In search of the Zoroastrians an ancient people who have tended a holy flame for the last 2500 years.
Zoroastrianism or Mazdaism is the religion ascribed to
the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster, whose Supreme Being was Ahura Mazda. It
is one of the world's oldest religions, "combining a cosmogonic dualism
and eschatological monotheism in a manner unique... among the major religions
of the world." For a thousand years, forms of Zoroastrianism (including
a Mithraic Median prototype and Zurvanist Sassanid successor) were the world's
most powerful religion, serving as the state religion of the pre-Islamic
Iranian empires from around 600 BCE to 650 CE. Zoroastrianism was suppressed or
otherwise integrated into Islam from the 7th century onwards following the
Muslim conquest of Persia. Recent estimates place the current number of
Zoroastrians at around 2.6 million, with most living in India and Iran. The
change over the last decade is attributed to a greater level of reporting and
open self-identification more so than to an actual increase in population;
however, precise numbers remain difficult to obtain in part due to high levels
of historic persecution in Islamic regions.
Leading characteristics, such as messianism, the Golden
Rule, heaven and hell, and free will influenced other religious systems,
including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, and Islam.[4]
Liberality is emphasized in the scripture, and—like the Roman religion—the
religion generally showed tolerance to conquered peoples, with Cyrus the Great,
who is though to have been a Zoroastrian, annexing Babylonia in the name of its
God Marduk. In Zoroastrianism, the purpose in life is to "be among
those who renew the world...to make the world progress towards
perfection". Its basic maxims include:
Humata, Hukhta,
Huvarshta, which mean: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds.
There is only one
path and that is the path of Truth.
Do the right thing
because it is the right thing to do, and then all beneficial rewards will come
to you also.
The most important texts of the religion are those of the
Avesta, which includes the writings of Zoroaster known as the Gathas, enigmatic
poems that define the religion's precepts, and the Yasna, the scripture. The
full name by which Zoroaster addressed the deity is: Ahura, The Lord Creator,
and Mazda, Supremely Wise. He proclaimed that there is only one God, the
singularly creative and sustaining force of the Universe. He also stated that
human beings are given a right of choice, and because of cause and effect are
also responsible for the consequences of their choices. Zoroaster's teachings
focused on responsibility, and did not introduce a devil, per se. The
contesting force to Ahura Mazda was called Angra Mainyu, or angry spirit.
Post-Zoroastrian scripture introduced the concept of Ahriman, the Devil, which
was effectively a personification of Angra Mainyu.
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| By the 3rd century, Zoroastrianism and Zoroaster's ideas had spread throughout the Middle East. Zoroaster pointing to the sky. |
Zoroaster (/ˌzɒroʊˈæstər/ or /ˈzɒroʊˌæstər/, from Greek Ζωροάστρης Zōroastrēs), also known as Zarathustra (/ˌzɑrəˈθuːstrə/; Zaraθuštra); Persian: زرتشت Zartosht, زردشت Zardosht),
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