation given by Zarathushtra. What a fine
universal element to live and to become a world citizen!

A Hindu divine says 'Religion is morality in principle, morality is
religion in practice'. Let us all practice this fundamental and
universal element in our religion. Men would write about religion,
they would fight for religion. They would do anything but live for
religion. Let us busy ourselves to live our noble faith and show to
the world that Zarathushtra taught us a religion that makes us a
world citizen. Lastly, I would say universalism or universality and
permanence are the stamps of the Zarathushtrian Gathas. If I live my
scriptures from day to day, the stamp on my life will be of permanent
universalism for ages to come. It was said of Abraham Lincoln 'Now he
belongs to the Ages'. So also because of their fidelity to the
teachings of Prophet Zarathushtra let it be said 'The Zarathushtrians
belong to the Ages'.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

Speech given at the 1st World Conference on Zoroastrian Religions,
Culture & History sponsored by the World Zoroastrian Organization and
held in London, England, June 29 – July 1, 1984. Reproduced from
World Zoroastrain Souvenir Issue published in 1984 in England.

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