A sacred text is seen in most religions as immutable and beyond time. The nature of a sacred text is wrapped in layers of spirituality and is framed in the historicity of the time it was written in or passed down. To attempt to change it is to assume that one's knowledge of the corpus of the religion is greater than those of the Spiritual Masters and Religious Savants of the past.
Religion is not a corpus of scientific facts that can be empirically valued and chopped and changed to suit new discoveries or ideas. The essence of a sacred text is that it is revealed or written in its totality and, therefore, any change brought to it will have unforeseen long ranging repercussions, however unintended, and will contribute towards devaluing the faith as we know it. It is important to keep the above in mind when people want changes for the sake of relevance, which philosophically is untenable with the idea of sacredness, because sacredness by its very nature is relevant or all tiles.
SOME OBSERVATIONS:
1. Texts such as the Vendidad are maanthravaani, or holy utterances composed by sages and the buzorgaans (the great ones) of our faith, and must be seen in its entirety, for it to be efficacious. The Vendidad is the "Law against the Demons" and is compared by scholars to the Jewish text, Leviticus. The Vendidad is recited in full during the ritual and the recitation of it acts as a protective shield for all good people and, therefore, its message cannot be truncated without it losing its Innate spiritual power. 2. There are many translations available of our texts and prayers and however skilled a philologist or translator may be it is not possible to give an absolutely correct translation of a text in a language, which is over a thousand years ago or more. Therefore, every translation has its limitations. There are, for example, as many translations of the Yatha Ahu Vairyo as there are syllables in the prayer. Hence. I have always held that by all means try and understand the gist of prayers before reciting it. Should you need to, but its true efficacy lies in its faithful recitation. It is this fealty in reciting the text as our ancestors have done, which helps one to connect with the spiritual world. 3. The Vendidad, for example, is a text that is read today on its own as well as it is a part of a larger ritual such as the Nirangdin. By truncating the Vendidad, one loses the efficacy of rituals such as the Yasna and Visperad rituals connected with it and embedded within the format of the larger ritual such as the Nirangdin. This is not an appropriate act religiously as it adversely impacts on the high liturgies of the faith. 4. There is little doubt that the sacred texts such as the Vendidad and our prayers are over a millennium old, and some such as the Gathas, was revealed by our Prophet, 1
while others were composed by our sages who lived immediately after him, for our benefit, and we cannot be so presumptuous as to wish to change the format of the verses to suit our limited understanding in modern times. 5. More than a hundred years ago, the founder of the philological school in India, K.R. Cama, warned in the Gujarati Journal Jarthoshi Abhyaas (18G6 CE) that if translations of the Avesta cannot be properly understood, the blame should not be placed on the original Avestan texts, and although the translations may appear inaccurate or un understandable by today’s standards, one must not discard the original Avestan text. The analogy here can be applied, for example, in mathematics. If a complex mathematical equation cannot be understood, no mathematician worth his salt will suggest discarding the equation, just because it cannot be solved or understood. 6. The Vendidad is an ancient sacred text and in the past Mobeds knew it by rote. It is the only Nask (Volume) that has survived in its entirety out of the original corpus of 21 Nasks. This itself is an indication of its importance, as our ancestors thought fit to make every attempt to safeguard the text of the Vendidad. 7. In the Vendidad, the sins and their reciprocal punishments are mentioned. For example, flogging as a deterrent has been advocated in the translations. Whereas in the original Avestan language, it speaks of driving away noxious creatures from villages, and not flogging. There are references, however, to flogging for tanaapuhr sins (1.e. sins which cannot be atoned for) committed by man, and that has to be understood today, more in terms of a punishment that one has to undergo for committing a sin or a crime. The some process happens in modern law. If one commits a crime, one is punished for it, and although the mode of punishment is different today the principle remains that for every crime there is a suitable punishment. The Vendidad also advocates the killing of poisonous snakes and lizards and ants that sting, etc. These are enumerated as things that bring harm to a human being and thus, we must appreciate these commands and the wisdom of our ancestors even if they are only applicable in time past. For instance, if your home is infested by red ants that bite, or wasps, you will call in an exterminator to get rid of these creatures and ensure that they do not come back. A FEW VERSES OF THE VENDIDAD: Fragard 3: refers to all matters and pollutants that destroy the earth and those things that bring joy to the earth. In the modern context, this is exactly what ecology is all about. me for example, governments in Canada and elsewhere have decreed that bodies cannot have a shroud burial or be placed in an unlined wooden coffin. This is because the body in its state of putrefaction emits poisonous substances into the earth, which are then carried by underground water to human beings. Thus, our ancestors had an ancient understanding when they advocated that there should be no burial, for example. 2
