Holy book of zoroaster definition

Zoroaster is to be classed with such great religious leaders as buddha and. Zarathustra, also spelled zarathushtra, greek zoroaster, born traditionally c. About the formation of sixteen perfect places specially enumerated, and also the. Zoroastrianism definition of zoroastrianism by merriam. Zoroastrianism definition and meaning collins english. From these hymns, we know that zoroasters father was pourusaspa and his mother was dughdova. The extant avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently zoroasters transformation of a very ancient tradition. Apr 25, 2017 the avesta is the holy book of the zoroastrians, and contains the religions sacred scriptures. Avesta is a repository of oral texts, transmitted orally in fixed linguistic form until it was written down. The videvdad or vendidad is an ancient collection of zoroastrian myths, prayers, and religious observances, intended to defend against sources of infection and evil. Zoroasterzarathustra c 550523 bce was a prophet and spiritual teacher who founded the religion of zoroastrianism.

Eirciv 102a, spring 2005 1 february 1, 2007 yasna 0. Who was zoroaster and how did he gain religious followers. Avesta, the bible of zoroaster wikisource, the free online library. March 21 nawruz zoroastrians reading their holy book, or avesta, during a nowruz ceremony held at the rostam bagh fire temple in tehran, iran. It is generally accepted that they contain the original teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathustra, who lived in the first half. Zoroastrian holidays and festivals learn religions.

Zoroaster synonyms, zoroaster pronunciation, zoroaster translation, english dictionary definition of zoroaster. First taught among nomads on the asian steppes, zoroastrianism. Particular attention is given to disposal of the dead and other dead matter nasu, to keep disease from spreading, as well as avoid polluting the earth, water, etc. This work of antiquity, dating back some centuries before the christian era, still forms, with the supplementary writings in the pahlavi or middle persian language, the scriptures of the modern parsis in india, and of some scattered bands in yezd and kirman, the surviving remnants of the faith of. Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions. Zoroaster definition of zoroaster by the free dictionary. These are seventeen hymns considered to have been composed by zoroaster himself. Arguably the worlds first monotheistic faith, its one of the oldest religions still in. The zoroastrian book of holy scriptures is called the avesta. Vendidad videvdad or laws against the demons avesta the. It is a multitendency faith centered on a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate conquest of evil with theological elements of henotheism, monotheism monism, and polytheism. Zoroaster was a religious reformer teaching a monotheistic religion based on choosing between light and darkness truth and falsehood. Vohu manah led zoroaster to the presence of ahura mazda god and five other radiant beings, which are called the amesha spentas holy immortals.

History of zoroastrianism book global history blog. It is based on the concept of a continuous struggle between ormazd or ahura mazda, the god of creation, light, and goodness, and his arch enemy, ahriman, the spirit of evil and darkness, and it includes a highly developed ethical code. Apr 03, 2016 it is hardly more than a century ago that the western world, already often enriched by the treasures of the east, received another gift, a contribution from persia, and a new text deciphered was added to our list of sacred books of ancient nations this was the avesta, or zendavesta, the bible and prayer book of zoroaster, the prophet of ancient iran. The founder of the religion was a man named zoroaster, who is viewed as a prophetic figure by adherents. The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills and the plains are not these, o soul, the vision of him who reigns. Zoroaster was a member of the spitamid family, and was a priest. Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have originated as early as 4,000 years ago. The prophet zoroaster zarathrustra in ancient persian is regarded as the founder of zoroastrianism, which is arguably the worlds oldest monotheistic faith. Parseeism, parsiism the faith of a zoroastrian sect in india type of. Iranian prophet and religious reformer zarathustra flourished before the 6th century bce. Zoroaster article about zoroaster by the free dictionary. He is said to have used holy water, prayers, and other ritual practices in his work which may have included performing exorcisms.

Zarathustra started to preach that there was a supreme god, the wise lord ahuramazda, who had created the world, mankind and all good things in it through his holy spirit, spenta mainyu. Jun 20, 2017 other holidays are dedicated to particular spirits or mark historic events, notably the death of their founder, zoroaster. Zoroastrianism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet zoroaster zarathushtra. Like moses who is thought to have lived between 1600 and 1200 bce, there is virtually no corroborative historical evidence for his life outside the religious writings. To the biblical student, the avesta and the religion of zoroaster have more than. Jan 07, 2020 the zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith.

Zoroastrianism is also dualistic, meaning it focuses on a twofold nature of the world good and evil or heaven and hell, for example. Zoroaster appears in the bahai faith as a manifestation of god, one of a line of prophets who have progressively revealed the word of god to a gradually maturing humanity. This page provides an overview of zoroastrian beliefs, which can be summed. In ancient times, the modern country of iran was known as persia. The book of zoroaster or the zartusht namah by zartusht.

