Part 6 - Concept of Akhand Jyot

The Akhand Jyot or uninterrupted 'Sacred Flame' is found in many Jhulelal temples in India and it has some story behind it. It is said that when Sindhi people were forced to migrate from Sindh during partition they brought with them this 'Sacred Flame' with the utmost care from the Jhulelal temple from the town/city of their residence.

It must have required great care to keep the Sacred Flame burning all the time during the journey from Sindh to India, which was not a luxurious or comfortable journey but full of danger and hardship. It is not easy to carry a burning flame from one place to another even for some hundred kilometers, where the flames in some temples are said to have been carried from Sindh to India in 1947 during migration. It is only by an imagination that one can think about the effort and care that must have been required to accomplish such a mammoth task. It must have been strong devotion and unflinching faith that must have helped to achieve this by the devotees.

It is not only during the migration that the sacred flames were brought from Sindh, but when India was not divided, many devotees of Jhulelal from parts of India would go to Sindh to visit Jhulelal / Dariyalal temples and owing their faith and devotion they would bring a sacred flame with them and install it in temples of their town or city or even at home. The priests would tell that the sacred flame is uninterrupted and how old it is. The sacred flame at a temple in Mumbai was one hundred and twenty-five years old around 1985 A.D. as told by the priest and trustees of the temple. This shows that even before 1947 partition the devotees from distant places like Mumbai would go to Sindh to visit Jhulelal temple.

There seems to be some resemblance between the concept of 'Akhand Jyot' and 'Fire worship'. Seven sacred things were given by Lord Jhulelal and one out of them is fire. The followers of Vedic religion give a lot of importance to fire which is a symbol of ‘God Agni’ of Vedic times. Considered sacred by Vedic people, an Akhand Jyot could be representative of the respect for the fire of God. In addition, one could also consider the concept of home fire termed as ''Gruhyagni'' which means uninterrupted fire at home for the performance of sacrifice to be done at home.

Further, during travel undertaken by Lord Jhulelal and Pugar Saheb, they provided fire along with water at resting places for pilgrims, the two most essential requirements for human beings.

Followers of Vedic religion practise "Agnihotra''. This is a small sacrifice done usually at home by household people, as an everyday ritual. It is believed that it purifies air and chanting of certain mantras could create positive vibration. The Gruhyagni, a kind of Akhand Jyot would be useful to kindle the fire for Agnihotra.

Another aspect which comes to the notice with respect to "Akhand Jyot" is the similarity with Zoroastrian religion. It is a well-known fact that Parsee people had to flee from Persia/Iran in order to protect their religion. They travelled by sea and the first place where they landed on the shores of India was Sanjan in Gujarat. They approached the Indian king of that territory for shelter and protection, which was granted to them. They assured the king that though their culture could be different, they would take every care not to have any differences with the local people and not become bothersome to them. They would assimilate in the local culture like sugar dissolves in milk and would rather create an atmosphere of harmony and brotherhood. Not only that but they would accept some of the rituals and lifestyle such as marriage ceremony, clothing (Gujarati Saree) and the language of the local Gujarati people. At the same time, they would retain and observe some of their rituals and religious practices such as 'Kasti' (a thread tied around the waist) and Navjyot (thread ceremony) and they would retain their Parsee first name for men and women.

As believed Varuna is an Indo-Iranian God. The Zoroastrian religion was born and it flourished in Iran. There is a lot of similarity between Varuna and the principal God of Zoroastrian Ahura Mazda.

One of the things was fire or Jyot out of seven sacred things given by Jhulelal to his followers. In Zoroastrian temples, the fire is kept burning throughout the day and night and it is very sacred to them. There appears to be some similarity between Akhand Jyot concept and fire in Agyari, the fire temple of Parsees.

It is remarkable to note that while leaving Iran, they brought with them the 'Sacred fire' from their temples in Iran and travelled to the distant land of India keeping the fire burning all the time during their voyage. It is said and Parsees firmly believe that the same sacred fire which was brought from Iran to India is still burning in their holy places of worship, the Parsee temple called Agyari even today.

The Akhand Jyot concept of Sindhi community, the Gruhyagni and Agnihotra of Vedic believers and the sacred fire constantly burning in the fire temple of Zoroastrians, all these appear to be co-related somewhere with each other. To the researcher, it appears that as if they are interwoven with each other and display a strong thread of certain commonality amongst them, further strengthening the bond and relationship with each other.