Mazdayasna as a way of life rather than a religion

Dear Parviz

This is true for Abrahamic religions.
But it is not true for Zen Buddhists or Taoists and I think it is among them, and the Brahmanists in India, that we find better role models for how we should be good and happy Mazdayasni.
Mazdayasna is not even a religion. It is a philosophy and a way of life.

Ushta
Alexander

2010/3/10 Parviz Varjavand

Dear Mehemet,

The problem is that most of those who gravitate heavily towards religions are mortally fearful of free and honest thinking. They need Dev-Yasna and without a Dev telling them in a book what to do, they feel lost, unprotected, without a bearing to hang on too. They have never learned that they are not naked if they are not hanging on to something of the Deva, a book, a hair, a talisman, anything. So to feel at ease with Mazdayasna and celebrate being left alone with your mind is absolutely scary to them. Madayasna is such an art, an art that unfortunately we do not teach our young. We take them to religious classes and only teach them Devyasna. "Repeat these prayers, Light candles to this Dev or that", this is all we are doing to their young minds. How many religious classes do you know where they teach the child the art of freedom of thought, of Mazda-Yasna, of Philo-Sophia? Most of the teachers of such classes are those who know their Dev-yasna by hard and live their lives with the love of the Dev, how can we expect our children to learn Mazdayasna from such teachers?

Mehr Afzoon,
Parviz Varjavand

--- On Tue, 3/9/10, mehmet azizoglu wrote:

From: mehmet azizoglu
Subject: Re: [Ushta] Ahurå Mazdå 's Creation as his Co-creators; Choices and the Origin of Evil
To: ushta@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 10:34 AM

Good point Parwiz, while reading Ardeshir I can't help but think that I am reading from a muslim scholar who believes everything from Koran is right and must be obeyed without questioning

Ushta
Mehmet

On Mon Mar 8th, 2010 8:49 PM EET Parviz Varjavand wrote:

>
>Dear Ardeshir,
>
>There is one problem with your presentation and that is if somone asks you "How do you know all this ?" you have to say " The Book tells me so". This makes your version of the Din based on FAITH, faith that the Book is telling the truth about subjects that go beyond the reach of the logical mind.
>
>You may find it not objectionable in we become one more religion of the BOOK and FAITH, I do. It lowers our status to the level of all the other religions who oprerate on this formulla and have failed mankind so far.
>
>Ushta te ,
>Parviz Varjavand
>--- On Sat, 3/6/10, ardeshir farhmand wrote:
>
>
>From: ardeshir farhmand
>Subject: [Ushta] Ahurå Mazdå 's Creation as his Co-creators; Choices and the Origin of Evil
>To: Ushta@yahoogroups. com, "mehrdad farahmand" , "Special Kain" , "Eduljee" , kamran.jamshidi@ gmail.com
>Date: Saturday, March 6, 2010, 9:01 PM
>
>Although i have written on this subject before, i received few e-mails that asked me to elaborate further on the the origin of evil in Mazdyasna or Zoroastrianism. i hope that this short article would clarify the traditional Zoroastrian view on the subject.
>
>The question is that since "Ahurå Mazdå" is pure goodness, genius, brilliance and awesome creativity, whence have come all the evils that abound upon earth???
>
>All is from Ahurå Mazdå, but when God has created infinite worlds and manifested his endless creation, he made this creation not a mindless, obedient, robotic machine without any will, spirit or consciousness. Quite to the contrary, God made the creation as his own manifestation and gave the creatures, power and an awesome energy/spirit to be his CO-CREATORS.
>
>This concept is known as "hå-kúrenå" in the poetic gathas, the fourth line of Yasna 44.1. hå-kúrenå is the ability to create, make, form, shape and re-invent similar to Ahurå Mazdå.
>
>The word is from the same root and original meaning as Pali/Sanskrit "kårunå." kårunå has been translated as "compassion, " but a more accurate rendering would be to translate it as having the same passion/spirit/ creativity.
>
>According to the the fourth line of Yasna 44.1, Ahurå Mazdå through "ashå" or his truth/infinite essence of his awesome reality, has made us/the creatures, his friyå or loving friends and CO-CREATORS- hå-kúrenå. By empowering his creation to be his CO-CREATORS, Ahurå Mazdå has added infinite imagination, richness and endless possibilities to his master work.
>
>Yet, this very spirit/energy given by God to all his creatures from the living earth, to the dynamic galaxies, to humans; to be co-creators, re-shapers and form-makers has presented the creatures with a CHOICE to be GENIAL BUILDERS and add infinite imagination, beauty and luminosity to the manifestation; and form things ever more harmonious and lovely, OR to be DISTORTERS rather than creators, and interfere and spoil with what was begun well.
>
>The great and dynamic creative spirit is distorted the moment it touches stagnation and ignorance. We must be vigilant to co-operate with the infinite imagination and creativity of Ahurå Mazdå and not think that whatever happens is always the best and comes directly from God. All depends upon the personal attitude/choices we make. If, in the presence of circumstances, we take the highest possible attitude---that is to say, if we put our consciousness/ spirit in contact with the highest consciousness/ energy within our reach/understanding ---we can be certain that in such a case what happens is the best that can happen. But as soon as we fall from this "boundless consciousness" and come into a lower/more fragmented and limited state of consciousness, then it is evident that what happens can not be the best, since we are not in our best/most vibrant consciousness/ mind/spirit.
>
>The distortion comes because of the concentration on our limitations, and the resulting obscurity, stagnation and ignorance. It is a grave mistake to make matter a synonym for obscurity and ignorance. We live/exist simultaneously in many worlds, and in one way the most important of these worlds is this physical reality world. For this world of matter is the point of concentration of all the worlds, it is the place where all the worlds will have to manifest.
>
>In the words of a great indian sage "What happened had to happen, but it could have been much better." Evil CREPT into the world because the creatures became imprisoned in their limitations and forgot the infinite and fascinating essence of their own and the world's reality.
>
>As we read in the beautiful MITHR YASHT.29, our promise is the source of good and evil, harmony and conflict. If we choose to believe in our promise, and be God's co-creators, it will be always endless possibilities, goodness and infinite growth; and if we choose to be distorters and spoilers, it will be misery, suffering and evil until we learn our long painful lessons, and remember the wonderful promise of our very existence.
>
>
>ardeshir