Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul

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The ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts: the Ren, the Ba,
the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human
body (called the ha, occasionally a plural haw, meaning approximately sum of bodily parts).
The other souls were aakhu, khaibut, and khat.
Contents
1 Ib (heart)
2 Sheut (shadow)
3 Ren (name)
4 Ba
5 Ka
6 Akh
7 Relationships
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 Further reading
Ib (heart)



jb (F34) "heart"
in hieroglyphs
An important part of the Egyptian soul was thought to be the Ib (jb), or heart. The Ib
[1]
or
metaphysical heart was believed to be formed from one drop of blood from the child's
mother's heart, taken at conception.
[2]

To ancient Egyptians, the heart was the seat of emotion, thought, will and intention. This is
evidenced by the many expressions in the Egyptian language which incorporate the word ib,
Awt-ib: happiness (literally, wideness of heart), Xak-ib: estranged (literally, truncated of
heart). This word was transcribed by Wallis Budge as Ab.
In Egyptian religion, the heart was the key to the afterlife. It was conceived as surviving
death in the nether world, where it gave evidence for, or against, its possessor. It was thought
that the heart was examined by Anubis and the deities during the Weighing of the Heart
ceremony. If the heart weighed more than the feather of Maat, it was immediately consumed
by the monster Ammit.
Sheut (shadow)
A person's shadow or silhouette, Sheut (wt in Egyptian), is always present. Because of this,
Egyptians surmised that a shadow contains something of the person it represents. Through
this association, statues of people and deities were sometimes referred to as shadows.
The shadow was also representative to Egyptians of a figure of death, or servant of Anubis,
and was depicted graphically as a small human figure painted completely black. Sometimes
people (usually pharaohs) had a shadow box in which part of their Sheut was stored.
Ren (name)
As a part of the soul, a person's ren (rn 'name') was given to them at birth and the Egyptians
believed that it would live for as long as that name was spoken, which explains why efforts
were made to protect it and the practice of placing it in numerous writings. For
example
, part of the Book of Breathings, a derivative of the Book of the Dead, was a means to ensure
the survival of the name. A cartouche (magical rope) often was used to surround the name
and protect it. Conversely, the names of deceased enemies of the state, such as Akhenaten,
were hacked out of monuments in a form of damnatio memoriae. Sometimes, however, they
were removed in order to make room for the economical insertion of the name of a successor,
without having to build another monument. The greater the number of places a name was
used, the greater the possibility it would survive to be read and spoken.
Ba

Ba takes the form of a bird with a human head.

This golden Ba amulet from the Ptolemaic period would have been worn as an apotropaic
device. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.



b (G29)
in hieroglyphs



b (G53)
in hieroglyphs
The 'Ba' (b) was everything that makes an individual unique, similar to the notion of
'personality'. (In this sense, inanimate objects could also have a 'Ba', a unique character, and
indeed Old Kingdom pyramids often were called the 'Ba' of their owner). The 'Ba' is an
aspect of a person that the Egyptians believed would live after the body died, and it is
sometimes depicted as a human-headed bird flying out of the tomb to join with the 'Ka' in the
afterlife.
In the Coffin Texts one form of the Ba that comes into existence after death is corporeal,
eating, drinking and copulating. Louis abkar argued that the Ba is not part of the person but
is the person himself, unlike the soul in Greek, or late Judaic, Christian or Muslim thought.
The idea of a purely immaterial existence was so foreign to Egyptian thought that when
Christianity spread in Egypt they borrowed the Greek word psyche to describe the concept of
soul and not the term Ba. abkar concludes that so particular was the concept of Ba to ancient
Egyptian thought that it ought not to be translated but instead the concept be footnoted or
parenthetically explained as one of the modes of existence for a person.
[3]

In another mode of existence the Ba of the deceased is depicted in the Book of Going Forth
by Day returning to the mummy and participating in life outside the tomb in non-corporeal
form, echoing the
solar
theology of Re (or Ra) uniting with Osiris each night.
[4]

The word 'bau' (bw), plural of the word ba, meant something similar to 'impressiveness',
'power', and 'reputation', particularly of a deity. When a deity intervened in human affairs, it
was said that the 'Bau' of the deity were at work [Borghouts 1982].
Ka



k (D28)
in hieroglyphs
The Ka (k) was the Egyptian concept of vital essence, that which distinguishes the
difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body.
The Egyptians believed that Khnum created the bodies of children on a potter's wheel and
inserted them into their mothers' bodies. Depending on the region, Egyptians believed that
Heket or Meskhenet was the creator of each person's Ka, breathing it into them at the instant
of their birth as the part of their soul that made them be alive. This resembles the concept of
spirit in other religions.
The Egyptians also believed that the ka was sustained through food and drink. For this reason
food and drink offerings were presented to the dead, although it was the kau (kw) within the
offerings that was consumed, not the physical aspect. The ka was often represented in
Egyptian iconography as a second image of the king, leading earlier works to attempt to
translate ka as double.
Akh

Akh glyph
The Akh ( meaning '(magically) effective one'),
[5]
was a concept of the dead that varied
over the long history of ancient Egyptian belief.
It was associated with thought, but not as an action of the mind; rather, it was intellect as a
living entity. The Akh also played a role in the afterlife. Following the death of the Khat
(physical body), the Ba and Ka were reunited to reanimate the Akh.
[6]
The reanimation of the
Akh was only possible if the proper funeral rites were executed and followed by constant
offerings. The ritual was termed: se-akh 'to make (a dead person) into an (living) akh.' In this
sense, it even developed into a sort of ghost or roaming 'dead being' (when the tomb was not
in order any more) during the Ramesside Period. An Akh could do either harm or good to
persons still living, depending on the circumstances, causing e.g., nightmares, feelings of
guilt, sickness, etc. It could be evoked by prayers or written letters left in the tomb's offering
chapel also in order to help living family members, e.g., by intervening in disputes, by
making an appeal to other dead persons or deities with any authority to influence things on
earth for the better, but also to inflict punishments.
The separation of Akh and the unification of Ka and Ba were brought about after death by
having the proper offerings made and knowing the proper, efficacious spell, but there was an
attendant risk of dying again. Egyptian funerary literature (such as the Coffin Texts and the
Book of the Dead) were intended to aid the deceased in "not dying a second time" and
becoming an akh.
Relationships
Ancient Egyptians believed that death occurs when a person's ka leaves the body.
Ceremonies conducted by priests after death, including the "opening of the mouth (wp r)",
aimed not only to restore a person's physical abilities in death, but also to release a Ba's
attachment to the body. This allowed the Ba to be united with the Ka in the afterlife, creating
an entity known as an "Akh" (, meaning "effective one").
Egyptians conceived of an afterlife as quite similar to normal physical existence but with a
difference. The model for this new existence was the journey of the Sun. At night the Sun
descended into the Duat (the underworld). Eventually the Sun meets the body of the
mummified Osiris. Osiris and the Sun, re-energized by each other, rise to new life for another
day. For the deceased, their body and their tomb were their personal Osiris and a personal
Duat. For this reason they are often addressed as "Osiris". For this process to work, some sort
of bodily preservation was required, to allow the Ba to return during the night, and to rise to
new life in the morning. However, the complete Akhu were also thought to appear as stars.
[7]

Until the Late Period, non-royal Egyptians did not expect to unite with the Sun deity, it being
reserved for the royals.
[8]

The Book of the Dead, the collection of spells which aided a person in the afterlife, had the
Egyptian name of the Book of going forth by day. They helped people avoid the perils of the
afterlife and also aided their existence, containing spells to assure "not dying a second time in
the underworld", and to "grant memory always" to a person. In the Egyptian religion it was
possible to die in the afterlife and this death was permanent.
The tomb of Paheri, an Eighteenth dynasty nomarch of Nekhen, has an eloquent description
of this existence, and is translated by James P. Allen as:
Your life happening again, without your ba being kept away from your divine corpse, with
your ba being together with the akh ... You shall emerge each day and return each evening. A
lamp will be lit for you in the night until the sunlight shines forth on your breast. You shall be
told: "Welcome, welcome, into this your house of the living!"
See also
Ghosts in ancient Egyptian culture
Notes
1. Britannica, Ib
2. Slider, Ab, Egyptian heart and soul conception
3. "A Study of the Ba Concept In Ancient Egyptian Texts.", p. 162163, Louis V. abkar,
University of Chicago Press, 1968. [1]
4. Oxford Guide: The Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology, James P. Allen, p. 28,
Berkley, 2003, ISBN 0-425-19096-X
5. Allen, James W. Middle Egyptian : An Introduction to the Language and Culture of
Hieroglyphs. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77483-7.
6. EGYPTOLOGY ONLINE, 2009
7. Ancient Egyptian Religion: An Interpretation by Henri Frankfort, p. 100. 2000 edition,
first copyright 1948. Google Books preview retrieved January 19, 2008.
8. 26th Dynasty stela description from Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
References
Wisner, Kerry E. (2001), The Spiritual Bodies of the Ancient Egyptians, retrieved
2011-03-03
EGYPTOLOGY ONLINE (2001), The concept of the afterlife, archived from the
original on 2008-04-21, retrieved 2009
Further reading
Allen, James Paul. 2001. "Ba". In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, edited
by Donald Bruce Redford. Vol. 1 of 3 vols. Oxford, New York, and Cairo: Oxford
University Press and The American University in Cairo Press. 161162.
Allen, James P. 2000. "Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and
Culture of Hieroglyphs", Cambridge University Press.
Borghouts, Joris Frans. 1982. "Divine Intervention in Ancient Egypt and Its
Manifestation (b3w)". In Gleanings from Deir el-Medna, edited by Robert Johannes
Demare and Jacobus Johannes Janssen. Egyptologische Uitgaven 1. Leiden:
Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten. 170.
Borioni, Giacomo C. 2005. "Der Ka aus religionswissenschaftlicher Sicht",
Verffentlichungen der Institute fr Afrikanistik und gyptologie der Universitt
Wien.
Burroughs, William S. 1987. "The Western Lands", Viking Press. (fiction).
Friedman, Florence Margaret Dunn. 1981. On the Meaning of Akh (3) in Egyptian
Mortuary Texts. Doctoral dissertation; Waltham: Brandeis University, Department of
Classical and Oriental Studies.
. 2001. "Akh". In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, edited by
Donald Bruce Redford. Vol. 1 of 3 vols. Oxford, New York, and Cairo: Oxford
University Press and The American University in Cairo Press. 4748.
Jaynes, Julian. 1976. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral
Mind, Princeton University.
abkar, Louis Vico. 1968. A Study of the Ba Concept in Ancient Egyptian Texts.
Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 34. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
[hide]
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Ancient Egypt Po

The Ancient Egyptian Concept of the Soul

By Caroline Seawright

To the Ancient Egyptians, their soul, their being, were made up of many different parts. Not
only was there the physical form, but there were eight immortal or semi-divine parts that
survived death, with the body making nine parts of a human.




