c

 V Zoroastrians believe that Êhura ?

azda created humans as

V religion that arose from the teachings of the
devotional poet Zoroaster, known as Zarathushtra to
ancient Iranians, who is regarded as the faith͛s
founding prophet.
c
allies in the cosmic struggle against evil and that humanity will
be resurrected and granted immortality once evil has been
defeated.
V |hey further view the material world as a trap into which evil
has been lured and in which evil will undergo defeat by

(a.k.a. c

a
divinities and humans working together.
V a native of Persia, departs from the polytheistic beliefs of
his local tradition and advocates belief in a supreme god of justice, V Zoroastrianism preaches that when someone dies his or her
 , thereby founding a new religion known as soul undergoes individual judgment based on actions while
Zoroastrianism. alive. If the soul͛s good deeds are greater than its evil deeds, it
enters paradise. If the soul͛s evil deeds outweigh the good
V Ê 2nd-century wall painting at Dura Europus in Syria depicts done while alive, it is cast into hell to await the day of
c


 universal judgment.

V Zoroaster lived sometime between 1750 and 1500 BC or 1400 V In cases where a soul͛s good deeds equal its evil deeds, it is
and 1200 BC. consigned to limbo.

V ?uch of what modern scholars know about Zoroaster͛s life is
based on traditional religious accounts produced by the magi in
late antiquity and the ?iddle Êges.
V |he magi drew upon images of Zoroaster͛s struggles, conflicts,
and successes in the Gathas, which they combined with their
own recasting of Zoroaster͛s life to correspond with the general
outlines of the biographies of ?iddle Eastern holy men such as
?oses and Jesus.
V Zoroaster͛s words exerted a profound influence on Western
thought because of the interest Plato, Êristotle, and Pythagoras
showed in his ideas.
V Close to the end of time a savior will resurrect the dead,
Zoroastrianism claims. Êhura ?azda will descend to earth
with the other good spirits. Each sinner, having already
suffered in hell or limbo after death, will be purified.
|hereafter, immortality will be granted to all humans. Êhura
?azda, the holy immortals, and other divine beings will
annihilate the demons and force Êngra ?ainyu to scuttle back
into hell, which will then be sealed.
V |he Zoroastrian doctrine of heaven, hell, and limbo influenced
other faiths. Islam absorbed not only the ideas of heaven, hell,
and limbo, but also the scheme of individual judgment at a
celestial bridge and the notion of final, universal judgment.

V |hey and other Greek and Roman writers also viewed c
 
 V Christianity further assimilated the Zoroastrian belief of the
 
 


 



 
 soul͛s afterlife and the appearance of a savior, resurrection,
and eternal life at the end of the world.


|he    is a collection of devotional poems attributed to
Zoroaster and form the core of the Êvesta or Zoroastrian scriptures.
In these poems Zoroaster praised the concept of  (͞order͟a,
which he linked to a creator deity named 
    (͞Wise
Lord͟a.
V |he religion continues to be practiced today by Zoroastrian
communities in India, Iran, the United States, Canada, and
other countries.
º
 
üV In his writings Zoroaster speaks of an ethical and moral
opposition between  (͞order͟a, which he equates with
righteousness, and 
 (͞confusion͟a, which he equates
with evil and the lie.
üV Zoroaster personifies this dualism in a pair of spirits:
Ñ Ñ  


Zoroastrianism believes that a person can choose his own life.
üV Ve is in control of his destiny. Wherein he can determine
his own path. Its either happiness or sorrow.
üV Ê person has freedom to choose right from wrong good or
evil.
üV Believes that man is mortal.
üV Unlike some religions where man is God's child or servant,
in Zoroastrianism man is considered more as God's helper.
|hrough man's positive choices, evil will be eradicated and
God's Paradise on Earth will be established.
üV ?en and women, rich and poor, and young and old are all
seen as equal. One only surpasses the other through their
righteousness

 Ñ Ñ   


º 

V ͞Wise Lord͟ üV Zoroastrianism is a home and community oriented

V a perfect, rational, and 

  (all-knowinga religion.
entity
üV |here is no tradition of monasticism or celibacy.

