The Teachings of Zoroaster, S.A. Kapadia
The Teachings of Zoroaster
S.A. Kapadia
Category: Zoroastrian
2:12 h
This is a short study of the Zoroastrian religion, part of the Wisdom of the East series. S.A. Kapadia, who along with L. Cranmer-Byng, edited or wrote many of the books in the Wisdom of the East, was a member of the Indian Zoroastrian community, and his personal insights into the religion are invaluable.

The Teachings of Zoroaster
and
The Philosophy of the Parsi Religion

by
S. A. KAPADIA, MD. LRCP.

Editorial Note

THE object of the editors of this series is a very definite one. They desire above all things that, in their humble way, these books shall be the ambassadors of good-will and understanding between East and West, the old world of Thought, and the new of Action. In this endeavour, and in their own sphere, they are but followers of the highest example in the land. They are confident that a deeper knowledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy of Oriental thought may help to a revival of that true spirit of Charity which neither despises nor fears the nations of another creed and colour. Finally, in thanking press and public for the very cordial reception given to the “Wisdom of the East” series, they wish to state that no pains have been spared to secure the best specialists for the treatment of the various subjects at hand.

L. CR R-BYNG.
S. A. KAPADIA.

THE ORIENT PRESS,
4, HARCOURT BUILDINGS,
INNER TEMPLE, LONDON.

Author's Preface

ZOROASTRIANISM is a religion much commented upon by a few enthusiastic oriental scholars, and less understood by the general public. Out of the millions of believers of this faith in the bygone ages, there now remains a handful of devout followers, known as the Parsis. I have, therefore, ventured to put before my readers a brief sketch of the teachings of this divine prophet. I hope, that the strangers to the faith may find in it food for philosophic enlightenment, and the Zoroastrians themselves a subject for deeper and wider researches in the untold wealth of sublime theology and philosophy, now looked up in the monumental tomes of the ancient Avesta writings.

For extracts in this volume, I am greatly indebted, amongst others, to the works of the following eminent oriental scholars: Dr. Martin Haug, Dr. E. W. West, Dr. L. H. Mills, Professors Max Müller, Spiegel, Bleeck, Westergaard, Z. A. Ragozin, J. Darmesteter, Mr. K. R. Cama, Ervard Kavasji Edalji Kanga, Mr. N. M. N. Kanga, Mr. J. A. Pope, and Dr. J. Adams.

I have also to thank the India Office authorities for their kindness in placing at my disposal their splendid library of the Persian and Zend literature, and my old friend Sir C. Purdon Clarke, the Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, for his valuable suggestions regarding the ancient print of Zoroaster, which appears on the cover of this book, and my friend Mr. A. Kapadia, of Lincoln’s Inn, for his kind assistance.

S. A. KAPADIA.

INNER TEMPLE, LONDON,
January 1st, 1905.

Introduction

“I WILL now tell you who are assembled here the wise sayings of Mazda, the praises of Ahura, and the hymns of the Good Spirit, the sublime truth which I see rising out of these flames. You shall therefore HEARKEN TO THE SOUL OF NATURE. Contemplate the beams of fire with a most pious mind! Every one, both men and women, ought today to choose his Dread. Ye offspring of renowned ancestors, awake to agree with us.” So preached Zoroaster, the prophet of the Parsis, in one of his earliest sermons nearly 3,500 years ago.

Imbued from his infancy with deep philosophical and religious thoughts for the welfare and well-being of mankind, this ancient prophet of Bactria derived his holy inspiration after thirty years of divine meditation on a secluded and inaccessible mountain-top of “Ushidarena.” Thus fortified in communion with Ahura-Mazda, “Spitama Zarathustra” proceeded to the city of Balkh, at the time the capital of the King of Iran, Kava Vishtacpa.

