The Wilderness Years (Age 20-30)
“When Zarathustra turned 20 years old, he decided to leave his birthplace and travel to distant places in search of the Truth.”
— Zoroastrian Tradition
For 10 Years, One Man Asked the Question That Would Split History:
“Why does evil exist?”
The Departure (Age 20)
When Zarathustra became 20 years old he felt the need to get closer to God. He left home and spent ten years in prayer and meditation on the mountains.
He walked away from:
- His family (the Spitama lineage)
- His status (ordained priest, zaotar)
- His security (home, community, future)
- His comfort (predictable life, respected position)
For what?
An answer to the question no one else was asking.
He spent years philosophizing in the wilderness of the various places he visited.
While other priests accepted: “The daevas demand blood sacrifice because they’re gods,”
Zarathustra asked: “But what if they’re not gods at all? What if there’s ONE true God? And if so, why does evil exist?”
The Mountain
The Pahlavi Zarathushtnameh says Zarathustra went in search of the Truth at the age of thirty and on mount Ushi-darena he received Divine Revelation over a period of ten years.
Ushi-darena is variously translated to mean “sustainer of inner wisdom.”
He didn’t climb a random mountain. He climbed the mountain that would sustain his inner wisdom.
This wasn’t escape. This wasn’t retreat.
This was preparation.
What He Did for 10 Years
Prayer and Meditation
He left home and spent ten years in prayer and meditation on the mountains.
But not the prayer he’d been taught as a priest.
Not the rituals of blood and appeasement.
New prayer. Direct prayer. Honest prayer.
Prayer that said:
- “Show me the truth, not tradition.”
- “Give me understanding, not ritual.”
- “Help me see reality, not what the priests say reality is.”
Observation of Nature
Zarathushtra surely must have reflected on the Truths of Nature using his inner wisdom, but, perhaps not necessarily sitting in a dark cave. He probably may have pondered on the Truths of Nature watching the sun rise and set, the seasons change, the moon, the stars and of course, Fire – the giver of light and life.
He watched:
- The sun: Rising every morning without fail—order, reliability, light
- The fire: Burning, purifying, illuminating—truth destroying lies
- The stars: Moving in perfect patterns—cosmic law, universal order
- The seasons: Changing in predictable cycles—natural rhythm, divine design
Nature didn’t lie.
Nature didn’t demand blood.
Nature followed laws—and those laws were good.
So if nature reflected divine order, why did human religion demand chaos?
The Central Question
Monotheistic religions struggle to explain how an all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good God permits so much suffering in the world.
This is called The Problem of Evil.
And for 10 years, Zarathustra wrestled with it:
“If there is one good God, why does evil exist?”
Option 1: There is no God (atheism)
→ But Zarathustra looked at nature and saw order, design, purpose
Option 2: God is not all-powerful (limited God)
→ But Zarathustra sensed infinite power in creation
Option 3: God is not all-good (cruel God)
→ But Zarathustra saw beauty, care, wisdom in nature
Option 4: Evil is an illusion (denial)
→ But Zarathustra had witnessed suffering, cruelty, death—evil was real
None of these options satisfied him.
So for 10 years, he contemplated alone, waiting for the answer.
The Solitude
There he enjoyed his spirit and his solitude, and for ten years did not weary of it.
Ten years alone.
No community. No conversation. No validation.
Just Zarathustra, the mountains, and the question.
Most people couldn’t last 10 days in total solitude.
Zarathustra lasted 10 years.
Why?
Because the answer mattered more than comfort.
Because truth mattered more than companionship.
Because understanding reality mattered more than being accepted.
What Solitude Does
Solitude strips away:
- Social conditioning (what others tell you to believe)
- Peer pressure (what the group expects)
- Authority bias (what the priests insist is true)
- Tradition worship (what has “always been done”)
What remains?
You. Reality. And the question.
For 10 years, Zarathustra removed every filter between himself and truth.
No books. No teachers. No rituals. No shortcuts.
