THE MEANING OF MAZDA AND AHURA IN THE GATHA

THE MEANING OF MAZDA AND AHURA

IN THE GATHA

Fariborz Rahnamoon

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Most scholars and translators of the Gathas believe that the= words Ahura and Mazda in whatever form represent the name of the one and only God Ahura Mazda. I beg to differ.

Pouruhs= Aspa was the father of Zara Thushtra, Visht Aspa was the king a= nd Jam Aspa a learned Vazir. As we can see, all these names= have two parts. Each part has a distinct meaning and when put together it become= s a proper name. Never has one part represented the full name nor have these na= mes been inverted. We have never heard or seen Thushtra Zara or Aspa Visht being used.

Some argue that, the Gathas being poetry, the need for rhyme= and rhythm encourages the break up of the name of Ahura Mazda. In Yasna Ha 28, = Zarathushtrai (28.6) Vishtaspai<= /span> (28.7) and Ferashaoshtrai (28.8) are used witho= ut breaking them up. While the components of the name Ahura Mazda which is used twelve times in Ha 28 has been broken up or inverted every time but once. A question that arises is whether the respect for the name of God is more important or rhyming the poetry. More over would not a good poet whose main purpose is to promote his God, change some other words in the poem to bring about the required effect instead of every time mutilating the name of the = most important character in his Gathas. Again as far as the syllables are concer= ned both the word Ahura and Mazda is made up of equal number of letters, that is five each, when written in Din Dabireh Script w= hich has a letter for every sound.

Gathas are the teachings of the Great Teacher Zarathushtra. = It is in the form of a poetry composed in the ancient Avesta language. Avesta = is only as old as Sanskrit, but because it has not been in use for a long time= it has been forgotten. Around 500 BCE when the Persian kings left inscriptions= of their deeds they were written in what scholars call Old Persian. This means Avesta has not been commonly used for at least 2500 years.

Zarathushtra was a man without prejudice; he looked at thing= s in a new way. He did not invent any thing new, he simply discovered The Truth. What he discovered is as shocking today as it was then. To understand his teachings you have to put aside your prejudices put aside your beliefs and you have to put aside your preconceived ideology. You have to look at things as they are.

Zarathushtra in his Gathas does not want to propound a certa= in philosophy or a certain belief. He does not give a list of do’s and don’ts. His approach is totally different, he does not teach us what = to see but he teaches us HOW TO SEE and HOW TO SEE CLEARLY. He wants us to be = able to see the TRUTH for ourselves, he does not give= us a list of ready-made truth for easy reference.

The thinking and philosophy of the World today is based on a combination of the Old Testament and the Roman beliefs. Thus what Zarathush= tra says is contrary to all our beliefs, to all our so-called moralities. To understand him you have to have a clear mind free of preconceived philosoph= y, preconceived theology, preconceived ideology. Yo= u have to transcend yourself, acquire the innocence of a child and only then will = you be comfortable and fearlessly understand the teachings of this Great Teache= r.

Scholars have endeavored to translate the Gathas but their preconceived beliefs and fear have stopped them from seeing the truth. In t= he name of grammar, rhyme and rhythm and in the name of simplifying the langua= ge they have turned and twisted the Gathas to suit their beliefs. <= /span>

Zarathushtra in his Gathas talks of Mazda as Wisdom and Ahura as Creation, Mazda Ahura -= the Wisdom in Creation and Ahura Mazda the Creator of Wisdom - GOD.<= /span>

In Yasna Ha 28 Zarathushtra talks of Ahura Mazda only once, = when in 28.9 he says “ANAISH VAO NOIT AHURA MAZDA.’’ “Th= ese, you, not Ahura Mazda”

- don’t = blame it on God.

These, you, not Ahura Mazda

Asha also brings fury

Mind also is the best

That which strives to create good guidance

For you to be worthy

Mighty, satisfied, also worthy of praise

Zarathushtra - Gatha Yasna HA 28.9 (FR)<= /span>

Now lets face the reality of the = real world. Vohu means good, Ahri means Bad and Mana = means mind. So Vohumana is the Good Mind and not an angle. Ahrimana is the Bad Mi= nd and not the devil. Personification was Greek the ancient Persian culture and religion had no place for deities and angles. Herodotus says; “The Persian religion is not anthropomorphic like the Greek.” <= /span>

Let them who have seen an angle or deity in real life person= ify Vohumana and the Am Asha Sepantas and say “Oh Vahumana my lord”. Otherwise lets come down to the real world for a moment and call a spade a spade.

Once we do that, the whole character of Zarathushtra changes from a confused person pleading for help, into a knowledgeable person giving direction for the world to follow.

Truly the knowledge derived

By the good mind

Never before known

Among the Wise and all creation (Mazdam= cha Ahurem)

With it bring make rule, never waning

And make society Righteous

Leading us toward perfection

Zarathushtra -Gatha Yasna HA 28.3 (FR)

Zarathushtra tells us in very clear earthly terms = to use our mind fully in the good way and understand the Wisdom in Creation and use it to make good rules to guide our path toward perfection. Thereby converting this planet Earth into a Paradise where everyone lives a full life in peace and heavenly tranquility.

No, he does not join his hands and pray and plead for help. = No, he does not stretch his hand and plead for a boon. On the contrary he says = God has done his duty, each one of us already has that what is required to beco= me perfect and so each one of us is responsible for what happens to us. “ANAISH VAO NOIT AHURA MAZDA.’’=

Zarathushtra says it is you and your thoughts not the will of Ahura Mazda that brings evil or good. Ahura Mazda created the Wisdom in Creation and it is taking its course. The sun the moon the planets the stars the galaxies are all moving ahead some are dying while others are being bor= n. The blackhole the wormhole all have a roll in t= his great creation, there is no manager managing the daily affairs, changing the course, punishing and rewarding.

Ahura Mazda set into motion The Wisdom in Creation= - Mazda Ahura - THE BIG BANG, the self propelled system, the energy in the ev= er expanding never ending universe of which we humans are just one of the products.

Certainly I shall acquire

The Wisdom in Creation (Mazda Ahura)

Through Good use of the Mind

I shall master them all

Physical and that of the mind

Gaining through Knowledge

Whereby desiring and getting perfection

Zarathushtra - Gatha Yas= na HA 28. 2 (FR)

Perfection is what Zarathushtra professes. The aim in life should be perfection. He says, use your Vohumana, your good mind, get to the truth, Asha Vahista, understand the wisdom in creation and go hand in hand with it, not against it. Your aim in life shou= ld be perfection in your profession, in what you do best. That is what will ma= ke our lives worth living on this planet; we can either create a heaven or a h= ell right here on this Earth. Zarathushtra’s = Heaven and Hell are right here on this planet.

Trul= y with these facts

We s= hall keep our thoughts good forever

In t= une with the Wisdom in Creation

I in= struct that

You = all declare your mind's findings

Thro= ugh the word of mouth

Wher= eby creation first comes into being

Zarathushtra - Gatha - Yasna 28.11 (FR)

In my endeavor to translate the Gathas I have avoided to move words around under the pretext of grammar or rhyme and rhythm or to make it understandable. The Avesta sentence has been repeated in English except whe= re a little improvement would not change the meaning of the sentence. To see the truth for yourself, please compare these few verses with whichever translat= ion of the Gathas you have handy and see the difference, find the real Zarathus= htra for your self. Is he the confused one who is calling for help or is he the = one that knows the Truth and is giving direction? Please judge it for yourself.=

And of these shall I speak to those eager,=

That quality of wisdom (Mazda) that all the wise wish

And call creative (Ahurai) quali= ties

And good creation of the mind

The all powerful truth (Asha)

Truly and that more & better ways are discovered

Towards perfection

Zarathushtra - Gatha - Yasna Ha 30.1 (FR)

Listen with your ears to the supreme facts=

Consider with open mind

Between the paths before deciding

Person by person for his own self

Before greatness of the message

Is truly spread understand each one

Zarathushtra - Gatha -Yasna Ha 30.2 (FR)=

Khordad= Baad

Fariborz Rahnamoon

<= /o:p>

This article= is in response to the following question.

<= /o:p>

In the Gatha= s Yasna Ha 28 which consist of 11 verses. We notice that only once is the word Ahura Mazda mentioned together. Does the word Mazda and Ahura used alone or in a different order mean any t= hing different?

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; TIMES Ha’s = ;

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MAZDA &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; FOUR 1 5 &= nbsp; 6 = ; 7 &= nbsp;

AHURA &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; TWO &= nbsp; 6 &= nbsp; 8 = &nb= sp; =

MAZDA AHURA<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:2'> &= nbsp; &= nbsp; THREE &= nbsp; 2 &= nbsp; 10 = 11 &= nbsp;

AHURA MAZDA<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:2'> &= nbsp; &= nbsp; ONE &= nbsp; 9 &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

MAZDAM CHA A= HUREM &= nbsp; ONE &= nbsp; 3 &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;

MAZDAO AHURA= H &= nbsp; ONE &= nbsp; 4 &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;