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DIARY OF FRIEDRICH WILHELM NIETZSCHE -- ДНЕВНИК НИЦШЕ  'Evil men have no songs.' How is it that the Russians have songs? A friend should be a master at guessing and keeping still: you must not want to see everything .  Edward Munch おまえたちは、かつて悦楽にたいして「然り」といったことがあるか。それ なら、おまえたちは、いっさいの苦痛にたいしても「然り」といったことにな る。すべてのことは、鎖によって、糸によって、すなわち愛によって、つなぎ あわされているのだ。 おまえたちがかつて「一度」を二度欲したことがあるなら、かつて「おまえ はわたしの気に入った。幸福よ、刹那よ、瞬間よ」と言ったことがあるなら、 それなら、おまえたちはいっさいのことの回帰を欲したのだ。 いっさいのことが、あらたにあらんことを、永遠にあらんことを、鎖、糸、 愛によってつなぎ合わされてあらんことを、おまえたちは欲したのだ。おまえ たちは、世界をそういうものとして≪愛した≫のだ！ means leading the way.- No stream is large and copious of itself, but becomes great by receiving and leading on so many tributary streams. It is so, also, with all intellectual greatnesses. It is only a question of some one indicating the direction to be followed by so many affluents; not whether he was richly or poorly gifted originally. Ahura Mazda and His Six Aspects: According to Zoroastrianism, God, the Creator, Ahuramazda, is one. Every thing emanates from Him and in the end dissolves in Him. He is the one and only. He is formless and He alone should be worshipped. Though He is formless, He has six aspects or emanations, called Amesha-Spentas, through which men are expected to approach Him. These aspects are like the rays emanating from the single eternal source of light. The first three aspects represents the Father-aspect of God while the remaining three represent the Mother-aspect. First among the six aspects is Asha-Vahishta. Asha means hope, an expectation. Asha Vahishta represents the divine event that is already ordained in the divine scheme of things. He is the reality that is continuously manifesting itself through divine will, according to the divine law. When a human being submits himself to the divine will and follows the divine laws, he is following Asha-Vahishta in the expectation of his own spiritual evolution. It is difficult for common people to conceptualize Asha-Vahishta and understand. As a solution, the prophet suggested fire to be used as the symbol for Asha by which people can easily recognize Him and meditate upon Him. Asha is divine, very remote and beyond human intelligence. But fire is very earthly and is regarded as one of the most common and familiar symbols known to the mankind since earliest times. Fire has certain special and distinct characteristics. It can consume as well as transform every thing it touches. Fire thus became the earthly symbol for the divine Asha and Zoroastrians started worshipping Him as fire. Fire thus has become a very central aspect of Zorastrianism. The second aspect of Ahuramazda is Vahu-mano, (Bahman), the divine wisdom, the supreme and immortal love, who sustains and supports mankind in times of difficulties and leads people on their path to God. He is the bestower of the pure mind or the good mind which is the basis for further spiritual evolution. He loves not only human beings but also all other creatures and therefore is truly a 'guardian angel' of the animals. We can please him by being kind to animals. The Parsis do not eat meat on certain occasions as a mark of respect to Him. Kshatra-Vairya is the third aspect. He is the supreme creative power of God and responsible for the maintenance of the whole creation. As the dynamic aspect of God, He teaches mankind the importance of action (karma) in their lives. On the physical plane he commands all the minerals, and through them measures and controls the physical strength of beings. The fourth aspect, Spenta Armaiti, is the Mother-aspect of God. She represents faith and single minded devotion to God. She is the friend and mother of those who are dvijas or the twice-born, that is those who have been initiated into the secrets of religion and spiritual life. On the physical plane she is the mother earth, who sustains all and nourishes all. The fifth aspect is Hauravatat. She is perfection personified. She represents all that is perfect, beautiful and harmonious in the creation of God. On the physical plane she is the water goddess who rules over the elements of water and the physical health of beings. Ameretat is the sixth aspect who is always found in the company of Hauravatat. She is the bestower of immortality and dispeller of fear of death. She rules over the vegetable kingdom and is associated with the tree of life and the tree of immortality found in the heaven. Ahura Mazda with these six aspects constitute the seven fold Lord of the Universe and fire is his purest and holiest creations on earth. In addition to these there is another divine power , the yazata Srosha, which