Zoroastrianism November 2011

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion which was once widespread in what is now Iran, Pakistan, India, and the Middle East It was the state religion of the ancient Persian Empire, during which time it was one of the most important religions of the ancient world It has under 200,000 practitioners today, mostly in India, and much of its scripture and history has been lost

Zarathustra Zarathustra was an ancient prophet who may have lived in Central Asia sometime between 1800 and 600 BCE In the fourth century BCE, Zoroastrian priests estimated the date of Zarathustra’s lifetime to be around 600 BCE Recent scholars argue that Zarathustra lived much earlier, based on the language in which the Gathas, texts attributed to Zarathustra, are composed Scholars believe that Zarathustra lived in what is now eastern Iran or Afghanistan Zarathustra was known to the ancient Greeks, who called him Zoroaster Zarathustra belonged to a priestly family and was raised in the ancient Indo-Iranian tradition, which was closely related to the Vedic religion

Zarathustra Little is known about the life of Zarathustra, but the Gathas indicate that he had an experience of Ahura Mazda, the benevolent creator god, and founded a new, monotheistic religion Zarathustra apparently had difficulty winning converts during his lifetime According to legend, Zarathustra was murdered by his enemies while performing a religious ceremony

Sacred Texts Zarathustra is said to be the author of the Gathas, a collection of sacred hymns dedicated to Ahura Mazda The Gathas are written in Avestan, an ancient Persian language that is now extinct, and are extremely difficult to translate They may be approximately as old as the Rig Veda In addition to the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, a number of texts were composed in the 9th to 11th centures CE which supplement the fragmentary Avestan material; however, only the Avestan texts are considered sacred

History of Zoroastrianism By the 6th century BCE, the Achaemenid kings of the Persian Empire made Zoroastrianism the religion of the land, and compiled the Avesta canon The religion appears to have been administered by a priestly class called the Magi The invasion of Alexander of Macedon (Alexander the Great) in 330 BCE brought an end to the Achaemenid Empire According to legend, Alexander destroyed a library containing many Zoroastrian texts and killed many Zoroastrian priests when he reached the capital city of Persepolis

History of Zoroastrianism A smaller Persian Empire was established by the Parthians following Alexander’s invasion The Parthians were succeeded by the Sassanid dynasty in the 3rd century CE In the 7th century CE, the Zoroastrian Sassanids were overthrown by Muslim Arab armies In the centuries that followed, most Persians became Muslim Some Zoroastrians migrated to India Today, Mumbai is the global centre of Zoroastrianism

Beliefs of Zoroastrianism According to Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda is the one true god Ahura Mazda created the world and imbued it with asha (truth, good, order) Ahura Mazda first created the Amesha Spentas (heavenly beings), then the material world, then the first human and the first bull However, an evil spirit, Angra Mainyu (also known as Ahriman) opposes Ahura Mazda, and brought druj (falsehood, evil, disorder) to the world Angra Mainyu created various demons and also corrupted and destroyed the first human and bull The world is characterized by a struggle between asha and druj All humans have free will and must choose asha over druj

Supernatural Beings Zoroastrian mythology includes a complex hierarchy of supernatural beings The highest of the heavenly beings are the six Amesha Spentas, which are emanations or “divine sparks” of Ahura Mazda and were responsible for the creation of the universe Mithra is a divine being who is associated with contracts, justice, cattle, and the Sun, and is sometimes worshipped as a deity in his own right Yazatas are divine beings which serve Ahura Mazda, and are comparable to angels in the Abrahamic traditions

Daevas Daevas are demonic beings In the Gathas, daevas are gods who are worshipped by non-Zoroastrians and do not have the quality of asha Later texts depict the daevas as evil beings who follow Angra Mainyu Zoroastrian mythology lists six arch-daevas which oppose the Amesha Spentas Two of these are Indar and Sarva

The End Times Those who live according to asha will enter into the Kingdom of Light A temporary hell exists for evildoers At the end of history, the Saoshyant (saviour) will lead an army of yazatas against Angra Mainyu’s daevas Good will triumph over evil and bring about the “renovation” or “refreshment” of the world, in which the dead will come back to life, and druj, old age, and death will disappear

Rituals Zoroastrians wrap a sacred cord, called a kusti, around their midsections five times per day and recite prayers to Ahura Mazda Water is used for purification Zoroastrian worship often takes place in a fire temple, which houses a sacred flame and also has access to a source of water When a Zoroastrian dies, his or her body is traditionally taken to a Tower of Silence, where it is left in the open to be devoured by vultures The only Tower of Silence that exists today is located in Mumbai, India