Iran the land of devotion : Zoroastrians of Iran

• published: 09 Nov 2014
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Zoroastrianism is a religion founded in ancient times by the prophet Zarathushtra, known to the Greeks as Zoroaster. Zoroastrianism was the dominant world religion during the Persian empires (559 BC to 651 AC), and was thus the most powerful world religion at the time of Jesus. It had a major influence on other religions. It is still practiced world-wide, especially in Iran and India. To quote Mary Boyce, "The prophet Zarathushtra, son of Pourushaspa, of the Spitaman family, is known to us primarily from the Gathas, seventeen great hymns which he composed and which have been faithfully preserved by his community. These are not works of instruction, but inspired, passionate utterances, many of them addressed directly to God; and their poetic form is a very ancient one, which has been traced back (through Norse parallels) to Indo-European times. It seems to have been linked with a mantic tradition, that is, to have been cultivated by priestly seers who sought to express in lofty words their personal apprehension of the divine; and it is marked by subtleties of allusion, and great richness and complexity of style. Such poetry can only have been fully understood by the learned; and since Zoroaster believed that he had been entrusted by God with a message for all mankind, he must also have preached again and again in plain words to ordinary people. His teachings were handed down orally in his community from generation to generation, and were at last committed to writing under the Sasanians, rulers of the third Iranian empire. The language then spoken was Middle Persian, also called Pahlavi; and the Pahlavi books provide invaluable keys for interpreting the magnificent obscurities of the Gathas themselves." - Zoroastrians, Their religious beliefs and practices, London, 1979, pg 17. Read more about this religion from here: A GUIDE TO THE ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION, Scholar's Press, 1982. A Nineteenth Century Catechism by Erachji S. Meherjirana, with translation and commentary by a modern Dastur (High Priest): http://bit.ly/1hiI1Lh http://bit.ly/1garTeX Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices: http://amzn.to/1giI2O9 http://bit.ly/1hEEQBn History of Zoroastrianism (by Maneckji Nusservanji Dhalla) http://bit.ly/1qnc37M " Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees" by J.J. Modi's http://www.avesta.org/ritual/rcc1937.pdf