Life of the Master

Roj Dae-pa-Adar Mah Tir, 1379 Yz.

Fasli Roj Adar Mah Adar, Salgreh of Iranshah Atash Behram.

Meanwhile the work of disseminating the knowledge of Khshnoom was going ahead full steam. Before the seminal article of Ustad Saheb on the meaning of Frashogard in volume 5, issue 1 of Frashogard magazine, the previous issue carried an even more important article by Ustad Saheb on the role of Sarosh Yazad in the progress of man and this earth. This article explained for the first time the intricate details of the various functions carried out by the Yazata Sarosh which help man in his quest to come closer to Ahura Mazda. Ustad Saheb explained the need and importance of every Parsi to be in constant contact – paiwand – with Sarosh Yazad. For this purpose, Ustad Saheb enumerated the various ways in which a Parsi could always maintain this connection, the most important being the performance of the Sarosh ni Khshnuman ni Kusti. This ancient ritual, which had been forgotten over the years of stay in India was once again revived by Ustad Saheb. the Master explained the critical role of Sarosh in the moments and days after the death of a Parsi, and why it was imperative that a Parsi soul, after the physical death, should immediately come under the Panaah – protection of Sarosh Yazad and also the extremely pitiable condition of souls which do not get this shelter. This article was later reprinted as a booklet and over 5000 copies were distributed free within the community. Reprints of this small booklet are still available today.

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Roj Khordad Mah Tir, 1379 Yz.

Over time, the bond between Bahmanshah and Ustad Saheb grew. Bahmanshah used to go everyday to the Master’s house and do whatever work or errands were given to him by Behramshah. We have seen earlier that Behramshah’s children did not live very long. A few days before the first birthday of his girl, Tehmina, the child fell ill and soon developed pneumonia. At this time of crisis, Bahmanshah was at the side of his Ustad, calling the doctor home, getting medicine from the pharmacy and helping out in whatever way he could. Despite the doctor’s best efforts, the child’s health deteriorated until finally one evening the doctor came home, had a look at Tehmina and told Ustad Saheb that it would be all over in a few hours. Behramshah was deeply saddened and went over to his easy chair and sat down dejected. In his times of crisis, Ustad Saheb always used to remember his Master, Sraoshavarez Marzbanji Saheb and ask for his help. As he lay on the easy chair, Ustad Saheb dozed off, only to suddenly wakeup and exclaim: ‘My Ustad says to give the child her mother’s breast!’

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Roj Ardibehest Mah Tir, 1379 Yz.

Bahmanshah Dosabhai Hakim belonged to the famous Bhogiji Hakim family of Surat. Sometime in the 18th century, a famous Armenian Hakim (traditional doctor) called Khwajah Avanes Saheb had come to Surat. One of the ancestors of Bahmanshah had given the Khwajah a place to stay in his own residence in Surat. As a favour, Khwajah Avanes imparted his deep knowledge of traditional medicine to this ancestor of Bahmanshah. After the Khwajah passed away (his grave exists in Surat till this day), the ancestors of Bahmanshah began their practice of the traditional medicine and soon became well known for their cures and remedies. Hence the family surname changed to Hakim from Bhogiji. Over the next generations, the medical practice thrived and the family’s cheap and effective prescriptions, especially their ‘cough remedy’ and ‘fever packets’ achieved great popularity not only in Surat but all over India. Bahmanshah’s elder brother Ardeshir Hakim became the Diwan (Prime Minister) of the Maharaja of Kashmir, while another brother Dr. Dhunjishah studied western medicine and combined it with his traditional knowledge to have a good practice in Surat.

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Roj Hormazd Mah Tir, 1379 Yz.

All this made no difference to Ustad Saheb, who had right from the beginning insisted that the knowledge he had got could not be mass propagated. Seth Choksi requested Behramshah to take the class for the priests on a regular basis. In addition, it was arranged for Ustad Saheb to give regular talks in the Contractor Hall of the Anjuman Atash Behram in Mumbai and in March 1910 the Master gave a series of talks on topics like Sarosh, Atash Behram, Jiram and Meher. The first of the talks in this series was presided over by the then leading Trustee of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet Seth B. D. Petit (later founder of the Parsi General Hospital). These talks left a great impression in the minds of those who attended and at last, as per Seth Choksi’s desire and original wish, a few Mobeds also came under the Master’s influence and began to incorporate his teachings and guidance in their daily practice. In December 1910, Ustad Saheb established the Ilm-e-Khshnoom Institute as a proprietary concern and began printing small handbooks and holding classes.

