Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 173
ZOROASTRIANISM 'N PERSIAN HISTORY, the most noteworthy contribution to religious philosophy is made by Zoroastrianism. . According to this philosophy, not only are <mark>truth</mark> and goodness <mark>eternal</mark>, but falsehood and evil also share eternity with them. Both have separate gods who have their own independent orders of management. There is a god of goodness, Ahura Mazda, also known as the god of light and there is a god of evil, Ahraman, also known as the god of darkness; each has his own well-defined role to play. All activity within the universe results from the collision and interaction of these two combatant gods, who are <mark>eternal</mark>ly locked in a grim battle of survival and supremacy. . The powers of the god of goodness are constantly endeavouring to dominate those of the god of evil. Like a see-saw, the outcome of this struggle is always <mark>changing</mark> sides sometimes in favour of goodness and sometimes in favour of evil. Thus Zoroastrian philosophy presents a simple explanation for the coexistence of evil and suffering, goodness and happiness, by attributing their origin to two different sources. All the ills in the world pain, grief, distress, <mark>ignorance</mark> and suffering are believed to ensue when the god of evil gains the upper hand. . It should be noted that what Zoroasters* (c. sixth century BC) really taught was that the force of good and evil * Zoroaster, a great Prophet of Persia, is understood by many. Zoroastrians to be a dualist. Many others insist he was a monotheist. . His name is spelt and pronounced differently. We have adopted. Zoroaster, the English version, with which most people are familiar. . Nietzsche, however, refers to him as ‘Zarathustra'. In this context we have used his term with his spelling but the person is the same. 171