Zoroaster — "The wise man, O Mazda, is he who continually keeps in mind Thy precepts and stri…"
The wise man, O Mazda, is he who continually keeps in mind Thy precepts and strives to establish Thy Kingdom on earth.
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More from Zoroaster
"I declare the truth to all who will listen."
"Do not hold grain waiting for higher prices when people are hungry."
"I will now tell you who are assembled here the wise sayings of Mazda, the praises of Ahura and the hymns of the Good Spirit, the sublime truth which I see rising out of these flames. You shall therefo…"
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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
True wisdom isn't just knowing things—it's living with divine principles constantly in your thoughts and actively working to build a better, more just world. The saying defines a wise person as someone who doesn't separate belief from action. They hold sacred teachings in their mind daily and put effort into making those ideals real in everyday life, transforming society rather than just contemplating spiritual truths privately.
Relevance to Zoroaster
Zoroaster founded a faith centered on Ahura Mazda (the 'Wise Lord') and taught that humans are active partners with the divine in defeating evil. This quote captures his core message: ethical action matters more than ritual. He rejected the passive priestly religion of his time, insisting followers participate in building frashokereti—the renovation of the world. Wisdom, for him, was inseparable from moral labor and social reform.
The era
Zoroaster lived roughly 1500–1000 BCE in ancient Iran, during a tribal pastoral society dominated by polytheistic rituals, animal sacrifice, and warrior cults. Religious authority rested with hereditary priests performing ceremonies for many gods. Zoroaster's monotheistic vision—one supreme wise deity opposed by evil—was radical. His call to 'establish the Kingdom on earth' challenged the era's fatalism and priestly control, proposing that ordinary humans could reshape reality through righteous choice, an idea that later influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
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