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Sudreh and Kusti – Covenant Between Man and God
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As Zarathushtra moved from village to village, city to city, he explained at length the importance of the Navjote ceremony and the open declaration of faith called for from each individual. He said,“Either you are for the True God or you are not, the choice is yours.”Many cried out from the congregation, “0 Zarathushtra! We believe in you and our Lord Ahuramazda, but why must we wear the Sudreh and Kusti? Is our acceptance of the faith not enough? Do you not believe in us?”
Zarathushtra walked up to the nearest of them, put his hand on his shoulder and, smiling at him, spoke softly, “Of course, I believe you. But I also believe that if you are deeply committed to your faith, you should be proud of the Lord and proclaim it in unmistakable terms to all the world. The wearing of the Sudreh and Kusti becomes the token of your faith.”
Zarathushtra added,“Know further, the significance of these two holy vestments. The Sudreh is spotlessly white and denotes the purity of Ashoi. ‘Sud’ means beneficial’and ‘reh’ means ‘path’— the Beneficial Path, the Path of Ashoi. The Sudreh is also a reminder of the life hereafter. For this you have the ‘Giroban’, a little rectangular pocket on the front which reminds you that as you do in your life, so will you be requited in the life hereafter. The Kusti is the girdle around your waist. The three loops are to be taken to remind you of the three eternal truths, Manasni, Gavasni and Kunusni. The four knots, two in front and two behind, are to remind you of your four acts of faith: that you have promised to remember my teachings and beliefs; that your struggle against evil is to be unending; that you will follow the path of Ashoi; and that you will keep faith with the Lord. Finally, the two ends of the sash represent the good and the evil in life, and knowing this truth, you must prevail over evil.”
Zarathushtra looked around at the now silent crowd and continued,“So when you wear the Sudreh and Kusti, you keep alive a covenant between man and his God. If you do away with them, it is as good as a denial of your faith; for it is evidence of being ashamed of professing it and, more than anything else, a rejection of the instrument of a holy contract. Lastly, the Sudreh and Kusti are the basic tools of communicating with your God, for as you must know, all prayer, all communication with the Lord opens with the saying of prayers with the Kusti. How then would you talk to your God?”
Stretching out his hands wide, shaking his head, Zarathushtra concluded,“For me, it is unthinkable to find one man or woman of our faith without the Sudreh and Kusti. On the other hand, by honoring God in this way, the Lord Ahura Mazda will be pleased and will say, “For those who love Me enough and will honour Me by making known their faith in this manner, I shall regard them as true soldiers of my legion and the Sudreh and Kusti will be as armour for their protection from trouble and evil.”
The hush was overpowering and the people dropped to their knees and like a ripple welling outwards from the one whom Zarathushtra touched, they firmly answered, “We believe in you and our God and will honour the Lord for all time and will keep faith with Him.”
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