Author: Farah Randelia, ZAGNY Youth
Good Life Essay
Every culture has a set of literature that is extremely important to the faith. The literature can help explain the teachings, customs, and rituals of the culture. The literature can also help explain the life of the prophet and the God of that culture. An important set of literature of the Christian faith is the Bible. Another example is the Old Testament which is also important to the Judaic faith. The Torah is important to the Judaic faith as well. In the Zoroastrian faith, the Gathas are one of the most important works of literature that we still have today. They tell us quite a bit about our culture and help us better understand our prophet Zarathustra.
The Gathas are known as the “Divine Songs of Zarathustra.” They are composed by him, and are the literal words spoken by our prophet Zarathustra. The Gathas were written around 1300 BCE in a poetic form. This was the form that was used for religious literature.
The Gathas consist of 17 chapters which are known as “Ha’s.” The Ha’s are made up of 6,000 words and 238 verses. The 17 Ha’s are now incorporated into the Yasna. The Yasna is a long prayer that consists of 72 chapters.
The Gathas are Ahunavaiti, Ustavaiti, Spenta Mainyu, Vohu Khshathra, and Vahishto Ishti. The language of the Gathas is similar to the Vedic Sanskrit.
The Gathas are religious hymns that are addressed to Ahura Mazda. Some of the hymns are directed simply for Ahura Mazda. In these hymns, Zarathustra expresses his respect and admiration to Ahura Mazda. In other hymns directed towards Ahura Mazda, Zarathustra asks for Ahura Mazda to bestow the gifts of Good Mind, the Truth, and the Spirit of Benevolence on Zarathustra and his followers so they can live a holy and pious life.
Other passages from the Gathas have Zarathustra’s teachings in them. We can learn from these passages. However, there is not one set place in the Gathas where his teachings can be located. The teachings of Zarathustra are scattered throughout the Gathas.
Thankfully, we have a complete set of the Gathas that was written down in the late sixth century common era. At this time, the present Avesta alphabet was invented. There were other copies of the Gathas in the royal treasuries from the Achemenian times. However, when Alexander the Great destroyed Persepolis, the other copies were destroyed as well.
The various hymns appear to have been composed at different periods in his life, and read chronologically. A certain earnestness and conviction in his message are apparent. While in earlier verses, Zarathustra occasionally expresses his doubts on his own suitability of the mission to understand Ahura Mazda’s messages, he never wavers in his conviction that the message is universal. Aspects of Zoroastrian philosophy are distributed over the entire collection of Gathas. There is no systematic arrangement of doctrine in the texts.
The messages of the Gathas are quite apparent as well. They include the struggle between good and evil, worshippers of Ahura Mazda, against the followers of Angre Mainyu. Other messages include the friendship of Ahura Mazda with Zarathustra, the importance of Asha, and Vohu Mano, the Good Mind.
The Gathas can also refer to the last 5 days of the Zoroastrian year. The Zoroastrian calendar, unlike the one used today, is broken down into twelve months of thirty days. This leaves five days. These are the Gatha days. On these five days, a Zoroastrian is expected to recite the respective Gatha prayers each day. Reciting the Gatha prayers is important to Zoroastrians as they are the actual words of the Prophet. One can understand the importance of these prayers as they make you feel closer to Zarathustra himself. It is almost like having a conversation or recitation of the beautiful hymns with Zarathustra by saying the Gatha prayers.
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