On 25th December, 2017, Dadgah ‘Asha Vahishta – The Zoroastrian Center’, was inaugurated in Pune, under the umbrella of Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism (ARZ), which will have its doors open to intermarried Parsis and their children, as also Zoroastrian enthusiasts who seek a greater understanding about the religion. A jasan ceremony was performed which was attended by over 100 Parsis, some of whom were ex-communicated for marrying outside the community. Located at Pune’s NIBM Road (Kondhwa), the Dadgah, built at a price of Rupees two and a half crores, is spearheaded by brothers Vispy Wadia and Kerssie Wadia, who started the Trust in 2005 with the main aim of ‘inclusion’ or providing a dignified alternative to Parsi Zoroastrians who are discriminated against or excommunicated from entering religious places of worship.
Talking to Parsi Times, Vispy Wadia, ARZ Trustee said, “The diminishing population is alarming – all attempts to arrest the decline have proved futile. When we disown one person, we are losing out on future generations – it’s a huge price to pay. The Center is open for worship to all Parsi/Irani Zoroastrians, with a special focus on the intermarried Parsi population including their non-Parsi spouses, so as to ensure that a family is united during worship.”
The Asha Vahishta houses a community hall, a prayer hall, a library and a Dadgah fire – lit from the jasan fire which was shifted to the kebla on the bigger afarganyu and the Aatash-ni-nyaish was performed. Built over 5,500 square feet, the two-storeyed construction includes an elevator to convenience the elderly and the specially-abled. Open for visits 7 days a week, from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, the first floor houses the library, the prayer hall and the kebla, and the second floor comprises the living premise for the manager (the full-time care-taker of the Dadgah) and four extra rooms for the use of those who hold ceremonies like navjotes and marriages there. A 24/7 CCTV surveillance has been installed with 8 cameras having night vision as well.
In less than a week of its inauguration, the center has already been receiving queries and bookings to hold religious ceremonies including Machi prayers, navjotes, marriages as well as the 4-day prayer of those who have opted for cremation. The lengthy donor’s list includes Bapsy and Darius Irani; the Forbes, Pudumjees and Ghardas from Pune; the Pirojshah Godrej Foundation; Anu Aga; Byramji Jeejeebhoy, and many more. An excerpt from the tablet of the Center reads, “True to the universal message of Asho Zarathustra, this Centre does not divide/separate the inter-married Parsi from his/her spouse and children when they all unitedly desire to seek the divine blessings of Ahura Mazda. They all are welcome to the Centre.”
With a large part of the ongoing controversy centered around the aspect of a ‘consecrated’ fire, Parsi Times provides our readers the following understanding of the Grades of Consecrated Religious Fires, shared by religious scholar Noshir Dadrawala:
Grades Of Consecrated Fire:
Consecration is an act or manner of making the ordinary sacred or worthy of reverence through ritual purification. There are three grades of Fire.
The highest is Atash Behram or the fire that gives Victory. Fires used for different purposes including fire from a burning corpse is ritually purified and amalgamated with fire used by a gold smith, distiller etc. Among the 16 different fires used, is also fire of lightening that strikes a tree and is witnessed by 2 Zoroastrians. There are elaborate ceremonies performed including hundreds of Ijashne or Yasna and Vendidad before the fire is ritually enthroned.
There are four Atash Behram in Mumbai, two in Surat, one in Navsari and one in Udwada. The oldest is the one in Udwada which has been continuously burning for more than a thousand years. It is called Iranshah as it is the first Holy fire that we consecrated in India after coming from Iran using the Aalaat (sacred ritual requisites, including the Holy Ash) brought from Khorasan.
Atash Adaran is fire of the second grade and involves ritually purifying 4 fires from the 4 ancient classes of priest, warrior, agriculturist and artisan.
The final grade of Fire is Dadgah or Datgah (Dat = Law; Gah = Place), meaning Fire with lawful place of reverence. Whenever a Zoroastrian offers Atash Niyaesh (Litany to the fire) before an unconsecrated fire at home (e.g. before an oil lamp) he/she refers to that fire as Atash Dadgah or fire having lawful place of worship or reverence.
The Fire at the new prayer hall in Pune is unconsectrated and therefore it is neither an Atash Behram nor an Adaran. It is an unconsectrated fire and for those who wish to pray before it, the fire may be addressed as Dadgah. Every hearth fire at home is a Dadgah. Every diva that burns at home or anywhere else is a Dadgah or fire having lawful place of reverence.
“All are welcome as long as customary decorum is maintained, especially covering their heads. We follow the message of Asho Zarathushtra or the message of Zoroastrianism – not Parsi-ism. We are laying greater emphasis on the message of our Prophet and the religion that he birthed, as opposed to the ethnic and socio-cultural rules which were put in place by man over time. I have studied our holy scriptures and each one of them speaks of a universal religion, hence we acted on the decision of establishing an ‘inclusive’ center,” adds Vispy.
Not surprisingly, the move has ruffled the feathers of traditional Parsis, with social media platforms once again abuzz, condemning this act. “To equate an unconsecrated fire with a duly enthroned consecrated Holy “agiary” Fire is making a mockery of all the complex rituals undertaken to enthrone a consecrated Fire, the thousands of hours of prayers performed and the ritual purity maintained in our Agiaries. Just by having a shiny afarganyu, and lighting a fire in it, does not make it sacred, holy or consecrated. But since the reformists do not seem to be able to distinguish a consecrated Fire from whatever they have created in Poona, I hope they stay away from our Holy consecrated Atash Behrams and Agiaries and be happy with their Prayer Hall fire which is open to any and everyone… sadra kusti not necessary, ritual purity not necessary, being Parsi not necessary!” said Yazdi Desai, Chairman of the BPP.
“When man-made diktats and rituals are followed over the word of our Prophet, then religion gets devalued and the Community gets misled into the dark ages – and we are seeing the symptoms in the increasing disharmony and petty mindedness amongst us. Zoroaster spoke of justice and equality of ALL HUMANITY, he spoke of a UNIVERSAL RELIGION, but we seem to have subjected and relegated his teachings to just one race. That is not Zoroastrianism – that is religious distortion made to facilitate selfish bigotry! Increasingly, the word ‘orthodox’ is becoming synonymous with the word ‘insecurity’,” said a Community member who wished to maintain anonymity.
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