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Zoromithraism Zoromithraism is about worshipping Ahura Mazda the god of Good Order - which is Wisdom in expression - and supporting the power of Good Order to manifest in the world. Zoromithraism is about serving the power of Good Order by developing Humanah - the Good Mind - both the individual Good Mind in ourselves and the global Good Mind. This we can do through the agency of Mithras. Zoromithrites regard Zarathustra as the father of Zoromithraism. CONCEPTS Artalogos is the Natural Law. Artista is the best state of the world in which the Natural Law is most respected so that there is harmony and flourishing of life. Zurvan (or Chron) is Father Time who creates the ongoing reality of life. Zurvan decides our fate taking into account our actions. Ashura is the ordering power in the Universe Mazda (or Sophia) is Wisdom. Mazda is made up of the cultural forms within our minds and the world in general which are generators of the good forms of life. Mazda is Wisdom Almighty - the power that creates everything wholesome and valuable. Manah is Mind - both the thinking mind and the feeling mind. Drama is action or deeds - the influence one thing has on another. Drama is all our deeds whether meant deliberately or not. Chrestia is service to a good cause Kasatra is ruling, regulating, governing - shaping the living reality. Taxis is the constitution or enduring character of something. It especially refers to the constitution of society - the social order, the political order, the economic order etc. Vara is an enclosed space - sheltered in all directions from the world outside - and forming a mini-world entire unto itself. Ushta is Radiant Happiness Humanity is Humanah - the Good Mind Sodality is Mithraic Fellowship. Speleum is an enclosed space - sheltered in all directions from the world outside - and forming a mini-world entire unto itself. ZURVAN Zurvan is the ground of being, the ultimate foundation of existence. Zurvan is the Space-Time fabric within which is everything that exists. Zurvan sees the deeds of the soul of the world - calculates their effect according to the artalogos - and creates the world anew . Zurvan creates what is wonderful or what is terrible according to the law. Zurvan is merciless yet there is hope to get a good result for Zurvan is not arbitrary. The Zoromithraic Trinity ARAMAZDA Ahura Mazda is the God of Creation, Righteous Action and Good Order. Ahura Mazda combines the Ashura - the righteous power - and Mazda - the cosmic wisdom - which are seen as one and the same. The Ashura is the lord of Good Order - the active power bringing the life of the world into harmonious relationship so that the living beings flourish. The Ashura is the creator of everything worthwhile in our world. But the Ashura lives in our world. The Ashura is not the source of the Substrate of existence which has always existed, nor is the Ashura responsible for everything that happens. It is the actions of the living beings which create the conditions for the Ashura to come alive and produce what is good and life-enhancing. Chrestus is a part of the Ashura - the most pure impulse and ability to serve the cause of Good Order embodied in man. MITHRAS Mithras is our leader - our best guide to the life of righteousness. Mithras is the spirit-being which transforms us so that the Ashura can act through us to produce the righteous order. Mithras is Chrestifer - the Christ-bringer - the one who brings Chrestus to us so that we become faithful agents of Aramazda. Mithras is the Chrestlord - the lord of the Good Mind and Good Character Mithras has attendants who assist him. His most venerable attendants are Zarathustra, Socrates the Wise, Gautama the Buddha, Jesus the Good, Aurelius the Stoic and Inayat Khan the Sophist ANAHITA Anahita is a partner to Mithras in the work of bringing people closer to Aramazda. Anahita Sophiana announces the nature of the Cosmic Sophia - the Cosmic Wisdom - which is Mazda. The Four Fold Slogan HUMANAH : EUDRAMA : EUTAXIS : HUKASATRA Good Mind : Good Deeds : Good Constitution : Good Rule HUMANAH - Good Mind This is not just cleverness as in the colloquial English 'he has a good mind' - but a fundamentally ethically good mind - a mind that tends to want to do what is the best thing to do. Such a mind not only has a spiritually desire to be benevolent but also the wisdom and character that makes it able to put such good intention to fruitful result. EUDRAMA - Good Deeds The life of the world is built up of the all the actions of all the people in it. The Good Life follows from Good Deeds. Without the right actions being taken then the Good Life will not come. We don't have complete control of our actions on a moment by moment basis. Much of what we do comes out more or less automatically from our minds. Thus the importance of having a Good Mind. But ultimately it is deeds that count. EUTAXIS - Good World Order All living beings have needs - most obviously air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat and sheltered private space in which they can organise themselves. For a living being to flourish it must be able to find in its environment the things which will satisfy its needs. However the way that power over the means of life , including power over other people, is spread or distributed may not be such as to give all living beings everything they need to flourish, nor may it be conducive to the best governance of human affairs. Good Powerspread is a practice of striving to distribute control over the means of life across the world to maximize the flourishing of life. It is not just material things like food that a living being or community of living beings needs but also opportunities to express itself in different ways, and to do its own work in providing for itself and governing its own affairs. HUKASATRA - Good Rule In this world it is not the case that every individual looks after their own lives freely and independently. Rather we are dependent on each other to a greater or lesser extent. There are people who have greater power and influence over the lives of others who we can call the rulers. There are many aspects of life, and many opportunities to be a ruler. Almost any man with a garden can be the ruler of it, saying where this or that should be planted and what will be given water, space and protection and what will be uprooted. In the political sphere very rarely does every man have an equal say. Rather there are some who have higher status, better knowledge or greater desire for power which brings them a greater influence over the general course of things. Where a person is a ruler it is important for cosmic order that they rule rightly for the common benefit and not pursue their own selfish ends or fail with good