Clothed in pure white flowing vestments, bearing with him the sacred fire, “Adar Burzin Mehr,” and a staff or sceptre made of a cypress tree, this sage of antiquity appeared before the court of Kava Vishtacpa. By persuasion and argument he unfolded his religious mission; and proclaimed the mandate of Ahura, in order to elevate the ancient faith of the Aryas to its lofty and intellectual purity of monotheism.

Somewhere in the region washed by the eastern shires of the Caspian Sea, on the fertile soil of Atropatene, the primeval Aryas toiled and laboured in peaceful pastoral pursuit. In the early days of Zoroaster homage was paid and prayers were offered to the Supreme Being, usually through the recognized symbols of the Deity. The heavenly firmament, tinted with cerulean hue — one limitless vault of refulgence and indescribable splendour — the resplendent orb of the rising sun, the ethereal gentleness of the beaming moon, with her coruscating companions, the planets and the stars, the verdant earth, the swift-flowing river, murmuring in sweet cadence of eternity and bliss, the roaring sea of life and death, and the glorious fire of Empyrean, — all these, in the days of the primitive Aryan religion, were believed to be so many manifestations of the Almighty God, and were accordingly symbolized. Things, which were originally manifestations of God’s good work, became in course of time personified; assumed shapes of deities in the frail imagination of the devotees; and finally came to be adored in lieu of the Great Architect of the world. Thus, a religious system, in itself philosophically sublime, degenerated into a system of polytheism, having for its object adoration of idols and visible forms of good and evil spirits, reflective of human imagination. This was the great evil, the crime of ignoring the Creator for the created, which our prophet Zarathustra laboured to remedy; and to restore the then ancient faith to its pristine purity of Ahura worship was his chief object.

This led to a schism amongst the Indo-Eranians. One branch of the ancient Aryas, powerfully supported by the State, became Mazdayasnians (Monotheists), and the other of the same stock remained staunch to the worship of material gods, and were known as Daêvayasnians (Polytheists). Inevitable war of creed and faith resulted in the migration of the weaker and polytheistic branch to the fertile plains of India, where it took root and blossomed into the absolute Brahminism of the modern Hindoos. The other remained on the native soil, flourished for centuries, built up an empire, and finally in its turn gave place to the Moslem hordes of Arabia. It migrated, and by the irony of Fate, sought and obtained shelter with religious toleration among the banished sister branch of the primeval stock.

The appearance of Zoroaster, to teach his excellent religion before King Gushtasp and his wise and learned courtiers, may be well compared to that of St. Augustine before King Ethelbert in the sixth century of the Christian era. It is a curious historical coincidence that in both oases extreme piety, religious convictions, eloquent and persuasive arguments, prevailed. England received the blessings of Christianity through the Saxon King Ethelbert, and rose in its might to be a great Christian nation, whose empire in the twentieth century of the Christian era extends over land beyond the seas; and under whose sceptre are folded together vast millions of most loyal subjects of His Britannic Majesty King Edward VII. So, 3,500 years ago, did the mighty Gushtasp of Iran espouse the cause of Zoroaster and spread the Mazdayasnian religion to all the corners of his vast empire. He was the first founder of the doctrine of the State religion. Under the renowned and mighty warriors Cyrus and Darius of Persia, the national flag of State and Zoroastrianism, welded together in unity, proudly floated over untold millions, who claimed protection and paid homage to the Persian Court. Thus, through generations and generations, flourished Zoroastrianism, to be ultimately shattered and almost annihilated by the Arabs of the Khaliph Omar at the battle of Nehavand, A.D. 642. Subsequent events may well be described in the words of Thomas Moore:

“Is Iran’s pride then gone for ever,
Quenched with the flame in Mithra’s caves?
No-she has sons, that never — never
Will stoop to be the Moslem’s slaves,
While heaven has light or earth has graves.”

