The Songs of Zarathushtra
Translated and interpreted here by Ali A. Jafarey
Salutation By
An Unknown Avestan Poet
Ideal are the thoughts, ideal the words, ideal the deeds of the Rightful Zarathushtra. Let the ever-living promulgators present the Gathas. Homage to the rightful Gathas!
Note: This introductory salutation was, most probably, composed by an early reciter of the Gathas and a devout promulgator of their teachings. It has been faithfully preserved by those who followed this teacher and gave it a high position.
The GATHAS - The Thought-provoking Divine Songs of
Zarathushtra Spitama
Ashem Vohu - The Main Motto
Righteousness is the best good. It is radiant happiness. Radiant happiness comes to the person to whom righteousness is for the sake of the best righteousness alone.
Note: Righteousness is the universal law that stands for order, evolution, progress and perfection as ordained by the Creator for the creation. One becomes righteous by doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, and with the right means to obtain the right result. It means precision in every thought, word, and deed. It means constant improvement and continuous renovation. It brings enlightenment, true radiating happiness, provided that this happiness is shared by others. It then becomes righteousness for the sake of the best righteousness. The couplet, frequently repeated in prayers, is popularly known by the name of Ashem Vohu, the two words in the beginning of the Avestan text.
Ahunavaiti Gâthâ Key stanza – Ahuna Vairya
Ahuna Vairya - The Principle Of Choice
Both the lord and the leader are to be chosen because of their righteousness. These two appointments are made with good mind, so that the acts of life are done for the Wise One, and the dominion of God is well established, in which the chosen person becomes the Rehabilitator of the rightful who are oppressed.
Note: Ahuna Vairya, or as commonly called by the two words in the beginning, Yathâ Ahu, is the Principle of Choice. As explained in the Avesta (Yasna 19), it is the Zarathushtrian master formula for a spiritual and material democratic system in which one is free to choose a person as his or her lord and leader. A lord is a person who is able to free the world from mental and physical evils, and the leader is a person who can lead the world to truth, precision, progress, wholeness, and immortality. The only criterion for the choice of a such person is his or her precise righteous record of service. The choice for the appointments is based on good mind, sound judgement, and discretion. Such a righteous selection leads the people to work for God alone—an act that establishes the Divine Dominion and order on earth, chosen and established by the people themselves. It is the order in which the chosen lord and leader rehabilitate all those who are wrongfully oppressed and deprived of their rights. According to the Avesta, Zarathushtra was chosen by the wise as the prime lord, leader, and rehabilitator of the world.
Ahunavaiti Gâthâ Song 1 - ahyâyâsâ
Song 1: Humbly I Pray
1. Mazda, Wise God, with a bow and uplifted arms, I pray. First, I ask for support through progressive mentality. Then I pray that I may perform all my actions, based as they are on the wisdom of good mind, precisely according to the laws of righteousness so that I please You and the soul of the Living World.
2. Wise God, I approach You through good mind. Grant me through righteousness the blessings of both existences, the material and the mental, so that I lead my companions to happiness.
3. O Righteousness and Good Mind, I shall sing you praises none has sung before. I shall likewise praise the Wise God and those for whom Serenity promotes the unconquerable dominion. Respond to my calls for help.
4. I, who am attuning my soul to Good Mind, know that the actions done for the Wise God have their rewards. As long as I continue to have the will and the power, I shall teach others to strive after Righteousness.
5. Having realized Good Mind, when shall I see you, O Righteousness? When shall I find the path to the Most Powerful God, and listen to the voice of the Wise One. With these greatest thought-provoking words, we shall convince the barbarians to choose the right.
6. Come through good mind, and grant a long life through righteousness. O Wise Lord, through Your sublime words, give me, Zarathushtra and my men strong support, so that we may overcome the spite of the hateful. (#)
7. Grant, O Righteousness, those rewards which are the gifts of Good Mind. And you, Serenity, grant Vishtaspa his wish and mine too. O Wise One, grant the power through which we shall successfully proclaim Your thought-provoking message.
8. With love, I pray to You, the Best Lord, Who is in harmony with the best righteousness. Grant the best of good mind for ever to noble Ferashaoshtra and to me and all those who are worthy of it.
9. Lord, may we not anger You, Righteousness and the Best Mind by abusing these gifts. We are united in offering You our praises, for we consider You, the mighty masters of promotion, to be most worthy of invocation.
10. Wise God, fulfill the desire of those whom You know to be just and earnest in righteouness and good mind to attain rewards. For I know, loving songs for a worthy purpose never go unanswered by You.
11. I have always observed the principles of righteousness and good mind. Wise God, teach me to speak the thoughts of Your mind, and the words of Your mouth: the teachings through which the pristine life shall be established.
Ahunavaiti Gâthâ Song 2 -khshmaibyâ geush urvâ
Song 2: The Choice Of Asho Zarathushtra As The Lord And Leader Of The World
1. The Soul of the Living World lamented to You: Why did You create me? Who fashioned me this way? I am oppressed by fury, rapine, outrage, and aggression. I have no one to rehabilitate me other than You. Lead me to true civilization.
2. Then the Creator of the Living World asked Righteousness: Who is Your leader of the World, who can offer her civilization, nourishment, and strength? Whom do you wish to be her lord; one who shall repel the fury of the wrongful?
3. Righteousness replied: There is no authority in the world who is free from malice. Of those yonder, I know none who would activitate the noble to help the meek. Had there been one person strong enough among them, I would have hurried to his call.
4. The Wise God knows best what the divines and their people have been doing in the past and shall do in the future. God alone is the judge. Let it be so as He wishes us to be.
5. It is better for us two, the Soul of the fruitful World and me, to raise our hands for the divine grace and ask the Wise One: Will there be no livelihood for the honest? Will there be no reformer among the wrongful?
6. The Wise God, the Knowing, spoke in a loving form: So you do not know any lord or leader who acts in righteousness. But, were you not fashioned by the Creator to look after the promoter as well as the settler?
7. The Wise God, of one accord with Righteousness, prepared His thought-provoking message in response to the sweet plea made by the World, because with His doctrine, He is the promoter for those who wish to be protected. He asked: Good Mind, do you know any person who can help the mortals?
