What is Zoroastrianism?
Merely put, Zoroastrianism is the name given to the religion and beliefs based on the teachings which are attributed to the Persian religious leader Zararthushtra ( in Greek Zoroaster, in later Persian Zartosht). Mazdayasna (worship of Ahura Mazda) is the name of the religion that acknowledges the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, the creator who Zarathushtra discovered by learning nature and who was proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of all (God).
"Mazdaism" is a transliteration of Mazdayasna, which implies " Worshipper of Mazda." Most followers of Ahura Mazda call themselves Zoroastrians or Behdini (followers of the Good Religion.)
Who was Zoroaster?
Zoroaster is usually accepted as an historic determine, however dating just when Zoroaster lived is fraught with difficulty. The most widely accepted calculations place him close to to 12.0 BCE thus making him a candidate for the 'founder of the earliest religion based on revealed scripture' whereas there are other estimates that date his life anyplace between the 18th and the 6th centuries BCE.
The Gathas and the chapter generally known as Yasna Haptanghaiti are all written in Old Avestan and the language used in these passages is much older than the language utilized in different components of the Zoroastrian writings that are called the Avesta and which are written in what is called Young Avestan. Old Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit are each descendants of the Proto-Indo-Iranian language and the Gathic Old Avestan continues to be quite shut in construction to the Sanskrit of the Rig-Veda in language usage.
Nonetheless the Sanskrit of the Rig-Veda is considerably more conservative in outlook and structure than the Avestan of the Gathas and so, based on the adjustments within the languages, scholars date the Gathas to round one thousand BCE, give or take a couple of centuries.
** But be aware also that the difficulty lies with how old is the Rig Veda, which no one seems to know with anything approximating certainty. There are also those who suppose the Gathas are older than the Rig Veda, Dastur Dhalla, and another linguists see the Gaathic language as more complicated and archaic.
Most of what we learn about Zoroaster involves us from a wide range of sources, the Avesta, the Gathas, Greek historical works, archaeological evidence and oral history. Zoroaster was born on the cusp as societies shifted from being mainly nomadic to a more settled agrarian lifestyle. He lived in an area of the Middle East then generally known as Chorasmia ( An area roughly occupying current day Northern Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan)
He was married, he had three daughters and three sons and it was at 30 that he obtained enlightenment. He preached for many years before his wife and kids transformed with the first convert being a cousin.
These statements are all based on legends which have been woven in traditions. They probably include some truths and facts, but there isn't karan bilimoria [1] any means of ascertaining them and thus can't be taken as historical.
The later Avestan writings make Zoroaster a form of 'superman', wrestling with demons and being tempted by Ahriman. The Gathas, nonetheless, show him an extraordinary mortal, perplexed by his call, utterly certain of Ahura Mazda and bewildered by his lack of success. Finally he transformed King Vistaspa who reigned in jap Iran and with the king's conversion, Zoroastrianism became a drive in the area and there, as nicely in India among the many Parsees, it nonetheless survives.