________________
CONFLUENCE OF OPPOSITES
305
This is the text of the great ineffable name of God, Soham Asmi (I am that I am), according to Madhva (Ibid. Intro).
In the Hormuzu Yasht it is recorded : * Then spake Zarathushtra : Tell me thou, 0 Pure Ahuramaz.
da, the name which is thy greatest, best, fairest and
which is the most efficacious for prayer. "Thus augwered Ahura Mazda : My first name is Ahtai
(I am)...and my twentieth is Ahmi yad Ahmi Mazdao (I am that I am, Mazda).”-Haug’s Essays on The
Parsis, p. 195. Ahura, as Dr. Speigel opines (see the Fountain-head of Religion, p. 73), is identical with Jehovah and means the Lord of Ahu (Sanskrit Asu - Life). As for Juda. ism, the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible records the following significant dialogue between Jahweh and Moses : “And moges said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the
children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me anto you; and they shall bay anto me, What is his name ? What shall I say unto
them ? " And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said,
Thus shalt thou say goto the children of Israel, I AM
hath sent me unto you” (Exodas, iii. 13-14). Lastly, Jesus also refers to I AM in the mysterious expression which Christians find it so difficult to explain :
“Before Abraham was I am " (Joha, viii. 58). 20
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
