Zoroaster profile picture

Zoroaster

I am here for Friends

About Me

for more: visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahura_Mazda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroaster
Zoroaster was an ancient Iranian prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism, a religion that was the national religion of the Sassanian Empire of Persia; it is predominantly practiced today by the Parsi community of India.Zoroaster is generally accepted as an authentic historical figure, but the period in which he lived remains unclear. Many scholarly estimates place him circa 1200 B.C., making him a candidate to be the founder of the earliest religion based on revealed scripture, while others place him anywhere between the 18th and the 6th centuries B.C.Possible dates of existenceEstimates for the lifetime of Zoroaster vary widely, depending upon the sources used.Mythological evidenceZoroaster was famous in classical antiquity as the founder of the religion of the Magi. His name is mentioned by Xanthus, Plutarch, Pliny the Elder, Diogenes Laertius, and by Plato in the Alcibiades. Ancient Greek estimates are dependent upon Persian mythology, and give dates as early as the 7th millennium B.C., which are the dates to which Parsis subscribe.Persian mythology, primarily the Shahnama of Ferdowsi, and oral tradition place Zoroaster quite early. Manly Palmer Hall, in his book Twelve World Teachers, arrives at a rough estimate ranging from 10000 B.C. to 1000 B.C..From Greek accounts, it can be assumed that Zoroaster lived in the northeastern area of ancient Persian territory. The Greeks refer to him as Bactrian, because the area where Afghanistan now lies is where he preached his religion. These texts include many rote details of his life, such as a record of his family members: His father was Pourushaspa Spitama, son of Haecadaspa Spitama, and his mother was Dughdova. He and his wife Hvovi had three daughters, Freni, Pourucista, and Triti; and three sons, Isat Vastar, Uruvat-Nara, and Hvare Ci?ra. Zoroaster’s great-grandfather Haecataspa was the ancestor of the whole family Spitama, for which reason Zoroaster usually bears the surname Spitama. His wife and children, and a cousin named Maidhyoimangha, were his first converts after his illumination from Ahura Mazda at age 30.Plutarch, drawing partly on Theopompus, speaks of Zoroastrianism in Isis and Osiris: In this work, he is a mortal, empowered by trust in his god and the protection of his allies. He faces outward opposition and unbelief, and inward doubt.

My Interests

Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). Mazdaism is the religion that acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of all (God).

As demonstrated by Zoroastrian creed and articles of faith, the two terms are effectively synonymous. In a declaration of the creed — the Fravarane — the adherent states: "…I profess myself a devotee of Mazda, a follower of Zarathustra." (Yasna 12.2, 12.8)

Zoroastrianism was the first of the revealed monotheisms. It profoundly influenced Judaism and, in turn, Christianity and Islam (Boyce, 1979). Fundamental religious concepts, such as the Resurrection, appeared first in Zoroastrianism (King, 1887). In its native Iran, Zoroastrianism was largely displaced by Islam in the 7th century. Today it survives as a small worldwide religion with its largest center in India.

Basic beliefs

* The transcendental and universal God Ahura Mazda, the one uncreated Creator and to whom all worship is directed. * That creation is attacked by violence and destruction. The resulting conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict. Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail, at which point time will end.

* Not of Zarathushtra's original teachings, but nonetheless accepted by some as doctrine, are: o Evil is represented by Angra Mainyu (literally 'destructive spirit'). o After death, the soul is allowed three days to meditate on his/her past life. If the good thoughts, words and deeds outweigh the bad, then the soul is taken into heaven. Otherwise, the soul is led to hell. o The universe will go through three eras: 1. creation; 2. the present world where creation is under attack. 3. a final state when Ahura Mazda will prevail, all the universe will revert to its pure state and the occupants of hell will be released. o the Ahuna Vairya ( "the principle of choice" ), an important prayer, illustrates that- 1. righteousness, is the will of the Lord ( Mazda ) 2. the importance of sacrificing for Mazda 3. the importance of charity 4. overall, Humata ( good thoughts ), Hukhta ( good words ), Hvarshta ( good deeds ) o Five precepts include: 1. equality of all people 2. respect, kindness to all living things 3. the role of nature 4. the values of hard work, charity 5. loyalty, faithfulness to family, country

I'd like to meet:

who is positively intested.

• this site is created and runned byFrantiki

Books:

The Avesta is the collection of the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism. Although some of the texts are very old, the compendium as we know it today is essentially the result of a redaction that is thought to have occurred during the reign of Shapur II (309-379 CE). However, important sections of the text have been lost since then, especially after the fall of the Persian empire, after which Zoroastrianism was supplanted by Islam. The oldest existing copy of the texts dates to 1288 CE.
The most ancient of the texts of the Avesta are in an old or Gathic Avestan language and are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they found written form. Later texts date from between the 8th century BCE to the Achaemenid period (648–330 BCE) and are in Original Young Avestan and Artificial Young Avestan respectively. In existing copies of the text, the Avestan language words are written in Din dabireh script, a Sassanid era (226-651 CE) invention.The contents of the Avesta are generally divided into five categories. The divisions are topical and are by no means fixed or canonical. Some scholars prefer to place the five categories in two groups, one liturgical and the other general.
* The Yasna, the primary liturgical collection and comprising of 72 chapters: Yasna 1 to Yasna 72; includes the Gathas, (yasnas 28 to 34, the Ahunavaity Gatha; yasnas 43 to 46, the Ushtavaity Gatha; yasnas 47 to 50, the Spenta Mainyu Gatha; yasna 51, the Vohuxsathra Gatha; and yasna 53, the Vahishta Isti Gatha), which are thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. * The Visparad, a collection of supplements to the Yasna. * The Yashts, hymns in honor of the divinities of Zoroastrian angelology. * The Vendidad, describes the various forms of evil spirits and ways to confound them. * shorter texts and prayers, the five nyaishes "worship, praise", the siroze "thirty days" (see Zoroastrian calendar) and the afringans "blessings".
Secondary worksThe texts of the Avesta are complemented by several secondary works of religious or semi-religious nature, which although not sacred and not used as scripture, have a significant influence on Zoroastrian doctrine.* The Denkard "Acts of Religion" in Middle Persian * The Bundahishn "Original Creation" in Middle Persian * The Menog-i Khirad "Spirit of Wisdom" in Middle Persian * The Arda Wiraf Namag "The Book of Arda Viraf" in Middle Persian * The Zartoshtname "Book of Zoroaster" in Modern Persian * The Saddar "Hundred Doors or Chapters" in Modern Persian * The Rivayats or traditional treatises in Modern PersianSome of these works quote passages that are believed to be from lost sections of the Avesta.
Other texts
Two other collections of texts are considered a part of the Zoroastrian literary canon. These were intended for general use by the laity:* The Khordeh Avesta, a collection of everyday prayers from the Avesta.The prayers of the Khorda Avesta are in Avestan, which continues to be the Zoroastrian language of prayer even today. The most sacred of these prayers is the Ahuna Vairya (also known as the yatha ahu vairyo), which has been interpreted to be the summation of the belief in Ahura Mazda, "the seed of seeds of the reckoning of the religion." (Denkard 8.45.1)* Zend (lit: commentaries) fragments.The use of the expression Zend-Avesta to refer to the Avesta, or the use of Zend as the name of a language or script, are relatively recent and popular mistakes. The word Zend or Zand, meaning "commentary, translation", refers to late middle Persian and Pazend language supplementaries in Pahlavi script. These commentaries from the early Sassanid era were not intended for use as theological texts by themselves but for religious instruction of the (by then) non-Avestan-speaking public. In contrast, the texts of the Avesta proper remained sacrosanct and continued to be recited in Avestan - which was considered a sacred language. In a general sense, the secondary texts mentioned above are also included in the Zend rubric since they too often include commentaries on the Avesta and on the religion.

Heroes:

Ahura Mazda is the beginning and the end, the creator of everything which can and cannot be seen, the Eternal, the Pure and the only Truth. In the Gathas, the most sacred texts of Zoroastrianism and thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, the prophet acknowledged devotion to no other divinity besides Ahura Mazda.Daena should not be confused with the fundamental principle asha (Vedic rta), the equitable law of the universe, which governed the life of the ancient Indo-Iranians. For these, asha was the course of everything observable, the motion of the planets and astral bodies, the progression of the seasons, the pattern of daily nomadic herdsman life, governed by regular metronomic events such as sunrise and sunset. All physical creation (geti) was thus determined to run according to a master plan - inherent to Ahura Mazda - and violations of the order (druj) were violations against creation, and thus violations against Ahura Mazda. This concept of asha versus the druj should not be confused with the good-versus-evil battle evident in western religions, for although both forms of opposition express moral conflict, the asha versus druj concept is more subtle and nuanced, representing, for instance, chaos (that opposes order); or 'uncreation', evident as natural decay (that opposes creation); or more simply 'the lie' (that opposes truth, righteousness). Moreover, in His role as the one uncreated Creator of all, Ahura Mazda is not the creator of 'druj' which is 'nothing', anti-creation, and thus (likewise) uncreated. Thus, in Zoroaster's revelation, Ahura Mazda was perceived to be the creator of only the good (Yasna 31.4), the "supreme benevolent providence" (Yasna 43.11), that will ultimately triumph (Yasna 48.1)In this schema of asha versus druj, mortal beings (humans and animals both) play a critical role, for they too are created. Here, in their lives, they are active participants in the conflict and it is their duty to defend order, which would decay without counteraction. Throughout the Gathas, Zoroaster emphasizes deeds and actions; and accordingly asceticism is frowned upon in Zoroastrianism. In later Zoroastrianism, this was explained as fleeing from the experiences of life, which was the very purpose that the urvan (most commonly translated as the 'soul') was sent into the mortal world to collect. The avoidance of any aspect of life, which includes the avoidance of the pleasures of life, is a shirking of the responsibility and duty to oneself, one's urvan, and one's family and social obligations.Thus, central to Zoroastrianism is the emphasis on moral choice, to choose between the responsibility and duty for which one is in the mortal world, or to give up this duty and so facilitate the work of druj. Similarly, predestination is rejected in Zoroastrian teaching. Humans bear responsibility for all situations they are in, and in the way they act to one another. Reward, punishment, happiness and grief all depend on how individuals live their life.Daena (din in modern Persian) is the eternal Law, whose order was revealed to humanity through the Mathra-Spenta 'Holy Words'. Daena has been used to mean religion, faith, law, even as a translation for the Hindu and Buddhist term Dharma, religious duty, but which can also mean social order, right conduct, or simply virtue. The metaphor of the 'path' of Daena is represented in Zoroastrianism by the muslin undershirt Sudra, the 'Good/Holy Path', and the 72-thread Kusti girdle, the 'Pathfinder'.
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4