This is the thirteenth installment of AJP's Spiritual Asia series exploring the religious traditions, philosophical ideas and moral foundations that have shaped Asia's civilizations. This chapter turns to Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest living faiths, and examines how its teachings on truth, free will and moral responsibility continue to resonate in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
The Persian Flame That Changed Human Civilization
There are two types of rivers that have driven the history of human civilization. One is the visible river. The Nile, the Yellow River, the Indus, the Ganges, the Tigris, and the Euphrates gave birth to countless cities, nations, and civilizations. However, there is another river. It is the invisible river of thought that has moved humanity's spirit, values, religion, and philosophy. And if we trace the upper reaches of that river all the way to its end, we meet a prophet from ancient Persia. He is Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra.
More than half of the world's population today lives under the direct or indirect influence of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Whether one believes in a religion or not, it is no exaggeration to say that the ethics, laws, justice, and historical perspectives of modern society are built upon the traces left by these three religions. Interestingly, however, if we trace the ideological roots of these religions deeply enough, we encounter the flame of Zoroastrianism that burned on the ancient Iranian plateau. Of course, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are great religions, each with its own independent revelations, traditions, and unique theological systems. Yet, the history of civilization has always been a history of exchange and fusion. Ideas do not grow in isolation. They meet, influence each other, and develop into larger, deeper civilizations.
The importance of Zoroastrianism lies precisely here. Although its number of followers today is not large, its influence is by no means small. Rather, it is more accurate to view it as one of the massive wellsprings that has permeated the deep strata of human civilization, shaping the spirit of the Western and Middle Eastern worlds for thousands of years.
In the 6th century BCE, the Middle Eastern world faced a period of massive upheaval. The Neo-Babylonian Empire, the hegemon of the time, conquered and ruled neighboring peoples. The Jews were no exception. Jerusalem fell, and Solomon's Temple was destroyed. Countless Jews were forcibly relocated to Babylon. This is the Babylonian Captivity, recorded as a highly significant event in the history of world religions.
For the Jewish people, this event was not merely a political defeat. It was a civilizational crisis that shook their national identity and faith itself. Why did God abandon us? Why is justice silent? Why do good people suffer? In their despair, the Jews began to ask these questions.
Right at that time, a figure appeared on the stage of history. He is Cyrus the Great, considered one of the greatest monarchs in human history. He not only built the Achaemenid Empire, creating the largest empire of the ancient world, but was also a ruler who practiced religious tolerance and cultural inclusion. Even after conquering Babylon in 539 BCE, he did not oppress the conquered peoples. Instead, he implemented policies that respected the traditions and religions of each nation.
In particular, granting the Jews—who were suffering from the Babylonian Captivity—permission to return and supporting the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was an event of world-historical significance. The Jews remembered him not simply as a conqueror, but as a liberator. In fact, the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament even describes Cyrus, a gentile monarch, as a figure given a special mission.
This event did not end simply with the return of a single people. It became the occasion where Judaism and Zoroastrianism met most profoundly in history. Many historians and religious scholars believe that around this time, the ideological system of Judaism began to develop more elaborately. In particular, concepts such as angels and demons, the Last Judgment, the resurrection of the dead, the expectation of a Messiah, and the end and completion of history took on much clearer forms.
Zoroastrianism already possessed a grand historical perspective of the battle between good and evil long before this. The struggle between Ahura Mazda, the principle of good, and Angra Mainyu, the force of evil, was not a simple myth but a framework explaining the entirety of human history. The hope that humans can freely choose between the two and that good will ultimately triumph was the core of Zoroastrianism.
This worldview formed a significant resonance with the eschatological thought of later Judaism. And that current flowed on to Christianity. Christianity presented a new dimension of gospel—love and salvation, sacrifice and forgiveness—but behind it was the historical soil of Judaism that had already developed over centuries. Concepts of angels and demons, heaven and hell, the Last Judgment and resurrection, and the advent of a Savior became crucial pillars of Christian theology.
The same is true for Islam. Emerging in Arabia in the 7th century, Islam inherited the traditions of Judaism and Christianity while developing an original system of faith. However, the structure of the Last Judgment, heaven and hell, the existence of angels, the vigilance against evil forces, and the victory of the righteous show considerable intersections with the
Zoroastrian worldview. Subsequently, Islamic civilization actively embraced Persian civilization, bringing the world's highest levels of scholarship, philosophy, and scientific civilization into full bloom.
Ultimately, Zoroastrianism is a religion that cannot be evaluated by its number of followers. Its influence flows like a river, nourishing countless civilizations over millennia. We find its traces in Judaism, we find them in Christianity, and we find them in Islam. And those traces are still alive today.
Come to think of it, many of the values that modern people take for granted are connected to the fundamental questions raised by Zoroastrianism. The belief that justice must ultimately triumph, the ethic that humans must take responsibility for their choices, the principle that good and evil must be clearly distinguished, and the hope that history is not a meaningless repetition but moves toward a better future—these are precisely those values.
Zoroaster did not view humans as slaves to fate. Humans were beings who think, choose, and act. Good does not happen on its own. Justice is not realized automatically either. Only when humans choose and act for themselves can the world move in a better direction.
Therefore, Zoroastrianism left behind three very simple yet powerful teachings:
Good thoughts. Good words. Good deeds.
These three sentences, which appeared thousands of years ago, are not at all outdated even today in the AI era. Rather, they emerge as an even more urgent teaching in a modern society overflowing with fake news, hate speech, and extreme conflict. Distorted thoughts breed distorted words, and distorted words ultimately lead to distorted actions. Conversely, right thoughts, truthful words, and responsible actions create a healthy community.
AI can calculate faster and store more information than humans. However, it cannot judge what is good. Technology may give humans capabilities, but it cannot provide direction. What sustains civilization is always values, and values are ultimately a matter of the human spirit.
At this juncture, we also encounter ancient Eastern spirituality. The philosopher Dasuk Yoo Young-mo sought all his life to find the heaven residing within humanity. He believed that truth is one, but there are many paths to viewing it. Furthermore, Daejonggyo, which embodies the spiritual tradition of the Korean people, also understood humans as beings harboring the will of heaven. The spirit of Hongik Ingan (benefiting all humanity), which flows through the Chunbugyeong, Samil Shingo, and Chamjeongyegyeong, simultaneously emphasizes the heaven within humans and the moral responsibilities humans must fulfill.
Of course, Zoroastrianism and Daejonggyo were born from different thousands of years of history and culture, in different languages and different civilizations. Yet, we discover a striking commonality in how they view humans as noble beings and teach the necessity of practicing truth and justice. The direction in which they look at the sky may differ. But the heart looking toward the sky is not much different.
Perhaps this is the essence of human spirituality.
Religions may differ, but humans are the same. Languages may differ, but conscience is the same. Civilizations may differ, but the heart that seeks truth, pursues justice, and dreams of a good life is not vastly different.
The small flame that began to burn in ancient Persia 3,000 years ago has not yet been extinguished. That flame lives on within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and it shines in different forms across countless spiritual traditions of the East. And today, it asks us the same question:
Are your thoughts good? Are your words true? Are your actions just?
The great religions of human civilization did not exist to compete with one another. They existed to elevate humanity to higher places. Understanding Zoroastrianism is not merely a matter of studying an ancient religion. It is about understanding why humanity loves truth, why it thirsts for justice, and why it does not give up hope.
That small flame, which began in ancient Persia, has crossed thousands of years of time and continues to burn today as a lantern for human civilization. And it speaks quietly but solemnly to us living in the age of AI:
The future of civilization is determined not by the level of its technology, but by the level of its human spirit.
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