Lecture 7 Zoroastrianism

Where is parsi community located in India?

North West India in Gurjarat

How did the migration from Iran to India happen

• different waves

• wave 1

  • 9th century to escape persecution

• wave 2

  • 13th and 14th century, during the mongol and Turko-Mongol invasions that ravaged Iran

Did Parsis experience any troubles?

Not when they first got there

But they did become the targets of religious intolerance under the Muslim Sultanate

How did Zoroastrians get along with other groups during the 1500s?

The Mughal emperor Akbar that took over Indian and Gujarat was very open to Zoroastrianism

The Emperor had a priest explain the beliefs to him and the emperor included Zoroastrianism to the new religion he initiated

Why did many Parsis migrate to Bombay?

It was acquired by the British to be made a port and many went there to work, religious freedom was also guaranteed there.

How did Parsis manage to preserve their identity and merge with Indian society at the same time?

Preservation of the ethnic identity was allowed by the practice of marrying only within the group

Despite processes of adaptation, the core religious beliefs and rituals remain unchanged

Traditional buildings (like fire temples and death towers) were built

What are the main reasons that allowed the Parsis to integrate into the Indian community?

• There were parallels between Zoroastrianism and Hinduism

  • emphasis on purity and pollution

• Different aspects of local life were adopted

  • the use of Gujarati

• Parsis stopped the traditional sacrifice of the cow and stopped eating beef (along with pork to align with Muslims)

How did Zoroastrians preserve religious knowledge?

Ties with the Iranian community were preserved (allowed Parsis to copy manuscripts of Avestan texts, which were the basis of the rituals)

The ties also allowed for the Pahlavi texts to be used.

The Parsis would send scribes, priests and others to meet with Iranian religious leaders to discuss matters of religion and address questions

The people sent on these trips would have Revayat (accounts) of what was said and taught

What were some of the religious developments that took place in the 1700s?

A priest name Jamasp was invited from Iran to resolve religious disputes regarding funerary practices and a dispute about the calendar

The visit did not resolve the religious disputes

The Parsi calendar had one extra month compared to the Iranians

What was the schism that happened in the 1700s?

This was centered around the calendar

A group of Parsis decided to adopt the Irani calendar, this group also followed other aspects of Iranian practices

The majority of Parsis stuck to the traditional calendar and practices

What was a major side effect of the schism?

Most Parsis did not consider Iranian Zoroastrians as their reference point on religion with the last Revayat dating to 1773

How did Lay people react to the schism?

Some Lay Parsis expressed interest in direct knowledge of the Pahlavi and Avestan texts

There was an increased awareness and participation in religious matters

How is the concept of Purity based in theology?

The mixture phase has polluted the world

The human body reflects the presence of pollution

What are some causes of pollution?

A dead human body (the worse source)

Whatever that leaves a living body is impure (finger nails, hair, semen)

Animas (insects, reptiles and several beasts of prey)

Garbage, dirt and bad odours

Bad thoughts, words and acts are a source of spiritual pollution

Non-Zoroastrians are impure spiritually and physically