“Zoroastrian spirit”

In my letter "Zoroastrian spirit” (Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, March 7, 2009) I had written about the amicable attitude of the trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) who had promised to work unitedly as one team without any conflict. Unfortunately, these hopes have been belied and once again factions with the same adversarial mentality are being witnessed among the trustees.

What is Zoroastrian spirit? It is a fair mentality of working together for the welfare of society and is clearly mentioned in the Gathas of Zarathushtra.

What is wrong with the mindset of our intelligent leaders? Why do they forget that intelligence without moral behavior has zero value? Every welfare project is successful only because of firm determination, tolerance, a friendly attitude and the willingness to compromise in the Zoroastrian spirit without holding on to personal grudges.

It is disgusting to see childish, senseless pranks played by leaders from whom our community has high expectations. Selfless dedicated motives and fervor for the welfare of society are forsaken and our trustees are exhibiting egoistic differences, leading to gloom.

What we see is personal vendetta and baseless opinions against respected personalities or certain welfare institutions. It has become a mania to use slangy, abusive, irritating language in public, creating hatred and enmity. Why have such fanatics forgotten the cultural heritage of our wise forefathers? This is a breach of trust.

Gavashni reveals conduct. It requires tolerance and control over the tongue during arguments, which should be logical and to the point. Abusive language cannot be expected from a cultured society. Washing dirty linen in public creates a poor impression. To call someone faithless, unstable, lunatic and unreliable in public sends a wrong message that Parsis are a quarrelsome lot.

Can we not cure this egoistical behavior? Why can we not solve problems with a cool mind, round the table as one family, when we have a common goal of the welfare of society?

The orthodox camp is reasonable, but traditionalist bosses have a tendency to dictate and expect others to follow their views, leading to misunderstandings.

May the kind Mazda grant vohu mana (right thinking) to all for righteous actions. If we do not change voluntarily time will compel us to do so in the interest of our community. Unity is required for survival with glory. We have to change before it is too late to ensure a bright future.

NOSHIR DABOO

Ahmedabad