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Series:
Effective Living
Gathic Illustration
Theology
Source:
Author:
McIntyre,
Dina G.
Subtopics:
End Notes
Reference:
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Ladies
and Gentlemen:
Next to the gift of love, one of the most precious gifts that we can enjoy
is the gift of ideas. In response to your kind invitation, I would like to
share with you a few interesting ideas of the prophet, Zarathushtra. He
lived more than 3,000 years ago, but we are fortunate to have his own words,
which have come down to us in an ancient language, in the form of 17 poems,
cryptic, multi-dimensioned, full of puzzles, and not always easy to read.
Today, we call these poems, the Gathas of Zarathushtra. Because of
differences in translating and interpreting the ancient language in which
they are written, opinions sometimes differ on what Zarathushtra said or
meant. I find this diversity somehow fitting, in studying the words of a
prophet who taught that we should think for ourselves.
People sometimes
debate whether Zarathushtra's teachings are a philosophy or a religion.
Philosophy means “love of wisdom”. The ancient name for Zarathushtra’s
religion is “mazdayasna” meaning “the worship of wisdom” which in
Zarathushtra’s view means to serve it with love (Y51.22). And his
understanding of God is wisdom personified. He calls Him Ahura Mazda which
means Lord Wisdom,1 or the Wise Lord.
To
Zarathushtra, religion is an on-going quest for truth. Truth for truth’s
own sake. He says:
“… as long
as I shall be able and be strong, so long shall I look in quest of truth.
Truth, shall I see thee, as I continue to acquire…good thinking…”2
Y28.4-5.
In
these verses, the translator has chosen the word “truth” as the object of
the quest. However, the word in the Gathic language, is asha, and it means
more than truth. Asha has been variously translated as “truth”
“righteousness” “goodness”, “justice” benevolence, generosity,
loving-kindness, as well as “the natural order of things”. You well may
wonder: how could one word possibly have so many different meanings. The
answer lies in understanding Zarathushtra’s world view.
To
Zarathushtra, the material or physical world, and the mental or spiritual
world, in our present reality at least, are two complementary parts of one
overall design. The material or physical world is neither illusory, nor is
it intrinsically evil, to be rejected. The exquisite order of the universe
(of which even disorder is a part) – from the awesome splendor of galaxies,
to the workings of a tiny cell – are all as much a celebration of the divine
as a loving heart or a truthful mind. With this understanding of
Zarathushtra’s world view, we can begin to understand the meaning of asha –
the object of our quest.
Asha literally means “what fits”. “What fits” in the material or physical
world, is what is accurate – truth, the laws that govern the universe – laws
of physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy – the natural order of things. In
the abstract world of ideas, “what fits” is what is correct – truth, what’s
right. In the Gathas, what is right, includes such notions as goodness,
justice, compassion, generosity, solicitude, beneficence, loving-kindness –
all these are a part of what is fitting, the ideal order of things in the
world of mind and spirit. So in essence, asha means the true or ideal
order of things in all aspects of our present reality – physical and
abstract. And that is the object of our quest – to search for the truth,
the true order of things, in the worlds of both mind and matter –scientific
truth, philosophic truth, social truth, spiritual truth, and of course, what
is true or right in our relationships – with each other, with our
environment, and with other life forms. As you can see, there is no one
word in translation, that comprehends the full meaning of asha. Many
translators have selected “truth” as the nearest word for asha. But I ask
that you think of the full scope of asha (“what fits” in the worlds of mind
and matter) when you hear the word “truth” in connection with Zarathushtra’s
thought.
To
Zarathushtra, truth, asha is an attribute of the divine. Religion is an
on-going quest for truth. And the weapon of choice in this quest, is
another divine attribute – a good mind, or good thinking – what Zarathushtra
calls vohu mano – reason and intelligence committed to goodness.
Searching for and comprehending truth is a necessary first step. But it is
not enough. We also have to bring the truth to life, make it a part of our
reality, experience it, with our choices in thought, word and action.
Zarathushtra teaches, that over and over in the events and circumstances of
our lives we are confronted by choices. With each choice, we either advance
the truth, or retard it. Even failing to choose, is a choice.
Zarathushtra suggests how we should make our choices. He says that:
-
we should listen to
what others have to say,
-
we should reflect on
the matter with a clear mind, and independent judgment – each person for
himself, and then
-
we should make choices
that are “beneficent” – generous, good, truthful. He says:
“Listen
with your ears to the best things. Reflect with a clear mind – man by man
for himself – upon the two choices of decision….. ” Y30.2.
And in the verse that
follows, he concludes:
“….. the
beneficent have correctly chosen...” Y30.3.
Zarathushtra does not command us to obey him without question. Even when he
prays for guidance from God himself, it is through good thinking that he
asks God to instruct him. He says:
“…instruct
through good thinking (the course) of my direction, in order to be the
charioteer of my will and my tongue.” Y50.6.
Of
course, with the freedom to choose comes the responsibility of living with
the consequences of our choices. In Zarathushtra’s teachings, there is no
hell in the conventional sense. He teaches that the way our reality is
ordered, asha, includes that perfect justice which generates the law of
consequences – that we reap what we sow, that the good and the bad we do
comes back to us. However, it is important to understand that the purpose of
the law of consequences is not punishment. It’s purpose is enlightenment.
Given the ability to reason (vohu mano) when we experience the “bad”
consequences of our wrongful choices, it increases our understanding and
compassion, so that we do not make such choices again, not out of fear of
punishment, but because our new understanding informs our preferences – we
choose not to make such choices again, because that is not the way we want
things to be. In short, in addressing the problem of evil, Zarathushtra’s
thought does not focus on punishment or forgiveness. There is no notion
of damnation in his thought. Rather, Zarathushtra’s focus is on eliminating
evil by changing minds from within, as part of an evolutionary process. The
factors that bring about such change are: (1) the ability to understand,
(2) listening to others (acquired knowledge), (3) innate wisdom, (the wisdom
that is within us), (4) the educational effects of the law of consequences,
and (5) one other very important factor – mutual, loving help, between man
and God, and man and man. The Gathas are full of interesting paradoxes, and
one of these paradoxes is that on the one hand, Zarathushtra’s teaching is
founded on individual choice, individual judgment, and individual
responsibility. On the other hand, he also teaches that none of us can make
it on our own. Each of us, to make it, must both give and receive help.
Of
course, not all of the hardships and difficulties which we experience are
the consequences of past wrongful conduct. If life is a spiritual evolution
towards completeness and perfection, as Zarathushtra teaches, then it stands
to reason that we will have to experience many different experiences for
this learning and perfecting process to be realized. The difficulties we
experience – earned or unearned – are the refiner’s fire, without which pure
gold would not be possible.
Let
us consider for a moment, Zarathushtra’s idea of the divine. Today, we are
used to thinking in terms of a benevolent monotheism. But things were very
different in his time. He lived in an age when men worshipped many gods –
some of whom he describes as “fierce” (Y34.5) and “hateful” (Y32.3). We know
from the Gathas, that the priests and princes of his day, joined forces in a
corrupt and oppressive alliance, so that the people of his time were caught
in the grip of a secular authority that exerted its control in part through
fear of the cruelty of dominant local gods. Zarathushtra viewed this
pantheon of fierce and cruel local gods who were oppressing his people, and,
in his quest for truth, using his own reason and intelligence, he concluded
that they were not worthy of worship. He demoted them from “godhood”. He
reasoned that only a Being of pure goodness, loving, truthful, intelligent,
could be considered divine, worthy of worship – a significant step in man’s
search for God.
It
is also significant that although Zarathushtra describes truth and good
thinking as attributes of the divine, he also sees them in man (albeit in a
less than perfect condition), indicating man’s capacity for attaining the
divine.
His
formula for attaining the divine is simple but profound. According to him,
the objective, and the path to the objective are the same. We attain the
divine by worshipping the Wise Lord with his own divine characteristics. We
attain the divine faculty of truth by questing for it with good thinking.
We attain the divine faculty of good thinking by questing for, and
comprehending the truth. A complementary and incremental process.
Referring to the Wise Lord and His divine characteristics, as “all of you”,
Zarathushtra says of this form of worship:
“…I shall
always worship all of you, Wise Lord, with truth
[asha]
and the very best thinking, and with their rule…” Y50.4
“I … shall
serve all of you, Wise Lord, with good thinking…” Y28.2.
And
most interesting is his idea that we perform these acts of worship in the
temple of life, with our thoughts, words and actions. Just as an artist
uses paints to express his ideas, so too our material world is the matrix or
medium through which we express and bring to life the divine faculties of
truth and good thinking.
In
short, Zarathushtra teaches us to worship the Wise Lord by infusing His
divine qualities into every aspect of our material reality, with each
thought, word and action – at home, on the job, in academia, in government,
in our treatment of each other, in our treatment of our environment, in our
treatment of other life forms. Under his formula for worship, because we
express divine values through material words and actions, it is impossible
to advance ourselves, spiritually, without at the same time advancing our
material world – making it a better place. An interesting paradox –
revealing the interdependence of all things, and the necessity of loving,
caring for, and nurturing, each part of this inter-connected whole.
So
to Zarathushtra, the purpose of life is twofold: It is to grow spiritually
ourselves, creating and re-creating with our choices, the Wise Lord’s divine
values, until we attain them completely, thereby perfecting ourselves and
becoming one with the Divine, and in the process, perfecting our world.
This brings us to Zarathushtra’s idea of heaven. To Zarathushtra, heaven is
a state of being that is achieved when we have attained completely the Wise
Lord’s divine attributes, and we become pure goodness, wisdom personified.
In the Gathas, one of the metaphors for the Wise Lord and His divine
attributes is light, or glory. So the more we evolve spiritually, the more
light-filled we become, and the more light-filled we make our world. In the
later literature, there is a very beautiful term for “heaven”. It is called
the “Endless Lights.”
In
conclusion, Zarathushtra’s religion is a system, a way of looking at our
reality, a way of life that is timeless. I hope you will forgive an
oversimplification. In essence, he teaches:
-
that throughout our
lives, we are confronted by choices;
-
that we should use our
minds and hearts to search for the truth, for what is right and good, in
all aspects of our reality,
-
and choose it, with
each thought, word, and action, by engaging the world, not rejecting it,
-
thereby perfecting our
world and ourselves,
-
until we become one
with the Divine, until we become a part of the Endless Lights.
End Notes:
-
- As translated by
Professor Insler in The Gathas of Zarathushtra, (Brill 1975). All
references and quotations from the Gathas in this paper are to that Insler
translation, unless otherwise indicated, although Professor Insler may or
may not agree with the inferences I draw from his translation. Round
brackets appearing in a quotation are in the original. Square brackets
indicate an insertion by me. Such insertions are provided by way of
explanation. A string of dots in a quotation indicates a deletion from
the original. Often a verse contains many strands of thought. Deleting
from a quotation those strands of thought that are not relevant to the
discussion at hand enables us to focus on the strand of thought under
discussion
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