Ahura Mazda and its Inner Meaning by Roni K. Khan
The following are extracts from
“Selected Writings” of Late Roni K. Khan.
A greater part of this write-up, however, is an extract from Roni Khan’s article “THE MAANTHRA AHURA MAZDA AND ITS INNER MEANING” which was dedicated to the memory of the Marker family – Noshir and Sanober (née Chinoy) and their children Tushna (16), Erachsha (14) and Rostam (10) who passed away tragically on 16 January 1993.
“AHURA MAZDA” AND ITS INNER MEANING
In the Zoroastrian religion, everything begins and ends with Ahura Mazda, which is the resplendent holy name crafted by Asho Zarathushtra for the glorious divinity who stands sole and supreme at the pinnacle of all creation. And in the Zoroastrian religion there is absolutely nothing that does not unerringly relate back to Ahura Mazda as the one and only sovereign of the entire creation.
It is therefore a little disappointing to observe that most scholars, especially Western, tend to treat the meaning of Ahura Mazda in a relatively casual and conventional manner, many not even bothering to explain the individual meanings of the two individual terms “Ahura” and “Mazda”. Several generations of scholars appear to have rested content to render “Ahura Mazda” as the Wise, All-knowing or Omniscient Lord, or in similar terms that all revolve around the attribute of “wisdom”.
This is no way intended to denigrate great scholars or demean their various significant academic contributions. But it is to say that for those who actually practice Zoroastrianism as a living faith it is strange and dissatisfying to imagine Ahura Mazda stands for nothing more profound and sublime than “the Wise Lord” ! The knowledgeable faithful believe, and with good reason, that every technical term and concept in the Zarathushtrian scriptures is skillfully designed to contain profundity upon profundity which reveals to the initiate the inner secrets of the divine scheme of creation.
Please note that “Ahura Mazda” is a double-barrelled name, which is a very significant fact in itself. We shall therefore have to examine, individually and as proper nouns, each of the two components “Ahura” and “Mazda”.
Philological study (study of languages) of Avestan and Sanskrit is a practical and valuable tool often used to uncover or confirm the true meanings of Avestan words. By the standard rules of transmutation of Avestan letters into Sanskrit letters, the letters “s” and “h” are interchangeable.
The four Vedas are the oldest of the Sanskrit scriptures, and the Rig-Veda is the oldest of them all. While it is estimated that the Vedas were codified from circa 4560 B.C. onwards, modern researches from various angles (including astronomy) vouch for the unanimous testimony of ancient Greek historians that the era of Asho Zarathushtra was circa 6300 B.C.
From the philological angle scholars were able to detect such extremely ancient forms of pronouns in the Gathic Avestan language that they believed it to be the elder sister of the Rig-Vedic. Later comparative research on the two languages has further thrown up number of striking evidences that yield the same conclusion. No scripture in the world predates the Avesta and the Vedas, and the Gathas of Asho Zarathushtra would appear to predate even the Rig-Veda. (All this is not to say, of course, that one scripture is any less or the more valid, profound, great or holy than the other; perish the thought!).
Having said that, let us now begin to examine the inner meaning of the composite name of “Ahura Mazda” – a name so chosen by Asho Zarathushtra himself to address his beloved creator.
THE INNER MEANING OF “AHURA”
When viewed as a common noun, “Ahura” simply means “lord”, “master” or “chief”. But when we are dealing with the highest and holiest name of Almighty God, surely we should take a less mundane view, consider “Ahura” as the distinctive and specialized proper name of the Supreme Divinity, and invest His name with the highest spiritual connotation it is capable of bearing. Surely we should, and in attempting to do so we shall first have to break “Ahura” down into its two elements of “Ahu” and “ra” for individual analysis.
“AHU” is derived from the root “ah”.
The identical replica of Avestan (Av.) “ah” in Sanskrit (Skt.) is “as”,
and the exact replica of
Av. “ahu”
in Skt. is “asu”.
“Ah” (Skt. “as”, Lat. “esse”, Fr. “e(s)tre”) = to be, to exist, to live, to breathe.
“Ahu” (Skt. “asu”) = life, existence, breath, vitality, spirit.
“Ra” (Skt. “ra”), the second element in “Ahura” = to give, to bestow.
No transmutation operation is required in this case, since the identical word “ra” already happens to exist in the Sanskrit vocabulary.
Now having clearly established the meanings of the two key elements “Ahu” and “ra”, we simply combine these two to arrive at the full meaning of “Ahura”:
AHURA = AHU + RA = “THE LIFE-GIVER”
THE SUPREME REPRESENTATION OF
UNIVERSAL SPIRIT
Ahura is therefore the Bestower of the Breath of Life, and the wholly spiritual nature of His ethereal function can hardly be missed. The reference here is to the etheric Vital Life Force (“ushtana”) provided by the “divine light” or fiery “atash” energies which infuse spirit into lifeless material bodies, thereby animating them in what we marvel at as the miracle of life.
