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Sidhwa,Ervad Godrej
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“Mazda! at moi
vahista, Sravaos- cha Shyaothna-che vaooha
Ta-tu Vohu Mananghah, Asha-cha ishudem stuto
Khshmaka khshathra, Ahura! ferashem vasna haithyem dao ahum“
Whatever words and deeds are noblest, best,
Teach me, O Mazda make my life express,
Through love of Fellow-man, through search for Truth,
The yearnings and the prayers of my heart
Renew, Ahura, through the strength to Serve,
My Life, and make it as Thou wishest --True
(Y 34.15)
Airyana-vaejo, Iran is the
cradle of Zarathushtrianism. Here the coming of the Divine Revelation
kindled the torch of civilization for the guidance of mankind. It will take
long and hard work to grasp the vision and fully understand the fundamental
spiritual, philosophical and ethical teachings of the Gathas- the Holy Hymns
of Asho Zarathushtra. We will have to cultivate higher Spiritual
consciousness to understand and experience the profound spiritual wisdom in
the Gathas. Among the prophets of the world, the spiritual status of Holy
Zarathushtra is unique. He was a universal teacher whose mission was to
give spiritual illumination to all mankind. The very word Zarathushtra
means “illumination”.Close to four thousand years
ago Holy Zarathushtra revolutionized the religious life of the Iranians and
brought forth a profound vision, which hitherto represented the
evolutionary phase of religion. With the transformation and evolution of
our own spiritual consciousness, the true spirit of the Gathas will become
clearer. Holy Zarathushtra received Ahura-Mazda’s
Revelation through his inner self: “O Mazda Ahura! I encircle Thee- realize
Thee in full wisdom through Vohu Mano- Pure Cosmic Mind and through Thy
Divine Law- Asha Thou dost lead all those in Bliss who seek Thee into Thy
Light.” (Y.28.2)
The religion of Zarathushtra is not merely an ethical code as
many of us think. It is the Science of all Sciences (Frahngan fragha), the
essence of that divine and spiritual knowledge. The Advent of Holy
Zarathushtra was the Cosmic Manifestation of the Divine Plan for a new cycle
of the spiritual and ethical evolution of mankind. In Yasna Ha 29 there is
the description of a great vision in which Zarathushtra beholds Geush Urva,
the soul of Creation appealing to a Ratu, Spiritual leader. At the end of
this vision he himself is entrusted with the great mission of giving
Enlightenment to humanity.
Zarathushtrianism brought a great revolution in all aspects
of man’s life in a large part of the entire world of his time which marked
the end of old nomadic order in ancient society and the beginning of a new
civilization based on Reason and Enlightenment. Our Prophet Holy
Zarathushtra gave to the world a new and unique concept of religion by
coining a new word Daena -- Inner Self, to define its conceptual base. To him
religion was not the mere worship of a deity but a process of introspection,
looking within, knowing one’s own self, a mystical experience of a
relationship with the Divine Spirit within and surrounding us. Zarathushtra
asked us to use our Enlightened Mind (sucha Mananghah) our God given
potentiality, to search within to find our own spiritual path based on
truth.
During these remote dark
ages of Persia, Zarathushtra stood upon the lofty mountain heights communing
with Ahura Mazda and then proclaiming his belief in the Cosmic struggle
between Spenta Mainyu and Anghra Mainyu, as the basis of the new faith he
preached. This struggle between life’s two attitudes of Good and Evil,
positive and negative, is inborn in man’s thinking and will perhaps remain
so until the end of the world. The Gathic view of Creation, with its
emphasis on free will is closely linked with Zarathushtra’s explanation of
the Origin of Evil, a subject he deals with fully in his very first sermon
in Yasna Ha 30. The greatest gift Ahura Mazda has bestowed upon mankind is
the Free Will – Wisdom of Choice/ Selection. The Gathic Freedom of Choice
is man’s MORAL choice between the two paths of Good and Evil, Right and
wrong. “MAN”, said Roussoau, Father of the French Revolution, “was born
free. But every where he is in chains.’’ The Holy prophet Zarathushtra came
as an Emancipator to free human beings from their various bondages. Of
these bondages or chains, perhaps the strongest is superstition. Our Holy
Prophet reminds us that freedom and responsibility go together and the right
path can only be followed by right thinking.
