Zoroastrianism and Hinduism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hinduism and Zoroastrian are the two oldest surviving religions of the world. Both have come into contact with each other several times in history.
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[edit] Similarities
[edit] Vedic Aryan origin
Just as the Abrahamic religions are the religions springing forth from the Old Testament, the Aryan religions come from the Rig Veda. The Avesta mentioned several quotes from the Rig Veda. From the portions of the Rig Veda that the Irani believed in, Zarathustra picked up from there and established Zarathustrianism. Both languages Vedic and Avestan are also very similar. Yama or Yima is identified as the ancestor of both religions. Yama/Yima was born from Vishswat/Vivanghat. In both religions he is a judge and a king. The Hindus refer to him as "Yam Raj" whereas the Zoroastrians refer to him as "Yima Kshaeta." It is said that he organized society into four groups.[1]
[edit] Good religion/law (Dharma and Daena)
The word "religion" and "law" are the same for both Zoroastrianism and Hinduism; the religion is the universal law. A person must uphold the religion. Hinduism is also known as Hindu Dharma or Arya Dharma ("noble religion") and Zoroastrianism as Behdini ("good religion.)
[edit] Good order (Rita and Asha)
The word Rita is the cosmic order of the universe in the Hindu religion. In Avesta, it is also known as Asha, in middle Persian, Asho and in modern Persian Arta. In both religions Shri Varuna (who becomes known as Ahura Mazda in the Avesta) is the protector of this cosmic order. The evil violation of the cosmic order is known as Druh in Hinduism and Druj in Zoroastrianism.
[edit] Om and On
The holiness of the mantra Om or On is believed in both religions. Hindus use Om, however some like the Sikhs use On as in Ek Onkar. Both the Hindus and Zoroastrianins start their prayers with this syllable. A Hindu would say Om tat sat while a Zoroastrian would say, On Ashem Vohu.
[edit] Magi Brahmanas
The Magi were a group of Brahmanas that extensivly practiced fire rituals (agnihotra.) Both religions have them as Brahmanas. In Hinduism Mag priests are referred to as Magacharyas and are priests in the Saura or sun-worshipping tradition. The Magas of Hinduism are the Atharvans (Athwya in the Rigveda) who wrote the Atharva Veda. Zarathustra, who might be the Vedic Zuryastata ("restorer of sun worship") also belonged to the Maga clan.
[edit] Holy cow
In both religions, the cow is the most sacred animal. Zarathustra's family name Spitma means "milk white" because milk is from the holy cow and white means pure.
[edit] Animal Sacrifice
Both believed in offering animal sacrifices to God. In Indian languages, sacrifice is yajna while in Iranian languages it is yasna.
[edit] Triangular flags
Both religions have triangular flags as the symbol of their religion. The Hindus use the two-pointed Bhagwa Dhwaj ("Saffron flag") while the Zarathustrians use the two-pointed white flag[2].
[edit] Differences
[edit] Strict Monotheism
In Hinduism a disciple is allowed to practice their devotion in anyway as long as it is non-violent and giving praise to a good spirit. Prophet Zarathutra believed that only God Almighty should be worshipped as opposed to other spirits. Of course to say that Hinduism does not believe in monotheism is simply wrong. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13) means that God has many forms and that any form can be worshipped. Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita further said that no matter to whom the prayers are directed, they all go to Him.
[edit] Idolatry
All Hindus keep an idol of the god or gods of their family in their house. Zarathustra said that God should not be represented in any material way as prayers should be directed to only God Almighty. However Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita mentions that all prayers go to Him so most Hindus pray to God through idols.
[edit] Ahuras versus Devas
It is illustrated that where Zarathustra was born, most likely in northern Iran, the residents were Devas-worshipper as well as Ahura-worshippers. Prophet Zarathustra said to the peoples that a god or a good spirit is an ahura and a demon or a bad spirit is a daeva. Many in the community did not like his liberal teachings and so Zoroaster fled to Airyanem Vaejah ("Aryan Rootland.") This divide goes back to the composition of the Rig Veda. Both the religions believe in the holiness of the Veda except that the Zarathustrians believe in certain sections of the Rig Veda. When the Rig Veda was being written, there occurred a divide among the Brahmanas writing it. The Brahmanas of the Pauravas (Indians) or Parthas believed that Aditi was the good mother of the gods while the Irani or Dasa Brahmanas believed that Diti was. The Pauravas' chief god was Shri Indra and said that He has overtaken Shri Varuna as the leader of the gods. The Irani believed that Shri Varuna was still the chief of the gods. In the Irani pantheon, Shri Indra was given the status of a demon while they worshipped an Indra-like character who accepts the law of Varuna known as Indar. From this originated the Dasarajna war in which the ten kingdoms of the Irani, represented by the Brahmana Vishwamitra fought against the Indian King Sudas. From then on, the Indians referred to the asuras as the demons while Devas were the gods and the Irani, vice versa. When Zarathustrianism was established, Shri Varuna who Zarathustra referred to as the Ahura Mazda (Rigvedic Assur Mehda or Assur Mahadeo) was God Almighty while all other spirits were given the status of angels.
[edit] Canon
In Hinduism, there is no scripture that Hinduism is focused on anymore. After Shri Gautam Buddha taught Hindus the Vedas cannot be the only scriptures Hindus should believe in. As a result, the Hindus starting creating many commentaries on the Vedas referred to as smriti. Before, the Vedas were at the centre. In Zarathustrianism however, the Avesta is at the centre. Just as the smriti are the commentaries of the Vedas, the Gathas and other scriptures are the commentaries on the Avesta.
![[2]](http://www.throneworld.com/lords/lote27/images/Zoroastrian_flag.jpg){kind=link}