- Zarathushtra, the prophet of the Parsi Zoroastrians, was the first prophet in the world to reveal religion. Although he was born as a mortal to human parents, his status in the religion is that of a Yazad, that is a divine being.
- This can be corroborated from the several instances in his life, before, at the time of and after his birth as well as throughout his life.
- He was divinely selected and appointed as a prophet by Ahura Mazda and the Ameshaspands, much before his birth. The procedure to send the special physical and spiritual constituents of infant Zarathushtra to this world had started even before the birth of his parents.
- There were several other indications of his divine status and divine mission even when he was in the womb of his mother. Even at the time of his birth, he smiled, which is a unique occurrence in the history of the world. This was a sure indication of the child’s divine destiny and future greatness.
- After birth, whenever the evil Angra Mainyu tried to get him killed through the wicked Dorasrun, he came out unscathed. Throughout his childhood he was divinely protected and his great destiny once again emerged in his intense urge to know the answers to several of life’s existential questions.
- His going on the mountains to find the answers to his questions, his conferences with Ahura Mazda and the Ameshaspands, the divine revelation, the miracles in the court of king Vishtaspa and finally his acceptance as a prophet all point out to his divine status.
- Even his passing away was special, unique and fitting to his divine stature. The elements of his body immediately got merged into the elements of nature while performing the act of destroying the evil collected through centuries.
- Though Zarathushtra was born a mortal and showed some human frailties, the Iranian texts clearly refer to him as a Yazata, a divine being. Moreover, in many Avestan texts, he is remembered immediately after Ahura Mazda, even before the Ameshaspands and other Yazads. Hence he was no ordinary mortal. His exalted divine status is established without any doubt.
Ramiyar Karanjia 