ZOROASTRIANISM

                 A Short Overview and Large List of Zoroastrian Links 

               GOOD THOUGHTS,   GOOD WORDS,   GOOD DEEDS.

               ZOROASTRIANISM  An Overview

               Who are the Zaroastrians

                 The Link between Zoroastrian & Germanic mythology

                History of the Ancient Aryans: Outlined in Zoroastrian scriptures

                Zarathushtrian Theodicy

                 Zaroastrian Links

                  ZOROASTRIANISM

                  A Short Overview

Zoroastrianism is the ancient religion of Persia. It was founded about 3500 years ago by the prophet Zarathushtra. Arising out of the polytheistic traditions of ancient India and Iran, he was one of the first monotheists in human history. Zarathushtra preached that there was one God, whom he called Ahura Mazda. Ahura means "Lord," and Mazda means "Wise," so Zoroastrians call God the "Wise Lord." 

Zarathushtra has been known in the West as Zoroaster, from the Greek transliteration of his name; in Persia and India he is known as Zarthosht. No one knows exactly when Zarathushtra lived. Zoroastrian tradition places him at around 600 B.C.E., but this date is thought by modern scholars to be far too late. The modern estimate of Zarathushtra's date is anywhere from 1500 to 1000 B.C.E. The basic scripture of Zoroastrianism is a set of 5 poetic songs called the _Gathas_, which were composed by Zarathushtra himself and have been preserved through the millennia by Zoroastrian priests. Over the years many other scriptures have accumulated around these Gathas. Much of these scriptures were destroyed by the Greek, Muslim, and Mongol invasions, but some remain. The Gathas are still the core text of the faith.They are composed in a very ancient language known as Avestan, which is closely related to Sanskrit. The evidence scholars use to give a time reference to Zarathushtra is linguistic: the language of the hymns composed by the Prophet is similar to the Sanskrit of the Rig-Veda, an ancient Hindu text which has been dated to the period of 1500-1000 B.C.E. In the Gathas, Zarathushtra preached that the One God, Ahura Mazda, is transcendent, but he is in constant relationship with human beings and the world God created through his Attributes. These Attributes are how God reaches the world, and how the world reaches God. Zarathushtra did not specify a fixed number of Attributes, but soon after the Prophet they were specified into seven. These attributes are called the _Amesha Spentas_, or "Bounteous Immortals." Each one of these embodies an attribute of God, as well as a human virtue. They are also symbols for the various sectors of Creation over which God watches. They are: Vohu Manah - Good Thought - connected with Animals Asha Vahishta - Justice and Truth - Fire and Energy Kshathra - Dominion - Metals and minerals Spenta Armaiti - Devotion and Serenity - The earth and land Haurvatat - Wholeness - Waters Ameretat - Immortality - Plants and Spenta Mainyu - Creative Energy - Human beings

In the Gathas these are sometimes personified, and sometimes just Ideas or concepts. In later traditions, they are personified, and become like archangels. They are never worshipped on their own. The "dualism" of Zoroastrianism is known in the "West," but is mostly misunderstood. In the Gathas Spenta Mainyu, the "Holy Creative Spirit," is opposed to Angra Mainyu, the Hostile Spirit. This conflict takes place in the human heart and mind, not in the material Universe. It is the constant struggle between good and evil in human beings. This is _ethical_ dualism, the dualism of Good and Evil. In later traditions this changed into a dualism that took in the material world, dividing the Universe into two camps, each ruled by the Good God or the Evil Spirit. This is called "cosmic" dualism. Some Zoroastrians believe in "cosmic" dualism, others in ethical dualism. The teachings of the Gathas, the original work of the Prophet, tend toward ethical dualism. Zoroastrian worship involves prayers and symbolic ceremonies said before a sacred fire. This fire, which was a God- symbol even before Zarathushtra, was used by the Prophet and by his followers ever after as the ideal sign of God, who is light, warmth, energy. 

