History of Zoroastrianism/Chapter 12

by Maneckji Nusservanji Dhalla

 

CHAPTER XII

 

THE FINAL DISPENSATION

 

The end of the world. The Gathas speak of a period when the progress of creation will stop, the evolution of the universe will reach its destined goal, as the cycle of the world will then be completed and creation and life will end.^[1] Ahura Mazda will come at this time with his Holy Spirit, and with Khshathra and Vohu Manah, to accomplish this great work.^[2] The world-process will then come to its final consummation as ordained by him at the beginning of creation.

The saviour Prophets. The later scriptures speak of different saviours that will appear in the world at various epochs to reform it, the last and the greatest of such saviours being Soshyos, or, to use the Gathic word, Saoshyant. The term saoshyant, in both the singular and plural forms, occurs in the Gathas. Here, however, the word is used, not as the name of any particular individual, but as a generic term, designating Zarathushtra and his fellow-workers. It is in the Younger Avestan period that we first become acquainted with a person bearing this name. Those who by their good deeds work for the commandment of Ahura Mazda through Good Mind and Righteousness are called the saviour prophets.^[3] Ahura Mazda is asked regarding the period when the wisdom of the saviours will dawn upon the world through their efficacious precepts.^[4] Zarathushtra is the deng-paiti, 'Lord of the House.' He says that as the Saviour he will be friend, brother, and father unto him who hates the demons and those mortals who belittle him.^[5] A thousand years after him Jesus as Saviour uses the identical word and says that whosoever shall do the will of God, is like a brother and sister and mother unto him who is the oikodespotes 'Lord of the House' and Saviour.^[6] To be as worthy as these saviours who bring about the furtherance of the world and to be the perfectors of the world, themselves, is the devout prayer of the faithful.^[7]

Universal Judgment. All human souls will be subjected to a collective judgment before the ultimate renovation of the world. The souls will have to undergo the great ordeal by fire and molten metal, to which reference has already been made.^[8] At the time of the final Dispensation Ahura Mazda will judge the souls of the righteous and the wicked by the test of his blazing fire.^[9] The powerful fire will be a manifest help unto the holy, but harmful unto the wicked.^[10] Asha and Armaiti will help Ahura Mazda at the final judgment.^[11] Mazda knows best how to mark out the lost sinners at the final ordeal of the molten metal.^[12] This tribulation will reclaim the sinners.^[13]

Righteousness triumphs over wickedness. The world of humanity will at last arrive at the stage when Druj, or Wickedness, will come into the hands of Asha, or Righteousness. This ideal aim and end has been the final goal laid out in the Gathas. Zarathushtra prays over and over again for the period when Righteousness will smite Wickedness. Every gain to the Kingdom of Righteousness is the loss to the Kingdom of Wickedness, and when there is no Wickedness left Righteousness will reign supreme. When the law of Wickedness is thus annihilated, the divine law of Righteousness will pervade the entire world. Even the wicked souls who had revolted from Mazda in the corporeal world and gone over to the Evil Spirit will after the retribution come over to Mazda and acknowledge his sovereignty. As the great shepherd, Ahura Mazda will bring back into the fold of righteousness all those persons who, led astray by the rach-tempter, had left his flock.

The later texts give us a systematic account of the final struggle between the good and the evil powers, and relate in detail how every one of the heavenly beings will smite his own particular opponent evil spirit. As we have already seen, the Gathas speak of the victory of Asha, or Righteousness, and the defeat of Druj, Wickedness. The fate of Angra Mainyu, the father of evil, is not mentioned; but we can infer that once the law of Wickedness perishes, its originator must be impotent; in other words, the final defeat of Druj signifies also the defeat of the arch-Druj Angra Mainyu.

The Kingdom of Righteousness: man's share in its inauguration. In the higher sphere of life man is taught to go out from within himself and do active work for others. The truly righteous person does not live for himself alone, but holds out his own life for the ransom of others. Man may not rest with working for the salvation of his individual soul; he has equally to strive for the saving of the collective soul, the soul of all humanity. Every year that he lives in this world he has to render some distinct social service and further the sum total of human joy and happiness: every day that he enjoys the infinite blessings of Ahura Mazda he has to give his mite in the furtherance of the cause of goodness. Human society is a great family, and no single member can live for himself. No act of the individual can be so personal that it does not affect the other members of the group or influence them in some way or another. Every one has to work for all. The individual is an important incident in society, a dutiful member of the world of humanity if he works for it; but an undesirable burden and a superfluous impediment to society if he selfishly lives for himself.

When one works for the good of others and lays his services at the door of society, one becomes richer in spirit. The spirit gains when she goes out from within and is prepared to lose herself for the common good, but loses when she is confined to the narrow limits of herself. There is nothing nobler for her than the virtue of self-sacrifice. The righteous sages have attained to greatness because they were meek enough in spirit and humble enough in heart to be humanity's willing servants. These spread goodness around them and become the means of happiness to others. And real happiness in turn comes to those who thus make others happy.^[14]

Various, as we know, are the motives which serve men as incentive in their work. Some work for the applause of their fellow-beings, some for the posthumous name and fame, while still others do some good work in the hope of some reward in this or the next world. If a man abstains from evil it may be owing to the dread of public censure or to the fear of incurring the divine vengeance and future retribution; but the truly righteous one practises righteousness for its own sake. As the patriot who is guided by the noblest of human sentiments lives and dies for his country, so the ashavan acts in promoting the divine Kingdom of Righteousness.

Each age has its ideals, religious and social; and they vary in accordance with the high or low grades of civilization of its peoples. The establishment of the Kingdom of Righteousness is the one universal ideal, which knows no change. Ahura Mazda will bring about the renovation of the world in accordance with his divine will.^[15] The whole universe moves towards the realization of this state of perfection, and humanity evolves towards this ideal. The righteous at all times help to bring this great event nearer by their deeds, even though the onward march may be beset with obstacles, and progress at times may be retarded, yet it can never be wholly arrested. Occasionally it may seem to swing back, but on the whole its move is onward along the path. If progress and evolution seem to be slow, the faithful need not despair. In the course of eternity Ahura Mazda has ample time to finish the work with the co-operation of the children of men. Human beings that form a society at a given period in the endless chain of Boundless Time have to give their respective share in the furthering of this great work. If society suffers for the faults of its units, it is because the individuals are human; but even these faults and these sufferings turn out to be incentives for the sure and steady work of advancement. Zarathushtra is the first to give meaning to human history. There is the great design, the stupendous purpose, the onward march towards making a new world, a perfect world. Progress is the Zoroastrian watchword. Man's birth is an ascent to the state of final perfection. Each individual has to join hands with the rest of his fellows in this great and noble undertaking; he must work to the extent of his powers and lend his aid, no matter how insignificant, to the attainment of the ideal end. Man need not feel appalled by the narrowness of the sphere in which he can labour nor must he be staggered at the vastness of the work to be done. The individual life should add something to the sum total of the life of humanity. Everyone has to consecrate his life to the good of humanity. It is a stage in which everyone feels sympathy for his neighbour and helps everyone else. This is the common aim that knits together all men that have visited this earth since creation began, and must equally unite for all time those that will inhabit it up to the end of existence. The eternal conflict aims at the universal. Individuals in all ages have to work to accomplish this great end. Each generation profits by the work done in the past, makes some infinitesimal advance and adds its own share to the inherited legacy; thus handing it down to posterity in a better and a higher condition than that in which it received this inheritance. At last, by the constant efforts of the ages and the accumulated work of humanity, the desired object will be secured. Every effort made in this direction is a step upward gained on the ladder leading to the ultimate goal.

The great world drama will then be over, the final curtain will fall on the tragic element in creation; the ultimate triumph of good over evil will be secured, the divine Kingdom of Righteousness will be established, and all this will come to pass through the work of man, the chief actor and hero of the human play, who co-operates and participates in this great work with his Heavenly Father. Man will then enter into the everlasting joy of Ahura Mazda. Such is the great message of Hope that the prophet of Iran brings to the world of humanity from Ahura Mazda.

 

1. Ys. 43. 5; 51. 6.
2. Ys. 43. 6.
3. Ys. 48. 12.
4. Ys. 46. 3.
5. Ys. 45. 11.
6. Matt. 13. 27; 20. 1; Mark. 3. 35; see Moulton, Early Religious Poetry of Persia, p. 106, 107.
7. Ys. 30. 9.
8. Ys. 51. 9.
9. Ys. 31. 3. 19, 43. 4; 47. 6.
10. Ys. 34. 4.
11. Ys. 47. 6.
12. Ys. 32. 7.
13. Ys. 47. 6.
14. Ys. 43. 1.
15. Ys. 34. 15.