The Persians did not have temples and idols; they worshiped their God of Good and Light in altars at the top of the mountains and in caves. Fire was sacred and kept in the center of the sacred area, preserved by the priests. In that fire they boiled the drink of immortality, which at the end of the ceremony was served by the priests. Another important ritual was the reading of texts and mantras from the sacred book of Avesta.
Mantra means sacred phrase that causes thoughts. Sacred Mantras exist and in other Eastern religions, are small phrases with high density and meaningful intensity. The Ahu-var mantra is the most sacred in Zoroastrianism, its central idea is that our sense must be in harmony with the divine, and that the reward of this harmony is the good thinking that leads to good deeds and subsequently to the divine kingdom.
The teaching of Zoroastrianism is written in the Holy Book of Avesta (knowledge) and consists of speeches, prophecies and counseling which highlight the idea of the good and evil conflict; In Zoroastrian tradition, prior to being born, the soul of an individual is still united with its guardian spirit, which has existed since creation of the universe. Life is a temporary state in which a mortal is expected to actively participate in the continuing battle between truth and falsehood, between good and evil. Active participation in life through good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay. Ahura Mazda (the God of kindness) will ultimately prevail over the evil and at that point the universe will undergo a cosmic renovation and time will end. In the final renovation, all of creation—even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to "darkness"—will be reunited in Ahura Mazda, returning to life in the undead form.
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