Zarathustra Beyond Time: Unraveling the genius Zarathustra and his enduring impact

It was a crisp October afternoon, and there I stood, gazing at the puristic Zoroastrian fire temple in Yazd. But the air was heavy with tragedy. Just days before, a bright young soul, Mahsa Amini, had fallen victim to the oppressive grip of the mullahs' "morality police”.

While we were filming for a documentary at the temple, an unexpected moment unfolded: two young Iranian women stepped in front of the camera, removed their hijabs, and raised their hands in a victory sign. Davoud, our tour guide and impromptu cameraman, suddenly stopped filming. Despite his hesitation, I urged him to continue, unaware that this brave protest could spell a death sentence for the women and a prison sentence for us, along with the revocation of Davoud's tour guide license. The gravity of the situation only dawned on me later that night.As I bid farewell to Davoud and the mesmerizing Zoroastrian fire temple, the earlier incident with the two women and the filming “mishap” quickly faded from my thoughts. Instead, I found myself captivated by the enigmatic figure of Zarathustra. Who was he truly? Was he a mythical figure like Abraham, Moses, or Muhammad, or a real historical personage like Socrates, Confucius, or Buddha? If he did exist, when exactly did he walk the earth—was it truly in an ancient era shrouded in the mists of time, preceding these renowned figures? What were his core principles? Was he a philosopher, a prophet, or somehow both? These questions swirled in my mind, growing into an even bigger puzzle during the sleepless night that followed.