THE ZOROASTRIAN VIEW OF ECOLOGY

i THE ZOROASTRIAN VIEW OF ECOLOGY by Dr. Homi Dhalla (Published in the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, Third International Congress Proceedings, January 6-9, 2000) Today, the march of a dynamic technology and science, the carcinoma of a planless urbanisation, the population explosion, the immense deposits of sewage and garbage, the cataclysmic nuclear tests, have all contributed to ravage the earth. Man s gradual devastation of the global environment has culminated in a crisis, which is both urgent and drastic. This is not merely a matter of aesthetics; the quality of life itself has deteriorated. Man s lack of sensitivity towards nature and his exploitative attitude to satisfy his ends, has perpetrated the present ecological imbalance. Since 1960, some 450 million hectares of tropical forest have disappeared. Asia has lost nearly a third of its tropical forest, while Africa and Latin America have each lost 18 percent. 1 Of the world s 10000 odd bird species, 1111 are on the endangered list. 2 U. S. Government researchers said in October 1998, that the gap in the planet s ozone over Antarctica was larger than North America and the largest ever observed. 3 Our technological progress has changed the tapestry of nature. In India too, the integrity of the environment has been harmed with impunity. What was preserved and protected by our ancestors for 5000 years has been polluted and seriously degraded in the last five decades. A detailed report focussing on the state of our natural resources between 1947-1997 was released on the 50 th anniversary of India s Independence. This study was undertaken by the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) and released by the former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral in August 1997. According to this report, India is losing at least 10 per cent of its national income due to environmental degradation; availability of fresh water has declined by two-thirds; area covered by soil degradation increased by almost 800 lakh hectares, spelling doom for agricultural productivity. On pollution, India s record is dismal. Class I and II cities, generate around 2000 crore litres of sewage wastewater daily but treat only a tenth. Indoor and outdoor air pollution costs the nation almost 2.5 million premature deaths. 4 Poverty, as former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had said at the Stockholm Conference of 1972, is perhaps the worst cause of pollution. And it is also this gruelling poverty, which forces 260 million Indians to spend the better part of their lives scrounging for a square meal. 5 Moreover, the safety valves of urban India are being clogged. As Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta vie for the doubtful distinction of becoming some of the most polluted cities on earth, their beleaguered citizens look for an escape. Happily there is a glow on the horizon. In recent years, the India judiciary, including the Supreme Court of India, has been taking a very active interest in protecting the environment. Public awareness is growing. Mastery over nature: We have to shape a fresh morally viable attitude to nature. The environmental imbalance is due to conflicting values and ideologies. The religious dimensions of this problem have been widely debated since Lyn White s important paper, The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis. He avers that the sources of western anthropocentrism are to be traced to the Judaeo-Christian view of creation, as it emerged in northern i

ii European Christendom. Christianity, in absolute contrast to ancient paganism and Asia s religions, not only established a dualism of man and nature but insisted that it is God s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends. 6 There have, however, been diverse critical responses to this view. It is important to note that there are Biblical references showing quite a different relationship between man and nature. Though ambivalent, there is the suggestion that a wise stewardship of the earth will benefit man. Blessed are the gentle, said Jesus, for they shall inherit the earth. 7 Christian communities such as the Benedictines have been cited as living in harmony with the natural world. In my opinion, Christian civilisation alone can in no way be chastised for the devastation of nature over the centuries. Darrol Bryant contends We in the scientific West have sought to be masters over nature rather than partners with nature in a bio-human cosmic community. 8 Cromwell Crawford refers to this as a spiritual crisis and states, These problems are symptoms of the more fundamental problem of how we think about our relation to the earth. Propelled by the legacy of Descartes, and popularised by the fruit of Renaissance humanism, westerners have viewed the physical world as essentially dead matter entitled to be exploited with impunity. 9 Nature is animate: To a Zoroastrian, the ostensibly inert world is full of life, which is sanctified as it is imbued with the fravashi, the transcendental divine essence. All creatures, as well as plants possess the fravashi. Nature is seen as not only having its intrinsic value but is perceived as being sacred. In the biosphere all forms of life have a right to live and grow. Our concern for nature is not confined to only plants and vegetation; it respects all creatures. I pray for the good of the life of all the living creatures which Ahura Mazda has created. 10 Essential Dimensions: Professor Hinnells has described Zoroastrianism as the world s first ecologically conscious religion. 11 Before we explore the dimensions of the Zoroastrian perception of ecology as outlined in the scriptures, we have to understand the relationship between Ahura Mazda and His creation. Ahura Mazda is the architect of the celestial and terrestrial worlds. Zarathushtra s heart flows out in reverence to Him. In communion with His heavenly Father, he puts rhetorical questions to Him: What being laid down paths for the sun and the stars? Who made the moon to wax and wane betimes? Whose might doth hold the earth and sky apart? Who has brought forth the waters and the plants? Who guides the winds in their uncharted course? 12 ii

