Character identified with Zarathustra. Detail from "The School of Athens", by Raphël. 1509. Vatican • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Some words attract the ear. Zarathustra is one of them with its dazzling sounds. Whether it is called Zarathustra or Zoroaster in Europe, Zardosht in Iran, it fascinates. Intellectuals of the 18 th French century who discovered him by reading great travellers, such as Jean Chardin (1643-1713) and Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689), considered him the champion of deism. Nietzsche, in the 19 th century, made him a visionary and a tightrope walker. Today, in a 21 th century that is looking for itself, the initiator of the first monotheism reappears in a modernity that answers some of our existential questions. His life, his message are so many stimuli that plunge us into a fascinating Iran, a crossroads of civilizations with a culture that dates back several millennia. A very mysterious priest When did he live ? The answer is in the Gathas , the oldest part of the Avesta (the holy book of the Zoroastrians), written in Old Avestan by Zarathustra himself. Composed of 17 chants divided into five Gathas , these hymns to the supreme god Ahura Mazda are linguistically related to the Indian Vedic texts (the Rigveda ) which date from the II th millennium BC. Hence a possible dating of the Gathas between 1200 and 900 BC. AD, even 1700 BC. J.-C. as it could be suggested. Consequently, Zarathustra – whose name could mean “master of the camels” or “golden star” – far from participating, as has long been supposed, in the cultural and religious revival of the VII e -V e centuries BC. J.-C. where Confucius, Lao-tzu, Buddha, Pythagoras and Socrates shone, would be largely earlier than him. A doubly important dating point which, if it anchors the character in high antiquity, also suggests that he shares with the Hebrews the call to monotheism, three millennia ago. According to legend, at his first breath Zarathustra laughed. According to the Zoroastrian texts, Zarathustra was a zaotar (a priest) who lived partly in northern Afghanistan, in Bactria. Son of Puroushaspa and Doghdova, he had from his marriage to Hvóvi three sons and three daughters. Critical of the polytheistic religion of his time, Mazdaism, he meditated in front of the sacred fire (atar ) on the principles allowing access to happiness and withdrew in solitude, 10 years during, before writing the Gathas , inspired directly by Ahura Mazda. He proposed a reform transforming Mazdaism into a monotheism where man would be free to choose. The political organization was upset, and the supremacy of religion over the individual challenged. Rejected by the ruling classes, Zarathustra had to take refuge with the king of Bactria, Vishtaspa, who protected him and imposed his reform on his people and his neighbors. To these "historical" and rare elements, the legend, fueled in particular by the ancient Greeks and by the Zarâthust-Nâma , work in Persian written in the 13 th century among the Parsis of India, adds some anecdotes. Thus, Zarathustra would belong to the noble caste. From his first breath, he would have laughed. The Mazdean priests, fearing some magic, tried six times to kill him. In the following years, his criticisms of their traditions heightened hostility towards him. At the age of 30, tired of the quarrels, he went into exile. “Miracles” then happened:he walked on the swollen waters of a river, came out of a river, resplendent with divine light… The royal road to happiness Ahura Mazda then revealed to him, over the course of seven interviews, the truths leading to true happiness. For 10 years, the Chosen One refined his sermon. Repulsed by kings and priests, he found asylum with King Vishtaspa. There followed new wonders and oppositions. Then came the triumph of Ahura Mazda. Zarathustra was able to preach the good news of a "Renovation", where the forces of good would prevail forever. He was murdered at age 77 in a fire temple. As we can see, the legend has gilded history, but the essence of the revelation has remained the same:the proclamation of Zoroastrian monotheism, the royal road to happiness. Prior to Zarathustra's reform, Mazdaism dominated Iran. Alongside Ahura Mazda, the "Wise Lord", a central but not unique god, three great gods, the ahuras , are honoured:Mithras, god of contracts and promises; Varuna, god of the Sky; Indra, god of war. In Mithra especially, animals are sacrificed by the faithful who consume, during the cult, a hallucinogenic drink based on ephedra, it seems, the haoma . Alongside these dominant gods, other minor gods guarantee harvests, the fertility of marriages... Finally, fire (atar ) is venerated, a symbol of purity, because it is incorruptible. However, Zarathustra thinks that this system is worn out and that the Mazdean priests subjected men to the gods by depriving them of their free will. Relying on part of the tradition, however, he calls for reform, banning haoma , which he considers dangerous for the spirit, and the sacrifices of oxen, which impoverish entire communities. Above all, it teaches to venerate only Ahura Mazda and rejects the old gods while leaving the notions or abstractions linked to them. By reforming the ancient Mazdean religion, Zarathustra places fire (symbol of the god Ahura Mazda) as the first principle and object of veneration. First principle, omniscient and luminous like the fire which symbolizes it, Ahura Mazda possesses attributes which, united with each other, interfere with the evolution of the world. Among them, the Amesha Spenta (“immortal forces that advance”):Asha (Sacred Order), Vohu Manah (Good Thought), Kshatra (Self-mastery), Aramati (Serenity), Sarvatât (Evolution towards Perfection) and Amrta (Immortality). He is also assisted by six archangels. Man, called to play an active role in his purposes, relies on his superior energies to access the Good Thought, the Good Word and the Good Deed, while