Manoj Nair's Article hurts religious sentiments of Zoroastrians worldwide

TO: TIMES GROUP Vice chairman Samir Jain at samir.jain@timesgroup.com CC: Mumbai Mirror editor Ms Meenal Baghel at meenal.baghel@timesgroup.com CC: Manoj Nair at manoj.nair@timesgroup.com CC: Parsi Panchayat CC: Parsi Voice CC: Traditional Zoroastrianism BLOG BCC: Thousands of Zoroastrians worldwide Subject: Manoj Nair's Article hurts religious sentiments of Zoroastrians worldwide Mr. Samir Jain and Ms. Meena Baghel, We fully agree with the words written by the Parsee Voice: > Today's Mumbai Mirror carries on its front page an article by Manoj > Nair about the defiant stand taken by Khushru Madon saying that he > will not stop conducting rituals for mixed-marriages Parsis. Putting a > sensitive community matter on the front page of a public newspaper to > sensationalise issues is definitely not ethical journalism. We protest against this article in the Mumbai Mirror that is hurting the religious sentiments of the Zoroastrian Parsi majority in India. Manoj Nair's jouralism is hurting the religious feelings of the Parsi community and should not be permitted by Mumbai Mirror and the Times Group. We fully support the DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED BPP Trustees in their stand against the few priests who are going against the Holy Scriptures of our religion. The Trustees were elected by the majority of the community which is traditional. Mr. Manoj Nair and the Mumbai Mirror shoud respect the feelings of the majority, this is what happens in a democracy. This is also being posted to the Traditional Zoroastrianism BLOG which is read by thousands of Zoroastrians worldwide. Regards, Porus. > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: The Parsee Voice <theparseevoice@gmail.com> > Date: 2009/8/4 > Subject: TPV Defiance-Article in Mumbai Mirror > To: The Parsee Voice <the-parsee-voice@googlegroups.com> > > > > Today's Mumbai Mirror carries on its front page an article by Manoj > Nair about the defiant stand taken by Khushru Madon saying that he > will not stop conducting rituals for mixed-marriages Parsis. Putting a > sensitive community matter on the front page of a public newspaper to > sensationalise issues is definitely not ethical journalism. There is > nothing newsworthy in this for others as it is an internal matter of > the Parsi community. > > Mr Nair seems to be happily playing into the hands of the deformist > lobby led by ARZ, who are hell bent on foisting their concocted brand > of Zoroastrianism on the community in spite of opposition from a > majority of the community. > > Community members are requested to send in their protests to Mumbai > Mirror requesting that this kind of jouralism is hurting the religious > feelings of the Parsi community and should not be permitted. > > Community members are also requested to show solidarity with the BPP > in its attempt to ban these two renegade preists, Khushru Madon and > Framroze Mirza, from performing religious ceremonies at Doongerwadi. > Doongerwadi is held in trust by the BPP on behalf of the community. > The current BPP trustees have been elected by the community and > represent the majority community's will. Hence they have the authority > to decide who functions at Doongerwadi and who does not. The BPP is on > the right path here and deserves community support on this issue. > > Regards > The Parsee Voice Team

Mr. Manoj Nair's Expose in the Mumbai Mirror of the religious sins of two renegade Parsi priests

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 10:06 PM, Mehlli Bhagalia wrote:

 Dear Mr. Nair,

 Was this written by you to bring lime light on your self ? I doubt it. It was perhaps done from journalistic zeal.
 If done for the lime light  and you are a Hindu, you are surely aware of the Natural, inexorable and religious Law of Karma.

  If you are also a religious Hindu, then it is suggested that you perform several pujjas, to give you and your family the strength to bear the punishment that will surely be visited on you and your family, for the insult on a sister religion of India and it's religious practices, customs and traditions, for no cause or reason atall.

 If a foreign journalist ,uninformed and uneducated in Indian religions and traditions had written unwittingly and with out verifying the full facts and antecedents of the case, the religious laws and duties of a Parsi priest, perhaps the Karmic blow would be light on such a person.

 You Mr. Nair as a brother Indian, know full well the long  history of the Parsis in India, know full well their religiosity And know full well how the Religious Roots of both our two ancient  religions-Hindu and Parsi Zoroastrian, come from one Indo Aryan source perhaps over 90,000 years ago.

 How could you then insult a sister community and cause such pain to your brothers and sisters in the Parsi community? Do you think that you got the information about this matter from a saintly Parsi ? There are cowards, charlatans and irreligious persons in all religious communities. We have our share. Would it not have been prudent if you had verified this matter with the Parsi Panchayat, before "rushing to judgment" and printing this matter as "news" ?

 For your information only and so that you understand that this writer, although a Parsi Zoroastrian has learned the Hindu religion, Hindu arts and science of Yogh and Ayurvaid from saintly Hindu Yogis in India from the age of 15 years and still remember his Teachers. He is now 76 years.

  Your name indicates that you are from South India and you may be pleased to know that this writer learned several techniques of the Kerela Ayurvaid and Yogh and was introduced to the Kalaripaith Master in that state. He was presented  with the short Kalari stick for unarmed Indian combat at the Kalari center in view of his many years knowledge and practice of the Oriental Martial Arts of Combat.

 This writer and many knowledgeable Parsis have the very highest respect for the Hindu religion and practices.

 Would you please do our community a favor, by visiting the Parsi Panchayat office with a copy of this letter and request them to ive you the full information on this matter. Would you then as a matter of Journalistic fairness, print the Parsi community's  response in this matter.

 This would go a long way in bringing peace between us and lessen any Karmic effects of this matter.

 With best wishes.

 Sincerely

 Mehlli Bhagalia
 
 

Defiance-Article in Mumbai Mirror

From: The Parsee Voice
Date: 2009/8/4
Subject: TPV Defiance-Article in Mumbai Mirror

Today's Mumbai Mirror carries on its front page an article by Manoj
Nair about the defiant stand taken by Khushru Madon saying that he
will not stop conducting rituals for mixed-marriages Parsis. Putting a
sensitive community matter on the front page of a public newspaper to
sensationalise issues is definitely not ethical journalism. There is
nothing newsworthy in this for others as it is an internal matter of
the Parsi community.

Mr Nair seems to be happily playing into the hands of the deformist
lobby led by ARZ, who are hell bent on foisting their concocted brand
of Zoroastrianism on the community in spite of opposition from a
majority of the community.

Community members are requested to send in their protests to Mumbai
Mirror requesting that this kind of jouralism is hurting the religious
feelings of the Parsi community and should not be permitted.

Community members are also requested to show solidarity with the BPP
in its attempt to ban these two renegade preists, Khushru Madon and
Framroze Mirza, from performing religious ceremonies at Doongerwadi.
Doongerwadi is held in trust by the BPP on behalf of the community.
The current BPP trustees have been elected by the community and
represent the majority community's will. Hence they have the authority
to decide who functions at Doongerwadi and who does not. The BPP is on
the right path here and deserves community support on this issue.

Regards
The Parsee Voice Team

Renegade Priests

The Chairman
The Bombay Parsi Punchayat
August 4, 2009

Dear Dinshawji,

I write to you in my personal capacity as a donor voter, having a
vested interest in the upkeep and running of the Doongerwadi land as
per the time-tested customs and traditions. This is to extend my
whole-hearted support to you and your other colleagues on the BPP
board for preventing two renegade Mobeds from carrying out irreligious
activities inside the sanctified premises of the Towers of Silence and
other such places managed by the punchayat. It is my belief that a
vast section of our community welcomes this decision.

Nevertheless, I would like to caution the trustees not to succumb to
the pressure tactics and blackmailing by a handful of religious
rebels__however powerful they may be. Let me remind you that the
trustees have the mandate of the community and under no circumstances
should you climb down or even negotiate/discuss this matter with these
group of renegades. If they threaten to go to court, let them do so.
The community is behind you. After all this is the same cabal of
reformists responsible for illegally taking pictures inside the
Dakhmas and distributing them worldwide.

The trustees need to stand firm on this issue. Your foremost task as
trustees is to preserve and protect the Doongerwadi lands as mandated
by the religion and its High Priests. Please do not let the community
down.

