ANCIENT WISDOM: Zarathustra, (Zoroaster) and Zoroastrianism (Introduction)

Many have often heard OF, but few know anything ABOUT this ancient philosophy/religion.  This series of articles begins to look at a very “high level” overview of this “religion of the Magi”, for the term magi refers to the hereditary, priestly caste of ancient Persia who served as the spiritual, ritual, and philosophical backbone of Zoroastrianism.

Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion based on the teachings of Zarathushtra (ZAH-raa-THOO-struh) Spitama (spih-TAH-muh) [Zarathushtra Spitama] as detailed in his written works the Gathas. The Gathas are the central texts of Zoroastrianism and are often attributed to Zarathushtra himself.  

They were composed in Old Avestan and represent the oldest attestation of an Iranian language as well as one of the oldest remnants of Indo-European literature. Some place Zarathustra’s homeland somewhere in the eastern regions of Greater Iran, possibly Bactra, now in modern-day Afghanistan.  The people of the Indus River Valley in India were one of the three oldest civilizations of humanity and the most extensive civilization; see ANCIENT WISDOM: Writings of Faith.

Zarathushtra’s philosophy, according to research found at https://zoroastrian.org, is “non-prescriptive” and life-affirming.  His thinking was that all humans should use their rational minds to properly understand their existence and then exert their efforts toward the “perfection” or completion of their existence.  His writings put forth that all humans should seek to become like the Creator – the Divine Wisdom immanent in all existence.

The history of Zoroastrianism is very long and convoluted.  It stretches across many different eras, often with few surviving sources. The article The History of Zoroastrianism, a Comprehensive Overview at zoroastrian.org offers an extensive history of Zoroastrianism from its earliest c. 1500 BC origin through the kingships of Cyrus and Darius of Persia.  In this installment I will offer but a brief glimpse of the origins of Zoroastrianism and save sharing the full history in a later installment.

Zoroastrianism was intended as a “universal religion”, one that all humanity might enjoy.  It assumed that nature for at least a thousand years.  

During ancient Iran’s iron-age pastoral society c. 1400 to 1000 BC the people lived in small settlements on key spots of an extensive irrigation system which they primarily used as pasturage for their herds of horses, cattle, and other livestock.  Politically they were decentralized and ruled over by a collection of chieftains whose power was measured in their possessions, chariots, horses, and precious metals mined from the nearby mountains.  These chieftains were often often violent and aggressive, frequently raiding the innocent people for wealth and territory.

The religion of ancient Iran was similar to its counterpart of Vedic Hinduism, with a plethora of deities presiding over natural forces (that were more powerful than humans).  These gods were referred to as daevas.  Many of these strongest forces  were given the title of ahura meaning lord or supreme. These gods were worshiped at ceremonies where priests would recite large amounts of precomposed oral poems; they would sacrifice animals and present offerings.  In certain cases they would engage in the ingestion of Haoma, its name in Avestan, Soma, its name in Sanskrit.  It was an hallucinogenic drug that would allow one access to the spiritual realm.  Functionally equivalent to ayahuasca, haoma would form a central part of this ancient religion.  Much like our modern pharmaceutical industries, special priests presided over the preparation and the usage of haoma.  

The term Karpan (derived from an old Iranian verb meaning to "moan" or "mumble") described priests who relied on mechanical, superstitious mumbling of spells rather than spiritual wisdom.  They often teamed up with corrupt leaders referred to as Kavis. The term kavis originally meant "seer", "wise one" or "poet", but were also known as the "evil princes" who were leaders who sought to defraud the gullible public, thus maintaining their own power and wealth by using excessive, expensive rituals.  Kavi priests were seen as spiritual leaders who claimed the ability to experience the divine and interpret it for the community.  The kavis would take the haoma and thus “perceive the other realm”.  

By the time of Zarathushtra, the Kavis with the Karpans at their side, had taken over political power in Iran acting both as secular lords and spiritual priests – the ancient Iranian "pharmaceutical industry" and “doctors” also ended up ruling in Zarathushtra’s era.  They dominated the many small, disconnected fiefdoms of ancient Iran and they restricted the consumption of haoma and thus the connection to the divine to themselves. They wielded their newfound status as lords to grow ever wealthier at the expense of the common person.  The term Kavi eventually came to specifically refer to a king.

But there seems to have existed alongside this corrupting power structure a strong undercurrent of intellectualism, mysticism, and philosophy.  This tradition was characterized by a more mystical approach to the gods and religion, and efforts to accurately understand the metaphysical nature of reality, and attempts to reach and understand the divine.  Above all else, this tradition valued wisdom and the improvement of the mind, seeking to invoke enlightenment or revelation through repeated study and self improvement.  One of the key ways this was accomplished was through memorization, repetition, and subsequent study of highly intricate philosophical poems.

Along side the philosophical poem constructors, a type of priest called a ratu existed, who were sages that acted as spiritual guides to individuals and communities.  Ratus often saw themselves in charge of the wellbeing of a group of dependents, typically referred to as a living creature (what we might term a corporation), caring for their physical and spiritual wellbeing, adjudicating disputes, and dispensing other advice and judgments for transgressions, much like the ancient Druids we read about here:  What is a Druid?

In future articles we will look at Zarathustra’s writings.