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PHILOSOPHY CORNER – ‘Life and Afterlife’

Or both?

I just thought I’d start a section which would have the character of PHILOSOPHY (gr. ‘philosophía’/ ‘φιλοσοφία’: the ‘“love”/”striving” for knowledge/wisdom’) itself, in which through unnumbered hardships and difficulties you ‘seek’ to reach the ‘truth’ about certain things – be it the truth of a situation or the ‘truth’ of a person’s behaviour or even the truth of the structure of our universe and it’s ‘wondrous’ mechanismsJ...; some fragments will be here just for entertainment, some others (like quotes or thoughts of philosophers for example) out of interest which you can then take up and continue if you like…

I chose the title ‘Life and Afterlife’, because I wanted to sum up what I feel are the main purposes or focuses of philosophy: on one side: our ‘real’ life, ethics, behaviour, our actions… and other side the ‘afterlife’ which is not literally an afterlife, but everything which is outside our ability to ‘see’ as well as abstract things, like the sense/meaning of life, the mighty force named ‘God’, our hopes, dreams, emotions… instead of afterlife I would call it even a ‘world within a world’ which is always present, wherever we are – f.ex. the ‘world’ of emotions and thoughts which is situated within our body.

Enjoy and stay in tuneJ!

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+++ First of all I thought I place here a summarised portrait of Freddie Mercury’s faith (information taken from Wikipedia and http://www.religioustolerance.org/zoroastr.htm) – more information to follow +++

If you like to get an insight into the holy book of Zoroastrianism, I’d like to recommend you a very interesting site:

www.sacred-texts.com

Zoroastrianism:

The Zoroastrian faith is claimed to be the earliest monotheistic religion wit a dualistic nature. According to expert Mary Boyce “Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed credal religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly or indirectly, than any other single faith... some of its leading doctrines were adopted by Judaism, Christianity and Islam”.

The religion itself was founded by Zarathustra (Zoroaster in Greek; Zarthosht in India and Persia). Historians and religious scholars generally date his life sometime around 1500 BC. He lived in Persia, modern day Iran. Zoroastrianism became the state religion of various Persian empires, until the 7th Century AD. When Muslim Arabs invaded Persia in 650 AD, a small number of Zoroastrians fled to India where most are concentrated today. Those who remained behind have survived centuries of persecution.

Today, small Zoroastrian communities are found in India, Pakistan, Iran, as well as major urban areas in United States, Canada, England, Australia, and a worldwide Diaspora. There are two main groups of people: those of Indian Zoroastrian background, who are known as Parsis (or Parsees), and those of Iranian background. The Parsi Zoroastrians of India speak a dialect of Gujarati as well as English.

Parsis have gained a reputation for their education (today, around 70% of Parsis in the USA and Canada hold doctorates) and widespread influence in all aspects of society, partly due to the divisive strategy of British colonialism which favoured certain minorities. As such, Parsis are generally more affluent than other Indians and are stereotypically viewed as among the most Anglicised and ‘Westernised’ of Indian minority groups. They have also played an instrumental role in the economic development of the country over many decades; several of the most well known business conglomerates of India are run by people of Parsi descent.

The attributes of Zoroastrian faith are:

· A single god Ahura Mazda who is supreme

· One school of thought promotes a cosmic dualism between the all powerful God Ahura Mazda who is the only deity worthy of being worshipped, and an evil spirit of violence and death, Angra Mainyu, who opposes Ahura Mazda. The resulting cosmic conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity who is required to choose which to follow. Evil, and the Spirit of Evil, will be completely destroyed at the end of time. Dualism will come to an end and Goodness will be all in all. Another school of thought perceives the battle between Good and Evil as an ethical dualism, set within the human consciousness – the persistent conflict between Good and Evil that distinguish Zoroastrian morality is summed up in the simple phrase, “Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds”. Predestination is rejected in Zoroastrian teaching. Humans bear responsibility for all situations they are in, and in the way they act to one another. Reward, punishment, happiness and grief all depend on how individuals live their life. Good befalls the people who do righteous deeds. Those who do evil have themselves to blame for their evil-doing.

· The symbol of fire: The energy of the creator is represented in Zoroastrianism by fire and the sun which are both enduring, radiant, pure and life sustaining

· Death and burial: Religious rituals related to death are all concerned with the person’s soul and not the body. Zoroastrians believe that on the fourth day after death, the human soul leaves the body and the body remains as an empty shell. Traditionally, Zoroastrians disposed of their dead by leaving them atop open-topped enclosures, called Towers of Silence, or Dokhmas. Vultures and the weather would clean the flesh of the bones, which were then placed into an ossuary at the center of the Tower. Fire and Earth were considered too sacred for the dead to be placed in them. While this practice is continued in India by some Parsis, it had ended by the beginning of the twentieth century in Iran. In India, burial and cremation are becoming increasingly popular alternatives

· The Zoroastrian holy book, called Avesta, does not only contain religious literature but also works on Medicine, Astronomy, Botany and Philosophy

· Unlike Christianity, Zoroastrianism is a non-proselytising religion, and if you are not born one, it is very difficult to become one