1. The Fareshta is an outer ritual, similar to the Jashan ritual in terms of composition, prayers and rites, but much longer. The word Fareshta is from the Persian language and it means “messenger of God, or angel.

2. In the Jashan ritual only a few Yazads are invoked. However, in the Fareshta ritual, all the thirty three Fareshtas, (Ameshaspands and Yazads associated with the Zoroastrian calendar) are individually invoked, followed by the recitation of the three Afrins. The ritual takes about two and a half hours to perform if there are two pairs of priests. Each pair of priests invokes 16 divine beings and lastly, Sarosh Yazad is invoked by both the pairs together.

3. For the Fareshta ritual, it is mandatory to perform 33 Baj-dharna rituals individually, corresponding to each of the 33 divine beings invoked, at the fire temple. In each Baj-dharna ritual, four darans, a boiled egg and a banana is kept. Thus collectively there are several darans, 33 boiled eggs and 33 bananas kept in the Bāj-dharnā rituals.

4. Like the Jashan, the Fareshta is generally performed for happy occasions like birthday, house-warming and thanksgiving.  However, rarely the Jashan and the Fareshta are performed also for the deceased. For the deceased, the Fareshta is especially performed on the Chhamsi (six monthly remembrance). Er. Dr. Sir J.J. Modi in his book “Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsis” says (p. 451) “The Fareshta ceremony is almost always performed on merry occasions.”

1. Zoroastrian religion has many ceremonies and rituals, the shortest among which is the Kasti ritual and the longest existing ritual is the Nirang-din ritual. The basic rules and regulations for all the rituals is the same, which is to maintain sanctity and ritual purity in and around the ritual at all costs.

2. The presence of non-Zoroastrians in close proximity to the ritual very largely enhances the possibility of hampering the stringent rules and regulations of ritual purity required for the spiritual success of a ritual. That is why the Zoroastrians have the tradition of not performing even the Kasti ritual in close proximity and presence of non- Zoroastrians.

3. Even a Zoroastrian who is not in a state of physical purity and ritual-purity cannot attend or be near a place where any Zoroastrian ceremony or ritual is performed. The reason is the same, that in the presence of such persons, there is a possibility of disturbing the conditions for the successful performance of a ritual.

4. In the last few decades, a misconception has been going round in the community that non- Zoroastrians can attend a Khushali nu Jashan, that is, a Jashan on a happy occasion. This is, as it were, a misconception, because a Jashan is a Jashan, whether it is for a happy or solemn occasion. If at all, due to certain circumstances, the presence of non-Zoroastrians become inevitable, they have to be requested to maintain a considerable distance from the performance.

1. The Zoroastrian Kasti prayers are actually composed in two languages, Avesta and Pazand. However the Avesta language is further sub-divided into two distinct and fairly different dialects – Gathic Avesta and standard Avesta. Thus the Kasti prayers are made up of the Pazand language as well as two dialects of Avesta language.

2. The Ashem vohu, Yatha ahu vairyo and much of the Kem na Mazda is composed of Gathic Avesta. Kem na Mazda has two stanzas from Ushtavaiti Gatha, and also has a passage from the Vendidad, which belongs to the other Avestan dialect.

3. The Ahura Mazda Khodai prayer is entirely in the Pazand language, but there are a few lines at the end in standard Avesta. The Jasa me Avanghe Mazda prayer is entirely in the standard Avestan language.

4.  The Kasti prayers were compiled in fourth century AC during the Sasanian times by Dastur Adarbad Mahrespand, by selecting prayers from the Gathas, Yasna and the Vendidad.

1. God is the name given to the power that is the source of and sum total of all energy and intelligence in the universe. Different religions give different names to this supreme source, on the basis of their perception of this power.  Thus, though the power is the same, its perception is different and hence the different names of God. Zoroastrians refer to this power as Ahura Mazda, as they perceive it to be the all intelligent creator of life.

2. In Zoroastrian religion, God is referred to as spirit among spirits. He cannot be seen either by men or divine beings. God does not have any shape or form, as He is essentially energy and it is not possible to see energy in any form.