The precise meaning of ka, ba, ach (akh), `shm (sekhem), and so on is no longer clear to us.
Well-meaning scholars try again and again and again to force the Egyptian idea of the soul
into our traditional categories without enabling us to understand even a little of it any better

-- J. J. Poortman, Vehicles of Consciousness - the Concept of Hylic Pluralism

The Egyptian's other worldly parts include:

Khat (Kha) - The physical form, the body that could decay after death, the mortal,
outward part of the human that could only be preserved by mummification.

Ka - The double that lingered on in the tomb inhabiting the body or even statues of
the deceases, but was also independent of man and could move, eat and drink at will.
(There was both a higher, guardian angel like Ka and lower Ka that came from
knowledge learned on earth.)



Ba - The human headed bird flitted around in the tomb during the day brining air and
and food to the deceased, but traveled with Ra on the Solar Barque during the
evenings.

Khaibit - The shadow of a man, it could partake of funerary offerings and was able to
detach itself from the body and travel at will, though it always was thought to stay
near the Ba.

Akhu (Akh, Khu, Ikhu) - This was the immortal part, the radiant and shining being
that lived on in the Sahu, the intellect, will and intentions of the deceased that
transfigured death and ascended to the heavens to live with the gods or the
imperishable stars.

Sahu - The incorruptible spiritual body of man that could dwell in the heavens,
appearing from the physical body after the judgment of the dead was passed (if
successful) with all of the mental and spiritual abilities of a living body.

Sekhem - This was the incorporeal personification of the life force of man, which
lived in heaven with the Akhu, after death.



Ab (Ib) - The heart, this was the source of good and evil within a person, the moral
awareness and centre of thought that could leave the body at will, and live with the
gods after death, or be eaten by Ammut as the final death if it failed to weigh equally
against Ma'at.
Ren - The true name, a vital part to man on his journey through life and the afterlife, a
magical part that could destroy a man if his name was obliterated or could give power
of the man if someone knew his Ren - naming ceremonies in Egypt were secret, and a
child lived his whole life with a nickname to avoid anyone from learning his true
name!

The multiplicity of Egyptian thought is so different from the traditional view of western
thought that it can be hard to imagine.

The dead man is at one and the same time in heaven, in the god's boat [Re, the sun-god's,
celestial barge], under the
earth
, tilling the Elysian fields, and in his tomb enjoying his victuals.

-- Lionel Casson, Ancient Egypt

In Egypt one person could have multiple afterlives - each different part of the person would
be able to have its own existence after death, if they survived the trials of the underworld and
the Osirian judgment of the dead with all of their magic spells.



While the Khat lies in the tomb, ready to be animated by the Ka, the Ba might be traveling
the underworld with Ra. While the Ab is with the gods, the Khaibit might be with the Ba on
the barque, or in the tomb eating some offerings. At the same time, the Akhu, Sekhem and
Sahu might be contentedly living in the stars, looking down at the earth.

An interesting point to note is that the Egyptians believed that animals, plants, water and even
stones had their own Ka. A human's Ka could move around while a person slept, and even
inhabit a plant if the Ka so desired, rather than the human. The Ka could manifest itself, as a
ghost, to others, both when the person it was 'born' with was dead or a live. It was even
thought to haunt those who did wrong to it - if family failed to make proper offerings, the
starving and thirsty Ka would haunt them until they corrected this error!





The Egyptians mummified their bodies because their physical form was an integral part to
their afterlife. Being such a practical people, liking what they could see and touch, an
existence without a physical body was unacceptable to them. Even the destruction of the
heart (the spiritual Ab rather than the physical heart) would mean the death of all of the other
parts of the being, but it meant that the physical heart was preserved along with the physical
body. Other rituals point to the importance of the physical body after death - the Opening of
the Mouth ceremony allowed the body to breath, while other rituals were performed on the
corpse to allow the deceased to see and hear in the Land of the West.

Death was a complex affair. Originally this was only for the pharaoh, but the rich soon
believed that they could take part in the afterlife, and eventually the poor believed they could
join the ranks of the blessed dead. Other reasons for the complexity of life after death came
from the Egyptian way of clinging to ideas, rather than discarding them when new ideas came
along. The intermingling of peoples, the different religious ideas and cults all were
incorporated into the Egyptian belief system, giving rise to this elaborate belief system.



From the monuments and papyrus scrolls and tombs left today, it's no wonder that Egyptians
were thought to have focused their lives around death! But the Egyptians, like any other
people, enjoyed life, and did not look forward to death. They followed the maxim "live life
not that thou shalt die" - partying and generally trying to enjoy life. But death, to the
Egyptians, was a somewhat better version of their current life. They would eat, drink and
share good companionship in the stars or in the Land of the West. They would have servants
to do their chores for them. Life, after death, would be ideal.

