THE GATHAS CONSIST OF 238 VERSES, which are hymns that are sung to one almighty creator – God. They are in five divisions – the Ahunavaiti, consisting of 7 chapters of the Yajashne, a compilation of 72 chapters of Zoroastrian religious lore. These 7 chapters are from Chapter 28 to Chapter 34, consisting in all of 100 verses. The second Gatha, namely, the Ustavaiti consists of 66 verses contained in 4 chapters – Chapters 43 to 46. The third Gatha, Spenta Mainyu, consists of 41 verses contained in Chapters 47 to 50. The Vohu Kshatrem Gatha, the fourth, consists of 22 verses contained in a single chapter – Chapter 51, and the fifth Gatha, Vahish Toist is 9 verses contained in Chapter 53, thus making a total of 238 verses.
Whereas the first four Gathas were composed and sung by Prophet Zarathustra himself, as teachings to his people, the last Gatha is like a postscript in which the Prophet’s daughter gets married, and it explains how great the Prophet’s success was in spreading the faith before he died.
It is important to know that these verses are in a similar language to that of the verses of the Rigveda, which consists of 1028 hymns comprising 10,552 verses composed by over 400 sages. The Rigveda itself spans a couple of thousand years from the earliest hymns which were composed in Central Asia to the later hymns which were composed in India. The fact that 238 verses are attributable to one man alone is astounding. What is remarkable about Zarathustra’s hymns is not only the fact that they have come down to us through the ages in an extremely accurate form, being in poetical metre, and memorised through the ages by generations of priests, but the fact that they are not dated – they are extremely relevant to modern times for the fundamental reason that they are timeless. And they are timeless because they do not emanate from Prophet Zarathustra’s mind, but are revelations from Almighty God, speaking of universal and timeless truths.
Zarathustra himself belonged to a period of Persian history which antedated the Achaemenian dynasty (from 550 BC to 330 BC), the founder of which was King Cyrus the Great. The Shahnamah of Firdausi tells us that there were two dynasties before the third great Persian dynasty of King Cyrus the Great, namely, the Peshdanian and Kayanian. Prophet Zarathustra belonged to the second such dynasty, as we know that he converted King Vistasp, who belonged to the second dynasty, namely, the Kayanian. The age of the Prophet is indeterminate, varying from as much as 6500 BC to 1000 BC. What these hymns tell us is that the Prophet belonged to the old Rigvedic religion until he was the first to receive a revelation from the almighty creator, God. This great God replaced the deva worship (the worship of many Gods) of the Rigveda (which essentially consisted of worshipping Nature Gods), and Zarathustra states in unmistakable terms that there is only one such God. The Prophet names him Ahura Mazda. The expression ‘Ahura’ is none other than the same expression to be found in the Rigveda, namely, ‘Asura’. In the Rigveda, the expression ‘Asura’ meant ‘Lord’. Varun and Mitra were the two great Rigvedic Asuras that were in charge of upholding the moral order. They were now replaced by another Lord – another ‘Ahura’ called ‘Mazda’. The word ‘Mazda’ does not exist in the Rigveda, and was coined by Prophet Zarathustra himself. It means ‘the great creator’ or the ‘majestic creator’. Zarathustra’s God, therefore, is Ahura Mazda, i.e. the Lord who is the great creator.
Along with Ahura Mazda are several embodiments of various virtues, all of whom reside with and are in companionship with him. They find repeated mention in the Gathas and it is best to know who they are and what exactly they stand for.
The first principle of the Gathas is embodied in Asha – which is the very embodiment of truth. Asha is central to Zoroastrianism, so central that Herodotus tells us that in 500 BC or thereabouts, a Persian child was taught to do two things – one, how to ride a horse; and second, how to speak the truth at all times. This central message which permeates the Gathas has come down to Zoroastrians through the ages and continues to be the bedrock of their civilization. ‘Asha’ is sometimes spoken of as the very embodiment of truth, i.e. absolute truth, and sometimes spoken of as truth seen by a human being. In the latter sense, truth is relative and is spoken of as such when applied to man. Thus, the path of truth is the path of relative truth which mankind must tread on this earth, before it makes itself ready for the next world. Indeed, the colophon of the Yajashne reads thus:
The next great idea which occurs throughout the Gathas is Vohu Manah. Literally translated, it means ‘the good mind’. Whenever Vohu Manah is spoken of, I have translated it as ‘the Pure Mind’ as bringing out the essence of what is meant. It is through Vohu Manah that the Almighty God’s revelations are made to Prophet Zarathustra, and, hence, this expression again occurs repeatedly throughout the Gathas.
The third expression which occurs repeatedly is Armaiti. Literally translated, it means ‘right-mindedness’. For want of a better English expression, I have translated it as such. Another very important spiritual personage in the Gathas is Spenta Mainyu, literally translated as ‘the holy spirit’. It is this holy spirit created by God at the very beginning that chooses correctly, in moral terms, and whose example must therefore be followed by mankind.
Apart from the aforesaid terms, one very important term that occurs repeatedly is Sarosh. Translated literally, this word means ‘to hear from within’. I have, in my translation, therefore, sought to translate this word as the English word ‘conscience’.
Before embarking on the Gathic journey, it is important to first state what the two basic prayers mean – the Ashem Vohu prayer and the Yatha Ahu Vairyo prayer. The Ashem Vohu prayer concerns itself with two concepts – truth and happiness, forging a causal link between the two. It goes thus:
Truth is good,
It is happiness.
Happiness comes to him, who, for the sake of truth, follows the path of truth.
The Yatha Ahu Vairyo prayer is in three parts. Part one is a reaffirmation of the Ashem Vohu prayer. It says:
Just as a Great Lord (on Earth) is very powerful, so is a teacher (who is spiritual), for the reason that he lives by the path of truth.
The second part speaks of the highest gifts that can be bestowed on a human mind, which will be so given only if good deeds are done in this life for the love of the great creator.
And the third part gives Zoroastrians the sense of charity. It states that he who helps any person in need will, in turn, be helped through the power of Almighty God.
With these two basic prayers in mind, the stage is now set for appreciating the spiritual message of the Gathas. I have endeavoured to translate these messages from the Avesta language into the English language and have divided this book into different topics dealing with different aspects of the religion.
I have chosen to follow a set pattern – to name the topic, then give a general introduction stating what exactly is contained in the topic, after which all the Gathic verses relating to the topic are set out in the order in which they appear in the Yajashne.
