HaCKeRz KrOnIcKLeZ 3/HaCKeRz_KrOnIcKLeZ.iso/anarchy/essays/schoolsucks/zoro.txt

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                                Introduction

         Some time in the history of the universe, no one is quite sure
    when, there was born a man.  This man would eventually be the first to
    found a monotheistic religion.  The name of this man is Zoroaster; the
    name is actually a corruption of Zarathushtra.  Zoroaster's birth date,
    along with whether his religion is actually monotheistic, is a subject
    of great debate.  The opinions concerning his birth, and consequently
    about the beginning of this great religion, range from as early as 6000
    years before Plato to as late as 500 B.C.E. In any case he was born
    somewhere in Iran, although whether in the East or West is also
    arguable.  In the early writings the people belonging to this religion
    are called Zarathustris; the system he taught is called Mazdaism. The
    present day followers are called Parsees.  Zoroaster removed the
    multiplicity of deities from religion and created a faith in which
    there were two, or perhaps, one God.  All other higher beings were
    regarded as demons, or evil spirits.  No one knows for sure the
    different stages of popularity that Zoroastrianism experienced.  We do
    know that at the time of Darius I, 558?-486 B.C.E., it was protected by
    royalty.  Later, however, Zoroastrians were continually chased by the
    members of the Islamic religion through Kathiawar in India, and Surat,
    and finally they settled again in Bombay.  The universe is the
    battleground.  The opponents are Mazda Ahura, later to be known as
    Ahura Mazda, and Anra Mainyu, later call ed Ahriman.  Ahura Mazda is
    the good force and the bad is Ahriman.  The battle will last till Ahura
    Mazda defeats Ahriman in the year 12,000 (we are now presumably around
    11,500).  This is the world and its future in accordance with
    Zoroastrian beliefs.
                                 Zoroaster

         Zoroaster had a very non-conforming mind and was forced to flee
    his parents' house without his parents' consent because of the rebuking
    he gave to those who sacrificed cattle or drank intoxicating haoma.  He
    fled to the mountains and gave himself to God.  Sometime between the
    ages of thirty and forty an angel appeared to him and brought him to
    the throne of the highest God, Ahura Mazda.  After this occurred, the
    prophet tried for twelve years to convert people, but to no available.
    During this period many visions were revaled to him.  A milestone in
    the progression of the religion occurred when Zoroaster converted
    Vishtaspa,the king of Persia. He also converted the king's son,
    brother, counsellor, and grand vizier.  Zoroaster married, along with
    two other women, the counsellor's daughter.  Zoroaster was killed at
    the age of seventy-seven by Ardshataspa, a neighboring prince, who
    invaded Vishtaspa's capital.  According to the Parsees, Vishtaspa is
    the father of Darius, who reigned from 521-485 B.C.E. Another view
    holds that Zoroaster lived 258 years before Alexander the Great; he
    would have therefore lived between 570 and 500 B.C.E. The Greeks tend
    to place him six thousand years before Plato.  Ahura Mazda, while not
    necessarily discovered by Zoroaster, was found on an inscription dating
    around 714 B.C.E.  In ancient Persia, before Zoraoster's reforms,
    religion was polytheistic.  Zoroaster objected to these dieties and
    referred to them as demons.  Many of the rituals and Gods that he
    removed were later reinstated due to the fact that the people were
    still emotionally attached to them.  We can see this from the fact that
    on the epigraphs of Artaxerxes II Mnemon (404-358 B.C.E.) the Mithras
    and Anahita, ancient gods, are mentioned.  Temples and images of God
    were also introduced into the religion at a later date.

