Jamshedji Sorab Kukadaru: Difference between revisions
Deenparast (talk | contribs) Removed extremely controversial statements that were inserted much after the article was created. These statements are not accepted by the majority of the Parsi community. Dasturji KukaDaru is revered by traditional Zoroastrians as a saint. |
Deenparast (talk | contribs) Undid revision 792096604 by Deenparast (talk) |
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Kukadaru was born on 26 May 1831 in [[Surat]], [[Gujarat]], India. The day as per the [[Zoroastrian calendar]] was Yazdegerdi Mah (month) Ava, Roj (day) Zamyad. He is revered among the Zoroastrian Parsi community in India and overseas and is considered to be a saint by many in the community. His life was filled with miraculous events which have been documented extensively in Gujarati as well as English. Dasturji Saheb died on 4 January 1900 on the Yazdegerdi calendar day Behram in the month of Fravardin. |
Kukadaru was born on 26 May 1831 in [[Surat]], [[Gujarat]], India. The day as per the [[Zoroastrian calendar]] was Yazdegerdi Mah (month) Ava, Roj (day) Zamyad. He is revered among the Zoroastrian Parsi community in India and overseas and is considered to be a saint by many in the community. His life was filled with miraculous events which have been documented extensively in Gujarati as well as English. Dasturji Saheb died on 4 January 1900 on the Yazdegerdi calendar day Behram in the month of Fravardin. |
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<ref>Michael Stausberg and Ramiyar P. Karanjia, “Kukadaru, Jamshedji Sorab,” Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, June 23, 2008, available at www.iranicaonline.org.</ref> |
<ref>Michael Stausberg and Ramiyar P. Karanjia, “Kukadaru, Jamshedji Sorab,” Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, June 23, 2008, available at www.iranicaonline.org.</ref> |
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[[File:Kukkadaru saheb page.jpg|thumb|Mazgaon Navjotes, Parsi Prakash, Vol. 3, page 41.]] |
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==Life of Dasturji Kukadaru== |
==Life of Dasturji Kukadaru== |
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used to wash his own clothes and ate only one meal a day which consisted of rice and [[ghee]] (clarified butter). He used to cook it by keeping a vessel of rice in the rays of the sun and reciting sacred [[Avestan]] verses. He did not eat meat, and only consumed milk and fruits. Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb made a number of predictions that came true, such as the deaths of Empress [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Victoria]] of [[England]] and other personalities in India at that time. |
used to wash his own clothes and ate only one meal a day which consisted of rice and [[ghee]] (clarified butter). He used to cook it by keeping a vessel of rice in the rays of the sun and reciting sacred [[Avestan]] verses. He did not eat meat, and only consumed milk and fruits. Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb made a number of predictions that came true, such as the deaths of Empress [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Victoria]] of [[England]] and other personalities in India at that time. |
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<ref>Ervad Burjor H. Antia, Zarthoshti Anjuman Atash Bahram A Book celebrating the 100 years of its enshrinement, Anjuman Atash Bahram</ref> |
<ref>Ervad Burjor H. Antia, Zarthoshti Anjuman Atash Bahram A Book celebrating the 100 years of its enshrinement, Anjuman Atash Bahram</ref> |
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This highly respected pious Dasturji had not only supported but had also performed the famous "Mazgaon Navjotes" of people born of inter religious marriages in 1882, as per the records in Parsi Prakash, an Orthodox Zoroastrian newsletter. The reformists Parsi groups often cite this as an example of Universal acceptance of all in Zoroastrianism. |
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In 1882, a group of poor dock workers living and working in Mazgaon Docks appealed to various Priests & High Priests and also petitioned the Bombay Parsi Panchayet (BPP) for being admitted to the Parsi fold, as being born to inter-married parentage. Not waiting for the Panchayet to decide, about 200 prominent Parsis collected funds and eminent Dasturjis performed the Navjote ceremony, in the presence of a large gathering on 26 June 1882. |
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On 26 June 1882, eleven navjotes were performed (4 males & 5 females, age ranging from 35 years to 77 years & two children) on persons born of inter-married parentage by eminent priests, which also included Saint Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb. |
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This event was duly reported in newspapers namely- ‘Mumbai Samachar', 'Jame Jamshed and ‘Parsi Prakash’. |
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== The Gold Bar Miracle == |
== The Gold Bar Miracle == |
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Revision as of 12:50, 24 July 2017
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Jamshedji Sohrab Kukadaru was a Parsi Zoroastrian priest in Mumbai, India noted for his extreme personal piety and a number of miracles attributed to hin. He is also known as Dasturji Jamshed Ervad Sohrab Kukadaru Saheb. His name is also recorded as Kookadaru. Dasturji and Ervad are both honorific titles relating to his position as a priest. Rather confusingly he has the title Dasturji and Ervad, which is unprecedented, after his death he was granted the title of Dasturji by JamaspAsa. The title Saheb is also a honorific, meaning 'Master', it is often used in the Indian Subcontinent in reference to spiritual 'masters' like the Sikh Guru Granth Sahib.
