The Importance of Vultures
Ugly animals also serve a purpose and should be protected
A good friend of mine sent me a podcast about the Towers of Silence in India. This is the name for the place in the middle of Mumbai where the Parsis leave their dead.
For those who don’t know, the Parsis were expatriates from Persia (now Iran) who were driven out when the Muslims took over. They were given a choice — convert to Islam or leave.
Many left.
As anyone who has watched the film Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie Mercury’s family were Parsis who were from Tanzania, part of the Persian diaspora. Others went to the Western shore of India, where they formed the Parsi community there.
The Parsis are Zorastrians. They believe in the eternal battle between Ahura Mazda (good) and Ahriman (evil). While they are free to choose either, Zoroaster encouraged them to make good choices, exemplified by good thoughts, good deeds, and good words.
Because Zorastrians believe that when a person dies, he or she becomes unclean, they don’t want his body to be in touch with and contaminate the elements of fire, earth, or water. So they place the bodies on elevated platforms that reach into the sky.
