"Turn yourself, not away from three best things—Good Thought, Good Word, and Good Deed." Zoroaster
About Zoroastrianism
Here are a few passages from a 1905 introduction to Zoroastrianism: The Teachings of Zoroaster, by S.A. Kapadia, This book is available for free online at http://www.sacred-texts.com/zor/toz/toz04.htm
I WILL now tell you who are assembled here the wise sayings of the Lord, the praises of the All Knowing, and the hymns of the Good Spirit, the sublime truth which I see rising out of these flames. You shall therefore hearken to the Soul of Nature...
So preached Zoroaster, the prophet of the Parsis, in one of his earliest sermons nearly 3,500 years ago. [Scholars disagree on the date.]
Imbued from his infancy with deep philosophical and religious thoughts for the welfare and well-being of mankind, this ancient prophet derived his holy inspiration after thirty years of divine meditation on a secluded and inaccessible mountain-top...
Clothed in pure white flowing vestments, bearing with him the sacred fire and a staff or sceptre made of a cypress tree, this sage of antiquity appeared before the court of Kava Vishtaçpa. By persuasion and argument he unfolded his religious mission; and proclaimed the mandate of the Lord, in order to elevate the ancient faith of the Aryas to its lofty and intellectual purity of monotheism.
...In the early days of Zoroaster homage was paid and prayers were offered to the Supreme Being, usually through the recognized symbols of the Deity. The heavenly firmament … the resplendent orb of the rising sun, the ethereal gentleness of the beaming moon, with her coruscating companions, the planets and the stars, the verdant earth, the swift-flowing river, murmuring in sweet cadence of eternity and bliss, the roaring sea of life and death, and the glorious fire of Empyrean,—all these, in the days of the primitive Aryan religion, were believed to be so many manifestations of the Almighty God...
Things, which were originally manifestations of God's good work, became in course of time personified; assumed shapes of deities in the frail imagination of the devotees; and finally came to be adored in lieu of the Great Architect of the world. Thus, a religious system, in itself philosophically sublime, degenerated into a system of polytheism, having for its object adoration of idols and visible forms of good and evil spirits, reflective of human imagination. This was the great evil, the crime of ignoring the Creator for the created, which our prophet Zarathustra laboured to remedy...
This led to a schism amongst the Indo-Iranians. One branch of the ancient Aryas, powerfully supported by the State, became Mazdayasnians (Monotheists), and the other of the same stock remained staunch to the worship of material gods, and were known as Daêvayasnians (Polytheists). Inevitable war of creed and faith resulted in the migration of the weaker and polytheistic branch to the fertile plains of India, where it took root and blossomed into the absolute Brahminism of the modern Hindus.
Photos
Photos free use images from pixabay.com, effects & Zoroaster texts by @roused