Inspired with zealous fervour, conquered but never vanquished, a few Magian fathers of the East boldly sallied forth in a frail bark to seek their fortunes in other climes. After undergoing terrible hardships, they floated, at the mercy of the tempestuous ocean, to the hospitable shores of Western India. Since then, centuries have passed, and the Parsis have made themselves known in the West for their charity and benevolence; for their staunch loyalty to the Crown; for their commercial, educational, and political achievements. I have often wondered what powerful. influence, what intrinsic philosophy, what imperceptible charm of thought and theology have been at work to endear Zoroastrianism to the heart of the modern Parsis — devoid as it is of the powerful support of the State; uprooted from its native soil and transplanted for centuries amongst the Hindoos. In the following pages I shall endeavour to show why Zoroastrianism has maintained its divine power and prestige amongst them.

Nearly 3,500 years ago, at Rae, in Media, there lived a man of the name of Pourushaspa, who led a holy and righteous life with his wife Dogdho.

It is related of this holy man, on the authority of the ninth chapter of the Yacna, that, being desirous of perpetuating his posterity, he prepared a religious ceremony as a thanksgiving to the Almighty, and solemnly prayed for the favour of a child. This worthy man’s prayers were duly answered, and a son was born to him, who laboured amongst our primitive forefathers for the amelioration of mankind and their deliverance from the everlasting ruin. His mission was prior to the advent of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.

He left behind him, written in letters of golden fire, in the History of the World, his illustrious name, Zarathustra, as a permanent landmark and everlasting beacon for the welfare of the body and the guidance of the soul in its passage from the known to the unknown.

“O Maker of the material world! to what greatness, goodness, and fairness, can this daêva-destroying teaching [Monotheism] of Zoroaster be compared?”

The answer came:

“As high as Heaven is above the earth, which it encompasses, so high above all other utterances the law of Mazdeism stands.”

“YOU SHALL THEREFORE HEARKEN TO
THE SOUL OF NATURE”

I shall now explain the theology and moral philosophy of the religion of Zoroaster. It is purely a monotheistic religion, based on the worship and adoration of Ahura-Mazda, the “All-knowing Lord.” It teaches:

(1) Of the life on the earth:

(2) Of the life hereafter:

(3) Of Immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body.

Briefly, it teaches and develops the noblest instinct of mankind — viz., as Zoroaster himself has termed it, “THE SOUL OF NATURE.” In the word-picture of the solemn chants of the Gathas of the Zoroastrian religion, a notion of God of all the Universe is convincingly interwoven. He, to whom no form, shape, or colour is attributed, stands alone, Omni Unique, the Nature of Infinite of Infinite Perfection. It is not given to mortals of finite mind to define Him, the most just, the most benevolent, the most merciful. He is One, who dwells in boundless space, clothed in the most resplendent and illumined glory of inscrutable Nature. In Khordah-Avesta, the prayer-book of the Parsis, God describes all His attributes, in the following words:

“I am the Keeper; I am the Creator and the Maintainer; I am the Discerner; I am the Most Beneficent Spirit.

“My name is the Bestower of Health; the Priest; Ahura [the Lord]; Mazda [the All-knowing]; the Holy; the Glorious; the Farseeing; the Protector; the Well-wisher; the Creator; the Producer of Prosperity; the King who rules at His Will; One who does not deceive; He who is not deceived; He who destroys malice; He who conquers everything; He who has shaped everything; All Weal; Full Weal; Master of Weal; He who can benefit at His wish; the Beneficent One; the Energetic One; Holiness; the Great One; the Best of Sovereigns; the Wise One.”

“He is the Light and Source of Light; He is the Wisdom and Intellect. He is in possession of all good things, spiritual and worldly, such as good mind [vohumano], immortality [ameretad], health [haurvatad], the best truth [asha vahista], devotion and piety [armaiti], and abundance of every earthly good [Khshathra vairya]. All these gifts He grants to the righteous man who is upright in thoughts, words, and deeds. As the ruler of the whole universe, He not only rewards the good, but He is a punisher of the wicked at the same time.”

In the Zoroastrian Liturgy (Yacna I.), Zarathustra describes God as

(1) “The Creator Ahura-Mazda, the Brilliant, Majestic, Greatest, Best, Most Beautiful.

