Across ancient civilizations, language quietly preserves reminders that humanity once shared deeper spiritual roots. If you look closely, even the names of nations sometimes carry echoes of this shared heritage.
Take the name Iran, for example. It comes from the ancient word Aryānām, which means “Land of the Aryans.” In antiquity, this referred to the Indo-Iranian peoples whose language and culture were closely connected to the early Vedic civilization of India. Long before later historical divisions appeared, these peoples shared spiritual ideas, cosmology, and sacred vocabulary.
If you go back to the Rig Veda, one of the oldest spiritual texts known to humanity, you will find the deity Varuna described as the guardian of Ṛta. Ṛta represents the cosmic order that sustains truth, harmony, and the moral structure of the universe. Varuna is often invoked alongside Mitra, and together they represent divine law, covenant, and the principles that hold society and the cosmos together.
Now if you look at the ancient Iranian spiritual tradition, especially the teachings of Zarathustra, you will see something very interesting. The supreme divine principle there is Ahura Mazda, and the central concept governing creation is called Asha. Asha represents truth, righteousness, and the universal order that sustains the world.
If you look at it linguistically and philosophically, Ṛta in the Vedic tradition and Asha in the Zoroastrian tradition are very closely related ideas. They are both pointing toward the same fundamental principle: that there is a cosmic truth, an underlying order, that governs creation.
Scholars of Indo-Iranian religion have long observed that the Vedic pair Mitra–Varuna and the Iranian tradition surrounding Ahura Mazda reflect a shared spiritual ancestry. In the early Indo-Iranian worldview, divine guardians of truth, oath, and cosmic order were central to spiritual life.
So when you look at the Vedic understanding of Varuna and Mitra, and the Iranian reverence for Ahura Mazda and Asha, you begin to see them as different expressions of a common spiritual heritage rooted in humanity’s early search for divine truth.
If we shift our attention to the Near Eastern tradition, another name reveals a similar spiritual aspiration.
The name Israel carries profound meaning. In Hebrew, Yisra-el is often interpreted as “one who struggles with God” or “one who strives uprightly for God.” It reflects the human journey of striving toward righteousness and alignment with the divine will.
Seen from this wider historical perspective, the names Iran and Israel both carry deep spiritual significance. One reflects the ancient quest to uphold cosmic truth (Asha or Ṛta) and the other reflects the human striving to walk uprightly before God.
Today, when we look at conflicts between nations, it is easy to forget these deeper connections. But the ancient wisdom of our ancestors reminds us that nations were never meant to divide humanity permanently. They arose as cultural homes where people could pursue truth, uphold justice, and cultivate reverence for the divine.
When we remember that Ṛta, Asha, and the striving implied in Israel all point toward truth and righteousness under God, something becomes very clear. The deeper calling of humanity is not domination or rivalry. It is harmony.
The real struggle is not between peoples.
The real struggle is within ourselves. It is between greed and wisdom, between the desire for power and the remembrance that we are part of one human family.
History shows that our ancestors once shared spiritual ideas across vast lands—from the Vedic sages of India to the Iranian seers and the prophets of the Levant. Beneath the surface of different traditions lies a common aspiration: to live in alignment with divine truth.
Perhaps remembering these ancient connections can help us see something very simple and very profound.
Humanity is ultimately one family under the Divine.
The principles of Ṛta and Asha remind us that truth, balance, and harmony are what sustain the world. When we align ourselves with that universal order, we move closer to realizing that the destiny of humanity is not division, but unity in the presence of the Divine.
- Guru Shailesh