Mahernoz Daruwala

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 #

De parvis grandis acervus ent - Motto of Google ToolBar
(Great big things come from a small start)

We don't really see what we think we see...
-Sefa Agbovi (Pen Friend of Mahernoz)

The Difference between an Insane and a Genius is sucess
- JamesBond movie.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you,
then they fight you, then you win. - Mahatma Gandhi

"You assist an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees. An evil system never deserves such
allegiance. Allegiance to it means partaking of the evil. A good person will resist an evil system with his or her
whole soul."
-Mahatma Gandhi

I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back.
- Henny Youngman

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
- Peter Drucker

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt within the heart.
-Helen Keller

He who praises you for what you lack wishes to take from you what you have. - Don Juan Manuel

Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine. - Fran Lebowitz

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick

We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us. - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

posted @ Tuesday, December 19, 2006 7:04 PM | Feedback (0)

Friday, February 16, 2007 #

Another good collection of Quotes

"Life is a challenge, meet it."~ Mother Teressa

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." ~ Chinese Proverb

"I don't want problems solved for me. I want the fishing rod, not the fish."~ Yanni

"Focused will is incredible. If you have a dream and you don't give up no matter what obstacles come up, then life's problems will fall away and you will get what you want. It happens. It works." ~ Yanni

"The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges." ~Martin Luther King Jr.

Dreams can often become challenging, but challenges are what we live for. -- Travis White

“Only as a warrior can one withstand the path of knowledge. A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges.” ~ Carlos Castaneda

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” ~ Teddy Roosevelt

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” ~ Teddy Roosevelt

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." Albert Einstein

When you've got something to prove, there's nothing greater than a challenge. -- Terry Bradshaw

Impossibilities are merely things which we have not yet learned. -- Charles W. Chesnutt

Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths. -- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him. - Mark Twain

When someone tells me there is only one way to do things, it always lights a fire under my butt. My instant reaction is, "I'm going to prove you wrong!" -- Picabo Street

If we do not rise to the challenge of our unique capacity to shape our lives, to seek the kinds of growth that we find individually fulfilling, then we can have no security: we will live in a world of sham, in which our selves are determined by the will of others, in which we will be constantly buffeted and increasingly isolated by the changes round us. -- Nena O'Neil

There is no Challenge more challenging than the challenge to improve yourself. -- Michael F. Staley

You have powers you never dreamed of. You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind. -- Darwin P. Kingsley

I wanted to be scared again... I wanted to feel unsure again. That's the only way I learn, the only way I feel challenged. -- Connie Chung

When people keep telling you that you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try it. -- Margaret Chase Smith

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory. -- George S. Patton

If someone says can't, that shows you what to do. -- John Cage

"In every difficult situation is potential value. Believe this, then begin looking for it." Norman Vincent Peale

"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." Walt Disney

"Just because you know where you want to end up doesn’t mean you will not be faced with obstacles, or challenges along the way. Instant success rarely happens." Catherine Pulsifer, from Wings for Goals

"Every problem has a gift for you in its hands." Richard Bach

"Before you can consider a problem water under the bridge, you must first patiently work on removing the dam." Michelle C. Ustaszeski

"Perseverance is the ability to keep going in the face of continuous challenges. It is the ability to disregard distractions and to stay focused." Catherine Pulsifer

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." Dale Carnegie

"Remember, always give your best. Never get discouraged. Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you. But those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself." Richard M. Nixon

"A challenge is an opportunity to prove your ability to yourself, and others." Contributed by Joe Brown

"To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can't just accept the ones you like." Mike Gafka

"Let your language be a source of unity but not a separating tool." William Ngwako Maphoto

"Make every rejection moment an opportunity for revolution. Make every revulsion(dislike) into Attraction." William Ngwako Maphoto

"Troubles, like babies, grow larger by nursing." Lady Holland

"For every mountain there is a miracle." Robert H. Schuller

"Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors." African Proverb

"It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up again." Vince Lombardi

"The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong." Thomas Carlyle

"I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much." Mother Teresa

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." Aldous Huxley

"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it." Washington Irving

"A desire can overcome all objections and obstacles." Gunderson

"Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them... they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight." Orison Swett Marden

The best way to succeed in life is to act on the advice we give to others...

When was the last time you did something for the first time? The lesser this interval, the nearer you are to another success.

For all your days prepare And meet things ever alike When you are the anvil, bear When you are the hammer, strike

No problem can withstand the power of sustained creative thought.

There are no mistakes made in life, there are only lessons learnt.

The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

Be the change you want to see in this world.

Determine never to be idle. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.

20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didnt do than by the ones you did.

Have confidence that if you have done a little thing well, you can do a bigger thing well too.

Do what you know best, if you are a runner, run.. If you are a bell, ring.

Worry is the misuse of imagination.

Instead of thinking where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes 20 years of smart work to become an overnight success.

When we put a limit on what we want to do, we also put a limit on what we can do.

Either I will find a way or I will make one.

Your day goes the way the corners of your mouth turn.

We dont know who we are until we see what we can do.

Dont go through life, grow through life.

Its time to start living the life we have imagined.

No matter what our age or condition is, there are still untapped potentials within us and new beauty waiting to be born.

The only aging process is the erosion of dreams.

Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows, but live your todays!

Our self image and our habits go together. Change one and the other will be changed automatically.

Make you life a mission, not an intermission.

The world is what we think it is. If we can change our thoughts, we can change the world.

What happens to a man is less significant than what happens within him.

Nothing is good or bad, but it is our thinking which makes it so.

Happiness is a present attitude, not a future condition.

Believe that you have it, and you have it.

The best way to succeed in life is to act on the advice we give to others...

When was the last time you did something for the first time? The lesser this interval, the nearer you are to another success.

For all your days prepare And meet things ever alike When you are the anvil, bear When you are the hammer, strike

No problem can withstand the power of sustained creative thought.

There are no mistakes made in life, there are only lessons learnt.

The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

Be the change you want to see in this world.

Determine never to be idle. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.

20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didnt do than by the ones you did.

Have confidence that if you have done a little thing well, you can do a bigger thing well too.

Do what you know best, if you are a runner, run.. If you are a bell, ring.

Worry is the misuse of imagination.

Instead of thinking where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes 20 years of smart work to become an overnight success.

When we put a limit on what we want to do, we also put a limit on what we can do.

Either I will find a way or I will make one.

Your day goes the way the corners of your mouth turn.

We dont know who we are until we see what we can do.

Dont go through life, grow through life.

Its time to start living the life we have imagined.

No matter what our age or condition is, there are still untapped potentials within us and new beauty waiting to be born.

The only aging process is the erosion of dreams.

Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows, but live your todays!

Our self image and our habits go together. Change one and the other will be changed automatically.

Make you life a mission, not an intermission.

The world is what we think it is. If we can change our thoughts, we can change the world.

What happens to a man is less significant than what happens within him.

Nothing is good or bad, but it is our thinking which makes it so.

Happiness is a present attitude, not a future condition.

Believe that you have it, and you have it.

Art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings.

Thoughts lead to purpose, purposes to action, actions form habits, habits decide our character and character fixes our destiny.

Failure is a temporary change in direction to set you straight towards the path of success.

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.

Tough times dont last, while tough people do.

True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful.

Become addicted to constant and never-ending self improvement.

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize.

Use whatever talents you possess. The woods would be very silent if no birds sang, except those that sing best.

If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere.

They can conquer who believe they can.

You will rise by lifting others.

Your mind will give back exactly what you put into it.

The fault finder will find faults even in a paradise.

The measure of life is not its duration, but its donation.

