Zoroasrer

asks God in
Hormazd Yeshr: 'How and when will I recognize
you, my God?' and the Spirit of God entered his mind
and the answer was revealed unto Zoroaster: "I am in
everything and everywhere. If the smallest seed is broken
and there seems nothing, remember I am in thar seed
and the very essence which seems nothing is Me. If you
call on Me from anywhere I will be or your service from
wherever I am and through any aspect of Mine, for the
moment you think of Me I am rhine. I do not mind how
you worship Me for I am in everything and everywhere.
Only remember, I am fundamentally and essentially Truth
and I am parr of your conscience. If you remember this
you will learn, rhar ro be really good you have to be
better than good, better than better, really the Best in
everything you do or think or speak"
Gook K.S. Shavakshal

1. Zoroosmion Credo, N.M Triporhi Lrd., Bombay, 1962, p. 231-232.

108 ZOROASTRIANISM

I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Parsis Today: A Living Faith

THERE ARE a little over 115,000 Par-

sis practicing today, most of whom live either in Bombay or in
towns and villages to the north of it. As their name indicates—Pars
being the ancient area of their origin—they are the descendants of
Persian ancestors. They, as well as 10,000 of their cousins in Iran,
make up most of the world-wide following that has remained loyal
to their God—Ahura-Mazda—and His prophet, Zoroaster (Zara-
thustra). In India, though not really a caste, they are a well-defined
community. They emigrated to India in the tenth century because
of persecution following the Arab conquest of Iran.
Parsis were of the first to open themselves to European
influence under the British rule, and this was one reason they
prospered. Yet ironically, they remain a closed community: neither
do they marry outside of their faith nor do they seek to spread their
customs and beliefs. They were farmers under a Hindu prince and
his Muslim successors, but with the advent of the British, with
whom they were the most cooperative, they moved swiftly into
commerce, earning them the title, the Jews of India. From the 2

middle of the nineteenth century on, whatever was established in

India in the way of shipbuilding, railroads, iron mills, etc. was
largely their work.
But their wealth and industry was not all for which they are
noted: they were distinguished in their charities and their educa-
tion, exemplified by the schools, orphanages and hospitals that
they founded without distinction of race or religion. They adopted
successfully as well British manners and costume, borrowed the
European tradition of education for women and abolished the
custom of infant marriages. Several Parsis were knighted by the
British Crown, two served as members of Parliament, and one
became a baronet. 3

2
Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, Zoroastrianism. Symbols and Values, Harper and
Row, N.Y., 1966, p. 2.
3
lbid, p. 2.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 109

What enabled the Parsis to excel in this way? An American

geographer, Elsworth Huntington of Yale, studying the general
effect of race and environment on the development of civilization,
cites the Parsees as typical of a community tried but fortified by
natural selection, which allows only the fittest to survive. It had
required some courage to escape Islam; then, in the course of the
exile in the mountains and the exodus to India, in successive stages
up to an installation which was at first precarious, the less valiant
among them had perished from the toils and hardships, diseases
and despair. Thus the small surviving band possessed latent ener-
gies only waiting for an opportunity to blossom forth. They can in
this respect be compared with the Pilgrims, those English Puritans
who, fleeing from religious persecution, went out to found what
was to become in two centuries the grandeur that is the United
States of America.' '4

Zoroaster the Man and Prophet

Our knowledge of Zoroaster is largely a matter of scholarly
conjecture. Like all ancient religious figures, his life is obscured
by the mist of miracle and mystery the devout use to express their
adoration for one who has given them the true faith. Everything
depends upon how much or how little credit is given to the
traditions handed down from the past and treasured by centuries of
followers. Because of conflicting textual remains we cannot be at
all sure when Zoroaster was born, or where, the nature of the
religious reform he attempted, his original teachings and how he
died. Parsis who continue to venerate him as the Prophet, like
western scholars, disagree amongst themselves on all these mat-
ters. A Parsi high priest in Karachi, wrote: "We know everything
of the life of Mohammed; we know something of the lives of
Buddha and Jesus; we know practically nothing of the life of
Zoroaster. " 5

According to Professor A. V. Williams Jackson of Columbia

University, Zoroaster lived during the middle of the 7th century

Ibid, pp. 2, 3.
Dastur, M.N. Dhalla, History of Zoroastrianism, N.Y., 1938, p. 310.
110 ZOROASTRIANISM

about the time the Jews were carried into Babylonian exile, nearly
300 years prior to Alexander the Great. This would put him in "the
axial period"—a time of religious and intellectual renaissance
throughout the ancient world, from Greece to China. Dr. E.W.
West dates Zoroaster's life quite specifically as 660-583 B.C. on
the basis of a careful study of the extant materials. Aristotle
thought the Persian prophet lived about 6000 B.C.'
Where Zoroaster came from is also a matter of debate. On the
basis of the material available to us, some experts claim he came
from western Iran while others are equally certain he was born in
the far eastern part of that country. Jackson argues that he was born
in Adarbaijan, west of Media—a region of naphtha wells and oil
fountains. If this be correct, then he spent time in the east as a
wandering holy man. For it was Iran to the east of the great central
desert that was the scene of the birth and first expansion of the
Zoroastrian religion. It was here too that the oldest sacred literature
was composed.
The third bone of contention involves the nature of Zarathus-
tra's work. Many non-Parsi scholars have preferred to interpret his
mission as that of a prophet of righteousness, a teacher who in the
name of ethical idealism opposed the degraded popular faith of
Persia. Others see him as a theological innovator, a spokesman for
one God or—to cite the opposite opinion—a champion of religious
dualism. Adding further complications, a few scholars explain that
Zarathustra's chief role was to provide an ideological defense of
the settled, peace-loving farmers against both marauding Aryan
nomads and an Iranian ruling class devoted to the love of warfare.
Or was he primarily a religious foe of the ancient Indo-Aryan
polytheism represented by the Brahmin priesthood and the Vedas?
At least one scholar sees Zoroaster as being very adept in ideologi-
cally manipulating the conceptions of the revered gods of Indian
and Iranian popular religion into Ahura-Mazda's camp, lining up
some to support him as subordinate beings, while discarding others
entirely.'

" A. V. Williams Jackson, Zoroaster, The Prophet of Ancient Iran, AMS Press, N.Y.,
1965, is the most readable biography in English.
Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, Ihid, p. 35.
 - MMMMIMMIN■

ZOROASTRIANISM

Whatever vocation best describes him, our sources stress the

fact that Zarathustra was gifted with mystic visions. If he were a
moralist, a social reformer, a theological innovator, he was primar-
ily a prophet and seer. At age thirty he had his first vision and
Ahura-Mazda, the supreme God of Parsi faith, appeared to him.
This was followed by six other visions which prompted his lifetime
work. In these, the six archangels of the later Zoroastrian creed
successively manifested themselves. From this point, the powers
of the upper world commissioned his prophetic ministry which
prompted their counterparts in the demonic world to no less clearly
signify their opposition—in one legend a she-devil Spendarmat
tried unsuccessfully to seduce him.
Zarathustra's first convert was his cousin—ten years after the
call to a prophetic life was issued. Then Zoroastrian fortunes took a
fateful turn: the Iranian King Vishtaspa and his court adopted the
new faith. The prophet now had his Constantine—a royal patron,
protector and propagandist. This alliance with the monarch of
Bactria in eastern Persia guaranteed the success of his mission. Nor
was this merger of church and crown a merely accidental event.
Since the prophet conceived of religion in martial terms, a war for
God against His Adversary, it was quite natural for him to rely on a
powerful secular ally.
Vishtaspa was converted, tradition asserts, because Zoroaster
was able to heal the ruler's favorite black horse. This incident
portrays another side of Zarathustra's career: his fame as a
wonder-worker like the earlier Moses and the later Jesus. When the
prophet first came to the royal court, he was opposed by the
priestly advisors to the king and finally cast into prison. Suddenly,
the royal horse was stricken with paralysis. Zarathustra promised
to restore the steed to perfect health if the king met certain condi-
tions. The king agreed. When the horse's right fore-leg was
healed, Vishtaspa accepted the Zoroastrian faith; when its right
hind-leg was restored, the king's warrior son had to become a
crusader for the new religion; the queen was converted as the third
leg was cured; and to climax his victory, the death of Zarathustra's
chief enemies at court was demanded, upon whose execution the
112 ZOROASTRIANISM

black horse jumped up and leaped about.

It is said that subsequently King Vishtaspa made four requests
of the prophet: to have an invulnerable body; a soul that will not
leave his body before the resurrection; knowledge of how he will
die and his place in Paradise; and the ability to predict the future.
Arguing that no single mortal can be the recipient of that many
boons, Zarathustra persuaded the king to limit his desire to a vision
of his place in Paradise.Three archangels thereupon appeared at
the palace, promising the monarch a long reign, an earthly life
covering 150 years and an immortal son, Peshyotan. An archangel
gave the king a drink from the fountain of life, made his son
immortal, bestowed invulnerability upon the prince to defend the
faith, and blessed the grand vizier with universal knowledge.
Though pious exaggerations most probably embellish this conver-
sion story, the main point—historically valid—is that the triumph
of the prophet had become assured.
For the last twenty years of his life the prophet was involved
in two holy wars on behalf of his faith and according to one account
he was killed by an assassin while tending the holy flame. Later
Arab chroniclers argued that Vishtaspa converted his people and
others with fire and sword. Whatever the means, the Zoroastrian
religion spread from Asia Minor to western India. All the way from
the Aegean to the Arabian Sea fire temples were erected to en-
shrine the sacred flame—the visible sign of Mazda's presence. In a
comparatively brief length of time the Zoroastrian theology be-
came the official faith of the Medes and Persians. If Xerxes had
succeeded in his invasion of Greece, the cause of the prophet might
have become Europe's faith as well. However, Alexander the
Great destroyed the power of Persia and in a moment of drunken
sport burned the imperial palace at Persepolis which housed many
priceless Zoroastrian religious hooks. Zarathustra's faith emerged
again eight centuries later. Thus there are two distinct periods in
Zoroastrianism: the earlier under the Achaemenids, and the later
under the Sassanid kings. But after the latter another well nigh fatal
blow was struck by the Muslim conquests in the seventh centu-
ry—thus the Parsi emigration to India.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 113

The historic Zoroaster was very human, writing in despair

"To what land shall I flee? How am I to please Thee, Mazda
Ahura? I am without success! Few cattle are mine! I have but few
folk! I cry unto Thee. See Thou to it, Ahura, granting me support
as friend gives to friend! Teach me by the Right the acquisition of
Good Thought!" However, later legends appended a variety of
supernatural phenomena to his life. He was born from a virgin
mother who conceived from a heavenly light. According to Zoro-
astrian scripture, he was also pre-existent, was equal to the archan-
gels and had lived 3000 years before his incarnation."
When one tries to assess the influence of Zoroaster beyond the
confines of his own following, he is confronted with a variety of
conjectures. Many scholars have argued that Zoroastrianism
played an enormous role in the exilic and post-exilic development
of Jewish thought. Others have attempted to show its influence
upon Plato, neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, the mystery religions,
Christian apocalypticism and medieval heretical movements like
the Cathari, Bogomils and Albigenses. In the Bible, Zoroastrian
kings are mentioned in eight books of the Old Testament, and are
the only individuals of another religion not to be condemned by the
Bible. In fact some are distinctly commended. The Zoroastrian
King Cyrus is addressed by Jehovah as "His Messiah" and "My
Shepherd" several hundred years before these descriptions were
applied to Jesus."' St. Matthew's magi were undoubtedly Zoroas-
trian priests. Beyond that, the effect of Zoroastrianism upon
Judaism and Christianity as well as Greek thought is still subject to
scholarly debate."

