If life is meaningless, if in reality purpose is lacking, why shall we choose goodness and light???

What if there is no specific purpose to things??? What if there is no pre-established melody to this universe??? What if truth is ugly??? And the search for a beautiful truth by which to live is in vain???

What if our world is just filled with pointless suffering???

What if the ages of this world are not progressing forward and history has no culminating event toward which it moves???

Could it be that everything that will ever happen has already happened infinitely many times in the past and eternity is simply this endless repetition of the ages???

How could there be then pursuit of a higher destiny???

Zarathúshtrá gives us a compelling alternative to the former bleak version of reality. At the core of Zarathúshtrá’s teachings is the concept of ashá/artá, a word that is the same as Greek Areté; “excellence, goodness, virtue.”

More accurately though ashá/artá is “divine artistry” or “supreme art.” ashá/artá comes often with the epithet vahishtá “beauty, wow, wonder.” The concept of Ashá vahishtá /Artá vahishtá is about the VISION/ART which creates and discovers WONDER.

The ancient commentaries of the poetic gathas, lay a strong emphasis on the word play between áish (the EYE, Sanskrit Akshi) and ashá/artá, (See the Baghán commentary of Vohü Khshathrem gáthá.)

In fact, Zarathúshtrá teaches that we are the co-workers (ham-kár) of the Gd of Genius and Vision through ashá/artá, (See Yasna 44.1, 4^th rhymed verse line.)

For through the “power to see and skill to envision anew,” we shall prevail over affliction, gloom and anguish, (Avestan añgrö.)

For even if life were meaninglessness, let us meet it head-on without blinking, and create a life magnificent and divine according to the transformative power of ashá/artá. Since, ashá/artá is the “artistic formula” for reinventing a new or better reality.

In his poetic gathas/songs, Zarathúshtrá teaches that the ages of this world are definitely progressing toward a magnificent event and a life divine. (Avestan mazé yáwng.hö, See Yasna 30.2, 3^rd rhymed verse line and Yasna 36.2, 3^rd rhymed verse line)

His idea of the progression of the ages of the universe toward a “grand climax” stands in sharp contrast to Hinduism with its endless repetition of the ages.

According to Zarathúshtrá, a “genius wizard force of goodness” is behind the scenes (See Yasna 29.4, 3^rd rhymed verse line, Avestan vichirö, Germanic wicca) orchestrating events so that things are moving toward such a magnificent, culminating event.

Zarathúshtrá’s luminous vision challenges the other bleak one in its own terms, so to speak, he presents to us in his poetry/gathas, a magnificent panoramic portrait of reality, a rival point based on the transformative power of imagination, skill, and seer-will.

Which vision of reality is more empowering to the spirit??? Which vision of reality marks our mark on time and creates a new destiny??? Which vision awakens a sense of awe and wonder.

For what is decisive, after all, is the transmuting alchemy of goodness, beauty and virtue.

I like to conclude by the following words of Yasna 49.10, 4^th rhymed verse line; whoever has wandered from the magnificent mind of godship has fallen into ruin and death.

ardeshir