The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1889-09-19
THE PARsl RELIGION.
Pleasant Paths Followed by tn,
Fire worahin0ra.

Fire Worship0rs.
The Parsis are called by some '.Hr
worshipers," and they defend them.
selves by saying that they do not wor-
ship the fire, but regard it and other
great natural phenomena and objects
as emblems Of the divine power. To
me it appears that the imputation, on
the n hand is wrong, and the
defense, on the other hand, a little
overshot. Though the Parsi remem-
bers, praises, loves, or regards holy
whatever is beautiful, or wonderful,
or harmless, or useful in nature, he
never asks from an intelligent material
object assistance or benefit; he is,
therefore, no idolator, or worshiper OF
matter. On the other hand, when the
Parsi addresses his prayers to
Hormuzd, or God. he never thinks it
at all necessary that he should turn
his face to any particular object. He
would say, and does say, his
Hormuzd yasht (prayer to Hormuzd)
and anywhere whatever without the
slightest misgiving. Again, when he adj
dresses the angel of water, or any
other but that of fire, he does not
stand before the fire. 1t is only when
he addresses the angel Of fire that he
turns his face to the fire. In short, in
addressing any particular angel, he
turns his face to the object of that
angels guardianship as his emblem.
But, in his prayers to Hormuzd, he
recognizes, or uses, or turns his face
to the object of that angels guardian
ship as his emblem. But, in his
prayers to Hormuzd, he recognizes, or
uses, or turns his face to no emblems
whatever. Since fire only could be
brought within the limits of a temple
any of the grand objects of nature
Gas the sea, the sun, etc.,, being avail
able for that purpose-the temples
naturally became the sanctuaries OF
fire alone, and hence has arisen the
mistake of the Parsis being regarded
as fire worshipers."
This much, however, is clear in Ha
3O-"He who knows God through his
works reaches him. but I do not rec
ollect meeting with any text enjoining
a Parsi to turn his face to any partic-
ular object as an emblem of God Though
he is directed, as in the above text, to
rise from nature to natures god. The
doctrine of any sort Or form of propi-
tiation of the devil does not find place
in their books. To struggle for doing
good and destroying evil is an emphat-
ic injunction. Such was the state Of
the religious belief of the Parsis till a
generation ago. But the study of the
lend Avesta has been since carried on
with increasing zeal, activity and in
telligence by Parsi educated scholars.
The Ruhanumal, of which I have been
president for some years, has been,
through the means of such scholars,
carrying on its researches in the an
cient literature, and from time to time
bringing the results before the COM
munities by public meetings and pub
LEGATION of their proceedings. The
views 10Y held by such scholars are
that some of those religious books
which the Parsis considered canonical,
were not so; that, with the exception
of a certain portion, called the Gathas,
that they were not the words of Ear
thust or his contemporary disciples or
coadjutors-that before Zarthust' 8 time
the religion vas almost a polytheism.
Zarthust made a complete revolution
preached the worship of the one great
supreme God, a the beginning and the
end of the holy religion; and that God
alone was the creator and glver and all
in all of everything. He threw aside
the earlier gods or spirits, and, adj
dressing God, exclaimed: "Thou, and
thou alone, does my minds eye see.
The monotheism of Zarthust was
complete and unequivocal; and his mo-
nogamy was Is clear. The present
Parsi scholars maintain that the other
books are later compilations by priests;
that after the death of Zarthust the
priests rehabilitated, though in subor-
dinate positions, the earlier spirits
which were considered as presiding
over fire, water, earth and all.the great
creations of nature; and established
the ritual and ceremonies as they
thought desirable or profitable for
themselves, as has happened with 9TH
er religions-that all the %invocations
to the various spirits for aid were not a
part of the religion as Zarthust estab-
lished it; and that the Parsis should re-
turn to the original spirituad ~, SIM
plicity and purity of their religion
that it is clear that Zarthust's words,
that the eternal principle of the wor-
ship of one God, and of purity in
thought, word and deed were alone
binding forever. But all customs, rit-
ual and ceremonies adopted according
to the circumstances of time, place and
civilization can be altered as the good
and the physical and the spiritual
wants of the community may require.
These scholars therefore urge that.
whatever might have been the justif-
catsons or reasons of many religious
customs aud ceremonies at the time
when they were first adopted, they
were not binding on the community
forever, and that they must reform
their customs and ritual as time and
circumstances might demand, after
careful consideration by the commu-