Hinduism and zoroastrianism are two very different religions followed by people of different beliefs. Zoroastrianism at a glance zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions. Bbc culture the obscure religion that shaped the west. Zoroastrianism or mazdayasna is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions.
Zoroastrianism is thought to have arisen in the late second millennium b. Zorastrianism ontario consultants on religious tolerance. The present entry will address main points of contact between hinduism and zoroastrianism diachronically. Finally in the last age, a godly figure arises and vanquishes the most evil people of the world. It is a great myth that avestan resembles vedic religion. Married householder, own caste, older then wife, wealth and pleasure until grandchildren are adults 3.
Mar 19, 2018 yes, it is older than the mentioned religions. The iranians, in their first migration into iran, were led by the great teacher zoroaster, who belonged to the same mighty brotherhood as manu of the indic tradition and was a high initiate of the same great lodge, taught by the same. Annie besant 18471933, second president of the theosophical society 19071933 was described as a diamond soul, for she had many brilliant facts to her character. By the 19th century these indian zoroastrians, or parsis, were noted for their wealth and education. The rigveda is believed to have been created between 1500 and 1200 bc, although allegedly it was recorded in oral form only back then. Sanatana dharma is the original religion that comes down from the dawn of creation of this universe. Hinduism hinduism is the indigenous, most predominant religion of the indian subcontinent. A section of this avesta is known as the khordehavesta which read more and download pdf. Lets discuss about the similarities given by you between both religion. In 1896, dr annie besant gave four convention lectures on hinduism, zoroastrianism, buddhism, and christianity. Apr 17, 2009 some scholars favour an earlier or a later date. Zoroastrianism is a religion, one of the oldest according to tradition, it was founded by zoroaster after he received a vision in which he was introduced to ahura mazda, and told of the great god and his adversary. Perspectives of hinduism and zoroastrianism on abortion.
The idea of a single god was not the only essentially zoroastrian tenet to find its way into other major faiths, most notably the big three. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of three persian dynasties, until the muslim conquest of persia in the seventh century a. Feb 09, 2017 zoroastrianism is the ancient, preislamic religion of persia modernday iran. Im having trouble finding out exactly when zathustra the founder lived. Im having trouble finding out exactly when zathustra th. The puranas are holy books of hinduism that date back to gupta empire in ancient india. You can search for the timelines and you can see it for yourself. And how old is judaism, and did the jews take their ideas from these first monotheists. Seven great religions hinduism, zoroastrianism, jainism. Zarathustra, also spelled zarathushtra, greek zoroaster, born traditionally c. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata, and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation, etc.
The latter represent the basic source of the religion. Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have originated as early as 4,000 years ago. It survives there in isolated areas but primarily exists in india, where the descendants of zoroastrian persian immigrants are known as parsis, or parsees. One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce. Zoroastriansare much smaller than their indian counterparts. Hinduism or the indian belief system is definitely much much older than zoroastrianism. Iranian prophet and religious reformer zarathustra flourished before the 6th century bce. In search of one of the worlds oldest religions the. While we have the main vedas, upanishads, the mahabharata in several translations we also present newer commentaries, anthologies, and entirely new branches of hinduism. Religion or dharma has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from. He saw other radiant figures too, but could not see his shadow on the ground, a sign which convince zoroaster his vision was authentic. One of the worlds oldest surviving religions, zoroastrianism played an. The earliest texts of hinduism which are still read the vedic texts date from about 1500 to bce.
Zoroastrianisms influence on judaism, christianity, islam. They were opposed by the demonic spirit angra mainyu, the head of evil forces in the world. Sanatana means eternal and dharma means duty, activity or nature. However, the puranas are supposed to be complied by muni vyasa.
This may make these creeds as old, if not older, as zoroastrianism. I have read that zoroastrianism is older than and begot, more or less judaism and hinduism. Apr 06, 2017 the idea of a single god was not the only essentially zoroastrian tenet to find its way into other major faiths, most notably the big three. Jun 20, 2016 buddhism versus zoroastrianism comparison chart. But some scholars would argue for a very early date for zoroaster, and ancient iranian religion certainly predates the 6th century bce. The most significant and important books of this era include the denkard, bundahishn, menogi khrad, selections of zadspram, jamasp namag, epistles of manucher, rivayats, dadestanidenig, and arda viraf namag. The oldest zoroastrian religious scripture, as preserved at present, is known as the avesta. Zoroastrianism and hinduism hindupedia, the hindu encyclopedia. Dare mehr persian or agiyari gujarati or fire temple. Sometimes called the official religion of ancient persia, zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest surviving religions, with teachings older than buddhism, older than judaism, and far older than christianity or islam. Zoroaster comes from the avestaa collection of zoroastrian religious scriptures.
Difference between hinduism and zoroastrianism difference. These texts are glorious tales of the hindu trinity brahma, vishnu and maheshwar shiva. Zoroaster taught that the forces of good in the world served the supreme god ahura mazda and his holy spirit spenta mainyu. Vesak day in which the birth, the awakening, and the parinirvana of the buddha is celebrated. Today zoroastrianism, one of the oldest religions in the world is practiced by less than a million people, most of whom live in india and iran. Zoroastrian refugees, called parsis, escaped muslim persecution in. The vedas of hinduism were written by rishimunis more than 0 years ago. The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification.