One of the powers given to us is being able to “comprehend”
the essence of Ahura-Mazda (Sraosha) guiding us through that “inner
intellect” connected to our basic consciousness. Attune this “ear” through
meditation and prayers and you can draw so near to God that his Guidance
will come through clearly. Sraosha, the Inner Institution, the Inspired
Illuminator of Holy Zarathushtra himself resides within the precincts of our
own inner-selves. Zarathushtra created the spiritual concept of Sraosha-
Intuitive Divine Consciousness. He yearns for the vision of Ahura Mazda,
which he longs to attain by Sraosha- the Path of Intuition, and urges all
believers to do the same.
Zarathushtra the greatest spiritual reformer and founder of a
new Religion proclaimed a Divine message, which had never been heard before
(agushta vachao senghamahi). Through attaining this inner spiritual vision,
he was able to know the workings of the Immutable Divine Law of the Truth,
and experience the eternal divine presence of the one Ever-loving and All
Knowing, Supreme Ahura Mazda. He was the first prophet to promulgate and
teach pure Monotheism in the world through a belief in the concept of the
Supreme Godhead – Ahura Mazda.
The Gathas, his Divine Songs, the oldest of the existing
Avestan literature, are the precious spiritual heritage of Zoroastrians
which the Athravans
have kept alive through oral recitals and written discourses. The main
purpose of the Holy Gathas is to awaken in man’s higher Consciousness the
need to relate Ahura-Mazda with Man and the Universe for the purpose of
perfect harmony. In his Holy Hymns, Zarathushtra yearns to inspire a living
faith in a living God in the hearts of all mankind. Zarathushtra in his
Divine songs teaches about the evolution and the possible regeneration of
the world and the human race through the collective enlightened
consciousness of individuals. Allama Iqbal, the Poet of the East in his
Madras lectures “ The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam rightly
says “ Humanity needs three things today, - a spiritual interpretation of
the Universe, spiritual emancipation of the individual, and basic principles
of a universal import directing the evolution of human society on a
spiritual basis. ‘’ The Modern world has strayed far from these high ideals
which has made ethical advancement impossible. In the light of what Iqbal
has said, I urge the Zarathushtis of today to evaluate their position and
reconstruct their social life in the light of ultimate principles revealed
in the Gathas, in order to create spiritual brotherhood which is the
ultimate aim of Zarathushtrianism. For the ethical advancement of man, I
think the remedy lies in following one’s own religion. It is the duty of
every Parsi and Iranian Zoroastrian, man, woman or child to read the Gathas
and our holy scriptures and understand the original principles correctly.
These have to be read, not only with the eyes, but with the best light that
our intellect can supply, and even more, with the truest and purest light
that our heart and conscience can provide.
Today it is our duty to pay a sincere tribute to the ever
living voice of Zarathushtra, the Iranian Prophet by following the precepts
as proclaimed in the Ahuna vaiti Gatha:
“Yavat isai tava cha
avat khshai aeshe ashahya
“As long as I have will and wield the power,
I will teach mankind to love and strive for truth.”
Based on a paper
presented by the author at the 7th World Zarathushtrian Congress, held in
Houston, Texas, December 2000
Irach
Taraporewala’s English language rendering of the Gathas
The exact time
of Zarathushtra is still being debated. One school of thought puts him at
about 3800 years ago
Ahura-Mazda,
literally translated as the Lord wisdom and light constitutes the
Zarathushtra’s conception of God
Zarathushtrian
priests |
