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Founder
Zarathushtra
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Ancient
Iranian prophet
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Known as Zoroaster
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Religious
reformer in Persia (modern day Iran)
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At 30,
experienced a divine vision of God, transformed his view on life
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Spent
his life preaching and convincing others of his monotheistic religion
Image of Zarathustra, the founder
of Zoroastrianism
Key Figures
Ahura Mazda
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The Supreme
deity, the
Creator, the Lord of the Universe
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Leader of the Amesha
Spentas
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Battles to rid the world
of evil and darkness
Angra Mainyu
Amesha Spentas
(Beneficent Immortals)
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The seven divine beings
belonging to Ahura Mazda
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Messengers or
connection between God and man
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Are "gods without being
gods, creatures without being creatures"
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Help God and man fight
Angra Mainyu for peace and justice
 
Two of the seven Amesha Spentas, Spenta Ameretat and Khshathra Vairya:
the Spirit of Immorality and Righteous Power
Number of Adherents in the World
There are 2 main types of Zoroastrians:
- Parsis - Indian community of
practicing Zoroastrians
- Gabars -Iranian community of
practicing Zoroastrians
The world population of Zoroastrians is
approximately 150,000.
- Estimated 100,000 are in India
- 17,000 in Iran
- 12,000 in North America
- 20,000 outside of Persia and India
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Key
Practices, Rituals or Ceremonies
Jashan Ceremony
- A thanksgiving ceremony
re-enacting the
moment of creation, when the world was in harmony
Nirang-din Ceremony
- Creates the Holy Nirang
- Nirang forms the foundation of other
sacred rituals
- The power of good in the world is
increased and the power of evil is decreased
Coming of Age Ceremony
- Every young Parsis is initiated at age 7
in India and age 10 in Persia
- Receive the sadre (shirt) and kusti
(girdle) to wear for the rest of their life
Yasna Ceremony
- Offerings
of sacred liquor (haoma), bread, milk, meat
and animal fat are brought to please Ahura Mazda
- Ritual purification takes place
- Celebrated in front of the sacred fire,
priests recite the Avesta (the sacred writing)
Burial Rites
- The bodies of the dead are given back to
nature
- After 3 days, corpse is taken to the
dakhma for Dakhma-nashini (corpse destruction by rays of the Sun and flesh
eating vultures)
Worship
- Takes place at fire temple
- 5 daily prayers or hymns are said before
a fire, which represents truth and righteousness
Purification
Ritual
- Important to keep mind, body and
environment pure in order to defeat evil
- Bareshnum,
the most important and complicated of rituals
- The left ear of a special dog is touched
by the followers and and the dog's gaze casts evil spirits away
The Tower of Silence near Yazd, Iran
where Dakhma-nashini takes place
Influence in the
21st Century
- Made significant contributions to major
Western religions
- Came up with important concepts in
Judaism and Christianity: redemption, final judgment, life after death,
Satan as God's enemy, resurrection, souls, and heaven and hell
- Jewish theory may have been influenced
by the post-Babylonian period in exile
- Makes up a small but noticeable,
religious community offering religious education classes, ceremonies, and
receptions
Zoroastrianism is the origin of many concepts
in other religions
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Parsi girls sit outside temple in Bombay,
Iran
Related
Links:
An image of the
winged Faravahar, the Zoroastrian guardian spirit
believed to accompany humans
and to keep the world in motion.
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