Authentic Gatha Zoroastrianism

April 30^th marks the beginning of the maiδyö.zarem  “mid-spring” festival in the Avestan calendar. It lasts for 5 days till May4th and is in essence a spring fertility ritual.

Maiδyö is the Avestan word for “middle.” Zarem comes from Avestan zairi “fresh green, lush or golden” and can be compared with Old Church Slavonic zeleni, Lithuanian geltas, želvas “yellow/golden.”

Mid-Spring is an “in between festival” maiδyö, between the spring and summer solstices and it is a joyous celebration of reinvigorating nectars of spring. It is a time of “peak blossoms” and it is the appointed yearly time for performing fertility rites (Avestan yaar ratö.)

Maiδyö.zarem is described as the festival of payan “milk, syrup, nectar of flowers and sap of trees” in the Avestan book of vispa ratü “all the right formulas/rites.” (Compare Avestan payan “milk,” with Lithuanian pienas, Latvian piêns, Vedic páyas “milk,” Vedic pipyúši “rich in milk” and reconstructed Proto Indo European *pieh “be fat, prosperous, swollen” and *pipih usih “rich, overflowing in milk.”)

It is a sacred time reserved for the reverence of trees and their sap and a time to bless the herds, their young and their milk by walking them between sacred bonfires, before taking them to their summer pastures.

In Zoroastrianism, the spiritual life and worship is entwined with hearth-fire, kinship and Clan, home, happiness, pets and farm, fertility of the land and wondrous seasons of the year; all related in a sacred world order wherein mortal man lives as a member of his genos, and is governed by the laws of renewal, purity and nobility (cf. also Johannes Hertl: Die Awestischen Jahreszeitenfeste.)

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Zoroastrian religiosity is not slavery to a despotic god. It contains none of the commandments of a downtrodden slave to his all-powerful lord. Zoroastrian jurisprudence and morality comprises rather the confiding fulfillment of a mutual community between Immortals and god men.

Men are friends of the Immortals and co-creators ham-kár with the god-force. The belief in the Gods as friends corresponds to the idea of kinship between the high-minded, virtuous mortals and the God beings.

This kinship rests above all on the view that Gods and men are bound through creativity, artistry, cosmic order, truth, and virtue ašá/arthá.

In the Zoroastrian sacred poetry God/Godhood is again and again regarded as creativity/brilliant mind power ruling through the cosmic order, virtue and truth ašá/arthá.

Ašá/Arthá is the same law of goodness/virtue bounding both Gods and men. It is the creative ordering principle of the worlds.

In the Avestan, Superb Order or what is fitting best (Reconstructed Proto Indo European*hértus) has shifted to an association with cosmic order but the underlying idea is always that of “superb artistry, creative technique and excellence.”

Latin artus “joint” Greek artús “arranging, arrangement,” Middle High German art “innate feature, nature, fashion,” Old Irish uisse “just, right, fitting,” Old Church Slavonic istū are all cognates of ašá/arthá.

In Old Avestan poetry, ašá/arthá is a grammatical neuter such as in ašem and/or Vedic r̥tám. But when the seer/prophet wants to address ašá directly or represent ašá as a speaking figure, ašá/arthá becomes masculine. In Indo European poetry an excellence/virtue could be made into a god power by giving it an animate gender.

Prophet Zarathûštrá invokes ašá/arthá more than any other god force in his poetic gathas. In ancient Avestan poetry ašá/arthá “artistry, ingenuity, excellence, virtue, luminosity” is the wondrous self of godhood, (See Yansa 39.5, 3^rd rhymed verse line.)

The Gods are God because of their ašá/arthá because of their “virtue, excellence, luminosity and creative artistry.” It is this “creative artistry and ordering principle” that governs the worlds; the relations between Immortals and mortal men; and the relations of mortal men to other life forms and one another.

Ašá/Arthá is closely associated with *dhéh-men “creation through passion, energy, inspiring mind-power/spirit” and Greek thémis law. In fact, Mazdá (*men–dhéh) “God of Inspiring Creativity, Greek thémis “sum total of codes inspired by the gods, a collection of oracular responses which determine how to proceed every time the order of the génos “kin, race, creation” is at stake” and Avestan dámiš ALL come all from the root dhe “to establish in a creative way, to establish into existence” by the gods.

The connection between Old Avestan ašá/arthá and thémis in Illiad could be best demonstrated by the 2^nd rhymed verse line of Yasna 31.7 of the poetic gathas: hvö ḵrathwá dámiš ašem//yá dárayat vahištem manö “his superior/unmatched wisdom is the deviser of artistry, excellence//which is upheld by the most brilliant spirit/mind.

In Yasna 31.7 of the poetic gathas, dámiš ašem “devising of wondrous technique, excellence, cosmic order” relates directly to the notion thémis.

Without the ease of ašá/arthá everything is just disorder, injury, a lie or trick called drug and/or drûj in the Avestan terminology, (Compare drûg/drûj with Old Norse draugr ghost, German trug trick, lie.)

The word for sin in the poetic gathas/Avestan is aæna “injury, damage,” Sanskrit énas “sin guilt,” Reconstructed Indo European *hei “assail,” Hittite inan “illness.”

The word appears about 12 times in the sacred poetry of the ancient prophet and it refers to whenever the timeless order of ašá/arthá, within which both the brilliant Immortals as well as high-minded mortals have their luminous office/destiny is desecrated.

Aæna is a violation of nature and the cosmic order. It is a lie, trick against truth. It comes in close association with Avestan kaæná “compensation, restitution, consequence” Lithuanian káina “price,” Old Church Slavonic cēna, (See Yasna 30.8, 1^st rhymed verse line.)

There is NO eternal damnation or everlasting punishment in Zoroastrianism, only going through the consequence of a violation against the cosmic order/truth. Immortals and men are forever bound together in goodness, virtue and excellence.

Gods are Goodness and Eternal Betterment. The injury of aæna against the sacred duty within the cosmic order is corrected by going through the consequences of the chaos caused, and is purged by learning, illumination.

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The common Avestan term for the sacred is speñtá “sacred, auspicious, splendid with the life force” corresponding to svętŭ in Slavic.

Another term in the Avestan that has to do with the sacred and hallowing in particular is vahmæ from the root vah “ to hallow, honor as holy, revere, venerate.”

Vah or vahmæ is the awe, wonder and reverential respect for the life force. It is the holy feeling of experiencing the marvelous riddle and wonder of life energies. It is the sacred insight and awe into the mysteries of cosmos.

Vah or vahmæ is to passionately feel the highest beauty and honor “imagination, creativity and intuitive wisdom” as the most holy and reverential life force.

The “sacred awe” vah vahmæ and the “will” var to overcome limitations shared/share a decisive role in the original shaping of the creation and in formation of every brilliant, new beginning.

It is this sacred awe that distinguishes any cosmos from chaos. Vah or vahmæ comes 12 times in the poetic gathas.

The sacred awe vah vahmæ comes mostly in connection with the house of music/songs of ahûrá mazdá, the supreme god of inspiring creativity in the gathas. For the worlds are created through mazdá’s mind-power and his music. Various melodies in the house of songs give rise to formation of new universes. It is this house of music that god-men will enter as the co-creators of the supreme god ahûrá mazdá, (See Yasna 34.2.3^rd rhymed verse line, Yasna 41.1.1^st rhymed verse line and Yasna 45.8.5^th rhymed verse line.)

The sacred and hallowing vah vahmæ comes in connection with listening to the songs, melodies of the universe seraôšá, (See 46.17.3^rd rhymed verse line.)

The holy feeling of wonder and insight into the mysteries of the universe vah vahmæ comes in close association with cinvatö perethü the “portal/bridge to other dimensions, the selection bridge.”

The concept and idea of the bridge/portal perethü in Zoroastrianism and the sacred gathic verse is extremely similar to As-brú (Æsir’s bridge, bridge to the world of god-beings) in the ancient Norse mythology, (See Yasna 46.10.4^th rhymed verse line and Yasna 50.7.2^nd rhymed verse line.)

It is through the “intuitive wisdom, good energy/spirit” vôhü man.aηhá of all the god beings that holiness, sacred awe is established, (See Yasna 51.2.3^rd rhymed verse line.)

Questioning, discovery through vôhü man.aηhá “the good energy/spirit, the brilliant temperament/mind of the god-powers” shall be made with a spirit awe, wonder and reverential respect, (See Yasna 45.6.4^th rhymed verse line.)

The auspicious life force saváiš grows, increases, waxes vaxšat through the sacred awe vah vahmæ, (See Yasna 48.1.4^th rhymed verse line.)

The sacred awe that distinguishes any cosmos from chaos vah vahmæ comes in connection with “superb artistry, celestial lights, cosmic order” and “inspiring creativity” in Yasna 50.10, 4^th rhymed verse line.

The sacred awe/wonder vah vahmæ is closely connected to yasná “fervent yearning, intense passion, and heartfelt desire to become like the supreme god of inspiring creativity mazdá. Yasná or “fervent desire” is a cognate of Greek zelos, (See Yasna 35.7.1^st rhymed verse line and Yasna 53.2.2^nd rhymed verse line.)

The Avestan vah vahmæ is etymologically related to Hieroglyphic Luwian was(a) “to elevate, honor as holy, pay reverential respect” and wasara “favor, honor as holy.”

However the Old Norse Vé, German Weih although NO cognates, share almost the same idea and concept. For an etymology of Old Norse Vé See Didier Calin, Dictionary of Indo-European Poetic Themes:

*weik– ‘sacred’ that is attested in Avestan as vaēk in auua.vaēk-, Goth. weihs ‘holy’, ON vé ‘temple’, OE wēoh ‘holy image’, wicce (> E witch), German weihen ‘to consecrate’, Lt. uictima (> E victim) ‘sacrificial victim’, Lith. viẽkas ‘life force’, etc. (See Didier Calin)

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The Iranian and/or the Iranian-Caucasian origin theory of Croats and Serbs date back to the 1797. It was the doctoral dissertation of Josip Mikoczy-Blumenthal. With this work he became the founder of Croatian Iranian origin theory. According to him Croats were people descending from the Sarmatians, an ancient Eastern Iranian people who started their westward migration around the 6th century BC, coming to dominate the closely related Scythians by the 2nd century BC.

The Sarmatians differed from the Scythians in their veneration of the GOD OF FIRE and women’s prominent role in warfare, which served as the inspiration for the Amazons.

At their greatest reported extent, Sarmatians tribes ranged from the Vistula River to the mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga, bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian seas as well as the Caucasus to the south.

The ancient Iranian origins theory of the people of the Dinaric Alps and the Sarmatian connection was of No real interest to Me until I got My own genetic results back from the National Geographic.

It turned out that My paternal haplogroup is I L41. Haplogroup I L41 is a very rare haplogroup shared by only 0.03 percent of the participants in the National Geographic project. L41 is a defining SNP for haplogroup I, which includes both I1 and I2. In other words it is proto Old Norse and Proto South Slavic. It is closer to South Slavic haplogoup I because from the refuge of the Dinaric Alps during the last Ice Age, haplogroup I branched out into Scandinavia.

The composite subclade I-M170 contains individuals directly descended from the earliest members of Haplogroup I, bearing none of the subsequent mutations which identify the remaining subclades.

Haplogroup I is found almost exclusively in Europe where it is represented in about 20% of the population.  Hg I has a broad European distribution, but its strong geographic concentration in northwestern Europe has led Hg I to be nicknamed the “Viking” haplogroup (though some consider R1a to be the only true Viking haplogroup.)

It appears that Haplogroup I L41 appears in Iran in small frequencies among Kurds, Mazandaranis of the Caspian Region and among Iranian Zoroastrians. In fact, the Caspian Mountains and the province of Mazandaran were the last Zoroastrian strongholds.

It appears that the ancient Iranians and their direct descendants are closely related to original Indo European population groups living between the black and Caspian Seas and south of the Ural Mountains.

In my particular case the closest population groups to My overall genetic make up are the Georgians and populations of North Caucasus and Southern Russia.

Beside R1a (the ancient Indo European marker,) another haplogroup common among Iranian Zoroastrians is the haplogroup T. However the subclades of haplogroup T associated with the Iranian Zoroastrians belong to the branches of T that are found in Anatolia or Caucasus. These subclades probably represent one of the Neolithic migration from the Fertile Crescent to Southern Russia and Southeast Europe and have spread as far north as the eastern Baltic and has been found as far east as the Volga-Ural region of Russia and Xinjiang in north-west China.

The branch of haplogroup T associated with Iranian Zoroastrians probably penetrated into the Pontic-Caspian Steppe during the Neolithic and became integrated to the indigenous R1a Indo European peoples before their expansion to Central Asia during the Bronze Age (See R1a-Z93).

I like to conclude by the following sacred gathic verse:

Asking who are you and whose are you??? (Meaning from where do you originate?) Peresat.čá má ciš ahî kahyá ahî

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The Siberian Ice Maiden Devochka is a mummy of a young Scythian woman from the 5th century BCE, found in 1993 in a kurgan of the Pazyryk culture in Republic of Altai, Russia.

The mummified remains of the “Ice Maiden,” a Scytho-Siberian young woman who lived on the Eurasian Steppes, were found undisturbed in a subterranean burial chamber.

DNA testing confirmed that the Scytho-Siberian maiden was NOT related to present-day peoples of the Altai. It turns out that the maternal line of Devochka the Scythian Ice Maiden is HV2.

HV2 maternal DNA is a very rare haplogroup. It was found in 2 individuals from a Scythian grave site including the spectacularly preserved Ice Maiden Devochka.

Genetic studies showed that the Pazyryks were a part of Samoyedic family, with very strong elements of ancient Iranian-Caucasian substratum.

(Source: Tracing the Origin of the East-West Population Admixture in the Altai Region (Central Asia)

Today the highest occurrence of HV2 maternal lineage is found in Slovakia in Central Europe and among the Volga Bulgars.

In the Iranian Plateau, HV2 appears either in populations that are native to the Caucasus or Caspian mountain regions and/or to the population groups that originated from the Caspian or Caucasus region and migrated further South and East.

HV2 mtDNA demographics in Study Populations in Iran are as follows:

Persian Central and southern central Iran – 2.4%,

Gilaki Northern Iran, southwestern Caspian Sea area – 8.1%, 

Kurdish Western Iran – 5.0%,  

Lur Southwestern Iran (Zagros Mountains) – 5.9%,

Baluch South Eastern Iran-western Pakistan, Baluchistan – 10.3%, 

 Parsi Zoroastrians of Karachi Pakistan- 9.1%, 

My maternal grandmother was a Zoroastrian from kerman and as it appears through her, I carry the same EXACT maternal DNA HV2 as the Scythian Ice Maiden.

It appears that the genetic studies show that the ancient Iranians and ancient Zoroastrians directly descend from Indo European populations that lived in Southern Russia, Northern Caucasus and South of Ural Mountains.

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The ancient Aryan Prophet Zarathûštrá was born on the 6^th day after the Spring Vernal Equinox. In the Avestan calendar the 6^th day of each month is dedicated to the god-force of “health, hail and every healing formula” called haûrvatát.

Haûrvatát expresses the idea of “holiness” in terms of “healthy vibrant energy.” It is the “whole, healthy, manifesting divine power” and can be compared with Greek hólos and Vedic sárva, (Courtesy of Didier Calin.)

The message and the sacred poetry of the ancient seer/prophet Zarathûštrá hold extremely true to its most ancient Indo-European roots, and can ONLY be truly grasped within such context.

The universe and a finite number of events have been recurring, and will continue to recur again and again infinitely, in an infinite number of times across infinite time or space.

Within this ancient concept, Zarathûštrá developed a unique innovation, the idea or the possibility to OVERCOME and MASTER fate, the HEALTHY will power to become a god-force ahü, or a courageous author of destiny.

Fate repeats itself infinitely to unleash the possibility of overcoming itself or its limitations and this “infinite betterment and creativity” is godhood according to the ancient prophet Zarathûštrá.

Each event and age that repeats itself is to teach superior wisdom and inspiring creativity to overcome it and set in an eternal spring of the Immortals

The titans or god-powers are the “mastery or inspiring creativity to overcome limitations and discover infinite betterment in the face of fate” while the diabolic is “the sickly, cowardly, timid and restricted petty.”

In Zarathûštrá’s message, there exists an inseparable duality between “inspiring creativity, betterment and boundlessness” of the God-powers united in Mazdá AND the limitation, constriction of daævás “the anti-gods or diabolic forces” headed by añgrö“ the afflicted, broken spirit”.

In the sacred poetry of the ancient prophet “evil, calamity, limitation, decay, and death are NOT attributed to godhood, because godhood is the mastery and brilliance to overcome every limitation.

The nature of ahûrás is connected with the “innovative cosmic order, and superb artistry” ašá/arthá. Mortal men join with the Gods or ahûrás in the “brilliant disposition, mind-power to become ever better” called vohü-manö – also vaηhǝ̄uš manaηhö and all the Gods are ONE in Mazdá “vision, imagination, inspiring creativity.”

God powers and god-men stand in continuous combat AGAINST forces hostile to overcoming limitation, fatalism and resignation. They stand against añgrö “the afflicted, broken spirit” with his host of “diabolic, limiting demons” the daævás.

Zatathûštrá grew up in a bardic tradition and was well versed as a poet/priest. This brings us into the story of the Avestan Yimá “the divine twin,” the primeval leader of mankind during the Ice Age.

The creation myth of the ancient Indo Europeans centered around the sacrifice of *Yemós “Twin” and *Mannus “Thinker, Ancestor of Mankind.” The duo are found throughout the ancient Indo-European world, like in the myths of the Germanic peoples (Norse Ymir, and German Tuisto and Mannus.)

The twins *Yemós and *Mannus are bound up in the origin of the Cosmos.  In the primordial time, *Mannus sacrificed *Yemós and formed the world from his body.  *Mannus treated his brother *Yemós as if he were a SACRIFICIAL BULL. (Courtesy of Didier Calin)

But *Yemós really comes into his own in the ancient Indo-Iranian area, where as the Avestan Yimá he is the primeval leader of mankind during the Ice Age, and in the Vedas, he is the god of death. In the myths of the Pre-Avestan people, it is Yimá who sacrifices the primeval cow and the world is created according to a special formula from the bones, blood and various body parts of the primeval cow.

The connection between the Avestan Yimá, the primeval cow and the creation of cosmos has in some way a parallel in the Norse account of Ymir, the cosmic cow Auðumbla and the creation of the worlds.

Each act of bloody sacrifice among the Pre-Avestan people supposed to repeat this original act of creation.

Yet, the ancient Aryan seer/prophet saw Godhood in “goodness, virtue and heightening of vitality” and identified “the sacred” speñtá with the “vibrant, splendid life force.” He saw the worst deformity of spirit in diminution/destruction of vitality, in the slaughter and sacrifice of innocent animal life.

Zarathûštrá argued that since Godhood is GOODNESS, the god-powers only accept the pure libation of water, milk, wine, fruits AND the SELF SACRIFICE of nobility, courage, truthfulness and healthy self-worth.

Zarathûštrá called yimá a sinner in his sacred songs because of yimá’s sacrifice/killing of the primeval cow in the Indo Iranian lore and became the first and most earnest champion of animal rights in history of mankind.

I like to conclude by explaining the meaning of the name of the ancient seer/prophet. Zarath.ûštrá consists of two parts. The second part of the name ûštrá means anything from “buffalo to camel.” It can be compared with the reconstructed Proto Indo European *usr, Vedic usrá, Germanic ūrochso “aurochs,” Pashto ūš “camel,” (See Didier Calin.)

The first part zarath, if coming from ancient East Iranian zar means “golden, yellow, pale colored” (Compare with Old Church Slavonic zlato and Latvian zèlts.

However if the original version of the name is ZaraNt.uštra, it must be derived from the Avestan zarant, Ossetian zœrond. Pashto zōr, Middle Persian zál “old, aging or albino” (SEE West and Didier Calin.)

The name therefore means something like “pale or white buffalo and/or albino camel.” It appears that the names of the “noble ones” or the ancient Indo European people who called themselves Aryans were very similar to the American Indian names.

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Ôstara is the forerunner of Easter and was the pagan Germanic festival that celebrated the resurrection of the god-powers, the re-awakening of the Earth and Nature. Ôstara’s springtime festival gave its name to a month Ôstar-mânôth or Ôst(a)rûn and to the Christian feast of Easter that displaced it.

Life became brighter and more joyful after Ôstara, for Ôstara signified a NEW DAWN and a NEW DAY.

The meaning of the name Ôstara is connected with DAWN and the festival was an example of the Dawn goddess becoming attached to a spring festival, and a much more ancient NEW YEAR rite.

Ôstara’s appearance on the first day of spring symbolized a new birth, dawn being born and reborn, never dying. Thus the NEW DAWN of spring represented the god nature of being “ever youthful and IMMORTAL.”

The most obvious characteristic of dawn is that she gives NEW LIGHT. This imagery of Ôstara is very similar, if not identical to the Zoroastrian springtime new-year tradition, both going back to the ancient Aryan era.

Many Indo-European peoples had festivities to celebrate the beginning of spring, the time when the sun began to shine warmer and brighter after the cold winter months.

For example the Vedic Agni-stoma, the springtime festival that began the year, opened with songs to DAWN, and this led Alfred Hillebrandt to argue that Ušas was especially a goddess of New Year.

The custom of getting up at first dawn of the spring, to greet the NEW LIGHT is widely attested among ancient Aryans and especially among the Zoroastrians.

The Zoroastrian term for the new-year Nauv-rûz refers to the first new light of the new dawn/day after the vernal equinox. (Avestan term would have been nava raôca, Compare with Latin lucere “Light.”)

Vernal equinox is mentioned numerous times in the Avesta. The Avestan term for vernal equinox is “hamas.path. maiðya” or “hamaß.path.maiðya” and refers to the moment when the center/middle position (maiðya ) of the Sun is in the same/equal (hamaß) position/passage/path (Avestan Path) as the celestial equator.

The term is specific to the moment when such a passage happens and when the celestial points/paths of intersection are at an equal/same length from each other.

In the Avestan lore, each Vernal Equinox foretells the coming of the everlasting spring of the Immortals.

The first NEW LIGHT of the vernal equinox signifies the splendid remaking, the fresh, vigorous rebirth of the pristine existence (See Yasna 28.11, 3^rd rhymed verse line.)

This celebration of the IMMORTAL DAWN, the brilliant rising up of Immortal god beings/powers and the future god men is called frašö-kart in the poetic gathas.

The auspicious moment of the NEW DAWN of the vernal equinox heralds a period of growth, when nature is reborn and swells with life-giving saps.

The Avestan word frašö refers to the reinvigorating nectars of spring and the eternal power of regeneration/rebirth of the gods. Frašö-kart is a brilliant, splendid new age of Immortals and god-men.

Let us celebrate the new-year in spring, with the splendid dawn of Immortals, the rejuvenation of the earth and the rising of the god-powers.

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ARMAITI is the god-force of “calm thinking, harmonious thoughts and serene meditation.”

Ár-maiti comes from the root ar “ fitting harmoniously, right arrangement.” The root ar is the same for ašá/arthá “cosmic order, superb artistry” and ašá/arthá “comes in alliance with ármaiti throughout the poetic gathas.

The cosmic order, superb artistry ašá/arthá “grows, flourishes, waxes” vaḵšt with mat calm thinking ármaitiš,

ašá mat ármaitiš vaḵšt (See Yasna 34.11,2^nd rhymed verse line.)

The second part maiti means “meditation, reflection, concentration, and thinking.”

Ármaiti comes about 42 times in the gathas and in Yasna 43.15, 3^rd rhymed verse line is equated with tüšná maitiš “silent, tacit or quiet meditation.”

She like other Immortals is characterized by the epithet Spǝñtá “the auspicious, endowed with vibrant, splendid life force, the bringer of abundance and growth, the sacred.”

(Compare Spǝñtá with Old Slavonic svętŭ, Lithuanian šventas, Russian svjatój and Old Prussian swints, See Didier Calin.)

Another epithet of ármaiti is vaηuhîm or vaηhû.yáv “good, superb, brilliant, bounteous.” For the god-beings are “superb, brilliant and giver of superabundance.”

In the poetic gathas, ármaiti “calm thinking or harmonious thoughts” is said to be the daughter dûgedá of “the mindful lord, the god of inspiring creativity mazdá” (See Yasna 45.4, 4^th rhymed verse line.)

She ármaiti comes also in close affiliation with daæná “vision, power to see, and keen insight into the cosmic order. (See Yasna 33.13, 3^rd rhymed verse line and Yasna 44.10 and 44.11.)

In the gathas ármaiti first appears in Yasna 28.3, 3^rd rhymed verse line, in combination with “power to blossom, bloom, flower and grow,” varedaitî ármaitiš. The Avestan vared/varǝδa “power to blossom, bloom, flower and grow” can be compared with reconstructed Proto Indo European wredh and Old Greek rhódo “roses.”

Ármaiti “calm thinking, harmonious thoughts, serene meditation” recurrently appears in association with the powers of “growth, thriving and regeneration” throughout the gathas.

It is the unshakeable ármaiti who regenerates the physical body, kehrpém (Compare with German Körper,) and gives eternal youth ûtayüitî. (See Yasna 30.7,2^nd rhymed verse line.)

at kehrpém ûtayüitîš//dadát ârmaitish ãnmá

The bountifulness of speñtá ármaiti the “sacred, calm thinking” is such that all the living worlds gaæthá advance/go forward frádö and thrive thwaḵš through her, (See Yasna 44.12,3^rd rhymed verse line.)

ármatöiš gaætháv frádö thwaḵš.aηhá

Through ármaiti the god-force arises and existence thrives. “Arise within me möi god-power ahûrá and through ármaiti give me thriving tevîšî.” (See Yasna 33.12,1^st rhymed verse line.)

ûs-möi uz.árešvá ahûrá//ármaitî tevîšîm dasvá

In several gathic verses ármaiti is associated with ḵšaθrá/ḵšathrá, “dominion/kingdom of the god beings. ḵšaθrá/ḵšathrá is the power to make the land bloom and the realm bountiful. And that power is the kingship, rule and dominion of the god-beings.”

(Avestan ḵšaθrá/ḵšathrá can be compared with Greek krasthai “to acquire, possess to cultivate.”)

Whom ké fashioned tášt the kingdom of the god beings ḵšathrá with mat the lofty bereḵðãm and exalted ármaiti (See Yasna 44.7,2^nd rhymed verse line.)

ké bereḵðãm tášt ḵšathrá mat ármaitîm

The Avestan word bereḵðãm “high, lofty, exalted” is another epithet of the god beings that comes in association with both ármaiti “calm thinking, harmonious thoughts” and vôhü-manö “brilliant disposition and/or good spirit/mind.” It can be compared with Russian béreg, Old Germanic bergaz, German berg, “mountain, lofty heights.”

Ármaiti brings riches and superabundance aši.čá ármaitî and prophet Zarathûštrá asks ármaiti to grant powers to him and his patron višt.áspá. (See Yasna 28,7,2^nd rhymed verse line.)

dáidî tü ármaitæ//vîšt,áspâi îšem maibyá.čá

Speñtá ármaiti called Spandārmað in middle Iranian is “sacred focus/meditation and calm thinking” manifested in the physical creation as the lady of the earth and women’s intuition.

She is entreated for protection against evil. In the Avestan sacred calendar, ármaiti is associated with the twelfth month, “the sacred month,” and the fifth day of each month. The fifth day of the twelfth month is ármaiti’s holy day, a day to honor the earth and women.

It was to Spəñtá Ármaiti, guardian both of the earth and women that Artaxerxes II prayed for the health of his wife Atôssá, whose name is rendered in Greek as Hera “the goddess of women.”

I like to conclude by the following gathic sacred verse:

speñtãm vé ármaitîm vaηuhîm vare.maidî// há-né aηhat

Spəntá Ármaiti, the bountiful, the good vaηuhîm, we choose/will/desire for ourselves vare.maidî //May she be ours!

ardeshir

Martin Haug was a DEVOUT protestant missionary and for all practical purposes, the founder of Ancient Iranian Studies. Haug was born on January 30, 1827 in Ostdorf near Balingen, Württemberg, Germany and died June 5, 1876 in Bad Ragaz, Kanton St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Haug’s magnum opus is Essays on the Sacred Language, Writings and Religion of the Parsis (Bombay, 1862.)

Haug’s impact on the interpretation of the Zoroastrian doctrine was and still is PROFOUND, especially among Parsis unsettled by the campaigning of yet another protestant missionary, the Scottish John Wilson.

Parsis always saw themselves as the cousins of the Europeans and simply could not understand the polemics of John Wilson against Zoroastrianism. Wilson passionately campaigned against the ancient Zoroastrian faith. Wilson condemned Zoroastrianism as PURELY PAGAN, and viciously attacked it as the heathen and amoral faith of the ancient Aryans.

Haug on the other hand, argued that Zarathushtra taught a pure, ethical monotheism and a philosophical dualism. Haug also insisted that prophet Zarathushtra’s teachings were grossly corrupted by later generations. Martin Haug completely overruled the importance of and/or even the relevance of the extensive ancient Avestan commentaries and the vast, rich Zoroastrian ancient traditions.

The Parsi priests by circa 19^th century, knew virtually NOTHING of their sacred lore except elaborate rituals. They welcomed Haug’s wholly new, strict protestant interpretation of their ancient faith, because Haug’s views gave the Parsis acceptability and much respect in the eyes of the Christian Europeans.

But are the strict protestant interpretations of Haug concerning the ancient Zoroastrian faith at all accurate???

The ancient Aryan prophet Zarathushtra teaches mortals to become immortal gods, to achieve the essence and/or being of Godhood, to follow the path to Godhood, to do as Immortals do and become as Immortals are.

(See bagán 18.10, the bagán gathic commentary on Yasna 49.12. The term bagán is the plural of bag and refers to “godhood/god beings” and is the same as the word for “god” in Russian bog.)

The most sacred formula that commences the gathas is yathá ahü vairyö the “the will to become just god.”

Ahü the word for “god, master, ruler” comes from the Avestan root ah, Vedic as, Old Norse áss, the rune ansuz and Old English ōs. Ahü refers to “god-power, life-force or power to spark/ignite into being.”

Likewise the first word of the poetic gathas is ahyá “essence and/or inner godly being” (from the root ah/as) and the last word is vahyö “ever better.”

The idea of Godhood in the poetic gathas and Zoroastrianism is Progressive. The perfection of the god-beings/Immortals is in their eternal progress and advancement. The supreme greatness of the god beings is in their Being Mindful or Becoming Mazdá.

In the poetic gathas, the unsurpassed prize mîžd promised to the wise hû.dábyö is the Godhood of Mazdá himself (See Yasna 34.13, 3^rd rhymed verse line.)

 hyat civištá hû.dábyö//mîždem mazdá ýehyá tü dathrem

We are also told in Yasna 40.1 that the sovereign gift that Mazdá gives in all existences is the state of being like Mazdá.

áhü at paitî adáhü mazdá ahurá mazdãm.čá

Notice the interesting wordplay in the gathic poetry between Mazdá, “the Mindful God of Inspiring Creativity” and the word for “Unsurpassed Prize” Miždá.

(Avestan mîžda “brilliant, exceptional or unsurpassed prize” is related to Gothic mizdo, Old Slavic mižda, Vedic mīḍha, Greek misthós (μισθός), Old English meord, [See Didier Calin]

In the poetic gathas and the Zoroastrian sacred lore, Godhood is ONE in virtue, excellence, goodness, eternal betterment and brilliant disposition. But there are an INFINITE number of Gods who follow the path of eternal progress, brilliance, goodness and Godhood.

The number of Immortals in Avesta is often quoted as 7 (eternity, infinity) and/or 33 (infinite wisdom.) Yet the best, most illuminating Avestan description comes in Vispered (vispa ratü) 8.1, where the number of Immortals is said to be 50, 100, 1000, 10,000, beyond reckoning.

Gathas conclude with airyémá išyö formula, the “Aryan or noble desire/ideal,” ending with the words ahûrö masatá mazdáv “to magnify/maximize the godhood of Mazda through inspiring creativity.”

If mortals have the potential to become a brilliant race of immortal gods, would that NOT contradict the idea of ONE god according to the Bible, for the biblical god is an insecure, jealous god, tolerating NONE other than himself???

In Avesta, evolved mortals are the allies and co-creators ham-kár of Ahûrá Mazdá “the Mindful God, the God of Imagination, Inspiring Creativity.”

Super humans and God-beings fight alongside the Supreme God Ahûrá Mazdá against angrá mainyu “the beaten spirit, limited mind-power, evil” in the same way as Odin’s valiant heroes are fighting alongside him at the final battle of Ragnarök.

It is accounted in the poetic gathas that in the final battle “what is mortal mašyá/martyá and diabolic daæváiš.čá will be conquered in immortality ameretáitî” (See Yasna 48.1, 3^rd rhymed verse line.)

ameretáitî daæváiš.čá mašyáiš.čá

To become godlike means to have the will power and determination to overcome obstacles, to beat the odds, to think like titans and become the masters of destiny.

ardeshir

Good thoughts, Good words and Good deeds

The threefold motto of “good thoughts, good words and good deeds”- hû.mata, hüḵta, hvaršta has been a fundamental tenet in Zoroastrianism since the time immemorial.

Hû.mata, hüḵta, hvaršta literally means “the purest essence in thoughts, words and deeds.”

In the Yasht or “holy hymns” 13.84 and 19.17, “the auspicious immortals or the sacred, eternal god beings” amešá/amertá speñtá themselves look into each other’s consciousness/souls ûrvá, contemplating, deliberating on “the purest essence in thoughts, words and deeds” hû.mata, hüḵta, hvaršta, reflecting on the melodious music in the “abode or home of songs” garö-nmânem, and go down the invocations zaôthráv along paths pañtánö that are luminous/radiant raôxšn.

In Háðôḵt Nask 2.24-25, the daæná (from the root dee) “power to see/insight” of the virtuous is identified with hû.mata, hüḵta, hvaršta by which the soul has been made “beautiful, shining and brilliant;” and (2.33-34) the virtuous through the three stages of “the purest essence in thoughts, words and deeds” hû.mata, hüḵta, hvaršta ascend into the boundless lights, and then the celestial abode of music/songs. Thus the faith of the individuals in this world and the worlds to come is shaped according to the “purity, soundness and goodness” of their thoughts, words and deeds.

Avestan hû “pure essence of being, sound, healthy” is a cognate of Greek hy– healthy, Vedic su and Hittite assu. Celtic divine name Esus and Greek Goddess of “good health” Hygieia come from the same root (See Didier Calin.)

Avestan hû is synonymous with vôhü “good, superb, brilliant” and reconstructed Proto Indo European wósu, wésus.

Hû.mata, hüḵta, hvaršta “purest essence, wellness” in thoughts words and deeds appears first in the gathic poetry in Yasna 35.2.

And later in Yasna 36.5 “With all that is the purest essence in thoughts, with all that is the purest essence in words, with all that is the purest essence in deeds we move toward/come to thee thwá.”

vîspáiš thwá hû-matáiš vîspáiš hüḵtáiš vîspáiš hvarštáiš pairi-jasá.maidaæ

In hû.mata, the second part mata “to meditate, reflect, think” refers to “good/healthy reflection, thinking, meditation.”

In hüḵta the second part üḵta “utterance” comes from the root vac “voice, word, speech” and refers to “vigor/life in the power of words and/or expression of ideas.”

In hvaršta the second part varšta comes from the root varš/varez “to wind, turn, come to pass, become” and refers to “excellence/vital energy in turning of events, happening, becoming.”

Avestan varš/varez can be compared with German werden and the ancient Norse rune WYRD “winding, turning, becoming.”

In Yasna 49.4 3^rd rhymed verse line, there is reference to those ýaæšãm of evil genius duž.ḵrathwá whose good deeds/worth in turning of events/fate hvarštáiš does not nöit win/prevail over vãns their evil deeds/worth duž.varštá.

ýaæšãm nöit hvarštáiš vãns duž.varštá

An elucidation of the threefold formula is provided in Yasna 19.19:

kat hû.matem, ašavanem mana-paôiryö,
What is the purest essence in thoughts? It is the pristine passion paôiryö in the mind/spirit mana of the virtuous/excellent ašavan.

kat hüḵtem, mánthrö speñtö,
What is the purest essence in utterance/words? It is the auspicious mantra mánthrö speñtö, the sacred formula for musing, thinking, imagination!

kat hvarštem, staôtáiš aša-paôiryáiš-ča dámébîš.
What is the purest essence in that which is happening/becoming? It is the exaltation of the pristine creation of the superb artistry/ excellence aša/artha.

In other gathic verses hû is switched with vôhü “good, superb, brilliant.”

In Yasna 30.3 2^nd rhymed verse line, we read of what is: “better” vahyö and “worst/most beaten” akem in mind/spirit man.ahi, in voice/words vač.ahi, and in activity/movement šyaôthanöi.

man.ahi.čá vač.ahi.čá//šyaôthanöi hî vahyö akem.čá

(Avestan šyaô and/or šyaö “set in motion, movement, action” is a cognate of Greek seúō, Latin cieō and Vedic cyávate from reconstructed Proto Indo European kei “set in motion, stir up, shake.”)

But why is it that vahyö “better” is contrasted with akem “worst/most beaten”??? It is so because while there is no end to goodness and how much better future ages can become, there is always an end to limitation, flaw and what is bad, evil!

In Yasna 34.10, 1^st rhymed verse line, a being ahyá of “good spirit/mind,” vaηhéuš man.aηhö through “enterprise, action,” šyaöthaná, and spoken word/voice vaôcat is to grab gerebãm onto “good genius, healthy creativity” hû-ḵratûš.

ahyá vaηhéuš man.aηhö//šyaöthaná vaôcat gerebãm hû-ḵratûš

In Yasna 45.8, 3^rd rhymed verse line, the good disposition, brilliance of spirit/mind energy vaηhéuš man.yéuš is reflected in “endeavor, action” šyaöthana and “utterance, spoken words” uḵða.

vaηhéuš man.yéuš šyaöthan.ahyá uḵða-xvyá.čá

In Yasna 53.2, 1^st rhymed verse line, there is talk of “harmony, accord sequence” sčañtü between passion/mind power man.aηhá spoken word, utterance uḵðáiš and activity, enterprise, šyaöthan.áiš.

at.čá höi sčañtü man.aηhá uḵðáiš šyaöthan.áiš.čá

The meaning of hû.mata, hüḵta, hvaršta is to acknowledge the problems and the bad while focusing on the GOOD and have unshakeable faith in a BETTER turn of events. The worst hell we ever face is the hell we create with and in our own minds. Truth is that time is on the side of Immortal Gods. Limitations and evil are only a moment in time, and will pass.

World is an amazing state of flux and change. We need to deal with limitations and negativities but can not allow what is bad to demoralize and/or to distract us from pursuing our higher, better aspirations and goals.

Hû.mata, hüḵta, hvaršta means to keep our focus, thoughts, words and deeds on GOODNESS and a BETTER fate, which will certainly come to pass.

ardeshir

References: Didier Calin, Dictionary of Indo-European Poetic Themes