Watch Cyrus Mehta's Video.

The Zoroastrian religion was founded about 2500 years ago by the prophet Zarathushtra. It is one of the three great ancient religions that, along with Hinduism and Judaism, emphasized morality and ethics as the true basis of all religions. Zoroastrianism was once the major religion of ancient Persia but today we Zoroastrians are few in number; only about 120,000 in the whole world. Yet we always have a presence on the Harvard campus, either as students, faculty or staff, which attests to the scholarship and professional ethic of our tiny community.

Although, from early childhood, I enjoyed reciting my prayers in the ancient Avesta language, I had no idea what they meant. But after coming to the United States as a graduate student I came in contact with Swami Sarvagatananda, one of the Hindu ministers in the original Harvard-Radcliffe United Ministry. The Swami encouraged me to study my own religion well. Therefore I started the Harvard Gatha Study Group which meets once a month to study and translate the Gathas of Zarathushtra (songs written by the Prophet himself in the ancient Avesta language). Please join us if you are interested.

I am not a minister by training. I studied engineering as an undergraduate in Bombay and came to MIT as a graduate student to study statistics, and management science. I am now the President and CEO of a statistical software company that I founded 15 years ago. In addition I am an Adjunct Professor of Biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health. These professional duties actually help me in my spiritual life for they provide an outlet for action, while my Zoroastrian and Hindu interests provide the opportunity for contemplation. I have been fascinated all my life by the interplay between action and contemplation. Each enriches the other and both are needed for spiritual growth. This is one of the grand themes of the Bhagavad Gita, a scripture that I regard as my guide to life.