Zoroasterians believe

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YASTS AND SÎRÔZAHS.

THE word yast, in Zend yêsti, means properly 'the act of worshipping,' the performance of the yasna; and it is often used in Parsi tradition as synonymous with yasna. But it has also been particularly applied to a certain number of writings in which the several Izeds are praised and magnified. These writings are generally of a higher poetical and epical character than the rest of the Avesta, and are most valuable records of the old mythology and historical legends of Iran.

The Parsis believe that formerly every Amshaspand and every Ized had his particular Yast, but we now possess only twenty Yasts and fragments of another 1. The writings known as Yast fragments, the Âfrîn Zartust, and Vîstâsp Yast (printed as Yasts XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV in Westergaard's edition), are not proper Yasts, and have no liturgical character; they are not devoted to the praise of any Ized.

The order in which the Yasts have been arranged by the Parsis follows exactly the order of the Sîrôzah, which is the proper introduction to the Yasts.

Sîrôzah means 'thirty days:' it is the name of a prayer composed of thirty invocations addressed to the several Izeds who preside over the thirty days of the month.

There are two Sîrôzahs, but the only difference between them is that the formulas in the former are shorter 2, and there is also, occasionally, some difference in the epithets, which are fuller in the latter.

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In India the Sîrôzah is recited in honour of the dead, on the thirtieth day after the death, on the thirtieth day of the sixth month, on the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, and then every year on the thirtieth day from the anniversary day (Anquetil, Zend-Avesta, II, 315).

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The Zend Avesta, Part I

1. O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the first place where the Earth feels most happy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place whereon one of the faithful steps forward, O Spitama Zarathustra! with the holy wood in his hand 1, the baresma 2 in his hand, the holy meat in his hand,

1 in his hand, fulfilling the law with love, and beseeching aloud Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, and Râma Hvâstra 2.'

2, 3 (6-10). O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the second place where the Earth feels most happy?

Ahura Mazda answered: 'It is the place whereon one of the faithful erects a house with a priest within, with cattle, with a wife, with children, and good herds within; and wherein afterwards the cattle go on thriving, holiness is thriving 3, fodder is thriving, the dog is thriving, the wife is thriving, the child is thriving, the fire is thriving, and every blessing of life is thriving.'

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Zoroastrianism, in spite of its small current number of adherents, has played a huge role in the study of comparative religion. Not only was it a cohort of the ancient Vedic Hinduism, but also had a huge influence on the development of Judaism and Christianity.

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According to the New York Times:

"While Zoroastrians once dominated an area stretching from what is now Rome and Greece to India and Russia, their global population has dwindled to 190,000 at most, and perhaps as few as 124,000, according to a survey in 2004 by the Fezana Journal The number is imprecise because of wildly diverging counts in Iran, once known as Persia -- the incubator of the faith."

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There are fewer than 200,000 Zoroastrians in the world today. In spite of its relatively few members, its importance to humanity is much greater than its current numbers might suggest, because:

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"Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed world-religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly, than any other single faith." Mary Boyce.

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Zoroastrians are taught that there is one God who is all good and whose creation is visible in the natural world around. The order and regularity of the orbiting planets, the moon, the tides, and the seasons all testify to a superior organising mind – all the work of Ahura Mazda. Within this natural world, just as there are physical opposites such as dark and light, night and day or positive or negative energies in magnets, so too in the moral sphere diametrically opposed forces are at work.

Zoroastrians are therefore alerted to the existence of the negative forces which exist within nature but also within the human mind and about which they need to be consciously vigilant.

Zoroastrians are therefore taught to fight against being drawn in by the negative forces which are manifested in deceit and dishonesty. For this reason Zoroastrians encapsulate their ideal aspirations in the motto Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds and are reputed to be honest, straightforward and charitable

Zoroastrians are encouraged to base their lives on the principle of Asha or Right Behaviour which can be achieved by right thinking or Vohu Manah. This state of thinking can be achieved through through working within or contemplation of nature, or through chanting songs of praise, both a form of meditation.

Zoroaster makes it clear that each human is capable of making choices and thus responsibility for any action comes down to the individual.