3. Even energies from physical sources like electric energy, magnetic energy or wind energy cannot be seen. Yet, we believe in their existence. We essentially know about the existence of these energies through the work that they do.

4. The intrinsic order inherent and underlying in the universe, is also a compelling reason to reinforce a belief in God. If one notices, there is nothing random in the universe. The universe and our world is perfect, symmetrical and systematic, running on immutable laws. There is an intelligence that has conceived it, planned it, and that runs it. That intelligence is God.  That macrocosmic intelligence is reflected in the microcosmic intelligence of every atom in every creation and every cell in every living organism. e

1. Mr. K.R.Cama was a noted oriental scholar, social reformer and educationist. The debt of gratitude that the community owes to this gentleman is phenomenal. He is the father of systematic, scientific philological study of Iranian languages like Avesta and Pahlavi in India. Professor Dr. James Darmesteter had called him ‘the lay Dastur.’

2. He was born in 1831. Between 1855 and 1859, when he was barely 25 years old, he travelled extensively all over Europe, mainly for the purpose of acquainting himself better with Free Masonry. It was during this period that he studied Iranian and European languages like Avesta, Pahlavi, French and German.

3. In 1859 Mr. Cama went to Paris and Erlangen and studied the system of application of rules of grammar and philology to the study of ancient Iranian languages under eminent orientalists like Professor Julius von Mohl in France and Professors Jules Oppert and Dr. Friedrich Spiegel in Germany. Through his studies, he also came into contact with renowned scholars of Avesta, Pahlavi, Persian, Germanic, Greek, Latin, Vedic and Sanskrit languages, like Professors Eugene Barnouf, Franz Bopp, Albrecht Weber, Martin Haug, James Darmesteter and Dr.A.V.Williams Jackson  who had greatly contributed to the study of Indo-Iranian and Indo-European languages.

4. After returning to India, he became the bridge between the Traditional Method of philological study and the scientific philological study of sacred Zoroastrian texts. In 1861, he started a private class at his residence in Fort to teach Avesta & Pahlavi languages in a scientific manner on the system of comparative philology to a small group of students who comprised mainly of Parsi priests.

5. His first batch of students reads like a Who’s Who of Indo-Iranian philology in the last century. Almost all of them greatly contributed to the understanding of Zoroastrian prayers and religious texts comprising Avesta, Pahlavi, Sanskrit and Pazand texts. The main among them are: Ervad Tehmurasp Dinshaji Anklesaria, Ervad Edulji Kersasji Antia, Ervad Sheriarji Dadabhai Bharucha, Ervad Kavasji Edulji Kanga, Ervad Khurshedji Minocherji Kateli and Ervad Jamshedji Dadabhai Nadirshah.

6. In 1885, Mr. Cama became the Superintendent of Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy Zarthosti Madressa, which was a prominent Institute teaching Indo-Iranian languages, and served there till he passed away in 1909.

7. In 1888, Mr. Cama got Avesta and Pahlavi introduced as a second language for the degree of M.A. in the University of Bombay. Subsequently, in 1896, the University extended its limits and allowed Avesta-Pahlavi as a second language at all the arts Examinations and subsequently even at the Matriculation Examination.

8. The K.R.Cama Oriental Institute at Lions Gate, Mumbai, housing one of the finest libraries of books on Zoroastrian religion and Iranian languages in the world, stands as a living testimony to this great Oriental scholar.

1. Priests play a very important role in every religion. In Zoroastrianism, the role of the priest is much magnified as it is a ritual intensive religion. A boy belonging to a priestly family can be ordained as priest after undergoing proper training. The ritual for being initiated into Zoroastrian priesthood is called Navar and it has to be undergone before puberty, that is before the age of about 13 years.

2. The Navar initiation is an elaborate and hence expensive process, which goes on for about 25 days, and hence there is a meritorious practice of sponsoring a child to become a Navar. A Navar can be sponsored either in memory of a departed person or by a living person for the merit of his or her own soul.