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Roj Ashtad Mah Khordad, 1379 Yz.

In Mumbai, preparations for the arrival of Ustad Saheb were in full swing. Mr. Khodabux Poonegar sent out a postcard invite to all the major Parsi scholars at that time. The postcard mentioned that a Parsi had appeared in Surat who claimed to have met and stayed with a group of Zoroastrian sages in Iran and had got detailed explanation about the true essence of the religion. Scholars were invited to meet with this gentleman and hear what he had to say. A detailed description of the first meeting (and subsequent meetings) of the scholars with Ustad Saheb is given by Mr. Sorabji Nanabhai Banaji, who was himself an invitee to the meeting in his article published in the Ustad Saheb Memorial Volume.

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Roj Din Mah Khordad, 1379 Yz.

Over the next three days, Ustad Saheb continued his series of talks on Atash at the Bazm. In Manchersha Master’s sharp mind the obvious question arose: ‘where has this man got all this knowledge from’ since in all his years of study of religion, Manchersha had not come across any explanation anywhere close to what Behramshah was expounding. At the end of the third day of talks, Manchersha put across this question very politely to Ustad Saheb. Behramshah answered: ‘All I have learnt has been at the feet of my Ustad, Sraoshavarez Marzbanji Saheb, and I have got this knowledge of Khshnoom from the Abed Sahebs of Demavand in Iran.’ Now Manchersha, being a school teacher had a very good grasp of history and geography and immediately began to ask Behramshah questions about his journey to Iran, the route he had taken, the peculiar geographical features of Iran, in a way to find out if Behramshah really knew what he was talking about. But as Behramshah fluently answered his queries with deep, revealing answers and with the confidence which can only emerge from a spiritually advanced soul, Manchersha realized that he was indeed speaking to a person who was not only speaking the absolute truth but also one who had a depth of knowledge and spirituality which Manchersha had not seen in anybody else in all his life.

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Roj Asishvangh Mah Ardibehesht, 1379 Yz.

The change of century – from 1899 to 1900 brought far reaching changes all around the world. It was a time of great scientific and medical progress, ‘rationalism’, becoming ‘modern’ and throwing out all that was considered ‘old fashioned’. The English Raj was at its peak and India was being systematically bled by the British who used their divide and rule tactic to take over all of India. At the same time, a more sinister movement was afoot. Hordes of Christian missionaries of all kinds – Catholics, Protestants, Presbyterians, Irish and many more were descending in the cities and villages of India with a single purpose – to rid India of her ‘pagan’ religions, to ‘redeem’ Indian souls and send them to heaven by the only way possible – by making them Christian! In their unholy haste to convert India, the missionaries used many tricks and tools – education, literacy campaigns, medical help, welfare societies and good old ‘scholarly studies’. The Hindu scriptures were ‘studied’, faults found and then compared to the pristine Bible. How could anybody reach heaven without accepting that Christ was the only Saviour?

Within the Parsi community also, there were great changes happening. Always at the forefront to adopt anything from the British, the leading Parsi families of that time began aping the British at all levels. Fancy mansions, non-Parsi cooks and butlers, giving up the practice of segregation, abandoning the Parsi dress and wearing the British coat and tie – all these and more were being picked up by members of our community. The British, known for the shrewd behavior, encouraged this aping, heaping awards and titles of Rao Bahadur and Khan Bahadur on prominent Parsis, the walls of whose houses were adorned with the photographs of the King and Queen Victoria!

