İnanç Dosyası 13 | Zoroastrianism 1

The temples carry Zoroaster's image, dressed in a white robe and wearing a white turban.

Zoroastrians are the followers of the Iranian prophet, Zoroaster (or Zarathustra). Zoroaster probably lived at sometime in the 7th century BCE. Zoroaster was never deified despite his miraculous birth and other holy events associated with him, but he was one of the first great moralists. He introduced reforms into the previous religion of Iran, whose origins came from India. 

He preached against the ancient traditional polytheism of Iran and established it on a more ethical basis. His creed is based on the concept of the oneness of God. Zoroastrianism is one of the most ancient of monotheologies. Zoroaster repudiated the cult of all the gods except one, Ahura Mazda, the "Wise Lord". Ahura Mazda is the source of goodness, virtue, beauty, love and respect. His representative is the light-shedding sun whose agent on earth is fire, and the hearth where fire is made.

When creation first began, twin spirits, the two sons of Ahura Mazda, made a choice between good and evil. One of them, Spenta Mainyu, chose well and he is associated with truth, justice and life. The other, Angra Mainyu, the Untruth, (later called Ahriman), chose evil and all its accompanying forces of destruction, injustice and death. Every person is obliged to make the choice between good and evil. This gave rise to the doctrine of freedom of choice, of determining one's own destiny and being held accountable for it. His teaching is positive and optimistic and holds a strong belief that good will triumph over evil in the end.   

The principles of Zoroastrian ethics are "good thoughts, good words and good deeds".  The Wise Lord, will reward every good deed, good word and good thought, and punish all evil. Zoroastrian religion places good thoughts at the head of its three commandments. A good mind, beautiful ethical thoughts contain goodness that loves all living things. The more talents a person possesses, the more people will he or she be able to help. Selfish thinking is the work of an evil person. Evil exists in the world to enable us to gain in strength when we learn to overcome it. Angra Mainyu is just as important as Spenta Mainyu. For good to be victorious in the end, evil must exist in this world. It is not enough only to be good, one must also fight against evil. The concepts of purity, righteousness and cleanliness, together with a clean body and honesty in one's conduct toward others, that is, righteous behaviour toward the world in general, are the aims of Zoroastrianism. Those who help mankind to advance are deemed to be good, and those who impede progress are counted evil. Life on earth is closely connected to existence after death. Man’s soul (fravashi) is judged after death. The teachings recount how the souls of the dead will pass over the "Bridge of Requital". When Ahura Mazda (later called Ormazd) has passed judgement, the souls of the good will be sent to the realm of happiness and light, while those of the wicked will be banished to the realm of darkness and fear. Good souls will wait in Heaven for the world's rebirth, and evil souls will be thrown into Hell. The concept of reincarnation has not been openly propounded in Zoroastrian religious literature. 

Zoroaster denounced blood sacrifice but retained the ritual of sacrifice through fire, since fire is a symbol of Truth and Order. In Zoroastrian religious services, fire ceremonies in the temple play an important role and form the distinguishing feature of this doctrine. Zoroaster chose fire as the outward symbol of faith, since it has special importance as the most sacred of nature's powers.  

Fire is the principal cleanser of all sin as well as being the purest of all things that God created. Fire has the power to make everything that touches it resemble itself and immediately change its form. The flames, which always travel upward, symbolise the desire to live on a higher plane. Fire in temples is never under any circumstances allowed to go out, and in households is protected as a sacred entity. 

The flame-bearing bowl in Zoroastrian temples must be protected from wind and rain, so it is housed in a corner far from a window" and is usually enclosed in glass. Today to ensure that the flame is never extinguished, a change from using wood to petroleum gas is under consideration.

The concept of Fire-Temples did not originate with Zoroaster. It is thought that fire-worship originated in the period 1500-1200 BCE during the reign of the first Persian king Jamshid. Centuries later, with the emergence of Zoroaster, fire temples were in use. The ancient Aryan god Mitra in the Vedas or Mithra in the Avesta (Zoroastrian holy book), was the celestial god of light. Mitra is light, not the sun, which is merely his material medium.