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Least known Facts about the Gathas  (Abridged summary of the Paper presented at European Conference 2009)

Dr. Pallan Ichaporia,-Mainz Universitat.

The Gathas were only fragmentarily comprehensible even to the more intelligent among Zarathushtra’s lay contemporaries, and long before the restoration of the Mazdayasnian Religion in the Sasanian period also the priestly tradition seems to have lost a reliable knowledge of the contents of these holy texts, of their poetical style, of their syntactical and morphological rules, and the lexical meanings of numerous words, (see Malandra and Ichaporia, “The Pahlavi Yasna of the Gathas and Yasna Hapantghaiti”, 2010, p.271.)

It is the power of these texts and their recitation which continues to be relevant to this day.  The interpretation of the Gathas as a religious textbook or a code of laws, or even as a collection of Sermons is likely to be rather recent. Slightly modifying such views, a great many modern scholars start out from the premise that the Gathas are a systematic though complicated exposition of the basic tenets of the religion preached by Zarathushtra.  Yet neither this nor the above tallies with the facts.   Just a glance to the statistics of the use of the vocative case in the Gathas makes evident that these most holy texts are invocation of Ahura Mazda and philosophical conversations with Him, the initiated one par excellence, where as human persons are apostrophized only occasionally in a sort of rhetorical digression.

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THE 6 SETAYESHES OF ADARBAD MARESPAND

                                            Chithrem  Buyaat (6)

                                   By Hutokhsh

      May the Seed be in its original (primeval) state !

       Of all the Setayeshes of the last Raeni­daar, Chithrem Buyaat is the one prayer, which is full of talismanic power. The first three lines of paragraph 1 are in Avesta. They are unique in that they are not to be found anywhere in the extant Avesta texts. These lines have a deep mystic import.

       Chithrem Buyaat Ahmi Nmaaney: “In this house, may the Seed remain and be pre­served in its original condition.” That is the literal meaning of the first line. But its real inner meaning is, “In this house of the body, in this actual house of the family and in this house of all religions, i.e. the vast world, may the Bunak heritage of the father on the real path ofAsha ever remain active, being transmitted to progeny and community and nations of the world.” “May there always be the primeval Mazdayasni Seed and may there be in it only Zoroastrian thought-forces”.

       Pithwem Buyaat Ahmi Nmaaney: “May the food or nourishment in this house be preserved! That is, the nourishment comprising the blessings and benedictions of Nature may descend on this house. May only the primeval Mazdayasni ambrosia, such Zoroastrian influence alone, meet the seed.”

       Tokhma Pithwem Buyaat Ahmi Nmaa­nay: “May the seed which has received the Divine blessings germinate into an offspring who carries with it the ancient Mazdayasni characteristics. !”

       Briefly, the above three lines indicate that, may the offsprings and progenies of humans have the same high spiritual force and status as the Yazads! All this point to but one thing: Bunak Pasbaani, the preservation of the seed within the seed. In the Pahlavi Dinkard, the word is Tokhmak Paaspaan i.e. the preservers intact of human seed. In a superb paragraph against alien marriages, the Dinkard says : “Hence in accordance with what wisdom we have received from the Creator, we give birth only to children fit for receiving spiritual rewards, and for this reason only, we are the preservers of seed, and we keep the pro­creative power in naturally sound condi­tion, and continue the origin of species pure, and keep our thoughts supremely great.”

       A small Pazend paragraph in the Seta­yesh follows the above 3 Avesta lines, which echoes the wish expressed in the Avesta.

       Then paragraph 2 is a direct lift from Fravardin Yasht Karda-31 as well as from the Karda ”Yaao Veesaad” occurring in the Afringaan. Therein, the Fravashis of the departed ones are welcomed in the house and a wish is expressed that they may move about freely with joy and that they may not depart lamenting or complaining.

       In paragraph 3, among other things, there is a pertinent reference to the importance of marriage: “If anyone does not have wife and children, may the Divine blessings grant him spouse and progeny . . . . . .” Then towards the end of this para, comes a peculiar statement, which has been satisfactorily explained only through the light of Khshnoom. That is a reference to 150 years, after which, a man with a family can join himself to one of the Divine Forces or Yazads. This 150 years is an allusion to the minimum time taken for a Zoroastrian soul to reincar­nate on earth. The actual minimum number of years is 144, made up of 12×12 (12 parts of each sign of the Zodiac multiplied by the total number of signs).

