The Zoroastrian Tradition

"Thanks and praise for our Zoroastrian brothers and sisters, for their recognition of the wholeness and holiness evidenced in all creation."

The Zoroastrian religion was founded by Zoroaster (Zarathustra), who preached the religion on the steppes of ancient Persia. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BCE. The religion flourished under later dynasties, but reeled with the advent of Islam.

Many Persian Zoroastrians migrated to India where their descendants, the Parsees -- concentrated in and around Bombay have kept the faith alive in India.

In an age of idol worship and polytheism, Zarathustra preached the first monotheistic religion of the one supreme God, Ahura Mazda(the "Wise Lord").

The message is contained in the ancient texts of the sacred Avesta, of which the five Gathas are considered to embody the word of the Prophet himself. The teaching finds its essence in the triad: Humata (Good Thoughts), Hukta (Good Words), and Huverashta (Good Deeds). Zoroastrianism celebrates the sacredness of the elements of existence and offers a unique spiritual perspective on ecology.