Being happy is one of the ways of being wise.

The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.

We can accomplish many more if we did not think of them as impossible.

Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.

There is no such thing as an insignificant improvement.

The man with confidence in himself, gains the confidence of others.

You will only go as far as you can think you can go.

He whose face gives no light shall never become a star.

The biggest mistake of all is to avoid situations in which you might make a mistake.

It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.

Genius is the product of enthusiasm.

Confidence in nonsense is requirement for the creative process.

Optimists do not wait for improvement, they achieve it.

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves, else we harden and weaken.

Use the word "impossible" with great caution.

Never discourage anyone, who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.

Two men look out through the same bars, one sees the mud and one the stars.

Trust your hopes, not your fears.

Whether a glass is half-full or half-empty depends on the attitude of the person looking at it.

There is a better way to do everything you do, find it.

Be a believer first, to become an achiever.

Things don't turn up in this world, unless somebody turns them up.

Promote yourself without demoting others.

A positive attitude is not a destination, its a way of life.

Above all, challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have, what you can accomplish.

When you are though changing, you are though.

Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.

You begin to achieve when you begin to believe.

It is not the situation that matters, but your reaction to the situation.

A man who has to be convinced before he acts, is not a man of action.

Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

Our aspirations are our possibilities.

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of will.

We cant direct the winds, but we can adjust the sails.

If you really want to be happy, nobody can stop you.

Life is a collection of experiments, the more experiments you make, the better.

One cannot control the length of his life, but he can have something to say about its width and depth.

Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

In the long run, a person hits at only what he aimed at.

The way to overcome shyness is to become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.

We are what we think we are. All that we are arises with our own thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.

Praise loudly, blame softly

The poor man is not he who is without money, but he who is without a dream.

There is only one corner if the universe you can be certain of improving, and thats your own self.

Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today

A problem is a chance for you to do your best

The harder you fall, the higher you bounce

Reputation is what people think you are... Personality is what you seem to be.... Character is what you really are.....

"Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special".

"Action may not always bring happiness, But there is no happiness without action" -Benjamin Disraeli

"Happiness is a choice that requires efforts at times"

"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for" - Allan K. Chalmers

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us. " - Helen Keller

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Henry David Thoreau

"Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was" - Richard L. Evans

"We can try to avoid making choices by doing nothing, but even that is a decision" - Gary Collins

"Today's beautiful moments are Tomorrow's beautiful memories."

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy" - Martin Luther King Jr.

"Life is the first gift, Love is the second and Understanding is the third"

"Don't grieve that your roses have thorns. Rejoice instead that your thorns have roses!"

"Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom"

"Its not how you fall, but how you pick yourself up again"

"The heights by great men reached and kept were not achieved by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upwards in the night"

"Love is true when it comes from the heart, not from the mouth" - Aristotle

"To have joy one must share it. Happiness was born twin." - Lord Byron

"Success is not the result of a spontaneous combustion. You must first set yourself on fire" - Fred Shero

"Do not set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you..."

"He who dares wins"

Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone. - Horace

"Do not be afraid to give up the good to go for the great" - Kenny Rogers

"There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love; there is always a scarcity of resolve to make it happen."- Wayne Dyer

"For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Liars need good memories"

"Life is the greatest bargain; we get it for nothing"

"Between the great things that we cannot do and the small things that we do not do, we end up doing nothing. Little drops of water make a mighty ocean"

"You learn swimming by swimming only. There is no shortcut for success"

"Do not let life slip through your fingers by living in the past or by living for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life"

"I cried for boots until I saw a man who had no legs"

"As a rule, Man is a fool When it's hot he wants it cool When it's cool he wants it hot Always wanting what is not"

"Life is a unique exam of its kind in the sense that we face the exams first and learn lessons later."

"Treat a person as he is and he remains as he is, treat the same person as he could be and he will become what he should be."

"A reasonable person is the one who adapts himself to the world. An un-reasonable person is the one who keeps trying to adapt the rest of the world to suit himself."

"God helps only those who help themselves."

"When you lose, do not lose the lesson."

"I love you not for whom you are, but for who I am when I am by your side."

"No person deserves your tears, and the one who deserves won't make you cry."

"The worst way to miss someone is to be seated by his/her side and to know that you'll never have him/her."

"Never stop smiling, not even when you are sad, someone might fall in love with your smile."

"You may only be a person in this world, but for someone, you're the world."

"Don't spend time with someone who doesn't care spending it with you."

"May be GOD wants you to meet many wrong people before you meet the right one, so when this happens, you'll be thankful."

"Don't struggle so much, best things happen when unexpected."

"Do not give up when there is still something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. It is a fragile thread that binds us to each other."

"When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane."

"Look deep, deep into nature and then you will understand everything better" - Albert Einstein

"Man is the only animal who eats even when he is not hungry"

"Don't live to eat, eat to live"

"When the going gets tough, the tough get the going

. Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.

Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin ? to say that you are weak, or others are weak.

You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.

All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.

The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.

The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified, and God will be in them.

If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.

The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!

Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.

When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state.

It is our own mental attitude which makes the world what it is for us. Our thought make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly. The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light. First, believe in this world, that.

EACH soul is potentially Divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity with in by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work or worship or psychic control or philosophy- by one or more all of these- and be free. This is whole of RELIGION.

Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man

My countrymen should have nerves of steel, muscles of iron, and minds like thunderbolt.

posted @ Friday, February 16, 2007 11:01 AM | Feedback (2)

Saturday, February 10, 2007 #

How to tell the difference between Love and Lust?

Happy Valentine Day

Love or Lust?

·Love is loyal.
·Love is wanting the best for the other person.
·Love is compromising and working things out in a way that you both can win.
·Love is finding common ground.
·Love is trying to come together in a way that makes the world a better place.
·Love is selfless.
·Love is caring about the other person’s emotional needs and feelings.
What Lust is…
·Lust is self-gratification.
·Lust can be obsessive.
·Lust is usually tied to sexual gratification.
·Lust is selfish.
·Lust doesn’t consider the other persons wants and needs.
·Lust doesn’t care about how the other person’s day went.
·When someone’s in lust they aren’t interested in meeting family or friends.
·Lust is wanting something to the point that you don’t care who gets hurt.
·Lust manipulates, destroys and controls.
·Lust often involves raging.
·People who lusts may think they are in love, but the fire burns out quickly when they get the person or thing they lust for.
·Lust doesn’t last, but love can.

Regards,

Mahernoz

posted @ Saturday, February 10, 2007 1:25 PM | Feedback (2)

Thursday, January 25, 2007 #

How to send Email in AsP.net?

How to send Email in AsP.net?

In Aspx write....

SmtpClient client = new SmtpClient();
MailMessage mail = new MailMessage(From, To, Subject, Body);
mail.IsBodyHtml = true;
client.Send(mail);
return true;

In Web.config

After System.Web

192.168.1.100 = Is Your SMTP Server Address...(You need to configure your SMTP Server
userName = Valid Username
password = valid password

posted @ Thursday, January 25, 2007 4:34 PM | Feedback (2)

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 #

N Tier Tutorials

Check this urls

http://15seconds.com/issue/011219.htm

http://www.15seconds.c= om/issue/011023.htm

Ticket NO: [38C-0D371171-45EC]
[071-0D3868B7-751D]

posted @ Tuesday, December 12, 2006 8:27 AM | Feedback (1)

Saturday, February 04, 2006 #

Cloning of Zoroastrianism

In order to save our community from extinction there had been many noteworthy attempts done by Parsi trusts and other people. But as we all know that our community is like a leaky bucket, where the water drops off more than it gets filled. There are many holes in this bucket. Like…

1) Death

2) Intercaste marriage

3) Willful acceptance of other religion

4) Infertility among the couples or other medical problems.

