Indian Thought Latest News & Views
New Delhi: Every religion and sect has its own methods and rituals from marriage to last rites. Like the followers of Hinduism and Sikhism cremate the dead body but Muslims and Christians bury the dead body. The eunuchs also have their own special way of performing the last rites. Similarly, people of Parsi religion perform last rites in a very special way. In the era of Corona epidemic, the government has raised objections to this special method of Parsi religious people and this matter is in the Supreme Court.
The Central Government has said in the affidavit that on the death of a Kovid patient, it is necessary to perform his last rites properly, so that the infection does not spread from him. For this or the dead body should be burnt or buried. Otherwise, there is a possibility of spreading the infection due to the contact of the body of the Kovid infected patient with the environment, animals etc. On this, the Supreme Court has said that while ensuring public health protocol, a meeting should be held with the petitioners and dignitaries of Parsi religion to reconsider the change in the SOP (protocol) of funeral rites. So that religious sentiments are also not hurt and public health is not affected.
What is the way of performing last rites in Zoroastrianism
In Zoroastrianism, the last rites are performed in the Tower of Silence. It is also called Dokhmenashini or Dakhma. This is a special circular place on which the dead bodies are left and handed over to the sky. Then the vultures consume that carcass. This tradition of funeral rites is more than 3 thousand years old in Zoroastrianism and Parsi people want to perform last rites through this tradition even in the Kovid period. In Zoroastrianism, the elements of earth, water and fire are considered very sacred. In such a situation, by burning the dead body, shedding it in water or burying these three elements become impure. However, due to the dwindling number of vultures, for the last few years, there is a lot of difficulty in performing their last rites.
Let us tell you that the total population of the followers of Parsi religion in the world is close to 1 lakh, out of which more than 60 thousand Parsis live only in Mumbai. Here is the Tower of Silence.
