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DIVINE EMANATIONS
THE PRIMAL PRINCIPLES OF LIFE
Zarathushtra uses some twenty abstract
terms to prescribe the way of promoting mental and physical faculties of soul to
achieve perfection and immortality. He
calls them "the primal divine laws of life."
They are described as "divine names" in Haptanghaiti, the
"Seven Sections" in the Gathic dialect.
In the Farvardin Yasht, it is "the progressive thought-provoking
message, the very spirit of God," which gives these abstracts
"beautiful, active forms," and God the Creator is their "guardian
and guide." The context of the
Gathas shows them as divine emanations, which are sometimes poetically
personified. They are the universal
laws of nature, the natural way of living.
Of these asha, precision, has
been mentioned more than 150 times and merezhdika, compassion, only once.
We shall only briefly define the ones mostly mentioned in the Gathas:
Spenta Mainyu, the
progressive mentality stands for the creative faculty of God.
It creates, sustains, and promotes the creation.
It leads to perfection and immortality.
Vohu manah, the good mind
is the source of all that is good and wise.
It was through his own good mind that Zarathushtra discovered,
understood, and reached the Godhead. Good
mind leads to refined speech, which, in turn, turns into noble actions.
Zarathushtra's doctrine rests on three pillars--Humata, Hűkhta,
Hvarshta--Good thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds.
Good mind helps one to discriminate between good and bad.
It defines the sources of happiness and sorrow.
In fact, it is the bliss some call "heaven."
Two other cognate abstracts are khratu, intellect, and chisti,
comprehension which enhance one's knowledge for better work.
Asha or arta is the old
Indo-Iranian law of "truth, precision, righteousness" that governs the
universe-sun, moon, earth, seasons and all.
It is precision and order in the universe that points to the Creator,
Maintainer, and Promoter. It has
been enacted to maintain the creation. It
is the road to perfection. In human
society, asha is the right thing, done at the right time and right place,
and with the right means to obtain the right result.
This promotes a society to perfection.
It ensures justice for all. It
safeguards the rights of every member of society.
It provides every individual with what he or she has contributed to
society. Asha in a society sees
that neither the society nor any individual exploits any person.
And, above all, asha gives freedom of thought, word and deed to
every member.
Seraosha is the divine voice one
gets in tune with after one is fully in conversant with good mind and
righteousness. It is the guiding
inner self of a person. It is
divine inspiration.
Âthra, fire in the Gathas is
mental light, warmth, and energy, three qualities that help one become as
creative as one can. The physical
fire, used as the best of altars, represents the mental âthra, a sublime
object to observe and mentally to see the light, feel the warmth and enjoy the
energy to translate Good Thoughts into Good Words and Good Deeds.
Ushtâ
is enlightenment that comes through meditation, concentration of mental
faculties. It is the true happiness
that radiates happiness to others without any discrimination, social or
otherwise.
Daęnâ is clear conception.
It is "conscience" in an individual and "religion"
for a fellowship of individuals who actively join to promote the living world in
accordance with the Primal Principles of Life.
Good mind, precision and other
principles create perfect order. Zarathushtra
calls it khshathra. It means
sovereignty, rule, settlement, and dwelling.
It is the "desired," the "good," and the
"chosen" government of the righteous, yet it belongs to God.
It is the "ideal" order on the earth established by human
beings who are wise, enlightened, experienced, sincere, and above all devoted to
the promotion of the living world.
Âramaiti, serenity and
tranquility, thrives under a good order. A
tranquil order promotes health and happiness, and mind and body grow together
evolving to:
Haurvatât, wholeness,
perfection. Evolution to wholeness
means continuity, and continuity stands for immortality--ameretât.
Wholeness and immortality make human beings godlike and make them
live in eternal bliss, the ultimate goal of the Zarathushtrian doctrine.
Zarathushtra uses more principles among
abstract qualities that could help mankind to make the world an ideal place to
live in peace and harmony with every living being, and to achieve the divine
eternity ordained by God.
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