Meet Councillor Filly K Maravala. An East London resident, he was born into what many western scholars believe is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion – Zoroastrianism. Here, he talks about what it means to follow his faith and how his beliefs influence his life.
What’s the best thing about your faith?
The greatest thing about Zoroastrianism is that it is generally acknowledged as a religion that has had a profound impact and influence on the world’s other major religions – including Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Over the centuries, fragments of information unearthed by anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and linguists have accumulated until it became impossible to separate the man from the myth. In this case, the man is the Prophet Zoroaster, as the Greeks called him, or Zarathushtra, as he is now known to his Zoroastrian followers worldwide.
How close are you to other members of the Zoroastrian community where you live?
My family and I are pretty close to other members of the Zoroastrian faith. Besides meeting every week or fortnight, we are constantly in touch with each other by phone, constantly discuss matters of mutual and general interest.
When we are together, we often talk about charity, which lies at the heart of Zoroastrianism. We discuss the core values of our religion, especially Humata, Hukta and Havarashta, which literally mean Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds. There se three form the central platform of the Zoroastrian religion.
The older generation often reminisces about how we practiced our religion wherever we lived before coming to the UK. We speak admiringly of great Zoroastrians like Freddie Mercury of Queen. We speak about Dadabhai Naoroji, Shapurji Saklatvala and Munchurjee Bhownagree, who became the first three Zoroastrian MPs in the early 1920s. We also talk fondly of Ronnie Irani, captain of Essex Cricket Club.
How do your friends and colleagues react when you talk to them about your faith
Almost all of them are true traditionalists and sometimes look up to me as someone who has religious knowledge. This can be rather embarrassing because I do not know everything there is to know about my religion. Yet, people still look upon me as a good positive model, and appreciate how I have helped to put Zoroastrianism on the East London map.
Where do Zoroastrians find most of their intellectual and theological inspiration and learning?
Zoroastrians come from one of two classes: the priestly class or the non-priestly class. We look up to our head priests to impart religious knowledge.
At the same time, Zoroastrians worldwide have a great deal of respect for western scholars such as Spiegel, Haug, Westergaard, Geldner, Max Muller, West, Mills, Jackson, Professor Mary Boyce, Williams, Professor John Hinnells and Dr Almut Hintze. They are respected as the eminent voices of Zoroastrianism in Western circles.
The leading lights among Parsi Zoroastrian scholars include Dr Erach Taraporewala, and currently Dasturji Dr Firoze Kotwal and Dasturji Dr Kaikhushroo Jamaspasa.
Which Zoroastrians you’ve met have had the biggest influence on your life?
The two people who undoubtedly had a great influence on my life were my late, beloved parents. My mother, who incidentally came from a priestly family, taught me some religious knowledge. Meanwhile, my father, who was not from a priestly family, taught me religious and human values. In particular, he emphasised the importance of sticking up for the under dog, of fighting for justice peacefully, and of speaking up for those who cannot stick up for themselves.
My father also taught me to go out of my way to help people, to give rather than receive, to always make charity donations. I have been able to pass on his legacy to my four children, helping them to become good Zoroastrians – and, therefore, good citizens.
Is there anything you read when you’re looking for inspiration?
Being such a busy local councillor means I am not a great reader. But if I had the time, I think I would develop my interest in our Holy Zoroastrian scriptures and the Gathas – the hymns of our Prophet Zarathushtra.
I would not only develop this interest to find inspiration. I would also read to learn more about my religion, so that I could use it even more effectively as a tool in my everyday life.
As for seeking inspiration…
For at least an hour a day, I retire to a room I built specially in my garden. I call it my prayer room and it has become my prized possession. It has been blessed by several high priests and priests. I spend my time there in quiet contemplation and prayer, and ask my God, Dadar Ahura Mazda, to grant me and my family health and peace.
I also say prayers for the whole world – to bring peace to regions where there is strife, to provide food where there is famine, and to bring tolerance where there is intolerance.
