‘USHTA AHMAI YAHMAI USHTA KAHMAICHIT’ – Ushtavad Gatha, meaning, ‘HAPPINESS & PROSPERITY BE UNTO THAT PERSON THROUGH WHOM HAPPINESS REACH OTHERS!” “Ahura Mazda spoke unto Spitaman Zarathushtra: I created the holy immortal Khordad for Happiness and pleasure to help righteous men.” (Khordad Yasht 4.1) “O Ahura Mazda! May we become worthy of long life in […]
According to Firdausi’s Shahnameh, during the prehistoric Peshdadian times (i.e., even before the advent of Asho Zarathushtra) Iranian society was divided into four classes or professions – Arthravan or Priest, Ratheshtar or warrior, Vastriyosh or farmer and Hutaos or artisan. This was similar to the ancient Vedic Varna system of Brahmin (priest, teacher, intellectual), Kshatriya […]
The primary functional Agiary of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the ‘Byramji Nowroji Javeri Dar-E-Meher’ in Kanpur, every year invites Behdin Pasbans, from Mumbai and Navsari, during the holy days of Muktad and Gathas to help offer religious prayers, in absence of Mobeds. Since 2013, the Behdin Pasbans have been devotedly taking care of the sacred […]
What makes us like Zarathushtra among others who were enlightened? To begin with, Zarathushtra was not against life or any of its joys and bounties. All that he was against was falsehood and hypocrisy. He was not against creating wealth; in fact he saw prosperity as positive and poverty as negative. Zarathushtra was not against […]
Roj Astad to Aneran of Asfandarmad Mah and the five independent days of the Gatha are observed as the days for propitiating the Fravashis of the righteous dead. The five Gatha days are also the Gahambar days. The Gahambars are six seasonal feasts celebrated with prayers, ritual offerings and community feasts to firstly offer thanks […]
Before I start this article, I must say that ‘Reincarnation’ has been a rather controversial subject with the Zoroastrians. Why so? Because our Priest-class and some scholars say there is no reincarnation in Zoroastrianism. Some base their dissent on actual study of the scriptures whereas many just go along because the priests says so. However, […]
PT: Did Zoroastrians in Iran celebrate New Year on March 21st, before the exodus to India and other countries? Er. Karanjia: Never ever in history did Zoroastrians in Iran celebrate their religious New Year (Navroz) on 21st March. They celebrated it around the time of the Vernal Equinox. The day continued to fluctuate backwards by […]