I now feel armed with enough knowledge to try a reading of the avesta, the sacred zoroaster texts. The holy book of zoroastrianism is known as the avesta. Avesta, sacred book of zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of. Avesta is the name the mazdean mazdayasnian religious tradition gives to the collection of its sacred texts. May 30, 2016 and the philosophy of the parsi religion by s. The zend avesta is the main texts used in the zoroastrian faith. Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have originated as early as. It is a multitendency faith centered on a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate conquest of evil with theological elements of henotheism, monotheismmonism, and polytheism. These doctrines were to become familiar articles of faith to much of mankind, through borrowings by judaism, christianity and islam. It may fairly be said that the sacred books of no other people, outside the light of the. The gathas are abstract sacred poetry, directed towards the worship of the one god, understanding of righteousness and. Zoroaster was born in northeast iran, close to the border of modern day afghanistan old persian empire. Zoroastrianism definition of zoroastrianism by merriamwebster.

These many different texts are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they were written down in the 3rd century. The vendidad contains particulars of ohrmazd having produced the pleasure of mankind by that place where they specially made a residence, and the advantage from the same production. Their religious beliefs and practices this book, now reissued with a new introduction by mary boyce, is the first attempt to trace the continuous history of the faith from the time it was preached by zoroaster down to the present daya span of about 3,500 years. The vendidad, for example, according to tradition, is one of the surviving. The beliefs of zoroastrianism were spread across asia via the silk road. Zoroastrianism the phenomenon of death, or nonlife as it is called in the zoroastrian holy scripture the gathas, is a concept accompanying the advent of creation. Zoroastrianism, in spite of its small current number of adherents, has played a huge role in the study of comparative religion. Have you ever wondered when popular religions started to develop. Zoroastrianism article about zoroastrianism by the free. What is the name of the holy book of zoroastrianism.

The literature appears to designate the period and condition of the church. The rest of the universe was created by six other spirits, the amesha spentas holy immortals. The religious philosophy of zoroaster divided the early iranian gods of the protoindoiranian tradition into ahuras. This is the oldest portion of the avesta and descends directly from the prophet and his disciples. This includes the original words of their founder zarathushtra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the gathas. The zorastrian holy book is called the avesta and it is a compilation of all zoroastrian prayers, which were composed over several centuries, some dating back to more than 3500 years. The 9th century came to define the great number of zoroastrian texts that were composed or rewritten during the. Zoroaster started out as a priest named zarathustra, who criticized many bronze age religious practices, such as animal sacrifice. Other holidays are dedicated to particular spirits or mark historic events, notably the death of their founder, zoroaster. The teachings of zoroaster, and the philosophy of the parsi religion shapurji. According to the faith, at the age of 30, zoroaster had a divine vision of a shining spirit who taught the prophet about ahura mazda and the other divine spirits. The founder of zoroastrianism was zoroaster, who lived in eastern ancient iran around bc. At the dawn of creation, twin primal spirits manifested themselves.

It is hardly more than a century ago that the western world, already often enriched by the treasures of the east, received another gift, a contribution from persia, and a new text deciphered was added to our list of sacred books of ancient nations this was the avesta, or zendavesta, the bible and prayer book of zoroaster, the prophet of ancient iran. The whole book is relatively short, and i managed to skim read it in a few hours. The avesta the zoroastrian book of holy scriptures. Not only was it a cohort of the ancient vedic hinduism, but also had a huge influence on the development of judaism and christianity.

The latter represent the basic source of the religion. The prophetic record of human destiny and evolution. According to a legend preserved in the book of arda viraf, a 3rd or 4th century work, a written version of the zend avesta had existed in the. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata, and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation, etc. A dakhma remains in operation near mumbai, india, for example. These are easy to understand and written in simple english. Zoroastrian speculative philosophyspenta mainyus creative spirit and angro mainyus destructive spirittheir incessant conflict in the state of nature. According to the holy book of the magi, zoroaster was born in eastern iran and lived from about 660 bce to 583 bce. The gathas, the most ancient, describe zoroasters followers often as depressed and endangered.

Zoroaster was thus the first to teach the doctrines of an individual judgment, heaven and hell, the future resurrection of the body, the general last judgment, and life everlasting for the reunited soul and body. Zoroaster thus shares an exalted station with abraham, moses, krishna, jesus, muhammad, the bab, and the founder of the bahai faith, bahaullah. It is hardly more than a century ago that the western world, already often enriched by the treasures of the east, received another gift, a contribution from persia, and a new text deci phered was added to our list of sacred books of ancient nations this was the avesta, or zendavesta, the bible and prayer book of zoroaster, the prophet of. The second half of the book is important quotes from the sacred texts. The yasts and vendidad are said to compose the younger avesta. Zendavesta literally means interpretation of the avesta. Religious texts are to be found in the avesta, which is the holy book of zoroastrianism. Avesta, the bible of zoroaster wikisource, the free online. Zoroastrianism is a religion the holy book of zoroastrianism is the zend avesta. Vendidad videvdad or laws against the demons avesta. The teachings of zoroaster, and the philosophy of the parsi. Other names for zoroastrianism are mazdaism and parsiism. The article iran contains a description of the geography and economy of the modern country and a short account of its history since the arab invasion of the 7th cent. It is composed in the avestan language and it is only known and attested because of that.