Page:History of Zoroastrianism.djvu/9

1. XVII.The Younger Avestan Religion ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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2. From the Gathas to the Later Avesta, a retrograde step—The angels that outshine the archangels—Their imprecations upon their careless votaries—Ahura Mazda invokes his heavenly ministers for help—Ceremonial implements, textual passages, and objects and expressions that share invocation—Zarathushtra's monologues in the Gathas as against his dialogues in the Avesta—The Avesta looks with unrelenting abhorrence upon idols and images of divinities.

3. XVIII.The Idea of God in the Millennium ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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4. Yahweh, the only God of the Hebrews—Taoism and Confucianism.

5. XIX.Ahura Mazda ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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6. Ahura, Mazda, and Ahura Mazda—Ahura Mazda is the highest object of worship—Mazda's titles—Only the world of righteousness is created by Ahura Mazda.

7. XX.Spenta Mainyu ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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8. Belief in an intermediary spirit between God and the world—The relation between Ahura Mazda and his Holy Spirit.

9. XXI.Amesha Spentas ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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10. The archangels—Their attributes—Their work—Zarathushtra the first among mortals to sacrifice unto the Amesha Spentas—Vohu Manah—His place in the Later Avesta—Vohu Manah guards wisdom—His work—Asha Vahishta—The formation of the name—His righteousness remains the basic doctrine of Zoroastrianism during the Later Avestan period—Righteousness is the highest riches—The world of righteousness, as against the world of wickedness—Bodily purity contributes to righteousness—Asha Vahishta comes to be regarded as the healing spirit of bodily diseases—Asha Vahishta's relation to fire—Khshathra Vairya—The change that the concept undergoes—Khshathra Vairya as the genius of earthly wealth—Spenta Armaiti—Her position in the Avesta—Armaiti as earth—Haurvatat and Ameretat—The dual archangels.

11. XXII.Yazatas ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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The Zoroastrian angels—History of the Yazatas—Characteristics of the Yazatas—The functions of the Yazatas—Offerings and sacrifices to the Yazatas—Division of the Yazatas according to their grammatical gender—Group Yazatas—Dual Yazatas—Classification of the Yazatas—Celestial Yazatas—Terrestrial Yazatas—Daena—Religion deified—The names of the religion—The excellence of the Mazda-worshipping religion—Chisti—Divinity of religious wisdom—Sraosha—His personality—Sraosha's attributes—The work of Sraosha—Sraosha's gifts—Mithra—His place in the Avestan pantheon—Mithra's attributes—Mithra's associates—Mithra, the genius of light—Mithra, the inveterate foe