From: From Hormuzd to Feraydoon
Email:
Date: 02 Jul 2000
Time: 18:47:36
Dear Feraydoon,
Thanks for your comments on my text of conversion of Non Zoroastrians to Zoroastrianism. I fully agree with your ideas in favour of conversion, adoption of children, and increasing our flock of community members to the maximum. I am of the same opinion. But regards to my acid comments on the physical characteristics of the Parsi community, you will agree that I am not very far wrong, but I was only trying to introduce the benefit of exchange of healthy genes with other communities, and thus giving it a change in scenario, by letting in people who sincerely believe in our Zoroastrian philosophy. After all when Asho Spitaman Zarathushtra, started to convert others, he was not choosy about the racial differences. Just that in those days travel was not that easy and comfortable, the people who accepted the philosophy were mainly indegenous Iranians. But He never said anything untoward or abusive to people who did not want to follow him. He was a free thinker and he wanted his followers to be free thinkers as well, in his philosophy there was no hint of compulsion, coercion, or threat, and this is carried out to this day. Here comes the snag, where the orthodox Mobeds and Dasturs, who are only human beings, trying to thwart and vehemently oppose conversion of others. That was the time during my discourse that I mentioned about them practising RELIGIOUS APARTHIED and preventing others who sincerely want to join in with us. For instance do they think by accepting the so-called 'DARWANDS' they would be upsetting the main-stream followers of born Zoroastrians? Going back in history, I personally am of the opinion that, after having been accepted and given refuge in India, we became so insular and secretive in our religious beliefs and customs, for fear of starting another antagonising relationship with the Hindus, that the idea of mixed marriage and conversion was given up as a lost cause. So there we lived in a dormant state as agriculturists and doing servile jobs for the Hindus, and we were happy with our lot. This chain of events had continued and advocated by our peers, till we were recognised by the British as a distinctly different group of people, and we were given a boost to better ourselves simply because our religion was more broad-minded, and resilient than the Hindus' or the Muslims' and that was the start of the prosperity of our people, in business, education, commerce, shipbuilding and philanthropy. So this is about time we started to give back the benefit of our prosperity to others of different persuasion. Feraydoon, I must apologise if I got carried away and said some seemingly offensive comments about the physiognomy of our community members.
Best wishes to you, and looking forward to your response.
Hormuzd.