Zoroastrianism

03Nov09

   Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest faiths of established human civilizations. It is an Indo-Iranian religious system that contains both a supreme being who is all good and an evil demon figure. There are also specific rituals, such as that of the erection of towers where the dead are removed to. There were three rings to the towers, an outer one for men, a middle one for women’s corpses, and a third inner ring for children. In religious systems there is often a practical reason for ritual beliefs. The idea that a demon called Avestan would immediate pollute bodies after they died, and hence the dead had to be placed away from human civilization, makes sense from both a hygienic and symbolic perspective. It allows people to have ways to mourn and deal with dying through a year long process where the natural decay of bodies allows for a symbolic return to nature.

     Early religions would have developed their concepts based on values relating to the environment and human technological capability to master nature. Religions always seem to be about man’s relationship to the natural world, interpersonal ways to organize community, and connected to hopes and fears. When one society encounters or discovers the ideas of another,  a degree of interweaving of concepts is  understandable, as well as the discrimination and suppression of religious ideas by more powerful military or political civilizations in case of war or conquest. Zoroastrianism was as much a syncretic religion as Buddhism or Islam or Judeo-Christianity, but is less important today than the three monotheistic faiths, due to number of adherents

      In Zoroastrianism the good deity, Ahura Mazda, not only creates the world but also needs people to think about him and worship him in order for the universe to be in balance.  In addition, individual lives need to be lived in harmony with the principle of good he represents. The evil deity is called druj and is an ever-present negative force in the cosmology. In this religion there are many lesser deities aligned on either the good or evil side.  One of the most interesting ideas is a final judgment day. All the dead return to the presence of the good. This transformation comes at the end of time and is ushered in by the appearance of a saviour.

      Like other monotheistic traditions, a prophet —  in this case Zoroaster — brings the message of the religion to the world, just as Mohammad in Islam or Moses in  Jewish religion. Ancient Greeks knew about Zoroaster through trade and war with Persia, and Roman society’s dominant pantheism was replaced by the Christian religion when the Roman Empire collapsed. Ideas from Zoroastrianism seem to be part of Christianity, such as the saviour, Jesus, but in a different form or name. This shows us not only universal ideas of God and spiritual beliefs exist in human societies, but that the  importance of religion lies in how it shapes and give meaning to man in his social communities.

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