8. Yes I do. There is only one person who has listened to our teachings. He is Zarathushtra Spitama. Wise One, he is prepared to proclaim the message through his Songs for the sake of Righteousness. Grant him sweetness of speech.
9. The Soul of the World cried again: Am I to accept a powerless man with a feeble voice as my caretaker? I want a powerful ruler. Will such a time come when he will give me his helping hand?
10. Grant him and his people, God, strength and power through righteousness and good mind, so that he leads me to peace and tranquility. I also, Wise One, recognize him as Your foremost discovery.
11. When shall Righteousness, Good Mind, and the Divine Dominion hasten to me? Wise One, do acknowledge, with Your discernment, the order of the Great Fellowship. God, help us now. We look to Your kindness.
Ahunavaiti Gâthâ Song 3 — at tâ vakhshyâ
Song 3: Good And Evil
1. Now I shall speak to those who wish to hear of the two principles, which are of importance even to the wise. I shall also, with reverence for good mind and the good consideration of righteousness, have praises for the Lord, so that you may see brilliant happiness.
2. Hear the best with your ears and ponder with a bright mind. Then each man and woman, for his or her self, select either of the two. Awaken to this Doctrine of ours before the Great Event of Choice ushers in.
3. Now, the two foremost mentalities, known to be imaginary twins, are the better and the bad in thoughts, words, and deeds. Of these the beneficent choose correctly, but not so the maleficent.
4. Now, when the two mentalities first got together, they created “life” and “not-living.” Until the end of existence, the worst mind shall be for the wrongful, and the best mind shall be for the righteous.
5. Of these two mentalities, the wrongful mentality chose worst actions, and the most progressive mentality, as steadfast as rock, chose righteousness. Therefore, those who would please the Wise God, may do so by choosing true actions.
6. Between these two, the seekers of false gods did not decide correctly, because delusion came to them in their deliberations. Therefore, they chose the worst mind, rushed in wrath, and afflicted the human existence.
7. But to the person who chooses correctly, comes endurance of body and steadfast serenity through strength, good mind, and righteousness. Of all these, such a person shall be Yours, because he has come fully out of the fiery test.
8. And when the sinners undergo their punishment, then, O Wise One, the dominion will be realized for them through good mind. God, then they shall be taught how to deliver the wrong into the hands of righteousness.
9. And may we be among those who make this life fresh! You, lords of wisdom, who bring happiness through righteousness, come, let us be single-minded in the realm of inner intellect.
10. Then, indeed, the power of wrong shall be shattered. Then those who strive with good name shall immediately be united in the good abode of good mind and righteousness of the Wise One.
11. If you understand the two principles of prosperity and adversity established by the Wise One, which are a long suffering for the wrongful and a lasting good for the righteous; you shall, then, enjoy radiant happiness.
Ahunavaiti Gâthâ Song 4 - tâ ve urvâta
Song 4: Guidance
1. Keeping the two principles of Yours in mind, we shall teach the hitherto unheard words to those who destroy the righteous world by their wrongful doctrines. No doubt, the two principles will prove the best for those who are devoted to the Wise One.
2. Since it is not easy for the soul to find the better course, I, whom the Wise Lord knows, come to you all as the leader of the two parties, so that we may all live in accordance with righteousness
3. The happiness You grant, has been promised to the two parties through Your mental fire and righteousness. It is a matter of principle for the discerning. O Wise One, for our knowledge, speak with the very words of Your mouth. It will help me guide all the living to choose aright.
4. When righteousnes is to be invoked, may the wise lords be with reward and serenity. I seek through my best mind the powerful dominion for my people, so that we can overcome wrong by promoting it.
5. Speak to me so that I can discern what has been made better with righteousness, and know and realize through good mind what has been granted to me as a seer. Also, Wise God, the things that will and will not happen.
6. The best shall come to the wise person who will propagate my true thought-provoking message. It leads to righteousness for wholeness and immortality. Thus the dominion of the Wise One will, through good mind, increase for him.
7. He, Who thought first that the lights emanate with bliss, is, through His wisdom, the creator of righteousness, which holds the best mind. Wise Lord, stimulate my mind through Your creative mentality, because so far it has remained the same.
8. Wise One, I realized You as the first and the last, and the patron of good mind, when I grasped You in my vision as the true creator of righteousness and the Lord of life’s actions.
9. I also realized, Wise Lord, that serenity is Yours, and O Creator of the Living World, that wisdom of mind is Yours, which has given the world the choice to go either to a settled person, or to the one who is not.
10. Of the two, it has chosen the prospering settler and the promoter of good mind as its righteous lord. O Wise One, the deceitful nomad has not shared in this good tradition.
11. O Wise One, at the beginning, You, through Your mind, fashioned for us the living world, conceptions and intellects, put life in the physical frame, and gave deeds and words, so that one makes his choice through free will.
12. Therefore, whether one speaks truth or not, whether one is wise or otherwise, one expresses in words what is in one’s heart and mind. Accordingly, one enjoying serenity, may ask himself: Where will the two mentalities lead?
13. O Wise One, whether inquiries are made in open or in secret, or a person of small offense suffers a very grave consequence, You watch all these with Your sharp eyes through righteousnes.
14. God, I ask You this: What is happening and what will happen? What holds in future as compensation for the righteous, and Wise One, what for the wrongful? How do they stand when their performance is complete?
15. God, I ask You this: What is the punishment for him who promotes the rule of the wrongful with evil actions, and for him who has no other work in life than to commit crime against the cattle and the men of a harmless settler?
16. I ask this: How does a munificent person, who strives for promoting the power of house, district, or land with righteousness, becomes, Wise Lord, like You, and by what deeds?
17. Which of the two courses is greater, the one the righteous person chooses for himself, or the one the wrongful takes? Let the wise one tell the knowing, so that the ignorant does not continue his work with deception. Wise Lord, be the revealer of good mind to us.
18. Therefore, let none of you listen to the messages and teachings of the wrongful, because he brings danger and destruction to the house, settlement, district, and land. Therefore, correct him with weapons.
19. Lord, one who listens and realizes the truth, becomes a life-healing wise person. He controls his tongue to express the right words when he wills. He, O Wise One, through Your radiant light, proves good to both parties.