around him the forces of life (the Good, Intelligence, Light) and non-life (Evil, Obscurantism, Darkness) engage in an incessant struggle. Free to choose between this alternative, a major innovation, he must assume the consequences. Upon their death, both the Just and the Non-Just are tested at the “Passage du Trieur”:the virtuous go to paradise, the “House of Songs”, while the others languish in purgatory. Soon will come the ordeal by fire, an apocalypse which, reconciling all souls, will lead to a regeneration of the world by Good and to the advent of the kingdom of God. A very contemporary echo Zoroastrian monotheism, symbolized by the Farvahar (guardian angel, soul and spirit all together), presents itself as a religion of happiness, commitment and tolerance, cautious of nature. Draining with him a social and spiritual revolution, he seduced many Iranians over time, becoming from 273 AD. AD and after some modifications state religion under the Sassanids. Despite the human destruction, the passing centuries have not abolished what Henry Corbin calls the “underground continuities”, which allowed Zoroastrian thought to survive in Iran, but also to be known in Europe. The Avesta remaining untraceable, the rumor around Zarathustra has long intrigued Judeo-Christian Europe. From the end of the 17 th century, European travelers partially lift the veil by evoking the strange rites of the “guèbres” – as they call the Zoroastrians – in a distant Persia. From 1700, scholars are passionate about it. The very young Freemasonry, following the Chevalier de Ramsay, found there from 1727 orientations for its own ideology. In fashion, Zarathustra becomes, in the face of Christianity, which he no doubt influenced, a cantor of deism. The opera celebrates him:Rameau, first, with his tragedy Zoroastre in 1749, and soon Mozart, in 1791, with The Magic Flute . Meanwhile, a copy of the Avesta is found in Bombay (Mumbai) among the Parsis and translated in 1757 by Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron. The Gathas being isolated from the rest of the Avesta in the middle of the 19 th century, monotheistic theology and the dualistic ethics of the priest-prophet resonate again. Today, while in Iran Zoroastrianism, admittedly tolerated but far from being encouraged by the authorities, would register many conversions, in Europe, it is meeting with growing interest. The responsibility of man in front of his choices is indeed close to contemporary ideas, according to which the free man is invited to commit himself. Finally, its continual reference to the nature that must be preserved embraces our ecological concerns more and more every day. Find out more The Great Figures of Iran, by Yves Bomati, H. Nahavandi, Perrin, 2015.Zarathushtra, by Jean Varenne, Points, 2006. Timeline 1700-1200 BC. Probable date of the writing of the Gathas , hymns attributed to Zarathustra, who therefore would not have lived around the 6th th -V e centuries BC. J.-C.559 BC. Cyrus the Great governs Achaemenid Persia. He and his successors are worshipers of Ahura Mazda, the god of Zarathustra.330 BC. Alexander the Great conquers the Achaemenid Empire. Zoroastrianism, which grew in importance, would endure under the new kings.273 AD. AD Under the Sasanian king Bahram I st , Zoroastrianism becomes the state religion. Members of other faiths are persecuted.275 AD. AD Mani, founder of the Manichaeist doctrine, is persecuted by the high priest Kartir, who executes him for heresy.VII e century AD. AD The Arabs conquer the Sasanian Empire and persecute the followers of Zoroastrianism. The latter extends as far as China.X e century AD. AD Fleeing revolts and repressions, some Zoroastrian communities arrive in India. They will be centralized in Mumbai. Prayer around the fire Because of the central role of fire in Zoroastrian temples, followers of this religion are popularly referred to as “fire worshippers”. Nevertheless, one of the most serious problems that Zoroastrian communities in predominantly Muslim areas have faced is that they have been accused of idolatry for this reason.In reality, in Zoroastrian religious practice, fire is a symbol of light, representing the essential principles of this religion:the light that dispels the darkness of ignorance, the symbolic representation of justice and ritual order, the cosmic fire of creation and the destructive fire that will put an end to all creation to restore perfect order.Thus, standing in front of the flame while reciting a prayer represents a way of contemplating the nature of God's creation. Nowadays there are three classes of fire giving rise to three different types of temples of increasing importance. The temple with the highest level fire must be served by a dastur priest (or high priest), while the lowest level one is not consecrated and can be overseen by a layman. Zoroastrianism today Today, Zoroastrians are divided into three main groups, according to their geographical location:Iran, India and the Diaspora. Iran is the original homeland of the religion, but the Islamization of the country from the Arab conquest in 651, added to the repression and discrimination of Zoroastrian communities, causes an exodus to the western coast of Iran. India, a more tolerant zone. This is where many Zoroastrians settled who, because of their Persian origin, received the name of Parsis. They create urban communities that thrive during British rule. But the ban on proselytizing and intermarrying with followers of other religions is causing a sharp drop in the membership of the community.It is now estimated to have some 70,000 followers, to whom add the 70,000 members of the diaspora. The Parsis ensure the basis of the economic prosperity of Mumbai, the financial capital of India, and form a cultured, westernized class recognized for their charitable works. In Iran, after the Islamic revolution of 1979, the situation of the 30,000 Zoroastrians stabilized from a political point of view.
