Respecting Priests

From sublime heights, our priests have descended to becoming an underprivileged class

The diktats of imams and maulvis are faithfully followed. Hindu priests rule the roost in most parts of India. Not only archbishops and cardinals, even the parish priest is held in affectionate regard. Buddhist monks are considered evolved souls. Bohris regard their head priest as a direct descendant from the Prophet. Jains revere their maharaj sahebs and mahasatijis. Sants rule Sikh hearts and Rabbis rock. Parsi priests, an underprivileged class, are given only cursory respect.

Zoroastrian prayers reverentially refer to the great dasturs of yore who sacrificed all to protect the holy fire and the faith from the marauding Arabs. It was a dastur who secured us refuge in India by convincing a sceptical king in power about our bona fides. Dastur Meherjirana attended Emperor Akbar’s court and significantly contributed to Din e Ilahi, a new secular faith conceived by the Emperor. For believers, even today, Meherjirana’s image which has mystically surfaced on the marble wall opposite the sanctum sanctorum in the Navsari Atash Behram is proof of his high spiritual status. In more recent times, the many miracles of Dastur Jamshed Kookadaru, including alchemically transforming a brick into gold to finance a fire temple, are the stuff of legend. Our priests were giants of men, both spiritual healers and leaders in thought.

From these sublime heights the priests descended into unseemly factional strife, asserting territorial rights to perform ceremonies and indulging in parish grabbing, and even violence. Since one had to be born into a priestly family to become a priest, it became a calling by compulsion and not choice. Even if a non-priestly behdin ("Of the Good Religion") had eminent qualities to be a good priest, he was barred by the accident of birth. A non-merit based hereditary calling often degenerates. Young lads dropped out of school to practise as priests to feed families. Lack of education led to penury, poverty and poor thinking. The priests began to be perceived by the behdin laity as babblers for money.

There was reluctance on the part of behdins to marry daughters of priestly families [Andhyaru ni dikri andharoo lavé (a priest’s daughter brings bad luck)] which resulted in intermarriage amongst priestly families further aggravating the problem. While the priests were in decline, the behdins prospered. A Brahmin elite elicits respect from other economically superior classes provided the former possesses a sharp intellect. Our uneducated priests could not provide leadership in thought.

Nor did their lifestyle inspire reverence. Unlike Roman Catholics, Jains, Buddhists and some Hindu sects, our priests took no vows of celibacy. Unlike the maulvis, they were not teetotallers. Personal sacrifice and a spartan life dedicated to the faith inspire awe and respect. Our priests are indistinguishable from the laity. Many overindulged in worldly pleasures. There was no demonstration of a spiritual life. Neither was there any centralized hierarchy whose commands were sacrosanct.

Instead of being able to galvanize the flock, the priests often became objects of ridicule. Priests dozing during recitation of prayers or taking short cuts by omitting stanzas are the butt of jokes. Of course, there were a few who were highly educated, cultured, erudite, learned and pious. But not enough to compensate for the rest of the mediocre army. Behdins pay paltry fees for religious ceremonies. Poor income makes full-time practice of priesthood difficult, compelling many to take day jobs and become part-time priests, a contradiction in terms.

Crass commercialization displaces devotional fervor. Priests have to appeal to charity for housing and hospitalization. A vicious cycle is continually fed. Various mobed (cleric) amelioration schemes are inadequately funded. A rich and prosperous community with huge charity funds has priests who live in penury.

High priests, appointed by heredity and not merit in most cases, have refused to adapt with the times. Some are unduly orthodox and a few positively repugnant to the youth. The irony is that almost all possess stellar intellect and an ability to impress. However, by toeing an excessively conservative line, they are alienating the youth. We need to lift the priests from this rut and turn them into an army of enthused preachers of the faith. A flock which does not look up to its shepherd is doomed to dissipate.

Permitting behdins and women to become priests, allocating liberal resources to educate and equip young initiates, providing free and highest priority in community housing, medical aid and free life insurance to full-time priests, investing in sprucing up our athornan madressas and making the community conscious of the critical importance of priests, may yet stem the rot. Non-resident Indian Parsis with large hearts are ready to help. Our miserable punchayets are too busy squabbling to take the lead. The high priests themselves have to uplift the priests. Sometimes, ridicule can rapidly turn into reverence.

- Parsiana, September 2014