Zarathushtra: His World Views and the Evolution of Society

By  Daryoush Jahanian, M.D.

The teachings of Zarathushtra have to be perceived through the text of the Gathas. It would be misleading to draw conclusions by preconceived views, interpreting them through the later Avesta, or the perspectives of Abrahamic religions.
Zarathushtra's perception of the living world is based on the realities of existence, which he calls Truth or Asha. He does not resort to mythology and superstitions.
According to those teachings, the only perfect entity is the Wise Lord,            Ahura Mazda, who is the Lord of life and wisdom, and the creator and sustainer of the universe.  Ahura Mazda is an abstract entity that must be realized in the mind and is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.  The Wise Lord is perceived as the wisest, most far-seeing, and best judge who cannot be deceived (Y45/4).  Ahura Mazda comprises the highest spiritual and moral values to be matched by perfect humans. These ideal qualities, known as the Divine attributes, are: wisdom, truth and justice, inner strength and good rule, peace and love, wholeness and evolution, and immortality.

The universe is the magnificent creation of God.  Our living world is beautified by the splendor of nature and is well governed by the universal order, the Law of Asha. As a part of the universe, Earth provides shelter, food, and energy for all living beings to survive.  Zarathushtra does not use legends or mythology to discover the secrets of creation. The Law of Asha (harmony), the wisdom of God and His creativity are realized by studying the realities of nature, humans, and living beings on the planet. To understand this better, only 1/4 of the Earth’s surface is land, with the other 3/4 covered by water. If this ratio were reversed, the world would not be livable. This great creation of the world, however, is not complete. It requires tunnels, roads and channels to extract the mines and develop farms and towns. 
Among all creatures, humans are the only ones who can progress toward evolution (Haurvatat). Over several millennia, humans have evolved from residing in caves to living in modern societies, while other species have not changed. For this reason, humans are the best candidates to fulfill the divine plan of promoting the world toward perfection. In this capacity, humans are regarded as mutual friends and companions of God (Urvato). Those who make positive impacts on society and advance civilization are called Saoshyant or benefactors.
Inborn Quality (Spenta Mainyu)
Creatures who live in different societies have been granted a common virtue for cooperation. For example, it has been noticed that bees can guide other bees toward food by a special "buzz”. In addition, there are chimpanzees that help the weaker among themselves, and alert others, with different sounds, when a fellow chimpanzee has been attacked, or if a predator is nearby*.
By the same token, sociologists who have spent time among the primitive tribes,  have been amazed by the honesty of the tribal people. Despite the absence of an organized religion, police force, and justice system, the primitive tribes not only consider lies, deception, and stealing evil,**but they are naturally gentle toward children, the weak, and elderly. This quality is an inborn Spenta Mainyu that humans innately possess. Because of that they can live together and form productive tribes and societies, which would not be possible if they considered lies, deception, and robbery as good acts. There are other creatures who have the benevolent spirit (Spenta Mainyu), but to a lesser extent; e.g. a dog's loyalty to their owner, elephants mourning the loss of a companion, dolphins’ expression of gratitude, and chimpanzees supporting the weaker among themselves, as previously mentioned. A dog is born loyal and not trained to be so, but despite its good inborn quality, at times can become angry, attack, and bite.
There is also dualistic nature of human's spirit, with two opposite aspects, constructive or destructive. Humans, however, are blessed with the utmost values of the benevolent spirit, Spenta Mainyu. These values include love, compassion, sympathy, creativity, ability to judge, and the appreciation of justice.  For a better insight in human behavior, we can go to rural areas and visit the humans, as created by God, who are not polluted by the lures of material life(as Zarathushtra states in Yasna 53/6). Usually they are found to be honest, truthful, and hospitable with the utmost sense of gratitude. So, there is a natural prevalence of benevolence in humans, although they are spiritually vulnerable to change.
By the same token, Zarathushtra finds in humans two phenomena or spirits (Mainyu). One is progressive and benevolent (Spenta Mainyu), and the other regressive (called Angra Mainyu in later Avesta). They make the dual nature of mankind. In Yasna 30 and 45, Zarathushtra recommends that at the “great moment of choice" or decision, we should adhere to the spirit of benevolence, Spenta Mainyu, because otherwise we will be misguided by other Mainyu, (Angra Mainyu). There should be no compromise when the choice comes (Y45/2). We can be generous, kind, beneficial, truthful, and progressive by choosing Spenta Mainyu. If misguided by Angra Mainyu, we could resort to anger, become greedy, envious, rancorous, revengeful, and destructive. 
But the concept of an independent entity of absolute evil and vice (personified as  devil or Satan in Abrahamic religions) does not exist in Zarathushtra's scheme of divinity. The word Angra Mainyu does not appear in the Gathas, and only first appears in later Avesta. Thus, there is no devil to be feared or worshiped out of fear in the Gathas, and no destructive entity standing against constructive God,                       Ahura Mazda.  Of note, there is no mention of the devil or demon in the Achaemenian inscriptions, as well. So, where does this source of confusion and misinterpretation about the divine dualism originate, even though Zarathushtra does not believe in the existence of the person of devil or a bad god. Zarathushtra teaches that those who adhere to Spenta Mainyu will choose aright and generate true living, life, or the state of being alive and living.  But the ones who turn away from Spenta Mainyu, will be overcome by Angra Mainyu, choose wrong, and bring     un-life, non-existence. Un-life has been coined by Zarathushtra to explain the state of being alive but not really living. The word un-life, by some authors, has been translated to death and mistakenly interpreted that Zarathushtra is talking about two gods, one is the good god or the creator of life and the other is the bad god who brings death. Un-life, in actuality, constitutes a life captivated by ignorance, falsehood, oppression, and lack of wisdom. Another reason for the misunderstanding has been the translation of Spenta Mainyu to Holy Spirit and identifying that with the concept of the holy spirit and God in the Bible.
As noted, both Ahura Mazda and humans share Spenta Mainyu (benevolence, creativity), but only humans can possess Angra Mainyu (malevolence).             Angra Mainyu is not independent of the human mind and does not exist separately as the devil.  Wisdom and conscience (bright mind) are the means to correctly choose between the two Mainyu. Therefore, in the end, humans are responsible for their choice of good or evil and God is not accountable for the evil in this world.  Perhaps the purpose of the existence of evil is to recognize the value of good. By seeing darkness, we appreciate the light, and by sadness, happiness is best realized.
Some authors have translated Daeva, the old Aryan gods, to demons and have added to confusion, while Daevas were rejected by Zarathushtra as false gods who are creations of evil thinking. Therefore, it will be more appropriate, if either the term, Daeva, or false god is used.  Also earlier commentators inspired by other religions, have compared the Divine attributes to angels.  But like the devil, the notion of angel is alien to the Gathas. It is another source of misunderstanding because the line of access to God is direct and no mediator, including an angel, is required.  
Material and Spiritual Worlds
Another important issue in the Gathas is that the material and spiritual worlds are intertwined. God is the creator and sustainer of both worlds, and humans are in charge of promoting the living world, both spiritually and physically, toward perfection. Zarathushtra's final goal is to bring happiness, through power of good mind, to both worlds (Y28/2).  In this context, the Gathic terms also have two aspects, material or spiritual:                                                                                                                                     Asha or Ashoi, at the individual level, reflects one’s physical and spiritual purity. Physical purity comprises personal health and environmental cleanliness, and   spiritual purity means to think, speak and do right to achieve the right results.
The Divine attributes apply to humans as virtues. Every human being, man or woman, can become virtuous and God-like by attaining those attributes. A perfect human, indeed, is the mirror-image of God or Ahura.  Hence, "Ahura", not only is the attribute of God, but it can be shared by perfect humans as well (Y30/9, Y31/4). By the same token, Daeva refers to the false gods and to their embodiments in human form. In the contemporary Persian language, "Div" may indicate devil or wicked person.
In one’s lifetime, wisdom guides the conscience, which leads willpower and the soul to act (Y48/4). The result of action, right or wrong is discerned in the conscience.  With death, also, the soul will be guided by conscience. The soul of the righteous shall pass the sorting bridge but the soul of the wrongful is upbraided by conscience and shall return (Y46/11, Y51/13).
Likewise, heaven and hell can be realized in this material world.  In Yasna 46/16, Zarathushtra enunciates: paradise is where peace and love with truth and justice reside, where wisdom and good rule prevail.  By the same token, the wrongful can create their own living hell (Y46/11). Gathas mention spiritual fire (Mainyu Athra) (Y31/3)and inner fire of Ahura (34/4)), reflecting the Divine Wisdom that is empowered by Truth and Justice (Asha). This fire on reckoning will deliver justice (The fiery test).
In the Gathas, the planet of Earth has body "Geush Tashan" and soul "Geush Urvan." The soul of the mother-Earth laments not only of pollution and destruction, but when there is fury, aggression, rapine, injustice, and bloodshed (Y29/1)***.  To overcome injustice, Zarathushtra, however, does not present physical force, but rather spiritual power as inner strength, wisdom, eloquence of speech, and love.
 In the Chosen Dominion, both material leader (Ahu), and spiritual leader (Ratu) are to be chosen, but they function as separated entities. The material world according to Zarathushtra, is to be ruled spiritually by wisdom, governed through justice, and stabilized by liberty, love, and peace. Wisdom is a gift of mind by which, right and wrong are differentiated and correct choices are made. Justice as the foundation of civilized society generates peace. Liberty is a divine bounty that neither should be given up nor is to be taken away, therefore it should be used judiciously.                                                                                                                              The concept of love, as viewed by Zarathushtra, is an important phenomenon for survival of the living world, because it binds humans together and is the foundation of family. It is because of the mutual love of parents and children that human generations sustain. Material and spiritual worlds are bound together by love. The Gathas refer to six varieties of love. In Y46/2, Zarathushtra pleads for God's love, the same love that is granted by a lover to the beloved. In Y53/7, the love, shared by the young married couple, stabilizes the family. In Y44/7 through the "Love" between children and parents, love of man toward humanity and living world, and the love of man for God, the Great Creator of Love, Ahura Mazda, is recognized. Hence, by love, man is bound to the living world, humanity, and God; and our world is sustained by love. The Gathas emphasize that we should vanquish anger and hatred by love to establish peace (Y48/12). Peace is the reward of good dominion. Finally, humans and God are bound together by love, not out of fear; they are regarded as mutual friends and companions (Urvato).
Gathas and New perspectives
Once the Gathas are well understood, it becomes evident that they are easy to practice. There, however, is a contrast which has to be addressed. At the time of their origination, these very advanced thoughts were developed in a simple society. Some wonder how these new thoughts could have been grasped by that society. 
The pre-Gatha's milieu was herding and farming, the names reflected the nature and livestock, and the wealth was in cattle. People had not quite settled, hence, there was no unified government, but only local rulers (Kavis) and priests (Karapans) who were in charge. They had unified forces and exploited the hard-working people under duress. The simplicity of society caused the early authors to develop preconceived views that influenced their translations. They incongruously included meat, milk, cattle, and cow, which were incompatible with the advanced concepts of God, liberty, freedom of choice, love, and the notion of mental faculties in the Gathas. 
Today, with better translations and commentaries, we can elaborate the questions further: was Zarathushtra a visionary man ahead of his time? Was there an erudite community within that society who could perceive the advanced teachings?
We should remember that, in a setting where none of these concepts had been heard of, the Gathas refer to the mental faculties including mind, wisdom, conscience, intellect, will-power and soul, and adding to them creativity or  Spenta Mainyu.                                                                                                                      In that post-tribal, ethnic society, Ahura Mazda is the universal God, not tribal, ethnic or national, and the teachings of Zarathushtra are global doctrine. All humans are addressed equally, and humanity transcends the barriers of gender, race, creed, ethnicity, caste or nationality. Of note, men and women are addressed equally and gender is not an issue in the Gathas. The final goal is the foundation of universal brotherhood (Y54). The Gathas know no border and time, and are devoid of violence, discrimination, superstition, and contradiction. 
For a civilized society, justice is very important (Y33/1) and all stand equal before the law (Y31/13-15). The line of communication between human and God is direct, based on love, devoid of mediators, rituals and blood sacrifices. The best gifts to dedicate to God are the fruits of good thoughts, good words, and good deeds with love (Y33/14).  We can draw God's attention and support by the hymns, but the best act of worship is conduct of good deeds, which is acknowledged by God. These men and women are equally praised in the Gathas (Y51/22). Divine attributes are the gifts of God to mankind and at the same time, the means of approaching God. 
The Gathas guide to choose right, and avoid issuing commands and taboos. Zarathushtra does not enforce rituals, fasting and prayers as duties. If we carefully review the meanings of the two prayers, Ashem Vohu and Yata Ahu, both believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra, they are guidelines for the better living. The first one is about the responsibility toward self that can impact the society at large. It is about how to live a righteous life. Yata Ahu is about the responsibility toward society, the foundation of chosen dominion.                                              Even God is not imposed on man, instead man chooses God by good deeds (Y53/2).                                                                                                                                                                                     
Every individual, through investigation of the secrets of the universe, can discover truth and recognize God. The chapter of creation, Yasna 44, practically guides everyone to search for truth, but unlike some other beliefs, mythology, legends and superstition are avoided.
The concepts of heaven and hell are presented as the two states of mind, spiritual relief and inner torment, both discerned in the conscience.  Gathas do not engage in the dreams of eschatology.
