In the Avesta the Sarosh Baaj is one consolidated prayer, I have broken it into parts for better comprehension of the things we appeal for to the Ultimate, every morning when we pray the Sarosh Baaj.

Sarosh Baaj part IV, consists of transliteration of the Yasnemcha Vahmemcha, Hazem Garem, ‘Kerfe Mazda’.

On reading the entire Sarosh Baaj prayers in English, one understands that after a Zoroastrian sings the praise of Sarosh Yazad and boldly professes through Fravarane Mazdeyasno, his faith in the religion handed down by Ahura Mazda and propagated by the Prophet Zoroaster, the adherent turns to Ahura Mazda for succour against persecution, both personal and religious, and abjures the destructive mind emanating from the evil of Ahriman and Angre Mainyu (Kemna Mazda).

Then in Yasnemcha Vahmemcha, the Zoroastrian asks Ahura Mazda for   strength, and enlightenment to follow the Right Path (Asha) to prosperity.

Next, the Zoroastrian believer declares his delight in having professed the Zoroastrianism by articulating his desire to be born within the religion time and time again, ad nauseam.

For his piety and sticking to the Path of Asha, the adherent of Zoroastrianism appeals to Ahura Mazda for the blessings of the various Energies that originate in Him.

‘YASNEMCHA VAHMEMCHA’

To me, the brilliance and strong aura,  physical strength, bodily comforts, success in this world, wealth of all happiness, children with innate intelligence, longest life ever, enlightenment born of holiness and purity, and attainment of the heaven with all the comforts/happiness . May my wish be fulfilled!

‘HAZEM GAREM’

A Thousand heavenly births; Ten thousand heavenly births;                                           A Thousand heavenly births; Ten thousand heavenly births;                                            A Thousand heavenly births; Ten thousand heavenly births.

‘JASHME AVANGE MAZDA’

Come to my aid O Hormazd!                                                                                            Succour me the aid of:                                                                                                                 The innately pure/ good, beautiful, Um (energy that imbues courage),                     Behram Yazad issued forth from Hormazd,                                                                            Vannati Upartat (energy that oversees environment),                           Mino Ram (nourishes/ induces of nourishment in food),                       Vaey Yazad (who works in exists in the upper layers of the atmosphere),                                             O Vaey Yazad, that part of you that is concerned with the birth of the Spentomino,                                           The Sky that acts in accordance with the natural laws of creation,                         Limitless existence (infinity),                                                                                                    The Guaranteed Perpetuity.

‘KERFE MAZDA’

For the Liberation, as my sins so may I in return, receive the reward for the essence of my deeds, for the love of the soul sent to all on the seven continents, the reward is as per spiritual merit to all the pious — tremendous amount of purity/ holiness (Ashoi), as wide as the earth, as long as the river and as exalted as Khorshed                                                                                                      May the pious live long!                                                                                                                  May my wish be fulfilled!

At the end of this entire sequence of prayers for the Sarosh Baaj, Zoroastrians pray the ‘Tandarosti’ for the well being of self, family, friends in particular and the cosmos in general.

KEMNA MAZDA –A TRANSLITERATION

The Sarosh Baaj of the Avesta is a farzeyaat prayer; a daily requirement. Though in the Avesta the Sarosh Baaj is one long prayer with no parts,  I have broken it into parts so as to better understand what it is that we pray daily since our childhood.

Sarosh Baaj part III of these transliterations, consists of transliteration of the ‘Kemna Mazda’. On reading these prayers in English, one understands that after a Zoroastrian sings the praise of Sarosh Yazad and boldly professes (in Fravarane Mazdeyasno) his faith in the religion handed down by Ahura Mazda and propagated by the Prophet Zoroaster, the adherent turns to Ahura Mazda for succour against persecution, both personal and religious, and abjures the destructive mind emanating from the evil of Ahriman and Angre Mainyu.

For a better understanding of this religion received from Ahura Mazda an and brought to us by Zarthushtra, please refer to notes in Sarosh Baaj, Part II— a transliteration.

