THE FIRE-WORSHIPERS.
A Parsee believes in one God, to whom he addresses his prayers.
His morality is comprised in these words--pure thoughts, pure
words, pure deeds.--F. MAX MÜLLER.
Modern Parsees decidedly object to being called fire-worshipers, and
declare the designation untrue. They are undoubtedly taught from their
youth up to turn their face to some light-giving object while engaged
in worshiping God, and they certainly regard the fire as an emblem
of the power of God. Yet they declare that they never worship these,
neither they nor their fathers. The name has been given them from most
ancient times; and they confess that if there is not a national worship
of the sun and fire, there is yet an indescribable awe which every
Parsee feels toward these objects. The Parsees are the only Eastern
people who totally abstain from smoking tobacco. They do not even
like to blow out a candle. In many other respects, this is a singular
people, whose religious faith we are about to describe. But, first, let
us turn to its history.
[Illustration: A PARSEE MERCHANT OF BOMBAY.]
To-day only about one one-hundredth part of the whole human race are
Parsees; but there have been times when this system bade fair to
become the prevalent religion of the world. It is one of the oldest
of reformed religions. It grew up upon the idolatrous worship of the
ancient Assyrian empire. In the days of Cyrus the Great this was
the State religion of Persia. Had Greece fallen before him, and been
absorbed into his vast empire, as had Assyria, Babylon and Egypt, the
Grecian religion would have yielded a place to the Parsee’s faith.
Parseeism was possessed of great strength, and resisted all attacks
upon its life until a thousand years since, when the Arabians brought
Mohammedanism into the land of Persia. From that time it has been a
curiosity to historians, and its followers are rapidly dwindling away;
and ere long the fires of its faith will die out, and it will become
one of the religions of the past.
ZOROASTER, THE PROPHET OF ORMAZD.
This system is called generally by either one of three
names--Parseeism, Fire-worship or Zoroasteranism. It is sometimes
called the doctrine of the Magi. Its usual name is derived from him who
was the most celebrated man in the history of this faith. Zoroaster is
sometimes called the son of Ormazd. He probably lived about 1,200 years
before Christ. The exact date cannot be ascertained. It is certain that
it was in very early times, because he and his religious reform are
referred to in the Vedas, whose great antiquity has been proven. His
writings stand at the head of the sacred Parsee books, just as Moses’
writings stand at the beginning of our Bible. It took hundreds of years
for the sacred Parsee books to grow, and they were completed in 400
B.C. Pliny compares Moses and Zoroaster as founders of great religions.
He certainly was one of the earliest and greatest of religious
reformers.
His teachings can be learned only from the older Parsee books, the
Gathas. His principal tenet was that there is one God and not many
gods. In his speculations he taught that there were two forces opposed
to each other, a good being and an evil being; his followers afterwards
declared these to be a good god and an evil god--Ormazd and Ahriman. In
his moral teachings he declared that three things were to be kept pure;
namely, thoughts, words and deeds.
ZOROASTER’S WORSHIP OF ONE GOD.
In one of the Gathas (a division of the Zend-Avesta or sacred Parsee
books), Zoroaster is represented as standing before the sacred fire,
in a speech seeking to induce his countrymen to forsake the worship of
the devas or gods, and to bow only to Ormazd. In his speech he declares
that from the worship of one God flow all prosperities, while from
the worship of many gods comes ruin to the race. The following is a
translation of his speech, made by Haug the famous Parsee scholar:
“1. I will now tell you who are assembled here the wise sayings of
Mazda (_i.e._, Ormazd) the hymns of the good spirit, the sublime
truth which I see arising out of these sacred flames.”
“2. You shall, therefore, hearken to the soul of nature, (_i.e._,
to plow and cultivate the soil); contemplate the beams of fire with a
most pious mind! Every one, both men and women, ought to-day to choose
his creed (between deva-worship and the Ormazd religion). Ye offspring
of renowned ancestors, awake to agree with us.”
Again and again Zoroaster reverts to this theme. It does seem as if his
ideas of Ormazd greatly resembled those of Moses of Elohim or Jehovah.
