The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-31

| he favors one or the other he ascends to
heaven or descends to hell. His conduct
on earth determines his life after DEATH
| The Sacred Fire
The Parsees look upon fire and water
and the sun, moon and stars as the crea-
| ton of the spirit of light. 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 1t was first lighted
many centuries ago, before the Moham-
medans conquered the country and drove
these people out. 1t was carried by them
to the town of Ormuz on the Persian gulf,
and brought with them to SATAN in India
when the first of their sect came to Hin
dustan. Later still they brought it with
them to Bombay, and 1t is always kept
blazing in the temples here.
| The Parsees do not permit strangers
| to see 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. l 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 "a tree or build
| Ing struck by lightning, and have fed
| them with chips and dust of sandal
wood l understand that they will not
| spit in the fire nor blow out a light
| For a time many of them would not
smoke tobacco, and some of them have
| refused to serve in the fire department
here at Bombay, not wishing to sin in
putting fire out
This worship of fire is by no means
original with the Parsees. Our own
| ancestors of the long ago, the early
| Aryans were worshipers of fire as rep
recenting the lightning and the sum-
| The Hindoos had fire god called Angi,
| and bowed down to it as a means OF
publication. They use sacred fire In
| their domestic rites today, and at their
weddings fire Dis lighted by a priest
and the bride and groom walk around
| it. Akbar the great Mohammedan EN-
peror of northern India made his own
sacred fire by lighting piece OF cot
| ton through a crystal lens with the
rays OF the sun. He used this burning
| glass several times every year. and all
| the fires of his household were started
that way.
ZarOaster the Prophet
| The Parsees are often called disciples
| of zoroaster. This man belonged to the
| Magi he held the same faith as the
| wise men who followed the star to the
| stable when Christ was born at Bethle-
| hem 1t is one of the oldest of religions
| and was worshiped by Cyrus the Great.
| Zoroaster was boy of II at the time
Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadhez-
| gar. He lived in northern Persia and
the old Persian writings chonicle many
| miracles as to his birth and life. He
| went through a period of religious prep
aration and at 80 received a revelation
and came forth to reform the old creed
of the Magi. He had many visions. lie
saw the one God and was ten Nted'
| again and again by the spirit OF dark
ness, but always came OH trlumphahe'
During his life he converted Vishtaspa,
one of the great kings of that time, and
his religion spread all over Persia. 1t
was the chief religion there for many
years. but is now believed alone by the
Parsees.
A white haired, silver-bearded old fol-
lowe of this faith tells me that one OF
the chief elements of the religion is a
belief that the soul is immortal, and that
all human beings are free moral agents.
and therefore responsible. They believe
In rewards and punishments, and that in
this life we settle our future existence.
AS to the Parsee God, he is called the
Doer, the Creator and the Governor OF
the World. He is the emblem of glory
and light, and for this reason the Par
see when he worships stands before the
fire or turns his face to the sun as the
symbol of the Almighty.
The Towers OF Silence
II seems strange to think of beauti-
full. well-bred. intelligent woman, the
wife of a millionaire, fighting in the
courts of India for her right to Parsee
burial. This means that at death she will
be laid naked upon one of the Towers OF
Silence, and have the flesh picked from
her bones by flock of vultures which
have always fed upon human flesh. This
is the universal Parsee disposition OF the
dead. They do not bury the BODY In the
: earth. nor burn it. Fire u too holy and