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The existence of a fixed and ordered group of
6 Am@[a Sp@ntas,
or Holy Immortals, is essential for comprehending Zarathustra’s
theological system. Admittedly, nowhere in the Gāthās do these 6 abstract
entities occur in the traditional order of the later Zoroastrian texts,
and in fact, only once in the hymns, at Y 47.1, is the group of 6
mentioned together in the same stanza. For this reason scholars, such as
Narten, contest the view that the notion of a fixed and structured group
of these abstract entities was inherited from Zarathustra. On the
contrary, they claim that the ordered grouping of the Am@[a
Sp@ntas must be a later
development within the religion.
These scholars, however, fail to grasp a
fundamental and important notion that applies to all the sacred hymns of
Zarathustra. The Gāthās, in truth, do not represent in any way an attempt
at systematic theology. Rather, they represent for the most part
Zarathustra’s poetic thoughts to Ahura Mazdā about the prophet’s own
understanding of the origins, workings and relationship of the underlying
group of the six abstract elements and their manifestation in the world of
god and the world of man. Yet these poetic elaborations, in all their
eloquent style and often complex formulations, cannot have possessed
significant meaning and inner logic unless they were based on the fixed
and traditional set of the six Holy Immortals attested in the later
theological works. The place for systematic theology in the prophet’s time
must have been prose sermons that he delivered to his adherents, much as
Meillet suggested in the 1920s. These formed the necessary instructional
background for Zarathustra’s followers to grasp his important concepts in
general and to comprehend the highly poetic language of the Gāthās in
particular.
If, as I now suggest, the fixed order of the
Am@[a Sp@ntas reverts to Zarathustra himself, what was the purpose
of the prophet’s particular arrangement of these abstract entities? My
view is that the traditional succession of these elements was precisely
arrayed by the prophet to form a coherent, closed and productive system in
which each member of the series was dependently connected with the
adjacent ones. As in all true systems, the links among the constituent
members and their sequencing were essential for the system to function
properly. Now, how did this system work?
Let me begin by recalling the order of the 6
Am@[a Sp@ntas: (1) Vohu Manō ‘Good Thinking’, (2) Aša ‘Truth’, (3)
Vohu Xšaθra ‘Good Rule or Sovereignty’, (4) Ārmaiti ‘Respect’, (5)
Haurvatāt ‘Health’, (6) Amərətāt ‘Continuing Life’. Their inter-
dependency can be described in the following manner. Good thinking leads
to the understanding of truth. Truth, formulated as the laws of society,
is the basis of all good rule or government. Good government fosters
respect for it. And when there is respect for the ruling authority or
government, society is healthy and vigorous, thus encouraging further good
and positive thinking among the people. In this manner the cycle of this
closed system continues in a loop, producing the further external result
of peace and prosperity for everyone. This system can be visualized in the
following flow chart:
System of Aməša Spəntas
Vohu Manō Aša Vohu Xšaθra
Good Thinking
Þ Truth
Þ Good Rule
Ý
ß
Amərətāt Haurvatāt
Ārmaiti
Continuing Life Ü
Health Ü Respect
The wisdom of Zarathustra’s system is sadly
seen in its perversion that seems to be the typical world situation today.
By this I mean to say, wherever we look around the world, it appears that
bad thinking has led to deceit and subsequent bad government, engendering
disrespect, with the result that society has become unhealthy and it
future quite uncertain. The outcome of this perverted system, of course,
is that instead of the peace and prosperity created by the positive
system, we encounter strife, terrorism and economic hardship both at home
and abroad. The perverted system can be schematized in the following
manner (All the pertinent terms are attested in the Gathas):
Perverted System
Aka Manō Druj
Duš@xšaθra
Bad Thinking
Þ
Deceit Þ
Bad Government
Ý
ß
Ajyāti Narәpī Tarōmaiti
Death Ü
Decline
Ü Disrespect
Our contemporary situation is undoubtedly the
one Zarathustra encountered during his lifetime. It was the large-scale
spread of deceit, evil and strife in his world, documented so frequently
in the Gāthās, that motivated the prophet to reflect upon the organization
of his society and the elements within it that were false and corrosive,
and how they had become that way. He understood, just as we do today, that
the basis for the unrest and discontent in his world were false ideas,
lies, theft, exploitation of the poor, bad rulers who disrespected the
laws of society, and every other sort of malignant social act and
political policy. By examining what was wrong in his world, Zarathustra
imagined a world in which everything could be right and true, resulting in
benefits for all members of society. But, we may well ask, how could
Zarathustra conceive of what was right by examining what was wrong?
The answer to this question is rather simple.
Consider Yasna 30.6:
‘Since they (the other gods) chose the worst
thinking, they then rushed
into fury with which they have afflicted the world and mankind.’
Here we learn that Zarathustra conceived of
the presence of evil in the world as a disease inflicted upon mankind, and
from Yasna 31.19 we equally learn that the prophet calls himself a
world-healer or physician:
‘This knowing world-healer has listened, he
who has respected the truth, Lord.’
In fact, the whole plan for the restoration of
the best existence in the Gāthās is conceived of as a curative and healing
process. Therefore, can we not conclude from these direct references that
Zarathustra was not only a priest but also a physician? This dual role is
in no way unusual in the ancient world because healing was considered a
holy art, dealing most often as it did with life and death situations, and
it was quite normal that adept priests, living in touch with the sacred,
were also trained in the skills of medicine and healing. Consequently,
like all physicians, Zarathustra had to have understood cause and effect,
condition and symptom, which is the basis of all medical treatment, and
his training as a physician was most helpful in allowing him to apply this
knowledge to the construction of the system of the Am@[a Sp@ntas.
In passing let me note that Buddha and Mani,
both founders of new religions, were also physicians. And Buddha in
particular conceived his whole Weltanschauung on the basis of a theory of
causality consisting of dependent components that linked with one another
in a manner exactly parallel to Zarathustra’s system. Its pivotal elements
are becoming, birth, growth, decay and death, and this conception is
obviously the insight of a physician.
The mention of disease and healing finally
brings me to the announced title of this paper, “Zarathustra’s Genetic
System,” the second approach to analyzing the system of the Holy
Immortals. I conceived of this idea because UNESCO declared the year 2003
as the 3000th anniversary of the founding of Zoroastrianism,
and 2003 also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the
publication by Crick and Watson of their classic paper on the structure
and replication of DNA, the fundamental building material of all living
things. Since the UNESCO declaration celebrated the survival of
Zoroastrianism on the one hand, and the Crick and Watson paper dealt with
the system of survival of all living beings on the other hand, I wondered
whether it might be possible to apply their insights concerning the
structure and function of DNA to the system of the Am@[a
Sp@ntas. As expected, this
idea bore fruitful results. But before I can proceed, some fundamental
comments about cell biology are necessary.
Every cell consists of 3 essential parts: a
nucleus, surrounding matter called cytoplasm and an encompassing membrane
or cell wall. Although not directly comparable, one can visualize the
structure of a cell in the form of a common egg, such that the nucleus,
cytoplasm and membrane correspond respectively to the yoke, the egg white
and the egg shell. Furthermore, the nucleus of every cell contains all the
information that is necessary for the development, growth and future
survival of the living being. All this information is encoded in the genes
of the chromosomes of the cell’s nucleus, and the genes themselves are
composed of DNA, the fundamental material of life.
In contrast to the cell nucleus, the cytoplasm
of a cell contains the amino acids and proteins that are necessary to
store energy and food for the continuing growth and development of the
living being. The production of the amino acids and the proteins is also
ultimately controlled by the DNA in a totally dependent manner. However,
their production involves a second intervening process that will be
discussed below.
Crick and Watson determined that the structure
of DNA is elegantly simple. It consists of 2 parallel chain-like strands
on which only 4 distinct elements appear. These elements are called
nucleotides and possess the chemical names adenine, thymine, cytosine and
guanine, but we can refer to them as elements 1, 2, 3, 4. Furthermore,
owing to their chemical properties, element 1 can pair only with element
2, element 3 only with element 4. As a result, where elements 1 and 3
appear on one strand of DNA, the complementary elements 2 and 4 must
appear on the other strand, and as a consequence of the 3-d geometry of
their chemical structures, both strands twist around each other in the
form of a double helix. One can picture the structure of DNA easily in the
form of continually twisting ladder, on which the rungs of the ladder
consist of the paired elements 1 and 2 and the paired elements 3 and 4.
1 =
adenine, 2 = thymine, 3 = cytosine, 4 = guanine
The structure of DNA depicted above is the
simplest, most idealized form. In reality, the structure of the some
20-30,000 genes in an individual can vary in every possible way, in almost
every conceivable combination. Yet, what remains consistent in all arrays
of DNA is the fact that elements 1 and 3 can only combine with the
complementary elements 2 and 4, no matter on which strand of the double
helix these elements are found.
However, as mentioned above, the DNA of the
cell nucleus does not directly cause the synthesis of amino acids and
proteins. There is an intervening process involving other nuclear matter
called RNA, and the process can be briefly described in the following
manner. The information, i.e., the linear sequence of elements contained
in a particular form of DNA, is transcribed
into RNA that acts as a messenger of this information, and for this reason
this other chemical material is called messenger RNA (mRNA).
Once encoded into mRNA, the original DNA
information is subsequently translated in the cytoplasm into enzymes that
then trigger the formation of the necessary amino acids, proteins and
other molecular components needed for growth and survival. Equally
important is the fact that DNA also triggers in a similar fashion the
antibodies that combat foreign matter that can cause disease. This
complete process that begins with DNA, continues with mRNA and ultimately
results in the synthesis of amino acids and proteins is called the central
dogma of biology. It functions in every living creature, from the simplest
to the most complex.
Let us now return to Zarathustra’s system of
Am@[a Sp@ntas
and see how the DNA model might be applied to the basic elements of his
design for living. First let us note that there is a basic distinction
between the first 4 elements of good thinking, truth, good rule and
respect on the one hand, and health and continuing life on the other. In
the first place, it is clear from reading the Gāthās that health and
continuing life for both god and man are dependent upon the existence of
the prior four elements. Zarathustra continually stresses that neither
health nor continuing life can exist without the presence of good
thinking, truth, good rule and respect. An excellent example of this
notion occurs at Y.34.11, where health and continuing mentioned earlier in
the stanza are recapitulated by the phrase ‘two enduring powers’:
Through the rule of good thinking joined with
truth,
(our) respect has increased these two enduring powers.
In this light, health and continuing life are
the equivalent of the proteins and the amino acids in the cell’s
cytoplasm. Therefore, just as the formation of proteins and amino acids
are ultimately dependent upon the DNA in the cell nucleus, so too health
and continuing life in Zarathustra’s system are produced and dependent
upon these 4 fundamental abstract elements which lie at the center of the
prophet’s ideas. These are the fundamental elements necessary for
survival.
Secondly, Zarathustra makes it explicitly
clear in his poems that truth and good thinking on the one hand,
sovereignty and respect on the other, stand in complementary, dependent
relationships. He repeatedly informs us that the grasp of truth comes only
through good thinking, that rule or any other form of authority has no
meaning without the proper respect for it. The interdependency of truth
and good thinking is immediately encountered in the very first Gāthā,
where the prophet asks:
Truth, shall I see thee, as I
continue to acquire good thinking? (Y. 28.5).
This establishes a fixed link between truth
and good thinking. Note also Y.45.9 which speaks of ‘the good kinship of
truth with good thinking.’ In a similar fashion, the interdependency of
sovereignty and respect is found in the clear and unequivocal statement of
Y. 47.1, “The Wise One in rule is Lord through (our) respect." But their
co-dependent bond is most notably expressed at Y. 44.7:
Who
fashioned respect along with sovereignty?
Therefore, we can map these 4 elements on to a
double helix model in which good thinking and respect appear on one
strand, and truth and good rule appear on the other, with the bonding
between both strands formed by the complementary pairs of these basic
elements.
1 = Good Thinking,
2 = Truth, 3 = Respect, 4 = Good Rule
Finally, there is a very important point that
I need to underscore. When I began the discussion about DNA, I mentioned
that Zarathustra considered evil and deceit to be a disease that has
afflicted the world of mankind. Once the prophet has made this point in
Yasna 30.6, in the very next verse he states that Ahura Mazdā came into
our world with his rule of truth and good thinking and that enduring
respect gave body and breath to it. Here the 4 basic elements of good
thinking, truth, sovereignty and respect are mentioned, as well as health
and continuing life rephrased in the poetic terms body and breath. But the
verse underscores the crucial notion that the continuing respect of man
imparts life to the good rule of god.
By this statement, Zarathustra has pointed out
two very fundamental notions. First, that the remedy or medicine for
curing the disease of evil and deceit in the world is a sovereign rule
that is based on truth and good thinking. And second, that such a
sovereign rule cannot exist without the respect for its authority. All
four elements are necessary for ridding the world of evil and deceit and
all four elements are equally necessary for the survival of both god and
mankind. Cast in the simplest terms, truth, good thinking, enlightened
government and respect are the basic genetic elements for the survival of
the world, the only ones that can produce peace and prosperity, growth and
stability, and all the healthy conditions that will promote the
progressive advance of mankind.
Yet two aspects are missing to complete the
homology with biological DNA. In the first place, what is the equivalent
within Zarathustra’s system that corresponds to messenger RNA (mRNA)? In
other words, how do good thinking, truth, good rule and respect eventually
become translated into health and continuing life? The answer to this
question is furnished several times in the Gāthās, but one of the clearest
instances occurs in Yasna 34.1:
By whichever action,
by whichever word, by whichever worship,
Wise One, Thou didst receive for Thyself continuing life … and
mastery over health, let these very things be given by us to Thee,
o Lord, in the very greatest number.
Here Zarathustra reveals, as he does in many
passages of the Gāthās, that the abstract notions of good thinking, truth,
sovereignty and respect must be encoded into real and concrete processes.
The messenger elements that perform this function are the other
foundational concepts of the religion that every Zoroastrian understands:
good thoughts, good words and good deeds. The prophet’s notions here are
easy to comprehend. A person must understand the underlying abstract
system of the religion and its goals in the first place. However, this
understanding must in turn be encoded into concrete good thoughts, good
words and good deeds which subsequently will be translated into the
manifold activities and undertakings that produce health and continuing
life for god and man. In this light, we may call Zarathustra’s system the
central dogma of the Zoroastrian religion.
To grasp the prophet’s ideas more easily allow
me to employ a parallel analogy. The group of fundamental entities
comprised of truth and good thinking, sovereignty and respect, is an
abstract blueprint, much like the design or blueprints for the
construction of a building. For the group of abstract ideas to be brought
to realization, they must be encoded into concrete form through good
thoughts, good words and good deeds in the same way that the blueprints
for a building must be encoded into the real ideas, real orders and real
labor necessary to proceed with its construction. Finally, when these
procedures function properly together, a structure is produced that will
survive and offer protection and permit growth and development to its
inhabitants. This is exactly how Zarathustra’s design for living is
conceived.
One element in my analysis is missing to
complete the biological homology. What corresponds to the cell’s membrane,
the element that encompasses the nucleus and cytoplasm of the cell as the
chemical processes take place? Here as well there is a clear answer. It is
the Sp@nta Mainyu,
the Benevolent Spirit. By this I mean to say that a person cannot
comprehend either the knowledge or workings of the Am@[a
Sp@ntas unless that person has the proper disposition or holy
inclination to want to fight against evil and further good in the world.
In Yasna 43, Zarathustra himself explains that
he began to understand the wonderful things that Ahura Mazdā had created
only when his own benevolent spirit had been awakened. That is to say, the
prophet explains that a person’s progressive spirit or nature is the
underlying principle that motivates someone to understand the sorry
condition of the world and to seek after those processes that will result
in its betterment. Furthermore, it is the recognition of such a spirit in
others that permits good people to communicate with other good people and
to forge an alliance for the good of mankind, much as membranes of cells
communicate with one another in order to form a cooperative undertaking
for the survival of the living being.
I am not suggesting in this paper that
Zarathustra was the first biological geneticist. Rather, I do believe that
the prophet was a physician and that he understood the relationship
between disease and remedy. However, his great insight allowed him to view
evil and deceit in the world as a disease and his great intelligence
allowed him to propose a model for eliminating this disease and returning
the world to a healthy condition by which it could survive into the
future. That the model he proposed for world survival consists of 4 basic
interrelated elements that find a direct parallel in the 4 interrelated
elements found in DNA demonstrates that the most complex conditions and
problems can most often be solved in the simplest and most elegant
fashion. It is a pity that this approach is almost invariably ignored in
our times and buried under the clutter and corrosiveness of
overcomplicated and vapid proposals that lead nowhere except to further
difficulties and maladies. On the other hand, the prophet Zarathustra’s
simple genetic system for survival has blissfully allowed a great religion
to endure for 3000 years and to impart to its followers a simple and
effective model for sustaining their own lives and those around them.
[i]
This paper is an expanded version of a lecture delivered at a WZO
Seminar in London, 20 June 2004, and appeared in the Winter 2004 issue
of HAMAZOR (publication of World Zoroastrian Organization). The paper
was posted on vohuman.org on January 16, 2005 courtesy of its author,
Professor Stanley Insler and of HAMAZOR.
[ii]
HAMAZOR is a quarterly publication of the World Zoroastrian
Organization.
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