No one knows exactly when Zarathushtra lived. Zoroastrian
tradition places him at around 600 B.C.E., but this date is thought
by modern scholars to be far too late. The modern estimate of
Zarathushtra's date is anywhere from 1500 to 1000 B.C.E.
The basic scripture of Zoroastrianism is a set of 5 poetic songs called the _Gathas_, which were composed by Zarathushtra himself and have been preserved through the millennia by Zoroastrian priests. Over the years many other scriptures have accumulated around these Gathas. Much of these scriptures were destroyed by the Greek, Muslim, and Mongol invasions, but some remain. The Gathas are still the core text of the faith.They are composed in a very ancient language known as Avestan, which is closely related to Sanskrit.
2007-04-23
15:03:17
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8 answers
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asked by
Terry
7
in
Society & Culture
➔ Religion & Spirituality
The evidence scholars use to give a time reference to
Zarathushtra is linguistic: the language of the hymns composed by
the Prophet is similar to the Sanskrit of the Rig-Veda, an ancient
Hindu text which has been dated to the period of 1500-1000 B.C.E.
2007-04-23
15:04:04 ·
update #1
In the Gathas, Zarathushtra preached that the One God,
Ahura Mazda, is transcendent, but he is in constant relationship with
human beings and the world God created through his Attributes.
These Attributes are how God reaches the world, and how the
world reaches God. Zarathushtra did not specify a fixed number of
Attributes, but soon after the Prophet they were specified into
seven. These attributes are called the _Amesha Spentas_, or
"Bounteous Immortals." Each one of these embodies an attribute of God, as well as a human virtue. They are also symbols for the various sectors of Creation over which God watches.
2007-04-23
15:15:50 ·
update #2
In the Gathas, Zarathushtra preached that the One God,
Ahura Mazda, is transcendent, but he is in constant relationship with
human beings and the world God created through his Attributes.
These Attributes are how God reaches the world, and how the
world reaches God. Zarathushtra did not specify a fixed number of
Attributes, but soon after the Prophet they were specified into
seven. These attributes are called the _Amesha Spentas_, or
"Bounteous Immortals." Each one of these embodies an attribute of God, as well as a human virtue. They are also symbols for the various sectors of Creation over which God watches.
2007-04-23
15:15:55 ·
update #3
They are also symbols
for the various sectors of Creation over which God watches. They
are:
Vohu Manah - Good Thought - connected with Animals
Asha Vahishta - Justice and Truth - Fire and Energy
Kshathra - Dominion - Metals and minerals
Spenta Armaiti - Devotion and Serenity - The earth and land
Haurvatat - Wholeness - Waters
Ameretat - Immortality - Plants
and Spenta Mainyu - Creative Energy - Human beings
2007-04-23
15:17:17 ·
update #4
They are also symbols
for the various sectors of Creation over which God watches. They
are:
Vohu Manah - Good Thought - connected with Animals
Asha Vahishta - Justice and Truth - Fire and Energy
Kshathra - Dominion - Metals and minerals
Spenta Armaiti - Devotion and Serenity - The earth and land
Haurvatat - Wholeness - Waters
Ameretat - Immortality - Plants
and Spenta Mainyu - Creative Energy - Human beings
2007-04-23
15:17:21 ·
update #5
Things are double posting, sorry,
2007-04-23
15:18:17 ·
update #6