Today, 7th September, 2024, is Ganesh Chaturthi, the day to celebrate the birth of Lord Ganesha, revered as the Ruler of the People (Sanskrit Gana means people and Isha means ruler or lord). This 10-day annual festival begins on the fourth day (Chaturthi) of the month of Bhadrapada (6th month of the Hindu calendar). The […]
In philosophy, religion, and psychology, ‘good and evil’ is a common dichotomy. Elements that are commonly associated with evil include imbalanced human behaviour, selfishness, greed, ignorance and gross negligence. The principal study of good and evil (human morality) is based on ethics, of which there are three major branches – ‘Normative Ethics’ – concerning how […]
Recently, a Parsi Zoroastrian lady passed away in Mumbai and as per her wish and long-standing instructions to her family members, her mortal remains were donated to a medical college in Mumbai for medical research. In other words, the mortal remains were neither buried, nor cremated, nor consigned to the dokhma. There was a question […]
Pateti (the fifth and last Gatha day for repentance) and Navruz (New Year’s Day) as per the Shehenshahi calendar are over and Fravardin, the first month of the Zoroastrian calendar has commenced. It is appropriate that the first month of the calendar is dedicated to the Fravashi or Fravahar – the prototype of all creation. […]
They say that happiness is the most important emotion in our life. Nothing else feels as beautiful or wonderful as happiness. In fact, the very purpose of life should be the pursuit of happiness! In day-to-day life, happiness is the balance of emotions – experiencing more positive than negative feelings. It is about satisfaction and […]
According to the Shehenshahi calendar, the Holy Fravardegan or Muktad days will commence on 5th August and end on 14th August, 2024. The Parsi New Year this year will coincide with India’s Independence Day on 15th August, 2024. It will continue to coincide with this date for four years, after which it will move to 14th August, since we do not […]
Recently, I was in a discussion with a friend who felt we have so many factions within our miniscule community – there’s Shehenshahi, Kadmi and Fasli Zoroastrians. These mainly differ in terms of the Zoroastrian calendar and in some matters of religious rituals. Besides these three groups, there are observers of the Ilm-e-kshnoom way of […]
Over two thousand five hundred years ago, the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus said, “There is nothing permanent except change.” Indeed, everything changes with time, and change is the only constant. The world we live in is fast changing and there is great pressure on the community to move with the times. But, change, especially within an […]
The Holy Month of Aspandarmad has already commenced as per the Shehenshahi Zoroastrian calendar. Interestingly, the Zoroastrian calendar commences with Fravardin as the first month and Aspandarmad as the twelfth and last month. Fravardin is dedicated to Fravahar or the prototype of all creation and Aspandarmad is dedicated to earth, where we see all good […]
The second World Zoroastrian Youth Leaders Forum (WZYLF 2.0), which was held from 24th to 2nd June, 2024, at The ASHA Centre in Gloucestershire, UK, brought together 29 young and dynamic participants from across the world including India, Iran, Canada, USA, UK and Dubai. The ASHA Centre, an educational charity nestled in the Forest of […]
For Zoroastrians, the desert province of ‘Yazd’ (meaning God), located between two great deserts – Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, holds tremendous significance. From my very first time visit in 1995 to my recent visit this year, I remain amazed at how such an unforgiving arid desert can exude so much spiritual energy. The narrow […]