Leo Volont
Registered Senior Member
Zoroastrianism, The World’s Best Religion
Well, first, the bar is not set very high regarding comparative religion. Christianity uses Human Sacrifice to justify free sin. Islam uses the Sword to spread a Religion that worships a big black rock in Saudi Arabia. Jews think its all about a War God giving them rights to Holy Land Real Estate. Hinduism is institutionalized racism (if you bother looking closely, In India the Brahmins are White Aryans while the other people are ‘colored’ – the word ‘Caste’ actually means ‘color’). Buddhism was not originally a religion at all but originated in purely philosophical Stoicism, a system that asked people to turn their backs on the world and everyone in it for the sake of their precious individual Peace of Mind. So, really, to be the Best of the World Religions isn’t really asking a lot. Simply not horribly screwing up on the basics might be quite enough to take away first prize.
I found a good set of Sites on Zoroastrianism. http://www.zoroastrianism.cc/universal_religion.html
Zoroastrianism was a very influential force for advancing the idea of Morality, awareness of Good and Evil, and in advocating for Goodness. If one looks at Pre-Zoroastrian Mythologies, well, there simply was almost no conception at all of Goodness and Evil. The Gods and Man were largely amoral. In the Barbarian Epic Poems we find Loyalty and Duty extolled as Virtues, but this was so Warrior Chieftains could consolidate their Power by systematically subjugating their underlings with the propaganda of Noble Loyalty and Duty. But in all other terms both Man and God were most basically selfish, barbaric, even evil. For the most part Loyalty and Duty were put into the service of widespread rape and pillage. Only with the rise of Zoroastrianism, during one of the World’s most cosmopolitan of times, when ideas traveled afar, did there arise a Consciousness of Moral Responsibility, enabling the development of Higher Civilization.
The problem we have with Zoroastrianism, though, is we can hardly find a detailed History. You see, Zoroastrianism grew up in Ancient Persia, and Persia has not been very lucky in History. In the 12th Century the Mongols genocided the entire region, and then just two centuries later Timerlane did much the same thing. Well, what happens when one burns down every metropolitan area, twice, is that libraries are lost. And when everyone is killed, then even the “well known facts” carried by oral traditions can be lost. Today there are not that many actual Zoroastrians left… there are some small communities in India. And Scholars are left not even knowing the exact Millennium when Zoroastrianism, that is, when it’s Founder Zarathushtra appeared on the scene.
Mostly Zoroastrianism lives on in its indirect influences. Any moral element in Judaism sources from Zoroastrianism. Scholars have found that the Sermon of the Mount came from materials preached by Zoroastrian Preachers and Monks – the Sufis. The Sufi Religious Orders are survivals from Zoroastrianism. Now, most Sufis will say they are Muslim, but this is only because they mostly live in Islamic Regions and we all know how that goes. When you live in Muslimville you say you are Muslim or you die. Also, when we look at the Muslim History of persecuting the Sufi Religious Orders we can see that while the Sufis might say they are Muslim, the Muslims themselves rather deny it from their own side of the equation – a Sufi will insist he himself is a Muslim, but a Muslim will say that a Sufi is, well, a Sufi. Besides, History shows us that the Sufi Religious Orders predate Mohamed. If they were around before Islam, then they’re not Islamic, are they?
These Zoroastrian Sufis were a wonderful influence on Cultures with whom they have mingled. Muslim Intolerance propelled quite a wave of Sufis out of their former homelands and across the boundaries of both Christianity into Europe and Hinduism and Buddhism in India. In Catholic Europe they well agreed with the virtual Goddess Worship of the Virgin Mary, and contributed to the traditions of Troubadourism and Chivalry. For instance, one of the most mystical and magical of Catholic Saints, Bernard, had a fascination with the “Songs of Solomon”, ostensibly erotic, but part and parcel of the Sufi tendency to use sexual tension as a metaphor for Spiritual Aspiration. It may be an odd coincidence of History, but Catholicism in Europe survived only in the regions that had been well penetrated, if I may use such a phrase, by the Sufis. In Germany and England, where the Sufis had not yet reached, Barbarism had complete reign and Protestantism took over quickly and thoroughly, bringing a new Dark Age upon the World (a good example of which is with Protestant America’s Religious Right chanting that Greed is Good while voting for War after War after War).
As mentioned earlier, Zoroastrianism affected Early Christianity even in the Teachings of Christ and so any moral influence Christianity may have had in its first several centuries, and then later with Catholic Civilization, might be attributed to Zoroastrianism, as it certainly doesn’t come from the purely Hebrew Traditions of killing goats for Sin and slaughtering Canaanites for Land.