       If one were to translate the 4th para­graph, literally, one would end up saying, “you good people, who are always engaged in spiritual and joyous works, may you get hair on your head, sherbet in a cup in your hand, Sperma flower beside you, rings in your ears; may you always be happy with your friends!”. But that is not so! In each word there is a deeper esoteric meaning. For example, in the Abaan (Avaan) Yasht, Karda 30 Avaan Ardavisur is said to be wearing a dangling, golden, 4-cornered earring! Students of philology stupidly conjecture that such personal description ofAredvisura as a comely, alluring maiden, is a poetic flight of fancy of the composer of the Abaan Yasht. They, therefore, conclude that about the first half of this Yasht must have been written much earlier then the 2nd half, where, inKardas 16, 19 and 30 Aredvisura is described as a beautiful young woman wearing such and such garments and appearing in such and such a way. This, they opine is the same idea as that of the Anahita cult that grew in the West, from where the Iranian scribe borrowed it !!’ Nothing could be further from the truth. We won’t go into the details. But taking just one example from her description – her wearing the dangling 4-cornered earrings – we’ll see how behind such seemingly simple statements lie the deepest mysteries of Nature. First of all, the apparent physical description ofAredvisura pertains to the description of her Kehrp (subtle, invisible body). The dangling, 4-cornered golden earrings ofAvaan refer to the centrifugal and centripetal forces of the planets, of the Moon and Earth, of the ebb and flow of tides and the influence and pull on man’s fortunes and destiny. They are ’4-cornered,’ i.e. Aredvisura performs these functions on the earth and its environs which are governed by the 4 elements. The earnings are golden, i.e., all these changes and mutations are brought about for the advent of Frasho Gard, the golden age.

       The above is just one tiny example of how the Avesta Scriptures are littered with such allegorical and hidden statements. So also is the Pahlavi Pazend literature. In our Setayeshes themselves, there are words pregnant with esoteric meanings. For example, the word, Khurashney-Khush would literally mean, “good food.” But in the context in which it is used, it really means, “the good result or reward (Kerdar) that a noble soul sees after corporeal death.” Such examples could be multiplied.

       Coming back to our Setayesh, the 4th and 5th paragraphs contain very efficacious Mithra (thoughts), which should be pondered by every Zoroastrian daily. These refer to the advent of those who will refurbish and renovate the Zoroastrian Religion. Before we continue with the actual lines given in the Setayesh, a few words about the 3 greatRaenidars, who are to come in the next 12,000 years (during the Hashem or Mars Period), viz., Shah (Behram) Varjavand, Hoshedar Mah and Hoshedar Baami.

       In the current Zarvan-e-Daregho Khadaat of 81,000 years, to bring the Frashogard or salvation of the world closer, there will come Saviours or Messiahs from time to time who are the disciples of Prophet Zarathushtra. Such Saviours fall into 3 groups. These 3 groups of Saviours will appear in three different cycles of this Daregho Khadaat.We are, at the moment, living in the end of the first cycle of the current Daregho Khadaat. This 1st cycle will end in another about 20 years when the first of the Raenidars, Shah Varjavand will come and renovate the whole world.

       Since the time of Prophet Zarathushtra, 91 of his disciples of the 1^st group have been functioning in Nature to bring about some sort of order and spiritual progress in the world. But as the time of Shah Varjavand to make his appearance draws nearer, these disciples will work even more vigorously in the hidden 1/3^rd portion of the earth near the North Pole, called Aiwi-Thrishwa in Avesta. The names of these 91 disciples are found in the FarvardinYasht. When Shah Varjavand manifests himself in the world, he will be guided by Astavat Ereta, who has been referred to as one of the ‘Sons’ of Prophet Zarathushtra and Peshotan and others who will operate in the Chaechast region, which is a part ofAiwi-Thrishwa. It is in­teresting to note that in the 25^th Karda of the Fravardin Yasht where the names of the 91 disciples are mentioned, Astavat Ereta’s is the last name mentioned. This also shows that at the end of the 1^st smallKyaamat or catastrophe, about 2000 A.D., when the world will undergo tremendous upheavals, Astavat Ereta will appear in the holy Aiwi-Thrishwa and Shah Varjavand will come out in the world to bring solace to mankind.

       Then in the 2nd cycle of Daregho Khadaat which will commence from the advent of Shah Varjavand till the beginning of the Moon Period (we are now, as said earlier, in the Mars Period), i.e. about 38,000 years from now, the 2^nd group of Paigambar Zarathushtra’s disciples – 62 in number – will carry on specially looking after the spiritual progress of the world. The 3rd and the final cycle of this Daregho Khadaat will come thereafter, in the Saturn Period, when, towards the end of that cycle, a very great soul, that of Soshyos will come and save cer­tain groups of mankind from the Deluge that will engulf the earth. In this 3rd cycle, the 3rd and the final group of Zarathushtra’s disciples, numbering 80 will work exclusively for the salvation of mankind.

       However, for our purpose, it is important to note that the triumvurate of Shah Varja­vand, Hoshedar Mah andHoshedar Bami will appear in the present Mars Period only, i.e. in the next 12,000 years or so all three will have made their presence on earth.

       Now, in this Setayesh (paras., 4 and. 5) these three Raenidars have been mentioned alongwith the son of King Vishtasp, Peshotan, who is ‘immortal’, thanks to the special benedictions of Holy Prophet Zarathushtra bestowed on him. In the 4th paragraph, the reciter says, inter alia: “…… Aan i Madan Mardaan-i-Daad-Aaraastaar, Gehaan – Virastaar, Ashai-Varjidaar Mard – Hushidar Zarathushtaan, va Pashutan Vistaaspaan, va Vehraam-i-Amaavand oi Paeda-i Deen Aay-and. va Rasand; Daad-i Deen-i Veh Avaa Aan-i Ahurmazd – Deen Padvandyaad; Hu-Deen Hu-Farmaan Andar Iran Gehan Rawaa Kunaad; Jud-Deen Jud-Farmaan Andar Iran Gehan Ba-avasheenaad !”

= May the Law-Reformer, World-Renova­tor, Ace Practitioner of Ashoi come – Hoshedar of Zarthosht, Peshotan of Gushtasp and Valiant Behram – for the prosperity of the Religion. May he continue the connection between the Zoroastrian Law and the Religion of Ahurmazd. May he (once again), begin the Good Religion (Mazdayasni Deen) and the noble commandments in the land of Iran; and may he destroy the anti-religion and the false commands!”

       It is the duty of every good Zoroastrian to recite these Pazend lines every morning and meditate on its import vigorously.

       In the 6th paragraph, we get an idea as to how an Ashavan or an Abed helps make the best charity in the world by attracting the Yazatic currents constantly through the help of his Mithra and Manthra and how he manages to spread these currents all over the globe.

       In the same paragraph, there is a reference to the formidable, highly efficacious Pastaa ritual, which has been lost to us. (The Word Pastaa is also read as Paidaa in some books).

       So dear readers, as we come to the end of this series on the 6 big Setayeshes of Adar­bad Marespand, we cannot help re-emphasise the importance of the Chithrem Buyaat Setayesh. It has at least two fundamental, vital points: (a) Parsees have to be the Pasbaans (protectors) of their Bunak (Genetic cell) and (b) Parsees have to pray for the early advent of the Saviour, Shah Varjavand.

       Incidentally, this Setayesh is a must in your prayers on Roj Fravardin of every month, if you cannot recite it every day.

                           *          *          *          *          *

        (We also carry a special poem written by “Jakeb”, on Behram Varjavand, in the Gujarati Section of this issue).

                    (Dini Avaz – July-August 1980 –Vol. 5; No. 4)

ChitremBuyat

ChithremBuyat-Gujarati

Courtesy : Neville S Gandhi

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The intention of publishing this book is to provide necessary guidance to the fellow Zorastrians who may not be knowing the various do’s and don’ts of our prayers.
From the feedback that I received about the Gujarati version of the book I realised that there is enough enthusiasm and desire to know about our prayers. However, language was the barrier as many young and some old people too unfortunately cannot read Gujarati.
It is said that a man who does not read is no better than a man who cannot. However in this case, even the people wanting to read and know more about our prayers could not do so because of the language problem.
With a view to help this group who could get the benefit out of my book, I have ventured into this project to bring out an English edition of the original book written in Gujarati called “Bandagi Maate Jaroori Margadarshan” now called “A guide to our Prayers”. To avoid confusion and for the sake of simplification the timings of different Gahs are changed in this book from local time to Indian Standard Time. Some minor desirable changes are also made in this book.
It is my sincere request particularly to the young generation that they should try and learn our mother tongue Gujarati, for the simple reason that they are missing the real taste of the cake. Though we have lost a vast treasure of our religious literature, we still have enough that we can read, understand, digest and put into practice. But most of it is in Gujarati and therefore your attempt to learn this language will not go waste.
With this few words I wish the readers a very pleasant, meaningful and thoughtful reading.
Amen.

Tehmurasp Shawaksha Pardiwala

Click Here for this informative booklet

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Here is a serene and  soothing prayer that many Zoroastrians would like to hear recited over and over again. In the  confines  of their abodes, in their  car, on their  mobiles or even as they start another beautifully  peaceful day, rolling out of their  beds.

Chanting of Zorastrian Basic Prayers

They may like  to hear “Doa-e-Tandaroasti”

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