Kukadaru was born on 26 May 1831 in Surat, Gujarat, India. The day as per the Zoroastrian calendar was Yazdegerdi Mah (month) Ava, Roj (day) Zamyad. He is revered among the Zoroastrian Parsi community in India and overseas and is considered to be a saint by many in the community. His life was filled with miraculous events which have been documented extensively in Gujarati as well as English. Dasturji Saheb died on 4 January 1900 on the Yazdegerdi calendar day Behram in the month of Fravardin. [1]
Life of Dasturji Kukadaru
When Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb moved from Surat to the larger city of Mumbai, he became a Panthaki (priest) of Kapawala Agiary (Fire-Temple) at Nizam Street, Baharkot. Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb lived a simple life. He used to wash his own clothes and ate only one meal a day which consisted of rice and ghee (clarified butter). He used to cook it by keeping a vessel of rice in the rays of the sun and reciting sacred Avestan verses. He did not eat meat, and only consumed milk and fruits. Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb made a number of predictions that came true, such as the deaths of Empress Victoria of England and other personalities in India at that time. [2]
This highly respected pious Dasturji had not only supported but had also performed the famous "Mazgaon Navjotes" of people born of inter religious marriages in 1882, as per the records in Parsi Prakash, an Orthodox Zoroastrian newsletter. The reformists Parsi groups often cite this as an example of Universal acceptance of all in Zoroastrianism.
In 1882, a group of poor dock workers living and working in Mazgaon Docks appealed to various Priests & High Priests and also petitioned the Bombay Parsi Panchayet (BPP) for being admitted to the Parsi fold, as being born to inter-married parentage. Not waiting for the Panchayet to decide, about 200 prominent Parsis collected funds and eminent Dasturjis performed the Navjote ceremony, in the presence of a large gathering on 26 June 1882.
On 26 June 1882, eleven navjotes were performed (4 males & 5 females, age ranging from 35 years to 77 years & two children) on persons born of inter-married parentage by eminent priests, which also included Saint Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb.
This event was duly reported in newspapers namely- ‘Mumbai Samachar', 'Jame Jamshed and ‘Parsi Prakash’.
The Gold Bar Miracle
Several miracles were performed by Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb, and the most famous one was the Gold Bar miracle. Dasturji Saheb transformed an ordinary brick into a large bar of gold by praying the ancient Avestan prayers throughout the night. This was on request of the Zoroastrian devotees to cover a shortfall in the construction money for the Anjuman Atash Behram building at Dhobi Talao (Mumbai, India). The sum of Rupees 10,000 was raised by selling the transformed bar of gold, a very large amount of money in those days (19th century). Even today, an amazing lifelike portrait of Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb is placed in the hall of the Atash Behram, and similar portraits of Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb are placed in most of the Parsi Zoroastrian Atash Behrams and Agiaris (Fire Temples) in the Indian subcontinent. Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb also cured people of diseases by praying the Avestan scriptures of the Zoroastrian religion. [3]
Fame in the 20th Century
Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb during his lifetime was not a Dastur (High Priest) but an Ervad, a medium-level category of Zoroastrian priesthood. After he died, at the Uthamna (Zoroastrian prayers for the departed) ceremony, Dasturji JamaspAsa declared that his name should henceforth not be recited as ‘Ervad Jamshed Ervad Sohrab’ but as ‘Dastur Jamshed Ervad Sohrab’ as a mark of unprecedented respect. Many years after Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb had died, Ervad Nadarsha Navroji Aibara who was a well-known priest of Cusrow Baug, Colaba, (Mumbai, India) was responsible for rekindling the faith in Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb among the Parsi Zoroastrian community in India and overseas. Ervad Nadarsha Navroji Aibara was born in 1933, which was a number of years after Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb had left the physical world. Ervad Aibara’s spiritual Guru (mentor) was Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb, and Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb’s spiritual Guru was the more ancient Dastur Azar Kaiwan Bin Azar Gushasp Saheb. [4]
Nirang Prayers to help people
Ervad Aibara mentioned that over the years, the spiritual power of Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb communicated with him regularly through his inner voice. Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb gave Ervad Aibara a number of nirangs (short prayers) and instructed him to give these nirangs to any person who came to him for help in difficulties. Many people benefited from these prayers in India as well as overseas, during the later half of the 20th century. The faith in Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb spread considerably due to the power of these prayers. [5]
External links
- Article on Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb
- Kukadaru, Jamshedji Sorab article on Encyclopaedia Iranica Online
- Dr. (Mrs.) Hilla Minoo Wadia's Stories of Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb
- Traditional Zoroastrianism Web Site
References
- ^ Michael Stausberg and Ramiyar P. Karanjia, “Kukadaru, Jamshedji Sorab,” Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, June 23, 2008, available at www.iranicaonline.org.
- ^ Ervad Burjor H. Antia, Zarthoshti Anjuman Atash Bahram A Book celebrating the 100 years of its enshrinement, Anjuman Atash Bahram
- ^ Ervad Burjor H. Antia, Zarthoshti Anjuman Atash Bahram A Book celebrating the 100 years of its enshrinement, Anjuman Atash Bahram
- ^ Dr. (Mrs.) Hilla Minoo Wadia (2003), Late Ervad Nadarsha Navroji Aibara Blessed by Sant Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb, Kukadaru Trust
- ^ Dr. (Mrs.) Hilla Minoo Wadia (2003), Late Ervad Nadarsha Navroji Aibara Blessed by Sant Dasturji Kukadaru Saheb, Kukadaru Trust