Vohu Manah- Persian AngelAngel"Good Mind"
Also known as: Bahman and Vohuman
Description
When Zoroaster was thirty, a radiant being nine times the size of a man appeared on the riverbank. Vohu Manah, the Good Mind, led the prophet into the presence of Ahura Mazda and delivered the revelation that would become Zoroastrianism.
Mythology & Lore
The Guide of Zoroaster
According to the Denkard and Zad-spram, when Zoroaster was thirty years old, a shining being appeared on the riverbank, nine times larger than a man, and named himself Vohu Manah, the Good Mind. He led the prophet through visions in which Zoroaster encountered Ahura Mazda and the assembled Amesha Spentas. Yasna 43 describes Zoroaster recognizing Ahura Mazda through the Good Mind. Understanding came first, then revelation.
As the foremost of the seven Amesha Spentas, Vohu Manah's name (Bahman in Middle Persian) appears at the head of the Zoroastrian ethical sequence: good thoughts, then good words, then good deeds. Right thinking precedes everything else.
Guardian of Cattle
Among the seven creations the Amesha Spentas protect, Vohu Manah's charge is cattle, the beneficial animals that sustain human life. The Bundahishn recounts that when Angra Mainyu attacked creation, he slew the Primordial Bull, Gavaevodata, from whose seed all beneficial animal life arose. Vohu Manah guards these descendants, and the faithful honor him by treating animals with kindness.
The Adversary
Vohu Manah's demonic counterpart is Aka Manah, the Evil Mind. The Bundahishn pairs them as part of the opposition between each Amesha Spenta and a corresponding archdaeva. Aka Manah promotes doubt and spiritual confusion. Every choice between clarity and delusion is their battlefield.
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