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Short Questions – Answers

On Zoroastrianism

Q. 1    What is Naojote?

A.        Naojote is that ceremony in which a Parsi Zoroastrian child is invested with Sudreh and Kusti.

Q. 2     What is the meaning of the word Naojote?

A.        The word ‘Naojote’ means ‘a new initiate who offers prayers’.

Q. 3     Why has the child to undergo Naahn or Sacred bath before the naojote ceremony?

A.        The child has to undergo sacred bath before the Naojote ceremony for the sake of external purification.

Q. 4     Why is the child given Nirang or consecrated bull’s urine to drink before the Naojote Ceremony?

A.        The child is given Nirang to drink before the Naojote ceremony for the sake of internal purification.

Q. 5     Why is the child given a leaf of pomergranate tree to chew before the Naojote ceremony?

A.        The child is given a leaf of pomegranate tree to chew before the Naojote ceremony because the evergreen pomergranate tree reminds one of the immortality of soul.

Q. 6     Why does the priest initiating the child holds his hands while investing him with sacred girdle?

A.        Its significance is that the priest transfers his own magnetism to the child, who is to be invested with spiritual strength together with the sacred shirt and the girdle.

Q. 7     What is the child’s responsibility after Naojote?

A.        After Naojote the child enters a new phase of life which aims particularly at moral and spiritual unlift.

Q. 8     What confession does the child make at the Naojote ceremony?

A.        The child declares his faith openly to the assembly on the Mazdayasni Zarathushtri religion.

9.         What is ‘Sudreh’?

A.        The word Sudreh mean ‘true or advantageous path’ and constantly it reminds every Zoroastrian to tread this path and not to abandon it even in the midst of the most adverse circumstances.

10.       Of what is Sudreh made?

A.        Sudreh is made of white cambric because white represents purity and it is also the symbol of Mazdayasni religion (Meher Yasth – 126).

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