THE SCIENCE OF BEING By Ida B. Elliott

Preface:

The religion termed Divine Science is a Christian New Thought religious movement founded in the late 1880s. It has no direct connection to our Divine Science University but there are many similarities between what we each believe.

Divine Science, the religion, emphasizes the omnipresence of God as the foundational truth, teaching that God (understood as limitless Being, pure Spirit, perfect Life, Love, and Substance) is equally present everywhere and constitutes the All of everything.

The religious movement founded a Divine Science College in Denver in 1898 to train teachers, practitioners, and ministers. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and  the death of one of the founders, the movement’s center shifted to Denver (and later to Pueblo, Colorado) under the leadership of the other founder until her death in 1945.

The religious movement of Divine Science is practical and experiential, aiming for a direct knowing of God and participation in bringing forth greater good.

This article, written by Ida B. Elliott in the early 1900s, is shared for educational purposes.

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 10

Each stanza of this song contains the translation in italics, a brief commentary, and a closing thought to ponder.  

Try reading on stanza each day and pondering upon its meaning.

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PROCLAMATION

Song 10.1 (Yasna 45.1)

Now, I shall proclaim, hear and listen,

you who have come from near and far as seekers.

Now, clearly bear these in mind.

Let not the evil teacher, the wrongful,

with his evil choice and perverted tongue, 

destroy life for a second time. 

Feeling fully confident about how to spread his message, Zarathushtra calls a conference. People flock in from far and near to hear him. As he addresses them, he wants to make one point clear: they should bear in mind that evil teachers have chosen evil and will thus use perverse language to seduce them back—a trick that would destroy their life, now being built on a new, fresh standard.

A wise person recognizes manipulative teachers and educates others on their deceitful nature.

Rising Above Negativity

 

As I was re-arranging and re-organizing my home office space, I discovered an early paper I had written and presented as part of a graduation presentation for a Mediumship course I had participated in many years ago.

What caught my attention was the title:  “RISING ABOVE NEGATIVITY”.   I remember now so clearly my teacher, Jovita, reiterating over and over to “rise above negativity”.

I could hear her words… yet the “how to” eluded me in the beginning.   I wondered “just exactly, how do you rise above negativity?   

And so I began my presentation from definition…. 

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 9

Each stanza of this song contains the translation in italics, a brief commentary, and a closing thought to ponder.  

Try reading on stanza each day and pondering upon its meaning.

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ANSWERING QUESTIONS

Song 9.1 (Yasna 44.1)

This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord. 

How shall I reverently pay [homage to You]?

Teach this to a friend like me, Wise One.

Let us all be given help, through loving righteousness,

so that it comes to us through good mind.

Enlightenment through meditating on questions that turn into answers.  In the first stanza, he asks as to how he should pay his reverence and homage to Ahura—“The Being”. He wants Wisdom to teach a friend like Zarathushtra; he wishes for help through the Universal Law which is made of “loving” rightousness, the help comes only when one uses his or her good mind. The answer he recieves is that this very stanza is the best loving homage one can pay. No rule for performing rituals, no directive for dramas.

Commune with Lord Wisdom by meditation and consult the Good Mind for the right answers.

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 8

Each stanza of this song contains the translation in italics, a brief commentary, and a closing thought to ponder.  

Try reading on stanza each day and pondering upon its meaning.

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REALIZING-SELF, NATURE, GOD

Song 8.1 (Yasna 43.1)

May the Wise, Ruling-at-will Lord

grant radiant happiness to the person

who radiates happiness to any other person at large.

I pray for steadfast strength and courage

in order to uphold righteousness.

Grant me through serenity

the blessings of a rich life of good mind. 

The Wise God rules at his will, a will that grants radiant happiness to whosoever gives radiating happiness to others without discrimination. All joining to create a healthy healthy and happy happy world. Zarathushtra wants steadfast strength and courage not for physical power but to serve righteousness. And he wants stability that produces a rich life based on good mind—a blessing to live, a life to spread happiness, a happiness that is shared by all.

True happiness radiates happiness onto others and enriches all lives.

Integrating Divine Senses to Activate New Potentials

 

As I contemplate the arrival of New Beginnings, a wave of excitement permeates my thoughts, and they become alive with anticipation and excitement!   I wonder… which new potentials I will choose.  

In the past, I would set intentions by listing my desires, and then visualizing and feeling the qualities of each as I spoke affirmations to bring them into manifestation.  I continue this process, only now I include my Divine senses of Awareness, Imagination, Focus, Compassion, and Expression.       

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 7

Each stanza of this song contains the translation in italics, a brief commentary, and a closing thought to ponder.  

Try reading on stanza each day and pondering upon its meaning.

