ZOROASTRIANISM RELIGION

The first Zoroastrians to enter India arrived on the Gujarati coast in the 10th century, soon after the Arabian conquest of Iran and by the 17th century, most of them had settled in Bombay. Zoroastrian practice is based on the responsibility of every man and woman to choose between good and evil, and to respect God's creations. The religion's founder, Zarathustra, who lived in Iran in 6000 BC was the first religious prophet to expound a dualistic philosophy, based on the opposing powers of good and evil.

Most Zoroastrians can be seen in Bombay today where they are known as Parsees. They have no distinctive dress and few houses of worship. Five daily prayers, usually hymns uttered by Zarathustra and standardized in the religious text Zenda Avesta, are said in the home or the temple, before a fire, which symbolizes the realm of truth, righteousness and order.