Posted on 06/12/2007 3:02:27 AM PDT by blam
An Old Religion Says No to Billboards
Published: 6/12/07, 5:25 AM EDT
By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM
MUMBAI, India (AP) - Some might see the towering billboards that rise out of a centuries-old Mumbai funeral ground as a message from beyond the grave.
But the signs - which exhort motorists to "Rev up your night life" by buying a popular car - have bitterly divided the city's Parsi community since they were erected last week, with many people saying they desecrate the sanctity of the place.
Trustees of the funeral ground, who authorized the billboards, say they are needed to raise cash to maintain the Tower of Silence where Parsis, followers of the Bronze Age Persian prophet Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, have wrapped their dead in white muslin and left them to be devoured by vultures since 1673.
Parsis, also known as Zoroastrians, worship fire and believe that cremation is a mortal sin and that burial pollutes the earth. So they leave their dead atop the towers to be devoured by vultures, a process they believe releases the deceased's spirit.
"I have told people who are objecting, bring me 3,000,000 rupees ($73,000) a year and I will stop the advertisements," said Burjor Antia, a trustee with the Bombay Parsi Panchayat, or council governing the community's affairs.
"But nobody brings the money," he said Tuesday.
Antia said the money is needed to maintain the lush 55-acre cemetery that begins at Mumbai's posh Kemps Corner area and spreads across Malabar Hill, the city's wealthiest neighborhood.
"We are not profiting from this; it is proper utilization of land," he said, adding that the billboards should not offend people because they are near the ground's entrance and not near the "dhokma," or towers, in which the dead are placed.
But this has not mollified members of the community, who say it is wrong to profit from the sacred ground where they believe the dead lie waiting for their souls to be freed.
"I am very, very upset. How can you commercialize a heritage ground that has existed for more than 300 years?" Anahita Pundole said.
"I am enraged that this is being allowed. This is a sanctum sanctorum for the dead and it is being destroyed," she said, using the Latin for "a sacred place."
Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion that predates Christianity and Islam and is believed to have influenced those faiths - and Judaism as well. It was founded in ancient Persia about 3,000 years ago, according to some scholarly estimates.
Zoroastrians once numbered in the millions, but were persecuted and forced to convert after Muslims rose to power in Iran around the mid-seventh century. A small number fled to India and their descendants became known as Parsis.
According to some estimates, there are only about 150,000 Zoroastrians in the world today.
I thought the buzzards that ate the dead were becoming extinct.
Make that 150,001. I've never heard of anything so cool. Why can't there be a huge resurgence? N.B. By believing in a good god and an evil one they avoid the problem of evil that derails monotheism.
So are Zoroastrians.
Give you some of ‘that old-time religion’ huh?
Cremation is an ancient Hindu/Greek/Roman custom, and I suspect some Zoroastrians might be prescribing to that method of disposal. All three cultures have come in contact with the Zoroastrians through time, so they could have borrowed it from anywhere.
Parsis, also known as Zoroastrians, worship fire and believe that cremation is a mortal sin and that burial pollutes the earth. So they leave their dead atop the towers to be devoured by vultures, a process they believe releases the deceased's spirit.Zoroaster was a reformer of Zervanism. But anyway, there was indeed a problem with the Griffon vultures which the Zs of India use for the excarnation "ritual".
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I don’t believe you can convert to Zoroastrianism...
Sure you can. You just can’t do it in the bigger zoroastrian countries due to religious persicution (my guess).
Any religion that would refuse people from coming into it is never going to leave being a “Cult” and will then likely die out very soon.
Why guess...and guess wrong, at that? The information is easy to find.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/zoroastr.htm
Zoroastrians do not generally accept converts. One has to be born into the religion. This belief is disputed by some members.
The traditional wing of Zoroastrianism discourages and does not recognize inter-faith marriages. More details: http://www.religioustolerance.org/ifm_deno.htm#zor.
There are some things even a vulture won't eat?
How is it guessing wrong? From your own words- there is a part of the Z faith that is welcoming to outsiders. There is a (im assuming larger) portion devoted to “keeping it in the family”. Thats like saying you cant be “part german” and be born in the 1930s-40s due to racism.
And words like “generally” aren’t exactly known for being *concrete* in evidence.
He certainly wasn't a good zxrxastrian, since he was a homosexual and zxrxs believe that is the one unpardonable sin.
They believe everyone is supposed to remain in the religion of his birth. They don't even feel the need to win Iran back from islam. Everyone is exactly what they are supposed to be.
There is a similarity in this teaching and that of a much younger Iranian religion, bahai, which teaches that all religions are true and all "sacred texts" inspired.
All Parses are Zoroastrians, but not all Zoroastrians are Parses.
Also, Zoroastrians do not worship fire. They believe fire, air, earth and water are sacred, but hey worship one God, and are the world’s FIRST monotheists.
We get our belief in God, Satan, the conflict between good and evil, angels, resurrection of the dead, and last judgment from Zoroastrianism. ALL of the preceding predated Moses.
No interfaith marriages. Interesting. Especially since my maiden name points to possible Zoroastrian roots and as fascinated as I am by the religion I am not one of them.
Ah. The Glory days. If only Iran was still Zoroastrian. :(
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