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.
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.
Song 10.2 (Yasna 45.2)
Now, I shall proclaim the two foremost mentalities of life.
Of these, the more progressive one told the regressive one thus:
Neither our thoughts, nor teachings, nor intellects,
nor choices, nor words, nor deeds,
nor consciences, nor souls agree.
Zarathushtra proclaims a second important point. The two mentalities play a foremost part in our lives; they are the good and evil mentality in human mind. One is more progressive towards becoming like Divinity, and the other is the regressive one away from being like Divinity. They have nothing in common. They differ in thought, teaching, wisdom, choice, words, deeds, reflection and their very basis.
The constructive and destructive mentalities in our minds will never be in harmony.
Song 10.3 (Yasna 45.3)
Now, I shall proclaim the foremost point of this life,
which the Wise Lord, the Knowing told me:
Those of you who do not practice the thought-provoking doctrine
the way I understand and explain it,
shall experience a woeful end of life.
The third important point proclaimed by Zarathushtra is a warning. He has realized through his divine communion with the Wise One, a doctrine which stimulates mind to clearly think and decide to follow the Primal Principles of Life. If one does not use discretion and blindly follows what they are taught and told, they would experience a woeful life.
Listen well, think clearly and act correctly to avoid undesirable consequences.
Song 10.4 (Yasna 45.4)
Now, I shall proclaim the best in this life,
which, I know through righteousness, the Wise One gave.
He is the patron of active good mind,
and the good-working serenity is His creation.
The all-watching Lord cannot be deceived.
The fourth point, the best one to know in this life, is that the Wise One is the creator of both good mind and serenity—two principles which are essential to promote a righteous way of life. As such, Zarathushtra realized this fact through the Universal Law of Righteousness. Zarathushtra reminds us that Ahura Mazda is watching all and is in full contact with the creation. Nothing can go undetected. It is futile on part of some who think they can deceive God—a practice common among polytheists.
Ahura Mazda established the fundamental laws of existence so that all life could progress to: wholeness with the Divine.
Song 10.5 (Yasna 45.5)
Now, I shall proclaim the word which the Most Progressive One told me.
It is the best to be heard by mortals.
Those who pay it attention and observance,
shall have wholeness and immortality,
and reach the Wise Lord through their actions of good mind.
Zarathushtra proclaims the Message he has realized through his communion with God, who is the most progressive. The Message is, therefore, very progressive. It is the best to be heeded by mankind, and, if given the attention and observance it deserves and followed wisely by good actions, it surely will lead to wholeness and immortality.
The progressive message of the Creator means progress towards perfection and immortality.
Song 10.6 (Yasna 45.6)
Now, I shall proclaim the Greatest of all.
I shall praise Him through righteousness.
He is beneficent to those who exist.
May the Wise Lord hear me through the progressive mind.
I have taken counsel with good mind in His glory.
May He, with this wisdom, guide me best.
Zarathushtra now makes his most important proclamation. It is The Lord of Wisdom, the Super-Intellect Being, his greatest discovery, his best realization. He vows to praise Wisdom through righteousness and precision (righteousness) in action. The first praise is that Mazda is beneficent to all that exist. He wants the Wise One to communicate to him through the progressive mentality, the creative and promoting faculty. While glorifying God, Zarathushtra is consulting his good mind so that he is guided good to perform his duties in the best way.
Take counsel with Wisdom and be led to the best outcomes and decisions.
Song 10.7 (Yasna 45.7)
The living, the departed, and the yet-to-be-born
seek their great successes from Him.
The souls of the righteous shall eternally be strong.
The wrongful shall experience repeated failures.
The Wise Lord has, through His sovereignty, established these principles.
Having made his most important proclamation, Zarathushtra states that all—living, departed, or yet to be born—will succeed in their life only if they follow the Divine Principles of Consequences. Righteous people will enjoy eternal strength, and the wrongful will face failures until they amend their behavior.
All those who have ever lived, knowing or unknowing, have sought the growth which comes from the all wise Creator of existence.
Song 10.8 (Yasna 45.8)
I shall seek to turn Him towards us with praises of reverence,
because I have now conceived Him with my eyes
of good thoughts, words, and deeds,
and perceived Him through righteousness as the Wise Lord.
Let us, then, offer our glorifications to Him in the House of Song.
In this song Zarathushtra is in communion with God. He is venerating God because he has realized the Supreme Being with his eyes of his good thoughts, words, and deeds—through comprehending the Universal Law of Precision (righteousness). Because of this, he feels enchanted and wishes all of us, who have heard his proclamations, to glorify the Lord of Wisdom in a state where everything is a song for the soul, music for the mind.
Want to know the nature of the Creator? See all around you the precise ordering of existence, perfect upon realization.
Song 10.9 (Yasna 45.9)
I shall seek to please Him for us with good mind,
for He has granted us the will to choose between progress and retrogress.
May the Wise Lord, through His sovereignty,
grant us the exercise to promote our cattle and men
with the cooperation of good mind through righteousness.
Zarathushtra realizes that the Lord of Wisdom has granted human beings to choose between progress and retrogression—a freedom of choice that guides him to praise Mazda through his good thoughts, words, and deeds. He prays for strength to work for the promotion of people and their flocks—their livelihood, and he wants to continue his work through good mind and precision—the perfect way to work positively.
The freedom of choice is our divine mandate. Do we aid in the perfection of existence, or fight against it?
Song 10.10 (Yasna 45.10)
I shall seek to exalt Him for us with praises of serenity,
Who, by a new name, is known as the Wise Lord.
He grants, through righteousness and good mind,
wholeness and immortality in His dominion.
May He grant us steadfast strength and endurance.
Serene and satisfied, Zarathushtra glorifies God because He is not the old conception of a deity; He is the Super-Intellect Being, a new name that defines Him best. He has established Primal Principles of Life according to which one achieves immortal perfection in the divine dominion. May He grant us lasting strength and endurance!
May we establish the dominion of the Lord of Wisdom through the laws of existence, where all life could be whole, complete, and never-ending.
Song 10.11 (Yasna 45.11)
He who denies the false gods and their men,
just as they deny him, and unlike others,
acknowledges Him in good spirit, is,
through his progressive conscience, the beneficent and master of house,
rather a friend, brother, and father, O Wise Lord.
Zarathushtra is clear regarding The Lord of Wisdom: One has to categorically deny false gods. One has to completely make one’s mind to understand, and that, in good spirit, has to understand The Being, the Essence, that Zarathushtra is describing as the Super-Intellect. Such a person, because of their progressive conscience, progressive insight, becomes a benefactor, a leader and, in fact, a friend, brother/sister, and parent to the community.
Note: words for brother and father, when used in neuter gender stands for both sexes in Avesta and Sanskrit.
No matter who we are in life—friend, brother, father, or sister—we can make the world progress by emulating Ahura Mazda, the divine creator of existence.
We invite your comments on these Gathas so that our insights might teach one another.
Next Installment (WHEN PUBLISHED): The Gathas – Song 11
Previous Installment: The Gathas – Song 9
Source: The Gathas - Zarathushtrian Assembly See the index on the left of the page for the Song labeled in the title of this article.
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