Chapter 27
Purification is the first law I give to you, and is the same as with the ancients, in which:
You shall not eat the flesh of any creature that breathed the breath of life; nor of fish that lived in the water nor under the water.
You shall bathe once every day from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet. And before bathing, you shall say: Before You, O Jehovih (Ormazd) I will put away the filth of my body and the evil of my spirit. And after bathing, you shall say: As I have with water washed clean the outer man, O Jehovih, help me to make clean my spirit.
In the morning, when you wake, you shall say: Help me, O Jehovih, to keep my thoughts pure today; and my soul full of love and tenderness.
In the evening, before sleeping, you shall say: While my corporeal body sleeps, O Jehovih, help my less encumbered spirit to see the ways of Your righteous judgment.
Without purity, no man can see the Creator; with purity, all men can see and hear Him.
It is easier to purify the corporeal body than the spiritual. For diet and baths can accomplish the former, but pure thoughts are required for the soul.
A man may be clean, as to the flesh; but if he has impure thoughts, he is impure in spirit. Whoever speaks cruelly or unjustly of his neighbor, is foul in spirit. If he speaks of the shortcomings and deceptions of his neighbors, he is foul in spirit.
So that, first of all, purification is the first law of a man’s own self.
The second law is, after being purified, to strive constantly to do good to others.
Some of the multitude asked: What do you mean by: doing good to others?
Sakaya said: To inspire others to purity first; and then to attain individuality. It has been said, from time without end, that to help the poor, to give to them, to serve them, is good works done to others. But I say to you, this is only halfway to that which is good. For you shall not only help them, but go and teach them how to help themselves. This is doing good to others.
It has been said: Whoever says the ordinances of the priest, repeating a certain number of prayers daily, does a good work. But I say to you, whoever teaches a man to invent prayers of his own, has done a greater good.
To put a man on the path to be his own salvation, this is the best good work. As you have depended on the priests to pray for you, I come to teach you to pray for yourselves.
The third law is: To abnegate one’s own self; being willing in heart, to sacrifice one’s own desires, possessions and opinions, for the sake of peace and the good of the family. This is the most difficult law. For the selfishness of man causes him to say: I have such a love of liberty. Let me be the dictator, and you do my decrees.
If not for this evil among men, they could dwell together in peace, the world over.
The fourth law is: To love all men, women and children, as brothers and sisters.
The fifth law is: To return good for evil; to return pleasure to those who give pain.
To practice those things, holding all things in common, is sufficient for the redemption of the world from darkness, war and evil, to peace, light and happiness for all the living.