In Search of Zarathustra: The First Prophet and the Ideas That Changed the World
In Search of Zarathustra: The First Prophet and the Ideas That Changed the World
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In Search of Zarathustra: The First Prophet and the Ideas That Changed the World
Exploring the Meaning and History of Zarathustra
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Along the way with Paul Kriwaczek we encounter the Cathars of medieval Europe, the Bulgars, Shia Islam, Mithraism, Hellenistic Judaism, Manichaeism, Cyrus the Great, and finally Zarathustra himself (some people might be frustrated, though, that the subject of the book isn't dealt with at length until the very end). What is the uniting factor in these diverse belief systems? More than three thousand years ago, in the lands later called Persia and Iran, Zarathustra began to teach people about the division of our world into light and dark, good and evil, with the earth as a battlefield between the two forces and where we have to choose which side to ally ourselves with:
- [Zarathustra] taught that each individual had a free choice between good and evil, and that following the path of asha, righteousness, would lead to salvation, even for lay worshippers. ...His basic doctrine was rational, anti-ritual and anti-sacrifice, encouraging his followers to come to personal terms with their God. ...Zarathustra saw in the workings of the world a clear sign that evil was an independent force that must be combated. Open any daily newspaper on any morning three millennia later, and you are likely to find his perception amply endorsed by the headlines.
This radical division of the world, although rarely held to quite as strictly as it was originally in Zoroastrianism, has continued down through today. It exists in Christianity and even more strongly in Christian heresies like the Cathars. It didn't really exist in early Judaism but played a large role after the Jews' return from exile. It exists in Islam, but even more so in Shia Islam.
Zarathustra also predicted that both the world and time itself would one day end in a final conflict between good and evil, with good finally victorious over the forces of evil, ultimate salvation for the good, and eternal damnation for the wicked. That, too, continues to play an important role today, although it is an unfortunate irony that while Zarathustra promoted the idea as one which described the triumph of good over evil, it is an idea which works a great deal of mischief for us and could conceivably help bring about the triumph of evil over good.
Zoroastrianism once dominated a great deal of the Middle East and central Asia - but where is it now? What happened to it? Today there are only a few Zoroastrians who try to hold on in Iran; they were much more successful in India (known there as Parsees) where they have managed to do well in business. No one quite knows, however, why Zoroastrianism otherwise simply disappeared, much like the religious devotion to Mithra later disappeared in Rome.
In Search of Zarathustra: The First Prophet and the Ideas That Changed the World |
Kriwaczek's book is entertaining, engaging, and quite easy to read. This is not a reference book for scholars; rather, it is a very readable book for the average person who is curious about the origins and development of some of the key religious and philosophical dogmas which are simply taken as a given most of the time today.
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