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Zoroastrianism
According to the 1991 census, there were 79,382 members of the Zoroastrian
faith. Some 79 percent lived in Maharashtra (primarily in Bombay) and most of
the rest in Gujarat. Zoroastrians are primarily descendants of tenth-century
immigrants from Persia who preserved the religion of Zoroaster, a prophet of
Iran who taught probably in the sixth century B.C. Although the number of Parsis
steadily declined during the twentieth century as a result of emigration and low
birth rates, their religion is significant because of the financial influence
wielded by this mostly trading community and because they represent the world's
largest surviving group of believers in this ancient faith.
Originally, the Parsis were shipbuilders and traders located in the ports and
towns of Gujarat. Their freedom from food or occupational restrictions based on
caste affiliation enabled them to take advantage of the numerous commercial
opportunities that accompanied the colonial expansion of trade and control.
Substantial numbers moved to Bombay, which served as a base for expanding their
business activities throughout India and abroad. A combination of Western
commercial contacts and English-language education during the colonial period
made the Parsis arguably the most cosmopolitan community in India. Socially,
they were equally at home with Indians and Westerners; Parsi women enjoyed
freedom of movement earlier than most high-caste Hindu or upper-class Muslim
women. In contemporary India, Parsis are the most urban, elite, and wealthy of
any of the nation's religious groups. Their role in the development of trade,
industry, finance, and philanthropy has earned them an important place in the
country's social and economic life, and several have achieved high rank in
government.
The source of Parsi religion is a body of texts called the Avesta , which
includes a number of sections in archaic language attributed to Zoroaster
himself, and which preserve the cult of the fire sacrifice as the focus of
ritual life. The supreme spirit is Ahura Mazda (or Ohrmazd), whose will is
manifest in the world through the actions of bountiful immortals or good
spiritual attributes that support life and love. Opposing the supreme spirit is
the force of evil, Angra Mainyu (or Ahriman), which is the cause of all
destruction and corruption in the world. Equipped with free will, humans can
choose sides in this struggle and after death will appear at the bridge of
judgment. People who choose to do good deeds go to heaven, those who commit evil
go to hell. The opposed cosmic forces battle through the history of the
universe, until at the end of time there will be a final judgment and a
resurrection of the dead to a perfect world.
The extensive ritual life of devout Parsis revolves around sacred fires, of
which there are three grades dependent on extensive ceremonial preparation. The
highest two grades can only be maintained in fire temples by hereditary priests,
who undergo extensive purificatory rites and wear special face masks to prevent
polluting the flames with breath or saliva, while the third grade of fire can
exist in the household. The most important rite for most lay people is the
Navjote, which occurs between the seventh and fifteenth year of life, and
initiates the young person into the adult community. The ceremony involves
purifying bathing, reciting Avesta -based scriptures, and being invested with a
sacred shirt (sudrah ) and waist thread (kusti ) that should always be worn
thereafter. Marriage is also an important rite, complete with scriptural
recitations. At death, great care is taken to avoid pollution from the body, and
funeral services usually take place within twenty-four hours. The dead are then
disposed of by exposure to vultures on large, circular "towers of silence" (dakhma
). Most rituals take place in the home or in special pavilions; congregational
worship at fire temples is limited to spring and autumn festivals.
The towns of Sanjan, Nausari, and Udvada in Gujarat are of prime importance to
Parsis, having long served as community centers before mass migration to Bombay
in the nineteenth century. Bombay is home to 70 percent of India's Parsis, where
the management of Parsi affairs rests in the hands of a panchayat, the assembly
that serves as a charitable and educational organization providing a
comprehensive social welfare system at the local level.