20. Whoever goes over to the righteous, enjoys a bright future. But the wrongful lives a long life of darkness, evil splendor and woeful words, because it is on account of his deeds, that his conscience leads him to it.
21. God Wise grants wholeness, immortality, abundance of righteousness, independence in dominion, and a lasting good mind to him, who is His friend in mind and action.
22. These principles are clear to the beneficent person, who works for the realization of good mind and dominion, and serves righteousness with his words and actions. Such a man, Wise Lord, is the most helpful person.
Ahunavaiti Gâthâ Song 5 - akhyâ-câ khvaetush
Song 5: Aberration
1. O false gods beware, the family, the community, and the fellowship, all pray to the Wise God for bliss in the manner I do, and say: May we be Your messengers to control those who are Your antagonists.
2. The Wise God, an ally through good mind and a good friend through the glorious righteousness, has responded to them: “We have chosen the good and progressive serenity for you.” (And they say:) “May it be ours!”
3. But you deceptive gods, and those who vehemently venerate you, are the creations of evil mind, wrong, and disdain. You are notorious for your deceitful deeds in the inhabited part of the Earth.
4. Because you have, with your actions, made the mortals do the worst, only to be called as daeva-devotees, who give up good mind, and run away from the Wise God’s intelligence and from righteousness.
5. Thus you have deprived mankind of good life and immortality. But in fact, you, who are but deceptive gods, have deceived yourselves with your evil mentality, deed, and speech by providing the wrongful with power.
6. However, even if this power makes a criminal attain fame, You, Wise Lord, remember well the fact that in Your dominion and under righteousness, Your doctrine will prevail.
7. Regarding these crimes, no wise person has ever attained power which could be called life, a life, said to be achieved by the force of clamoring metal. Of such, You, Wise Lord, know best the consequences.
8. Regarding these crimes, it is said that Yima son of Vivańhan also sounded himself the god of our world. For such a crime too, as far as I am concerned, the final judgement lies with You.
9. The evil teacher destroys with his teachings the doctrine of the wisdom of life. He prevents people from the precious acquisition of good mind. I appeal to You, Wise Lord, and to Righteousness, expressing my mind in words.
10. Indeed, he destroys the doctrine who considers it the worst to look at the world and the sun with plain eyes, who sets the just against the wrongful, who destroys settlements, and who hurls a deadly weapon at the righteous.
11. Also they destroy life who highly regard the wrongful as lords and ladies, rob people of their property, and try hard to distract the righteous from their best mind.
12. It is through such teachings that they try to distract mortals from excellent deeds. For them, the Wise One has decreed ill consequences, because they destroy worldly life in luxury. It is for this reason that seizing priests have chosen the wrong dominion of the wealthy instead of righteousness.
13. It is because of such power that the destroyers of this life wish to gain their spoils in the house of worst mind. And they, Wise Lord, who, in their lust, growl about the message of Your thought-provoker, their lust, in turn, prevents them from seeing righteousness.
14. For seizing such spoils, even the sagacious princes have long been devoting their minds and efforts. They have, thus, resorted to help the wrongful. Fired by the wisdom-wasting drink, they have declared that the world must be destroyed.
15. It is with such actions that the ritualistic priests and princes are annihilated through the very people, whom they have deprived of the power to live as they wish. Of these two parties, the latter will be taken to the house of good mind.
16. All the teachings of the talented are the best to listen to. Wise Lord, I am powerful enough to meet the two-fold threats, and restrain the crime of the wrongful directed against friends.
Ahunavaiti Gâthâ Song 6 - yathâish ithâ
Song 6: Devotion To Duty
1. According to the Primal Laws of Life, the leader shall do full justice to the wrongful and to the righteous, as well as to the person whose falsity is combined with his probity.
2. And whoever foils the wrongful by word, thought, or action, or if approached by a visitor, teaches him good things, advances in his convictions to the satisfaction of the Wise God.
3. Whoever is very good to the righteous, whether a relative, or a member of the community, or, O Lord, a member of the fellowship, or serves the living world with zeal, lives indeed in the domain of righteousness and good mind.
4. Wise One, I am one who venerates away inconsideration and evil mind from You; perverse-mind from the family; related wrong from the community; revile from the community; and extremely evil counseling from the world settlements.
5. I shall listen to Your Inspiring Voice, the greatest of all voices, to reach my final goal: a long life in the dominion of good mind, and a straight walk along the paths of righteousness to the serene abode of the Wise God.
6. I am the true invoker who, through righteousness, perceives You with the best mind. It is with such mental satisfaction that I wish to work as an adviser for the settled people. Therefore, Wise Lord, I am longing to have Your vision and communion.
7. Come to me, O Best One, O Wise One, in person and in sight through righteousness and good mind so that I am heard beyond the Fellowship. Let our reverential offerings be clearly manifested among us.
8. See for Yourself my intentions which I am pursuing through good mind. They are, Wise One, reverence and praising words for You through righteousness. Grant me the steadfastness of immortality and the substantiality of wholeness.
9. Wise One, it is Your intention that these two promoters of righteousness be the refreshing splendid goals achieved through the best mind. The growth of these two associates make souls harmonize.
10. Wise One, make all those enjoying a good life, who have been, who are, and who shall be, share Your pleasure. Promote our physical enlightenment through good mind, dominion, and righteousness.
11. Most powerful Wise God, Serenity, world-promoting Righteousness, Good Mind, and Dominion, listen to me, be gracious to me for whatever rewards You grant.
12. Lord Wise, rise within me, grant me courage through serenity, good gifts of prayers through the most progressive mentality, full vigor through righteousness, and felicity through good mind.
13. To support me, Wide-watching Lord, reveal to me the force of Your sovereignty, the blessings of good mind. Show me through progressive serenity, righteous conceptions.
14. Now as a dedication, I, Zarathushtra offer to the Wise One the very life-breath of myself and the first fruits of my good mind, deeds and words, gained through righteousness, with my ear to the divine voice; in fact, my whole strength. (#)
Ahunavaiti Gâthâ Song 7 - yâ shyaothanâ
Song 7: Renovation
1. The deed, the word, and the veneration by which I give immortality, righteousness, and the motive for wholeness to the people, are very much offered by us, Wise Lord, to You.