Beyond Zoroaster
Several sects emerged from the Zoroastrian religion—some
8
Yasna, 46:1-2; Moulton, J.H., Early Zoroastrianism, Williams & Norgate, London,
1913, p. 372.
9
R.E. Hume, The World's Living Religions, Scribners, N.Y., 1959, p. 207.
I" Isaiah 45:1, Isaiah 44:28.
' I For one account of the situation, cf. the Ratanbia Katrak Lectures for 1956 given by
Prof. J. Duchesne-Guillemin of the University of Liege, Belgium, in The Western Response
to Zoroaster, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn., 1973, Orig. pub. Oxford U. Press, 1958.
114 ZOROASTRIANISM

to expire quickly, others to emerge and compete with Zarathustra

for the allegiance of Iranian and near Eastern believers. Two minor
and two major sects are dealt with here. Mazdak (d. 529 A.D.)
advocated the absolute community of goods, sharing the wealth
and wives, and complete vegetarianism. In his opinion, the desire
for pleasure and possessions are the twin causes of hatred and
strife. Prince Nurshivan of Iran murdered him and his most promi-
nent followers, so the movement persisted only briefly.
A second sect were followers of the god Zurvan—who is
mentioned in the Zoroastrian sacred writings as either a maker of
paths leading to the hereafter or as "Infinite Time." Most probably
this group consisted of nobles and theologians at the Persian court.
If Zurvanites were at court, this could explain their quick decline at
the time of the Muslim conquest; for those nobles quickly em-
braced Islam to retain some shred of power.
The worshippers of Mithras represented a third Zoroastrian
sect. Mithras, the giver of immortality, was the savior lord of a
mystery religion which became a formidable rival to Christianity
in the heyday of the pagan Roman empire. Through bas-reliefs and
paintings, we know that Mithras' birth was celebrated on De-
cember 25—a festival which Christians borrowed for the birth of
Christ.' 2

In Zoroastrianism, killing the divine bull is attributed to

Ahriman, whereas in Mithraism this is carried out by Mithras.
Because of this sacrifice he could offer the gift of immortality to
men. Through the ritual slaying of a bull, whose blood enabled
initiates to experience union with divinity, Mithraists received
saving knowledge and partook of eternal life. That is, one was
"washed in the blood." Like original Zoroastrianism, Mithraism
extolled the martial virtues, thus attracting many Roman soldiers
to its c.:atise. However, such an appeal excluded women, and this
fact, along with the expense of sacrificing bulls (of necessity
limited to privileged classes), gave a distinct advantage to Christi-
anity. In any case after appearing in the Roman world about 75
B. C. and ranking as a principal competitor of Christianity for 200
12
Cf. Rudolf Bultmann, Primitive Christianity, Meridian Books, N.Y., 1956, pp.
156-161.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 115

years the cult of Mithras gradually disappeared.

Manichaeism likewise grew out of Persian soil to become a
major rival to early Christianity. Mani, a native of the Baghdad
area and the son of well-born Persians, proclaimed himself a
prophet about 242 A.D. He acknowledged Zoroaster (whose
theory of dualism he radicalized), Buddha, and Jesus (whose
followers' salvation doctrine he adopted) as preparators for his
own all-inclusive revelation. When his preaching aroused the
oppositibn of the orthodox Zoroastrian priest, he was banished.
During at least twenty years in exile Mani taught in northern India,
Tibet, Chinese Turkistan and elsewhere. By combining the essen-
tials of Zoroastrianism with Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Gnos-
tic ideas he hoped to found a universal religion. Mani equated evil
with matter and good with spirit, hence providing a natural founda-
tion for asceticism and certain types of mysticism; but as we shall
see he enlisted a type of dualism that Zoroastrianism never ac-
cepted.
Augustine was once a Manichaean and his version of Christi-
anity bears many traces of his earlier fatih. Much later Muslim
mystics too were profoundly affected by Mani's teaching. In some
respects the Bahais, who also originated in Persia and likewise
bear traces of Zoroaster's spirit," represent in the 19th century a
more successful attempt to combine the best insights of the older
faiths—the goal of Mani seventeen centuries before. Mani was
allowed to return from exile (finding favor with a different king),
yet only to be, in 274 A.D., cruelly executed at the instigation of
priests of the established Zoroastrian faith. In spite of violent
persecution Manichaeism was propagated throughout the breadth
of the Roman Empire in the west and as far as China in the east.

Zoroastrian Sacred Writings

The chief sacred writings of the Zoroastrians have been given
the name Zend-Avesta, but they comprise only a small portion of
the original literature. According to a Greek philosopher, Zoroas-
13
Though most would relate the religion of Baha'-ullah to Islam, its optimism,
practicality and healthy-mindedness remind one of Zoroastrianism.
116 ZOROASTRIANISM

ter composed a total of two million verses and an Arab historian

reports that the prophet's writings cover 1200 pieces of parchment.
Alexander the Great is generally accused of destroying most of the
Parsi books and to his vandalism should be added the ravages of the
conquering Muslims. Originally the revealed Zoroastrian litera-
ture consisted of 21 books of holy scripture (Avesta) each of which
had an accompanying commentary (Zend). Only the 19th is pre-
served complete. For orthodox Parsis the entire Zend-Avesta is
divine revelation, comparable to the Jewish Torah or the Christian
Bible.
The holy book contains several sections. The most sacred,
and the earliest of these is the Yasna. Within it are contained
seventeen Gathas—psalms of Zoroaster himself. The Visperad is a
liturgical work of lesser importance, which contains invocations to
"All the Lords" and which, along with the Yasna, is used in
worship. The Vendidad (Law against the Demons) is a code of
ceremonial laws dealing with the liturgical side of Zoroastrian
dualism yet contains cosmological, historical and eschatological
material. Certain of these laws are said to have been the best
hygienic practices before the start of modern medicine. All of the
above parts of the Zend-Avesta served exclusively for priests.
The Gathas of Zarathustra are generally believed to be the
oldest part of Parsi scripture. It is important to note the tremendous
value of these psalms: they are the most reliable guide to the nature
and character of Zoroaster. Of them and their author, a contempo-
rary high priest in Bombay notes: "It is refreshing to turn from the
elusive Zarathustra of tradition and the pasteboard figure of recent
research to the flesh and blood reality of the man depicted in the
Gathas."" A popular prayer of the prophet follows:

With uplifted hands and deep humility, I beseech, 0

Lord of wisdom, first and foremost, this, the abiding
joy of Thy Holy Spirit.
Grant that I may perform all actions in harmony with
" Dastur Framrose Ardeshir Bode and Piloo Nanavvtty, Songs of Zarothushtro, Allen
and Unwin, London, 1952, p. 20.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 117

Thy Divine Truth, and acquire the wisdom of the Good

Mind, so that I may illumine the very Soul of Crea-
tion. . . .
I shall weave songs of praise as was never done before
you, 0 Divine Truth and for you, 0 Good Mind, and for
you, 0 Lord of wisdom, for through them flourish
Divine Devotion and the immeasurable Lords' Mighty
Majesty. So descend, 0 Powers from above, in answer
to these invocations for my joy and my delight.
In truth, when singing Thy praises, I shall attune my
soul to the Good Mind and be aware of the holy bless-
ings which flow from holy deeds undertaken for the
sake of the Lord of wisdom. As long as I have the will
and strength, so long will I preach the desire for Divine
Truth. . 15
.

Besides the religious warmth and fervor behind such words,

the prayer lends itself to two divergent interpretations. On one
hand—possibly for the prophet himself—the hymn can be an
expression of a profound intellectual and moral love for God in the
spirit of a Spinoza or Thomas Jefferson. Or, on the other hand, it
can be viewed as an example of heartfelt popular devotion not only
to Mazda, but also to the lesser gods Spenta Mainyu, Vohu Mana,
Asha, Aramaiti and Xshathra (whose names are recast in English
as "Divine Truth," "Divine Devotion," etc.). In one case we have
a religion that worships one good God; in the other we find
personal devotion to the living divinities of a polytheistic panthe-
on.
The Gathas, as well as other sacred texts, according to some
contemporary Parsis, were used in a mystical context which west-
ern scholars usually overlook. In the early stages of his mission.
the prophet formed the Circle of Contemplative Thought, in which
the chanting of the Gathas and other sacred texts was used to
induce an ecstatic communion with the divine and to generate
15
Ibid, pp. 43-44 (adapted by replacing the names of Mazda, Vohu Mana, etc. with
their English equivalents).
118 ZOROASTRIANISM

energy and devotion. Through singing hymns to Ahura-Mazda

men beheld God in His majesty and saw Armaiti (Perfect Devo-
tion) clasp Asha (Truth). In the mystic experiences derived from
such worship in front of the holy flame, the disciples of Zoroaster
charged themselves with vitality to spend in the service of human-
ity. Thus is the ethical thrust of the Good Religion, as it is called,
grounded in the divine-human encounter.'"
Besides the above literature the Avesta also contains the
Yashts: an anthology of religious poetry comprised of sacrificial
hymns to twenty-one angels (or gods?) and other heroes. These are
generally recognized to have been composed much later than the
works of Zarathustra and the earlier sources in the Avesta. The
Yashts represent a very different type of theology from the Gathas,
and for western experts at least, are attributed to neo-polytheists,
representing "a re-paganization of the Zoroastrian reform." 17
In addition to the Zend-Avesta, there is a large collection of
books and pamphlets written in Pahlavi, the official language of
Sassanid Iran. They elaborate the orthodox Zoroastrian dualism
which became the official ideology of the Parthian empire, begin-
ning with the reign of Shappur II in the fourth century and lasting
over four centuries until the Muslim invaders supplanted it. One
can compare these books to the writings of medieval Catholicism,
when the Church was the established religion of Europe. Zaehner
observes that this Pahlavi material represents the natural continua-
tion of the Gathic doctrine, plus the neo-polytheism of the later
yashts and a greater refinement of the original Zend-Avesta."
Finally, there are modern interpretations of Parsi religion,
theology and ritual prepared by Zoroastrians themselves. A few of

" Ibid, pp. 21-22. Zaehner, however, claims that as a matter of historical fact,
Zoroastrianism has never developed any form of mysticism. (The Teaching of the Magi, p.
54). Bode and Nanavvtty confess that the Circle of Contemplative Thought is not mentioned
explicitly in the Gathas. Yet one can scarcely believe that fireworshippers would lack a
mystic sense. As for historical fact, Zoroastrianism did produce the esoteric Mysteries of
Mithra.
1 7
R.C. Zaehner, The Teachings of the Magi, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1956,
p. 13.
18
An easily accessible handbook of Pahlavi texts is Zaehner's The Teachings of the
Magi (Ethical and Religious Classics of East and West).
 ZOROASTRIANISM 119

these have been translated into European languages or written in

English by educated priests from India. With these it is possible to
see how the revelation of the prophet is defended in the light of
rival Hindu, Christian and Muslim systems. While such recent
publications lack the authority of sacred scriptures they offer the
distinct advantage of presenting a living faith and expounding in a
contemporary way its basic insights concerning God, man and
cosmic destiny.'"

II. ZOROASTRIAN COSMOLOGY

The Good God and His Helpers
Any study of Zoroastrian cosmology should be prefaced by a
word on allegory and symbol in Parsi sacred scriptures. Are the
personalities, entities, and events mentioned symbolic or literal?
How were such intended? One of Zoroastrianism's modern high
priests writes: "Some portions of the Avesta, if taken literally,
would seem absurd. Mountains, rivers and similar topographical
features do not refer to any physical locations, but probably to
some psycho-physiological features, some psychic currents within
the human body (brain, nerves or some plexus or gland, etc. . .)."
Though this view may be exaggerated, "one should be careful not
to go to the other extreme and pretend that all allegorical i nterpreta-
tions are adventitious." 2

Professor Martin Haug (d. 1876) of the University of Munich

was one of the early European scholar-translators of Parsi litera-
ture. For him the key to original Zoroastrianism is to be found in
theological monotheism, philosophic dualism and ethical trinitar-
ianism. 3 That is, theologically, Zarathustra was a monotheist,
protesting against the crude and often immoral polytheism regnant
19
Sir Rustom Masani, The Religion of the Good Life, Allen & Unwin, London, 1954;
J.J. Modi, The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees, Bombay, 1937; M.N.
Dhalla, Zoroastrian Theology, 1914 and History of Zoroastrianism, N.Y., 1938.