iii Ahura Mazda, the lord of wisdom 13 and the most beneficent 14 is not only the creator of the universe but also its protector and sustainer. 15 Being the absolute sovereign, 16 he reigns over His creation joyfully. 17 The Gathas speak of His all-embracing love 18 and one of His names in the Hormazd Yasht is I am the increasor of the world. This signifies Ahura Mazda s munificence, which encompasses every level of His creation. The devout Zoroastrian regards the elements of nature with the most profound reverence. The Avestan texts clearly reflect this veneration for the earth, the air, the waters and even plant life. In his daily prayers he is reminded of the beauty and majesty of nature and from nature he turns to nature s God. By extolling nature he is accepting the greatness and glory of Ahura Mazda through His handiwork. Among the first prayers taught to Parsi children is the Confession of Faith (Jasa me avanghe Mazda), which emphasizes the principle of non-violence (nidhasnaithishem) towards all living creatures. These values are embedded in the Zoroastrian psyche: man is a trustee of nature; he should not violate that trust. This ancient precept finds echo in the writings of Robert Bellah, for whom the only answer to the ecological issue is a moral ecology, which he defines as moral connectedness and interdependence. Others are part of us, not competitors against us. 19 Zoroastrianism explains this interdependence in the form of the Amesha Spentas. These Holy Immortals preside over the material creations. They represent the six attributes of Ahura Mazda. At once their Lord and Creator, Ahura Mazda is sometimes acknowledged as the seventh Amesha Spenta. Taraporewala explains their relationship and so shows us the nature of Ahura Mazda. Every human being must strive to understand the Eternal Law of Truth and Righteousness (Asha) and must try to realize it in his daily life. In order to do this he must cultivate Love universal Love (Vohu-Mano) and realize it deep within his Inner Self. This Truth and Love thus realized must next be translated into Acts of Service (Kshathra). All through one must hold fast to firm unshaken Faith (Armaiti) Faith in the essential divinity and goodness of all creation. And thus one attains to Perfection and Immortality (Haurvatat and Ameretat). And becomes perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect and conquers death. 20 When these attributes are personified, they are taken as the guardians of the seven material creations in later Zoroastrian literature. Some scholars refer to them as Archangels. The Avesta and Pahlavi names of the Amesha Spentas together with the material creations over which they preside are given below: Avesta Pahlavi Spiritual Material Creations Creations 1. Ahura Mazda Ohrmazd All creations Mankind (Hormazd) 2. Vohu Manah Vahuman Good Mind Animal (Bahman) 3. Asha Vahishta Artvahisht Divine Law Fire iii

