Zoroaster
Zoroaster (also Zarathustra, Zartusht) is considered by Bahá’ís to have been a "divinely-appointed and fully independent" Manifestation of God.[1] Although His own Writings give no exact date for the beginning of His Dispensation, Zoroaster may have lived "about a thousand years before Christ",[2][3], or potentially earlier;[4] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that He lived "about 750 years after Moses".[3] He travelled widely in the area which is now Iran and Central Asia. Variously quoted as the son of a priest or as the son of a nobleman, He presented a radically different set of teachings, which became known as Zoroastrianism. Crucially, He emphasised that there is but One God, "Ahura Mazda", the "Wise Lord". Evil becomes personified as Ahriman.
At one point, according to Bahá’í Scripture, He travelled to the Holy Land to "converse with the Jewish prophets". He also converted the king in Balkh (now northern Afghanistan) to His new religion.[citation needed] There is no clear agreement as to His death. Some believe that He was killed by a priest of the old religion, others that He died of old age. A later Persian epic poem has Him dying at the altar during an attack by the Turanians.[citation needed]
Zoroaster and His teachings are mentioned in various contexts in the Bahá’í Writings. Notably, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stated that Zoroaster foretold the coming of a Promised One,[5] the Sháh-Bahrám, whom Shoghi Effendi identified with Bahá’u’lláh.[6]
References[edit]
- ↑ From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, November 10, 1939. Helen Bassett Hornby, ed. (1988) [1st pub. 1983]. Lights of Guidance: A Bahá’í Reference File by Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and Universal House of Justice New Delhi: Baháí Publishing Trust. No. 1694. ISBN 978-8185091464.
- ↑ From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 30 July 1941 to a National Committee and an individual believer. https://bahai-library.com/compilation_buddha_krishna_zoroaster
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://bahai-library.com/uhj_zoroaster_date
- ↑ Harold Rosen gives a range from 1400 B.C.E. to 1100 B.C.E. Harold Rosen, Founders of Religion.
- ↑ "...what we can be sure of is that when Bahá'u'lláh or the Master stated that Zoroaster foretold a Promised One's coming, it is correct. The Zoroastrians have no way of contradicting this assertion of ours, as they themselves know their scriptures are not in the original form, and therefore not absolutely authentic." From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 22 June 1943. https://bahai-library.com/compilation_buddha_krishna_zoroaster
- ↑ Shoghi Effendi, "God Passes By", rev. ed. (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1987), pp. 94-95
