Living Religion, like living language and living society will grow evolve and change.  To understand where religion has come from and possibly where it is going it is important to study the older ways. Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest living religions in the world.  The exact date of it’s foundinding is unknown, some believe that it was founded about 3500 years ago,  by the prophet Zarathustra(Zoroaster) It was the religion of the ancient Persian Empire which once controlled the entire middle East and attempted to conquer the Greek City States in the 5^th century BCE(235 Hopfe & Woodward)Not only is Zoroastrianism one of the oldest living(if not the oldest) living religion, it is the first monotheistic religion, the religion that was used as a building block by all other monotheistic religions, Zoroastrianism also holds the distinction of having a fully formed concept of evil the devil and demonology.

The Aryans

The inhabitants of the area that was to become the Persian Empire were a group of people called Aryans (Noble Ones).  This group was polytheistic; this polytheistic religion was the basis for the religion created by Zoroaster.

The following is an outline of the Aryans:

·         The ancient inhabitants of the land that later became the Persian Empire were a group of people generally known as Aryans

·         A portion of the Aryan population migrated into the Indus valley and laid the foundations for the Indian peoples and their religion

·         Other Aryans continued to live in the region east of Mesopotamia and became the basis of the medo-Persian Empire(Hopfe & Woodward (2009) P. 235)

·         The Gathas indicate that the Aryans were nature worshippers who venerated a series of deities

·         Many of those gods are also mentioned in the Indian Veda literature they were generally known as Daevas and were associated with the sun, moon, earth, fire and water

·         Above this series of Daevas were higher gods such as Intar, the god of war Asha the god of truth and justice and Uruwana a sky god

·         The most popular and most important of all of these gods was mithra known as the giver and benefactor of Cattle a god of light and the representative of loyalty and obedience

·         Although Zoroaster attempted to discount all gods but one Muthra could not be displaced in the minds of the Aryan people.  He reappears as a judge in the Zoroastrian judgment day his is see as Mithra in the Indian Vedic literature and in the times of the Empire a religion based  on the myth of Muthra became popular among Roman soldiers and merchants and rivaled Christianity in some parts of the Empire

·         One supreme Lord was recognized as the one reality called Ahura Mazda (the wise lord).  As was the case in many other basic religions.  One supreme deity was recognized but the actual day-to-day worship seemed to revolve around less important localized gods

·         Because the predecessors of Zoroaster were nomadic it is likely that they worshipped the nature gods on altars with blood sacrifices

·         The worship of fire and water also have been part of the religion of the ancient Aryans(236 hopfe & woodward)

·         The Pre-Zoroastrian Aryans also believed that whenever religious practices strayed from the truth prophets or reformers called Saoshyants would restore the purity of the religion

·         They believed that before Zoroaster there has been a series of Saoshayants who had restored pure religion and some saw Zoroaster himself as one of the last and greatest of the reformers(Hopfe & Woodward (2009) P. 236)

Basic Beliefs

The core beliefs of Zoroastrianism are as follows:

·         Belief in the divinity and omnipotence of the benevolent god Ahura Mazda (the wise lord) and the evil nature of the malevolent entity called Angra Mainyu.  Both have spiritual entities who serve them similar to angles and demons

·         Belief in the constant struggle between good and evil between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu.  In the end times Ahura Mazda will defeat Angra Mainyu (the destructive spirit) also known as Shaitin/Satan.  At this time there will be a final judgment through fire and every trace of evil will be eliminated

·         Belief in the truth and divinity of the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster

·         Belief that people are free to choose between good and evil in this life

·         Belief that the actions and phenomena of the natural world both creative and destructive are manifestations of Ahura Mazda(McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 251)

·         In Zoroastrianism true morality is defined far more than one’s deeds or physical actions

·         Such problems are avoided by the practice of the following three tenants:

o   Humata proper thought purity and morality of thought.  To think morally but fail to speak out against immorality is not moral

o   Hukhta moral speech purity and morality in one’s speech morally and fail to act as such as not moral but hypocritical

o   Huvarastha Right action purity and morality in one’s actions.  To perform moral actions while thinking obscene thoughts or speaking obscene words is not moral(McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 251)

·         The primary sacred text of the Zoroastrian religion is called the Avesta.  This text is named for the language in which it is written Aventen.  However, the dialects differ primarily depending on the time in which they were written(McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 253)

·         The core text of Zoroastrianism the Avesta is separated into four main parts followed by a gragmentary section

·         The four main parts of the Avesta are as follows:

o   Yasna this section is considered the most sacred as it contains the Gathas or Hymns spoken by Zoroaster

o   Kharada Avesta the Book of Common Prayer.  This section of Zoroastrian prayers

o   Vispared this section extends explains and/or elaborates upon the sacred rites and rituals of Zoroastrianism

·         Vendidad broken up into 22 sections called fargards this part discusses the sacred laws offering definitions of the offenses and the proper punishments for each(McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 253)

·         The Yesna or sacred liturgy consists of 72 chapters and is the first book of the Avesta.  These chapters may be grouped by themes as follows:

o   Chapters 1-8 mainly praises of Zoroaster and Ahura Mazda as well as announcements made by any Zoroastrian who has assumed the faith

o   Chapters 9-11 the Hom Yasht a collection of eulogies to the sacred plant called Hoama which was considered divine

o   Chapter 12 the creed of the Zoroastrian faith which declares the divinity of Ahura Mazda and denounces the pre existing poly theistic religion

o   Chapters 15-27 invocations, prayers and dedications to Ahura Mazda

o   Chapter 28-34 the Ahunavaiti Gatha a 100 stanza hymn meant to be sun as a prayer to Ahura Mazda.  In

·                         fact it contains the prayer for which it is named Ahuna Viry

o   Chapters 35-41the Yasna Haptaghaiti or seven chapters of worship each chapter is a hymn Yasna 42 is a supplement to this section

o   Chapters 43-46 the Ushtavaiti Gatha or to have happiness this is a 66 stanza hymn

o   Chapters 47-50 the Spentamainyush Gatha or for the bountiful spirit this is a 41 stanza hymn

o   Chapter 51 the Vohukhshathra Gatha or the precious Dominion this is a 22 Stanza hymn

o   Chapter 52 an eight verse hymn to A(check spelling) which is the Zoroastrian concept of both spiritual and material reward

o   Chapter 53 the Vahishtoighiti Gatha or the most beloved possession this is a 9 stanza hymn

o   Chapters 54-72 a collection of invocations dedications and prayers some of which repeat those written in chapters 15-27(McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 253-254)

·         The Khorda Avesta which means small or little Avesta is the second book of the Avesta text.  S and can be This book is a collection of prayers and can be split into four primary sections

o   A section of 11 commonly used short prayers

o   The Gathas the prayers for each of the five periods of the day which are to be recited daily by the Zoroastrians Hawan between sunrise and midmorning Rapithwin at midday Vzerin in the afternoon and Aiwisruthrem between sunset and midnight and Vshahin between dawn

o   The Niyayashes eight litanies to the elements and directions of nature

o   The Yashts hymns to Ahura Mazda as well as to his angles and archangels(often represented by natural forces)

·         The Sirozas a two part section outlining dedications to each of the 30 days of each month

·         The Afrigans prayers meant for the purpose of bestowing blessings

·         A Fargard is a section of the vendidad a book of the Avesta that deals with sacred law and addresses crimes and punishments (McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 254-255)

Festivals

Many of the festivals of Zoroastrianism deal with the balance between good and evil and light and darkness.

·         Most festivals and holidays in Zoroastrianism are meant to pay respects to the seven creations as well as the holy immortals created by Ahura Mazda.  The seven creations sometimes called the seven bounties are considered seven gifts to this world by the great god on high all powerful entity who created even Ahura Mazda and his evil counterpart Amgra Mainyu the seven creations of Zoroastrianism are celebrated with festivals called Gehambers festivals of obligations:

·         Sky/heaven

·         Earth

·         Water

·         Plants

·         Animals

·         Humans

·         Fire(McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 256)

No Ruz

·         In Zoroastrianism No Ruz is celebrated in honor of the symbolic victory of Ahura Mazda over Angra Mainyu.  This belief has cosmological origin Ahura Mazda is represented by the sun whereas Angra Mainyu is represented by darkness

·         In Zoroastrian mythology when the sun disappears over the horizon Ahura Mazda descends into the dark realm and must battle Angra Mainyu and his evil minions in order to rise victorious on the following morning.  After the vernal equinox Ahura Mazda Is at his most vulnerable as this is the time when the forces of Angra Mainyu are at their most powerful hence the reasons why night begins to become longer than day

·         No Ruz is celebrated for roughly two weeks beginning at the time of the spring equinox when day and night are once again equal in length showing that Ahura Mazda has triumphed over the evil of Angra Mainyu for yet another  year(McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 257)

Fravardigan

·         The festival of Fravardigen (Mukhtad) is often referred to in English as the feast of all souls or the 10 days of the dead.  This festival is celebrated during the 10 days that preceded No Ruz when darkness/night is being progressly overtaken by light/day

·         The name of the festival comes from the root word Fravashi which is the immortal part of the human soul/spirit according to the Avesta one’s  Fravashi experiences three stages

o   Fravashayo Zotanam Soul/Spirit of an unborn human being

o   Fravashayo Zavantam Soul/Spirit of the living human being

o   Fravashayo Irirathusham Soul/spirit of the dead human being

After death one’s body may decay and pass but one’s Fravashi does not.  During the time of this festival it is believed that the dead return to and remain present in this world for 10 days.  During the Fravardigan food that has been specially blessed is laid out to feed the Fravashayo Irirathusham or souls of the dead (McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 258)

Khordad Sol

The festival of Khordad Sol commemorates the birth of Zoroaster

Funeral Rites

The death ritual of Zoroasterism is unique and has purpose.  Upon death adherents are places into a low circular tower called dakhma.  These towers expose the body of the deceased to the elements of nature and birds of prey.  Zoroastrians believe that a corpse contaminates the air if cremated and the earth and water if buried.  Disposing of the corpse in this way is thought to least contaminate the elements.

These towers are still in use in India and Iran but contemporary adherents living in places without dakhmas in other parts of the world are allowed to make use of burial cremation (McDowell, M. & Brown, N. (2009) P. 259)

Conclusion

  Not only was it the first monotheistic religion, the teachings and beliefs of Zoroastrianism helped to influence the beliefs and creation of other monotheistic religion.

References:

Hopfe, L.M. & Woodward, M.R. (2009).  Religions of The World (11^th ed).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Edu.

McDowell, M.  Ph.D. & Brown, N.R. (2009).  World Religions At Your Fingertips.  New York: NY/ Penguin Group