Just the question and the willingness to wait for the real answer.
The Temptation
Satan offered Zarathustra the entire world if he would forsake his worship of Ahura Mazda the Lord of Wisdom. When he refused, Satan threatened to destroy him.
Even during these years, the forces of evil knew what he was searching for.
And they tried to stop him.
“Give up the search. Take power instead. Take wealth. Take comfort. Take certainty—just stop asking.”
Zarathustra refused.
Because a false answer is worse than no answer.
Better to search for 10 years than to accept a lie on day one.
The Growing Realization
During those 10 years, Zarathustra’s thinking evolved:
Year 1-3: Rejecting the Old Gods
The daevas are not gods. They’re demons masquerading as divine. Blood sacrifice doesn’t reach heaven—it feeds chaos.
Year 4-6: Sensing the One God
There must be one source. One intelligence. One power behind the order I see in nature. But if so, where does evil come from?
Year 7-8: Understanding Dualism
Evil is not from God. Evil is a separate force. Not equal to God, but independent. God is light—evil is darkness. God is truth (Asha)—evil is lie (Druj).
Year 9-10: The Final Piece
Humans are free. We choose between the two forces. We’re not puppets. God gives us choice. And that choice determines our fate—both now and eternally.
This was the breakthrough.
Evil exists not because God created it or permits it—but because freedom requires the possibility of evil.
Without the option to choose wrongly, there is no choice at all. Without the option to lie, truth has no meaning. Without the option to cause suffering, compassion has no value.
God created freedom. Evil is the price of freedom. And the solution is for free beings to choose good.
That’s why Zarathustra would later teach: “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”
Not “obey or be punished.”
But: “You are free. Choose well.”
The Wisdom Accumulation
Lo! I am weary of my wisdom, like the bee that hath gathered too much honey; I need hands outstretched to take it.
By the end of 10 years, Zarathustra had:
Understood the nature of God:
- One supreme being: Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord)
- Creator of all good things
- Source of order, truth, light, wisdom
Understood the nature of evil:
- Angra Mainyu (Destructive Spirit)
- Not created by God, but in opposition to God
- Source of chaos, lies, darkness, ignorance
Understood the nature of humanity:
- Free to choose between good (Asha) and evil (Druj)
- Responsible for our choices
- Rewarded or punished accordingly
Understood the nature of existence:
- Life is a cosmic battle between good and evil
- Our choices matter—they tip the balance
- History moves toward the final victory of good (Frashokereti)
Understood the nature of ethics:
- Not about rituals or sacrifices
- About thoughts, words, and deeds
- Personal responsibility, not priestly mediation
All of this—sitting on a mountain for 10 years, asking one question.
Age 30: The Moment of Change
But at last his heart changed, and rising one morning with the rosy dawn, he went before the sun.
Something shifted.
After 10 years of solitude, prayer, meditation, contemplation—
After 10 years of wrestling with the question—
After 10 years of preparing his mind and spirit—
He was ready.
Ready for what?
The vision that would change everything.
One day when Zarathustra was 30 years old, something very special happened to him as he was wading through the river Daitya.
But before we get to that moment (Episode 4), we need to understand:
The answer didn’t come on day one.
It came after 10 years of refusing to accept easy answers.
Why 10 Years Matters
1. Truth Requires Patience
Most people want instant answers:
- Read a book → enlightenment
- Attend a sermon → salvation
- Follow a guru → wisdom
Zarathustra spent 10 years.
Because real truth—the kind that changes human consciousness—doesn’t come quickly.
It requires:
- Stripping away false beliefs (years 1-3)
- Sitting with uncertainty (years 4-6)
- Allowing new understanding to form (years 7-8)
- Integrating the pieces (years 9-10)
You cannot rush enlightenment.
2. The Question Was Revolutionary
“Why does evil exist?” is not a simple question.
Before Zarathustra:
- People didn’t ask “why”—they just obeyed
- Evil was blamed on angry gods, bad luck, or fate
- No one questioned the fundamental nature of reality
Zarathustra asked.