                            Zoroastrian Beliefs

         The Zoroastrian religion is based on the fundamental concept of a
    constant battle of good against evil.  The good is represented by Ahura
    Mazda while the bad is represented by Ahriman. Ahura Mazda created this
    world as a trap for Ahriman.  Human beings draw Ahriman into this
    world; he will jump at any chance to cause others to do evil.  He will
    then be entering Ahura Mazda's world, and when people choose  good over
    evil voluntarily this will weaken Ahriman to the point where he can be
    destroyed.  It is hard to reconcile the two opposing views on the
    dieties in the Zoroastrian religion.  The claim is made that the
    religion is monotheistic; it is also alleged that the opposing forces
    in the world, good and evil, are represented by two equal gods. Modern
    day Parsees resolve the contradiction by explaining that Ahura Mazda
    has always and will always stand above all.  Anra Mainyu, or Ahriman,
    was only created due to an evil thought that once entered Ahura Mazda's
    head. The real opponent of Ahriman is Spenta Mainyu, the good spirit.
    The world is divided into three sections.  The upper world is bathed in
    light, the earth is divided into seven sections, and the underworld is
    a dark place.  The forces of good and evil will do battle for the
    twelve thousand years of the world's total existence.  In the
    beginning, as Ahriman attempts to kill Ahura Mazda, he is stopped and
    pulled away.  Both of the Gods agree to a period of peace that will
    last 9,000 years.  During the first three thousand years Ahura Mazda
    creates angels, good spirits, and Frava shis.  These Fravashis are the
    original heavenly images of men living in the upper world.  During the
    next three thousand years the Fravashis come down to earth.  There they
    lead a perfect sinless life.  Anra Mainyu is angry because of the
    advantage he sees the Ahura Mazda has gained over him in preparation
    for the final battle.  He tries to bring evil to the world, but he is
    rendered powerless by the sacred Ahunavairya formula that Ahura Mazda
    utters.  In the next three thousand years Anra Mainyu invades the
    world.  He kills the early man and animal and disperses demons
    throughout the world.  However a human couple arises from the seed of
    the early man and a cow from the seed of early animal.  These beings
    are mixed and must choose between the good and evil that now inhabits
    the world.  The final three thousand year period begins and Ahura Mazda
    sends Zoroaster down to the world.  Zoroaster had been in fravashi, or
    spiritual, form since the beginning of the second period.
         After Zoroast er's death, every thousand years till the end of
    this three thousand year period, a prophet will arise.  This prophet
    will come from a virgin who is fertilized by remnants of Zoroaster's
    seed, which is preserved in a lake.  The prophet will bring about an
    improvement in society for a short period of time.  The last of these
    prophets, Saoshyant, or "helper", will bring about a resurrection of
    the dead. The final fight will then occur and the death of Ahriman will
    take place.  All evil will disappear and the world will be cleansed by
    a fiery stream of metal which will bring about a complete
    transformation, or Frashokereti. Ahura Mazda will rule over all
    forever.

                           Zoroastrian Literature

         The main source for the teachings of Zoroaster is the Avesta.
    These are the only writings which come directly from Zoroaster and are
    written as if spoken to him by God Himself. Due to the fact that the
    Iranians couldn't write,  all this information was passed down orally;
    this, in part, led to the eventual loss of this material.  Around the
    fifth century an Avestan alphabet was created for this purpose.  These
    documents date back to 1323.  The Gathas are sacred literature which
    are difficult to translate and are believed to inclu de rituals,
    prayers, hymns, visions of God, His purposes, and prophecies.  The
    Gathic portions of the Yasna were preserved by being included in the
    Yasna writings which involved the worship process of every day.  The
    younger Avestan parts of the Yasna were being written throughout all
    the centuries eventually having seventy-two sections. These contained
    many topics and protected the basic Gathic texts.  Some of the Extended
    Avesta was taken from the Yashts which were hymns addressed to the
    lesser divine beings and were very poetic.  These were written in the
    Avestan dialect.  The Gathas on the other hand, were memorized due to
    their holiness.
         The Vendidad were written in the late younger Avestan period. They
    included laws on purity and on fighting evil.  The Visperad is an
    extension of the Yasna and the Vendidad.  They dealt with the seven
    holy days of faith.  The Nayesh and Goh were prayers recited, on the
    average, eight times a day.  They were for priests as well as lay
    persons.  Some were directed at certain forces of nature and were said
    less frequently.  The Khorda, or Little Avesta, is a book of common
    prayers. Each Khorda had the same prayers but in different orders. They
    were previously memorized and only said by priests, but now, because
    they are printed, are said by everyone.  The Great Avesta is grouped
    into twenty-one nasks, or books.  They were last written in the sixth
    century and contain all the previous works and much more.  They
    included the life and legends about the prophet, the religious
    doctrine, the end of days, law, creation of the world, and science.
    These were placed in all the temples, but during the Islamic period all
    the temples were destroyed and not a copy remains.  A book, the
    Denkard, has a detailed summary of these works in Pahlavi and it seems
    that the Extended Avesta took a quarter of the whole canon.  The only
    reason that the Pahlavi survived is because they were used extensively
    and therefore known by heart, and priests made copies of them at their
    houses.
         Zands, or intrepertations, on the Avesta have always been written.
    The old ones are included with the Avesta.  This continued until the
    fourth century when the Sasanians, the last Zoroastrians to rule Iran,
    c hanged the language to Middle Persian, or Pahlavi.  The ones written
    in this Pahlavi language are the only ones that fully remain of the
    Zand and so are considered the Zand.  The Yashts are the only part of
    the Avesta not to have a Zand written together with it.  The Pahlavi
    works were written as if being said aloud.  Because of this free style
    of being written they were changed or added to freely by future
    people.  In subsequent times the Zoroastrian community was very
    persecuted and they were lowered to a group of poor and intellectualy
    isolated people.  They reduced the writings to the basics and much of
    their writings are simply copies of previous texts.  They also left
    their Pahlavi writings for the more current Persian.  As the religious
    community moved about they translated their writings into many of the
    different languages of the places where they were residing at that
    time.  Not much was added and even the writings they retained were
    copied with mistakes.  In later times, from the fifteenth to eighteenth
    centuries, because of the split in the Zoroastrian communities, one
    being in Iran and the other in Persia, the writings were not very
    frequent.  The writings basically consisted of Parsi questions to their
    Iranian counter parts, usually about law and purity, and the answers.
    These writings were known as the Persian Rivayats.
         From the mid-nineteenth century and on the Parsis prospered
    greatly.  This brought about an increase in the amount of literature.
    The literat ure was written in many languages including Gujarat (one of
    the previous places of residence) and English.  These consisted mainly
    of the religion's beliefs and observances.  The Zoroastrian religion
    makes an abrupt turn at this point and changes from its previous highly
    orthodox religion and writing.  The society is hurt and confused
    because of a sudden plunge into modernity.  The society searched for
    new ways to explain the older writings.  The writing is transformed
    into one writing influenced by the beliefs of many of the surrounding
    religions including Christianity and Hinduism. Some writings simply
    talk of a belief but advocate no actual observance requiring any
    actions. Into the twentieth century the writings decrease and show a
    greater influence by the Muslims.

