GATHA AHUNAVAITI
YASNA 31
O seeker of Truth .. my words pray hear
Let them be your guidance clear
They'll soothe the mind, your heart they'll cheer
Be not a misguided soul and victim fall
to vice and crime at Anghremainyush's call.
Plunge not in plunder and destruction spread
Change your aim and object to heal and help
Blessed is the man for whom
......these words will shed some light
To turn from evil ways and walk in light.
But those who follow and obey Ahura Mazda's laws
Will surely greet with welcome all my words
Unto Him alone their homage they will pay
And Him alone treat as their sole Master.
To carry out His will with pleasure sweet
In course of time, the sceptics too will need
To stand before His judgement seat
....in due reverence ... and humbly bow before Him
To stand before His judgement seat
....in due reverence ... and humbly bow before Him
And strengthen their resolve to withstand all sins.
Perfect comfort and delight, O God Thou art
To those who do learn and teach your laws
And for Truth and virtue boldly fight
Give these to us who staunchly plead Thy cause
Help carry out our task without a pause
To you our hearts and souls we dedicate
And care not for man's displeasure or applause
Your Laws alone we wish to propagate
Your justice, kindness and love to vindicate.
O God when your archangels on high
Are gracious, good and indulgently kind to me
To You with true humility I cry ....
Give me strength enough the world to free
From vice of every sort and all degree.
Tell me O Lord, what's best for me to know
Enlighten me on what should and should not be....
So that the seeds of virtue I may sow
And every sin and evil overthrow.
The learned man who will your Manthra teach
Will forever enjoy beatitude supreme
The highest pitch of welfare he will reach
For Truth and virtue are your Manthra's theme
Perenially from them all lasting joys will stream
You may thereby gain immortal paradise
And from all vicious ways your soul redeemed
The Manthra lets no evil thought arise
To speak no lies no wicked deeds devise.
On perfect Truth great Mazda's rules are based
On His good thought this universe is made
He is the THINKER whose Pure Mind has raised
All things naught ....in heaven and on earth.
Seek Him, he's present everywhere .....
His light shines throughout all space
By His boundless wisdom all things created
Let all bend down with awe before Him
And seek his bounteous grace in earnest prayer.
O God since I thought of You ...... I know
You are the first and only cause of all
From your mouth the purest accents flow
To worship You we heed your call
Both great and small all stand in need of you
Thy words immaculate we listen to
Which fall like manna from your holy tongue...
And seal the fate of every man on earth
Of humble kind or mightly potentate.
To your wisdom celestial we submit
Just but inscrutable are your laws
Allow us to conform to what you permit
And abstain from that which you forbid.
In You we trust to direct our course ...
The industrious peasant who tills the soil
And struggles hard in dust, heat and cold
You do prefer to him .... not who labour shuns
And by stealth or plunder earns his food.
O God ...when at first you made the universe
With your sublime intelligence and skill
You made fixed laws which none can reverse
To all you gave - reason and free will,
With strength of mind and judgement to fulfill....
Appointed tasks and duties well
To tend the cattle and the lands to till
Respecting Your laws and peacefully dwelling......
The chorus of your praises daily swelling.
A truthful person and one who deals in lies
The learned man and the witless person
According to his conscience tries to act
One seeks the spirit bright .... the other black,
One sees the light ... the other's lot is dark !
Your watchful eyes, O Lord, observes them all.
Good always springs from virtue ....
and the bad the wicked do ....
For which at length they fall ....
Tis the fate of those who disobey your call.
Tell me O all-knowing Mazda.. what happens now
And what is hidden in the womb of Time
What's gained by honest persons and how,
And what's the penalty for sinful crime
For lives ill spent and wasted in their prime.
The person wise and prudent, who works with zeal
And a sense of duty and aim sublime ...
For home, or town or country's best
To him you will most bountifully bless.
O men the teachings of the wicked shirk
Pay no heed to their enchanting wiles.
In false words ....only deceit and ruin lurk
They lead you astray .....to satisfy their greed.
Take great care to free yourself from them
As they drive you straight to violence and lust.
And down and down you fall with headlong speed
Beware perdition as your unhappy fate.
It is the learned only who can teach
The doctrines of religion true and pure
The good and spotless mind alone will reach
The glorious portals of heaven for sure
It is the pious souls that Truths allure
They think, speak and do whatever is right
For right ... all labour and hardship they endure
Before the sacred Fire's inspiring Light
And for Truth eternal they will fight.
If a pious man you attempt to cheat ...
In dismal darkness you will spend your time
For endless days grieve your deceit
And food will poison be due to crime
Alas, alas will be a constant chime
In sad repentance you will writhe and moan
For breach of Mighty Mazda's law sublime.....
In hell for ages will he have to groan
And taste the bitter fruit his hand has sown.
He who is pure in thought, word and deed,
Endears himself to Mazda ....
who showers his gift upon him freely.
