FEZANA SPECIAL EVENT
Reports by Fundamentalists
1. Yasna 30:2 in Action
Arman Ariane
Houston, WZC 2000
On Saturday, December 30, FEZANA
presented a “Special Event” in Marriott Hotel’s Exhibit Hall where the
World Zoroastrian Congress was being held. The theme was “Meaning and Message
of Yasna 30:2, Freedom of Choice.” The speakers were a Traditionalist and a
Zoroastrian Fundamentalist.
Ervard K.N. Dastoor, Ilm-e Khshnoom
scholar-priest and an eloquent speaker, presented the Traditionalist interpretation
of Yasna 30:2. According to Ervad Dastoor, the interpretation of Yazashney
(Gatha) Ha 30:2 is “advocating the supremacy of intellect and its capability
to arrive at the Truth” germinated from 19th century scientific (Newtonian)
thinking, which has been proven to be incorrect by modern (Einsteinian) science.
The true message of 30:2 is: Develop
your Chakhras - the centers of divine energy within you. Alchemise your
body and enlighten your consciousness from darkness to light through the
prescriptions chosen for you; and 'see' directly Nature in its Truth through
your cleansed eyes of Samadhi or Sezdah.
Zarthoshti Din is an infinite ocean,
not a 3-dimensional intellectual exercise. Every moment and every breath of life
is directly connected with it. Ilm-e-Khshnoom provides, in its 40,000 written
pages, the revelation of many hidden Truths on cosmogenesis; Ruvan, Keherpa,
Anasar; Frashogard, Mukti, Nirvan, Salvation; the aim of life, aim of
creation; and many others.”
Ervad Dastoor spoke of mysticism which
is understood only by a few of higher souls and that common man, with his
intellect, cannot comprehend the spirituality of the Zarthoshti Din. One has,
therefore, to follow the traditions of the religion as practiced through ages.
One has to be born of both Zoroastrian parents. There is no conversion in the
Zartoshti Din.
According to Ervard K.N. Dastoor the
true message of 30:2 is to find enlightenment through the prescriptions chosen
for you by your elders.
Dr. Ali A. Jafarey, a Zarthoshti
Fundamentalist, said that the Gathas state that every man and woman has the
Freedom of Choice in shaping his/her life. The 30:2 stanza is a part of Asho Zarathushtra’s first
sermon on Good and Evil. The
Gathas, particularly the two sermons on Good and Evil (Ha’s 30 and 45) explain
“Good” as promoting the spiritual and physical world of the living and Evil
as retarding its progress. One ends
in ultimate happiness and the other makes one suffer until refinement.
A person is free to choose between the two.
Dr. Jafarey produced 52 instances from
the Gathas and other parts of the Avesta to prove that the word “choose or
choice” used in the Avesta texts means the choice of religion through
comparative study. He said that the Zartoshti Religion is the first missionary
religion in history. The missionary work was accomplished only through peaceful
enlightening of the people, men and women.
Force was never used.
According to Dr. Jafarey, all Asho
Zarathushtra does is to advise every person to study the two aspects of life
with a bright mind and then make the great decision to choose “Religion”
one’s very way of life. And he
offers his Divine Message for the choice to all humanity.
Although the winner of this so-called
debate was conspicuous, the first place should really go
to our Zarthoshti community. While the two speakers were interpreting Yasna
30:2 in words, our community was practicing it in deed.
Over 1200 people showed up to hear
the best with their own ears and ponder with a bright mind, so that each person
has a chance to choose the better mentality. This program had by far more
attendants than any other session in the Congress.
For almost a year the Traditionalist
camp tried to ban the community from hearing Dr. Jafarey speak, but the recent
report by Jal Birdy, the President of North American Mobed council, shows that
even the Traditionalists are now happy with the outcomes. This is an opposite
stand than the one taken originally by the Traditionalist before the Congress!
The Traditionalists had underestimated
our community's intelligentsia of today and the community's abilities in
choosing the right path. Ervard Dastoor went so far as to sees our community so
naive that he could convert us all to Islam if he starts preaching it!
The Zoroastrian community is more
experienced, intellectual and sophisticated than most of other societies and
deserves at least the very basic human rights such as the Freedom of Choice,
which FEZANA was able to offer the community.
It was under the tremendous pressure
from the bigots that Mr. Faramarz Patel, Dr. Ardeshir Anoshirvani, Dr. Dolly
Dastoor, Firdosh Mehta, Rustom Kevala, and others had to put in all of their
efforts in order to conduct a Congress free of censorship for Zoroastrians who
had crossed the glob in good faith to attend it.
They did it ONLY to bring Asho
Zarathushtra's message (30:2) from words to deeds AND NOT FOR THE SAKE OF ANY
SPEAKER. Many Zarthoshtis had to cut time from work and their families. Dr.
Farhang Mehr, Prof. Kaikhosrow Irani, Dr. Mehrborzin Soroushian, Dina McIntyre,
Farshid Bakhtiari, Maneck Daruwalla, Shahrokh Mehta, Meher Amalsad, Shahriar
Shahriari, Mazda Antia, Z. Association of NY, Z. Association of Texas, IZA
and many more individuals went out of their way to give Yazashney 30:2 a body of
reality.
" Yasna 30:2 in Action
" was a great gift given to the entire humanity by a genuine Zarthoshti
2500 years ago for the first time, Cyrus the Great, on the path of Asha.
