Roj Khorshed Mah Ardibehesht, 1379 Yz.
In addition to the Aksir-e-Azam, the Sraoshavarez gave certain other very valuable gifts to our Master. These included a small silver Taaveez, or amulet, shaped like a betel nut. Inside this was inscribed a powerful Avesta Nirang, which had the effect of discouraging any wild animals, carnivores or any malevolent spirits from getting anywhere close to or attacking the Master during the various travels which he was about to undertake in Iran and India.
Our Master had already been taught Ilm-e-Sezda, whereby he could converse with his Master, the Sraoshavarez Marzbanji Saheb at any time. This Ilm was further strengthened and deepened and even after his arrival in India, whenever the Master was in any doubt, he would always go into this practice and was able to converse with the Sraoshavarez and the other top Abeds of Demavand.
The Sraoshavarez also gifted to Behramshah a Tasbih, or set of prayer beads (rosary), made of real Amber, which were to be used for his normal prayers and when reciting the special Nirangs which the Sraoshavarez had prescribed for Behramshah. It has been my very good fortune to have seen this rosary in the hands of Behramshah’s grandson. In addition, Behramshah had been warned by his Master that at a later age, he would be troubled by cataract. For this purpose, the Sraoshavarez gifted to Behramshah a small vial containing an ointment made out of real pearls, which was a remedy for the pain and loss of eyesight. At the same time, Behramshah was warned that he would not be able to use this vial and it would instead land in the hands of someone else. It so happened that this vial was stolen or got left behind in one of the many travels the Master undertook and he always use to complain about this to his close students in later years.
Finally, Behramshah was gifted a set of small but very intricate astrological tables, known as a Jam-e-Jehanuma, which he would use to regulate his daily activities and interaction with other individuals. This Jam was based on Ustad Saheb’s birth date and covered the favourable and unfavourable aspects for each day of his life, the names of various Yazatas and other Divine Entities who would govern the different years of his life and the very detailed tables which would help Behramshah avoid making some of the grave mistakes which were destined in his life. The Sraoshavarez had warned Behramshah that his past obligations had left a heavy shadow on this current life and he would have to bear this load silently with many individuals. As we shall see later on, this warning was indeed very apt.
But of course, the greatest gift which Behramshah got from his loving Master was the chance granted to so few individuals in Nature – the chance to spend three and a half years in Paradise and to learn at the feet of the most spiritually advanced soul on this earth. This alone made our Ustad Saheb the rarest of rare individuals.
On the appointed day, with tearful eyes and a heavy heart, Behramshah fell at the feet of his Master, Sraoshavarez Marzbanji Saheb and took his last blessings. He then met with all those who had made his stay at Demavand so memorable – the Deputy Sraoshavarez Rashidji Saheb, who had got him to Demavand as a young lad of eighteen, the senior Abeds, Shaharyar Saheb, Khudamurad Saheb, Banoo Tanaz, and his friends from the farmer community who were also sad to see him go. While coming to Demavand Behramshah had been brought without any camouflage. But while going, due to the immense knowledge he had acquired and the spiritual advancement which had happened, Behramshah’s eyes were covered with a blindfold, and he was taken out from Demavand using a very different route than the one he had come in.
Accompanied by a few Abeds, Behramshah was led out and soon they came out in to the open world, somewhere in the area near Azerbaijan. Here Behramshah was given specific instructions on the road to take and soon, he was on his way back home. But before he could do so, there were many persons he had to meet and places he had to visit. First of all, Behramshah travelled around in Iran itself, visiting those areas which he had been asked to go to. Behramshah used to tell his close disciples in later years that just as he had been fortunate to be taken to Demavand, there was an Iranian priest, called Ervad Rustam Irani Rammali , who had also been brought to Demavand a few years before him. This pious person had a natural and innate talent for astrology and divination, and the Abeds of Demavand had further increased this natural talent to a very high degree.
After his stay in Demavand, Ervad Rustam was directed to travel throughout the length and breadth of Iran, visiting the many hundreds of villages and towns where Zoroastrians lived in very dismal conditions. He was like a travelling Dervish who supported the poor and persecuted Zoroastrians of Iran to a very great extent. For this purpose he was very well liked and respected and even a few Muslim local officials would bow down to him and seek his blessings and advice. Word of his piety and astrological knowledge soon reached the court of Iran’s ruler himself and Ervad Rustam was summoned to the court of Naser al-Din Shah (1831 – 1896) of the Qajar dynasty. Even in the grand court of the Shah, which housed the famous Peacock Throne taken away from India, Ervad Rustam took out his own handkerchief and spread it on the floor and sat down. He respectfully answered the King’s questions on his own future, telling him mystically that “Iran will progress very much in the near future.” A few years later, the Shah was murdered while praying at a shrine, marking the end of the Qajar dynasty in Iran. Here is a photograph of this Shah along with the famous throne.
Behramshah travelled to many towns in Iran and asked for more details about Ervad Rustam. Finally, he received news from Ervad Rustam’s original village that the great astrologer had passed away a few years ago.
After his travels in Iran, Behramshah began his long and circuitous journey to India. On the way, Behramshah purchased a camel and hired an attendant, called Sheru and the three of them spent a long time in the areas of Marwar, Mewar, Kutch and Rajasthan. During these travels, Behramshah had the good fortune to meet several spiritually advanced souls of those areas, including some who had the knowledge of alchemy – turning base metals to gold. He often spoke to his close disciples of the an advanced Hindu gentleman called Navalmalji Chandarmalji. But of course, the main reason for Behramshah’s travels in Rajasthan was to be finally fulfilled when after a long journey he reached the gates of the Fort of Mewar, where the descendants of the mighty warrior Rana Pratap ruled.
Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram
SEP