and grasped in their root structure and characteristics and the purpose of their being created by Ahura Mazda, an individual can know who and what are truly good and where they are good, and who and what are truly bad and where they are bad.

Ahura Mazda has been treated as one of the seven Amesha Spentas and also as beyond. As beyond, the Supreme is in the static or dynamic existence and as one of the Amesha Spentas, He is in the manifested Existence. It is in this manifested Existence Ahura Mazda exists as the Creator. The remaining six are grouped into two — the one inter­preted as the male and the other as the female, of course, not in the animal or human sense. The six Amesha Spentas are the Divine aspects of Ahura Mazda and Ahura Mazda manifests through them in one or other aspects. Of the male group are: (1) Vohu Manah — this Amesha Spenta is placed next to Ahura Mazda and manifests Divinity in its entirety, manifesting Supreme Consciousness. (2) Ash Vahishta — this Amesha Spenta can be interpreted as Divinity, as if in motion — the motion of Divine immutable laws. It manifests both the seed and the knowledge of the laws — the laws manifested in highest righteousness. (3) Kshthra Vairya — this Amesha Spenta manifests the Divine Kingdom and also the Divine kingly powers and bliss therein. This male group of the aforesaid three can be compared with Sat-Chit-Ananda of the Hindu conception of Para-Brahma and in another way, it can also be compared with the basic conception of Purusha of the Hindu philosophy.

Of the female group are: (1) Armaiti — this Amesha Spenta is paired with Vohu Manali and manifests one-pointed Divine love and devotion to Divinity in its entirety. (2) Ahurvatat — this Amesha Spenta is paired with Ash Vahishta and manifests Divine Perfection in Divine immutable laws: Perfection manifesting complete harmony in the Divine Motion. (3) Ameretat — this Amesha Spenta is paired with Kshthrya Vairya and manifests Divine Immortality in the Divine kingdom — Immortality manifesting the Divine state of unchangeableness. This female group can be compared with the Prakriti conception of the Hindus. Male and female, or Purusha and Prakriti are both in Ahura Mazda. When the six aforesaid Amesha Spentas, as Divine aspects of Ahura Mazda, are loved and worshipped, they bestow upon the devoted worshipper their respective Divine characteristics. This is their Blessing.

This, in short, was the Message Zarathustra preached.

CHAPTER VII

The Next Fifteen Years

During the next fifteen years, that is, from his 45th year to His 60th year, Zarathustra spent His time not only in preaching or initiating disciples on the spiritual path of one way or other — branches of one and the only path, the path of righteousness — but also in serving the poor and the needy in their worldly difficulties. He not only preached and gave spiritual and divine knowledge, but also taught a good deal of mundane knowledge, such as medicine, astronomy, laws of nature, social welfare of the people, etc. An instance in this connection is worth mentioning here. Shaherstani of Khorasan, who lived from 1086 to 1153 A.D., related that when Zarathustra was passing by a poor blind man, He asked some of the people of that locality to squeeze out juice from the leaves of a particular tree which He pointed out to them and then drop a few drops into the eyes of the blind man. This was done and the blind man began to see. If he wanted, He could have cured the eyes by mere touch of His hand or by praying, but He wanted to teach people an useful art besides offering relief to the suffering man. In Vandidad, one of the oldest Avesta manuscripts, one will read of many such cures. He made His disciples wise and versatile in the knowledge of the physical needs of the body, of the moral needs of the intellectual mind and of the spiritual needs of the soul and this is what "Dinkard" described in detail. Zarathustra gave so much knowledge