To
this day, nobody knows who set fire to Zarathushthra Hall on Sir
Kurma Reddy Road one Friday night in January 1949, Clairwood, Durban,
Natal, South Africa.
The
Hall burned to the ground because, except for the corrugated iron
(tin) roof, it was constructed of wood.
Its
location on Sir Kurma Reddy road was halfway between Cherry Road and
Richborough Road, both of which right-angle crossed Sir Kurma Reddy.
Our home was at 20 Cherry Road, a few hundred steps from
Zarathushthra Hall.
I
was eleven years old, having lived all my life, so far, in Clairwood.
The
fire had started late at night. It burned until the early hours of
the next day, a Saturday. I remember it as Saturday because since
there was no school on Saturdays, I was allowed to watch the fire
from afar until past midnight.
Many,
many years later when I was living in another country, I read that
Zarathushthra Spitama, a priest at age seventy-seven, was murdered in
a Zarathushthrian temple by a priest of a rival religion in Ancient
Persia. It occurred to me that the burning down of the Hall in
Clairwood in 1949, could have been, in a way, a repetition of history
since, firstly, in Clairwood at the time there were four other
religions. Secondly, in the years after the fire, one of those four
religions acquired the site and built a private school on the
premises.
Zarathushthra
Spitama lived in Ancient Persia, over three-thousand years ago.
He
founded the religion, Zarathushthrianism, which was the first
monotheistic religion in the world; which became the principal
religion of Ancient Persia for over a thousand years, before it was
replaced by the fourth monotheistic religion in the world, Islam. For
its first four-hundred-or-so years, the teachings of
Zarathushthrianism were oral; nothing was written.
Zarathushthrianism
was the first religion to teach a prophecy of a righteous Messiah,
who would arrive sometime in the future, to end all evil throughout
the world. The foretold Zarathushthrian Messiah was named The
Saoshyant.
In
Clairwood in 1949, Lady Aenaezhthra Meernythym remained among the
spectators throughout the fire. She assured us all her
Zarathushthrian staff were safe.
Lady
Aenaezhthra was in charge of Zarathushthra Hall.
On
the outside it was like any other hall. Inside it was breathtakingly
beautiful. There were seat benches against the wall, each of polished
wood, and carved out of a single block of wood. There was no other
furniture. People sat on the benches and spoke quietly.
Lady
Aenaezhthra and other Zarathushthrian staff would join in the quiet
conversations. She was tall and slim. Her complexion was as white as
sifted wheat flour. Her long gold-coloured hair was always in two
thick plaits intertwined down her back. None of the Zarathushthrians
wore make-up. Among the Zarathushthrian men and women, were
representatives of the many South African ethnicities.
The
wood walls of Zarathushthra Hall were carved into figures of working
people. The carvings gave the feeling that the Hall was at capacity.
The actual fact was, at any time there were less than a dozen people
there. Most of the time most of the non-Zarathushthrian persons
inside were hungry ragamuffin children like me.
On
the benches there were cards that had Zarathushthrian proverbs
printed on them. I paid as much attention to those proverbs as people
pay to the fortune cookie proverbs in restaurants.
People
were allowed to take the cards home. There was never a shortage of
the cards in the Hall.
I
took some cards, not for the proverbs, but to write numbers on the
blank sides. The children at our Cherry Road home invented card games
with the numbered cards.
At
one end the Hall was a cafeteria section. We could buy large snacks
for pennies and sit in chairs at tables, and eat. The Hall was open
to the public, during the day. Most persons came to buy the
inexpensive good food at the cafeteria, and take the food home.
Occasionally,
I saw Zarathushthrian staff in the community, helping people on the
roads and in their home yards.
I
and other children were paid pennies to do work in the gardens on the
Hall grounds. Most of my pennies were spent in the cafeteria in the
Hall.
The
Zarathushthrians were good and gentle people. Why was their Hall so
sparsely attended? I don't know the answer. It never occurred to me
to ask anyone. I was most comfortable where there were no crowds. I
loved the quiet and open spaciousness of the Hall.