' Cf. Dastur Khurshed S. Dabu, Message of Zarathushtra, Bombay, 1956.

2
Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin, Ibid, p. 19.
3
M. Haug, Essays on the Language, Writings and Religion of the Parsis (4th ed.),
Philo Press, Amsterdam, 1971, pp. 300, 302.
120 ZOROASTRIANISM

in the Persia of his day. Philosophically, Zoroaster's speculative

metaphysics presupposed two primeval causes of the world. And
finally, his system of ethics moved in the triad of thought, word and
deed.
Haug and his many followers argue that Ahura-Mazda is in
essence identical with Elohim or Yahweh in the Old Testament.
Ahura-Mazda—who rewards the good and punishes the wicked—
is praised as the Creator of the earthly and spiritual life, the Lord of
the whole universe, and the source of light, intellect and wisdom.
A Pahlavi text attached to the Shayast La-Shayast ("Book of the
Proper and Improper") gives us insight into Zarathustra's quest
into the nature of Mazda, and reminds us to some extent of the New
Testament book of Revelation:
"It is revealed by a passage of the Avesta that Zarathustra,
seated before Ahura-Mazda, always wanted information from
him; and he spoke to Ahura-Mazda thus: Thy head, hands, feet,
hair, face, and tongue are in my eyes just like those even which are
my own, and you have the clothing men have; give me a hand, so
that I may grasp thy hand. Ahura-Mazda said thus: I am an
intangible spirit; it is not possible to grasp my hand." 4
Even though later followers may have altered their master's
monotheism, in Haug's estimation, a separate evil spirit of equal
power in opposition to the good God is entirely foreign to
Zarathustra's theology. For Haug, to think otherwise is to confuse
Zarathustra's philosophy with his theology. He cites this pivotal
verse from the Gathas which he believes clearly expressed the
prophet's monotheism:

From His most beneficent spirit all good has sprung in

the words which are pronounced by the tongue of the
Good Mind, and the works wrought by the hands of the
earth. By means of such knowledge, Mazda himself is
the father of all rectitude.'
4
Sacred Books of the East, V, p. 372.
s Yasht 57:1-2.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 121

However, according to one of the Zoroastrian Yashts com-

posed specifically to praise the supreme God, Ahura-Mazda Him-
self (who was later called Ormazd) is said to give a list of His
twenty different names, thus complicating the issue, as we shall
see further. In the light of Hebrew thought, it is interesting to note
here that the Persian God declares, "My first name is 'I am,' 0
holy Zarathustra," reminding one of Jehovah's words in Exodus,
"I am who I am." Others include: the Giver of herds, perfect
holiness, all-wise, omniscient, etc.
It is also important to observe that so far as scholars are able to
discover, Zoroaster coined a new name for the supreme God. He
did not borrow it from the many available in the Indo-Iranian
pantheon of the Rig-Veda. Nor did he turn to the celebrated gods
and goddesses of the great Mideastern empires of the past: Mar-
duk, Sin, Bel, etc. Ahura-Mazda is a compound noun, a combina-
tion of two words, one meaning "Sovereign," the other "Knowl-
edge."`' Professor Jackson suggestively translates Ahura-Mazda as
"Lord Wisdom." Most ancient deities relate to specific natural
forces (e.g. Zeus the sky god and Baal the storm god) or valued
human activities and attributes (Mars the god of war, Aphrodite the
goddess of love). The intellectualist nature of Zoroaster's faith is
particularly notable and would not reappear in the western world
until the Gnostic movement of a much later time.
Having treated Haug's first characteristic of Zoroastrian-
ism—theological monotheism—we turn to his second—
philosophic dualism. For many commentators on theZend-Avesta,
dualism is the most striking feature. The warfare between two
supernatural spirits and the antagonism between the principles of
good and evil represent fundamental ideas in Zarathustra's Gathas
as well as later Mazdaist scripture. Jackson observes that this
dogma is constantly preached by the prophet himself and is doubt-
less the product of his own invention.'
6
Dastur F.A. Bode writes, it was the Prophet's genius which made him, choose
Ahura, Lord of Life, and combine this deity with Mazda, Lord of Wisdom, as the One
Eternal God, Creator of the universe, a God of Righteousness and Truth...a God of Mercy
and Love...." Bode and Nanavvtty, Songs of Zarathushrra, p. 27.
!bid, p. 28.
122 ZOROASTRIANISM

In what has been called Zarathustra's Sermon on the Mount,

he declares:

In the beginning there was a pair of twins, two spirits,

each of a peculiar activity; these are the good and the
base, in thought, word and deed. Choose one of these
two spirits: Be good, not base!
And these two spirits united created the first (the mate-
rial things); one, the reality, the other, the non-reality.
To the liars existence will become bad, whilst the be-
liever in the true God enjoys prosperity.
Of these two spirits, you must choose one, either the
evil, the originator of the worst actions, or the true, holy
spirit. .. . You cannot belong to both of them. 8

Zarathustra's theology resulted from his mystic visions, but

his philosophic dualism can be traced back to his strong moral
sense. As the prophet of a new religion anxious to win converts, he
quite naturally contrasted the worth of his God with the worthless-
ness of the ordinary gods accepted by the Persian populace. Ap-
palled by the common practice of animal sacrifices and the excess-
es associated with the sacramental drinking of the intoxicating
soma juice, the reformer emphasized the goodness of his God and
the evils of the daevas. In the most literal manner, he declared to
the priests of the established faith, "Your gods (devas) are my
devils (daevas)."
Zoroaster's denunciation of the false gods of polytheistic
nature worship was not mere sectarianism or bigotry. It was based
on a profoundly ethical interpretation of the universe and man's
purpose in it. As a modern Parsi, Sir R. Masani, explains, Zoroas-
ter postulates the independent existence of evil: evil is an irreduci-
ble fact which cannot be explained away. It is not just a corruption
of goodness nor good in the process of formation. Much less is it
the mere absence or negation of good. For the Zoroastrian, evil is a
8
Yasht 30:3-6.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 123

distinct principle and an active enemy of the good. If one takes an

honest look at our world he will recognize that the conflict between
good and evil is a fundamental fact of existence. In this cosmic
warfare, man is challenged and inspired to become a co-worker
and fellow-combatant on the side of the God of righteousness. Life
should be understood as a crusade against the forces of evil and
i mperfection. For the Zoroastrian it becomes both logical and
ethical to acknowledge two primeval powers at war with each
other, a philosophy of "Eternal Polarism." Masani, in similar
9

fashion as Haug, claims that such a belief reinforces—not less-

ens—an uncompromising monotheism.
Masani explains that a merely abstract conception of divinity
does not satisfy the yearnings of the human heart; ordinary men
need something more tangible and personal to which they can
dedicate themselves. Hence six immortal benefactors came to be
worshipped along with Ahura-Mazda to form a heptarchy of celes-
tial beings. Besides the supreme Lord Wisdom, the Parsi prays to
Vohu Manah, Asha Vahishta, Khshathra Vairya, Aramaiti, Haur-
vatat and Ameretat. For a well-educated contemporary Zoroastrian
these are not separate gods and goddesses (or even archangels) but
merely six outstanding "attributes" of the Supreme Being, six
"divine abstractions" which simply personify and deify abstract
ideas. Such "abstractions" suggest the diversity within the unity
of the Godhead. To prove his point Masani translates the meaning
of the six immortals as the Good Mind, the Best Order, the Absolute
Power, High Thought or Devotion, Perfection and Immortality."
In line with this, the Zend-Avesta declares:

We worship the good, strong, beneficent guardians—

spirits of the righteous, immortal benefactors, the rulers
with their watchful eyes, the high- powerful, swift,
living ones of everlasting truth, who are seven of one
thought, who are seven of one word, who are seven of
one deed, whose mind is the same, whose speech is the
9
Ibid, p. 99.
10
R. Masani, Ibid. pp. 62-63.
124 ZOROASTRIANISM

same, whose deeds are the same, and whose Master and
Ruler is the same, the Creator, Ahura Mazda."

Anyone familiar with Christian thought will immediately recog-

nize the basic similarity between the Church's efforts to explain the
Trinity and the Zoroastrian attempt to do justice to the heptarchy.
Whereas the post-Nicean Fathers developed a theory of three
hypostases in one ousia, Parsi theologians espouse a unity of
thought, word and deed to bind together the distinct seven manifes-
tations of the one God. In Haug's terminology, we are now in the
domain of "ethical trinitarianism."
Historians of religion are not completely convinced by such
an explanation nor by the suggestions of some modern Parsees who
see the above seven "guardians" as archangels. For the student of
comparative religions, it looks as though the popular polytheism
Zoroaster drove out the front door crept in through the backyard as
soon as the prophet died. For all practical purposes Zoroastrianism
worships seven gods and goddesses (Amesha Spentas), each of
which is the guardian genie of a specific part of creation or a special
area of human interest.' The attempts to spiritualize or reinterpret
2

these gods and goddesses may have been caused by Muslim attacks
on Zoroastrianism for failing to believe in one God or more recent
Christian missionary complaints in India that Parsis are practicing
polytheists.
The monotheistic aspect of Zoroastrianism is further com-
promised by the worship of the "Adorable Ones." Besides
Ahura-Mazda and the six Amesha Spentas, Parsi theology recog-
" Fravardin Yasht 22:82-83.
12 "Ahura-Mazda said thus. . .1 tell thee, 0 Spitami Zarathushtra! that each individual
of us has produced his own one creation for the world, by means of which they may set going
in its body, in the world, that activity which they would exercise in the spiritual existence. In
the world that which is mine, who am Ahura-Mazda, is the righteous man, of Vohu Manah
are the cattle, of Asha Vahisthta is the fire, of Khshatha Vairya is the metal, of Aramaiti are
the earth and virtuous woman, of Hauvatat is the water, and of Ameretat is the vegetation. —

(Shayast La-Shayast 15:4-5). What this passage says is that each of the 7 Amesha Spentas
was the creator as well as ruler of a part of the world. Earlier Parsi theology restricted
creating to Ahura-Mazda.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 125

nizes the existence of a group called Yazatas. Plutarch reported that

the Persians of his time believed in twenty-four gods who were
created after the six Amesha Spentas. Jackson and other Western
scholars with a Christian background refer to the Yazatas as angels.
Each has a special day of the month dedicated to him or her and a
special form of ritual by which he is worshipped.
Mithras is one of the Yazatas. Zoroaster left him out of the
original Gathas, but he is frequently mentioned in later parts of the
Zend-Avesta. It is easy to understand how during the Roman
empire this supernatural being became the center of his own cult:
as the divine lord, he could bestow immortality upon those who
were initiated into his Mystery, ate his sacred meal and were
baptized in his name."
Parsi religion also propounds the existence of a mighty army
of benevolent spirits called the Fravashis. Jackson refers to them as
a sort of guardian angel assigned to each human being. They live in
heaven until the time they descend to earth to take up residence in a
human body. At death the soul unites with the Fravashi, which
i mplies that while a man is alive the Fravashi guards the soul but is
not identical with it. Among the Parsis, these guardian angels are
worshipped throughout the first month of the year, the nineteenth
day of every month and the last ten days of the year—obvious signs
of their significance for popular Zoroastrianism. 14

The question is often raised as to whether the followers of

Zarathustra were monotheists or dualists, or even polytheists.
Such problems may look rather academic in the light of the teach-
ings of the Zend-Avesta and the Parsi rituals for the whole Host of
Heaven. Yet we must be careful about premature judgments. With
considerable justification, Christianity claims to be a monotheistic
religion while holding belief in the Trinity, praying to God the
Father and Jesus, invoking the protection of the saints, affirming
the existence of angels and archangels, and looking forward to an
afterlife of fellowship with the host of heaven.
13
M.G. Vermaseren, Mithras, The Secret God, Barnes & Noble. N.Y.; 1963.
14
A.V. Williams Jackson, Zoroastrian Studies, Columbia University Press, N.Y..
1928, pp. 37-65.
126 ZOROASTRIANISM

