Thanks ZYA Pune!

I would like to share a small incident with our fellow Zoroastrians so that it can serve as a small acknowledgment and learning. I have just started a small venture of making fruit syrups similar and being just a month old in the market, I am still searching and establishing my sale points. As a new entrant beginning to reach out to people, which is always the toughest part, I was disheartened that our very own well-known Parsi organisations who claim to nurture entrepreneurs, did not really help me in business. I don’t mean to say they are doing nothing, but this could have been a good way to work towards helping new businesses.

Similarly, I had casually approached ZYA-Pune as they’d organized a dinner feast for Navroz. Though I didn’t expect too much, to my surprise, I was called by the team and given the order to supply my cold-drinks in the event! It was my first big event and I was nervous, but the team at ZYA motivated and pushed me so well, boosting my confidence. I learnt a lot through the event – it was a great experience, a positive environment and a good start.

This could be a learning and an eye-opener for other Zoroastrians who want to help new businesses nurture and make a mark. I would like to thank team ZYA-Pune for this opportunity and motivation.
Viraf Irani, Pune

 

Why Do People Practice Religion?

All the religions of the world are meant to enhance the spirit of compassion thereby allowing space to enhance natural human intelligence to function unabated. Religion cannot be practiced without the feelings of kindness, compassion, love and piety. Hatred, retaliation, anger, greed has no place in religion. When the hearts are filled with love, we can be more tolerant, more generous towards others. In spite of sharing the same religion, same prayers, same culture and traditions, we have created a wide divide on most irrelevant issues, neglecting the important welfare programs for the youth of the community. The religion that guided us to peace and prosperity has become a cause of conflict. If we have problems, we have to solve them in a civilized manner with dialogues discussions and debates. Bogged down with dogmas and rituals we fail to appreciate the overriding message of prophets and saints, which is the message of love and compassion, freedom and forgiveness, tolerance and piety.
Today, we are dwindling in number and values. Our ancestors have made such an indelible mark on the canvas of the country, that for generations to come, our presence will be felt as the most outstanding community, small in number but great in values. Let their efforts not go in vain. We are fighting to protect religion when our religion needs to protect us. In our efforts to protect religion, we are taking it further away from the religion we are protecting. Religion is meant to create a platform for us to rise above and acquire divinity, not practiced to escape punishment, or to get personal favors.
Faith is a very important aspect of religion. It steers us through stormy seas of life, but it must not be blind to reasoning, logic and common human intelligence. Blind faith becomes dogmas leading to fanaticism. The way we practice religion, there is a serious doubt, that though we claim to be the followers of Zoroastrianism, we do not follow the religion preached by the Prophet Zarathustra.

– Piroja Homi Jokhi