What to make of the events in Tehran?

I agree with Dino.
But there is also an enormous difference between claiming to be good for somebody rather than to be just good as in objectively good (as opposed to be bad for somebody rather than just to be objectively bad). For example: There are good parents and there are bad parents, there are good bosses and there are horrible bosses. The difference here between good and bad is how good or bad the parents/bosses are in the relation to the children/the employees.
And that is after all where Zarathushtra is at. He is adamant at selling what his "goodness" is all about.
And don't forget that contrary to many powerholders today, Zarathushtra was born and stayed the underdog for most of life. Maybe that's the side of him that Dino and I see, his underdog side?
What interests me most is how much of contemporary Shia has roots in Zoroastrianism. This issue is endlessly fascinating and also most important today when others ask us this question.
Please keep on reading and tell us what you find!!!
Ushta
Alexander

2009/6/19 Special Kain

- Dölj citerad text -

Dear Parviz,

Yes, it's good to stress that Zarathushtra was just another fallible human being, driven by a desire for power, like you and me. Not a holier-than-thou prophet. He was raising questions and contemplating, using his own mind and drawing several conclusions that his contemporaries and the ones to follow his path could take, adjust and build on. This is nothing new.
But I'd like to stress that Zarathushtra wasn't concerned with good guys fighting villains. He was concerned with people who would have constructive habits and people who would have destructive habits. Of course, he was most convinced of his own ideas - that's just perfectly human! After all, we're most interested in ourselves and our ideas. If you want people to do as you like, just let them do the concluding and believe that the ideas were theirs. If you want people to think you were a good conversationalist, just let them talk about themselves, nod a few times and ask pointed questions. And they will enjoy your company.
We can now say that his ideas were incredibly progressive and still matter even today: gender equality, religious tolerance, building communities, expanding solidarity, ecological recycling and aesthetic self-creation through education. Which framework would better suit the problems we're facing today in an increasingly networked global society?

Ushta, Dino


--- Parviz Varjavand schrieb am Fr, 19.6.2009:


Von: Parviz Varjavand
Betreff: Re: [Ushta] How to have a "Good Trip"?
An: Ushta@yahoogroups.com
Datum: Freitag, 19. Juni 2009, 7:57

Hi Alex,

Forget about current events and look at 1700 BC and times of Zaratustra. The game is as old as man. All Zaratustra has to do is call himself "Good" and the guys he is against "Bad" and "Divs". Next you destroy all evidences that may prove that the Divyasna might not have been such bad guys, and you win. If you read the Gahan with this in the back of your mind, the picture you get does not come out as pretty as Jafarey or Shahzadi or Azargoshasb or Sassanfar or Doostkhah or Moghadam or Vahidi or Razi or Shooshtari or Poordavood want you to get. These are all the Gahan translators in Farsi that I am concentrating on so far. All you have in hand is Z. telling you how "Good" he is and how "Bad" others are who are not with him. Next I will examine the English translations and see if the game is the same there too. I am always for the underdog and feel that the Divyasna must not have been such bad guys, they just got tricked out of power by the oldest trickster in history.

Mehr Afzoon,
Parviz

--- On Thu, 6/18/09, Alexander Bard wrote:


From: Alexander Bard
Subject: Re: [Ushta] How to have a "Good Trip"?
To: Ushta@yahoogroups. com
Date: Thursday, June 18, 2009, 4:57 PM

So what DID you find during your re-reading of The Gathas at this interesting time?
Just as you know, we are following developments in Iran every minute, as best we can. Iranian authorities seem to be doing their best to slow down and minimize the reporting. But a lot is getting through, especially through Facebook and Twitter.
Ushta
Alexander

2009/6/19 Parviz Varjavand

Dear friends on Ushta,

Caught in Tehran at a very interesting time, I decided to take my mind off my other problems by doing an in depth study of the Gahan (Gathas). I was hoping that like Dina and Jafarey I would get positive insights from this work, but I am sorry to say that my "Trip" has not been a good one so far. Please do not advise me to change my mental attitude in order to get on a good "trip". This is what all religions tell their followers. Nothing wrong with my attitude.

Love you all,
Parviz