Chapter 30
The following evening, when the Zarathustrians were assembled for prayer and singing, the soul of Zarathustra again appeared before them in sar’gis, teaching the Word of Ormazd. He said:
There are two types of people on the earth; one is engrossed in the affairs of earth; the other in the affairs of heaven. It is better for you to be of the latter. The fool will say: If all people are engrossed with the affairs of heaven, then who will provide on the earth? Such is the argument of all druks. Do not fear, therefore, for the earth people becoming short of votaries.
Similarly it will be said of celibacy also; the druks will say: If all people become celibates, then the race of man will terminate. For which reason, I say again to you, do not fear, for there will be plenty left who are full of passion, and are unmindful of the kingdoms of heaven.
Let all who can, live for the Higher Light; the lower will always be supplied sufficiently.
Even as you find the two types of people on earth, so also in heaven these two types exist. One follows the Highest Light, and ever rises toward the highest heavens. The other follows the affairs of earth, and does not rise, and hence is called druj. The latter engages in sensualism, and in quarrels among mortals, inspiring them to evil and low desires.
One person present asked: How shall we know one another, whether we are of heaven or of earth? Then Zarathustra answered, saying: Seek to know yourself; you are not your neighbor’s keeper. Search your own soul a hundred times every day, to know if you practice the All Highest according to your own light. Neither shall you find excuses for your shortness; nor reflect overmuch on past errors, but use them as inspiration to perfect yourself from now onward.
Another one present asked: What about thieves, falsifiers, and murderers? Zarathustra said: The man who serves himself only, is worse than any of these; there is no resurrection for him. But if a man ceases his evil way to practice virtue, he is on the right road.
A falsifier is like one wearing a clean gown, going about casting filth upon it; he soils his own spirit.
A thief is in a worse condition than an overburdened beast; he carries his stolen goods not only in this world, but also in heaven, to the end of his memory.
A murderer is like a naked man, who is ashamed, and cannot hide from the multitude. When he is in heaven, his memory of the deed writes, in human blood, a stain on his soul, which all others see.
Another one asked: According to the I’hua’Mazdian law, the highest, best men forsake the world, laboring to raise up the poor and ignorant, reciting prayers and anthems; taking no part in the affairs of people who are engrossed in the matters of earth; who, then, shall govern the wicked? To which Zarathustra answered, saying:
When there are no men and women sufficient for such purpose, there will be no wicked to govern. Despite all your preaching that the highest life is celibacy, there will be plenty left who will marry; with all your preaching that the highest, best man will not be a leader of men, or a king or governor, yet there will be plenty left who will fill these places, even though they see the walls of hell opened up to receive them.
Another one asked: If the Zarathustrians separate from the disbelievers, and live by themselves, what will be their power to do good among the evil? To which Zarathustra said:
As the highest heavens send Lords and masters down to mortals, so shall the Zarathustrians send emissaries among the wicked, preaching the truth, and citing the example of the Zarathustrian cities (communities).
For above all philosophy that man may preach, practice holds the highest place, and is most potent. See to it, therefore, that you practice the Ormazdian law toward one another in all things. Avoid men of opinion; men of learning who pride themselves in it; men of argument; men who quibble for proofs in unprovable things; men who wish to be known as wise men; men who deny; men who can see defects in everything, and have no good alternative to offer.
Shun the disbelieving man, for he is diseased and may infect you; the flatterer, for he is purchasing you; a woman for woman’s sake; or a man for man’s sake; or company for company’s sake; for all these imply that the Creator is less in your sight, and not so well loved.
One asked concerning spirits; to which Zarathustra said: For the affairs of earth, consult the spirits of the earth, the drujas; for the affairs of everlasting resurrection, consult your Creator, and His holy spirits will answer you in His name. And to whichever you have made yourself companion, there will be your abiding place after death.
See to it that you do not become inveigled by drujas, for spirits can assume any name and form; but weigh their words, whether they are wise, and according to the Ormazdian law. If they do not teach the higher heavens, but profess a long life in the lower heavens, consider them by their words. To flatter you, they will profess to remember you in another life; and to please you, say you were a king, and have had many successions of lives on the earth.
But of what value under the sun is such philosophy? Instead, to rise up, away from the earth, and from the lower heavens also; it was for bestowing this word upon men that I was sent into the world. It is to teach you to know the Father’s upper heavens, and the way to reach them, that His words were given to men.
As it was in ancient times, so will it be again before another generation passes away. Drujas will teach that the spirits of the dead go into trees and flowers, and inhabit them; and into swine, cattle, and birds, and into woman, and are born over again in mortal form. Do not argue with them; do not let their philosophy trouble you. You can judge whether they are in darkness or in light, by the glory and beauty of the heavens where they live. If their words are of the earth, they belong to the earth; if they are servants to false Gods or false Lords, they will preach him whom they serve. But these matters are nothing to you, for you shall serve the All Highest, the Creator. In this, no man can err.
And in regard to the heaven you wish to ascend to after death, magnify it with all your ingenuity to the All Highest Perfection. People it with your highest ideals for your companions. Then see to it that you make yourself a fit companion for them also. If you do this with all your wisdom and strength all the days of your life, the Father will be with you, and you shall be a glory in His works. ||
In that manner, Zarathustra preached after his resurrection from death; for three days and three nights he preached before his disciples; and Asha wrote down the substance of his words, and they were preserved to the generations of Faithists from that time onward. And the words were called the Zarathustrian law, the I’hua’Mazdian law, and the Ormazdian law. And they, along with the previous holy book, were the first heavenly words given on tablets, skins, cloth, and in books, to mortals, except for those words given in secret to the tribes of I’hins, of which the different nations of the earth knew nothing of their own knowledge as to what they were.
On the morning of the fourth day, when the disciples sat in crescent, which was called the living altar of God, Zarathustra again came in sar’gis. He said: Behold, the time has come for me to rise out of hada, where I have dwelt for three days.
The Gods who were with me all my earth life are gathered together here, and there are millions of them. Just near the river over there, stands the boundary line of a heavenly ship of light! It is wider than the eye can see, and higher than the eye can see! A million angels are singing in that ship! And there are great Gods and great Lords in it. So bright, my eyes dare not look upon them. They are all Sons and Daughters of the Great Spirit.
The drujas have all run away now. Their foolish gabble is hushed, gone! It is as if another world came alongside, so majestic that this one was lost. Above, high, very high, up there, something like a sun illumes the ship of fire! I know it is he who has come for me. I go now! Where I go I will build for you all.
And you, O Asha! The Gods have thrown a mantle of light over you! A chain reaches from you to Ormazd! || Asha was overcome, and gladly would have gone to the spirit Zarathustra. But the latter said: Stand, so I may kiss you! So, Zarathustra kissed Asha, and departed. END OF BOOK OF GOD’S WORD Book of Divinity Which descended to the earth and became known by the names, Div, and Diva, and Divan laws [Divinity and Divine Laws –ed.]. Being God’s labors in atmospherea, for a period of three thousand and one hundred years, during the passage of the earth from the arc of Loo to the arc of Spe-ta, in etherea; and on the earth, from the time of Zarathustra to the time of Abraham, Brahma, Po and Ea-wah-tah.