                            Zoroastrian History

         From around 550-330 B.C.E. the Iranian tribes left the steppes
    where they had been previously living and conquered and moved into
    modern-day Iran.  The eastern Iranians brought the Zoroastrian faith to
    the western Iranians, the Meads, and the Persians.  It became the
    religion of the Achaemenian empire.  The Avestan writings, however,
    remained in the eastern dialect. Alexander slaughtered many of the
    Zoroastrian priests thereby also harming the transmission of the
    texts.
         The Asacids, from north-east Iran, later established the second
    Iranian empire.  The empire was called the Parthian empire.  The few
    written records they had indicated a tolerance of the Zoroastrian
    religion.  This empire ruled from approximately 144 B.C.E. through 224
    C.E.  The Sasanian period was from 224 to 651 C.E.  By this time
    Zoroastrianism had returned to many of the things that Zoroaster had
    taken out at the beginning of the religion.  They had gone back to
    their old ways of sacrificing, drinking haoma, and believing in more
    than one God.  However, even as the orthodoxy of the religion declined,
    its popularity increased to the greatest point in its history.
         After the fall of t his empire Persia was converted to Islam.
    About fourteen thousand remain in Iran today.  The others either
    converted or moved to India, where different religions were more
    tolerated.  The Zoroastrians there are called Parsees, and most live
    around Bombay.  They number about 150,000.  They have greatly
    prospered, and probably owe this to their honesty and generosity.

                                   Ethics

         Zoroaster based his concept of good and evil on the things that
    happened to be good and bad for the people of his time.  Animals which
    were used for cattle bearing were considered good and created by Ahura
    Mazda.  On the other hand, animals which were harmful to cattle were
    created by Ahriman.  Large families were praised, and any attempt to
    stop sex from having children was forbidden. The main purpose of man is
    always to make good decisions and to fight with Ahura Mazda against the
    forces of Ahriman.

                              Life after Death

         Cadavers are unclean and therefore should not be allow ed to touch
    the holy fire and earth.  The Zoroastrians  have devised a way of
    dealing with this in which they place the dead bodies on dakhmas, the
    towers of silence.  Certain people who have received this position by
    inheritance, as it is unholy, bring the bodies into these towers.  Once
    placed on the towers of silence the bodies are devoured by vultures in
    a matter of hours.  Water is then poured over the bones and is run into
    the sea.  Modern ways of dealing with the dead are by placing them into
    cement containers or by burning with electricity.
         Spiritually, after a person dies, his body remains in the area in
    which he died for three days.  After this his conscience appears to him
    in the form of a woman.  If the person had a bad conscience the woman
    is ugly; if he had a good conscience the woman is beautiful.  The woman
    then takes him over a bridge called the Chinvat Peretu, the
    accountants' bridge.  If the person led a good life he walks over the
    bridge into paradise; if he led a bad l ife he falls to hell.  If the
    person is not evil nor good he reaches the intermediate kingdom,
    Hamestakans, which is between paradise and hell.  After the end of the
    world is reached, the spirits will be returned to their bodies and it
    is only then that their final fate will be decided.

                                 Conclusion

         In conclusion I think that the following observation correctly
    summarizes the enduring contributions of Zoroastrianism.  It is an
    inspired ideology which is based upon three beli efs: there is a battle
    between good and evil, there will be an end to the world together with
    a final divine judgment and the purification of earth, and there is a
    paradise, a perfect society in heaven.  These ideas have had far
    reaching effects upon other religions and people.  Zoroastrianism has
    brought a concept of a sense of the religious meaning of history along
    with a stronger monotheism and ethics.  It has removed the religious
    identification with nature and states of consciousness.
         There are those that believe that the Ancient Hebrews only adopted
    the concepts of a resurrection of the dead, an end to the world, and a
    final judgment, once they came into contact with the Zoroastrians. All
    of these ideas are presently important to the Jews, Christians, and
    Muslims.  We can all see how far reaching and important the Zoroastrian
    religion has been on the evolution of the important religions out of
    which most modern civilizations have evolved.