The
burned-down Hall was not re-built. After we left Clairwood in 1950, I
have not had an opportunity to speak with a Zarathushthrian.
I
remember some of the proverbs, not because of the pragmatic wisdom
they offer, but because, while we children made up and played our
games with the proverb cards, we read the proverbs aloud to one
another in mindless childlike fun.
Here
are some of the proverbs I still have; 114.
_____________________________________
PROVERB
1.
Best
of righteousness
Is
living life
To
be its
Righteous
best;
This
righteous best
Including
killing
Life
preventing life
From
living life
To
be its
Righteous
best.
________________________________
PROVERB
2.
Worst
of
evil
is the
life
against
the
life
attempting
life being
better.
________________________________
PROVERB
3.
No
equality exists in
Nature.
________________________________
PROVERB
4.
Passion,
pleasant
or unpleasant,
undermines
clear
thinking.
________________________________
PROVERB
5.
Suicide
is
wise
if there's no
obligation
to
another.
________________________________
PROVERB
6.
Need
of body
always
triumphs
over
need of
spirit.
________________________________
PROVERB
7.
God
as
metaphor
for
what
is best in
us,
is best belief far
better
than belief in
God
as
living.
________________________________
PROVERB
8.
Sex-in-practice
is
life
being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
9.
Dying's
life
being
stupid.
________________________________
PROVERB
10.
Growing
old
is life being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
11.
Too
much
is
as hurtful
as
too
little.
________________________________
PROVERB
12.
Trust
the unknown
hesitantly.
________________________________
PROVERB
13.
Freedom
at
its best is
absence
of restriction
on
the choice to act in
honour.
________________________________
PROVERB
14.
Choice
between being
righteous
or being
evil's
life
being criminally
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
15.
Don't
delude yourself that
you
are quite incapable of
worst
of evils.
________________________________
PROVERB
16.
Loss
of right to live is when we lose the will to kill that which is evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
17.
Each
of us is
two
realities:
an
inside, and
an
outside;
inside
might sometimes be
safely
set aside,
the
outside every
time
ignored incurs
disaster.
________________________________
PROVERB
18.
Death
is
proof
we're wrong
forever.
________________________________
PROVERB
19.
Better
choice
is not to
have
a
baby.
________________________________
PROVERB
20.
Righteous
deeds
that
cause unhappiness
is
life being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
21.
Pain
when
others
righteously demur is
selfish
ego.
________________________________
PROVERB
22.
That
which makes us
similar
is more important
than
what makes us different.
________________________________
PROVERB
23.
Wrong
is
equally
a
natural
option.
________________________________
PROVERB
24.
Speaking
lies
is
not
an evil
always.
________________________________
PROVERBS
25.
Fact
and
truth
are different
from
each
other.
________________________________
PROVERBS
26.
Poetry
and art are
different
works of minds
creative.
________________________________
PROVERB
27.
Righteousness
and evil
are
our natural equal
options.
________________________________
PROVERB
28.
Some
are there will
use
your righteousness
against
you.
________________________________
PROVERB
29.
Each
of us when
in
a crowd too readily allows the animal in us control us.
________________________________
PROVERB
30.
Sometimes,
being
a liar's
safer.
________________________________
PROVERB
31.
Stay
away from
gods
as much as
they
allow you.
________________________________
PROVERB
32.
Those
who choose to
not
bear children
are
the best of
life
because they
choose
to end forever
in
each life a countless
shames,
indignities,
embarrassments,
injustices,
and
unfair illnesses
and
injuries,
and
countless times being
unsuspecting
victims of
sheer
evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
33.
Saddest
good advice
to
give is that a person
cease
in doing good
because
of evil
persons
making
trouble
through that goodness.
________________________________
PROVERB
34.
Excellence
incurring
enemies
is
life
being foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
35.
Non-involvement
must
mean
total
absence.
________________________________
PROVERB
36.