Zoroastrians do NOT worship fire, as some people believe. They use Fire as a symbol, or an icon, the focus of their worship. Zoroastrianism does not teach or believe in reincarnation or karma. Zoroastrians believe that after life on earth, the human soul is judged by God as to whether it did more good or evil in its life. Those who chose good over evil go to what Zarathushtra referred to simply as the "best existence," or heaven, and those who chose evil go to the "worst existence," or hell. Zoroastrianism was one of the first religions to give the afterlife a moral dimension. Zoroastrianism also believes in the progress of sacred time, and the eventual end of time. The belief is that the collective good acts of humanity will slowly transform the imperfect material world into its heavenly ideal. This is known as the "frasho-kereti," or "making-fresh," that is, renewal. At the end of time everything and everyone will be purified, even the souls in hell - so hell is not eternal. Zoroastrian ideas of moral dualism, heaven and hell, sacred time, and angelic beings have influenced Judaism and Christianity, during long centuries of contact between these faiths in the Middle East.

The most important thing about Zoroastrianism is the dedication to ethical and moral excellence. The motto of the faith is: GOOD THOUGHTS, GOOD WORDS, GOOD DEEDS. This threefold path is the center of the faith. One knows what is good through the Divine help of Vohu Manah (Good Mind) and divinely inspired conscience (Daena). If there is anything to remember about Zoroastrianism, it is this threefold path. By thinking good thoughts, one is moved to speak good words, and that leads to good deeds. This is a practical and world-affirming faith, that does not hate the world nor dwell on sin and guilt. Zoroastrians are mostly of Persian origin, though the recent breakup of the Soviet Union has revealed isolated groups of Central Asian and Armenian Zoroastrians as well. In the 10th century A.D. groups of Persian Zoroastrians fled an oppressive Muslim regime and settled in Gujarat, in western India. These are the Parsis of India, who are a major influence today. From India and Iran Zoroastrians have spread all over the world, and there are communities in England, Australia, Canada, the United States, and other countries. These diaspora communites now face the problems of how to adapt their ancient religious traditions to a modern world.

The best current book on Zoroastrianism is THE ZOROASTRIAN TRADITION by Farhang Mehr, published by Element Books, 1991.

A widely available translation of the Gathas is by the Belgian scholar Duchesne-Guillemin, translated from the French by Henning. This is a little red book in the "Wisdom of the East" series, published by Charles E. Tuttle Co, Inc., 1992.

Who are the Zoroastrians

My ancestors, the Zoroastrians of Iran (pre-Islamic) were members of the Indo-European family known as the Aryans. They called themselves Zoroastrians because they believed in the teachings of the first Aryan prophet, Zarathushtra.

Zarathushtra was the first prophet to preach a monotheistic religion, and He was born in Iran about 8000 years BC. He revealed that there was only one God, Ahura Mazda and that life in the physical world was a battle between good and evil. As per man's actions, he would either cross the "Chinvato Peretu" or the sword bridge after death, and reach Heaven, or fall from it and go to the abode of the evil one. In the final days there would be a battle between good and evil, evil would be vanquished and the world would be purified by a bath of molten metal. Mazda would then judge the world, resurrecting the dead and His Kingdom would be established on earth.

Zarathushtra's songs are called the "Gathas" which linguistically may be older than the Indian Vedic scriptures. The Gathas are written in an ancient Avestan dialect. This is a sister language to Sanskrit of India, and Greek and Latin of the West. The reason is, the common ancestors (common to the ancient Iranians, Ancient Indians, Greeks, and Europeans) were one and the same - the Indo-European or Aryan peoples.

Surprisingly, many so-called Christian concepts actually were derived from Zoroastrian Aryan ideas which thrived in Iran for thousands of years until the Arab invasion of Iran around 1300 years ago. Concepts such as heaven and hell, God and the evil adversary ahriman, the coming of the Saviour or Saoshyant born of a virgin, the end-time purge of the world by Fire followed by the resurrection of the dead (Ristakhiz), the making fresh of the world (Frashogard) and the final battle between good and evil leading to the final defeat of evil. These beliefs filtered down to Judaism during the reign of King Khushru (Cyrus) of Iran.

