A Millennium of Wisdom – Gatha 1

What I want to achieve in this presentation is to read all of Zarathushtra's Gatha 1, review some of the fine points derived from it and just go wherever discussion leads us.

But first I want to give you a bit of insight into the history of this time period and see how Akhenaten, Moses, and Zarathushtra fit together on a time line and provide a VERY high level overview of their theology, that you will find in the table above.

The clearest historically attested figure with strong “wisdom/religious teaching” associations active near 1300 BCE is Akhenaten. A near contemporary of his is the author Amenemope, who represents the written Egyptian wisdom tradition of the period. 

Moses appears in traditional and some scholarly reconstructions of the same broad era c. 1300 B.C. 

Zarathushtra is possible by early scholarly estimates.  All dates, except for Akhenaten, are debatable. 

DSU Meeting, August 5, 2026

Divine Science University held a meeting August 5, 2026, gathering at 4:50 and opening at 5:00 PM with the invitation song Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.  Opening activities then followed with reviewing our mission statement, opening intention and a relaxing breathing exercise.

At 5:04 PM Chris from SOW reviewed a Five Minutes of Wisdom segment by reading Zarathushtra’s verse 1.5.  The group then discussed our insights regarding this reading.

At 5:21 PM John opened a discussion on The Theory of Evolution. He noted that Darwin’s book was titled The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.  He reviewed portions of the theory for us and we discussed the topic.  His “take away” was “All life is one family.”   

DSU Meeting, July 29, 2026

Divine Science University held a meeting July 29, 2026 gathering at 4:50 and opening at 5:00 PM with the invitation song Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.  Opening activities then followed with reviewing our mission statement, opening intention and a relaxing breathing exercise.

At 5:07 PM Chris from SOW reviewed a Five Minutes of Wisdom segment by reading Zarathushtra’s verse 1.4.  The group then discussed our insights regarding this reading.

At 5:24 PM Jackie opened a discussion on Awareness.  Shared were concepts such as “Awareness is a state of being aware.”  “Aware is from ancient words meaning perceive, watch out for.”  “ Awareness is a state or condition of being perceptive, watchful, vigilant.”  

We discussed the following questions:

DSU Meeting, July 22, 2026

Divine Science University held a meeting July 15, 2026 gathering at 4:50 and opening at 5:00 PM with the invitation song Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.  Opening activities then followed with reviewing our mission statement, opening intention and a relaxing breathing exercise.

At 5:10 PM Chris from SOW reviewed a Five Minutes of Wisdom segment by reading Zarathushtra’s verse 1.3.  The group then discussed our insights regarding this reading.

At 5:25 PM John was to present The Theory of Evolution, but computer difficulties with a new computer left him unable to make his presentation.  He will present this presentation next week instead.  

The group then continued discussions regarding Zarathushra concept of Good Mind and the recently discovered fact that the Iroquois Confederacy holds the concept of Good Mind as a foundational philosophy, describing it as a daily discipline of aligning your thoughts, intentions, and actions to promote peace, love, and community. The concept is a core pillar of the Great Law of Peace, their system of governance, noting that In leadership and daily life, using a "good mind" requires making decisions based on reason, equality, and compassion while keeping the well-being of future generations in mind. 

Practicing the Good Mind means intentionally choosing thoughts that bring peace and unity.  It focuses upon core daily practices such as:

DSU Meeting, July 15, 2026

Divine Science University held a meeting July 15, 2026 gathering at 4:50 and opening at 5:00 PM with the invitation song Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.  Opening activities then followed with reviewing our mission statement, opening intention and a relaxing breathing exercise.

At 5:08 PM Chris from SOW reviewed a Five Minutes of Wisdom segment by reading Zarathushtra’s verse 1.2.  The group then discussed our insights regarding this reading.

At 5:28 PM Carol presented a program Hydrogenated Water which included the following video: