Supplement No. 2

Technical Significances of Aoj, Tagi and Zor

Niru, the unfathomable screen of light separating Khao Afrazyamna expounded in the beginning, embodies three other powers called Aoj, Tagi and Zor. These four powers are remembered in a group in the preamble of the Pazand Afrine- Ardafravash; 13.

Aoj is the tremendous power with which the Hierarchy of Ameshaspends and Yazads perform their great individual tasks of helping the Creator Ahura Mazda in the matter of leading human souls to 'Frasho-kereti' (spiritual) Renovation, and of divine administration of the Universe from the dead past to dim future.

Tagi is the extra power, besides Aoj, possessed by the Sarosh Yazad, further explanation whereof follows after Zor.

Zor is the marvelous power developed by a priest or by the saintly type of a Ratheshtar i.e., a warrior-saint, who is a practitioner of Ashoi (holiness) by attuning himself with the angelic existences.

Niru, Aoj, Tagi and Zor all possess the commonplace meaning of strength or power, yet only Khshnoom teaches the real technical meaning and differentiation existing in each.

 

"Tagi", the Special Power Possessed by Sarosh Yazad

We have seen that a human soul - Urva:n - in its original condition was a Light with deficiency of divine knowledge as stated already - which deficiency we call Evil - in its various grades. In order to cure the Soul of this Spiritual deficiency, Nature has designed this Universe of inconceivable expanses, wherein lies the wonderful "Factory" for transmuting the Soul's Evil into Good.

This Universe is made up of two principal divisions, of which the higher, superior, immortal and permanent, is called the Hasti (Haithyeng Astish; Ysn. 43,,3), the world of Truth, possessing Light and permanence. The souls of very high grade who are luminous and who exist in this Hasti world manage to transmute their Evil into Good without having any need to pass through the process of infoldmemt of their Spirit into Matter.

But, for those souls which cannot rid their Evil in this manner, Nature has devised another plan for reforming the same by creating the Nisti (lit., what is not permanent), i.e., the Evanescent world (Space). This Nisti is subject to many changes, being a veritable divine factory, where dividing and subdividing the soul with its Evil improve the defect of the souls very gradually.

Sarosh Yazad is the Angel-Lord-Lieutenant of this Nisti world, and acts as the viceroy of the Creator Ahura Mazda, who (Sarosh) as stated above, possesses the extra power of purification called Tagi, over and above Aoj mentioned already, possessed by all the Yazadic intelligences. Souls not pliable to correction by softer or lighter methods are dealt with by Sarosh Yazad with the inexorable power of Tagi, by dissection of the soul and its Evil over and over again, and by moulding and re-moulding the same. Hence, in Sarosh Yasht (major), Sarosh Yazad is styled 'Yazata Payu-Thworeshtar' meaning the angel who is protector and modeller (para 2). On this earth Asho Zarathushtra is the deputy of_Sarosh Yazad. From this it will be understood that _Sarosh Yazad's power of Tagi is victorious in correcting even the most vehement type of the Evil of the souls existing in any of the regions of the Nisti (Space).

 

Sarosh Yazad's Power of Tagi Occurring in Sarosh Baj Prayer

In Sarosh Baj prayer the powers of Sarosh Yazad are mentioned as 'Tagi tan farman', where the body (Tan) of Sarosh Yazad is stated as made up of the holy benedictory Staota, i.e., vibrationary currents drawn from Bagha Ahunavar, the Will Celestial of the Lord Ahu (Paz. Tan, body, Av. Tan, to draw; Farman, holy spells emitting holy vibrationary currents). Besides these powers, Sarosh Yazad is stated as possessing "Shikaft zeen", meaning marvelous implement, and "Zeen avazar", i.e., the most perfect and victorious implement. Thus Sarosh Yazad is described as possessing the special extra power of Tagi, besides the Manthra-Spenta body and the marvelous and most perfect and victorious implement (of Tagi) for over-powering and transmuting Evil into Good.

Then the passage says, "Salar-e daman-e Hormazd berasad", meaning 'the chief of the creation of Hormazd, may He reach unto me". "Salar-e daman" means the chief or the viceroy of Nisti, the evanescent worlds. Thus in the passage under reference the devotee first describes the powers of Tagi and Tan Farman and the all-victorious weapons of the holy Sarosh, and then supplicates Him to hasten to his (or her) succour in his (or her) attempts at transmuting the Evil into Good.

 

Sarosh-Baj Pazand Passage Commentary upon Tagi in Avesta

The Pazand passage dealt with above is the exact commentary of the Avesta passage "Sraoshahe ashyehe takhmahe tanu manthrahe darshi draosh Ahuiryehe" occurring further on in the same Sarosh Baj prayer after the special formula for the particular part (Gah) of the day. This Avesta sentence is called the junior "Khshnooman", i.e., the glorifying formula of Sarosh. The rendering of the above Avesta sentence into Pazand was effected by the great holy Dastoor Adarbad Mahrespand, who was the last "Raenidar", i.e., Restorer of the Faith, by his passing through the ordeal of the molten ore poured on his chest, and yet remaining unburnt on account of the miraculous power of Ashoi developed by him in his body-elements (Anasar), which were rendered Invulnerable against burns or wounds.

In the above Avesta Khshnooman the word Takhmahe meaning powerful stands for Tagi in the Pazand commentary. Darshi-draosh means powerful weapon. The word 'Ahuiryehe' refers to the great law of Ahura-data, by which the Unfoldment of soul from Matter takes place, i.e., the law by which a soul soars heavenward after completing the processes of transmuting the Evil through 'Thwasha Khadata', automatic repetitions of the rounds of birth and death till emancipation is attained. So Ilm-e-Khshnoom teaches that Sarosh Yazad will positively cure the souls of their Evil and lead them to Heaven by the Law of Ahura-data.