iv (Ardibehesht) 4. Khshathra Vairya Khshatrivar Divine kingdom Metals (Shahrevar) 5. Spenta Armaiti Spandarmat Holy Devotion The Earth (Aspandarmad) 6. Haurvatat Khvardat Perfection, Waters (Khordad) Wholesomeness 7. Ameretatat Amardat Immortality Vegetation (Amardad) The most fundamental concept of Zoroastrianism, Asha (Vedic rta) is the foundation on which the Prophet based his religion. It is the Divine Plan to which creation moves. It is the immutable order of the resistless tides, the unswerving planets and the unfailing seasons. When man ravages the environment, he sets nature s order in turbulence. The Hom Yasht intones, I am for those who preserve order, not for those who create disorder. 21 Man is urged to live in hamazor (harmony, co-operation, unity) with his fellow man and with nature. In the prayer, Namach-i-chahar nem (salutation to the four directions), a devotee turns respectfully towards each direction. In deferring thus to nature, he not only acknowledges the omnipotence of Ahura Mazda, but also develops a seminal bond with the environment, which is the temple of nature. Man is thus connected to the trees, mountains, animals and oceans in his daily life. Representation of the material creations in Zoroastrian ritual: Spirituality needs to be formalised and expressed. This is done through rites. In rituals the presence of the Amesha Spentas are invoked for their benediction. As immanent powers, they are identified with their material creations and its representative object, the implements used for the ceremony. This aspect of the doctrine of the great Amesha Spentas evidently represents an ancient, mystical way of looking at reality at a time when it seems abstract and concrete...appeared to the human spirit as of unified being, the abstract as the inner reality of the concrete, so that, for instance, pious devotion and the earth were the spiritual and material aspects of the same thing. 22 The symbolism of the gestures during the ceremony is invested with the meaningful representations of the creations. The details of the ritual go back to ancient times and evoke the nature of the physical world, which they were designed to sustain. After the creation of the sky, water, earth, vegetation, animals, man and fire, the cycle of being was set in motion. Professor Mary Boyce explains that the rituals enacted by the priests with plants and animals were man s contribution to the advancement of the world in its regular course. By daily rites they consciously purified, blessed and strengthened every one of the seven creations, which were all represented there: earth in the ritual precinct, water in a vessel, fire burning in a vase, the sky represented by the metallic implements, plant life by the flowers and fruits, the animal kingdom by milk. Mankind was represented through the celebrating priest who, being a co-worker of Ahura Mazda helped in keeping the world in a state of strength and purity. 23 iv

v The Middle Path: The Menok-i-Khrat asks: By what means can we make Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas and the fragrant heaven our own? And the response to this is several virtues of which moderation (patmanak) is one. 24 To avoid excess (frehbutih) is repeatedly preached in Zoroastrian texts. A rich man who is always anxious to have more of everything is accounted poor. 25 Man is urged to be unselfish, in a spirit of kindliness towards all. May the chosen ones of Mazda be supporters and helpers of the world sings the Ahunavaiti Gatha. 26 Accordingly, man is expected to share the resources of the earth equitably. Statistics today reveal that less than a quarter of our planet s human population uses approximately 85% of all capital resources. The unwarrantable material demands of the richer nations lacerate the economy of the poorer ones. That Indian s poverty stemmed from a continuous exploitation by Britain was Dadabhai Naoroji s (1825-1916) main contention in his book, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India. His drain theory was effectively propagated in the British Parliament. It became the dogma of a whole generation of Indian nationalist economists. Mahatma Gandhi had claimed Dadabhai as his mentor. Reverence for the earth, the water, the air, animals and plant life: References from the extant Zoroastrian texts reveal that the ancients acknowledged the earth as providing the basic resources for the sustenance of life, and extolled agriculture as a noble profession. We thus read that it is Ahura Mazda who has created this joyproducing earth. 27 Man venerates it as it nurtures him. 28 He praises atar berezisavah, the all-pervading energy permeating the earth. 29 The Videvdat clearly details the things that bring joy to the earth 30 and those which cause it sorrow. 31 Those who till the land cultivate the fallow and dry areas making them productive, bring joy to the earth. 32 Those who kindly and piously give in charity the produce of the earth, delight the earth. 33 So blessed is it accounted to tend the earth, that the Videvdat declares, He who sows corn, sows righteousness. 34 The same text also refers to the period that the earth remains polluted by the interment of a corpse. It is because Zoroastrians adhere to this guiding principle that they follow the system of khvarshet nigerishn, i.e. exposure to the sun. None of the elements are polluted by this method of disposal of the dead. Herodotus in his History (completed before 445 B.C.) informs us The Persians revere the rivers they would neither make water nor spit nor wash their hands therein, nor suffer anyone so to do. 35 Water, whether it be of the rivulet, lake or the mighty sea, is sacrosanct to the Zoroastrian. He esteems it as indispensable to life, and worshipfully eulogises its intrinsic purity. 36 All possible precautions should be taken not to pollute it. According to the Videvdat it is an abomination to defile water by placing a corpse in it. 37 This text details the purification of the moving as well as the still waters, when so polluted. 38 A person who is himself contaminated by carrying a corpse, should remain thirty paces away from water. 39 If man had retained a semblance of this respect for the waters, they would not now be as tainted as they are. Chemical deposits, sewage, industrial wastes have so polluted rivers and seas that marine life has, in certain parts, been wiped out. v

