A MANUAL OF "KHSHNOOM" - Traditional Zoroastrianism: Tenets of ...

18
"Since several years past attempts have been made to
understand the Zoroastrian Faith. Everyone making such superficial
attempt does so according to one's own intelligence, and from
the viewpoint of one's own ideas. In other words, as the result of
the good attempts made so far according to different standards, no
students of any line of learning have been able to expound the
mysteries of the Zoroastrian Faith, and its special original essence.
On the one hand Comparative Philology is taken as the sole basis
at the sacrifice of genuine deep philosophy, and on the other,
efforts have been made somehow to expound the Zoroastrian
religion by effecting a mixture of Comparative Philosophy of other
religions, but since these alien philosophies differ widely in their
degrees from the Zoroastrian, the teachings of pristine
Zoroastrianism remain in the dark.
"In spite of the generic similarity to a certain extent in all
religions, the Zoroastrian religion like others has its own
individuality, its own deep philosophy, and its own Esoteric side.
The knowledge concerning these is referred to in the Gathas 48, 12
and 53, 2 as "Khshnoom". This "Khshnoom" is the commentary
knowledge expounding systematically the deep philosophy of the
Zoroastrian religion, its sacred ceremonies and its practical
canons." (Ilm-e-Khshnoom Series No.1 (in Gujarati); Foreword.
pp. 4-7).
AHU, THE UN-NAMEABLE,
IMPERSONAL SURPREME DEITY
As stated above under "Special Features of this Book"
Khshnoom begins the story of the Esoteric Philosophy with
"AHU" in the Pre-Cosmo-Genesis world. The knowledge of the
description of this world being totally unknown to philological
scholars, they have been misguided since over a century past, by
the Gatha Yasna; 30, 3-4 into the erroneous belief of the Duality of
the "twins" (Ohrmazd and Ahriman) as the fundamental
theological teaching of the Zoroastrian Faith. The scholars did not
know, and do not know yet that the above stanzas refer to the
beginning of the Universe with the "twins'" Ohrmazd and
Ahriman, and not to the Beginning of beginnings which is Ahu
above mentioned, which is the Supreme Godhead over these
"twins". This AHU who is un-nameable, unknowable and
unthinkable, is also called 'AHURA', who can only be pointed
towards the sky as AH, it IS; yet the knowledge of what IT
manifests is conceivable. AHU is of two phases; first, AHU,
Shaedan Shaed (Lustre of lustres)_ who is said to be the shoreless
and motionless ocean of light, about whom nothing can be conceived.
Then in the second phase, an infinitesimal part of this