According to the Shehenshahi calendar, the Holy Fravardegan or Muktad days will commence on 5th August and end on 14th August, 2024. The Parsi New Year this year will coincide with India’s Independence Day on 15th August, 2024. It will continue to coincide with this date for four years, after which it will move to 14th August, since we do not […]
અસ્ફંદાર્મદ અથવા સ્પેન્દારમદ એ ઝોરાસ્ટ્રિયન કેલેન્ડરનો બારમો અને છેલ્લો મહિનો છે. માતા પૃથ્વીની અધ્યક્ષતા કરતી દેવતા સ્પેન્ટા આરમઈતીને તે સમર્પિત છે. આપણી ધાર્મિક પરંપરાઓ ઝોરાસ્ટ્રિયનોને સવારે જાગવા પર, જમીનને અને પછી કપાળને ત્રણ વાર સ્પર્શ કરીને, એક અશેમનો પાઠ કરવા અને સ્પેન્ટા આરમઈતીને નમસ્કાર કરવા માટે કહે છે. આ બંને આપણે જાણીને અથવા અજાણતા કરવામાં […]
Recently, I was in a discussion with a friend who felt we have so many factions within our miniscule community – there’s Shehenshahi, Kadmi and Fasli Zoroastrians. These mainly differ in terms of the Zoroastrian calendar and in some matters of religious rituals. Besides these three groups, there are observers of the Ilm-e-kshnoom way of […]
Over two thousand five hundred years ago, the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus said, “There is nothing permanent except change.” Indeed, everything changes with time, and change is the only constant. The world we live in is fast changing and there is great pressure on the community to move with the times. But, change, especially within an […]
ધાર્મિક માન્યતામાં, ઘોડો શક્તિ અને ઉત્સાહનું પ્રતીક છે. વાસ્તવમાં, વિવિધ દેવતાઓ ઘોડાનું સ્વરૂપ લેવા માટે જાણીતા છે. બહેરામ યશ્ત દસ સ્વરૂપોની ગણતરી કરે છે જેમાં બહેરામ યઝાતા દેખાય છે અને તેમાંથી એક સફેદ ઘોડા અને સોનાના થૂનનું સ્વરૂપ છે. તિર યશ્તમાં, તિસ્ત્રય (તિર યઝાતા) દુષ્કાળ લાવનાર રાક્ષસ અપોશા સામે વૈશ્વિક યુદ્ધમાં જોવા મળે છે. જ્યારે […]
The Holy Month of Aspandarmad has already commenced as per the Shehenshahi Zoroastrian calendar. Interestingly, the Zoroastrian calendar commences with Fravardin as the first month and Aspandarmad as the twelfth and last month. Fravardin is dedicated to Fravahar or the prototype of all creation and Aspandarmad is dedicated to earth, where we see all good […]
How, where and when horses were domesticated, is a matter of dispute among scholars and archaeologists. Though horses were carved in Palaeolithic cave-art as early as 30,000 BC, these were probably depictions of wild horses. Most of the available evidence supports the hypothesis that horses were domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes, in approximately 3,500 BC. […]
All that we know today about Asho Zarathushtra – be it as a Divine Messenger (Paigambar), an original thinker and philosopher, an accomplished astronomer, or as a mystic poet – appears to be based on oral tradition and folklore. What was finally committed to writing about his life was centuries after his birth, during the […]
In the pantheon of Zoroastrian Divinities, Bahman Ameshaspand (Avesta Vohu Mana) ranks next to Ahura Mazda. Bahman, an Amshaspand or Amesha Spenta (translated as Bountiful Immortal or Arch Angel), is doctrinally regarded as guardian of one of Ahura Mazda’s good creations, namely Animals – particularly Goshpand like cow, goat, sheep etc. This is why devout […]
For Zoroastrians, the desert province of ‘Yazd’ (meaning God), located between two great deserts – Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, holds tremendous significance. From my very first time visit in 1995 to my recent visit this year, I remain amazed at how such an unforgiving arid desert can exude so much spiritual energy. The narrow […]
Having recently spent two wonderful weeks in Iran, I asked myself what I felt most attracted to, or connected with, in the land of our Zoroastrian ancestors. The answer, clearly, was the majestic mountain ranges, starting with the Alborz in the North and the Zagros in the South. There’s something amazingly vibrant about them – […]