The Yale expositor., 1894-12-28
THE PARSEES OF INDIA
A PEOPLE OF MANY STRANGE
SUPERSrITIONS.
DIR. Talmage Writes OF His Visit to
Bombay-Dead Bodies Carbon for tSe
yuitures-Christiauity and Zorssterism
Compared.

press, chose to-day for his subject,
1.-The Fire Worshippers," the text
selected being: There came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem"
Thest wise men were the Parsees or
the SO called fire wor-hippers, and l
found their descendants in India last
October. Their heathenism is more
tolera BILE than any of the other false
religions, and has more alterations,
and while in these Round the World"
series i have already shown you the
worst forms of heathenism, to-day l
show you the least offensive.
The prophet of the Parsees was
Zoraster of Persia. He was poet,
philosopher and reformer, as well as
religionist. His disciples thrived at
first in Persia, but under Mohammedan
persecution they retreated to India
where / met them. and III addition to
what saw of them at their head
quarters in Bombay, India, had two
weeks of association with one of the
most learned and genial of their
people on ship board from Bombay to
Brindisi.
The Bible of the Parsees, or fire
worshippers as they are inaccurately
called, is the Zend-Avesta, collection
of the strangest books that ever came
into nay hands. There were originally
twenty-one volumes, but Alexander
the Great, in a drunken fit set fire to
a palace which contained some of
them, and they went into ashes and
forgetfulness. But there are more OF
their sacred volumes left than most
people would have patience to read.
There are many things in the religion
of the Parsees that suggest Christian
ity, and some of it's doctrines are in
accord with our own religion. Zoroas-
ter, who lived l,400 years before
Christ, was a good man, suffered perse-
cution for his faith, and was assassin
ated while worshiping at an altar. He
announced the theory "He is best who
is pure OF heart!" and that there
are two great spirits in the world
Ormuzd, the good spirit, and Ahriman
the bad spirit, and that all
who do right are under the influ-
ence of Ormuzd, and all who do wrong
are under Ahriman; that the Parsee
must be born on the ground floor OF
the house, and must be buried from
the ground floor; that the dying man
must have prayers said over him and a
sacred Juice given him TO drink; that
the good at their decease go into eter-
nal light, and the bad into eternal
darkness; that having passed out Of
this light the soul fingers near the
corpse three days in paradisaic state,
enjoying more than all the nations on
earth put together could enjoy or in
pandemoniac state suffering more than
all the nations put together could
possibly suffer, but at the end of three
days departing for its final destiny;
and that there will be a resurrection
of the body. They are more careful
than any other people about their
additions, and they wash and wash
and wash. They pay great attention
to physical health and it is a rare
thing TO see a sick Parsee. They do
not smoke tobacco for they consider
LnaC Il mlSuSc "a hlS nv WIZ NAOSS
of mortal life the soul appears
at the Bridge Chinvat where
al angel presides, and questions the
soul about the thoughts, and words,
and deeds OF its earthly state. Moth
ing, however, is more intense in the
Parsee faith than the theory that the
dead body is impure. A devil is sup
posed to take possession of the dead
BODY. All who touch it are unclean
and hence the strange style Of obse-
ouies. But here must give three or
four questions and answers from one
of the Parsee catechisms:
O.-Who is the most fortunate man in
the world?
Ale who is the most innocent
O.-Who is the most innocent man in
the world?
Ale who walks in the path of God
and shuns that of the devil
(Which is the path OF God, and
which that of the devil?
A.-Virtue is the path Of God, and
vice that of the devil.
Q.-What constitutes virtue, and
what vice?
A.-Good thoughts, good words, and
good deeds constitute virtue, and evil
thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds
constitute vice.
Q-What constitute good thoughts,
good words, and good de Is, and evil
thoughts, evil words, AMI evil deeds?
A.-Honesty charity, and truthful
ness constitute the former; and dis
honesty, want of charity, and falsehood
constitute the latter.
And now the better to show you
these Parsees, tell you of two things
/ saw within short time in Bombay,
India. 1t was an afternoon of con-
trast.
We started for Malabar Hill, on
which the wealthy classes have their
empowered homes, and the Parsees
their strange temple Of the dead. AS
we rode along the waters edge the
sun was descending the sky, and a
disciple of Zorcaster, parsee, was In
lowly posture and with reverential
gaze looking into the sky. He would
have been said to have been worship
ping the sun, as all Parsees are said to
worship the fire. But the intelligent