üV Zoroastrianism is also about action.
V ͞Evil Spirit͟
6V Believes in serving others
V created sin, disease, death, and similar evils

Ñ Ñ    c

 Ñ


üV Zoroastrians believe in one God, called Êhura ?azda üV ëoung Zoroastrians are initiated into the faith between the
(meaning 'Wise Lord'a. Ve is compassionate, just, and is ages of 7 and 15. During the initiation ceremony, they put
the creator of the universe. on a 
  


 that symbolizes spiritual rebirth. Ê
holy white cord, tied around the waist during the
üV Êhura ?azda is: ceremony, is ritually untied and retied during morning
6V Omniscient (knows everythinga prayers after initiation.
6V Omnipotent (all powerfula
6V Omnipresent (is everywherea 

6V Impossible for humans to conceive
6V Unchanging üV Zoroastrianism gradually emerged as the official religion of
6V |he Creator of life ancient Iran during the Êchaemenid dynasty, which ruled
6V |he Source of all goodness and happiness from about 550 bc to 330 bc. Inscriptions from the reign of
Darius I, from 522 bc to 486 bc, are full of the praise of
Ñ Ñ  
  Êhura ?azda.

üV Darius stressed truthfulness and seems to have regarded

üV Zoroastrianism believes that life is a constant battle
the lie as a worldwide evil force.
between good and evil.
üV Later, the  
officially approved the worship of
- Wherein a person afterlife is determined by the balance
other Iranian divinities as part of Zoroastrianism.
of the good and evil deeds, words, and thoughts of the
whole life.
üV Ñ    - In the 6th century bc Cyrus the Great
established the Persian Empire as the most powerful state
üV 
  
 - Future life should be determined by the
in the world.
balance of the good and evil deeds, words, and thoughts
of the whole life.
üV 650?
Ñ
 

üV Zoroastrian Parsis Flee to India
üV With cosmic dualism we have life and death, day and
üV Followers of Zoroastrianism, known as Parsis (Persiansa,
night, good and evil. One cannot be understood without
flee Persia (Irana following its invasion by ?uslim armies.
the other. Life is a mixture of these two opposing forces. Islam replaces Zoroastrianism as the predominant religion
of the country.

ÑÑ 
üV When the ?acedonian Seleucids ruled parts of western
Zoroastrians regard fire as a pure creation, and thus fire became the
Iran, from 312 bc to 175 bc, a merging occurred in the
symbol of Zoroastrianism much as the cross is the symbol of
worship of Greek and Zoroastrian divinitiesͶfor example,
Christianity.
Zeus with Êhura ?azda and Êphrodite with Ênahita.
?any Zoroastrian rites take place within fire temples. Ê holy fire is
üV By the time of the  
 , from ad 224 to 651,
kept constantly burning in an altar at each of the major fire temples
Zoroastrianism had become the popular religion among
in India and in Iran.
most groups in Iran and Central Êsia and was practiced
Smaller temples are located in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United States, from the ?iddle East to the western border of China.
Canada, and elsewhere. |hose smaller temples do not maintain holy
üV Êrab ?uslims conquered Iran and Central Êsia during the
fires, but a fire is usually lit in an altar before the performance of
7th century ad. Over the next six centuries most
acts of worship.
Zoroastrians converted to Islam.
üV Priests called  or  
oversee Zoroastrian rites.
üV Others migrated; some went to China where the
|he magi originally formed a priestly clan among the
community eventually died out, while others moved to the
?edes, an ancient Iranian tribe. |he magi adopted
west coast of India where they became known as Parsis
Zoroastrianism after the religion spread widely among the
(Persiansa.
ancient Iranians.
üV Zoroastrians who moved to India in the 10th century, on
üV |he magi entered Christian belief as the wise men from
the other hand, prospered in a variety of professions,
the East who journeyed to Bethlehem after the birth of
especially during the colonial era of British rule.
Jesus.
üV |he x

c
 

 developed into an urbanized middle
üV |oday, the office of priest passes from father to son. Ê son
class, adopted Western education and customs, and
who inherits the priesthood begins studying Zoroastrian
played a central role in the creation of India͛s modern
liturgies and rituals in childhood. Ê two-stage ceremonial
industrial infrastructure.
initiation, based on the degree of training undergone as a
practicing priest follows, usually by early adulthood.
üV Zoroastrians who continued to reside in Islamic Iran had to
endure periodic persecutions and pay a special tax to

?uslim authorities until 1854, when Zoroastrians from
 India convinced the Qajar dynasty of Iran to abolish the
religious tax.