THE INNER MEANING OF “MAZDA”
“Mazda” is composed of the two individual elements “maz” and “da”. Conventional scholastic opinion has it that “maz” = great, large, abundant and that “da” = to know. Upon combining these two, “Mazda” is rendered, usually adjectivally as great-knowing, all-knowing or omniscient. And since the conventional school of thought also holds that “Ahura” = Lord, it follows naturally that the composite term “Ahura Mazda” is rendered as the All-knowing Lord or the Omniscient Lord. But it may be pointed out straightaway that both these two latter forms are inadequate, for the simple reason that only the one element “da” (= wise, wisdom) is taken into account, while the equally important element “maz” (= great) is left out in rather step-motherly fashion!
We have already found, “Ahura” yields a far deeper significance (THE LIFE-GIVER) than is customarily supposed (Lord). And now, when reviewing the customary view of “Mazda”, we find that while there is no reason to dispute “Maz” (Skt. “Mah”) = great, mighty, there are cogent reasons to dispute that “da” means to know, within the context under reference.
It must be noted that the selfsame Avestan root “da” is capable of taking up to four different meanings. Thus:
Av.”da” (Skt.“do”) = to cut, mow, reap;
Av.”da” (Skt.“dhyai”) = to know, think, contemplate;
Av.”da” (Skt.“da”) = to give, grant, confer, bestow;
Av.”da” (Skt.”dha”) = to create, make, form, cause, produce, establish, support.
There is evidence to postulate that the particular “da” which is found contained in the name “Mazda” does not mean “to know”. And therefore, its various derivatives such as “wisdom”, “wise” or “omniscient”, all based on the theme of knowledge from “da” = to know, are not correct indicators of the intrinsic meaning of the term “Mazda”. The conventional view, in vogue for so long, should at least now be seriously reconsidered in the best traditions of objective and dynamic scholarship, for the following reasons:
The present writer drew up for study a list of 120 mentions in the holy Gathas of all words deriving from the Avestan root “da”. The main findings and inferences from this study are given below:
Of the total 120 mentions sourced, a huge majority of 106 mentions derive from Av. “da” (Skt. “dha”) = “to create” or from Av.”da” (Skt.”da”) = “to give”.
Merely 14 mentions derive from Av.”da” (Skt.”dhyai”) meaning “to know”.
Of the 120 mentions sourced, 56 mentions are in direct association with the Supreme Divinity, Ahura Mazda, while the remaining 64 are in connection with Ahura Mazda’s created beings, whether human or angelic.
Of this highly relevant sub-sample of 56 mentions (which are in direct association with the name of Ahura Mazda), an overwhelming majority of 55 mentions derive from Av.”da” (Skt. “dha) = “to create” or from Av.”da” (Skt.”da”) = “to give”.
Thus, from the intrinsic evidence of the holy Gathas we discover that words from the Avestan root “da” when meaning “to know”, are very infrequent in general, and are in fact conspicuously rare or virtually absent with particular reference to Ahura Mazda.
To put this finding in another way, whenever we come across a “da” based word in the holy Gathas, it is very unlikely to convey the idea of “knowing” and is even more unlikely or almost impossible when that word has something to do with Ahura Mazda.
Hence, we are in a position to draw the reasonable inference that it is against the laws of probability that the “da” element contained in the name “Mazda” means “to know”.
(d)
With the research evidence putting the idea of “knowing” (Av.”da”, Skt.”dhyai”) out of the running, the only candidate words for interpreting the “da” contained in “Mazda” are:
Av.”da” (Skt.”dha”) = to create, make, form, cause, produce, establish, support.
Av.”da” (Skt.“da”) = to give, grant, confer, bestow.
The fourth alternative of Av.”da” (Skt.”da”) meaning to cut, mow, reap, is a no-runner from the start, with zero mentions in the Gathas.
Because Ahura Mazda wields supreme power in the universe, there may be less difference than first meets the eye between the act of “giving’ (Av.”da”, Skt.“da”) and the act of “creating” (Av.”da”, Skt.”dha”) on His part, thereby blurring the distinction between the two candidate words. This perhaps also explains why Gathic translators seem to perennially debate among themselves whether a given word derives from “da” = “to give” or from “da” = “to create”.
The above serves to remind us that the single most awesome power that sets Ahura Mazda totally and uniquely apart from all other entities in the universe is the power to elevate the ordinary action of “giving” into the transcendental act of “creating”.
