These two can never agree and so they must fight each other for the souls of humankind. Humans must fight evil in their hearts and minds. This they do with the help of Spenta Mainyu, the holy spirit of Ahura Mazda, and the Beneficent Immortals. By living ethical lives and following the path of Asha people participate in the battle against Ahriman. Their good actions help to bring about the destruction of evil. Toward the end of this Gumezishn stage, three saviors will be born one thousand years apart. They will lead the righteous in the final battle against evil.
The term saoshyant (savior) was applied to Zarathustra’s followers because he believed that the apocalypse was near. There was urgency in his efforts to gather as many followers as he could to fight and conquer the hostile spirit and usher in the Frashokereti, the renewal at the end of the world. He pleaded, “May we be those who make existence brilliant.” When the apocalypse did not come immediately, the saoshyant was no longer viewed as a general portrait of all those who worked toward “the end.” The saoshyant was transformed into a particular figure who would bring about “the end.”
Eventually the vision of the saoshyant focused on three successive saoshyants separated by thousands of years. They would usher in eras of peace after the forces of evil seemed to prevail. The appearance of the first of these saviors would mark the decline of the trend toward evil and a reversal to a time of justice, peace, and piety. In time all people die but their fravashis and their souls are immortal.
Where their souls exist in the afterlife refl ects the choices they made during life. All their thoughts, words, and deeds in their lifetime become part of their soul. Those who have sincerely followed the path of Asha may pass confi dently into the Abode of Songs, or heaven. The others fall into the abyss of hell. In Zoroastrian thought, however, hell is not permanent. It exists only until, as will surely happen, good overcomes evil. Then the dead will rise, purifi ed and redeemed. Even Ahriman will repent and return to the worship of Ahura Mazda.
Zoroastrian Ethical Outlook: Ancient Moral Prescriptions for All Human Seasons
