Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism which is also referred to as Mazdayasna is one of the oldest ancient pre-Islamic religions that is been practised continuously by the Persians all over the world. It is a monotheistic religion that was first introduced between 1500-1000 BCE by an Iranian-speaking prophet of Persia origin named  Zoroaster (also given as Zarathustra, Zartosht). The religion believes that there is only one God that exists and that is the God of Wisdom also known as Ahura Mazda. As it is believed that there is one God creator of all the things and a sustainer as well, thus this religion encourages the believers to express theirs in the supreme power by good thoughts, good deeds and good words. 

Alternatively, the religion is also known as Mazdaism. This is also an ancient belief system that has evolved from the polytheistic ancient Persian religion that considered Ahura Mazda as the supreme power among all the gods of this religion and those of darkness and evil.

Initially in the period of 550 till 330 BCE,  Achaemenid Persian Empire first adopted Zoroastrianism which was then followed by the Parthian Empire in the time frame between 247 BCE - 224 CE where it experienced its growth and it then richest its fullest expression when it was adopted by the Sassanian Empire in between 224-651 CE.  Zoroastrianism was made the religion of the state by the Sassanian Empire though they were still developing other religious beliefs. Thus they named Zoroastrianism “Hersey” which was later referred to as Zorvanism. In the time period of 651 CE, after the invasion of the Muslim-Arab invaders, the Zoroastrians were killed and the entire religion was suppressed. The suppression was to an extent, that their religious place was destroyed by the invaders and mosques were built on the destroyed sites. After the incidents took place the adherents of Zoroastrianism decreased in number and their population reduced. But they still exist and continue to follow the religion in the present day.   

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Nature and Significance

Zoroastrianism was perceived as a prototype of the dualistic view of human destiny and the world by the Greeks of ancient times. It was believed that the Pythagoras of Babylon was instructed by the Zarathustra and also have inspired doctrines of astrology and magic that was introduced by Chaldean. It is thus supposed that Zoroastrianism led to the foundation of Christianity along with influencing the development of Judaism. Ezekiel, Nimrod, Seth, Balaam, and Baruch (though the last one is Jesus himself) is been identified with Zoroastrianism by the adherents who follow Christianity. Zaruthra was considered the arch-heretic because he is also the founder of astrology and magic. 

Unlike Judaism and Islamism adopted an instance of monotheism, Zoroastrianism was never even in the thinking of its founder came up to be an instant monotheism. As compared to the Greeks, Latins, Indians, and other early peoples, Zoroastrianism has unified itself in believing in worshipping one supreme god in a polytheistic religion. It has another prominent feature that is called Dualism, which is not absolutely understood and practised in the right fashion. In dualism, it is always the fight between the god and the evil and in the unequal battle, it is always the Gods who came out as vicious winners over evils. Thus the omnipresence of God is temporarily possible. As the people have a free choice thus they need to enlist themselves under this constant struggle. Thus the people do it with the soul and body as the struggle between God and evil is not the same as that of spirit and matter so it is never against the body. Thus unlike in Christianity and Manichaeism, celibacy and fasting are considered as the way of purification of the body and the soul. Since the struggles of humans invite negativity thus it is important in Zoroastrianism that one must strive for purity and degradation by the death force. Though the ethics that are considered in Zoroastrianism are high and rational, the rituals that are followed is all-permeating.

Zoroastrian Religion

Zoroastrianism in India is followed by Parsi. It is believed as per the Parsi culture that many of the Iranians have migrated from Persia to escape from the religious execution by the Muslim invaders after the conquered Arab. Some of the historians and experts believe that they have escaped from the sea route and have reached the land of Gujrat (situated in the western part of India) sailing across the Arabian sea. This incident took place between a timeline of 785 to 596 A.D. The Parsis are the ethnic minorities of India as well as of Pakistan. There are a total of 1400 Parsis in Pakistan and about 60,000 in India.

Zoroastrianism Symbol

In the Zoroastrian religion, fire with water is the main symbol of the religion that depicts purity. There is a symbol that consists of a bearded man who is standing on two wings that are stretched out from the centre of the circle where the circle is the symbol of eternity. Also, the man in the symbol is stretching his one hand forward. Fire is considered as one of the other major symbols in Zoroastrianism as it depicts purity, light and warmth. The evergreen cypress tree is also considered by a few of the Zoroastrians as the symbol, of eternity.    

Zoroastrianism Beliefs

It promotes faith in fire and water that is considered by the adherents as the symbol of purity and strength. Fire temples are the place where most of the adherents of Zoroastrianism go for praying. In every fire temple, there is an alter that contains an eternal flame that keeps burning throughout its lifetime and is not allowed to be extinguished. According to the ancient legends, it is believed that the first three temples of Zoroastrians came directly from the Zoroastrian god, Ahura Mazda, at the beginning of time. As it has been searched by historians many times but it remained unclear that the eternal fire did exist or it is purely mythical. 

The dead are buried under the sky called “sky burials” according to the beliefs of Zoroastrians. They usually create a round, circular flat-topped tower that is known as Dhakmas or as famously referred to as the tower of silence. There the corpse is exposed to the vultures and the other elements of nature till the time their flesh from the bones are completely taken off and bleached. Then the picked clean bones are collected and are placed in Assuaries that are also referred to as lime pits. Since the year 1970, Dhakmas have been declared illegal in Iran. though some of the Zoroastrians still practice sky burial in India many of them today bury their deads beneath the concrete slabs.  A Dhakmas is still operational in Mumbai in India. 

Thus, Zoroastrianism which is also referred to as Mazdayasna is one of the oldest ancient pre-Islamic religions that is been practised continuously by the Persians all over the world. It is a monotheistic religion that was first introduced between 1500-1000 BCE by an Iranian-speaking prophet of Persia origin named  Zoroaster (also given as Zarathustra, Zartosht). The religion believes that there is only one God that exists and that is the God of Wisdom also known as Ahura Mazda.  Zoroastrianism was made the religion of the state by the Sassanian Empire though they were still developing other religious beliefs. Thus they named Zoroastrianism “Hersey” which was later referred to as Zorvanism. In the time period of 651 CE, after the invasion of the Muslim-Arab invaders, the Zoroastrians were killed and the entire religion was suppressed. In the Zoroastrian religion, fire with water is the main symbol of the religion that depicts purity. There is a symbol that consists of a bearded man who is standing on two wings that are stretched out from the centre of the circle where the circle is the symbol of eternity. They believe in sky burial where the corpse is exposed to the elements of nature and vulture that today became illegal in many places. But in India, in some of the places, sky burial is still practised.