The only problem was that there was no guarantee that they would actually get to the afterlife,
and there was always the threat of their names, physical bodies or images being destroyed,
killing their multiple parts in the process. Spells, prayers, tomb paintings and statues could
help, but if everything was obliterated, then they died, too. No wonder the Egyptians lived
their lives to the fullest!
Caroline Seawright

Read more: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/soul.htm#ixzz3Ch1enkEq
HOW TO DO THE MEDITATION
The meditation uses the mantra "ankh ba". This mantra can be translated "The soul
lives", meaning that the soul is a living reality that we are meant to experience here on
earth, thereby bringing feelings of profound joy, aliveness and love into our daily life.
More information on this mantra and its pronunciation are noted below. To do the
meditation, repeat the mantra "ankh ba" (either out loud or mentally) while
simultaneously focusing your attention on the point midway between your eyebrows.
If you can sense the chakra in this area, you will get somewhat better results by
focusing on the chakra itself-however, it is enough to focus your attention on the surface
of the skin midway between the eyebrows. If your attention wanders from either the
mantra or the between-the-eyebrows point, then gently bring it back.
The emphasis is on refocusing your attention, not trying to drive out other thoughts.
Although the image of the ankh on the computer screen carries the energy of the
empowering initiation, it is not part of the ankh ba meditation itself. The meditation does
not require visualizing an ankh or being in front of the computer screen.
To get the best results from this meditation, it is recommended that you do it at least 3
times per week. It is also suggested that you meditate for at least 20 minutes per time.
Most people reach a point of diminishing returns after about 45 minutes, however it is
safe to do the meditation for as long as you want because the energies that the
meditation brings in will temporarily shut off if you start to overcharge yourself.
NOTE: The ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol taking the form of a T-shape surmounted
by a loop. The ankh has multiple meanings, including eternal life. It is also the word for
physical life. The word "ba" had somewhat different meanings in different ancient
Egyptian schools; here it is best translated as "soul".
It is through the soul that we have eternal life and even physical life, for without the soul
the body is just lifeless clay. Here's a guide to pronouncing the phrase "ankh ba": In the
word "ankh" the letter "a" is pronounced like the "a" in "hat", the "n" is pronounced like
the "n" in "ring", the "kh" is pronounced like the "k" in "bake". In the word "ba", the "b"
is pronounced like the "b" in "bed" and the "a" is pronounced like the "a" in "car".
About the Golden Ankh Initiation
Introductory Level
This initiation empowers you to do the Golden Ankh Meditation, a meditation that is
one of the standard practices in both components of the Khu school, namely the
Mysteries of Isis sequence and the Mysteries of Osiris sequence. This meditation was one
of the most popular in the ancient Egyptian teachings, appearing in most of the schools.
Each lesson of the Khu sequence contains an initiation which makes the Golden Ankh
Meditation even more powerful.
Please allow ten minutes for the initiation to come in. This initiation empowers you to do
the meditation described below. The initiation does not give you the ability to empower
others to do the meditation. Anyone who wishes to receive the initiation should ask
Irving's higher self to give it to them; his higher self uses the unique energy technology
referred to on page 68 of Energy Blessings From The Stars: Seven Initiations by Virginia
Essene and Irving Feurst to make the initiation even more effective than it was in the
ancient Egyptian schools. (To use a rough analogy, the effect of this technology is like
digitally re-mastering a movie to make a new version that is an improvement over the
original).
Please note that it is the shakti, or spiritual energy, conveyed by the initiation which
gives this meditation its transformative power; without the shakti the meditation is
simply another visualization and lacks the power given to it by the shakti.
STEP ONE Receive the Initiation:
While there are no required rituals or symbols, three steps are recommended to help you
focus your intention:
1. Go into your quiet inner space.
2. Verify that both your heart and your mind are willing to receive what you are
about to ask for.
3. Make a specific request such as "I request Irving's higher self to send me the
Golden Ankh Initiation now."
STEP TWO The Meditation:


After receiving the initiation, to do the meditation, visualize a golden-colored
ankh roughly 1-3 feet in front of the chakra located at the level of the
middle of the forehead (commonly referred to as "the brow chakra"). An
example
of the ankh symbol is shown here, however the exact shade of color, size,
orientation, etc. are not critical.
It is even okay for the visualization to be a little vague or for your connection to the
ankh to be primarily kinesthetic. However there does need to be some degree of
visualization because the activation process for the attunement involves the visual center
of the brain. Visualizing the ankh brings in energies that have the following effects:
(a) They are profoundly clearing for the etheric, emotional and mental bodies. The
etheric body interpenetrates and vitalizes the physical body.
(b) They facilitate your realizing - physically, emotionally, and mentally - that you are
embodiment of God.
When your attention wanders from the ankh, gently bring it back. As much as possible
have the ankh be the sole focus of your attention, but do this by directing your attention
to the ankh not by trying to drive out other thoughts.
If the ankh changes to another form it is okay to meditate on that form as long as both
of the following conditions hold
1. It changes form all by itself and
2. it "wants" to keep the other form. Whenever you feel you have the choice to go
back to the ankh, you should do so.
Because this meditation energizes the middle-of-the-forehead chakra, you may at times
find yourself visualizing the ankh inside your head rather than in front of you. However,
to get the most from this meditation, you should definitely visualize the ankh in front of
you.
It is recommended that you do this meditation at least once per week and preferably at
least 2 - 3 times per week. Do this meditation at least 15 - 20 minutes per time. Most
people reach a point of diminishing returns after about 45 minutes, however it is safe to
do the meditation for as long as you want because the energies that the meditation
brings in will temporarily shut off if you start to overcharge yourself.
ZOROASTRIANISM The Spiritual Teachings of the
Saviors.
MEDI TATI ON I N THE GATHAS
Overview and Suggested Practices
The Gathas, as most of you know, are the Zarathushtrian Scriptures and in The Teaching of the Saviors, they form the Key
text to which all others most harmonize and through which all others must be interpreted. Zoroastrian Religion, which is the
historical religion that grew around Zarathushtra, and the Teaching of the Saviors, is not known very well in the West.
Mostly, if it's known at all, is know through the writings of the Sassanian Sect of Cosmic Dualists, and through their
recompilation and editing of the Avesta, the writings of the old Zoroastrian Religion, which originally included the Gathas in
a separate position, together with some other compositions in the same dialect called Gathic. These are more ancient than the
rest of the Avesta. The Gathas and the Haptanghaiti (7 Chapters) are composed in meter and are poems meant to be sung or
chanted. Most of the Avesta on the other hand, is composed in prose.
The Gathas were composed by following ancient Aryan meter and its rules, where the text was preserved, because every
syllable was a unit of meter. Thus any alteration to a single syllable can be detected and eventually corrected. Every line was
made of two portions and each portion, which were called feet (pada), and stood for a unit of thought. Zarathushtra
organized prayers around fire, because fire symbolized a part of nature and energy, being the very essence of everything, and
it symbolized God. In the Gathas, Zarathushtra very often prays, in fact a very large portion of the Gathas are either prayers
or can be used as prayers. However, what many people miss is, that they are also ideal for meditation and that they in fact
were meant to be meditated .
Take Song 3,.verse 2
It reads:
Carefully listen to the Best and Highest Ponder
(think through - meditate), with clear thinking (without preconceived ideas)
Then let every man and woman decide, each for their them selves,
on the choice of what belief to profess.
Awake and spread this message. (The Teaching of the Saviors)
In other words, Zarathushtra wants people to choose between the dead religion of form and ritual, of illusory deities, of fancy
ceremonies, of grabbing priests and unholy alliances between the secular leaders and the religious ones, and the Spiritual
Teaching of the Saviors, the Teaching of the Path of Love and Good Thinking, were both men and women were free to
choose after meditating on that choice
So as you can see, meditation is really at the core of the Path of Love and Good Thinking. It would ground and help us to
choose the right way. It will also make us realize the unity of every creation, the presence of the Creator and His/Hers (the
Creator has no gender).Qualities in everything, including us.
It will help us to hear and discern the voice of God in the voice of an awakened conscience. It will help us to understand the
Spiritual Teaching of the Saviors and help us to apply it on our lives. It will help us physically and mentally, by reducing
stress and taking control of our emotions, and it will help us allowing the qualities of God to reign in our lives, so that we
may eventually become ethically God-like, and achieve our full realization as the Spirit Beings we are, by nature and
creation. Finally it would teach us how to help all creation to progress towards renovation and achieve fullness and
immortality and also the promised future life, in a renovated living world.
As we first study the so-called prayers that Zoroastrians recited daily, we will realize that these main prayers are really not
prayers at all. They are really very concise, very profound manthras, which are thought-provoking words and descriptions of
just what the Spiritual Teaching of the Saviors, the Path of love and Good thinking is, and how to set it up and also how it
should work. They are meant to be meditated, more than prayed. This is not to take away from prayer at all, just to make
clear that the main prayers were designed to be mediation tools. In particular, I am talking about the Ashem Vohu ( The True
and Right Order of Love and Good) and The Yatha Ahu (The Choice of Leaders and Spiritual Guides).
These two are two of the basic elements and tools given to us by Zarathushtra, to start building a practice of Meditation,
which will change our life for the better and which can change the world for the better as well. The third element is fire .
Much has been written about Zoroastrians to be fire-worshippers and fire as a mystical being, the son of Ahura Mazda, etc,
but that is not what this is all about. Certainly, fire is a spiritual tool and, like all the Qualities of Ahura Mazda, the Most
Wise Creator, it is a son or
daughter
(by emanation of Ahrua Mazda and the whole of Creation, including us people). What I mean is that there are specific
reasons why Zarathushtra and his first disciples made such emphasis in praying in front of fire, because fire happens to be an
excellent tool for contemplation and meditation. In fact perhaps the very best tool to apply the imagination and visualization
techniques, that are integral to any form of meditation.
You see, a fire can be used in many ways for meditation. Just by thinking
and mediating on its nature, on what it is, what it does and stands for, is a
one and very important way.
Another way is to use a fire that is somewhat exposed to a current of air.
That fire will be moving, it will flipping side-to-side waxing and waning
rapidly. In this way, the fire can be an excellent tool to help you focus, in
spite of distractions. Why? Because, if you choose, as you always should, a
point in the fire, either at its base, or in the middle of the flame, and you
concentrate on that, while learning to tune out the waxing, waning, the
flickering and constant movements, you will be increasing your concentration abilities manifold. Then you can apply those
increased abilities to any other form of concentration meditation, prayer, study, and work, whatever.
A third, and perhaps my most favorite way of using fire in meditation, is the opposite of the above. Find a place with
absolutely no air currents, or very little air currents (make sure though that the place is not too hot for you, OK?) This is
excellent if you want to concentrate on the very center of a flame, where you can see that blue flame as light, if dark spots
are in the center of it. If you fixate on that, it helps you, once you will start to see forms, to visualize your self, your soul,
your spirit among those forms INSIDE the fire, and if the fire is not burning you, you can visualize yourself in full
communion with it and with the other forms. There you can apply what you learn of the Teaching of the Saviors and
visualize the Qualities of the Creator, and how they function.
In there also, you van visualize the connection between all things, in fact there is no limit to what you can visualize. You can
even see and feel for example, how Moses might have felt when watching a bush that was on fire, but never burned. Or what
the King saw, when he looked in the fire and saw Daniels friends (Daniel by the way was a convert to the Teaching of the
Saviors, if you read in between the lines). They were not only not burned, but were joined by another one, like unto a son of
God (see the Book of Daniel, one of the most Zarathushtrian books of the Bible). All these techniques and more you will
learn, if you wish to, by first going deeper into the teachings and then taking part in special meditation classes, which we
will make available from time to time.
Now I must add that all these forms of meditations can be practiced in one of two ways. One way, which Zarathushtra
himself called the best, is "Tushnaa.maiti", from tusna, meaning silent, and maiti, meaning mindedness, or meditation. This
is an advanced way of meditating, one that can only be truly achieved after going through just basic mindedness, after
mastering that which is really simple. If you have a bit of dedication and pay attention, you can move on to the most
common meditation in the Gathas, one that not even scholars know the Gathas are teaching. I am talking what in the original
language would mean Yielding Meditation, and is well known in the Gathas as a term, which has been translated in many
ways, and in fact is one of the Principal Qualities of Deity. The importance of mastering this cannot be overstated. Once you
have mastered Yielding Meditation, you will in fact have internalized in your very soul and mind, a quality of the Most Wise
Creator and Good Lord of Existence, Ahura Mazda.
So what is it? It is "Aara.Maiti". Many have translated this as piety, love, right-mindedness, love-devotion and, of course,
serenity, tranquility, and peace, as I myself have done right here in
this site
. And these are not wrong! No, they are not, BECAUSE when you practice Yielding Meditation Aara.Maiti, you will
experience all of these and you can make all of this part of your practice and your daily live. Because Aara.Maiti will lead
you to all of these and more, it will, as the Gathas indicate, help you to build the Kingdom or Reign of God and His/Hers
Qualities, both inside you and in the world at large.
So I have little left, but to invite you all to do one little experiment in meditation. Maiti or Mindedness and Aara.Maiti are
both guided meditations, although once you get into Tushnaa.Maiti , you can practice Aara Mati by yourself, with no
guidance as well. Lets get down to this little experiment. It wont take but a few minutes of your time, and after it, you will
go to the Forum here in the site and tell me how you feel.
Find a place that is quiet, a room with little or no air currents ( dont close in yourself so much that
you will be too hot), get yourself a large broad candle (I prefer aromatic, but any will do) and seat
comfortably in a chair, sofa, floor-mat, whatever. Where you can and wish, stretch out and move
your arms and legs, but do it in front of that candle and lit it. Then grab yourself a copy of the
Gathas. Jafareys version is accurate and can be downloaded and printed for free without
commentary, from www.zarathushtra.com Open the Gathas, or move to the page where you have
Song 6.14
Heck, I will even place my version of it right here below, although I still advise you to either buy or
download the Gathas, preferably Jafarey, but if you can't, almost any will do, as long as its not pre-
1920s and its not Nanavuttys. My version is a little different than Jafareys but not much.
Here it is:

Now as a dedication, I, Zarathushtra
offer to the Most Wise Creator
the very life-breath of my own self
and the first fruits of my loving and good thinking,
deeds and words, gained through following the True and Right Order,
and with my ear to the divine voice, I offer, in fact, my whole strength.
Now I want you to change the name 'Zarathushtra' with your own name, and pray this prayer with the utmost earnest
and sincerity, pray it, in fact, as if your life depended on it.
After you pray it, look up to the fire of the lit candle and looking straight at either the base of the flame, or at the very
center of it, start to breath slowly in and out, in and out, without removing your gaze from the flame.
Concentrate only, at first, on your breathing and nothing else. Then include in your concentration that part of the
flame you are gazing at.
Keep on doing that for a few brief minutes.
Then imagine yourself relaxing close your eyes, relax your extremities, relax your shoulders, and relax your back.
Fix your attention on the top of your head. Feel it, in your mind, feel the movement of the blood beneath the skin of
your scalp, and feel the warmth of the skin in your scalp. That warmth is the fire within you!
Now picture that fire within you, shooting out towards that flame in the candle, see it move there in your mind, see
the flame of the candle move towards you, so feel its warmth.
Then slowly let it go, slowly let it go. Relax, relax even more, open you eyes for a minute and look at the same spot
on the flame you were looking at before.
Close your eyes and keep on breathing in and out, in and out, and they say "Ashem", when you breathe in, and
"Vohu" when you breathe out, Ashem when you breathe in, Vohu when you breathe out
Then say: "Truth, right and order come in" (in your in-breath) hold it and think, they produce in me.
Then breathe out, and as you are breathing out, you think: "love and good thinking".
Repeat this several times and then slowly go back to just breathing in and out and then slowly open your eyes and
look again at the fire and say: "Thank you, Mazda Ahura. I am at peace".
You have finished!
Now recite the whole Ashem Vohu, if you can in Avestan,