vi The Khorshed Niyayishn (Litany to the sun) refers to the rising sun, which purifies not only the earth, but also the moving waters, and the entire holy creation. 40 In the short prayer Homage unto the Waters, a Zoroastrian whilst praising the pure and beneficial waters, asks for pardon for any sin which may have been committed in polluting them. There is an entire Yasht (hymn) dedicated to the waters Avan Yasht. Even today, Zoroastrians pray in this manner on specific days. Wells attached to firetemples or situated in private gardens or farms belonging to Zoroastrians are always kept clean and an oil lamp is kept burning on the upper wall. Devotees stand near the wall to recite prayers. An American world-traveller of the 19 th century, Andrew Carnegie, offers a vignette of Parsi worship: It was the first of the new moon... here on the shore of the ocean, as the sun was sinking...they congregated to perform their religious rites. Fire was there in its grandest form, the setting sun, and water in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean stretched before them. The earth was under their feet, and wafted across the sea the air came laden with perfumes... surely no time or place could be more fitly chosen for lifting up the soul to the realms beyond sense. I could not but participate in what was so grandly beautiful... I have seen many modes and forms of worship some disgusting, others saddening, a few elevating, when the organ peeled forth its tones, but all poor in comparison with this. Nor do I ever expect to witness a ceremony which will so powerfully affect me as that of the Parsis on the beach at Bombay. 41 This respect for the elements is enhanced into a very real reverence for all life. Yasna 17.11 refers to atar vohufryan, the form of energy to be found in the bodies of men and animals. Man is urged to ensure the well-being of animals which aid him in his agricultural pursuits, and those which produce food. 42 To provide nourishment to animals is acclaimed as a meritorious deed. 43 It is interesting to note that the Videvdat devotes a whole chapter to the dog 44 commending it as an excellent animal. It discusses its food, 45 the breeding of dogs with particular reference to their treatment during the gestation period. 46 The Shayest-ne-shayest declares that whoever desires to please Vohu Manah (the archangel presiding over the animal kingdom) should afford protection to cattle and provide for them in the summer and in the winter. It goes on to say that Man should not drive them apart from their young, and should not put the young apart from their milk. 47 The Patet Pashemani, a prayer of penitence intones, I repent of all sins that I may have committed against cattle and against all sorts of animals... 48 How disparate is modern man s attitude towards animals and birds. He has been so consistently apathetic to their survival, that, lacking a congenial habitat, certain species are now feared extinct. The alienation of man and nature, which can be traced to certain religious traditions, accords creatures only an instrumental not an intrinsic value. How can an eco-theology subsist on such a basis? Ahura Mazda in His bounty has created innumerable healing plants. 49 Man expresses his gratitude for them. At the end of every niyayishn and yasht prayerfully acknowledges the beneficence of these plants. Moreover, he praises atar urvazishta, vi

vii the form of energy that exists in plants. 50 While reciting the short prayer Homage unto the Plants, the devotee, besides esteeming their usefulness, asks for forgiveness of any breach of action committed towards them. John Chardin, a French merchant travelling in Persia during 1665-77, made an interesting observation about the Zoroastrians....Their priests teach them that the most virtuous action is to beget children and after that to cultivate a piece of waste land, or to plant a tree. 51 The ancients valued the purity of the wind. Yasna 1.16 eulogizes the pure air, and the Khorshed Niyayishn speaks of the beneficent wind. 52 There is an entire yasht dedicated to Vayu. 53 Air pollution has become a threat much written about, much spoken of. Too late have we become conscious of it. The putrescent air today menaces mankind. Some Solutions: The earnest search for alternatives to pollutants, the attempts to preserve endangered species all over the globe, the multifarious activities of environmental groups are all signs of our times. The Earth Summit (1992) in Rio de Janeiro is an indication of political concern expressed publicly by several Heads of State. This concern must be fostered at all levels. Ecological awareness has been created the task at hand is to further this through education. An ancient Zoroastrian text states: Be diligent for the acquisition of education, for education is the seed of knowledge and its fruit is wisdom, and wisdom is the order of both the worlds (i.e. spiritual and material). 54 In India, environmental abuse is on the rampage. But, an attempt is being made even at the primary school stages to teach children about pollution, despoiled resources, the green house effect...there is an urgent need for environmental education to become a part of adult literacy programmes in all developing countries. These programmes should be holistic and should focus on both the local and the global perspective. Besides the introduction of more national and international legislation for the protection of the environment, there is a greater urgency in ensuring that this legislation is adequately implemented. Subsequently it can find a place in the constitutions of all countries. There is a new awareness of the way in which moral ideas motivate people to care for the environment. This is a sounder base for environmental education than self-interest or the fear of extinction. Furthermore, the environmental issue cannot be divorced from the question of development. And no form of development should ignore the welfare of man in its totality. We have to ensure that future economic growth is not detrimental to man. And when we speak of humanity, in this context it is also the question of the survival of future generations that we should consider a perspective for nurturing our children and theirs. In all decision-making this is a factor that should not be overlooked. Moreover, vii