Ahriman and the Demons

Historically no religion, ancient or modern, has a more pro-
found awareness of the fact and power of evil, and the reality of
Satan, than Zoroastrianism. Human history as a whole is described
as the battleground in which Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman clash
head-on. Creation itself exhibits the scars of cosmic warfare.
The Persians believed that after Ohrmazd had created twen-
ty-four gods he placed them in a cosmic egg; Ahriman countered
by producing an equal number of evil deities to penetrate the world
and pollute it. What this means is that the Zoroastrians thought of
the world as a sphere and credited Ahriman with a large measure of
creative power, however malicious. By contrast with orthodox
Christianity, the Parsi Devil is not a fallen angel: Ahura-Mazda did
not make him or his demonic aides. The general name for these
"aides" incidentally, is "daeva": in the later Persian language it
became "diu"; this in turn became the origin of the English word
"devil."
In the Zend-Avesta, Ahriman is blamed as the source of error,
destructiveness, ignorance, and spite. These vices on the intellec-
tual and moral level are matched by his evil work on the physical
environment. The Evil Spirit and his helpers (including seven
demonic powers to match the seven Amesha Spentas of Ahura-
Mazda') cause disease, curse the crops of the farmer, hex the
herds of the cattleman, produce noxious creatures like snakes and
frogs, pollute the air and water, and disrupt the heavens with
meteors. They appear to men in the form of serpents, toads, flies,
grotesque monsters and seductive women. But most of the time
they remain invisible, skulking around cementeries and filthy
places, wherever possible trying to soil the creation which they are
unable to destroy.
If Ahriman is not a fallen angel, where did he and his evil
spirits come from? According to orthodox Parsi theology, while
some of the demons were created directly by Ahriman, at least a
few of the lesser ones appeared as a result of the mating of evil
15
Cf. A.V. Williams Jackson, Zoroastrian Studies, pp. 67-109 for details.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 127

powers with wicked men. In the Vendidad, for example, it is

reported that a female monster wed four humans who made her
pregnant with a whole brood of fiends." But what of the source of
evil, the chief foe Ahriman? Early Zoroastrianism seems not to
have raised such a question, and perhaps this was the view of the
prophet himself. Like Ahura-Mazda, Ahriman just was. He
existed from the beginning. One can no more ask how he was born
than to enquire into the origin of Ahura-Mazda. The two rivals
co-exist, the good God dwelling in the realm of eternal light, His
foe abiding in the abyss of endless darkness. Only Zurvanites at a
later time came up with another explanation.
They, with modern Parsis, deny the above view. The modern
Parsis insist that Ahura-Mazda gave birth to twins, a holy spirit
called the Spenta-Mainyu and its exact opposite, Angra-Mainyu
(or Ahriman). These do not exist by themselves but only in relation
to each other. Whenever anything is created, the existence of its
opposite is logically implied. The positive by very definition
involves the negative. What can goodness mean if there is no evil
by which it can be recognized? Each exists in polarity with its
opposite, yet both are derived from and merge into the higher unity
of Ahura-Mazda. Zurvanites themselves expressed a variation of
this opinion: Zurvan (Time) was the original first cause from
whom came the warring Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman. Time is the
fundamental factor in existence without which neither good nor
evil has meaning—a thesis much like that defended by process
theology and philosophy in our day.
In an exceedingly important Pahlavi cosmological treatise,
the Bundahis, written in the early Muslim period, the Parsi doc-
trine of Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman nevertheless reflects—as op-
posed to the Zurvan and modern views—the orthodox explanation:

Revelation is the explanation of both spirits together;

one who is independent of unlimited time, because
Ahura-Mazda and the region, religion and time of
1
" Ibid. p. 100.
128 ZOROASTRIANISM

Ahura-Mazda were and are and ever will be; while

Ahriman in darkness, with backward understanding
and desire for destruction was in the abyss, and it is he
who will not be; and the place of that destruction, and
also of that darkness, is what they call the 'endlessly
dark.' And between them was empty space, that is,
what they call 'air,' in which is now their meeting.
Both are limited and unlimited spirits, for the supreme
is that which they call endless light, and the abyss that
which is endlessly dark, so that between them is a void,
and one is not connected with the other; and, again,
both spirits are limited as to their own selves. . . .
And again, the complete sovereignty of the creatures of
Ahura-Mazda is in the future existence, and all is un-
li mited for ever and everlasting; and the creatures of
Ahriman will perish at the time when the future exis-
tence occurs and that also is eternity."

Here both spirits occupy li mited space, possess the faculty of

reason and have set their will on definite purposes. Neither is
omnipresent, and more importantly, neither is omnipotent. But the
two are not equal. Whereas Ahura-Mazda is omniscient, Ahri-
man's understanding is partial and backward. While the battle with
evil will be long and bitter, the righteous God knows that sooner or
later victory will be His. Thus, Zoroastrianism abides by its faith in
an eschatological restoration of God's universe: "And may we be
such as bring on this great renovation, and make this world pro-
gressive. — ' 8
Consequently, Zarathustra came to the Persians as a prophet
of righteousness, inspiring men to enlist in the cause of the good
God. This implies an emphatic denunciation of Ahriman; when a
boy is given the sacred thread and shirt which make him a full-
17
E.W. West, translator, Pahlavi Texts, Sacred Books of the East. M. Banarsidass,
Delhi, 1970, V, pp. 3-5 (Bundahis 1:2-7). The above quotation has been slightly altered by
changing Auhainazd to the more common Ahura-Mazda and Aharman to Ahriman.
' Sacred Books of the East, XXXI, 33 - 34.
8
 ZOROASTRIANISM 129

fledged Parsi at age 15, he confesses his faith as in this catechism:

I have come from the unseen world, nor was I (always)

of this world. I was created and have not (always) been.
I belong to Ohrmazd, not to Ahriman. I belong to the
gods, not to the demons, to the good, not to the wicked.
I am a man, not a demon, a creature of Ohrmazd, not of
Ahriman. . . . To perform my function and to do my
duty means that I should believe that Ohrmazd is, was,
and ever more shall be, that his Kingdom is undying,
and that he is infinite and pure; and that Ahriman is not,
and is destructible; that I myself belong to Ohrmazd and
his Bounteous Immortals, and that I have no connection
with Ahriman, the demons and their associates. . .
19

Creation and Fall

The orthodox account of creation and its fall is contained in
the Pahlavi Bundahis and the later Greater Bundahis. In several
respects the former deserved to be called the Zoroastrian
"Genesis"; it contains information on both the origins of the
universe, as well as its intended and deviated nature—though, we
might add, in a much more extended and detailed form.
Mazda (now called Ohrmazd) in his creation of the world
reveals himself to have both a masculine and feminine nature:

Even now on earth do men in this wise grow together in

their mother's womb and are born and bred. Ohrmazd
by the act of creation is both father and mother to
creation: for in that he nurtured creation in unseen form,
he acted as a mother, and in that he created it in material
form, he acted as a father. 2 "

Ohrmazd's first creative act is the limitation of time: he knew

that if Ahriman (whose existence he had become aware of, and
""Bundahis," 1:14, E.W. West, Pahlavi Texts, Sacred Books of the East, V, p. 6.
20
Quoted, Zaehner, Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, Weidenfield and Nicolson,
London, 1961, p. 250.
130 ZOROASTRIANISM

whose inevitable enmity he knew he would have to face) were to be

eliminated, "he would have to he lured out of eternity, actualized
in finite time, and forced out into the open."'
In Zaehner's account of God's awareness of a destructive
principle in creation, we are reminded of Teilhard de Chardin, who
explained evil as "an enemy, a shadow which God inevitably
produces simply by the fact that he decides upon creation": 22

For all eternity he had been a latent canker in the divine

unconscious, and it is only when God became con-
scious of this canker that he could become conscious of
himself, and with the dawn of this consciousness of his
own eternal essence, he realized that such a canker not
only existed, but also stood over against him as a
separate and implacably hostile principle. This princi-
ple, however, did not share his own eternity and could
be utterly destroyed; and the only means of doing this
was to create. True, the other principle might incapaci-
tate what he created for a while, but he could not utterly
destroy it since all that issues from the hand of the
Eternal must share in his eternity. 22

While Ohrmazd had acted to limit time, Ahriman was also

becoming conscious: unfortunately, when he did become aware of
the light of Ohrmazd and his superior creation, he could not admit
its superiority, and turned to envy and spite. This, along with the
awareness that his own creation would end, was the motivation for
his frenzied desire to spoil Ohrmazd's work.
In the sphere of the intellect, Ahriman acted first: he created
'lying speech' (false speech) even as in the Genesis story, the
serpent deceives Eve through words. And as the Judeo-Christian-
Islamic God responds by giving true words (revelation), so does
Ibid. p. 252.
22
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Christianity and Evolution, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
Inc., N.Y., 1969, p. 84.
23
Zaehner, Ibid, p. 252.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 131

Ohrmazd create True Speech in which "the productiveness of the

Creator was revealed." 24
All of this takes place in the first three thousand years of a
cosmic cycle to last twelve milleniums, each of which corresponds
to one sign of the Zodiac. In this first period existence hovered on
the brink between eternity and finite time. The last nine thousand
years would pass to three equal periods: the first would see
Ohrmazd's will alone actuated; the second would see a mixture of
Ohrmazd's and Ahriman's desires; the final period would witness
the defeat and subsequent decline of Ahriman and evil.
The fall of the material creation begins as soon as Ahriman
invades it: he overruns the sky, the waters, the earth, the plants, but
most significantly, the "lone-created Bull" and Gayomart, Primal
man, who is also called Righteous or Blessed Man. This represents
the beginning of the third period of three thousand years; Ahriman
had spent the second, previous period in a stupor after Ohrmazd
had chanted the sacred Ahuna Vairya prayer, revealing to him in a
blinding flash his own ultimate fate and "the powerlessness of the
Destructive Spirit, the destruction of the demons, the Resurrec-
tion, the Final Body, and the freedom of [all] creation from aggres-
sion for ever and ever. " 23.
Gayomart and the Primal Bull are Ohrmazd's showcases of
"26
creation; the latter was "white and lustrous, like the moon,
while the former shone like the Sun and from the beginning
"thinks upon perfect Righteousness." 27 Thus it is no small
achievement for Ahriman when he corrupts them: but his victory is
short-lived, for all his interference in the material world has trap-
ped him there. And even in his destruction of Primal Man and
Primal Bull, he has inadvertently set in motion beneficial events;
for when the Bull died all manner of life miraculously came into
being from his body. From his various members, issued all forms
of plant life, from his blood, the fruit of the vine; from his marrow,
" Quoted, Mid, p. 255.
25
Quoted, !bid, p. 257.
26
Quoted, Mid, p. 263.
27
Quoted, Ibid, p. 260.
132 ZOROASTRIANISM

sesame; and from his seed, which had been purified by the light of
the moon, all species of animal life, except 'noxious' beasts,
reptiles and harmful insects. Nor did Gayomart pass away une-
ventfully: as he died his seed was carried to the sun where it was
purified by its light. One third of it was returned to the earth where
it was buried for forty years. At the end of that period the Iranian
Adam and Eve, Mashye and Mashyane, emerged from the earth in
the form of a rhubarb plant, from which they later separated
themselves in their human forms.
If Gayomart was the primal man, Mashye and Mashyane
represent the first couple. Even in the beginning the powers of evil,
though controlled, were very active. And it was not long before
they, like the Adam and Eve of Genesis, committed their original
sin:

So Ohrmazd warned them, saying: 'Ye are human be-

ings, the father (and mother) of the world: do your work
in accordance with righteous order and right-minded-
ness. Think, speak, and do what is good. Worship not
the demons.' Thus warned, they confessed that
Ohrmazd was the creator of `water, the earth, plants,
cattle, sun, moon, and stars, and of all fertile things'.
But temptation was soon to come their way and very
quickly did they succumb to it; for the Aggressor as-
sailed their minds and corrupted them, and they cried
out: 'The Destructive Spirit created water, the earth,
plants, and other things.'"

