In forming his own worldview, Zarathustra appears to have incorporated several other principles of the ancient religion that he once served.
Among these was the concept of a universal right order (Avestan asha, Vedic rta).* At once cosmic, liturgical, and moral, this ordering principle was held to govern every aspect of existence, from the rhythms of the cosmos and the workings of nature to the conduct of man.
In Iran the righteous man was ashavan, possessing asha, an upholder of the right order of things. Zarathustra himself would claim to have seen into that order, vowing "while I have power and strength, I shall teach men to seek the Right [asha]."
According to one scholar, asha is both the principle by which Zoroastrians guide their lives in this world and the basis on which the entire structure of the Zoroastrian faith rests:
"The highest value in human life is neither the attainment of happiness nor the achievement of peace but the incessant work of spreading the ideal of righteousness [asha]."
In the famous Gatha of the Choice, the individual is urged to choose for himself either the path of asha or the path of drug:
"Hear with your ears the highest truths I preach And with illumined minds weigh with them with care Before you choose which of two paths to tread, Deciding man by man, each one for each." (Y. 30.2-4)
The prophet is here urging all those who receive his message to judge for themselves, without clerical intermediary, the truth of his teaching. Just as the two primal beings each made a deliberate choice, so must every man choose -- freely and without priestly intervention -- between good and evil in this life.
Zarathustra is believed to have been the first to teach that each individual must bear the responsibility for the fate of his own soul, as well as sharing in the responsibility for the fate of the world.
From the time of the Gathas onward, the task of the righteous man was to cherish and husband the created world, the "Good Creation."
As told by one authority, the actions of each individual would determine whether he belonged to the god of light or the demon of darkness. He stands by the former -- and is a man of Asha -- if he "enlarges the world of Ahura Mazda by spreading life over the world."
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