The Philosophy : Basics

The Gathas are a collection of 17 poems which form the foundation of the Zoroastrian religion and the core of the Avesta. They were composed around 1300 BC by Zarathushtra Spitama as a compact guide to his spiritual and philosophical teachings, intended to be memorized and studied by his followers. As such, they are composed in a complex and sophisticated style, with each stanza often providing diverse interpretations. As the exact words of the founder of Zoroastrianism, meticulously crafted to encapsulate his philosophical and spiritual worldview, they are the basis by which Zoroastrians interpret and understand their own religion, being the unequivocable foundation of all Zoroastrian theology.

The Gathas primarily belong to the genre of manthras, or ‘thought-provokers’, which are highly complex, metrical compositions intricately designed to encode deep truths. These manthras were intended to be meditated upon by dedicated students who would seek to uncover the truth and wisdom contained within. In this way, the Gathas were designed to inspire thought and reflection in the individual, requiring them to piece together the deeper meaning woven within. In this way, the Gathas are a tool for the enlightenment of the mind which, through repeated study, teach the ‘reader’ the philosophical system of thought designed by Zarathushtra, the Vanguhi Daēnā or ‘Good Envisionment’.

As for their content, the Gathas cover a great deal of topics and themes in a somewhat enigmatic style, preferring to provide interwoven reflections on Divinity, ethics, and existence rather than detailed explanations of theological issues. Yet, throughout the work, Zarathushtra still shows a remarkable amount of clarity in approach. He espouses the existence of a singular creator of reality, Mazdā Ahura a ‘Supreme Intelligence’ or ‘Divine Wisdom’; he emphasizes the search for truth and wisdom; he provides a comprehensive system for attaining the Divine in oneself, the Amesha Spentas; and perhaps most importantly, he teaches that the universe is progressing, or growing, towards its ideal state, a process which all living beings are responsible to aid in.

However, certain poems in the Gathas have a very specific theme or narrative. Yasna 43, for instance, primarily details Zarathushtra’s experience of his divine revelation while Yasna 44 is a list of questions, primarily rhetorical, for Mazdā. Yasna 29, most famously, is a sort of play where life, metaphorically cast as the soul of the cow, beseeches Mazdā for aid against the cruel and harmful world, and Yasna 30, perhaps next in fame, resembles a sermon on the creation of existence, a sermon which is reiterated in Yasna 45. Zarathushtra also composed a Gatha in honor of his daughter Pouruchista’s wedding, Yasna 53, where he emphasizes her autonomy and ability to choose, most remarkable for the time.

As for their history, the Gathas were composed by Zarathushtra sometime around 1300 BC in Central Asia in a language called Gathic (or “Old”) Avestan. They seem to originally have been intended as a curriculum or school ‘text’ for his students and followers, a purpose which they must have kept for some time. However, about a century or two later they would be placed into a ritual with a short work called the Haptanghaiti being placed in the center, in order to officiate the ritual. Centuries later, this ritual would be greatly expanded into the modern-day Yasna in a separate dialect called “Young Avestan”. The Gathas would survive in this state, at the center of the Yasna, for many centuries with the language and nuance slowly being forgotten as Zoroastrianism went from a world religion to an oppressed minority. The Gathas would eventually be encountered by western scholars in the 18th and 19th centuries who sought to decipher the language and meaning, which had nearly been lost. Today, the Gathas exist as the only surviving teachings of Zarathushtra, and, to many Zoroastrians today, the sole text having religious and spiritual authority.

For translations, the Zarathushtrian Assembly recommends the translation available on our website by Ali A. Jafari, which is both grammatically accurate and poetically pleasing. An earlier translation of Dr. Jafari, ‘The Gathas: our Guide’ is also very effective and is available for purchase on Amazon. The scholarly translations of Stanley Insler and Helmut Humbach are critical for those who want a holistic understanding of the Gathas, although both have issues in their interpretations of Zarathushtra’s philosophy. The translation of ML West, a prominent classicist, is also very well done, if a bit less knowledgeable than Insler’s or Humbach’s. Besides these translations, the Zarathushtrian Assembly only recommends translations done by translators who have been trained in the complex grammar and semantics of Avestan for a minimum of several years at a credible academic institution.