Best of "Parsi Pukar"

This article appeared in the PARSI PUKAR, a magazine edited by Ervad Kaikhushro N. Dastoor. This magazine carries excellent religious articles on our religion and is published in Mumbai, India.

Ervad Dastoor is the very traditional and extremely knowledgable editor and publisher of this magazine, and also lectures extensively on traditional and esoteric aspects of our religion.

What is Ilm-e-Khshnoom? Is it a mere "school of thought" like the schools in the subject of philosophy? Or is it some mystifying interpretation of the Religion of Zarathustra - different from that Religion itself? Is it some mumbo-jumbo devised for those who have a natural craving for mysticism and who would ask for a mystical explanation for even the simplest looking teachings of Religion?

Let us make a systematic inquiry as to the origin, nature and content of Khshnoom.

Some twelve centuries back our ancesters arrived in India. The reason is stated to be the preservation of Religion. But, to preserve what? If the Religion of Zarathustra consists merely of a moral code described as good thoughts, good words and deeds, was it necessary to leave Iran? The history, tradition and our way of life until the first half of the century, do indicate that the anxiety was to preserve not a mere moral code, but also - and more so - the yogic and spiritual institutions which were a part and parcel of the Parsi life.

The whole of the Parsi code can be expresed by the following seven Rules:-

1. A Parsi shall during all the moments of his life, put on the specially designed garment - Sudreh and girdle - Kusti, and unwind and wind the Kusti at specified times and in the specific manner.
2. A Parsi shall recite and chant the specially composed Manthra-prayers, in the specified manner and at the specified time. Khurshed and Meher Nyaish are to be recited at least once a day.
3. A Parsi shall present himself before the specially consecrated Fire in a Atash Behram or Atash-Adaran and recite Atash-Nyaish.
4. A Parsi shall adopt Meher-Patet at all moments of life; Meher means: to stick to the truth and justice in all dealings with humanity and mother nature. Patet implies constant struggle with the evil embedded within man; if he falls, he has to repent, and resolve to be watchful last he falls again.
5. When a Parsi dies, his body is to be taken to a specially designed and constructed place called Dokhma.
6. The living has to get performed Yasna ceremonies to facilitate the onward journey of the Ruvan who has left the earth.
7. A Parsi has to preserve his racial gene and not allow it to be mixed up by marriage outside the fold.

This is the full package of Parsi life. Each of the seven rules is inseparable from the rest. All the seven are to be preserved and that craving brought our fore-fathers to this Holy Land of Yogis - India.

For twelve centuries we preserved our religious institutions and way of life, with tenacity, and Nature did reward us. We thrived and prospered; we were looked upon as apostles of honesty, truthfulness and character. Our dealings with people surrounding us was exemplary. We served them with all earnestness. If we prospered, the fruits of our prosperity were laid out before all country- men. Our charities were predominently cosmopolitan. And the community had no begger and no prostitute. All our successes and services emanated from our spiritual strength and energy, and that energy was being constantly and continuously generated within us by our religious practices and institutions. The conduct in Rule No. 4 above was the result of the adherence to the other six Rules. And those who dealt with us were so overwhelmed by our natural goodness to all, that nobody ever raised a question; why we do not allow non- Parsis to enter our Fire-Temple or why we do not marry outside the fold. "Let them do whatever they like as regards their own community and Religion., they are so helpful and so good and so truthful and so charitable and so generous to everybody; why should we disturb them and question them about their small exclusiveness in the matters of their community and Religion?" That was the way in which all non-Parsis treated us.

Alas! All that is now to be stated in that past tense. All the seven pillars on which the grand edifice of the Parsi life stood have been shaken - and shaken frightfully and we are on the way towards our own extinction. And the blame lies at our own door. Many Parsis have discarded Sudreh Kusti; they don't know what their Manthra-prayers are; not many of them are keen about their Fire-Temples; some of them criticize Dokhma and Yasna; the tide of mixed marriages has surrounded us; and we have beggars and criminal and the unchaste, in plenty. The present generation of non-Parsis has no idea of our recent past; they consider us as a community of crackpots!

Let me state the theme of this article right here: Ilm-e-Kshnoom is the only white ray of hope in these clouds of despair. Please do not brush aside this statement; I propose to elaborate it and to convince you about its truth; my only appeal to you is to be objective and open-minded and not to be carried away by your past prejudices, most of which are based on nothing more than a hearsay.

But to go back to the gloomy story of our degeration, when and how did it set in? The germs were first generated at the end of the last century. Two factors were their breeding ground. One was the onslaught of sciences and the other was the advent of Zoroastrian studies in the West.

Physical sciences pretended to explain away the whole Universe. Every event and every phenomenon had a "natural" explanation, which did not require that curious creature, God. Earth? An accident and an explosion? Men? Life by 'natural' selection and survival of the fittest! Matter? A combination of storms and nothing more. No need to introduce any mystical force; all forces are known and understood and therefore God and Religion are just superstitions, "unscientific and unscholarly"! All Religions were shaken to the foundation. "This infidel half century" - even Bernard Shaw shouted.

This poisonous wind blew over our Religion and added to it was the radio- active fall out of the Western studies. They reduced our scriptures to mere historical and geographical records. The verbal and grammatical translations drowned in them all the devotional and spiritual fervour of our holy scriptures. Our religious traditionas and institutions were branded as superstitions. Our own 'scholars' and 'savants' fell victims to this further onslaught. The pillars of the Parsi life began having tremors.

From the muddy whirlpool where the degeneration germs were breeding, a monster suddenly drew its long neck. That was the notorious question of Juddin- marriage and marriage mix-ups. Some Parsis desired to marry non-Parsi ladies and brand them as Parsis. "What is wrong in that?" - it was asked. Nothing Wrong! Scriptures are history and geography; institutions are superstitious; and add to that some scholars reading in the Scriptures that Zoroastrian Religion preaches conversion!

This happened at the beginning of the century. The faithful in the community resisted; but it was a difficult task. If physical sciences have discarded God and Western Studies have discarded our religious institutions, how can the community sustain its faith in Sudreh Kusti, and Manthra and Yasna and Holy Fire and Dokhmas and above all the preservation of racial gene?

And yet the Community sustained its faith, and that was mainly because of the Parsi Theosophists and thereafter Ilm-e-Khshnoom.

Most of the Parsees are hazily aware of the existence of "something" called Ilm -e-Khshnoom. There is some miracle attributed to it,, they think, where somebody had come into contact with some holy 'Abed's or Zarathustrian Saints; but it is something beyond us, too difficult to understand. The present day Parsi scholars nurtured in the Western studies have no strength and courage to look straight towards Khshnoom because of their ego and obstinacy and mental laziness or fear of unsetting their preconconceived paradigms or even self- interest. Khshnoom can upset their apple cart, they inherently apprehend. But that is not the way towards the TRUTH.

Behramshah Navroji Shroff brought the name Ilm-e-Khshnoom amongst the Parsis of India. He said that at his young age of about 18 years he was taken to a secret and secluded place in the Iranian mountains of Demavand where he stayed about three and a half years (1875-78 approximately) amongst a small group of people leading a strict and highly spiritual oriented Zarathustrian life. The leaders of the group were few very highly advanced Abeda's i.e. the holy saints called 'Saheb-Dilan'. The mystical and esopteric knowledge contained in the religion of Zarathustra was imparted to a certain degree on Behramshah by the saints, after getting him passed through certain spiritual exercises. Ilm- e-Khshnoom was the name, current amongst those Saints, for the Zarathustrian Divine Knowledge.

For more than two decades Behramshahji did not reveal the miracle of his life to the Parsi public. Somewhere in the year 1905-06, he narrated it to be a small assembly of young Parsi boys at Surat. The news about his extraordinary experience trickled in the Parsi community and after a most exerting persuasion of his disciple Manchershah Palonji Kekobad, he agreed, most reluctantly, to go to Bombay to propagate Ilm-e-Kshnoom, the mystic science of the Zarathustrian Religion. It was difficult for the Parsis, nurtured in the 19th century materialism, to believe in the truth of his miracle. However, a band of sincere disciples made strenuous efforts to spread the knowledge brought by him from the amazing source. Ervad Phiroz Masani, an eminent scholar of the western studies, made the propagation of Ilm-e-Khshnoom a mission for life. He published a magazine called "Frashogard" for about three decades. Dr. Faramroz Chinwala an opthalmic surgeon by vocation but a saint in his daily life, was authorized by Behramshah himself to write books on Kshnoom, and for more than half a century he wrote an amazingly tremendous amount on his genuine and divinely sent key to the Religion of Zarathustra. He was very ably supported by his younger brother Jehangirji Chiniwalla Advocate, who not only spread Ilm-e-Khshnoom from public platforms but published a weekly magazine "Parsi Avaz" for a period of 27 years (1947-1974) until his dying moment.

Evidence of 36 Eminent Witnesses

Was Behramshsji's miracle true? Did it really happen? Did he really know the mystical science? Was he not induced by a publicity craze or other selfish motive to fabricate the story? This humble writer does not intend to set out here the vast amount of materials and data which establish beyond any shadow of doubt that his miracle did happen; that he did provide an authentic and genuine key, and the only key, to the understanding of our religion; that his presentation of the matters of religion was bewilderingly beautiful in spite of the fact that his wordly education has not gone beyong the Gujarati fourth standard; that the scholars like Khurshedji Cama, Khodabux Poonegar, Sorab Bulsara, Rustomji Dastoor (Bapaji) and several others were astounded at the meanings and interpretations of the Avesta, Pahalvi and Pazend words and expressions which Behramshahji revealed; that he was amazingly well versed not only on all the matters of Aprsi Religion and Scriptures and Tarikats of life, but had enormous knowledge of several other subjects like astrology, and eastern medical science; and that the mystical science and art of the Zarathustrian Religion revealed by him has been duly, properly and truly written down by his saintly disciple Dr. Faramroze Chiniwalla in more than 30,000 pages of books and articles, large and small. The materials and data establishing all these truths are recorded at several places, the best of which is "Behramshah Shroff Memorial Volume" published in 1930, three years after his death (which occurred on 7th July, 1927). That volume contains articles from the various personalities who had come in direct contact with Behramshsji, like - to mention a few solicitor, Jehangir Vimadalal; Advocate, Kharshedji Suntoke; Scholars, Khodabux Poonegar and Sohrab Bulsara; Doctor, Sola Hakim; the great Karachi figure, Jamshed Mehta; and several of the public and private disciples. Each of them has revealed one or the other facet of Behramshahji's mystical personality. To disbelieve in the miracle of his life and teaching is to reject the testimony of more than three dozens Parsis of high eminence and keen intellect.

- Ervad Kaikhushro N. Dastoor.

The above article was published in Parsi Pukar - May 1997 Vol. 2/11, Mumbai, India.

The PARSI PUKAR is a powerful Zarathushtri magazine edited by Ervad Kaikhushro N. Dastoor. This magazine carries excellent religious articles on our religion and is published in Mumbai, India. The subscription charge is 10 US Dollars, including airmail. Please write to: