Angels, Demons and all the Hosts

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ANGELS, DEMONS AND ALL THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH M. M. NINAN _____________________________________________________________________________ The traditional Zoroastrian symbol is the Fravanshi, also known as Arda Fravash ("Holy Guardian Angels"). Each person is accompanied by a guardian angel (Y26.4, 55.1), which acts as a guide throughout life. They originally patrolled the boundaries of the ramparts of heaven (Bd6.3, Zs5.2), but volunteer to descend to earth to stand by individuals to the end of their days. Ahura Mazda advises Zarathushtra to invoke them for help whenever he finds himself in danger (Yt13.19-20). If not for their guardianship, animals and people could not have continued to exist, because the wicked Druj would have destroyed them all (Yt13.12-13). The Fravashi also serves as an ideal which the soul has to strive for and emulate, and ultimately becomes one with the creator after death (Y16.7, 26.7, 26.11, 71.23, Yt22.39) (See Dhalla, History of Zoroastrianism, pg 232-243, 375-378). They manifest the energy of God, and preserve order in the creation. They are said to fly like winged birds, and are represented by a winged disk, often with a person superimposed (as in the above representation). Yazatas (Phl. Yazads) ("Angels"): In Zoroastrianism, the Fravashi are the ancestral spirits of true believers. “Asaonam fravash naramca nairinamca we adore the Fravashis of the righteousness men and women” “The concept of the fravashi as guardian spirit does not occur in the Gathas of Zarathushtra. But in later Zoroastrianism, it became later as the most important idea. The Fravashi is the part of the human soul that is divine, unpolluted, and uncorrupt. It is not only our divine guardian but our guide; its perfection is always within us, as an ideal towards which we can reach. Every human being has a fravashi; even the divine spirits have them. Once a human being has finished life on earth, the fravashi, the higher individuality of that person, returns to Heaven. The fravashi may be the inspiration for the Jewish and Christian belief in the "guardian Angel," which always beholds the face of God (Matthew Gospel, 18:10).” http://www.crystalinks.com/faravahar.html Iranian tradition places Zarathushtra at about 570 BC. This will place him soon after the Babylonian exile of Judah which culminated in the destruction of the Jerusalem and the temple in 587 BC. Thus it is generally agreed that the infulence of Judaism on the development of Zoroastrianism is vast. On the other hand the Zoroastrian angelology 155
ANGELS, DEMONS AND ALL THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH M. M. NINAN _____________________________________________________________________________ influenced Judaism tremendously and by the time of Jesus the angelology and demonology of both Judaism and Zoroastrianism had many similarities. There are seven Yazatas, the protective spirits. They are • Anahita (water / fertility), • Atar (fire), • Homa (the healing plant), • Sraosha (obedience / hearer of prayers), • Rashnu (judgment), • Mithra (truth), • Tishtrya (the Dog Star / source of rain). These may be compared to the guardian angels. Zoroastrianism is essentially a dualistic religion with forces that oppose each other as light and darkness.The forces of darkness opposes the forces of light and is led by the Angra Mainyu, or Ahriman, who is called the Great Lie (Druj). He and his demons are said to create drought, harsh weather, sickness, disease, poverty, and all forms of suffering. The holy heptads the Amshaspends are polar opposites of each other. The Satan in Zoroastrianism The ancient Aryans of Babylon called Satan Ahriman “In Persian teaching, Ahriman is identified, or at least associated, with the serpent. In Chapter 3 of the Bundahesh, it is said that the evil spirit sprang from heaven in the form of a serpent [undulating train of asteroids] and populated this world with biting, poisonous creatures, so that not even the space for a needle was left. He darkened the whole creation. The evil spirit proclaimed war against the whole of Ahura Masda’s [the great Creator’s] creatures. The defeat of the evil spirit [in the high heavens] is brought about by Ahura Mazda’s descent to 156
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Selected Works Vol I Selected works
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Angels, Demons and all the Hosts

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