What is Zoroastrianism?
Let's Talk Religion・69 minutes read
Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest religions globally, focuses on a dualistic worldview and ethical teachings promoting good thoughts, words, and deeds. Despite its decline in prominence, Zoroastrianism remains influential, shaping religious history and influencing other faiths.
Insights
- Zoroastrianism, an influential religious tradition originating in Iran and Central Asia, focuses on the eternal struggle between good and evil, shaping the core worldview of the faith.
- The teachings of Zoroastrianism emphasize ethical actions, promoting good thoughts, words, and deeds to maintain order and goodness in the world, with a promise of an afterlife based on individual actions.
- Zoroastrianism's theological framework centers around Ahura Mazda as the supreme creator, alongside other divine beings like the Amesha Spentas and Yazatas, embodying various qualities and manifestations.
- The history of Zoroastrianism, from its inception under Zarathustra to its evolution through empires like the Achaemenids and Sasanians, has been marked by adaptation, preservation of scriptures, and interactions with other religions, influencing its development over millennia.
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Recent questions
What is the core belief of Zoroastrianism?
Zoroastrianism revolves around a dualistic worldview focusing on the battle between good and evil, emphasizing ethical actions and promoting good thoughts, words, and deeds to support order and goodness in the world.
Who is considered the founder of Zoroastrianism?
Zarathustra, an ancient figure attributed to the foundational texts known as the Gathas, is considered the founder of Zoroastrianism, with his teachings emphasizing ethical actions and a dualistic worldview.
How does Zoroastrianism view the concept of truth?
Zoroastrianism highlights a strong dualism between truth (Asha) and falsehood (Druj), personified as forces within creation, with humans tasked to choose the path of truth through good thoughts, words, and deeds.
What are the key divine beings in Zoroastrianism?
Zoroastrianism involves complex relationships with divine beings like Ahura Mazda, the supreme creator, alongside other divine forces like the Amesha Spentas and Yazatas, embodying different qualities and manifestations.
How did Zoroastrianism evolve over time?
Zoroastrianism evolved over centuries and millennia, with variations in practices between different empires like the Achaemenids and Sasanians, leading to changes in worship, scripture, and the religious landscape due to interactions with other religions like Christianity and Islam.
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Summary
00:00
Zoroastrianism: Ancient Religion of Good and Evil
- Zoroastrianism is a significant religious tradition associated primarily with Iran and Central Asia, serving as the state religion for Persian Empires and influencing Abrahamic faiths.
- While Zoroastrianism is less prominent today, it is considered one of the most influential religions in history, with a dualistic worldview focusing on the battle between good and evil.
- Zoroastrianism has a long history with unique teachings that have evolved over centuries, dating back to some of the earliest religious literature globally.
- The religion's core teachings emphasize ethical actions, promoting good thoughts, words, and deeds to support order and goodness in the world and promising an afterlife based on one's actions.
- Zoroastrianism is considered one of the oldest organized religions globally, potentially the first monotheistic religion, with its key characteristics formalized during the Sasanian Empire in the first millennium AD.
- The religion's foundational texts, known as the Gathas, are attributed to Zarathustra, an ancient figure considered the founder of Zoroastrianism, with debates on his historical timeline placing him around 1500 BC.
- Zarathustra's teachings revolved around a revelation of a single creative force, Ahura Mazda, representing the wise Lord or Lord of wisdom, with interpretations varying between a philosophical concept and a monotheistic deity.
- Zarathustra's life is surrounded by legends, with a popular story of a revelation at a riverbank solidifying his role as an enlightened sage, though scholars debate categorizing him as a prophet, philosopher, or poet.
- The Gathas, serving as the core of Zoroastrian scriptures, convey deep existential truths through poetry, with Zarathustra considered a mantan, a person using words to convey profound insights.
- Zoroastrian sacred scriptures, collectively known as the Avesta, include various texts like hymns and rituals, written in Old Avestan and Young Avestan languages from 1500 to 500 BC.
15:30
Evolution of Zoroastrianism: Teachings and Scriptures
- Zor scriptures are diverse, with new ones emerging in the Islamic period around the 8th to 9th centuries AD.
- The Avesta, the oldest and most crucial collection of Sacred Scriptures, forms the core of the Zoroastrian tradition, initially transmitted orally until the first few centuries AD.
- Zoroastrianism evolved over centuries and millennia, with variations between Darius the Achaemenid emperor's practice and later empires.
- The Zoroastrian teachings emphasize ethical messages, highlighting a strong dualism between truth (Asha) and falsehood (Druj).
- Zoroastrianism is often considered monotheistic, centered around Ahura Mazda, the Lord of wisdom, the source of all good, light, creation, and wisdom.
- The Zoroastrian scriptures stress the importance of ethical actions, with humans having free will to choose between good and evil.
- The Zoroastrian dualism includes Asha (truth) and Druj (deception), personified as forces within creation, with humans tasked to choose the path of truth.
- Zoroastrian teachings promote living in accordance with Asha through good thoughts, words, and deeds, aiming to dispel darkness and promote order.
- The ultimate goal for Zoroastrians is to adhere to Asha, worship Ahura Mazda, and live ethically, becoming an Ashavan, contrasting with the Dregvant.
- Zoroastrian theology involves complex relationships, with Ahura Mazda as the supreme creator, alongside other divine forces like the Amesha Spentas and Yazatas, embodying different qualities and manifestations.
31:03
Zoroastrianism: Amesha Spentas and Divine Worship
- The Goths embody a complex web of relationships with Aura Mazda, with Amesha Spentas representing qualities of goodness and wisdom.
- The Amesha Spentas are defined as seven, with Asha or truth being one of them, along with Spenta Mainyu, Vohu Manah, Vahana, Arta, Haurvatat, and Ameretat.
- Each Amesha Spenta represents different aspects like beneficent inspiration, good thought, dominion, holy devotion, wholeness, and immortality.
- In later periods, the Amesha Spentas were sometimes viewed as individual divine entities or spirits, associated with aspects of the natural world or abstract concepts.
- The Yazatas, including the Amesha Spentas, are beings worthy of worship in Zoroastrianism, with some like Mithra and Anahita being popular divine entities.
- Zoroastrianism's theology is unique, with Ahura Mazda being considered a god above other divine beings, leading to debates on whether it fits monotheism or henotheism.
- Zoroastrianism teaches a cosmic drama of dualism between Asha and Druj, with humans aiming to follow Asha through good thoughts, words, and deeds.
- Zoroastrianism's founder, Zarathustra, initially faced rejection but later influenced a wide population, leading to the spread of Zoroastrianism across Greater Iran.
- The Achaemenid rulers practiced a form of Zoroastrianism, with names and inscriptions reflecting adherence to the Avestan worldview and ethical framework.
- Zoroastrian worship during the Achaemenid period focused on natural elements like fire, water, and wind, with reverence for fire symbolizing light and goodness.
46:52
Evolution of Zoroastrianism through Empires and Conquests
- In the later period of the Achaemenid Empire, influences from Greece and Babylon led to the appearance of images of yazatas in temples, showing a shift in Zoroastrian practices.
- Persian Emperors, when conquering new territories like Egypt, sometimes adopted worship of local gods, indicating a complex and chaotic period for Zoroastrianism.
- Zoroastrianism during this time had a dualistic worldview, with a strong emphasis on good and evil spirits, as described by Aristotle.
- Zoroastrianism continued even after the fall of the Achaemenids, with the Parthian Empire seeing influences from Greek and Indian religious traditions.
- Fire temples and individual temples dedicated to yazatas became the focus of Zoroastrian worship during the Parthian period.
- The Parthian period saw efforts to write down and preserve the Avestan scriptures, leading to the canonization of Zoroastrian scriptures under the Sasanians.
- The Sasanian Empire marked the peak of Zoroastrian power, with a strong emphasis on establishing a unified Zoroastrian Orthodoxy to counter rival religions like Christianity and Manichaeism.
- The Sasanians authorized iconoclasm, destroying images of yazatas in temples and replacing them with fire altars to establish a unified Zoroastrianism.
- New scriptures were written in Middle Persian during the Sasanian Empire, clarifying Zoroastrian doctrines and serving as key sources for Zoroastrianism.
- The Arab conquest and the rise of Islam significantly altered the dominance of Zoroastrianism in Greater Iran and Central Asia, leading to changes in the religious landscape.
01:03:10
Zoroastrianism: History, Practices, and Traditions
- Umayyads had a policy against non-Arabs converting to Islam, but with the Abbasid dynasty, stricter rules for demies were enforced.
- Fire temples were destroyed or converted to mosques during this period, leading to the decline of the Zoroastrian population.
- Zoroastrians faced oppression and were considered second-class citizens under Islamic dynasties, leading many to convert to Islam or move to India.
- The Parsi community in India, descended from Zoroastrians who fled Iran in the 8th or 9th centuries, became a significant Zoroastrian group.
- The Parsis in India developed unique practices due to their isolation from Zoroastrians in Iran, becoming the largest Zoroastrian community.
- The Yasna Liturgy, a daily ritual performed by priests in fire temples, involves hymns, scriptures, and offerings like clarified butter.
- Lay Zoroastrians perform five daily prayers, involving washing, facing fire, and reciting prayers to Ahura Mazda.
- Zoroastrians wear a Kusti, a cord with 72 threads representing the Yasna Liturgy sections, as part of their initiation ceremony at age 15.
- Zoroastrians celebrate seasonal festivals, including Noruz, the Iranian New Year, which symbolizes fire and is still widely celebrated.
- Zoroastrians practice sky burials in Towers of Silence to avoid polluting elements like fire and water, although modern Zoroastrians may opt for cemetery burials.
01:18:59
"Savior Figures in Zoroastrianism and Influence"
- The concept of a Savior figure, present in Zoroastrianism with multiple Seant figures, has influenced Christianity and Judaism, with the idea of a Messianic Concept linked to the coming of Jesus. Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest surviving religious traditions, has been shaped by interactions with other religions like Christianity, Judaism, and others, impacting its evolution over time.
- Zoroastrianism, with around 100,000 followers globally, has a significant presence in India, Iran, Europe, and North America, despite not being as prominent as in the past. The religion, from the ancient texts of Zarathustra to modern-day practices, has played a crucial role in shaping religious history, with ongoing influence and a diverse global community.