viii economic growth should not only be sustainable, but also regenerative. This implies that besides not degrading the environment, we ought to actively renew it. In order to overcome the ecological crisis we have to decelerate the population growth. How long will the crushingly finite resources of the earth suffice? In spite of the inventiveness of scientists and technologists, the resources cannot cope up with the burgeoning population. With millions of people starving and living below the poverty line, more and more exploitation of nature is taking place. In India, 1.5 million hectares of forests are being stripped every year. In 1951, the population of India was 361 million. At that time, the late Mr. J. R. D. Tata, captain of Indian industry was the first prominent Indian to have warned the Government of India of the dangers of population explosion. If the Government had followed his advice then, the country would have had a higher quality of life and greater access to economic opportunities for all. Today, India has a billion mouths to feed and a serious shortfall of resources. As a result, we have the largest number of malnourished persons in the world, highest disease burden, as well as the most number of poor and the largest army of child labour. Besides this, there is an annual increase of about 17 million births, which is almost equivalent to the total population of Australia. Hence, population is a roadblock and we ought to take urgent practical measures to rein in this galloping growth. If the religious leaders of the world crusade for an ecological balanced earth there may still be hope for us. We have to be taught to reconceptualise our relationship with nature so that a new ecological ethic, which has deep concern for our environment and our fellow man, emerges. Our priorities, demands, and lifestyles need serious reevaluation. Ecology on the Business Agenda The House of Tata Social and Environmental Accountability: In November 2003, when Prince Charles visited Mumbai, he spoke about the loftiness of Indian values to the leaders of industry. He remarked: India more than any other nation has a true sense of the sacred. I hope that modernization and economic growth will not be at its expense. He further added, In today s world, where public attitudes are changing rapidly, high standards of corporate governance and business ethics are important. The European and American experience have made it abundantly clear that the practical way to deal with environmental issues in business is to have a pro-active environmental management. Hence it is not merely quality, health and safety but also the environment, which must be on the business agenda. In this context, it is pertinent to examine what the House of Tata, India s largest industrial conglomerate has been doing in dealing with environmental concerns. The man, who laid the foundation of Indian industry, Jamsetji Tata imbibed the sterling values of discipline, integrity and service from his religious tradition, Zoroastrianism, as he was inducted into the priestly fold at an early age. Called a one-man planning viii

ix commission 55 by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, he gave the country the infrastructure for heavy industry, a scientific research institute and electric power. Perhaps his greatest contribution was the visualisation of the steel city, Jamshedpur (named after him). By the end of World War II, the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) was the single largest steel complex in the British Empire. Jamsetji s concern for the environment can be gauged in his letter to his son written from abroad in 1902, whilst the city was being planned: Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns, playgrounds and parks...and to lay wide streets planted with shady trees, every other of a quick growing variety. His sons Dorab and Ratan carried on the work of this industrial visionary. Dorab invited the prominent socialists Sydney and Beatrice Webb to Jamshedpur to draw up social services for TISCO employees. Within recent history, the late J. R. D. Tata had been internationally recognized. When he was appointed Chairman of Tata Sons in 1938, the Tata group consisted of 14 companies; on his retirement in 1991 the list stretched to 95. 56 It was as early as the sixties that he took the lead as chairman to guide the large number of companies under him to extend their sense of responsibility beyond the gates of their factories to the villages and towns around. In January 1995, 20 Tata companies came together to form a Tata Council for Community Initiatives (TCCI). A press release stated that The Council has been set up as a central base to synergise the activities of individual companies, to collect and disseminate information in different fields of social work, community development and family initiatives and would provide a data bank for the companies already engaged in this work. 57 TISCO has over the years helped improve the quality of life for over 400000 people inhabiting the rural areas around Jamshedpur through various development projects. J. R. D. Tata acknowledged the humanitarian nature of his religious tradition when he wrote to a friend in April 1984: The Zoroastrian philosophy of hard work, honesty and charity is one that the world should know today. 58 He also stressed that this ethos of caring had to be extended from man to his environment: There is still considerable scope for most industrial ventures to extend their support not only to human beings but also to the lands, to the forests, to the waters and to the creatures that inhabit them. 59 The Tata group of companies have already moved in this direction. The Tata Electric Companies (TEC) have planned to cover 45,000 acres under afforestation, a large part of which has already been accomplished. The area already covered lies outside Bombay city in the Metropolitan region and in the lake catchment areas near Lonavla. An ecological programme in 29 schools of Lonavla has been introduced to create awareness for the environment among children. A breeding programme for mahseer fish, which was on the verge of extinction in Lonavla, has also been launched. Similarly, a project for breeding butterflies is in progress. Furthermore, a number of gardens have been developed and maintained by TEC in and around Bombay. Long before ecology became a cause celebre, the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) at Jamshedpur had embarked on a massive afforestation programme and had evolved a milieu where industry and the environment were complementary. Today the steel plant, which is the hearth to more than 30,000 families, has an Environment ix

