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.

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 3

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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Of Beneficence and Harmfulness (Good and Evil)

Song 3.1 (Yasna 30.1)

Now I shall speak to those who wish to hear of the two principles, which are of importance even to the wise. I shall also, with reverence for good mind and the good consideration of righteousness, have praises for the Lord, so that you may see brilliant happiness.              

Zarathushtra opens a new chapter in his Divine Doctrine—Good and Evil, two important principles that have even perplexed the wise. To understand the problem he keeps in view 1) good mind and 2) the approach to the problem through the Universal Law of Righteousness of precision—two important points for problem solution. 

And as usual, he has his praises for God, the guide who leads us by means of our good mind and righteousness to radiant happiness.

The perplexing duality of Good and Evil—the two ever-posing choices in life—can be realized by understanding the Universal Law of Righteousness that governs precise regulation of all matters physical and spiritual.

Contemplate deeply each stanza over the next week.

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 2

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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ZARATHUSTRA’S SELECTION

Introductory commentary: The second song of the Gathas is a play. The play is not only the oldest Indo-Iranian play on record (approximately 3700 years old), but one can even go further to state that it is the oldest dramatic poem in the world which survives in the very words of the author—Zarathushtra Spitama [zara-THOO-stra spi-T'AH-mah].

While it is generally believed that "might makes right" in the living world, it SEEMS that the strong more regularly oppress the weak and deprive them of their legitimate rights. It seems that ours is a world of the survival of the strongest rather the most fit, or suitable. 

While this law is perhaps good for the jungle, man has outgrown being a mere animal. He is a creator now. He has discovered how to make fire. He has discovered metals and learned how to mold them into instruments. He has invented many articles. These discoveries have made him very powerful. He can make wonderful things and, equally, he can destroy wonderful things. His destructive aspect poses a great threat, not only to his own existence, but to life on the  Earth.

ZARATHUSHTRA'S WORK: The Gathas - Song 1

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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HUMBLY I PRAY

Ideal are the thoughts, ideal the words, ideal the deeds

of the Righteous Zarathushtra.

Let the ever-living promulgators present the Gathas.

Homage to the righteous Gathas!              

This introductory salutation was, most probably, composed by an early reciter of the Gathas who was, himself/herself, a devout promulgator of the Sublime Songs and a preacher of the Divine Doctrine. 

There is only one path in life, and that is the path of Righteousness.

ZARATHUSTRA’S WORK: The Gathas - Yatha Ahu (Principle of Choice)

This second introductory passage, the Ahuna Vairya, commonly called by the two words in the beginning, the Yatha Ahu, is the Principle of Choice. 

It is the Zarathushtrian master formula for a spiritual and material policy making system in which one is free to choose a person as his or her lord and leader.

Both the lord and the leader are to be chosen

because of their righteousness.

These two appointments are made with good mind

so that acts of life are done for the Wise One,

and the dominion of the Lord is well established,

in which the chosen person becomes

the rehabilitator of the rightful who are oppressed.              

ZARATHUSTRA’S WORK: The Gathas - Ashem Vohu (Truth, Righteousness, Cosmic Order)

This second introductory installment of the Gathas establishes the main principle of Zarathustra’s teachings.  Ashem Vohu is the central concept representing truth, righteousness, cosmic order, and the right way to live.  

This portion of the Gathas is translated and presented as:

Righteousness is the best good. 

It is radiant happiness.

Radiant happiness comes to the person to whom

righteousness is for the sake of the 

best righteousness alone.              

Righteousness is the universal law that stands for order, evolution, progress, and perfection as established by the Creator for creation. One becomes righteous by doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, and with the right means to obtain the right result. 

ZARATHUSTRA’S WORK: The Gathas (An Introduction)

Here we look at the introduction to Zarathushtra’s work.  The Gathas are a set of 17 philosophical songs, or poems, composed by Zarathushtra Spitama roughly 3,500 years ago, comprising 241 stanzas of roughly 5,500 words (or ~9,000 in English).  They encode large amounts of knowledge in each stanza inviting many different interpretations and nearly infinite applicability.  