2. Moreover, all these offerings are made to You alone through thoughts of good mind and actions of a progressive man, whose soul is in accord with righteousness. Wise One, he goes singing everywhere songs of glory and praise for You.
3. Therefore, we make a humble offering to You and to Righteousness. The living beings in Your dominion are those who promote good mind. Indeed, it is in the rise of a beneficient person, Wise One, that there lies gain for all those belonging to You.
4. Therefore, Lord, we yearn for Your fire, which is strong through righteousness. It is very swift and forceful, and clearly and strongly helps the supporters. But, Wise One, for an enemy daring to harm, it has the power of arms to stop him.
5. What is Your dominion, what is Your power, Wise One, for us to follow in action through righteousness and good mind in order to protect the oppressed person of Yours? For You, we have renounced all the false gods and the barbarian people.
6. If indeed, You are so, Wise One, through righteousness and good mind, then grant me guidance through all the goals of this life, so that I happily return to You with veneration and praise.
7. Wise One, where are Your devotees who comprehend good mind, and despite retrogression and failure, attend to inherited doctrines with wisdom? I have none besides You. Therefore, protect me and my people through righteousness.
8. Indeed, they are afraid of our actions just as a weakling is afraid of a stalwart, because these actions constitute a danger to many. Wise One, those who are antagonistic to Your principle, do not think of righteousness, and are at a distance from good mind.
9. Wise One, he who forsakes progressive serenity, esteemed by the wise, with his evil deeds solely because of the lack of good mind, avoids them much on account of their righteousness, just as the disheveled barbarians keep far from them.
10. The person of good intellect says that the deeds of good mind must be maintained. He knows that progressive serenity is the true product of righteousness. All these, God, are means of promotion in Your dominion.
11. Both wholeness and immortality lead to Your splendor. The sovereignty of good mind and serenity with righteousness promote steadfast strength and courage. These, Wise One, constitute our strength against antagonists.
12. What is Your guidance and what is Your wish? Is it for praise, or is it for veneration? Wise One, declare it while we listen, and the reward for following Your guidance. Show us, through righteousness, the paths to self-reliance of good mind.
13. God, this is the same road of good mind You have shown me. It is the religion of the benefectors by which good deeds lead only through righteousness to happiness, the promised reward for the beneficent, a reward, Wise One, solely given by You.
14. Indeed, Wise One, this reward is given to those, who, in their choice of physical life, truly serve the community of the fruitful world with their deeds of good mind, and God, promote Your plan of wisdom through communal righteousness.
15. And in response to my request in praises, Wise One, tell me now the best words and deeds through good mind. Make life truly renovated with Your sovereignty as You wish.
Ushtavaiti Gâthâ Song 8 - ushtâ ahmâi
Song 8: Realizing—Self, Nature, God
1. May the Wise, Ruling-at-will God grant radiant happiness to the person who radiates happiness to any other person at large. I pray for steadfast strength and courage in order to uphold righteousness. Grant me through serenity the blessings of a rich life of good mind.
2. Moreover, may the best of blessings come to the person who gives blessings to others. Wise One, may his knowledge grow throughout the days of his long life of joy, through Your most progressive mentality, the wondrous wisdom of good mind which You created by means of righteousness.
3. And may that person get much good who teaches us the straight paths of progress. May he, in his physical and mental life, truly attain the existence where God dwells, for, Wise One, he is like You; sincere, noble, and progressive.
4. Wise One, I realize You to be powerful and progressive because You help with Your own hand. You give rewards to both the wrongful and the righteous by means of the warmth of Your fire which is mighty through righteousness, and through which strength of good mind comes to me.
5. I realized You, God Wise, to be progressive when I saw You at the birth of life, and found that You have ordained that actions and words should have consequences: bad for the bad, and good for the good. It shall be so through You excellence until the final turn of the creation.
6. At that turn, in which I exist, You, Wise One, come with Your progressive mind, dominion, and good mind, through the actions of which the living worlds are promoted by righteousness. Serenity explains to them the proper laws of Your intelligence which none can deceive.
7. I realized You, God Wise, to be progressive when I was encircled by it (enlightenment) through good mind, and it asked: “Who are you? To whom do you belong? How would you, in these days of questioning, explain the directives to the living and to yourself?”
8. Then I said to it first: “I am Zarathushtra. I am, as far as I can be, a true opponent of the wrongful, and a strong supporter of the righteous. In order to establish the adorations of the Ruler-at-will, I shall continue to praise and glorify You, Wise One.
9. I realized You, God Wise, to be progressive when I was encircled by it through good mind. To its question: “For what purpose do you want to acquire knowledge;” I said: “With the gift of homage to Your fire, I shall meditate, as long as I can, in quest of righteousness.”
10. So, show me righteousness which I continue to invoke. I am well accompanied by serenity. Ask us what we want to ask you. An inquiry by you amounts to an inquiry by the strong, because the Ruler makes one strong and powerful through you (the enlightenment).
11. I realized You, God Wise, to be progressive when I was encircled by it through good mind, and when I first learned from Your words that it would be difficult for me to teach people the devotion to practice what You told me is the best.
12. And You said: “You have come to understand righteousness, and have not paid attention to disobedience.” I would, therefore, set myself so that revelation comes to me in company of a splendid reward, and rewards both the factions (good and bad) with gain.
13. I realized You, God Wise, to be progressive when I was encircled by it through good mind, so that I attain my desired goals. Grant me a long life which no one has dared to ask for, the chosen existence, said to exist only in Your dominion.
14. Just as a wise and powerful man helps his friend, Wise One, give me Your enlightening support, ensuing from righteousness through Your dominion. I shall, then, motivate and lead those loyal to the teachings and all those who remember Your thought-provoking message.
15. I realized You, God Wise, to be progressive when I was encircled by it through good mind, and it showed that silent meditation is the best. One should never try to please wrongful people because they hold the righteous as being totally bad.
16. Therefore, Wise God, I, Zarathushtra choose for myself the very mentality of Yours, which is the most progressive. May righteousness breath a strong life in body. May serenity prevail in the sun-bathed dominion. May the reward for actions be given through good mind.(#)
Ushtavaiti Gâthâ Song 9 - tat thwâ peresâ
Song 9: Answering Questions
1. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. How shall I reverently pay You Your homage? Teach this to a friend like me, Wise One. Let us all be given, through loving righteousness, help so that it comes to us through good mind.
2. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. How shall one who, from the very beginning, seeks the best life, prosper? Indeed, such a person is, through righteousness, a great promoter and a treasure for all. He is, Wise One, a guardian, a mental life-healer, and a friend.
3. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. Who is the foremost creator and parent of righteousness? Who made the sun and the stars in their paths? Who makes the moon wax and wane? I am, Wise One, eager to know all this and more.
4. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. Who holds the earth below, who keeps the sky from breaking away? Who creates the waters and who the plants? Who lends the wind and clouds speed? Who is the creator, Wise One, of good mind?
5. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. Which artist fashioned the light and the darkness? Which artist planned sleep and awakening? Who made the dawn, day, and dusk that remind the wise of the ultimate goal?
6. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. Are the things I speak forth indeed true? Does serenity, by its actions, promote righteousness? For whom has dominion been arranged through good mind? For whom did You create the fruitful, joy-bringing world?
7. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. Who fashioned precious serenity with dominion? Who made the child lovingly attentive to the parent? It is by these questions, Wise One, that I am able to recongnize You as the Creator of all by Your progressive mind.
8. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. In order to bear Your directives in mind, Wise One, the words which I ask through good mind and the facts about life to be correctly understood through righteousness are: What shall my soul ultimately attain?
9. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. How shall I enliven for myself the religion the Master of Beneficent Sovereignty teaches me? How to be prompt, like You, Wise One, with lofty rules and live in the same abode with righteousness and good mind?
10. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. That religion is the best for the living which promotes the world through righteousness, and polishes words and actions in serenity. Therefore, the yearnings of my mind are for You, Wise One.
11. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. How does serenity come to those to whom, Wise One, Your religion is taught? I recognize You to be the beginning. All others I consider mental repugnants.
12. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. Who, among those I confer, is righteous, who wrongful? Who sides with evil, and who is evil himself? Why should I not consider the person, who is wrongfully set against Your gains, to be evil?
13. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. How shall we thoroughly remove wrong from us, and keep away from those who are full of disobedience, who do not seek to care for and unite with righteousness, and who do not delight in communion with good mind?
14. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. How shall I deliver wrong into the hands of righteousness so that it is cleansed by Your thought-provoking teaching, and thus introduce a strong movement among the wrongful, which would, Wise One, remove their afflictions and evils?
15. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. If You rule this world through righteousness, then when the two opposing teams come together, keeping in view the rules which You, Wise One, have ordained, where and to which of the two, will You grant victory?
16. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. Of those who exist, who is the victor who protects the world with Your doctrine? Show me clearly the life-healing leader so that the inspiration comes through good mind to that person as well as to any other person to whom You, Wise One, wish.
17. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. How shall I, Wise One, carry the invocation from You, in Your company, so that my voice becomes forceful and ultimately guides to wholeness and immortality in accordance with the thought-provoking message which is a gain from righteousness.
18. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. How shall I earn through righteousnes the reward of ten mares with their stallions and a camel,* which would make me know how to give these persons both—wholeness and immortality. * Most probably certain prominent men and women with their names ending in aspa (horse) and ushtra (camel) whom Zarathushtra was trying to win over to the new religion. Vishtaspa, Jamaspa, and Ferashaoshtra were among the topmost patrons of the Zarathushtrian mission. Farvardin Yasht, the record of veteran men and women missionaries of the early period, have many names with aspa and ushtra as their second part.
19. This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. What is the primary punishment for the person who does not give reward to the deserving when approached with true words? However, I know what will befall him later.
20. How could false gods be good rulers? I ask this because those who indulge in lust, with which the mumbling priests, particularly the sacrificing Usigs ( a famous family), have delivered the world to fury, and the princes, in their stubbornness, have forced it to lament, and do not reward it through righteousness so as to promote a settled life.
Ushtavaiti Gâthâ Song 10 - at fravakhshyâ
Song 10: Proclamation
1. Now, I shall proclaim, hear and listen, you who have come from near and far as seekers. Now, clearly bear these in mind. Let not the evil teacher, the wrongful, with his evil choice and perverted tongue, destroy life for a second time.
2. Now, I shall proclaim the two foremost mentalities of life. Of these, the more progressive one told the retarding one thus: Neither our thoughts, nor teachings, nor intellects, nor choices, nor words, nor deeds, nor consciences, nor souls agree.
3. Now, I shall proclaim the foremost point of this life, which the Wise God, the Knowing told me: Those of you who do not practice the thought-provoking doctrine the way I understand and explain it, shall experience a woeful end of life.
4. Now, I shall proclaim the best in this life, which, I know through righteousness, the Wise One gave. He is the patron of active good mind, and the good-working serenity is His creation. The all-watching God cannot be deceived.
5. Now, I shall proclaim the word which the Most Progressive One told me. It is the best to be heard by mortals. Those who pay it attention and reverence, shall have wholeness and immortality, and reach the Wise God through their actions of good mind.
6. Now, I shall proclaim the Greatest of all. I shall praise Him through righteousness. He is beneficent to those who exist. May Wise God hear me through the progressive mind. I have taken counsel with good mind in His glory. May He, with this wisdom, guide me best.
7. The living, the departed, and the yet-to-be-born seek their great successes from Him. The souls of the righteous shall eternally be strong. The wrongful shall experience repeated failures. The Wise God has, through His sovereignty, established these principles.
8. I shall seek to turn Him towards us with praises of reverence, because I have now conceived Him with my eyes of good thoughts, words, and deeds, and perceived Him through righteousness as the Wise God. Let us, then, offer our glorifications to Him in the House of Song.
9. I shall seek to please Him for us with good mind, for He has granted us the will to choose between progress and retrogress. May the Wise God, through His sovereignty, grant us the excercise to promote our cattle and men with the cooperation of good mind through righteousness.
10. I shall seek to exalt Him for us with praises of serenity, Who, by a new name, is known as the Wise God. He grants, through righteousness and good mind, wholeness and immortality in His dominion. May He grant us steadfast strength and endurance.
11. He who denies the false gods and their men, just as they deny him, and unlike others, acknowledges Him in good spirit, is, through his progressive conscience, the beneficent and master of house, rather a friend, brother, and father, O Wise God.
Ushtavaiti Gâthâ Song 11 - kam nemoi zâm
Song 11: From Suffering To Success
1. To what land should I turn? Where should I turn to go? They hold me back from my folks and friends. Neither the community I follow pleases me, nor do the wrongful rulers of the land. How can I please You, Wise God?
2. I know, Wise One, that I am powerless. I have a few cattle and also a few men. I appeal to You. Please, Lord, see to it. Lend me the help a friend gives a friend. Grant, through righteousness, the riches of good mind.
3. When, Wise One, shall those days dawn which will, for the maintanance of the righteous world, motivate the wisdom of the benefactors with advanced teachings. To whom shall this wisdom come with good mind to help? For myself, Lord, I choose Your teachings.
4. Now, the wrongful prevents those, who support righteousness, from promoting the living world, whether of a district or land. It is hard to challenge him because he is hostile in his actions. However, Wise One, he who opposes him with power and life, leads the people as a leader along the paths of good plan.
5. A powerful person, a noble man, as a rule of a contract, welcomes a new comer. He, as a righteous person, is a man of principle. The other (new comer) is a wrongful man. He should, therefore, decide and share the matter with his family. This will, Wise Lord, save him from any violation.
6. But, if an able person does not come to help, he shall himself fall into the binding trap of wrong. He indeed is wrongful who is very good to the wrongful, and he is righteous to whom the righteous is dear. These are the foremost rules of conscience established by You.
7. Who will, O Wise One, give me protection when the wrongful threatens to harm me, other than Your Fire and Mind? It is through the working of these two that, O God, righteousness thrives. Do enlighten my inner-self with this doctrine.
8. The person who undertakes to harm my people shall not have his fiery actions reach me. In fact, they shall recoil with his hatred to him, and shall keep him far from a good way of life. Wise One, hatred does not save one from a bad way of life.
9. Who is that devotee who shall first teach me to regard You as the most worthy of invocation, as the progressive, righteous Lord of actions? People want to know the things that are Yours through righteousness, things You, the Creator of the world has told righteousness, things which are Yours through good mind.
10. Wise God, whoever, man or woman, shall give me what You know to be the best in life—rewards for righteousness, power through good mind—I shall accompany him and her in glorifying such as You are, and shall, with all of them, cross over the sorting bridge.
11. The priests and princes yoke people under duress to destroy life with their evil actions. But their souls and their consciences shall upbraid them when they approach the sorting bridge, because they have been all the time dwelling in the house of wrong.
12. Since through righteousness, the powerful children and grandchildren of the Turanian Fryana have risen to promote their world through serenity with zeal, Wise God has united them with good mind, in order to teach them what concerns their help.
13. Whoever among men pleases me, Zarathushtra Spitama with care, becomes worthy of fame as an earnest person. Wise God shall grant him life, and promote his world through good mind. We shall regard him as an associate of Your righteousness. (#)
14. Who is my, Zarathushtra’s righteous companion? Who wishes fame for the Great Fellowship? He, on this great event of initiation, is Kavi Vishtaspa. I shall invoke, with words of good mind, those whom You, Wise God, have established in Your abode. (#)
15. I shall tell you, descendants of Haechataspa Spitama, how to distinguish between law and lawlessness. By such actions, you shall earn righteousness for yourselves, actions which correspond with the Primal Laws of Lord.
16. Ferashaoshtra Hvagva, go with your companions there where, as we both wish, radiant happiness pervades, where serenity accompanies righteousness, where the rule of good mind prevails, where the Wise God dwells in progress.
17. Here, Sage Jamaspa Hvogva, I teach you my message in a poetic and not in an unpoetic language, so that it shall always stay with you as prayers of glorification with the divine inspiration. Whoever distinguishes between law and lawlessness, O Wise Lord, is, through righteousness, a wonderful counselor.
18. Whoever is united with me, I promise him the best through good mind, my only riches. But I oppose him who places himself in opposition to us. Wise One, I want to please You, because this is the discernment of my intellect and mind.
19. Whoever truly accomplishes through righteousness the complete renovation of life for me, Zarathushtra, as is the will of God, deserves the desired future-life in a fruitful living world as a reward. This is what You, the most-knowing Wise One, have taught me. (#)
Spentâ Mainyu Gâthâ Song 12 - spentâ mainyu
Song 12: Progressive Mentality
1. To him who, through progressive mentality, performs his duties best in thoughts, words, and deeds in accordance with righteousness, the Wise God grants wholeness and immortality through sovereignty and serenity.
2. He receives the best from the most progressive mentality who speaks words of good mind with his tongue, and performs, with his own hands, deeds of serenity because he has one perception: the Wise God is the creator of righteousness.
3. You are the promoter of this mentality which created the joy-bringing world for him, and have granted peace and serenity for his settlement, because, Wise One, he had consulted good mind.
4. Wise One, it is the wrongful, not the righteous, who continue to keep away from this progressive mentality. A person of very small means can be kind to a righteous person, but a person of great strength can be bad to the wrongful.
5. Wise God, it is through this progressive mentality that You have promised the righteous what indeed is best. But the wrongful shares little from Your love, because he lives by the actions of his evil mind.
6. Wise God, You grant good to both these parties through the progressive mentality by means of fire—light, warmth and energy—because with the growth of serenity and righteousness, it shall convert many a seeker.
Spentâ Mainyu Gâthâ Song 13 - yezi adâish
Song 13: Victory Over Wrong
1. If, after this, one conquers wrong through righteousness, because one reaches what is always said to be delusions by the false gods and their men, one shall, by these gains, increase in Your glorification, God.
2. Lord, tell me since You know well. What shall henceforth my struggle bring for me and my men? Shall the righteous, Wise One, conquer the wrongful? Because this, indeed, is known to be the good form of life.
3. The teachings which the Beneficent Lord teaches through righteousness are the best for the knowing. Such a man, like You, Wise One, is progressive and wise, even in what is profound teachings through the wisdom of good mind.
4. Whoever, Wise One, has set his mind on the better or the worse, sets his conscience accordingly with actions and words. His desire follows his cherished choice. But in Your wisdom, the end of the two will be different.
5. May good rulers, and not evil rulers, rule over us with actions of good understanding and serenity. Giving health and happiness in life is the best for a man who works for the living world in order to increase its splendor.
6. Indeed the living world is our good dwelling, rather our endurance and strength: two precious gifts of good mind. Now, the Wise God has increased its prosperity through righteousness since the beginning of life.
7. Put down fury, check violence, you who wish to strengthen the promotion of good mind through righteousness, because a progressive man is associated with this. God, his associates are in Your abode.
8. Wise One, what is the strength of Your sovereignty? What is Your reward for my people? What is Your desired manifestations for the devotees who are promoters of good mentality’s actions?
9. When shall I know, Wise One, that You have power through righteousness over anyone whose threats are harmful to me? Let the plan of good mind be truly told to me so that the beneficent knows how his reward shall be.
10. When shall, Wise One, humanity settle down in dwellings? When shall they throw out the filthy intoxicant? It is through it that the priests and the wicked rulers of the lands form their evil intellects.
11. When shall, Wise One, serenity with righteousness bring peaceful dwelling and settlement through sovereignty? Who shall establish peace against violence by the wrongful? To whom shall the wisdom of good mind come?
12. Now, they shall be the benefactors of the lands who follow the satisfaction of good mind, and base their actions through righteousness on Your teachings, Wise One. They indeed have been made to fight anger.
Spentâ Mainyu Gâthâ Song 14 - at mâ yavâ
Song 14: Removing Obstructions
1. Now, Wise One, Bendva always obstructs me the most, I, who wish to satisfy the badly protected through righteousness. Come to me with good reward and support. I am seeking illumination for him through good mind.
2. Indeed this action of Bendva has made me anxious because the wrongful doctrine certainly prevents one from righteousness. Neither has he ever held the progressive serenity to be his, nor has he ever consulted good mind, Wise One.
3. However, Wise One, this has been put as a choice that righteousness is for the promotion of the doctrine, and wrong is for harming it. Therefore, I long for union with good mind, and disavow all associations with the wrongful.
4. Those who, through their evil intellect, promote anger and cruelty with their tongues are but drones among productive people. Their evil deeds have not been defeated by good deeds. It is they who created false gods, which forms the religion of the wrongful.
5. Now, Wise One, every person, who has linked his religion with good mind through devotion and invocation, is a noble person of serenity through righteousness. He lives, with them all, in Your dominion, Lord.
6. I urge You, Wise One, and Righteousness to tell us what You have in Your wisdom of mind, so that we rightly choose how to proclaim, Lord, the religion which belongs to a Godlike person.
7. And Wise One, let one listen to it through good mind. Let one listen to it through righteousness. You too hear it, Lord. Which friend, which relative abides by laws, and provides a good guidance to the community?
8. This I beg You, Wise Lord, to grant Ferashaushtra the best happy union with righteousness. And give it to my people in Your good dominion. We shall be Your messengers forever.
9. Sage Jamaspa, let the promoter, tailored for promotion, listen to these teachings. The truth-speaking person shall not consider any association with the wrongful, because those who have united their consciences in the reward, are united in righteousness on this Great Event of Choice.
10. And Wise One, You guard in Your abode this good mind, the souls of the righteous, and the reverence that comes with serenity and invocation, a fact that makes the great sovereignty everlasting.
11. Now, the souls of the evil-ruling, evil-doing, evil speaking, evil-conceiving, and evil-thinking return back because of their evil luster, because they really dwell in the house of wrong.
12. What help do You have through righteousness, Wise Lord, what help through good mind for me, Zarathushtra, the invoker, who loves You with praises, and asks for what is best in Your power? (#)
Spentâ Mainyu Gâthâ Song 15 - kat moi urvâ
Song 15: Communion With God
1. Does my soul seek any help? Who has been found as a protector for my flock? Who for my men? None except Your righteousness and best mind, when truly invoked.
2. How, Wise One, shall one seek the joy-bringing world, when one wishes it to have settlements, with the honest living in righteousness in a fully sun-bathed region? I shall, with all clarity, settle down among the houses of justice.
3. Indeed, Wise One, it will, through righteousness, dominion, and good mind, be his to whom a promise has been given. That person, strengthened by the reward, will promote his immediate world, so far consumed by the wrongful.
4. Wise God, singing praises, I shall always venerate You with righteousness, the best mind, and sovereignty so that the aspirant stands on the path and listens for the manifestations of revelation for the devotees in the House of Song.
5. Wise God, indeed, it is for Your praise through righteousness. If you are pleased with Your thought-provoker, then manifest a clear help with Your powerful hands which shall give us happiness.
6. Wise One, I, Zarathushtra, am, through righteousness, his friend who carries this thought-provoking message. May the Creator of Intelligence fix the course of his tongue so that he teaches my doctrine through good mind. (#)
7. Now, I shall yoke for You the swiftest and most appropriate invocations on the roads to victories of Your glorification, victories which are, Wise One, strong through righteousness and good mind, and with whose urge, You shall be my help.
8. Wise One, I approach You with loud devotional songs and outstretched hands, You through righteousness with the adoration of a devotee, You through the virtue of good mind.
9. Praising, I shall resort to You, Wise One, with these praises and with deeds of good mind done through righteousness. I shall, until I achieve self-reliance as a reward, wish to be an suppliant of one who is munificent.
10. Now, whatever I have performed and shall perform, and whatever, like the rays of the sun, the wide dawning days, which one will esteem through the eyes of his good mind, are, Wise Lord, through righteousness, for Your glory.
11. I am, Wise One, Your praiser and shall continue to regard myself so, as long as I have the strength and the will through righteousness. This shall promote the laws of life through good mind, for true actions make life most renovated as God wishes.
Vohu Khshathra Gâthâ Song 16 - vohu khshthrem
Song 16: The Good Dominion Of Choice
1. The good dominion is to be chosen. It is the best dividend. In fact, it is devotion for the dedicated, who, Wise One, moves best within righteousness by his deeds. It is for this dominion that I am working for all of us now.
2. I dedicate these deeds, Wise Lord, first of all to You, then to Righteousness, and then to you, Serenity. Show me the desired dominion. Grant me, through Your good mind, the strength to glorify.