. . . . .

(4) “who created us, who formed us, who keeps us, the Holiest among the heavenly.”

The scope of this work does not permit me to discuss comparative theology; but this I will say, that ancient as the Zoroastrian religion is, no more comprehensive, lucid, and intelligible definition of the Great Creative Cause can be found in any religious books of the modern religions. It is worthy of note that Milton, who wrote nearly 2,500 years after Zoroaster, had grasped the true spirit of the Zoroastrian ideal of God.

“Unspeakable who sit’st above these heavens,
To us invisible or dimly seen
In these Thy lowest works, yet these declare
Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine.”
. . . . .

Having established the belief in the Great Creative Power, Zoroaster proceeded to strengthen and fortify his followers by carefully warning them against the influence of the Evil Spirit. One of the greatest evils in the time of the prophet was the tendency of the populace to adore and worship God’s manifestations or created elements. Slowly, superstitious belief, for want of good guidance, created imaginary and fanciful gods, who were materialized in idols, and worshipped at the whim of the believer. In the language of the period, amongst the ancient Aryas, the word Daêva signified God, from the Aryan root div, to shine, and consequently all those personified manifestations of Nature were called Daêvas. Zoroaster quickly perceived that the ancient monotheistic religion of the Aryas was degenerating into a state of image and idol worship. He had already taught the people “THE SOUL OF NATURE.” It became necessary that he should stamp out the so-called idol-daêvas.

Thenceforth Zoroaster, in the Avesta language, used the word Daêva in the sense of an evil or wicked spirit. The old root div, to shine, has given us such words as Deus in Latin, Daêva in Sanskrit, Zeus in Greek, and Tius in German, for God. The Avesta language of Zoroaster is the only ancient language in which quite a contrary and evil meaning is attached to this word, and, so far as this religion is concerned, the word daêva still has an evil meaning. Had the great Xerxes been successful in his wars with the Greeks, the Mazdayasnian faith would have been established in the West, and all the modern languages would probably have been now using the word Daêva for the Devil, or the Evil One.

Let me but for a moment lift the veil, and show you the most hallowed and impressive picture of Zoroastrian speculative philosophy. In the plenitude of the creation there, one perceives the hand of the Creator in His Mighty Majesty, creating and completing this universe at six different periods — first, the heavenly firmament; second, water; third, the earth; fourth, plants; fifth, lower animals; and sixth and last, man. Man is created free to act after his own heart and understanding.

“I have made every land dear to its dwellers, even though it had no charms whatever in it,” said Ahura-Mazda to Zoroaster.

Sixteen different regions and countries created by Ahura-Mazda are carefully described in the first Fargard of the Vendidad, giving a more or less geographical notion to modern readers of the origin of the population in Central Asia. But the most important speculative philosophy, disclosed by this Fargard, is the existence of two primeval Causes in the state of Nature, working in opposition to each other, known in the Avesta language as Spenta Mainyus (the Creative or Augmenting Spirit), and Angro Mainyus (the Destructive or Decreasing Spirit). Since the creation, there has been an incessant state of conflict between these rivals; the records of these encounters, in which man as a free agent plays his part with his soul for a stake, are bound up in the annals of the world, to be finally unfolded, read and adjudged on the great Day of Judgment.

This philosophy of the Good and the Evil Spirit, creative of the material world, is not to be confused with the idea of dualism. Many learned writers, of European fame, have clearly proved that Zoroaster did not preach dualism. The Evil Spirit is not endowed with any of the attributes of the Almighty; neither is he placed in opposition to, or made a rival of, God. I have carefully read the exhaustive comments made by Western scholars on this subject, some in favour, and the majority of them against the theory of dualism.

As a great deal of controversy has been raised on the doctrine of two rival spirits, I think it necessary to quote from the Avesta, and also from the later Pahlavi text, to prove that dualism is not one of the doctrines preached by Zoroaster.

“Ahura-Mazda, through omniscience, knew that Ahriman exists. . . .

