Iranian Zoroastrian leaves the Temple.
Once the religion of the glorious Persian Empire. Zoroastrians are now a dying breed in Iran.
On or off iran ping
Posted on 06/18/2004 3:25:42 PM PDT by freedom44
YAZD, Iran (AFP) - In the burning desert north of this ancient Iranian city, the the Islamic republic's last followers of the Zoroastrian religion are making their annual pilgrimage to the temple of Chak-Chak.
"We are a species on the road to extinction," laments Babak, a man in his sixties who came from Tehran with his wife for the annual pilgrimage to one of the Zoroastrians' holiest sites -- the rocky peak of Chak-Chak.
The site is a 70-kilometer (50-mile) drive from the central Iranian city of Yazd, the historical capital of what many consider to be the world's first monotheistic religion.
From the foot of towering rocks, pilgrims make their way up hundreds of steps to a cave to pray and drink clear water from a spring.
"This grotto is a historic site for us. After the invasion of the Arabs 1,400 years ago, King Yazdgerd III escaped to this desert," recounts Ghoshtasb Belivani, head of the Zoroastrian association at Sharifabad, the nearest town.
Yazdgerd III was the last Sassanian king, and last leader of the nation before Islam was imposed as its official religion.
"He was arrested at the same time as his first daughter. They were taken to Arabia. Nikbanou, his second daughter, took refuge in the grotto to escape the invaders," Belivani explained.
"After she cried and prayed, the mountain opened up and Nikbanou entered, and the mountain closed behind her. Since then, pure water has been pouring, drop by drop, from these rocks."
Legend also has it that a petrified colourful cloth from Nikbanou was also visible in the rocks, although pilgrims eventually took this.
"It may just be folklore, but it is undeniable that somebody important or a group of Zoroastrians took refuge here," added Kasra Vafadari, a respected member of the community and a teacher of history at the University of Nanterre, France.
Furthermore, scholars point out that the route was used in following centuries for Zoroastrians fleeing Iran -- or Persia as it was formerly known -- to escape religious persecution.
Once inside the grotto, women shrouded in white cast off their veils -- obligatory in Islamic Iran -- and drink tea and wine, which is permitted for religious use by non-Muslims in the Islamic republic.
They also read the Avesta, their sacred book, and light candles and incense. The annual pilgrimage, one of the highlights of the Zoroastrian calendar, lasts just 10 days.
Along with Judaism and Christianity, Zoroastrianism is a recognized -- and therefore permitted -- religion in Iran, where officially 99 percent of the 66 million-strong population are Muslims.
The religion was founded by Zarathustra -- known to the Greeks as Zoroaster -- a Persian prophet who believed he had seen visions of a God he called Ahura Mazda. Historians believe he lived at least 600 years BC.
Zoroastrianism was also dualistic -- with God having an opponent, Aura Mainyu.
Zarathustra taught that humans are free to choose between right and wrong, truth and lie, and light and dark, and that their acts, words, and thoughts would affect their lives after death.
Their keeping of a sacred fire in their temples, symbolising light, led many to refer to them as "fire worshippers".
Many believe such precepts had a profound influence on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Zoroastrianism also referred to an opposition between body and soul, a concept that is also central to the Islamic faith.
In a concession to their Persian roots and in contrast to many Sunni Muslim scholars, the Shiite regime here recognizes them as Kittabiyah -- or people of the book and fellow monotheists as opposed to Kufr, or infidels.
But their numbers are declining sharply. Centuries of persecution have forced many to flee to India, where they are known as the Parsi and number between 80,000 and 100,000.
Discrimination in Iran continues today, for example in seeking employment in the state sector where Muslims are preferred.
Certain practices have also been outlawed. They no longer leave their dead on "towers of silence" to be devoured by vultures and not pollute the earth.
And ironically, the faith has also fallen victims to its own laws, notably the strict laws limiting their prospects of marriage to within their own community.
"Before the (1979 Islamic) revolution, there were more than 48,000 Zoroastrians. But today there are maybe 22,000, even though the population of Iran has doubled," Vafadari said.
"People are leaving because they have no future here."