Therefore, of the sub-sample of 56 mentions which are in direct association with the name of Ahura Mazda, although the quantitative mentions of “da” = “to give” exceed those for “da” = “to create”, by 38 to 17, the act of “creating” as the unique power and most distinctive feature of the Supreme Being, clearly indicates that Av.”da” (Skt.”dha”) meaning “to create” is the most appropriate candidate word for defining “da” contained in the name “Mazda”.
It is important to further mention here that in Avesta there are two roots which mean “to know” – these two are “vid” and “da”. In a related research, it was found that in the Gathas it is “vid”, not “da” that is usually used to associate the idea of “knowing” with Ahura Mazda.
The conventional epithets of “wise”, “all-knowing” or “omniscient” all denote only a single attribute of Ahura Mazda, His wisdom. This defies reason! How can just one attribute ever do justice to a multi-faceted Supreme Being, and how can it be incorporated into His very name as the sole indicator of His multi-sided personality? In reality, Ahura Mazda is the repository of myriads of lustrous attributes, since every virtuous quality that exists is attributable to Him !
Among the scriptural treasures of our good religion are to be found a number of holy names of Ahura Mazda, reflecting His various pristine attributes. These are enshrined in the Hormazd Yasht, the Ram Yasht, and elsewhere. Countless generations of the devout have, through faith and experience, recognized all these holy names as potent and bountiful “maanthras”*.
Thus, “Khratush” (knowledge) and “Chishtish” (wisdom) are certainly enumerated among His various lofty virtues, and He is also styled as “Zhnoishta” (omniscient, all-knowing). However, since these attributes must be counted among a whole host of other equally important attributes, it is impossible that the one aspect of “Wisdom” portrays His nature any more fully or aptly than, say, other attributes like Righteousness, Perfection, Invincibility, Holiness, Compassion, Omniscience, Omnipotent, Omnivision and the many others.
Just as a single facet of a diamond, howsoever brilliant, is not the whole diamond, a single virtue cannot presume to personify Mazda, and the “attribute approach” to His name is therefore inherently inappropriate.
The secret of Mazda’s name can only be unlocked through a “functional approach” that focuses on His PRIMARY FUNCTION in relation to all that exists.
And certainly the, the most primary, most basic, most innate and most profound function of Mazda, to which all His other functions are directly but subserviently connected, concerns the CREATION and management of the universe, of which He is the First and Only Cause.
And finally, after having examined and evaluated the evidences and arguments, we are now ready for the inner meaning of “Mazda”:
“Maz” (Skt.”maz”, Lat.”magnus”) = great, mighty, powerful, exalted;
“da” (Skt.”dha) = to create, make, form, produce, conceive, generate, establish.
Therefore:
MAZDA = MAZ + DA = “THE GREAT CREATOR”
Mazda is thus the Maker of the Universe, the almighty Architect, Engineer and Mason all rolled up in one. As the Maker of the Universe, it is Mazda who creates the material structures or shells of all the countless bodily forms and shapes that are contained within creation, thereby providing the necessary framework into which Ahura then blows the breath of Life.
THE INNER MEANING OF “AHURA MAZDA”
In its full-blown glory, Asho Zarathushtra’s double-barrelled compound name for the Supreme Being inseparably unites the two components “Ahura” and “Mazda” to yield a sweepingly comprehensive meaning:
AHURA MAZDA
=
AHURA
+
MAZDA
=
“THE LIFE-GIVER – cum – THE GREAT CREATOR”.
The scope of this integrated name envisages the entire panorama of the cosmos. The two fundamental building blocks of the universe are Matter and Spirit, both of which are effected through the vibrational wavelengths of sound and light. Matter is dead without Spirit, and Spirit is disarmed without Matter. A living universe demands that Spirit be present to infuse Life into inanimate material forms, while simultaneously demanding that Matter be present to provide the physical structures or shells for Spirit to inhabit and animate. One without the other is like a carriage without a horse.
This is why AHURA and MAZDA are inter-assimilated in an indivisible and indissoluble Unified Divine Entity bearing the high and holy “maanthric” name – “AHURA MAZDA”!
* Maanthra is derived from “man” = mind and “thra” = instrumental suffix.
Therefore, the term “maanthra” = instrument of thought. Now, the instrument of thought is the word. But a “maanthra” is not just an ordinary word.
Rather, it is a specially constructed word, or set of words, designed to generate particular wavelengths of sound-vibration when recited in the proper manner. A “maanthra” is therefore a word of power whose every letter and syllable is systematically arranged or “woven”, stitch-by-stitch as it were, into a tapestry of vibrational sound.