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In the history of mankind, man of wisdom and
vision have emerged from tribal bands, to alleviate humanity from oppression
and domination.
One such voice of wisdom, arose from among the ancient Indo-Iranian
tribes, scouring the Russian Steppes of Asia Minor.
It was a voice that rose against bondage,
domination, and tyranny.
It was the voice that hailed freedom in
bondage, sovereignty of choice in domination, and moral justice
for all mankind.
The voice that fully understood the goodness of absolute truth in the face of
evil, was the voice of Asho Spitama Zarathushtra.
Zarathushtra proclaimed, in that infancy of
human evolution, the way to harmonize human existence through truth in
its moral significance.
It was the first time in the history of mankind, that this Holy Manthran,
crossed the immense void, between the bloodstained sacrificial rites
and the true form of worship through spiritual ideals.
He succeeded in his quest, through
realization of the vision of that ‘Supreme Intellect’, Ahura Mazda.
This he proclaims to the adherents in Ys 45.6:
Now I shall proclaim the
greatest one of all
I shall praise him through
righteousness
May the wise lord hear through his
holy mentality
With the declaration of the
moral and spiritual nature of divinity Asho Zarathust freed the religion
from the confinement of the tribal god and offered the concept of Wise
Lord to the universal man. The
God of Zarathushtra, transcends the borders of race, color, or creed bringing
together all humanity under a single banner of spiritual
union.
It is under this single purpose, that Zarathushties should find the bases, of their unity in the new millenium.
Zarathushtra
prays for that unity in the following words in Ys 31.3:
Mazda
vidvanoi vaocha
hizva thwaya aongho
ya jvanto vispeng vaurya
Reveal unto us O Wise One
With Thy words of wisdom
Help me guide all the living to choose the right
His, was a sacred mission to disseminate
the concept of Asha. A mission that carried with it a heavy
responsibility to define the absolute Truth and Moral Justice.
Not the truth that can be manipulated through facts and reason, but the
truth that flashed unto him from his spiritual consciousness,
The Truth that was revealed to him
by the divine source of wisdom, and carried with it, the burden
of proclaim it to the people of the world.
He addresses the issue in Ys 31.4:
Yada
ashem
zevim anghem mazdaoscha
Ahuraongho ashicha
aramaiti
May the wise lords reward
when we invoke Righteouness
with sincere devotion
In relating the message, he unambiguously puts
across, the burden of accountability, to all those who commit, to understand
his proclamation.
To all the true followers he
addresses as Saoshyants:
The repeated use of the term Saoshyant in the Gathas, is particularly
relevant to the theme of this session.
Ys 34.13, he says “Ahura has revealed to me
the religion of saoshyant whose life is a role model through
righteousness”.
Ys 45.11 “to the enlightened
saoshyants who acknowledge Ahura Mazda, the God is a
friend , a brother and a father.
Ys 46.3
“when will the days dawn, that will promote the spiritual life
of righteousness through the wisdom of the Saoshyants..”
Ys 48.12 “Saoshyant of the world will be
those who shall follow the teachings of the wise lord”
(also Ys 48.9),
and finally in Gatha Vahishtoishti (Ys
53.2) he proclaims the names of king Vishtasp, Frashaoshtra and
himself who succedded as saoshyant, through their Righteous
thoughts, words and deeds.
The word Saoshyant literally means “one
who will brings benefit” – a benefactor. the gathic message clearly
defines, that those enlightened man and women, who extol the virtues of
righteousness, using their good
mind, emerge as the benefactors
among mankind. It is to them, that
mazda is a companion and a friend (Ys 45.11).
It is important to qualify, that the familiar later tradition myth,
of coming of the three saoshyants, emerged
in the Achaemenian time, more than a thousand years after the
time of Zarathushtra.
The legend speaks of the coming of 1) Ukhshyat-ereta
-he who makes Righteousness grow, 2) Ukhshyat-nemah
- he who makes Reverence grow and 3) Astvat-ereta
- he who embodies righteousness, (Ys 43.16). All three we are
told, will be born from the seeds, of Asho Zarathusht, preserved miraculously,
in lake Kasaoya.
This is documented
in Bundahisn, Ch. 33 and 34 (Bd. 33.28, 34.2,3,18,19) of a text composed
more than 2000 years after
the era of Zarathshtra.
The term saoshyant uttered by Asho Zarathusht
in his Gathic hymns, is unrelated to these mythical personalities. The prophet
is oblivious to the myth.
The message of the prophet is crystal
clear,
The righteous human beings, by using their
Good mind (Vohu Mano) must succeed to seek out the path of Asha and
be the Saoshyant, be the saviour of the creation in general and of
the less fortunate mankind in
particular.
It is an undisputed fact, that Zarathushtra was
the first savior in the history of mankind.
But the challenge he presents to humanity is to be like him, to be like
his God.
How can an average human measure up to fulfill
this immense task?
The prophet in the his
guiding hymns, outlines a
path to that goal, for his followers.
Let me briefly retrace it for you.
In his vision of human creation, he
proclaims, “the divine wisdom has incorporated intellect and
ability to innovate, by implanting vital life-breath in the physical frame.
The creator has also
granted humans, the freedom of expression as they wish”-
( Ys 31.11)
It is this freedom, that reflects
in the diversity of good and bad in the physical world.
In the very next verse (Ys 31.12) this divinely
ordained teacher, invokes
upon the basic spiritual attribute of peace and tranquility -Spenta
Aramaiti..
Zarathushtrian theology recognizes Spenta
Aramaiti as holy
tranquility
of mind,
“Complete Mindfulness or
Will”, as mentioned in Dinkert (Bk IX).
This
is the character, that tends, to the peace and serinity of human mind.
This is the attribute of devotion, that frees
the human spirit from the fetters of the material world, preservs
the clarity of mind, to
provides the key, that opens the door to the path of Righteousness.
Spiritual wisdom
is attainable, only, to a mind, free of earthly chaos,
and carnal instincts, where tranquility
and peace prevails. This is the order of devotion, that must prevail, in
the compassionate thinking of prayer
and in actions,
That aids, to
harmonize
The human mentality with spenta
mainyu - Holy mentality,
The human will with the will of God- the Path
of Asha
That is the fulfillment of
the spiritual manifestation.
In the opening verses
of Ys 32.1, 2 Zarathushtra
leads the family , the community and the entire fellowship in a prayer, reaffirming, that
the noble path Asha be rvealed, to those who fulfill the spiritual
dedication, through Spenta
Aramaiti.
As we reach, Ys 33.14 we see Asho
Zarthushtra as a primal invoker, a
zaotar, fervently in
devotion, as he perceives the Wise Lord.
And in a spectacular gesture of profound
attunment this great Manthran, dedicates
His physical body, tanvaschit
khkhaiyao,
His spiritual life –breath ushtanem
dadaiti,
His first
thoughts of the good
mind, paurushtatem managhascha vangheush,
His deeds and words of righteousness shyothannahya
ashai yacha ukhdhakhyacha,
He dedicates
all these - to the Wise Lord - Mazda.
Through these devotional act, Zarathushtra resiprocates to mazda the benevolent gifts he received from the
creator. This sequence of prayers
clearly demonstrate
that, a communion with the divine through peaceful mind is a communion
through Vohu Manah -the Good Mind.
That is the path to revelation.
That, it is in this revelation, that
one discovers the path of serving.
That, it is in giving,
in serving the creation,
That one realizes the true experiences
of benevolence of Mazda.
Creation of humans in Zarathushtrian theology
occupy the pivotal position in the creative
progression. Divinity in this Getig world manifests itself, through the divine
actions of humanity.
It is the sacred duty of humanity, to be the
steward, and to watch over the physical and moral well-being, of the less
fortunate mankind, and the other creation. That defines a benefactor-
That is what last line of Ahuna
Vairya prayer reminds us
khshthremcha
ahurai a yim dregubyo dadat vasta rehem.
Ahura empowers him, who
Rehabilitate the less fortunate
That is what last line of Ashem Vohu prompts us to do
ushta ahmai hyat ashai vahishtai ashem.
That is what the opening line of Ys 43.1 tells us
ushta
ahmai yahmai ushta kahmaichit
Radient Happiness to him who
radiates happiness to others
The overall message is loud and clear.
True happiness of receiving is vested in giving, that brings to life,
fulfillment of a Saoshyant.
It is through total dedication, that Asho
Zarathusht, repeatedly chants in Ys 43 (verses 7, 9, 11, 13, 15)
“I have realized thee, Wise
Lord,
to be holy when you revealed
unto me in the good mind…”
It is the conditioning of the mind through
Rightmindedness that determines, the perception of
the Divine
It is here, that we perceive a saoshyant, whose human
will is in full consonance with the Will of God.
The spirit of God is the formative principle the
life-giving power, that pervades mankind. It is in the realization of this
extra dimension of spirituality that one begins to experience first hand
the thinking, feeling and willing of the humanity at large.
Recognition of this extra dimension of spirit
permits one not only, to shape ones own life but to touch and affect that
of mankind in its
day to day existence.
This spiritual dimension deepens, as one
continues to transcends beyond ones self, bringing the person closer
and in likeness to Ahura Mazda.
As the Gatha says in the opening verse of Ys 34.1
Ya shyothana ya vachangha,ya yasna ameretatem….mazda
aeshanm toi ahura ehma
pourutemaish daste
The actions, words
and the worship by which
you attain
immortality….Mazda
These we offer to you lord, as much
as possible
In
plain language, it tells us, that emulating the thoughts, words and actions of
Mazda, that humans will reveal the
existence of divinity,
That they will
experience the glow of the divine
enlightenment.
The good mind that experiences
Holy Aramaiti is the one, that is able to commune. The mind that can
commune, is the one that will attune with the divinity.
This experience of existential
spirituality, is the realization, of the way we are with our selves,
the way we are with humanity, and that is a reflecttion of
the way we are with our God.
The human personality, experiences a
remarkable transformation in this spiritual odyssey, as a human being
transcends in life, to likeness of god.
It is only then, that their
Good thoughts, words and deeds are transformed to their Best
thoughts, words and deeds for the betterment of the world.
We read that in the opening line of Spenta Mainyu
Gatha.
Spenta
Mainyu vahistacha managha
Hachat ashat shyothnacha vachanghacha…..
mazdao khshthra aramaiti ahuro
One attains
best thoughts, words and actions
in harmony with the holy spirit
The rule of wise one, through Aramaiti
Most religious traditions perceive human as
“more than” just physical self. The earthly environment as “more
than” the physical universe. If divine spirit is understood as “more
than” physical, it is not somewhere in the world beyond, but in
this Getig world, and in each one of us.
The post-gathic Ys. 55.1 that reveres, the holy
Gathas, dedicates the spiritual and physical elements of
a human being, to these hymns. The divine elements mentioned there, are ushtana
- the vital life -breath, keherpa
- the astral form, urvan - the
soul and fravashi. - the
Divine essence.
Irregardless of the terms, one identifies
with the divine spirit of Mazda, humans are the only
creations that has the ability to perceive the divine within
and through that perception, relate to the omnipresent nature of the divinity
without. It is only through the recognition of the innate divinity in our
daily pursuits, that humans can link to generate a true vision of the
wise lord in this world of actuality.
THE WISE LORD IS
ALL OF US,
EACH ONE OF US
MUST STRIVE, TO BE THE DIVINE FORCE.
I like to conclude this with the words of the
great Hindu philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, who said,
“The best in people works for long obscure
ages…till it finds a voice which can never again be silenced. For that voice
becomes the voice of mankind, no longer confined to a particular time or
people….
Zarathushtra’s
voice is still a living voice, not a mere matter of academic interest
for historical
scholar… It is not a
voice to guide
a small community
of man…
He declared that the sun of truth is for all, that its light is to unite
the far and the near.
It
sends its call to the men to work
together, with the eternal
spirit of good, in
spreading and maintaining the kingdom of righteousness…
This ideal gives us our place as collaborators
with God in distributing his blessings over the world”.
Presented at 7th
World Zoroastrian Congress, Houston, Texas
December 27 2000 to January 1 2001
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