Taroidite Anghrahe Mainyeush!

Transcription

1 Simply Din A Humata Parsee Anjumaan Publication Vol. 3 November 24, 2016 A Periodical on Zarathushtrian Philosophy, Life, Customs, Current Issues and Challenges. Inside This Issue Taroidite Anghrahe Mainyeush! B4 My Navjote & As I Grow: Explaining Ahura Mazda! Part 2 -How do i know if He s really there? What Is: An Amesha Spenta? Individual Spiritual Alchemy Developing Divine Virtues info@humata.org Taroidite Anghrahe Mainyeush! The three words Taroidite Anghrahe Mainyeush, combined with their mithra or thought force [May Ahura Mazda] help me see through and through the deceptions of evil. - form a very powerful manthric vibration and effect. We should say these words often in the day, especially when facing a personal dilemma or when debating important moral, religious and social issues. These are issues such as abortion, organ donation, use of surrogate mothers, homosexuality, intermarriage and so on. These issues are often fiercely debated Some defend their arguments as being politically and socially correct. Others base their opinions on compassionate grounds. And yet others base their arguments on religious principles, values and tenets. Regardless of our individual standpoints, we must acknowledge that our thoughts are influenced in varying degrees, by things such as: personal circumstances, the circumstances of those who are dear to us (such as family members who are directly affected by the topic at hand), varied levels of understanding, and finally, our old friend EGO is always present to further complicate matters. The above powerful manthra and mithra will help us overcome the deceptions of evil that make us think we are doing the right thing, not realizing that we are actually moving away from and may even be obstructing Ahura Mazda s Divine Will and Purpose. This manthric formula will help us differentiate between: the Flawless, Perfect and Divine Thought of Vohuman (what we have loosely translated as The Good Mind ). and the good-intentioned thought (though somewhat flawed, imperfect and un-divine) of the Human Mind. It is flawed because it has not yet reached the divine level of Vohuman. The Good Mind is not to be confused with that of our human mind, rather it is that of Divine Consciousness and Divine Perfection. We all possess the good intentioned thoughts of the human mind. But now how can we tune into the flawless Divine Thoughts of the Good Mind of Vohuman? How are we to overcome the deceptions and obstacles to understanding Divine Truth? Try the sacred formula: Taroidite Anghrahe Mainyeush! [May Ahura Mazda] help me see through and through the deceptions of evil. But are these 3 manthra and their mithra enough to help us tune in to Divine Thought? Or are they just the beginning of a more intense endeavour? Let s find out. Havove Tarapore

2 2 November 24, 2016 Simply Din B 4 My Navjote & Explaining Ahura Mazda. How do i know if He s really there? Part 2 of 4 How do you teach a child the deep concepts of a religion without oversimplifying? How can you be sure that when they become adults, they will still have faith in Ahura Mazda? How can a child be confident that Ahura Mazda is really there? If you are a parent, don t make the common mistake of thinking that you will wait until your child is old enough to understand the complexities of religion, before you begin to teach it to them. Even as adults ourselves, we are so ill-equipped to understand the depth of religious teachings and knowledge. We struggle with simple issues. For example, some will argue whether or not Asho Zarathushtra s body emanated divine light. This does not mean we are unintelligent. It simply means we have not developed the kind of intelligence that helps us understand the mysticism which is part and parcel of religion and spirituality. Mysticism should not be confused with myths. A myth is based on fiction. Whereas mysticism is that which is spiritually true and real in a way that transcends human reason. It refers to spiritual truths that are esoteric. Their meanings may be hidden or secretly woven into prayers... hidden there, to be discovered only by those who have developed the right spiritual, emotional and mental equipment to understand them. Therefore, it does not make sense to wait for your children to grow into teens before you give adequate religious knowledge. No matter how logical an argument you are able to make, for the existence of God or Ahura Mazda and religion at that point, your efforts will be futile if your son or daughter has not begun to develop faith from a very young age. The evidence of this is all around us! By over simplifying Ahura Mazda as Knowledge and Wisdom, the majority of Zarathushtis (esp. those outside of India), claim that Zoroastrianism isn t a religion! They claim that it is merely a philosophy! They claim that our goal in life is simply the pursuit and accumulation of knowledge. The result is... a university educated, yet faith-less, religion-less and god-less society. Is this the type of intelligence we are supposed to develop... the type that leads away from faith and God? Is this the religion that Asho Zarathushtra taught? Is not believing in a higher power or a higher purpose, what is meant by using your Good Mind? Does our inability to understand the depth and mysticism in our own religion give us the right to deny its existence? Do our own limitations, give us the right to reduce this exceptional religion to a mere philosophy? Our religion is not merely the pursuit of just any knowledge... it is the pursuit of Divine Knowledge... that of Vohuman. It requires that we develop intelligence that leads to faith. Which in turn, leads to expanding one s consciousness beyond worldly knowledge (like science) to Divine knowledge which is capable of understanding mysticism. There are several things you can do to help your children develop intelligence leading to faith. Some examples are: Teaching them to talk to Ahura Mazda daily, Sharing faith inspiring experiences, Actually practicing religion as a family and not just reducing it to talks and discussions. And finally incorporating daily prayers into your busy schedule. These simple practices will help unlock their inner god-like qualities such as resisting temptation, developing compassion, hearing the voice of their conscience, developing faith and being able to recognise the way in which Ahura Mazda interacts with them in their lives. Cultivating this kind of communication and awareness in Divinity, helps develop intelligence which leads to faith. When we are able to give that type of education to our children, they will no longer need to ask... How do we know if Ahura Mazda is really there? They will be able to feel Him with their heart and soul. They will recognize the way He interacts with them in their lives. They will always know, without a shadow of a doubt that...ahura Mazda is always there! This is the first step in the pursuit of the Divine Intelligence of Vohuman (or The Good Mind ). It begins when we are but children and do not yet possess the intellect to understand religion but have the ability, on account of our innocence, to develop faith in and love for a Greater Being. Limkigraphics Designers & Printers *