From this came a host of other sins. The couple captured a

white-haired goat and milked it "from the udder with their
mouths," which "enhanced the power of the demons." ° The
29 3

reason this act was so grievous is not altogether clear. At any rate, a
little later, after vomiting up the goat's milk, hunger drove them to
28
Ibid, p. 267.
29
Bundahis, 15:10.
Bundahis, 15:12.
30
 ZOROASTRIANISM 133

find and slaughter a sheep, which was all right until they threw a
piece of meat to the sky as an offering, and a vulture seized it.
During the next fifty years they learned how to weave cloth, carve
wood and smelt iron but could not get along with each other,
evidenced by their intense jealousy and their fights in which they
tore each other's hair." Finally, they gave birth to a son and
daughter. But alas, they ate them shortly thereafter.
Scholars like Zaehner find the Parsi Adam and Eve story quite
unedifying, 32 even if the point that the Bundahis makes is much
like that in Genesis—separation from God leads to the worst
depravity. When finally Ohrmazd eliminated the first couple's
fondness for human flesh and children are given to them to initiate
separate races of men, we must nevertheless admit, with Zaehner,
that these beginnings of the human race were somewhat unpromis-
ing. 33

III. ETHICS
Zoroastrian morality has two basic thrusts: the maintenance
of life and the struggle against evil. Because the eventual "luring
out" of Ahriman depends on the progress and expansion of
Ohrmazd's creation, this world should not be abandoned by man;
in fact a man's first duty after professing the Zoroastrian faith is
"to take a wife and to procreate earthly offspring and to be
strenuous and steadfast in this."' Such an emphasis on earthly
prosperity is at the root of personal, social and political ethics.

Personal Ethics
Though man was created essentially good in both body and
soul, he has inherited a false nature brought into the material world
by Ahriman. Thus man must maintain a mastery over his desires in
the way a knight controls his horse. Man must restrain his body
31
Quoted, Zaehner, Ibid, p. 267.
32
Zaehner, The Teachings of the Magi, p. 68.
33
Zaehner, Dawn and Twilight, p. 268.

Zaehner, Ibid, p. 22, (Book of Counsel of Zartusht, 4-5).

134 ZOROASTRIANISM

through his preference for goodness. That he is thus capable by his

free will gives him lordship over creation and superiority over
Ahriman. Man becomes the "commander-in-chief" of the entire
material creation even as his own soul presides over his body.
Dualism can lead to an ascetic denial of the flesh. However,
classical Zoroastrianism sets its face against such an ethic of
physical negation. The body, far from being an enemy of the soul,
is its garment and instrument. Only Ahriman would try to upset the
delicate balance between body and soul, disrupting its essential
psychosomatic unity. Both the ascetic who believes that the physi-
cal as such is evil and the voluptuary who concentrates on a life of
pleasure alone fall prey to deception. Iranian and Indian piety are
poles apart on this matter; Zoroastrianism even resisted the very
qualified mortification practiced by Christianity and Islam. Fast-
ing, a custom observed by Jews, Christians and Muslims, is
strenuously opposed. Such a practice weakens one in the struggle
against evil.
For the Parsi, body and soul are so closely linked that an
illness in the body denotes some sickness in the soul. Therefore,
enjoyment "is the natural ambience of the body, for 'the body
naturally wants material prosperity, gracious living, wit, display,
music, and pleasure.' "That man is consistently good who
"2

always enjoys himself. . . . That man is consistently evil (who is

always) miserable." 3 Such exhortation from the later texts of the
Zoroastrianism that re-emerged during the Sassanid period in Iran
(226-652 A.D.) is the logical outcome of not only the Prophet's
own teaching, but also a healthy reaction against the bizarre
practices of both the Manichaens and Christians, who were vying
against each other in their anti-materialism. Amidst this, the Maz-
deans seemed to tread the path of the golden mean, taking Aristot-
le's motto as their own. They became neither this-worldly nor
otherworldly; they strived, in Zaehner's terminology, to be
"both-worldly."
Besides following the path of moderation, one must take an
Zaehner, Dawn and Twilight, p. 277.
3
Quoted from the Denkart 266:1 ff., /bid, pp. 276-277.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 135

active role to assure his entry into heaven. Liberality is the first
good work. Industry, honesty, gratitude and contentment should
also follow. The good man manufactures no discord with anyone,
advances his own happiness and secures it for others. In addition,
of course, the virtuous man carries out his religious duties, ascrib-
ing every benefit to Ahura-Mazda and all misery to Ahriman, as
the one sure way to salvation is to recognize God as absolutely
good and the Devil as absolutely evil. Just as the Torah and the
Quran provide salvation to the Jews and Muslims respectively, and
just as Christ offers salvation to Christians, so does such "Right
Knowledge" become the source of all good, in this world and the
hereafter.
What then are the religious duties for Zoroastrians? At an
early age (varying from seven in India to ten in Iran), the Parsi is
initiated into the faith at which time he receives a sacred thread
(kusti) and a sacred shirt (sadre). The shirt, which should be white,
represents purity and renewal. The kusti is the obligatory emblem
of every Parsi: the Mazdean religion is said to be brought to the
people as a girdle, or kusti . It signifies obedience ("girding up the
loins," in the Bible) and denotes a division of the body into the
noble part (above) and the ignoble (below). Further, its threads
(72) represent the 72 chapters of the Yasna, which when knitted
together symbolize a universal brotherhood.
Among the most important of the other religious ceremonies
are the bareshnum and the Yasna. The former ritual is usually
performed by a priest as a purification before he can perform other
sacred duties. It is done for the benefit of the person who pays the
priest or for whom he is paid. The candidate to be purified must
undergo, among other things, a thorough rubbing with sand, water
and gomez. Gomez is bull's urine; it was thought to possess power
to overcome death, a notion derived from the assumption that the
bull's sperm was contained in the urine.
The major ceremony is the Yasna, or sacrifice. In this ritual
are involved two central symbols of Zoroastrianism—the sacred
liquor (haoma) is offered to the sacred fire. This life-giving rite is
never performed in front of a crowd nor in the company of the
136 ZOROASTRIANISM

unbeliever. The sacred fire, the distinguishing mark of a Parsi

temple, has varying legends of its origins and significance: among
the semi-savage tribes it was thought to ward off evil spirits;
among Eastern Christians stories were told of the infant Jesus
giving the Magi a stone, which they later wearied of carrying, and
left in a pit—only to turn and see a divine flame rising from it. At
any rate, through the fire, the priest invokes Ohrmazd and other
celestial beings. In the sacrificial offering of the haotna, we find an
interesting similitude to the Roman Catholic Eucharist:

The haoma is not only a plant and a liquor, it is also a

god. . . . Being a god, he is killed as he is pounded (with
mortar and pestle). The Brahmanas tell the same thing
of Soma: Tor Soma is a god and they kill him in that
they press him'. . . . The sacrifice of Haoma is therefore
that of a dying god offered to a god. If one recalls that,
after the offering, the priest and the faithful swallow the
victim and, by so doing, partake in the god's immortal-
ity, it will be recognized. . . that this conception strik-
ingly resembles the Catholic mass.'

This ceremony is most often invoked for the deceased and is

performed by one or more pairs of priests.
The fact that such a ceremony is so beneficial for one who has
died relates to the next religious duty. The Parsi "for the love of the
soul effects a next-of-kin marriage. " This obligation, for E.W.
5

West at least, is due to the fact that offspring were indispensable

because of the rigid requirements of ceremonies such as the Yasna
for departed members of the family. Thus extraordinary measures
6

to produce children were occasionally justified.

What such marriages originally involved is a matter of de-
bate. According to Greek travellers and historians, Persians in the

Duchesne-Guillemin, Ibid. p. 82.

5
Dina-i-Mainos-i-Khirad 37:12.
6
E.W. West, "The Meaning of Khvetuk-das or Khvetudad", Sacred Books of the
East. vol. XVIII, pp. 389-430.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 137

golden age of Darius (d. 486 B.C.) and Xerxes (d. 465 B.C.)
believed that fathers should marry their daughters, mothers wed
their sons, and brothers and sisters engage in conjugal relations.
Modern Parsis indignantly deny that such practices were ever
encouraged. Next-of-kin marriages imply, today's Parsis insist,
the marital alliance of first cousins or more distant relatives, thus
protecting a religious minority from alien influences.

Ethics and Creation

When Zarathustra asked Ahura-Mazda how to advance the
true religion, God replied, "Incessant cultivation of corn!" In
the Vendidad we learn that demons cough when the grain begins to
sprout, shed tears when the stalks appear and take flight when the
ears fill out. The cultivation of grain advances true religion with a
hundred feet, suckles it with a thousand breasts and gives it, so to
speak, ten thousand offerings, says Ahura-Mazda, who perhaps
summed it all up best: "Who so cultivates corn cultivates righ-
teousness. —7

In agriculture as in every aspect of the Parsi faith the key to

success is aggressive action rather than contemplation. Perhaps in
this it is easiest to see the contrast between Indian and Persian
religion. The ancient Iranian was noted for his action, exertion and
practical view of life. The Indian, on the other hand, tended
towards introspection and meditation. "The Hindu, with his
pantheistic speculation, evolved the quietism of the Upanishads;
the Persian, whose sacred books ring with the call of 'up and
doing,' was summoned to fight the good fight in the mighty
struggle between the warring powers of Good and of Evil. —8

The Parsi was created to be a worker, a doer. Thus, the

superior man is seen in such terms: "Just as God exerts himself
most in the performance of His task, so among man he who exerts
himself most at his task by being what he is, shares in the attributes
and activity of God and is closest to God on the scale of value. "9

' R. Masani, The Religion of the Good Life, pp. 124-125.

8
Jackson, Zoroastrian Studies, p. 133.
9
Quoted in Zaehner, Ibid, p. 283. From the Denkart ("Acts of the Religion"), a
Pahlavi work of the ninth century A.D.
138 ZOROASTRIANISM

The semi-sacred character that agriculture takes on in

Zoroastrianism—which is quite absent in the other prophetic
faiths, and for that matter, all of the major living religions—is
further enhanced by the homage of the faithful to the guardian
spirit of the earth, who for all practical purposes is worshipped as a
mother goddess. To live close to the earth and to stay in tune with
its seasonal rhythms is for the Parsi to keep in touch with natural
holiness. But, as we shall see, this respect for nature goes further
than simply recognizing the benefits of farming.
In the Bundahis extensive concern is also shown to various
species of mammals and birds. In addition, the Sad Dar, an ancient
manual of religious and secular ethics, contains some rather un-
common instructions regarding plant and animal life. For instance,
if a man plants a fruit tree or berry bush he will benefit from every
good deed done by those who later eat from it. '° Also, every time a
person eats he should save at least four morsels for his dog, and
never should the animal be beaten." Nor should a rooster be killed
simply because it crows at an unseasonable hour, as it is really
warning the owner of an approaching demon. Similarly, if one 12

slaughters an animal needlessly, every one of its hairs will become

a sword piercing his soul in the next world. To kill a beaver will
13

send a man to hell and cause an end to his family."

Then there is the special veneration of the white bull, which
may shed some light on the Yasna ceremony. Dr. Marcus Bach
explains on the basis of first-hand knowledge the prominent place
it holds in present-day Parsi religion:

One of my secret ambitions had always been to get

inside a Zoroastrian temple. . . . I had heard that a white
bull was kept within the temple court and that the
Zoroastrians worshipped him.
'° Sad Dar 19:2 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. XXIV.)
" Ibid, 31:1-2.
12
Sad Dar 32:1-5.
13
Ibid, 34:1-3.
!bid, 86:1-2.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 139

What about the temple bull?, I asked my Parsi

friend. . . . Escorting us to a balustrade, he invited us to
look down into a grassy court some thirty feet square.
Here, tethered to a stake, was a huge white bull.
My friend anticipated my question. It would not be
right to say we worship him, he said. He is a symbol.
Of what?
Of God's creative and procreative power in the uni-
verse. . . . The urine of the bull is sacred. Blessed by
priests in a special ceremony, it actually undergoes a
chemical change, I was told. Drops of it are used for
special religious ceremonies."