Though the ancient Zoroastrians believed in an evil spirit of almost
equal power with Ormazd, yet Zoroaster himself taught nothing of this.
With all the ardor of Mohammed he waged war against the worship of
many gods and idols, but with none of Mohammed’s iconoclastic zeal.
Zoroaster pursued his course peacefully, seeking to win his countrymen
by his words; Mohammed sought to carry his faith at the point of the
sword. Both sought the same end, to establish the worship of one God.
ORMAZD AND AHRIMAN.
Zoroaster taught that there were two spirits always at war with one
another. His followers changed his teaching into belief in a good God,
Ormazd, and an evil god, Ahriman. Ormazd brings blessings, Ahriman
cursings. Ormazd is the father of truth, Ahriman is father of lies.
Ormazd favors the good, Ahriman causes the evil to triumph. With the
two gods is associated the idea of two lives, a good and a bad; of
two future homes for man, a Heaven and a Hell. Heaven is literally a
“house of hymns,” and Hell a “house of destruction.” The first is the
dwelling-place of Ormazd, the latter of Ahriman. Between Heaven and
Hell is the “bridge of the gatherer,” over which the souls of the pious
can pass, while those of the wicked fall into Hell. Throughout the
Zend-Avesta we find many teachings bearing a wondrous resemblance to
those of the Christian and Jewish Scriptures. Beyond a question, these
are not derived from one another, but are founded on those convictions
of truth which are a part of our human nature.
FINDING OF THE ZEND-AVESTA.
It is only recently that Europeans have been able to learn the contents
of the Bible of the Fire-Worshipers, the Zend-Avesta. In the middle of
the last century a Frenchman, Anquetil Duperron, happened to see some
pages written in the Avesta characters. Hoping to earn the honor of
opening the sacred scriptures of the Parsees to the western world, he
determined to go and get in Western India full copies of these writings
and there to learn the language. Being very poor, he joined one of
the French Indian Company’s ships as a common sailor, for the French
Government had refused to encourage his enterprise. But when he arrived
in India he found that the government had determined differently and
would aid him. But the Parsee priests would neither give nor loan him
manuscripts nor teach him the language of the Zend-Avesta. Finally he
managed to bribe a learned priest. His translation appeared in the
year 1771, after seventeen years of toil and study. His work created
an immense sensation in Europe. For fifty years but little was done in
Europe in addition to Duperron’s work. In 1830, Eugene Burnouf, a most
gifted scholar, gave his attention to the work. Others followed in his
track, until now we have complete and accurate translations of all the
Parsee sacred books in existence.
THE PARSEE BIBLE.
This consists of the writings and sayings of Zoroaster and the
commentaries on these prepared by his disciples. Much of the
Zend-Avesta is lost beyond recovery. When Alexander the Great conquered
the Persian empire, he and his soldiers destroyed many of these books.
In the royal library at Persepolis was a complete copy of the
Zend-Avesta, which, by Alexander’s orders, was burned with the
building containing them. The names of these books, of which there
were twenty-one, remain, together with a description of them. In these
books was gathered the whole religious and scientific literature of
the ancient Persian empire. They treated not only of religious topics,
but of medicine, astronomy, agriculture, botany, philosophy, etc. The
foundation underlying all these books was given by Zoroaster. God
revealed all this to him, as the Parsees have always believed, and
hence all these books are inspired. The prophet was supposed to have
talked with God, asking Him questions and receiving answers. These
answers Zoroaster communicated to his disciples. Thus we read in the
Zend-Avesta:
“That I shall ask Thee, tell it me right, O Ormazd! Who was in the
beginning the father and creator of righteousness? Who created the path
of the sun and stars? Who caused the moon to increase and wane but
Thou? This I wish to know, O Mazda! besides what I know already.
“That I shall ask Thee, tell it me right, O Ormazd! Who is holding the
earth and the skies above it? Who made the waters and the trees of the
field? Who is in the winds and storms that they so quickly run? Who is
the creator of the good-minded beings, O Ormazd?
