Greek Gods were anthropomorphic gods, and all had human characteristics and powers, only in a much more colossal scale.

In the Torah or the Hebrew Bible, God is the embodied spirit of the Jewish nation. The One God of the Bible is very much the collective consciousness of the Jewish people, acting as a supernal, guiding force throughout history. The God of the Torah, although transcendent is endowed very much with human characteristics and human sentiments.

While the Greeks saw their gods as undying supernal humans and the ancient Hebrews called man “the self-portrait” of God (tzelem elohim, See Bereshit 1:27–28, Bereshit 5:1–3, Bereshit 9:6;) the ancient Aryan seer/prophet Zarathúshtrá saw God not as the mirror-image of man; but saw the divine in LUMINOUS ENERGY and GENIUS. The embodiment of the God force is in the splendor of “the brightest and most brilliant of lights,” (See Yasna 36.6imá raöcháw barezishtem barzimanám.)

In the poetic gathas, all reality is smart energy and conscious-force; since reality orders itself and each time creates a new, unique melody, and by doing so shows “wondrous imagination, vision and spirit.”

For Zarathúshtrá, the universe is not ruled by rigid mechanical laws. Instead he sees a living universe reformulated each time in a novel manner by the power of mind/spirit, seer-will and unbounded imagination. In his sacred verses, the seer/prophet sees a universe in which MIND permeates it at every level. He treats all beings as mind-energy, from galaxies to atoms, from man to animals, from mountains to rivers, plants and ……..

According to his poetic gathas, all of nature is alive and every natural system has a conscious force. Everything is smart energy in essence, and although every conscious force is quiet unique, the spirit of everything in existence is united.

Another fascinating concept in his poetic gathas/ songs is the idea of eternal progress. Zarathúshtrá believes consciousness, mind/spirit to be in an odyssey or adventurous journey of discovery and creative evolution.

Unlike Aristotle or the Bible; for the prophet Zarathúshtrá neither the Earth nor the Mortal Man is at the center of the universe. He sees the earth as spherical, (See Yasna 19.7) and the splendor and energy of the sun and suns at the core of our living world.

Unlike the biblical view where man is the self portrait of God, and is vastly superior to everything else in nature, in his world view, humans are considered a part of nature, rather than superior to, or separate from it. His “sacred poetry/songs” DO NOT embrace a human-centered Philosophy, nor anywhere in the Avesta or the entire Zoroastrian lore do we encounter human-centered values and morals.

Mortal man is a steward over all worthy creations as the world now stands, and both the world and mortal man move forward in eternal progress, (See Yasna 31.10, 1^st rhymed verse line; vástár is “vesture, clothing” the word implies “covering, protection;” fshú is “prosperity and growth,” man’s role is to help things prosper and grow, compare with Germanic fehu.)

But the ancient seer/sage tells us that throughout the ages, the mortal man instead of being a steward over all worthy creations, has been a vassal and servant of demons; as we so read in his poetic gathas:

mashyáish 29.4, 2^nd rhymed verse line: what demons and mortal men have wrought in the past and their future course of action

mashyáns 45.11, 1^st rhymed verse line: first gathered demons afterwards mortal men all the evil and loathing to themselves

mashyá Yasna 32.4, 1^st rhymed verse line: Man’s religion of vileness, his vision of wreck and ruin

maretánö Yasna 30.6, 3^rd rhymed verse line: for demons rushed into madness/ fury and made the mortal’s existence malignant and sickly

maretánö Yasna 32.12, 1^st rhymed verse line: to kill animals ravenously they sing is man’s best adventure

mashyéng 32.8, 2^nd  rhymed verse line: to rejoice us mortal men, Yima has  foresworn the GD of the living and taught the voracious eating of meat

mashyaæshü   43.11,4^th rhymed verse line; sadness it is for me in showing/teaching men the dedication of heart (ancient commentary adds dedication of heart to evolvement/progress)

mashím Yasna 32.5, 1^st  rhymed verse line: You demons have deceived mortals from the pure nectar of life and deathlessness

mashím Yasna 46.11, 2^nd rhymed verse line: your vile actions have laid waste upon mortal’s existence (ancient commentary adds ruined mortal’s chance of advancement into the existence beyond)

For Zarathúshtrá Mortal Man is something that shall be overcome and developed into something far better and more luminous.

mashyái Yasna 48.5, 3^rd rhymed verse line; The best for mortals after life is evolving and cleansing from imperfections.

The gathic Varshtmanßar commentary of the same verse says: About mankind attaining to the wisdom of an adorable divine force (yedátö dánögí) through mind power, ability to learn and spiritual vision.

When the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche says; Mortal Man is a rope, tied between beast and a superb power—a bridge over an abyss … what is great in mortal man is that he is a bridge and not an end ….He very accurately summarizes the position of the ancient Aryan seer/prophet on mankind, for what Zarathúshtrá teaches is an Evolutionary Philosophy. The evolving mind/spirit of man must overcome his limitations and embark on a fascinating journey culminating in a far more superior mind/spirit.

maretæibyö  Yasna 29.7, 3^rd rhymed verse line; Whom is of wow inspiring mind/spirit? Who gives instruction/enumeration (of hidden knowledge and its exposition) by word of mouth?

maretæshü Yasna 46.13 2^nd rhymed verse line: mortals to acknowledge who are far-famed as upright/elevated.

mashyáish Yasna 48.1, 3^rd rhymed verse line: when deathlessness, indestructibility replaces demons and mortals 

We also read in Yasna 47.1, 3^rd rhymed verse line and the ancient commentary of the same that: every remedy and indestructibility is the prize of the evolving man

The world that is and man in it, both must advance and the ideal will become real. As we so read in Yasna 43.1, 1^st rhymed verse line and the ancient commentary of the same; whatever wish fulfillment comes to man or whomsoever creature comes through the luminous vision of the spirit.

The evolving mind and spirit of man must go through the evolutionary process, bringing novel ideas, new lights and a more wondrous melody into the world that is, transforming humanity and the world into ever better.

Yasna 45.5, 2^nd rhymed verse line: sounds and songs of inspiration, the most wondrous for mortals (maretæibyö) to hearken

Yasna 34.5, 3^rd rhymed verse line: for your voice/word is all the more powerful than that of demons, those of scattered wisdom and mortals (mashyáish)

We also read concerning the two wondrous formulas or blessings in Yasna 30.11, 1^st rhymed verse line: the two wondrous formulas which the GD Genius and Vision has taught to mortals (mashyáwng.hö)

But what are the two blessings or wondrous formulas??? The ancient commentary adds it is the hereto unknown and undiscovered wisdom and its revelation. Another commentary adds this refers to mind and the power of the spirit to realize as it is so written in 2^nd rhymed verse line of Yasna 31.11.

The baghan commentary of Yasna 31.11, 2^nd rhymed verse line states; because the spiritual vision of Zartósht is the evolving nature of Gayómard (living, flourishing man,) and the evolving nature of Gayómard is the spiritual vision of Zartósht.

It is not the man but the evolutionary promise of the man, the odyssey of the mind/spirit that is divine in Zoroastrianism. What is divine is evolution into a superb, wondrous mind that brings a complete, marvelous transformation of sense, feeling, knowledge and higher intuition. What is divine is the evolutionary creation of super-humans, a new physical form (tanö paßinö,) and a new age of discovery that is heralded by the coming 3 evolutionary stages of saöshyants or the future saviors.

ardeshir