‘KEMNA MAZDA’

From “Kemna Mazda” to “ya ahmai vashi aahmai chit”

O Hormazd, when a bad man looks at me for revenge or  to harm me; who, but you, will protect me and mine, the aatash and my mind?

O Hormazd! For the sake of the Religion, reveal to me that, which by the act of both, leads me further on the Path.

When in difficulty, who is he who will vanquish the foe by dint of the verses on your Avesta; which verses are those that bring purity. O Hormazd, show me the leader who can guide me through both lives (here and hereafter). O Hormazd! For He who you love may His life proceed with a good mind and with Sraosh* (yazad).

From “Yatano tabishyant” to “***Armaitish ijaich”

O Hormazd and Aspendamard, save us from the jealous/envious!                          Go away /leave us! Oh Evil of the demigod;                                                                    Leave us Devidruj (falsity of idols)! O the brave, discard the thoughts of demigods!                                      Leave us Oh the seeds sown by demigods!                                          Leave us Oh the follower of the way of evil demigods! (which way has succeeded so far) ;         Disappear! Oh Falsehoods (druj**)!     Oh Evil run away from here!           Oh Evil be vanquished! Go to the North! The realms of purity (ashoi) are not to be harmed, let good thoughts and prosperity prevail.

*‘Sraosh’ or ‘Sarosh’, the literal meaning of the name is ‘listening’ or ‘sound’; from the root word, ‘Sru’– meaning to obey and hence, obedience to the will of God. This Sraosh or energy of sound is today, treated as an Angel of the Lord who brings us inspiration and who is the guardian of our souls. Sraosh coming with good mind means that men should listen to the inner inspiration of the voice within and then, by voluntary obedience to the divine will his mind be filled with love and thus, be purified.

**‘Druj’ literally means the enemy in ancient Iran the word was used for untruth, the greatest of our foes. In this passage it generally means Evil. North, in ancient Iran was the direction Evil the Abode of the Demons.  Asha is also taken to signify divine law and the entire manifest universe emanating from Ahura Mazda including the Eternal Laws of Nature/Tao.

*** ‘Armaiti’ the spirit of the earth is the fourth of the 6 Ameshaspends. She represents piety and faith. Faith, as devotion personified on the Abstract side and as the genius of Earth on the concrete side. Spenta Armaiti Aspendamard ‘Holy devotion’ retains her dual nature in the younger Avesta. She is the first of the mother Trinity of the Holy Immortals she represents firm unswerving faith in and loyalty towards God and his commands she watches over religion and inspires the Faithful she works with Asha she rules over Earth and in places she represents Mother Earth and is our mother both physical and spiritual. When a Zoroastrian dies he is left in her care after the body is placed inside the Tower of silence and its destruction has begun. The people outside the Tower recite the unfinished portion of Sarosh Baaj which they will have commenced by chanting from the last line of Kemna Mazda.

FRAVARANE  MAZDAYASNO —- TRANLITERATION

‘FRAVARAANE MAZDAYASNO’

A Promise (fravarane) to the Mazdayasne religion

I, the brave follower of Hormazd, follower of the Path revealed by Zoroaster, renounce  the Demons (Div also means senses), a person who behaves in   accordance with the way/command of Hormazd (the Geh is prayed here) promise (fravarane) in order to please, O Sarosh, the strong , whose body is made up of prayers, owner of lethal weapons, follower of the way of /manner of Hormazd, to worship, to sing his praises, propitiate his greatness, laud him so that, the great spirit/ meaning of ‘Yatha Ahu Vairyo’ be revealed to me; the pure sage /expert the learned ‘Atha Rathush Asha Chit Hasha’, be revealed to me.

We Praise the beautiful, victorious, one who gives the world progress, Holy and Pure Sarosh, the leader of sanctity (ashoi).

Ahunavar Shields the body from harm!

‘KEMNA MAZDA’ (Transliteration already given during kushti prayers)

*THE PATH REVEALED BY ZARTHUSHTRA AND AHUNAVAR PRINCIPLE:

Mazdayasni simply means the worship of or devotion to wisdom. The religion of Zoroaster in middle Persian was known as ‘Behdin’ or ‘good religion’. Hence the word ‘Behdinan’ means ‘adherents of the Zoroastrian religion’.

The religion exalts wisdom. The name given to the highest divinity is ‘Ahura Mazda’. ‘Ahura’ meaning ‘Being’ and ‘Mazda’ meaning ‘knowledge/wisdom’; the highest divinity in Zoroaster’s religion is therefore, not a personified creator but the intangible being made up of the energies of wisdom. ‘Ahu’ is often translated as ‘Lord’ ‘High Being’, a meaning deduced from the original meaning of ‘Ahu’, ‘a life-giving force’; ‘Mazda’ translated as the supreme intelligence/intellect/wisdom.

Zoroaster attributes this supreme entity with both a mind and a being which are immanent; meaning inherent and indwelling within the divinity itself leading to the belief in a universe that is immanently conscious and self-creating.

However, while this being, Ahura Mazda, the creative mind/principle, is Almighty, but He is not omnipotent; there also exists Ahriman (the destructive mind/principle), who is finally defeated before the end of time and wisdom, the pure and good mind, alone exists thereafter. On Ahriman’s defeat time will end and the Cosmos — including the dark souls – will be renewed and reunite in Ahura Mazda.

Thus the religion has a duality in its cosmogony (how the cosmos/universe

originated), but a monotheism in its eschatology (the part of theology which speaks of the final destiny of the world and humankind). This makes Zoroaster’s religion unique amongst the religions of the world.

The creation emanating from Ahura Mazda is ‘Asha’ (eternal order); that from Ahriman is ‘Druj’ (chaos). Humanity and all Universe have a duty to actively resolve the conflict between Asha and Druj and rise in wisdom and purity. According to Zoroastrian beliefs, Ahura Mazda , patently  made clear His ultimate triumph over Ahriman by the enunciating the “Ahuna Vairyo” (Yasna 19: “this utterance is a thing of such a nature, that if all the corporeal and living world should learn it, and learning hold fast by it, they would be redeemed from their mortality.”). The primordial sound, pronounced by Ahura Mazda before the universe manifested itself but after the emergence of the unmanifest, is the ‘Ahuna Vairyo’. It is ascribed with ‘talismanic virtues’ to destroy evil and ‘a most sacred gift’ and ‘healing recitation’ to assist mankind in distress.

Wisdom is immanent in the Universe and in mankind; through it, the self creating wisdom interacts with its created facet. During the temporary state of life manifest, the religion enjoins a duty upon the Universe, including mankind, to actively combat chaos (Ahriman and Angre Mainyu) by performing good deeds and ensuring happiness. This duty of conscious and voluntary participation by Zoroastrians in the war of good versus evil is pertinent to the idea of Free Will in Zoroaster’s teachings; Zoroastrianism abjures any form of monasticism.

I am doing the Sarosh Baaj in parts at the request of many readers .

Sarosh Baaj is the prayer Parsi children learn immediately after they learn the ‘Kusti’ prayers. Every morning, after doing the Kusti, every Zoroastrian prays the Sarosh Baaj. This prayer may be recited at any time of the day or night. However, the recitation of the ‘Geh’ in ‘Fravarane Mazdayasno’ will change depending on the time of the day. The Sarosh Baaj is a prayer to the Ameshaspand (energies ) that protect and heal and give prosperity. Check out the translation/transliteration of Haptan Yasht also, on this Blog.

From “Paname Yazdaan……pa patet hom.”

The greatness of Hormazd!

In the name of Khoda Hormazd Sahib who promotes /give progress!

May his splendour/majesty and *a u r a (khoreh) increase!

Pure Sarosh! Strong, made up entirely of sounds/prayers, wielder of therapeutic appliances, bearer of victorious weapons, the general of Ahura Mazda Khodai, come to my aid! I do penance for all my sins and become cleansed.

in this world, all the evil thoughts I may have brought to my mind, ill words that I may have spoken, bad deeds that I may have done, those that I have induced or I have begun or that I have encouraged — those sins of thoughts, of words, of deeds, of my body and soul, of this world, of the next world— for these I am remorseful and abstain from them, I do penance for these by observing the three intrinsic goodness ( good thoughts good words good deeds).

*AURA: All creation has an aura from natural to man-made goods.

From time immemorial, man has been in awe of the phenomenon of the aura, investing it with great spiritual value and importance. It has been the constant endeavour of humans to prove the existence of this energy which they call the ‘subtle body’.

Since the 1890s,  man had been trying to photograph this phenomenon.  Simply put, the aura is natural  heat emanating from a  body producing  subtle images . This aura of a body  will change with the internal changes in the body. We have

already seen in Sarosh Yasht Hadokth Ni Nirang that any vibrations (sound) appear to have colours depending on the length of the waves of that body’s vibrations  or vibratory level. All creation, generates and radiates electromagnetic energy, photons of light, scents,  sounds, heat, in keeping with the internal state of it’s body. These radiations contain a wealth of information about the body in question.

Therefore the energy emanating from a body will also have colour in

keeping with the waves that make up that particular energy.

In 1939, Russian electrician Semyon Davidovich Kirlian and his wife, Valentina,    accidentally discovered that energy can be photographed. This ‘Kirlian Photography’ uses 50,000 volts and a broad range of frequencies, ultra low current to make visible invisible energy fields , giving us unique insights.

NIRANG OF SAROSH YASHT HĀDOKHT
 

THE POWER OF SOUND

TRANLITERATION OF THE TEXT OF THE NIRANG:

May the majestic glory/magnificence/ brilliance and aura increase; of Sarosh the pure, strong, whose body is made up entirely of * holy words (manthravani), keeper of nourishing instruments, wielder of victorious/ triumphant weapons, the first amongst all creation! Come to my aid! So let it be! (May my above prayer be answered!) (Aedunbaad).

*word Sarosh stems from the root ‘Sru’ meaning to hear. Look at notes below for further understanding.

TEXT:

“Gorje khoreh awazāyād Sarosh asho, tagī tan-farmān  shekaft-zīn  zīn-awazār sālāre dāmāne Ahura Mazda berasād;  aedūn  bād.”

Pray one Ashem Vohū (Recite the Nirang thrice).

USES: 1. For Curing Psychological ailments can

2. For spiritual development;
3. To develop our Khoreh (aura);
4. To drive away ignorance with sincerity (the ignorance mentioned here is not the temporal but spiritual)

NOTE:

Sarosh Yasht Hadokht is to be prayed only in the daylight hours, i.e. in Haavan, Rapithvan or Uziren Gehs.

Sarosh stems from the root word ‘Sru’ meaning to hear. For the soul to evolve it needs to reach a certain vibratory level. Depending on the evolution of each soul, the kind of vibrations and effort required are different in quality and quantity.  That does not mean one is better or worse than the other; all will pass through all levels of development, sooner or later. Nature always arrives at the mean and permits no vacuum. Manthravani does the needful for the soul’s progress.

EFFECT OF PLEASANT WORDS AND ABUSES.

Waves caused by each sound, has a certain colour. These vibrations (sound waves and colour) made by the spoken word, are named ‘Staota’ in Zoroastrianism; a simple scientific fact and nothing mysterious about it. Now, Sarosh/Sraosh is the personification of that energy in the universe made of these sound vibrations/resonance. We receive the vibrations from this stronghold of sound energy we call Sarosh/Sraosh. Just as an aside note, the personification of the various energies in the universe, spoken of in Zoroastrianism, started with the compilation of the Zend Avesta. To understand, there is no such personification in the Gathas of Zarathustra. The Manthravani of Sarosh Yasht Hadokht Nirang goes a long way in raising the vibrations of a Zoroastrian making the soul more able to respond to the Universal vibrations.

However, as mentioned earlier, the soul’s progress will most certainly depend on its particular state and stage of being. Zoroaster has therefore, recommended the principle of ‘Ashoi’ , commonly understood as purity of heart, mind ,soul and body; the word in fact means the Tao, the eternal law, the laws of nature, the world order. The purity is, therefore, to be understood in context of the refinement of vibrations resulting from living in keeping with this Eternal law, the law of nature that maintains the world order what is also termed as Righteousness or Rectitude. The law that creates, governs and recycles the existence and working of the transpiring phenomena.

Hence, Sarosh is also considered the lord of rectitude and conquers the ‘corporeal druj’ like germs and attacks to the body born of a disturbed/ perturbed  environment  and incorporeal druj’ like falsehoods, greed, envy, jealousy, vendetta caused by the angry mind or Angre Manyu.

It stands to good reason that living by the laws of  the Great Wisdom, Ahura Mazda, the laws of Asha or rectitude, is bound to refine one’s vibrations to a level where it repels all evil (druj), tangible and intangible, and is thus ‘protected’ by Sarosh.

So, while continuing to pray to Sarosh, Improving the self and working towards one’s own Human revolution becomes obligatory for better and faster results.

Remember, it is the meeting of refined vibrations that matters and is not a mysterious, magical handout.

To better understand the effects of sound vibrations, I highly recommend reading the research done by Dr. Masuru Emoto. Also, view the videos pasted here at leisure when you have the time.

EFFECT OF WORDS ON FOOD.

VANANT YASHT —  TRANSLITERATION.

*Vanant Yasht is prayed to banish **Kharfestar (see meaning below) and harmful animals from our lives. Vanant is considered a guardian of goodness. It is believed that praying the Vanant Yasht is a potent remedy in fighting evil. The literal meaning of Vanant is ‘conqueror’ and Vanant Yasht is the liturgy of it.

The Transliteration

From “Paname Yazdaan……pa patet hom.”

The greatness of Hormazd!

In the name of Khodai Hormazd Sahib who promotes /give progress!

May his splendour/majesty and aura (khoreh) increase!

Created by Hormazd, the holy Vanant stars, foremost in purity come to my aid!

I do penance for all my sins and become cleansed.

In this world, all the evil thoughts I may have brought to my mind, ill words that

I may have spoken, bad deeds that I may have done, those that I have induced or I have begun or that I have encouraged — those sins of thoughts, of words, of deeds, of my body and soul, of this world, of the next world— for these I am remorseful and abstain from them, I do penance for these by observing the three intrinsic goodness ( good thoughts good words good deeds).

‘Fravaraane Mazdsyasno’

A Promise (fravarane) to the Mazdayasne religion

I, the brave follower of Hormazd, follower of the Path revealed by Zoroaster, renounce  the Demons (Div also means senses), a person who behaves in accordance with the way/command of Hormazd (the Geh is prayed here) promise  (Fravaraane) in order to please, offer latria (highest worship to the divine) and laud Vanant stars created by Hormazd to worship, to sing his praises, propitiate his greatness, laud him so that, the great spirit/ meaning of ‘Yatha Ahu Vairyo’ be revealed to me; the pure sage /expert, the learned ‘Atha Rathush Asha Chit Hasha’, be revealed to me.

We glorify the holy Vanant stars, the foremost in purity (Ashoi); created by Hormazd. I extol Vanant the praiseworthy, the illustrious, that bestows health, has the courage to combat the despised and worst of **Khrafstar (destructive creatures from another timeline or creation cycle) produced by Angre Manyu, who is to be shunned. (During prayers we clap here once).

We glorify the holy Vanant stars, the foremost in purity (Ashoi); created by Hormazd. I extol Vanant the praiseworthy, the illustrious, that bestows health, has the courage to combat the despised and worst of **Khrafstar (destructive creatures from another timeline or creation cycle) produced by Angre Manyu, who is to be shunned. (During prayers we clap here twice).

