[To those not very familiar with blogs, one word of advice. The posts run in reverse order, the last post is actually the first. It's important to point this because, as far as this blog is concerned, the contents will be better understood by reading the last post first, then the next post, please read in 'reverse' order.]
The Gathas are metrical verses; scholars say their meter, the measure of rhyming, is similar to that of the verses of the Indian Rig Veda, the oldest literature of these people, cousins to the Iranians.
The first Gatha, the Ahunavaity Gatha, have verses, each of six lines, with either 7, 9 or 8 syllables/ sounds in each word, per line, totalling to 48 syllables per verse!
The second Gatha, the Ushtavaity Gatha, have verses, each of 5 lines, with 11 syllables per line,totalling to 55 syllables per verse!
The third Gatha, the Spentomenid Gatha, have verses, each of 4 lines, with again 11 syllables per line, thus totalling to 44 syllables per verse.
The fourth Gatha, the Vohu Xshathra Gatha, have verses of 6 lines, with 7 syllables per line, thus totalling to 42 syllables per verse.
the fifth Gatha, the Vahishta Isti Gatha, have verses of 6 lines, but this is the only section with free use of either 7, 9, 11 or 12 syllables per line, therefore no confirmity in the total syllables per verse.
These are some of the very oldest surviving poetry in the history of mankind.
The Ahunavaity Gatha-
Yasna 29 comprising of 11 verses.
A tragic drama unfolds, the earth is pained by the wicked:
Unto You cried out the Soul of the Earth,
wherefrom did you create me? who fashioned me?
fury and rapine hold sway and the arrogant use violence'
I am enmeshed in outrage and agggresion;
none other Protector I have but You,
reveal to me a true Saviour.
Thereupon the Creator enquired of Righteousness,
who should be Thy Saviour for this Earth,
so that ye may offer to her,
protection and cherished zeal?
Whom do you desire as her Lord,
who shall free her of distress from the hosts of Untruth?
Unto Him (to the Lord God), Righteousness, who disunites none,
and binds all Creation together, made reply;
of those on earth no one is known,
by whom the righteous may stand against the wicked;
of mortals he has to be the strongest
unto whose call we may respond in all haste.
Lord Wisdom best bears in mind all prayers and pleas,
which have been made to Him even in the distant past,
by mortals, and even by the devas (the wicked),
as also these that shall be made to him in the far future;
the Lord Ahura is the sole Judge,
so let that happen to us which He alone ordains.
Therefore, verily, with uplifted hearts,
and hands outstretched, for the grace of Ahura,
my soul and that of this laboured earth,
pleads Lord Wisdom to grant our wishes;
never shall harm come upon the righteous living,
nor to the Shepherd even though he dwells among the wicked.
Thereupon speaks Ahura Mazda,
who enriches life with His all pervading presence,
is there not even one master,
nor a saviour filled with righteousness!
For this indeed as Shepherd
and Protector has the Creator ordained thee! (Zarathustra)
The Holy Word, that is the Lord's sacrifice (from us),
one with the same accord with Righteousness, has uttered,
the rewards of Mother Earth are,
indeed to the Holy Ones who serve.
Who is Thine Saviour, O Pure Mind,
who shall bring succour to mortals?
There is only one here, knowest I,
the only one who hearkens to our commandments-
Zarathustra Spitaman;
about Wisdom and Righteousness he alone
is willing to proclaim, through songs of praise;
so grant him the sweetness of speech!
Thereupon the Soul of Mother Earth wailed,
must I accept such feeble succour?
from the words of a man without strength,
whilst indeed I desired a mighty leader;
when will such a man arise?
who shall bring me strong support!
(Then Mother Earth reconciled)
O Ahura, do Ye, unto these,
grant spiritual force, and O Righteousness, grant strength,
grant that, O Pure Mind, to him,
that he may lead us to peace and rectitude;
Him, O Mazda, we all
accept as Thy noblest creation!
When will Righteousness and Love
and the Kingdom hasten to me,
do Ye, O Mazda, grant this new teaching,
unto this glorious brotherhood grant your acceptance;
O Ahura, now that help has come to us,
we shall be ever there to serve You!
Zarathustra, Zoroaster to the Greeks, the great prophet, founder of Zoroastrianism, lived and preached amongst the Indo-European "Aryan" ancestors of Iranians, in a remote past, the first to reveal the existence of One God. To readers conditioned to visualizing God with human attitudes-an angry or wrathful God who visits destruction, or demands sacrifices,(Abraham tested, asked to sacrifice his son,)the Zoroastrian God is pristine pure, and human failings cannot be attributed to His nature.
The Zoroastrian credo is: "Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds." The neighbouring religion to the East, Hinduism, tells you "think no evil, see no evil, do no evil," not a frontal ethical assertion when compared to "Good Thoughts......." Hinduism believes in renunciation and rejection of this world, by contrast a Zoroastrian is expected to lead a joyous life, raise a family, help the poor, look after God's creation, and fight evil from within the world!
Ahura Mazda, Lord Wisdom, is Highest Righteousness, Pure Mind-(wholly pure through His whole Being), Supreme Omnipotence, Bountiful Devotion, Perfection and Eternity. These seven attributes, a Great Heptad, are reverently called the Amesha Spentas, Eternal Bountiful Divine Beings, but form One Entity, Ahura Mazda, Lord Wisdom.
Ahura Mazda is so pristine pure, no human failings and negative qualities like anger revenge and punishment can be part of Him; thus Zarathustra's God is simply incapable of causing human suffering and pain.
All the pain and death, suffering and misery is the work of an opposing Force, Angra Mainyu, the Ignorant Mind, whose sole aim in creation is to wreck the good work of Ahura Mazda. On a parallel, is it not the ignorant who are mainly responsible for the ills of this world?
Besides, Ahura Mazda has set into motion Asa-Laws of Creation-that we see all around us. Massive earthquakes, for example, like the Haiti earthquake, can be said to be the natural ongoing work of Asa, God's Law for nature-creation, shifting earth plates a natural phenomena. However, if response from the world is seen to be lukewarm, earthquake victims and problems relating to such situation is not addressed, that would be said to be the handiwork of satan-Angra Mainyu-Ignorant Mind!
Every one of His creation, man included, is responsible for their actions and all natural consequences resulting from these.
Eventually, all evil will be utterly annihilated, and all of God's creation will attain perfection and become deathless. This is called Frashokereti - perfection of the world.
Readers may find this new, but Zoroastrianism does not accept converts, or believe in conversion, yet Zoroastrians are keen the world know about Zarathustra's message, for understanding the world around them, understanding the unique problem of pain, suffering and evil in the world, the choice of believing in good, doing things the right way. The consequences of choices made are solely the person's responsibility. Thus one can learn from the precepts of the religion, strive to be a better person, but without any formal acceptance of Zoroastrianism
a popular stylised picture of the Prophet.
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