The moral influence of Zoroastrianism on Buddhism was important. You see, original Buddhism, well, as I have said before, there is nothing religious about it, either spiritually or morally. It was merely Stoicism of the “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” variety – Buddha had not even been original, but was simply repeating Stoic Philosophy as it had been brought to Northern India by the Alexandrian Conquests. Buddha was just a local Parrot. And at least Rome had fiddles. The Stoicism of Buddha was so much dryer. But it was popular with Buddha’s Merchant Class Sponsors – those City Slickers rebelling against the Hindu Sovereignty in the Countryside, and using Stoic Buddhism as their excuse to thumb their noses at Religion and any Moral Responsibility or Civic Duty that the Brahmins tried to ask of them. Buddhism, like Protestantism, was simply a Tax Dodge against established Religious Institutions that were trying to maintain Civil Authority. But the influx over the Centuries of Sufi and then Christian Moral influence into the Indian Subcontinent eventually uplifted Buddhism until there was a shift to a Higher Moral Mahayana form of Buddhism. It is odd today, but there are people about who actually insist that Original Buddhism, for the sake of its originality, is actually BETTER than Moral Buddhism. Such people should go into Business or become lawyers… some field where their lack of morality would not hold them back.
In India proper, the Home of Hinduism, Sufi Zoroastrianism added to the Religious and Philosophical dialogue. Unlike in the Christian and Islamic Zones of Civilization, India was Philosophically wide open. The effective paradox of Chaste Separation and Segregation was that the Philosopher Caste was left to itself to discuss whatever it liked and nobody could possibly think it their responsibility to interfere. And the Sufis, like other outsiders who would visit India, found themselves fortunately outside of the Chaste System, allowing them also a wide degree of tolerance, but also exempting them from “Untouchable” status, being in a sort of a ‘No Man’s Land Caste’, so that they could mingle and discuss things with the Philosopher Brahmins. Ideas were shared.
It was in India that something of a competition grew up between the Sufi Mystics, the Fakirs as they were called, and the native Hindu Mystics with their various Meditation Cults and Yoga Schools. This is important in the sense that no True Religion can base all of its credentials entirely on just its intellectual assertions, however morally informed. There has to be some Spirituality, that is, an almost visceral appeal to fundamental human psychology down to the deepest conscious and subconscious levels. And there has to be some Supernaturalism. Let’s face it, one cannot talk about God without a Miracle being in the mix somewhere. The Catholic Religious Orders, where they overlapped Zoroastrian influence, documented Miracles. And the Hindu Yogas and Mediation Cults also documented miracles, likewise in territories that overlapped Zoroastrian influence.
So the conclusion is unmistakable, that while Zoroastrianism as a religious entity in itself has almost disappeared into complete obscurity, its influences may still be the most important factor in all of the Higher Moral Religions and Philosophies that continue to exist today.
Well, first, the bar is not set very high regarding comparative religion. Christianity uses Human Sacrifice to justify free sin. Islam uses the Sword to spread a Religion that worships a big black rock in Saudi Arabia. Jews think its all about a War God giving them rights to Holy Land Real Estate. Hinduism is institutionalized racism (if you bother looking closely, In India the Brahmins are White Aryans while the other people are ‘colored’ – the word ‘Caste’ actually means ‘color’). Buddhism was not originally a religion at all but originated in purely philosophical Stoicism, a system that asked people to turn their backs on the world and everyone in it for the sake of their precious individual Peace of Mind. So, really, to be the Best of the World Religions isn’t really asking a lot. Simply not horribly screwing up on the basics might be quite enough to take away first prize.
I found a good set of Sites on Zoroastrianism. http://www.zoroastrianism.cc/universal_religion.html
Zoroastrianism was a very influential force for advancing the idea of Morality, awareness of Good and Evil, and in advocating for Goodness. If one looks at Pre-Zoroastrian Mythologies, well, there simply was almost no conception at all of Goodness and Evil. The Gods and Man were largely amoral. In the Barbarian Epic Poems we find Loyalty and Duty extolled as Virtues, but this was so Warrior Chieftains could consolidate their Power by systematically subjugating their underlings with the propaganda of Noble Loyalty and Duty. But in all other terms both Man and God were most basically selfish, barbaric, even evil. For the most part Loyalty and Duty were put into the service of widespread rape and pillage. Only with the rise of Zoroastrianism, during one of the World’s most cosmopolitan of times, when ideas traveled afar, did there arise a Consciousness of Moral Responsibility, enabling the development of Higher Civilization.
The problem we have with Zoroastrianism, though, is we can hardly find a detailed History. You see, Zoroastrianism grew up in Ancient Persia, and Persia has not been very lucky in History. In the 12th Century the Mongols genocided the entire region, and then just two centuries later Timerlane did much the same thing. Well, what happens when one burns down every metropolitan area, twice, is that libraries are lost. And when everyone is killed, then even the “well known facts” carried by oral traditions can be lost. Today there are not that many actual Zoroastrians left… there are some small communities in India. And Scholars are left not even knowing the exact Millennium when Zoroastrianism, that is, when it’s Founder Zarathushtra appeared on the scene.
