A BLUE PRINT FOR A VIABLE ZARATHUSHTI COMMUNITY FOR THE FUTURE. Pashna Munshi I wish to begin this essay, by defining the term blue-print for clarity of thought. The New revised edition of Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary published in 1989 (Random House Value Publishing Incorp)on pg.162, defines a blueprint as “a process of photographic printing used chiefly in copying architectural, and mechanical drawings, which produce a white line on blue background.” The blue background as I see it, is our chequered history; our glorious heritage, and the white line indicates the path, that we, as a community wish to follow in the future. Not only is it important for this grand design to be viable, it has to be practicable , with the capacity to grow, expand and develop into something vivid, real and stimulating. A blue-print that will see the community through another vast expanse of time . An architect, an engineer, a designer works on his drawing board, equipped with the knowledge of his subject and sees the blue-print in his mind’s eye before he can translate it into reality. He cannot activate his mind’s eye unless he has formal knowledge, which in turn forms the basis of what he eventually wants to create, knowledge of where he comes from and where he wants to go, in terms of the end product. Therefore, as the future architects and engineers of the Zarathushti community, we have to be aware of our history, our background and above all what indeed, constitutes our religious identity. The base upon which the grand design of the future of the community is to be outlined, is the religious world view that Zarathushtra perceived in his mind’s eye , his vision, his revelation, his message which he passed on to the people of ancient Iran and which lay the foundation for the oldest revealed religion of the world. Zarathushtra lived and preached in ancient Iran, which to-day forms part of the Central Asian Steppes. He lived some three and a half thousand years ago, more than a millennium before Christianity. Zoroastrianism , remained the state religion of ancient Iran for over a thousand years from the 6th century BCE to the 7th century CE . Zarathushtra’s message formed the foundation rock for three mighty Iranian empires, the Achaemenians, the Parthians, and the Sasanians. The boundaries of ancient Iran extended from River Danube, to River Indus in the East, and from lower Egypt in the west all the way across the borders of present day China, yet ,Zoroastrianism essentially remained the religion of the Iranian people. An uncommon level of religious tolerance was shown by our great kings to wards their subject peoples. History establishes and acknowledges the fact that it was King Cyrus, the great Achaemenian King who liberated the Jews from captivity in Babylon in the 6th century, CE and not only did he allow them to return to Palestine but gave them money from his treasury to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. It was the same King Cyrus who was the first to declare to the world the first Bill of Human Rights which is today enshrined in the United Nations. Darius the Great was the first to build the canal linking the Red Sea with the River Nile. Thus, these great Persian Kings , established through their rule, the Zarathushti identity, which the followers of Zarathushtra maintained and preserved as they stoically defended their religion in spite of the repeated conquests and invasions by the Greeks, Arabs and the Mongols, daring the consequent religious persecution that they faced. The Iranian Zarathushtis preserved their identity in their religious rituals, their culture and customs, in the mode of dress and language and in the practise of their religious festivals. A new chapter began in our history when our forefathers fled from Iran and landed on the shores of India more than a thousand years ago. They came here, in exile, not in search of new pastures , but to preserve their religion and maintain their distinct identity. Small groups of our people came , from the province of Khorasan, known in ancient times as Parthia. The story of the Parsis therefore began in 936 CE when the people of Gujarat called the new immigrants Parsis, from the Persian word Farsi. The Iranis, on the other hand came from Farz, in Central Iran. However, both the Parsis and Iranis came from the same Aryan stock and they came, as stated earlier, with the common object of preserving their religion and maintaining their distinct identity. In those early years of their arrival in India, preservation of their ancient religion became the raison d’être for their existence. The phenomenal rise and growth of Parsis in India is well known . It is not within the scope of this essay to record the early history of our ancestors in India, and the tremendous contribution they made to the growth and development of India, in the early 19th and 20th