We glorify the holy Vanant stars, the foremost in purity (Ashoi); created by Hormazd. I extol Vanant the praiseworthy, the illustrious, that bestows health, has the courage to combat the despised and worst of **Khrafstar (destructive creatures from another timeline or creation cycle) produced by Angre Manyu, who is to be shunned. (During prayers we clap here thrice).

(To be prayed silently, ‘Baaj ma’)

I clamp shut the laws (mouth) of all rat and cat species (rodents and feline), so they cannot harm/damage my house. Let good health be celebrated! I invoke Hormazd, ***Faredoon, that Faredoon who is the son of Aathavyaan, I invoke his bloodline (****Kovat) and his aura (Khoreh). (Clap 3 times).

I clamp shut the jaws of snake and his ilk (reptiles); so that they cannot           harm/damage my house. Let good health be celebrated! I invoke Hormazd, ***Faredoon, that Faredoon who is the son of Aathavyaan, I invoke his bloodline (****Kovat) and his aura (Khoreh). (Clap 3 times).

I clamp shut the jaws of the wolf and all its ilk (canine), known-unknown all          wolves (canine) and cats (feline) so that they do not harm/damage my house. Let good health be celebrated! I invoke Hormazd, ***Faredoon, that Faredoon who is the son of Aathavyaan, I invoke his bloodline (****Kovat) and his aura (Khoreh). (Clap 3 times).

“Ahura Mazda Khodai avazuni marhum…..rasanad aedunbad”.

O Hormazd Khodai, the one to give growth/ progress to men, mankind, to all other creation, to all who participate /share in the good religion! I, an adherent of the Mazda Yasni religion have been already informed/ forewarned /told to always walk on the Path of Righteousness. So let it be!

“Yasnemcha vahmemcha…….Vanant Sitara”

I laud the Vanant Star, worthy of latria, well reputed, with intelligence to be victorious.

For meaning of Ahmai Rasche, Hazangaram, Jashme Avange Mazda and Kerfeh Mazda please refer to the Transliteration given under Sarosh Baaj on this Blog

“Roj neknaam….staomi ashem.”

This well reputed day, this holy day, celebrated/ felicitous day of ————–(name), celebrated/felicitous month of ———–(name), Geh _________(name), homage to the creator who brought this universe into be in being.

“Gorze khoreh avazyad……aedunbaad”

May the aura increase of the Vanant Star! Brave, victorious, (Star) raise my courage to attain victory in being aware of and following the Path. May the fame of the good Zoroastrian (Mazda Yasni) religion and its awareness spread throughout the seven continents. So let it be!

“Man aano ……avavyad shudan.”

I must/should go there; I must/should go there; I must/should go there.

“Dadaare gehaan din…..Anahite ashaone.” (To face south when praying)

The religion revealed by Zoroaster was given by Hormazd, the creator. O the sanctified (ashaum), super-strong (sevishte), immaculate (Ananhite), Ardvisur (well-known Iranian river) I offer prayers to you! (Pray Ashem Vohu).

O the meritorious, created by Dadaar Hormazd. (Pray Ashem Vohu).

O virtuous soul (urvaire vanguhi), homage! (Pray Ashem Vohu).

“Vanantem Sitarem…yazamaide.”

O the Vanant Star, created by Mazda, endowed with righteousness (Ashvanem), most fit disciple, we celebrate you! (Pray Ashem Vohu).

O the Vanant Star, whose creator is Hormazd, sanctified by righteousness, by Asha (righteousness/eternal law) grow splendidly exalted. (Pray Ashem Vohu).

NIRANG:

All tribulation, and the demigods/demons, and the falsehoods, and the fairies, and the Witches/she demons, and the magicians, and the bad winds (infection), and the pains, and stomach aches and pains of the seven joints in the body, and the evil emanating from Satan, and anguish (pain of the heart), and mental pains, and the vibrations that cause malaise of the mind, and the evil eye, and the temptation that arises from becoming aware of evil persons, and all such trials;

May these be vanquished and become impotent.