Ahura-Mazda created most living creatures; some, however,

were produced by Ahriman. Here again the fight-ethic predomi-
nates, as in the domain of personal morality. To kill creatures
thought to be created by Ahriman (frogs, snakes, scorpions, ants,
mice, gnats and leeches) is a "great good work." And Parsis were
deadly earnest about this holy war: in the Sad Dar, the killing of a
mouse is as beneficial as destroying four lions; to eradicate a
corn-dragging ant is equal to reciting holy scripture; swatting a
flying ant is as pleasing to Ahura-Mazda as saying prayers for ten
days; and to rid the world of a snake is as salutary as killing an
apostate who has abandoned Zoroastrianism in favor of Christiani-
ty or Islam."

Social and Political Ethics

Because man is "commander-in-chief" of creation, or incar-
nate lord, so is "kingship itself sanctified along with the whole
hierarchy of delegated monarchical authority."" "The headship
of a household, or village-community, or province, or the Empire,
is of the creative dispensation of the beneficent, omniscient, om-
15
M. Bach, Major Religions of the World, Abingdon Press. Nashville, 1959, pp. 33,
44.
" Sad Dar 43:1-9.
' Zaehner, Dawn and Twilight, p. 272.
7
140 ZOROASTRIANISM

nipotent Lord, just as is (man's lordship) over his own body." 18

Because Zoroastrians saw the interlocking relationships of

man and society, it is no surprise that the basic unit, the family, was
considered of great importance. The kings commended large
families for their virtuosity, and rewarded them for being bulwarks
to the throne. The family was also to retain its role after the world
becomes restored to Ahura-Mazda: "At the end the resurrection of
man will take place, which will efface all distinction between good
and evil through the latter's annihilation, and will set up an exis-
tence in human form, in family groups, exempt from all sin and a
source of eternal bliss." 19

The position of women in Parsi society was the same as in

India and other Oriental nations. Submission to her "lord and
master" is taken for granted and the woman who is "obedient" is
especially praised. Although in ancient times polygamy and con-
cubinage found their way into the Zoroastrian faith, among today's
Parsis strict monogamy is practiced and infidelity or prostitution
are virtually unheard of.
From the beginning the Zoroastrian ethic was devoted to a
new social order and a reconstructed world. It is no surprise then
that the founder of the Sassanian dynasty should be quoted as
saying: "Religion and kingship are two brothers, and neither can
dispense with the other. Religion is the foundation of kingship, and
kingship protects religion. For whatever lacks a foundation must
perish, and whatever lacks a protector disappears. " 20

It appears that the degree to which the Mazdean rulers consid-

ered themselves divine differed during the two major Persian
empires. In the earlier Achaemenid reigns the monarchs appear to
have regarded themselves less than gods, though they did impose a
great deal of respect on their subjects. Cyrus and Darius regarded
themselves solely as proteges of Ahura-Mazda. Sumerians, Bab-
ylonians, Assyrians and Chaldeans took the belief in the sacred
king for granted: the wise and secure rule of the earthly monarch
18
Quoted, Mid, p. 272.
19
Quoted, Duchesne-Guillemin, Ibid, p. 5.
20
Zaehner, Ibid, a quotation from Mas'udi, Muruj, H, p. 162.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 141

visibly manifested cosmic orderliness.

However, the later Sassanid kings, in reviving the Zoroastrian
ethic, added an extra theological dimension. They became com-
pletely divine, gods in themselves. The divine right of kings
became the rule of divine kings. "Both in Greek and in Pahlavi
they called themselves gods, of divine descent. ' One called
-2

himself theos (god); another, theopator (divine father); a third,

"almighty god." All imitated the mythical gods in their attire,
especially in their crowns, which were believed to hold quasi-
magical powers.
In Pahlavi texts of that period, the ethical stratification of
society was clearly laid out. "Ahura-Mazda created the Good
Religion in the form of a mighty tree with one trunk, two great
boughs, three large branches, four smaller ones growing out of
these, and five roots. The single trunk is the golden ethical mean
between two extremes. The two great boughs signify the impor-
tance of acting rightly and abstaining from wrong. The three
branches represent thinking good thoughts, speaking good words
and doing good deeds. In the four off-branches are seen the
indispensable classes of society: the priests, warriors, farmers and
artisans. And the whole tree is grounded and secured by five roots,
namely, the individual householder, village chief, tribal leader,
provincial governor and Zoroastrian supreme pontiff. Apart from
these and above them stood the reigning monarch—named the
King of kings." 22

Although Zarathustra had been severely critical of the great

mythical king Yim who was said to have founded Persian civiliza-
tion, his successors in the Sassanid period used Yim as the model
for an ideal monarch. His was the golden age in which for a
thousand years men lived in prosperity and peace: before him kings
had fallen prey to concupiscence and error. In his reign Yim
practiced the mean between excess and insufficiency, banished
licentiousness and established a society built upon wisdom. For a
21
Duchesne-Guillemin, !bid, p. 118.
22
Zaehner, Ibid. pp. 284-285.
142 ZOROASTRIANISM

whole millennium the will of Ahura-Mazda had been embodied.

Subsequent history witnessed a tragic fall from Yim's perfect
world order, but Zoroaster came to initiate its return and universal
realization.
Zoroastrians spared no effort in venerating good kings: "The
King is the centre on which his subjects converge; and it is
therefore essential that he should be happy. For, just as it is the first
duty of man to love himself so that he may extend his self-love to
others, so is it not so much the duty as the very nature of a king to be
happy; and the royal felicity cannot fail to extend in ever-widening
ripples to his subjects. Thus, 'the principal characteristic of kings
is pleasure. . . pleasure is consonant with kingship provided it is
rooted in greatness. Pleasure rooted in greatness does . not pass
away.' This is typical of the whole Zoroastrian ethos; the King is
the centre of the universe, and the goal of the universe is happi-
ness." 2 3 Good kings remained embedded in the Zoroastrian mem-
ory long after their departure from this world—" just as Christian-
ity has its communion of saints, Zoroastrianism has its communion
of kings." 24

However, the Sassanids failed to realize the danger implicit in

identifying their faith too closely with an earthly monarch. And all
too soon, Zoroastrianism found that excessive dependence upon
the Sassanian emperors could be fatal. Since the Persian faith and
the imperial hierarchy were treated as two aspects of a single
indivisible reality, a political defeat entailed a religious disaster.
When the Sassanian monarchy was toppled, the Parsi state religion
was badly crippled. By relying on Caesar, Ahura-Mazda almost
suffered the fate of Caesar. To follow the prophet Zarathustra in the
eyes of the Muslim conquerors was not only a theological error, but
also a quasi-political crime. Hence, until Parsi refugees fled in
considerable numbers to India and reconstituted themselves as a
religious community in exile, Zoroastrianism appeared to be
doomed to extinction.
The fact that the Good Religion was seen as the religion best
23
Zaehner, Ibid, p. 299.
24
Ibid. p. 301.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 143

equipped to bring about creative evolution in society, often re-

sulted with non-Iranian religions suffering under Zoroastrian rule.
Zarathustra himself preached holy war and enjoined the faithful to
treat the wicked badly (justly). "Under the Sassanids, from the
time of Karter onwards, Manichaens, Christians, and Buddhists
etc. were persecuted." Zarathustra was adamant in urging "that
25

the forces of Lie should be combated by arms. However, under

2"

Muslim rule, Zoroastrianism lost its aggressive stance.

Despite their high code of ethics the Parsi faith of today, like
the other orthodox prophetic religions, often is cursed with a
negative spirit of legalism and ritualism. Classic explications of
Zoroastrian ethics, for example, include commandments to bury
one's nail parings, to avoid throwing out water after dark, to refuse
a drink from an earthenware cup used by an unbeliever, or to
require that the dead be placed on top of a tower to be eaten by
vultures. However, in taking an overall view, those who have
studied Parsi morality from ancient times til the present, conclude,
with Jackson, that "If we take the Zoroastrian religion in its
entirety and view it in the light of the early period to which it
belongs, we shall come to the conviction that outside of the Jewish
and Christian scriptures it would be hard to find a higher standard
of morality, a nobler code of ethics, than that embodied in the
teachings of the great prophet of Ancient Iran." 27

IV. ZOROASTRIAN ESCHATOLOGY

Eschatology and the Afterlife
While apocalypticism and eschatological expectancy as such
play a negligible role in modern Parsi thought, there is hope yet
that sometime, probably in the distant future, Ahura-Mazda will
restore the universe according to His plan. Historically, however,
the features of the end times were quite vivid in the Zoroastrian
mind.

" Duchesne-Guillemin, Ibid, p. 148.

26
lbid, p. 148.
27
Jackson, Zoroastrian Studies, p. 141.
144 ZOROASTRIANISM

Jackson writes: "Among the nations of antiquity there seems.

to have been none that had a more clearly developed system of
eschatology, a firmer conviction of the immortality of the soul, and
a surer belief in a resurrection and a future life, than had the ancient
Iranians so far as we can judge from their sacred literature."'
In the Gathas, Zarathustra expresses his unshakable faith that
Ahura-Mazda will emerge victorious in His millenia-long battle
with Ahriman. He is certain that in the hereafter the good will be
rewarded and the wicked punished. Further, at the end of history
when the good God reasserts His rightful sovereignty over His
creation, the world will be restored to perfection; the dead shall
arise to enjoy immortal life; and happiness will become the fran-
chise of all mankind.
In his preaching and poetry the prophet gives utterance to an
essentially eschatological hope. He is much more than a religious
reformer. Nor can he be fully portrayed as an ethical teacher
proclaiming the need for higher morality. Beyond his abhorrence
of nature worship and animal sacrifice, Zarathustra is the herald of
a new age-to-come. A mighty crisis is impending; each of us
should feel challenged to choose the side of righteousness. "The
Good Kingdom," as the Parsis call it, is within reach. If enough
people flock to God's standard, He can defeat Satan and establish
the dominion of good over evil. Further, ahead of mankind awaits
the inevitable judgment in which those who are righteous will be
cleansed and the wicked tortured. According to this, Zoroaster
resembles John the Baptist. He like John proclaimed the approach-
ing Kingdom of the judging and redeeming God. A few scholars
2

think that Zarathustra expected such a cataclysmic Day of the Lord

in his own time. If so, later editors of the Gathas have carefully
removed almost all traces of such an imminent apocalyptic reckon-
ing.
Nevertheless, we can be sure of the general beliefs which
together constitute Zoroastrian eschatology: a coming age of per-
fection, the appearance of the Saoshyans (Savior), the resurrection

' A.V. Williams Jackson, Ibid, p. 143.

