From all he solicits
A good offering, and a wished-for offering,
And a devotional offering, O Spitama!
Extrracted from:
www.avesta.org/ka/niyayesh.htm#ny5

In this extract from the Khorda Avesta, the original and core teachings of the prophet Zoroaster, we see the veneration with which fire is held among Zoroaster's people: the Zoroastrian or Parsis (Parisee).

This veneration for Fire, the son of the great deity Ahura Mazda, is the veneration for the earthly representation of the god; and it is the teachings of this which are followed by those of the prophet Zoroaster.

Ahura Mazda is a god of light and his son, fire, gives the little light that banishes the darkness. In the darkness, devoid of the light of Mazda dwell the daevas and Ahriman, the djinn: the dark or evil spirits of Zoroastrian teaching. The eternal flame that burns in Zoroastrian temples banishes Ahriman, the

darkness, who visits on all the trials and tribulations of life. In their faith to Ahura Mazda, Zoroastrians cling to the eternal fire and draw strength from it into their beings with the prayers and rituals of their belief; a strength which then enables them to resist the temptations of Ahriman and follow the path of Mazda.

Freddie was born into this flame: a parsis and follower of the teachings of Zoroaster. He was brought up a worshipper of the Flame, son of Ahura Mazda, and died as a Zoroastrian.

No matter what Freddie had done or said that did not follow the way of Ahura Mazda, as stated in the Vendidad, or book of laws:

In the same way the Religion of Mazda, O Spitama Zarathushtra! cleanses the faithful from every evil thought, word, and deed, as a swift-rushing mighty wind cleanses the plain.

It is possible, perhaps even probable, that much of the