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RITUAL
And of life's actions dope for Mazda; And the kingdom (be) to Abura, Whom (the Abu, or the Ratu) He has appointed as nourishier to the poor,"
ERE. I. 238. Haug's rendering of this is even more lucid ; be translates it thus:“As a beavenly Lord is to be chosen, so is an eartbly master
(spiritual gnide), for the sake of righteousness, (to be) giver of good thoughts, of the actions of life towards Mazda, and the dominion is for the Lord (Ahura) whom he (Mazda) has given, as a protector for the poor"
(Hang's Essays on The Parsis page, 141, Footnote.) Here also there is no question of begging for boonsbut only of the merits or qualifications of the heavenly Lord or Guide and of the earthly spiritual preceptor.
It is thus evident that the term prayer is a misnomer with reference to these so-called prayer formulas and texts and that it was never understood in the ancient days to be a supplication to any external deity for boons.
As regards the fourth point, namely, how to pray? it is clear that daily meditation must combine all those elements which are necessary for the increase of faith, merit and dispassion. Now, faith increases by impress. ing the mind with the divinity of the soul and by a reading, with respect and reverence, of the lives of those who have attained to divinity. Merit is obtained by refraining from sin, that is, by confession and repen. tance; and dispassion is acquired by the elimination of
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