These articles are part of the build your own spiritual cocktail series. We present these ancient wisdom for you to pick and chose what fits, disregarding what doesn’t. And as with any good cocktails, tweak as you wish and update the recipe to find what fits. Eventually throughout life, you realize you need less and less ingredients. And this article grew so big due to its inherent complexity, I had to cut it in two. If you have corrections or wish to add to these articles, please contact us.
Our journey through ancient wisdom has taken us from the temples and gardens of Japan’s unique Shintoism, where we explored mindfulness and harmony with nature. Now we continue our travel westward across the ancient world to arrive in Persia, modern-day Iran, where over 3,500 years ago. Neatly nestled between the East and West, Persia was in the middle of both continents where a high-degree of philosophy flourished. Out of these exchanges, a prophet named Zarathustra received visions that would change human spiritual thought forever.
Zarathustra, known by the Greek name Zoroaster, founded what may be the world’s oldest monotheistic religion. But Zoroastrianism gave humanity something even more profound than theological ideas. It gave us a simple, powerful guide for living that remains urgently relevant today: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds.
In our modern world, where many people feel lost, anxious, or disconnected from meaning, this ancient Persian wisdom offers something we desperately need: a clear roadmap to ethical living, personal responsibility, and genuine inner peace.
The Birth of Zoroastrianism
Imagine living in ancient Persia around 1500 BCE. Although, some scholars place Zarathustra even earlier, that world was filled with polytheistic religions, worship of many gods, and natural forces. Into this landscape came a radical new vision. Does this sound familiar? Our Shintoism talks about how external influences, namely Buddhism coming into the country, forced the population to pool together these ancient rituals into something they called Shintoism. The same thing happened in Tibet and even in India with Hinduism and yoga.
Zarathustra proclaimed that there is one supreme God, Ahura Mazda. This name means Lord of Wisdom or Wise Lord. This God is not distant or capricious like the gods of neighboring cultures. Ahura Mazda represents pure truth, light, goodness, justice, and wisdom itself.
This is particularly interesting because around the same broad period, there is a move away from angry gods demanding sacrifices to a more wholistic principle of everything. We saw that in our Taoism article and the few more aforementioned ones.
Zoroastrianism is also recognized as one of the world’s oldest organized faiths. It points at influencing the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Concepts that we take for granted in Western religion, such as angels, the final judgment of souls, heaven and hell, and the cosmic battle between good and evil, have roots in Zoroastrian thought.
What makes Zoroastrianism particularly powerful is not just its theology. It is the practical ethical framework it offers for daily life. It marries both the theoretical with the practical.
The Central Teaching: Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds
At the heart of Zoroastrian teaching lies a threefold path known as Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta in the ancient Avestan language. Translated into English: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds. Have any other words sound so natural and needed today? Yes, but how do we go about that?
To better understand what the philosophy can offer us today, we need to understand that this triad is not a suggestion. It is the fundamental moral code that guides every Zoroastrian’s life. It represents the path of Asha – truth, righteousness, and cosmic order.
The brilliance of this teaching lies in its completeness. It addresses the entire human experience in one gulp, from our inner mental world through thoughts, to our communication and relationships through words, and our impact on the world through deeds.
Good Thoughts: Mastering The Inner World
The teaching begins with thoughts because Zoroastrians understood something modern psychology has only recently confirmed: your thoughts shape your reality.
It’s important to clarify that Good Thoughts means more than simply thinking happy thoughts or avoiding negativity. This is beyond the Think Positive movement and has more substance. It means cultivating mental habits aligned with truth, wisdom, and virtue. It means choosing thoughts that lead toward light rather than darkness, toward construction rather than destruction, toward love rather than hatred. In all cases. it means being mindful of your thoughts and to keep them clean as you do your body.
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Zoroastrianism holds that humans possess complete free will. We are not born sinful or predetermined to follow a certain path. We are born essentially good, with the capacity and responsibility to choose our thoughts in every moment. This is reminiscent of the highest yogas, the nearby Tibetan Dzogchen being part of them.
This teaching feels revolutionary even today. In a world educated by judo-christian values of being born into sin, how often do we feel controlled by our thoughts, swept along by worry, anger, or fear? Zoroastrianism gets us to consider that we have the power to choose. You are not a victim of your own mind.