3. Let those, who have joined You in action, assemble to hear You, because You are the Lord of true speech with words of good mind. Of these words, Wise One, You are the foremost promulgator.
4. Where does felicity flow? Where does favor take place? Where is righteousness attained? Where is the progressive serenity? Where is the best mind? Where? Through Your dominion, Wise One?
5. I ask these to know how does a settler, by his proper actions, strengthen the world with righteousness? He is a humble intellectual who is a true leader of the lawful and is recognized as the ruler of the rewarded.
6. The Wise God gives, through his sovereignty, much good to him who succeeds for the sake of his conviction. But he who does not strengthen it, shall get much bad at the turning point of his life.
7. You, Wise One, Who have fashioned the world, the waters, and the plants by Your most progressive mentality, grant me, in accordance with good mind’s doctrine, immortality, wholeness, steadfast strength, and endurance.
8. Now, I shall speak, Wise One, for You. Let one tell the wise that evil is for the wrongful and radiant happiness is for him who upholds righteousness. Truly, he who tells this thought-provoking message to the wise, will thereby become happy.
9. You grant happiness to both factions through Your bright Fire, Wise One, as well as through the purifying test. This is the established principle of existence: Sufferings for the wrongful, and blessings for the righteous.
10. Now, Wise One, the person who wants to destroy us, is indifferent to this doctrine. He himself is the child of a wrong world, and is one of the malefactors. I invoke righteousness for mine, so that it comes along with good reward.
11. Wise One, which person is a friend of mine, Zarathushtra Spitama? Who, indeed, consults righteousness? With whom is the progressive serenity? Who, indeed, considers himself rightful to belong to good mind and to the Fellowship? (#)
12. The sagacious prince did not satisfy me, Zarathushtra Spitama, on this wide earth when he obstructed me in my gain there, because I have been quick and conveying in my walks and talks. (#)
13. Thus the conscience of the wrongful tramples for itself the true straight conscience. His soul openly upbraids him in front of the sorting bridge, because it is his deeds and words that make him lose the path of righteousness.
14. The mumbling priests are not friends. They are sufficiently far from laws and from the settlement. They take delight in injurying the world with their deeds and teachings, a doctrine that ultimately places them in the house of wrong.
15. The prize, I, Zarathushtra have promised my fellows in the future is the House of Song, in which the Wise One came first. I have promised it to you through gains of good mind and righteousness. (#)
16. Kavi Vishtaspa has attained this through the power of the Fellowship and the songs of good mind. It is the wisdom the progressive Wise God has thought through righteousness so that to teach us radiant happiness.
17. Ferashaoshtra Hvogva has shown me a precious plan for the Good Conscience. May Sovereign Wise Lord grant him power to attain the possession of righteousness.
18. Sage Jamaspa Hvogva has, in his desire for illumination, chosen that sovereignty, the acquisition of good mind, through righteousness. He says: “Wise Lord, grant me the supports which is Yours.”
19. Maidyoi-mâhâ Spitama, that person dedicates himself in comprehending it by his religion, and in desiring it for life who says that the laws of God are better for living them through deeds alone.
20. Here, all of you, who are of one will with us in giving goodness: Righteousness is through good mind and through words which stem from serenity. While humbly worshiping, ask for the help of the Wise One.
21. The person who belongs to progressive serenity, promotes righteousness with his intellect, words, deeds, and conscience. The Wise God grants him dominion through good mind. I too shall pray for such a good reward.
22. The Wise God knows best any person of mine for his or her veneration done in accordance with righteousness. I shall, on my part, venerate such persons, passed away or living, by their names, and shall lovingly encircle them.
Vahishtâ Ishti Gâthâ Song 17 - vahishtâ ishti
Song 17: Best Wish
1. The best wish of mine, Zarathushtra Spitama, has been fulfilled, because the Wise God has, on account of my righteousness, granted me blessings, both mental and material, and a good life for ever. Those who hurt me, have also learned the words and deeds of the Good Conscience. (#)
2. And now, let Kavi Vishtaspa, the Zarathushtrian Spitama, and Ferashaoshtra pursue, with mind, words, and deeds, the knowledge for the praise and for the choice of venerations of the Wise One, in order to establish in straight paths the religion which God has granted to the benefactor.
3. Pouruchista Haechataspa Spitama, youngest daughter of Zarathushtra: May He grant you him who is steadfast in good mind, and united with righteousness and with the Wise One. Therefore, consult him with your wisdom, and work with the most progressive and munificent serenity.
4. (She replies) Him I shall emulate and choose, an act which will be an honor for the father, the husband, the settlers, and the family. As a righteous woman among the righteous people, mine be the glorious union of good mind. May the Wise God grant it for the Good Conscience for all the time.
5. (Zarathushtra says) These words I speak to the charming brides, and to you, bridegrooms. Do bear them in mind. Comprehend them with your consciences. Master the life which belongs to good mind. May you each win the other through righteousness. It will, indeed, be a good acquisition for each of you.
6. O men and women, it is true that wrong is attractive and appears to have advantages. But it alienates one away from one’s self. It ends in woefulness and bad reputation. It destroys happiness for the wrongful. It defiles truths. With these, you shall be destroying your mental life.
7. But the reward of this Fellowship shall be yours as long as you remain united in weal and woe with all your heart in wedlock. Thus the mentality of the wrongful disappears. However, if you abandon the Fellowship, then the last word you shall utter is “woe.”
8. It is with such actions that evil doers become prone to deception and ridicule. Let them all scream for themselves. Let, by means of good rulers, killings and woundings be prevented and peace be brought to homes and settlements. Let afflictions be gone. He is the greatest who restrains violent death. And let this happen soon!
9. Activity with evil doers yields to decrease in worth. In their anger, they defile truth and are criminals. Where is the righteous lord, who would oppose them for life and liberty? It is, Wise One, Your dominion that provides an honest-living oppressed a better living.
A Airyemâ Ishya
Closing stanza –
A Airyemâ Ishya,
The World Zarathushtrian Fellowship
May the desired Fellowship come for the support of the men and women of Zarathushtra, for the support of good mind, so that the conscience of every person earns the choice reward—the reward of righteousness—a wish regarded by the Wise God.