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

What is IIm-e-Khshnoom and Why?
USTAD BAHERAMSHAHJI PERFORMS A
CONFIRMATORY TEST: ARE CHINIWALLA BROTHERS
DESTINED TO PROPAGATE KHSHNOOM AFTER HIM?
THE STORY OF BHULESHWAR RIOTS,
"COLD STOUT" AND MAACHI IN ATASH-BEHERAM
- K. N. DASTOOR
In the last issue of this humble magazine, I placed before my faithful readers how, in the year 1917, the
Masters (Saheb Dalaan's) of Daemaavand, gifted a Nirang - a manthra Prayer to Dr. Saheb Framroze
Chiniwalla through Bomanshah Hakim, and how that Nirang took Dr. Framroze deeper and deeper in his
acquisition of Ilm-e-Khshnoom. Dr. Framroze had no idea that this was the preparation for the propagation of
IIm-e-Khshnoom in the coming years.
But as his brother Jehangir wrote, the Nirang had a tremendous effect on Dr. Framroze. He could study in
depth the west oriented grammar and the then pseudo Sciences of Philology and Etymology and the
strenuous oriental studies by the Western Savants and scholars. At the same time, his heart and head could
probe deeper and deeper in the Mystical Science of Khshnoom. He could understand how and where the
Western Studies of our holy Scriptures and other writings were going astray and how IIm-e-Khshnoom can
remove their doubts and erase their wild guessworks and speculations, provided they came out of their 19th
century material thinking, which inherently thought that Religion was a product of superstition of the infant
humanity, and that their Studies were superior to the ancient Saints, Sages, Seers and Mystics. The Nirang
worked on him in such a way that today, as we delve into his writings, we can see that he was thoroughly
conversant in the Western methods and results of their Studies and had reached every corner of their edifice.
I shall later on give you instances of this, which amazes his serious students even today at his scholarship on
the one hand and his Mystical Knowledge on the other, and his astounding blending of the two. Some
unknown hand was systematically guiding him and bringing before him the data and materials from every
corner of the present studies as also the Mystical, Occult and Esoteric Sciences. The light he has thrown on
the Iranian History is something phenomenal and unparalled. His translations of all Avesta have as one of
their foundations all the intricacies and complexities of the present day grammar and philology. The
convincing way in which he extracts the divine Teachings of Khshnoom from the entanglements of modern
academic researches is unique and prodigious. I am often agonised deeply and sincerely at the Mobeds,
scholastic Dastoors and other scholars closing their eyes deliberately at this divine fountain nay a huge
waterfall of Knowledge. As David Bohm, one of the greatest Scientists of the 20h century, has pointed out,
such people do not want to disturb their mind's habitual state of comfortable equilibrium even at the cost of
the Truth. Mind has "a tendency to hang on to what is comfortable and secure in the subliminal infrastructure
of its tacit ideas." Any disturbance in their mind-bound structure hurts their ego. "How can I be wrong?" This is
a question which arises from one of our internal enemies: ego, pride, self-esteem. When the great Indian
Scientist, Subramaniam Chandrashekhar, derived a strenuous theory on astrophysics at a very young age,
and showed it to the then great physicist Sir Arthur Eddington, the latter pooh-poohed him badly and cruelly
being induced by the same question : how can we all be wrong? But Sir Arthur was not alive to see
Chandrashekhar winning the Nobel Prize in 1983 for his work on the same theory. Chandrashekhar himself
has drawn attention to his keen observation that the big discoveries in Science have been mostly made by
young Scientists before the age of 30 years; that is before they bind up their minds in their preconceived
notions and ideas.
We go back to the true story of IIm-e-Khshnoom and Dr. Saheb Framroze Chiniwalla.
As the year 1923 was approaching some strifes had arisen in the Anjuman of Khshnoom, and Ustad
Saheb Baheram shahji was thinking of handing over the then Khshnoom classes to Dr. Framroze and the
work of propagation of Khshnoom to Chiniwalla brothers. Before he did that, he made certain suggestions to
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