Although proud to be Aryans, Zoroastrians also believe that all races in the world are created by God and are equal - a true sign of the real ancient Aryan's nobility and tolerance. Cyrus, King of Iran who was an Aryan rebuilt the temple of the Jews after freeing the Jews from Babylon - for this, he is still remembered by the Jews and called the "Anointed of the Lord" in the Bible. The Jews still celebrate that act of the true Aryans in a festival. Many Jews then stayed in Iran under Cyrus and his successors such as Darayus, as equal subjects under the King. Books of the Bible written after this stay have taken all these Zoroastrian concepts, from there they came to Christianity and other religions. There are scholars who consider Zoroastrianism as such to be the mother religion of the present day world's faiths.

In fact the edict of Cyrus proclaiming equality for all his subjects is enshrined in the United Nations today. The original Aryans were realy multicultural and tolerant of all races! So, it is probable that the Jews were influenced by the Zoroastrian faith of Iran in those days - and took on the concepts of heaven/hell, God's evil adversary, the resurrection and the final purification of the world - the virgin birth, the Saviour etc., all these concepts being Zoroastrian. There are other similarities too - certain purificatory observances such as the impurity of menstruation etc. are found in both faiths. Indeed, the very idea of the Messiah, and the very concept of Jesus could be Zoroastrian in origin.

Zarathushtra's religion was the prominent one in Iran until the conquest by the Arabs, around 1300 years ago, who converted Iran to Islam. To preserve the Zoroastrian faith, this most ancient of faiths, indeed the "mother" faith of all mankind, a band of the Zarathushtrians sailed by boat to India about 1300 years ago, and settled in India where they were called the Parsees (from "Pars" ie. Iran). I am a descendant of these migrants. Rare as diamonds are, we number 100,000 or so in the world today.

We keep the holy FIRE in our temple as the symbol of Ahura Mazda, and our priests feed the fire with sandalwood and cedar and intone the ancient sacred Mathras (verses of praise) in the ancient Aryan Avestan language. The Mathric incantations have incredible divine potent power, a power used to fight evil. We also revere the elements of God such as water, earth, wind, and the creations of God such as the Sun, moon and stars. We wear the sacred Aryan girdle or the "Aiwiyaonghanem" around our waists, a sign of our ancient Aryan lineage and religion, and the white "Sudreh" as a garment.

My real name is "Pourashpa", an Avestan Indo-European name meaning "Owner of Grey Horses", horses signifying spiritual wisdom. As per the ancient custom, it should be always mentioned with my father's name ie. Pourashpa Puthra (son of) Hormuzd (my father's name). The ancient Avestan Pourashpa does have a mystical meaning because we believe the entire language itself, and its pronunciation (our ancient prayers the Gathas are in Avestan, these are the songs of Zarathushtra) itself has a powerful mystical effect in the fight against evil.

The Link between Zoroastrian & Germanic mythology:

Recently I read a book on "Runes" by D. Jason Cooper. In this book, Cooper suggests a close link between Pre-christian Germanic mythology and Zoroastrian mythology. He says that the Germanic peoples had travelled from Iran and India, and had kept some myths they had known before travelling, aspects of Indo-European thought seen in the Rig-Veda and the Gathas. As examples: German mythology says the doom of the world will come after 3 winters with no summer in between, then the fires of "Muspell" would sweep the world. In Zoroastrian mythology the final battle between good and evil will take place after 3 years of winter with no summer in between. Then a river of molten metal would sweep the earth, purifying the righteous as a bath of warm milk and scalding the evil, purifying them too.

Also, in both mythologies, two necessarily antagonistic forces (good and evil) and their contention has brought the material universe into being, in both cases a sacred cow is involved, in both cases the death of a sexless giant is involved (the first man, GayoMaretan in Zoroastianism). In both cases, the forces of good and evil will contend till the final days. Evil or chaotic forces are contained underground in both cases. Nails are considered a help to evil forces in both. (Loki and his ship of nails of dead men). Cooper also says that Germanic mythology as we now have it is a late corruption of the original, Ragnarok was originally a purification after which the world was restored to its pristine state. Only later it became the destruction of all Gods but a few. Not so in the Zoroastrian case.

