At the SOW blog I have posted three articles introducing Zoroastrianism, the beginning of Zoroaster's (Zarathushtra) mission and a brief history of Zoroastrianism after Zarathushtra died. You will find these under the titles:
We have now posted an English translation of Zarathushtra's work at the Sharing of Wisdom Blog (SOW) so you can start reading this ancient wisdom of the Avestan, an ancient Indus Valley people. A new posting of Zarathustra's Gathas and will continue weekly until the end of October. I encourage that you take some time and read through the Gathas, not as you would read a story, but rather as a book of thought-provoking poetry (though in English it doesn't rhyme). You will get something out of it each time you contemplate it. Even better use one of the stanzas for contemplation and meditation.
Today we will look at some of the article ZARATHUSTRA’S WORK: The Gathas (An Introduction) to tell you a bit about The Gathas.
These books are mostly Zarathushtra's work and are a set of philosophical works. In their original language they are poetic literature. They were composed by Zarathushtra Spitama roughly 3,500 years ago. They comprise 17 books of 241 stanzas of roughly 5,500 words in their original language, or about 9,000 words in English. They invite many different interpretations and nearly infinite applicability.
These are the thoughts and teaching of Zarathustra woven into poetry in order to honor the divine and enlighten the listener. For those of us who do not speak the "dead language" of Old Avestan, we undoubtedly loose some of the nuance of the original, but there is enough scholarly work through the years that we can "get close".
Rather than devise lengthy sermons or a list of prescriptions on how one should live their life, Zarathushtra decided to gift humanity with a guide to attaining the divine in oneself. He trusted each person to actualize this desire according to their own understanding and circumstances.
This is the primary purpose of the Gathas: to bring the person who studies and contemplates them to the realization of the Divine Wisdom immanent in existence. Indeed, the process of piecing together the deeper insights of the Gathas was intended to mimic that very method of seeking to understand Truth – the laws which govern existence – that Zarathushtra used to come to his own realization of the divine. By replicating this process in the Gathas, Zarathushtra not only gave his listeners a path to become like the Creator, but he gave them a systematic way of thinking that would enable them to more accurately uncover the true meaning of existence.
It is to this Divine Wisdom, that he termed Lord of Wisdom (Mazdā Ahura in Old Avestan) that Zarathushtra primarily dedicates his songs. He also dedicates them to the supreme concept of truth, righteousness, and cosmic order established by the Lord of Wisdom, as well as to the intellectual process of uncovering the good mind, or Vohu Manah in Old Avestan [could this refer to our “higher self”?]. Throughout the Gathas he praises these subjects and elaborates on their application.
Zarathushtra details his divine revelation speculating on the actualization of the best existence, and he laments and lambasts the religious and ruling authorities of his day, who cared more for the wealth and pleasure they gained from oppressing the common person than for Truth or the Good Mind of drawing closer to deity.
Yet beyond all else—the realization of the divine, the ails of his time, and the enlightenment of the individual—Zarathushtra emphasizes that it is the moral responsibility of each individual to be a caretaker of the world, a doer of good, and a healer of existence. It is this ethical emphasis that is perhaps most poignant in the Gathas, and Zarathushtra’s highest concern.
The Gathas are primarily a collection of intricately composed stanzas that operate as ‘thought provokers’ or ‘tools for the development of the mind’. Analysis of the technical organization of this poetry is beyond what we will look at in these articles, but it is hoped that reading this most ancient of faiths "straight from the horses mouth" may be enlightening. You can read through each book, one a week for 17 weeks, or just read a few stanzas for contemplation each day.
The Gathas are published starting here: The Gathas - Ashem Vohu (Truth, Righteousness, Cosmic Order). It is my hope that at each of our DSU meetings that we take a five minute segment to read one stanza with its commentary and point to ponder and then discuss it as we desire. I think it will serve as good “food for thought.”
No comments:
Post a Comment