“The Evil Spirit, on account of backward knowledge, was not aware of the existence of Ahura-Mazda. . . .

“He [Ahura-Mazda] sets the vault into which the Evil Spirit fled, in that metal; he brings the land of hell back for the enlargement of the world, the renovation arises in the universe by his will, and the world is immortal for ever and everlasting. . . .

… So it is declared that Ahura-Mazda is supreme in omniscience and goodness, and UNRIVALLED in splendour.

Revelation is the explanation of both spirits together: one is he who is independent of unlimited time, because Ahura-Mazda and the region, religion, and time of Ahura-Mazda were and are and ever will be; while Ahriman in darkness, with backward understanding and desire for destruction, was in the abyss, and it is he who will not be.”

Amongst others, the celebrated Dr. West, to whom the Parsis are greatly indebted for his researches in the Avesta writings, finally refutes the charge of dualism brought against Zoroastrianism by some learned divines, who discovered dualism through the spectacles of modern religions.

“The reader will search in vain for any confirmation of the foreign notion that Mazda-worship is decidedly more dualistic than Christianity is usually shown to be by orthodox writers, or for any allusion to the descent of the good and evil spirits from a personification of ‘boundless time’ as asserted by strangers to the faith.”

Reading carefully Fargard I. of the Vendidad, I cannot help admiring the sublime theory of Nature, so far as it relates to the Destructive Spirit. Now, what are the evils employed by Angro Mainyus? A great serpent; winter months freezing water and earth, and retarding the growth of fruit-bearing trees and other vegetation useful to mankind; a poisonous wasp; evil thoughts; wild beasts destructive to animal kind; doubt or unbelief in the Creator; indolence and poverty; idol and image worship; devastation or plague; sorcery; fevers; falsehood; darkness; noxious smells; and wickedness.

These are the few evils employed by Angro Mainyus to retard the progress of, and if possible, destroy mankind. It is quite evident, that the sole aim of Zoroaster’s teachings is to raise God’s best and fairest work — man — to that level of human perfection by good words, good thoughts, and good deeds, so as to enlist the services of the Good Spirit. Spenta Mainyus being thus invoked, a protection from evils can be obtained; and the soul of man at the trumpet-call can be clothed in a fit and proper state of piety to render homage to his Creator.

OF THE LIFE ON THE EARTH

A graphic description of sixteen of the regions and countries created by the Almighty is given in the Vendidad. They extend from the shores of the Caspian to the banks of the Indus in Hindustan. The favoured man of God was Yima, known in the Shah Nameh as Jamshid. To him God’s command, “Enlarge My world, make My world fruitful, obey Me as Protector, Nourisher, and Overseer of the World,” was given. Yima was presented with a plough and a golden spear, as symbols of sovereignty. He set to work to carry out this holy mandate, brought large tracts of land into cultivation and filled them with men, cattle, beasts of burden, dogs, birds, and ruddy burning fires.

Imagination soars high at this picture of pastoral bliss, of peaceful occupation in cultivating the virgin soil and propagating the species. Evil was unknown. The day of perpetual brightness, the summer of radiant joy, and all heavenly peace had cast their mantle of transcendent glory over the land of Iran, of which Yima was God’s chosen overseer.

Little did Yima know that there existed in the state of Nature the Evil Spirit (Angro Mainyus), to attempt to mar his handiwork by snow, frost, and deluge.

“He [Evil Spirit] does not think, nor speak, nor act for the welfare of the creatures of Ahura-Mazda; and his business is unmercifulness and the destruction of this welfare, so that the creatures which Ahura-Mazda shall increase he will destroy; and his eyesight [evil eye] does not refrain from doing the creatures harm.”

Yima, by his piety and devotion to the Creator, had enlisted the services of the Good Spirit, and through him it was made manifest to him that on this corporeal world snow, frost, and deluge would come. He was warned of this disaster in time, and ordered to prepare an enclosure large enough to hold cattle, beasts of burden, useful animals, men and women, of the largest, best, and most beautiful kinds, together with birds, red burning fires, and seeds of all kinds of trees — “all these in pairs” — without any blemish or tokens of the Evil Spirit (Angro Mainyus).