centuries. Suffice it to say here that our forefathers left their homes , their lands , their wealth , in short everything that was precious to them and came to an alien land to preserve what was most sacred to them-their religion. Not only did they survive as a distinct identifiable group in the vast sub-continent of India, but they prospered economically and repaid their debt to their adopted country in the form of vast charities that they endowed wherever they went. In spite of the community being the smallest in terms of numbers,it excelled in every field, be it politics, fine arts or sciences, social work or philantrophy. They beautifully integrated their Parsi Zoroastrian identity with their secular pursuits. Stalwarts like Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Pherozsha Mehta, Sir Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy, to name just a few were proud of their religious and cultural heritage and declared themselves Parsi Zoroastrians with great pride. Historians and scholars of religion say that the survival of this microscopic community and their ancient religion is a marvel of history. Perhaps , the clue to a viable blue print is the understanding and analysis of the reason for this miracle which happened and continues to happen. I think it happened, because our forefathers knew that the survival of the community was inextricably linked with the survival of the religion. Hence, I think, it is imperative to give here a brief account of the significance of the message of Zarathushtra and its relevance in modern times. So, let us then understand what was the essence of this great religion which had its roots in remote antiquity. Zarathushtra Spitaman, the prophet of ancient Iran, was trained and initiated as a priest in the religion of his forefathers. His revelation brought a new vision into the world. He recognised and declared Ahura Mazda to be the one supreme source of all the good creations in the spiritual as well as the physical worlds. He declared Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom, to be the all knowing Creator, ever present, ever perfect, totally good and just and man’s best friend. Ahura Mazda’s world however, is invaded by a hostile spirit Ahriman, whose is intrinsically evil and whose will is to destroy all that is good and perfect. Ahriman or Angra Mainyu, has no existence of his own. With his demonic creations he thrives on the good creations of Mazda like a parasite bringing suffering, chaos, confusion decay and death into the world. Zarathushtra in his vision, clearly saw and recognised this philosophical paradigm for he states in his divinely inspired hymns, the Gathas; ‘..yes, there are two fundamental spirits, twins renowned to be in conflict . In thought, in word, in action they are two; the better and the bad ….the deceitful one chose to bring to realization the worst things. (But) the very bounteous spirit , who is clothed in the hardest stones, chose the truth….(y.30.3-5) . Ahrua Mazda through his omniscience knows about the existence of Ahriman and in order to completely annihilate him he traps him in the physical world, in fixed time. The responsibility for the ultimate banishing of evil is given to man, Mazda’ s finest creation, for it is man who is gifted with Vohu Manah, the Good Mind which guides him to make the right choice. Thus, man has the privilege, if he so chooses, to share the power which Ahura Mazda holds along with the heptad of the Holy Immortals, the Amesha Spentas. These seven divine beings are each in charge of the seven creations of Ahura Mazda, viz. the skies, the waters, the earth, the plants , animals , man and fire. Man is under the protection of Spenta Mainyu the beneficent Holy Spirit of Ahura Mazda and empowered with the power of the Good Mind, which none of the other creations enjoy, he has the ultimate responsibility to increase the power of Asha upon this earth. Asha , which is the power of God’s Truth and not succumb to the viles of druj , who is opposed to Asha and is personified in Angra Mainyu, the evil spirit. In order to help man make the right choice, in thought, word and action, he is given several tools. The seven key attributes of the Amesha Spentas, which he must understand and imbibe, provide an important weapon in his fight against the evil forces. Man should imbibe the Wisdom which comes from Spenta Mainyu, the Holy Spirit of Mazda, develop the Good Mind, which is the gift of Vohu Manah , follow Truth embodied in Asha Vahishta, exercise the Power and Strength to do that which is right which Khashthra Vairya holds , show Devotion and Care that Spenta Armaiti demostrates, let his thought, word and deed be perfect so that the world is filled with the Perfection of Haurvatat , and every deed that he performs should be a deed of Immortality, the quality that the seventh Amesha Spenta possesses of being eternal and undying.