El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-07-30

4
out the plans for the institution
One of the Parsee givers of the mast
whom we might compare with certain
OF our millionaire widows was Mrs. Bal
Motlibai Wadin, of the same family as
the man who has just left the 5000 600
gold dollars. She was the wife of a mill
lfonaire Parsee of this city. whom she
outl1ved more than thirty years During
that time she gave away one million
and a half dollars in public charities
and almost two millions in private
aims She gave Bombay its first hos
p1tal for native women at a cost of
over S2.O00,00G and Notwithstanding all
thls' left a big fortune to her descend
ants.
Parsee MiHionairea
These gifts suggest the wealth of
the Parsees- The Petits might be called
the ROthschilds of the country. save
that they are by far more gsnerous
one OF the men of the Petit family. to
which belonged the girl who has lust
donated her jewels for a Girls orphan
age, founded a boys orphapxee 10
perpetuate the memory of his son who
was cut off in his prime These Perirs
| have made their millions in cotton. One
OF them erected the first spinning and
weaving mill for India. This was over
90 years ago. 1t was a great success.
and its founder added others, so that
he became the cotton king of the cOua-
try A large part Of the Wadia for
tune was made in cotton, as were also
those of the Tatas and the Jeeieeb-
hoys. Other rich families control The
Parsee banks in the various cities of
! india and in other parts of the far
east, and big steel industry has lust
| been started by the Tatas But of this
L shall write in the future
A Religions Trust
Before mentioning some tenets of the
Parsee faith 1 want to tell YOU abOut
! the Punchayat or religious trust which
manages it. This controls more prom
erty than Trinity church in New York
Ii has charge of ALL the church funds.
amounting TO more than $4,000, 600, and
other holdings >~eal estate which are
of great value The Punchayat has re-
Gently figured in some trials here at
Bombay, which have created great ex-
cltement throughout the Parsee world
Inc Parsee church is a close CORPORA
ton Its members are liberal to
Iault, and give more 10 their faith than
any sect know. At the same time they
are conservative and want to control
what they give by keeping out of the
IOId converts who are not of pure Par
see blood.
Not long ago one of the Tatas. a
millionaire member Of the community.
look unto himself a French wife She
became converted 10 her husbands re-
hglon, protested the faith of Zoroaster
ana was taken into the church. There
upon the bisots OF the faith objected.
ana the trustees of the Punchavat d.
clded that they could not allow any
interest IN the church money to go 10
OUTSIDE converts. nor would they per-
mt such converts to warm their souls
al the hOly fires or upon death To have
ther Iiesn torn from their bodies nv
the FuitureS on the Towers of Silence
Inc French lady has insisted unon her
rights and she has now brought sui+
- ENFORCE Them before the courts at
boInbay- The judges have decided en-
her favor. and converts are 49, =. -
nave the right to come into the church
uhder certain restrictions. However
tneIe was minority decision. One of
the justices suggested that the alien.
might nave separate temples ami b1I1-isI
towers. and another has proteSta1 ~
the verdict might open up the cburcb
70 undesirable aliens and rum the
prosperity OF the Parsee community.
The Faith of the Parseex
And this brings me to the fai+b of
Nthe Parsee. You have often head tba,,,
gained worshipers of fire. In sense
they are So They have fire always
purhlng In their temples, but thew Uor-
snip II, as one Of them told me- onI1,
as an emblem of the sun and &c H.
hlghest type of the Creator. i I. ca
WIN an rehslons supposed to be purely
[uoIa gus Upon investigation one
inns that the idols are worsbined ,nI,,
as the representative of a deitv 10
creates and rules, and not as sticks and
stones endowed with supernatural oc.1,-
eFS- mere is no religion upoD e.rtb
that does not contain beautiful truthS
OtherWise II could not be believed Nv
reasoning men nor have its followers
from generation TO generation.
The Parsees believe in one God and
in the resurrection and equality OF all
beings before God. They believe that
this God created two spirits. one of evil
and the other of good: one of light and
the other of darkness These snirtts
are always fighting for mans soul. and
according as he favOrs one or the other
he ascenGs to heave- or descends TO
hell. His conduct on earth determines
his life after death
The Sacred Fire
The Parsees look upon fire and wa
ter and the sun, moon and stars as the
creation of the spirit of ngnt. They
especially revere fire. and that used in
the temples here at Bombay is said
to have been burning for hundreds of
years 1t came from Persia, where
it was first lighted many centuries ago.
before MOhammedan conquered the
country and drove these people out.
It Was carried by them to the town
of Ormuz on the Persian gulf. and
brought with them to Sanjan in India
when the first of their sect came to
Hindustan- Later still they brought it
with them to Bombay, and it is ALWAYS
kept burning in the temples here.
The Parsees do not permit strangers
to seeN this fire. They regard their
worship too holy to have it viewed by
others and they MAKE no display OF
their religion by gorgeous churches and
elaborate religious ceremonies am
told that they look upon fire as the
purest thing upon earth. In some of
their new temples they have started the
fires by Goals from y tree or building
struck by lightning and have fed them
with chips and dust of sandal wood. 7
understand that they will not spit in
the fire nor blow out a light For a
time many of them would not smoke to-
bacco and some of them have refused
to serve in the fire department here