x Management Division monitoring pollution. Recycling plants to save water as well as sewage treatment plants have been installed. When the Company celebrated its golden jubilee in 1958, it gifted to the citizens of Jamshedpur the 237-acre Jubilee Park with its exquisite Moghul Garden. The operations of the Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO) started 18 kms outside the city of Pune in 1965. The Company acquired 126 acres land at Chinchwad and about 800 acres at Pimpri. During this period, TELCO has transformed the industrial belt of Pune and emerged as the largest engineering base in Western Maharashtra. What was essentially wasteland in 1965 has today become a verdant paradise with over 3 lakh trees and two man-made lakes. An excellent bird sanctuary has been developed with a number of migratory birds visiting the area. The Company has adopted 18 villages in an area spread over 50 kms from Pune. This adoption was possible only because the villagers decided to be active participants in the process of development and not to be mere recipients of somebody s largesse. Soil and water conservation projects have also been undertaken. Another industrial house founded by a Zoroastrian, Godrej has a well-developed environment policy clearly laid down and enforced. They have preserved a vast expanse of mangrove forest, perhaps the best on the West Coast of India, adjoining their township in the eastern suburbs of Bombay. This has become a haven for water birds and a spawning ground for fish. In the same spirit, WWF-India, head-quartered at the Pirojsha Godrej National Conservation Centre in New Delhi, disseminates environmental education and awareness programmes. The reverence for nature, which is characteristic of Zoroastrian culture, is inculcated in children at the school of the Godrej Township. In their formative years, they are taught that careful stewardship of the earth s resources is a responsibility of each one of us. A well-stocked tree bank is maintained and saplings distributed free to voluntary organisations engaged in afforestation work. For his social commitment, corporate environmental achievement and exemplary service, the late Mr. Sohrab Godrej had been repeatedly felicitated. Thoughts in conclusion: In the Zoroastrian tradition, the earth is approximated to the feminine attribute of Ahura Mazda, the archangel, Spenta Armaiti. A 9 th century Pahlavi text declares, I am created, I did not (simply) exist... my mother is Spandarmat (Spenta Armaiti) my father Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda). 60 Taraporewala has epitomised Zoroastrian sentiments for the earth thus: Armaiti has been identified with Mother Earth who sustains and nourishes us all upon her bosom. We have our birth from her, we are nourished in life by her and after death we rest in her bosom again. 61 The concept of interdependence between man and nature is poignantly validated by this metaphor. The role of the earth as Mother has fecund possibilities because it is a metaphor, which crosses historical and religious lines and combines the current trends of earth consciousness and women consciousness. It is man s mission to have such an inwardness of God s Divine Plan that he can work for the advancement of the world, for his progress, for that of others, and for the weal of x

