The Gathas - Hymns of Zarathushtra (Zoroaster)

Join us this Sunday for an exploration of The Gathas, the ancient hymns of Zarathushtra, as we investigate the dawn of ethical philosophy and human agency. Living in Persia at some time between 1500-1000 BCE, Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) sparked a radical spiritual revolution by rejecting blind ritualism and tribalism in favor of a reflective worldview centered on universal truth (Asha), the Good Mind (Vohu-Mana), and the sacred responsibility of free moral choice. His ideas, which included a single supreme and wholly good God, a cosmic struggle between good and evil, individual judgment after death, and a final renewal of the world, are widely seen as having shaped Persian civilization and echoed through Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. His vision of ethics as free, conscious decisions has left its mark on Western philosophy and on how our species thinks about moral responsibility. Out of his teachings grew Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest continuously practiced faiths, which became the state religion of the great Persian empires for roughly a thousand years and still lives on today among Zoroastrian and Parsi communities around the world. Zarathushtra's ideas helped to develop ancient Persia's religious traditions, moral outlook, and royal ideology. Our discussion will examine how these ancient texts frame the universe as a battleground contrasting truth and falsehood, and how “good thoughts, good words, and good deeds” empower humanity to actively heal and perfect an imperfect world. Whether you are drawn to comparative religion, ethics, or the timeless tension between individual conscience and social conformity, we invite you to wrestle among these ideas that have impacted philosophical thought for over three millennia.

This is the 15 page document (PDF) we will be discussing. It includes a summary of The Gathas and many key quotes from it:

https://bit.ly/48QUIQ7

Here is a 52 minute audiobook version of the document:

https://bit.ly/4ArWhzP

If short for time, check out this 2 page summary of the PDF:

https://bit.ly/4zmnnYe