Practical applications for modern life:
One of the fundamental of being more present is to be mindful of your thought patterns. By practicing this without judgement, we can better see if we are dwelling on repeated negative streams of thoughts. If it hasn’t been recognized by now, these thoughts create suffering and pull you away from truth. You might even justify yourself holding these thoughts and believing in righting wrongs. Often time, we realize we’re fighting paper tigers in our minds. When you catch yourself in destructive thinking, pause. Don’t judge. Gently choose differently over and over again.
We often hear about the virtues of cultivating gratitude, compassion, and wisdom. It’s usually in our darkest hours that these practices open great potentials before us. These are good thoughts that align you with Asha, this truth and righteousness. Modern research shows that practices like gratitude journaling genuinely improve mental health and life satisfaction. And after all, what else is there to do but to focus on good living standards? You owe that much to yourself.
Question your assumptions constantly. As the joke goes, never assume… Good Thoughts means seeking truth, not clinging to comfortable lies. Are your thoughts based on reality or on prejudice, fear, or misinformation?
Protect your mind from pollution. Just as Zoroastrians teach that physical purity matters, mental purity matters too. Be conscious of what you consume, media, gossip, toxic environments. When you watch or read the news, does it promote good thoughts or poison your mind? How about social media or gossip? Does this add to your well-being or furthers your negative spiral?
Good Words: The Power of Conscious Speech
The second element of the triad is Good Words. Speech is the bridge between our inner world and the outer world. Words have tremendous power to heal or harm, to build up or tear down, to bring clarity or spread confusion.
Good Words means speaking truthfully, kindly, and purposefully. It means using speech to promote justice, to comfort the suffering, to teach wisdom, to encourage goodness in others. Although this is difficult when you have been wronged or feel disempowered, there is a relief in climbing above the situation and coming out clean.
Research on ethical communication, drawing on ancient wisdom traditions, emphasizes that speech regulated by truthfulness, sincerity, and restraint leads to better self-worth. Silence can be an expression of Good Words when speech would cause unnecessary harm.
In ancient Persia, lying was considered one of the gravest sins because it violated Asha, the cosmic order of truth. To speak falsehood was to align oneself with Druj, the force of chaos and deception.
Practical applications for modern life:
My grandmother used to tell say we need to turn our tongues seven times before saying anything. In other words, the practice the triple filter test before speaking is; what you are about to say true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? If it fails any of these tests, reconsider and stay silent. A positive and positive always yields a positive. But a positive and negative, as well as a negative and negative always yield a negative.
When we recognize the simple power nestled in your words, social media, where words spread instantly and can cause tremendous harm, this ancient teaching about conscious speech transforms our digital discourse. Before you post, comment, or share, ask: Are these Good Words? Does this add or remove? I no longer post personal things on social media and rarely comment on anything anyone writes. I only do when they are old friends, and even then, I stay neutral. But it wasn’t always like that 🙂
Try to use speech to encourage and build up. Compliment genuinely. Express appreciation. Offer words of support. Good Words create positive ripples in the world. And don’t just try for a little while. Try for a long time. You’ll eventually find that any external expectation of rewards dwindles and finally inner peace prevails as you focus on your true north, not that of others.
Speak truth even when difficult. Good Words does not mean only saying pleasant things. Sometimes truth requires courage. But even difficult truths can be spoken with kindness and respect. I recently had to tell a good friend of mine that I was disengaging from his business projects because it didn’t fit my capacities. It was a tough talk. But I valued his friendship more than eventual potential external rewards.
Keep your word. Your words create your reputation and your character. When you say you will do something, do it. This builds trust and aligns you with truth.
Good Deeds: Action as the Ultimate Test
The triad completes with Good Deeds because Zoroastrianism teaches that we are judged not merely by our beliefs or intentions but by our actions. What do you actually do? How do you treat people? What impact do you leave on the world? In a world where superficiality dominate and attitude is valued over substance, asking these questions build character.
Good Deeds encompasses everything from grand acts of charity to small kindnesses. It includes work ethic, the treatment of family and strangers, the care you have for animals and the environment, honesty in business, and courage in standing up for justice.
The Theosophical Society‘s analysis of Zoroastrianism notes that this emphasis on individual ethical choice as central to human existence was groundbreaking. In many ancient religions, humans were seen as pawns of the gods. Zoroastrianism moved humanity away from this. It declared that you are a free moral agent, and your choices matter immensely.
Practical applications for modern life:
Act with integrity. Do the right thing even when no one is watching, especially when no one is watching. Your deeds shape your character, and your character determines your destiny.
Look for opportunities to serve. Good Deeds does not require grand gestures. Helping a neighbor, volunteering your time, being fully present for someone who needs to talk, these simple acts accumulate to create a life of meaning. The more you do, the more you reconnect with this side of yourself, the more it becomes natural.
Consider the consequences of actions. Before acting, think: Will this deed promote truth and goodness? Will it harm others? Will it contribute to the world’s healing or its suffering?
Make amends when you fall short. You will not always live up to Good Deeds. When you fail, acknowledge it, apologize, make it right, and commit to doing better. You’re human and can make mistakes. Own up to it and move on. This is part of the path.
Be consistent. Good Deeds is not about occasional heroic acts. That’s such a social media era kind of thing. It is about the steady accumulation of ethical choices, day after day, in small ways and large.
THE COSMIC BATTLE: CHOOSING BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
At stake is probably the ultimum human dilemma, to be natural and free, unconstrained or to finally clean up our acts. We grapple with the tendency to let ourselves be what we are without any hindrance. But at some point and depending on our level of maturity and life experience, we decide to take Krishna’s advice and reign in our life, to hold those wild mental horses in check.
Zoroastrianism teaches that that. The world is a learning battleground between two cosmic forces. Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord. It represents all that is good: truth, light, order, wisdom, creation. Opposing it is Angra Mainyu, Ahriman. This is the destructive spirit who represents falsehood, darkness, chaos, ignorance, and destruction.
Back to Zoroastrianism, this is not an abstract philosophy. It is the daily reality we all experience.
We see this battle in our own hearts when we struggle between selfishness and generosity, between honesty and deception, between courage and cowardice. Every time we face a choice, we are participating in this cosmic drama. Will we align ourselves with truth or falsehood? With creation or destruction? With light or darkness? The choice is ours, so are the consequences.
The Zoroastrian teaching is important today. It gives us a way forward that good will ultimately triumph, if we stick to it intelligently. And that triumph depends on each person doing their part by choosing Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds.
We are not a bystander in this battle. We choose with every thought we think, every word you speak, every deed you perform. And this teaching addresses something many modern people struggle with: the feeling of powerlessness. We watch the news and see injustice, suffering, and chaos. We feel overwhelmed and helpless.
Zoroastrianism reminds us we are not helpless. We have tremendous powers should we choose to use them. Every good thought cultivated, every truthful word spoken, every ethical deed performed tips the cosmic scales toward light. Your choices matter. Your life matters. You are a participant in the ultimate victory of good over evil.
Free Will and Personal Responsibility
Unlike some religious traditions that emphasize predestination or original sin, Zoroastrianism teaches that humans are born essentially good and possess complete free will. We are not puppets in a cosmic drama controlled by fate or divine whim. We are active participants who shape our destiny through our choices. Imagine this radical thought back when angry gods demanding sacrifices, sometimes human. Now imagine how modern religions have pivoted again towards the idea of being born in sin, thankfully, leaving behind life sacrifices, if not replaced with seedier ones.
This teaching carries both incredible freedom and awesome responsibility.
Essentially, Zoroastrianism expounds that we cannot blame our circumstances, our upbringing, our genetics, or fate for the life we create. Yes, external factors exist. Yes, some people face greater challenges than others. But within whatever circumstances we find yourself, we retain the power to choose our response. We can choose Good Thoughts even in suffering. This has been plentifully abundant with war prisoners keeping a steady mind looking towards the future. We can choose Good Words even when provoked. Eventually, this is what we have to do with our time on Earth. and finally, we can choose Good Deeds even when it costs you. We have probably seen that those come back exponentially in time.
This is not a burden. It is liberation. It means you are never truly trapped. You always have the power to align yourself with truth, to choose the path of Asha, regardless of what is happening around you. As the Dalai Lam often says after speaking for hours. “Just be a good person.” Simple and pointedly.
Modern psychology and philosophy caught up with this ancient wisdom. Studies on resilience, post-traumatic growth, and meaning-making consistently show that people who take responsibility for their choices and responses to life, rather than seeing themselves as victims, experience better mental health, more life satisfaction, and greater resilience.
Explore more about taking responsibility for your personal growth at TheWholisticCenter.com/personal-growth-journey.
Next, we’ll look at the Sacred Fire that burns continuously, and more. Stay tuned for Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds: Ancient Zoroastrian Wisdom for Modern Life, part 2.