IOverview
Ilm-e-Khshnoom, roughly the knowledge of bliss, is an esoteric school within the Parsi community. Its followers, often called Khshnoomists, read the Avesta esoterically rather than literally, believe in reincarnation, keep a vegetarian diet, and observe ritual and purity law even more strictly than the traditionalists.
It occupies an unusual place on the map of the religion's tendencies. In ritual it is the most conservative of all, the opposite of the reformists. In doctrine it introduces ideas the common teaching of the faith does not contain. English Wikipedia describes it as a very small minority among India's Zoroastrians.
IIHistorical Development
According to the school's own account, in 1875 Behramshah Nowroji Shroff, then eighteen, left Surat for Peshawar in search of work. On the way he met a group the school calls the Saheb-e-Dilan, masters of the heart, was taken to a hidden place in the mountains and lived with them for three years, learning the religion's esoteric knowledge. The school associates that place with Mount Demavand in Iran.
Back in India, Shroff gradually gathered followers. According to English Wikipedia, around 1909 the scholar Phiroze Masani came across his teaching and began publishing it in Frashogard, a Gujarati quarterly. The school later added the publications Parsi Avaz from 1947, Dini Avaz from 1976 and Mazdayasni Connection from 1983. In 2001 a fire temple named the Behramshah Nowroji Shroff Daremeher was consecrated. The Encyclopaedia Iranica gives Shroff's dates as 1858 to 1927.
- 1858Behramshah Shroff bornBorn in Surat, Gujarat.
- 1875The journeyLeaves Surat and, by the school's account, spends three years with the Saheb-e-Dilan.
- c. 1909Frashogard magazinePhiroze Masani begins publishing the teaching.
- 1927Shroff diesThe school continues through disciples and publications.
- 2001A fire temple in the founder's nameThe Behramshah Nowroji Shroff Daremeher is consecrated.
IIIBeliefs and Distinctive Features
The school teaches that the Avesta has a hidden layer of meaning understood only by the initiated, that sacred words recited correctly in the original language produce powerful vibrations, called staota, and that the soul passes through many lives on its way to purity. Khshnoomists therefore regard vegetarianism, purity and exact performance of every rite as essential.
The sharpest difference from the common teaching is reincarnation. The faith's common teaching has the soul cross the Chinvat bridge after death and await the renewal of the world, with no rebirth. Scholars also note strong Theosophical influence on the school, a movement present in Bombay from the late 1870s. Khshnoomists, for their part, regard their teaching as coming from an older secret lineage, not borrowed from outside. The library records both views.
Misconception: being mystical, Ilm-e-Khshnoom is lax about ritual. In fact: the opposite is true. The school keeps ritual and purity law more strictly than the traditionalists and firmly opposes reformist proposals to simplify rites.
IVOrganisation and Distribution
Ilm-e-Khshnoom has no separate church. Its followers worship in the common Parsi fire temples, have study circles and their own publications, and since 2001 a fire temple named after the founder. The school is concentrated in Mumbai and Surat. The library has found no figures for its following. Its influence exceeds its size, since its arguments about the power of sacred words and purity law are often cited in debates between traditionalists and reformists.
VIn Vietnam
No followers of Ilm-e-Khshnoom are recorded in Vietnam. Vietnamese readers who know Theosophy from colonial-era societies may recognise some ideas in this school, such as reincarnation and the power of sacred sound, but the two are different traditions.
VISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIOther Branches of Zoroastrianism
Parsisપારસી ParsiDescendants of Zoroastrians who left Iran for Gujarat over a thousand years ago.
Iranian Zoroastriansزرتشتیان ZartoshtiyanZoroastrians who remained in Iran, centred in Yazd, Kerman and Tehran, with a Council of Mobeds in Tehran.Iranis (India)IraniZoroastrians who came from Qajar Iran to British India in the 19th and early 20th centuries, still speaking Zoroastrian Dari.Uses the common symbol of the pathShahenshahi calendar groupShahanshahi, ShenshaiFollowers of the traditional Indian Parsi calendar, the majority among Parsis.Uses the common symbol of the pathKadmi (Qadimi) calendar groupQadimi, KadmiA section of Parsis adopted the Qadimi calendar in 1745.Uses the common symbol of the pathFasli calendar groupFasli, called Bastani in IranA seasonal calendar with a leap day, proposed in 1906 and widely adopted in Iran after 1930 and in the West.Uses the common symbol of the pathReformist ZoroastriansReformistA tendency since the mid-19th century that takes the Gathas as the core and treats much ritual law as later accretion.Uses the common symbol of the pathIlm-e-KhshnoomIlm-e KhshnoomAn esoteric school started by Behramshah Shroff in India after 1875, teaching reincarnation and vegetarianism and keeping strict ritual observance.Uses the common symbol of the pathZoroastrian revival in Iraqi KurdistanZardeshti (Kurdish)A Kurdish revival movement officially recognised by the Kurdistan Regional Government in August 2015, with a fire temple in Sulaymaniyah.Uses the common symbol of the pathZurvanismZurvanA Sasanian-era tendency that made Infinite Time the source of both Ohrmazd and Ahriman.Uses the common symbol of the pathVIIISources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
What is Ilm-e-Khshnoom?
An esoteric school within the Parsi community started by Behramshah Nowroji Shroff, which reads the Avesta esoterically, teaches reincarnation, keeps a vegetarian diet and observes ritual very strictly.
Is Ilm-e-Khshnoom part of the reform movement?
No. In ritual it is even more conservative than the traditionalists and opposes simplifying rites. Where it departs from the common teaching is in ideas such as reincarnation.
How many followers does Ilm-e-Khshnoom have?
There is no reliable figure. English Wikipedia describes it only as a very small minority among India's Zoroastrians.