xi all creation. Work he must, for every Zoroastrian is a soldier in the army of Ahura Mazda, fighting against evil. As we have seen, the pollution of the elements and vegetation is held as an evil to be strenuously combatted. Ours is a perfecting world. Groping to attain the creator s ideal, the Zoroastrian remembers Zarathushtra s declaration to man: That the choice between good and evil is his. The scriptures have shown the way. It is for him to follow or not; to revere where reverence is urged, or to defile what should be sacrosanct. Zoroastrianism makes it incumbent on man to exercise his free will. How he exercises it will determine the environment of the world he lives in. May I quote to you, words from the Afrin-i-haft Ameshaspandan, which are very evocative: Foot Notes: May the waters be ever and ever flowing, the trees be ever and ever growing, the corn be ever and ever ripening. May the thoughts, words and actions of us all be truthful and righteous, so that, in the end, all of mankind may be benefited, in this world and in the other world. 62 1. WIT S World Ecology Report, New York, Fall 1998, Vol. X, no. 3, p. 1. 2. Balaram G., BNHS joins hand with Birdlife International, The Times of India, Mumbai, September 18, 1998, p. 3. 3. The Rotarian, January 1999, p. 8. 4. Eco-degradation erodes 10 p. c. of national income, The Times of India, Mumbai, August 3, 1999, p. l. 5. Sehgal, R., Fighting Hunger in the Computer Age, The Times of India, Mumbai, May 25, 1999, p. 16. 6. White, L., The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis, first published in Science, Vol. 155, pp. 1203-17, 1967. Republished in Western Man and Environmental Ethics, Barbour, I. G., (ed.) Addison-Wesley Publishing House, Mass., 1973, p. 25. 7. Mathew, 5.5 8. Bryant D. M., God, Humanity and Mother Earth: African Wisdom and the Recovery of the Earth, in Ogutu, G. M., (ed.), God, Humanity and Mother Nature, Masaki Publishers, Nairobi, 1992, p. 70. 9. Crawford, C., The Environmental challenge: Next Step in Interfaith Encounter. Paper presented at the Colloquium of the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace, New Delhi, February 1993, pp. 4-5. 10. Afrin-i-haft Ameshaspandan, 16 11. Hinnells, J.R., Zoroastrianism and the Parsis, Ward Lock Educational, London, 1981 p. 70. 12. Yasna, 44.3-4 13. Ibid, 45.3 14. Ibid, 48.3 15. Yasht, 1.13 xi

xii 16. Yasna, 43.1 17. Ibid, 8.5 18. Ibid, 33.10 19. Bellah, R., Habits of the Heart, Harvard University Press, 1988. 20. Taraporewala, I. J., The Religion of Zarathushtra, B. I. Taraporewala, Bombay, 1979, p. 44 21. Hom Yasht, X 22. Lommel, H., in Zarathushtra, ed. Schlerath, B., Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1970, pp. 31-2. 23. Boyce, M., Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1979, P.12. 24. Menok-i-khrat, 43, 1-14 25. Ibid, 25.4-7 26. Yasna, 30.9 27. Yasna, 47.3 28. Ibid, 38.1 29. Ibid, 17.11 30. Videvdat, 3.1-6 31. Ibid, 3. 7-11 32. Ibid, 3. 23-27 33. Ibid, 3. 34 34. Ibid, 3. 31 35. Herodotus I, 138 36. Yasna, 68.21 37. Videvdat, 7.25-27 38. Ibid, 6. 26-41 39. Ibid, 3. 15-17 40. Khorshed Niyayishn, 12 41. Laing, S., A Modern Zoroastrian, Chapman & Hall, London, 1898, pp. 219-20 42. Yasna, 48.5 43. Ibid, 35.7 44. Videvdat, 13 45. Ibid, 13.20-28 46. Ibid, 15.20-51 47. Shayest-ne-shayest, 15. 9-10 48. Patet Pashemani, 8 49. Videvdat, 20.4 50. Yasna, 17.11 51. Cited by Boyce, M., Zoroastrianism, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1984, p. 126. 52. Khorshed Niyayishn, 8 53. Yasht, 15 54. Chitak Handarz i Poryotkeshan 41; translated by Kanga, M. F., Bombay, 1960, p. 27 55. Nehru, J., The Discovery of India, Calcutta, 1947, p. 344 56. Karanjia, B., JRD An Endearing Portrait, Parsiana, April 1992, p. 36. xii

xiii 57. Tatas form Body for Community Development, The Times of India, January 11, 1995, p 19. 58. Lala, R., Beyond The Last Blue Mountain A Life of J. R. D. Tata, Bombay, 1992, p. 351. 59. Lala, R., The Creation of Wealth, Bombay 1992, p. XVI. 60. Chitak Handarz-i-Poryotkeshan, 2, op. cit., p. 20-21. 61. Taraporewalla, I. J., op. cit., p. 44. 62. Afrin-i-haft Ameshaspandan, 15-17 xiii