Ilm-e-Khshnoom - Traditional Zoroastrianism: Tenets of the Religion

WHAT IS ILM-E-KHSHNOOM, AND WHY ?
TESTIMONIES ON THE TRUTH OF BAHERAMSHAH
SHROFF'S SOJOURN WITH ZARATHUSHTRIAN 'ABED'S
First witness: Khurshedji Suntoke, an Eminent Lawyer.
(Please read the Editorial on page 1 before this.)
by N. Khurshedji
Baheramshah Navroji Shroff of Surat averred somewhere in 1905-6 that his destiny had led him into
contact with a group of people living in certain secret region of the mount Daemavend in Iran. They lived a
saintly and highly spiritually oriented life in accordance with the strict code and rules prescribed in the Daena
of Zarathushtra. Baheramshah had lived with them for about three and a half years from 1875, when he was
18 years of age. They had amongst them highly advanced saints called "Saheb-e-Delan," led by their Chief,
"Sraoshaverez." This word denotes a saintly designation of a very high order and is mentioned as the highest
of the eight grades of Mobeds in the Avesta Prayer, Ujiran Gah. During his sojourn, Baheramshah was
imparted with the esoteric knowledge of, and certain degree of spiritual practice in, the Daena. He did not
reveal his experience for more than two decades. When he was made to reveal it, he did convey a little of
his knowledge amongst the Parsis of Surat and later in Bombay. That "little" (as he put it) was so enormous
that his disciples had to write thousands of pages to present it to the community. (Please see page 1). He
himself gave lectures and conducted classes. He was found to be very very cautious in imparting the spiritual
chapters of the Daena. Several books were published during his time and after him. This esoteric and
mystical knowledge is known as IIm-e-Khshnoom, a term he was taught by his Masters in Daemavand.
It is obvious that if he had that miracle in his life, the knowledge flowing from him should be authentic and
genuine. But if we are to accept it or adopt it, we must be reasonably satisfied about the truth of his
story. Humans are odd creatures. A craze for self-publicity can lead them to spin many a yarn. "I am
somebody and people should honour me," is the devil's creation ever present in the human mind. Was not
Baheramshah a product of that work-shop? "Give me reasons to believe that the miracle had occurred and
that the knowledge, IIm-e-Khshnoom, is authentic and genuine," you must say.
First, we must clear our way out of the argument that the place in the Daemavend where Baheramshah
was taken is not accessible to all people. It is in a secret place hidden not only by physical means but also by
spiritual means. Not all people can see it, even if they are passing by. Can such an unseen place exist?
Now, the humans are aware from the times immemorial that it is not true to say that a thing can be
accepted as existing, only if we are able to see it. There are numerous unseen things, events and
existences. God exists in our hearts; the heart surgeon does not see it. We have a soul which
detaches from our body at death; nobody sees it. Physicists say electron exists in every atom; no
body has seen it. There can be, and there is indirect evidence for many things unseen and unknown by
normal means. There is a marathon book of 666 pages "Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal
Experience" by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (Grange, London, 1991) containing material to show the existence of
many unseen things, events and experiences. We cannot therefore dismiss Baheramshah's experience as
untrue only because the place was inaccessible by all normal human means.
Then the question arises: what is the evidence for the truth of his claim? The evidence can be external as
well as internal. External can be the testimony of those who met him, sat with him, talked to him, learnt from
him, saw him at close quarters. Internal can be the nature and content of the knowledge, which, he said was
authentic and genuine knowledge of and relating to Daena.
Let us first tackle the external evidence. Baheramsha Shroff Memorial Volume (Frasho-Gard-Nos. 17
and 18 - 1930) contains articles and references by more than 36 persons, some eminent, some learned,
some scholastic, some common, some Athornans, some personal disciples, some observers from a distance.
(This book came out within 3 years of his death (7-7-1927). One under-current flows in all: every witness was
amazed at the tremendous knowledge on Daena, its tenets institutions and traditions and its holy scriptures,
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