Ashem Vohu,
Vahishtem Ashti ,
Ushta Asti,
Ushta ahmai hyat ashai vahishtem ashem

If not, then in English:

The true and right Order is Love and Good.
Its the Best and Highest
It is radiant light and happiness.
Radiant light and happiness comes to the one who is for the True and Right Order only,
because the True and Right Order is the Best and Highest of all things created.
Then go to the web pages forum and tell me how you feel, whether not better, more relaxed and with a better attitude
Zarathushtra was the First Universal Teacher of the Saviors
(his biography)
Zarathushtra was a teacher, but, more than a teacher; he was a Universal Teacher. He was a Seer,
but more than a Seer, he saw the coming of the Saviors of the Lands, the different masters, the
benefactors, Saviors and prophets of the different lands on the Earth. He cries out to Mazda Ahura,
the Most Wise and Generous Creator, the Good Lord of All Existence, and he cries out:
Wise One, Generous and Great Creator, for our
knowledge, speaks with the very words of Your mouth.
It will help me guide all the living to choose aright.
My translation of Gathas: Song 4, stanza 3 (second part of
verse)
In this stanza Zarathushtra establishes several key things that we must understand, if we are to be able to interpret the
Gathas, or any other religious book related to Daenam Soshyantem, The Spiritual Teachings of the Saviors.
First he established that the creator is the fount of knowledge, a knowledge that humans lack, but is in the nature of the
Creator to have. Thus humans must seek Divine Guidance.
Second, this Divine guidance comes from the Voice of God, or Seraosha, which indwells Creation and its there to reveal the
Creators nature and purpose to the Creation. Thus the phrase speak with the very words of Your mouth is a
reference, not a physical mouth, since the Creator is spirit and thus has no physical mouth. It's Seraosha, the Voice of God,
the Voice that Ought to be Obeyed, if we desire to attain the goal, which is a happy and blissful return to our Creator and the
mainyava or spiritual/mental dimension of existence.
Third he declares in this stanza the Universality of his guidance or teaching. For its purpose is to guide all the living to
choose aright. i.e. to choose Asha, to choose the Divine guidance, the very word Voice of God that can be found in the
Gathas, in Creation itself and in prayer and meditation.

Having realized unto Good Loving Thinking,
when shall I see you, O Law of Truth and Right?
When shall I find the path to the Most Powerful Good Lord of Existence,
and listen to the voice of the Most Wise One, the Great and Generous Creator?
With these greatest thought-provoking words,
we shall convince the barbarians to choose the right spiritual teaching.
My translation of Gathas: Song 1 - stanza 5
Having realized, in himself and others the Divine Aspect of Good Loving Thinking, which is the ability to love the good and
think good thoughts, in loving a Divine aspect, that, when personally realized, can and will change the person and the world,
Zarathushtra seeks for more. He seeks for the ability to See, and thus understand The Divine aspect, which is the Law of
Truth and Right and the ability to find the path.
To God, who he describes as the Most Wise, Generous and Great Creator (Mazda and The Good Lord of All Existence
(Ahura), he understands that the Path, which he later calls the Path of Vohumanah, is powerful. It has these greatest of
thought provoking words (manthras) and that through these words, the barbarians, that is the ignorant followers of
illusion, will be converted and choose the Right Spiritual Teaching.

Zarathuhtra goes on:
He, who opposes the false ones, whether gods or their men, denies them just as they
deny Him in spirit, or with their thoughts, and unlike others, acknowledges Him with
correct and willing spirit, is, through his Prospering Spiritual Teaching, the Savior and
Master of the Abode a friend, brother, and father, (like) Mazda Ahura.
My translation of Gathas: 10-11
The person who steps away from the illusion and deception of the Druj, which is the illusionary and deceitful nature of sense
perceived reality, denying allegiance to either false divinities (of which he mentions elsewhere that they are the creation of
Bad Thinking and disdain), or their followers, and accepts the Creator, with the right spiritual and mental attitude, becomes,
through the prospering (meaning prospering and creative) Spiritual Teaching, that is, the Daenam Soshyantem, the
Spiritual Teaching of the Savior/Benefactors, him or her self, a savior or benefactor, a Master of the Abode, ( probably a
reference to Garo Demana, The Abode of Songs) and a friend, a brother and father to others, like Mazda Ahura Himself.
That is, he or she attains the Dominion/Kingdom, Completion and Immortality, and becomes God like.

Now, they shall be the Saviors of the Lands, who follow the satisfaction of Loving Good
Thinking and base their actions on, through the Law of Truth and Right, on Your
Teachings, Most Wise Generous and Great Creator. They indeed have been made to
fight fury.
My translation of Gathas: 13-12
Here Zarathushtra uses the previous stanza to Introduce the concept of saviors and benefactors and now he introduces the
Spiritual Saviors and Benefactors who are to come, and describes how to identify them, for they will: A) Follow Good
Loving Thinking and B) They will base their actions on the Divine Spiritual teachings, which is Zarathushtrian in origin, and
they will do this through observing The Law of Truth and Right.