I was once surprised to read a book by a German author, written in the early 1900s, on German shepherd dogs which at the very outset quoted the "Vendidad", particularly passages in this ancient book which described the creation of the faithful Dog by Ahura Mazda (God) Himself. That showed the popularity of the Vendidad in Germany to me at that time. I also like to mention here that Edgar Cayce the "sleeping" prophet of the USA, the famous clairvoyant once mentioned that Iran was the ancient site of the "Garden of Eden". A most interesting thing to say, perhaps indicating the very ancient culture of old Iran. Please write to me if you have any questions on this ancient religion of the Aryans, called Zoroastrianism.

Iran is the ancient name of Persia, and it is derived from the root "Arya" or Aryan, the Indo-European branch of peoples who settled in that land. The Aryans of ancient Iran were Mazdayasni Zarathushtris, ie. Worshippers of Ahura Mazda (the name of God in Avestan) as revealed by the ancient prophet Zarathushtra, thousands of years before Christ.

However, all the ancient Zoroastrian scriptures speak of an earlier homeland from where our people came, the lost "Airyane Vaejahi" or seedland of the Aryans. From this homeland, the Indo- Europeans or Aryans moved to upper India, Iran, Russia and the nations of Europe such as Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Scandinavia, England, Scotland and Ireland.

Sanskrit, Latin, Avestan are all sister languages, and the present day upper Indian, Persian and European languages are related eg. Baradar in persian = Brata in sanskrit = Brother in english. "Persia" is actually a late European term for the land of "Farsi" language ie. Iran. The Arabic phase in Iran only began 1300 years ago, and we had to escape to India to preserve our Zoroastrian religion.

The "Vendidad" is one of the ancient scriptures of the Zoroastrians, actually called the "Vi-daevo-dat" or the law to fight against evil. In the first "Fargad" or chapter, the Golden Age of the ancient Aryans is outlined with their greatest king, "Yima Kshaeta" (Yam Raj in the Indian Vedas) who banished old age and death. Then, the ice age broke on the ancient home and the Aryans were forced to migrate southwards, to the southeast and the southwest.

Mr. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a great Brahmin (Indian Aryan) scholar of India in the last century studied the Vedas and the Vendidad to find an ancient homeland of the Aryans. The Vedas are scriptures written by the Indo-Europeans or Aryans after they migrated to India. From the descriptions of the weather patterns mentioned in the Vedas, Tilak concluded that the ancient home must be in the Artic regions ie. above present Russia.

The Aryans migrated from the ancient home to Iran and from there to India and Greece and Europe. Tilak also said that the most ancient historical scripture was the Iranian Vendidad, which actually describes the ancient homeland of the Aryans, the Aryan King Yima Kshaeta who ruled over it (Yama Raja, lord of the underworld in latter day Indian Hinduism) and the onrush of winter, sent by ahriman (the devil) which caused the great migration. This is the famous first "Fargad" of the Vendidad which fascinated a lot of European scholars in the last century.

The ancient Aryans believed that the world as created by Ahura Mazda was perfect, with no evil. The first man Gayo Maretan had no disease, no illness, no hunger and thirst. Only the good creation of God existed eg., the Dog, Cow and Bull, Horse, Cock, Birds etc. Then ahriman the evil one attacked the world and caused evil to appear, disease and illness and old age, and the animals and the first man started to die. Night began to fall (before the sun was at the noon position - fixed, so there was no time). The evil brood of animals appeared eg. snakes, insects, and the cat breed. So evil in the ancient faith is an external introduction, which one day will be purged when the world will be bathed with the purification of fire - the latter also found in old German mythology. Paradise itself will be established on the earth, in the form of the Kingdom of Ahura Mazda. The English word "paradise" itself stems from the Avestan "PairiDaize", meaning the same. Also, the word "garden" probably stems from the Avestan "Garod-man" meaning the House of songs - the ancient name of heaven for the Aryans.

The Kings of ancient Iran were very proud to call themselves Aryans, their rock edicts indeed say so. "I am an Aryan, the son (Puthra) of an Aryan." This was righteous pride, because the word Aryan occurs time and again in the ancient scriptures of the Aryans - such as the Yashts (prayers to the divine elements) and the Vendidad (the law against evil).