was referred by Zarathushtra as the means to attain the path of salvation. Srosha is service (sushrusha of Sanskrit), obedience and devotion to God. When we cultivate this virtue we will be able to see the path of salvation clearly in front of us. Basic Zoroastrian Beliefs gd & Evil in Zoroastrianism: According to Zoroastrianism the world is a combination both good and evil. Creation cannot exist without the presence of both. In the beginning of creation, Ahura Mazda, the Supreme God, created two Mainyus or twin spirits called Spenta Mainyu, the good spirit and Angra Mainyu (Ahirman), the evil spirit. Creation is possible only when they both come together. Spenta Mainyu is responsible for all the good works in the creation of God. He exists in all of us and helps us see the light within ourselves. Ahirman is an illusion. He exists in order to make us understand what true existence means. By opposing good, he makes us realize the importance and necessity of good in our lives. In this eternal conflict, Ahirman ultimately loses out to Spenta Mainyu. It is to be noted that neither Ahirman nor Spenta Mainyu are absolute powers. They are the creation of God and work according to His Divine Plan, or Asha. Ahuna Vairya Mantra: Just as the Hindus chant Gayatri mantra and consider it as very sacred, the Parsis chant Ahuna Vairya Mantra which is considered to be very sacred by them. according to the scriptures of Zorastrianism, Ahura Mazda uttered this manthra at the time creation and manifested the whole creation. The significance of this mantra is such that chanting of it is considered to be equivalent to chanting of all the sacred texts. By chanting it continuously, the Parsis believe that one can drive away forces of darkness both with in and without. The first line of the verse says that just as a ahu (king) is powerful on earth, a ratu (a seer or a great soul ) is powerful everywhere because of his Asha. The second line of the verse says that the gifts of Vahumano are for those who work for the Lord of life. It means that Vahumano bestows his boons (love and purity of thought) upon those who indulge in good thoughts and good actions according to the divine will of God. The third line of the verse says that the Supreme power of God is bestowed upon him who considers himself as the helper of the meek and the lowly. The third line thus lays special emphasis on the concept of Sraosha or service. The three great Commandments: Zarathushtra gave three commandments to his followers to enable them lead perfect lives and work for their own evolution. These are humata (good thought), hukhta (good word), and havarshta (good deeds). Good thoughts are very important in the spiritual journey of man, because all else comes out of out of thoughts only. Without good thoughts, there cannot be progress on the spiritual path. Without good thoughts one cannot subject oneself to Divine will and become qualified to receive boons from Vohu Mano. Thinking good alone is not sufficient. But one must have the courage to speak Truth all the time. One must be truthful to oneself and to others. There is no place for hypocrisy or duplicity in the life a of a true Zoroastrian. Performance of good deeds is equally important. The supreme Power of God, in the aspect of Kshatra Vairya comes to Him who engages himself in good actions. Good actions include Sraosha or service. Zoroastrianism is a small religion with about 140,000 members. Yet its importance to humanity is much greater than its current numbers might suggest, because: The religion was founded by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster in Greek; Zarthosht in India and Persia). Conservative Zoroastrians assign a date of 6000 BCE to the founding of the religion; other followers estimate 600 BCE. Historians and religious scholars generally date his life sometime between 1500 and 1000 BCE on the basis of his style of writing. He lived in Persia, modern day Iran. Legends say that his birth was predicted and that attempts were made by the forces of evil to kill him as a child. He preached a monotheism in a land which followed an aboriginal polytheistic religion. He was attacked for his teaching, but finally won the support of the king. Zoroastrianism became the state religion of various Persian empires, until the 7th Century CE. Iran is the ancient name of Persia, and it is derived from the root "Arya" or Aryan, the Indo-European branch of peoples who settled in that land. The Aryans of ancient Iran were Mazdayasni Zarathushtris, ie. Worshippers of Ahura Mazda (the name of God in Avestan) as revealed by the ancient prophet Zarathushtra, thousands