Jackson, Ibid, pp. 111-115.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 145

of the dead, the punishment of the wicked and cleansing of the

righteous in a flood of molten metal, the purification of hell, and
the regeneration of the entire universe when Ahura-Mazda restores
His sovereignty. The role of man in this cosmic drama is indicated
in the Zend-Avesta prayer: "And may we be those who shall make
this world perfected."
The Zoroastrians do not believe any men are condemned to an
eternal torment in hell. Sinners are punished but the sentence is
only temporary. No good God could tolerate an eternal hell, for
such a place would be in violation of His benevolence as well as
His justice. He makes Ahriman eternally powerless and evil disap-
pears. Ahriman himself is not destroyed but disintegrates into
unconscious, inoperative atoms which have lost their destructive
power. 3
Since Zarathustra was a millenarian prophet, some or most of
Parsi eschatology is derived from his preaching and some from that
of his immediate followers. Because "the Good Kingdom" did
not come as soon as the prophet hoped, Zoroastrianism turned its
attention to the fate of the individual after death, much as Christi-
anity began to stress the personal pilgrimage from earth to heaven
when the apocalyptic hope faded and churchmen doubted that the
Kingdom of God would be realized. During the four centuries of
the Sassanian empire, Zoroastrians may have felt their state-
supported faith was a foretaste of Ahura-Mazda's universal
Kingdom-to-come. By the time the Muslim armies had overrun
Persia and outlawed Zoroastrianism, the coming Kingdom must
have seemed very distant indeed. Scholars have conjectured that in
such an age the original Zoroastrian theory of history was reinter-
preted. If so, Parsis possibly saw man to be still living in the
millenial epoch of battle between Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman, as
opposed to the final era in which Ahriman is rendered powerless.
In regards to physical death, because Parsis are so conscien-
tious about not defiling themselves or polluting the "good earth,"
serious problems arise. Zoroaster himself denounced both ordi-
3
Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism, p. 315.
146 ZOROASTRIANISM

nary customs of eliminating the corpse. Burial pollutes the earth;

burning it defiles the sacred fire. To solve these difficulties, Parsis
built towers on top of which the bodies of the dead would be placed
until the bones were picked clean by vultures. When the scaven-
gers had accomplished their work, the bare bones would be
dropped into pits where they gradually turn to dust. Such "towers
of silence" are still used by the Parsis in and around Bombay, and
distinguish them from any other faith.
As for the journey of the soul, Zoroastrians believe that three
days must pass between the physical death of a person and his
ultimate fate. A righteous soul will be welcomed to heaven. This
4

paradise is called "the abode of song," probably because the

prophet was a poet and balladeer. Wicked men on the other hand,
especially demon-worshippers, are consigned to languish for a
ti me in hell. For those who are not intolerably evil nor patently
good, there is an in-between, limbo-like destination where they
remain until the day of final restoration.
What takes place in the three day period immediately after
death is a subject of considerable discussion in Parsi sacred litera-
ture. We read that the righteous soul sings hymns of praise to
Ahura-Mazda while the wicked bewail their fate and try to get back
into their bodies. Every person is either attacked by lurking de-
mons or protected by guardian spirits. Prayers on behalf of the
deceased seem to be especially useful to ward off attacks by evil
spirits; on the whole, however, Zoroastrianism insists that one's
earthly deeds and only these determine his future destination.
On the fourth day, the moment of truth dawns: the soul meets
its conscience. If he is good, he sees a beautiful young maiden; if
not she is quite the opposite. Islam appears to have adopted this
conception that the departed soul meets the personification of its
actions, though the woman of the Parsis becomes male in
Muhammad's faith. The "houris" that await the faithful follower
5

of Muhammad also are found in the ancient Iranian faith.

Jal Dastur Curseji Pavry, The Zoroastrian Doctrine of A Future Life, AMS Press,
N.Y., 1965.
3
Vide pp. 167-170, "Apocalyptic Preacher."
 ZOROASTRIANISM 147

What will happen to mankind following Zoroaster's death is

recorded in the Bahman Yast , in the form of a vision Ahura-Mazda
gives Zoroaster. The pessimistic picture of history in continuous
and rapid decline that Zarathustra received is peculiar to apocalyp-
tic thinking, Jewish, Christian or Parsi. God's inauguration of His
age of righteousness, peace and piety is not due to man's gradual
progression to ever-higher levels of material achievement or
spiritual insight. Far from it. Man is rather sliding so rapidly to the
bottom of the pit that God will have to act in a decisive, astonishing
manner to keep the human race from final doom.

The Apocalyptic Vision

Like all apocalyptic faiths, Zoroastrianism had seers who
claimed to have received revelations about the whole future of
mankind. Much in the same fashion as the Jewish visionaries and
the Christian prophets, Pahlavi mystics were granted a preview of
forthcoming events and received from Ahura-Mazda detailed
knowledge of the eschatalogical time-table. In fact, in the Bahman
Yast one finds a type of religious literature comparable to the Old
Testament book of Daniel or the New Testament Apocalypse of
John of Patmos.
Apocalyptic is said to be the child of an age of widespread
disillusionment and despair. Zoroastrianism, as we have seen, had
its age of troubles. After the conversion of Vishtaspa and the
brilliant era of the Persian empire of Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes,
Alexander the Great and his idol-worshipping Greeks ravaged the
Middle East. Then again, following the four-hundred year Sassa-
nian empire which restored Zoroastrianism to its former niche as
the state faith came the onslaughts of the Muslims. Both of these
invasions furnished fertile soil for apocalyptic thinking. When
conditions are so unfavorable and Ahriman seems to be in such
complete control of the world, surely Ahura-Mazda would initiate
a counter-offensive and reassert His rightful sovereignty!
Quite naturally, the age before the final Rehabilitation is
marked by the presence of monstrous evils, and feels, to use a
Jewish expression, the birth-pangs of the Messiah. Apocalyptic
148 ZOROASTRIANISM

writers are at their best in depicting the horrors of the last days prior
to God's dramatic reversal of the course of history. Sons will no
longer love their fathers. In seven out of ten cases the corn fields
will yield a diminished crop. Children will be born stunted. Those
from the lower classes will marry the daughters of the nobility.
Affection for one's country will disappear. Deceit, rapacity and
misgovernment will devastate all of Persia. 6

Political mismanagement, social decay and natural disorder

will be accompanied by religious decline. Out of five possible sins,
priests and their disciples will commit three. Only one "in a
hundred, in a thousand, in a myriad" will continue to believe in the
Good Religion.' The fire temples, which once had a thousand
attendants, will be reduced to a solitary caretaker. Among the
believers, sectarianism and false opinions will flourish. Further,
Iran will be conquered by little foreigners with dishevelled hair.
But perhaps the worst of all, throughout the world men will be
washing, clothing and burying the dead, thereby disregarding the
rules laid down by Zarathustra.
Only when the world is in such complete disorder will a
supernaturally conceived son of Zarathustra, Hushedar, be born.
According to the Parsi millenial time-table, this event should have
occurred between 593 and 635 A.D.", 1000 years since the time of
V ishtaspa. The end of the Sassanian monarchy came at about that
ti me. The millenium of Zoroaster was believed to be under the
guidance of Capricorn. His savior son Hushedar would follow in
Aquarius. The trouble with this Zoroastrian eschatological time-
table is that so far as one can discover Hushedar did not make his
advent.`' Zoroastrianism had no renaissance following the terrors
of the "last days." There was no revival of interest in the prophet's
faith and no restoration of his cult as the state religion of Persia.
Hushedar was supposed to prove his power as the long-expected
Prophet by making the sun stand still for ten days and nights.
6
Bahman Yast 2:23-35.
7
lbid, 2:37.
8
The time of Muhammad's rise.
9
Cf. footnote by E.W. West, Sacred Books of the East, vol. V, pp. 219-220.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 149

Neither secular history nor Parsi writers offer evidence that any
such event took place. Vahram the Vargavand of Samarkand was
supposed to aid Hushedar with an army which would drive out the
demonic invaders and so utterly destroy the wicked that none
would be left to pass into the coming millenium. He too is un-
known in history. Instead, we have the Muslim conquest, the
Mongol invasion and the coming of the Seljuk Turks, none of
which was in the slightest way favorable to the Zoroastrian cause.
The next millenium, that of Zarathustra's second son
Hushedar-mah, was to have begun about 1600 A.D., according to
the prophecies in the Bahman Yast. Though prophetic information
about this age is scanty, a couple of predictions are notable:

And afterward, when the millenium of Hushedar-mah

comes, through Hushedar-mah the creatures become
more progressive, and he utterly destroys the fiend of
serpent origin (Az-i-Dahak) and Peshyotanu, son of
Vishtaspa, becomes, in like manner, high priest and
primate of the world. In that millenium of Hushedar-
mah mankind becomes so versed in medicine, and keep
and bring physic and remedies so much in use, that
when they are confessedly at the point of death they do
10
not thereupon die... .

For the Parsi, the second thousand winters after Zoroaster will
be characterized by material and social progress, amazing medical
advances, the birth of a world religion supervised by a defender of
the Periian faith and the toleration of innumerable theological
heresies. For the author of a book prepared so long ago (the final
editor lived prior to the 13th century), to so aptly predict the main
characteristics of modern times is a remarkable feat indeed.
According to the Bahman Yast, the religious tolerance of an
era or its indifferentism gives encouragement to Ahriman. "Az-
i- Dahak," the frightful monster of illegal government, who has

" Bahman Yast 3:52-54.

150 ZOROASTRIANISM

been chained ever since his regime had been overthrown thousands
of years before, is recalled in the last days to reinstitute his
oppressive rule of mankind.
Parsi theology is attempting to recount a profound truth. In
the last analysis, the final, most hideous foe of man is oppressive
government. Just as the Christian Apocalypse identified the anti-
Christ with the Roman State (which claimed to be divine), so did
the Zoroastrian apocalypticist point out that the ultimate enemy of
the human spirit is a revolutionary and insurrectionist power which
turns out to be tyrannical. Furthermore, warns the Bahman Yast,
such a demonic force will be let loose on the world at a time of
material and intellectual progress, scientific advance and all sorts
of religious novelties.
For the unknown author of the Bahman Yast, the unlawful
government that destroys a third of mankind is the inevitable
prelude to Ahura-Mazda' s final triumph. It is at this point that one
of the most debatable points of prophetic theology, and also one of
the most enduring, comes into play.
In Christianity today, this doctrine—the literal resurrection of
the dead—is one of the most difficult for the modern scientific
mind to accept. It seems, if we are to believe the account of
Zatspram, a ninth century Zoroastrian priest, that this doctrine also
proved difficult for Zarathustra to accept:

Zoroaster asked Ohrmazd: 'Shall bodily creatures that

have passed away on earth receive their bodies back at
the final Rehabilitation, or will they be like unto
shades?'
Ohrmazd (said): 'They will receive their bodies back
and will rise again.'
And Zoroaster asked: 'He who has passed away is torn
apart by dog and bird and carried off by wolf and
vulture: how will (their parts) come together again?'
Ohrmazd said: 'If thou who art Zoroaster hadst to make
a wooden casket, would it be easier to make it if thou
hadst no wood and yet hadst to cut and fit it, or if thou
 ZOROASTRIANISM 151

hadst a casket and its parts were sundered one from the
other and thou hadst to fit it together again?'
Zoroaster said: 'If I had a branch of wood, it would be
easier than if I had no wood; and if I had a casket (and its
parts were sundered the one from the other), it would be
easier (to fit it together again than if I had no wood and
yet had to fashion and fit it).'
Ohrmazd said: 'When those creations were not, I had
power to fashion them; and now that they have been and
are scattered abroad, it is easier to fit them together
again. . .'"
Presiding over this phenomena will be the third and last
supernaturally conceived son of Zarathustra, the Saoshyans, who
will arrive as King and Savior. First, he will raise the bones of
Gayomart, mankind's first ancestor, then Mashye and Mashyane,
mankind's first parents, and finally all men, both those who are
saved and those who are damned.
Concerning the state of the restored universe details are com-
paratively sparse in Pahlavi religious literture. From most accounts
the new world appears very materialistic, though "words. . .are
once again inadequate to the reality, for 'the joys of the final
body. . . are such as cannot be known by the finite intellect and
reason of man, nor can they be spoken of.' "12
It is known,
however, that a man will be reunited with his wife or wives, having
"his pleasure of them though no children will be born." ' Perhaps
13

the eminent Zoroastrian theologian Manuschihr provides us with

the most lucid contrast between the evils we have suffered and their
absence in the age-to-come. In Dadistan-i-Dinik (Religious Opin-
ions) this late 9th century Parsi high priest outlines the Zoroastrian
affirmation which remains for many believers today a very vivid
option:
After the renovation of the universe there is no demon,
because there is no deceit; and no fiend, because there is
" Quoted in Zaehner, !bid, p. 317.
12
Zaehner, 'bid, p. 319.
/bid, p. 320.
152 ZOROASTRIANISM

no falsity; there is no evil spirit, because there is no

destruction; there is no hell because there is no wicked-
ness; there is no strife, because there is no anger. . . on
the disappearance of evil, every good is perfected, and
in the time of complete goodness it is not possible to
occasion any pain or distress whatever, by any means,
to any creatures."