And that question—repeated for 10 years, refined, deepened, matured—prepared him to receive an answer that would create monotheism.
3. Preparation for Revelation
You don’t receive divine revelation because you’re special.
You receive it because you’re prepared.
10 years of solitude = 10 years of removing ego, pride, conditioning, false beliefs
10 years of prayer = 10 years of aligning your mind with truth
10 years of meditation = 10 years of refining your ability to perceive reality
By age 30, Zarathustra’s mind was a clear vessel ready to receive the answer.
And the answer would come—not through intellectual reasoning, but through direct revelation.
The Parallel: Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad
Jesus: 40 days in the wilderness, tempted by Satan
Buddha: Years of ascetic practice, seeking enlightenment
Muhammad: Regular retreats to the cave on Mount Hira
But Zarathustra? 10 years.
Longer than all of them.
Because the revelation he would receive was more fundamental:
- Not a reform of existing religion (Jesus reforming Judaism)
- Not enlightenment through detachment (Buddha’s path)
- Not a final revelation building on previous prophets (Muhammad’s completion)
But: The invention of ethical monotheism itself.
The first time in human history someone would say:
- There is ONE God
- YOU are free to choose
- GOOD will triumph
- ETHICS matter more than ritual
That kind of breakthrough requires 10 years of preparation.
What This Reveals About Theft
The Pattern of Later Religions
Judaism (post-Exile, 539 BCE+):
- Adopts Zarathustra’s concepts (heaven, hell, Satan, resurrection, angels, final judgment)
- Claims Moses received them at Sinai (1300 BCE)
- But the texts show these concepts only appear AFTER 70 years in Babylon under Persian rule
Christianity:
- Jesus teaches ethical monotheism, free will, heaven and hell, final judgment
- Claims these are “new” revelations
- But they’re all from Zarathustra’s 10-year search, 1,700 years earlier
Islam:
- Muhammad preaches one God, final judgment, heaven and hell, Satan as adversary
- Claims to be the final prophet
- But he’s teaching what Zarathustra discovered 2,200 years before him
Greek Philosophy:
- Socrates says “the unexamined life is not worth living”
- Plato teaches about forms and the eternal
- But Zarathustra spent 10 years examining life, 1,100 years before Socrates
The Question No One Asks
If Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Socrates, Plato, and Buddha all taught concepts Zarathustra discovered—
Why is Zarathustra’s name not in every textbook?
Why don’t 4.3 billion people know that their beliefs originated with a Persian priest who spent 10 years on a mountain asking “Why does evil exist?”
Answer: Because acknowledging Zarathustra means acknowledging Persia.
And acknowledging Persia means admitting:
- Monotheism began in Iran, not Israel
- Free will began with a Persian, not a Greek
- Ethical philosophy began in Central Asia, not Athens
- The Problem of Evil was solved 3,700 years ago by a man most people have never heard of
So the source is erased.
But the ideas remain.
Every time someone believes in heaven and hell → Zarathustra’s 10-year search
Every time someone believes in personal moral choice → Zarathustra’s 10-year search
Every time someone believes good will triumph over evil → Zarathustra’s 10-year search
The answer he found on that mountain is practiced by half of humanity.
They just don’t know who found it.
NEXT: Episode 4 – The Vision That Changed Everything
One morning by a river, Zarathustra received the idea that would become Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Western ethics: “You are free. You choose. You are responsible.”
“For ten years you have climbed hither unto my cave: thou wouldst have wearied of thy light and of the journey, had it not been for me, mine eagle, and my serpent.”
— Zarathustra, addressing the sun after 10 years of solitude
Even the sun needed a witness. Even truth needs someone willing to search for it.
Zarathustra searched for 10 years.
And what he found changed human history forever.
For the complete Zarathustra series and more on the systematic theft of Persian contributions to human civilization, visit mazda.aeuua.com/
The man who spent 10 years asking “Why does evil exist?” gave you the answer you still believe today.
The least we can do is know his name.