3. In the Navar ritual, the child has to undergo two Bareshnums, which are purificatory rituals, each of which is for nine days and nine nights. The first Bareshnum is for one’s own self and the second is for the living/departed person who sponsors the Navar. This means that throughout the nine days and nights, the candidate prays for the sponsor, every time he does his personal prayers – Patet Ravān-ni for the departed one, and Tandarosti for the living one.

4. As part of the Navar initiation, two senior and highly proficient priests perform the Yasna ritual for 6 days, called Gewra. This is to give spiritual power to the priests who would later ordain the child. Here too, the Yasnas are performed for the benefit of the soul of the person, living or deceased, who sponsors the ritual.

5. For the next 4 days, the boy himself performs 3 Yasnas and a Visparad ritual, with one of the priests who has done the Gewra, again for the benefit of the soul of the person who has sponsored the ritual.

6. It is customary to remember the name of the sponsor of Navar, by the boy throughout his life, whenever he performs any ritual, as a mark of gratitude to the person, who sponsors him to become a priest. Thus sponsoring a Navar is a highly meritorious and rewarding act of bringing in a new boy into the priestly fold.

7. The Navar ritual is very similar in performance to another very high Zoroastrian ritual, called Geti-Kharid. Therefore, sponsoring a Navar is as much, or even more meritorious, than having a Geti-Kharid ritual performed. fffffffffffffff

1. Mobile phones run on the principles of converting sound waves to electronic signals and then transmit them as radio waves while sending, and the other way round while receiving. All this activity emit a lot of electromagnetic radiation.  A Zoroastrian fire temple is a place where the exchange of lot of spiritual energies take place, especially in the sanctum sanctorum where the sacred fire is placed. High concentration of electric and electro-magnetic energies inhibits and hampers the divine work of these sacred fires.

2. If one may recollect, there is no electricity in the keblā “sanctum sanctorum” of any fire temple in India. Moreover, in rare cases, in a few fire temples there is no electricity even in the entire main building. One of the main reasons for this is, that the electrical energy hampers the divine work of these sacred fires.

3. Moreover, the incessant beeps, alerts and rings of the mobile phones would be very disturbing to the devotees. Worse still would be the conversations that different people would engage in, in the sublime house of worship, thus vitiating its tranquil environment. The atmosphere of a place of worship should be calm and quiet to enable concentration and relaxation of the mind.

1. After long wars, Kayanian King Kae Khushru decided to leave his throne and kingdom and spend time in prayers. He often went into long periods of seclusion, and finally decided to leave his kingdom. Before leaving, Saorsh Yazad asked him to give his throne not to his sons, but to a just, gentle, noble and religious knight by the name Lohrasp. Then Kae Khushru retreated into the mountains and disappeared, never to return.

2. King Kae Lohrasp had two sons Gushtasp and Zarir. Gustasp always felt a sense of insecurity to his right to the throne and approached his father with a request to nominate him as his successor. After a few times, finally, Lohrasp instituted Gushtasp on the throne. He spent his days at the Navbahar Atash Behram, where later, prophet Zarathushtra also prayed.

3. Once when king Gushtasp was not in the capital, the evil Turanian king Arjasp attacked Balkh. The elderly Lohrasp single-handedly and valiantly fought many Turanians, but when the cowardly soldiers attacked him simultaneously, he lost his life.

4. Apart from being a pious king, Kae Lohrasp is revered as a highly evolved, spiritually advanced soul. He is credited with the ability of astral projection, that is projecting his astral body at another place in such a way that it appears that he is simultaneously present at two places.

5. In religious tradition, he is referred to as mithra-nā-sāheb “lord over thoughts.” People who are not able to concentrate, whose mind is agitated and who are harassed by negative thoughts should think of Shah Lohrasp, keep his picture in their mind and pray to him for help.

