The Philosophy : Core Concepts

Within the philosophy of Zarathushtra, Mazdā Ahura is best understood as the Supreme Intelligence of all reality, the designer of the fundamental laws of the universe, and, by extension, the creator of all existence. Throughout his teachings, Zarathushtra describes Mazdā Ahura, or often just Mazdā, as the all-knowing, wholly good, beneficent creator and sovereign of reality whose very nature is infused and dispersed throughout existence, particularly through its seven emanations called the Amesha Spentas. He, or it, is seen as ruling over the universe, observing all that happens, and supervising the iterative progression of existence towards perfection. While, in a sense, Mazdā can be seen as similar to the Abrahamic ‘God’, its true nature differs in substantial ways.

On this point, it should be noted that in the Gathas, there is no distinctly ‘spiritual’ realm; instead existence is split between two realms of body and mind, the latter of which encapsulates our modern conceptions of energy and potentiality. As such, there is no spiritual realm full of warring beings; instead, existence is made up of matter (body) and that which drives it (mind), giving it meaning and direction. It is within this paradigm that Mazdā is to be understood, not as a supernaturally omnipotent God with humanlike qualities, who callously tests humans and “plays dice with the universe”, but as the ultimate mind or supreme consciousness at the source of all the energy in the universe.

Mazdā Ahura vs. Ahura Mazdā
As many readers may be more familiar with the term Ahura Mazdā, it would be appropriate to explain the seeming discrepancy between the two terms. In the Gathas, Zarathushtra primarily uses the term Mazdā Ahura, with the two components often being poetically split across words and lines, while in later Zoroastrian sources, the name Ahura Mazdā, or a term derived from it, exclusively appears. In a simple dichotomy, it is easiest to understand Mazdā Ahura as Zarathushtra’s unique conception of ‘God’ and Ahura Mazdā as the supreme deity of Zoroastrianism as it appears in many different sects and denominations throughout history.

While the two are functionally the same concept, the slightly different terms allow a distinction between Zarathushtra’s unique philosophical belief system (Vanguhi Daena) and the more religious and mythological belief system the ancient Iranians built on top of it. In one, Ahura Mazdā resembles God in the contemporary sense, a supernatural being and supreme deity who sits at the top of a hierarchy of angels, or subdeities, and wages war against a “devil” with an army of demons; while in the other, Mazdā Ahura is a genuine philosophical theory positing the existence of a divine intelligence which envisioned a perfect reality and was the very inciting incident of the universe.

The Meaning of the Name
Both the words Mazdā and Ahura, along with the ways in which the two are placed together, have been subject to differing opinions among linguists and laypeople, with linguists often making mistakes in the philosophical approach and laypeople in the linguistics. Both are words in the Old Avestan (or just Gathic) language, spoken by the ancient Iranian people in Central Asia, with close cognates in the related Vedic Sanskrit language spoken in Northwest India, both around 1300 BC. Given the large amount of literature on the topic, a comprehensive linguistic analysis will be contained elsewhere; although, both the words and the semantic usage by Zarathushtra will be discussed here.

Many centuries before the Gathas, the word ahura seems to originally have meant lord in the martial sense, as in ‘one who possesses the ability to hold back the enemy’^[1]—in fact, this exact meaning is reflected in Yasna 29.2 kə̄m hōi uštā ahurəm ẏə̄ drəguuōdəbīš aēšəməm vādāiiōit̰ ‘whom do Ye wish as her lord that could drive back the fury (done) by the deceitful’. However, over time it seems the term increasingly became attributed to the gods of the ancient Iranian religion, the daēvas, in order to signify their sovereign, martial power, or perhaps just their supremacy in general. This situation is closely paralleled in early Vedic Sanskrit where the term asura is mainly used as a title for the devas, roughly meaning ‘Lord’ or perhaps ‘Supreme’.^[2]

While over the centuries the two terms would diverge, with Ahura becoming a word for ‘God’ in Iran and Asura signifying a class of demons in India, the predecessor, in my opinion, seemed to originally have a particular technical meaning in the religious theology of the Indo-Iranian world, one that designated the supreme status of a deity. Although, in certain cases, it still retained its earlier usage. As such, Ahura, during the time of Zaratushtra, could mean both Lord and Supreme, depending on context. In the Gathas, Zarathushtra utilizes this term in multiple ways. In general, it is used as a nearly irremovable part of the formal name for “God”, signifying that it is supreme and divine. In another sense, it also signifies that Mazdā is the Lord, or Ruler, of all existence, as indicated in Yasna 31.8: hiiat̰ θβā hə̄m cašmainī *grabəm haiθīm aṣ̌ahiiā dąmīm aŋhə̄uš ahurəm š́iiaoθanaēšū ‘When I grasped You in my eye as the real creator of the Cosmic-Order, the Lord of Existence in (Your) actions.’ Importantly, as will become apparent below, ahura also signifies that the technical term mazdā, a type of intelligence made up of conscious reflection, is actually a divine entity… one that is, in a sense, supreme over all existence.

As for mazdā, the etymology of the word has long been known; although, in my opinion, the true meaning has been missed. Typically, mazdā is translated as ‘wisdom’ or ‘wise’, as in ‘Lord Wisdom’ or ‘the Wise Lord’, although its clear use as a noun in the Haptanghaiti precludes it from being the adjective ‘wise’.^[3] Its cognate in Vedic Sanskrit, medhā, is typically translated as intelligence or wisdom. Both are etymologically from Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdʰáH (from Proto-Indo-European *mn̥s-dʰéh₁) literally meaning ‘to put, place, or do in the mind’. While this word could mean wisdom semantically, I think the real meaning contains a conscious or intention aspect, primarily based on a few related words in the Gathas and their cognates.

To this point, there are two pieces of evidence to consider. Firstly, the verbal form of mazdā, mə̄ṇ(z)dā-, is used 4 times in the Gathas,^[4] where contextually it means ‘to intentionally or consciously integrate something (knowledge or information) into the mind’, perhaps most conveniently translated as ‘to contemplate’, although the connotations here are crucial. Secondly, there is an adjective in the Gathas: (hu)mązdrā (Y 30.1) ‘conception, that which consists of conscious reflection’ which is derived from the same construction (Proto-Indo-European *mens-dʰh₁-rós) and has many cognates such as Sanskrit médhira ‘wise, intelligent’, Proto-Slavic mǫdrъ ‘wise’ which gives a plethora of Slavic words meaning ‘wise’ (e.g. Russian му́дрый, Serbo-Croatian мудар, Czech moudrý, Polish mądry), and German munter ‘lively, briskly’, the last of which seems to be an evolution from the conscious aspect of the word. Therefore, I would argue the true meaning of mazdā is a type of intelligence consisting of consciously acting upon or integrating into the mind… a highly technical term that can’t be directly translated.^[5]

With the choice of this word, Zarathushtra seems to be saying that the Creator of existence is best described as possessing this unique form of intelligence, something that is consciously, actively, and wisely acting upon existence. With the title or adjective Ahura, he is signifying it to both be supreme and the Lord of all existence. However, keeping in mind the two realms of existence discussed earlier, we can also understand Mazdā as a subtle wordplay of that which places in or acts upon the realm of mind, by which all thought, potentiality, and energy is given to matter. In this way, Mazdā can be seen as the very prime mover by which all meaning, potentiality, thought, and energy was first imbued into our limited existence. Therefore, with the term Mazdā Ahura, Zarathushtra is describing a ‘God’ that is both the Supreme Consciousness of existence and the ultimate source for the infusion of mind and energy into existence.

The Nature of Mazdā
With this true meaning of Mazdā Ahura in hand, we can now seek to understand the nature of God in Zoroastrianism. It should be known that Mazdā, by necessity, must have existed before existence itself; such is its nature as the creator and designer of existence. How, then, could Mazdā, or anything for that matter, exist before the very concept of existence itself? Simply put, Mazdā Ahura sits outside of time and space, in a realm traditionally called the ‘endless lights’, and therefore, its very nature is timeless and without material substance. This is a nature that is intricately tied to the realm of mind, which Mazdā is the creator and progenitor of. However, in order to properly understand this, a brief digression into theoretical physics is required.

