Chapter 22
On the day of Yu-tiv’s death, Brahma said: Sing no songs; pray in silence only. Let her soul be in quiet with Ormazd.
On the second day Brahma said: Pray in whispers, praise in whispers, the best, good deeds of the dead.
On the third day Brahma said: Burst forth a song of praise to Ormazd; extol the virtues of the dead.
On the fourth day Brahma said: In song and in prayer bid the dead arise and go onward, upward!
Thus on the fourth day they put Yu-tiv’s body in the ground; and then they went and sat in the sacred circle and sang and prayed for her soul to go on to Nirvana (paradise). And when they had finished, a light came down in the middle of the circle, and an angel in white appeared. It was Yu-tiv; the soul of Yu-tiv in the glory of Ormazd, the Creator!
Then the angel Yu-tiv spoke, saying: The spirit is born from out of the head of the corporeal body; and angels stand around, where they receive the spirit of the dead onto a spirit blanket. For one day, in quiet, they keep the spirit, teaching it to reconcile and understand. On the second day, the spirit hears the prayers of the earth-people coming upward; and on the third day, the spirit understands death and birth of spirit.
And on the fourth day, when you sang: O Goddess, arise from the dead! The Father calls you from on high! Arise, O Goddess, and go your way! Then my spirit was free from the earth, resting in the arms of Gods and Goddesses who had come from on high to receive me. Thus, O my beloveds, the first resurrection is on the third day; and, to the holy, the second resurrection begins on the fifth day. After the fifth day do not call me back again! My labor lies up there! I must build houses for you all. Thus Ormazd sends me on before! If it is His will for me to return to you at times, I will return. His will above all—this is the greatest wisdom.
Whe-ish, her first-born, asked: What about the angels of the intermediate world, O mother? Then his angel mother answered, saying: They were shown to us in Ebon grove! Alas, some of them do not begin the resurrection for a thousand years!
Then Yu-tiv, the angel, came over near Hog, her latest born, whom she loved so much. She said: Can you see me, my son? Hog answered: No, I only faintly see a glimmering light: I hear a voice, but it does not sound like my mother’s voice. Yet, if it is true that there is a soul that lives after death, and if in truth you are the very spirit and soul of her who brought me forth, do not be unhappy because of my unbelief. As for myself, I am happy because you brought me forth in unbelief; nor would I choose to be any other way. Whether our eyes are blue or black, or whether we are tall or short, believers or disbelievers, or however we are created, to fill our place in doing good to others with all our wisdom and strength, is this not glory enough?
Yu-tiv said: O you wisest of men! In the day you are born in heaven, you shall not linger long in the intermediate world, but be crowned a very God indeed! Here ends my labors with the earth, O, my beloveds! An otevan above waits for me to ascend; the Gods and Goddesses are calling me! Farewell, my beloveds! Farewell!
And now the music of heaven descended, and even while the mortals sang, the very gates of heaven opened, and the angel Yu-tiv rose upward in a sea of fire!
But behold, the love of great Brahma was too much for him! His eyes raised upward after the ascending light, and his soul burst within him. He fell down and stretched himself on the cold earth! He, too, was dead.
Then burst the mighty hearts of Brahma’s sons. The whole earth shook with the wail of Gods. The wind, the air above the earth, stood still, and the forest of Roam shuddered as if the earth were broken in two. Then wailed the sons and daughters of Haraoyo. Though no man uttered it, yet all knew that great Brahma was dead.