Only 6,000 words contained within 238 verses.
As I hold this slender book in my hands,
open at Spenta Mainyun 1, Yasna l47
the cover bends backwards easily,
for I am approaching the end.
How meager are the remains
of the original corpus of the Gathas.
My soul cries out for more, but time
has burnt and scattered these sacred writings.
Luminous drops of pearls strung on a glowing chain,
they transform our simple being
these 6,000 enlightening words clinging to the rope
that binds each century,
bequeathed from one generation to the next by word of mouth,
through the annals of ancient Iran,
a living legacy.
Transport me to the days when you and Maidhyoimanha
wandered the cities and plains in search of followers.
I will trek beside you.
Let me hear the rising and falling cadence of your voice.
Oh Zarathustra, seek me out with your lustrous eyes.
Open the door so I may walk with you in the abode of songs.
Whoso reveres Him...
To him, O Mazda, shalt Thou be a friend, brother,
or even a father!
Ushtavaiti 3
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Riverside, California
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