These are the thoughts and teaching of Zarathustra woven into poetry in order to honor the divine and enlighten the listener.  For those of us who do not speak the "dead language" of Old Avestan, we, undoubtedly loose some of the nuance of the original, but there is enough scholarly work that we can "get close".  Which is what this series seeks to do. 

The Gathas were composed by one person, Zarathushtra Spitama. They have been translated by many – Zoroastrian and non-Zoroastrian priests, philologists, professors, litterateurs, “translators”, adventurers, and sheer admirers. The resulting translations are so diverse that one has to imagine as many Zarathushtras as there are translators of his songs.  

Rather than devise lengthy sermons or a list of prescriptions on how one should live their life, Zarathushtra decided to gift humanity with a guide to attaining the divine in oneself.  He trusted each person to actualize this desire according to their own understanding and circumstances.

ANCIENT WISDOM: A Brief History of Zoroastrianism

Gathic Era

Continued from Ancient Wisdom: Beginnins of Zarathushtra’s Mission

At over 40 years of age and with the full backing of a powerful chieftain, Zoroastrianism enters what is termed the Gathic Era.  This period, named for Zarathushtra's Gathas writing, spanned from c. 1500 to 1000 BC.  The Gathas, which we will review in future articles, is a set of 17 sacred hymns composed by Zarathushtra in Old Avestan (Ancient Iranian) language.

This period marked a radical religious revolution in the ancient Iranian world as polytheism transitions into one of the world's first documented monotheistic faiths.  

The Gathic Era emphasized human reason, free will, and the ethical responsibility of the individual in their choice between truth and falsehood.  Zarathushtra condemned the worship of the Old Iranian nature deities and gods of war.  He instead focused attention on the worship of the "Wise Lord" the singular, uncreated, supreme creator.  He encouraged his followers to act as "co-workers" of the Wise Lord by utilizing good thoughts, good words, and good deeds in their struggle to choose between two possibilities – Holy Spirit or Destructive Spirit.

ANCIENT WISDOM: Beginnings of Zarathustra's Mission

Around 1200 BC Zarathushtra was born into a spacious home of a local chieftain.  His father was Pourushāspa Spitama, a hot-headed and braggadocios man who was the lord of a village and its surrounding land, as well as a wealthy horse owner.  Zarathushtra's mother was Dughdova, a mysterious figure who seems to have had a significant impact on her son’s life.

Not Dughdova

Dughdova was known for having a bright and remarkable character, with legend even attributing to her a luminous glow that dazzled all around.  When she was young a serious of disaster in her home region caused the people to blame these events on her practicing witchcraft, and they informed the priests.

Seeking to preserve his daughter, but fearing reprisals from the priests and the people, her father sent her to a neighboring land to live in the house of Padiragtarāspa, a local chieftain.  It was here where she met, and eventually married, his son Pourushaspa, who fathered  Zarathushtra.

ANCIENT WISDOM: Zarathustra, (Zoroaster) and Zoroastrianism (An Introduction)

Many have often heard OF, but few know anything ABOUT this ancient philosophy/religion.  This series of articles begins to look at a very “high level” overview of this “religion of the Magi”, for the term magi refers to the hereditary, priestly caste of ancient Persia who served as the spiritual, ritual, and philosophical backbone of Zoroastrianism.

Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion based on the teachings of Zarathushtra (ZAH-raa-THOO-struh) Spitama (spih-TAH-muh) [Zarathushtra Spitama] as detailed in his written works the Gathas. The Gathas are the central texts of Zoroastrianism and are often attributed to Zarathushtra himself.  

YOUR GREATEST POWER – Choosing Happiness

This short book by J. Martin Kohe was first published in the 1950s. Kohe argues that the ability to make conscious choices shapes every aspect of our lives. Kohe was an American author and psychologist born in 1908. This short series of excerpts highlights the concepts shared in this book.  The reader is encouraged to purchase the book for the in depth explanations that it offers.

The Fifth Chapter – Choosing Happiness

Happiness is a pleasant and contented mental state.

"So many people have a little happiness and then try to hang on to it. Some people as soon as they find themselves a little happy, wonder what is wrong and especially begin to wonder if it will last. ... Is it any wonder that there is so little happiness? Those who have it are so afraid that they cannot hold on to it, that they lose it almost as fast at they find it."

"If you use your power to choose that nothing is too good to last, it is surprising, but true, that things will run along smoothly and beautifully for you, even beyond your fondest dreams. Here is the secret of keeping things running smoothly. But you must constantly remind yourself that when everything is going without trouble that that is the way it is supposed to be. The stars don't bump into the moon; the moon does not crash into the sun; the sun does not crash into the earth. Certainly, if the stars and the moon and the earth...don't conflict with one another, why can't our lives run along smoothly without the conflicting forces that so many people encounter. ... As one man said, 'our heaven on earth is right here, but the trouble with most of us is that we don't take advantage of it.'"

YOUR GREATEST POWER – Choosing your Personality

This short book by J. Martin Kohe was first published in the 1950s. Kohe argues that the ability to make conscious choices shapes every aspect of our lives. Kohe was an American author and psychologist born in 1908. This short series of excerpts highlights the concepts shared in this book.  The reader is encouraged to purchase the book for the in depth explanations that it offers.

The Fourth Chapter – Choosing Your Personality

In our current era it seems that there are no shortage of personality clashes. People seem to be going out of their way to crash into one another.    

"One of the greatest problems in life is the problem of personality. Personalities seem to be clashing constantly. Many of our troubles and difficulties come about because people cannot get along with one another...even wars are engaged in because of different nations failing to see eye to eye."

Since the 1950s, and before, humanity often chooses to respond to its differences with conflict, violent or otherwise.  But Kohe points out that even this is within our power to choose.

YOUR GREATEST POWER – Choosing Conditions

 

This short book by J. Martin Kohe was first published in the 1950s. Kohe argues that the ability to make conscious choices shapes every aspect of our lives. Kohe was an American author and psychologist born in 1908. This short series of excerpts highlights the concepts shared in this book.  The reader is encouraged to purchase the book for the in depth explanations that it offers.

The Third Chapter – Choosing Conditions

It is quite common to hear something like "but I can't help it. The conditions prevented me from achieving my desires." Kohe makes note of this:

"Anyone with a little common sense knows that you cannot [always] control conditions....what can we do? We can control our thoughts, and by controlling our thoughts, by using this greatest power, the power to choose, we are indirectly able to control conditions."

"We all know that there are good times and bad times. Some people can't even make a living in good times, let alone in bad times, mainly because they have failed to use this greatest power, the power to choose. When bad times come along, most people sit back, fill themselves its discouragement and wait for the government to do something about it. Others will use this greatest power, the power to choose, and will make a success even in bad times."

Kohe notes that if we could get beyond the excuse making the results would be much different:

"If there were only some way that people could be made to realize that this greatest power, the power to choose and choose correctly, exists within our own minds, that they could carry out the plans of their own choice and really live the way they may have dreamed of living. It is easy enough to blame conditions; it is easy enough to blame relatives; it is easy enough to blame the government; it is easy enough to blame anybody and everybody and everything, if one chooses to do so." 

"But any person who truely recognizes this greatest power, the power to choose, begins to make progress....he begins to realize that he is the one that is doing the choosing and that friends, although they mean well, cannot do his choosing for him, nor can his relatives. 