Pious Yima, like Noah of old, benefited by this timely counsel, and ultimately succeeded in saving the chosen creation, which formed his ancient domain of Airyana-Vaêjâ.

One cannot help noting in the Zoroastrian Scriptures a certain similarity to the later-day history of Noah and his ark. Spenta Mainyus planted the seed of a good fruit-bearing tree, nourished it with water of purity, cultivated it with honest industry and diligence, watched its growth in divine contemplation of its blossoming forth good thoughts, good words, and good deeds (humata, hukhta, and havarahta), when from “the region of the North … forth rushed Angro Mainyus, the deadly, the Daêva of the Daêvas,” and with one chill blast of snow and frost (“Falsehood” and “Wickedness,” vide Avesta) smote and retarded the rising sap of the growing tree. Thus, high from above, war was declared between Good and Evil, between the Pious and the Wicked, between Light and Darkness, — one preserving and the other smiting God’s glorified works.

A good portion of the Zoroastrian theology is directed towards protecting mankind in his efforts to fight against Angro Mainyus and his wicked accomplices.

“That one wish which Ahura-Mazda, the Lord, contemplates, as regards men, is this, that ‘Ye shall fully understand Me; for every one who fully understands Me, comes after Me and strives for My satisfaction.’”

Zoroaster, in order to stem the tide of destruction, went to the root of the evil and laid the foundation-stone of his great moral philosophy, by making certain well-defined hygienic rules and regulations to preserve the pastoral community from being totally destroyed by pestilence, which we know as a visitation of God. In this brief sketch I shall enumerate a few of them for the appreciation and due consideration of my readers.

Putrefaction or decomposition, occasioned by the dead bodies, from which thousands of untold evils may arise, was the first subject dealt with in the sacred books of the Avesta. It is written, that directly death occurs, the evil element of putrefaction, known in the Avesta language as “Drukhs Naçus,” takes possession of the dead body. In the figurative language of the period, “Drukhs Naçus” (putrefaction) is personified into a pernicious fly, full of filth and disease, and capable of spreading great harm among the living creation. The duration of the period at which it takes possession of the dead body greatly depends on the nature and the cause of death. Modern medical science has nearly elucidated this mystery of cadaverous rigidity and the exact time of the putrefaction of the body. These have been graphically described in Fargard VII. of the Vendidad.

Careful instructions are given as to the part of the house, and the manner, in which the dead body should be kept, pending its ultimate disposal; the place of its final rest, where it may dissolve into its natural elements; the subsequent purification of the place where the body may have lain in the house; the people who carry the corpse; the clothes that may have come in contact with it; and the purification of the flowing water in which the corpse may have been found.

“Purity is the best thing for men after birth,” says the Avesta. Those who are desirous of further investigating the subject will be handsomely repaid their trouble in perusing Fargards V., VI., VII., VIII., and IX. of the Vendidad, wherein they will find scientific instructions as to the germ theory and the preservation of the public health. Though enunciated thousands of years ago, they are now carefully and minutely followed by western nations in the twentieth century.

Next in order comes the command to cultivate the soil, to produce corn, provender, and fruit-bearing trees, to irrigate dry land and drain the marshes, and to populate the whole with men, cattle, and useful beasts of burden. Zoroastrian philosophy shudders with horror at the contemplation of the motherly earth being defiled by the burial therein of dead bodies, and consequently means are devised of disposing of corpses on high mountain tops by birds of prey or by the process of nature. The modern Parsis, in accordance with the ancient regulations, have devised Towers of Silence. The Parsis of Bombay are grateful to their ancient prophet, who taught them the great hygienic principle of sanitation.