The upanishads are also called as vedantas or the end of the vedas. The rigveda is a collection of hindu hymns that is considered to be one of the four vedas sacred canonical texts of hinduism. The iranian prophet and religious reformer zarathustra flourished before the. Most religions have holy books because that is the best way to preserve knowledge from one generation to another. Apr 11, 2007 zoroastrianism is a founding belief system acknowledged to have heavily influenced both abrahamic judaism, christianity, islam and dharmic hinduism, buddhism, jainism and sikhism religions. Zoroastrianism, ancient preislamic religion of iran that likely influenced the. Modern zoroastrian priest wearing mouth cover while tending a temple fire. As far as i can tell, as of now, there is only one real argument against christianity and that comes from zoroastrianism. The 2 combined until 500 bce where the beginning of hinduism are identifiable. Hinduism is followed by hindus and zoroastrianism is followed by people referred to as parsis. Zoroastrianism is an ancient persian religion that may have. So hinduism was started by rishimunis more than 0 years ago. As the linguists of both europe and india worked with the language of the gathas attributed to zarathushtra it became clear that they were far older than the language spoken in iran at the time of king darius father.
It is a multitendency faith centered on a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology predicting the ultimate conquest of evil with theological elements of henotheism, monotheismmonism, and polytheism. Is zoroastrianism older than christianity, islam, buddhism. Zoroastrianism was founded by the prophet zoroaster in the sixth century bce and was one of the first monotheistic faiths in the world. Zoroastrianism download books, sacred, spiritual texts.
Zoroastrianism is the ancient, preislamic religion of persia modernday iran. Zoroastrianism rose circa 6,000 bce to 4,000 bce and remained a dominant religious tradition until the prophet. Zoroastrianism is a founding belief system acknowledged to have heavily influenced both abrahamic judaism, christianity, islam and dharmic hinduism, buddhism, jainism. It was founded by the prophet zoroaster or zarathustra in ancient iran. Many believe zervanism is older than zoroastrianism. Hinduism part 4 download books, sacred, spiritual texts. She was an outstanding orator of her time, a champion of human freedom, educationist, philanthropist and author with more than three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. Zoroastrianism, the ancient pre islamic religion of iran that survives there in isolated areas and, more prosperously, in india, where the descendants of zoroastrian iranian persian immigrants are known as parsis, or parsees. The timeline goes from the 2nd millennium bce to the present. Interestingly enough, three particular kurdish religious variants. There is a concept of yasnasanskrit equivalentyajna in zoroastrianism. All investigators, however, are agreed that his teachings were generally in force throughout iran before the time of the jewish captivity.
The first of the oldest surviving religious texts, the pyramid. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. I do not know how much you know about this religion, but it was founded by someone called zoroaster or zarathushtra who was born around 1200 bc and has a. Timeline of religion wikipedia basically, it is based on the recorded written and or archaeological excavated history. Which is an older religion, hinduism or zoroastrianism.
Aramaic scripts were available to write down a manual, even a longer book grantha. Zoroastrianism enjoyed status as an official religion at various times before the advent of islam, but zoroastrians were persecuted in the 8th10th centuries, and some left iran to settle in india. This includes the original words of their founder zarathushtra, preserved in a series of five hymns, called the gathas. Its name comes from zarathushtra, to whom the earliest texts of the. What are all the holy books and their religions answers. Judaism is my vote, since they have been around to help construct the pyramids of egypt back in 2000 bc or so. He further remarks that any significant interest and infatuation with the holy. Jul 22, 20 here at the hinduism section of, we aim at presenting the original works that lay the foundations of hinduism. The persian thrust for written religious and law texts. Gandhra and the formation of the vedic and zoroastrian canons. Thus sanatana dharma means the eternal duty or the eter. According to these records, zoroastrianism and hinduism are the two oldest religions of our modern humanity. The principal zoroastrian scripture is called the avesta or zendiavesta, meaning interpretation of avesta.
Founded by the iranian prophet and reformer zoroaster in the 6th. Middle persian and pahlavi works created in the 9th and 10th century contain many religious zoroastrian books, as most of the writers and copyists were part of the zoroastrian clergy. In search of one of the worlds oldest religions the getty iris. They differ from literary texts by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual practices, commandments or laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and for creating or fostering a religious community. Im having trouble finding out exactly when zathustra th citydata forum. According to the zend avesta, the sacred book of zoroastrianism, zoroaster was born in azerbaijan, in northern persia. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes. Dec 02, 20 sometimes called the official religion of ancient persia, zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest surviving religions, with teachings older than buddhism, older than judaism, and far older than christianity or islam.
With the exception of religious conservatives, most religious historians believe the the jewish, christian and muslim beliefs concerning god and satan, the soul, heaven and hell, the virgin birth of the savior, the slaughter of the innocents, resurrection, the final judgment, etc. They were published in 1897 with a foreword from her as four great religious. Arguably the worlds first monotheistic faith, its one of the oldest religions still in. Not only was it a cohort of the ancient vedic hinduism, but also had a huge influence on the development of judaism and christianity. Zoroastrianism was a monotheistic and messianic religion centered around the duality of good and evil and founded on the teachings of its prophet, zoroaster. Dec 05, 2010 i have read that zoroastrianism is older than and begot, more or less judaism and hinduism. Hinduism hinduism is the indigenous, most predominant religion of. According to the tradition in the parsee books, zoroaster was born in 660 b. Zoroastrianism, or mazdayasna, is one of the worlds oldest religions that remains active.
Wondering begger sannyasiln, dependent on the other hindus. It is a heterogeneous collection of texts composed at different periods by different authors dealing with various aspects of religious worship, beliefs and instructions. Is zoroastrianism the oldest religion in the world. The zendavesta pahlavi texts links zoroastrianism, in spite of its small current number of adherents, has played a huge role in the study of comparative religion.
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