The Good Teacher

The world knows of the Magi as the wise men of the East who following a star, carried exotic gifts with them to baby Jesus in Bethlehem. I should know. I went to a Christian school and learnt it in the New Testament. I was more familiar with the Bible than the Avesta. It was Maneck Kaka who explained to me who these Magi really were; ancestors of our dasturjis, priests. This closely-knit priestly tribe called Magi in Latin, from the Iranian word magus , has a history that predates Zarathustra. As it was then, so it is now, to become a priest you have to be born into a priestly family. Some believe that Zarathustra was born into one such family. In the Gathas he calls himself a Zaotar which has been translated to mean a fully qualified priest; if the translation is correct, then He is the only founder of a world religion who was both priest and prophet.

Depending on your point of view, Zarathustra's teachings can be interpreted...