Zoroastianism: I believe there is a universe and I have DECIDED that this universe is sacred to me

Dear Behnaz

I believe there is a universe and I have DECIDED that this universe is sacred to me.
I don't care about all that God-talk and neither did Zarathushtra. He does not use the term God even once in "The Gathas".
If you share my belief, then you are a true Zoroastrian. And there is no need to look for something bigger and better than yourself or the world around you. Make the best of yourself and the world around you instead. You are divine. The world is divine. Which is precisely why you should be nice to yourself and those around you that you love.

Ushta
Alexander

2011/8/18 Behnaz Larsen

Dear Alexander
Right now I don't believe in much. Have a hard enough time believing in a God. Angels, I am afraid have taken a backseat and believing in them would simply be too much to ask.
I am though aware of a desire that I have which pushes me forward to find peace with something else, a bigger, better being. Believing in angles and gods and extra ordinary beings take practice. So far I haven't had the time or the desire for it but I want a God! I want to listen to my instincts and look for it. I might find myself after a long search but then I will believe in me!
I am afraid I am not as advanced in this as you are. I have just began but you are inspiring me with the words you write and I am finding a new path. I am afraid I can never be a blind follower but I do envy them. Life is just easier when you have another watching over you. Keep on writing. I am listening.

Sent from my iPad

On Aug 18, 2011, at 9:33 AM, Alexander Bard wrote:

Dear Behnaz

Folk religion has and probably always will exist.
In India, people make the clear distinction between those who believe in Hindu philosophy (Brahmanism) and those who believe in folk religions with gods, angels and all the other bits and pieces (who for example worship Ganesha The Blue Elephant God). A Brahmanist would never worship Ganesha as he or she does not even believe Ganesha exists. Still, the two cultures of Philosophy and Religion co-exist peacefully and to mututal benefit.
Iranian culture somehow lost this dual culture. What was left after Islam came into Iranian culture was the angel worshipping part while the Philosophy (Mazdayasna) went into hiding or even disappeared.
We are now trying to resurrect Iranian philosophy (Mazdayasna) as it was set out from the beginning from Zarathushtra (the original Zoroastrianism). And there is not a single word of angels anywhere in "The Gathas", Ahura Mazda is not Lord Wisdom (a male god figure with male genital organs etc) but rather a principle of existence on which a philosophical religion rather than a folk religion can be based (wherever there is supreme wisdom, this is a menifestation of Ahura Mazda etc).
The angels and other fluffy things are not Zoroastrian, those things are pre-Zoroastrian. But do you honestly believe in the existence of such things? If so, like Dino said, please go ahead! But on the Ushta List we are dealing with the philosophical religion Zarathushra invented which we have inherited and are trying to do something meaningful with. And if Zarathushtra did not believe in supernatural beings, why should we? What's wrong with NATURAL beings as a foundation for a religion. Asha means "that which exists" and not "that which we make up to tell each others as fairytales".

Ushta
Alexander

2011/8/17 Special Kain

Dear Behnaz

There is nothing wrong with you. :-)
You are free to believe in a supreme being. You are free to focus on the big picture rather than the details. A good exercise for you would be to be totally honest with yourself and ask yourself why you have these desires. Not because there would be anything wrong with them, but because this means to live truthfully.
There are so many differences among Zoroastrians, because our faith is 3.700 years old. Zoroastrians have spread and lived among other cultures and religions, and they have adoped and creatively re-used the ideas and theories in their different cultural and religious environments. This perfectly explains the differences between Zoroastrians in Iran and their Parsi sisters and brothers in India. But there are a lot more beliefs that we share.

Ushta,
Dino