Also, we praise the earth and we have prayers dedicated to the earth. Hence, these are religious laws made to safeguard the earth. This is what eco-warriors across the world are promoting and this is also part of the religious culture of the Native Americans. This chapter is very relevant today especially as modern man has done everything to degrade and pollute the earth and the waters. Fragard 4: deals with the importance and value of contracts and promises, the religious responsibility of a family vis-àvis a contract, and contracts or promises made pertaining to charitable works and the punishment advocated for those who break contracts or give a false oath. Fragard 4, Para 44 outlines the duty of a good Zoroastrian according to the Vendidad, which is to help a co-religionist to take a wife, help him to get a job, so that he can maintain his family, and to impart religious knowledge to him so that he can lead a good life. So, the Vendidad has a number of lives enhancing exhortations, which are important in themselves. From this Fragard we must extrapolate very important values such as upholding a contract and the responsibility one has to one's family and co-religionists to fulfil a contract, and the repercussions when one fails to fulfil a contract. One must look for the principles alluded to in such verses. Fragard 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: deal with pollution arising from dirt and dead matter (nasu). Again, this is of paramount importance to understand the idea of ritual, spiritual and physical pollution, as It is the basis for understanding the Gathic idea of twin spirits: one that chooses the right and the other that chooses the wrong. So, understanding one part of the Avesta helps you to link with other parts of the Avesta, which is seen as an integrated whole. Moreover, the idea of good and evil, truth and the lie, cleanliness and pollution, happiness and misery are all Ideas framed within the understanding of a cosmic and ethical dualism, which outlines that which is good for a human being and that which is not. Fragad 8 also deals with taking the barashnum, which may not be relevant In America as the priests do not perform High Rituals and, therefore, the need to perform a baraslınum is not there. However, this ritual is performed by our priests in India each time, in preparation for high liturgies. In the same Fragard, Paras 81-96, for example, contain Instructions as to how various fires can be purified, which action will gladden Ahura Mazda. This instruction was taken into consideration in the 18th and 19th centuries, while consecrating the Anjuman Atash Balram in Navsari and. thereafter, the same principle was kept in mind when consecrating the Modi Atash Bahram In Surat as well as the H.B. Wadia Atash Bahram and the Anjuman Atash Balram in Mumbai. 3
Fragard 13 and 14: are solely devoted to the dog and the otter (water dog), Avesta: udra, Pallavi: udrag, which is seen as the water dog. The dog's importance to man is well known amongst Zoroastrians as well as other people of the world. But few know of the importance of the otter. In olden times the otter was considered a very useful animal and to kill him would bring scarcity of water and famine, as the otter is known in Iran to dam flowing waters, thereby creating a pool of water for the farmers to use. The dog and the otter are seen as Ahuric(good) creatures that favour man and bring comfort to man. No animal lover would disagree with the ideas in these chapters. Also, both these creatures are part of the socio religious myths of our faith and need to be understood from that perspective. Fragard 15: deals with obligations of a father concerning illegitimate children, women who have children out of wedlock, and the sins of abortion. Surely these are modem day concerns for which there are laws in every country even in the secular sphere. Fragard 16: deals with menstruation. Our faith has a very distinct view of pollution versus non pollution. Any continuous body fluid emanating from a person, be it a man or a woman, is seen as rendering a person in a state of ritual pollution. Hence, we never touch any holy object or attend a religious ceremony or enter an Agiary when one is in this impure state. All religions follow such laws, including orthodox Jews, orthodox Christians and the Muslims. Fragard 17: is on the care il disposal of hair and nails. Today in our modern times we continue to dispose of hair and nails appropriately. We do not cut our hair or nails on a dinner table, for example, because although these are biological ie. nails and hair, however in Zoroastrianism these are seen as hixr and nasa, Le dead matter, being unclean in society. Fragard 18: paras 15, 23, 29, refer to unworthy priests and the importance of a rooster and some other sins. Great importance is attached to the crowing rooster in Zoroastrianism. It is seen as the companion of Sarosh Yazad. To give a rooster and a hen to a righteous man is deemed to be a meritorious act. The rooster, which crows at dawn wakes up those who are asleep and alerts them to work for the good of humanity. Otherwise, the Demon of Sloth and procrastination,Bushyaanspa, will lull the person to deep sleep and in that way prevent him from being industrious for the good of the people. The rooster, therefore, is a symbol for wakefulness and of doing good deeds. The rooster is also seen as a sacred bird: when a domestic rooster in a Zoroastrian household dies, it is wrapped in a sudreh and buried with honour.Moreover, in the same Fragard, there is a vivid description of who is a good priest. Such a priest's main function is to be knowledgeable about the religion and adept in the performance of rituals as well as one who makes the co- religionist live a good and pious le so that he may earn the right to enter paradise in the spiritual world. It is essential to extrapolate the principles from these verses. 4
Conclusion: In conclusion, I would like to add that a Mobed's function is to praise the Holy Scriptures of the Avesta and not to denigrate or destroy it without understanding the true spirit and historicity of the Avesta. Finally, it is worth our while to remember an English couplet: "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, Drink deep or taste not the Plerian Spring." It is the duty of every devout Zoroastrian to be steadfast on Zoroastrianism. He must always remember the words of Zarathushtra who responded contemptuously to Ahriman when that ignominious evil spirit allured him with a prize if Zarathushtra abandoned the Good Religion of Mazda. Chapter XIX of the Vendidad, which is, in part, an abridged Zarthosht-Naameh mentions this episode in para 7: "Noit hey apastavaane vanghuhim daenaam maazdayasnim noit astachia noit ushtaanemcha noit baodhascha vi urvisyaat." This means: "I shall not abhor the Good Mazda-Worshipping Religion. neither if even my bones, my life breath or consciousness be separated". Mohor roj and dae month 1389 shehanshahi, May.24.2020, Jamejamshid magazine, Written by Vada Dasturji Saheb Dr.Firoze.M Kotwal.
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