Today is a holy day, the day of Farvardin Izad and month of Aban, the 19th of Aban of the year 3759 Zoroastrian calendar, 13th of Aban of the year 1400 solar, November 4, 2021, AD.
165 years ago, in 1856, the then government of London sent troops and warships from India to Iran, following the declaration of war on Iran, and thus tied the fate of Herat detachment from Iran.
In the Qajar period, Iran insistence on keeping Herat, was faced with British objection, followed by their attacks on Iran. Naser-eddin Shah, the then king of the Qajar dynasty, saw the threat serious and agreed to have peace talks with Britain. The result of the Paris treaty was separation of Herat from Iran. London’s diplomatic warning to Iran to step back from Herat and the west of Afghanistan was ignored by Tehran. The government of London, which was ruling in India, sent troops and warships from India to Iran after declaring war on Iran. These forces reached Bushehr, Khark, and Khorramshahr in two groups. After reaching the waters of Bushehr, the British ships set foot on Iranian territory on the shores of Bushehr after heavy shelling, and a street battle began. In the street battle that lasted 45 days, most people of the city and the coast of Bushehr resisted the attack and combated.
Finally, on January 23, 1857, troops sent from England under the command of James Outram, after six weeks and three days of street fighting, captured the port of Bushehr and its shores, forcing Tehran to give up Herat and the present day western afghanistan, which was an inseparable part of Iran and the center of Persian culture and literature since the creation of Iran by Cyrus the Great, and was a base for the rulers in Khorasan and the princes. Herat is mentioned in the first fargard of Avestan Vandidad as Haroiva: “The sixth good land and country that I, Ahura Mazda, created was Haroiva and its lake.”
Before discovering the potentials of the Indian Ocean’s sea routes, Herat played a major role in trade between the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe at the Silk Road crossing. Herat has long been considered a suitable crossroads of Eastern and Western civilizations in terms of geographical location. Therefore, Herat is known as one of the cradles of civilization in the rich history of Khorasan. The land of Herat was a fundamental part of Iran, which in ancient times was called “Ariana.” “Afghanistan” is the name given to eastern Iran by the British.
The first month of each year and the nineteenth day of each month is called Farvardin (fravahr or fravashi) and derived from fravahar, meaning moving forward and promoting. The day “Farvardin”, which in Pahlavi is pronounced ‘Farvarten” is derived from the word “Afroratinam” in the ancient persian language, and means the souls of the pure and faravahar of the virtuous. Though Farvardin comes from its root: Parvardin” and later turned into Farvardin (like Pars became Fars, Pirooz became firooz0. Farvardin is named the month for cultivating flowers, plants and trees because in this month nature starts growing once again.
Farvardin is the same as Faravahar. On this day Zoroastrian wear new clothes and visit their deceased’s graves.
Faravahar never accepts pollution, and after the death of the body, faravahar goes to the high road and joins his source. Zoroastrians wear new clothes on this day and commemorate their dead.
Fravahr belongs to God, and when someone dies, his soul (Ravan) joins his Fravahr, and when someone is born, the soul separates from fravahar and joins his/her body in the material world.
According to Avesta, a human being has five powers, some of which are mortal, and some are immortal. These powers are as follows:
Ahu: In Persian, this word can be interpreted as the force of dynamism, movement, and life. This power is created by the human body and is destroyed by the death of the body.
Daena: In Persian, this word can be translated as religion or conscience. Contrary to Ahu, this force has no beginning nor end. This power is driven in man with his birth and goes to the spiritual world with death. Conscience is the conscious and divine institution of man and prevents man from doing wrong deeds.
Baoz: The power of perception, understanding, and intelligence. This force is the power to distinguish good from evil.
Oron: This power is translated as soul. It is upto the mind to accept the good path and avoid evil, with the help of the power of baoz because, in the afterlife, it is the mind that is held accountable. The consequence of doing good will be a good end and the result of evil will be a bad end.
