Zoroastrianism Basic beliefs

• 
  
• The transcendental and universal God Ahura Mazda, the one uncreated Creator and to whom all worship is directed.
• That creation is attacked by violence and destruction. The resulting conflict involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict. Ahura Mazda will ultimately prevail, at which point time will end.
• Active participation in life through good thoughts, words and deeds are necessary to ensure happiness and to keep evil at bay.
• The free will to decide whether to perform good thoughts, words and deeds.

• Not of Zarathushtra's original teachings, but nonetheless accepted by some as doctrine, are:
  • Evil is represented by Angra Mainyu (literally 'destructive spirit'). In articulating the Ahuna Vairya formula, Ahura Mazda made his ultimate triumph evident to Angra Mainyu, who then fell back confounded.
  • After death, the soul is allowed three days to meditate on his/her past life. If the good thoughts, words and deeds outweigh the bad, then the soul is taken into heaven. Otherwise, the soul is led to hell.
  • The universe will go through three eras:
  1. creation;
  2. the present world where creation is under attack.
  3. a final state when Ahura Mazda will prevail, all the universe will revert to its pure state and the occupants of hell will be released.

• Precepts include:

1. equality of all people
2. respect, kindness to all living things
3. the values of hard work, charity
4. loyalty, faithfulness to family, country

Is a Marriage Sacrosanct?

Why is a Marriage Sacrosanct?

In Hinduism, man and woman represent the two halves of the divine body. There is no question of superiority or inferiority between them. However, it is a scientific fact that the emotional side is more developed in women. This does not mean that intellectually, women are inferior. Hindu history is witness to the super-women, like Gargi, Maitreyi and Sulabha, whose faculty of reasoning was far superior to that of ordinary mortals. But owing to organic differences in their physical and emotional constitutions, women are temperamentally more emotional than men.

Duties of a Hindu Woman
Having recognized this fact, Hindu scriptures (Shastras) have allotted certain specific duties to Hindu women. These duties include maintaining domestic peace, adjustment of social relations and attainment of spiritual perfection.

The Idea of Marriage
The idea behind the institution of marriage in Hinduism is to foster, not self-interest, but love for the entire family. Practice of self-restraint is the ideal of marriage in Hinduism. It is the love and duty cultivated for the entire family that prevents the break-ups.

Men by nature are less capable of self-restraint than women. That is why, after marriage the Hindu women lead the men by keeping the lustful propensities under control. While married, thought of any other man does not enter the mind of a Hindu lady until she loses her faith in her husband due to his consistent misbehavior and 'don't care' attitude.

The Sanctity of Marriage
The present-day Hindu husbands fail to recognize the sacrifices and lofty ideals of Hindu wives, and thus compel them to follow the worst of the West. During the nuptial ceremony in a Vedic marriage, both the bride and the bridegroom take oath for the practice of self-restraint, to work together for the welfare of the family and to help each other to attain spiritual peace. This lofty ideal of sanctity is a great gift of Hinduism to the world at large.

Protecting the Institution
It should be a matter of great concern that we have begun to ignore the ancient and lofty ideals of Hindu marriage and are anxious to follow in the footsteps of cultures that do not value these ideals. No wonder, the number of divorce suits filed by Hindu couples is on the rise. Instead of strengthening the traditional ideals, which for thousands of years have helped us prevent marriage and family break-ups, we are misdirecting our energies towards promoting the ideal of sense-enjoyment and self-interest. In my opinion it is still not too late to be proactive to protect the sanctity of Hindu marriage.

The palladium and emblem of Vietnam.

While in Western mythology the dragon is an evil beast, and best illustrated by the story of St George and the dragon, in the East--especially in mainland Asia --it has opposite significance. The dragon is the totem, the palladium and emblem of Vietnam. It is the symbol of man in general, just as the woman is represented by the phoenix, another of the four mythical animals of the land. When a dragon and phoenix are shown together either in cloth designs or carvings, a marriage is represented.

According to popular belief the dragon is a genie that preside over the creation of meteors and other cosmic activities. In addition, he is often considered to be god of the waters who lives in the sea and rivers.

According to the Chinese tradition still prevalent in Vietnam, the has the horns of deer, head of camel, belly of a crocodile, scale of a fish and buffalo like hair. Its hearing ability is in its horns, rather than in its ears. The neck of serpent, eyes of a demon and claws of an eagle complete the strange figure.