When, Most Wise Generous and Great Creator, shall those days dawn which will, for
the maintenance of the world of the True and Right Law, Motivate the understanding
of the Saviors with advanced teachings. To whom shall this understanding come with
Loving Good Thinking to help? For myself, Lord, I choose Your Teachings.
My translation of Gathas: 11-3
Here Zarathushtra is actually confirming that revelation, or, shall we better say Divine Guidance, will continue to further add
to the understanding of men, as the Saviors will have been guided or motivated by Divine Guidance (Seraosha) and will
come with advanced teachings.

The latter or Young Avesta prophecy on the 3 Saviors
Also as to the birth and arrival of Ushedar, son of Zartosht, at the end of the first millennium, and a report of him and his
time, and of the many destroyers of the organizers of the period between Zartosht's millennium and the coming of Ushedar.
13. The arrival of Ushedarmah, son of Zartosht, at the end of the second millennium; information about him and his time,
and the destroyers of the organizers, who were within the millennium of Ushedar. 14. The coming and arrival of Soshyant,
son of Zartosht, at the end of the third millennium, the destroyers of the organizers who were within the millennium of
Ushedarmah, the arrival of Soshyant, and information about Soshyant and his time. 15. Also, as to the renovation of the
universe and the
future
existence, it is declared that they arise in his time. (Spend Nask).
Although this is a Pahlavi work, it contains earlier material of the Young Avesta. It is important to note the meaning of the
names of the saviors.
Ushedar: it means in Middle Persian Father or Creator of light/enlightenment.
Ushedarmah: Father of the Moons light.
Soshyant is Middle Persian for Savior. Here it refers to THE Savior that is the final savior who will usher in Fresho Kereti,
the Making Wonderful, or Fresh of the Cosmos.

The happiness You grant has been promised to the two sides through Your mental fire
and the Divine Law of Truth and Right. Its a matter of principle for the discerning.
Wise One, Generous and Great Creator, for our knowledge, speaks with the very words
of Your mouth. It will help me guide all the living to choose aright.
Gathas: Song 4 - stanza 3
Zarathushtra states that God, the granter of happiness, has promised the two sides, being the followers and lovers (ashavans)
of The Law of Truth and Right (Asha), and the followers of, or lovers of IIllusion (Druj, being illusion and dregvants its
followers) through His mental fire, that is through the fire or power of Gods very intellect. For those who discern this, it
is a principle to live by.
For our knowledge, God will speak (through Seraosha , Gods Voice or Communication (meaning that he is not necessarily
talking of actual speech, but either speech in a vision), or in some other form of communication. Words that will help guide
Zarathushtra to convert all the living. He goes on in the same spirit to state:
Speak to me so that I can discern what has been made better with the law of Truth and
right and know and realize through good loving thinking what has been granted to me
as a seer. Also, Mazda Ahura, the things that will and will not happen.
Gathas: Song 4 - stanza 5
Thus Zarathushtra claims both illumination and direct guidance, as a seer, by which he means that he has visions in
meditation, which guide him, not only on what to say, teach and do now, but of what is to come, mainly the Saoshyants of
the Lands, meaning the Saviors/Benefactors, the bringers of spiritual teachngs from the lands or nations of man.
In the above context it is undeniable that Zarathushtra saw himself as the forerunner and thought Provoker, who provoked
the thinking of the Saoshyants, the Saviors/Benefactors of the lands. It is with this in mind that we approach his statements
on the Saoshyants and the Latter or Younger Avesta prophecy, about the Three Saoshyants or saviors, which follow below.

Good Lord of All Existence; this is the same Path of Good Loving Thinking that You
have shown me. It is the spiritual doctrine of the Saviors by which good deeds lead only
through the Law of Truth an Right to happiness, the promised reward for the
beneficent, a reward, Most Wise and Generous Great Creator solely given by You.
My translation of the Gathas: Song 7 - stanza 13

This I ask You, tell me truly, Lord.
That Spiritual Teaching is the best for the living,
which promotes the world through the Law of Truth and Right
and which polishes words and actions in serenity.
Therefore, the yearnings of my mind are for You, Wise One.
My translation of the Gathas Song 9 Stanza 9

How shall I know, Most Wise, Generous and Great Creator, that You have power
through the Law of Truth and Right over those who menace me, or are harmful to me?
Let the web, woven by Loving Good Thinking, be truly shown to me (through Seraosha,
Your Voice), so that the Savior knows what his lot shall be.
My Translation Gathas: Song 13.9)
In this very interesting stanza, we can see that the Saviors would gain their knowledge, their inspiration, their guidance,
because they would have that guidance already in ZARATHUSHTRA. that is IN THE GATHAS (elsewhere in the Gathas,
Zarathushtra states that Seraosha dwells in the Gathic Manthra , or message itself, besides being available through
meditation and prayer.
To conclude, Zarathushtra is no mere Aryan seer (rshi or ereshi). He is THE Manthran the Thought Provoker, whose
Divinely Inspired thoughts (through and by the Voice of God/Seraosha) provoked the thought process that eventually
inspired the saviors!!! The Aryan Manthran is the source of the Spiritual Teachings of the Saviors. He is the Universal
Teacher for Humanity.