5) No wish to have a child.

6) No wish to marry.

We all know that we cannot avoid death, nor can we change a person mind to not to accept other religion (we may only advice but can’t beg him) and there is also the problem of infertility for which medical help is available, but still some cases remain uncured.

But the main trend why Zoroastrian religion numbers are falling is due to the fact that there are many intercaste marriages committed. In order to stop intercaste marriages we have no scheme because our community is not against love. If a person of our caste loves another person of other caste then he has the right to marry that person and we are quite a modern community and don’t even entertain religious extremism. For us being an Indian is more important than being a Zoroastrian.

There is one way by which intercaste marriage can be avoided but that is not recommended at least for an educated community like ours. And that solution is to do child marriages. No, this is not a solution because it is immoral. So, we won’t consider this as a solution at all.

Our Parsi trust had also put forward a solution to remedy the lower population & birth rate problem.

“If a couple has a third child then his expenses will be borne by the Parsi Panchayat of that respective city”(I believe that days will come to change that to second)

This suggestion is a complete failure and our Parsi couples are not a fool to have a third child because of some discount scheme and we don’t want our child to live a life full of Panchayat scholarships. We want that our child be well educated and become some one of great importance like an MBA, Doctor, Engineer, etc. The Parsi Panchayat has its limits well defined. It cannot take care of our children in the same way we care for them.

I also propose a solution to increase population that “If a couple is not able to borne a child for 2 years after marriage then they should be given free medical help if they have medical problems or financial help if their condition is so poor that they can’t afford to have a child or Psychiatric help if they face a mental problem (which involves sex problems). All these expenses should be borne by the Panchayat” this solution will bring more people under its scope rather than couples with 3 children. However, care should be taken that the Panchayat Funds be helpful to genuine persons only who seek financial help from the Parsi Panchayat.

There are other ways by which Parsis can increase their population but they are immoral and don’t deserve any mention here.

No solution is actually working for us and according to the recent statistics by the Government of India, the rate at which our community is declining; our community will be extinct (yes, extinct) within the next 100 years. I am not against luck or Believe in God type persons that they may assure me that everything would be all right but you can’t ignore the ground reality.

Yes, there would be no Parsi walking on this earth after 100 years. Believe it or not. Every probability and statistics possible reflects only this fact. The Paper “Jame Jamshed” which you are reading right now will also be extinct as no Parsi reader will be there to read it. Government will take hold of our Fire Temples, Dharamshalas and Marriage Halls and Dokhma and would do anything with it, may be preserve it as a museum for travelers that once upon a time there were people known as Zoroastrians or Parsis who used to pray here in the Agyari or Atash Behram. I believe that the fire temple of Udvada and all the Atash Behrams will be a tourist spot.

Don’t get too much excited because this is going to happen after 100 years. There is still much time left, after 100 years not even our ashes would remain on this earth. As usual we will sleep, eat, work and die while watching our community decline for the reasons I mentioned above.

Isn’t there any hope of our survival? Well, let us see… some people on reading this might have some brave terminology of their own that “I am a pure Zoroastrian and my children would be also only Zoroastrian and I and my children and their children would only marry Zoroastrians and as long as my family and I are there Zoroastrianism won’t be perished.”

Can we believe in such kind of a wishful thinking? What if that brave person’s grand children fell in love with some other caste person? Again I add that we are not against love.

The fact that I am telling is that we are relying on wishful thinking, on magic or on a deteriorating hope that our community would survive even the baddest days and somehow would get through. Because we people are hopeful people and certainly not hopeless. I am not against hope of that sort but there should be (there must be) much more consolidation filled within our hearts than just a deteriorating hope.

Also another danger, which is lurking is that if the population will decline below a certain level, the rate of intercaste marriage is going to increase even more than now and that can bring the downfall of our community much faster than 100 years limit.

There is another problem of location as in these days our people are not at one location as it used to be in Iran, some Parsis have also shifted to some other countries where no Zoroastrian population exist for e.g. some parts of Africa, China, Russia, etc. and they marry the girl of that country who is outside of our caste because of many reasons and one of the reasons is they are not willing to accept a girl/boy outside of their own new environment because as it is said that “We are True to our own Environments”.

If some boy was born and brought up in China he would have only Chinese women to watch in his surroundings so he will begin to like Chinese women more, and would insist on marrying an Chinese woman rather than an unknown Parsi woman and one day he will fall in love with such a woman of his dreams. The same rule applies to girls also. This might look rubbish to some but this is reality of our present generation. So it is really hard to maintain your Zoroastrianism when we live in some places where Zoroastrian people are very scarce or are hard to find. The parents also won’t interfere in their child’s way because they know the situation.

The problem of location do happen within India also as we know that Mumbai based Parsi Boys/Girls are not willing to marry outside Mumbai because they can’t leave Mumbai. So, our religion is basically concentrated more on Mumbai where 55,000 of the possible 65,000 Parsis live, and with the fashionable culture these days people will prefer an inter caste marriage with a smart person rather than an arranged marriage with a dull person.

Now where does the solution lie?

Let us rethink the whole situation again. We cannot stop people falling in love; we cannot accept the person of outside caste because it will spoil our environment and our blood (that’s funny but many still believe this).

Our youth is mature enough to choose their life partners. It’s not necessarily only attraction when it comes to intercaste marriages, but some other factors as well like relationship, friendship, true love, etc., so our lecturers (those old people who use to bore us) should not use the word “attraction” when it comes to intercaste marriages as it reflects their own hidden mental status!

I respect the fact that Parsis will not include outside caste members in the Zoroastrian religion. I also believe that the Persian blood must be preserved and as much as possible a Parsi should marry a Parsi only.

But the heart has its own reasons. All the logic in this world won’t prevent you from falling in love with a person you never intent to. We also can’t tell our love that, “Don’t come near me! I am a Zoroastrian! I need to save my religion!” Actually, it just happens. Love defies all logic.

So, at the same time we have the responsibility to preserve our Blood and also our Love. When a choice does come to choose Religion or Love we naturally choose Love (being the kind of emotional fools we all are!). We also want that our spouse should be respected and accepted in the same way as we get accepted in our community. But here all the problems start.

Intercaste marriages (though the bravest!) are looked upon as inferior marriages (this is in every community). The couples that do intercaste marriage do not get accepted fully by either side, not our side nor theirs. You tell me, what was their fault? Their fault was that they loved each other and also married overlooking the fact that they were both of different castes. I don’t say that, but this is what they go through every day. Even in gatherings like marriages, parties, etc. But these couples don’t care for the world or society they just care for each other. They are modern people, but sometimes they do feel it from their inside that, neglect…

I think that we must make the lives of such couples easier.

My thinking is based upon the line written in the Book of the HA written by Prophet Asho Zarathrustra “Zoroastrianism is for the whole mankind” I don’t read any Persian scripts but Dr. Chatterjee a renowned scholar on Zoroastrianism has stated this years ago and also criticized the Parsi community for keeping the religion to Iranians only.

Our present religion’s Architecture has many flaws. The major flaw of this Architecture is simple, it doesn’t work.

And my Software Engineering discipline states, “If the old design is inflexible then it is better to make a new design which is flexible enough to accept changes, which will lead to a long lasting system”

Remember, we must leave the old design as it is and protect the honor of good blood. We can’t change the old system made by our great ancestors. Each religion has it’s own rules and traditions, and we must respect the traditions of the religion in which we are and like the ARZ we must not think to include outside members in our present religion. I wrote to ARZ about my idea, but ARZ is only interested in conversion and I am talking about a new World Religion, which would be even better than the present one, because we are capable of making one.