His legacy is kept alive by other
genuine Zarthoshtis like Professor Yezdi Rustomji and his family.
May Ahura Mazda shower them with his blessings.
* * * * * *
(2) Shahriar Shahriari
Then there was the much
politicized and publicized FEZANA Special Event. The outcome of 6 months of high
profile politicizing, and 4 years of silent and eventually vocal soul struggle
of the Zarathushti community in North America. To include or not to include...
that was the question.
No matter which side of
the argument one stood, very early in the afternoon, it became apparent that in
spite of the various efforts of a handful of people (even attempting to create
last minute technical difficulties for the event, so that it would not take
place), the people were inquiring where it was being held. The hall began to
fill as early as two sessions prior to the event. By the time the historical
Special Event was about to begin, the 700 people room was holding over 1000
people (1200 according to one account), and about 300-500 people, I was told,
were kept outside due to fire limit violations.
The chairman of the
session even announced that due to the large number of people left outside the
door, they were trying to see if they could have a closed circuit simulcast of
the presentation in a different hall. And later on, we were told that this was
not possible due to hotel staff shortage and other technical difficulties....
Before the speeches of
Dr. Ervad Kaikhoshrow N. Dastoor and Dr. Ali A. Jafarey even began, it was
evident that Zarathushtrians present at the Congress were interested in hearing
everyone. Even some of the figureheads who had initially planned to boycott the
event, were also present in the session, and went on the stage to ask a question
or two.
(taken out from his Report on WZC2000. See World Zoroastrian Congress 2000)
* * *
Subj: Asha: FEZANA SPECIAL EVENT
Date: 1/9/01 10:39:48 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: Jafarey@aol.com
Sender: owner-asha@bahnhof.se
Reply-to: asha@bahnhof.se
To: zoroastrians@listbot.com, asha@bahnhof.se
MANY MANY THANKS TO FRIENDS AND FOES FOR FEZANA SPECIAL EVENT
Dear companions-in-Asha:
Ushta!
Like many other participants in the World Zoroastrian Congress, Houston, I too returned home with flue. I am back to normal since last night and addressing you.
You might have read many reports about the WZC sessions and a few on the FEZANA Special Event. Although subscribers to both the open-forum zoroastrians@listbot.com and asha@bahnhof.se, the Traditionalists have, for obvious reasons, given their reports on their closed circuit TMZL. Sometimes there have been some people who have forwarded such reports appearing on TMZL to the two groups, but I see no such forwarded postings. If not posted or forwarded within the next two days, I will forward the copies sent to me, perhaps with the intention of annoying me! Meanwhile, Mr. Shahriar Shahriari has posted an interesting account of the Congress and I hope to see it on the two groups. [see above]
To return to my word on the subject, while the foes spared no attempt to stop, break, diminish, and minimize the Special Event sponsored by FEZANA (Federation of North American Zoroastrian Associations) to give a fair chance to Ervad K.N. Dastoor and me, both among the barred from speaking at one or more sessions of the World Zoroastrian Congress, from 27 December 2000 to 1 January 2001, at Houston; the friends spared no efforts to place it placidly on the schedule in the same J.W. Marriott Hotel, Exhibit Hall. The friends WON.
The “Event,” held on 30 December 2000 in a hall of 1200-seats, became so overcrowded that the security authorities had to close the door against hundreds standing to enter it. The two talks on the same subject, “The Meaning and Message of Yasna 30:2, ‘Freedom of Choice’” proposed by Ervad Dastoor and accepted by me, was heard by the audience in a pin-drop silence and applauded with rousing and standing ovations.
Although the friends WON, thanks to both friends and foes, the event was a great success, much greater than anticipated by both the sides. My special thanks are due to Ervad Jal N. Birdy, the President of the North American Mobeds Council and Vice-President of the Traditional Mazdayasni Zoroastrian Association, for his high rides on the full-scale ‘Holy War against heresy’ to his low tide of distributing cheap unsigned, un-owned ‘Fraud and Forged’ fliers among Congress participants. His model role played a great part in the Event’s success. My thanks are also due to Dr. Pallan R. Ichaporia, who has been second to the Ervad in the Holy War but for strategic reasons, went off the Zoroastrian Alias almost a year ago. However, he has been quite active on TMZL and in supplying ammunition to recruits. Although the Master of the much advertised ‘Religious Track,’ he did not show up at the Congress, perhaps was too shy to face hundreds of the Karachi Parsis who might have demanded a ‘Special Award’ for his great medical services to the community for 19 plus years in Karachi. He confined himself at his hometown during the Congress days in sending postings to TMZL in exposing my ‘Fraud and Lies.’
The text of my speech, already on the Zarathushtrian Assembly Homepages of www.zoroastrian.org and www.zartoshti.org, is being posted soon after this letter. Ervad Dastoor’s text of speech, when received, will also be posted on the two groups and be given on the Assembly Homepages. [click to read: Meaning and Message of Yasna 30]
Many many thanks to each of the active FRIENDS and FOES for their great pains, troubles, attempts, efforts, endeavors, and achievements to make the Event the SUCCESS it fully deserved.
Ushta!
Ali A. Jafarey
* * * * *
LINKS:
FEZANA
SPECIAL EVENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS and Their Links
Introduction & the Gist of "The Plain Reality Behind The Intricate Falsity"