"Consequently, he develops real self-confidence based upon his own initiative. No longer does he depend upon conditions. No longer does he depend upon some figure of imagination, but instead, he depends upon himself; the results begin to tell right from the beginning of his realization. This realization seems so difficult because hundreds of thought are racing through our minds at such speed that we fail to recognize this simple yet amazing power to choose.

Are you realizing your greatest power, the power to choose? 

NEXT CHAPTER: Choosing Your Personality   

PREVIOUS CHAPTER: Choosing

ANCIENT WISDOM: Writings of Faith

This installment looks at the oldest recorded system of faith and notes that there are some common elements that are exhibited.

Hinduism is one of the principal faiths in the modern world and is the world’s oldest religion with complete scriptural texts that date back 3000 years to c. 975 BC.  

One of the core beliefs of this system is the importance of the search for a One that is the All.  In this system, like that of the hunter/gatherers, adherents accept their status as beings of lesser power that are dependent upon the divine.

YOUR GREATEST POWER – Choosing

This short book by J. Martin Kohe was first published in the 1950s. Kohe argues that the ability to make conscious choices shapes every aspect of our lives. Kohe was an American author and psychologist born in 1908. This short series of excerpts highlights the concepts shared in this book.  The reader is encouraged to purchase the book for the in depth explanations that it offers.

The Second Chapter – Choosing

You are what you think you are is an old wise saying.  Kohe points out that often what we think is our limiting factor.

“That is what we need, if we are going to improve our...positions. If we do not change our thinking, we can never hope to change our ...positions. What most of us fail to realize is that a tooth grows from the inside out. So we much change our inner thoughts. As we change our inner thoughts...the outward change is bound to come about. So let us choose good, healthy thoughts."

YOUR GREATEST POWER – Discovering It

This short book by J. Martin Kohe was first published in the 1950s. Kohe argues that the ability to make conscious choices shapes every aspect of our lives. Kohe was an American author and psychologist born in 1908. This short series of excerpts highlights the concepts shared in this book.  The reader is encouraged to purchase the book for the in depth explanations that it offers.

The First Chapter – Discovering It

"You are the possessor of a Great and wonderful power."

"Millions of people are complaining about their lot, disgusted with life..."

"Once you recognize this power and begin to use it, you can change your entire life and make it the way you would like to have it."

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know and understand this power?  This short study series highlights excerpts from the book Your Greatest Power by J. Martin Kohe.  Your ability to make choices is the greatest power you have as a human being.  Learn more in this short series.

WORD PLAY: Divinity

Lets look at the word Divinity.

Etymology tells us that Divinity refers to a divine being, God and is derived ultimately from the ancient word root *dyeu meaning “to shine” and its derivatives meaning “sky, heaven, god.”

But have you ever noticed how the word Divinity and the words Divine Unity look like they have been squished together?

ANCIENT WISDOM: Words of Faith

In our first installment of ANCIENT WISDOM, A Series of Exploration into Ancient Faiths – The Beginning we observed that the ancient hunter/gatherers cultivated community cooperation and ultimately observed that some things were more “powerful” than other things.  This led to the cultivation a three-tiered hierarchy:  human level (souls at a “human level” of power), supra-human level (souls more powerful than the human) and sub-human level (souls less powerful than humans).

We also observed that, as the ice of the ice age receded and sustained agriculture arose among humanity, human culture transitioned away from a predominantly hunter/gatherer lifestyle, slowly transitioning from a nomadic hunting lifestyle and into a more settled agrarian lifestyle.  They slowly developed communities of humans often settling around rivers and other water sources.  Eventually accumulating groups of humans who were not of the same family who came to live together in such communities.  

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: It’s “All” Solar Power

Light is essential.  Light is energy.  Energy is the capacity to do….  Without light, without energy, there is no “doing.”  Life can and does exist without light, particularly in deep oceans, caves and underground.  Such organisms use chemosynthesis to get energy by oxidizing chemical compounds.   

Considering the vital nature of light for doing, it is important to know that just in our solar system that: