YATHA AHU The Principle of Choice
Transliterated Text:
ýathâ ahû vairyô athâ ratush ashâtcît hacâ vanghêush dazdâ mananghô shyaothananãm anghêush mazdâi xshathremcâ ahurâi â ýim drigubyô dadat vâstârem.
Translated Text:
Both the lord and the leader are to be chosen because of their righteousness. These two appointments are made with good mind so that acts of life are done for the Wise One, and the dominion of God is well established, in which the chosen person becomes the rehabilitator of the rightful who are oppressed.
Summary Substance:
The Ahuna Vairya, or as it is commonly called by the two words in the beginning, Yatha Ahu, is the Principle of Choice. It is the Zarathushtrian master formula for a spiritual and material democratic system in which one is free to choose a person as his or her lord (ahu – literally “the Being”) and leader (ratu – literally “proper guide”). A “lord” is a person who is able to free the world from mental and physical evil, and a “leader” is a person who can lead the world to truth, precision, progress, wholeness, and immortality. In other words, one is the remover of ills and evils in the living world, particularly the human society, and the other is the promoter and the developer of the now clean and free-from-evil world. It may be noted that the term "lord" used here to denote “ahu” does not convey the usual English meaning of one who holds a position of arbitrary authority but “the being” who is democratically chosen to a position of trust because of his or her proven righteous record. The only criterion for the choice of such a person is his or her righteous record of competent service, the evaluation of which is based on a good mind, sound judgment, and discretion. Such a selection, being based on the righteous character of the leader, would allow humans to act in accord with the will of God (Ahura Mazda) – an act which would transform the world into a divine dominion, chosen and established by the people themselves. It would be, in totality, the spiritual and material dominion of the people, by the people, for the people, selflessly and devotedly established in the name of Ahura Mazda. The chosen lord and leader would establish this divine dominion so that it is perfect, ideal, free from oppression or impoverishment; to this effect, they would see to the full rehabilitation and restoration of those in this world who have been wrongfully oppressed and had their rights taken away. This short stanza of 21 words and three lines encapsulates the spirit of the entire Gathas, the sublime songs of Zarathushtra. It is a unique formula for a divinely inspired, sound democracy which ensures mental and physical peace and prosperity for all the living beings, including mankind. The following terms and phrases are worthy of special attention and consideration: The emphasis on vairyo, to be chosen, worthy of election; ashaat-cheet hacha, only on account of righteousness, the Universal Law, qualified for competency and accuracy; vangheush manangho, of the good mind (that is, by intellectual, rational analysis); shyaothananam angheush, acts of life, the living world; Mazdaai, for the Wise One/God; khshathrem-chaa Ahuraai aa, the dominion belongs to God; drigubyo, to the wrongly “restrained”, the oppressed righteous; and dadat vaastaarem, appoints a “rehabilitator”, one who makes the world as it should be. Keeping the above points in mind, we can realize the significance of the stanza. It is the basis for progressing to a peaceful world. It provides us with the freedom to choose our spiritual and physical lord and leader, and therefore work with him or her to create the world which we have all along been desiring. That is the reason the Avesta, that part of the collection of the writings which follows and sometimes explains the Gathas, lays the highest emphasis on the Ahuna Vairya formula. According to it, it concerns the principles which lead to salvation–“the best life, the best righteousness, the best enlightenment... Should the material world understand it, memorize it, Ahuna Vairya would lead to immortality...” (Yasna 19, an Avestan commentary on Ahuna Vairya). It is because of Ahuna Vairya, the true beginning of the Gathas at the head of the first song, that the first Gatha of seven songs is called “Ahunavaiti”, literally “possessing Ahuna Vairya”. With Ahuna Vairya in view, we can understand all the 100 stanzas of the seven songs, particularly the second song, better. And we will comprehend mental and material, spiritual and physical “democracy” and “freedom of choice” even better.
Pondering Point:
“Good leadership is to be chosen based on merit and no other criteria.”