Mostly Zoroastrianism lives on in its indirect influences. Any moral element in Judaism sources from Zoroastrianism. Scholars have found that the Sermon of the Mount came from materials preached by Zoroastrian Preachers and Monks – the Sufis. The Sufi Religious Orders are survivals from Zoroastrianism. Now, most Sufis will say they are Muslim, but this is only because they mostly live in Islamic Regions and we all know how that goes. When you live in Muslimville you say you are Muslim or you die. Also, when we look at the Muslim History of persecuting the Sufi Religious Orders we can see that while the Sufis might say they are Muslim, the Muslims themselves rather deny it from their own side of the equation – a Sufi will insist he himself is a Muslim, but a Muslim will say that a Sufi is, well, a Sufi. Besides, History shows us that the Sufi Religious Orders predate Mohamed. If they were around before Islam, then they’re not Islamic, are they?
These Zoroastrian Sufis were a wonderful influence on Cultures with whom they have mingled. Muslim Intolerance propelled quite a wave of Sufis out of their former homelands and across the boundaries of both Christianity into Europe and Hinduism and Buddhism in India. In Catholic Europe they well agreed with the virtual Goddess Worship of the Virgin Mary, and contributed to the traditions of Troubadourism and Chivalry. For instance, one of the most mystical and magical of Catholic Saints, Bernard, had a fascination with the “Songs of Solomon”, ostensibly erotic, but part and parcel of the Sufi tendency to use sexual tension as a metaphor for Spiritual Aspiration. It may be an odd coincidence of History, but Catholicism in Europe survived only in the regions that had been well penetrated, if I may use such a phrase, by the Sufis. In Germany and England, where the Sufis had not yet reached, Barbarism had complete reign and Protestantism took over quickly and thoroughly, bringing a new Dark Age upon the World (a good example of which is with Protestant America’s Religious Right chanting that Greed is Good while voting for War after War after War).
As mentioned earlier, Zoroastrianism affected Early Christianity even in the Teachings of Christ and so any moral influence Christianity may have had in its first several centuries, and then later with Catholic Civilization, might be attributed to Zoroastrianism, as it certainly doesn’t come from the purely Hebrew Traditions of killing goats for Sin and slaughtering Canaanites for Land.
The moral influence of Zoroastrianism on Buddhism was important. You see, original Buddhism, well, as I have said before, there is nothing religious about it, either spiritually or morally. It was merely Stoicism of the “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” variety – Buddha had not even been original, but was simply repeating Stoic Philosophy as it had been brought to Northern India by the Alexandrian Conquests. Buddha was just a local Parrot. And at least Rome had fiddles. The Stoicism of Buddha was so much dryer. But it was popular with Buddha’s Merchant Class Sponsors – those City Slickers rebelling against the Hindu Sovereignty in the Countryside, and using Stoic Buddhism as their excuse to thumb their noses at Religion and any Moral Responsibility or Civic Duty that the Brahmins tried to ask of them. Buddhism, like Protestantism, was simply a Tax Dodge against established Religious Institutions that were trying to maintain Civil Authority. But the influx over the Centuries of Sufi and then Christian Moral influence into the Indian Subcontinent eventually uplifted Buddhism until there was a shift to a Higher Moral Mahayana form of Buddhism. It is odd today, but there are people about who actually insist that Original Buddhism, for the sake of its originality, is actually BETTER than Moral Buddhism. Such people should go into Business or become lawyers… some field where their lack of morality would not hold them back.
In India proper, the Home of Hinduism, Sufi Zoroastrianism added to the Religious and Philosophical dialogue. Unlike in the Christian and Islamic Zones of Civilization, India was Philosophically wide open. The effective paradox of Chaste Separation and Segregation was that the Philosopher Caste was left to itself to discuss whatever it liked and nobody could possibly think it their responsibility to interfere. And the Sufis, like other outsiders who would visit India, found themselves fortunately outside of the Chaste System, allowing them also a wide degree of tolerance, but also exempting them from “Untouchable” status, being in a sort of a ‘No Man’s Land Caste’, so that they could mingle and discuss things with the Philosopher Brahmins. Ideas were shared.
It was in India that something of a competition grew up between the Sufi Mystics, the Fakirs as they were called, and the native Hindu Mystics with their various Meditation Cults and Yoga Schools. This is important in the sense that no True Religion can base all of its credentials entirely on just its intellectual assertions, however morally informed. There has to be some Spirituality, that is, an almost visceral appeal to fundamental human psychology down to the deepest conscious and subconscious levels. And there has to be some Supernaturalism. Let’s face it, one cannot talk about God without a Miracle being in the mix somewhere. The Catholic Religious Orders, where they overlapped Zoroastrian influence, documented Miracles. And the Hindu Yogas and Mediation Cults also documented miracles, likewise in territories that overlapped Zoroastrian influence.
So the conclusion is unmistakable, that while Zoroastrianism as a religious entity in itself has almost disappeared into complete obscurity, its influences may still be the most important factor in all of the Higher Moral Religions and Philosophies that continue to exist today.