As our community people has always been great initiators we can do one thing which no other religion has ever done for its kids, we can make a new design, yes what I am talking about is we must make a mirror image of Zoroastrianism which is based upon Indian laws and not the Persian laws formulated some 1500 years ago. This new religion will be known as the “Protestant Zoroastrianism” and this religion will accept all the members from any community and also intercaste couples from any community. So this religion would be the “First Lover’s Religion” on earth. Religion has always been a hurdle against love and love has always been a hurdle against religion, but no longer.

This religion won’t behave in any special way as the Orthodox Zoroastrians (which we are presently) but in the same way as other religions in India behaves. No special treatment.

The Protestant Zoroastrian religion will not be a sub caste of the Orthodox Zoroastrian religion but a completely different religion with a different set of values.

Anybody can go into the Protestant Zoroastrian Agyari or Atash Behram or Dokhma, and can offer their prayers. Anybody can be included in Protestant Zoroastrian only if he/she wishes and not by force or greed. The Protestant Agyaris will have their own Dastoors. If Orthodox Zoroastrian dastoors do wish to help to train Protestant Zoroastrian dastoors they are most welcome to do so, but keeping the Protestant rules in mind.

The Protestant Zoroastrians will be known as True Zoroastrians in the eyes of Prophet Asho Zarathrustra and God Ahura Mazda they don’t need any certification from Orthodox Zoroastrian authorities. But I know that the Orthodox Zoroastrian won’t be comfortable with the Protestant Zoroastrian because they suffer from their egos of pure blood but what really counts in the eyes of God is not the language, body, blood, environment, etc. but the soul and only the soul. But the Protestant Zoroastrians don’t want any stamp on them or help from the Orthodox Zoroastrian people in the matters of their personal opinions. I am confident that if the new person is given an environment similar to Orthodox Zoroastrian then he may begin to like Zoroastrianism, as it is a religion free from any orthodox values and a “Modern Religion”, which will have all the good points of Orthodox Zoroastrianism.

Intercaste marriage would also be allowed in this new religion. There is no need for the Orthodox Zoroastrians to join in this religion. They can keep their spouse in the Protestant Zoroastrian and remain themselves as Orthodox Zoroastrians also if they wish to.

On the other hand, the Orthodox Zoroastrians should not view the Protestant Zoroastrians as lower people because this is the religion, which will survive the test of time after they have perished within some years so they must try to help this new religion as much as they can. Although the language of Protestant Zoroastrians would not be similar to Parsis, the environment also won’t be similar to the Parsis, not even the body would be similar to a Parsi, in fact it would be a mixture of many cultures, but as I told you all these things are trivial in front of the soul. Consider the case of the Muslim religion, an Afghan, Arab, Indian Muslim, Turkish Muslim, African Muslims, etc. they all are different having different language, body, blood & environment but they are still Muslims because Muslim religion is for the whole mankind and not for any one group of people. In the same way Protestant Zoroastrian will be for the whole mankind and not for the group of people and would be free of any orthodox values and a Modern Religion, which encourages love and scientific thinking.

The Protestant Zoroastrian will have their own Avesta books translated in many different languages as needed. The Avesta books would also show the meanings of the Prayer text in that respective language. So people who have complaints that they can’t understand their own prayers would have a better insight on the meanings of prayers they utter. For this Protestant Zoroastrian should have their own printing press to publish various books relating to Zoroastrianism. If the Orthodox Zoroastrians are willing to provide books to the Protestant Zoroastrian then they are most welcome to do so.

The Protestant Zoroastrian Navjote ceremony and marriage ceremony would be similar to the Orthodox Zoroastrian ways.

The Protestant Zoroastrian will have its own calendar; the member’s council (which will be held every year) of the Protestant Zoroastrianism would decide this calendar. So, the Protestant Zoroastrian New Year might be different than the Orthodox Zoroastrians New Year.

The Protestant Zoroastrians will have their own offices, which will administrate the affairs of the Protestant community and would do all the welfare work in a similar way done by the Parsi Panchayat of Orthodox Zoroastrian. The headquarters of such offices will be decided by the council and can be anywhere in this world. An annual meeting will be held at these headquarters to discuss changes to be included in the Protestant faith.

The Protestant Zoroastrian would be the first religion to get updated every year. There would be no stagnant beliefs & no religious extremism, but dynamic logical behavior, which will guide the members of the community. Even the Bible or the Koran does not get updated so frequently and what had been written a thousand years ago (with good intentions in those times) is not necessarily true today. But Protestant Zoroastrian will update every belief with the change of times.

There always had been a war between Religion and Science also as religion relied on hope and science relied on principles and logic. After the advent of Protestant Zoroastrian this problem will be eliminated, as the Protestant Zoroastrian religious books will be compliant with the latest available scientific literature. This will be the first religion, which will keep both Love and Science as its base rather than culture or environment (on the basis of which other religions were founded). As I told you that this is going to be the first Modern Religion.

There also has been a war between Religion and Philosophy as religion relied on extremism and idea of groupism & philosophers believed in world peace & togetherness, so Philosophers are most welcome in the Protestant Zoroastrian faith to discuss their ideas, how ever radical it might be.

Also the intercaste couples will have an environment in which all accepts them and the problem of neglect by the society would also end as a new society already awaits them & the Orthodox Zoroastrian children who had married outside their caste would still remain Zoroastrian, in this way. They can even go to Protestant Zoroastrian Agyari with their spouse and children.

Also those people who have the claim that they are Zoroastrians but are not admitted in the Zoroastrian religion would find a place in the Protestant Zoroastrian; also the Protestant Zoroastrian will be based on better ideologies than the current Zoroastrian ideologies. These kind of people have been scattered all over the world after the loss of Iran War by the Parsis, it is said that large numbers are in Russia, but now in frustration they are accepting Islam as they are not accepted in Zoroastrianism. Such people can enter the Protestant Zoroastrian faith.

The Orthodox Zoroastrians are divided into 3 sub castes Shahenshahi, Irani, and Kadmi but the Protestant Zoroastrian will only be 1 whole body and there won’t be any further sub castes. So the problem of sub castes would also be eliminated.

I hope you find my solution of cloning the Zoroastrianism quite useful, and the advent of the newer religion named Protestant Zoroastrianism is the only way by which our Parsi community will survive the test of time.

There is another way but I don’t recommend it, which is we start to include all members of outside community in our religion. But as I stated earlier we must try to preserve Zoroastrian blood & culture as much as possible as we are a very small community trying to preserve our culture and environment and our lecturers (those old people who never like to depart with their mikes) won’t also agree to include outside members in our religion. The Zoroastrian Scholars should come out of their libraries and watch the real world. We need to keep another bucket under that leaky bucket so that the water remains preserved in some way.

I do hope that you like my suggestion to save the Parsi community from extinction. I just don’t want to write papers on this thing because doing is more important than saying (this also implies to thinking, dreaming, wishing, and writing) and I alone cannot do anything but much support will be needed from other people also who have the same ideologies as mine. Remember, I don’t want to change the existing Zoroastrianism nor do I want any partition on the existing religion.

The start of something new brings the hope of something great. We people are much capable of defining a new religion than those who lived 1500 years ago. To save our religion we cannot wait for any Behram Varezavand (the savior) to come to earth (is he on vacation right now?). This would be just another wishful thinking that we are in right now. We must not be dependable on any wishful thinking. We can’t wait for the gods to help us; we have to do this thing ourselves.