No
almighty god has
always
championed
goodness
over evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
37.
Be
your god almighty
as
almighty
gods
can be you
yet
have never
guarantee
of
triumph
over evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
38.
Goodness
causing
righteous
grief
is life being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
39.
Everyone
of us
begins
alone because
in
aloneness is the best
of
nature.
________________________________
PROVERB
40.
Ethnic
differences
is
Nature
being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
41.
Sex
for
other than
continuation
of
humanity, is
Nature
being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
42.
Ethnic
character
is
never safe
criterion
for merit.
________________________________
PROVERB
43.
Truth
of time proves
ancestors
are
best
forgotten.
________________________________
PROVERB
44.
Proof
we've been here
all
eternity is
we
are present.
________________________________
PROVERB
45.
Childless
death is
Nature's
way of
sparing
life the countless
evil
destinies each
life's
predestined
in
eternity to
suffer
soon-or-later.
________________________________
PROVERB
46.
No
creation
of
our hands is
worth
more than a
newborn
healthy
baby.
________________________________
PROVERB
47.
Spirit
entities who
claim
they're gods; who
will
not meet us
face-to-face
in
brightest
day, aren't
gods;
just others
of
the countless
petty
evil
spirit
entities
delight
in spiteful
mischief
'gainst us.
________________________________
PROVERB
48.
Ethnic
nature's
not exempt from
criminal
behaviour.
________________________________
PROVERB
49.
None
of us there
is
will every
time
select the
righteous
option.
________________________________
PROVERB
50.
Honesty
does
not
abet unrighteous
action.
________________________________
PROVERB
51.
Love,
as
every
other
human
worth, has
natural
limits.
________________________________
PROVERB
52.
Righteousness
that
knows
does
not let righteousness
that
does not know
be
last to find out.
________________________________
PROVERB
53.
Fam'ly
is not
safe
from
fam'ly
evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
54.
Righteous
friends will
find
a righteous way to
stand
by friends who
have
become unrighteous.
________________________________
PROVERB
55.
Judgement
in
the absence
of
all facts is
judgement
evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
56.
Fear
to
tell
a friend a
friend
is wrong is
evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
57.
Righteous
exploitation
often
is a
righteous
obligation.
________________________________
PROVERB
58.
Righteous
compromise is
most
times necessary.
________________________________
PROVERB
59.
Sex
is
life
being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
60.
Circumcising
children
is
barbaric
evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
61.
Humbly
helpless
asking
to be helped is
wisdom
at its
wisest
highest.
________________________________
PROVERB
62.
Evil
more than
righteousness
is
this
reality's
intention.
________________________________
PROVERB
63.
Ugliness
is this
reality's
intention
more
than beauty.
________________________________
PROVERB
64.
Safer
sometimes
being
a liar
is
the proof at
times
a truth is
served
by evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
65.
Proof
there are no
gods
whose sole intent is
righteous,
is that
this
reality is in
existence.
________________________________
PROVERB
66.
Life
is
merely
just another
one
of countless
miracles
like atoms,
protons,
and
electrons,
and
there others.
________________________________
PROVERB
67.
Ever
and forever
do
not cease sincerely
ask
those questions
seem
to
have
no
answers.
________________________________
PROVERB
68.
Fatherhood:
a
privilege
by some
men
turned
into
evil.
________________________________
PROVERB
69.
Motherhood:
a
gift
quite wasted
on
some woman.
________________________________
PROVERB
70.
Best
of wishes
is
the wish for
non-existence.
________________________________
PROVERB
71.
Righteousness
and
Moral-Cowardice
are
sibling
twins
fraternal.
________________________________
PROVERB
72.
Evil's
natural;
righteousness
is never
natural.
________________________________
PROVERB
73.
Poetry's
beginning
is
in natural;
art
is better more it's
artificial.
________________________________
PROVERB
74.
Every
joy is
Nature's
subterfuge
to
kindly
help us
not
remember
death
awaits around the
corner.