There are many legends about the dragon, with some being used to explain the origin of the Vietnamese people. One of these tells the story of a Vietnamese king named Lac-long Quang (circa 2,500 BC) of the dragon race who kidnapped the wife of his cousin the Chinese king De-Lai and got 100 eggs. From these came 100 boys -- 50 of these, taking after their father, became water genial; the other 50 took after their mother and became land dwellers. One of the latter founded the hung-Vurong dynasty, but its kings were still more at home at the bottom of the rivers than in their places.

While Vietnam had a dynasty and from time to time the ruler died, the Vietnamese did not say "The King is dead” but rather, "The dragon has gone up into the upper regions,"

Source from: The Religious of South Vietnam in Faith and fact.

What is Religion ?

Different people think different things about religion and spirituality. As understood in India,
what religion is can be put, in the words of Swami Vivekananda, as below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each soul is potentially divine.

The goal is to manifest this Divinity within, by controlling nature, external and internal.

Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy -- by one, or more, or all of these
and BE FREE.This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or
forms are but secondary details.
(From commentary on Patanjali Yoga Sutras II.25)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explanation of terms ...

soul
A soul is a self-conscious being with a past and a present. A soul might or might not have a physical body.

divine
By divine, we mean the following --

* Absolute (Eternal) Existence
* Absolute Knowledge
* Absolute Bliss
* Absolute Freedom

nature
Nature is anything other than the Self. Anything objectifiable -- anything which can be referred to
as "This is (my) _____" is a part of Nature. This includes the physical universe, the body, the mind, the intellect, the ego.

external and internal
The mind, intellect and ego are internal. The body and the physical universe are external.

control
To "control" is to "be free from the influence of".

work
This constitutes Karma Yoga -- the path of selfless work.

Prerequisite -- capacity to work
Quality to be developed -- selflessness
Pitfall -- attachment to results

worship
This constitutes Bhakti Yoga -- the path of devotion.

Prerequisite -- capacity to feel emotionally
Quality to be developed -- control of emotions
Pitfall -- sentimentalism

psychic control
This constitutes Raja Yoga -- the path of concentration.

Prerequisite -- concentration of mind
Quality to be developed -- will power
Pitfall -- supernatural powers

philosophy
This constitutes Jnana Yoga -- the path of knowledge.

Prerequisite -- sharp intellect
Quality to be developed -- self-enquiry
Pitfall -- dry logic (intellectual gymnastics)

... by one or more, or all of these ...
The core of every religion is a combination of the four paths. Depending on the capability of the person,
he/she can pick up one or more of them.

Be Free
This is the goal -- to be free from all attachments.

Doctrines
Every religion has a "model" of man, world and God. These are the assumptions on which the practical
religion is based on.

Dogmas
Every religion has a set of beliefs. It is a place to start. Later, at advanced stages, all beliefs have to be
understood. Dogmas are only for beginners.

Rituals
Every religion has a set of rituals and regulations to be followed. These are mainly to develop the
prerequisites and the desired qualities for a person following the particular path; no further.

Books
Almost every well established religion has a book. These are guidelines given by people who have
tread the path before.

Temples
These are places exclusively meant for practice of the religion. These are aids to put the person into
the grove. Practice of religion must carried out everywhere.

Forms
These are aids for the mind to concentrate on the goal. Forms are meant to remind the person of God;
no further.

In the words of Swami Vivekananda,
Religion is the Eternal Relationship between the Eternal Soul and the Eternal God.

Unlimited desires

Man is deluded by his unlimited desires.He is living in a dream world. He is living in a dream world. He is forgetting the supreme Conciousness Curtail your desires,as materialstic desires lead to a restless and disastrous life.Desire are a prison, Man can be freed only by limiting his wants. You should have desire only for life's bare necessaties.

Firstly,eat only what you need to eat. Do not be gluttonous. Do not take more than you can eat and waste the rest,because wasting food is a great sin.Food is the main source of man's life,body,mind and character. The reason for the present beastly and demonic tendencies in our minds is the food we consume.

Secondly, consider the ways in which money is spent. Do not misuse money; by doing so,you will only become a slave to bad qualities,bad ideas and bad habits. Use your money wisely and only for good deeds.

A man should own only as much wealth as is essentials. It is like the size of his shoes. If the shoes are too loose, he cannot walk; If they are too tight,he cannot wear them. Money is like manure,piled up in one place, it fouls the air, Spread it wide, scatter it over fields, it rewards you with a bumper harvest.

Thirdly examine the use of time.One should not waste time. Time should be sanctified because every thing in creation is dependent on time. Do not defile time by gossiping and un-necessary talk.

Fourthly, conservation of energy is very important. Our physical ,mental and spiritual energies should never be wasted. seeing bad things,speaking evil, thinking evil thoughts, and doing evil deds all waste your energy.
Conserve your energy in all these four areeas,and make your life more meaningful.