Zoroaster — "When we are in doubt whether an action is good or bad, abstain from it."
When we are in doubt whether an action is good or bad, abstain from it.
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More from Zoroaster
"Good thoughts, good words, good deeds. And a good nap. Don't forget the good nap."
"He who practices deception, O Mazda, he is the evil one, and he is the one who causes woe."
"Suffer no anxiety, for he who is a sufferer of anxiety becomes regardless of enjoyment of the world and the spirit, and contraction happens to his body and soul."
"Let us therefore be of those who further this world, O Mazda Ahura, and you other Ahuras, by deeds of Good Thought, by words, by actions."
"Do not to others what ye do not wish Done to yourself; and wish for others too. What ye desire and long for, for yourself. This is the whole of righteousness, heed it well."
About Zoroaster (c. 1500-1000 BCE (debated))
Iranian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism, the first major religion of cosmic dualism between good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Angra Mainyu). Closely associated with The Buddha (near-contemporary Eastern moral-cosmological revolutionary). For an intellectual contrast, see Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher of 'beyond good and evil' — Nietzsche appropriated Zarathustra's name for Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883) precisely to invert the original's moral cosmology — the historical Zoroaster founded the good-versus-evil framework Nietzsche's character announces the end of.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
When you cannot tell whether something you are about to do is right or wrong, don't do it. Uncertainty itself is a warning sign. Rather than gambling on a choice that might cause harm, pause and hold back until you have clarity. The safer path is inaction when your conscience is unsettled, because a wrong act done in confusion still carries real consequences for you and others.
Relevance to Zoroaster
Zoroaster built an entire ethical system around a conscious choice between Asha (truth, order) and Druj (falsehood, chaos). His faith emphasized personal moral responsibility through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. Because every act tilted the cosmic balance, hesitation in the face of moral uncertainty was not weakness but wisdom, aligning the follower with Ahura Mazda rather than risking complicity with evil.
The era
Zoroaster lived in ancient Persia, likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, amid polytheistic tribal religions centered on ritual sacrifice and warrior cults. His teaching shifted focus from appeasing many gods to individual ethical conduct under one supreme creator. In a violent, cattle-raiding society where custom justified many harmful acts, urging restraint during moral doubt was radical, planting seeds that later shaped Judaic, Christian, and Islamic conscience-based ethics.
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