For most of us, Sunday mornings are meant for waking up at a leisurely pace. But this Sunday morning, a very unusual sight would have caught most Delhiites by surprise if they had ventured out to the India International Centre.

For most of us, Sunday mornings are meant for waking up at a leisurely pace. But this Sunday morning, a very unusual sight would have caught most Delhiites by surprise if they had ventured out to the India International Centre.

A community of Parsis from across India and Supreme Court lawyers in Delhi had flocked to attend a book launch hosted by Justice Rohinton Nariman.

You would also have spotted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and many eminent personalities of the legal fraternity attending Justice Rohinton Nariman’s book launch.

While welcoming the Chief Justice of India and other dignitaries, Mrs Sanaya Nariman, the wife of Justice Rohinton Nariman, shared some interesting insights about India’s “tiny” Parsi community.

For instance, would you have known that there are 60,000 Parsis in Mumbai and only 750 Parsis in Delhi and 600 in Bengaluru?

And there’s the often-asked question about the Parsi community in India – What makes them the best at whatever they do?

Mrs. Sanaya Nariman blends in logic and humor in her response as she stated, “The Parsis of India are a tiny community but 1) we are a very hard working community – and of course, 2) we are eccentric too.”

The second part about “eccentric” drew laughter from the dais including the Chief Justice of India and the audience, who were mostly Parsis.

In her welcome note, Mrs. Nariman threw light on what makes the Parsis of India a very distinguished and highly respected community in Indian society.

She stated, “The Parsis have always been an 3) outrageously open community in their thinking and actions – which is why you all saw the Tata-Mistry fighting very openly.”

On a more serious note, Mrs. Nariman stated, “How and why did the Parsis flourish the way they did in India and become a community of high achievers? Because of 4) our culture and 5) our faith in our prophet – which forms the kernel of the Gathas that Rohinton Nariman has translated in his book.”

Justice Rohinton Nariman’s book launch was graced by a holy priest who blessed the gathering by chanting holy prayers from the Zoroastrian religion and it was inaugurated by the Chief Justice of India TS Thakur.

Chief Justice of India TS Thakur hails Parsi community, explains why Justice Rohinton Nariman studied the Bhagawad Gita

It is a rare occasion to hear the Chief Justice of India talk about the need to integrate a spirit of oneness among religions and cite the Bhagawad Gita at a function which celebrates a book release on the Zoroastrian religion.

What is even more interesting is that the author of the book – Justice Rohinton Nariman – is a Parsi priest who first studied the Bhagawad Gita, and in his own words, says, “In the Gita, I found a direct philosophy dealing with duty, action and detachment including renunciation of the fruits of action. As a result, I devoured the book quite easily and was able to appreciate it.”

Chief Justice of India TS Thakur emphasized that religion is an individual’s personal affair and should not be interfered with by anyone else. He also that people of all religions should live in a spirit of oneness and harmony, saying, “Fundamentals are common to all religions. All religions believe in the existence of one God. Lord Krishna, in the Gita, says that all paths lead eventually to Him,”

Referring to the contribution of the Parsi community, Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said, “Industry, science, commerce, law – the Parsis have made great contributions to the nation in all these fields but I have not known any spiritual contribution as such and therefore, I recommend Rohinton Nariman’s book.”

Chief Justice of India TS Thakur further stated, “The Gathas are written in Rig Vedic Sanskrit – it has come to us in a pristine form. This establishes a deep relationship between the Hindu religion and Zoroastrian religion. Rohington Nariman started by studying Bhagwad Gita and followed the underlying philosophy of Karma elucidated by Lord Krishna, then he went to study the Bible and Koran. It is after studying and understanding these religions that Justice Nariman began to write about the Gathas. In my opinion, Rohinton Nariman has done a great service to humanity by writing this book.”

Several eminent persons attended Justice Rohinton Nariman’s book launch at the India International Centre. The gathering including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and many others.