1. The origin of the word bāj is doubtful. There are two probable derivations. First, from vac “word, speech.” This derivation seems meaningful in some of the uses of the term. The other from Persian wāj, used in the sense of “tribute, tax” This derivation makes senses when the word bāj is used for the after-death ritual, and serves the sense of repaying debts to the ancestors.

2. In contemporary Parsi usage, the word bāj is used for several purposes:

i) Prayers which precede and follow an action, in other words ‘frame’ an action.  It is generally a daily act like eating, drinking, bathing or answering the call of nature. Once the initial portion of the bāj preceding the action has been recited, silence has to be maintained till the bāj is concluded by the recitation of the concluding portion. The initial portion of the bāj is referred to as ‘taking the bāj’ (G. bāj levi, bāj dharvi) and the concluding portion as ‘leaving the bāj’ (G. bāj chhodvi, bāj mukvi). These bāj are found in the Khordeh Avesta. These bāj protects the person when the act is being performed, as the act somehow breaches some boundary of religious appropriateness.

ii) The term bāj is also used for the prayer formulae before and after prayers like the Nyash, Yasht and certain Nirangs. These prayer formulae have a common invocation at the beginning and the end.

iii) In modern Parsi parlance, the term ‘praying in bāj’ refers to a particular suppressed tone of prayer, especially used to recite Pazand passage/s occurring between two Avestan texts.

iv) A Zoroastrian is not supposed to talk whilst reciting prayers. However, if he has to perforce talk, he is supposed to speak ‘silently’ or ‘inarticulately’ in a suppressed tone by pursing the lips together. Such a mode of conversation is referred to as ‘speaking in bāj.’

v) The Bāj-dharnā ritual is also referred by the shortened name bāj.  In the set of 4 after death rituals, this ritual is referred to as just the bāj. The other 3 are Afringan, Farokshi and Stum.

vi) Since the Bāj-dharnā ritual is generally performed in memory of departed ones, the days of monthly and annual commemorations are also referred to as ‘the person’s bāj.’

vii) One more unique use of the term bāj is in the short prayer Sarosh Bāj. Though this prayer is not a bāj in any sense of the word discussed above, and is a normal basic prayer, still it is called a bāj.

3. Thus, there are various understandings and connotations in which the word bāj is used by the Parsis.

1. The distinctive religious duties of a Zoroastrian are mainly outlined in two religious texts. One is the 17th century Persian book, Faraziyāt Nāmeh by Dastur Darab Pahlan of Navsari. The other is the Pazand Benedictions for Iranian Marriages. These duties are:

i. To wear the Sadra and Kasti, and regularly perform the Kasti ritual.

ii. Recite the Khorshed and Meher Nyāish three times in the day, or at least once.

iii. Recite the Māh Nyāish at least thrice a month, that is, on Amās (No moon day), Chāndrāt (New Moon day) and Poonam (Full Moon day).

iv. Perform regular worship of Sarosh Yazad. This can be done by reciting the Yasht for Sarosh Yazad or by reciting the Sarosh Baj at least once daily.

v. Observe the Farvardegan (Muktad) days by remembering all the Fravashis, and especially the Fravashis of the departed ones.

vi. Monthly and annually remember the souls of near and dear departed ones on the day of their passing away, one of the chief ways for this being the performance of rituals in their memory.

vii. Celebrate the six Gahambars, the seasonal festivals for thanksgiving of the six creations, or at least participate in their performance.

viii. Have the Rapithwin consecrated, or attend the performance of ceremonies to welcome it.

3. The above duties point out three distinctive Zoroastrian features : a. A person always has to be in touch with divine beings and the divine world. b. He has to show gratitude to divine beings and ancestors. c. A person has to live in harmony with the creations and nature.

4. One may notice that these duties deal more with rituals and not with virtues or ethics. However, the idea was that the regular performances of rituals inculcate the virtues of obedience to religion, gratitude to divine beings, respect to nature, a sense of obligation to the ancestors and acceptance of the sovereignty of Ahura Mazda. These duties also emphasise the Zoroastrian belief in the existence of the two worlds and two spirits.