intentions but lack of wisdom. Good World Order The Good World Order is the world ordered in a good way - the way which is best for Spenty - the flourishing of life - such that there is a maximum of Ushta (happiness) and a minimum of Dukka (suffering). There is a world of sorts wherever there is a sheltered enclosed space. But the primary world for us is the world which exists on the planet Earth. Pagandom Pagandom is the part of the human society composed of small autonomous associations of people who are self-reliant and protected from the incursions of the wider world. We believe that it is important that Pagandom is strong and healthy as it is Pagandom which is the safeguard of the Good World Order. We believe that there is a benefit to having a global authority ("a World Emperor") but that this role is limited and that those exercising the role should be wise and benevolent. Humanist Path The Humanist path is about developing Humanah the Good Mind - the individual Good Mind, and the collective Good Mind. It is especially important for those in positions of leadership or cultural influence to be humane thinkers who seek the general good and are able to see the subtleties of a situation in its shades of meanings. Three Important Things Humanity - Community - Autonomy Those on the Humanist Path are interested in Humanah - the Good Mind. Our actions spring from our thoughts which are shaped by the nature of our mind. Thus we should develop our mind so that it is attuned to reality. This means being able to listen to what the world tells us about its nature, it means having understanding of patterns of cause and effect , it means to give value to what the cosmos give value (such as the happiness of people), and to reject what is of antivalue (suffering and what leads to it). Zoroastrian Humanists regard the teacher Zarathustra who lived over 3000 years ago as the founder of Humanism in our civilisation. Thus we value the ancient scriptures most associated with him - known as the Avesta. Humanist religion is characterised by an emphasis on developing the ability of the mind to make accurate appraisals of the situation and to be disposed to take the most life-enhancing course. Humanists are more likely to take a holistic view of a situation rather than a selfish viewpoint. Zoromithraic Scripture The 'Zoromithrite Bible' consists of three 'testaments':
The Second Testament consists of a mix of writings especially from the Greek and Latin cultural traditions. The Third Testament - still to be written - which testifies directly to our time. The Zoroastrian Gathas and Avesta and other traditional Zoroastrian writings form the scriptural foundation of Zoromithraism Many other texts may also be of interest to Zoromithrites. The most venerable historic teachers are: Zarathustra, Socrates, Gautama, Jesus, Aurelius, Inayat Khan. Most venerable historic teachers 1) Zarathustra - promoted love of wisdom, systematic thought, good mind and good character in pursuit of the life-promoting order as against superstitious observance or selfish deeds destructive of the common good. 2) Socrates - seeker after truth teaching the value of dialogue. Intellectual father to Plato and Aristotle. 3) Gautama - applied systematic thinking to the techniques of development of good mind 4) Jesus of Galilee - taught that we should be directly responsive to the true nature of people around us rather than blindly obey legal strictures even if claimed to be religiously ordained. He upset the Temple who feared a threat to their economic and political power and had him arrested and taken to a place of execution. Some say he died, others that he survived. Later he was used as a figurehead of a religious movement that spread across the Roman Empire. 5) Marcus Aurelius - an important teacher of the Stoic philosophy of life 6) Inayat Khan - a teacher of the sophistication of the mind. Some other teachers of interest Baruch Spinoza (born 1632) Friedrich Nietzsche (born 1844) - taught of the importance of striving for self-actualisation as opposed to solely striving to be good Alfred North Whitehead (born 1861) - taught that the world activity is best understood in terms of a process unfolding rather than as objects interacting. Erich Fromm (born 1900) - taught of the connections between the character of individual minds and the political system of which they are a part. George Orwell (born 1903) - taught better than many how a society can be corrupted by overbearing power. Fritz Schumacher (born 1911) - taught that the purpose of our collective life should be a moral one - that economics should be the tool of a noble higher purpose - and that economic activity is often best carried out on a small scale - that 'Small is Beautiful'. Idries Shah (born 1924) - a great Sufi teacher to the West More on one of the above: Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a German philosopher of the late 19th century who challenged the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. He was interested in the enhancement of individual and cultural health, and believed in life, creativity, power, and the realities of the world we live in, rather than those situated in a world beyond. Central to his philosophy is the idea of 'life-affirmation', which involves an honest questioning of all doctrines that drain life's expansive energies, however socially prevalent those views might be. Often referred to as one of the first existentialist philosophers along with Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Nietzsche's revitalizing philosophy has inspired leading figures in all walks of cultural life, including dancers, poets, novelists, painters, psychologists, philosophers, sociologists and social revolutionaries. Saints and Heroes A typical list of Saints and Heroes which may vary by nationality. Zarathustra is the philosopher who penetrates to the depths of existence and creates new ways of thinking to help his fellow man. Cyrus the Great is the Good Emperor who plays his part in maintaining the World Order for the flourishing of all giving each people the freedom to govern themselves and maintain their own laws and religion. Saint Jesus the Good is the sophist who has direct knowledge of the divine and deep understanding of the world. He teaches us to see the real nature of people and deal with them as is right and not respond to conjured illusions or follow blindly the dictates of rigid legalism. Saint George the Brave is at the frontline of the battle for what is good and life-promoting against what is destructive of life Robin Hood hides in the depths of the forest but fights to take resources from those who have more than they should and distribute it to those who have less but deserve more. Compiled from material current in 4013 October 4015 |