of years before Christ. However, all the ancient Zoroastrian scriptures speak of an earlier homeland from where our people came, the lost "Airyane Vaejahi" or seedland of the Aryans. From this homeland, the Indo- Europeans or Aryans moved to upper India, Iran, Russia and the nations of Europe such as Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Scandinavia, England, Scotland and Ireland. Sanskrit, Latin, Avestan are all sister languages, and the present day upper Indian, Persian and European languages are related eg. Baradar in persian = Brata in sanskrit = Brother in english. "Persia" is actually a late European term for the land of "Farsi" language ie. Iran. The Arabic phase in Iran only began 1300 years ago, and we had to escape to India to preserve our Zoroastrian religion. The "Vendidad" is one of the ancient scriptures of the Zoroastrians, actually called the "Vi-daevo-dat" or the law to fight against evil. In the first "Fargad" or chapter, the Golden Age of the ancient Aryans is outlined with their greatest king, "Yima Kshaeta" (Yam Raj in the Indian Vedas) who banished old age and death. Then, the ice age broke on the ancient home and the Aryans were forced to migrate southwards, to the southeast and the southwest. Mr. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a great Brahmin (Indian Aryan) scholar of India in the last century studied the Vedas and the Vendidad to find an ancient homeland of the Aryans. The Vedas are scriptures written by the Indo-Europeans or Aryans after they migrated to India. From the descriptions of the weather patterns mentioned in the Vedas, Tilak concluded that the ancient home must be in the Artic regions ie. above present Russia. The Aryans migrated from the ancient home to Iran and from there to India and Greece and Europe. Tilak also said that the most ancient historical scripture was the Iranian Vendidad, which actually describes the ancient homeland of the Aryans, the Aryan King Yima Kshaeta who ruled over it (Yama Raja, lord of the underworld in latter day Indian Hinduism) and the onrush of winter, sent by ahriman (the devil) which caused the great migration. This is the famous first "Fargad" of the Vendidad which fascinated a lot of European scholars in the last century. The ancient Aryans believed that the world as created by Ahura Mazda was perfect, with no evil. The first man Gayo Maretan had no disease, no illness, no hunger and thirst. Only the good creation of God existed eg., the Dog, Cow and Bull, Horse, Cock, Birds etc. Then ahriman the evil one attacked the world and caused evil to appear, disease and illness and old age, and the animals and the first man started to die. Night began to fall (before the sun was at the noon position - fixed, so there was no time). The evil brood of animals appeared eg. snakes, insects, and the cat breed. So evil in the ancient faith is an external introduction, which one day will be purged when the world will be bathed with the purification of fire - the latter also found in old German mythology. Paradise itself will be established on the earth, in the form of the Kingdom of Ahura Mazda. The English word "paradise" itself stems from the Avestan "PairiDaize", meaning the same. Also, the word "garden" probably stems from the Avestan "Garod-man" meaning the House of songs - the ancient name of heaven for the Aryans. The Kings of ancient Iran were very proud to call themselves Aryans, their rock edicts indeed say so. "I am an Aryan, the son (Puthra) of an Aryan." This was righteous pride, because the word Aryan occurs time and again in the ancient scriptures of the Aryans - such as the Yashts (prayers to the divine elements) and the Vendidad (the law against evil). About a time frame - today, many scholars tend to place Zarathushtra very late in time (around 1500 BC). The Greek historians at the time of Cyrus placed the first prophet at around 8000 years bc, that seems a more possible time to the former. However, the ancient Aryans were much sooner than that. Note that as per the Vendidad, Yima Kshaeta (King Yima) is the ancient king of the Aryans in the ancient homeland Airyanam Vaejahi (the seedland of the Aryans), and his memory is retained by even the Indian Vedas as Yama Raja (Yama King) because the Indian Aryans still remembered their ancient king after their split up in the migration, but they made him "Lord of the netherworld" later on. Unlike the Indians, the Iranian Aryans still retained a perfect memory of days gone by -the perfect time in the ancient homeland, when Yiam banished disease, death and hunger from the homeland. This was indeed the true "Golden age" of