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THOUGH we must look to the Avesta for information regarding the main outlines of the Parsi religion, it is to Pahlavi writings we must refer for most of the details relating to the traditions, ceremonies, and customs of this ancient faith, which styles itself emphatically 'the good religion of the Mazdayasnians,' and calls its laity bahdînân, or 'those of the good religion.' In the fragments of the Avesta which still exist, we may trace the solid foundations of the religion, laid by philosophic bards and lawgivers of old, with many a mouldering column and massive fragment of the superstructure. erected upon them by the ancient priesthood. These are the last remnants of the faith held by Cyrus, the anointed of the Lord (Isaiah xlv. 1), the righteous one (Is. xli. 2), or eagle (Is. xlvi. 11), whom He called from the east, and the shepherd who performed His pleasure (Is. xliv. 28); scattered fragments of the creed professed by Darius in his inscriptions, when he attributes his successes to 'the will of Aûramazdâ;' and mouldering ruins of the comparatively pure religion of oriental 'barbarism,' which Alexander and his civilising Greek successors were unable wholly to destroy, and replace by their own idolatrous superstitions. While in the Pahlavi texts we, find much of the mediaeval edifice built by later Persian priest craft upon the old foundations, with a strange mixture of old and new materials, and exhibiting the usual symptom of declining powers, a strong insistence upon complex forms and minute details, with little of the freedom of treatment and simplicity of outline characteristic of the ancient bards.

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That is very intriguing! And interesting. I love learning about various faiths and different cultures. And this is close to how I feel about religion. Wow!

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An article on Zoroastrianism http://www.w-z-o.org/Z_Zoroastrianism_shahin.htm

Zoroastrianism Page (links to pictres!)http://palette.ecn.purdue.edu/~bulsara/ZOROASTRIAN/

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Zoroastrian dualism is probably one of the most debated aspects of Zoroastrianism in the West. So what does it mean?

Dualism in Zoroastrianism is the existence of, yet complete separation of, good and evil. This is recognised in two interconnecting ways:

• Cosmically (opposing forces within the universe)
• Morally (opposing forces within the mind)

Cosmic dualism
Cosmic dualism refers to the ongoing battle between Good (Ahura Mazda) and Evil (Angra Mainyu) within the universe.

• It is important to understand that Angra Mainyu is not God's equal opposite, rather that Angra Mainyu is the destructive energy that opposes God's creative energy. This creative energy is called Spenta Mainyu. God created a pure world through his creative energy, which Angra Mainyu continues to attack, making it impure. Aging, sickness, famine, natural disasters, death and so on are attributed to this.

With cosmic dualism we have life and death, day and night, good and evil. One cannot be understood without the other. Life is a mixture of these two opposing forces.

Moral dualism
Moral dualism refers to the opposition of good and evil in the mind of mankind. God's gift to man was free will; therefore man has the choice to follow the path of Evil (druj - deceit) or the path of Righteousness (asha - truth). The path of Evil leads to misery and ultimately Hell. The path of Righteousness leads to peace and everlasting happiness in Heaven.

As with cosmic dualism, we have the polarity of happiness and sadness, truth and deception and so on but with an emphasis on choice. This choice is crucial as it determines whether we are the helper of Ahura Mazda or the helper of Angra Mainyu. When all of mankind chooses the former over the latter, evil will finally be defeated and Paradise on earth will be realized.

In practice, modern Zoroastrianism has a positive outlook. It teaches that Mankind is ultimately good and that this goodness will finally triumph over evil. This could be seen as a retrenchment from the faith's original purity of dualism.

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The Zoroastrian calendar is full of holy days, feasts and festivals, giving Zoroastrians the reputation of being a joyful religion full of celebration.

Zoroastrian Beliefs

Zoroastrian beliefs can best be summed up by the maxim:

Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds

Zoroastrians try to live their daily lives by this creed.

At the age of seven, Zoroastrians are given a sudreh (shirt) and kusti (cord) as part of an initiation ceremony. These garments are considered sacred. They tie the kusti around the sudreh three times to remind themselves of 'Good Words, Good Thoughts, and Good Deeds'.

From then on, Zoroastrians traditionally perform this ritual with prayers several times a day.

Family and Community
Zoroastrianism is a home and community oriented religion. There is no tradition of monasticism or celibacy. Zoroaster himself was a family man and most worship happens in the family home.

Zoroastrianism is also about action. Zoroastrians work towards improving the local community and society in general. They tend to give generously to charities and are often behind educational and social initiatives. The Parsi community in India is particularly known for its industrious contributions to Indian society.

God
Zoroastrians believe in one God, called Ahura Mazda (meaning 'Wise Lord'). He is compassionate, just, and is the creator of the universe.

Ahura Mazda is:

• Omniscient (knows everything)
• Omnipotent (all powerful)
• Omnipresent (is everywhere)
• Impossible for humans to conceive
• Unchanging
• The Creator of life
• The Source of all goodness and happiness

God is worshiped as supreme. Zoroastrians believe that everything he created is pure and should be treated with love and respect. This includes the natural environment, so Zoroastrians traditionally do not pollute the rivers, land or atmosphere. This has caused some to call Zoroastrianism 'the first ecological religion'.

