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Teachings
of Zarathushtra
Most
of the Zoroastrian scriptures were destroyed during the invasions of
Persia by Alexander and later by the Arabs. But the Zoroastrian
priests preserved some of the important sacred texts through oral
tradition. The most important of these texts are known collectively
as the 'Yasna'
(yajna), which contains 72 'has'
or sections. The five gathas or (stories) of Zarathushtra, are found
among these sections only. These five gathas, especially the first
one called
'Ahunavaiti' ,
contain most of his teachings and thereby form the core of the
Zoroastrian religion.
Ahura
Mazda and His Six Aspects:
According
to Zoroastrianism, God, the Creator, Ahuramazda, is one. Every thing
emanates from Him and in the end dissolves in Him. He is the one and
only. He is formless and He alone should be worshipped. Though He is
formless, He has six aspects or emanations, called Amesha-Spentas,
through which men are expected to approach Him. These aspects are
like the rays emanating from the single eternal source of light. The
first three aspects represents the Father-aspect of God while the
remaining three represent the Mother-aspect.
First
among the six aspects is Asha-Vahishta. Asha means hope, an
expectation. Asha Vahishta represents the divine event that is
already ordained in the divine scheme of things. He is the reality
that is continuously manifesting itself through divine will,
according to the divine law. When a human being submits himself to
the divine will and follows the divine laws, he is following Asha-Vahishta
in the expectation of his own spiritual evolution.
It
is difficult for common people to conceptualize Asha-Vahishta and
understand. As a solution, the prophet suggested fire to be used as
the symbol for Asha by which people can easily recognize Him and
meditate upon Him. Asha is divine, very remote and beyond human
intelligence. But fire is very earthly and is regarded as one of the
most common and familiar symbols known to the mankind since earliest
times. Fire has certain special and distinct characteristics. It can
consume as well as transform every thing it touches. Fire thus became
the earthly symbol for the divine Asha and Zoroastrians started
worshipping Him as fire. Fire thus has become a very central aspect
of Zorastrianism.
The
second aspect of Ahuramazda is Vahu-mano, (Bahman), the divine
wisdom, the supreme and immortal love, who sustains and supports
mankind in times of difficulties and leads people on their path to
God. He is the bestower of the pure mind or the good mind which is
the basis for further spiritual evolution. He loves not only human
beings but also all other creatures and therefore is truly a
'guardian angel' of the animals. We can please him by being kind to
animals. The Parsis do not eat meat on certain occasions as a mark of
respect to Him.
Kshatra-Vairya
is the third aspect. He is the supreme creative power of God and
responsible for the maintenance of the whole creation. As the dynamic
aspect of God, He teaches mankind the importance of action (karma) in
their lives. On the physical plane he commands all the minerals, and
through them measures and controls the physical strength of beings.
The
fourth aspect, Spenta Armaiti, is the Mother-aspect of God. She
represents faith and single minded devotion to God. She is the friend
and mother of those who are dvijas or the twice-born, that is those
who have been initiated into the secrets of religion and spiritual
life. On the physical plane she is the mother earth, who sustains all
and nourishes all.
The
fifth aspect is Hauravatat. She is perfection personified. She
represents all that is perfect, beautiful and harmonious in the
creation of God. On the physical plane she is the water goddess who
rules over the elements of water and the physical health of beings.
Ameretat
is the sixth aspect who is always found in the company of
Hauravatat. She is the bestower of immortality and dispeller of fear
of death. She rules over the vegetable kingdom and is associated with
the tree of life and the tree of immortality found in the heaven.
Ahura
Mazda with these six aspects constitute the seven fold Lord of the
Universe and fire is his purest and holiest creations on earth. In
addition to these there is another divine power , the yazata Srosha,
which was referred by Zarathushtra as the means to attain the path of
salvation. Srosha is service (sushrusha of Sanskrit), obedience and
devotion to God. When we cultivate this virtue we will be able to see
the path of salvation clearly in front of us. |