humankind. So, what about the time? The migration actually started before the ice age struck. When the ice and winter set in (sent by the evil one), the ancient homeland was destroyed. If the home was in the North Pole, look for a time when the North Pole was not covered by ice - that would be thousands and thousands of years before. I have estimated that time when the ice age struck as 20,000 years ago in my book, but the time could be much earlier. There were kings before Yima too, ruling over the Aryans. Note too that the civilizations of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in old India were actually Aryan, and they were starting to decay around 4000 bc. which means they had been in existance for thosands of years before (scholars admit this). They would have been built by the Indo-Aryans much after their initial separation from the Aryans of Iran. An American friend said: "Observation: There's an incredible thread here between something I've seen mentioned about a "Golden Age" of humankind..when humans were so close to their Creator they didn't need writing or speech or tools to sustain themselves..and the Zoroastrian story." Thats right. Zarathushtra was sent by Ahura Mazda to reaffirm the ancient faith (that was taught to Yima Kshaeta and before him, the first man Gayo-Maretan). He was also given the "AGUSTO-VACHO" ie revelations unheard before. He was thus the first prophet, to be followed by three Saviours. When the final Saviour comes, the world will be purged by fire and evil destroyed in a final great battle. Then Ahura Mazda will rule. The mightiest words in the religion are in the Ahunavar, a great prayer. The ending words of this prayer in Avestan are, Kshrethamchai (Kingdom) Ahurai (God) Ayim (will come). "Does the Vendidad have one set of general principles in one place, like the Old Testament Bible, or is it necessary to read the whole..." The Vendidad is itself the ancient Law against evil. Throughout the book, there are Fargads (chapters) which explain the various evils in the eyes of Ahura Mazda. For instance, prostitution and homosexuality are abhorred, so is ill-treatment to dogs. Ahura Mazda praises the Dog as His Glorious Creation, who He created as the guardian of the Aryan household and farm. One Fargad details the ancient history of Yima Kshaeta, and the ancient homeland. Their theology has had a great impact on Judaism, Christianity and other later religions, in the beliefs surrounding God and Satan, the soul, heaven and hell, savior, resurrection, final judgment, etc. It is one of the oldest religions still in existence, The theological linking of the spiritual and material aspects of the universe in the Gathas froms the basis of every action. All thoughts, words and deeds can serve to further the TRIUMPH of Ahura Mazda OVER EVIL, Anghra Mainyu. Truth over deceit/lie. It is firmly believed that only by adhering to the creed of "good thoughts, good words and good deeds" (Av. HUMATA, HUXTA, HVARSHTA; Phl. HUMAT, HUXT, HUWARSHT) can a Zoroastrian act in accordance with the will of Ahura Mazda and the laws of his religion. Also the cosmic and ethical dualism present in the Zoroastrian faith provides the basis for all the rituals in both doctrine and practice Dear Friends; I hope following will be of interest to you. Zoroastrians must be properly initiated by ordained priests into the religious community. In the ancient times this occured at the age of fifteen, the ancient Iranian age of maturity to become responsible for his or her religious, moral and communal life (See: Yast 8[Tir],13-14 and Videvdat 18.54) According to Videvdat (Vendidad): "Then the she-demon who is the Lie replied," O Sraosha, truthful and well formed one, of these males indeed this the fourth one, a male whore who after his fifteen year walks forth without either the sacred girdle or undershirt" (Videvdat 18,54). This warning from the Spirit of Evil underscores the emphasis placed on the proper initiation into the Zoroastrian faith. During the initiation ceremony the candidate wears a sacred white undershirt (Phl. SHABIG; N.P. SHABI,SUDRA; Dari.SEDRA; Parsi Guj. SUDRA, SUDRE), and a sacred girdle (Av. AIWYANGHANA; Pz.AIWAYANGHANA; Pahl. KUSTIG; N.P and Parsi Guj.KUSTI) (Note: Av. AIWYANGHNA (AIWI+YANGHANA(AIWI+YAH)) =to girdle). The initiation seems to be based on the ancient Indo-Iranian custom of investing only the male members of society with a sacred girdle as a sign of their membership within the community. A similiar practice persists to-day among Hindus where male members of the three upper castes (Skt. VARNA) are ceremonially invested with a sacred cord