Zarathushtra - The Story of the First Prophet on Earth
age group: 
7+ yrs
Number of pages: 
38
Publisher: 
Vakils, Feffer & Simons Pvt Ltd
Themes:
Zarathusthra religion Parsis
Genre:
biography
 

 

The book ‘Zarathushtra- The Story of the First Prophet on Earth’ tells us about the life of Zarathushtra, the prophet of the first monotheistic religion known to mankind, a religion fast perishing today.

Although the underlying message of every religion is different, there are many values common to all religions, including Zoroastrianism such as righteousness, kindness, respect for elders and honesty; we tend to forget that life is too short to worry about trivial things such as the difference in the faith in various religions, and the world has come to a stage where each one thinks his religion is the best. We have thus come to being intolerant towards other religions.

The author, through this book shows us that all of us face up’s and down’s in life. The good always has to go through a number of tests and challenges before it can triumph over the evil. She also shows us how Zoroastrianism is a scientific religion and teaches us to value nature, for it nature that has created us, as well as destroy us. It teaches us to have faith in the almighty, for He is sure to guide and protect us. The Navjote ceremony, which is the initiation of an individual into the Zoroastrian Faith is also described very well and reminds us that we are accountable for all our deeds- good and bad.

The story of Zarathushtra is more or less the same as any other prophet, except for the fact that the exact story of his death is a mystery to all.
There is an interesting story that goes back to the time when the Zoroastrians fled Persia in order to protect their beloved religion due to Islamic invasion, they sought refuge in India. There is a story which says that King Jadhi Rana of Gujarat was apprehensive of allowing them to set foot on his soil and thus showed the head priest a bowl, full of milk up to the brim. The head priest very humbly added a spoonful of sugar to it. He explained that just like the sugar had dissolved in the milk, adding sweetness to it; the Zoroastrians too would integrate themselves into the Indian society, and further enrich the already rich culture of the land. It is evident that the Zoroastrians kept their word as we see a large number of Zoroastrians such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Homi Bhaha, the Tata’s and the Petit’s having contributed immensely to the growth of India.

From these examples, we can say that the Zoroastrian faith has well kept in place its principal values of Humata, Hukata and Huvarasta (Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds) which every human being should follow in order to make this world a better place to live in.

Reviewed by Diana Frenchman