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ZOROASTRIANISM

ZOROASTRIANISM. FOUNDER. Zoroastrianism was founded by the Persian prophet Zoroaster .(Nobody is sure when the Religion was found but some estimate it was around 6000 B.C.) Zoroaster was born in the west of Iran in Takht -e- Suleman in the district of Azerbaijan.

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ZOROASTRIANISM

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  1. ZOROASTRIANISM

  2. FOUNDER • Zoroastrianism was founded by the Persian prophet Zoroaster.(Nobody is sure when the Religion was found but some estimate it was around 6000 B.C.) • Zoroaster was born in the west of Iran in Takht-e-Suleman in the district of Azerbaijan. • Zoroaster was the greatest prophet among the ancient Iranians. • When the Prophet of Iran was born, nature rejoiced. The trees, rivers and flowers expressed their joy and delight. The demons were frightened. As soon as the child was born, he did not cry like an ordinary mortal. He made a loud laughter. Many angels and archangels came to adore him.

  3. DEMOGRAPHIES • When Muslim Arabs invaded Persia in 650 CE, a small number of Zoroastrians fled to India where most are concentrated today. • There are fewer than 100,000 Zoroastrians in the world today. • They now number only about 8,000 and reside chiefly in Yazd, Kernan and Tehran in what is now Iran. • According to the Fezana Journal survey, published quarterly by the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America, there are about 11,000 Zoroastrians in the United States, 6,000 in Canada, 5,000 in England, 2,700 in Australia and 2,200 in the Persian Gulf nations.

  4. BELIEFS • Zoroastrians believe in a single God, who is named Ahura Mazda. Ahura means "Lord” and Mazda means "Wisdom". (Ahura Mazda is good, holy, supreme, and the creator of all things). • Their purpose in this world is to help God make the world a better pace to live. • They also identify an active force of evil in the world -- a powerful spirit by the name of Angra Mainyu. • Humans have the choice to choose good or evil. In the end, Ahura Mazda will triumph over evil. • They believe in a Heaven and a Hell. • They are a monotheistic Religion because they believe in one God Ahura Mazda, who is the supreme.

  5. HOLY BOOKs • Zoroastrian holy book is called the Avesta. • It includes the original words of their founder, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the Gathas. • The Avesta often resembles a prayer book and has few narratives.

  6. WORSHIP • The most important place of worship is the Temple of Fire, which a fire burns as a symbol of the holiness of Ahura Mazda. • The purpose of Zoroastrian worship is to celebrate life and give praise for the wondrous creations of the world, to contemplate good to deprecate evil. • Traditionally, this takes place five times a day at set times following the progress of the sun. • Zoroastrians have many communal celebratory occasions integrated into the religious calendar, most of which involve worship followed by eating together.

  7. Important Rituals • Today’s Zoroastrians practice an important coming of age ritual, in which all young Zoroastrians must be initiated when they reach the age of seven(in India) or 10(in Persia). • They receive the shirt(sadre) and the girdle(Kusti), which they are to wear their whole life. Zoroastrian burial rituals center on exposure of the dead. After death, a dog is brought before the corpse. The ritual is repeated five times a day. After the first one, fire is brought into the room where it is kept burning until three days after the removal of the corpse to the Tower of silence. The removal must be done during the daytime.

  8. Attitudes toward women • A woman's willingness to speak her views in the presence of her partner and for those views to be accepted as valid was characteristic and still is. In every sense the Zoroastrian woman has maintained her equality of position in society

  9. Ethical guidelines • The sacred ethics of Zoroastrianism provide a perfect guide to every person on this planet to reach immortality and enlightenment without renouncing mental and physical freedom and choice.

  10. AFTERLIFE • Three days after death the soul remains at the head of its former body. • All of the individual's good and bad deeds are entered in a sort of accountant's ledger, recording evil actions as debits and good actions as credits. • The soul then embarks on a journey to judgment, walking out onto the Chinvat Bridge. • In the middle of the bridge, there is a sharp edge which stands like a sword; and hell is below the Bridge. Then the soul is carried to where there stands a sword. • If the soul is righteous, the sword presents its broad side. If the soul is wicked, that sword continues to stand edgewise, and does not give passage. • A person's deeds greet him on the bridge in personified form – a beautiful maiden for a good person; an ugly hag for a bad person - who either leads the soul to paradise ("the luminous mansions of the sky") or embraces the soul and falls into hell, according to whether the person has been good or evil.

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