Essentially, energy is solely the potential for matter to move; it has no physical existence and is regarded as a property of matter. It cannot be created nor destroyed. Moreover, all the energy in the universe has existed since the very first moment of existence. In fact, the creation and expansion of the universe, or the Big Bang, was likely caused by the sudden existence of energy, an infusion of the whole of energy into an infinitely dense point. As the universe expanded during the Big Bang, matter was iteratively transformed into what we see today and spread across space and time, both of which make up the very structure of the universe. In this way, the universe can be seen as being made of matter and the potential for matter to move, moderated by space and time.^[6] None of these, however, are eternal, and are all products of creation, in some way or another.

This leaves one still with the ageless question. What was that first cause of energy or mind that led to the innumerable other thoughts and potentialities? If we are to accept that something caused the very potential for the universe to exist, and subsequently all the energy in the universe, it would have to be without time, space, or material substance, somehow beyond our existence. To Zarathushtra, this was Mazdā Ahura, a transcendent entity which placed the realm of mind into existence and gave the universe the potential to exist, a supreme consciousness which designed and created the universe itself.

Mazdā Ahura
Mazdā Ahura, foremost, is to be understood as the designer of all existence through its creation of Asha, which is a broad term literally meaning ‘the order of existence’. It is equivalent to our concept of “the laws of physics” or the laws of the universe, and it is both the exact laws which determine the most minute interactions of physics and any and all emergent laws which determine grander objects, such as human minds and galaxies. It should be noted Mazdā crafted Asha to be absolutely and completely perfect, and, as such, he encoded within these laws a perfect, ideal reality. Every plant, animal, star, person, and thing was placed within; every iteration, possibility, and diverse expression of every thing and event; moreover the potential beginning, middle, and end state of everything that could be was included. All of this, all these near infinitely diverse expressions of being were encoded in Asha, not literally written in as if it was computer code or DNA, nor predetermined by an allpowerful god, but as a consequence of the way the laws of physics were made, an unfolding of Mazdā’s vision for existence.

Crucial to this is the notion that Asha has not been fully actualized in the material world. In every aspect of existence there always remains opportunity for things to be improved, to be better ordered, for the perfect nature of the laws of physics to be better realized. The very act of creation is to be seen as an iterative and progressive process, one that we take part in each time we make something in this world, whether that be art, construction, creation, or any good, productive deed. The whole word, the whole universe, is a diverse, kaleidoscopic expression of the fundamental ordering of the universe–both an outgrowth and an unfolding of Mazdā’s vision of a perfect existence. This process of actualizing Asha is referred to as Spenta Mainyu, and it is seen as the literal fashioner or shaper of existence, primarily by providing reality with potentials to actualize in accordance with Asha. While its efforts may often be hampered by its polar opposite, Anghra Mainyu, in part leading to the existence of evil, its effect has been the creation of all existence, as Zarathushtra himself says in Yasna 44.7:

azə̄m tāiš θβā fraxšnī auuāmī mazdā
spəṇtā mainiiū vīspanąm dātārəm
By these (questions), I am helping in recognizing You, O Mazdā,
As the Creator of all through the Progressive Potentiality.

As such, Mazdā Ahura is the ultimate creator and supreme ruler of existence, overlooking the gradual, iterative, progressive unfolding of its vision of a perfect reality. Its very nature, as discussed before, is not of a supernatural and omnipotent God, but of an ultimate mind and energy that spurred existence into being. It is diffuse and ever-present throughout existence, acting in the universe through the energy by which matter is given meaning. It acts on the scale of the entire universe and on the grandest scale of time, spread across all reality and time, aware of everything that has happened and is happening. Its very substance, perhaps, is fractal, the whole of its being coiled up into the smallest iteration yet existent across its whole substance. Though its true nature may be above and beyond our reality, its very existence is still evident through its impact on reality, the very energy that continually drives our existence.

This view of a universal and transcendent consciousness beyond our very concepts of space and time, as intimidating as it may seem, should not be seen as unattainable or wholly removed. In fact, Mazdā Ahura is completely immanent in nature in each and every moment, completely active, available, and accessible in existence. Most notably, this is through its seven emanations in the realm of mind, abstractions of the unity of its nature, traditionally called the Amesha Spentas. They are accompanied by Sraosha and Ashi, which represent the system of attaining these divine attributes. These products of Mazdā Ahura should not distract one from the unity and totality of its nature; nor should they give one the impression of a God made of constituent parts. Instead, they are but seven, or nine, streams radiating from a prism, which upon being grasped, being understood as a whole, give one a view of the source.

It is in these ways and others that Mazdā Ahura is available and immanent in existence, able to be reached and communicated with, primarily by those of sufficient wisdom and insight. Rather than being a God who chooses prophets and messengers based on personal preference, Mazdā sits at the core of being, able to be encountered by those who happen to reach such a state, those who ever so briefly experience communion with God. The ones who come away from such experiences subsequently interpret their experience within the context of their language and time, seeking to explain and label what they encountered. The history of religion is full of such accounts, of minds much too small in understanding or scope to truly interpret their connection to this ultimate mind. There was, however, one mind, one person, nearly 3500 years ago, who, on account of the sageness, intelligence, and radicality of his thought, was able to reach and communicate with this Supreme Conscious-Intelligence, and from whom he received the many revelations he encoded into the Gathas. Zarathushtra, of course, named this Mazdā Ahura, a fitting name for the creator of all existence.

How then, should the reader interpret such connections and encounters to God in their own life? While I am hardly qualified to speak authoritatively here, in my own two encounters with Mazdā, coming at times of severe internal turmoil, I found them to be instantaneous, without time, ultimate, and unmistakable. These were moments of ultimate existence, as if the whole of being unwound itself in my mind for an instance. In one encounter, I saw the entire narrative of a major struggle in my life laid out in front of me, from beginning to end, and in the other, I fell into an infinite hole within my mind and heard Mazdā “say” something to me–impress a piece of communication upon my mind. Such encounters, I believe, are representative of the two ways one can encounter Mazdā, by attaining its vision and its counsel. Zarathushtra himself, in a moment of longing for connection with God, describes it as such:

33.6-7
tā.tōi iziiāi ahurā mazdā darštōišcā hə̄m.parštōišcā
ā mā *īdūm vahištā ā xᵛaiθiiācā mazdā *darəsat̰cā
“I desire this pair of yours, Ahura Mazdā, both your vision and your counsel.
So come to me with the best, both audibly, Mazdā, and visibly!”

Ultimately, Mazdā Ahura sits at the core of existence, at the heart of being, supervising the progression of existence towards its final state. The universe, from its smallest piece to its largest manifestation, is fundamentally the same–the narrative, history, and being of each piece representative of the whole. In this way, a grain of sand sits at the shore of a beach, a planet at the edge of a galaxy, both experiencing the same manifestations of existing as the whole, merely on a different scale. Thus does a human stand at the foot of God, hoping for divine revelation.

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1. See Martin Schwartz forthcoming ‘PROTO-IRANIAN √ah (*ahra-, etc.) < PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN √h₂ens: ‘TO WIELD A WEAPON AGAINST (SO AS TO HOLD BACK’?)’ in Gary Holland Festschrift. ↑

2. cf. Wash Edward Hale ‘Asura in the Early Vedic Religion’. ↑

3. Y 40.1 āhū at̰ paitī adāhū mazdā ahurā mazdąmcā būiricā kərəšuuā rāitī tōi “Now, with these apportionments, O Mazdā Ahura, enact mazdā and Your plentiful gift”. ↑

4. Y 31.5, 44.8, 45.1, 53.5, with a possible 5th usage in 28.4. The form alternates. ↑

5. Much is simplified here, and I intend to argue this academically in the future. ↑

6. I understand this explanation is from a very general relativity perspective and lacks a QFT perspective, but it is all I can suffice for an intermediate article. ↑