Posted on 03/10/2009 4:55:26 PM PDT by Lorianne
Far removed from Tehran's bustling tin-roofed teashops and Isfahan's verdant pomegranate gardens, the deserts known as Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut meet at the city of Yazd, once the heart of the Persian Empire.
Walking across the wind-whipped plains of the forgotten city, a young Iranian woman dressed in colorful floral garbs points out a sand-dusted tower hovering in the distance like a dormant volcano under a relentless sun. "This is where we put tens of thousands of corpses over the years," she explains with a congenial smile.
The funerary tower is part of the ancient burial practice of Zoroastrianism, the world's oldest monotheistic religion. Zoroastrians (known in India as Parsis) regard sky burials, in which the bodies are exposed to natural elements including vultures in open-topped "Towers of Silence," as an ecologically friendly alternative to cremation, consistent with their religion's reverence for the earth. A Zoroastrian priest clad in a long, cotton robe explains: "Death is considered to be the work of Angra Mainyu, the embodiment of all that is evil, whereas the earth and all that is beautiful is considered to be the pure work of God. We must not pollute the earth with our remains."
The priest believes that open burials are a fulfillment of the central tenet of his religion, which is to practice good deeds. With a forlorn expression, he notes that, 3,000 years after the tradition of open burials began, there are not enough Zoroastrians left alive to keep the tower in Yazd open. Instead, today's Zoroastrians who want to observe traditional burial practices must request in their will that their body is sent to a forested suburb in Mumbai, India, where the last Tower of Silence still operates.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
This bright and beautiful culture gave us so much. Freddie Mercury was Zoroastrian. (and yes, I know he was gay, but it doesn’t change that he was an amazing musician)
You wrote:
“This bright and beautiful culture gave us so much.”
It was a fascinating culture, but it gave us nothing really. There was little to nothing we got from the Zoroastrians. When Persia had a very much alive pagan culture - so did the West. Then the West became Christian and a little later Persia became Muslim.
“Freddie Mercury was Zoroastrian. (and yes, I know he was gay, but it doesn’t change that he was an amazing musician).
If you like Mercury’s singing, fine. But his talents had little or nothing to do with his religion.
Zubin Mehta too I think
““Freddie Mercury was Zoroastrian. (and yes, I know he was gay, but it doesn’t change that he was an amazing musician).
If you like Mercury’s singing, fine. But his talents had little or nothing to do with his religion.”
I disagree. While fine singing voices are inherited, the Zoroastrian people ingrained the teachings of the arts for thousands of generations. It was almost central to their culture. Plus they did not marry outside their religion, even moreso than other religions. So genetically, as well as culturally, being Zoroastrian absolutely made a difference in Freddie. And it wasn’t just his “singing”, he amazingly artistic is so many ways. Dance, he played nearly every instrument if necessary, he had a Mozart type knack for writing music. And would write the layers and harmonies as well.
So, in my opinion, his religion most definitely had something to do with his talent. More than saying you or I were Baptist or Catholic. The Zoroastrians were a PEOPLE, a people of before a time in Persia, and before Islam destroyed what was once the most advanced society in the world.
You think correctly. :)
I won't say I agree for sure, but there are those who argue from history that the Zoroastrians were a big influence on Judaism and Christianity, owing to the captivity of the Jews in Persia. Also, I once read a "comparative religions" booklet written for Christian missionaries, which held Zoroastrianism in higher regard than any other Judeo-Christian religion.
Zoroastrianism is not monotheistic, it is dualistic.
Islam destroyed several advance civilizations: Persia, Egypt, and Byzantium, and almost did the same to India. Then apologists for the great death cult try to credit Islam with the achievements of the people it conquered.
You are SO RIGHT.
If I’m not mistaken, Hindu has some roots in Zoroastrian as well.
“Zoroastrianism, the world’s oldest monotheistic religion”
Of course TIME would deny Judaism as the earliest (monotheistic) religion, that would give credibility to Judeo-Christian civilization, and they don’t want people to think that.
I know a lady who is a Zoroastrian.
You wrote:
“I disagree. While fine singing voices are inherited, the Zoroastrian people ingrained the teachings of the arts for thousands of generations.”
Uh, Freddie Mercury was shipped off to a boarding school - A CHRISTIAN BOARDINGS SCHOOL - when he was 8 years old. That’s where he learned to sing. Here’s the school: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Boys_School
“It was almost central to their culture. Plus they did not marry outside their religion, even moreso than other religions. So genetically, as well as culturally, being Zoroastrian absolutely made a difference in Freddie.”
No. 1) If your genetic supermen - the singing Zoroastrians - were so good at singing by virtue of their genetic past and redundancy you would think there would be many more successes in music among them than Mercury. Many, many more in fact. How many can you name? 2) Also, Mercury largely turned his back on his culture at a young age. Shipped off to a Christian boarding school at age 8 - the same year he was essentially initiated into his family’s faith. Attended a Jesuit high school all the way through his high school years. Etc.
“And it wasn’t just his “singing”, he amazingly artistic is so many ways. Dance, he played nearly every instrument if necessary, he had a Mozart type knack for writing music. And would write the layers and harmonies as well.”
He learned to play those instruments in Christian schools. Read any biography of him and you’ll see his parents were asked to pay an extra fee so he could take music lessons at his boarding school and learn to play piano.
“So, in my opinion, his religion most definitely had something to do with his talent. More than saying you or I were Baptist or Catholic. The Zoroastrians were a PEOPLE, a people of before a time in Persia, and before Islam destroyed what was once the most advanced society in the world.”
Your opinion is duly noted. It’s based on no evidence apparently, but it is duly noted. His singing ability may have been partly genetic in origin but not because he was Zoroastrian in religion - even if Zoroastrains only marry one another.
“Uh, Freddie Mercury was shipped off to a boarding school - A CHRISTIAN BOARDINGS SCHOOL - when he was 8 years old. That’s where he learned to sing. “
Uhhh, (I hate those sarcastic uhhhs) but yes, he was “shipped off” to a Christian boarding school where he was educated in all areas, including music. But since you choose to deliberately miss my entire point of the CULTURE and GENETICS of those people are linear to the arts, it enhanced his predisposition to art.
And even though he was, uhhhh, shipped off to a Christian school, it was only because his father was a civil servant to the British Government and that was free. His family still was Zoroastrian and he was even given a Zoroastrian funeral.
You wrote:
“But since you choose to deliberately miss my entire point of the CULTURE and GENETICS of those people are linear to the arts, it enhanced his predisposition to art.”
I didn’t miss your point - I discussed it in fact - and it seems rather obvious that you have no proof for your claims whatsoever. You do not know that Mercury’s talent was the culmination of centuries of inbreeding or the result of freakish mutation per his genetic line. Admit it, you have no evidence for your claim AT ALL. None. Again, how many other people in his family are known for their musical talent? How many other Zoroastrians are known for their musical talent?
“And even though he was, uhhhh, shipped off to a Christian school, it was only because his father was a civil servant to the British Government and that was free. His family still was Zoroastrian and he was even given a Zoroastrian funeral.”
Yep, and he didn’t practice his religion his entire adult life, and it had no noticeable influence on him in either lyrics, or talent, or personal habits, etc.
My original point stands: we got little to nothing from the Zoroastrians.
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