The name of the Persian God Ahura Mazdha is derived from the Sanskrit term Asura Medha. The word “Asura” in Sanskrit originally meant “the most powerful God” ; it did not refer to the antagonizers of the Devas. The “s” in “Asura” is replaced with “h” in “Ahura” the same as the word “Sindhu” came to be pronounced as “Hindu” in Persian.
“Medha” in Sanskrit means sacrifice. “Asura Medha” came to be pronounced as “Ahura Mazdha” in Persian which refers to “Purusha Medha”. The Purusha Medha is a form of sacrifice mentioned in the Vedas. The term “Purusha” came to be interpreted as “man” and people mistakenly believed that the Vedas have historical reference to human sacrifices. Just like in English there are many homonyms in Sanskrit. Unlike English the spelling for the homonyms in Sanskrit does not change. The word “Purusha” actually refers to “self”. By “self” it refers to the “paramatma” who is the soul of “jeevatama”. That is the “super soul” is the soul of all souls. Paramatma or God is our soul. The mythical being “Purusha” who is sacrificed during the “Purusha-Medha” sacrifice mentioned in the Vedas, refers to God. By sacrificing himself, God enters into the heart of every living creature. By entering into the heart of all living beings he loves them all as Himself. He sees all and loves all equally unlike the selfish man/woman who does not see oneself beyond his body. This is God’s self sacrifice. He offered the seed-state of all beings in to the fire of sacrifice along with himself. Through this action he came to reside completely in all creatures at the same time residing outside as the Universal God. Like him we are advised to perform self-sacrifice too; by self-sacrifice it does not mean that we should jump into the fire or kill someone and offer them to God. Self-sacrifice here means that we should bring our senses under control, subdue passion and be righteous. By this way we can realize Paramatma residing in our heart. We should understand our relationship we share with him. We should understand that we belong to him and him only. We should offer our self to him wholeheartedly. This is the meaning of the “Purusha-Medha” sacrifice. The Purusha referred in the Purusha-Medha is God who is the first cause of everything. God is “Asura” the most powerful being. Hence by the word “Purusha” we refer to God who is the soul of everyone. The word “Medha” also refers to intelligence. Purusha Medha could also refer to God as the most intelligent being. When we refer to him as “Asura Medha (Ahura Mazdha)” we refer to the most powerful and intelligent being. The Avesta and the Vedas refer to the same concept and believe in one Universal God who is the most intelligent and powerful being.
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