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Glossary

Farokhshi
Ceremony
and
Prayer
By Ervad
Ratanshah R.
Motafram.
Compiled by
Rohinton G.N.
Panthaky

Audio recording by
Ervad Soli P. Dastur

Farokhshi is a
simple ceremony
with the same
requisites as those in
the Afringan
ceremony viz
flowers, fruits,
milkand water. For
its recitation a single
priest is required.

The word Farokhshi

is the variant of
'Fravashi! Farvardin
Yasht in its entirety
is recited together
with the stum prayer
which is also in
praise of the
guardian spirits
(Fravashis), as is the
Fravardin Yasht
wherein the
Fravashis of the
departed worthies of
ancient Iran are
invoked.

The long prayer of

Farvardin Yasht
contains a
description of the
Fravashis - their
categories,
characteristics,
functions etc and it
is abundantly
recited on the
nineteenth day
Farvardin of the first
month Farvardin of
the Zoroastrian
calender - both the
day and the month
being devoted to the
invocation of the
Fravashis.

Zoroastrian religion
concedes the
existence of various
grades of divine
spirits besides Ahura
Mazda who tops
them ali. Fravashis
form a distinet dass
of divine entities
permitting ali
sentient beings.

The word Fravashi

can be rendered
"Guardian Spirit”
When a man
perfectly attuned to
Asha (ashavan) dies,
his soul is united
with his Fravashis;
hence, often in
Avesta we come
across the statement
”We adore the souls
of the dead who are
the Fravashis of the
holy." (Havan Gah - 9
and elsewhere) Also
it is said that when
men die the soul
unites with the
Fravahr which is the
Pahlavi or Middle
Persian equivalent
of Avesta Fravashi.

It was a custom
amoung the ancient
Persians of adoring
the spirits of the
departed worthies,
and among the
Greeks, of
worshiping the
spirits of their
departed "heroes,"
because even after
death they were
supposed to have
protective power.

Even before man's

birth his Fravashi
exists in the spiritual
world. The Fravashis
of those stili unborn
are adored
(Fravardin Yasht17).
It is said that Ahura
Mazda asked the
Fravashis of men
which of the two
alternatives they
would prefer - to live
in the spiritual
world unaffected by
evil or descend into
the material world
and fight evil and
attain immortality.
The Fravashis opted
for the latter.

Fravashis pervade
the entire creation.
Even Ahura Mazda
has his Fravashi
(Yasna 26-2) so also
Amesha Spentas
(Farvardin Yasht 80)
and the spiritual
Yazatas (Yasna 23-2).
Again, the sky, the
water, the earth, the
vegetation and the
animals have their
Fravashis (Farvardin
Yasht 86). Not only
that, the Fravashis
are the ultimate
support of all
creations, for it is
said that men
depend on cattle for
strength and
nourishment, the
cattle depend on the
vegetation, the earth
supports vegetation,
the air moves
vegetation, water,
earth and human
beings, the light
moves the air, and
the holy Fravashis
presides over light.

Fravashis are
imbued with the
immense
energy.They sustain
the sky, the water,
the earth and
develop physical
organs of a child
when it is conceived
in the mother's
womb. (Fravardin
Yasht 22). They are
the prime source of
motion, for it is said
that the moon, the
sun, and the endless
lights are all in
motion because of
the Fravashis
(Fravardin Yasht 57).

What is the
difference between
soul (Av.Urvan) and
the Fravashi? The
soul because of its
linkwith the physical
body is in bondage,
while the Fravashi is
free. Soul is tinged
with the desire
whereas Fravashi is
purely divine and
totally unaffected
with desire.

The soul is granted

freedom of will. It
can use the mind
and the five organs
of perception as it
likes. Fravashi is like
the prime minister
who administers
proper advice to the
soul and guides it in
day-to-day affairs of
the world.

As soul is endowed
with the freedom of
will it may heed to
the advice or ignore
it at its own perii,
but according to the
belief of Zoroastrian
religion the soul
alone is accountable
for all its deeds
performed in the
material world,
while Fravashi is not
because it acts like a
divine monitor to
guide the soul in its
sojurn in the
transient world.

Every time a man

falis a prey to evil
desires and is about
to do an evil action
Fravashi raises a
voice of caution. it is
in the soul's interest
to heed the warning,
else it alone is
responsible for the
consequences
arising out of its
actions.

Fortunate, indeed
are they who
regulate their lives
in response to the
inner voice of their
Fravashis strictly
treading the path of
Asha laid down by
the Zoroastrian
religion, for after
death, their souls are
united with their
Fravashis.They are
emancipated.

It will go a long way

towards helping
religious minded
Zoroastrians to
recite this prayer in
memory of their
departed souls,
especially on their
anniversaries, on the
ninteenth day of
every Zoroastrian
calender month and
the days of the
Farvardegan.