* Vanant, In Zoroastrianism, is the hypostasis (underlying substance, fundamental reality) of the ‘Star of the West’, a binary multiple star system in the Constellation, Scorpious. The star system is variously recognized as Altair, Fomalhaut, Vega, Sargas or Kappa Scorpii/Girtab . Girtab or Vanant is the 83rd brightest star in the night sky and can be seen with the naked eye; it is a pulsating blue Giant. The mass and radius of the primary star in the system is about 7 times that of our Sun in both cases.

Unlike the other energies, there is no month or day dedicated to Vanant; it is invoked with other astral phenomena every month on the second and third day.

Tishtriya (Teshtar sitaara) and Vanant are constant companions.

The only other divinity with no such dedication is Drvaspa

Vanant is perhaps an adaptation of the Sumero-Akkadian ‘Vanand’ and perhaps because of and during the Achamenid Empire’s proximity to Babylon

Vannati Upartat in Zoroastrianism, are the energies which protect the environment, animals and plants. Strangely, Hindi still retains the word Vanant meaning Jungles, or the boundary of the jungle, maidaan, field or battle field.

In Armenia people still use ‘Vanant’ as a name for a male child.

In the USA, ‘Vanant’ was a family name and not that of an individual. This was discovered in the 1940s during a search of the USA Census Record

The Census had records of their Vanant ancestors including their day to day life — like hours worked per week, level of education, veteran status, employers, and more. In the 1880s, the most common Vanant occupation in the USA was that of a Farmer. A 100% of Vanants were Farmers.

**Khrafstar : In its simplest connotation means  “Most hideous noxious     creature, most filthy and most stinking”; like, frogs, reptiles, scorpions , insects, ants, wasps, rats, midges, locust, lice, fleas which are harmful or repulsive — creations of the Ahriman. Predators were not included in the term. Khrafstar also denoted mad monstrous spirits that plagued the pre-historic world.

Traditionally, the word denoted creatures from another cycle of creation bringing ruin and destruction to the present world. These are creatures believed to exist in limbo (somewhere between Spirit and Material Worlds).

In an intangible sense it has been translated as a conscious force which

manifests inappropriately/improperly — a monstrosity, a maliciously clever, corrupt, half-witted, or intelligence, distorted wisdoms or visions of bygone era –creations of the Ahriman and Angre Manyu; Stagnant energy that has stopped progressing. In Zoroastrian lore, all that has stopped evolving or progressing has no further place in creation. The word is a precursor to the Middle Persian word ‘Druj’ also translated as falsehood.

In the descending line of evil, Khrafstars are lesser than the Div but a greater evil thanHumans. This evil can be transformed or destroyed with knowledge and wisdom. It is not invincible.

After the Muslims conquered Iran, ‘Khrafstar’ included wild animals which meaning is entirely contrary to the ancient lore and understanding. ‘Yašn-e ḵarafstra koshuun’ a ‘feast of destroying Vermin’ with ‘ḵarafstraḡāns’ (rods to kill vermin), was an annual tradition at the start of summer. The entire town was then disinfected and the dead vermin treated with drugs to decompose.

Christianity has brought the Khrafstar to our era as the animals used in witch craft and omens. The ‘Malleus Maleficarum’ (the Hammer of the Witches), the legal and theological document (c. 1486) the standard handbook on witchcraft is based on the idea of Khrafstar in Middle Zoroastrianism.

***Faredoon. Ancient texts speak of Faredoon, son of Aathavyaan, as an expert in all the Nirangs. Through these Nirangs he was able to prevent all harm and mischief to himself and deterred all the divs and druj from affecting him. Some texts acclaim him as a prophet.

****Kovat. I have translated Kovat as bloodline or ancestry or lineage. The word still remains and is in use in the Finnish, Czech and the Russian languages from amongst the Indo-Germanic group of languages. I give the meanings hereunder:

In Russian it means Forged, made from.