V. THE MEANING OF HISTORY

In his lectures at the University of Liverpool, published under
the title History, Time and Deity, Professor S.G.F. Brandon com-
pares Judaism and Zoroastrianism as two religions which agree
that the course of human events seen through the eyes of the
believer "is the revelation of divine purpose." ' For followers of
5

Moses, Zarathustra and Jesus, history is fraught with positive

teleological import. Whereas for Vedanta Hinduism, Plato and
Neo-platonism, man finds eternity above and outside of the tem-
poral dimension, Zoroastrians confront the enigma of time and
claim to disclose its meaning.
However, for a variety of reasons, the Parsi faith has not
developed its philosophy of history in an extended form compara-
ble to Augustine's City of God, for example. And beyond that, one
confronts in Parsi writings two exceedingly complicated problems:
the function of myth and the meaning of "holy history." Myth in
this context refers on the one hand to tales about the gods which are
purely fictitious; that is, meaningless and incredulous for modern
man. The orthodox Zoroastrian story that the first man and woman
grew out of a rhubarb plant is a mythical account in this pejorative
sense. On the other hand, myth may also refer to an interpretation
of nature and human destiny so profound that it can only be
revealed in powerful poetic imagery. For all of the world religions
that type of myth seems to play a crucial role. Sublime use of
14
Dadistan-i-Dinik 37:120-122.
15
S.G.F. Brandon, History; Time and Deity, Barnes and Noble, 1965, pp. 140-147.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 153

temporal language is employed to suggest transtemporal meaning.

Certain levels of meaning and deep layers of reality can only be
touched in an indirect and highly symbolic fashion. C.G. Jung has
particularly emphasized this aspect of the psyche and its grasp of
reality.
In the Parsi creation story we find such a myth. The biologists
can tell us with reasonable certainty that there was never a three
thousand year epoch in which life on earth was restricted to a single
man (Gayomart) and a gigantic ox. Are we then dealing with a
primitive cosmology which is hopelessly obsolete?
The very fact that the Bundahis makes explicit reference to
the signs of the zodiac suggests that we are confronted with a
mystical cosmology rather than a scientific one. Then is there a
deep truth that Parsi myth has penetrated? Gayomart and the ox
seem to symbolize the ultimate significance of manhood and
physical creativity: in the last analysis—the myth seems to empha-
size—nothing is quite so important in creation as the vitality which
man shares with other living creatures. Man and beast exist in a
symbiotic relationship. Though they are dissimilar—one repre-
senting the distinctly human (and thus God-like) condition, one
signifying the purely vital, procreative force—they mutually bene-
fit from each other, and fulfill a fundamental bipolarity.
In terms of "holy history," students of Parsi thought express
surprise that there is no religious glorification of the great Persian
emperors like Darius, Cyrus, Xerxes and Artaxerxes. Aside from
making Alexander the Great into an agent of Ahriman, Zoroas-
trians seem to take little interest in the dispensational significance
of specific political happenings.Whereas Israelite prophets and
annalists judged the reign of each monarch from a doctrinal
perspective, Parsi theologians—though adhering to the monarchy
in general—left specific applications of their philosophy of history
to the discretion of individual believers. It is conceivable that they
had sufficient acquaintance with the ambiguities and relativities of
politics to avoid simplistic judgments about the modus operandi of
God or Satan in national affairs. Whatever their motivation, from
all the evidence, Zoroastrian theology is marked by its realistic
154 ZOROASTRIANISM

assessment of human events. It avoids the pitfalls of both exorbi-

tant optimism and extreme gloom. By stressing the element of
struggle at the heart of history, it fosters the assiduous practice of
virtue. By accentuating the magnitude of man's free will, it never
succumbs to fatalism.
A theology of history is based on the thesis that God (or Satan)
is known by His acts. Then, positive valuation is placed upon the
passage of time. Time in itself is thought to possess revelatory
meaning. In opposition to those faiths which advocate an escape
from the realm of time, Zoroastrianism affirms its importance. Not
in a super-terrestrial world, but here, now, God and man labor to
subjugate evil.
In the Gayomart and ox myth one can see how time is
conceived for classic Parsi thought. Although the myth transcends
the limitations of time in any ordinary sense, the story is securely
placed in a temporal frame. This mixture of time and eternal
significance, however, can easily lead to misunderstanding.
Gayomart and the ox did not exist at some earlier period in history
but are ideal models by which one can comprehend all history.
They are not creatures of clock-time but represent archetypal
realities by which one can judge human existence at any period.
They point to the temporal sphere and have no import apart from it;
yet they are not immersed in time or subject to it. That is,
Gayomart and the ox cannot be interpreted as past realities because
they possess an eternal validity. Zoroastrianism, like Judaism and
Christianity, tries valiantly to insist on the metaphysical signifi-
cance of time with a very inadequate language by which to distin-
guish between existential time and calendar time."
In considering the meaning of history for the Parsi, perhaps of
greatest moment is the grand finale that his theology postulates.
I 6
Chronological and existential time can however be easily distinguished. Chronolog-
ical time is the product of an exercise in technical reason based on solar or lunar changes of
observable regularity and is employed for convenience in ordinary measurement. Existen-
tial time involves moments of great personal significance—a birthday, puberty, parenthood,
conversion, for example. Paul Tillich uses the two Greek words—kronos and kairos — to
differentiate between simple duration and moments alive with meaning for an individual or
a civilization.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 155

Here, the positive aspect of the apocalyptic hope is highlighted.

The triumph of Ahura-Mazda is not a doomsday. God's victory
implies a cleansing, it is true; but for all mankind without excep-
tion the final destiny will be a happy one. As the Dadistan-il-Dinik
clearly states. . ."the good creator granting forgiveness and full of
goodness would not abandon any creature to the fiend." 17
Zoroastrian philosophy of history attempts to synthesize two
very different beliefs which would ordinarily be considered an-
tithetical. First, the Parsi theologian asserts that God reveals Him-
self and manifests His purpose inside history. That is, the human
record of achievement in some real and demonstrable sense repre-
sents the movement of God. History contains a vertical as well as
horizontal dimension.
Nevertheless, a second conviction is expressed with equal
enthusiasm. For Ahura-Mazda to triumph, history must have an
end-time. God wins only as the temporal process we now experi-
ence concludes. The meaning of history can only be clarified in a
realm beyond it. When the hardworking Ahura-Mazda takes His
rest, time ceases. In a very important sense, history, though mean-
ingful, is not in itself a redemptive process, because it must be
transcended or at least transformed in the most dramatic fashion.
Complete sovereignty for Ahura-Mazda can be exercised only
through the creation of a new heaven and new earth. It would hence
seem as though Zoroastrianism lives by a temporary this-
worldliness in preparation for an ultimate other-worldliness. Time
looks to be of merely provisional validity.
One cannot overlook the sharp line of demarcation between
this world and the world-to-come. In the Parsi view—though
certain features bear resemblance—there is at best only an analogi-
cal similitude between our age and the Kingdom. A river of liquid
metal separates them. Man will no longer have a shadow, eating
will not be of any interest to men, etc.
In this respect, within the very structure of Zoroastrian theol-
ogy have been planted seeds which could cause its dissolution.

" Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVIII, chap. 75:3.

156 ZOROASTRIANISM

Many found the tension between this-worldliness and other-

worldliness too great to bear. At least in some forms of Sassanian
Zoroastrianism the religious ethic was reduced to conventional
respectability. Since God lives and works in history, man simply
adjusted to the present situation and made his peace with the world.
On the other side, the opposite tendency in the course of Zoroas-
trian religious development has been no less evident.
Mithraism—exceedingly popular in the Roman empire—
concentrated on the thirst for immortality. Like some types of
Christianity at the same time, it was primarily interested in a
felicitous after-life. Manichaeism, the later offshoot, became
avowedly anti-worldly and preached a gospel of the most rigid
asceticism. Since the world-to-come was alone of worth, this life
was denied in every way possible.
Those who accept the basic validity of an apocalyptic in-
terpretation of history can learn from the experience of Zoroas-
trianism what pitfalls to avoid. Zoroaster himself would have
insisted that an eschatological hope means an appreciation for the
values of this world, in opposition to his otherworldly successors.
He would likewise insist that such a hope would involve a new
social order and not merely a personal quest for immortality.
How he would view the Parsis in India today is another
matter. Certainly their status is in no wise secure. Since the
independence of India in 1947, Parsis have been diminished by a
regime which "tending towards a form of socialism or state
capitalism, attacks the private fortunes. Since nothing can hence-
forward subsist without state help, the Parsee schools, for in-
stance, will have to open their doors to non-Parsees—or perish.
What will presently be left of their beliefs and customs, of the very
consciousness that they form a group, and of their will to maintain
it? It is conceivable that the Parsee community may vanish into the
melting pot of the new India. The smallest of the great religions
would then cease to exist.""
18
Duchesne-Guillemin, Ibid, p. 14.
 411111PF

ZOROASTRIANISM 157

The Zoroastrian Heritage

Some scholars, like George Foot Moore of Harvard, lay great
stress on the geography and climate of Iran which were peculiarly
potent in molding the Zoroastrian religion. The climatic environ-
ment and the conditions for earning one's livelihood greatly helped
the Persian to be energetic, courageous, resourceful and watchful.
Therefore it was almost inevitable for the Iranian genius to focus
upon practical matters.

Hard reasonableness marks its thinking

adaptability distinguishes its action."

Because men had to wring a meagre living from an unkindly

nature, cursed with violent extremes of heat and cold, they recog-
nized the value of an industrious spirit. Since Persians also had to
defend themselves from marauding desert nomads and predatory
mountain tribesmen, life was interpreted as an unceasing battle
with hostile powers, both visible and invisible. To stay alive a man
had to combat evil and do all he could to overcome it. Through
faith in Ahura-Mazda, the Parsi was saved from frustration and
despair. With the guidance and leadership of sacred powers, he
became assured that good is mightier than evil and will ultimately
prevail. Such a faith provided the qualities needed to seize control
of the Middle East and govern it effectively. To a large degree,
Zoroastrianism inherited from the older folk religion a strenuous
and militant ethic, refined it, and spread it from the borders of India
to the beaches of Asia Minor.
Yet Persian military might and imperial splendor had their day
and vanished. The lasting significance of Zoroastrianism must be
found elsewhere. Aside from the stalwart little band who still
revere the Prophet Zarathustra and observe the ancient rites of the
Good Religion, Zoroastrianism is of permanent value because of
its ideological impact on exilic Judaism and later Christianity. It
planted seeds which sprouted, grew, blossomed and produced fruit

19
G.F. Moore, History of Religions, Scribner's, N.Y., 1920, vol. 1, p. 358.
158 ZOROASTRIANISM

in the synagogue and church for many centuries.

An eschatological world view and an apocalyptic hope are
Zarathustra's major contributions to mankind's dawning world
religion. In the opinion of many scholars, from the Zoroastrian
religion the Jews in Babylonian captivity learned about the malice
of Satan, the host of angelic servants of God, the cosmic battle
between good and evil, the resurrection of the dead, the reality of
hell and the kingdom of God to be estabished on earth through the
mission of the Messiah. All of the essential doctrines Judaism
transmitted to Christianity in regard to the Messianic hope came to
the people of Israel from the Zoroastrians. Cyrus the Great allowed
the Hebrews to return to their homes; but his nation bestowed upon
them so much more—the gifts of an apocalyptic philosophy of life
and a mood of eschatological expectancy. Nor should the vertical
direction in history be overlooked. A very limited view would
restrict the infusion of Zoroastrian apocalypticism into Judaism as
simply an historical fact without providential significance. Yet the
theist affirms God's impact on human events and attempts to
understand them in that light. Who is to say that God could not
instruct exilic Jews through the Zoroastrians (who were monothe-
ists themselves) even as He instructed them through their own
prophets? Can not the Creator of this vast and intricate universe
foresee circumstances that would lead two peoples together and
use them for enriching man's spiritual knowledge?
However much the Zoroastrians may have erred in their
timing of the apocalyptic age, surely civilization has benefitted
spiritually from the Messianism of Israel and Christianity which
was inherited from the Parsees. And the fact remains that the basic
elements of the hope for a new age revealed 25 centuries ago to the
Persian prophet by the God who is beyond time, and whose truth is
eternal, are very much alive in the consciousness of men of religion
today.
 ZOROASTRIANISM 159

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