About a time frame - today, many scholars tend to place Zarathushtra very late in time (around 1500 BC). The Greek historians at the time of Cyrus placed the first prophet at around 8000 years bc, that seems a more possible time to the former. However, the ancient Aryans were much sooner than that. Note that as per the Vendidad, Yima Kshaeta (King Yima) is the ancient king of the Aryans in the ancient homeland Airyanam Vaejahi (the seedland of the Aryans), and his memory is retained by even the Indian Vedas as Yama Raja (Yama King) because the Indian Aryans still remembered their ancient king after their split up in the migration, but they made him "Lord of the netherworld" later on.

Unlike the Indians, the Iranian Aryans still retained a perfect memory of days gone by -the perfect time in the ancient homeland, when Yiam banished disease, death and hunger from the homeland. This was indeed the true "Golden age" of humankind.

So, what about the time? The migration actually started before the ice age struck. When the ice and winter set in (sent by the evil one), the ancient homeland was destroyed. If the home was in the North Pole, look for a time when the North Pole was not covered by ice - that would be thousands and thousands of years before. I have estimated that time when the ice age struck as 20,000 years ago in my book, but the time could be much earlier. There were kings before Yima too, ruling over the Aryans.

Note too that the civilizations of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in old India were actually Aryan, and they were starting to decay around 4000 bc. which means they had been in existance for thosands of years before (scholars admit this). They would have been built by the Indo-Aryans much after their initial separation from the Aryans of Iran.

An American friend said:

"Observation: There's an incredible thread here between something I've seen mentioned about a "Golden Age" of humankind..when humans were so close to their Creator they didn't need writing or speech or tools to sustain themselves..and the Zoroastrian story."

Thats right. Zarathushtra was sent by Ahura Mazda to reaffirm the ancient faith (that was taught to Yima Kshaeta and before him, the first man Gayo-Maretan). He was also given the "AGUSTO-VACHO" ie revelations unheard before. He was thus the first prophet, to be followed by three Saviours. When the final Saviour comes, the world will be purged by fire and evil destroyed in a final great battle. Then Ahura Mazda will rule. The mightiest words in the religion are in the Ahunavar, a great prayer. The ending words of this prayer in Avestan are, Kshrethamchai (Kingdom) Ahurai (God) Ayim (will come).

"Does the Vendidad have one set of general principles in one place, like the Old Testament Bible, or is it necessary to read the whole..."

The Vendidad is itself the ancient Law against evil. Throughout the book, there are Fargads (chapters) which explain the various evils in the eyes of Ahura Mazda. For instance, prostitution and homosexuality are abhorred, so is ill-treatment to dogs. Ahura Mazda praises the Dog as His Glorious Creation, who He created as the guardian of the Aryan household and farm. One Fargad details the ancient history of Yima Kshaeta, and the ancient homeland.

According to Lokmanya Tilak, one of the great fathers of Indian Independance and a Vedic scholar who had also made a detailed study of other Aryan cultures, the Vi-Daevo-Dat contained the most ancient history of mankind, since it properly explained the origins and the migrations of the Aryans.

In a translation from "The Saga of the Aryans", the history of the migration is explained in the form of a talk between the ancient Aryan prophet Zarathushtra, and Ahura Mazda (Avestan name of God in the Vi-Daevo-Dat.) :

And so the ancient scripture continues. From the above, it is quite clear that the migration took place to the South and the West ie. from the ancient homeland (which Tilak said was in the Artic) to the South ie. Iran, India and to the South-West ie. to Greece and all the countries of Europe.

The cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were built by the Aryans who migrated to India, when the Vedas were written. They flourished for thousands of years, before succumbing to some other catastrophe of nature, or perhaps invasion by non-Aryan tribes.

The book written by the author titled "The Saga of the Aryans", is a historical semi-fictional story, based on the scriptures of the Aryans and the above research on pre-history.

Disclaimer and Notes

The Saga of the Aryans is a literary work pertaining to the ancient Zoroastrian religion of Iran, and is not connected in any way to any political organization or society in the West that may or may not bear the name "Aryan". The Aryans mentioned in the story, set in a time frame of twenty thousand or so years ago, were the original Aryans or Indo-European people of the days of yore. They were noble and tolerant people who considered all races equal and maintained that the righteous men and women of every country reached God - as was proclaimed by the ancient Avestan scriptures such as the Fravardin Yasht.

This can also be seen in the Proclamation of Khushru (Cyrus), one of the great Aryan Kings of Iran, more than 2500 years ago. The Proclamation is today enshrined in the United Nations because it promised equal rights to all his diverse subjects, in the world's first multi-cultural empire which abolished slavery thousands of years before the modern nations of the world even existed. This Zoroastrian King and his descendants, who proudly called themselves Aryans, freed the Jews from their unhappy bondage in Babylon and re-built their Temple in Jerusalem, and for that Cyrus is even praised in the Hebrew Old Testament as the "Anointed of the Lord". This is history. This indeed was the action of a true Aryan - protection of the weak, and benevolence towards different peoples and religions.

In the ancient Indian Mahabharata, a large epic Saga written by the Rishi Veda Vyasa, and in the earlier Ramayana written by Sage Valmiki, the right behaviour and moral conduct of the Aryan is explained in great detail. It is here that we gain a real understanding of what the word "Arya" really meant - nobility in its purest form. From these two epics held in high reverance by the millions of Indians, we can understand the high moral code and chivalrous noble behaviour of the Aryan - how he never raised a hand against the unarmed, how he never hit below the belt, how he protected women and children, how he never fought at night, how he never pursued a fleeing foe, how he respected his parents and cared for them, how he respected ALL righteous people, how he protected the weak - the one who came to him for protection, the "Sharanagat" ie. the one who askes for protection, how he respected and worshipped the elements of God such as the earth, the sky, the wind and the ocean, how he lived his life according to "Dharma" - the high code of morality or righteousness, akin to the Iranian "Ashoi". Indeed in India, the word "Aryan" is still synonymous with nobility and tolerance - as indeed it should be.

As to my own Mazdayasni Zarathushtri religion, the word "Aryan" appears many times in our holy scriptures. Two occurrences which spring to mind are: in the Atash Niyaesh (prayer), the Holy Fire is extolled as:

In the Fravardin Yasht, we remember and revere our holy ancestors. We take the name of Gaya Marethan (Gayomard) first, the first man on earth:

Such occurrences abound. Needless to say, the ancient Iranians were proud that they were Aryans. They named their country "Iran" after the word (the ancient name of India too is AryaVarta or land of the Aryans. So too for Ireland). The Iranian kings inscribed on stone, "I am an Aryan, son of an Aryan." It was one of these Aryan kings, Cyrus the great, who worshipped at the temples of his diverse subjects and taught the world the true meaning of the words *multi-culturalism* and *tolerance*. The West recognizes that Cyrus's empire was the first true multi-cultural empire in recorded history - that too at a time when the Greeks used to look down with evident hatred on other races as "barbarians".

Lastly but not least, the word "Arya" is linked to the word "Ereta" or righteousness in Avestan, "Rita" in Vedic Sanskrit. This meant the great law of righteousness, and an Aryan was one who followed the law. "Ritu" in Sanskrit meant the cycle of seasons which was an integral part of that moral, physical and spiritual law of God. A "Rishi" was one who explained the law, in Avestan the word "Ratu" was a spiritual teacher of the law of righteousness. The very word "Right" in English could be derived from "Ereta" or "Rita". As such, being an Aryan in both Iran and India, meant following the path of Righteousness as well as being a proud member of the Aryan people.

Your friend,

Porus Homi Havewala.

Porushh@zip.com.au

Reproduced From: The Saga of the Aryans Home Page

How to get this fascinating book:  The Saga of the Aryans

Zarathushtrian Theodicy

by

Albert Bailey

Theodicy is the branch of theology dedicated to understanding the problem of evil, that is, why evil exists in a world governed by a good, wise, and powerful god. Over the centuries, Persian thought has addressed this question more thoroughly than any other religious tradition.  Several of the understandings arrived at within the  greater Zoroastrian tradition will be discussed and compared with the thoughts of other religious traditions. 

I first became intrigued by Zoroastrianism when I read of its conception of a God, Ahura Mazda, whose goal was the eradication of evil from the world and who asked for human assistance in reaching this goal.  I had always been troubled by the problem of evil, i.e., why an omnipotent and omni benevolent deity would allow evil to exist.  The typical answers that I had encountered in Christianity, I found to be unsatisfying: they did not ring true to me.  Most Christian theology worked hard to sidestep the issue, rather than to truly grapple with this dilemma.  As I studied more Persian thought, not just orthodox Zoroastrianism, but variants such as Zarvanism and Mazdakism, I found that the ancient Persians had attacked this problem with more thoroughness and intellectual fearlessness than had the Abrahamic faiths.

The problem of evil boils down to attempting to reconcile three beliefs:

1) God is all-powerful,
2) God is entirely good,
3) Evil exists.

Any two of these statements can easily be held to be true, but it is difficult to see how all three can be true.  Human who are good do their best to reduce evil when they can.  An all-powerful deity should be able to entirely eliminate evil.

Christianity has never produced a satisfactory solution to this trilemma.  The traditional answer has been to attribute the existence of evil to man’s free will.  The argument goes as follows:  God is not entirely omnipotent, not being able to do what is self-contradictory or logically impossible.  Free will is a good thing.  Allowing human free will permits humans to be evil.  Thus, evil is an unfortunate consequence of man’s free will.  Since it is man, not the God, who freely chooses to do wrong, the goodness of the God is not compromised.

There are numerous difficulties with this solution.  The most striking is that the God has become a less competent moral agent than an individual human.  I, a man, am able to actively prevent evils other than my own.  I can restrain others who are bent on doing harm.  I can work to reduce the damage done by pestilence, disease, and natural disasters.  If such good deeds are good when I do them, how can it not be good for the God to do the same, only more competently?

One answer is to deny that the God is good.  This belief was implicitly held by most of the ancient Jews who insisted that the God brings both good and evil. But why should an amoral deity be worthy of worship?  It would seem that the standard of righteousness itself is more worthy of worship than is such a deity.

The other straightforward answer is to deny that the God is all-powerful.  This was the answer of Sassanian Zoroastrianism.  By the Sassanian period, Ahura Mazda and Spenta Mainyu had become regarded as the same entity, Ormuzd.  Angra Mainya, the dark twin of Spenta Mainyu, now as Ahriman, became elevated to the same stature as the God, Ormuzd.  Ahriman was nearly as powerful as Ormuzd.  In time and with man’s help, Ormuzd would prevail, but here and now Ormuzd was not sufficiently powerful to eliminate evil.

Early Christianity, being greatly influenced by Zoroastrianism, frequently, though inconsistently, invoked this solution.  Satan, an angel who was originally God’s attorney general, becomes seen as the God’s adversary.  This belief is still held by most fundamentalist Protestant Christians, who generally avoid noting that allowing the free reign of such a rogue angel cannot be a good act on the part of the God.

Sassanian metaphysics easily solved the problem of evil, the forces of good and evil being on an equal footing; but in doing so it produced other theological problems.  Being on an equal footing, good and evil become distinct, but logically similar standards.  Thus in Sassanian Zoroastrian there are seen to be seven archdemons, the evil counterparts of each of the Amesha Spenta. 

This doesn’t work, particularly for the case of Asha Vahishta.  Asha Vahishta is the personification of truth and righteousness.  There is no standard of falsehood; there is simply the failure to adhere to the standard of truth.  Asha has no dark twin.  Similarly, there is no reasonable counterpart to Vohu Mana.  The opposite of mindfulness is similarly a vacancy, the failure to be mindful.  Unless one accepts that Asha, the standard of righteousness, is logically prior to the dichotomy of good and evil, there is no basis for choosing the way of Asha over that of the equivalent shadow minister of Ahriman.

In addition, the existence of two spirits, mirror images of one another, logically implies some common source.  This source then becomes the more basic principle, logically prior to either Ormuzd or Ahriman.  This was the point recognized by the Zervanists, who posited Zurvan (Time) as the parent of these twins.  This corrected the logical flaw introduced when Ahura Mazda was reduced to the level of Angra Mainyu as a result of his identification with Spenta Mainyu.  They also intuitively recognized a fact that modern scientific understanding would support: destruction and time are inherently intertwined.