Together we can start this new religion and save mankind from present religions, which are now problematic & full of Religious extremism and we must give the whole mankind a Modern Religion to live with which will be based upon Love and Science rather than on Culture and Environment. The Youth should step forward to fight against the orthodox society, which cripples their own freedom and make this idea a success.

Yours truly,

MAHERNOZ PERCY DARUWALA

26^th January 2005

posted @ Saturday, February 04, 2006 1:10 PM | Feedback (2)

How the Parsis came to India?

“SHAH YAZDEZARD SHAHRIAR”

Written By Poet Firdawsi Tusi in Persian

English Translation by Mahernoz Percy Daruwala

This is the story of my people, the Zoroastrians; the story’s name is Shahnameh. Shahnameh means “The Diary of the Kings” which includes all the stories of Persia’s greatest Kings right from Gayomard (the 1^st Persian King) to Yazdezard (the last Persian King). Stories like Sohrab and Rustam are also taken from it. Shahnameh is much more bigger in depth than Homer’s Iliad and is as detailed as the Mahabharata. Poet Firdawsi Tusi wrote the Shahnameh with the intention that the future generations of Zoroastrians do not forget their ancestor’s rich heritage. Here is the story, which changed the lives of the Zoroastrians completely and shows under what circumstances Zoroastrians migrated to India.

Shah Yazdezard Shahriar, The Last Shah Of Iran

Shah Yazdezard Shahriar (Yazdezard III) was the last unfortunate Shah of the Sasanid dynasty who lost Persia against the invading Arabs.

The Story

The Great Iranian astrologer Buzurchmeher was renowned for his accurate predictions for the future. He had foreseen in the time of the Shah KhushrooPerviz (grandfather of Yazdezard III) and announced his prediction to the Shah “ One of the successors of your dynasty will have a black spot on his left thigh and he will be unfortunate for your kingdom. Under the rule of this Shah, the rule of Iran will end for ever; after that there will be no Iranian Kingdom anymore.”

Shah KhushrooPerviz took this prediction to his heart as he had no doubt on Buzurchmeher’s validity of the prediction and decided to end his family by keeping his only son Shahriar unmarried. If there will not be any successor then Iranian Kingdom will be saved from the prediction; which resembled like a curse at that time to KhushrooPerviz.

For this Shah KhushrooPerviz enacted a plan “He put Shahriar in a house prison where no woman can come near him. So that Shahriar would not have his son and Iran’s destruction will be prevented. The Palace where Shahriar was held captive was very heavily guarded.”

In this way Prince Shahriar was having this punishment without any guilt on his part, though he did enjoy all the other comforts as befitted to a prince.

Shahriar’s mother “the Queen” Shirin was not able to accept the punishment, which had befallen on her dear son. Why was he punished without any crime? She believed that keeping the prince unmarried for whole life would be a sin according to Zoroastrian religion’s principles. Stopping the family in this way is an open revolt against god. So she chose a noble lady from a very rich family, and then she sent her in men’s clothes to Shahriar as his personal assistant who would take personal care of the prince. This whole thing was kept secret and not even the Shah knew anything about it. The Shah thought that the personal assistant in service of the prince was a man. Shirin was waiting for her grandson. Then one day she came to know that Shahriar is going to become a father.

A son was born and Shahriar was a father. Shah KhushrooPerviz was at first furious by his wife’s wishes, but then Shirin’s request to forgive her melted the kind hearted Shah. Shah thought that this might be the will of Ahura Mazda (God). Fate is inevitable and what was bound to happen; did happen and what is bound to happen will always happen.

Shah KhushrooPerviz ordered his maid to have a look at the child’s thighs. As per the prediction there was a black spot on his left thigh. The prediction had come true. Buzurchmeher’s prediction based on ancient Zoroastrian astrology was never going to be false. Shah KhushrooPerviz trembled from inside and feared that Iran was going to be destroyed and plundered in very near future. The last days for the Iranian kingdom were very near.

The child was named Yazdezard. The Shah decided to watch closely the qualities of the child. Days went by and the child was now of 5 years. Shah thought that for the benefit of the country he must kill this child, but again Shirin requested the Shah “Please don’t worry my dear and don’t kill an innocent without any crime as all predictions don’t come to be true”.

Shah KhushrooPerviz loved his queen Shirin so much that he accepted all her appeasements but only on one condition that the unfortunate child should be kept away from his eyes.

One day Shah KhushrooPerviz along with his queen Shirin went in the jungle for hunting. After finishing hunting when they were resting near a river. Just then a messenger came and respectfully gave salutations to the Shah and told that the message was from Prophet Hazrat Mohammed. The messenger read a short message, which said, “ If you leave your Zoroastrian religion and accept Islam, then your Iran will be saved”. Shah KhushrooPerviz, who loved his Zoroastrian religion more than his life, got very angry and in front of that messenger, he broke the wooden rukka (on which the message was written) into pieces and threw those pieces into the river.

Prophet Hazrat Mohammed came to know that Khushroo not only refused Islam but also insulted Islam. So, he sent another message to Khushroo “ The way in which you broke my rukka into pieces, the same way Allah will break your Kingdom into pieces and the Iranian kingdom will be destroyed completely.” Khushroo didn’t understood why such a curse was given. Then after a long time passed away.

In 628 A.D, after the death of Shah KhushrooPerviz, his son Shahriar was declared as the new Shah. Then after Iran saw many difficulties. After the death of Shahriar, within 4 years 5 Shahs came to the throne, they were either assassinated or dethroned by jealous ministers. Destruction had started for Iran. It was a punishment to Iran for some hidden sin.

We had seen that after the death of KhushrooPerviz, his son Shahriar was declared as the Shah. He assumed the name of “Kobad”. After Kobad came Ardeshir, and then after FeraaIn. They all ruled for a very short period of time and they all had no sons.

As there were no princes left in the royal family (excluding Yazdezard), a princess named Purandokht sat on the throne for a short period. She ruled for only 6 months. But she also had no son. Then after princess Azarmdokht sat on the throne. She also ruled for only 5 months. This was the sign of the fall of the Iranian Empire. This was the sign of God’s anger upon Iran, which had befallen on Iran because of the curse. Stars were not in favor of Iran.

Queen Azarmdokht was a very zealous and a beautiful woman. Khurasan’s King Farsebzaad grew mad after her. One day he tricked the queen to a lonely place and tried to rape her, the queen in order to preserve her honor killed the evil Hakem with her sword and saved herself.

Farsebzaad’s son Rustam had the queen Azarmdokht assassinated to take the revenge of his father’s death. And in this way the zealous and brave queen Azarmdokht ruled only for 5 months, and she died.

At last the people of Iran declared Yazdezard as the Shah and preserved his right to rule as he was also from the royal family. At that time when Yazdezard was declared as the Shah, his age was just 15 years.

In that period there was a rule in Iran that who ever is nominated as the Shah of Iran. In his name a calendar is to be maintained and from the start of the day on which he is crowned a new year is to be started. In the name of Yazdezard, the Yazdezardi Calendar was started. He was actually the last Emperor of Iran. So that’s why only even after coming to India, a group of Parsis still today, in order to show their loyalty towards the Shah are known as Shahenshaahi (the followers of the Yazdezardi Calendar). Shah KhushrooPerviz did all that he could have done to stop Yazdezard from being the Shah, but fate can never be turned down nor can be avoided even if you know the end. We cannot do anything against the god’s will. It was clearly seen that it is god’s wish that Yazdezard had to be the Shah. What was bound to happen did happen.