During recent years it has saved them, a handful as they are, from the bubonic plague. This great “Drukhs Naçus” carried away thousands of natives, hour by hour and day by day, and yet signally failed in his wholesale attack on the Parsis. The reason is obvious. The armour of health, forged by Zoroaster during his pious contemplation of thirty years’ duration on the mount “Ushidarena,” and so fittingly worn by the Parsis of the present day, is invulnerable to the attack of Angro Mainyus and such of his satellites as “Drukhs Naçus.” Strict ordinances are made for the care and welfare of women during certain periods, including those of gestation and child-birth, so that no injury may happen in the latter instance to the parent and the offspring and to those who have to assist at this great function of Nature.

Besides these, there are numerous directions as to observing cleanliness in ordinary daily life, all tending to the care and purification of the body and prevention of infectious diseases by contact.

“This is purity, O Zarathustra, the Mazdayasnian law.

“He who keeps himself pure by good thoughts, words, and works. “As to the right purity of one’s own body, that is the purification of every one in this corporeal world for his own state,

“When he keeps himself pure by good thoughts, words, and works.”

Having made men invulnerable to diseases, Zoroaster proceeded to look after their morals. His moral philosophy deals with two attributes inherent in man the Good Mind and the Evil Mind. These two are allegorically termed “Vohumana” (the Good Mind) and “Akamana” (the Evil Mind).

Thoughts, words, and deeds are liable to the influence of either “Vohumana” (the Good Mind) or “Akamana” (the Evil Mind). Zoroaster has summed up the whole of his moral philosophy in three expressive words — “Humata” (good thoughts), “Hukhta” (good words), and “Hvarshta” (good deeds). The way to heaven is laid through these three mystic avenues, and the seeker of them is borne through with the self-consciousness of having spent his allotted span of life to the use and furtherance of God's good creation, and to His eternal glory.

“Turn yourself, not away from three best things — Good Thought, Good Word, and Good Deed.”

By “Good Thoughts,” a Zoroastrian is able to concentrate his mind in divine contemplation of the Creator, and live in peace, unity, and harmony with his fellow-brethren. For the love of his fellowmen, he is enjoined to protect them in danger; to help them in need and want; to raise their understanding in education; to enable them to enter into holy bonds of matrimony; and to the best of his resources to enhance the prosperity and welfare of the community of his brotherhood in particular, and of all mankind in general.

By “Good Words,” he is enjoined not to break his contract with others, to observe honesty and integrity in all commercial transactions, faithfully to pay back any borrowed money at the risk of being called a thief, to prevent hurting the feelings of others, and to engender feelings of love and charity in the Mazdayasnian fraternity.

By “Good Deeds,” he is directed to relieve the poor, deserving and undeserving, to irrigate and cultivate the soil, to provide food and fresh water in places where needed, to encourage matrimony, and to devote the surplus of his wealth in charity to the well-being and prosperity of his co-religionists and others.

The Parsis of India are too well known for their disinterested charities amongst the people of all denominations to need any eulogistic remarks from me. It is a matter of great pride to me, as a Parsi, and a subject of deep thankfulness to God, as one of His beings, that in this matter my co-religionists in the East have truly and faithfully, and with the utmost tolerance, distributed their wealth in wise and useful charities, to lessen the sorrows and untold miseries, and brighten the homes of our less fortunate brethren.

“I praise the well-thought sentiment, the well-spoken speech, the well-performed action.

“I praise the good Mazdayasnian law, the free from doubt, removing strife.”

One can picture to himself the properly ordained household of a Zoroastrian, who has carefully imbibed the abstract principles of “Humata,” “Hukhta,” and “Hvarshta,” and put them to practical purposes in an ordinary workaday life.