3 Simply Din What is: An Amesha Spenta? What exactly are the 7 Amesha Spentas or Ameshaspands, and why is it important for us to know? Will knowing, make a difference in our day to day life? The answer is... most certainly YES! By understanding, and then putting your knowledge to practice, it will completely change your life, change your nature and change how you respond to everything that happens in your life! That is because it defines what a Zarathushti is supposed to be! Let s find out how! In the same way that our own fingers, limbs and organs, each have their own separate functions and purposes, and yet all work together as part of the same body... The Seven Bountiful Amesha Spentas are part of Ahura Mazda s very own Perfect Divine Light and in that way they are not separate from Him or from each other. Each Ameshaspand is a part of Ahura Mazda, but also has a specific job in the administration of the universe. In this way each Ameshaspand has two aspects: a Divine Virtue and a piece of creation. The first 7 days in each month of our Parsee Calendar are dedicated to these Amesha Spentas. We should take each of these days as an opportunity to reflect on the qualities of the Amesha Spentas, and celebrate their blessings in our lives. As we continue to do this every month we will notice that we are better able to attune to their Divine Nature and slowly convert our own human nature to one that is increasingly virtuous. The chart below shows the human virtues that we are to develop, and how it corresponds to each Ameshaspand. A m e s h a Part of Divine Virtue Human Virtue Spenta Creation Hormazd Mankind All To develop all below. Bahman Cow-kind Divine Consciousness, Perfect Divine Knowledge and Wisdom Selflessness, bearing the burden for others, intelligence leading to Faith which in turn leads to expanding one s consciousness beyond worldly knowledge to Divine. Ardibehesht Fire, kinds of ASHA - Divine Law, Love of truth, purity, beauty, order, to tread the path fire energies Order, Beauty, Truth of Din (religion). Shehrevar Metals, Mat- Divine Power, Divine Tenacity to resist evil thoughts, words and deeds. ter & subtle Kingdom, Desirable Mental strength and alertness to do so. energies Sovereignty Asfandarmad Earth, Land, Perfect Humility Humility, rejection of ego, forgiveness, Treasures towards Ahura. seeing good/god in everything and everyone. To beneath the Able to alchemize alchemize hatred into love. earth pollutants and trash. November 24,2016 Khordad Amardad Water, Time, Food Vegetable Kingdom To spread well being, right nourishment. Affording health & happiness. Imparting Long Life or Immortality To be cleansed of sins. To flow like waters of devotion to Ahura. Movement towards ultimate goal - Perfection in thought, word, deed and virtues. Desire to be free of karmic debt, blissfulness (ushta), moving away from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth ( firm rooted ), unbending in virtue, bearing only fruit of good deeds, everlasting, ever growing, ever green, upwards reaching. Immortality, Salvation. 3

