DISCUSSIONS ABOUT ZOROASTRIANISM
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# 72) Q:  I read in some literature that Zoroastrianists do not bury, burn or let drift their dead. Instead they must take them to the 'five towers' (forgive me if my information is incorrect) where they are placed with sections of a large building working inwards, men, women and children respectively. Here the carcasses are eaten by birds who eat the of the deceased. I also understand that solar reflectors have been installed to spead the decompsitional process as the numbers of birds has decreased in recent years. What is the truth in this article or is this an ancient ritual no longer
observed?

A: Exposal called Dokhmenashi, was not a doctrine espoused by Zarathushtra. In all probability, he never even heard about it. In fact even in Achaemenian times, according to Herodotus, only the Maggi, which were a priestly Tribe of the Medes, practiced it. These Maggi were always pushing their doctrines, so since they were priests, it eventually came to be accepted some time in
the Late Parthian Era.

With the triumph of Islam, the Dokhmenashi was abandoned in Iran. The Parsis of India preserved it and still do. However there is an ever increasing number of Parsis, who are using cremation because of lack of vultures. From what I hear, the solar reflectors are only partially effective.

# 73) Q: Was Abraham a real person, or just a fictionary character?

A: Well its hard to prove whether there was a Biblical Abraham. The name itself appears in several uniform texts, that have no religious connotation, seeming to indicate that it was not an uncommon name in Mesopotamia. In short, the matter of Abraham as described in the Bible is a matter of faith, not of factual proof.

My opinion?  Considering the very allegorical nature of many Old Testament accounts, it is highly probable that Abraham, as described in the Bible, was a mythical character. This does not mean, necessarily, that a person, or more likely several historical or actual persons, did not live through some of the stories about Abraham in the Bible. In short, I believe that Abraham was an archetype for the founders of the Israelite nation.

Was Abraham as literally described in the Bible? I don't think or believe so and again, since we lack evidence one way or the other, one must consider what is said about him, its nature, its probability etc. and then each of us can make up his, or her, mind about it.

# 74) Q: What kind of hell does zoroastrianism teach and does it involve a lake of fire?

A: Which Zoroastrianism?  There are at least 3 broad interpretations of the religion. If you want to know what Zarathushtra had to say on this topic, you go to the Gathas. If you want to include what other, unnamed, persons thought about it, you can read the Latter Avesta texts, or  if you wish to know what was the official line in Sassanian times , you can go to the Arda Viraf Name ( Book of Arda Viraf)

Zarathushtra talks about a House of Druj. (Wrong or Lie) This, however, is not a hell that comes after death. Indeed it comes in this life and you will return to a similar life, probably of a spiritual nature, if you do not
deliver Druj unto Asha (Ahunavaiti 3.8,  Spenta Mainyu 3.11)

Also this House of Wrong is more like a state of mind, or a form of existence, than a physical place. Zarathushtra does not talk of Hell fire, or fire lake in regards to hell. He does imply that we have to pass through an ordeal, which is referred to as molten metal, but it is clearly metaphorical, referring to the struggle to overcome wrong/evil and to the recrimination/guilt of the soul, at the Bridge of Separation
**( Chinvat Peretu: an allegory  for the place, or state, where one could go from this physical dimension, what later texts call corporeal; to a Menog, meaning mind, thought, and by inference, what we call spiritual, dimension).

In Zoroastrian theology the soul/self (Urvan) is judged by its daena, that is its, ethical/moral/religious view/consciousness/perception, and it suffers great remorse, guilt and recrimination, if it has failed to achieve complete delivery of Druj unto Asha or wrong unto Righteousness.

Latter Avesta  affirms that this is a geographical Hell of darkness and cold (not heat), where evil souls are fed foul food.

The Sassanians, or at least Arda Viraf Nameh, see Hell in much the same way as medieval Christianity; a place of torture. However, none of these whether, Zarathushtra's mental state/way of existence, the latter Avesta' s Foul Food Dark and cold hell, or the Sassanian's place of torture, are eternal.

At the Renovation, according to the last two mentioned above, Ohrmazd, or Ahura Mazda will defeat Ahriman/Angrah Mainyu and  liberate those imprisoned in hell, who will then get a resurrected body, go back to Hell for 3 days of suffering and finally have to wade through a sea, or at least a spill of molten metal for final purification. At that time they will join the righteous in a Renovated world with Immortality and Perfection.

Zarathushtra does not say any of this! Rather, he teaches that the persons that are so condemned by their own view/consciousness/conceptions and experience great remorse, guilt and recrimination, cannot cross the Chinvat Peretu and must return, from the Bridge, to the House of Wrong/Lie, that is, to an existence, almost surely non-physical, where wrong still abides to try again to learn how to deliver wrong unto righteousness. This is taught in Spenta Mainyu 3.11 and implied in other Gathic passages. It is the doctrine
of Soul Return, which was misinterpreted by Vedic Aryans into reincarnation.

Resurrection is also implied, when Zarathushtra says in one passage, that after we have delivered wrong unto righteousness and the wicked have suffered , they will be taught how to deliver wrong to righteousnes, also shattering the power of evil and making all mortals worthy of a future life in a Renovated Living
World. Interestingly in this regard, the Latter Avesta and the Sassanians, when talking of resurrection, call it the Final Body, which means that both the wicked and the just did not have bodies until the Renovation, something implied by the Gathas.

# 75) Q: mazda is a real entity right? but angra and spenta mainyu are not real entities, they are only ways of thinking. In other words is angra supposed to be a real entity like satan is supposed to be real or is angra just a way of thinking? sorry if this sounds like a dumb question but im confused.

A: There are no dumb questions, ever!!!!. The confusion, in any case, is not of your making. Zarathushtra composed his Hymns in Old Avestan. Some centuries after his demise a kindred people, speaking a close, but not identical language, that scholars have named Young Avestan, either conquered them, or were converted by them, probably the first, as there is some circumstantial evidence in the way of a traditional account. In any case, these others misrepresented the idea of mainyu ( mentality way of being) as spirits and from here we have the well known in the West identification of Zoroastrianism with Cosmic Dulaism, which culminates in Sassanian times in basically two gods.

But if you restrain yourself to what Zarathushtra taught and to a linguistic definition of the term mainyu, as opposed to inserting spirit into the term, there is no dualism and aka/angra mainyu is a mentality in human beings. Indeed Mazda Ahura is said to possess or to have a Most Spenishto  ( Spenta) Mainyu, but never an Aka or Angrah mainyu.

# 76) Q: Right now who I am doesn\'t matter, but I\'ve been seeking understanding. For some reason I have always considered myself a Observer Of Life. I know inside I might have the power to change reality, but deep down I fear controlling it. I've been hiding a lot about myself because I'm scared a lot might not understand. Is it possible for a person to be part of something greater and not even know it? Right now I'm still trying to help others and guide them. In my dreams right now I have the power of a God, but in reality I am still mortal. I have lived many lives in my dream and gained great understanding about people. I'm right now searching for The Ancient Ones. They maybe aware of me more then I am aware of them. Would anyone in your religion know about this?

A: Well I think , that you have a problem interpreting your dreams, it's very common. I believe that Quantum proves there is an alternative reality, with alternative parameters and laws, a reality of mind.  In dreams , it might be possible to  access this, but the problem might come when you try to interpret what is basically a different state of consciousness and reality through your unconscious sleeping mind, which is at best partially aware.

I do not believe we are GOD , even though we can become LIKE unto Him/Her within the limitations of our createdness. I see no evidence, other than some spiritual experiences, but spiritual experiences have to be understood in terms of quantum and quantum tells us that all is perception, awareness and mind. Thus dreams visions etc need to be seen with a grain of salt. In my opinion.

Certainly Eastern type Monism, if we study it and measure it by its communal fruits, is no panacea  and I find little to recommend it; for I believe that selflessness is what the Creator wants from us and I can only see the preoccupation with being God and being Subjective, as selfish. In Zarathushtrianism we say that everything is about choice. So you have to make a choice of what to believe and what not to believe. Zarathushtra told us we ought to make our choices after careful study and pondering on the issue, so my advice is that you really study the issue of whether or not dreams can be trusted, without being first truly examined.  We believe in a purposeful Cosmos and a God that wills goodness,  you will also have to examine the implications of agreeing or disagreeing with that.

# 77) Q: What are the similarities between Zoroastrianism and Islam?

A: There are quite a few, especially among Shia and Zoroastrianism. To start out with The 5 prayer times and the abolutions come directly from Zoroastrianism. Then you have  parallels between The Mijrah ( Mohammed's so called Night Journey) and the Arda Viraf Nameh. Then some Hadiths, describing the fate of the soul at death, sound exactly like the avesta and I mean almost verbatim. Plus you have the Chinvat Peretu and the Sarat bridge, which are basically identical to each other. In Shia Islam even many of the myths are Zoroastrian in origin.

# 78) Q: I would like to know the creation story of man in this religion. I am doing a school research project.   I hope you can help me.

A: Well, in the original teachings there is no Creation Story per se , that is, All is said to be Created by Ahura Mazda through his Most Beneficial Way of thinking , but there is no mythological story involving the first humans etc.

The latter religion has a long and elaborated story, that introduces a struggle between God and the Devil as the reason for creation and posits a primal archetypal Man wit and a Primal archetypal Bull, which are slain by the devil and from whom come everything. Just go to www.avesta.org and check out the information under Bundahism.

# 79) Q: If Punjabis and other subcontinent people were originally zoroastrian then why are there no traces of zoroastrian heritage and culture in the subcontinent? These people dont even share their festivals with pre-Islamic Persian traditions. They have their own dates for their new year etc among many other differences.

A: I do not really follow you. I do not believe that we have stated that Punjabis were Zoroastrians. The most that can be said is that parts of the Punjab were under several Persian empires, especially, the Sassanians. What has been suggested by some Indian Zartoshtis is, that the Punjab might have been a part of the original Arya homeland. We do not agree with this.

Also the Punjab is where most early Aryas in India settled after coming over the Hindu Kush, but these were not Zoroastrians but daeva worshippers (Daevayasnis). Now, both Indian and Iranians used to share many cultural traits but not as much in the last 1400 years.

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