An introduction to religious and spiritual experience

Zoroastrianism
Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) lived in Persia, probably in the 7
th
Century BCE. 
He was a priest, married with children and had a series of illuminating 
visions, which led to new teachings. 
When he was thirty years old, one early morning, he went to fetch some 
water from the river. It was around dawn. The sky had just turned 
colour and the sun was about to rise. As he had gone into the waters of 
the river, Vohu Mana (the angel of the Good Mind) appears to him, and 
opens the portal to the Divine Light of Ahura Mazda. This was the first 
moment of Illumination and the first Revelations of Zarathushtra.
In his vision, he perceived Ahura Mazda as the Wise Lord of Creation, 
and the six emanations of Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas as the 
guardians and artisans of this physical world. He perceived the laws 
upon which the universe operated, and understood the inter-relationship 
between Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas and the Creation.
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Although he converted some members of his family, his teachings were 
initially rejected and he left his home. After many years of persistence, he 
managed to convert Kavi (King) Vishtaspa, in northern Persia, and the 
new religion was launched, which subsequently spread throughout the 
Persian Empire. 
Zarathushtra initiated the worship of ‘Ahura Mazda’ the one God, 
who was opposed by Angra Mainyu. The world was seen as offering a 
choice between the forces of good and evil. Worship took place in temples 
where fires, burning continuously, symbolized the light of the One God 
and rituals included purification and the singing of hymns known as 
Gathas
, which still survive. 
Zoroastrians still prefer not to bury their dead, avoiding pollution of 
earth, air and water. The corpses are exposed on so-called Towers 
of Silence for vultures to devour. Priests were called Magi
 
and it is thought 
that the wise men who visited Bethlehem when Jesus was born may have 
been Zoroastrians. Today the main followers of Zoroastrianism are the 
Parsis in India. 
Jainism
The founder was known as Mahavira, which means ‘Great Hero’. It is 
said that he was a Prince who probably lived in the 6
th
or 5
th
Century 
BCE in the Ganges valley. He left home at the age of 30 and spent the 

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Major Religious Traditions
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next twelve and half years practicing meditation and fasting, freeing 
himself from desires, feelings and attachments. After a time, he also 
freed himself from clothes, and went about naked. 
In the thirteenth year he achieved enlightenment, the clarity of insight 
known as 
kevala
. Mahavira spent the next 30 years travelling around 
India preaching about the eternal truth. His ultimate objective was to 
show how to attain total freedom from karma – rebirth according to 
one’s just deserts – and achieve 
moksha
or liberation. He was considered 
to be the 24
th
and last 
Tirthankar 
or ‘Fordmaker’ providing humans access 
to salvation. On his death at the age of 72 he was considered to have 
become a 
Siddha 
or pure consciousness, having attained 
Nirvana
. 
His teachings were based on a view of the universe as eternal, uncre-
ated. Mahavira enjoined complete non-violence, or 
ahimsa,
and his teach-
ing of not harming any form of life led monks to sweep the ground before 
walking to ensure no loss of insect life and even to wear a mask to avoid 
swallowing any living creature. His teachings were written down after a 
period of oral transmission as the 
Agam Sutras
.
It was into this religious world, in about 500 BCE in India, that the 
Buddha was born.