We often declare that we are proud of the Zoroastrian tenets of manashni (thoughts), gavashni (words) and kunashni (deeds). What do we mean by that? What exactly are we proud of?
In the Ahura Mazda Khodaye prayer we say: "Ez aan gunaah manashni gavashni kunashni tani ravani geti minoani okhe avaaksh pashemaan pa se gavashni pa patet hom [from those sins of (my) thoughts, words (and) deeds, of the body (and) of the soul, relating to this world (or) to the spiritual world, I do turn back having consciously sought forgiveness by expressing repentance three times for (my sins)],” as per Framroz Rustomjee’s translation.
What is emphasized in Zoroastrianism and considered the bedrock of the faith are the three words humata, hukta and huvarshta — good thoughts, good words and good deeds. The Avestan prefix hu (good) is equivalent to the Sanskrit prefix su and some of the words can easily be understood by any Indian, e.g. if hu is replaced by su+mata=sumata, su+ukta=sookta, etc.
The highest ethical code is encapsulated by these three words.
ABAN MUKHERJI
mukherji.aban@gmail.com
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