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Roj Dae-pa-Meher Mah Ardibehesht, 1379

Fasli Meherangan

After this debate, a Muslim gentleman who had a unique power came on to the stage. He had developed a relationship with a low level spiritual entity (Jin) which enabled him to get things from afar in an instant. He would ask people to put money on the table and ask for something, say from another city. As the money was put on the table, the man would pray something and the money would fly off. In a few seconds the item which had been asked for would appear on the table. Ustad Saheb went on watching this tamasha for some time and then made a sign to his friend Hakim Jalalshah. Now a person in the audience put a rupee on the table and asked for some sweets from a famous mithai shop of Delhi. Ustad Saheb concentrated his thoughts and began staring at the rupee coin. The magician started his prayers but nothing happened. The more he prayed, the more steady the rupee remained on the table! Soon he realized that there was a person more powerful than him in the audience. With his developed eyes, the magician saw Behramshah staring at the rupee and realized his game was up. He came up to Behramshah and requested him to lift the gaze. As soon as Behramshah looked away the rupee flew off the table and a few moments later, the famous sweets from the mithai shop of Delhi appeared on the table.

The assembled scholars were appreciative of this Parsi gentleman’s unique knowledge and power and at the end of the Jamaat, Ustad Saheb was presented with a walking stick with a silver head, which is considered a mark of great distinction in their scholarly circles. The presence of Behramshah in the Jamaat remained a topic of discussion for many years in the scholarly circles of Moradabad, because many years after this incident, a person seeking Behramshah came to Surat, asking everybody if they knew the “ilumdar Behramshah”.

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Roj Tir Mah Ardibehesht, 1379 Yz.

The dynasty of Mewar is one of the oldest in India, if not the world. The dynasty claims descent from the Sun God Himself and are hence called “Suryavanshi”, stretching back to around 4000 BC! The historical records are available from around 600 AD and show an unbroken line of succession from those days. A unique feature of this dynasty is that they do not claim to Kings, rather they call themselves custodians of the Divine Kingdom of Shri Eklinji, a manifestation of Lord Shiva. In the long history of India, where various outsiders came, attacked and conquered, the House of Mewar was one of the few, if not only which did not bow down to any of the attackers, fiercely maintaining their territory and also their distinct family lineage. They refused to give their ladies to outsiders, married within themselves and hence have succeeded in maintaining their racial identity till this day. Despite the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s best efforts, Mewar refused to bow down to him, giving rise to one of India’s most celebrated heroes, Maharana Pratap. Even during the British empire, Mewar was one of the few princely states which did not bow down to the British. They maintained a strict aloofness from the British, never visited them or attended their fancy Durbars.

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Roj Dae-pa-Adar Mah Ardibehesht, 1379 Yz.

It was late in the afternoon one pleasant day in Firdaus, Behramshah was in the house of one of the resident farmers, chatting with the family, when a message was sent that the Sraoshavarez wanted to see Behramshah. The eager student immediately set off to meet the Master, who had just emerged from his afternoon prayers. Taking Behramshah by his side, the Sraoshavarez began to speak to him in a very kind and gentle voice: “My dear son, nearly three and a half years have passed since you were brought to Firdaus. In this time you have won our hearts and minds with your innocence and cheerfulness. But now the time has come for you to leave us and return home not only to your beloved mother who waits anxiously for you, but also to begin the most important part of your life’s mission.”

It was as if a dagger had pierced through Behramshah’s heart. He fell at the feet of his Master and began sobbing uncontrollably, begging him not make him leave this pure paradise. My dear Parsis, just writing these words brings tears to my eyes as I try to picture that scene nearly 150 years ago when Behramshah realized that his time in Demavand was drawing to a close. Who, in his right mind and senses, would want to leave paradise and come back to the material world of treachery and lies? Who would want to move even one step away from the august presence of a Sraoshavarez? Who would want to stop breathing the pure, spiritually charged air of Firdaus in exchange for the pollution filled air of the outside world? The Sraoshavarez picked up Behramshah and comforted him: “You shall always be in our hearts, and whenever you need us, we will always be there for you, Behramshah. I have made arrangements for everything.”

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Roj Ardibehesht Mah Ardibehesht, 1379 Yz.

The education of Behramshah continued at an intensive level, given his short stay. The following description may seem a little complicated some of my readers but I am going into some deep details to give you an idea about the depth of knowledge which was imparted to Ustad Saheb.

According to the Zarathushtrian mystic revelation, the all-encompassing knowledge or Ilm, can be grouped under four main categories:

• Ilm-e-Simia
• Ilm-e-Kimia
• Ilm-e-Rimia and
• Ilm-e-Limia

All knowledge, whether discovered in this current Zravane Daregho Khadata or not, falls under any one of these four categories. A brief description of each of these four categories is given below.

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