Zarathushtra: The Transcendental Vision

The Zarathushtrians (or Zoroastrians) have handed down scriptures which, among the revealed religions, are perhaps the oldest in the world continuously in use. Their literature is correspondingly among the most venerable in any Indo-European tongue. Ideas associated with Zarathushtrianism, especially the monotheistic concept, influenced the basic thinking of Judaism, Mahayana Buddhism, Christianity and Islam — they have influenced the psyche of over half the human race.

Zarathushtra’s exact dates are uncertain, but he is known to have lived in Ancient Iran between 1400 BC and 800 BC. He experienced his first vision of Ahura-Mazda — Lord of Life and Wisdom — when he was about thirty. His Gathas (‘Songs’), expressed as a result of his communion with the supreme deity, form the heart of the Avesta, the sacred scriptures.

The author of this book, Phiroz Mehta, was born of Parsi parents and brought up in the Zarathushtrian tradition. He seeks here to convey the nature of the transcendental vision of the Perfected Holy Ones, in particular as proclaimed by Zarathushtra. His theme describes the mode and implications of holistic consciousness — the context of infinity and eternity — wherein the finite and temporal may commingle with the immortal, the divine. Through such inspiration, man may realize fully-integrated perfection.