The third hymn of the poetic gathas/songs of Prophet Zarathustra start with the words at tá vaḵšiia išentö “In this day, of the words of power, I shall speak.”
Vaḵšiia comes from the root vač/vaḵš “voice, word.” In the gathas, Godhood is “unleashing the marvelous powers of and evolution of consciousness/mind.” Vač/Vaḵš is the vehicle of the unbounded consciousness, the charm of making.
The odyssey of consciousness through its vehicle vač “power of speech WORDS,” pushes us towards new meanings and limitless horizons.
It is the “melodious speech sound” vač/vaḵš that evokes the powers of spirit/evolution of mind. Through poetic imagery vač/vaḵš “voice, word” in the gathas is connected to vaxš “power to grow, increase” (a cognate of German wachsen, English wax.)
In the gathas, Reality is being continually formed out of the sea of sounds and melodies. The formula for creation and manifestation in all the worlds lies in the vibrations of consciousness/thoughts. Hence, sounds, words/sacred formulas as vibrations of mind energy, formulate and reshape reality.
The creative, brilliant thought of the Immortals, pulsate through vač/vaḵš “sound speech/formulas” that gives the sacred words/formulas their “power” išentö. The word for power/lordship išentö comes from the root iš “will to command/rule, power to make one’s own,”(German eigen is a cognate.)
This idea of “sacred speech as the cause of the universe, and vehicle of purest knowledge,” is especially true of the 10th hymn of the gathas starting with the phrase at fra-vaḵšiia “In this day, I shall speak forth of the foremost words.”
In the 10th song or gatha, vač/vaḵš is the “enchanting, pristine song themes of the Immortals that prefigure the making of the worlds.”
Avestan vač/vaḵš goes back to reconstructed Indo European *wṓkws, and is a cognate of Vedic vā̒c, Tocharian A/B wak/wek, Greek óps, Latin uōx, Spanish voz, French voix, English VOICE, (See Didier Calin, Dictionary of Indo-European Poetic and Religious Themes.)
Persian آوا âvâ /آواز âvâz “song,” váng/báng “cry out a word or words,” and vážae “word,” all go back to the ancient Avestan root vač/vaḵš, (See Didier Calin, Dictionary of Indo-European Poetic and Religious Themes.)
In the Rig Veda, vāč is the goddess of sacred speech, the mother of the Vedas “the hymns of wisdom, knowledge.” It is the sacred sound that is the essence of reality in the ancient Vedic literature.
Like in Zoroastrianism, the ancient Druids were versatile in their use of melodies, charms and songs to induce changes in consciousness.
In fact, according to all major ancient Indo European traditions, the earth and universe were created and brought into form through sound, celestial melodies and songs.
We all know the power of poetry or of a book that can transport us into another world. Consciousness cannot be separated from “words.”
Words, songs, narratives create our lives/worlds, and are a window onto eternity. We must have words or expressions of unbounded meaning/spirit, in order to emerge out of the chaos.
The third gathic hymn starts with the “words of power” vaḵšiia išentö and ends with ûštá “fulfillment of wishes,” from the root vas “desire, wish.”
Through poetic imagery ûštá is linked to ûšá “dawn” (Reconstructed Proto Indo European ausōs,) because the fulfillment of wishes come through a breakthrough in consciousness, and an awakening of the renewed powers of spirit.
In the sacred Zoroastrian lore various abodes of paradise/heaven mentioned: are heaven of good thoughts, heaven of good words, heaven of good works, heaven of boundless lights, and the abode of songs or the house of music of the ahûrás as the supreme heaven.
I like to conclude by a poem from the great Ferdowsi, the author of Shahnamæ, the great epic saga of the ancient Iranian warrior kings, heroes and God-men. Ferdowsi’s name literally means the “man from paradise,” and Shahnamæ is the world’s longest epic poem created by this master poet.
Shahnamæ is three times the length of Homer’s Iliad, and more than twelve times the length of the German Nibelungenlied. This masterpiece is a loving tribute to ancient Zoroastrianism, and sehnsucht “longing” for the noble identity of our ancient people. It is a magnum opus of Indo European poetry.
Ferdowsi writes:
Much I have suffered in these thirty years//
I have revived the ancient noble spirit with my verse//
I am deathless, I am the eternal Lord//
For I have spread the seed of the Word//Splendid monuments will decay//By rain and blazing sun//Yet I have built an eternal edifice of songs//That no storm and calamity shall ever destroy.
ardeshir