Marriage is particularly recommended as a great factor towards leading a religious and virtuous life, in addition to the social comforts of physical, mental, and moral recreations. The household of a man of well-regulated mind is his peaceful domain, wherein he is the lord with his worthy consort, both entwined together and actuated by that religious affinity which the Zoroastrian religion, by wise and philosophical precepts, never fails to infuse. As the land improves by fertilization, so should mankind by union, says the Zoroastrian philosophy. One of the five things most pleasing to God, mentioned in Fargard III. of the Vendidad, is that a holy man should build himself a habitation, provide himself with a wife, children, fire, and a herd of cattle. The husband is required to obey the laws of health and be brave, to protect and preserve his family from any outside violence, to be industrious, to provide them with necessaries of life, to be tolerant, truthful, and chaste, and to complete the domestic happiness of his family circle.

Chastity and implicit obedience from a wife to her husband are considered to be the greatest virtues in a woman, the breach whereof will be punished as a sin.

In every way, the wife is equal to her husband in social status, enjoying perfect liberty of action. These wise domestic regulations are so faithfully followed by the modern Parsis that misbehaviour or misconduct of a woman is altogether conspicuous by its absence. Divorce for misconduct is almost an unknown thing, and the writer cannot but congratulate his community on the fact of total absence of women of loose morals.

It is one of the ordinances of the faith that a father must look after the spiritual and temporal education of his children, and bring them up well fortified physically and morally to fight the battle of life with perseverance, diligence, honesty, and integrity, thus enhancing the reputation of his family and the honour of his community.

“May the desirable obedience come hither, for joy to the men and women of Zarathustra.”

Tolerance is another great feature of the Parsi faith. Though taught to revere his own religion and despise and destroy idols and images, he is also impressed with the idea of observing great tolerance and discretion in passing judgment on the religious belief of others. Zoroaster himself set the example of this excellent precept, whilst praising the soul (“Fravashi”).

“The Fravashis of the pure men in all regions praise we.”

It is evident that he prayed for all wise and holy men and women who believed in God. That the same spirit exists to the present day, is proved by the munificent gifts of the Parsis for charitable purposes to people, irrespective of creed or caste, having for their sole object the relief of mankind.

Strict as the law of chastity is, a great spirit of tolerance is shown in the Avesta writing in reference to an unmarried woman, who happens to fall a victim to the charms of an insidious man. True, it is a punishable sin, yet the Almighty, in His mercy, has taken due notice of such a misfortune happening in a household.

In the poetic language of the Avesta, it is laid down that a virgin, who whilst under the protection of her parents, either betrothed or not betrothed, is in a way to become a mother, should not for the very shame of the act attempt to destroy herself. She must not add to the sin already committed, a further and more heinous crime of self-destruction. Further, she is forbidden, under the penalty of a grave sin, from seeking to destroy the fruit of her body, either with the assistance of her partner in the guilt or that of her parents in order to hide her shame from the world. She must not seek, at the instigation of her betrayer from the path of chastity, the assistance of “an old woman” versed in herbology. The putative father must protect the unfortunate partner of his guilt and the child.

Here is a tragic drama of the twentieth century, so of ten enacted in our criminal courts, written and commented upon by Zoroaster in his gospel, in the primitive pastoral age, at the beginning of the history of the world. What thoughts, what deep moral philosophy, what superhuman knowledge, must have been invoked by the great Iranian sage to soften the hardships of life, by introducing a ray of heavenly mercy, of which Tom Hood sang centuries after:

“Take her up tenderly
Lift her with care;
Fashion’d so slenderly,
Young and so fair.

“Touch her not scornfully;
Think of her mournfully,
Gently and humanly;
NOT OF THE STAINS OF HER —
All that remains of her
Now is pure womanly.”

The whole creation is placed under the guardianship of God as the head, and six Ameshaspends (archangels). Ameshaspends are mystical guardian spirits, who work night and day incessantly for the welfare and protection of the creation committed to their charge by the Almighty.

God is the protector of man.

(1) Bahman is given the custody of all useful domestic animals and birds.

(2) Ardibihist has the control of fire and life-giving heat.

(3) Shahrevar is the president of all kinds of metals and minerals.

(4) Aspandarmat is the custodian of the earth, with injunctions to keep it fruitful, clean, and cultivated.