FYI
Well, their marriage rule is really taking a bite out of their numbers.
I heard about a reform movement that encourages marriage to the outside.
When in power the Shah of Iran consistently met with Zoroastrian Magi [Priests] to encourage them to increase their numbers, but that all went to the trash can with the Islamic Republic.
"but that all went to the trash can with the Islamic Republic."
Along with most everything else
Not exactly monotheistic; they only worship one god, but they believe in the existence of two-- Ahura Mazda (the good guy) and Ahriman (the bad guy).
Ahriman (the bad guy) or Aura Mainyu, is the origin of Satan, or The Devil.. ( That "other" bad guy )
And, IIRC, the concept of a Heaven and a Hell came from Zoroaster as well..
Later to be adopted by those "other" monotheistic religions..
I'm not so sure they actually worshipped Ahriman, as much as acknowledged his (it's? ) existence and influence on the lives of humanity..
Zoroastrian friends have told me they don't and have never worshipped the devil figure in the faith and therefore the religion is monotheistic.
Note his blue eyes, light skin and straight nose. Persian is an Indo-European language and modern-day Persians are at least partially descended from Indo-European invaders who swept out of Europe, passed through the Middle East, conquered India, and, I think, some swung back into what we now call Iran. Up until WWII, Iran was called Persia. I think that the name "Iran" is derived from "Aryan."
I knew an American woman married to a Parsee from India.
The Good Guy
But if they intermarried with Islamics that would do the same thing. Too bad but the Persian people are a conquered people --- conquered by their Arab masters who forced the Arab religion on them.
It's interesting that the magi or wise men in the Bible were likely Zoroastrian priests or astrologers --- followed a moving star all the way to Jesus.
bttt
I've always wondered if Mazda got it's name from Ahura Mazda.
The Mystery of the Three Kings
Matthew describes the three men, not as kings, but as wise men or 'Magi'. Historic writings reveal that the Magi were priests who later became the religious masters of ancient Persia - which lies to the east of Israel.
Deep beneath the busy streets of Rome in the catacombs, there is evidence to support this theory - early Christian art depicts the Three Kings in the typical dress worn by ancient Persians.
The Magi were highly respected people, advisors to kings and great astrologers. They followed a prophet known as Zoroaster and this ancient mystical religion, which still exists today, also believed in the coming of a Messiah.
Searching early Christian manuscripts, the programme discovers that Zoroaster predicted the birth of Jesus and that Magi legend believed the birth of a son to Zoroaster would be announced by a star.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/12_december/06/mystery_threekings.shtml
The followers of the Three Stooges make their annual pilgrimage to the temple of Nyuk-Nyuk.
If you have any knowledge of Iranian history, relate this coming storm to the fate of the Bahai many years ago. Fanatic Islamicists are a blood-thirsty lot.
The Islamics know that the moon god of the Arabs isn't really the natural religion for the Persian people whose nature is more tolerant and peaceful and intelligent. Plus the Persians aren't really that fond of Arabs even though they could not defend their country against them and have lived under their influence and domination for centuries now. The religions of the Persian people have to be stomped out --- or they will replace Islam and the Arabs lose some of their power in the Middle East.
I have done a great deal of reading about this religion, including some of the Avesta and Pahlavi literature in translation. I have never come across any specific reference to the birth of Jesus.
The religion does speak of the birth of Saoshyant, which is not really an individual, but a group of saintly workers. There will be three Saoshyants born of virgin mothers at the end of three, consecutive millenia. They will all work to bring about righteousness in the world, leading to the final triumph of goodness over evil at the end of the world. The first one is Ukhshyat-ereta, the second is Ukshyat-nemah, the third is Soshyos, the Saoshyant proper.
If the program found a Christian manuscript talking about Zoroastrianism, interpreting Saoshyant as Jesus, then this would be a continuation of the Christian practice of understanding all other religions as prefigurations of Christian truth, pointing to Christ. After all, that is how Christmas got started, demonstrating the continuity between pagan religion and Christianity. The early church saw the birth of the Sun god as a preparation of the Gentiles and brought this holiday to its true meaning and fulfillment as birth of the true Light, which was Christ.
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