Yazdezard was a very kind, caring, truthful, and a zealous Shah his love for the people was especially notable and his judgments in matter of disputes were perfect. In those days the Shah himself was the judge. But luck for the Unlucky Yazdezard had never been any good. When he sat on the throne, fanatic Arabs surrounded his kingdom from all 4 sides to spread Islam everywhere. They were converting whole countries to their religion by using any means. On one hand they held a sword and on the other hand they held their religious text (The Koran), and those who did not accepted Islam were killed mercilessly by their sword and the jihadees (soldier of Allah) on killing the innocent became happy and shouted “Allah O Akbar”. They were making their religion acceptable to those people by rude force. One by One every neighboring states were converted to Islam, but the Zoroastrians were not ready to convert themselves to Islam. They were ready to fight for their religion, to stand up against the cruelty of the Jihadees. They were ready to give up their lives but not their Zoroastrianism in lieu of Islam.

At this time the Great Prophet Hazrat Mohammed died and Khalif Omar took the Kingship in his own hands. Khalif sent a warning message to Yazdezard to let all people of Iran accept Islam without spilling a single drop of blood in war. Moreover to spread Islam in Iran he sent to Yazdezard’s court a special ambassador accompanied by fanatic old Arabs, they will help in the conversion process of the country.

The Arab Ambassador Sheik Magura entered Yazdezard’s court and respectfully read the message to Yazdezard, “The Great Khalif Omar has a wish for Islamism for Iran, and it is Allah’s command that all Iranians must accept Islam as their religion, and to obey that command is our duty, but if the Iranians are not ready to convert themselves to Islam and want to stick with their Zoroastrianism, then Iranians must face the consequences of that in the battlefield. Blood will be spilt and much destruction will be inflicted upon your country.”

After hearing Sheik Magura, the Zoroastrian loving Shah was furious and told him “Sheikh Magura! With my salutations to Omar tell him our people’s reply that we Zoroastrians do not need to get converted. Our religion is the best religion of all. Our religion is at the top among all religions in every matter in this whole world. Our people are highly spirited, faithful & so religious that they can even give up their lives for their great religion if needed. You Arabians may have your own ways but we believe that nobody can force a religion on anyone. Religion is a matter of a person’s inner faith. We have let you people (the Arabs) stay in Iran as foreigners, so live in peace & happiness and let us live in peace. Why do you need to convert us or try to disturb our faith? Go to the Khalif and tell him that we Iranian Zoroastrians are faithful to their religion and are ready to fight with their lives, body and souls and all that they have got for their Zoroastrianism, but they will never leave their religion.”

After saying this, Shah Yazdezard in this way sent back the ambassador. Immediately after that a gathering was called for all the officials and the people in the central square of the city where Yazdezard himself announced to the entire nation that war had been force on us and we should be ready for the religious war against the Muslims. The people accepted the announcement in full support to Yazdezard. The spirits went high for all the people of Iran; they were ready to fight Islam in order to protect their religion, their lands, and their loved ones from the religiously fanatic Arabs, who would have had attacked them if their King had not declared war on them.

A big Army was prepared in no time. Every young man and strong lads joined this army and were trained. Weapons production started in full speed. Swords were sharpened, bows were made (Persia was famous for it’s archers), and shields were manufactured. Castles were repaired and some were even improved, crops & other food supplies were stored to meet the future needs of the army and the people in the times of war. Most notable was that internal differences between people were also forgotten and people used to work day and night with utmost dedication and coordination. Even little kids and women helped as best as they could.

The command of the Iranian army was given to a strong man called “Rustam-bin-Hormazd”. Now, all were ready to fight the religious war against the Arabs under the Kavyaani flag. (This flag is regarded as the most prestigious symbol of Zoroastrian history even from the times of Shah Fareduun).

Khalif Omar came to know that the Iranians have decided to fight straight away and have also raised a huge army against the Muslims. Omar took on the Jihad. Along with his faithful Arab soldiers the Mongols and the Turanis also accompanied him.

This famous Jihad is known as the War of Kadusyaa. This war continued till 30 months day and night. The Zoroastrians fought bravely against the Arabs by keeping their lives on stake. Many sacrificed their lives but were never afraid of the Arabs and fought them till their death. Many brave soldiers from both the sides died in this war.

Yazdezard’s luck was not supporting him. In the end Nature betrayed him. Unexpectedly a big storm came in the battlefield where the fight was going on. The wind’s direction was opposite of the Iranians (Iranians mainly relied on a wall of archers but as the wind was so strong the archers couldn’t aim bows at the enemy as they used to do it so now the archers which were pride of Iran had to fight with their swords), but they continued their fight even in such adversity, but the wind went on blowing more furiously then ever, and some even became blind, some couldn’t even breathe and died. Many men died, as they couldn’t face the Arabs.

In this storm, the wind was blowing from the Arabs backside so they could tolerate it. Their trouble was much less. The Iranian Army’s soldiers sacrificed their lives one by one by killing as many Arabs as they could. Iranians suffered a horrible destruction of life & property. The Iranian woman sacrificed their lives by jumping from mountain cliffs in order to save their honor, but they never sacrificed their religion.

The Iranian Army’s commander in Chief Rustam’s tent was taken off in this sand storm. The force of the storm was such that the brave Chief Rustam had to hide between the camels so that he could be saved from the storm. Even the bravest have to lean before nature.

On this camels the Iranians had put heavy rations and weapons. The war finally came to an end. Some of the Arabs taking the advantage of the sand storm moved forward in the Iranian territory to steal Iran’s valuable goods. They came near those same camels under which Rustam lied hidden. The goods were tied to the camels back with a help of a strong rope. The Arabs then cut the ropes and one huge sack felled to the ground on Rustam’s back. Rustam’s backbone was broken. He yelled with pain and became unconscious.

When Rustam opened his eyes he saw that the enemy surrounded him from all the sides and owing to his broken backbone he could not even fight them. He had no option other than to surrender. He couldn’t even stand on his feet. The Arabs told Rustam to accept Islam to save himself, but Rustam smiled and denied bravely.

The Arabs beheaded him by their sword at one stroke. Some Zoroastrians who were fighting at that time in the battlefield lost their courage due to the death of Rustam, so they ran away from the battlefield without anyone seeing them. They didn’t understood what to do at that moment. They all met in a cave. 30 thousand Zoroastrians gathered and decided to fight the Arabs once more. After the storm settled they began their attack. They were very less in numbers in comparison to the huge Arabian army. But if the luck is weak then what the braves can do? All of the 30 thousand

Zoroastrians died bravely. The sacrifice was everlasting in the name of Zoroastrianism.

In this religious Jihad, the Arabs stole the famous Kavyaani flag from the Zoroastrians. It was the same flag that was held with honor from the time of the great Shah Fareduun and the flag was decorated with jewelries on special occasions. As that same flag was stolen it signified a bad omen and maybe the end of Iran.

Meanwhile Shah Yazdezard’s most trusted man took the Shah in a protected place. They were having shelter in midst of mountains. They had still not lost their courage and were ready to give those Arabs a hell of a fight. The Jihad now ceased, and then after a long time Yazdezard sent messages to Kings of Kosan and Tabristan for help. If their military help is taken then Iran and the religion’s honor may be saved. Yazdezard was hopeful of their help, as both these kingdoms were also Zoroastrian kingdoms.

Considering the request of the Shah, both the kings united and decided to help Shah in every possible way. Both of these Kings gathered their armies in the grounds of Nehaanvad, and the leadership of this combined army was given to the army general named “Firuzaan”. So again battle plans were laid and preparations started for the final war against the Arabs.

The Arabs gave their army’s leadership to an Arab named “Nomaam”. The Irani leader Firuzaan was very cunning and zealous. He didn’t want his army to get slaughtered in an open battle with the Arabs.