________________________________
PROVERB
75.
Every
sadness
is
rehearsal
helps
us cope that
death
awaits around
the
corner.
________________________________
PROVERB
76.
Fact
is brought about
by
natural laws;
a
truth is made by
people.
________________________________
PROVERB
77.
Stress
that's optional
is
not destructive.
________________________________
PROVERB
78.
Death
of babies
proves
there is no
god
who's goodness
is
forever.
________________________________
PROVERB
79.
Righteousness
that
causes
harm is
life
being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
80.
Babies
dying's
life
being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
81.
People
are in
two
respects like
spirit
things:
we
can't avoid them
totally;
but
must
as much as
circumstances
let
us.
________________________________
PROVERB
82.
Righteousness
is
never
guaranteed to
win
a
fight
against
th'unrighteous.
________________________________
PROVERB
83.
Righteous
life being
not
exempt from dying's
proof
that
evil
reigns in
this
Dimension.
________________________________
PROVERB
84.
When
the laws by
people
fail reward of
justice,
vengeance
is a
righteous
obligation.
________________________________
PROVERB
85.
Racial
differences is
life
being foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
86.
Theft
is
life
being
criminally
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
87.
Greed
is life being
foolish.
______________________________________
PROVERB
88.
Spite
is
life
being
foolish.
________________________________
PROVERB
89.
Trust
and
loyalty
are
twins
identical important
more
than
loving.
________________________________
PROVERBS
90.
Often,
more
important is a
stranger's
meaning of your
action,
than
the meaning
to
yourself of
your
own action.
________________________________
Proverb
91.
Speaking
truthfully
to strangers
every
time is
dangerously
childish.
________________________________
Proverb
92.
Celebrate
forever
and
alone
inside
yourself your
righteous
triumphs.
________________________________
Proverb
93.
Sadly,
family
is
not
exempt from
internecine
evils.
________________________________
Proverb
94.
Mercy
and
forgiveness
are
for only
deeds
unknowingly
unrighteous.
________________________________
Proverb
95.
Life
is
ever
likely to be
fair
as
unfair.
________________________________
Proverb
96.
Vengeful
thoughts are
good
against who
practise
wrong on
purpose.
________________________________
Proverb
97.
Hate
is just another
proof
that sometimes
life
is criminally
foolish.
________________________________
Proverb
98.
Racist
deeds are
just
another
proof
that sometimes
life
is criminally
foolish.
________________________________
Proverb
99.
Sex
is
just
another
proof
that sometimes
life
is criminally
foolish.
________________________________
Proverb
100.
No
connection
links
a higher
formal
education
to
a higher
wisdom.
________________________________
Proverb
101.
That
which
happens
once within a
universe
that's
infinite
is
guaranteed
will
happen
more forever.
________________________________
Proverb
102.
Fact
is
more
important
than
is truth in
daily
living.
________________________________
Proverb
103.
Trusting
comes
with
dangers;
know
the
dangers.
________________________________
Proverb
104.
Some
successes
grow
the ego
into
evil.
________________________________
Proverb
105.
In
the end there
is
no end, and
no
beginning.
________________________________
Proverb
106.
Moving
quickly
is
arch enemy to
ageing
persons.
________________________________
Proverb
107.
Hate
derails
intelligent
behaviour.
________________________________
Proverb
108.
Anger
makes
impossible
intelligent
behaviour.
________________________________
Proverb
109.
Worship
none; but
be
respectful
to
all gods: the
righteous
and
the
evil.
________________________________
Proverb
110.
Dying
childless is
defeat
eternally
of
evil
that
created
this
reality to serve
its
lust for evil.
________________________________
Proverb
111.
Life
is
worst
of
things
since
life
alone is source of
evil.
________________________________
Proverb
112.
Compromise
and
Sacrifice
are
each
one-third
of
righteousness.
________________________________
Proverb
113.
Anger,
hate
And
spite
And
lies
Are
each a fourth of
Evil.
________________________________
Proverb
114.
