Birth of Zoroastrianism
About 5000 years ago, i.e. around 3000 BCE a group of people called
the Proto Indo-Iranians lived on the South Russian Steppes, to the
east of the river Volga [Boyce]. The Proto Indo-Iranians believed
in a primitive concept of order (called rta in Sanskrit). They knew
that order existed in the universe because night followed day, the
moon waxed and waned and each year the seasons followed one
another. They believed that divinities or gods called Asuras, among
which Varuna and Mithra were most popular, guarded this law. The
Proto Indo-Iranians worshiped instinctively and often, through
fear. For example, when they saw lightning and heard thunder they
thought that the gods were angry with them. For every natural
phenomenon such as an earthquake, snowstorm or hurricane they would
make sacrifices of animals, plants and food to their deities in
order to appease them.
About a thousand years later i.e. ~2000 BCE, the Proto
Indo-Iranians split into two groups. One group migrated westwards
and came to be known as the Iranians while the other group went
east and was known as the Vedic Indians or Vedic Aryans. Because of
this common root the early religious scriptures of the Indian and
the Iranian have some similarities but after the split each of them
developed separately.
The Iranians were mostly nomads, they did not have a fixed place to
live, for they herded cattle and would keep moving around in search
of fresh pasture and water. Since they lived in the open they
worshiped nature and they had a god or goddess for each of the
elements of nature, i.e. they believed that one god looked after
the sky (Asman), another took care of the Earth (Zam), the third
looked after the Moon (Mah) and a goddess called Anahita looked
after the waters. They called this whole pantheon of gods and
goddesses as Ahuras. The word Ahura comes from the root Ah meaning,
"to be", so Ahura can be derived as the Being. The Iranians
believed their Ahuras to be very powerful and their priests called
Karapans had many rituals and made sacrifices of animals and plant
food to fire and water. Their Ahuras were similar to Asuras of the
Proto Indo-Iranians and of the Rig Vedas.
Several hundred years later the Iranians learned the use of bronze
and developed horse drawn chariots. Some Iranians abandoned the
task of herding cattle and became warriors and they would go from
place to place raiding cattle. These lawless people worshiped the
gods of war and were called Daevas. Their priests were called Kavis
who were very shrewd and practiced black magic.
It was during this time somewhere around 1400 BCE that Zarathushtra
was born. As a young boy he was interested in nature and wanted to
know as to how the world was created. His search for creation and
the creator lead him to God with whom he communed after several
years of meditation. When he was 30 years old, he introduced a
religion known today as Zoroastrianism. The ancient Greeks knew
Zarathushtra as Zoroaster and hence his followers are called
Zoroastrians. Some followers who live in India prefer to be called
Zarathustis.
Tenets of Zoroastrianism
Zarathushtra was the first to introduce a novel way of thinking and
a completely new philosophy of life. He taught that there is only
ONE God whom he called Ahura Mazda. This term consists of two
Avestan (a language used during the time of Zarathushtra) words,
Ahura and Mazda. The first word Ahura was already used by the
pre-Zoroastrians for their God and Zarathushtra introduced the
concept of God as the creator who infused life into the physical
world. This is probably why many scholars have derived the word
Ahura from the root Ahu meaning life giving force and translate it
to mean Lord. The new word, Mazda, that Zarathutra introduced means
super-intellect or supreme wisdom. Hence the term Ahura Mazda means
Lord of Wisdom. (GE had named their light bulb Mazda to honor the
God of Light, probably in the misconception that Mazda means light.
The Japanese cars were named after light bulbs; so whoever drives a
Mazda drives a "wise" car).
Zarathushtra communed with Ahura Mazda and his dialogues are
composed into hymns or songs called the Gathas. The term Ahura
Mazda, as well as the separate terms Ahura and Mazda, appears
several times in the Gathas. Zarathushtra has used the term Mazda
164 times, Ahura 131 times, Mazda Ahura 50 times and Ahura Mazda 8
times in his Gathas. It is imperative to note that prior to
Zarathushtra the Gods and Goddesses were known for their power and
strength while Zarathushtra laid the stress on Ahura Mazda's
creative ability and wisdom.
According to Zarathushtra, Ahura Mazda conceived the idea of
creating the universe and not only let it evolve into the inanimate
objects such as the Sun, the Moon, the stars and the Earth but also
the living species such as the plants, animals and human beings
i.e. he infused life into his creations. Ahura Mazda is not a
static God who has finished his creations for he his dynamic and
progressive and a continuous creator. In his Gathas, Zarathushtra
refers to Ahura Mazda as Tashô (Yasna 31-11). This word stems from
the root tash meaning to cut, to shape [Dhalla]. When a tailor cuts
a cloth he designs it into a garment, so the word Tashô signifies a
designer and conveys the idea of improvement, progress and
evolution. According to Zarathushtra, Ahura Mazda is the creator of
life in this universe, he is omniscient, he is super intelligent,
he is the wisest and he knows everything. He knows that at this
very moment we are discussing him. He has supreme wisdom and he is
kind, friendly and loving. Ahura Mazda is omnipresent for he is
everywhere at the same time.
We, Zoroastrians, usually start our prayers with the words Kshnotra
Ahurai Mazdao, which means glory be to Ahura Mazda. We praise Ahura
Mazda for creating this world, for creating the Sun that gives us
light and heat, for creating the air that we need to breathe, for
creating the water that we need to survive and for creating the
animals, birds, plants, fruits and flowers that bring us joy and
happiness. We believe that Ahura Mazda has no form, shape of color
attributed to him. This is why Zoroastrians never worship idols. We
do not build some shape from clay or wood or metal and call it
Ahura Mazda because, to us, Ahura Mazda is ever glowing eternal
light from which emanates bounty and goodness.
Zarathushtra also taught that Ahura Mazda regulates the universe
through ASHA, the law of precision. At the physical level Asha
represents the laws in the universe. Scientists try to understand
these laws, such as the laws of gravity and electric and magnetic
fields. On the psychological level Asha is the powerful force of
truth while at the spiritual level Asha is the fusion of order and
truth leading us to the path of righteousness. Truth or
righteousness is doing the right thing, at the right time, in the
right place with the right means to achieve the right purpose
[Dhalla]. Righteousness is the universal law that stands for order,
evolution, progress and projection.
Zarathushtra taught that Ahura Mazda has given every human being a
Vohu Manoh (Good Mind) in order to help us follow this path of
righteousness. The Human Mind is the best gift that Ahara Mazda has
bestowed upon us. With our Vohu Manoh we can not only think but we
can reason and articulate and this is what makes us so unique from
all other living species on this planet. We have a mind that can
help us differentiate and distinguish between right and wrong, good
and evil.
Ahura Mazda is in accord with Asha and he wants us to promote this
path of asha, ashoi and ashem. According to this law good deeds
produce good rewards and evil deeds have bad consequences. A
scientist working in a lab, a mathematician solving a formula, a
mother caring for her family, a student struggling with his
homework, a musician composing or creating beautiful music and a
person counseling the needy are all implementing Asha in their
lives, if they act with truth and integrity. We know that if we do
not live in harmony with nature it would lead to catastrophic
consequences. Hence, in order to make this world a better place,
not only for this generation but for generations to come, we must
follow the path of Asha. Human beings are co-workers of Ahura
Mazda, but we are not his slaves. We are not forced into doing
something or being someone that we don't want to be. Zoroastrians
do not believe that good things in life are detrimental to the
spiritual life or that we should denigrate the material
world.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/zoroastrian/