He never stands in need of another's help.
Him God supports and uplifts ...
To calmly sail ahead and never drift.
Be hale and hearty ... ever live in joy.
An open mind designs no tricks
All works of charity the thoughts employ
And soul immortal nothing can destroy.
Eternal happiness such souls receive
And boundless strength and power they always wield
They curb the cruel and the poor relieve
They fight the wicked and their victims shield.
For righteous men they keep an open field
Where they may safely work and earn their bread
By honest toil enjoined by Law revealed
As long as men by these bland souls are led
No harm or danger they can dread.
O God when your archangels on high
Are gracious, good and indulgently kind to me
To You with true humility I cry ....
Give me strength enough the world to free
From vice of every sort and all degree.
Tell me O Lord, what's best for me to know
Enlighten me on what should and should not be....
So that the seeds of virtue I may sow
And every sin and evil overthrow.
The learned man who will your Manthra teach
Will forever enjoy beatitude supreme
The highest pitch of welfare he will reach
For Truth and virtue are your Manthra's theme
Perenially from them all lasting joys will stream
You may thereby gain immortal paradise
And from all vicious ways your soul redeemed
The Manthra lets no evil thought arise
To speak no lies no wicked deeds devise.
On perfect Truth great Mazda's rules are based
On His good thought this universe is made
He is the THINKER whose Pure Mind has raised
All things naught ....in heaven and on earth.
Seek Him, he's present everywhere .....
His light shines throughout all space
By His boundless wisdom all things created
Let all bend down with awe before Him
And seek his bounteous grace in earnest prayer.
O God since I thought of You ...... I know
You are the first and only cause of all
From your mouth the purest accents flow
To worship You we heed your call
Both great and small all stand in need of you
Thy words immaculate we listen to
Which fall like manna from your holy tongue...
And seal the fate of every man on earth
Of humble kind or mightly potentate.
To your wisdom celestial we submit
Just but inscrutable are your laws
Allow us to conform to what you permit
And abstain from that which you forbid.
In You we trust to direct our course ...
The industrious peasant who tills the soil
And struggles hard in dust, heat and cold
You do prefer to him .... not who labour shuns
And by stealth or plunder earns his food.
O God ...when at first you made the universe
With your sublime intelligence and skill
You made fixed laws which none can reverse
To all you gave - reason and free will,
With strength of mind and judgement to fulfill....
Appointed tasks and duties well
To tend the cattle and the lands to till
Respecting Your laws and peacefully dwelling......
The chorus of your praises daily swelling.
A truthful person and one who deals in lies
The learned man and the witless person
According to his conscience tries to act
One seeks the spirit bright .... the other black,
One sees the light ... the other's lot is dark !
Your watchful eyes, O Lord, observes them all.
Good always springs from virtue ....
and the bad the wicked do ....
For which at length they fall ....
Tis the fate of those who disobey your call.
Tell me O all-knowing Mazda.. what happens now
And what is hidden in the womb of Time
What's gained by honest persons and how,
And what's the penalty for sinful crime
For lives ill spent and wasted in their prime.
The person wise and prudent, who works with zeal
And a sense of duty and aim sublime ...
For home, or town or country's best
To him you will most bountifully bless.
O men the teachings of the wicked shirk
Pay no heed to their enchanting wiles.
In false words ....only deceit and ruin lurk
They lead you astray .....to satisfy their greed.
Take great care to free yourself from them
As they drive you straight to violence and lust.
And down and down you fall with headlong speed
Beware perdition as your unhappy fate.
It is the learned only who can teach
The doctrines of religion true and pure
The good and spotless mind alone will reach
The glorious portals of heaven for sure
It is the pious souls that Truths allure
They think, speak and do whatever is right
For right ... all labour and hardship they endure
Before the sacred Fire's inspiring Light
And for Truth eternal they will fight.
If a pious man you attempt to cheat ...
In dismal darkness you will spend your time
For endless days grieve your deceit
And food will poison be due to crime
Alas, alas will be a constant chime
In sad repentance you will writhe and moan
For breach of Mighty Mazda's law sublime.....
In hell for ages will he have to groan
And taste the bitter fruit his hand has sown.
He who is pure in thought, word and deed,
Endears himself to Mazda ....
who showers his gift upon him freely.
He never stands in need of another's help.
Him God supports and uplifts ...
To calmly sail ahead and never drift.
Be hale and hearty ... ever live in joy.
An open mind designs no tricks
All works of charity the thoughts employ
And soul immortal nothing can destroy.
Eternal happiness such souls receive
And boundless strength and power they always wield
They curb the cruel and the poor relieve
They fight the wicked and their victims shield.
For righteous men they keep an open field
Where they may safely work and earn their bread
By honest toil enjoined by Law revealed
As long as men by these bland souls are led
No harm or danger they can dread.