The ancient Persians had another insight as well about the nature of evil:  evil is not creative.  This point was stressed most firmly by the Mazdakians who insisted that the actions of evil were not directed, but random.

I find this insight particularly instructive in understanding what is known in the philosophical community as “natural evil”.  This term refers to bad things that happen that cannot be reasonably explained as a result of human misbehavior.  Examples are misfortunes such as birth defects, epidemics, and natural disasters such as tornadoes.  Such things are responsible for great human suffering.  Unlike human evil, this evil acts blindly.  One is in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffers.

Some insight can be gained by considering the case of a tornado.  Suppose I were to show you a movie of a tornado bearing down upon a building and reducing it to rubble.  This is a tragedy, but not a surprising one; this is what tornadoes do.  One the other hand, suppose I show you a movie in which a tornado runs across a pile of rubble and erects it into a building.  You would know that you had been tricked; the movie was being shown backwards. 

The pile of rubble being erected into a building by the tornado would break no physical conservation laws.  All the necessary material is there.  Mass and energy conservation are not violated.  But still, this kind of thing just doesn’t happen (or happens so rarely that it is effectively impossible).  The reason is that entropy, the scientific measure of disorder, always increases.  When items are arranged randomly, the chances of them creating an ordered structure, such as a building, are tiny.  Anything that randomly rearranges items will tend to increase the disorder.

Natural evils are of the same character.  They do damage by random disruption, not directed cruelty.  For this reason, many people do not like to attach the term “evil” to such occurrences.  But one must admit that they are unfortunate and cause much suffering.  I tend to refer to them as evil, for if this is not the case, human attempts to reduce unfortunate natural occurrences cannot be seen as good; and I think that they are good.

Time’s direction, and even existence, implies the increase in entropy, and thus the existence of natural evil.  Without time, good and evil have no meaning; and without natural evil, time cannot exist.   Only in the temporal, getig, world can the spiritual, menog, conflict be played out.

Human evil is less problematic.  Zarathushtra continually rails against the violence and cruelty he sees around him.  He calls upon people to choose righteousness.  But few people willfully choose to be evil.  They simply fail to exercise their good minds to choose good.  Human evil is also basically a disordered condition, a failure of the moral faculty, not an active seeking of the wrong.  Zarathushtra recognizes this in Yasna 30.3, where he contrasts the natures of good and bad people.  He does not say, “The good choose virtuously, the evil choose wickedly.”  Instead he notes, “The good choose wisely, the evil do not.”  The failure to make moral choice is the root problem.  It remains to later Persian thought for this insight to be more fully developed.

Unlike many other religions, in Zoroastrianism, history has a purpose, the elimination of evil from the world.  In orthodox Zoroastrianism, the origin of evil is somewhat vague, other than that good and evil are coeval, that they both were there in the beginning of things, and together they brought about the world we know.  Zervanism carried this one step further, seeing the existence of the world, good, and evil as an act of divine purgation.  The Godhead becomes perfect by purging itself of evil.  In doing so It temporarily loses Its omnipotence but will regain it at the end of days.  This divine purgation is the reason for the existence of the universe.  This advanced metaphysical conception was not to be rediscovered until the time of the late medieval Jewish Kabbalists.

This is also in line with what is now known as Process Theology, the understanding of the Divine not as static perfection, but as a growing, active reality.   All is not yet well, but all will be well in the fullness of time.  Frasho-kereti is not yet here, but it will come.  This, for me, has proven to be the most reasonable understanding of this age-old theological problem.

Albert Bailey, a physicist and computer programmer, was born and raised in the southern United States. He became interested in Zoroastrianism since childhood, and began studying the Zoroastrian scriptures with the Cambridge Gatha Study Group of Zarathushtrian Association of Greater Boston Area in 1995. He has composed musical renditions of two of Gathic hymns that the group studied (Y.28, Y.29). He currently resides in Redlands, California.

Reproduced From:  Vohuman.Org

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