Instead of War, he decided to frustrate the Arabs with a plan. The Iranian army was camped safely on one side of the river with sufficient stocks of food. Then the surroundings were dig up into huge valleys and water was filled in them. Now, nobody can enter the castle, but the Zoroastrians could come out of the castle whenever they wished. The castle design was similar to the English Castles at that time and as the Arabs didn’t had any siege weaponry at that time to break through the castle nor did they had any knowledge about it. The Arabs simply didn’t expect the Zoroastrians to go for the castle defense because the Zoroastrians had always been fighters on the open ground. The walls of Nehaanvad were very strong & high, which allowed archers to be positioned at their preferred spot. It was a brilliant idea to resist the Arabs in this way.

Castles cannot be broken down with bare hands and also there was the moat to cross before even reaching the walls, on the walls there stood skillful archers positioned, there were 2 archers on each spot, one stood after the another as soon as the first archer fired from his bow, the 2^nd archer loaded his arrow on the bow and this process would continue unless all enemies are dead, so to undermine such a castle’s defense, looked quite an impossible task for the Arabian army. So the Arabs decided to encircle the castle at a specific distance, as coming closer to the castle was suicidal as Zoroastrian arrows were waiting for them quite eagerly. The Great castle of Nehaanvad had everything quite well designed. There were cattle’s, foods and sufficient water supply and large abundance of weapons. The Arabs had no access to the river water supply as the river was quite close to the castle and it was dangerous to go near the castle.

The Arab leader tried to lure the Iranian Army into battle by challenging them on the open grounds, but the Iranians rightly didn’t paid any heed to it. The Iranians prayed to the God for help. In this way 2 months passed by, the stocks of food were still sufficient enough. But the Arabs food supply was getting shorter day by day. Due to hunger, great dissatisfaction aroused in their army. They even began to fight with each other for food. The Arabs became frustrated and Nomaam felt himself helpless.

He decided to play a trick on the Zoroastrians; he waved the white flag of peace, indicating that he will not attack the Zoroastrians. The Zoroastrians knew the deceitful nature of the Arabs and especially their leader “Nomaam” and rightly didn’t pay any heed to them. Nomaam now played another trick on the Zoroastrians, in the midst of the night he sent a spy to the castle with a message for peace to the Iranian Chief Firuzaan, he also instructed the spy to let him know the strength of the Iranian army and how many men are inside the castle and what provisions the Iranian army had made for it’s defense.

The Arab spy slyly killed an Iranian guard and wore his clothes and moved further into the castle to the tent of Firuzaan. He went to the tent and revealed his identity and expressed his concern to meet the Iranian leader. Firuzaan came out of his tent and the peace letter with the Royal Seal of the Arabs was shown to Firuzaan. Firuzaan denied any such request and beat the spy heavily and ordered him to be thrown out of the castle. The Castle was so heavily well guarded and well designed that the spy couldn’t get much information from it.

The Arab leader now enacted a 2^nd plan to trick the Zoroastrians. He privately called upon his men and told his plan to them. The next morning a false announcement was made to the Arab army that “The Great King Khalif Omar had died and the whole army must go back to Medina for his death mourning. The War is over.” All Arab soldiers cried & beat their chest with their bare hands and waved black flags to mark the mourning of their beloved King. The Arab soldiers began to depart from Nehaanvad.

The Arab leader Nomaam took back his army in the direction of Medina. Seeing this Zoroastrians were tricked and committed the same mistake which their forefathers committed against the Spartans and even the Trojans committed the same mistake against the Spartans by ignoring Prince Hectors warning that an attack could unify the Spartans and might bring Troy’s downfall. It is rightly said that the Greatest Empires like Great Men fall not because of their enemy but because of their own mistakes. Firuzaan made only one mistake and it was this. They couldn’t resist the temptation to attack a retreating army. They wanted to take advantage of their momentum. So they left their strong fortress and came into the open grounds to follow the retreating Arabs. In this way the Arabs tricked the Iranian army out of their strong fortress for a fight on the open ground.

The Arab leader Nomaam was too cunning, he had already ordered his archers beforehand to move to a nearby valley as fast as they could and surround it. For two days, the Arabs marched towards Medina. When it looked that the whole Iranian army was in the valley and there was no possibility of a retreat in their castle. It is now the Iranians who were trapped. Nomaam ordered the Arabian army to attack the Zoroastrians and spare no one alive. The archers on the top of the valley along with the Arabian cavalry of camels mercilessly attacked the Iranian soldiers. A lot of bloodshed was done on both sides. In this battle, the Arab leader Nomaam was struck by an arrow from a Zoroastrian soldier. The arrow pierced his chest and he fell from his camel and died on the spot.

Now the other Arabian generals were in jeopardy, if the Arabian army comes to know that their leader had died the moral of the army might be lost, so they took away the dead body of Nomaam from the field. Nomaam’s look-alike brother was given Nomaam’s clothes and armor and the leadership of the Army. In this way the morale of the Arabian army was maintained.

The Zoroastrians fought very bravely but luck was not on their side, after much destruction and loss of many Iranian soldiers lives, they finally lost. The Zoroastrian leader Firuzaan was severely injured in this battle. The fortress of Nehaanvad now didn’t have many men to defend it and so it was finally taken after a hard struggle. This battle of Nehaanvad was fought in 641 A.D. It looked as if the gods were angry with the Zoroastrians, as they had committed many sins such as quest for power, bloodthirstiness of the Iranian army to attack weak territories, dishonesty, disunity, and treachery.

The reason for attacking Iran was that the Muslim religious clerics wanted to spread Islam in every part of the world and for that they wanted greener lands of Iran where access to Europe can be made. In order to fight Christianity, they needed an area where they have plenty of natural resources and not like desert (in which they were presently) also Iran was a very rich nation in comparison to them. Iran was much better place for encampment than the desert in which they lived at that time. Moreover, instead of the hard and tough Zoroastrians (which their ancestors feared hundreds of years ago at the time of King Cyrus and Darius) the Arabs were surprised to find that the present generation of Zoroastrians was not that much harder to beat.

The Arabs had decided to completely destroy the Zoroastrian religion, once and for all. They destroyed every fire temple they could find and also burned down any Zoroastrian literature they could find. They were bent on destroying any thing they could find which pertains to Zoroastrianism. It looked like a curse had fallen from the heavens.

In spite of all these hardships many Zoroastrian priests (known as the Dastoors) were able to save some religious texts in the mountains. If someone was spotted with a Kusti (a religious knot tied on the waist), he was immediately killed. The Unfortunate Shah Yazdezard was once again in the mercy of his guards for his security. The Arabs wanted Yazdezard dead or alive. Yazdezard along with his flock traveled at night and hid in the caves at daytime.

At last Shah Yazdezard came to the city of Marav. The Hakem of Marav named “Maahui” was under gratitude for Yazdezard. The Shah took his shelter.

The Hakem was pleased to offer him shelter. He served the Shah, and his men quite well and personally took care of the Shah. The Arabs were searching for Yazdezard everywhere. They warned that those who will offer shelter to Yazdezard would be prosecuted to death and the person who will give information about Yazdezard will get a huge reward.

The Hakem greedily sneaked one evening to the Arabs and told them about the Shah’s whereabouts. The Shah was cheated.

A team of Arabs raided Maahui’s house, Yazdezard’s soldiers fought the Arabs to save him, and Yazdezard managed to escape out of the borders of Marav by changing his appearance into a bearded man. Yazdezard was now tired of running endlessly. He also didn’t had his faithful soldiers. They were all lying dead at Maahui’s house killed by the Arabs. The soldiers fought and died so that their king can have the safe passage out of Marav City.