at the time generally called the ceremony of the Second Birth (Skt. UPANAYANA) conducted between the ages of eight and twelve (See: Gonda: Vedic Ritual, 1980, 42, 153-154). The sacred cord is knotted by an ordained Hindu priest and worn under the clothes diagonally around the body over the right shoulder and under the left arm. Hindus never untie this cord but slip it aside and step out of it when neccessary. The pre-Zoroastrian origin of the rite of initiation is found in 'Dadestan-i-Denig', where it is clearly stated that king Yima Xshaeta (Jamshid) introduced the sacred girdle, centuries before Zarathushtra (See D-i-D:39, 18-19). This initiation rite has been practiced since the the earliest years of the faith and there can not be any second opinion about it. The age of initiation into the faith of Zarathushtra was gradually lowered with the present day Irani Zoroastrians undergoing it between twelve and fifteen and with Parsi Zoroastrians initiating their children at the age of seven. This may be due to influence of Hinduism. Irani Zoroastrians term this ceremony as (Dari) SEDRA PUSHAN ="Putting on the sacred undershirt" while Parsi Zoroastrians refer it to as (Ps.Guj) NAVJOTE="New Born" . As in Hindusim, the Zoroastrian initiation symbolizes spiritual rebirth or second birth. After their initiations, Zoroastrians must ritually untie and tie the sacred girdle very time they pray or perform Padyab-Kushti. Sadra and Kustig must be worn every day and night during the life time of each and every individual. It is a grievous sin for an initiated Zoroastrian to abstain from wearing the girdle (Kustig) and undershirt (Sadra), a condition termed "SCAMBLING AROUND NAKED" (Phl. AISHAD DWARISHNIH). According to SHAYEST-NE SHAYEST (4:10): "The sin of scambling around naked, upto three steps, is a FRAMAN [for] each step; at the fourth step [it becomes] a TANAPUHL. The Padyab-Kustig is performed before a Zoroastrian can engage in any religous activity as it ensures the purity of his body and soul. It is enjoined that this ritual be performed early each morning on rising from sleep, prior to religious act of eating, before ablutions, at the begining of each of the five periods of the day and after urination and excretion. (Although this may be hard to follow but one will still find most ordained Zoroastrian priests and devout Zoroastrians still true to this ancient tradition). ALL ZOROASTRIANS do undergo the ablution on entering the premises of a fire-temple, to ensure that every religious act they perform is done so in the state of purity of body and soul. The Padyab-Kushti ritual, because it involves the performance of a purification rite, differs from the simple Kushti ceremony, in which a ritually clean person unties and reties the KUSHTI without first performing ablutions; the simple Kusti ceremony is referred as "MAKING NEW THE SACRED GIRDLE" (N.P.:KUSTI NAW KARDAN ) or "TYING THE SACRED GIRDLE" (PGj.: KUSTI BASTAN). The main principle underlying this ceremony is to providing religioritual purity for the performance of religious functions as praying, approaching the sacred fires, attending funeral ceremonies (before and after), eating etc. This simple and beautiful rite thus ensures a Zoroastrian to maintain a state of socioritual purity of his/her body and soul at all time. With kindest regards to all. Parsi community in India seems to be sitting on a time bomb that is ticking away The Prophet Zoroaster acknowledged devotion to no other god besides Ahura Mazda. The concept of Dualism plays a role when speaking of the Spenta Mainyu ("Holy Spirit") and the Angra Mainyu ("Evil Spirit"). These two have an eternal battle at the end of which the Holy Spirit will prevail by the power of Ahura Mazda. Metaphysical dualism is rejected in modern orthodox traditions and beliefs when it comes to worship. Teachings of Zarathushtra Most of the Zoroastrian scriptures were destroyed during the invasions of Persia by Alexander and later by the Arabs. But the Zoroastrian priests preserved some of the important sacred texts through oral tradition. The most important of these texts are known collectively as the 'Yasna' (yajna), which contains 72 'has' or sections. The five gathas or (stories) of Zarathushtra, are found among these sections only. These five gathas, especially the first one called 'Ahunavaiti' , contain most of his teachings and thereby form the core of the Zoroastrian religion. С ДНЕМ РОЖДЕНИЯ МЕНЯ! yatsutkoyatsutko Очень интересная заметка - http://www.vremya.ru/2006/172/4/161 "Православные" совсем обалдели от вседозволенности. |
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