“The signs of the age”

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October 7-October 20, 2019

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Issue Date: 07-Oct-2019

“The signs of the age”

The other day one of my friends confided that after her demise she wished to be cremated but was worried lest the priests from nearby fire temples refused to pray for her soul. There may be more priests willing to perform after death ceremonies for those opting for alternate methods of disposal, but they may be worried about losing their jobs. This brings to mind two priests who had the courage to buck the establishment. Religious zealots of our Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) branded them as renegades and dragged them to court to stop the practice. We all know the result.......

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Parsis living in the Greater Mumbai area, or even those who may decide to transport a deceased for the cremation to Mumbai, now have a crematorium facility that provides Zoroastrian prayers and services. The Worli Prayer Hall/Crematorium can be reached through this website:

http://prayerhalltrust.org/

This is such a great advancment since 1974, when my father Late Mr. Sheheryar Kaoosji passed away, becasue he had willed to be buried at a properly consecrated Zoroastrian Aramgah, 100 miles away in Nizamabad. At the time of demise was an employee of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman of Secunderabad and Hyderabad. Trustees of the Tilak Road Chenoy Agiary who knew him personally had prohibited the Panthaky and employee Mobeds from performing funeral services! So family and friends joined prayers at the funeral.

Parsiana statistics show that in Mumbai almost 50% of the deceased are cremated. The ratio will be higher if one includes Parsi funerals in the diaspora!
- Yezdyar Kaoosji
- 07-Oct-2019