Amesha Spentas, who are they?
Amesha Spentas translates as 'Holy Immortals'. Just as light rays are emanated from the sun but are not the sun, so the Amesha Spentas are emanated by God but are not God. These emanations are seen as the divine attributes of God. They helped God fashion the world and each is associated with a particular aspect of creation.

Western scholars have likened the Amesha Spentas to the Archangels in Christianity. This is not strictly correct as they also represent spiritual attainments. Zoroastrians believe that man can know God through his Divine Attributes.

The six Amesha Spentas are:

• Vohu Manah - Good mind and good purpose.
• Asha Vahishta - Truth and righteousness.
• Spenta Ameraiti - Holy devotion, serenity and loving kindness.
• Khashathra Vairya - Power and just rule.
• Hauravatat - Wholeness and health.
• Ameretat - Long life and immortality.

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The Iranians and the Parsis

The Parsis were a group of Iranian Zoroastrian refugees who settled in India and have remained there ever since.

There is little difference between the Parsi and Iranian Zoroastrians, with perhaps the exception being that the Parsis have come to regard their faith as ethnic, whereas Iranians are more relaxed in accepting converts.

The name 'Parsi' is an Indian rendering of 'Persian'.

Influence of Zoroastrianism

Some of the ideas that modern religions owe to Zoroastrianism are:

• Monotheism: there is only one God
• Dualism: the war between good and evil
• Heaven and hell
• Judgement at death
• The end of the world

Religions and philosophies that have been influenced by Zoroastrianism are:

• Judaism
• Christianity
• Islam
• Northern Buddhism
• Gnosticism

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The Holy Scriptures

The Zoroastrian book of Holy Scriptures is called The Avesta, named after the ancient dialect of Avestan which the early scriptures were written in. The Avesta can be roughly split into two main sections:

• The Avesta - this is oldest and core part of the scriptures, which contains the Gathas.
  • The Gathas are seventeen hymns thought to be composed by Zoroaster himself.
• The Younger Avesta - commentaries to the older Avestan written in later years. It also contains myths, stories and details of ritual observances.

Places of Worship

Zoroaster placed less emphasis on ritual worship, instead focusing on the central ethics of 'Good Words, Good Thoughts and Good Deeds'. So early Zoroastrians worshiped around a fire outside or at their hearth.

• Zoroastrians believe that the elements are pure and that fire represents God's light or wisdom.
  • Zoroastrians are not fire-worshippers, as some Westerners wrongly believe. Zoroastrians venerate all of God's creation.

Later, Zoroastrians began to worship communally in a Fire Temple or Agiary. This is still the tradition today.

Prayers

Zoroastrians traditionally pray several times a day. Some wear a kusti, which is a cord knotted three times, to remind them of the maxim, 'Good Words, Good Thoughts, Good Deeds'. They wrap the kusti around the outside of a sudreh, a long, clean, white cotton shirt. They may engage in a purification ritual, such as the washing of the hands, then untie and then retie it while reciting prayers.

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• Approximately 3500 years old.
• Began in Iran.
• Zoroastrianism is one of the world's first monotheistic religions.
• God is called Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) and he created the world.
• Ahura Mazda revealed the truth through the prophet, Zoroaster.
• The Zoroastrian book of Holy Scriptures is called the Avesta.
• The Zoroastrian building for communal worship is known as a Fire Temple or Agiary.
• Zoroastrians traditionally pray several times a day.
• Zoroastrians are roughly split into two groups:
  • The Iranians
  • The Parsis
• Zoroastrianism had a significant influence on the development of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as well as other religions and philosophies.

Multifaith note: Judaism, Christianity and Islam are known as 'Abrahamic' religions, or 'Religions of the Book'.

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Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions (religions with a single god).

It was founded by the prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) in ancient Iran approximately 3500 years ago.

For 1000 years Zoroastrianism was one of the most powerful religions in the world. It was the official religion of Persia (Iran) from 600 BCE to 650 CE.

It is now one of the world's smallest religions with around a quarter of a million followers worldwide. There are 4000 Zoroastrians living in Britain.

Zoroastrianism is a religion of free choice and personal responsibility, with emphasis on truthfulness, responsibility for the well-being of fellow-man and care for the natural environment.

Zoroastrian beliefs and code of conduct are encapsulated in the maxim:

Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds

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