I loved this article, just like so many of your other articles. These are very insightful and deep. I would like to point out a small matter that I understand it would be difficult to know about without having come across without knowing both the Zoroastrian and Hindu Value Systems.
It is often believed that Zoroaster, in opposing the worshipers of Indra and other Vedic deities, was opposing the ideas of Dharmic value systems. This seems to play with the idea of the Deva-Asura conflict, portraying it as a conflict of different systems of morality. For instance, many - including the Hindu author Amish Tripathi - have wrongly concluded that the Value Systems of Zoroaster and the Hindu Rishis were diametrically opposite. Some have brought out the example of the supposed Zoroastrian Monotheism and the archetypal association of Hinduism with Polytheism, for instance, to make this point.
I have met several members of the Parsi community, which is an Indian Zoroastrian community numbering in nearly ninety thousand. I am a Hindu myself. After significant discussion, I discovered that this view-point is entirely wrong. Hindus and Zoroasrians may have very differing beliefs, symbols, theology, and attitude towards some specific deities like Indra, but our value systems are strongly aligned.
The key values of the Hindus are (1) Sanctity of Life, (2) Sanctity of The Truth (and by extension, of Knowledge), (3) Sanctity of Courage, Strength and Dauntlessness, and (4) Sanctity of Duty. The sanctity of life manifests in the practice of Ahimsa, which includes not killing or harming cattle, among other things. The sanctity of truth, of course, directly involves not lying, and also having a reverence for knowledge, and by extension, books. Sanctity of courage is reinforced repeatedly in scripture, especially in the Gita, as is the sanctity of duty.
Now in Zoroastrianism, we see the same virtues reflected. One of the early enemies of Zoroaster was a person mentioned in the Gathas as Rishi Bendva (notice that he was called a Rishi). This man, according to Avestan accounts, was a cruel man who broke all the laws of Aryan morality. The Avesta specifically mentions what he did: he killed and consumed cattle, especially cows. In fact, Zoroaster specifically opposes him because of this practice. He seems to be doing what even a Hindu reformer would have done in this situation.
In fact, the first Gaushala (cow shelter) in Mumbai was jointly constructed by two Parsis and a Jain, for the express purpose of sheltering stray cows in the area.
Zoroaster mentions Truth and Wisdom as high ideals, calling Ahura Mazda the greatest and Wisest. This is significant. He repeatedly insists that his followers remain wise, and then rooted in Truth. That they speak the Truth is one of his key doctrines.
The Zoroastrian name for their value system is Daena, and this system is very close to the value system that is Dharma. The similarities are so great, that the two communities have been able to live side-by-side throughout the Middle Ages, and into modernity.
There are some actual lines in common between the Gathas and the Vedas. In fact, many of the accusations Zoroaster makes against his enemies are the very ones that the Rig Veda and the later Vedas made against the enemies of the Arya people in India - killing cattle, dishonoring scholars, and being liars. It is evident that the Value System which Zarathushtra is defending is the Dharmic one.
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branchandroot
Value Systems of Zoroastrianism and Hinduism
Date: 2021-01-17 01:10 pm (UTC)Hello from Rajarshi on Discord, Laughingsage!
I loved this article, just like so many of your other articles. These are very insightful and deep. I would like to point out a small matter that I understand it would be difficult to know about without having come across without knowing both the Zoroastrian and Hindu Value Systems.
It is often believed that Zoroaster, in opposing the worshipers of Indra and other Vedic deities, was opposing the ideas of Dharmic value systems. This seems to play with the idea of the Deva-Asura conflict, portraying it as a conflict of different systems of morality. For instance, many - including the Hindu author Amish Tripathi - have wrongly concluded that the Value Systems of Zoroaster and the Hindu Rishis were diametrically opposite. Some have brought out the example of the supposed Zoroastrian Monotheism and the archetypal association of Hinduism with Polytheism, for instance, to make this point.
I have met several members of the Parsi community, which is an Indian Zoroastrian community numbering in nearly ninety thousand. I am a Hindu myself. After significant discussion, I discovered that this view-point is entirely wrong. Hindus and Zoroasrians may have very differing beliefs, symbols, theology, and attitude towards some specific deities like Indra, but our value systems are strongly aligned.
The key values of the Hindus are (1) Sanctity of Life, (2) Sanctity of The Truth (and by extension, of Knowledge), (3) Sanctity of Courage, Strength and Dauntlessness, and (4) Sanctity of Duty. The sanctity of life manifests in the practice of Ahimsa, which includes not killing or harming cattle, among other things. The sanctity of truth, of course, directly involves not lying, and also having a reverence for knowledge, and by extension, books. Sanctity of courage is reinforced repeatedly in scripture, especially in the Gita, as is the sanctity of duty.
Now in Zoroastrianism, we see the same virtues reflected. One of the early enemies of Zoroaster was a person mentioned in the Gathas as Rishi Bendva (notice that he was called a Rishi). This man, according to Avestan accounts, was a cruel man who broke all the laws of Aryan morality. The Avesta specifically mentions what he did: he killed and consumed cattle, especially cows. In fact, Zoroaster specifically opposes him because of this practice. He seems to be doing what even a Hindu reformer would have done in this situation.
In fact, the first Gaushala (cow shelter) in Mumbai was jointly constructed by two Parsis and a Jain, for the express purpose of sheltering stray cows in the area.
Zoroaster mentions Truth and Wisdom as high ideals, calling Ahura Mazda the greatest and Wisest. This is significant. He repeatedly insists that his followers remain wise, and then rooted in Truth. That they speak the Truth is one of his key doctrines.
The Zoroastrian name for their value system is Daena, and this system is very close to the value system that is Dharma. The similarities are so great, that the two communities have been able to live side-by-side throughout the Middle Ages, and into modernity.
There are some actual lines in common between the Gathas and the Vedas. In fact, many of the accusations Zoroaster makes against his enemies are the very ones that the Rig Veda and the later Vedas made against the enemies of the Arya people in India - killing cattle, dishonoring scholars, and being liars. It is evident that the Value System which Zarathushtra is defending is the Dharmic one.