In Finnish it means heavy –handed, (object) hard, (person) hard, strict, harsh, (noise) loud, (blow) hard, heavy, (thirst, hunger) severe, (ammunition) live, pornography – hardcore.

In Czech it means to forge, to hammer.

NOTES:

Jashme Avange Mazda is the last prayer amongst those prayed when tying the Kusti. Jashme Avange Mazda is prayed immediately after the three rear knots of the Kusti are tied by a Zoroastrian. After the Zoroastrian has promised his faith and loyalty to the practice of monotheism, in this ultimate Kusti Prayer, the Jashme Avange Mazda, he reiterates his faith in the religion, and admits to the world at large that he follows the Path of Ahura Mazda

THE TRANSLITERATION

O Dadaar Hormazd, come to my aid! I am a Mazdayasne (believer in the religion of the Mazda Yasnis , monotheist, as against the Dev Yasni, polytheists), as a Mazdayasne Zoroastrian, as one who raises his voice in praise and one who invokes faith, I love you/ my preference is you.

I laud the thoughts that are thought by the  pious (Nek vichaar), I laud the words that are spoken by the  pious, I laud the deeds that are done in piety, I laud the Mazdayasni Din that vanquishes  all hostility, that causes men to relinquish their weapons, instills self confidence and makes them follow the Path ( Raasti).

Of all the religions existing today or those that will come hereafter, *Hormazdi Zoroastrianism (Av: ‘Ahuirish Jarthutrish’) is the greatest, best and purest.

I acknowledge openly that all nature/ creation is from Hormazd.

To know this is to praise the Mazdayasne Din.

*‘Ahuirish Jarthutrish: The ultimate object of a Zoroastrian life is to strive towards world order, progress and ultimate perfection of the world through the three tenets —

1) Good thoughts good words good deeds;

2) There is no path other than the path of Asha i.e. Raasti. There are always the two opposing forces both in cosmology and morals; the idea is to choose the Raasti, the Path of Ashoi;

3) Do the right not because one derives material advantage from it but because it is the thing to do including, protecting the Environment.  Zoroastrians believe that everything He created is pure and should be treated with love and respect.

Zoroastrian Mazdayasni faith believes that there is one, and only one, universal, transcendent, supreme being, Ahura Mazda meaning ‘the Wise Lord’; Almighty but not omnipotent. He is the creator ‘Asha’, truth/order justice. — The Creative force in the cosmos.

Ahriman, the destructive force in the Cosmos and the morally evil ‘Druj’, chaos, falsehood and disorder, does not emanate from Ahura Mazda. In fact, He creates no evil; consequently, the much debated idea of cosmological dualism in Zoroastrianism among scholars. Angre Mainyu and his Akem Mana (evil thinking) is the opposite of Spenta Mainyu. The entire cosmos, including each and every human being (read Zoroastrian), has a role to play in the resulting conflict between this good and evil. Ahura Mazda has manifested his supreme victory over Ahriman by articulating the Ahuna Vairyo.

The Zoroastrian divinity is a being within the limits of possible experience or knowledge, this has given rise to some scholars describing the religion ‘as a belief in an immanent self-creating universe with consciousness as its special attribute’. Thereby causing Zoroastrianism to be defined as pantheistic, a doctrine that equates God with the forces and laws of the universe.

Ahura Mazda works through the Spenta Mainyu , good spirits/bounteous immortals. The creation, in its turn, experiences this created Universe through the seven primary Ameshaspends and the entire host of the Yazads (Worthy of Worship) guided by Ameshaspends. Each Yazad is founded on a moral or physical aspect of creation.

It is these Ameshaspends and Yazads (that stand under and support the Zoroastrian Wise Lord, Ahura Mazda) and the host of energies that is the foundation of the Zoroastrian divinity.

Zoroaster, himself is not worshiped. To the Zoroastrians, he is the prophet of God who taught man of Asha and Raasti.