Roj Govad Mah Bahman, 1380 Yz.
Recent news reports have emerged of the finding of a fabulous treasure in the Hindu temple of Sri Padmanabhaswamy in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. With each passing day, the estimated figure of the treasure seems to keep on increasing, the latest amount being placed close to Rs. 100,000 crores (about $23 billion). The treasure was unearthed from secret chambers located within the temple complex following a Supreme Court order to make an inventory of the various precious items contained in the temple premises.
The Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple dates back to the 9th century and came into prominence about 300 years ago with its restoration in 1750 by Marthanda Varma, the powerful king of Travancore. This pious king offered his whole kingdom at the feet of Lord Vishnu and assumed the title of Padmanabhadasa (servant of Lord Padmanabha). Since that time, his descendants have followed this practice and given up all their earnings from taxes and other revenues to the secret chambers of the temple. Now, following the Supreme Court order, this magnificent wealth of the deity has been revealed for the first time.
It is worthwhile to observe the lifestyle of the King of Travancore. He begins his day with a visit to the temple and a special puja. If he is not able to make it to the temple, he has to pay a fine, which is entered into the temple records for posterity. When coming out of the temple, the Maharaja uses a cloth to brush off his feet and only then leaves the temple. The meaning of this practice is explained that the King has offered everything he has to the Lord. Hence while leaving, he makes sure that not even the dust of the temple leaves with him, hence the brushing of the feet. On one hand we have this kind of devotion and service to the Lord by a powerful ruler and on another, we have the shameful spectacle of fighting and corrupt electoral practices in our own community! What a contrast!
The riches of this temple, as well as some other famous temples in our country make some Parsis envious of them. Indeed, it is well known that many Parsis pay visits to these temples in the hopes of getting material boons. But do we know of the vast wealth which was held in our own Fire Temples – thousands of Agiaries and Atash Behrams spread over the Iranian empire at the time of the Zoroastrian monarchy?
Readers of Frashogard will be surprised to know that the treasures found in Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple pale into insignificance when compared to the treasures held in some of our Atash Behrams in Iran. We have historical proof of this. It is to be remembered that in the time of the Zoroastrian monarchy, the King and his government were directly involved in the running of the Fire Temples and the other spiritual institutions of the Zoroastrian religion. The Head Priests of these Atash Behrams were spiritually advanced Dasturs who tended to the spiritual needs of the millions of Zoroastrians who flourished at that time. Grateful devotees would make huge offerings to these Atash Behrams which were collected and properly recorded and stored for the use of the common good.
When the Iranian empire fell with the defeat of the last King Yazdegard Sheriar in 636 AD, the vast treasures which lay in the Atash Behrams throughout the Kingdom were systematically looted by the Arab invaders. Over the next 100 years, many forced conversions resulted in the near disappearance of the religious institutions. However, even in around 710 AD, there still existed thousands of Atash Behrams and Agiaries all over Iran. These were somewhat tolerated by the Caliphs – the new Islamic rulers of Iran, on payment of crippling taxes. However, in 717 AD, Caliph Umar II ascended the throne. A religious zealot, Caliph Umar ordered that all Fire Temples should be destroyed, regardless of how much tax they had paid.
The Arab Governor of Iraq (which was part of the Iranian empire at that time) appointed a commissioner to oversee the destruction of Zoroastrian Fire Temples. The clever commissioner was very aware of the vast amount of treasure which existed in our Fire Temples. He therefore began collecting bribes from those temples, under threat of demolition. Desperate to ensure the survival of the Padshah Sahebs in those Atash Behrams and Agiaries, the Head Priests of the temples gave whatever they had to the corrupt commissioner. Within a short time, the commissioner extorted the staggering sum of 40 million Dirhams! [see Boyce, Mary: Zoroastrians – Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979]
Dear readers, we are talking of just one province of Iran, in the years after the sun had set on our Zoroastrian empire. If a few temples could manage this sum, what would have been the wealth of all the Atash Behrams and Agiaries put together within the Iranian empire? Indeed this makes the figure of Rs.100,000 crores look small in comparison! Where did all this wealth go? Ustad Saheb revealed that while much was looted by the invaders, many Atash Behrams and Agiaries were supervised by Abed Sahebs of the highest calibre. These advanced souls could perform miraculous feats. When they realised that the future of their spiritual institutions was bleak, they would recite certain powerful prayers, which would draw protective circuits around the entire temple complex. Within these spiritual boundaries, the Sacred Padshah Sahebs would be interred in the ground using special prayers, such that they would remain burning – without fuel or priests for many hundreds of years.
Ustad Saheb revealed to us that there are many such powerful Atash Behrams which lie buried even today within the sacred earth of the areas of the Iranian empire. Along with the Padshah Sahebs also lies buried the great treasure and wealth of Iran. When Shah Behram Varzavand re-establishes the Zoroastrian monarchy in Iran, these great spiritual institutions will re-emerge from the ground!
But what did Ustad Saheb say about the hidden treasures in Hindu temples? Here begins a fascinating journey for us. Readers of Frashogard are aware of the prophecy of Ustad Saheb relating to the advent of Shah Behram Varzavand. Ustad Saheb revealed that before the advent of Shah Behram Varzavand, there will many cataclysmic changes in India. The democratic setup of the country will give way to the emergence of a Hindu Kingdom. Ustad Saheb revealed that a Hindu King, descended from the genealogy of Maharana Pratap of Udaipur will arise and establish a true Hindu Kingdom which would usher in peace and prosperity in the country after many years of war and destruction. Ustad Saheb revealed that in order to do this, the Hindu King would require vast sums of money and gold to help establish his monarchy. Nature makes preparations for events hundreds of years before the event is to happen.
Ustad Saheb revealed that the Sahebs of Demavand had told him that there exist several areas in India where vast sums of gold and precious gems have been collected and stored over hundreds of years, for the express use of this young Hindu monarch in whose reign is destined the advent of shah Behram Varzavand. When this prince emerges, he will commander this staggering wealth to establish his monarchy and pave the way for the advent of Shah Behram Varzavand.
Readers of Frashogard! Times are changing very fast and events are moving at a speed which defies our analysis. Parsis are of course too busy attending free lunches and collecting microwave ovens to bother about all this. We are eating our way to our destruction, while nature is preparing fast and furious for the arrival of the Promised One! The news of the vast treasure of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple should not come as a surprise to a serious student of Khshnoom. It only proves what we have been told all along. There are many such hidden treasures, which will remain hidden till the time comes for their proper use to prepare for the advent of the Saviour! May that day come soon!
My dear readers! Tomorrow, July 7, we observe the 84th death anniversary of our beloved Ustad Saheb Behramshah Nowroji Shroff. Even though so many years have elapsed since his passing, his message and guidance to us is as fresh as ever. With every passing day, our minds are filled with his words of wisdom and warning. The time comes near when we will all have our faith put to the strongest test ever. The time comes near when great cataclysmic changes stare at our community, our country and indeed the entire world. Our civilization, based on immorality and rapacious greed, will soon fall with the weight of its own weaknesses. A new dawn is set to begin. But before that, the night will be long, dark and full of suffering.
Those of us who have placed our faith in Ustad Saheb and the Abed Sahebs of Demavand and who are trying desperately to follow the age old traditions of the faith will surely survive to see the brilliant dawn. The rest are doomed. On this 84th Baj of Ustad Saheb, let us all pray together one Ashem Vohu to hasten the advent of the Promised One. Let us also pray one Ashem Vohu in the memory of our beloved Ustad Saheb. May his Ruvan progress further and further and may it guide our community to its glorious destiny!
Ervad Marzban J. Hathiram