Now he was far away from Marav city and was entering the woods. He saw a hut. It was getting dark. The Shah decided to take refuge in the hut for the night.

The Hut belonged to a poor windmill farmer. His name was Khushroo. Yazdezard told him that he was a traveler and wants accommodation in the hut for one night. Khushroo kindly agreed. He also gave the Shah some dry grass to sleep on. The Great Shah of Iran lay on the floor and slept peacefully on a dry grass mat. It is truly said that men are not strong but only his time is strong. Gone were those good days of the Palaces.

The enemy was prowling for the Shah everywhere. From somewhere they got the information that Yazdezard was having refuge at the place of the windmill farmer Khushroo. In the morning light, Khushroo immediately recognized the Shah’s face. The Shah pleaded him for help. Khushroo was very kind hearted and agreed to let the Shah stay and also warned the Shah to be careful of the existing danger.

The Hakem summoned Khushroo in the court and threatened him, “If you will bring Yazdezard’s head in my court then you shall have a huge reward and if you don’t you will be punished and killed along with your family…”

Khushroo was helpless in front of the Hakem. He was not willing to spoil his hands with Yazdezard’s blood. He was not worried about himself nor for the money he will get but he was worried about his family because he loved them so much. He was now forced to do an unholy murder. Under his helplessness he prayed to the god to forgive him for the unholy act he was about to do. At dinnertime, when Yazdezard was having food, Khushroo came from behind and with a heavy heart stabbed Yazdezard on his back repeatedly. He wept in front of the Shah’s body and pleaded to forgive him. Then he cut the Shah’s head and showed it to the Hakem.

The Hakem had the Shah’s body naked by taking off his diamond ring, the armor, and the hidden royal seal of Iran and threw the body into a nearby river. This unfortunate Shah didn’t even had the fortune to have proper rituals after his death.

In this way King Yazdezard came to the throne at the age of 15 and lived a life of troubles and died tragically at 35. On his death, every hope of a Zoroastrian Iranian Empire also ended, as Yazdezard didn’t had any successor. There was no safe place left for the Zoroastrians in Iran.

When Yazdezard Shahriar lost the battle and was running here and there to save his life, the ladies of the royal family were without any shelter or help as the Arabs, Mongols & the Turanis were looking for these ladies. In order to save their honor they hid at various places in the hope that time will improve for them.

These ladies hid themselves in a cave of a huge mountain near the city of Yazad. The enemies reached there also. They were not ready to sacrifice their honor. They prayed to God to save their honor. God heard their prayers and a miracle happened. A loud explosion occurred with a volcanic eruption of the mountain and a deep valley was formed, the ladies jumped into this valley. The valley was then sealed with the volcano’s lava. The mountain became their natural tomb. This is now a religious place in Iran.

Even today, Iranian Zoroastrians perform various prayers and Jashan on this “Kohe Payvand” mountain. Every year a fair is arranged on a specific day in memory of those brave Zoroastrian women.

When Yazdezard was loosing the War of Kadusyaa, he knew that the Iranian empire was coming to a bitter end. So he warned the Zoroastrians, “ O my brothers! Now the time has come that you may have to leave Iran to protect our sacred fire and our religion. After me there will be no Shah of Iran… Iran’s good days are gone. This is the will of Ahura Mazda.”

The Shah further told, “ My heart says that you will get protection and shelter in some country located in east from here. Don’t be afraid, every thing, which progresses, is bound to regress one day. Those who will survive will live in harmony, peace and love with all the people in that country. You will be honest towards that country, which provides you shelter and that only that country shall be your motherland from then on, but don’t forget our Iran.”

There were tears in the eyes of the Shah & the people who were listening. The Shah further told, “… Do Establish “Aatash Kadehs” (Fire Temples) in that country to thank god for our survival and consider Aatash as your “Iran Shah” from now on. He shall be your protector & judge from now on. Keep weapons in his court. (The Zoroastrians still keep weapons in their fire temple). Don’t leave your faith from our religion. May god bless our religion and may the fire of Zoroastrianism always remain alight”.

The Shah further predicted, “ The enemies of our religion won’t succeed in their intentions, and also cannot extinguish the fire of Zoroastrian faith from this world, and our religion’s prosperity shall duly return one day in our own hands. Keep the honor of our good blood…”

As the religion must survive, Yazdezard ordered his men to fill all the ships with all the necessary provisions for a long journey. No riches were taken. After this thousands of Zoroastrians were sent in a convoy of ships, consisting of Men, Women & Children. The convoy also contained a huge cauldron of holy fire. This was the holy fire of Iran. The convoy also included religious priests of Iran known as the Dastoors.

The Zoroastrians chose India as their destination because they had heard stories about how the brave Indian people were able to beat “Alexander The Great” and also Indian people were their long time friends and trading partners. So, the Zoroastrians felt much secure in going to India, rather than anywhere else.

In the journey towards India, there was also a fierce sea storm, which might have drowned the whole convoy. But the Zoroastrian sailors braved this storm and prayed for their survival. At last their prayers were answered. They finally reached India on the sea coast of Sanjan (a princely state of the grandson of King Vikramaditya named Jade Rana) in a tired and helpless state. The Zoroastrian leader was summoned immediately into the court of Jade Rana. The Zoroastrian leader begged for refuge to live in India and pledged to serve India as their motherland.

The King Jade-Rana was a very cunning king and wanted to test this unwelcomed guests so he decided to test the Zoroastrians by giving them a riddle. He gave a Golden bowl full of milk to the Zoroastrian religious leader. This bowl signified that “Like this Golden bowl full of Milk, my province is very rich but it is densely populated and I have no space for anybody in my Kingdom.” The Zoroastrian religious leader demanded a handful of sugar balls and one by one he dropped every sugar ball in the bowl of milk, after one melt he dropped another. In this way he dropped all the sugar balls in the bowl and handed that bowl back over to the King and said

“O King! As you have seen that the way in which this sugar melted in the milk and made it sweet, we the Zoroastrians promise that in the same way we will mix with your people.” The King was very impresses by the wit of these new people and welcomed them to live in India.

The people of India called the Zoroastrians as the Parsis as they came from Persia. So the Parsis are a group of People and not the religion name. The religion name had always been Zoroastrian. The Parsis adopted the Gujarati language as their mother tongue and mixed with the Indian society. That cauldron of fire was taken to Udwada (a small town near Sanjan) where the holy fire is still not extinguished even after more than 1350 years.

In India, they are still the best-respected minority of all. But, acc. to the recent statistics the population of Parsis is falling drastically and within the next 100 years this good community will be wiped out.

The Parsis had given their mother-land (India) honest service and preserved their honor of good blood as promised to Shah Yazdezard.

Great Personalities in Indian History like the Tatas, Godrejs, Madam Cama, Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw, Dadabhoi Navrozji, etc. are Zoroastrians.

--Conclude—

Dear Editor,

I sincerely believe that the story of Shahnameh deserves at least a film (How about 2 parts?) to be made to give tribute to this peace loving and honest community, which is coming near to extinction (it will be extinct in the next 100 years, believe it or not). How often do we get a chance to do such great things?

The film should also show why religious extremism is so bad. The film should also focus on dilemma of a nation (Persia) that is being under verge of defeat where people were leaving their country to save themselves & their families and out of fear, the unity was also deteriorating among those people. This film will put the audience under an entirely different perspective, as this time, concentration is on the losing side rather than on the winning side.

I think that James Cameron (Director of Titanic) would be an appropriate maker of this film as he had beautifully presented how the glorious Titanic was drowned and even in such adversity the crew of Titanic was so

Mahernoz Daruwala

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