Best Regards

Nauzer Bharucha

Holy Men of all religions speak

Holy Men of all religions have held a press conference urging the
government of India
to rethink its stand on gays. Treatng this change like the apocalypse,
these learned men
looked completely distraught and earnest when they said legalizing
homosexuality
would destroy the institution of the family, Indian values and culture.
Some said homosexuals can be ``cured''.

Both Jain monk Acharya Lokesh Muniji and yoga guru Ramdev have said
homosexuality is against nature and that the Delhi High Court's judgement
reading down Section 377, which penalizes sex even between consenting,
adult gays, is ``a challenge to the design of God''. Other `people of God'
were not lagging in their articulation. Father Dominic Emmanuel of the
Delhi Catholic Archdiocese said when he was asked why the court's verdict
on Section 377 was being opposed by Christian leaders here: "Here people
take and practise religion seriously. In the West, churches are empty."

Muslim clerics are equally vehement in their condemnation of the
`monstrosity'. Imam Ahmed Bukhari of the Jama Masjid and Maulana
Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahli, member of the All India Muslim Personal
Law Board, have said homosexuality is against all religions and
also against Indian culture. In Punjab, the Akal Takht said no
gurdwara, neither in India, nor abroad, would solemnize gay
weddings, meaning Sikhism has no place for homosexuals.

Regarding the Times of India blogs, I have noticed that many traditional
comments have not been approved on these blogs. I am a Traditional Zoroastrian.
I want to ask these blog writers just one question. Why are so many
religions and holy men saying the same thing? Why do they all agree
that homosexuality is wrong? Why have all saints asked man to marry
woman and live a moral righteous life? I ask these writers to honestly
ask themselves this question.

Zoroastrians protest against the Delhi High Court's ruling

From: TZML Admins
Date: Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 3:48 PM
Subject: Zoroastrians protest against the Delhi High Court's ruling
To: TZML

HUMATA HUKHTA HAVARASHTA!
9 July 2009

Dear Zarathushti humdins,
cc: Vada Dasturjis,
cc: Ervad Sahebs,
cc: The Parsee Voice,
cc: Zoroastrian Studies,
cc: Parsi Pukar,
cc: Dini-Awaz,
cc: Prominent Zoroastrians,
cc: TZML
cc: TMYZ officials

Dear Zarathushti humdins,

it was a sad day for India and Indian society and Indian moral values
when the Delhi High Court legalised homosexuality.

Homosexuality is a wrong against Nature and God's Laws and that is why
it is considered a "crime" in all major religions.

Some people argue that decriminalising homosexuality and prostitution
is so that police officers do not persecute these people, but trhat is
taking a very secular and material-based view of a serious crime.

Legally forbidding a moral crime gives moral strength to society, else
once these sins are legalised, society indulges in them wantonly with
a feeling that "It is legal so it must be right".

A secular constitution like ours in India obvoiusly has some disadvantages.

In western countries when homosexuality ceased to be legally wrong,
the gay groups became more and more bold and today they are canvassing
for gay priesthood and even the ultimate irony of all - gay
"marriages". How can a male be united with another male in holy
wedlock when the very institution of marriage is to unite a man and a
woman so that they go forth and multiply.

The sexual act is primarily for procreation and homosexuality is a
blatant disregard for that fact in nature. That is why they say "God
made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve".

The so-called gay or sam-sex "marriages" participants than get bolder
and ask for adopting children. Two men unite to look after a child, no
mummy for that poor child and when two women "marry", no daddy for the
poor child.

Our religion Zoroastrianism too condemns this unholy practise.In fact,
our religion was the first in the world to clearly say in the ancient
Avestan scripture Vendidad, that homosexuality is the worst sin
possible on this earth, for which there is no repentance possible. All
other sins can be absolved, but not this worst sin which goes against
the law of nature itself.
Yoga teacher Swami Ramdev minced no words. ''Do the people behind this
verdict consider homosexuality natural? Is it something they will
themselves do? If our parents had been gays, would we have been born?
Freedom doesn't mean licence. Our family system is the only ideal we
can show to the world. Sadly, this judgment will end up corrupting it.
I will be part of every protest against the judgment.''

A Times of India report a few days ago mentions how disgusted the
Muslim clergy were with this ruling.
" Amid government moves for a re-look at criminalising homosexuality,
several Muslim leaders have said any attempt to legally permit
unnatural sex is an attack on religious and moral values."

