My spiritual journey to the Zarathushti faith, By Georgios Papadopoulos

Embracing a faith is never easy. It's a slow process that takes place within one's self.
At times it can be even painful, as one is confronted with his own past or the society.
It's not always easy to trace logical reasons for choosing a faith, as it's a matter of
conscience after all. In my case this process had several steps: becoming aware of the
faith, studying, realizing and finally accepting.
Living in Greece does not give anyone the chance even to hear about the existence of a small community, like the Zoroastrian one. Everybody has heard the name of the prophet Zoroaster, but nobody knows anything about his religion.

A few years ago, I came across a web site that mentioned about the religion of Zoroaster. I immediately realized I knew absolutely nothing about it, so I decided to get a book and learn more. My first book on the subject was Mary Boyce's “Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices”. This comprehensive and
informative book was like a revelation to me. I realized how important this faith was and how much influence it has on the world's dominant religions.

My feelings at this point were surprise, amazement and urgent need to learn more. I ordered a few more books, some of them pretty “conservative”, like “Zoroastrianism, An ethnic perspective” by Khojeste P. Mistree and “A guide to the Zoroastrian religion” by Firoze M. Kotwal & James W. Boyd. Besides the books, I started reading
online material on the subject.

It was at this stage, when it occurred to me for the first time the possibility of accepting the faith. The more I studied the more I realized that it makes sense to me and I started finding inner peace.
At this turning point, as Ahura Mazda was shedding his divine light on my heart, at the same time I experienced such a strong Ahrimanic attack, for the first time in my life. The very foundations of my existence and balanced life were at stake. On one hand I was so peaceful in me and on the other I was threatened with the loss of my dearest person.

This extremely stressful period, which was a personal trial by fire, made it easier for me to realize that I could never worship a God that causes pain and death. This was the final blow on my old self (beliefs).
From now on I would worship only a God of Goodness, the Creator of Asha Vahishta: Ahura Mazda.

This positive & constructive nature is the major difference between Zoroastrianism and the other faiths. Many religions and stories of conversions are based on “miracles”. My story is based on both mental and sentimental reasons. Zoroastrianism appeals to my mind, as well as to my heart.
Then, there was a stage of realization for me.
Approaching my 40ies, slowly but steadily overcoming the Ahrimanic obstacles and more studying of the Gathas, the Avesta, the prayers, books and articles, made me realize that I was fully ready to take the big step and officially embrace Zoroastrianism as my faith and religion.

The primary meaning of the verb “to convert” is “cause to change in form, character, or function”. Since this is not my case, I reject the term. I cannot call my process a conversion. Zoroastrianism did not cause me to change in form, character, or function. The message of our prophet in his Gathas is so simple and yet so profound. Thinking good, talking good and doing good, was already how my character was. I did not need to change anything. Bringing good to the people and the society, fighting evil, were already there.

The next stage for me was to seriously consider my initiation. I pondered a lot over this, as there are many objections and rejections by a certain part of the Parsi community. I carefully read the arguments of both sides and came to my own conclusions, based on the holy scriptures.

In Yasna 43.1 we read that Ahura Mazda will grant the good intentioned wishes of anyone who asks for them.
Similarly in Yasna 28.10 Zarathushtra assures that Good intentioned pleas will never go unanswered by Ahura Mazda.
In Y 44.16 we see that Ahura Mazda grants divine inspiration (Sr-osh) to every man who so wishes it.

In Y46.10 we read that any man or woman that is best in life will cross the Chinvad bridge.


There is thus much evidence in the Gathas that the divine message is meant for ALL mankind, or at least the ones who wish to lead a life based on Reason.
Zoroastrianism discriminates only against Bad Intentions, not any specific group of people.

Each person is responsible for his own decisions (Y 30.2) and will have to face the consequences of his own actions. What a powerful message, one that is so allied to Science, that it transcends all time, coming to us from distant prehistory.
Man is not a puppet in the hands of the Gods, but rather a fully responsible being, capable of taking his own decisions. Our destiny and future is shaped by us, as we must see with our own eyes, hear with our own ears and decide using our own mind. There is no compulsion, just a warning from our own conscience about the Laws of Consequence. Nobody can stop a person trying to get to the path of righteousness, the path of Asha.
The Yasnas inform us that there is but one Path, the Path of Asha, all other paths are non-paths.
In the Farvardin Yasht we read that “all the Fravashis of all nations” are worshipped and that “the good Law of the worshippers of Mazda is like the atmosphere of our Earth. It will come and spread through all the seven Karshvars of the earth”.

I strongly believe that the religion should remain a non-proselytizing one, without of course rejecting sincere people entering to the religion. Therefore I reject all the people or organizations that actively support proselytizing. I believe that tradition should be respected, preserved and adapted to respond to today's needs.
When I realized that for me there was absolutely no objection on theological grounds for being invested in sudreh & kushti, I started my search to find an ordained priest willing to initiate me. With the help of Ahura Mazda this happened.
My feelings during my initiation were so varied! Anxiety just before my ritual bath gave it's place to comfort just after it. Happiness during the prayers was replaced by rejoicement when my sudreh & kushti were put on me, and finally during the Tandorosti prayer I was filled with Ushta & experienced a state of Rafedra.
My initiation was not the end of my spiritual journey towards Ahura Mazda, but the beginning. Without it, I would never find the spiritual energy passed on to me by my priest. There is still a lot to learn about my ancient faith but this does not discourage me. I will live my life as close as I can to my religion, the Mazda worshipping religion of our prophet Zarathushtra.

In my story there are no “miracles” to impress anybody, except the true miracle of feeling Ahura Mazda closer to me since my initiation. It's the miracle of true happiness when I tie my kushti on me, a miracle that cannot be seen from the outside, but that can be experienced from within. I was not expecting these before my initiation!

I hope that all my Parsi brothers and sisters will realize the necessity for recognition of genuine self-desired initiations. The theory that man is born into a certain religion, means acceptance of fate, & loss of free reasoned choice; something the Zarathushti faith does not suggest. I hope therefore that you recognize this fact & also recognize that conversions did take place in Zoroastrianism in the past (Kirdir, Mihr Nasre), that they were enjoyed by the Persian Rivayats and accepted by the Irani community as a whole. May we all be united in our struggle to bring goodness to our world.