“That I shall ask Thee, tell it me right, O Ormazd! Who created the
lights of good effect and the darkness? Who created the sleep of good
effect and the activity? Who created morning, noon and night, reminding
the priest always of his duties?
“That I shall ask Thee, tell it me right, O Ormazd! What guardian angel
may tell me good things to perform five times a day, the duties which
are enjoined by Thyself, O Mazda? and to recite those prayers which are
communicated for the welfare of all beings by the good mind? Whatever
good, intended for the increase of life, is to be had, may it come to
me!”
The Dashers or high-priests are the only ones who are now expected to
be able to understand the meaning of the Zend-Avesta; they are expected
to thoroughly study it. All that remains of the Parsee Bible to-day
are the following books: the Yasna, Visparad, Vendidad and twenty-four
Yashts. The Yasnas are hymns used for sacrifice. They are solemnly
recited before the fire. The priest takes some consecrated water,
bread, butter, fresh milk, meat, the branches of the Homa plant with a
pomegranate branch, the hair of an ox and a bundle of twigs. These are
all placed on a marble table opposite to the fire on the hearth of the
temple. Then the priest repeats the Yasnas, sometimes half-chanting,
half-reciting them. Thus, “Blessed is he, blessed is every one, to
whom Ormazd, ruling by his own will, shall grant the two everlasting
powers, health and immortality. For this very good, I beseech Thee.
Mayest Thou through Thine angel of piety, Armaiti, give me happiness,
the good true things, and the possession of the good mind.
“I believe Thee to be the best Being of all, the source of light for
all the world. Every one shall choose Thee as the source of light,
Thee, O Mazda, most beneficent spirit! Thou createst all good true
things by means of the power of Thy good mind at any time, and promised
us, who believe in Thee, a long life.
“Standing at Thy fire, amongst Thy worshipers who pray to Thee, I will
be mindful of righteousness as long as I shall be able.”
The Visparad is a collection of prayers in twenty-three chapters. They
are used much in the same way as the Yasnas. They resemble many of the
Vedic prayers of the Hindu religion. The Yashts contain directions for
the sacrifices and hymns of prayer and praise. The Vendidad is the code
of the religious, civil and criminal laws of the Parsees. It consists
of twenty-two chapters.
PARSEE WORSHIP.
The Parsee religion enters into the home-life of all its adherents.
The holy fire is kept always burning in the high-priest’s house, and
the people go there to re-light their household altar-fires. A Parsee
merchant, Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji, has described the daily life of the
fire-worshiper. Some of their practices are decidedly disgusting. A
pious Parsee must say his prayers at least sixteen times every day--on
getting out of bed, in washing with _nirang_ (a vile fluid,
supposed to be sacred), in taking his bath, cleansing his teeth. Every
time that he washes his hands he repeats his prayers, and every
meal begins and ends with prayers. The priests of to-day do not even
understand the old Zend language, in which these prayers are said. Mr.
Naoroji says: “All prayers, on every occasion, are said, or rather
recited, in the old original Zend language; neither the reciter nor the
people around intend to be edified, no one understanding a word of it.
There is no pulpit among the Parsees. On some special occasions there
are assemblages in the temples, and prayers are repeated. Ordinarily,
every one goes to the fire-temple whenever he likes, or, if it is
convenient to him, recites his prayers himself, and as long as he
likes, and gives, if so inclined, something to the priests to pray for
him.”
The Parsees have only one wife. They never eat food cooked by a person
of another religion than their own; they object to eating beef, pork or
ham. The priesthood is a family office; none but the son of a priest
can become a priest. Fire is used in connection with all their worship
as the symbol and (so some say) the representative of God. Often one
may see in Bombay, India, as the sun lowers in the west, a group of
Parsees with heads reverently bowed, and hands clasped, repeating their
prayers. Light and fire of any sort are regarded with great reverence,
and the Parsee always turns his face to a light-giving object when
praying. The greatest respect is shown to the source of light and heat,
the sun, and to the sacred fire in the temple or the high-priest’s
house.