4 4 November 24, 2016 Simply Din Spiritual Alchemy Developing Divine Virtues When we refer to Individual Spiritual Alchemy, we are referring to a slow and exact process whereby our basic human nature is converted into a more saintly nature and then finally into a divine nature. This process of alchemy is not random. It does not happen by chance. Alchemy has a specific recipe in nature. When perfected we will exhibit such a high level of human virtues, that they will vibrate to, and will be in tune with the divine virtues of the 7 Amesha Spentas! Boy! We ve got a long, long way to go. But what an amazing thing to aspire to. Unimaginable yet so divinely logical. After all, how can we expect to merge into Ahura Mazda and become one with Him if we are full of imperfections; if we cannot exhibit His strengths and His qualities? Admittedly... at a far lesser level than His. It would be something like comparing a bucket of water to the ocean. Nevertheless, the water in the bucket will merge effortlessly when poured into the vast ocean. A bucket of oil, on the other hand will not merge at all. So now the importance of our own spiritual alchemy is very clear. Ahura Mazda can love us and forgive us for everything... but that wont change the nature of our character. Our freedom will not be within our reach! Instead of attaining liberation of the soul, we will fall back into the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. We will still be subject to the Karmic cycle. Just like the bucket of oil, we are simply unable to merge into Ahura due to our own nature and imperfect character. What then are the Divine Virtues of the 7 Amesha Spentas; and what human virtues must we develop? Let s look at the chart in the previous section. You will notice at the top of the chart, to acquire the human virtues of Hormazd Ameshaspand, we must first acquire the human virtues related to all the other Ameshaspands. At the bottom of the chart we find Khordad and Amardad. Together they both move towards perfection and immortality. So certainly we cannot start here either. The chart is a mere reference. The process is more of a slow spiral. We cannot have all the qualities of one Ameshaspand without having some of the qualities of the others as well. For example, one cannot have immortality without perfection. One cannot have perfection without being the very personification of Asha. One cannot have Asha without also having the inner strength and courage to do what is right. One cannot know what is right in the eyes of Ahura without humility. One cannot have humility without believing that there is a higher truth. But then one cannot know higher truth without all of the below qualities! Only when we perfect them all, can we merge into Ahura! Learning to develop these virtues in us is part of the process by which we attain spiritual alchemy. In this way we propel our individual evolution towards divine perfection and ultimately soul liberation or frashogard. For the purpose of spiritual alchemy the first step towards that great endeavour is that of FAITH - Faith that somewhere beyond the realm of human thinking is an immutable Truth. A Truth so beautiful, so perfect, so complete, so compassionate, so loving that once we ve had a glimpse of it, we can never forget, never turn away again. We must have faith that it is there, but also, we must have faith that something is standing in our way. Something is keeping us from experiencing this divine bliss. Something keeps instigating us. It is telling us that our minds, our thoughts are better than that of the prophets! Something keeps us so attached to our own material comforts that we cannot imagine anything beyond that. Something is constantly pulling us away from the path of religion, the path to Ahura, the path to our final blissful destination. It deceives us by creating all kinds of confusion about moral and social issues. It creates within us little wars between our hearts and our minds, our religion and our family, our morals and our friends. It tempts us with material gain over spiritual

5 Simply Din November 24,2016 gain... adoption or surrogacy... life or abortion... dokhmenashini or cremation and so on. Only if we can find within us a tiny space for faith... faith in Divinity, in a Divine Truth, in a Divine Purpose... then we come to the next step... the sincere search for divine meaning and divine purpose for our lives - the search for Divine Truth. How can we tune in to Divine Thought, Divine Wisdom and Divine Truth? Who can be worthy of such an accomplishment? According to Z a r a t h u s h t r i a n scriptures, Asho Zarathushtra s soul belonged to the category of Yazatas. He possessed the intelligence of Asne Vir and therefore could form direct contact with the Yazatas and Ameshaspands. Although we are not anywhere near His Divine category, He established for us the path and the method for attuning to the Yazatas. It is called the path of Ashoi and Yasna. The path to attaining a Good Mind or attuning to Vohuman (Divine Consciousness) is through the observance of Tarikate-Ashoi or Path of Ashoi. (That involves padiav, Sudreh Kushti, covering the head, praying in all 5 gahs, performing baj for answering the call of nature, baj for partaking in a meal, baj for cutting hair or nails etc.) These observances are prescribed to help us break through the deceptions of evil. They help clean and fortify the fire energies in our bodies and auras. As the dark clouds of negative energies are cleansed from our bodies and personal atmosphere, divine light and divine energy become more perceptible by our minds and our emotions. Slowly and subtly, our thoughts and desires move away from that of personal satisfaction and begin to focus on more profound questions and their answers. We will focus on questions that ponder the purpose of our existence (spiritual alchemy), the existence of a divine plan (Mazda-dat, Vi-devo-dat & Ahura-dat), and the intended final outcome (Frashogard). Here it can be seen that the practice of Ashoi is more than the development of truthfulness, more than the development of purity. It is the ongoing development and fortification of an unseen spiritual strength that the body develops by controlling and overcoming 21 kinds of Drujis or physical infections and disorders. Each person has 16 unseen chakras or energy plexi. Collectively they are called Kehrp. These 16 chakras guide the human mind, instincts and the working of the whole physical body. The human mind is a product of the vibrations emanating from the atoms of the physical body, the unseen atoms of the Kehrp and the influence of the planets and stars. Through the practice of Tarikat-e-Ashoi, the vibrations from the unseen Kehrp can overpower the vibrations from the physical body. This is when the Good Mind or Vohuman can be produced and we are able to see through and through the deceptions of evil - Taroidite Anghrahe Mainyeush! So before debating important moral, religious and social issues we should ask ourselves... Are we practicing the path of tarikate-ashoi?. If not then we are not able to attune ourselves with the Good Mind of Vohuman. So then what thought force are we being influenced by? If we are not bothered whether we are moving towards Ahura Mazda or away... remember it is not just our own soul s journey we misdirect. It is that of our children, our community, our Din, and all of humanity! Follow the path. Practice the tarikat. Develop the inner spiritual strength to stand firm in the wake of the tidal waves of destruction. We are but a handful. We must uphold this Din. Weakness is not an option. Be ever mindful of all the deceptions of evil that mislead us. Pray Taroidite Anghrahe Mainyeush! Remain steadfast on the given path of Ashoi. Focus on the Distant Goal... merge into Ahura like a bucket of water into the ocean. 5