Ask Us About Zoroastrianism

[Rival]

Stance on gay marriage, stem cell research, abortion, evolution and separation of church and state?

What is you holy day? How many holidays?

Gay marriage: individual choice, though most Asian Zoroastrian are against it actively.
SCR: Individual choice.
Abortion: Individual choice, though it is said we are all created by Ahuramazda...
Evolution: Still not sure, seems to be choice as Zarathustra stressed 'rationality', though there is a creation myth as have most Faiths.
Separation of Church and State: Um, allowed? As far as I know there is no problem with this. It is a rational idea.

Commonly:
Naw-Ruz: the New Year, mentioned in Scripture.
Yalda: The Winter solstice, when the days become longer.
Zarathust No Diso: Death of the Prophet. Dec. 26th.

 

[Rival]

I believed that many Zoroastrians believed Ahriman to be a physical, bona fide opponent of Ahura Mazda -- often as the evil... 'twin brother', almost, equal in power, and so there would be some kind of war between the two.

Is this just a subset of some Zoroastrians, or something?

The Twins myth is from Zurvanite Zoroastrianism:

Zurvanism was a branch of Zoroastrianism that sought to resolve the dilemma of the "twin spirits" of Yasna 30.3. The resolution, which probably developed out of the contact with Chaldea, was to have both Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu as twin sons of the First Principle "Time" (Avestan: Zurvan). Zurvanism was strongly criticized as a heresy during the Sassanid period (225-651) of Iranian history, an era in which it probably also had its largest following. Although the monist doctrine is not attested after the 10th century, some Zurvanite features are nonetheless still evident in present-day Zoroastrianism.


Zurvanism's principal feature is then the notion that both Ahura Mazda (MP: Ohrmuzd) and Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) were twin brothers, with the former being the epitome of good and the latter being the epitome of evil. Further, this dichotomy was by choice, that is, Angra Mainyu chose to be evil: "It is not that I cannot create anything good, but that I will not." And to prove this, he created the peacock.

 

[MD]

Wow great work Rival .


As someone who's half Parsi and half Iranian I have nothing against homosexuality and I find that some of the misogyny and homophobia present in Zoroastrianism is not influenced by the Gathas but by pre gathic indo iranian ideas. Freddie Mercury was a Parsi and he's greatly celebrated in the community there. Also the first man was actually a hermaphrodite in Zoroastrian myth, by the name of Gayomard (although it usually has a masculine connotation).

 

[MD]

1. Do Zoroastrians have any special dietary rules?
e.g. like Buddhist are often vegetarians because of the commitment to non-violence, Muslims on not eating Pork, etc.

2. What is Zoroastrianism position on violence? Are you pacifists or do you have certain sects which are?

3. Any generic views on sex and sexual orientation?

4. Do Zoroastrians view Atheism as sinful (as happens in Fundamentalist interpretations of the Abrahamic traditions)?

The main part of being a Zoroastrian is to do good and assist Ahura Mazda in every way possible. That being said there are different sects and different people have different beliefs. For the greater good is pretty much how I look at things and I can see why some (very few) wars can be justified. But generally Zoroastrians are pacifists, especially the Parsis. Some Parsis don't eat beef but Zoroastrians in general have no dietary restrictions. I tend not to eat mammals because I view them as having higher cognitive functions. I addressed sexual orientation earlier.

Atheism is irrelevant to Zoroastrians because in the end if an Atheist is doing good, and practicing good he is more of a Zoroastrian than a Zoroastrian priest who's being evil or doing wrong.

And like everything there are also cultural influences from the dominant religions. The no eating beef thing is practiced by some Parsis because of Indian influence. I tend to think like tribal leader at times due to Islamic cultural influence and due to the fact that my fathers side comes from a small mountainous Zoroastrian tribe which held out for centuries against Islamic invasions.

 

[MD]

Are Zoroastrian beliefs the correct beliefs, and all others thus incorrect?

Zoroastrian beliefs are in my opinion simply a continuation of the belief that good must triumph over evil. I have remained a Zoroastrian because I am a monotheist and I do believe that there are two diametrically opposed forces which have existed since the beginning of time, good or order and evil or chaos.

 

[Sariel]

-If one wants to seriously study Zoroastrianism, where do you begin?
-Some may object to dualism by saying evil is merely a perversion of the good, and not an independent force. How would a Mazdian respond to that idea?

 

[MD]

-If one wants to seriously study Zoroastrianism, where do you begin?
-Some may object to dualism by saying evil is merely a perversion of the good, and not an independent force. How would a Mazdian respond to that idea?

The gathas are a good place to begin.

The way a Mazdaian would response is 'What created that perversion in that first place'?

 

[Sees]

I'm just glad our small Zoroastrian group is growing and like reading the responses...will think of some good questions

 

[MD]

@InquisitiveScholar is another Zoroastrian on this board as well, I'm sure his input would be welcome in this thread

 

[ShivaFan]

Is there any, even if remote, connections between the Parsees in India who I have seen leave a dead body out open in a elevated platform or open roof chamber to be eaten by vultures, and origins of this practice distantly linked to Zoroastrianism? I heard this as told to me but not sure if there is any connection at all.

Love Zoroastrians by the way.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Great thread. Zoroastrianism is of interest to me, so I'll be following this discussion. I respect your religion. It upholds honor and that's important to me.

To @Rival: what led to become a Zoroastrian, out of curiosity? How were you introduced to it?

 

[Rival]

Is there any, even if remote, connections between the Parsees in India who I have seen leave a dead body out open in a elevated platform or open roof chamber to be eaten by vultures, and origins of this practice distantly linked to Zoroastrianism? I heard this as told to me but not sure if there is any connection at all.

Love Zoroastrians by the way.

Yes, this is a Zoroastrian practice. It is in the Avesta.

 

[Rival]

Great thread. Zoroastrianism is of interest to me, so I'll be following this discussion. I respect your religion. It upholds honor and that's important to me.

To @Rival: what led to become a Zoroastrian, out of curiosity? How were you introduced to it?

I had known about it for a long while before I seriously began to consider it. It was when I was given a book for Christmas that I really started looking into it. It is "The Great Transformation" by Karen Armstrong and is all about the development of Religions in the Axial Age. It described Zarathustra and his reforms briefly before diverging on to Hinduism and saying no more on the subject. So I decided to research it for myself. At this point I was still a Torah-following, Kashrut-eating Messianic. I was always open to new information though, so I felt very comfortable reading about other Religions older than my own.

Something about Zarathustra and his God Ahuramazda stuck with me and I couldn't get it out of my head. This God seemed far more Good than Yahweh and didn't demand any stringent rule-following from his devotees. It seemed like a purer from of the Faith I was already following, but without the Bible and all the dubious things therein. The idea 'Does God Exist' didn't occur to me because I'd already come to the conclusion that something God-like does exist and I was perfectly happy with that. So I started researching the Religion more and it struck a chord with me, despite my attempts to resist and follow my God, Yahweh and his Messiah, Yeshua. (I still have a soft spot for Yeshua).

It was useless and so I decided to "give it a go". Dropping the Torah made me sad and I still eat Kosher. However, it felt good not to have to defend things like killing someone for not keeping Shabbat, or making a female marry the man who forced himself on her &c. At the same time I was also attracted to Vaisnava Hinduism (and as my Hindu friends may know, bought the Srimad Bhagavatam).

This Faith just seemed right. It resonated with me and the mantra "Good Thoughts Good Words, Good Deeds" seemed a damn sight better than "An eye for an eye". I am still learning and opened this thread just as much for my benefit as yours, so I could learn as I went.

I sided with the Ahuras over the Daevas you guys, so shoot me

(Or maybe, Asuras and Devas? )

 

[ShivaFan]

Thank you, Rival. Then it is true!

 

[Ouroboros]

@shahz and I are willing to answer any questions you may have about our Religion.

First I must say, I'm very excited that there are Zoroastrians in our midst. I've had many questions about Zoroastrianism in the past, but I can't remember what they were at the moment. When I do, I will for sure ask here, unless someone else already asked.

 

[Rival]

From "The Great Transformation" by Karen Armstrong, page 11:

"But in his passionately ethical vision, Zoroaster did look forward to the Axial age. He tried to introduce some morality into the new warrior ethos. True heroes did not terrorise their fellow creatures but tried to counter aggression. The Holy Warrior was dedicated to peace; those who opted to fight for Lord Mazda were patient, disciplined, courageous and swift to defend all good creatures from the assaults of the wicked. Ashavans, the champions of order (Asha), must imitate the Holy Immortals in their care for the environment.

"Good Purpose" [Vohu Manah], for instance, who had appeared to Zoroaster on the riverbank, was the guardian of the cow, and ashavans must follow his example, not that of the raiders, who drove the cattle from their pastures, harnessed them to carts, killed, and ate them without the proper ritual. "Good Dominion" the personification of Divine Justice, was the protector of the stone Sky, so ashavans must use their stone weapons only to defend the poor and the weak. When Zoroastrians protected vulnerable people, looked after their cattle tenderly, and purified their natural environments, they became one with the Immortals and joined their struggle against the Hostile Spirit [Angra Mainyu]. "

 

[Jumi]

I don't have a question right now, but the Tower of Silence like the Sky Burial is a beautiful practice, I always thought burial coffins were terrible. Cremation and vultures seems more like "you're free now" instead of boxed in like many people in life.

 

[Rival]

I don't have a question right now, but the Tower of Silence like the Sky Burial is a beautiful practice, I always thought burial coffins were terrible. Cremation and vultures seems more like "you're free now" instead of boxed in like many people in life.

Cremation is not allowed in Mazdaism

 

[MD]

Is there any, even if remote, connections between the Parsees in India who I have seen leave a dead body out open in a elevated platform or open roof chamber to be eaten by vultures, and origins of this practice distantly linked to Zoroastrianism? I heard this as told to me but not sure if there is any connection at all.

Love Zoroastrians by the way.

There are a lot of ancient Central Asian cultures which practice open burials. The Tibetans have their own form where they literally have people carve bodies for vultures. As do some Mongols. It probably makes sense that other Central Asian people practiced this as well and have stopped now because they are mostly Islamic. Probably is an Indo European thing.

It's about purity and such, but personally I plan on being buried

 

[MD]

If it's kosher to be an atheist, then wouldn't it just make more sense to not risk making religious mistakes, and being an atheist?
This is interesting, because the Catholic church also recently stated that it's not a problem if one is an atheist.
What's your perspective on that idea, that it's just more logical to be an atheist, because then you aren't concerned with other religious aspects that might become problems?

Logic isn't the only way we experience life, in fact meaning and emotions are beyond logic.

As long as you're doing good and helping the force of good, you are being a good Zoroastrian. That's why many Parsis I know who are atheist still call themselves Zoroastrian because they philosophically agree with the teachings.