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Zoroastrian Humanism Zoroastrian Humanism was started by the philosopher Zarathustra over 3000 years ago. He saw that the people of his time were disconnected from reality but attached to mindless superstitions and were easy prey for the self-serving barons. Zarathustra proposed a simple way of thinking to make sense of existence and help people do the right thing to improve the world and their lives. He set his ideas down in a composition of 17 songs that have been transmitted down the ages to us today. Three of his most important concepts were: ARTAVISTA – The best joining of things – truth and right ARAMAZDA – The source of the activity which brings forth life HUMANAH – The Good Mind that leads to good action The ideas of Zarathustra have been immensely influential in history, shaping world philosophies and religions but often the simple purity of the original has become obscured and the hope of a better world frustrated. Yet it is still possible to go back to our intellectual beginnings with Zarathustra’s own words and start afresh. Zoroastrians believe that people should be judged by whether their actions in life tend to help the betterment of the world or not. Zoroastrian Humanists in particular emphasize that there is no substitute for the Good Mind of Humanah to lead people in the right direction and any religious belief must support the Good Mind, not act against it. Good Thoughts! Good Words! Good Deeds! Zoroastrian Humanist Movement THE MOVEMENT The Zoroastrian Humanist movement aims to be a force in support of the Good World Order. It aims to do this by being a focus for the development of Humanah – the Good Mind – in the world, by the preservation and promotion of cultural artefacts and activity which promote this, and by the creation and preservation of human communities in a position to freely further the movement. As a Humanist movement we believe that Humanah – the Good Mind – is the most useful single concept to guide us as to our purpose. As a Humanist movement we engage in the practice of the development of Humanah among those who are part of the movement. As a Zoroastrian movement we look to Zarathustra as the founder of our movement, we pay attention to his writings, and we pay respect to the legacy of the traditional Persian religious movement which bears his name. ZOROASTRIAN HUMANIST SYMBOL Zoroastrian Humanists use a symbol to represent their movement comprised of three elements : 1. Spread Wings – representing the world soul. 2. Eight-spoked wheel – representing Asha, the good order of existence, (a symbol found on Achaemenid era inscriptions). 3. Fire – representing the Fire of Life and Good Mind . This is usually shown with seven distinct flames as a mark of its sacredness. TEXTUAL TRADITION Zoroastrian Humanists consider the work known as the Songs of Zarathustra (and sometimes as the Gospel of Zarathustra) as the sacred text of Zoroastrian Humanism. No other text has the same status. There is no requirement for Zoroastrian Humanists to use any other particular material or learning method to help develop the Good Mind within themselves, as long as it is helping them to do that, and they are free to choose what helps them the most. However those Zoroastrian Humanists wishing to be part of an international community of Zoroastrian Humanists who share more in common culturally than the bare bones are recommended to give priority to texts from Iranian-language or English- language sources. They may wish to learn the classical Persian language (which is little different from that in current use) as well as gaining some acquaintance with the language of the Avesta. They should also be fluent in reading the English language. It is recommended that they acquaint themselves with all the same texts as traditional Persian Zoroastrians. Foremost among these is the Avesta, and important also are the two versions of the Bundahisn and the Denkard encyclopaedia. Zoroastrian Humanists interested in Sophistry are recommended to give attention to the works of Rumi and other works of his era by other persons which were composed in the Persian language at the time and which have been acclaimed as most worthy since then. Other Sophist teachers whose recorded teachings are especially recommended are: Socrates, Jesus, Aurelius and Inayat Khan. Some may also be interested in the texts of Buddhism, the early Vedic texts such as the Rig Veda, or the heritage of ancient European pagan peoples. October 4009 HE / 2009 CE  |