"Legalisation of homosexuality is an attack on Indian religious and
moral values," over a dozen prominent Muslim religious leaders said in
a statement.

The statement has been endorsed by Maulana Jalaluddin Omari, President
of the Jamaat-e Islami Hind, Maulana Muhammad Salim Qasimi, Rector of
Darul Uloom Waqf, Deoband, Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmad, Shahi Imam of
Jama Masjid Fatehpuri, among others."

"We are shocked to see reports in the media that the Union government
is considering the repeal of Section 377 of the IPC, which means
making homosexuality legal," the statement said on Tuesday.

"It said that homosexuality is a sin and a social evil which will only
lead to societal disintegration and break-up of the family. "

"Appealing to the government not to be influenced by the "decadent
trends of the Western culture" and not to give in to the demands of a
minuscule minority, the statement said the government should not test
the patience of the silent vast majority of the country which abhors
such behaviour."

The Sikh leaders too have spoken out against this:

"Even as Amrit and Jeeta — possibly the first gay couple in India to
marry after the Delhi High Court read down section 377 that penalizes
sex between homosexuals —spent a day in marital bliss, an
uncomfortable and angry Sikh clergy issued directions to all gurdwara
management committees of the world to not solemnize such unions ''as
it is against Gurmat and has no place in Sikhism.''

"The censure came after a meeting at the Akal Takht secretariat on
Wednesday of Sikh high priests, among them the jathedar of Akal Takht,
Giani Gurbachan Singh, jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, Giani Balwant
Singh Nandgarh, and Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib, Giani Tarlochan
Singh.

"Gay marriages are not acceptable in Sikhism and have no place in
Gurmat," said Gurbachan Singh, adding that the five Sikh high priests
have issued strict directions to all gurdwaras across the globe to
abide by the diktat.

''The heads of other religions and faiths also have a similar opinion
on gay relations,'' he said, finding brotherhood in the group of
enraged Hindu, Christian and Muslim leaders who have condemned the
court's rethink on the anti-gay section of IPC."

Harnam Singh Khalsa, head of Damdami Taksal, too, echoed the
anti-homosexual chorus, protesting India's inclusion in the list of
150 countries, including South Africa, China, Nepal, Australia, Canada
and Argentina, where homosexuality is legal. ''Gay marriages,'' he
said, ''are not acceptable and we strongly oppose it. We may even
begin an agitation against such relations.''

"Going a step further, Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal has asked the
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the state
government to take legal steps that would prevent gay marriages in the
state ''which would only lead to moral degradation in society.''

We hope our dear Vada Dasturjis too come out with a statement against
homosexuality and thus prevent both our youngsters and adults alike to
be further brainswashed by these senseless and immoral liberal
propaganda in society today.

Fellow Zarathushtis, let us lead clean decent moral and religious
upright lives and put an end to all these sinful values not only from
our individual lives, but also from our families and our community.

Of course, the Delhi High Court judgement could be later overruled by
the Supreme Court, but even if it does not happen, deep down in our
hearts and minds let us recognise that homosexuality as a moral and
religious wrong. This way we can gain strength and moral courage to
stand up against these ill winds blowing in our societies.

If you wish to write to us, our email is tzmladmn@gmail.com

Sincerely,
TZML Admins.

Dark moral age in India - the sin of homosexuality legalized

A dark moral age has dawned in India - the religious sin of homosexuality has
been legalized by the Delhi High court. All religions in India have
been outraged.

Yoga teacher Swami Ramdev minced no words. ''Do the people behind this verdict
consider homosexuality natural? Is it something they will themselves do? If
our parents had been gays, would we have been born? Freedom doesn't
mean licence. Our family system is the only ideal we can show to the
world. Sadly, this judgment will end up corrupting it. I will be part of
every protest against the judgment.''

We Zoroastrians are with all religions against this judgement. In fact, our
religion was the first in the world to clearly say in the ancient Avestan scripture
Vendidad, that homosexuality is the worst sin possible on this earth, for which
there is no repentance possible. All other sins can be absolved, but not this
worst sin which goes against the law of nature itself.