Zoroastrian News - اخبار زرتشتیان

Hundreds of Zoroastrians, followers of the prophet Zarathustra, are gathering this weekend to reflect on their faith, and its main tenets of “good thoughts, good words and good deeds.”

The delegates, expected to number about 500 from around the world, are attending the 14th annual North American Zoroastrian Congress from today until Monday.

The religion, one of the oldest in existence, has greatly influenced Judaism, Christianity and other faiths with regard to the ultimate victory of good over evil and the resurrection of souls, experts say.

The convention is sponsored by the Zoroastrian Society of Ontario and Fezana, which is short for the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America.

The theme of the get-together, “IMPACT Unleash the Spark Within,” was chosen “because we felt that all of us have that spark of creativity, charity and community service,” said Phee Vania, chair of the congress.

“Sometimes we get very busy with our lives and we forget what we want to achieve with our life and the impact that we want to make with our life on others and ourselves,” said Vania, who lives in Toronto.

“This is what we’re hoping to inspire within our congress this weekend,” she said.

“We’re also trying to stay away from controversial issues … like interfaith marriage and conversion,” she said. “We find that there’s no lasting impact to that. There’s just a lot of high emotion at the moment.”

Members of the community are worried that Zoroastrianism may disappear. Its numbers have been dwindling over the centuries.

At one time, scholars estimate there were between 40 million and 50 million Zoroastrians, and it was the dominant religion from Turkey eastward to China. Today, there are fewer than 200,000 left.

A ban on interfaith marriage and conversion is a major reason for this decline, said Dr. Rustom Kevala, president of Fezana, which serves as an umbrella for 25 member associations and 12 associate member groups.

During the weekend, organizers hope to “spark” some optimism in the community through a live video conference titled Talk with the Titans.

During the telecast, delegates will be able to ask questions of prominent and highly respected Zoroastrians who have made a name for themselves in business, industry and politics.

These include business tycoon Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate; Lord Karan Billimoria, the first Zoroastrian to be named to the British House of Lords; and Behram Avari, owner of the biggest chain of hotels in Pakistan.

They have “agreed to present their views on community, their guidance, their suggestions and what they ascribe their success to in the business world,” said Vania.

“It’s a very rare opportunity for community members to interact with the titans of our community,” she said.

The community now consists of about 150,000 Zoroastrians spread throughout the world, with the bulk living in India, especially in Mumbai.

An estimated 6,000 Zoroastrians reside in Canada, mainly in the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver. In the U.S., most live in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Zoroastrianism was founded in either 6000 BC, according to conservative Zoroastrians, or in 600 BC based on calculations by other followers. It may also have been the first monotheistic religion.

Based on his style of writing, scholars have determined that Zarathustra, also known as Zoroaster in Greek and Zarthosht in India and Iran, lived sometime between 1500 and 1000 BC.

The religion acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of all. Zoroastrianism and Mazdaism are synonymous in creed and articles of faith.

Adherents state “I profess myself a devotee of Mazda, a follower of Zarathustra.”

Kevala says that “according to Ahura Mazda, translated as Wise Lord, wisdom is the highest attribute.”

As Zoroastrians, “we have to choose (to lead) our life with wisdom. We were created by Ahura Mazda to fight evil, to fight wrongdoing. We are his soldiers in the world to bring about the renovation of the world.”

The religion’s main tenets are “good thoughts, good words and good deeds,” said Kevala, who resides in Florida.

For instance, he said, the Tata family set up an eight-hour workday in their places of business in 1912, long before it became the norm. At the time, the normal workday lasted about 12 hours.

Although the community values education and has been a leader in making innovations in business and politics — its efforts helped India gain its independence — its numbers have been steadily shrinking.

“We are failing in the sense that we are not accepting new members … in India at least,” said Kevala.

A fear of being completely absorbed by other religions in India led the community there to ban interfaith marriage, he said. “Our forefathers felt that keeping separate and not accepting converts would preserve our identity. So we didn’t grow.”

But in North America this practice is slowly being abandoned, he said. “As a beginning at least, we are accepting non-Zoroastrian spouses to be part of the community. The children of the mixed messages are very much absorbed into the community now,” he said. “So in North America, we may actually be growing.”

At the congress, most participants will speak from their own countries in a video event that will give the group a bigger presence on the world stage.