“A man of his times”

Among the other books Rangoonwalla has authored are Afrin! Paigambar Zarathosht, the 82-page book on the Prophet which saw its third edi­tion in 2005.

The book introduces the reader to the pre-Zara­thushtrian times, the coming of the holy one, attempts to thwart him, his efforts to spread the religion, the efficacy of his prayers, facts in fiction and his return to the spiritual world. As notes the author in his introduction, "This book is not meant to portray Zarathushtra merely as a ‘man of his times’ so I have consciously not ventured into the area of his date or place of birth as also about his marital status. Though these issues have attracted a lot of debate, there has been no real consensus about them so far… It is better to go by the Zarathushtra Namag in Dinkard and learn about his divine life that brings our mind out of the ordinary and elevates it to all that is truly extraordinary…”

Fascinating legends about Zara-thushtra smiling at birth, being saved from a herd of bulls, from stampeding horses, from a wolf’s lair… have to be interpreted in the light of Zarathushtra’s message that Ahura Mazda is not only the creator but also the preserver and protector. But later Rangoonwalla elaborates, "The lay belief that one protected by God can come to no harm whatsoever may not be entirely true. In fact, the good and the righteous are more prone to suffer at the hands of ahriman…”

Just as the Wise Lord revealed the truth to Zarathushtra for the welfare of humankind, He "would like everyone to be the repository of such divine knowledge, but how many among us have the capacity to receive it in its entirety?…We seek knowledge according to our motives, adopt a mode of gaining knowledge as per our preferences and receive the incoming knowledge through perceptual filters… However we stand behind a being who received total and perfect knowledge… Zara­thushtra’s teachings made a difference not in his time alone but for all times to come…”