Evolution of New Society
With the advent of the new religion, the entire society transforms by the new ideals. To achieve the broader objectives, new directions, with a set of constructive moral values, are in order. Now the perspectives extend worldwide: an individual can be happy, not at the expense of others, but when he/she brings happiness to others(Y43/1). One cannot be happy among unhappy people. Those who give blessing to others by teaching and spreading knowledge, will receive the best of blessings or the gifts of wisdom and knowledge (Y43/2), they teach the path of truth and happiness and indeed are the lovers of God (Y43/3).
The purpose of life is to develop the world, serve humanity, and work toward the foundation of universal fellowship (Y54). The new teachings are not forced, but rather, men and women are given freedom to choose or reject them through good thinking and bright mind. In the Gathas, liberty and freedom of choice pervade all aspects of human rights (Y31).                                                                                          Free thinking substitutes the blind obedience (Y30/1) and rationalism replaces superstition. Above all, for the first time, humans take charge of destiny, rather than being condemned by preordained fate (Y48/4).                                                 The idea of self-determination is the best incentive to strive for a better life. There is no room for slavery and exploitation, because, now, human stands as the companion of God.  
The ideal concept of chosen dominion replaces the corrupt rule of Kavis (rulers)  and Karapans (priests) (Y51). To remove the tyrants and replace them by the chosen leaders, all should withhold anger, keep hatred far away, and avoid violence. They should hold on to good mind and love (Y48/7), so that at the end, peace shall triumph over violence, and happy life and love establish through good rule (Y48/11). In simple words, by avoiding violence, a new tyranny is prevented and finally good rule shall prevail.  Zarathushtra not only campaigns for the removal of the corrupt rulers and priests, but has his main concern be the plight of the righteous meek and honest oppressed (Drigu, the down-trodden), or    hard-working people who are exploited. They should be liberated and rehabilitated (Y53/9). In contemporary Persian language, Drigu has evolved as Darvish, which implies a person who materially is limited, but spiritually strong and contented.  Zarathushtra raises hope that one day the oppressed will rise up and gain freedom.  Then, by the gifts of liberty, wholeness, and immortality, they shall enjoy the real paradise (Y32/15).
The new teachings generate a new spirit and as a result, even new names evolve: Pouruchista (full of knowledge), Isat-vastra (developer),Urvatat-nara (lover of people), Ashastu (lover of truth), Frasho-kara (renovator of the world),            Hush-yaothana (person of good deed), Spent-data ( Esfandiar, promoter of justice) and Vohumanah (Bahman, good-thinker)****.  These reflect the new religion with new ideals and evolution of new society. It is a true renaissance (frasho-karati) as Zarathushtra declares: let us renovate the living world, let us refresh this life (Y30/9).
These topics that were mentioned, are social issues that have concerned the human societies from inception and yet, Zarathushtra's resolution is quite modern and timeless.
   To address the earlier questions, one can conclude that Zarathushtra was indeed exceptionally ways ahead of his time. He is a man of reason and fairness. His firm belief in human dignity and freedom of choice is particularly reflected in Yasna 30 and 31, which emerges again in Yasna 53, when he advises his daughter to choose her husband with full freedom.  In the meanwhile, there was a community of sages who finally could perceive and spread his advanced message. In Yasna 29-11, which is the beginning of Zarathushtra's ministry and declaration of his mission, he states: when my message might spread far, when shall the association of Magas (Magavan, sagacious scholars) discern Your teaching?   Yasna 32-1 illustrates that the Magavan have accepted the message, and the association expanded to include all people that understood  and accepted the new knowledge that was presented in Zarathushtra’s teachings.
In conclusion, Zarathushtra perceives creation through the practical perspective (Asha), not a mythological one; it is magnificent but incomplete. The only perfect entity in his scheme of thought is Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord. Humans are the best living creature, but they are not perfect. Humans have to achieve evolution in their life and promote the magnificent living world toward perfection. The purpose of living is to promote the living world, physically and spiritually, toward completeness and evolution. Those who participate in this process, are Saoshyant or benefactors and considered as God's companion (Urvato).  The devil, demons or Satan, do not exist in Zarathushtra's mindset and no destructive evil entity is in existence to stand against Ahura Mazda.  Evil is the result of man's wrong judgment and bad choice; God is not responsible for the evil in this world.
* C. Zarre, Rahavard, V115, P256-260, Persian magazine. 
** J. Ashtiyani, management not governance, in Persian.
*** Kh. Khazai
**** A. Jafarey, The message of Zartusht, P139-140, in Persian
I would like to express thanks to Banoo and Nathan Duda for editing this essay.