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Any community worth its salt thrives on co-operation and unity cemented by culture and religion for further strength. The basic unit is the family and the capacity to hold together no matter how large it blooms as generations pass, is the key to prosperity and happiness. Unfortunately, the ground reality for our community is quite contrary. How does one explain the tiny Zoroastrian community, as we know it, numbering fewer than 100,000 souls worldwide, occupying the whole gamut of social and financial spectrum? The Zoroastrian community is no longer homogenous. We have in our midst the chronic poor who cannot survive without charity payouts and the super wealthy headline guzzlers whose combined wealth can run a small country. We have the ultra sophisticated whose snobbery can give an Englishman a rash of inferiority complex. We have connoisseurs of western music and at the other end of the spectrum we have a few who are exponents of Indian classical music, but in our community the east and west never meet! We also have in our midst the bourgeois middle class, most of whom are quite gullible and vulnerable, who can be easily swayed by different dogmas. Then there are religiously vegetarian groups opposed to the completely carnivorous type. To add to the confusion there are the orthodox, liberal and the reformist groups with different religious leanings and interpretations of religious texts. Finally, to complete the picture, we have the cultural barriers raised by places of domicile. This partly explains the difficulty in forming compatible Zoroastrian couples. A community of millions can sustain such extremeness, but the mind-boggling diversity in such a small group like the Zoroastrians is a sure recipe for social incompatibility, because it is not a case of unity in diversity, but of stretching the community bonds to a breaking point. It is astonishing that such diverse strata of society have emerged from families which had very much in common, just 2 or 3 generations ago. This shows that the worm of individuality has eaten into the fabric of the community. The achievers were busy collecting their own laurels without much care about lifting and helping their own less fortunate family members. It is true that one can choose one's friends but not their family members, and all in a family may not be equally gifted and motivated. The parsis are quick in straying away from their relatives and worse, severing ties at the slightest pretext and this dangerous trait is the most significant contributor to the social coma. To prolong the coma further, our miniscule community has been for a long time subjected to intense emotional churning due to organizations with half-baked agendas. There are groups trying to revive Zoroastrianism, when in reality the ancient and beautiful religion is very much alive and showers its blessings on true devotees. These groups vociferously and unnecessarily try to drag and instigate the Zoroastrian inter-married (ZORIM) couples and the Zoroastrian inter-married offspring (ZORIMO) into religious controversies. It is common knowledge that Religion is a matter of faith and is a powerful psychological support and strength to individuals in distress. If Zoroastrianism has to spread in the world, it will by Divine grace and not with the help or machinations of petty humans like us. It is worth reflecting on the famous quote by Victor Hugo, "There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come". Race, Religion and Culture are the three main pillars supporting a community. Race is always a mater of pride but has been forgotten by the parsis in recent years. Religion is today used to divide and confuse people instead of unifying the community for a happy life. And the liberals should realize that a community's identity and culture cannot be sacrificed at the altar of religious proselytism. One of the positive outcome of religious unity and the only true advantageous social happening in the community, in the last century, is the coming together of the Iranian Zoroastrians and the Parsis of India. The Iranis and the Parsis initially were as different as lemon and soda, with only religion as a common adhesive. With passage of time the Iranis matched the Parsis in education and culture. This led to inter-marriages which were sustainable both religiously and socially and the most positive fallout was that it gave the much needed genetic boost to overworked Parsi/Irani genes! However, it is surprising that after all these years there are still adamant pockets amidst both the Irani and Parsi Zoroastrians who hesitate to a crossover. So, what does one do to dispel the drudgeries of a social coma? Firstly, the effort has to begin anew at the family level. Parents should teach the children the benefits of unity in the family and the advantages of helping each other in the future. Parents have to lead by example and eschew the urge to get at each other's throats, till their children are out of sight! The elders of the family should be given due respect and care. Children are sensitive observers and any disharmony hurts their psyche. They should be encouraged to spend quality time with their elders. There should be occasional visits (not intrusive) to meet relatives, or at least a cursory phone call. Regular visits to fire temples and respect for our priests will take care of the spiritual side. The above points, though not exhaustive, will help in strengthening the social fabric of the community and help in cultural assimilation for the youngsters. Secondly, the community must realize that religion, though inherently important, should not be the only topic of interest and discussion, because there is so much to achieve on the social, economic and education fronts. The Zoroastrian community has no dearth of organizations of all hues and many are doing yeoman service. However, it is observed that right from apex bodies to other smaller organizations, the majority of those in authority are lawyers, chartered accountants or economists! It will be very beneficial to the community if more Engineers, Doctors, Architects and other professionals also join the fray and give a fresh impetus with some much needed, out of the box, smart thinking. The community thirsts for men and women with motivation to forge ahead, instead of procrastinators who may have had a good professional career but are now past their prime. To this end, the youth of our community should be encouraged and motivated to come forward and use their spare energy and enthusiasm to gain experience for the future. George Bernard Shaw very aptly said "We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future." The past of our community was glorious, the present not that bad, it is the future we have to strive for, and how well we perform will determine the decibel level of the cherubic tune 'Congratulations and Celebrations..' |
'Congratulations
and Celebrations….' The ubiquitous sound track proclaiming the end of the marriage
ceremony and sort of official beginning of married life for the Zoroastrian newly
weds, suddenly stirs the invitees and relatives to life. The atmosphere livens
up by the minute as guests, and fewer relatives, arrive and reaches a crescendo
when the bottles and glasses perform their own symphony at the bar. A Parsi wedding
function generates a sort of unique oomph which leaves the non-parsi invitees
starry eyed. This is the only time when Parsi society is at its informal best,
when old friends meet, distant relatives (if invited) exchange hesitant greetings,
and after the function is over, everybody will jive into the abyss of time with
many never to talk to each other for years and a few never to meet again. This
social reality may be the symptom of modern life or it may be the aloofness which
has pervaded the parsis towards their own ilk. This unfortunate trend, have tiny
Zoroastrian families, throughout the world, gasping for Zoroastrian influence
and has resulted in a highly polarized and fractured society which is driving
the community, slowly but surely, into the dreaded state of a Social Coma.