The Religion Of The Good Life Zoroastrianism

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THE RELIGION OF THE GOOD LIFE

by the same Author

DADABHAI NAOROfl :

GRAND OLD MAN OF INDIA

THE RELIGION
OF THE GOOD LIFE

ZOROASTRIANISM

by
SIR RUSTOM MASANI

M.A.

With a Foreword by

THE REV. DR.

JOHN McKENZIE

M.A.

LONDON
GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD

FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1938
SECOND IMPRESSION I 9 4

This book is copyright under the Berne
Convention, Apart from any fair dealing
for the purposes of private study, research ,
criticism or review, as permitted under
the Copyright Act 1911, no portion may
be reproduced by any process without
written permission. Enquiry should be
made to the publisher.

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

BY BRADFORD & DICKENS

DRAYTON HOUSE, GORDON ST., W.C.I

FOREWORD

MY friend Mr. R. P. Masani has produced a little
book on Zoroastrianism which should be of great
value to all who wish to know something of the
social and religious background of the Parsi people.
There are many who have this desire, for though the
Parsi people are few in number so few that in the
statistics of world population they are simply insig-
nificant they have an importance that is out of all
proportion to their numbers. They are the best
educated community in the whole of Asia. In trade,
commerce, and industry they have proved themselves
among the most active and enterprising of the peoples
of the world. In public spirit and philanthropy they
have set a notable example to all men. Exiled for
many centuries from their own land, they have main-
tained their identity as a race, and they have not
ceased to take pride in their long and wonderful
history. It is a just pride, for in all their history there
is nothing more surprising, and nothing that more
truly shows the quality of this people, than the fact
that a mere remnant of little over a hundred thousand
should have maintained their national consciousness,
and should have carried into their life in the modern
world so much of the spirit that animated their great
ancestors in the days of the ancient Persian Empire.

8 The Religion of the Good Life

In these days they are not without their troubles and
anxieties, but it is characteristic of them that they
are their own most unsparing critics. In this fact we
find ground for hope that their future will be no less
distinguished than their past has been.

I shall not here say anything about the subject
matter of Mr. Masani's book. In commending it to
the public I would only make one remark regarding
it. It seems to me to stand out among all works that
have been written about the Parsis and Zoroastrianism
in this respect, that it tells the ordinary student in
clear and simple form the things which he wishes to
know. For the specialist there are the ancient texts
and the scholarly works which have been written
around them. For those who are not specialists, but
who wish to know more regarding Parsi ways of life
and thought, this is certainly the book.

JOHN McKENZIE

PREFACE

DURING the last few years I was often asked by
publishing houses to write a book on the creed of
Zoroaster.* I could not, however, make up my
mind to essay the task, partly owing to other engage-
ments and partly owing to diffidence concerning
my capacity to do justice to the theme. At last, the
necessary impulse came as the result of an invitation
I received a few months ago from my esteemed friend
the Rev. John McKenzie, then Vice- Chancellor of
Bombay University, to give a short talk on the subject
to a group of Christian students of religion.

At the gathering of that distinguished group of
earnest seekers after truth I realized more vividly
than ever before the keenness on the part of Christians
generally to have some knowledge of the ancient
religion which was preached, about three thousand
years ago, to the vast population of a once mighty
empire by the Sage of Iran, "the forerunner of those
Wise Men of the East who came and bowed before
the majesty of the new-born Light of the World," a
religion which bade fair at one time to be the creed
of almost the whole civilized world, and which,
despite the loss of that empire and the vicissitudes of

* The name Zoroaster is the Greek form of the old Iranian Zara-
thushtra, which will hereafter be used throughout in this work.

i o The Religion of the Good Life

centuries, is faithfully followed to this day by a
handful of descendants of the ancient Iranians. For
these survivors, the modern Parsis, scattered all
over the world, the voice of the Great Master is still
a living voice. The echo of his clarion call to rally
to the standard of the Spirit of Goodness and to rout
the forces of the Spirit of Evil is heard till this day
in^ their homes and places of worship.

outlook on life was one symbolic of

the essential unity of the universe. In his system _ jthe
entire creation forges its way tpw:a3:ds the goal ef
gerfectiou^.and Jt, is man's missioii Jn^this world to
contribute towards the attainment of that goal. For
the fulfilment of this glorious mission he must set
his feet on the Path that leads mankind to the destined
goal the Path of Asha, or Righteousness. All other
paths are no paths. Ahura Mazda, the All- Wise Lord,
is the fountain-head of the Good Mind. The Good
Mind is the basis of all good thought, from which
originate all right-speaking and right-doing. On these
three pillars, pure thought, pure words, and pure
deeds, the Prophet of Iran reared the stately edifice
of his ethical code, which influenced the life of the
ancient Iranians for centuries and which is seen
reflected, though dimly, in the conduct and character
of theiir descendants. The creed of Zarathushtra may,
therefore, be aptly desc^STS jE^Reljgion of t$e
!! : is P re - err *mently the religion in which
are held uthbest and the most

Preface 1 1

according to the teaching of the Master , not in
austerities 'not in .sacrifices and offerings .to 'powers
of evil, not in the cultivation of fugitive and cloistered
virtue, but in the daily exercise of positive virtue and
the diffusion of good deeds.

The pivotal problem of life is the problem of evil.
On its solution hinges the destiny of mankind. The
physical world, which man inhabits, is full of evil.
There goes on within the heart of maju a ceaseless
conflict between the animal and the human, the
diabolic and the divine. His life is, consequently,
steeped in sorrow and suffering; yet it is a life worth
living. The holy prophet, whose own life was an
inspiring example of earnest ethical endeavour, calls
upon his followers to accept the challenge of the
principle of evil and to enlist themselves as comrades
in arms with the Author of Goodness. This call to arms
is accompanied by the cheering and inspiring message
that if man but does his duty, good will prevail at last.

Not by mere negation of evil, not by retreat
before it, but by facing it boldly and fighting it with
all one's might may man hope to fulfil his lofty destiny
to redeem the world from evil and to establish the
kingdom of righteousness on this earth. He was but
animal yesterday. He is man to-day. His destiny is to
be angel, if not all at once, in the not distant hereafter,
as the result of a gradual process of self-perfection.

The struggle within man's heart is merely a counter-
part of the struggle which he encounters in the outer
world. To eliminate disease and to make the world

1 2 The Religion of the Good Life

more habitable for his physical existence he has to
fight and harness the elements. Similarly, he has to
wage a crusade against the forces of ignorance, super-
stition, credulity, and bigotry for the emancipation
of his reasoning faculty and for his intellectual pro-
gress. For his social advancement he has to combat
social wrongs and social injustice, and for his moral
ascent he has to wage the greatest crusade of all
crusades, incessant war against his lower self.

The jgadd is,, thus,, a -battle-field and man the ally
of the Beneficent Spirit in combating evil in all its
manifestations. What is demanded of his followers by
the Prophet of Iran is virile co-operation with the
Spirit of Good in fighting the forces of evil. It is not
enough that he should ignore or non-co -operate with
fvil. He should abhor it whole-heartedly and fight it
vigorously. '-'ResistJEyil','. is the Zoroastrian battle-
cry, Jn this essentially ^militant aspect the Zoroastrian
concept of the good life differs from the Ideals put
forward by other seers who taught man to ignore
evil or to meet it by passive suffering. They laid
particular emphasis on the subjective realization of
the good through a stoical suppression of desire and
the attainment of perfect tranquillity of mind.
Indifference to all causes of joy and sorrow and
resignation to all evil and suffering are the natural
corollary. Zarathushtra, on the contrary stirs the
hearts of his^HowS^ n to positive hatred of evil, spurs

^WI,|^tl^,M.,*S/^WVM^ <>.'* ,t ' '" ft '*

tnem to loin the crusade against the Spirit ot Evil,

'**,^*"W*iW*0*^ ,,,,,,, w ,,,,.,,, , , ^ J,, , ,

and exhorts them not to evade the fight, or turn their

Preface 13

backs on the arch enemy. In his creed there Is no
suggestion that the best^jlefe^
is _ tp_ Hdirec,L,tp wards, them, J&EL Jitrengt^ of, bene-
volence/' Nor is there any suggestion for the pro-
pitiation of the powers of evil, or of any compromise
with them. Asceticism is unknown; renunciation,
monastic life, celibacy, mendicancy, fasts, and morti-
fication of the flesh have no place in his philosophy of
life. Penance, no doubt, is enjoined, but only as a
penalty for sins committed by thought, word, or deed.
Such is the moral groundwork of the w Iranian
religion. Not merely to be good and to eschew evil,
but to do good ^J^^^J^S^,^^^^c^^cipl^,
ThiJTlsTlK^ of Zarathushtra to

religious thought and practice. His message of moral
duty and hope implies constant application of the
cardinal doctrines of the religion to the problems of
daily life. Constant endeavour to conquer evil builds
character; during the incessant struggle against the
forces of evil are developed traits of character such
as strenuous effort, industry, courage, justice, truth-
fulness, self-improvement, and self-sacrifice. To
cultivate these qualities is, therefore, a duty enjoined
by the Prophet on all his followers, and no religious
ideal or injunction could invest life with greater
dignity or help a man in getting nearer God more
than this battle-cry to resist evil and to fortify one's
self with an armour knit with those virtues which are
essential to secure the salvation not only of one's own
self, but of mankind generally.

14 The Religion of the Good Life

Some of the sterling qualities of the Parsi com-
munity, which strike the other communities most,
are its vitality, which has enabled it to withstand the
vicissitudes of centuries ; its adaptability to changing
circumstances; its loyalty to the Crown; its industry
and spirit of citizenship; and, above all, its philan-
thropy. To what extent these qualities are induced
or stimulated by the religion which the community
professes, is a question frequently asked. No attempt
is made to answer this question in the following
pages ; the reader will be able to draw his or her own
inferences from the bare statement of the fundamental
principles of this religion and its code of ethics.

If conscience enjoins strict adherence to the
principles and precepts embodied in one's prayers, if
one lives, or even strives earnestly to live, up to those
principles, one's conduct must necessarily be on a
high level. The Parsis are a devotional people. Prayer
forms the daily routine of their lives. Dr. Moulton
vividly calls attention to this aspect of Zoroastrianism
in the following words :

"And in a prayer for prosperity of all kinds to
come on the worshipper's house, we read:

*In this house Obedience vanquish
Disobedience, Peace smite ilnpeace,
Bounty vanquish niggard temper,
Piety impious rebellion,
Word true-spoken word false-spoken,
Asha smite the Druj for ever/

Preface i $

"It is a comprehensive benediction; he who offers
it has only to live up to it, and he will live thereby !"*

In presenting this book to the reader I lay no claim
to originality or research. I have drawn freely on
existing works on the subject, particularly on the
splendid contributions made to the store of Zoro-
astrian lore by the late Sir Jivanji Modi, a name ever
to be remembered in connection with Iranian studies
with reverence and affection, and by Dr. Dastur
M. N. Dhalla. The book is intended primarily as a
handbook for non-Zoroastrians. In Part i an attempt
has been made to state and elucidate, as briefly as
possible, the fundamental doctrines of the great
religion, laying special" 'emphasis on its ethical aspect.
In Part II is given a brief account of Zoroastrian rites
and ceremonies. This is mainly an abridgment of
Jivanji Modi's excellent thesis on the subject, The
Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees.

My grateful acknowledgments are due to all the
scholars whose works I have consulted and whose
authority is quoted at the proper places. I desire also
to thank the Rev. Dr. John McKenzie for his valued
foreword. What indeed could be more fitting than
that one who incidentally suggested the composition
of this thesis and who can speak with knowledge and
authority, not only as a Christian minister, but also
as a cultured scholar and public-spirited citizen, held
in high esteem by the followers of all faiths in the
cosmopolitan city of Bombay, should introduce this

* J. H. Moulton: The Treasure of the Magi.

1 6 The Religion of the Good Life

book to the general reader? My thanks are also due
to my kind friends, Messrs. B. N. Dhabbar, M.A.,

and B. T. Anklesaria, M.A., for going through the
manuscript and favouring me with helpful criticisms
and suggestions.

R. P. M.
BOMBAY

CONTENTS

Part One

CHAPTER PAGE

L THE BACKGROUND OF THE CREED

Relationship between Zoroastrianism and
Judaism Indo-Iranian Concepts "From
Nature to Nature's God 1 ' The Advent of
Zarathushtra 2 3

II. THE PROPHET

Birth and Family History Communion with

the Lord Struggle and Success 36

III. REPUDIATION OF THE FALSE GODS

Exemplary Tolerance Confession of Faith 4^

IV. AHURA MAZDA

The Originator and the Embodiment of the
Right Law Immune from Limitations of Time
and Space Different Names of Ahura Mazda i

V. COSMOLOGY

The Seven Keshvars Order of Creation 55

VI. THE SEVEN IMMORTALS

Zarathushtra invokes the Bountiful Immortals
Vohu Manah Asha Vahishta Khshathra Vairya
Aramaiti Haurvatat and Ameretat 62

1 8 The Religion of the Good Life

CHAPTER PAGE

VII. THE ADORABLE ONES

Sraosha Ashi Vanguhi Mithra Mithra's
Associates Protector of Truth Sanctity of
Contracts Mithra's Wrath and Bounty 72

VIII. THE CULT OF FIRE

The Fire Temples Misconception of the Cult 80

IX. THE PRESIDING GENIUS OF WATER

Aredvi Sura Anahita Penalty for Defilement

of WaterAn Ideal Mode of Worship 88

X. THE PROBLEM OF GOOD AND EVIL

Evil is Positive The Two Primeval Principles
Man's Mission on Earth Exploded Theory of
Dualism 97

XI. ESCHATOLOGY

Free Will Reward and Punishment The
Soul's Equipment The Ascent of the Righteous
Soul 1 04

XII. THE FINAL DISPENSATION

Renovation of the World Progress the Watch-
word of the Creed The Prophet's Message of
Hope 1 1 2

XIII. THE ZOROASTRIAN CODE OF
ETHICS

Cultivation of Civic Virtues Righteousness-
Justice Chastity Self-help Whoso Sows
Corn Sows Righteousness Care of Cattle
Compassion Charity Promotion of Education
Service and Beneficence Practical Philo-
sophy of the Creed 1 16

Contents 1 9

CHAPTER PAGE

XIV. WORSHIP

Homage to Ahura Mazda Confirmation-
Morning Prayer Night Prayer The Path to
the Lord "We Praise These!" Ideal Man
and Woman "Work is worship" 134

Part II

RITUAL

L SOCIO-RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

Birth Ceremonies Marriage Ceremonies
Funeral Ceremonies Disposal of the Dead
The Tower of Silence The Bombay Towers of
Silence Ceremonies relating to the Soul of
the Deceased The Uthamna Ceremony
Passage of the Soul to the other World 143

II. PURIFICATION CEREMONIES

Padyab Nahn Bareshnum Si-Shoe i 9

III. INITIATION CEREMONIES

The Naozot The Navar The Murattab 164

IV. CONSECRATION CEREMONIES

Consecration of the Sacred Fires and Fire
Temples Significance of the Processes
Feeding the Sacred Fire Consecration of the
Towers of Silence 1 7 1

V. LITURGICAL CEREMONIES

The Yasna The Visparad The Vendidad
The Baj Ceremony The Outer Liturgical
Services The Afringan The Farokhshi
Saturn Combined Groups of Liturgical Cere-
monies 177

INDEX 1 *$

PART ONE

Chapter I
THE BACKGROUND OF THE CREED

"The holy faith which is of all things best."

These are the simple words in which the Zoro-
astrian creed is spoken of in the Ushtavaiti Gatha* The
Vendidad is more effusive in its exaltation of the
faith:

"As much as a great stream flows swifter than a
slender rivulet, so much above all other utterances in
greatness, goodness, and fairness is this law, this
daeva (demon) -destroying law of Zarathushtra.

"As high as the great tree stands above the small
plants it over-shadows, so high above all other utter-
ances in greatness, goodness, and fairness is this law,
this Jaera-destroying law of Zarathushtra.

"As high as heaven is above the earth that it com-
passes around, so high above all other utterances is
this law, this cfoertf -destroying law of Mazda."

Since the days of the Gathas and the Vendidad many
a new religion has been embraced by different
members of the human family, and none would venture
to-day to indulge, while speaking of the creed of
Zarathushtra, in the superlatives used in the Zoro-
astrian scriptures. Nevertheless, a follower of the

24 The Religion of the Good Life

Prophet may feel justly proud that the faith he pro-
fesses pjoce_ilkimined the entire ^trans-Himalayan
world, swayed die thougHts and Influenced the philo-
sophy of cultured Greeks andfKomans, influenced also
Judaism, and, through Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam, and left its impress on the spiritual and intel-
lectual development of the human race. In the sixth
Century B.C. Europe came to know of the religion and
philosophy of Iran through Hostanes, the Archimagus
who accompanied Xerxes in his expedition against
Greece. In the fourth century B.C. Plato, Aristotle,
and Theopompus show a knowledge of the work of
the Magian prophet. In the third century B.C. Her-
mippus speaks expressly of these works as containing
not less than 1 20,000 verses ; and during the beginning
of the Christian era Nicolaus of Damascus, Strabo,
Pausanius, Pliny, and Dio Chrysostom mention, under
different names, works attributed to Zarathushtra. In
the third century St. Clement of Alexandria shows
familiarity with the Zoroastrian scriptures, and later,
the Gnostics make use of the Oriental cosmogony and
psychology as derived from Zarathushtra. In the fourth
century, according to the testimony of Eusebius, there
existed a collection of sacred works of the Iranians.
Empress Eudokia in the fifth century refers to several
books of the Prophet, four of which treat of nature,
one of precious stones, and five of astrology and
prognostics."*

* Vide The Dabistan or School of Manners, by Mohsan Fani, translated
from the original Persian by Anthony Troyer and David Shea.

The Background of the Creed 2$

Relationship between. Zoroastrianism and Judaism

At one time Christian divines thought that the
creed of the Sage of Iran was borrowed from the
Jewish faith. In his classic work on the Connection
of the Old and New Testaments, Dean Prideaux,
misled by misguided authorities, went so far as to
suggest that it was a copy of Judaism, and that the
Prophet's familiarity with all the sacred writings of
the Old Testament that were then extant made it
"most likely that he was as to his origin a Jew!"*
The theory has since been repudiated by many a
savant, but as such misconceptions die hard, it is
necessary to state at length, even at the risk of being
prolix, a few historic facts and the inferences drawn
therefrom by Christian scholars.

About_jix_. hundred _jears Jbefore ^the^ChrjstJan era
the Jews, who were carried , away as ^ captives to
Babylon, were in constant contact with the Iranians.
During the seventy years of their exile they borrowed
frorrTtKe "Zoroastrian faith various doctrines siicBTas
the belief in the immortdlt:^^

rection of thebod^indfuture reward aiidpunish-
ment^'Tt is well 7kjK)\^

these doctrines were entirely, or almost^jentirely,
absent from the oldest phase .of , religiPOLftmong- its.
jews/'f Dr. West elaborates this argument. "Few

* Old and New Testaments connected with the history of the Jews and neigh-
bouring nations^ Bk. IV, ii.

f Vide Theosophy or Psychological Religion.

26 The Religion of the Good Life

Christians will be disposed to admit/' he says, "that
they owe their ideas of the resurrection and the future
world to the traditions of the Mazdayasnian religion;
and yet they will find it difficult to disprove it. Let
those who doubt this fact ascertain how many decided
references to the resurrection and future life they can
find in the earlier scriptures of the Jews, written
before they came in contact with the Assyrians and
Persians, and then compare them with the more
frequent references to the same subjects in the later
Psalms and Prophets the book of Job, and the New
Testament, all written after the Jews had become
acquainted with Persian traditions. In fact, the book
of Job has some appearance of being a translation,
or adaptation from a Persian, or Assyrian text."*

In a luminous article contributed to the Nineteenth
Century\ on ' 'Zoroaster and the Bible, " Dr. L. H. Mills
draws attention to what he calls "the now undoubted
and long since suspected fact" that "it pleased the
Divine Power to reveal some of the most important
articles of our Catholic creed first to the Zoroastrians,
and through their literature to the Jews and ourselves.
... To sum up, I would say, as speaking from an
orthodox point of view, that while the scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments are unrivalled in their
majesty and fervour, constituting perhaps the most
impressive objects of their kind known to the human
mind, and fully entitled to be described as'inspired, J yet

* Introduction to Mainyo~i~Khard, 1871.

t January 1894; subsequently printed in book form.

The Background of the Creed 27

the humbler but to a certain extent prior religion of
the Mazda worshippers was useful in giving point and
body to many loose conceptions among the Jewish
religious teachers, and introducing many ideas which
were entirely new, while as to the doctrines of
Immortality and Resurrection, the most important
of all, it positively determined belief. But thejreatgsi:
and by far the noblest service which Jt, rendered , was
the propagation of the doctrine that * virtue is chiefly

X-~-I-..~&, ._ _ ., , - - ~ - - ^ - * - - ^~

its own re ward, even in the great religious reckoning,
and 'vice its own punishment."'

Dr. T. K. Cheyne goes into greater details and
observes in his lectures on the Origin and Religious
Contents of the Psalter in the Light of Old Testament
Criticism and the History of Religions: 'Tor cen-
turies before the period of the Psalter, Iranian religion
had its own independent development, and its
doctrine of the 'last things/ as you will probably
agree, is peculiarly its own. A knowledge of this
first religion is necessary to the full equipment of an
Old Testament scholar ... it is no longer ex-
cusable to study the Old Testament religion without
comparing Zoroastrianism." Later, he says: " Admit
a Zoroastrian influence upon Essenism, and all
becomes clear. The fravashis voluntarily assumed
mortal bodies in order to fight for God and for good-
ness against the power of the Evil One, Similar to
this, we may reasonably hold, was the belief of the
Essenes respecting the 'descent* of souls a belief,
dependent for its full development upon Zoro-

28 The Religion of the Good Life

astrianism, but not without Jewish germs. . . .
And what about the final act which I have ventured
to postulate for the Essenian drama of the soul? Is
that not also a piece of Hebraized Zoroastrianism ?
. . . The doctrine of an eternal life opened to all
the righteous, and involving a transfiguration of the
body, is neither a mere evolution out of the old
Semitic belief in Sheol, nor yet a direct importation
from any foreign system of thought. Had it not come
into contact with Zoroastrianism, Israel would,
historically speaking, have struggled in vain to satisfy
its greatest religious aspirations. And yet it is not to
Persia alone that the Church-nation was indebted for
its greatest religious acquisition. . . . The distinc-
tion between spirit and body must have begun to
grow up long before this (the 73rd Psalm) that the
Jewish religion might be prepared for the moulding
influence of a more advanced system of thought. . . .
And what was this more highly developed system?
Zoroastrianism, if the preceding arguments are well-
founded.*

The Jewish Angelology and Demonology are also
based on Zoroastrian ideas concerning the Amesha
Spentas, or the Divine attributes personified as Divine
Intelligences; and the conception of the Evil Spirit,
which passed from the Jewish to the Christian re-
ligion, was also influenced by the belief in the exis-
tence of Angra Mairyu. Asmodeus, who figures in the
apochryphal book of Tobit, is positively the JVtazdean

* The Origin of the Psalter , p. 394 and pp. 419-23.

The Background of the Creed 29

wrath-demon,* Aeshma Daeva. "This shows/* says
Everett, "that a way was open, by which the Parsee
devils could enter into Judea; and if one member of
the evil host found his way thither, there is no reason
to think that he came alone. . . . Satan makes his
first appearance in Jewish literature in the Book of
Job. It is now claimed by the best authorities, such
as Davidson, Driver, and Cheyne, that this Book was
written during the time of the captivity. It would
thus not be impossible that the writer should have
been influenced by Mazdean thought.* J f

The latest refutation of the theory of indebtedness
of Zoroastrianism to the Jewish faith comes from the
pen of one of the greatest modern students of religion,
Dr. Charles Gore. While dismissing the suggestion
of an alien source, he observes: " Clearly it is not
possible to suggest that this lofty religion however
closely resembling the Jewish faith could have been
borrowed from the Jewish: its date renders that
impossible. . . . Nor is there any other alien source
to which it can be attributed. It remains in its lofty
seveilty a momentous creation, if it be not wiser
to call it, as Zoroaster himself would have called it,
a signal inspiration by the divine Spirit of an indi-
vidual prophet. "J

* 'What is here mentioned as a demon is mere personification of wrath.
t Article on the Devil in the New World^ March 1 895.
j The Philosophy of the Good Life, pp. 489.

30 The Religion of the Good Life

Indo-Iranian Concepts

When one thinks of a religion, the questions which
come uppeimost to one's mind are: Who was its
founder? Where and when did he reveal his faith?
What was the state of society in those days? What
was the background on which his creed rested? In
attempting to answer these questions with reference
to the religion of the Prophet of Iran, we find our-
selves lost in the mists of time.

In the dim old days the Aryan ancestors of the
present-day Parsis and Hindus lived together for long
ages in a region which we have no means of locating
definitely. When they thus kept together as one race
and spoke the same language, the religion of the land
was the religion of the race. The fiend of discord,
however, caused a rift in the lute. Owing to a change
of thought among the members of that happy family
there was a cleavage. One of the sections migrated to
Iran and the other to India.

According to the Avesta the Ay as ("the noble
ones") had their original home in the fair land of
Aigrana-Vaeja (the cradle-land of the Aryas). Bal
Gangadhar Tilak locates it in the Arctic regions
whence the Aryans descended into the Pamirs.* It
was far to the North where "the year seemed as a
day." Both these branches of the Aryan stock divided
the Universe into seven regions.

* The Arctic Home.

The Background of the Creed 31

Of the common worship and common legends of
the two sister communities a few relics have been
preserved in the Avestan texts. The parallels in the
Avestan thought and the Vedic concepts are, indeed,
many, but the contrasts which led to the schism are
also numerous.

"From Nature to Nature 9 s God"

Man then lived with nature. Upon the physical
forces around him he depended for food and shelter.
To him those forces appeared to be pulsating with
life. The sun, the moon, the stars and the clouds
above, the earth, the springs, the rivers and the
trees below, were, he believed, presided over by
invisible intelligences. In return for the bounties
they respectively conferred, these deified elements
were entitled to man's adoration and homage, which
took the form of prayers and offerings, including
sacrifice of cattle and fowl.

The empire of the beneficent intelligences was not,
however, absolute. Stricken by natural calamities,
such as earthquakes and storms, and smitten by disease
and pestilence, man soon found himself face to face
with malevolent agencies that appeared to contest the
authority and thwart the beneficent work of the
powers for good. The deification of natural powers
was accompanied by the personification of man's own
good and evil qualities. Virtue and vice appeared to
have been fostered by some good or evil genius. Thus

3 2 The Religion of the Good Life

man had as many ministering angels to adore as devils
to denounce and fiends to fight.

It was not so always. The traditional form of Aryan
belief, the belief, in fact, of the ancient Iranians and
the people of all the other branches of the Aryan
stock, was "from nature to nature's God/' The idea
underlying this belief was that of an omnipresent,
omniscient, and omnipotent Creator of the Universe.
The religion in Iran long before the advent of Zara-
thushtra was Mazdayasni, i.e., the religion inculcating
a belief in and enjoining the worship of Mazda, or
the one all- wise God. Out of the nature religion grew,
as the result of man's thought, a sense that under-
neath the many there was the One and only One.
"From nature to nature's God" was thus but a
logical step in the evolution of religious ideas. At
times, however, this fundamental principle of the
essentially monotheistic creed was lost sight of and
people's reverence for the great powers of nature
degenerated into nature-worship and the adoration
and propitiation of gods many and lords many.

The Advent of Zarathmhtra

Whenever the ancient belief was corrupted in this
way, prophets, or reformers, who are called Saoshyants
(benefactors of the community) came forward to
restore the religion to its pristine purity. Among
such reformers are mentioned Gayomard, Hoshang,
Tehmuias, Jamshid, and Faridun. The religion of

The Background of the Creed 33

these eras is spoken of in the Avesta literature as
that of Paoiryo-Tkaeshas, i.e. of the ancients, or the
first religious leaders. In the days of King Gushtasp
of the Kayanian dynasty, the supremacy of the
Mazdayasni religion, or Mazda- worship, appears to
have been seriously chellenged by the "daeva-yasni 1 *
creed, the worship of daevas^ or powers of evil, some
of whom are recognized as the Vedic and pre-Vedic
Aryan gods. Of these godlings some presided over
natural objects, others over evil qualities. Another
prophet or reformer, therefore, appeared on the
scene; the creed which he preached has, despite
many reverses and mutations, survived to this day
with not a few of its distinctive features preserved
practically intact. This prophet was the holy Zara-
thushtra Spitama, the descendant of Spitama.

To fix the date or place of birth of Zarathushtra
one has to make one's way through dark regions of
myth and history. It was believed that this sage of
Iran was born in Rae, but Sir Jivanji Modi has pretty
conclusively proved that he was bom in Amui, or
Amvi, in the district of Urumiah.* The date of birth
is, however, still a matter of surmise. The oldest
classical writers, such as Xanthus, Plato, Pliny, and
Plutarch, place him in eras varying from 6000 B.C.
to looo B.C. Some of the modem authors give dates
varying from 1200 B.C. to 800 B.C. These are, how-
ever, speculations resting almost entirely upon in-

* In his Zoroastrian Studies Professor Jackson accepts Dr. Modi's dis-
coveries.

34 The Religion of the Good Life

ferences of doubtful value. Ancient Pahalavi writers
place him about 300 years before Alexander the
Great, somewhere in the seventh century B.C. ;
and modern scholars, including Professor Jackson
and Dr. West, are of opinion that references in
tradition and history to various incidents in the life
of the Prophet appear to confirm the date assigned
to him by those writers. Be that as it may, we have
to go back at least 2,600 years to trace the back-
ground of the Prophet's creed.

The old traditional Mazdayasnan religion of Iran
had still a hold on the people; but it was deformed.
JZ^^ ^ to reform, whatL

^

deformed. Jo ^him _ .belongs _the honour of haying
raissdLji .vague nature-worship into a definite and
sublime theism. While preaching a pure and ethical
monotheism, he emphasized the moral side of

,*-'-' "--- -*- JT ,, - -, '<,, , rr ^, ,

natujra. as no other prophet had done before him.
Presenting in lofty and inspiring terms the ideal of
the good life for man, this completely independent
thinker taught most fervently, although surrounded
By evil, that the ultimate controlling will in the
universe was simply good, and .that therefore good
would "prevaflr at 'last "IF 'man only resisted ,evil Ihced
his life well, and did his duty as enjoined in "the
good religion of the Mazdayasnians." Taking his
stand on that ennobling belief, he appealed to all
good men and true for their co-operation in furthering
the purpose of the good God. JThfi. *dea of the M gqod
life was thus developed, for the first time in- the

The Background of the Creed 3^

Aryan World, on very distinct lines, in the teaching
of, the Iranian prophet. Thus, perhaps for the first
time in human history, the holy messenger ..cEeerett
his disciples witfiT^KisT message of hope, which later
found, ^expression..!!! many a ..creed and of which the
following immortal lines of Tennyson would appear
to be almost a verbal rendering:

* 'OhLyet. we Jiope .that somehow -good
Will be the final goal of ill."

Chapter II
THE PROPHET

Birth and Family History

To the warrior clan of Spitama, closely connected
with the royal family of ancient Iran, belonged a
devout and learned man named Pourushaspa. He was
united in marriage to Dughdhova, daughter of a noble-
man of Iran. She, too, was renowned for piety and
devotion. This noble couple had five sons born to
them, of whom Zarathushtra was the third.

The significance of the name Zarathushtra has
puzzled many a scholar. The Prophet's ancestral name
was Spitama. Some have suggested that Zarathushtra
meant "possessor of old or yellow coloured camels/*
others that it meant the "high priest/ 8 It was prob-
ably the appellation by which he was known after
he had proclaimed his religion, and which has been
rendered into English as "He of the Golden Light,"
just as Prince Siddhartha came to be as the Buddha
(The Enlightened One) and Jesus as the Christ (the
Anointed).* {

As in the case of other prophets, so in the case of

* See The Religion of ZarathwhtJ'a, by Dr. Irach Taraporevala.

The Prophet 37

Spitama N Zarathushtra, tradition attaches various
miracles to Ms life upon earth. It is said that even
while in the embryonic stage the child glowed with
such spiritual lustre that everything around Dughdhova

was radiant with light, which increased in brilliance

as the time for nativity drew nearer. Instead of
crying, this infant smiled at birth* and, according to

the scriptures, nature also smiled with him in
sympathy.

In whose birth and in whose growth

Rejoiced waters and plants ;

In whose birth and in whose growth

Increased waters and plants ;

In whose birth and in whose growth

Cried out "Hail!"

All the creatures of the Holy One.

"Hail! born for us is the priest,

Spitama Zarathushtra!*' j

On the other hand, the Evil Spirit was confounded:

At whose birth and at whose growth
Rushed away Angra Mainyu
From this earth which is wide,
Round, whose ends lie afar.
Thus he howled, the evil-knowing

* This tradition is recorded by Pliny, who observes in his Natural
History; "zoroaster was the only human being who ever laughed on the
same day on which he was born. We hear, too, that his brain pulsated so
strongly that it repelled the hand when laid upon it, as presage of his
wisdom.'* t Yasbt 13, 93, 94 (Dr. Dhalla's translation).

38 The Religion of the Good Life

Angra Mainyu, the all-deadly,
"Not did all the angels together
Drive me out against my will,
But Zarathushtra alone
Overpowered me in spite of myself.

"He smites me with the Holy Word, a weapon like
a stone as big as a house; he burns me with Best
Righteousness, as if with molten metal; so does he
make it that it were better if I quitted this earth ;

He alone who forces me to quit,
Who is Spitama Zarathushtra.*'*

Communion with the Lord

It was a strange world in which Zarathushtra found
himself placed. The times were out of joint. Super-
stition had displaced true knowledge and sorcery
true faith; false gods had dethroned the true God;
the kingdom of God was overrun by the emissaries of
the devil.

Zarathushtra's heart flowed out in deep piety and
love to his Heavenly Father. He longed to see Him in
spirit, to converse with Him, to reach Him, to serve
Him, and to restore His kingdom on earth. It was
not, however, a mission for a man engaged in worldly
pursuits If Zarathushtra wished to be the messenger
of God to humanity, he must approach Him for the

* Yasht 17, 19, 20 (Dr. Dhalla's translation).

The Prophet 39

revelation of the true word to him. At the age of
fifteen, therefore, he withdrew from the world, a
world in which, according to one of the Nasks, there
was "not one just man, not two, not three, not
several," and spent several years in retirement,
thirsting for the moment when he could see the
Heavenly Father in his mind's eye and commune with
Him.

Whither he wandered and what he suffered and
endured neither history nor legendary lore reveals
completely. All that we are privileged to know is
that he spent years in solitude amidst dreary wastes.
There he stood alone, in the thick of the wilderness,
alone with Nature, alone with his own thoughts and
the reality of things; meditating deeply, while
humanity was slumbering, on the eternal riddle of
the universe, the great mystery of existence. There,
in the sanctuary of Nature, this solitary seeker after
Truth lifted up his hands to heaven and prayed,
imploring Ahura Mazda, who filled all space, to take
him to Himself, to meet him for but one moment and
to speak to him by the word of His mouth about the
mystery of life.

"This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Lord: Who was
the first generator and father of Asha (Law)? Who
determined the path of the sun and stars ? Who (has
ordained) that the moon shall wax and wane? All this,
O Wise One, and yet more, I wish to know/*

"This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Lord: Who
upheld the earth beneath and the heavens (above)

40 The Religion of the Good Life

from falling? Who (created) water and plants? Who
yoked the two horses to the wind and clouds? Who,
O Wise One, is the creator of Vohu Manah (Good
Mind)?

"This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Lord: Who
created light and darkness? Who made sleep and
waking? Who (created) morning, noon, and night,
that remind a man of his duty?"

At last, when the longing to see Ahura Mazda and
the thirst for the vision divine consumed every other
desire, Vohu Manah, the embodiment of the good
mind, appeared unto the Prophet in a vision and led
his soul in holy trance into the presence of Ahura
Mazda. "Come hither to me, Oh ye Best ones, 1 * he
prayed, "hither, Oh Ahura Mazda, in thine own
person and to the sight, Oh Right and Good Mind,
and I may be heard beyond the limits of the people.
Let the august duties be manifest to all of us and be
clearly seen/'

The fulfilment of this prayer is recorded in the
following words: "And I recognized Thee as the
Beneficent, O Wise Lord, when I saw Thee first at
the creation of Life, that Thou wilt make the deeds
and words to be recompensed evil for the evil and
good for the good through Thy generosity at the
last turning-point of the Creation/'

Now is his mind illumined, his soul entranced and
-he feels more and more of Ahura Mazda within him
and without. Thanks to this divine illumination, he
BOW reads sermons in stones and books in the running

The Prophet 41

brooks , and sees all nature pulsating with the message
of hope, traced with the hand of Ahura Mazda on
plants and trees, pebbles and sands , banks of rivers
and summits of hills. Now, indeed, the truth dawns
on him; now is the enigma of life solved, and the
herald of Ahura Mazda is ready to deliver His message
of hope to mankind, joyfully he turns his step towards
his father's house, to embark on his mission of
preaching the profound truth vouchsafed to him by
the Lord, determined to make any sacrifice, to
surrender even his life, in the service of Ahura Mazda,
The appearance of so gifted a seer and saviour
unnerves the Evil Spirit, Angra Mainyu. "Do not
destroy my creatures, Oh Holy Zarathushtra/' says
he. " Renounce the good religion of the worship of
Mazda and thou shalt gain such a boon as was gained
by the son of Vadhaghna (Zohak), who eventually
became the ruler of nations." This offer the Prophet
indignantly rejects. "No, no! s> he exclaims, "Never
will I renounce the good religion of the worship of Mazda,
even though my body and my soul should separate."

Struggle and Success

For ten long years, however, no one paid heed to
the Prophet, not even his friends and kinsmen.
Denounced as a heretic and a sorcerer, he wandered
from place to place before he could make a single
convert to his faith. Deserted by kinsmen, forsaken
by friends, harassed by foes, and persecuted by the

42 The Religion of the Good Life

emissaries of the Evil Spirit, lie turns to his Heavenly
Friend, and asks:

To what land shall I turn, whither shall I go,
Forsaken by kinsmen and nobles, am I;
Neither do my people like me,
Nor do the wicked rulers of the land.
How then, shall I please Thee, Mazda Ahura?
This 1 know, Mazda, wherefore I fail,
Few are my flocks, and few my followers.
In grief I cry to thee, Ahura, behold it.
Help me even as friend unto friend,
Show me through righteousness the riches of the
Good Mind.*

At last, he found his first convert in his cousin
Maidhyomah, the St. John of Zoroastrianism. Still,
however, people would not hear him. It was hopeless
to approach them until and unless he succeeded in
catching the ear of the highest in the land. He, there-
fore, decided to travel eastwards and went to Bactria,
where ruled King Vishtaspa. To kiss the threshold of
the royal court was not, however, an easy matter,
even for one who had communed with the King of
Kings. Long, long did he wait patiently for the
coveted audience. At last, on one auspicious day, he
found himself ushered into the royal presence. The
king received him kindly and allowed him to pro-
pound his creed before the nobles and learned men
of his court. So impressed was he by the prophet's

* Yasna 46, i , 2 (Dr. Dhalla's translation).

The Prophet 43

message that he publicly embraced his creed, thus
becoming the Constantine of the new faith. This was
the turning-point in the history of the religion. The
king's conversion was followed by that of the queen
and of the courtiers. After this it was smooth sailing
for the great Teacher.

Once established, the new religion spread rapidly
throughout Iran and other lands. It must not be
supposed, however, that while he attacked and
denounced the false beliefs, superstitions and evil
customs in vogue, Zarathushtra was allowed to
preach the new creed unmolested. His growing
success spelt disaster for the wicked chiefs and hypo-
critical priests who preyed upon the ignorance and
credulity of the people. They succeeded by slander
and deception in having the Prophet imprisoned on a
charge of sorcery. The prison had, however, no
terror for him. Surely, he was not alone in prison!
Ahura Mazda dwelt with him and, with Mazda within
him, nothing could harm him, nothing depress him.
Thus, in marked contrast with Gautama Buddha, who
turned his back upon a world that had no attraction
for him and induced his followers to take the same
road of renunciation, Zarathushtra resolutely faced
the grim struggle of life and cheerfully went to jail
in defence of his faith. Ultimately, he stepped out
from the dungeon cell to carry on his pa^pafaaArto
rout his persecutors, called Kavis and Karapans in
the Avestan texts.

For well-nigh fifty years this herald of a new era

44 The Religion of the Good Life

in the spiritual history of the Iranian people laboured
hard to deliver the message of Ahura Mazda, and at
last succeeded in gathering around him an ever-
widening circle of devoted disciples and zealous
adherents . After his religion had been thus firmly
established, he passed away, at the age of seventy-
seven, meeting the death of a warrior 5 in self~defence 5
while praying in a fire-temple. According to some
authorities, he died in defence of the fire-temple
which was attacked by an enemy an end worthy of
the valiant defender of the Cause of Truth.

Chapter III
REPUDIATION OF THE FALSE GODS

ZARATHUSHTRA'S teaching has come down to us in
the hymns called Gathas, which form the oldest part
of the Avestan scriptures. In these metrical chants is
enshrined not only the essence of his creed but also
the story of the spiritual crisis that came on him and
of the travail of soul and body that he endured. It
would appear from this life-history of the seer that
before he embarked on his mission he appealed to
Ahura for answers to questions regarding the riddle
of the universe with which he had wrestled for years.
Hejy.t, that the universe must be essentially rational
andjthat^man's mind was capable of compreEendlng
the ways and purpose of ^ the t _ All-Wise^ Creator.
Besides the queries put and answers received by the
Prophet, various discourses and exhortations are
embodied in the Gathas, meant for the enlightenment
of audiences composed of learned men, who had gone
to Bactria from different parts of the country to hear
him preach. The burden of his speech invariably was
to induce his countrymen to forsake the worship of
the daevas, or evil powers, to bow only before Ahura
Mazda, and to separate themselves entirely from the
idolaters of the day.

46 The Religion of the Good Life

Exemplary Tolerance

Sweet reasonableness is a striking feature^ of
Zarathushtra's teaching. He sings before the people
the praises of the Lord and the hymns of the Good
Spirit and implores every man and woman to choose
his or her creed. "Ye offspring of renowned ancestors,
awaken to agree with us!" These are the words in
which in the course of one of his addresses he appeals
to the good sense and understanding of the audience.*
Earnestly he asks his disciples not to take any dogma
or doctrine on trust, not to yield a blind and un-
reasoning submission thereto, but to invoke the
assistance of Vohu Manah, the well ordered, good,
earnest, and sincere mind, and to accept or reject
his teaching after calmly examining all the pros and
cons.

"Hear with your ears the best (saying)/ 1 he says;
"see with your mind the beliefs of your choice;
every man or woman to think for his or her self!

Referring to the attitude of this eminently tolerant
prophet towards the religion of his tribal tradition,
Dr. Gore correctly points out that the Prophet does
not appear directly to have combated it except where
it was associated with vice. He merely strove to make
effectual the reformation he proposed to inaugurate
by offering and deepening the better elements in the
tradition which the inner light showed him to be
alone the truth, f

* Yasna 30.

t See The Philosophy of the Good Life, Chapter U, p. 37.

Repudiation of the False Gods 47

No doubt he persuaded people to accept his creed
as the best, but there was no intolerance towards
other faiths, so long asHieyTSd not teach polytheism.
Far from denouncing those creeds the Zoroastrian
scriptures describe them as "better" religions, com-
pared to the Mazdayasna creed invariably mentioned
as the best. Nowhere in those scriptures does one
find any trace of fanatic opposition towards those
who did not embrace the creed, or any suggestion
that the good and the pious can be found only among
the followers of the Zoroastrian faith. On the con-
trary, it is frankly admitted that even beyond the
pale of Zoroastrianism, piety worthy of reverence
does exist. The Fravardin Yasht mentions a long list
of the pious and the virtuous of the same country as
well as of other countries that existed before, and
their spirits are invoked, with a view to their example
being followed, in these words: "We call upon the
spirits of the pious men and women, wherever born,
of those who have followed in the past, of those who
do in the present, and of those who shall, hereafter
in the future, follow the good religion." Such robust
reliance in the supremacy of the truth and on the
soundness of the doctrines preached by Zarathushtra,
and such tolerance in an age when might was right
and when the Prophet, backed by the powerful King
Vishtaspa, could have commanded all the might of
the State in propagating his doctrines, is indeed the
most remarkable proof of the sublimity of the creed
and the magnanimity of its founder.

48 The Religion of the Good Life

Confession of Faith

The natural corollary to the belief In one supreme
God was the repudiation of the army of false gods
(daevas) that had invaded the old faith. The domi-
nating feature of the creed was, therefore, a virile
protest against the sway of those gods* It was a
complete break with the earlier religion of the
Iranians with its pantheon of the daevas and sacrifices
of animals. The articles of faith to which a Zoroastrian
was asked to subscribe, proclaiming this end, are
embodied in the twelfth Ha of the Yasna, of which
the following is a free translation;

"I join in annihilating the worship of the daevas.
I profess myself to be a believer in Mazda (the
Omniscient) as taught by Zarathushtra. I am opposed
to the belief in the daevas. I am a follower of the law
of Ahura. All the universe I attribute to the wise and
good Ahura Mazda, the pure, the majestic ; for every-
thing, including the earth and the starry firmament,
is His. , . . I repudiate the rule over me of false
gods, evil, mischievous, adroit in inflicting harm, the
most disgusting, the most deceitful, the most per-
nicious in all existence. I denounce sorcery and all
other black art. With all the sincerity of my thoughts,
words, deeds, and token, I denounce the domination
of false gods, and of those believing in them. Thus
has Ahura Mazda taught Zarathushtra in the several
conferences that took place between them, and thus
Zarathushtra has promised Ahura Mazda in the

Repudiation of the False Gods 49

course of those conversations to disown polytheism;
so have Yistasp, Farshaostra and Jarnasp promised to
repudiate the sovereignty of false gods ; and so do !
likewise. "

Thus was every initiate expected to serve as a
soldier of light, fighting for good against the forces of
Darkness and Evil. Owing, however, to a confusion
of ideas and a misconception of the counteraction of
good and evil in the system of the speculative philo-
sophy of the Bactiian sage, and owing mainly to the
want of correct texts, Zoroastrianism was, until
recently, often described by European writers as a
dualistic religion. Such a conception Ignored the
rudiments of Avestan theology. The fault, however,
lay not so much with those writers as with the
Zoroastrians of the later era, who themselves lost
sight of the original teachings of their prophet, con-
founded his philosophy with his theology, and gave
rise to a belief in the existence of an evil spirit co-
equal with Ahura Mazda.

No human race has passed through such singular
vicissitudes of fortune as have the Parsis; none has
been subjected to such tragic deprivation of its
scriptural writings as this band of survivors of a once
mighty race; no bible has undergone such frightful
distortions, mutations, and mutilations as the Avesta.
Thanks, however, to the recent researches of European
and Zoroastrian scholars, it is now generally recog-
nized that the theology of Spitama Zarathushtra was
based on pure monotheism and that his conception of

The Religion of the Good Life

Ahura Mazda as the Supreme Being is perfectly
identical with the notion of Elohim, or Jehovah,
found in the books of the Old Testament. The mention
of the personality of an evil Spirit is nothing but a
purely metaphorical statement of a profound truth
concerning the existence of evil. Were it taken to
signify dualism, scarcely any religion would escape
the charge. If a belief in Ahriman, as the author of
evil, makes the Parsi religion a dualism, says Dr.
West, "it is difficult to understand -why a belief in
the devil, as the author of evil, does not make
Christianity also a dualism.***

* Introduction to Pahlari Texts.

Chapter IV
AHURA MAZDA

f Ahura Mazda f by Thy spirit, which is ever the same!* 9

With these words the Almighty Spirit is greeted in
the Gathas as the Lord of Creation, the one Supreme
Being, immune from all change through eternity.*
From the ancient religion Zarathushtra took the name
of Mazda for God, and to that name he prefixed the
adjective Ahura y making the combined form Ahura
Mazda, the All- Wise Lord, the Great Creator-Governor
of the Universe, faieuej^

Gqd^ hence He is called Ahura. Whatever is there
in creSon^vhatever happens, is^ created jpr_<Jis,-
pensed by Him; hence He is also called Mazda,
Wisdom Consummate. Ahura Mazda is closely asso-
ciated with the powers of nature, but there is no
suggestion of pantheism in it. The Lord of Creation
and the Universe are quite distinct. Ahura Mazda
is above human as well as natural forces creating,
directing, and controlling them.

* Yasaa 31, 7.

5*2 The Religion of the Good Life

The Originator and the Embodiment of the Right Law

Asha, or the law of Truth, or the moral Law, appears
to be often used as one of the names of the Supreme
Godhead. In the non-Gathic Avesta Asha Vahishta
is mentioned "as "one of the 'riaMSST'of'jfilLura Mazda.
In the following passage in the Yasna the Creator
is addressed as Asha Mazda Ahum: 4 'Those doctrines
which I shall practise, and these actions which are
contained in those doctrines, and those things which
in the eye associated with Reason are worth the
luminaries, and the suns, and the daylight increasing
dawn all these things will be for your homage, O
Asha Mazda- Ahura!"

Thus the one Supreme Being, the Lord Omniscient,
the Creator- Governor of the Universe, is represented
as Himself an embodiment of the Right Law. The fol-
lowing passage renders the idea clearer:

"We shall not, O Ahura Mazda! displease you and
Asha (the Law) and Vahista Mananh (the Best Reason)
who have been endeavouring in the gift of praises unto

xss/L

"When I first conceived of Thee, O Mazda, in my
mind," says Zarathushtra in the well-known stanza in
the Gathas in which he addresses God as Mazda and
describes Him in His different capacities, "I sincerely
regarded Thee as the First Actor in the universe, as the
Father of Reason (Good Mind), as the true Originator
of the Right Law (Righteousness), as the Governor
over the actions of mankind."

Ahura Mazda 5-3

Immune Jrom Limitations of Time and Space

ftjmll be seen that God in this aspect was not
viewed as an abstraction. The Gathas present Him, as
the Living Active Existence, the Eternal Being, who
can be perceived only in thought, but whose govern-
ance of the Universe Is apparent to all, and who is
cvci LO be served and adored. He is the Good Artificer,
or Worker, through whom everything comes into
life and exists. Brighter than the brightest of creation,
older than the oldest in the universe, He sits at the
apex among the Celestial Beings in the Highest
Heaven. He knows no elder and has no equal. He is
the first and the foremost. Immune from the limita-
tions of Time and Space, He is Ever-the-Same, the
most perfect Being; moving all, yet moved by none.
The Greatest of all, it is He who has destined the
benefits of His kingdom for all who lead a life of
Reason and Truth. It is He who decides Victory
between the rival hosts of good and evil. Every-
thing comes from Him and through Him, the Lord
of all.

This conception of Ahura Mazda, in the sense of
the All-Being on the manifested plane of being, the
creator, ruler, and preserver of the universe, jwith-
out form, invisible, omnipotent, omnipresent, and
omniscient, without beginning or end, who in Unity
is all and is above all, is in some respects analogous
to the idea of the Logos of St. John. He is the first
born out of the Boundless Time (Zrvana), but not

4 The Religion of the Good Life

limited by time and he has existed from eternity in
Boundless Time. Says the Prophet in the Gathas:

"O Ahura! I acknowledge Thee to be the Holy
One when I first saw Thee at the creation of life,
when Thou didst assign to works and also to words,
their rewards evil to the evil and good reward to
the good through Thy power, at the final end of
the world."

'This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura! whether
at the beginning of the Best Existence, the rewards
will bring blessedness to him who wishes to have them.
He, the holy (prophet), watches the transgression of
all through his Spirit and is a life-healing friend."

"This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura! Whether
what I shall proclaim is verily the truth. Will Asha
(Righteousness) and its works render help (at the
last)? Dost Thou assign power through Vohu Manah?
For whom hast Thou made this earth the producer of
joy?

"This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura! This
religion which is the best of existing things, and which
can prosper all that is mine in union with Asha will
they rightly observe this religion of my creed through
the words and deeds of Armaiti (Piety) in desire for
Thy good things, O Mazda?"

"This I ask Thee, tell me truly, O Ahura! whether
I can put the Druj (Lie) into the hands of Asha and
cast her down by the words of Thy lore, and work a
mighty destruction among the wicked and bring
torments and affliction upon them, O Mazda!"

Ahura Mazda $5

"I will speak forth; hear and hearken, now, ye
from near and ye from afar, that desire instruction.
Now observe Him in your mind, for He Is made
manifest. Never shall the false teacher, i.e. the
wicked one, destroy the life for a second time
by leading astray men, with his bad faith and
tongue."

"I will tell you what is best in this life. Mazda
knows through Asha all things which He has created.
He is the Father of Vohu Manah (the Good Mind).
Aramaiti, through good deeds, is His daughter. Not
to be deceived is the all-seeing Ahura*' (xlv. 4).

"I will speak of that which the Holiest declared
to me as the work that is best for man to obey.
Mazda Ahura said: 'Those who at my bidding render
him (Zarathushtra) obedience shall all attain unto
Welfare and Immortality by the actions of the Good
Spirit/ " (xlv. 5).

"I will speak of Him that is the Greatest of all,
and I praise Him, through Asha, and who is bounteous
to all that live. By the holy spirit, let Mazda Ahura
hearken, in whose praise I have been instructed by
Vohu Manah By His Wisdom, let Him teach me
what is best*' (xlv. 6).

Nothing gross or immoral is connected with the
character, or worship, of the Supreme Being. Therein
lies the excellence of this system of theology. JMJ
in anjjbrm is abhorrent to God. Nojivj4, P osi |j ve
or negativer^ffleFHis pure nature,,^ He.Jfe J3

\~f^ -i", 'Or '-.' , i-JfT ,. , wl , r ~.,^._,, w is*rWi/"f ' 7| *""'*'

itself.

$6 The Religion of the Good Life

Different Names of Ahura Mazda

In the Hormazd Yasht, specially composed in praise
of Ahura Mazda, we find a declaration concerning
the different names of the Creator recorded in His
own words :

* 'Reveal thou unto me," says Zarathushtra, "that
name of thine that is the greatest, best, fairest, most
effective, most Jaeva-smiting, best healing, that
which destroyeth best the malice of daevas and
men. . . ."

"God (Ahura-Mazda) replied unto him:

'My first name is, "I am," Oh holy Zarathushtra,

My second name is the Giver of Herds.

My third name is the Strong One.

My fourth name is Perfect Holiness.

My fifth name is the All-Good created by Mazda,
the offspring of the holy principle.

My sixth name is Understanding.

My seventh name is He that Possesseth Under-
standing.

My eighth name is Knowledge.

My ninth name is He that Possesseth Knowledge,

My tenth name is Blessing.

My eleventh name is He that Causeth Blessing.

My twelfth name is Ahura (The All- wise).

My thirteenth name is the Most Beneficent.

My fourteenth name is He in whom there is no
harm.

My fifteenth name is the Unconquerable.

Ahura Mazda yj

My sixteenth name Is He that maketh the true

account.

My seventeenth name is the All-seeing,
My eighteenth name is the Healing.
My nineteenth name is the Creator.
My twentieth name is Mazda (Omniscient)/ * J

In some of the Pahalavi* Pazand books we come
across such titles as Supreme, Omniscient, Omipotent,
Omni-Sovereign, Supreme God, and All in All. Dr.
Modi has made out a list of seventy-four names
indicating His attributes and powers as the omni-
potent, omnipresent, and omniscient Lord of the
Universe.*

A peculiar panegyric in the Dinkard is also worth
recording:

"Sovereign and not subject ; father and not progeny;
by himself and not descended from; master and not
servant; chief and not under a chief; possessor and
not indigent; protector and not protected; firm and
immaculate; possessing in himself living knowledge
and not through any medium; disposing and not
disposed; distributing but not receiving anything;
giving ease to others and not receiving it from them;
giving co-operation but not receiving co-operation;
esteeming and above estimation from others ; directing
and not directed.'*

Each name of the Creator is a spell in itself. Who-
ever takes it on his lips and is engaged in meditation

* Vide Moral Extracts from Zofoastritm BooJb, p. 6.

5 8 The Religion of the Good Life

of His attributes equips himself with the best of
armours to protect himself against the inroads of evil.
Even the Prophet himself is asked by Ahura Mazda to
repeat His names:

"If thou wilt, O Zarathushtra,
Vanquish all that hate malignant,
Hate of demons, hate of mortals,
Hate of sorcerers, hate of witches,
Of the Faith's perverse oppressors,
Two-foot heretics and liars,
Four-foot wolves, wide-fronted armies
Bearing on the bloodstained banner,
Then these Names repeat bemuttering,
All the day and all the night time."*

* Yasht i (Moul ton's rendering).

Chapter V

COSMOLOGY

The Seven Keshvars

IN the Avesta the earth is spoken of either as threefold
or sevenfold. The division into seven zones (Keshvars)
marked merely a progression of the original tripartite
division. The intermediate Keshvar, khaniratha, co-
incided, more or less, with the intermediate zone
of the original division, and it 'was reputed to be the
home of the ancient Iranians. The Northern and the
Southern zones were each separated into two halves;
and the Keshvar in the East and that in the West
were new additions. In the Avesta the expression
"the seven Keshvars " is used to convey the idea of
the whole earth.

Order of Creation.

The stars, the sun, the moon, the sea, all things
high and low in the universe are unquestionably
Ahura Mazda's own creation and they function in
consonance with His own laws, but the crowning
act of His creation is man. "Oh, Spitama Zara-
thushtra," says Ahura Mazda, "I created the stars,
the moon, the sun, and red-burning fires, the dogs,

60 The Religion of the Good Life

the birds, and the five kinds of animals; but
better and greater than all, created I the righteous
man/ 5

It was the desire of Ahura Mazda that His might,
wisdom, and goodness should be utilized in promoting
the happiness and enjoyment of mankind in this world.
To enable man to play a meritorious part in the
existence in the world below, and thus to equip
him to soar higher and enjoy an exalted life in the
next world, Ahura Mazda commenced the work of
creation. It was from that moment that the present
cycle commenced.

According to the later Avesta, at first were created
the spiritual or the invisible creations. After these
followed the corporeal, or visible, creations, namely,
the sky, the waters, the earth, the vegetable world,
the animal world, and man, the last of all beings.
What He first brought forth were atoms, the particles
which He put into shape. Every phenomenon in the
universe is traced to the Creator and the Father of
AIL How this is done may be illustrated by the
question put by Zarathushtra to the Ruler of the
Universe and the answer received by him, as re-
corded in the Vendidad:

"Oh Thou Maker of the material world, Thou
Holy One (Ahura Mazda), is it true that Thou seizest
the waters from the sea, Vouru-Kasha, with the
wind and the clouds? That Thou takest them down
to the Dakhmas? That Thou takest them down to the
unclean remains? That Thou takest them down to the

Cosmology 6 1

bones? And that then Thou makest them flow back
to the sea Puitika?

"God Ahura Mazda answered, 'It is even so as
thou hast said, Oh righteous Zarathushtra ! I seize the
waters from the sea Vouru-Kasha with the wind and
the clouds ; I take them to corpses ; I take them down
to the unclean remains; I make them flow back
unseen; I make them flow back to the sea, Puitika/ "

Chapter VI

THE SEVEN IMMORTALS

"We worship the good, strong, beneficent guardian-
spirits of the righteous, immortal benefactors (Amesha-
Spenta), the rulers with their watchful eyes, the high
powerful, swift, living ones of everlasting truth, who are
seven of one thought, who are seven of one word, who are
seven of one deed, whose mind is the same, whose speech Is
the same, whose deeds are the same, and whose Master and
Ruler is the same, the Creator, Ahura Mazda ^ (Fravardin
Yasht, xxii. 82-3.)

A merely abstract conception of the Supreme Being
does not satisfy the yearnings of the human heart ; it
needs something tangible to which it can attach itself.
Prophets and preachers, therefore, resorted to per-
sonification or deification of abstract ideas and attri-
butes. The deities thus conceived ultimately came to
receive better recognition than the Supreme Being.
Thus, in India, although the Vedas emphasized the
Ancient Truth and the One Truth, the people as a
whole embraced or adhered to the worship of the
Shining Ones, the gods whom their intellect could
comprehend better than mere abstract aspects of the
activities of the Godhead. Thus, also, in Iran, although

The Seven Immortals 63

Zarathushtra assigned to no deity a position equal to
that of Ahura Mazda, six immortal benefactors came
to be worshipped along with Ahura Mazda as forming
a heptarchy of celestial beings.*

These six divine intelligences, as introduced by the
Prophet, are not so much angels as an Integral part
of the Supreme Being, and they represent merely the
six outstanding Attributes of the Supreme Being.
Man cannot properly comprehend the Unity of God
without realizing the diversity within His unity; nor
can he understand His manifold activity without a
vivid realization of His attributes. To impress these
attributes effectively upon the masses, Zarathushtra
mentions them in the Gathas in direct association
with Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, as six divine
abstractions called the Amesha-Spenta> or the bountiful
immortals:

Vohu Manah The Good Mind.

Asha Vahishta The Best Order, or Righteousness.

Khshathra Vairja The Absolute Power.

Aramaiti High Thought, or Devotion.

Haurvatdt Perfection.

Ameretat Immortality.

In course of time, these six attributes of Ahura
Mazda, to which was attached great sanctity, came to
be revered as beings next in rank to Ahura Mazda,
and in the later writings they are represented as being
all of one thought, one word, and one deed. Their

* Dhalla: Zoroastrian Theology-

64 The Religion of the Good Life

father and lord Is Ahura Mazda. The highest heaven
(Garonmana) Is their dwelling-place. Their sanctified
names serve as the most mighty, most glorious, and
the most efficacious of the spells. To take any one
of these names on one's tongue is to acquire keys of
power.

These immortals are described as the shining ones,
of luminous eyes, exalted, mighty, valiant, imperish-
able, and righteous. They are the makers, modellers,
guardians, protectors, preservers, and rulers of the
creation of Mazda, and it is Mazda that has given them
beautiful forms. They hold their celestial councils on
the heights of the heavens. Thence they descend into
the seven zones Into which, according to the Avesta,
the world is divided, and rule over the realms of the
earth. The faithful pray that the Amesha-Spenta may
visit their homes and accept their sacrifices. Radiant
is the path by which they come down to earth to
receive the libations offered in their honour. They
are the associates of the sun ; and they gather together
the rays of the moon and shed their lustre upon the
earth. These spiritual beings also help In bringing
about the final restoration of the world, and each
one of them will smite his or her adversary at the
time of the Resurrection.

Zarathushtra invokes the Bountiful Immortals

Ahura Mazda asks His prophet to invoke the
Amesha-Spenta, even though he could not behold them

The Seven Immortals 65

with his eyes. Obeying His behests, Zarathushtra
invokes them. He is the first human being to do so,
Following in his steps, the faithful pray to them for
help and protection. The ceremonies performed in

their honour by unholy priests have no delight for
them. Only the homage of the devout worshipper
reaches them. From such a worshipper all injury
and distress are warded off. When their votary
performs his devotion, he finds his spirit kindled
by the spark of their love. Forthwith he dedicates his
life to them and all that he possesses on this earth.

Vohu Afanah

Seeing that this Universe was ruled by the First
Great Cause most wisely, Zarathushtra "called Him,
as we have already noticed, by the proper name of
Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, Beholding that the
invisible and the visible world were pervaded by
His benevolence 9 he applied to this attribute the
name Vohu Manah, the Benevolent or the Good Mind.
Just as in Christian theology the Spirit is inseparable
from God, so is the Good Mind in Zoroastrian
theology. Again, just as in Christian theology the
Spirit is found in man, the divine within him, so in
Zoroastrian theology the Good Mind is found in
man, representing the genius of good thought, the
highest mental purity a human being is capable of
attaining. As the first in the creation of Ahura Mazda,
Vohu Manah occupies a seat in the Celestial Council

66 The Religion of the Good Life

next to Ahura Mazda. His wisdom is classified into
two distinct categories: innate wisdom and acquired
wisdom. These two types of knowledge are worthy
of propitiation and worship. Ahura Mazda asks the
Prophet to seek knowledge throughout the night,
because the true priest and his disciples work by day
and by night to increase their knowledge. Vohu
Manah is also the term used for Paradise ; therefore,
in the Zoroastrian scriptures we find the genius of
good thought welcoming the righteous souls to
paradise. What, indeed, can be a more agreeable
abode for the good man than the Good Mind?
When the blessed ones cross the bridge and come up
to the gates of heaven, Vohu Manah rises from his
golden throne and greets them in gracious terms. In
the final conflict between the hosts of the rival powers
he will smite his adversary.

Asha Vahishta

Having noticed that the invisible and the visible
worlds were subject to His Law or Order and
Righteousness, the Prophet applied to this sublime
characteristic of Order and Righteousness the name
Asha Vahishta, the Best Order, or the Highest Righteous-
ness. As the best order, the Law of the Universe is
part of the essence of God; Asha is associated with
purity, and purity is the core of the creed. Ahura
Mazda, the Lord of Righteousness, , has created Asha
Vahishta, the greatest, the best, the fairest, the radiant,

The Seven Immortals 67

the all-good Beneficent Immortal. He is the smlter of
disease, of death, devils, sorcerers and noxious
creatures. There is but one Path, the path of Asha,
that leads to eternal life; all other paths are false and
misleading. Through Asha Vahishta, therefore, the
devotee aspires to behold and be united with Ahura
Mazda.

Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds make
man ashavan, or righteous. He obtains purity only
when he cleanses his self with them. There comes a
day or night when the master leaves his cattle, or
when the cattle leave their master and the soul leaves
the body, but righteousness, which is the greatest and
the best of all riches, accompanies the soul after
death.

The adversary of Asha is Druj, deceit or wickedness.
Asha is, therefore, invoked to enter the house of the
faithful and to smite the wicked Druj. The faithful
pray that a righteous king may rule over them, but
that an unrighteous ruler may be confounded and
overthrown.

We have so far spoken of Asha in its exalted sense
of mental purity. There is still a higher sense in
which Asha transcends both bodily and mental purity ;
in that deep spiritual sense Asha is equivalent to the
Eternal Truth, or the Divine Law, in consonance with
which God has fashioned the whole Universe, and
which permeates the entire creation.

68 The Religion of the Good Life

Khshathra Vairya

Both the invisible and visible worlds are governed
by the absolute power of Ahura Mazda, which Zara-
thushtra designates Kh sh athra Vairya, i.e. the Absolute,
or Sovereign Power. He represents the Perfect
Strength, the Omnipotence, and the Universal
Sovereignty of the Lord, and is invoked to help man
along the path of Righteousness. The man who obeys
the Law of God is blest with strength and power. In
later times, Khshathra Vairya stood not so much for
the supreme power or spiritual riches of the Divine
Kingdom as for earthly wealth, and was hailed as the
Lord of the Universal Kingdom, the Spirit presiding
over mental and earthly riches. He was invoked as
the helper and protector of the poor. Speaking of
Khshathra Vairya as God's Kingdom, Moulton observes
that the constant thought of the Kingdom of God as
the supreme object of man's ambition is in the
Gathas largely obscured by the difficult language,
but that it is central and that there is no more signi-
ficant link between the religion of the Iranian prophet
and that of the Gospels.*

Armaiti

The invisible and the visible worlds exhibit in
all directions the beneficent love of Ahura Mazda.
Zarathushtra describes it as Armaiti, High Thought,

* Early Zoroastrianism.

The Seven Immortals 69

or Devotion. It is devotion that sanctifies the heart
and it is through the medium of devotion that the
faithful aspire to traverse the Path in safety and
approach Ahura Mazda.

4 *I choose for myself the excellent Armaiti ; may she
be with me!" The houselord prays that Armaiti may
enter his house and rout heresy. She is the mother
of Ashi Vanguhi, or the Spirit of Good Reward of
Purity. At the time of death the pious Zoroastrian is
left to the tender care of ArmaitL After the dead body
is consigned to the Tower of Silence and the birds
therein have commenced their work of destruction,
all those who have assembled there offer obeisance
unto Armaiti.

Later, Armaiti came to be identified with Mother
Earth sustaining and nourishing all mankind upon her
bosom. We have our birth from her; we are nourished
by her and after death we rest in her bosom, until
our earthly tenement is done with and mingled with
the dust.

Haurvatat and Ameretat

As the First Cause pervaded the infinite space, and
always existed and would always exist, Zarathushtra
chose for these characteristics the appellations Haur-
vatat, Wholeness or Perfection, and Ameretat, Immor-
tality, freedom from death, which invariably accom-
panies Perfection. These two Amesha-Spenta are closely
united to each other and are always spoken of jointly

70 The Religion of the Good Life

in the Gathas. Together these two Bountiful Immortals
symbolize pejjiJiQ!l^

"*&iidb^are^ ;

together they will smite the daevas of hunger and
thirst during the final conflict between the forces of
good and evil. Qn^jji_j*hys i ca 1 plan ^ t-h p.y are
^^

their blessings bring

perfect health and vitality of the body. Hence their
connection with water and plants and their healing
and health-giving properties. It is a truly inspiriting
conception that these two attributes of the Creator,
representing the salvation offered by Him in this
world and the next, are always united. The seeker
after eternal bliss has no need to undergo penance or
austerities in this world. Immortality is not merely
deathlessness ; it is also the perfection of its accom-
panying blessing. It is, as Dr. Cheyne correctly puts
it, QQjEyplej^Jiap^

All the Amesha-Spenta are thus symbolical of the
attributes of the One Infinite and Eternal Being in
whom is centred all existence, visible and invisible.
In his conception of these attributes, Zarathushtra
was unquestionably thoroughly original. They were
the result of profound contemplation and the most
distinguishing features of his creed. In later times,
however, ignorance of the real significance of those

* The Origin of the Psalter.

The Seven Immortals j i

highly abstract philosophical conceptions gave rise
to the notion that these seven constituted a heptarchy
of celestial beings, six of them being the holy
immortals or archangels, with Ahura Mazda as their
head. Zarathushtra's faith rested, as we have seen, in
the belief in only one God, but after his death the
monotheistic characteristic of his teaching was not
maintained in its pristine purity and simplicity.
Objects of nature, which he regarded as things created
by Mazda and serving merely as symbols of God's
greatness and might, gradually came to be regarded
by his followers as objects themselves deserving of
worship. Each manifestation of creation was believed
to have been presided over by a special spirit, and
thus a hierarchy of Amesha-Spenta and Yazata, i.e.
good spirits, worthy of homage, was established, an
idea wholly foreign to the doctrines preached by the
Prophet. Researches of modern scholars have,
however, thrown a flood of light on the fundamental
and essential principles of the faith, which were
for a while obscured by the accretions that had grown
round them. "We need not hesitate," says Dr.
Gore, whilst endorsing the conclusions reached,
after prolonged discussions, by Moulton and other
authorities, **to think of these holy beings as in the
religion of Zarathushtra no more than personified

attributes of Mazda and of His activities among

j j,
men. *

* The Philosophy of the Good Life, pp. 412.

Chapter VII

THE ADORABLE ONES

"We worship the spiritual Yazata who are the givers of
the better (rewards) and are full of Asha" (Gah. ii. 6).

Next in rank to the Amesha-Spenta come the Yazata
(literally, the Adorable Ones), the distinction being
the same as between archangels and angels in Christian
theology. The number of the Yazata is legion. Only
about forty, however, are mentioned in the extant
Avestan texts and the most prominent of these corre-
spond to the twenty-four referred to by Plutarch.*
The number usually given, including the Holy
Immortals, is, however, thirty- three. Ahura Mazda
is Himself a Yazata, the greatest and the best of them,
just as He is the first in the heptarchy of the

Numerous are the boons that these beneficent ones
confer on humanity. They gather together the light
of the sun and shed it upon the earth. Men invoke
them with votive offerings and in return they help
the worshippers. Offerings of milk and Haoma, of
the Draonah (a sort of bread made of wheat) and of
meat, too, are dedicated to them. Some scholars

* his and Osiris, 47.

The Adorable Ones 73

have, however, attempted to show that meat offerings
are repugnant to the spirit and the teachings of the
Prophet; in fact, blood offerings are gradually dis-
appearing from the present-day ceremonies.

Although these Yazata find an honoured place in

O A

the Zoroastrian pantheon, only three of them are
mentioned in the Gathas, namely, Sraosha, Atar,

and Ashi.

Sraosha

The first of the Yazata is Sraosha, the guardian
spirit of humanity, who typifies obedience to the
Divine Law. Professor Jackson designates him priest-
divinity, as he acts as an embodiment of the divine
service. He is in fact obedient to the commandments
of God. The first to worship Ahura Mazda, he
officiates as a missionary to teach humanity to the
world and to preach willing submission to Mazda's
mandates. As the evangelist of the true faith, he
moves about, disseminating religious lore over the
whole material world. Zarathushtra longs to see this
viceregent of God on earth and prays that the spirit
of obedience may come unto himself and unto every
man whom Mazda wills.

The dwelling-place of Sraosha is supported by a
thousand pillars; it is self-lighted from within and
star-spangled from without. He drives in a heavenly
chariot, drawn by four white, shining horses that are
fleeter than the winds, fleeter than the rain, fleeter

74 The Religion of the Good Life

than the winged birds, and fleeter than the well-
darted arrow. His weapons consist of the sacred
formula Ahuna Vairya and the other consecrated spells.
He is the strongest, the sturdiest, the swiftest, and
the most active and awe-inspiring of youths. Himself
unconquerable, he is the conqueror of all.

In the later Avesta, Sraosha is portrayed as a never-
sleeping, wideawake spirit, who with his club up-
lifted protects all the material world, from sunset to
sunrise, from the onslaughts of Aeshma (wrath), the
prime originator of disturbance and disorder, chaos
and anarchy, and against all the forces of wickedness.
Three times during the day and three times during
the night he descends on earth, to smite the evil
spirit, and returns victorious to the ethereal regions
of the Amesha-Spenta. All evil vanishes from the
house, clan, town, and country, wherein the righteous
man thinking good thoughts, speaking good words,
and doing good deeds, welcomes and gives votive
offerings to this ministering spirit.

Sraosha also acts as a co-assessor with \Mithra and
Rashnu, the triad constituting a heavenly tribunal
for the judgment of the souls of the dead. The
Prophet invokes this guardian-spirit of humanity as
the greatest of the heavenly beings to appear at the
final Consummation of the world. All death cere-
monies are closely associated with Sraosha. The
funeral service begins with an invocation to him and
ends on the same note. On the morning of the fourth
day after death, the soul of the deceased crosses over

The Adorable Ones j $

the Chinvat Bridge into the next world. There before
the judgment seat it has to render an account of all
its actions, and at this trial before the august judges
Sraosha gives evidence of its deeds.

Ashi Vanguhi

Sraosha 5 s sister, Ashi Vanguhi, Holy Blessing, or
Good Reward of Deeds, is a feminine counter-part of
Sraosha. On the ethical side, she personifies sanctity
and symbolizes spiritual riches, or the blessings of
heaven, which are the reward of those who obey the
Eternal Law and seek the kingdom of God and His
Righteousness. On the physical side, she stands for
plenty and represents earthly riches. She fills the
barns of men with grain and with cattle, their coffers
with gold, their fields with foliage, the chests of
chaste women with jewels and their wardrobes with
fine garments. As the genius of plenty she joins
Mithra, who increases pastures and fodder. She, the
exalted one, is well-shaped and of noble origin; she
rules at her will and is possessed of glory. She is the
protector, guardian, helper, and healer of the good,
and the smiter of the wicked. The devout pray for
her presence and bounty; she follows the generous
man who rejoices the poor by his liberal gifts and she
fills his house "with flocks of cattle and horses. She is
grieved at the sight of unmarried women and she
refuses to accept libations offered by childless persons
and women of ill-fame. As the zealous guardian of the

j6 The Religion of the Good Life

sanctity of married life, she guards the chastity of
women, and abhors the wife who is untrue to the
nuptial tie.

Mithra

Among the other prominent Yazata the most note-
worthy are Mithra, Atar, and Aredvi Sura Anahita.
The last two are so closely identified with the forms
of Zoroastrian worship that they will need separate
treatment. Only a few more words may, therefore,
be said in this chapter about Mithra, the Indo -Iranian

I 4,a --TMI:. f t ^^^ , ^ ^

divinity, who attained the most . dominant^ position
in the Zoroastrian^theolo^-, o~ the .XateE_Ay,estajn
period^ -

Closely associated as he was with the oldest
common cult of Iran and India, Mithra gradually
became one of the most popular and conspicuous of
the Yazata. His greatness is celebrated in one of the
longest litanies in which he is spoken of in terms
usually applied to Ahura Mazda. Nay, even the Wise
Lord is there represented ,as having adored Mithra.
Qf ...all the celestial beings that rufe av,ex,, this,, earth^
Mithra is the strongest of the strong, the sturdiest of
the sturdy^jhe^most diligent and intelligent among
the divinities, the most victorious and glorious. Ever
afoot, he is the leader of hosts, of a thousand devices,
keeping ten thousand spies, all-knowing, the unde-
ceivable, watchful, valiant, lordly, and heroic. His
is the most dominajing personality in the hierarchy,

The Adorable Ones 77

listening to appeals, causing the, waters to flow and
thre^frees'tb grow, ruling over the district, full of
devices, a creature of wisdom. The swiftesTamdrig'the
swift, most munificent among the munificent, most
valiant among the valiant, chief among the chiefs of
the assembly, increase-affording, fatness-inducing,
flock-giving, kingdom-bestowing, son-granting, life-
imparting, felicity-according, and piety-Infusing.
Whether there shall be peace or war between nations
depends on his dispensation. Mi thra is ^also a soldier
armed with sharp spears and deadly arrows; woe
betide the man who offends him!

Mithra's Associates

^^^ the , first^sud JfoiSTOOst. among . the
associates who work in unison with Mithra. In the
scriptO?es*1Vt'itta i a and Ahura are ofterTmvoKe3T6gether.
Their union is pre-Zoroastrian and corresponds to
the Vedic Mithra Vamna. Mithra.isalse'jemtly invoked
with Hvarekhshaeta, the shining sun, as one of his
chief functions is to work as the guardian of light. ,
He presides over light," ''

radiating from .the sun. As the harbinger of light and
herald of the dawn, he precedes the rising sun on the
summits of mountains. The great vault of heaven is,
therefore, his garment. Ahura Mazda and the Amesha-
Spenta have built up for hi^ a dwelling on the
mountain Alburz, where neither night nor dlffefiess,
neither cold wind nor hot wind, neither sickness

j8 The Religion of the Good Life

nor death, can ever reach. From this Hysian abode
Mithra surveys the whole universe at a glance. Nothing
is hidden from his penetrating gaze. His light is the
dispeller of darkness and of all the sin and evil
associated with it.

Protector of Truth

On jdi^ moral side, Mithra protects truth and is
associated with Rashnu, who is the chief genius of
truth. Light is synonymous with truth, as darkness is
with falsehood. To utter untruth is the most heinous
sin. All human evil is collectively summed up in the
Avesta as the Druj, or lie. Of all the vices, lying is
detested the most. The liar brings death to his country.
The faithful is therefore warned never to utter false-
hood, for Mithra never forgives liars. He is the
protector of the lord of the house, the lord of the
clan, the lord of the town, the lord of the country,
but only so long as they lie not unto him. If they
commit that sin, the wrath of Mithra works havoc
with house, clan, town, and country; and along with
these their lords and masters also perish. The sin of
deceiving Mithra is, besides, visited for years upon
the kinsmen of the offender. This canon of holding
a man's family and kinsmen liable for his guilt is a
survival of the primitive pre-Zoroastrian code of
ethics considered essential for securing group
morality.

The Adorable Ones 79

Sanctity of Contracts

Mithra also demands of man fidelity to his pledged
word. As the presiding genius of right, he guards
the sanctity of oaths. The ,jrecu:d. Mithra in the Avesta
is, consequently, often used as a common noun,
meaning ** contract.' 7 Ahura Mazda asks Zarathushtra
not to violate a contract, whether it be entered into
with the righteous or with the wicked, for Mithra
stands for the inviolability of the pledged word.

Mithra* 's Wrath and Bounty

The_ faithful devoutly invoke Mithra by his name
with offerings and implore him to attend to the
worship, to listen to the invocation, and to accept
the offerings. He then comes at the appointed time
for help to the righteous man and bestows upon him
radiance and glory, soundness of body, flocks of cattle,
chariots, offspring, and sovereignty. If disregarded
in worship or angered, he inflicts poverty and misery
upon the offender, depriving him of his offspring and
power. To invoke him by his name is to obtain the
key to happiness in this as well as in the next world.

Chapter VIII

THE CULT OF FIRE

OF the guardian spirits connected with the four ele-
ments, Atar (Fire) receives the exalted distinction of
being Puthro Ahurahe Mazdao, "the son of Ahura
Mazda." In the Vedas an analogous expression is used
for lightning, which is spoken of as the "son of Asura
Varuna." The principal terms expressing the Aryan
idea of the divinity are borrowed from light and fire.
The general name for God in Sanskrit is Deva, i.e. the
shining, from the root div, to shine. Lightning is also
called in the old Sanskrit Atharvan, i.e. having Athar,
i.e. fire. This would show" that the cult of fire was by
no means a peculiar feature of the Iranian creed; it
was common to other Aryan nations and had come
down from remote antiquity. Like their Vedic
brethren, the ancient Iranians spoke of the fire with
its towering flames as a messenger from the earth to the
high throne of Ahura Mazda, and they established Atar
as a symbol of worship.

What, indeed, can be a more natural and more
sublime representation of Him, who is Himself Eternal
Light, than a pure, undefiled flame? Zarathushtra
mentions Atar more in the sense of the divine spark,

The Cult of Fire 8 1

a spark of the divine flame that glows in the heart of
every human being rather than as the holiest of the
elements venerated as the source of heat and light,
life and growth. He selected it as the outward symbol
of his faith because, being the holiest of the elements,
it symbolized the divine spark within. He restored not
only the unity of God, but also the most ancient
characteristic Aryan form of divine service, the wor-
ship of fire, as a symbol of God.

The Romans, who evidently separated from the
original Aryan stock at a much earlier date than the
Brahmans, had the ancient Flamines as fire-priests,
whose office it was to kindle the fire, literally, to
enflame or draw forth the flame. The fire of their
hearths could not be carried away except for sacred
purposes. They were not allowed to touch anything
unclean, neither a dead body nor a grave ; nor to go
out without the pileus, a long-pointed, flame-like
head-cover, on the apex or point of which a virga,
or twig of an olive tree, and a Jilum were attached.
When going to sacrifice, they held in their hand the
virga commetacula, perhaps corresponding to the
Zoroastrian baresam. Their wives, Flaminicae, wore a
similar conical head-dress and the flammeum a yellow
or flame-coloured veil. So wholly did the Flamines
belong to the Divinity, that even the cuttings
of their hair and the parings of their nails had
to be buried under a fruit-bearing tree, which
recalls the exhortation to the Prophet of Iran in the
Vendidad:

82 The Religion of the Good Life

"O Zarathushtra, cut the hair, trim the nails, and
carry them thither."

The Romans had also at Alba Longa the federal
altar, from which thirty Latin towns received their
sacred fire. The hearth of Vesta at the foot of the
Palatine Hill in Rome was the sacred centre for the
whole Roman State. The eternal fire on it symbolized
the presence of God and the protection of Heaven
and of the State's existence. So also among the Greeks
there was at Olympia an altar of Pan. the fire on which
was never allowed to be extinguished. In the temple
of Athere Polias an ever-burning golden lamp was
kept. Xerxes spared the sanctuary of Delos, because
of the similarity of its fire-worship to that of the
Zoroastrian.

The old Germans had an ever-burning lamp placed
before the statue of their god Thor. The Slavs had in
honour of their god Perun, and the Prussians in
honour of their Perkun, an everlasting fire which the
sacrificing priest was obliged to maintain with oak-
wood. The Lithuanians had in Wilna an ever enduring
fire, Zinoz* Woe to the priests who permitted it to
go out! Death was the only punishment for such a
sin. The sacred flame in the temple of the Slavic
"God of Light" could not be approached by the
priests except whilst keeping back their breath; a
custom reminding us of the padan, the small piece
of cloth with which the Parsi priests cover their
mouths when serving the fire, so as to protect it from

The Cult of Fire 83

being polluted by their breath. At Kildare, in Ireland,
a perpetual fire, like that of the Roman Vesta, was
maintained in hour of the pagan Bridglt i 'the Bright* * ;
it was surrounded by a fence, which no man was
allowed to approach, and was not to be blown with
the mouth, but only with bellows.

The Jewish religion had its shining flames and
burning fires as emblems of God's majesty and
presence. 'The fire on the altar," said the Lord,
speaking to Moses, "shall always burn and the priest
shall feed it, putting wood on it every day in the
mprning. This is the perpetual fire, which shall never
go out on the altar/' St. John the Baptist spoke of
the Christ when he said to the Jews: "I indeed baptize
you with water unto penance ; but he who is to come
after me is stronger than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to carry; he shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost and with fire." This was confirmed by Christ
when he said: "I am come to send fire on the earth,
and what will I, but that it be kindled?" Hence, when
after his ascension, the Apostles were all united in a
chamber at Jerusalem, suddenly, in imitation of the
proclamation of the Old Law on Mount Sinai, c( there
came a sound from Heaven as of a mighty wind
coming; and it filled the whole house where they
were sitting. And there appeared to them cloven
tongues as it were of fire; and it set upon each of
them: and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."
In the sanctuary of the Christian Church the Sacred
flame indicates the Sacramental presence of God, the

84 The Religion of the Good Life

Redeemer, just as in the sanctuary of the Zoroastrian
fire-temple the perpetual flame indicates the presence
of Ahura Mazda.

In these fire-temples the Zoroastrians pay deep
homage to Atar. Many a hymn has been composed in
his praise. He is the most beautiful, the lord of the
house, of renowned name, the beneficent crusader,
full of glory and healing powers. The devout Zoro-
astrian who worships the fire with fuel in his hand,
with the baresman twigs in his hand, with milk in his
hand, with the mortar for crushing the branches of
the sacred Haoma in his hand, is blest with happiness.
Among the boons sought of this ministering Yazata
are well-being and sustenance in abundance, compre-
hensive and imperishable wisdom, which stands for
reverence, knowledge, holiness, a ready tongue,
worthy children, name and fame in this world, and
the bliss of paradise. Whoever does not pay due
homage to the fire displeases Ahura Mazda.

In the Atas Nyahesh the devout Zoroastrian prays
for the preservation of the fire in his house till the
Day of Renovation: "Mayest thou burn in this
house! Mayest thou ever burn in this house!
Mayest thou blaze in this house! Mayest thou
increase in this house, even for a long time, until
the time of the good, powerful renovation of the
world!' 5

When Mithra goes on his daily round in his golden
chariot, Atar drives behind him along with the other
intelligences. Together with Vohu Manah he smites

The Cult of Fire 8$

the Evil Spirit who has committed the sin of burning
or cooking dead matter. For those who commit this
sin the Vendidad enjoins capital punishment. There is
no purification for the man who carries a corpse to
the fire. A fire defiled by dead matter must be cere-
monially purified; to take to the altar the embers of a
fire so purified is a deed highly meritorious and
deserving of reward in the next world.

The Fire Temples

Such anxiety to prevent fire from being desecrated
and to prescribe an elaborate code for its purification
in case of defilement can best be appreciated if it is
borne in mind that, regarding fire as the highest
emblem of divinity and as the holiest symbol of their
faith, the devout followers of Zarathushtra have
installed it in their temples and offer it their worship
to Ahura Mazda. In these temples, known as Atas-
Behrams, the sacred flame is permanently kept
glowing by day and by night. To offer sandalwood to
the fire is regarded as an act of merit. No wonder
sandalwood worth thousands of rupees is used in
the fire-temples every year.

Misconception of the Cult

Later, the conception of the element itself was
confused with that of the spirit said to reside within

86 The Religion of the Good Life

it. This confusion of ideas gave rise to misconceptions.
Fire occupies merely a subordinate, though important,
place in the religious system of Zarathushtra. In it
he merely recognized the type of Immortal Light and
the spiritual resurrection of the Soul. In the Gathas
he speaks of fire as a bright and powerful creation of
Ahura Mazda and prefers it, as a symbol of divinity,
to idols and other created objects. Nowhere does he
enjoin the worship of fire. Yet, in Europe as well as
in Asia, the idea prevailed for a long time that the
Zoroastrian religion consisted entirely of fire-worship.
This theory has long been exploded. Max Miiller
disposed of it with the observation that if the religion
of Zarathushtra were called fire-worship, the same
name would have to be applied to the religion of
India, nay, even to the religion of the Jews. Indeed,
one has to view the attitude of the Zoroastrian com-
munity towards this sacred symbol side by side with
its adoration of other sacred elements. One might
as well regard Zoroastrians as sun- worshippers,
because they turn to it in reverence and lift their
hands in prayer before it, or water- worshippers,
because they recite their prayers before the waters
of wells, springs, and seas! If by " worship " of a
sacred element is implied reverence for it and glori-
fication of it, then the Zoroastrian praying before
the sacred fire for the blessing of longevity, strength,
wisdom, happiness, and virtuous progeny, unquestion-
ably worships fire. Such veneration, however, does not
imply that the object adored is taken to be the

The Cult of Fire 87

supreme Deity. Nor is such adoration inconsistent
with a religious system, based on monotheism, and
it should leave little room for misunderstanding,
especially in view of similar homage paid by the
Zoroastrians to other sacred elements.

Chapter IX
THE PRESIDING GENIUS OF WATER

VENERATION of water, another phase of nature- worship,
has come down to the followers of the faith of Zara-
thushtra from their Aryan ancestors. It must be
remembered, however, that water- worship was im-
bibed rather than engendered by Aryan culture.
From remote ages man endowed trees, plants, stocks,
stones, dales, hills, seas, and springs with spirits
visible and invisible. It was a stage in cultural progress
through which he had to pass, the stage when he
believed in myriads of spirits whose ubiquity has been
aptly characterized as an unholy travesty of the
Divine Omnipresence. It was upon such a spirit-
world of pre-historic man that the primeval nature-
worship of the Aryans was based. Water to them was
not only the prime necessity of life, but the very birth-
place of life, worthy of worship as divinity. In the
Vedas waters are called apo-devi, and In the Avesta, apo
vanguhish.

The Gat has of Zarathushtra, however, recognize no
water deity. His purely monotheistic creed recog-
nized only one creator of all the Universe, of all the
elements: "O Ahura Mazda," he asks, "who but

The Presiding Genius of Water 89

Thee created waters and trees?" In the later Avesta,
however, we find the development of a regular cult
of water-worship with the deity Aredvi Sura Anahita as
the presiding genius of water.

According to the conception of those times the
abode of waters was in heaven and their descent from
heaven was poetically pictured as the coming down
of the fair maidens and daughters of "Ahura," the
Lord, to the nether regions. The Avestan people
greeted these beneficent divinities as Ahurani (Vedic
Asurani), just as the Babylonians hailed their goddess
of water as Mylitta, derived from mul y Arabic maula 9
the Lord.

Aredvi Sura Anahita

In the Aban Yasht the river is addressed as a mighty
goddess, Aredvi Sura Anahita, strong, sublime, spotless,
Aredvi Sura being the name of a mythical river. She
dwells in the starry regions and Ahura Mazda has
assigned to her the work of guarding the holy creation
just as a shepherd guards his flock.

Ahura Mazda calls upon Zarathushtra to worship
Anahita, who rolls under bridges, gives salubrity, de-
feats the daevas, professes the Ahurian religion, and who
deserves praises and worship in this living world:

"The wide-expanding, the healing,
Foe to the daevas, of Ahura's Faith,
Worthy of adoration in the material world,
Worthy of prayer in the material world,

90 The Religion of the Good Life

Life-increasing, the righteous,
Herd-increasing, the righteous.
Food-increasing, the righteous,
Wealth-increasing, the righteous,
Country-increasing, the righteous.

Whom I, Ahura Mazda, by movement of tongue
Brought forth for the furtherance of the house,
For the furtherance of the village, town, and
country."

Aredvi Sura Anahita has a chariot of her own, drawn
by four great chargers, all of them white and of the
same stock, who defeat all tyrants, wicked men,
sorcerers, witches, oppressors, as well as those who
are wilfully blind and wilfully deaf. This is, of course,
an allegory. We are told that the four steeds are the
wind, the rain, the cloud, and the sleet, and that it
was Ahura Mazda who made them for her.

A vivid picture of this water-spirit is drawn in the
texts. She is a maiden, handsome in figure and appear-
ance, well-shaped, pure, and having a halo around her:
Upon her head she wears a golden crown set with a
hundred stars and beautifully embellished; golden
ear-rings adorn her ears, a golden necklace decks
her neck, and elegant bracelets illumine her arms.
Around her waist she has a girdle which lends addi-
tional grace to her beautiful figure and she wears
golden shoes to match her garment of gold. This
word-picture of the spirit of the waters has been

The Presiding Genius of Water 91

described by some scholars as a faithful reproduction
of Anahita's statues in stone and metal. It must
not be supposed, however, that image-worship was
common in Iran. Idolatry in any form was repugnant
to orthodox Zoroastrianism ; and Iranian kings and
heroes waged a crusade against idol-worship. Hero-
dotus testifies that the people of Iran knew no idols.
During the Achaemenian period, however, statues
of different divinities were not unknown, and
statues were erected in honour of Aredvi Sura
Anahita in Babylon, Ecbatana, Susa, Persepolis,
Bactria, Damascus, and Sardis. Whether those statues
were worshipped by the Zoroastrians of the time along
with the other communities living with them, it is
not possible to state with any degree of accuracy.

The Aban Yasht recounts the names of the kings
who gave offerings to Aredvi Sura Anahita, and
begged for various favours. Even Ahura Mazda, it is
said, worshipped her in order to seek her assistance
in inducing Zarathushtra to become His prophet.
Zarathushtra invokes her with the Haoma and the
Baresman, with spells and libations. Other votaries
offer her a hundred stallions, a thousand oxen, and
ten thousand sheep. Haoshaynha, Yima, Thraetaona,
Keresaspa, and a host of other monarchs, heroes,
sages, and celebrities, all adore her and ask for divers
boons. The rulers pray for sovereignty over countries,
the warriors for swift horses and victory on the battle-
field, the priests and their disciples for knowledge
and wisdom to answer the riddles propounded by

92 The Religion of the Good Life

heretics, and the priest who offers libations implores
her to descend from her celestial abode to the altar
and to grant riches, horses, chariots, swords, food,
and plenty to mankind. The wicked, however, could
not hope to win her favours. Azi Dahaka (an incar-
nation of the Evil Spirit) implored her to endow him
with the strength to slaughter all the men on the
surface of the earth and to clear all the seven zones
of the human race, but she refused to grant the
prayer. Similarly, boons solicited by other national
foes of Iran are refused.

Penalty for Defilement of Water

It isr sinful to contaminate water. Such an act
offends the presiding spirit of the waters. Those who
knowingly take dead matter to the waters become
unclean for ever. Should a man, while walking or
running, riding or driving, happen to see a corpse
floating in a river, he must go down into the river
ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist deep, even full depth
if need be, and remove the putrid body from the
waters and place it upon dry ground exposed to the
light of the sun.*

An Ideal Mode oj Worship

The homage originally offered to the waters of the
spring is extended by modern Zoroastrians to the

* For corresponding beliefs among other people see Folklore of Wells,
by R. P. Masani.

The Presiding Genius of Water 93

waters of wells and seas. In Bombay city, the strong-
hold of this small band of Zoroastrians, any day along
the beach, and at almost any hour of the day, may be
seen devout Parsis dipping their fingers in the water,
applying it to their eyes and forehead and lifting up
their hands in prayers to Ahura Mazda. Andrew
Carnegie has left behind an interesting description
of such a sight witnessed by him at Bombay during a
voyage round the world. "This evening," he says,
Sve were surprised to see, as we strolled along the
beach, more Parsees than ever before, and more
Parsee ladies, richly dressed, all wending their way
towards the sea, . . . Here on the shore of the
ocean, as the sun was sinking in the sea, and the
slender silver thread of the crescent moon was
faintly shining on the horizon, they congregated to
perform their religious rites. Fire was there in its
grandest form, the setting sun, and water in the vast
expanse of the Indian Ocean outstretched before
them. The earth was under their feet, and, wafted
across the sea, the air came laden with the perfumes
of 'Araby the Blest/ Surely, no time or place could
be more fitly chosen than this for lifting up the soul
to the realms beyond seas. I could not but participate
with these worshippers in what was so grandly
beautiful. There was no music save the solemn moan
of the waves as they broke into foam on the beach.
But where shall we find so mighty an organ, or so
grand an anthem? How inexpressibly sublime the
scene appeared to me and how insignificant and un~

94 The Religion of the Good Life

worthy of the unknown seemed even our cathedrals
'made with human hands/ when compared with
this looking up through nature unto nature's God!
I stood and drank in the serene happiness which seemed
to fill the air. I have seen many modes and forms of
worship some disgusting, others saddening, a few
elevating when the organ pealed forth its tones, but
all poor in comparison with this. Nor do I ever
expect in all my life to witness a religious ceremony
which will so powerfully affect me as that of the
Parsees on the beach of Bombay."

Carnegie was but one of numerous visitors from
the West who were thus captivated by this mode of
worship. Samuel Laing sees in it an ideal opportunity
to pay one's homage to the Good Spirit and to look
into the abysses of the unknown with reverence and
wonder. ''Here is an ideal religious ceremony/' he
observes, "combining all that is most true, most
touching, and most sublime, in the attitude of man
towards the Great Unknown. Compare it with the
routine of an ordinary English Sunday, and how poor
and prosaic does the latter appear! And now, before
I take my final leave of the reader, let me for a few
moments throw the reins on the neck of fancy, and
suppose myself standing with that group of Parsees
by the shore of the Indian Ocean, listening to its
murmured rhythm, inhaling the balmy air, watching
the silver crescent of the new moon, and musing on
the wise sayings of the ancient sage ; the sum of the
reflections which I have tried to embody in the

The Presiding Genius of Water 95-

preceding pages would take form and crystallize in
the following sonnet:

"Hail! Gracious Ormuzd, author of all good,
Spirit of beauty, purity, and light,
Teach me like thee to hate dark deeds of night,
And battle ever with the hellish brood
Of Ahriman, dread prince of evil mood,
Father of lies, uncleanliness, envious spite,
Thefts, murders, sensual sins that shun the light,
Unreason, ugliness, and fancies lewd.
Grant me, bright Ormuzd, in thy ranks to stand,
A valiant soldier faithful to the end;
So when I leave this life's familiar strand,
Bound for the great Unknown, shall I command
My soul, if soul survive, into thy hand
Fearless of fate if thou thine aid will lend.*'*

Had those admirers of the Zoroastrian mode of
worship been initiated into the esoteric meaning of
the so-called worship of the elements, they might
have appreciated all the more the Parsi's adoration
of Fire and Water. The material fire and water which
he makes his Kebleh y or altar of divine worship, are
but the symbols of the spiritual Fire and Water
which he holds in the mind's eye. It is not the ele-
ments of fire and water which he worships, it is the
spirits residing in these material elements, the
spiritual fire and water, named, respectively, c 'Atarsh
puthra Ahurahe Mazdao" i.e. "Fire, son of Ahura

* A Modern Zoroastrian.

96 The Religion of the Good Life

Mazda/' and iC Aredvi Sura Anahita," "the Righteous,
shining, undefiled spirit of waters," that he adores.

That fire is the Fire which is in Garonmana, shining
before Ahura Mazda; and that spirit of the waters,
Aredvi Sura Anahita, is in the same -way the spiritual
source of all the waters that flow on the face of the
world.

Chapter X
THE PROBLEM OF GOOD AND EVIL

THE most bewildering problem of life is that of
existence of evil. There is a bright as well as a "3art
side to creation; man, too, has his noble as well as
his Ignoble side*. AnJudescapable dualism besets nature.
All is not rightjmthjt^XIJlizeise, nor is it all wrong.
With much that is good in it,

of ^ eyjl a _ jyhjch, , &nQt_J^- ignored, jpr, sophistically
explained awerjrjas^ may a, or illusion, Nor can it be
tolerated, in the spirit of a fatalist, as an inscrutable
decree of Providence.

Evil is Positive

^$3^^ 2^

evnj if jjteLJUSJLX^^ fr * s not

good sullied or corrupted, nor is it good in the process
of formation or fructification ; much less is it the mere
negation of good. It_js a jdistinct principle and the
active enemy of .gaad. Both these principles of good
and evil are incessantly at work in man as well as in
creation ; and the story of their conflict jsjbhe story of
the worid*Jto,ji^^ co-worker

98 The Religion of the Good Life

and a fellow-combatant on Jthe side of Spenta Mainyu,
the Beneficent Spirit. The Prophet of Iran induces in
Ms followers a militant instinct, ji fev0it:_lDngmgJ:o
combat the ^Evil Spirit t ( Life thus^becoirngs _an_inter-

rise from the abyss of imperfection to the summit pf
perfection. During this process social wrongs have to
be adjusted; social justice has to be rendered; society
as a whole has to be regenerated ; the world has to be
redeemed.

The Two Primeval Principles

Having arrived at the basic idea of the unity of God,
"Zarathushtra found himself confronted by the problem
orTEe^eternal conflict going on in the world between
good and evil since the dawn of creation. How could
the imperfections found in the world, TKxT^rious
kinds of evil, injustice, and exploitation, wickedness
and baseness, be compatible with the holiness, bene-
ficence, and justice of Ahura Mazda? Ged-gwenJ|fe
surrouriAed^on all sides^fe^gxiJLand steeped in sorrow
and suffering is, indeed, an anomaly. The Sage of Iran
furnished a solujionj>fj^

^ other. ^

^ the Beneficent

Spirit, and the other Angra Mainyu^ lie^ Evil Spinr.
There is nothing in the Gathas to show that both the
spirits emanated from or were the creation of Ahura

The Problem of Good and Evil 99

Mazda. Although some authors draw such an inference,
the position may best be stated as put by Professoi
Jackson, The two Spirits do not exist independently,
but each in relation to the other; they meet in the
higher unity "of Aliura Mazda. They existed before the
beginning or the wo rid 3 but their opposition only finds
expression in the world tHaf we see. The Beneficent
Spirit Jte_ nqt^entireljr^free A 4 ^ ^ e ~W e <* s ??J ev ^T
since he came into being he has been encountering
opposition from the Evil Spirit.

These ^win^Spirits^ form,, .indeed, the, very anti-
thesis of each other in ev^ry respect. How radically
they differed from and opposed each other is declared
in the Gathas in the following emphatic terms:

*i speak of the Spirit ^Twain ^atAejfirst
Holier thus addressed

te Evil one: 'Never shall our minds harmonize, jior
ui^ocaj^ jet . our

beliefs ; neither our words, nor yet our deeds ; neither
our hearts , nor yet our souls/ "*

Thus for the first time in the history of religionjve
see the philosophic doctrine of Eternal Polarism pro-
pounded by the Prophet of Iran, a doctrine which, far
from inducing a belief in cosmic dualism, served to
reinforce the belief in uncompromising monotheisn^
which was the keynote of his creed. Our sublunary

^^^yj^L^

forces of e * are con ~

. -

standyat work in man as w^ll as in creatiqiii.ilt is man*s

i, 22.

ioo The Religion of the Good Life

duty and highest mission on earth to rally to the banner
of the King of Righteousness and to rout the forces of
wickedness.

r ~ Zarathushtra conceives Spenta Mainyu as the son of
Ahura Mazda, the first in the creation, occupying the
first place in the celestial hierarchy. It is through him
that the Prophet longs to approach Ahura Mazda, and
It is through him that the human mind receives divine
illumination. Good thoughts proceed from him, and
good words and good deeds are the outcome of good
thoughts. At the opposite pole stands Angra Mainyu >
the Evil Spirit, who introduces discord and death in
the world. The daevas, the offspring of the Evil Spirit,
have chosen him as their lord ; and he teaches them to
mislead man through evil thought, evil word, or evil
deed, and to lure him by his wiles to the path of
wickedness. Whoever falls a victim to Angra Mainyu
finds his thoughts enslaved by him. Man must avoid
him as he would a pestilence. The best way to avoid
the Evil Spirit is to think of and to espouse the cause
of the Good Spirit. It is only when man's mind is not
filled with good thoughts of Vohu Manah that it becomes
an easy prey to Angra Mainyu.

1 'From the regions of the North rushed forth Angra
MainjUy the deadly, the dacva of the daevas, to lure
the Prophet away from the path of righteousness, but
he was met by the Holy One chanting the sacred for-
mula Ahunavar. Angra Mainyu persuaded the Prophet
to renounce the law of God and held up to him the
temptation of sovereignty over nations. The Holy One,

The Problem of Good and Evil 101

however, turned away from him with a contemptuous
'No/ and crowned his victory over the Evil Spirit
with the prayer beginning with the words; 'This I ask
Thee: teach "me the Truth, O Lord. 3 "* Every Zoro-
astrian believes that the best weapon he has at hand to
fight the Evil Spirit is the formula Ahunavar,f the
paternoster of Zarathushtra.

Mans Mission on Earth

Confronted by the two contending forces, how shall
man shape his course?

It is the wish of Ahura Mazda that His vicegerents
on earth should purify, renovate, and restore to its
pristine purity what is spoiled in creation by the Evil
Spirit. By going through the experience of good and
evil, by resisting evil and choosing good as their motto,
they have the opportunity of bettering their position
and raising their dignity in this world and the next.

Man is endowed with reason and free will. If he
brings evil on himself, it is because he yields to the
Deceiving Principle within him. When he thus deviates
from the moral law, he, as it were, strays away from
the abode of his real, or higher, self. He must either
resist and conquer evil, or submit and acknowledge

* Vendidad xix. i~ro.

f This is the most ancient text, and, therefore, the most difficult to
translate. We have almost as many versions as there are scholars. The
following rendering indicates the gist of it: **As there is a Supreme Lord
so there is a Spiritual Chief by reason of his righteousness. The gifts of
Good Mind are for those working for the Lord; and the strength of
Ahura is given unto him who Is a protector of the poor.'*

I o2 The Religion of the Good Life

defeat. Imperfect Is the world that man inhabits. In
striving to render it perfect he is a fellow- worker with
God. Whoever fights ignorance, fanaticism, falsehood,
corruption, injustice, war, disease, and death, is God's
ally in destroying the powers of imperfection. This
combative view of life is the dominant note of Zoro-
astrianism. Redemption lies in co-operation with good
and conflict with evil. In this the Prophet was follow-
ing for the most part the ethics of his time. The power
of love to cast out wrong had not as yet dawned on the
world. Force was, therefore, to be met with force.
Helping the wicked was tantamount to being wicked.

Exploded Theory of Dualism

This ethical doctrine of the two principles of good
and evil gave rise in later years to the belief in cosmic
dualism. Spenta Mairyn came to be identified with
Ahura Mazda Himself, and such an identification en-
gendered the belief that the world was created and
governed by two deities, Ahura Mazda and Angra
MairyUy each independent of the other, the one good
and the other evil; the one creator and the other
destroyer; the one bright and the other dark; the one
tending to the good thought, good words, good deeds,
good aspirations, good intellect, good life and good
religion, and the other tending to destruction, evil
thought, evil words, evil deeds, unholy aspirations,
evil intellect, evil belief, and evil religion. On the
other hand, the Gathas and even some parts of the

The Problem of Good and Evil 103

later Avesta furnish positive evidence of the uncom-
promising monotheistic character of the creed as
preached by the sage of Iran. In all his utterances he
subordinates the two Spirits to Mazda, who mentions
them as "My Spirits/ 3 In the Gathas, Ahura Mazda is
the father of Vohu Manah, and therefore distinct from
him. In the nineteenth chapter of the Yasna, Ahura
Mazda says: "Of the two spirits, the Beneficent one
said to my whole tribe of the pure. ..." Here, far
from being identified with Spenta Mainyu, Ahura Mazda
stands at a distance from him. Elsewhere in the same
sacred book it is distinctly stated that Ahura Mazda,
"desiring good, has created both weal and woe'*
(Yasna xlv. 9).*

The Evil Spirit who disputes the kingdom on earth
with the Holy Spirit and introduces discord in the
world is the opponent not of Ahura Mazda but of
Spenta Mairyu* There is conflict between the two
spirits which seems everlasting, but which is bound to
end in the victory of the Good over the Evil Spirit.
The scriptures of the most optimistic living religion in
the world speak definitely of the ultimate triumph of
the Good Spirit and of the hiding of the Evil Spirit
underground. Ultimate victory of righteousness over
wickedness is thus the end of all earthly strife. The
twin spirits meet, in the words of Professor Jackson,
"in the higher unity of Ahura Mazda."

* Dhalla: Zoroastrian Theology. Cf. "Practically, however, Zarathushtra
treats Mazda as the only Creator and Supreme God . . . Zoroaster is to
all intents and purposes a monotheist." The Philosophy of the Good Life.

Chapter XI
ESCHATOLOGY

MAN'S composition, according to the system of Zoro-
astrian religion, is of a triple character material,
vital, and spiritual body, life, and soul. As his
spiritual parts were created before his material and
vital parts, they are undying. They combine with his
physical parts at his birth and separate at his death.
Of these spiritual parts the principal are urvan, the
soul, and fravashi, the spirit, with their several
faculties such as manas, the mind, and bodha, conscious-
ness. The living body (tanu) is to the soul (urvan) and
to the spirit (fravashi) what an instrument is to the
worker, or a horse to the rider, or a house to its
master. In this classification are discerned all the ele-
ments of the modern tripartite division of man's per-
sonality into reason, feeling, and will.

Preservation of one's health is one of the religious
duties of a Zoroastrian. In his daily communion with
God the devout Zoroastrian prays for **one thousand-
fold health, ten thousandfold health/'

It was believed that fasting militated against the
maintenance of health and against the performance of
good and great deeds. Fasting is, therefore, deprecated.

Eschatology 105

"This maxim should be bome in mind/' says the
Vendidad, * 'none of those who abstain from food is
able to do great deeds of holiness, to do great works
of husbandry, and to give birth to powerful children.
The whole material world lives by eating; by fasting
it dies/'

The key to salvation lies as much in the purity of the
body as in the purity of the soul. Hence the Zoro-
astrian dictum: Yaozdao Mashyai aipi Zanthem Vahishta
(purity is the best from the very beginning of one's
birth). Contact with impure matter in any form must
be avoided. If contaminated, the body should be
purified by means of various purification ceremonies
prescribed by the scriptures. Such purification is im-
perative from the point of view of health as well as
morals. Not only one's own body, but also the four
elements, fire, air, water, and earth, must be pre-
served undefiled. It is also obligatory on a true Zoro-
astrian to keep his surroundings clean. Similarly, for
the preservation of mental health, the religion of
Zoroaster lays special emphasis on the triad good
thoughts, good words, good deeds. This fundamental
doctrine of the creed takes the devotee down to the
mainsprings of action. Thought is of no less importance
than word or deed. The great triad not only establishes
its parity with word and deed, but also gives it pre-
cedence as the source of all good words and good
deeds.

io,6 The Religion of the Good Life

Free Will

Free Will is implicit in this doctrine of human per-
sonality. As man must work out his salvation himself,
the Omniscient Lord, who plans what is best, has
allowed him freedom to act. Exercising this freedom,
man chooses between the principles of light and dark-
ness, between truth and falsehood, between good and
evil. Growing in mental vigour in the knowledge of
the Law, he acquires the kingship of self-control.
Placing his will in harmony with the Law, he is able
to withstand the assaults of falsehood and wrong, and
cultivating the attributes of Spenta Armaiti, benevolence
devotion, love, and social service, he attains the best
state of the Most Perfect and Beneficent Spirit.

Reward and Punishment

Beyond the practical side of the religion of Zara-
thushtra ranges its eschatology. The doctrine of
reward and punishment in this life stretches onward
into the next. The man who chooses the truth is here
rewarded by Ahura Mazda with spiritual as well as
temporal benefits. Thus the Prophet, who praised
agriculture as the best weapon with which the demons
of hunger and thirst, sickness and sorrow, theft and
rapine, could be fought, asks Ahura Mazda, for him-
self, whether he may have the reward of his labours
in "ten mares, a stallion, and a camel/* while he is
assured salvation and immortality in the life to come.

Eschatology 107

Likewise, to a man who deserves happiness in the
Future Life, he promises in this world a pair of cows
with calf.

Despite the depressing spectacle of wrong and
suffering all around him, Zarathushtra held fast to his
conviction of the justice of God. The Omniscient
cannot be so foiled as to allow wickedness to triumph
over goodness. The Prophet, therefore, does not for
a moment lose the vision of a better world. The per-
fect world is in the making. In it the balance will be
redressed, the righteous made happy, the unrighteous
chastised and purified. Zarathushtra is thus the first
among the prophets of the great religions to preach
the doctrine of immortal life.

The Soul's Equipment

The soul is responsible for deeds done in the flesh.
According to the teaching of the Prophet, God has
equipped man with every kind of appliance to per-
form his work successfully. For instance, he is endowed
with khratu, energy, knowledge ; chistl, consideration,
wisdom; ushi (hosh), intelligence, perception, sense;
manas, mind, thought; vachas, speech; shyaothna,
action; kawa, free will; ahu, practical conscience;
Jravashiy the prototype in nature and in men, which
is also the guiding spirit; baodhas, consciousness,
memory. Over and above all these gifts is daena, the
vision, the revealed religion.

Having been thus equipped, die human soul is

io8 The Religion oj the Good Life

expected to emerge successful from the struggle with
the forces of evil. Man receives reward or punishment
after death according to his deeds. There is none to
intercede for him. No intercession will help him. No
amount of prayers and offerings will open the gates of
paradise for him. No particular creed or belief in any
set dogmas will save him from retribution. In short,
no trace of vicarious salvation can be seen in the
message of Zarathushtra. Man is his own saviour. He
has the making of his own heaven or his own helL
The small prayer Vispa Humata, Vispa Hukhta, Vispa
Hvarshta, which a devout Zoroastrian recites thrice in
the morning, reminds him that * * a man's good thoughts,
good words, and good deeds lead him to Heaven; his
bad thoughts, bad words, and bad deeds lead him to
HelL" "As you sow, so shall you reap/' is the maxim
writ large on page after page of the Yasna:

"Evil for evil, good reward for the good."
"Affliction to the wicked, happiness to the

righteous."

"Woe to him who oppresses us (the righteous)!
"Woe to the wicked! Salvation to him who upholds

righteousness!"

This is the quintessence of Zarathushtra's speculation
concerning life after death. No religious leader
before him had grasped the idea of guilt and merit
so clearly as he did.

Eschatology 1 09

The Ascent of the Righteous Soul

Man enters heaven or hell after death, according to
the preponderance of his good or bad deeds. "One
should prepare and carry provisions for the spiritual
world from the material world," runs the admonition
in the Eanam-i-had , f so that the soul may not be in
trouble/' On the fourth day after death the soul has
to cross the bridge, called CMnvat, which connects
this world with the unseen world. Those righteous
souls who have devoutly followed the precepts of
Zarathushtra easily go over this bridge and enter
heaven, whereas those that have turned themselves
away from the Path of Righteousness stand trembling
at this judgment span. Writhing with the anguish of
their conscience and uttering words of woe, they
are led by their own conscience to perdition, the
Abode of the Worst Mind. The ascent of the righteous
soul heavenward is allegorically described in the
following passage:

At the close of the third night, when the dawn breaks, the
soul of the righteous person passes through the trees, inhaling
sweet fragrances; it seems as if a wind were blowing from the
region of the South; from the regions of the South, of sweet
fragrance, of sweeter fragrance than other winds.

And it seems to the soul of the righteous person as if it were
inhaling that wind with the nose, and it thinks: "Whence does
that wind blow, the wind of the sweetest fragrance that I ever
inhaled with my nostrils?"

It seems to him as if his own conscience were advancing to
him with that wind in the shape of a maiden, fair, bright, of

1 1 o The Religion of the Good Life

white arms, courageous, beautiful, tall, with prominent breasts,
beautiful of body, noble, of glorious birth, of fifteen years, and
of a form as fair as the fairest of creatures.

Then the soul of the righteous person addressed her asking:
"What maiden art thou, the fairest of maidens whom 1 have ever
seen?"

Then replied unto him his own conscience: "O thou youth of
good thoughts, good words and good deeds, and of good con-
science, everybody loved thee for the greatness, goodness, beauty,
sweet fragrance, courage, innocence, in which thou dost appear
to me.

"Thou didst love me, O youth of good thoughts, good words,
good deeds, and good conscience, for the greatness, goodness,
beauty, sweet fragrance, courage, innocence, in which I appear
to thee.

"When thou didst see others practising heresy and idolatry,
causing harm and working destruction to plants; then thou
wouldst sit chanting the holy songs, sacrificing unto the good
waters and the fire of Amira Mazda, and causing joy to the
righteous coming from near and far.

"Lovely as I was, thou madest me more lovely; beautiful as I
was thou madest me more beautiul; favoured as I was, thou
madest me more favoured: seated as I was on an exalted place,
thou madest me sit on a more exalted place, through thy good
thoughts, good words, and good deeds ; and so men will here-
after sacrifice unto me who have long sacrificed unto and have
been in communion with Ahura Mazda."

The first step that the soul of the righteous person made,
placed him in the Good Thought paradise; the second step that
the soul of the righteous person made, placed him in the Good
Word paradise; the third step that the soul of the righteous
person made, placed him in the Good Deed paradise; the fourth
step that the soul of the righteous person made, placed him in the
Endless Lights.*

* Yasht 22, 7-15 (Dr. Dhalla's translation).

Esctiatology 1 1 1

Such is the strictly rational and spiritual conception
of heaven as the region of the best thought, or the
best life. The modern Persian "word for heaven is
behesht* It is a later form of the Avestan word Yahishta,
which is, philologically, nothing more nor less than
the English word "best." Try to be beh, or good
to-day; try to be behter^ or better to-morrow, and
try to be behest^ or the best, the day after. These are
the stepping-stones to the abode of the Good Mind.
Be good, better, and best in your thoughts, words,
and deeds, and you ascend to heaven. This, put in
simple words, is Zarathushtra's philosophy of future
life. Heaven and hell are not primarily the regions set
aside for souls after death. Heaven is simply the best
life or the region of best mental state, and hell the
worst life or the region of the worst thought.

Between heaven and hell lies an intermediate place
for those souls whose good deeds and evil deeds exactly
balance. This is called the doctrine of Hamestagan ; and
it occupies a prominent place in the eschatological
ideas of the later Pahlavi period. As Dr. Dhalla points
out, the strict topic of the doctrine of Zoroastrian
eschatology and the symmetry,of the entire system
demand a place where the souls that cannot ascend to
heaven because of the heaviness of their sins, and yet
all not so weighed down by sin as to descend into
hell, can find their resting-place till the final judgment.*

* Zoroasirian "Theology*

Chapter XI!

THE FINAL DISPENSATION

BEYOND the hope of a future life for the individual
there is the idea of a glorious consummation for the
whole creation. The Gathas refer to a period when
the present cycle of the world will be completed, the
process of creation will cease, and the evolution of
the Universe will have reached its destined goal. The
world-process will then come to its final consumma-
tion as contemplated and ordained by Ahura Mazda at
the dawn of creation. Then will arise the last of the
saviours, Saoshyant. He will consummate the work of
purifying and regenerating the world and completely
removing every trace of the evil work of Angra
Mainyu. All the souls of the wicked will be brought
out from hell and lustrated and puiified at the ter-
mination of their sentence. The souls of the righteous
too will rise. There will thus be brought about the
Ristakhez, i.e., the Resurrection.

Renovation of the World

Thereafter, the world will enter upon a new cycle,
free from all evil and misery, ever young, ever re-

The Final Dispensation 113

joicing, ail souls enjoying a life of ineffable bliss and
glory. "Then," It is said mth^Zamyad Yasht, "he (the
Saoshyani) shall restore the world, which will (thence-
forth) never grow old and never die, never decay and
never perish, ever live and ever increase, and be
master over its wish, when the dead will rise, when
life and immortality will come, and the world will be
restored at (God's) wish/ 1 Thus will be consummated
the triumph of Asha, or Righteousness, over Driy, or
Wickedness.

What becomes of Angra Aiairyu^ the father of evil?
His fate is not mentioned in the sacred books. One
may infer, however, that when once the rule of evil
perishes, its originator is rendered innocuous. The
ultimate defeat of Druj necessarily implies the defeat
of the Arch-Drujy Angra Maiiyu*

Progress the Watchword of the Creed

Correspondence with the divine essence and purpose
of God cannot be reached without the attainment of
the highest state of perfection, but it was the hope of
the Prophet that such a renovation of the world
would come soon, even during his life. Progress, con-
tinuous progress, was the watchword of his creed.
He was not unaware of the countless obstacles to pro-
gress that have to be encountered at every stage, but
it was his conviction that although It might be
retarded at times, progress could never be wholly

114 The Religion of the Good Life

arrested. A Zoroastrlaa is thus buoyed up with the
belief that in the endless chain of Boundless Time
human beings can contribute their share towards the
establishment of the Kingdom of Righteousness on
earth. None need feel appalled because he has to
work in a circumscribed sphere. Nor need anyone be
staggered at the vastness of the work to be accom-
plished. Each individual life should add something to
the sum total of the life of humanity. Every one has
to consecrate one's life and dedicate one's deeds to
the good of humanity.

The Prophet's Message of Hope

This is the common aim that knits together man
with man at all times and in all climes and will con-
tinue to unite those that will inhabit this world to the
end of time. By the unceasing effort^ of the ages and
the accumulated achievements of humanity, the desired
object will at last be secured. The great world drama
will then be over ; the final curtain will be drawn on
the conflict between good and evil, the ultimate
triumph of good over evil will be secured, the king-
dom of Righteousness will be established, the good
will live in a renovated world ; and all this will come
to pass through the exertions of man and his co-
operation in this great task with his Creator. There-
after, man will enter into the everlasting joy of Ahura
Mazda.

Such is the message of Hope that the Prophet of

The Final Dispensation iig

Iran has brought to this world from the Heavenly
Father.

"And this I ask Thee, O Ahura Mazda!

The truthful lighteous striving to further the well-
being of his house, his province, and his
country,

How shall he be like unto Thee?

4 'When shall he be worthy of Thee?
What actions of his shall most appeal to Thee?
Clear is all this to the man of wisdom, as to the

man who carefully thinks,
He who upholds Truth with all the might of his

power,
He who upholds Truth to the utmost in his word

and deed,
He, indeed, is Thy most valued helper, O Mazda

Ahura!

"To him, who is Thy true friend in spirit and In

actions, O Mazda Ahura,
To him Thou shalt give Healthful Weal and

Immortality;
To him Thou shalt give perpetual communion

with Truth and the Kingdom of Heaven,
And to him Thou shalt give the sustaining strength

of the Good Mind.*

* The DMae Songs of Zarathwhtra> by D. J. Irani.

Chapter XIII
THE ZOROASTRIAN CODE OF ETHICS

THE fundamental principle of the creed is embodied
in the triad Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta, good thought,
good word, good deed. The antithesis of this triad,
which is the sum and substance of all morality, is
Dushmata, Duzukhta, Duzvarshta, evil thought, evil word,
and evil deed. "To all good thoughts, words, and deeds
(belongs) Paradise^ so is it manifest to the pure." This is
the simple admonition given in the prayer Vispa
Humata. In another prayer the devotee says: "Hence-
forth let me stand firm for good thoughts, good words
and good deeds, which must be well thought, must
be well spoken and must be well done. )J

Cultivation of Civic Virtues

Great importance was attached by the ancient
Zoroastrians to the training of the youth in civics.
They considered it essential so to educate children
during their most impressionable days as to deepen
their concern for the common good and to stimulate
and diffuse a spirit of citizenship. In the Cyropaedia
Xenophon gives an interesting account of the schools

The Zoroastrian Code of Ethics 1 1 7

in Iran, in which such training was given, the first
of the kind recorded in history.

"In every Persian city," says Xenophon, "is a free
square, from which commerce and industry are
rigorously excluded, and which contains the palace
and the chief municipal buildings. On one side is the
school for children from five to sixteen (up to five
they live at home in the nursery), on the second, the
institute for youth from sixteen to the full manhood
of twenty-six, on the third, that for the man of
mature years, on the fourth, that for the elders who
are past the age of military service. The curriculum is
remarkable; there appear to be no lessons, but only
debates and * trials* dealing with the practical events
of the school life and conducted under the presidency
of an appointed elder. These occupy the greater
portion of the day ; the rest is occupied with riding
and shooting on the campus." As Xenophon puts it:
"The Persians send their children to school that they
may learn righteousness, as we do that they may
learn letters."

Some of the notable virtues on which special
emphasis was laid in the sciiptures and which, one
might expect, could not have failed to influence the
life and character of the followers of the faith, may be
noted.

Righteousness

Holiness, or righteousness, is a somewhat loose
rendering of the Avestan term Asha; it gives but a

1 1 8 The Religion of the Good Life

faint idea of the original mystical and sublime con-
ception of Asha, as embodied in the Gathas. In those
hymns Asha is a profound spiritual truth, or a spiritual
law in accordance with which the Universe has been
fashioned and governed. All the earthly phenomena
are to be traced to Asha. Man must obey this great
law, for it is Asha that would lead him into the pre-
sence of Ahura Mazda. Asha is thus a very compre-
hensive term in Zoroastrian ethics. It signifies order,
symmetry, discipline, harmony, and includes all sorts
and acts of purity, truthfulness, and beneficence. The
very first prayer that a Zoroastrian child is taught to
recite is the aphorism, Ashem Vohu, which runs as
under:

"Righteousness is the best of gifts and divine
happiness. Happiness to him who lives for the sake
of best righteousness!"

From order and discipline proceeds righteousness ;
from disorder and discord unrighteousness, Asha in-
cludes order; Driy, the opposite of Asha, signifies
disorder. To uphold Asha at all times and in all cir-
cumstances is a duty enjoined on a true Zoroastrian.
In fact all religious teachings begin with this alpha
and omega of the creed. It is the Eternal Verity, the
One Reality, which is the mainspring of all manifesta-
tion. Philologists have shown that phonetically this
word Asha in the Avesta is identical with the ancient
Vedic word Rita. The phonetic identity is, however,
not so important as the striking identity of concept^
Rita has exactly the same significance as Asha, showing

The Zoroastrian Code of Ethics 119

that this one fundamental conception of the progress
heavenwards is common to the philosophy of all Indo-
Iranian peoples. It is this law, this path of Asha
(Ashahe Tantao) or Kita (Kitasja Tantha) by which man
may hope to reach the Father in Heaven.

1 'I am on the side of those who preserve order, not
on that of those who create disorder/' says Ahura
Mazda in the Ham Yasht.

"There is but one Path," we are warned in the
Yasna, "the Path of Asha; all other paths are false
paths."

What reward awaits the man who treads this Path
is exquisitely indicated in the following verse of the
Hush bam (the Dawn Hymn):

"O Ahura Mazda! grant that through the best Asha,
through the most perfect Asha, we may catch sight of
Thee, we may approach Thee, we may be united with
Thee!"

Thus Asha, purity, leading from bodily health and
vigour to mental and spiritual health and strength, is
the most sublime elaboration of the conception of
cleanliness being next to godliness. Not only is cleanli-
ness next to godliness, but it is also in itself a form of
godliness.

Man pleases Ahura Mazda by practising truth.

"Let us reach the paths of truthfulness, wherein
abides Ahura Mazda, through his Holiness," prays a
devout Zoroastrian. It is said in Gatha Ushtavaiti,
"Whoever shows the beneficial paths of truthfulness
(to another) in this corporeal world, wherein is the

i 2o The Religion of the Good Life

abode of Ahura Mazda, attains supreme good for-
tune."

Many a classical author refers with approbation to
the systematic manner in which the virtue of truthful-
ness was cultivated among the ancient Iranians. "Be-
ginning from the age of five years to twenty/* said
Herodotus, "they instruct their sons in three things
only, to ride, to shoot with the bow, and to speak the
truth." "To tell a lie," says the same author, "is
considered by them the greatest disgrace; next to
that, to be in debt; and this for many other reasons,
but especially because they think that one who is in
debt must of necessity tell lies. 1 '*

Justice

Justice, according to the Avesta, goes with truthful-
ness. Hence, Arshtat, or Ashtad, the Yazata who pre-
sides over truthfulness, is often an associate of Rashnu,
the Yazata presiding over justice. On the Judgment
Day, the fourth day after death, when the soul of the
deceased is judged by Meher Davar, that dispenser of
justice is helped in his work by Arshtat and Rashnu. In
his daily prayers a Zoroastrian invokes Rashnu in these
words;

"We invoke the truthfully spoken word. We invoke
righteous obedience. We invoke noble righteousness.
We invoke the words which impart manliness. We
invoke the victory-giving peace. . . . We invoke

* Cary*s translation, p. 61.

The Zoroastnan Code of Ethics i 2 1

truth which brings about prosperity to the world,
and benefit to the world, and which is (the chief
characteristic of) Mazda-yasnan religion. We Invoke
the most truthful Rashnu" (Visparad vii. i, 2).

"A truly uttered speech/' it is said in the Sarosh
Yast Hadokht, "is the most victorious in assembly. 9 *
Declaring that true evidence and justice are pleasing
to God, the Gathas exhort the devotee to cultivate
the virtue of impartiality and justice. "Fight your
cause by fair means even with your enemies/' is
anothei injunction. So great is the estimation in which
justice is held that a holy, just, and impartial judge is
compared to Ahura Mazda and to the Ameshaspends,
and an unjust judge to Ahriman and the Daevas*

Similarly, good government, according to the
Minokherad, is that which designs and directs that
the city may be prosperous, its poor relieved from
hardship, and which repeals unjust laws and rules
and promulgates laws and ordinances that are just
and fair.

The Meher Yasht begins with the following exhorta-
tion to be faithful to one's pledge. "The man guilty
of being untrue to his pledge is guilty of an act
tantamount to injuring the whole country. Do not,
therefore, break a plighted pact, be it made with an
Asho or a Darvand, for both are vows alike ; it does not
matter whether a pledge is given to a Darvand or to
one of your own ways/*

Similarly, the Yasna insists on faithful discharge of
one's debts. "In all (dealings) debts must be paid

122 The Religion of the Good Life

with true thought, true word, and true deed to the
men to whom they are due."

Chastity

Sanctity of wedded life is one of the virtues insisted
upon in the religion of Zarathushtra. It demands, from
husband and wife alike, "devotion to the Good Mind
and holiest deeds of fidelity." What is heinous in
woman is equally loathsome in man. The Zoroastrian
code of ethics thus places both the sexes on a level
unparalleled in the history of Asiatic people.

"Him, O Pouruchista, thou of the family of
Haechataspa and Spitama, youngest of Zarathushtra's
daughters, has he (the Prophet) chosen as thy husband,
him who is devoted to the Good Mind, Righteousness,
and Mazda. Counsel then with him with thy wisdom
and do with good intent the holiest deeds of devo-
tion."

"Unto maidens marrying, I speak words of monition
and unto ye bridegrooms, lay them to heart, wise with
precepts, strive for the life of the Good Mind that
the home-life of each shall be happy" (Yasna

S3* 3 <T>-

The woman who keeps her feet constantly in the
path of chastity is assigned the exalted rank of a
Yazata* "The righteous woman, rich in good thoughts,
good words, and good deeds, well-instructed and
accomplished, obedient to her husband and chaste,
and such as Aramaiti (Devotion) the bounteous is, and

The Zoroastrian Code of Ethics 123

such as other female Yazatas are" (Gah. iv. 9). On
the other hand, the woman who strays from that path
is reprehended as worse than a viper or a she-wolf.
There is no place for a courtesan In the social organiza-
tion of the Zoroastrians. "Her look dries up a third
of the mighty flowing waters; her look takes away a
third of the growth of the blooming, beautiful, green-
coloured trees, her look takes away a third of the
verdure of the bountiful earth, her touch takes away
a third of the courage, victory, and truthfulness of a
righteous person of good thought, good words, good
deeds. Therefore, I say unto thee, O Spitama Zara-
thushtra, that such a one is more deserving of death
than gliding snakes, or howling wolves, or the prowling
she- wolf that falls upon the fold, or the she-frog that
rushes into the water with her thousandfold brood"
( Vend i dad xviii . 6365).

Self-help

As a practical religion, Zoroastrianism lays par-
ticular emphasis on self-help, industry, and dignity of
labour.

"With self-help one becomes independent" (Yasna

9> *)

"I shall chase away Sloth, which makes one lean.
I shall chase away Sloth, the long-handed" (Vendidad
xL 9).

" Arise, O men, praise the best purity, smite down
the daevas* Otherwise, the long-handed Sloth, who

124 The Religion of the Good Life

lulls the whole material world to sleep, again will
rush towards you as soon as the day breaks and men
are wide awake. O men! it does not behove you to
sleep for a long time" (Vendidad xviii. 16).

"Eat of your own regular industry" (Ashirwad).

"No harm to the honest and the industrious, living
among the wicked* ' (Yasna 19, 6).

* 'Never, O Mazda! shall the deceitful lazy have a
share of the good creed" (Yasna 31, 16).

Whoso Sows Corn Sows Righteousness

1 ' Creator of the material world, Thou righteous one!
What is the way for furthering the Mazda- Yasnan
religion?"

To this question Ahura Mazda replies:

"Incessant cultivation of corn, O Spitama Zara-
thushtra! Whoso cultivates corn cultivates righteous-
ness; he advances the Mazda- Yasnan religion with a
hundred feet, he suckles the Mazdayasnan religion
with a thousand breasts and strengthens it with ten
thousand offerings."

In these words of profound philosophical significance
the Sage of Iran preached the gospel of work work
as opposed to sloth, industry as opposed to and as an
antidote for destitution and degradation.

Idleness is the parent of want and shame. It invokes
the demons of hunger and thirst, sickness and suffering,
dependence and disease.

The Zoroastrian Code of Ethics 125

"Whoso does not till this earth
With the left arm and the "right,
With the right arm and the left,
Then unto him says the earth, 4 O thou,
Who dost not till me
With the left arm and the right,
With the right arm and the left,
Verily shalt thou stand,
Leaning at the door of the stranger
Among those that beg for food;
The refuse, indeed, for thee
Will they bring as food,
Those who have profusion of good things.* '*

The chief weapon with which one could have fought
the fiends of hunger and thirst in the days of Zara-
thushtra was agriculture, the only important industry
of the age. It is said in the Vendidadi

"When corn grows the demons start in dismay;
when the sprouts are out, the demons cough; when
the stalks are seen, the demons shed tears; when the
ears are out, the demons take to their heels; in the
house where the corn is turned into flour, the demons
are smitten;

c 'It seems as if it turned
Red hot iron in their jaws
When corn is stored in plenty."

126 The Religion of the Good Life

Care of Cattle

In words typical of the pastoral age the Prophet
pays homage to the cow: * 'Praise to the cow, good
words to the cow, victory to the cow, food and
pasture to the cow! Let us work for the kine, for they
yield us our food! (Yasna 20).

Care for and maintenance of gospend, innocent and
useful domestic animals, such as cows, goats, sheep,
and dogs, is a virtue specially inculcated by the Prophet
of Iran.

"May we be- one in spirit with the Behman Ames-
haspend of good mind," prays the devout Zoroastrian,
"who spreads peace in the midst of good creation.
Animals of all kinds in the world are under his pro-
tection. Those, from whom these animals get food,
maintenance, and protection, and are well-clothed.
Sufficient vesture clothes them."

"Whoever wishes to propitiate Vohu Manah (the
Ameshaspend presiding over Good Mind and over the
animal creation) in the world and wishes to act for
his happiness is he who wishes to promote the things
of Vohu Manah ; it is necessary for him, so that Vohu
Manah may be ever with him, that he should pro-
pitiate, at every place and time, the well-yielding
cattle in whatever has happened and whatever occurs
and should act for their happiness ; and in the terrible
days of troubled times which befell them, he should
afford them protection from the oppressive and idle.
He should not give them as a bribe to a man who is a

The Zoroastnan Code of Ethics 127

wicked tyrant, but should keep them in a pleasant and
warm locality and place; and in summer he should
provide them a store of straw and com, so that it is
not necessary to keep them on the pastures in winter.
. . He should not drive them apart from their
young, and should not put the young apart from their
milk. Since they are counterparts of him (Vohu Manah)
in this world, the well-yielding cattle, whoever pro-
pitiates those which are well-yielding cattle, his fame
subsists in the world, and the splendour* of Ahura
Mazda becomes his own in the best existence"
(Shayast la Shayast, xv. 9-11).

Compassion

Compassionas mentioned as an attribute and crown-
ing glory of the strong. "The mightiest in the
mightiest, becoming the throned monarch better than
his crown, an attribute of God Himself."
. Zarathushtra asks Ahura Mazda: "How are we to
worship Thee and Thy Amesha-Spenta?"

Lord Almighty replies: "He who desires to please
Ahura Mazda in this world, must desire to develop
(i.e. to further the increase of) the creation of Ahura
Mazda! It is necessary that the person to whom Ahura
Mazda is attached should please the righteous by
relieving suffering and protecting them from the evil-
minded (PaKIavi Pdvayet attached to the Shayast la
Shayast, xv. 3 and 7).

128 The Religion of the Good Life

Chanty

In the list of the positive virtues which a follower
of Zarathushtra is expected to cultivate, charity takes
the foremost place. It is one of the fundamental
precepts of the creed.

"He who gives succour to the helpless poor,
acknowledges the kingdom of God" (Ahunavar)*

"O Mazda! What is your Kingdom? What is your
Will, by acting according to which I may come unto
your friendship ? "

Ahura Mazda replies: "You will come unto my
friendship by helping your poor fellow-men who live
righteously and with good mind" (Gatha Ahunavad,
Yasna 24, ).

"Ye Zoroastrian Mazdayasnans ! Hold your hands
and feet steady. . . . Relieve those who have fallen
in distress" (Visparadxv. i).

"Grant me ... a child . . . that relieves dis-
tress" (Atash Nyaesh, Yasna 62, 5").

Another invocation in the Yasna runs :

"May, in this house, generosity triumph over
stinginess ! ' '

It must, however, be judicious and discriminating
charity. While it is meritorious to extend one's bounty
towards deserving objects, it is reprehensible to
extend it to those who are unworthy of it.

Miserliness is reprobated. "He who, though quite
able, does not readily give in charity, shall go to
destruction without attempting to avert it."

The Zoroastrian Code of Ethics 129

* 'He who is without charitable feeling in him . . .

let torment freely come to him."

There is no place for the selfish and the sordid in
the Zoroastrian fraternity. The prayers and offerings
of such persons are not acceptable to God. "I will not
accept/ 9 says Lord Almighty in the Aban Yasht, "the
offerings proffered to me by ... wicked, cruel,
selfish persons, M

Promotion of Education

Charity consists not merely in relieving distress
and satisfying the physical wants of those around us,
but also in ministering to their intellectual, moral,
and spiritual wants. The religious books of the Parsis,
therefore, emphasize the duty of providing facilities
for the education of all men and women, married or
single, virtuous or vicious. It is a specially meritorious
act to help those who are in need of help to be
educated.

"If men here come as co-religionists or brethren
or friends ... to seek knowledge . . . let those
who seek for knowledge, be given that knowledge
with holy words . . ." (Vendidad iv. 44).

"He who desires the light of knowledge desires
the gifts of an Athravan (spiritual teacher). He who
desires for the fullness of knowledge, desires the gift
of an Athravan* (Zamyad Yasht liii).

The reference to the Athravan may be read with the
following verse from the Vendidad:

130 The Religion of the Good Life

44 Him thou shalt call an Athravan, O holy Zara-
thushtra, who throughout the whole night seeks for
joy-producing knowledge which delivers him from
affliction, which bestows comfort at the Chinvat
Bridge, which obtains for him the desires of the world,
which makes him attain to purity, and which makes
him attain to the best thing of the best Existence
(Paradise)."

"Do not keep your wife, children, co-citizens,
and your own self without education, so that grief
and misery may not befall you and you may not
have cause to repent" (Pand-Namah-i Adarbad Mara-
spend xiv).

"Which is the highest of all deeds of men?"

The answer to this poser in the Dinkard is: "To give
knowledge to those who are fit to receive it and to
give birth to every kind of holiness."

In another Pahlavi text, the Sikand-Gomanik-Vijar,
it is said: "One who, from the little knowledge which
he has given to those who are fit for it, is more accept-
able than he who, though he knows, yet does not
profit or help deserving persons."

That epithet "deserving" introduced in the later
injunctions should not be taken to exclude sinners.
The Prophet of Iran emphasized the duty of correcting
and improving those that had been lured away from
the Path of Righteousness. The best service a man
can render to society consists not merely in one's
own virtuous conduct and deeds, but also in bringing
about a reform in society by the dissemination of

The Zoroastrian Code of Ethics 131

knowledge among the members thereof, virtuous and
vicious alike.

It is said in the Yasna that he who tries to check
the activities of a man of vicious tendencies by
instructing him, after chastising him, offers a love-
service acceptable to Ahura Mazda.

41 He who chastises the vicious either by word, or
by thought, or by both the hands, and who giveth
instruction to that vicious person in anything that is
good 5 such persons are devoted unto the Will of
Ahura Mazda according to the pleasure of Ahura
Mazda/'

The duty of ministering to the moral and spiritual
needs of one's fellow-citizens, thus enjoined, cannot
be lightly overlooked. No matter how virtuous a man
may be, if he ignores this paramount obligation, eh
shall have to pay the penalty for it on the day of
judgment. Says the Bundehesh: "Every body will see
(the consequence) of his good actions or evil actions.
At the end, in the midst of the Anjuman, the sinful
will be conspicuous in the same way as a white sheep
is conspicuous in the midst of black sheep. In that
assembly a sinful person will thus complain against
his or her righteous friend in this world who failed
to lead him to the path of righteousness: 'Why did
you not teach me to perform the virtuous deeds
which you performed?* The righteous man shall
then have to quit the assembly, much discomforted
for having neglected the duty/*

132 The Religion of the Good Life

Service and Beneficence

A good deed is superior to ten thousand recitals or
prayers.

4 'Be most beneficent/' runs the exhortation In
Afrin-e Buzorgan, "as is the Lord Ahura Mazda to His
creations." Similarly, the Visparad inculcates the
gospel of service and saciifice:

"Be ready with your feet, hands, and understanding,
O Mazdayasnan Zarathushtrian, for the prompt dis-
charge of good, fitting, and timely deeds, for the
avoidance of inappropriate and untimely wicked deeds.
Be alert to accomplish in this world good deeds and
to afford help to the helpless and the needy."

According to the admonition given in the Banam~i-
/zacf, a Zoroastrian should render unto himself an
account of his daily deeds. Before retiring every day
he should carefully ask himself and ponder over these
questions: "How many good deeds have I done to-day;
how many good deeds am I able to perform? How
many bad deeds have I committed; how can I abstain
from sin?"

Practical Philosophy of the Creed

Such is the practical morality and philosophy of
Zoroastrianism. It is to these doctrines of piety and
truth, industry and self-help, compassion and charity,
humanity and service, that the survival of the faith
of Zarathushtra till this day as the Religion of the

The Zoioastrian Code of Ethics 133

Good Life is due. One of the most elevating marriage
benedictions is Hukerdar bed chun Harmazd pa daman-i-
Khesh, meaning "Be a doer of good deeds as Ahura
Mazda is to His own creation." This is in keeping with
the entire tenor of the philosophy of Zarathushtra's
creed, which makes correspondence with the character
and purpose of God the essence of the good life for
man.

"BE LIKE GOD!" These are the three words in
which the entire philosophy of life may be summed up.
Likeness to God is the only way of communion with
the Heavenly Father. There is no other path to
Heaven.

Chapter XIV
WORSHIP

IN the teachings of Zarathushtra, as embodied in his
Gathas, there is hardly any mention of the ritual of
worship. No offerings; no sacrifices; only the heart's
yearnings and the soul's striving are the gifts demanded
of the devotee. This is all the more remarkable as the
orthodox form of worship in ancient Iran included
animal sacrifices and offerings to the daevas.

In consonance with the teaching of the Prophet, the
devotion of his followers merely takes the form of
fervent exaltation of moral and spiritual ideals and an
ardent desire for the cultivation of such ideals. The
very first prayer that a Zoroastrian child is taught to
recite is Ashem Vohu, a very brief prayer in praise of
Asha, or righteousness. This is one of the sacred for-
mulae of great importance, spoken of as Mathra Spenta
in the Avestan texts. There are many such spells of
varying degrees of efficacy, but the greatest of all, the
Word par excellence of the Zoroastrian theology, the
most excellent, the most mighty, the most efficacious,
the most healing, the most smiting, and the most
victorious, is the Ahuna V airy a. It is made up of twenty-
one words, every one of which corresponds to one of

Worship 1 3

the Nasks, which make up the complete Holy Writ
of the Zoroastrians. Of all the sacred formulae that
have ever been pronounced, or are now recited, or
will hereafter be recited, this Word which Ahura
Mazda Himself pronounced when the world was not,
and which He announced to the Holy Prophet, is the
best. It is, in fact, the quintessence of the entire
scriptures. A single recitation of it earns for the wor-
shipper merit equivalent to that of singing a hundred
Gathas. Zarathushtra himself repelled the Evil Spirit,
when the latter tempted him, by chanting aloud the
same Word of mysterious power.*

Homage to Ahura Mazda

" Through good mind and through rectitude and
through the deeds and words of wisdom, we come
near unto Thee. Unto Thee we pay our homage, and
we acknowledge ourselves Thy debtors, O Mazda
Ahura! With all good thought and with all good
words and with all good deeds we come near unto
Thee."

"As Thou, O Ahura Mazda, hast thought and spoken,
decreed and done what is good, so do we give unto
Thee, praise Thee, and worship Thee. Thus do we
pay homage unto Thee and acknowledge ourselves
Thy debtors/*

"Grant, O Mazda, for this life and the spiritual

* Vide p. 10 1, ante (Chapter x).

136 The Religion of the Good Life

life, that we may attain to fellowship with Thee and
righteousness for all Time."

"Unto Thy good kingdom, Mazda Ahura, may we
attain for ever. In both the worlds, O most Wise One
among beings, art Thou the good king of us, men and
women. We dedicate ourselves unto Thee, of good
renown, the adorable one, the possessor of truth;
therefore, O most Wise One among beings in both
the worlds, be Thou unto us our life and body. May
we deserve and obtain, O Mazda Ahura, lifelong joy
in Thee! May we love Thee and lean upon Thee for
strength. O most Wise One among beings, cheer
us and make us happy for all time!"

"So Zarathushtra gives , as an offering, even the life
of his body and the excellence of good thought unto
Mazda, and willing obedience and power of deeds
and words unto righteousness."

"And this will we choose for ourselves, O Mazda
Ahura, and O beautiful Asha! that we think, speak,
and do deeds that are the best of all deeds for the
world. By reason of the rewards for these best deeds,
we will strive, both lettered and unlettered, rulers
and servants, to give rest and fodder to the cattle.
Evermore we will, so far as in us lies, keep possession
of and impart to others the rule of the best ruler and
prepare it, namely, the rule of Mazda Ahura and Asha
Vahishta. And as every one knows clearly man or
woman so shall one do for oneself according to one's
best knowledge that which is good, and further teach
it to those who should do it as the case may be. Since

Worship 137

we reckon as the best, offering of worship and homage
to Ahura Mazda and the feeding of the cattle, that
we do and also teach others to do to the best of our
ability. In the rule of Asha and amongst the people of
Asha, there is for every man the best life as reward
in both the worlds. And these* Thy revelations, O
Ahura Mazda, we will propagate with the best thought
of Asha."

"Grant me that, O Mazda, which will be a source
of joy to Thee!"

"May we be the seekers of Mazda's rejoicing and
may we pay our homage to Him with humility!"

* * O Mazda Ahura ! Lifting up my hands in all humility
to Thee, who are Invisible and Munificent, I pray with
joy for righteous actions, for benevolent thoughts,
so that I may thereby rejoice the Soul of the Uni-
verse!"

The following are some of the daily prayers, or
extracts therefrom:

Confirmation

" Victory to the truest and holy religion of divine
knowledge made by Mazda!

"Triumph of the good Mazdayasnian Zoroastrian
Faith!

"That's the good, righteous, and unpolluted re-
ligion, which Ahura Mazda has sent to this world,
and which is brought to us by Zarathushtra, the
Prophet.

138 The Religion of the Good Life

"The Zoroastrian Faith of Ahura Mazda is granted
to Zarathushtra for his Righteousness,

"Righteousness is good, righteousness is the best.'*

Morning Prayer

"Hail! O Dawn! Hail to Thee!
Hail! in order to sacrifice all that is greatest to

Him

Who is Ahura Mazda,

The Corporeal as well as the Spiritual Lord.
In order to crush the evil Angra Mainyu,
To destroy the demon of Anger, deadly armed;
To crush the devils of Mazandaran ;
To annihilate all evil spirits.
We here respectfully remember all pious Men

and Women of all the World,
All that are, and were and are to be."

Night Prayer

'We respectfully here remember the Angel Sraosha,

The holy and the beautiful,

The earthly promoter and the victorious holy
lord.

We remember him, who, himself awake, protects
the creations of Ahura; who, himself awake,
preserves the creatures of Mazda,

Worship 139

We remember him, who fights against the devils
of Mazandaran, all day and night.

We remember him, who is the Protector and
Supervisor of the World/'

The Path to the Lord

"O Holiness! when shall we see thee,
And thou Good Mind, as we discover
Obedience, the Path to the Lord,
To Mazda, the most beneficent?
With that Manthra we will teach
Foul heretics faith in our Lord.
Come with the Good Mind and give us
Asha-gifts, O Thou eternal!
Grant that to us by whose aid
We may crush the evils of the evil."

"We Praise These!"

"We praise the intelligence of Ahura Mazda, in order

to grasp the holy word.
We praise the wisdom of Ahura Mazda, in order to

study the holy word.
We praise the tongue of Ahura Mazda, in order to

speak forth the holy word.
We adore, every day and night, the mount Ushi-

darena, the Giver of Intelligence.
Beloved of Gaokerena made by Mazda, we praise

him the more, more than any other of the Pious . * *

140 The Religion of the Good Life

Ideal Man and Woman

"We praise the pious Woman, well-versed in good
thoughts, words, and deeds, well-educated,
honouring the husband, holy and bounteous like
Spenta Aramaiti and Thy other female Yazatas,
O Ahura Mazda!

We praise the pious Man, well-versed in good
thought, words, and deeds, steadfast in piety,
and 'the holy lord of the ritual.' "

"Work is Worship"

< Hold ready, O Mazdayasnian Zoroastrians ! Your feet,
your hands , and your intelligence ;

In .order to perform good deeds, according to the
Law and at the right time.

In order to avoid bad deeds, which are not according
to the Law and are done at the wrong time.

Let us set our feet in industrial pursuits.

And place above want those that are needy.* 9

PART TWO
RITUAL

Chapter I
SOCIO-RELIGIOIIS CEREMONIES

Birth Ceremonies

e( l PREFER," says Ahura Mazda in the Vendidad, "a
person with children to one without children/* Even
the soil feels happy where a man with children lives.
This conviction makes the advent of a child doubly
welcome in a Zoroastrian home. We do not find in the
Avesta any reference to pregnancy rites. In the later
Pahlavi and Persian books, however, we find refer-
ences to certain rites. For instance, the Sayast la Sayast
directs that during the days of pregnancy a fire may
be maintained most carefully in the house. According
to the Vendidad, the place for delivery must be very
clean, dry, and least frequented by others. After de-
livery, the mother should avoid contact with fire,
water, and the baresman (i.e. the sacred ceremonial
apparatus) of the house. It enjoins a period of twelve
days for such isolation in the case of a still-born child.

Marriage Ceremonies

After prolonged contact with the Hindus in India,
the present-day followers of Zarathushtra have adopted

144 The Religion of the Good Life

several Hindu marriage customs and ceremonies, but
the strictly religious part of the ceremony, as per-
formed by the officiating priests, is more or less ortho-
dox Iranian and is conducted mainly in the later
Pazand language. It consists of :

(1) Preliminary benedictions.

(2) Questions to the marrying couple and the wit-

ness on either side.

(3) Joint address by the two officiating priests.

The senior priest blesses the couple in these words:

"May the Creator, the Omniscient Lord, grant you
a progeny of sons and grandsons, plenty of means to
provide yourselves, abiding love, bodily strength, long
life for a hundred and fifty years.'*

Thrice during the course of the benediction a de-
claration of the witnesses and of the bride and bride-
groom is taken by the priest. The witness on behalf
of the bridegroom's family is first asked:

"In the presence of this assembly that has met to-
gether in the city of on day of month

of the year of the era of Emperor Yazdagard of

the Sassanian dynasty of auspicious Iran, say, whether

you have agreed to take this maiden by name,

in marriage for this bridegroom, in accordance with
the rites and rules of the Mazdayasnans, promising to
pay her 2,000 dirams of pure white silver and two
dinars of real gold of the Nishapur coinage. ' '

"I have agreed," replies the witness.

Then the following question is put to the other wit-

Soda-Religious Ceremonies 145*

ness: "Have you and your family with righteous mind,
and truthful thoughts, words, and actions, and for the
increase of righteousness, agreed to give for ever this
bride in marriage to ? J>

He replies: "We have agreed."

The priest then asks the couple: "Have you agreed
to enter into this contract of marriage (and abide by
it) till the last day of your life, with a righteous mind?' '

Both reply: We have agreed,"

Then follows the recital of the Paevandanama, or
Ashirwady an address replete with benedictions,
admonitions, and prayers, by the two officiating priests
who keep on showering on the couple grains of rice
as an emblem of happiness and plenty.

The Ashirwad is not merely a benedictory address;
it is also a little sermon which closes with a short
prayer. Likewise, the admonitory part of it is not
merely a homily exhorting the bride and the bride-
groom to cultivate good qualities, to do good and to
shun evil ; it is also a discourse for the entire assembly
on worldly wisdom and a key to success in life. As an
illustration, the following extracts may be noted:

"Do not quarrel with the revengeful. Never be a
partner with an avaricious man. Do not be a comrade
of a back-biter. Do not join the company of persons
of ill-fame. Do not co-operate with the ill-informed.
Do not enter into any discussion with persons of bad
report. Speak in an assembly after mature considera-
tion. Speak withmoderation in the presence of kings/'

"Oh, ye good men/* says the officiating priest,

146 The Religion of the Good Life

'may good accrue to you as the result of perfect good
thoughts, perfect good words, and perfect good deeds!
May that piety come to you which Is the best of all
good. May not sinful life, which is the worst of all
evil, come to you. . . . Righteousness is the best
gift and happiness. Happiness to him who is righteous
for the sake of the best righteousness!"

In the concluding paragraph of the Ashirwad the
married couple is blest in these terms:

"May they have light and glory, physical strength,
physical health, and physical success ; wealth that may
bring with it much happiness, children blest with
innate wisdom, a very long life and the blissful paradise,
which is due to the pious! May it be so as I wish it! 3 '

Funeral Ceremonies

It will be convenient to treat the funeral ceremonies
and observances under the following two heads:

(1) Ceremonies relating to the disposal of the dead.

(2) Ceremonies relating to the soul.

Disposal of the Dead

To maintain fire, air, water, and earth pure and
undefiled is a cardinal principle of the Zoroastrian
creed. It is enjoined that the body of a person, after
the soul has left it, should with due respect to the
deceased be disposed of in such a manner as not to

Sodo-Rcligious Ceremonies 147

defile these elements or to injure the living. Accord-
ingly, the followers of the creed do not burn or bury
their dead, or consign them to the water. They
merely expose the dead, on the top of a high hill, to
the heat of the Sun, there to be devoured by carni-
vorous birds. Their funeral ceremonies are likewise
based on the ancient Zoroastrian. ideas of sanitation ,
segregation, and purification. All the ceremonies of
this order appear to have anticipated the prophylactic
measures taken in modern times for the prevention of
epidemics, namely, (i) breaking the contact of the
living with the real or supposed centre of infection,
and (2) destroying such a centre itself. As a matter of
precaution, all cases of death are treated as infectious,
and the followers of the faith are warned that they
should bring themselves, as little as possible, Into
contact with dead bodies.

Soon after death, the corpse is washed and a clean
suit of clothes is put over it. The Kusti, or the sacred
thread, is then put round the body with a prayer.
The corpse is placed on the ground in a comer of the
front room on large slabs of stone, or impermeable,
hard, dry clods of earth. The hands are folded upon
the chest crosswise. After the corpse is placed on
slabs of stone, one of the two professional corpse-
bearers, to whom the body is entrusted, draws round
it three Kashas, or circles, with a metallic bar or nail,
thus reserving temporarily the marked plot of ground
for the corpse so as to prevent the living from going
near it and catching infection.

148 The Religion of the Good Life

The dead body is then shown to a dog with two
eye-like spots just above the eyes. It is believed that
this particular kind of spotted (Chathru C&tfsmtf, literally,
* 'the four-eyed") dog has the faculty to detect whether
life in the body is extinct or not. It is expected to
stare steadily at the body, if life is extinct ; but not
even to look at it if otherwise.

Fire is then brought into the room in a vase and is
kept burning with fragrant sandalwood and frank-
Incense. Before the fire sits a priest who recites th$
Avestan texts till the time of the removal of the corpse
to the Tower, and keeps the fire burning. The corpse
may be removed to the Tower at any time during the
day, but not at night, as the body must be exposed
to the Sun.

About an hour before the time fixed for the removal
of the body to the Tower, two or, if the body is
heavier, four Nassasalars, i.e. corpse-bearers, clothed
completely in white, enter the house. In the case of a
death due to an infectious disease, all the exposed
parts of the body, except the face, are covered up, so
as to prevent infection through any uncovered part.
They carrya bier, called gehan, invariably made of iron,
to remove the body. Wood being porous and, therefore,
likely to carry and spread germs of disease and
infection, its use is strictly prohibited in the funeral
ceremonies.

The corpse-bearers place the bier by the side of the
coipse. They then recite in a suppressed tone the
following formula of grace, and remain silent up to

Soda-Religious Ceremonies 149

the time of the final disposal of the corpse in the
Tower of Silence.

ci (We do this) according to the dictates of Ahura
Mazda, according to the dictates of the Amesha-Spenta,
according to the dictates of the Holy Sraosha, accord-
ing to the dictates of Adarbad Maraspend, and
according to the dictates of the Dastur of the age!"

They sit silent by the side of the corpse. If there
is any occasion on which they must break silence, they
do so In a subdued tone, without opening the lips.

Then follows the 4< Geh-Sarna' J ceremony, i.e. the
recital of the Gatha, which is intended to be an admoni-
tion to the survivors to bear with fortitude the loss
of the deceased. After this, the corpse is again shown
to the dog; the relatives and friends, who have by
this time assembled at the house, then have a last
look of the deceased. After the geh-sarna ceremony,
the mourners pass, one by one, before the corpse,
to have a last look and to bow before it as a mark
of respect.

The corpse-bearers then cover the face with a piece
of cloth and secure the body to the bier with a few
straps of cloth. They carry the bier out of the house
and entrust it to the Khandias, another set of corpse-
bearers, whose business it is to carry the bier on their
shoulders to the Tower.

When the bier reaches the Tower, it is put on the
ground outside ; the corpse-bearers uncover the face,
and those who have accompanied the funeral pro-
cession pay their respects and have a last look from a

The Religion of the Good Life

distance of at least three paces. After the dead body is
once more exposed to the sight of the * 'four-eyed'*
dog, for the last time, the gate of the Tower is opened.
The Nassasalars, who took the corpse out of the house
and have accompanied the corpse to the last resting-
place, now take over the bier from the carriers and
take it into the Tower, and place the dead body on
the space set apart for it. They then tear off the clothes
from the body of the deceased and leave it on the
floor of the Tower. Naked one comes into this world ;
naked one leaves it.

The body is exposed and left uncovered, so that
the eye of the flesh-devouring birds may be drawn
to it. The sooner it is eaten up, the fewer the chances
of further decomposition, and the greater the safety
of the living. The clothes removed from the corpse
are thrown in a pit outside the Tower, where they
are destroyed by the combined action of heat, air, and
rain. In Bombay they are destroyed with sulphuric
acid.

On completing their work the corpse-bearers lock
the Tower. Thereupon an attendant claps his hands as
a signal to all those who have accompanied the funeral
procession and who have by this time taken their seats
at some distance from the Tower. They all get up
from their seats and recite the rest of the Sraosh baj
prayer, of which, before joining the procession, they
had recited only a part. This is followed by a short
prayer, in which they say: "We repent of all our sins.
Our respects to you (the souls of the departed). We

Socio-Religious Ceremonies 151

remember here the souls of the dead who are the
spirits of the holy."

The Tower of Silence

"O Holy Creator of the Material World! Where are
we to carry the bodies of the dead? O Ahura Mazda!
Where are we to place them? 1 ' asks Zarathushtra in
the Vendidad.

Ahura Mazda replies: (< O Spitama Zarathushtra, on
the most elevated place/ 5

In the earliest times corpses were exposed on the
summits of high mountains without any inclosures.
When the bones were denuded of flesh by dogs, vul-
tures and other carnivorous birds, and rendered abso-
lutely dry, and desiccated in the course of a year, they
were removed and preserved in Astodans, that is,
receptacles for the preservation of bones, the stone-
urns referred to by classical authors. The Astodans
were made of stone, mortar, or any other durable
substance capable of withstanding infection, as the
means of the relatives of the deceased permitted. The
existing Towers of Silence are so constructed as to
secure the ready disposal of the flesh and the 'preser-
vation of the bones; and it is recognized that the
modern method is superior to the ancient, inasmuch
as it does not involve defilement of a large area of
ground and recognizes no distinction between the rich
and the poor. All bones are disposed of in the same
well, establishing equality of all in death.

1 5- 2 The Religion of the Good Life

The Bombay Towers of Silence

The best example of the modern method is to be
seen in the Bombay Towers of Silence. It is a round,
massive structure, built entirely of solid stone. A few
steps from the ground lead to an iron gate which opens
on a circular platform of solid stone with a circular
well in the centre. The circular platform inside the
Tower, about three hundred feet in circumference, is
paved with large stone slabs, well-cemented, and
divided into three rows of shallow, open receptacles,
corresponding to the triad, good thought, good word,
good deed. The first row is used for corpses of men,
the second for corpses of women, and the third for
corpses of children.

There are footpaths for corpse-bearers to move
about. A deep central well (bhandar) in the Tower,
about one hundred and fifty feet in circumference (the
sides and bottom of which are also paved with stone
slabs), is used for depositing the dry bones. The
corpse is completely stripped of its flesh by vultures
within an hour or two, and the bones of the denuded
skeleton, when perfectly dried up by atmospheric
influences and the powerful heat of the tropical sun,
are thrown into this well, where they gradually
crumble to dust, chiefly consisting of lirne and
phosphorus.

In the compound of the Tower, at a short distance
from it, there is a small building called sagri, where a
sacred fire is kept burning day and night. In mofussil

Soda-Religious Ceremonies 153

towns, where it is not possible to do so ? at least a

light is kept burning.

Ceremonies relating to the Soul of the Deceased

"O Ahura Mazda, Beneficent Spirit, Holy Creator
of the material world! when a pious man dies, where
dwells his soul for that night? . . . Where for the
second night? . , . Where for the third night ?" asks
Zarathushtra in the HadoMit Nask.

Ahura Mazda replies: "It remains at the place of
his body, singing the Ustavaiti Gatha 9 asking for blessed-
ness: ' Blessedness to him whom Ahura Mazda of His
own will grants blessedness!" "*

If it is the soul of a wicked man, it remains within
the precincts of this world for three nights. Remem-
bering all the sinfulness of its past life and feeling at a
loss wheie to go, it clamours: "Oh, Ahura Mazda!
To what land shall I turn? Where shall I go?"

The soul of a dead person that thus remains within
the precincts of this world is under the special pro-
tection of Sraosha, whom Ahura Mazda has appointed
to guard the souls of men during life and after death.
The religious ceremonies for the soul of the dead
during the first three days are, therefore, performed in
the name of, or with the propitiatory formulae of
invocation (Khshnuman) of, Sraosha. The Shayast~la-
Shayast enjoins: "During all the three days, it is neces-

* Vide Hang's Texts and Translation in the Book of Arda VlraJ,
pp. 309-10.

i 4 The Religion of the Good Life

sary to perform the ceremony (Yazisn of Sraoska)
because Sraosha will be able to save his soul from the
hands of the daevas during the three days ; and when
one constantly performs a ceremony at every period
(gah) in the three days, it is as good as though he
should celebrate the whole religious ritual at one
time."

At the commencement of every gah, two or more
priests and the relatives of the deceased recite the
Sraosh baj and the formula of the particular gah 9 and
the patit, or the penitence prayer, with the Khshnu-
man of Sraosha. At night two priests perform the
Af ring an ceremony in honour of Sraosha. They sit on
a carpet face to face, with an altar of fire and a
metallic tray between them. The senior priest, who
has the tray before him, is called the Zaotar, or in-
voking priest. The other, who has the altar of fire
before him, is called the Atarevaks, or the nourisher
of fire. The metallic tray contains a pot of pure water
and a few flowers.

The Zaotar begins the Afringan, invoking in the
course of the introductory portion, which is composed
in the Pazand language, the protection of Sraosha upon
the soul of the deceased, who is specifically mentioned
by name in the prayer. Both the priests then recite
together the seventh section of the Sraosha Yasht,
which sings the praises of the Yazata for the protection
it affords.

Besides these prayers and ceremonies, which are
performed for three days and nights at the house of the

Socio-Religious Ceremonies I $

deceased, the Yasna litany, and, sometimes, the
Vendidad with the Khshnuman of Sraosha, are recited
at an adjoining fire-temple for three successive
mornings and nights.

The Uthamna Ceremony

In the afternoon of the third day, a ceremony Is
performed, called the uthamna, before an assemblage
of friends and relatives of the deceased and a few
priests. The special prayers prescribed for this period
of the day, namely, the Sarosh Hadokht and the Patlt,
are recited, also a Pazand prayer with the Khshnuman
of Sraosha, wherein the name of the deceased is men-
tioned and the protection of Sraosha is implored for
him. This is an occasion for announcement of charities.
At the end of the ceremony, the relatives and friends
of the deceased generally announce donations to
charity funds in the niyat, or memory, of the
deceased.

Passage of the Soul to the Other World

On the dawn after the third night the soul is be-
lieved to pass on to the other world, crossing the
bridge called Chinvat, This bridge is guarded by the
Yazata Mithra. "When the third night ends and
the day breaks, with the first appearance of light in
the morning, the well-armed Mithra appears on the
Elysian heights.* This Yazata, who is known in the

* Vendidad xix. 28.

The 'Religion of the Good Life

later books as Meher Davar, i.e. Meher the Judge, Is
assisted by Rashnu, the Yazata of Justice, and Astad,
the Yazata of Truth. They judge the man's actions
during his-Iife time. If his good deeds outweigh the
bad ones even by a small particle, his soul is allowed
to pass over the bridge to Paradise ; if his good deeds
just balance his misdeeds, the soul goes to a place
called Bamestagan;* but if his misdeeds outweigh his
good deeds, even by a particle, he is flung deep down
into the abyss of hell/ 3

The dawn after the third night after death is,
therefore, regarded as a very important and solemn
occasion for the performance of religious ceremonies
for the benefit of the soul of the deceased. The
ceremonies performed in the afternoon on the
previous day are repeated; the Afrlngan and Baj
prayers are recited, and other ceremonies are per-
formed. This being the day of judgment, the relatives
and friends of the dead join in prayer for God's
mercy on his soul.

Baj ceremonies are recited, firstly in honour of the
Yazata Rashnu and Astad together, who help the
Yazata Meher; secondly, in honour of Rama Khvastra,
who is the Yazata presiding on the rarefied atmosphere,
or ether; thirdly, in honour of Ardafravash, i.e. the
holy spirits of all the departed souls, whom the
deceased has joined; and fourthly, in honour of
Sraosha, who guided the soul of the deceased in its
journey to the other world. When the Baj of Arda-

* Vendidad xix, 36.

Socio-Religious Ceiemonies

fravash is recited, a suit of white clothes, together with
the sacred bread and other votive offerings, is conse-
crated by the priest. This suit of clothes is called yav.
It is the vastra mentioned in the Fravardin Yast: "Who
will praise us ... with clothes in hand?"* This
suit of clothes is generally given as a gift to the priest
o?- to the poor. The other principal occasion, on which
the Afringan-Raj ceremonies should, according to the
scriptural injunctions, be performed in honour of the
dead, are the Cheharum, Dahum, Siwz, and Salroz, i.e.
the fourth day, the tenth day, the thirtieth day, and
the anniversary day.

Death does not put an end to the relation between
the deceased and the surviving members of his family.
According to the Zoroastrian belief, the holy spirit of
the dead continues to take an interest in the living.
If the surviving relatives cherish his memory, re-
member him with gratitude, and try to please Mm
with pious thoughts, pious words, and pious deeds,
the departed spirit takes an interest in their welfare,
and assists them with invisible helping hands. There-
fore, the most essential tribute with which a surviving
relative can please the holy spirits of his departed dear
ones consists of pious thoughts, words, and deeds.
Thus the performance of meritorious and charitable
deeds constitutes a connecting link between the living
and the dead. The scriptures praise * 'the brilliant deeds
of piety in which the souls of the deceased delight** ;f
and on the days dedicated to the memory of the

* Fray, Yast. xiii. 50. f Yasaa (Ha xvi. 7).

i $"8 The Religion of the Good Life

deceased, their relatives not only remember them and
pray that their souls may rest in peace, but also distri-
bute food and clothing among the poor of their com-
munity, and, if they can afford it, set aside various
sums In charity.

Chapter I!
PURIFICATION CEREMONIES

Yaozdao mashjvai aipi zahythem vahishta (Purity is the best
from, the very beginning of one*s life). This oft-re-
peated saying in the scriptures brings home to a
Zoroastrian the sublimity of purity. Purification is held
essential from the view-point of health as well as
morals. As the mind is believed to receive some sym-
pathetic aid from the purity of the body, and as cleanli-
ness influences one's moral character, purification of
the body is invariably regarded as an emblem of purity
of the mind.

Men and women corning in contact with impurities
must purify themselves, not only for their own good,
but also for the good of others. It is not enough that
they should keep their bodies clean; all household
articles and utensils likely to have been defiled should
also be purified. Even though they may not have come
into actual contact with impurities, should there be
the slightest suspicion that they have been affected in
some way, they should, as a matter of precaution,
purify themselves by means of various kinds of ablu-
tions, accompanied in certain cases by segregation
and performance of ceremonies. These purificatory

160 The Religion of the Good Life

ceremonies are divided into four categories: (i) Pad-
jab; (2) Nahn; (3) Bareshnum; and (4) Riman Si-shoe.

Padyab

The padyab is the simplest form of purification of
the exposed parts of the body. The word literally
means "throwing water (ab) over (paiti) the exposed
parts of the body." The person performing the padyab
says at first Khshnaothra Ahurahe Mazdao, i.e. <c l do this
to rejoice Ahura Mazda." Then he recites the short
formula of Ashem Vohu and washes his face and the
other exposed portions of his body, hands, and feet.
He then wipes his face and the other parts of the
body and finishes the process by performing the cere-
mony of kusti, which consists of untying and re-tying
the sacred thread with the recital of certain formulae.

There are four occasions on which a Parsi has to
perform the padfab: (i) early in the morning after
rising from his bed, (2) after answering calls of nature,
(3) before taking his meals, and (4) before saying his
prayers.

Nahn

Nahn y bath, is a higher form of purification gone
through on specified occasions with the help of a
priest. It consists of four parts: (i) the ordinary
padyab-kusti ; (2) the chewing of a pomegranate leaf
and the drinking of the consecrated gomez, or bull's

Purification Ceremonies 161

urine, a sort of symbolic communion; (3) the recital
of the patit, or prayer of repentance; and (4) the
final bath.

After performing the padfab, the man going through
the ceremony recites the baj 9 or prayer of grace
recited before meals, and chews one or two leaves of
the pomegranate tree, given to him by the priest. He
then performs the Kusti, recites the Tatit, and then
goes through the nahn proper. Retiring to a bath-
room, he recites the Kshnaothra Ahurahe Mazdao formula,
undresses himself, recites a part of the Sraosh baj 9
placing his right hand over his head, as praying with
an uncovered head is prohibited. The priest hands him
from outside, in a long spoon tied at the end of a stick
having nine knots, various articles believed to have
purifying properties. Thrice he hands him the conse-
crated urine, which is rubbed over the body three
times. Then, he gives him thrice a little quantity of
sand, which also is rubbed over the body. Next, he is
given thrice the consecrated water, which, too, is
rubbed over the body thrice. A few drops of the
sacred water are generally sprinkled over the new
suit of clothes to be put on after the bath. He then
bathes with water which has been hallowed before-
hand with a few drops of the consecrated water. After
completing his bath, he puts on the consecrated suit
of clothes, finishes the Sraosh baj prayer, and performs
the kusti. This finishes the nahn purification.

Orthodox Zoroastrians usually go through this form
of purification on the occasion of the Naozot, the

1 62 The Religion of the Good Life

ceremony of investing a child with the sacred shirt and
thread, and on the occasion of marriage. Women go
through it at the end of their period of accouchement,
while some devout persons resort to it on the occasion
of the Farvardegan, the sacred days at the end of the
year.

Bareshnum

This is the highest form of purification. The original
object was to purify those who had been in contact
with the worst forms of impurity, which appeared to
be dangerous or infectious. In ancient Iran a man
who became unclean by contact with the dead, or
through any other source of defilement, was required
to go through this course of purification. When death
occurred from an infectious disease, those who had
been in contact with the dead and were, therefore,
likely to spread contagion, had to subject themselves
to purification and segregation for nine days. As a matter
of precaution, it was also enjoined that the living
should, for a time, keep themselves away from the
dead body, whethei death was due to an infectious
disease or not; and that those who, for one reason or
another, could not help remaining in close contact
with the dead, should go through the long form of
bareshnum purification and segregation.

Bareshnum differs in several respects from the two
rites already described. While the padyab takes one or
two minutes, and the nahn about half an hour, the

Purification Ceremonies 163

bareshnum 9 which originally had the object of both
purification and segregation, lasts nine days. While the
padyab needs no help of a minister, the bareshnum re-
quires the services of two priests. While the first two
ceremonies can be performed in any ordinary house
or in a temple, the bareshnum purification must be
gone through in a place open to the sky and set aside
for the purpose, where there is no vegetation,
water , or fire, likely to be sullied by the touch of the
defiled person undergoing the purification.

In modern times it is only the priests and initiates
who go through this ceremony. It Is incumbent on a
person who wishes to be initiated into the priestly
profession, as "well as on a full-fledged priest who
wants to officiate within the inner circle of the fire-
temple at some of the superior functions of ritual, to
go through this form of purification.

Si-Shoe

In recent times persons defiled by contact with
dead bodies are required to go through a compara-
tively simpler form of purification known as Si-shoe,
i.e. thirty- times washing. For the performance of this
lite the services of two persons are required, of whom
one must be a priest. Tl\e materials for purification
and the processes of the baths are almost the same as
in the case of the nahn purification.

Chapter III
INITIATION CEREMONIES

THERE are two initiation ceremonies: (i) The
Naozot, being the initiation of a child into the Zoro-
astrian society, and (2) the Navar and the Murattab,
the two grades of initiation into the priesthood.

The Naozot

The ceremony of investing a child with the sacred
shirt, called sudreh, and the sacred thread, called kusti,
is known as Naozot. A Zoroastrian is free to dress as he
likes, but after initiation, he must always, save while
bathing, put on the sudreh and the kusti as symbols of
Zoioastrianism. The word naozot means "a new
invoker," and the ceremony is so called as it is only
after its performance that a Zoroastrian child is under
an obligation to offer prayers and to observe religious
customs and rites.

The seventh is the usual year for a child's naozot.
On the day fixed for the investiture, a few minutes
before the time of the ceremony, the child is made to
go through the nahn (ablution) ceremony, and then
taken to a room where friends and relatives and

Ini ti ation Ceremonies 1 6

priests have assembled. There the officiating priest sits
with folded feet upon a carpet spread on the floor and
the child is made to sit in front of him, with a sheet
of white cloth round its body. The following articles
are laid on the carpet: (i) a tray containing a new suit
of clothes for the child, including a sudreh and a kusti ;
(2) a tray of rice, which at the end of the ceremony is
presented to the family priest; (3) a tray of flowers,
which are presented at the end of the ceremony to the
assembled priests, friends, and relatives; (4) a lamp,
fed generally with clarified butter; (^) fire, burning
on a censer with fragrant sandalwood and frankin-
cense; (6) a tray containing a mixture of rice, pome-
granate grains, raisins, almonds, and a few slices of
coconut, which are sprinkled over the head of the
child by the priest whilst giving his benediction. In
the first tray containing the suit of clothes there are
also some betel leaves and areca nuts, a few pieces
of sugar, a few grains of rice, a coconut, a
garland of flowers, a metallic cup containing kunkun
(a kind of red powder), and a few coins. These things
are not necessary for the ceremony proper, but they
are regarded in India as emblems of good luck, and
as such are presented by the priest to the child. At
the end of the ceremony the coins are given to the
family priest as part of hfs fee.

When all the priests have taken their seats, the
officiating priest places in the child's hand a new shirt.
They all then recite the Patit, the atonement prayer,
or the Hormazd Yasht. The child also joins in reciting

1 66 The Religion of the Good Life

the prayer or its selected sections ; generally, it recites
in lieu thereof the Yatha Ahu Vairyo prayer. The offi-
ciating priest then rises from his seat and the child
stands before him.

The first part of the investiture consists in presenting
to the child the sacred shirt. This prayer is made up
of two parts ; (a) The Avesta Khshnuman of the Yazata
Din, who presides over religion, and (b) the Pazand
formula of the Confession of Faith. The confession,
made up of these two parts, runs as follows:

"Praised be the most righteous, the wisest, the
most holy and the best Mazdayasnian Law, which is
the gift of Mazda. The good, true, and perfect religion,
which God has sent to this world, is that which Zara-
thushtra has brought. This religion is Zarathushtra's
religion which Ahura Mazda communicated to holy
Zarathushtra."

On the child publicly making this declaration of its
faith in the Zoroastrian Mazdayasnian religion, the
priest clothes it with the sacred shirt. While putting it
on, he chants the sacred formula of Yatha Ahu Vairyo,
and the other priests join him. He then stands with
the back of the child turned to him; facing the east
if it is morning, and the west if it is evening, and
recites the introductory part of the Hormazd Yasht and
the Nirang-i-Kusti . The substance of this prayer is as
follows: "The Omniscient Lord keeps back Ahriman
powerless. May Ahriman with all his accomplices be
smitten, vanquished, and dejected! Oh! Omniscient
Lord, I repent of all my sins ; I repent of all the evil

Initiation Ceremonies 167

thoughts that I may have harboured in my mind, of
all the evil words that I may have uttered, of all the
evil deeds that I may have done. The propitiation of
Ahura Mazda and condemnation of Ahriman are the
uppermost wish of those who work for the Truth."

An elaborate process of girdling the kusti round the
waist is then gone through. During the investiture of
the sacred thread, the child recites, along with the
officiating priest, the Nirang-i- Kusti, containing the
last and the most important part of the Articles of
Faith. "Oh! Almighty Lord! Come to my help! I am
a worshipper of Mazda. I am a Zoroastrian worshipper
of Mazda. I praise good thoughts, good words,
and good deeds. I believe in the good Mazdayasnian
religion, which cuts short discussions and quarrels,
which is the dedication of the self, which is holy, and
which of all the religions that are, that have yet
flourished and are likely to flourish in the future, is
the greatest, the best, and the most excellent, and
which is the Ahurian Zarathushtrian Religion. I
ascribe all good to Ahura Mazda. This is the creed of
the Mazdayasnian faith."

At the conclusion of the ceremony the officiating
priest makes a red kunkun mark on the child's fore-
head a long vertical mark if it is a boy or a circular
mark if a girl and places in its hands the coconut,
flowers, and other articles mentioned above. There
only remains then the recital of the Tandarusti, or
benediction, by the officiating priest, who invokes the
blessings of God upon the new initiate, in these terms:

1 68 The Religion of the Good Life

"May you enjoy health, long life, and splendour of
piety! May the good Yazatas and Ameshapands come
to your help! May the religion of Zarathushtra flourish!
Oh, Almighty God! May you bestow long life, joy, and
health upon the ruler of our land, upon the whole
community and upon this child! May the child live
long to help the virtuous! May this day be auspicious,
this month auspicious, this year auspicious! May you
live for many a year to lead a holy, charitable, and
religious life! May you perform righteous deeds. May
health, virtue, and goodness be your lot! May all
your good wishes be fulfilled by the Bountiful Im-
mortals! Amen! Amen!"

Initiation into the Holy Order

Only the son of a priest can become a priest. To be
a thoroughly qualified priest, he must go through two
grades of initiation; (i) the Navar, and (2) the
Murattab.

The Navar

One newly initiated into the work of offering
prayers, rites, and sacred things to Ahura Mazda is
called Navar. The candidate for initiation must first
pass through two bareshnum purifications. He is then
initiated into the order by two priests. To qualify
themselves for the performance of the ceremony,
these priests have to go through the Gewra ceremony,

Initiation Ceremonies 1 69

which consists of the performance, for six mornings,
of the Yasna ceremony. On the sixth day of the Gewra
ceremony, the priest who has on that day performed
the Yasna ceremony initiates the candidate. The neo-
phyte takes his bath with all its formalities and puts
on a new suit of clothes, and is led to the fire temple in
a procession. In a thickly inhabited city like Bombay
the procession is formed in the temple itself. The
neophyte then puts on the full ceremonial dress, wears
on his shoulders a shawl and carries a mace (gorz) as
the insignia of dignity and authority. When the pro-
cession arrives at the place of initiation, the candidate
removes his full dress, lays aside the insignia of
authority, and, under the guidance of one of the offi-
ciating priests, presents himself before the assembly.
The initiating priest then asks the assembly, "Is it
your pleasure that this candidate may be admitted?"
After waiting for a few seconds for a reply, he takes
the silence of the assembly to signify its will and con-
sent, and expressing his pleasure gives his own consent.
The candidate is then taken to the Yazishn-gah, i.e.
the place set aside for the liturgical service, where
he performs the Yasna ceremony and, subsequently,
the Baj and Afringan ceremonies. These are repeated
for four days. After this, he is declared qualified to be
a priest.

<4 The Zoroastrian Navarhood>" says Dr. Modi,
"in some of its features, reminds us of the Christian
Knighthood of olden times, when Knighthood was a
kind of religious order."

i jo The Religion of the Good Life

The points of similarity are the following: (i) The
Iranian Navar and the Christian Knight had each to
go through ceremonial baths. (2) Both had a white
dress as a symbol of purity. (3) The Knighthood had
its fasts ; the Navarhood enjoined no fast but a kind of
abstention, or temperance. (4) Both had some weapons
to serve as symbols; the Knight had a sword; the
Navar a gorz, or a mace. (5-) Both the orders signified
renunciation and a desire to serve and fight against
evil.

The Murattab

The priest who has gone through the Navar cere-
mony can perform only a few liturgical services; he
cannot officiate at the higher services performed in
the temples. In order to qualify himself to direct such
ceremonies, he must go through the second grade of
initiation and become a Murattab , that is, one who has
acquired the rank (martabeh) of a director of the priest-
hood. In this ceremony the initiate goes through the
bareshnum ceremony for ten days. On its termination,
he performs the Yasna ceremony on the eleventh day.
Thereafter, he is fully qualified to officiate as a
directing priest at all the ceremonies.

Chapter IV
CONSECRATION CEREMONIES

Consecration of the Sacred Fires and Fire Temples

There are three grades of Sacred Fires: (i) the
Alas Behram, (2) the Atas Adaran, and (3) the Alas
Dadgah. These three have their different rituals of
consecration and also different rituals for the daily
prayers during the five periods (gahs) of the day, when
they are fed with fresh fuel.

The various processes for the consecration of the
Sacred Fire of the Atas Behram are:

(1) Collection of the sixteen varieties of fire.

(2) Their purification.

(3) Their consecration.

(4) Their unification into one Sacred Fire.

(5-) The consecration of the united Sacred Fire.

(6) Consecration of the Chamber of the Fire, the

sanctum sanctorum of the Fire Temple.

(7) Enthroning the Sacred Fire.

Significance of the Processes

What does a Fire thus collected, purified, conse-
crated and enthroned signify? A Zoroastrian standing

1 72 The Religion of the Good Life

before the Sacred Fire thinks for himself: "When this
fire on this vase before me, though pure in itself,
though the noblest of the creations of God, and though
the best symbol of the Deity, had to undergo certain
processes ol purification, had to have its essence, nay
its quintessence of purity, drawn out to render itself
worthy of occupying this exalted position, how much
more necessary, more essential, and more important
is it for me, a poor mortal prone to commit sins and
crimes and to be contaminated with hundreds of evils,
both physical and moral, to undergo the process of
purity and piety, by making my manashni, gavashni,
and kunashni (good thoughts, good words, and good
deeds) pass, as it were, through the sieve of piety, and
separating by that means my humata, hukhta, and
hvarshta (good thoughts, good words, and good deeds)
from my dushmata, duzukhta, and duzvarshta (bad
thoughts, bad words, and bad deeds), so that I may
deserve an exalted position in the next world?"

The different varieties of fire are collected from the
houses and places of business of men of different grades
of society. They include even fire used in cremation
or incineration, and the ceremony reminds a Zoro-
astrian that just as all the fires from the houses of men
of different status have, by the process of purification,
acquired without any discrimination the exalted place
in the vase, so also before God men of all strata of
society are equal, provided they pass through the
process of purification and preserve purity of thought,
purity of speech, and purity of action.

Consecration Ceremonies 173

When a Pars! goes before the Sacred Fire, the offi-
ciating priest holds before him in a ladle in his hand
the ash of a part of the burning fire. The devotee
applies it to his forehead, just as a Christian applies
the consecrated water, and thinks to himself: "Dust
to dust. The Fire, all brilliant, shining, and resplen-
dent, has spread the fragrance of the sweet-smelling
sandalwood and frankincense round about, but is at
last reduced to dust. So is it destined for me. Let
me, like this fire, do my best to spread, before my
death, the fragrance of beneficence and the light of
righteousness and knowledge ! ' J

Feeding the Sacred Fire

The ceremony of feeding the Sacred Fire in a fire
temple five times (gah) during the day varies according
to the grade of the Sacred Fire. In the case of the Fire
of the first grade, the priest must be one who has gone
through the bareshnum and has performed the khub
ceremony. After saying his prayers, he places some
frankincense and six pieces of sandalwood over the
fire in the form of a machi, or throne. He goes round
the censer, with a metallic ladle in his hand, and,
standing in eight different positions, the four sides and
four corners, recites different parts of a prayer, the
substance of which is as follows: "Oh! God! We
praise Thee through Thy fire. We praise Thee by the
offering of good thoughts. We praise Thee through
Thy fire. We praise Thee by the offering of good

174 The Religion of the Good Life

deeds. (We do all this) for the illumination of our
thoughts, for the illumination of our words, and for
the illumination of our deeds/ *

Whilst uttering the words dushmata, duzhukhta,
duzvarshta (evil thoughts-, evil words, and evil deeds)
during the recital of the first Nyaesh and the first Pazand
portion thereof the officiating priest rings thrice the
bell within the holy precincts of the altar of Fire.
Some priests ring the bell thrice, whilst uttering each
word, to emphasize that portion of the prayer in
which the worshipper expresses his determination to
shun bad thoughts, bad words, and bad deeds.

The ceremonies for the consecration of the sacred
fires of the second and third grades are similar, but
simpler, and the number of different fires required
for the purpose is smaller. The boe ceremony for
feeding the fires is also simpler.

The temples, or buildings which hold the Sacred
Fires, are consecrated with the recital of Yasna,
Yendidad, Afringan, and Baj prayers for four days.

Consecration of the Towers of Silence

In the centre of the spot chosen for the Tower, a
priest performs the Baj ceremonies in honour of
Sraosha, the guardian-spirit guiding the souls of the
dead, of Ahura Mazda, of Spenta Armaiti, the Amesha-
spend presiding over the land, of Ardafravash, i.e. all
the departed souls, and of Haft Ameshaspend, the seven
Beneficent Immortals.

Consecration Ceremonies

A few days later, two priests perform, in the morn-
ing, the tana ceremony for laying the foundation of the
Tower. The ceremony is so called, as a very fine thread
(tana) is used to make out the circumference of the
Tower and its different parts for laying the foundation.
A hundred and one fine threads are woven into one
strong thread or string. The thread so prepared is
required to be long enough to go thrice round the
circumference and the inner parts. Some time before
its use, this thread is made pav, i.e. washed, purified,
and dried. To hold this thread, the priests have to
drive in the ground three hundred and one nails of
different sizes and weights.

In the central well of the Tower, called the Bhandar,
two priests perform, for three consecutive days, the
Yasna and Vendidad ceremonies in honour of the Yazata
Sraosha, who protects the souls of the dead for three
days and nights after death. On the morning of the
fourth day, the opening day of the Tower, a Yasna
ceremony is performed in honour of Ahura Mazda.
Then the Baj and Afnngan ceremonies are performed
in honour of Ahura Mazda, of Ardqfravash, i.e. the
departed souls, of Spendarmad, i.e. the archangel
presiding over mother earth, a portion of which is
now occupied for laying out the dead, and of Sraosha.
In the Afringan ceremony, known as the Jasan cere-
mony, which is performed in the presence of a large
number of the community assembled to witness it, the
name of the donor at whose expense the Tower is built
is mentioned and the blessings of God invoked upon

176 The Religion of the Good Life

him. When the ceremony is over, the Parsis assembled
throw into the central well of the Tower gold, silver,
or copper coins, or even rings and other ornaments
which help to make up the sum necessary for building
the Tower, if it is built at the expense of the com-
munity. If, however, it is endowed by a donor, the
amount thus collected goes to the head priest of the
district in whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction the Tower
lies. Sometimes he donates it to charitable trusts of
the town.

Chapter V
LITURGICAL CEREMONIES

THERE are two kinds of liturgical ceremonies and
services : the inner and the outer. The inner liturgical
ceremonies and services are those which can only be
performed in a place specially allotted for the purpose,
known as the Dar-i-Meher (i.e. the House of Mithra),
generally attached to a fire-temple. Under this head
are included (i) the Yasna or Yazisna, (2) the Visparad,
(3) the Vendidad, and (4) the Baj ceremonies.

The Yasna

The Yasna (Sanskrit, Yajna, or Yagna) is a prayer
which includes the praise of God and His Spiritual
Intelligences and invokes their aid. It is an extensive
prayer with an elaborate ritual, in the course of which
certain things are presented as symbols. Recital during
the ceremony of all the 72 chapters, known as the
Has of the Yasna, is a sine qua non.

The Visparad

The Visparad is a form of prayer intended to cele-
brate the season festivals; it is also a prayer wherein

178 The Religion of the Good Life

all the ratu or the chief or the best of creations are
invoked. "The celebrations of the Visparad," adds
Dr. Modi, "should suggest to the celebrant the idea
of 'Excelsior/ J? How is that state of "Excelsior" to
be attained? The reply given in the Visparad is:

"Zarathushtrian Mazdayasnans, keep your feet,
hands, and understanding steady for the purpose of
doing proper, timely, charitable works, and for the
purpose of avoiding improper, untimely, uncharitable
works. Let industry be your motto here. Help the
needy and relieve them from their needs ! ' '

The Vendidad

The Vendidad embodying the Law, as distinguished
from the ways of the daeva, or the evil spirits, con-
tains regulations and instructions, as to how best to
withstand the evil influences of the daeva, or the
forces that lead to the impurity and decay of body and
mind. One part of it may be called the sanitary code,
and the other the criminal code of the ancient
Iranians.

The Baj Ceremony

The Baj ceremony, forming part of the funeral
services after death, is performed on various occasions
in a Zoroastrian house. The first three days after death
are the principal days when these ceremonies are per-
formed. The subsequent occasions are chaharum, or

Liturgical Ceremonies 179

the fourth day, dehum, or the tenth day, Siruz, or the
thirtieth day, and Salruz, or the anniversary.

It is the duty of the son, or the nearest heir of the
deceased, to perform the Baj ceremony, wherein cer-
tain things which serve as symbols of the different
kinds of creation, such as animal or vegetable creation,
are submitted as offerings, a tribute either to the glory
of the particular jazata, or heavenly being, or to the
memory of a particular deceased relative.

The Outer Liturgical Services

These are ceremonies which may be performed in
a Dar-i-Mehr as well as in any private residence, or
place, and by any priest. These Outer Liturgical Ser-
vices are known as (i) the Ajringan y (2) the Farokhshi,
and (3) the Saturn.

The Afringan

Expressive of praise to God and the Higher Intelli-
gences, the Afringan prayer corresponds to the Apei of
the Brahmans. A fire is kept burning in a censer before
the officiating priest and is fed with sandal-wood and
frankincense. The offerings consist principally of fruit,
flowers, milk, water, wine, and sherbet (syrup).

The Farokhshi

This prayer is intended to remember, invoke, and
praise the Fravashis of the dead. Like the Afringan, it

i So The Religion of the Good Life

is generally recited over fruits, flowers, milk, wine,
water, etc., and before fire. Thefravashi is that power,
or spiritual essence, in a substance, which enables it
to grow. It is the spirit inherent in every thing, in-
animate or animate, which protects it from decay and
enables it to grow, flourish, and prosper. Every object
in nature is believed to have itsjravashi.

These fravashis are a kind of prototypes, and are
analogous to the "ideas 55 of Plato who believed that
everything had a double existence, first in idea and
secondly in reality. According to the Fravardin Yasht,
their number is legion, and they are spoken of as
protecting and looking after the sea Vourukasha
(Caspian). The same number looks after the constella-
tion of Haptoirang (Ursa Major), the body of Kere-
saspa, and the seed of Zarathushtra. As the Universe
is made up of innumerable objects s animate or in-
animate, large or small, and as each object has its own
fravashi, or some individual inherent spiritual essence
which maintains and supports it, it is evident that
there are innumerable such spirit essences, all emanat-
ing from that great Divine Essence of God who has
created them, and who has made use of them.

Ahura Mazda is the Great Architect of the Universe.
He is the Creator of the Material as well as the
Spiritual world. The fravashis form the creation of the
spiritual world. In the spiritual hierarchy, they stand,
as it were, fourth in the order of supremacy.

Ahura Mazda (The Omniscient, Self-existent Lord)
is at the head of all; next come the Amesha-Spenta

Liturgical Ceremonies 181

(The Bountiful Immortals), who are His own creations ;
then the Yazatas (lit. those who are worthy of being
worshipped); and the Fravashis (i.e. the guarding or
protecting spirits) .

Zoroastrianism preaches veneration for the dead.
It is believed that the dead have a future existence
somewhere and that there exists some relation be-
tween the dead and the living. The channel, through
which the relation continues, is thefravashi, or the
guiding and guardian-spirit of the dead, who come to
the help of the living, provided they live a pure and
virtuous life and hold the departed ones in veneration.

Farokhshi is the recital of the praise of these jravashis
in honour of the dead. It consists of the recital of the
Saturn prayer and the Fravardin Yasht. The offerings are
the same as in the case of the Aftingan.

Saturn

This is a prayer in praise of the Jravashis of the dead,
generally recited over meals. The meal of the day is
served in a tray and placed before the priest during
its recital. The name of the dead, in whose honour it
is specially recited, is mentioned first in a Pazand
prayer.

Combined Groups of Liturgical Ceremonies

There are certain groups of ceremonies which are
performed by celebrating a number of different

1 8 2 The Religion of the Good Life

liturgical ceremonies. Among such groups of services
are the following:

(1) The Homey asht (The Haoma worship).

(2) The Geti-kharld (A corruption of the original

Avestan name, Usefriti, the ceremony for
seeking salvation from the sins of the world).

(3) The Sraosh (Funeral ceremonies performed in

the honour of a deceased person during the
first three days after death).

(4) The Zindeh-ravan (The Sarosh ceremony per-

formed in one's lifetime),
(j) The Gahambars (Celebration of season festivals).

(6) Thzjashan (Celebration of an important event

or occasion).

(7) The Fravardegan (Ceremony in honour of the

fravashis, or the guardian-spirits).

(8) The Faresta (Ceremony wherein all the Yazatas

are invoked).

In the performance of these ceremonies the Yasna,
Vendidad, Visparad^ Afringan, Baj, and other prayers and
ceremonies are gone through several times in specific
order.

It will be observed that these observances and cere-
monies are interwoven with the daily life of the
followers of the faith of the great Prophet who
preached his gospel of purity and perfection, devotion
and benevolence three thousand years ago. How far
the injunctions of the creed are in general agreement
with the discoveries of modern science may be gathered

Liturgical Ceremonies 183

from the foregoing account of the rites and cere-
monies enjoined by it. Indeed, if there is any religion
in which promotion of spiritual bliss as well as con-
cern for material happiness of mankind have been
blended in a remarkable degree, it is the faith of
Zarathushtra. Whilst dealing with the eternal problems
of life in a spirit pre-eminently human and rational,
and inculcating intense contemplation of and reverence
for the great beneficent works of the Creator and un-
swerving adherence to the principles of truth and
righteousness, this ancient religion lays down a code
of social purity based on sanitary and hygienic notions,
anticipating in many respects the teachings of modern
science.

INDE

Aban Yasht, 9 1

Adorable Ones, the, see Yazata

Ahuna Vairya, 100 101, 134*

i3

Ahura Mazda . .
attribute of, 57
concept of, as the Supreme

Being, 49~2
evil in any form abhorrent

to, 5S

homage to , 1 3 1 3 7
immune from limitations, 53
names of, 5-6-5-7
originator of the Right Law,

*

the first Actor in the Uni-
verse, si

Airyana Vaeja, location of, 30
Ameretat (Immortality), 63
Amesha-Spenta, the Seven Im-
mortals, 62
invocation of, 64-65
personified attributes of

Ahura Mazda, 7071
Anahita ( Aredvi Sura) . .
offerings to, 9091
presiding genius of water,

88-90

Angra mainyu (The Evil Spirit)
confounded by birth of Zara-
thushtra, 37

Angra mainyu cont.

repudiation of, by Zara-

thushtra, 41, 101
the best way to avoid, 100
ultimate defeat of, 103
Armaiti, High thought, 63 3

68

associated with chastity, 122
identification of, with mother

earth, 69
Aryans, the, .

motherland of, 30
religious disputes among, 30
Asha (Righteousness) . .
includes order, 1 1 8
law of, 1 1 8
path of, 119, 139
triumph of , over wickedness,

113
Asha Vahishta, the best order,

63, 66-67
Ash em Vohu. .

prayer in praise of Asha,

118, 134
Ashi Vanguhi (Holy Blessing),

75

genuis of plenty, 75-
guardian of the sanctity of

married life, 76
Ashtat (Yazata presiding over

truthfulness), 120

1 86 The Religion of the Good Life

Atar (fire). .

misconception of the cul t of,

8 -8 6

smites the evil spirit, 84-85-
symbol of divinity, 8o~8 i , 86
universality of the cult of,
81-84

Atash Nyaesh, 84

Atash Behram (fire temple) . .
offer of sandalwood to, 85-
desecration of, 8$

Banam-i-Izad, 109
Bath ceremonies, 143

Carnegie, Andrew, 93-94

Cattle, care of, 126-127

Charity, 128-129

Chastity, 122123

Cheyne,Dr. T.K.,27, 28, yon.

Chinvat Bridge. .

crossing of, 109, 155, i$6

Compassion, 127

Consecration ceremonies. .
of the sacred fires , 170-174
of the towers of silence, 1 74
176

Contract, sanctity of, 79

Cosmology, 5-9

Creation, order of, 59

Dabistan, the, 24 n.
Daevas, the. .

offspring of the Evil Spirit,
100

Dead, the. .

ceremonies relating to, 153-

IS*

disposal of, 146-15-7
remembrance of, i 53 1 5-4
Dhalla, Dr. M. N., 37 n., 38 n.,
46 n., 63 n., 103 n.,
uon., in
Druj (lie) . .

all evil collectively summed

up as, 78
Dughdhova, 37

Education, promotion of, 129-

130
Evil..

collectively summed up in

the term Druj (lie), 78
independent existence of,

98-99
problem of, 97-103

Farshostra, 49

Fasting, deprecated, 105

Fravardin Yasht, 47, 15-7 n.

Fravashi (The Spirit), 104, 107

Free Will, 106

Funeral Ceremonies, 14615-7

Garonmana, the Highest Heaven,

64

Gathas, 45, 112, 134
Gatha Ushtavaiti, 23, 119
Good and Evil, problem of, 97

Good and Evil cont.

doctrine of polarism pro-
pounded by Zarathushtra,

99

Good mind, see Vohu Manah
Gore, Dr. Charles, 29, 46 n.,

71 n., 103 n.

Haug, Dr., 153 n.

Haurvatata (Perfection) , 63,

69, 70

Health, preservation of, 1 04
Heaven and Hell, conception of,

109-1 i i

Herodotus, 91, 120
Humata, hukhta, hvarshta. .
good thoughts, good words,

good deeds, 116
Hushbam (the Dawn Hymn),

119

Immortality, doctrine of, 107
Immortals, the Seven, see

Amesha-Spenta
Initiation Ceremonies. .

the Naozot, 164-168

the Navar, 168-170

the Murattab, 170
Irani, D. J., 1 15 n.

Jackson, Prof. A. V. W., 33 n.,

73, 99
Jarnasp, 49
Judaism, relation between

Zoroastrianism and, 2529

Index

Justice, 120-122

Khshathra-Vairya (the Absolute

power), 63, 68
Kusti, the sacred thread. .

investiture of, 166167

Laing, Samuel, 95-

Liturgical Ceremonies. .
The Yasna, 177
The Visparad, 177-178
The Vendidad, 178
The Baj Ceremony, 179
The Afringan, 179
The Farokhshi, 179-180
Saturn, 181

combined groups of, 181-
182

Man, composition of, 105

Man and Woman, the ideal, 140

Marriage Ceremonies, 144146

Masani, R. P., 92 n.

Max Muller, 86

Mazdayasni religion, 32

Mills, L. H., 26-27

Mithra, 76-77
his associates, 77
invocation of, 79
protector of truth, 78

Modi, Dr. SirJ. J.,33, 57 9 l6 9

Morning Prayer, 1 3 8

Moulton, 58 n., 68

Naozot, the, 164-168

1 8 8 The Religion of the Good Life

Night Prayer, 138-139

Parsis in India, 49
Pliny, 37
Plutarch, 72
Pouruchista, 122
Prideaux, Dean, 25;
Purification Ceremonies. .

Padyab, 160

Nahn, 160-161

Bareshnum, 162-163

Si-Shoe, 163

Rashnu (Yezata presiding over
Justice), invocation of, 120

Reward and Punishment, doc-
trine of , 106108

Saoshyant (last of the saviours),
1 1 2-1 13

Self-help, 173-174

Soul, 104

ascent of, 1091 10
equipment of, 107

Souls of the deceased, cere-
monies relating to, z 3

*55

Spenta-Mainyu (the Beneficent

Spirit). .
at war with Angra Mainyu,

98

the son of Ahura Mazda, 100
Spirits, the Twin, 9899
misconception of the doc-
trine of, 102

Sraosha. .

death ceremonies associated

with, 74, 154, 155
guardian-spirit of humanity,

73
weapons of, 74

Taraporevala, Dr. Irach, 360.
Tennyson, 35
Tilak, Bal Gangadhar, 30
Tower of Silence, the, 1 51-1 5-3

consecration of, 174-176
Truthfulness, 119120

llrvan (the Soul), 104

Vendidad, 85-, 101 n. ? 123,

124, i2, i^S-n., 15611.
Vishtaspa, 33, 43 47
Vohu Manah. .

the good Mind, 63, 6, 66,

126, 127
hymns of, 46

Vouru-Kasha, waters of, 60-
61

Water. .

penalty for defilement of, 92
prayers offered before, 93
West, Dr., o n.
Work, gospel of, 124, 125-,

132, 140
World, renovation of, 112

113
Worship, 32, 33, 134, 140

Index

Xenophon, 116117

Yazata (the Adorable Ones),
72-73

Zarathushtra. .
advent of, 3 3
birth-place of, 33
date of, 3334
his message of hope, 113115
passing away of, 44
repudiation of the Evil spirit

by, 41
retirement of, from the

world, 3841

Zarathushtra cont.

significance of the names of,

36

teaching of, 35:
tolerance of, 4647
Zoroastrianism . .

based on pure monotheism,

49-50

confession of faith, 48
confirmation of the creed,

137-138

extent and influence of, 24
fundamental principle of, 1 1 6
practical philosophy of, 133
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