Spitama
Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. Variously described as a sage or a wonderworker; in the oldest Zoroastrian scriptures, the Gathas, which he is believed to have authored, he is described as a preacher and a poet-prophet. He also had an impact on Heraclitus, Plato, Pythagoras, and the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He spoke an Eastern Iranian language, named Avestan by scholars after the corpus of Zoroastrian religious texts written in that language. Based on this, it is tentative to place his homeland somewhere in the eastern regions of Greater Iran (perhaps in modern-day Afghanistan or Tajikistan), but his exact birthplace is uncertain. His life is traditionally dated to sometime around the 7th and 6th centuries BC, making him a contemporary of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zoroaster
Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. Variously described as a Sage (philosophy), sage or a wonderworker; in the oldest Zoroastrian scriptures, the Gatha (Zoroaster), Gathas, which he is believed to have authored, he is described as a preacher and a poet-prophet. He also had an impact on Heraclitus, Plato, Pythagoras, and the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He spoke an Eastern Iranian language, named Avestan by scholars after the Avesta, corpus of Zoroastrian religious texts written in that language. Based on this, it is tentative to place his homeland somewhere in the eastern regions of Greater Iran (perhaps in modern-day Afghanistan or Tajikistan), but his exact birthplace is uncertain. His life is traditionally dated to sometime around th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the world's oldest organized faiths, its adherents exalt an Creator deity, uncreated, Omnibenevolence, benevolent, and List of knowledge deities#Persian mythology, all-wise deity known as Ahura Mazda (), who is hailed as the supreme being of the universe. Opposed to Ahura Mazda is Ahriman, Angra Mainyu (), who is personified as a List of death deities#Persian-Zoroastrian, destructive spirit and the adversary of all things that are good. As such, the Zoroastrian religion combines a Dualism in cosmology, dualistic cosmology of good and evil with an eschatological outlook predicting the Frashokereti, ultimate triumph of Ahura Mazda over evil. Opinions vary among scholars as to whether Zoroastrianism is monotheistic, polyth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Asha
''Asha'' () or ''arta'' (; ) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right' (or 'righteousness'), 'order' and 'right working'... It is of cardinal importance. to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, ''aṣ̌a/arta'' represents what has been called "the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism". qtd. in . The opposite of ''aṣ̌a'' is ''druj'' (). Its Old Persian equivalent is ''arta-''. In Middle Iranian languages the term appears as ''ard-''. The word is also the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or "genius". of "Truth" or "Righteousness". In the Younger Avesta, this figure is more commonly referred to as Asha Vahishta (''Aṣ̌a Vahišta'', ''Arta Vahišta''), "Best Truth". The Middle Persian descendant is ''Ashawahist'' or ''Ardwahisht''; New Persian ''Ardibehesht'' or ''Ordi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian religion Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. The literal meaning of the word ''Wikt:Ahura, Ahura'' is "lord", and that of ''Wikt:Mazda, Mazda'' is "wisdom". The first notable invocation of Ahura Mazda occurred during the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid period () with the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great. Until the reign of Artaxerxes II (), Ahura Mazda was worshipped and invoked alone in all extant royal inscriptions. With Artaxerxes II, Ahura Mazda was gathered in a triad with Mithra and Anahita. In the Achaemenid period, there are no known representations of Ahura Mazda at the royal court other than the custom for every emperor to have an empty chariot drawn by white horses to invit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and, through them, Western philosophy. Modern scholars disagree regarding Pythagoras's education and influences, but most agree that he travelled to Croton in southern Italy around 530 BC, where he founded a school in which initiates were allegedly sworn to secrecy and lived a communal, ascetic lifestyle. In antiquity, Pythagoras was credited with mathematical and scientific discoveries, such as the Pythagorean theorem, Pythagorean tuning, the five regular solids, the theory of proportions, the sphericity of the Earth, the identity of the morning and evening stars as the planet Venus, and the division of the globe into five climatic zones. He was reputedly the first man to call himself a philosopher ("lover of wi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He influenced all the major areas of theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in History of Athens, Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism. Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms, theory of forms (or ideas), which aims to solve what is now known as the problem of universals. He was influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself. Along with his teacher Socrates, and his student Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of Western philosophy. Plato's complete ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heraclitus
Heraclitus (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire. He exerts a wide influence on Western philosophy, both Ancient philosophy, ancient and Modern philosophy, modern, through the works of such authors as Plato, Aristotle, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Nietzsche, and Martin Heidegger, Heidegger. Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrote a single work, only Literary fragment, fragments of which have survived. Even in ancient times, his Paradox#In philosophy, paradoxical philosophy, appreciation for Word play, wordplay, and cryptic, oracular epigrams earned him the epithets "the dark" and "the obscure". He was considered arrogant and depressed, a Misanthropy, misanthrope who was subject to melancholia. Consequently, he became known as "the weeping philosopher" in contrast to the ancient ancient atomism, atom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rishi
In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or "sages" who after intense meditation (Tapas (Sanskrit), tapas) realized the supreme truth and eternal knowledge, which they composed into hymns.Hartmut Scharfe (2002), Handbook of Oriental Studies, BRILL Academic, , pp. 13–15. The term appears in Pali literature as Ishi; in Buddhism they can be either Buddhas, Pratyekabuddha, Paccekabuddhas, Arhat, Arahats or a Buddhist monasticism, monk of high rank. Etymology According to Indian tradition, the word may be derived from two different meanings of the root 'rsh' (). Sanskrit grammarians derive this word from the second meaning: "to go, to move". V. S. Apte gives this particular meaning and derivation, and Monier-Williams also gives the same, with some qualification. Another ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Historical Vedic Religion
The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontinent (Punjab and the western Ganges plain) during the Vedic period ( 1500–500 BCE). These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and some Vedic rituals are still practised today. The Vedic religion is one of the major traditions which Origins of Hinduism, shaped modern Hinduism, though present-day Hinduism is significantly different from the historical Vedic religion. The Vedic religion has roots in the Indo-Iranians, Indo-Iranian culture and religion of the Sintashta culture, Sintashta ( 2200–1750 BCE) and Andronovo culture, Andronovo ( 2000–1150 BCE) cultures of Eurasian Steppe. This Indo-Iranian religion borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from the non-Indo-Aryan Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Compl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hotr
Priests of the Vedic religion are officiants of the ''yajna'' service. Yajna is an important part of Hinduism, especially the Vedas. Persons trained for the ritual and proficient in its practice were called ( ' regularly- sacrificing'). As members of a social class, they were generically known as 'sage' or 'seer'. Specialization of roles attended the elaboration and development of the ritual corpus over time. Eventually a full complement of sixteen 's became the custom for major ceremonies. The sixteen consisted of four chief priests and their assistants. Chief priests The older references uniformly indicate ' as the presiding priest, with perhaps only the ''adhvaryu'' as his assistant in the earliest times. The phrase "seven hotars" is found more than once in the Rigveda. Hymn 2.1.2 of Rigveda states it as follows, The above hymn enumerate the priests as the ', ', ', ''agnīdh'', ' (meaning the ''maitrāvaruna'') and ''adhvaryu''. Vedic ( Shrauta) yajnas are typicall ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |