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Series:
Book Review
Source:
1984 Farsi publication, distributed by
Ketab Corp,
Encino, CA
Author:
Jahanian, Dr.
Daryoush
Subtopics:
The Author
His Publications
The Book
Reference:
Related Articles:
Related Links:
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His Publications
After the 1979 turmoil in
Iran,
in order to enlighten and educate the nation, Jallal ul-Din Ashtiyani
published the essence of his lifelong studies and research on the topics of
Judaism, Christianity, and Zarathushtrianism. He later authored another
book entitled Management, Not Governance.
The Book
His book “Zarathushtra,
Mazdayasna, and Governance” shows his extensive knowledge of
Zarathushtra’s era and his teachings. After discussing the contentious
issues of the name, family lineage and the societal setting of Zarathushtra,
the author tackles two unsettled issues, that of Zarathushtra’s birthplace,
and that of his date. Both topics are obscure, and have been the subjects of
ongoing contentious discussions for a long time.
Based
on comparative analysis of the Hindu Rigveda and the Gathas of Zarathushtra,
Ashtiyani proposes how the teachings of the prophet caused the ideological
rift among the Aryans that resulted in the great migration to the Sind
Valley. Since the migration took
place from 1700 to 1500 B.C. and the estimated time of composition of the
oldest Rigveda is between 2000 and 1700 B.C., the author persuades readers
that the era of Zarathushtra falls between 2000 and 1500 B.C. It is
generally accepted that the migration took place from the area of the
Northeastern Iranian Plateau covering parts of Khorassan,
Afghanistan,
Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. Hence, Zarathushtra’s homeland should be
Northeastern and not Northwestern Iran as had come to be accepted during the
Sassanian times.
On the
topic of Zarathushtra’s perception of God, the author predicates that
Zarathushtra was a monotheist, introducing the concept of one universal God
for the first time. Ahura Mazda (The Lord of Life and Wisdom) is present
everywhere and has no particular place or location. The Wise Lord is
conceived in the mind, and devoid of human characteristics such as anger,
envy, rancor, and revenge. Ashtiyani discusses the subjects of the Divine
attributes in detail and resolves this complex issue. The Divine attributes,
which in the later Avesta were called Amesha Spenta, are the means of
approaching God. They apply to humans as virtues. All men and women
through the attainment of the virtues “Wisdom, Truth, Spiritual Strength,
and Serenity-Love, Wholeness, and Immortality” can become Godlike, whole and
immortal. Zarathushtra’s final goal is to produce perfect and flawless
humans in the image of God, to establish the Divine dominion or ideal
government of God.
The
prophet’s campaign against corrupt rulers (Kavis) and religious leaders (Karapans)
was a peaceful one. He stood alone in defense of the oppressed, with only
spiritual words as his weapons. Despite his peacefulness, Zarathushtra
encountered setbacks and was persecuted. But even in his profound
despondency he asked God for one favor, His Love, the same love that is
granted by a lover to his beloved. The prophet’s goal was not to replace
one tyrant with another. He had a broad vision to establish the Divine
Dominion where virtuous men and women reside, the social and religious
leaders are chosen for their honesty, justice prevails, and the meek and
oppressed are rehabilitated. The reward of this government is peace.
In the chapter of his
book dealing with freedom of choice, Ashtiyani expounds that in the
teachings of Zarathushtra the concept of liberty has been emphasized in all
aspects of the life, from personal choices to the choice of religion and
temporal rulers. Even the teachings of the prophet should not be followed
blindly. People should also choose by free will to establish the Divine
Dominion, and within this context even God is to be chosen by conduct of
good deeds. Citing Yasnas 30 and 31, he summarizes Zarathushtra’s message of
liberty as follows:
Wisdom,
intelligence and liberty and intellectual capacity to make righteous choices
are gifts of God to humans. These bounties if used in a correct manner will
differentiate humans from other creatures. O’men, with your ears, by wisdom
and bright mind, realize the truth in order to tread the path of true
worship, and attain the divine light and serene abode of the Wise God. That
is the essence of the real heaven, which you establish in your inner self
and within your society. O’ men awaken and discern the joyous breeze of
humanity, and listen to the melody of freedom in order to attain the divine
virtues. As the progeny of humans, you are born free to choose your path
with full freedom. Adorn yourself with the ornaments of knowledge,
righteousness, and good thinking, and choose your path and destiny. Negation
of life, and existence (Un-life) constitutes ignorance and absence of
wisdom. It results in the victory of falsehood, deception, cruelty, and
injustice. Truthful living is based on liberty, knowledge, and wisdom. A
man living a fulfilling life is one who is free. A man captivated by the
shackles of ignorance, falsehood, and deception, is in fact deprived of
life. In essence lies and deceit denies life (un-life), and the spirit of
righteousness breeds true life. Those who tread the path of truth please
God, and the ones that sacrifice man’s dignity by their wrong desire are
actually demons disguised as humans who rule through evil thought. By the
power of the good mind, shatter the wrong and deliver falsehood into the
hands of righteousness, so that society thrives and life becomes fresh. This
message is not pleasant for those who have usurped power through falsehood
and deception.
Ashtiyani
concludes that the message of Zarathushtra, by emphasizing freedom and
wisdom, leaves no room for despots to emerge in the form of rulers or
corrupt priests. Neither does it condone the violation of freedoms and
individual rights under any pretext. He contends, “It was not the teachings
of Zarathushtra that brought about despotic rulers, rather deviation from
it”.
To
explain how the Zoroastrian religion deviated from the original teachings,
the author first quotes Zarathushtra as saying, “A bad teacher distorts the
religion, misleads the people, and distracts them from the real purpose of
life: good thinking and righteousness.” A religion becomes a world religion
when a strong military, economical, or political force stands behind it. It
is not the world religion that produces the world government, but rather, as
history proves, it is the world government that generates the world’s
dominant religion. These factors were absent during Zarathushtra’s era.
His patron was a local ruler. Even the Achaemenian Dynasty, who came to
power a thousand years later as Zoroastrians, allowed their subjects to
follow their own religion and laws freely. Also, the religious community
that is essential for the dissemination of the original message was absent.
Thus, soon after the prophet’s death, his teachings were mixed with the
earlier and alien concepts that he had totally rejected. But even the newly
evolved Zoroastrianism left its positive effects, as a millennium later it
generated great leaders as Cyrus and Darius who changed the trends of
civilizations. Ashtiyani suggests that if the Zoroastrian religion had
approached the nation in its original Gathic form, a much greater
civilization could have evolved.
Studying this book provides a better insight into the teachings of
Zarathushtra that although very old remain very fresh. As one reader put
it, “The Zoroastrian doctrine is the oldest and the newest religion in the
world.” In the field of religious studies it is very difficult to remain
impartial. Jallal Ashtiyani, whose father and ancestors were Islamic
savants, Mojtahed and Ayatollahs, proves to be an exceptional author and
scholar of high standards who transcends the human shortcomings of bias and
prejudice. His publications are the best proof of this quality, and they
pass the test of impartiality. |