RENOVATION

Song 7.1 (Yasna 34.1)

The deed, the word, and the veneration 

by which I give immortality, righteousness,

and the motive for wholeness to the people,

are very much offered by us,

Wise Lord, to You. 

The message of Zarathushtra leads to mental veneration of the Divine. Words and deeds that give righteousness, and power to move towards wholeness, and immortality. This mental veneration, words and deeds are what Zarathushtra and his companions offer to Mazda Ahura.

No sacrifice, intoxicating substance, or other material offering is needed to please the Divine One. Only our good thoughts, words, and deeds should be offered to promote a good life.

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 6

Each stanza of this song contains the translation in italics, a brief commentary, and a closing thought to ponder.  

Try reading on stanza each day and pondering upon its meaning.

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DEVOTION TO DUTY

Song 6.1 (Yasna 33.1)

According to the Primal Principles of Life

the leader shall do full justice

to the wrongful and to the righteous,

as well as to the person

whose falsity is combined

with his probity. 

The leader, chosen by people, should be impartial. He should base his justice on the Primal Principles of Life and then deal with the wrongful, the righteous, and the person who is both. It is this impartiality that brings true justice and wins others over to righteousness.

We must choose impartial leaders who will judge ALL according to their behavior.

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 5

Each stanza of this song contains the translation in italics, a brief commentary, and a closing thought to ponder.  

Try reading on stanza each day and pondering upon its meaning.

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ABERRATION

Introduction: This song is an exposure of the fraud and aberration practiced by the priests and princes of the old Avestan religions. The worship of daevas, a listing of false gods, were the creation of a mentality of harm and deceit by the priestly profession. Superstitions direct a person away from Divine thinking. They can, however, become a good source of income for the cunning and unscrupulous, who continue to hoard what they can extract from simple people. 

These cunning persons are the ritualistic priests, called the karapan by Zarathushtra. The word actually means “arrangers of rituals”, but it also means “chatterers” and “mumblers” which they indeed were. They were the only priests that Zarathushtra knew of; in his Songs, he does not refer to any good priest. 

The karapans were not alone. There were also the rulers, turned into luxury lovers through the spoils they had accumulated. The two, having a common vested interest of exploiting the people, had joined hands to enrich themselves. They kept the people in darkness and ignorance through their increasing lust for wealth.  They had become tyrants, an action that earned them people’s hatred. However, they forgot that the Divine was watching them and a day would dawn when a thought-provoker would rise and lead the people out of their exploitation and darkness and to divine light. 

This was Zarathushtra's desire.

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 4

Each stanza of this song contains the translation in italics, a brief commentary, and a closing thought to ponder.  

Try reading on stanza each day and pondering upon its meaning.

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ON GUIDANCE

Contemplate deeply each stanza over the next week.

Song 4.1 (Yasna 31.1)

Keeping the two principles of Yours in mind,

we shall teach the hitherto unheard words 

to those who destroy the righteous world 

by their wrongful doctrines.  

No doubt, the two principles will prove the best for those 

who are devoted to the Wise One. 

With the two principles of Good and Evil in view, Zarathushtra and his companions embark on teaching an entirely new doctrine, never heard before. The teachings are particularly meant for those who prove destructive to the life based on righteousness. For those who are already on the right track, the two principles should prove highly useful.

The Zarathushtrian Doctrine is novel, it leads to progress by steps, and aims to guide the wrongful toward the Laws of Existence; it reaffirms that the ethical are on the right path.

The Role of Water in Physical and Mental Health

As an advocate for maintaining balance between our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies, I have come to understand the importance of ensuring that our bodies receive enough pure and clean water.

Looking back…. as a child and adolescent I was not aware that water was an option as a drink!  I, as well as my siblings were raised on tea, hot and cold, and occasionally soda.  Mom, being from England, introduced us to tea, and it became a part of our culture.  Little did I realize until much later in life the outcomes of being “dehydrated”.

An article written by Peter Ragnar (a natural life scientist, Taoist, and Self-Master, and Author) had gotten my attention.

This article was titled: "Your’re Not Demented, Just Dehydrated"

"Sleeps Unaware of the Clarion Call…"

Are you familiar with this line from an old song?  After 60 years of listening to the song I received some new insight that makes it more meaningful for me in this era.  

I will conclude with the song, but first let me share the insights with you by paraphrasing the song and its insights.  Then when you watch the song at the end it may help you to become more awake.

The medieval version of this song was about two lovers who had broken up and now set impossible tasks for each other in order to express the impossibility of their reconciliation. Woven into the modern lyrics is a second set of lyrics to make a striking counter point. So this song is actually two songs sung at the same time.

Let’s break down one interpretation of this song.