Sunday, May 22, 2011

Is Zoroastrianism a Religion, Philosophy, Way-of-Life...? The Spirit

The short answer is all of the above. However, there is a discernible hierarchy in the progression of how Zoroastrianism applies to the life of a person and community.

The hierarchy is:
  • Spirit
  • Thought
  • Word, and
  • Deed
We can think of the spirit (Av. mainyu) of a person as being entirely intangible, beyond perception by our senses but not beyond our feelings and intuition. In order to try and differentiate the spirit of a person with spiritual entities, some authors choose to name this personal spirit 'mentality'. It is at the root of a person's attitude, character, conscience, personality and temperament. Or put differently, a person's spirit shapes her or his attitude, character, conscience, personality and temperament.

In Zoroastrianism, a person's choice of spirit is the fundamental choice a person can make. Before the age of reason, fifteen years of age, parents, family members, elders, teachers and other centres on influence, assist in shaping a person's spirit. After the age of reason, Zoroastrian tradition would make a person entirely responsible for the choice of her or his spirit and from there, responsible for every thought, word and deed.

Perhaps the concept of free will applies to the greatest degree to a person's choice of spirit - it is that choice over which a person has the greatest amount of control and which is least subject to circumstance. The fundamental choice in spirit determines the nature of a person's character, which is also the character of her or his soul - that person's way of being.

A human being's fundamental choice of spirit is between a 'bright' and 'dark' spirit - put differently, a good and not-good (bad) spirit - the duality and dichotomy of the spirit that is a fundamental feature of creation. A defining feature of goodness is beneficence, while a defining feature of not-goodness is its dual opposite, harm.

A bright spirit is also peaceful and constructive, while a dark spirit is aggressive and destructive. As such a bright spirit is perpetually vulnerable to the aggression and destructiveness of a dark spirit and must therefore be continually reaffirmed by a person. The process of securing a bright spirit against the constant inroads by a dark spirit is outlined in chapter 30 of the Gathas, the hymns of Zarathushtra (Zarathustra/Zoroaster).

An admittedly imperfect way viewing the difference between the spirit and thought, is that the spirit is not subject to the time-space continuum of the material world, gaetha. A thought, word and deed have coordinates of time and space and are an indelible feature of the time-space continuum. The spirit is not similarly subject to the gaetha existence. While thoughts, words and deeds require consciousness, the spirit while nurtured during consciousness, survives the end of consciousness.

Alternatively, a person's spirit is a way of being which leads to a way of thinking (a philosophy), a way of speaking and eventually a way of living - at which point it becomes a way of life. Without consciousness and a material body, the spirit cannot be manifest as a way of life.

Depending on the spirit a person chooses, she or he becomes cheerful or angry, constructive or destructive, helpful or harmful, honest or dishonest, loyal or unfaithful, healthy or unhealthy, serene or agitated, peaceful or conflicted, holistic or imbalanced.

Organized as a way in which an entire community chooses to believe, the collective spiritual beliefs if you will, express its beliefs and perform its rites of passage in ritual - Zoroastrianism becomes a religion.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Note in J.M. Ashmand's Translation (1822) of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos

[Our note: Here J.M. Ashmand subscribes to the belief that knowledge of astronomy-astrology (the two were equated in ancient times) flowed from the Egyptians to the Babylonians and Persians rather than the other way around as described by classical Hellenic authors. Ashmand also subscribes to the hypothesis than equates the eastern king of Balkh Vishtasp with the western father of Darius and to the Achaemenian era dating of Zoroaster / Zarathushtra / Zarathustra. Nevertheless, the note contains some interesting references to Jamasp, King Vishtasp's Prime Minister, when quoting Hyde and Arabic sources. In particular, the sources credit Jamasp as being a renowned astronomer-astrologer and author of a treatise on the subject and a 'most excellent philosopher'. This note also transfers the origins or centre of Persian-Iranian astrology from the west to the east of Iran - to Balkh and Khorasan.]

(Also see our blog Astrology & Cosmology - Zoroastrian Heritage)

Jamasp
Having quoted thus far from Newton, it seems proper to subjoin the following extract from the "Ancient Universal History:"--"In the reign of Gushtasp" [the oriental name of Darius Hystaspis], "King of Persia, flourished a celebrated astrologer, whose name was Gjamasp (Jamasp), surnamed Al Hakim, or the wise. The most credible writers say that he was the brother of King Gushtasp, and his confidant and chief minister. He is said to have predicted the coming of the Messiah; and some treatises under his name are yet current in the East.

