Lectionary Readings for Thursday, May 2nd, 2019

First Book of God Chapters XXII and XXIII

Chapter XXII

1. On the day of Yu-tiv’s death, Brahma said: Sing no songs; pray in silence only. Let her
soul be in quiet with Ormazd.

2. On the second day Brahma said: Pray in whispers; praise in whispers, the best, good
deeds of the dead.

3. On the third day Brahma said: Burst forth a song of praise to Ormazd; extol the virtues
of the dead.

4. On the fourth day Brahma said: In song and in prayer bid the dead arise and go onward,
upward!

5. Thus they put Yu-tiv in the ground on the fourth day; and then they went and sat in
the sacred circle and sang and prayed for her soul to go on to Nirvana (paradise). And
when they had finished, a light came down in the midst of the circle, and an angel
in white appeared. It was Yu-tiv; the soul of Yu-tiv in the glory of Ormazd, the Creator!

6. Then spake the angel Yu-tiv, saying: Out from the head of the corporeal body the spirit
is born; and angels stand around; on a spirit blanket receive they the spirit of the dead.
One day, in quiet, they keep the spirit, teaching it to reconcile and understand. On the
second day, the spirit heareth the prayers of the earth-people coming upward; and on the
third day, the spirit understandeth death and birth of spirit.

7. And on the fourth day, when ye sang: O Goddess, arise from the dead! The Father
calleth thee from on high! Arise, O Goddess, and go thy way! Then was my spirit free
from the earth; resting in the arms of Gods and Goddesses, who had come from on high
to receive me. Thus, O my beloved, on the third day is the first resurrection; and to the
holy, the second resurrection beginneth on the fifth day. After the fifth day call ye me not
back again! My labor lieth yonder! I must build houses for you all. Thus Ormazd sendeth
me on before! If it be his will for me to return to you at times, I will return. His will above
all; this is the greatest wisdom.

8. Whe-ish, her first-born, asked: What of the angels of the intermediate world,
O mother? Then answered his angel mother, saying: They were shown to us in Ebon
grove! Alas, some of them do not begin the resurrection for a thousand years!

9. Then came the angel Yu-tiv over, near Hog, her latest born, whom she loved so well.
She said: Canst thou see me, my son? Hog answered: Nay, I see only a glimmering light
faintly; I hear a voice, but it soundeth not like my mother’s voice. Yet, if it be that there is
a soul that liveth after death, and if of a truth, thou art the very spirit and soul of her who
brought me forth, be thou not unhappy because of my unbelief. As for myself, I am
happy because thou broughtst me forth in unbelief; neither would I of my own will be any
other way. Whether our eyes be blue or black, or whether we are tall or short, or
whether we are believers or disbelievers, even as we are created, and to fill our place
in doing good unto others with all our wisdom and strength, is this not glory enough?

10. Yu-tiv said: O thou wisest of men! In the day thou art born in heaven, thou shalt
not linger long in the intermediate world, but be crowned a very God indeed! Here
endeth my labors with the earth, O ye, my beloved. An otevan waiteth by the way for
me to ascend; the Gods and Goddesses are calling me! Farewell, my beloved! Farewell!

11. And now the music of heaven descended, and even whilst the mortals sang, the
very gates of heaven opened, and the angel Yu-tiv rose upward in a sea of fire!

12. But behold, the love of great Brahma was too much for him! His eyes raised upward
after the ascending light, and his soul burst within him. He fell down and stretched
himself on the cold earth! He, too, was dead.

13. Then burst the mighty hearts of Brahma’s sons. The whole earth shook with the
wail of Gods. The wind, the air above the earth, stood still, and the forest of
Roam shuddered as if the earth were bent in twain. Then wailed the sons and daughters
of Haraoyo. Though no man uttered it, yet all knew that great Brahma was dead

Chapter XXIII

1. The angel of God came in the sacred circle and stood in the midst. He said: Greeting, in
the name of Ormazd! In His name I speak before you. First, then, who of all that was
dearest to Brahma, he or she, shall arise!

2. And lo and behold, there arose every man, woman and child, more than ten thousand.
The angel said: By the side of Yu-tiv shall ye, his most beloved, bury his body. On the
third day after his death, even at the hour of his death, shall ye bury him. And around
about the grave shall ye sit thrice a day, morning, noon and night, for one hour, singing
and praying for the soul of Brahma, for two days.

3. And behold, on the evening of the second day ye shall behold the graves of both
Brahma and Yu-tiv opened, and their very bodies will come forth, and Brahma shall
speak with you face to face. The angel then disappeared.

4. And the people did as commanded; and they sat watching around the graves in a circle,
at a distance of ten paces therefrom. And the brothers favored Hog above all the rest, that
he might be converted. And it came to pass, when the sun had been two hours set, there
descended into the midst of the circle a light, bright as the sun, so that the multitude held
their hands before their eyes; and so bright was the light that even the graves could not be
seen, and the graves were burst open.

5. And in the space of a moment of time, the light was lowered, so all could look therein;
and, lo and behold, Brahma and Yu-tiv, arm in arm, stood in the midst of the circle, even
with their flesh and bones and their burial robes.

6. Brahma said: Have ye faith in the Creator; with Him are all things possible. He is the
All Master of all things. Accept ye not, forever, any God, or Lord, or Savior, or priest, or
king, but Him, the everlasting All One, the Person.

7. Practicing good works unto all men; abjuring self in all things; and Ormazd will dwell
with you and in you forever.

8. Then Brahma and Yu-tiv came near Hog, that he might see clearly. Hog said: Art thou
truly Brahma, my father; and thou, too, Yu-tiv, my mother? Yu-tiv spake not, but Brahma
said: I am thy father, even Brahma. To practice the highest light a man hath; that is all
that is required of any man.

9. Hog said: Of a truth it is my father! Of a truth it is my mother!

10. Brahma said: We are blessed! This is the first belief; to believe in the spirit surviving
the corporeal body; the second belief is to learn the All Person. After this cometh faith.

11. Hog said: Thou hast proved the first; but as to the All Person, I cannot understand.

12. Brahma said: As I and thy mother have revealed ourselves to thee, and so proven
ourselves, so in due season will Ormazd reveal Himself unto thee.

13. And these were the end. Brahma and Yu-tiv rose up in the sea of fire, smiling and
waving their hands in love to those beneath, higher and higher, till they disappeared in the
sky.

14. Then went the people, and witnessed that the graves were open and the bodies gone.
They filled up the places, and set a post inscribed: TOMB OF BRAHMA AND YU-TIV, GOD AND
GODDESS.

END OF THE HISTORY OF BRAHMA