Looking for opinions on which book to read first.

I’m interested in diving into Zoroastrian texts. I’ve read “The Teachings of Zoroaster” by SA Kapadia so I have a very baseline understanding. Not sure which sacred text to start with. Must be freely available online, for example, via Ocean Library or something similar. English is my native language.

An article someone pointed me to says that many of the purity laws in the latte half of it were almost certianly later developments, but Iranica Online says that the regions described in the creation myth radiate out from Central Asia, and purity laws are alluded to there, as burying the dead is condemned both there and in the Sarosha Yasht, I think. So what about the rules about dead bodies and/or cast off body waste, specifically? Also, are you guys ignoring me?

Hi there, I'm sorry in advance for my English communication skills, I'm not a native speaker.

I read an essay on Zoroastrianism and discovered that deities are connected to natural elements, which are considered a sort of concrete reflection of gods on Earth - this according to avesta, at least, but I know that Zoroastrianism lacks of an orthodoxy due to non existence of a central religious authority such as, for example, the Church for Christians, thus there are a lot of religious texts which often state different things on the same topic. Well, I read, for example, that for ancient Zoroastrians it was consider a sin walking on the ground on bare feet or let some "dead" materials (nails, hair or blood etc) contaminate water. To be honest, the author also says that nowadays these actions are not considered sinful anymore - alongside with other examples of contamination, such as mixing fire and water, while blowing on candles (even if priests still pray with mask when around sacred fire).

Well, I was wondering: how do ancient Zoroastrians used to defecate or urinate or even shower then? Is there a text regarding this topic? Thanks.

Hi everyone,

As part of a larger research project, I've touched upon the basics of Zoroastrianism. I found a copy of "The Hymns of Zoroaster" by Martin West.

He translates the Gathas, and the Liturgy in Seven Chapters, himself, from the original Avestan texts.

West is an acclaimed philologist, and has done a lot of work with ancient historical documents from all over Eurasia.

His objective is to render a new English translation of the hymns of Zoroaster, not to interpret them. He's a student of language and a translator.

In the introduction he states he will follow the modern paradigm, where the "Positive Will" is a child of Ahura Mazda, and the "Negative Will" is the equal yet opposite effluence of that.

Every translated poem is accompanied by what West considered to be the "main idea of the original text", from where he rendered his translation, to inform the reader of his own biases.

I think it's a pretty good book.

What's the opinion of the Zoroastrian Reddit Community? :)

I am a Zoroastrian, and I’ve always been in search for like “ bible study” king of things. I know that in Christianity they have like churches and bible studies, but I can’t find any videos on YouTube of Zoroastrianism when it comes to the study of the Avesta or just digging deeper in our religion( that isn’t like an explanation of our religion, a real deep dive in and help me bring my connection closer to god) if anyone has any videos or websites they could recommend that would help me feel closer to god, and get into studying more I would really appreciate it ❤️

Greetings,

I have been trying to find information on the five daily prayers in your religion, but all that seems to come up online is polemics regarding whether Islam copied Zoroastrianism or not.

Can someone please kindly explain the significance of your five daily prayers in your religion, without the polemics?

Thank you

I read that about the Khurramites, and I THINK I read the same about the Mazdakites, but these come from hostile Islamic sources. So do any sources claim this, and if so, who claimed this? (Also, ModTeam, can you please describe with more clarity what got my last post deleted?)

Hello. I am a beginner to avestan language and there is a sentence in my learning book which is from Avesta Fragments: Pursišnihā. "vehrkâi hizvãm dadhâiti ýô azrazdâi mãthrem cishte." I couldnt find any translation for it even in avesta.org

Hello,

I'm looking for a popular Zoroastrian discord channel where we can chat about Zoroastrianism and meet to talk and pray on certain days.

Know any?

Hey hey, guys!

I don't know if this has been asked already, but it's playing on my mind alot.

Who/what ARE the Yazatas and Amesha Spentas?

Obviously, I know they're good spirits and such but I was wondering if anyone had some explanations of what they do, if they're named, what they represent etc?
It would be a great help to me! I tried to ask a Parsi family member but they were unable to help me unfortunately.

Thanks guys!

Critics would contend that Zorostrianism's dualistic theology makes little sense, because it is inherent in the nature of most things in this world to be composed of both good and bad aspects.

Take predatory animals for example. They kill and aggress upon other living beings in order to survive. This in itself would imply that they are from Angra Mainyu. But, they also serve good functions as well; for they help to keep the population levels of other animals down and contribute to overall balance in the ecosystem. So inherent to their nature is both good and bad aspects and functions. This and many if not most aspects of the world cannot be nearly divided into good vs. bad.

So, my proposition here to you is to please refute this w/ clear language and direct teachings from the Zoroastrian texts.

Were farmers and herdsmen at the bottom of the social hierarchy? Because I can't tell if that is the case from my reading of the Gathas. I can tell that they were given more rights by Zoroastrianism, but were they at the bottom before?

I want to understand if I swear without insulting someone, is this insubordination or non-compliance with the Zoroastrian motto?

Hey guys, yet another question from me.

I know a large part of this wonderful religion is saying prayers daily at certain times. Something I struggle with is reading my Avesta and I also don't know what the daily prayers are.
Is anyone able to please tell me the prayers, when to say them, what they mean and if possible, how to say them?

I've (tried!) doing Ashem Vohu once, which was honestly one of the feelings I've ever had.

Thanks in advance guys!

How long does it take usually to prepare to be initiated, and is it possible. I am Iranian, but had political reasons for not being able to pursue the faith. Thanks for any help.

Both are sister languages and used for liturgical purposes, but it seems like both evolved on very different paths as Avestan never held the same high status as Sanskrit.

For example, Avestan literature pales in comparison to Sanskrit, and even most of the extant surviving manuscripts from pre-Islamic Iran are not in Avestan. At first, I believed it was because of invasions by Arabs and Mongols, but Avestan was already a dead language by the Sassanian Period. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that Avestan ever had an expansive literary tradition prior to the Islamic invasion. It was a language exclusively used by the priesthood, and even then, it was not understood well at all by the priests themselves. After the Islamic invasions, Persian scholars like Tabari make no mention of Avestan at all while he does reference other Iranic languages.

On the other hand, Sanskrit was a language with royal patronage and elite status through the vast majority of Indian history, and it was used in many different fields from poetry to politics. Sanskrit had various grammarians like Panini and Yaska, and the linguistic aspects of Sanskrit is much better documented than Avestan.

So my question is why did Avestan not hold the same high status in Iranian civilization the way Sanskrit had in Indian civilization? Why is Avestan literature so much smaller than classical Sanskrit literature?

I came across this image and was wondering what relevance the thorn/ropes around Ahriman's waist might have? I haven't come across them in any Sassanid, Parsi, or earlier art so far.

Anuki Natsvlishvili's \"AHURA MAZDA & AHRIMAN\" illustration

Hello everyone, I am a student in university currently studying about other religions. For one of my assignments, I need a Zoroastrian who can teach me more about your religion. Is there anyone willing to teach me about it? Thank you in advance.!

In the Vishtasp Yasht, Zarathustra says that he hopes that three of Vishtaspa’s sons become farmers, three become warriors, three become priests, and one succeeds Vishtaspa as Kavi. Does this suggest that the three estates were equal? Because I read in one book that they were.