Dr. Thomas Hyde, in speaking of this philosopher, cites a passage from a very ancient author, having before told us that this author asserted there had been among the Persians ten doctors of such consummate wisdom as the whole world could not boast the like. He then gives the author's words: 'Of these, the sixth was Gjamasp, an astrologer, who was counsellor to Hystaspis. He is the author of a book intitled Judicia Gjamaspis (Judgement / Decisions / Opinions of Jamasp), in which is contained his judgment on the planetary conjunctions. And therein he gave notice that Jesus should appear; that Mohammed should be born; that the Magian religion should be abolished, etc.; nor did any astrologer ever come up to him.' [E. lib. Mucj. apud Hyde.]

Of this book there is an Arabic version, the title of which runs thus: The Book of the Philosopher Gjamasp, containing Judgments on the Grand Conjunctions of the Planets, and on the Events produced by them. This version was made by Lali; the title he gave it in Arabic was Al Keranai, and he published it A.D. 1280. In the preface of his version it is said that, after the times of Zoroaster, or Zerdusht, reigned Gushtasp (Avestan: Vishtasp), the son of Lohrasp,  a very powerful prince; and that in his reign flourished in the city of Balch (Balkh / Bakhdhi), on the borders of Chorassan (Khorasan), a most excellent philosopher, whose name was Gjamasp, author of this book; wherein is contained an account of all the great conjunctions of the planets which had happened before his time, and which were to happen in succeeding ages; and wherein the appearances of new religions and the rise of new monarchies were exactly set down.

[Our note: We note here the listing of past conjunctions and the prediction of future conjunctions, which could be the transition phase between astronomy and astrology given that these conjunctions portend significant changes in world events i.e. prophecies.]

This author, throughout his whole piece, styles Zerdusht, or Zoroaster, our Prophet. [D’Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Gjamasp.] The notion of predicting the rise and progress of religions from the grand conjunctions of the planets, has been likewise propagated in our western parts: Cardan was a bold assertor of this doctrine. The modern Persians are still great votaries of astrology, and although they distinguish between it and astronomy, they have but one word to express astronomer and astrologer; viz. manegjim, which is exactly equivalent to the Greek word αστρολογος (astrologos=astrologer).

Khorasan
Of all the provinces of Persia, Chorassan (Khorasan) is the most famous for producing great men in that art; and in Chorassan there is a little town called Genabed (Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan province? 5 km from Now Deh-e Gonabad, and south of Kashmar. Also known as Gulnabad and Juymand) and in that town a certain family which, for 6 or 700 years past, has produced the most famous astrologers in Persia; and the king's astrologer is always either a native of Genabed, or one brought up there.

Sir John Chardin affirms that the appointments in his time for these sages amounted to six millions of French livres (the currency of France until 1795) per annum.--Albumazar of Balch (scholar of Alkendi, a Jew, who was professor of judicial astrology at Bagdad, in the Caliphate of Almamoum (9th cent. CE)) became wonderfully famous.

Jamasp's Predictions Regarding the Birth of Christ via Ezra
He wrote expressly from the Persian astrologers, and it may be from the works of Gjamasp, since he also reports a prediction of the coming of Christ in the following words: viz. 'In the sphere of Persia, saith Aben Ezra (Abraham ibn Ezra? 1089 — 1164 CE), there ariseth upon the face of the sign Virgo a beautiful maiden, she holding two ears of corn in her hand, and a child in her arm: she feedeth him, and giveth him suck, &c. This maiden,' saith Albumazar, 'we call Adrenedefa, the pure Virgin. She bringeth up a child in a place which is called Abrie [the Hebrew land], and the child's name is called Eisi [Jesus].' This made Albertus Magnus believe that our Saviour, Christ, was born in Virgo; and therefore Cardinal Alliac, erecting our Lord's nativity by his description, casteth this sign into the horoscope. But the meaning of Albumazar was, saith Friar Bacon, that the said virgin was born, the Sun being in that sign, and so it is noted in the calendar; and that she was to bring up her son in the Hebrew land. [Mr. John Gregory's Notes on various Passages of Scripture.]"--Ancient Universal History, vol. 5, pp. 415 to 419.

[For the complete text see Sacred Texts]
(Also see our blog Astrology & Cosmology - Zoroastrian Heritage)