Asha and Druj — Truth and Falsehood

No single English word captures Asha. It encompasses truth (what is real, what corresponds to reality), righteousness (right action, moral correctness), order (the natural and cosmic order that makes the world function), and holiness (the sacred quality of alignment with Ahura Mazda's will). Asha is simultaneously a metaphysical principle (the structure of reality as Ahura Mazda created it), an ethical principle (the standard by which actions are judged), and a spiritual quality (the character of the holy person who has aligned themselves with truth). This integration of the metaphysical, ethical, and spiritual is characteristic of Zoroastrian thought.

Druj (also spelled Drug) means falsehood, lie, or deceit — and in Zoroastrian theology this encompasses everything opposed to Asha. The Druj is not merely individual dishonesty but the cosmic principle of chaos, destruction, and opposition to the divine order. Actions that harm others, words that deceive, thoughts that corrupt — all of these belong to Druj. The followers of Druj (dreguants) are not merely dishonest people but agents of cosmic destruction, whether or not they know it. This gives the concept of lying an almost mythological weight in Zoroastrian ethics.

The Asha/Druj division is genuinely all-encompassing in Zoroastrian thought. Agriculture that makes the land productive belongs to Asha; waste and destruction belong to Druj. Honest speech belongs to Asha; lies of every kind belong to Druj. Care for animals belongs to Asha; cruelty belongs to Druj. Even the physical world is divided: light and warmth belong to Asha; darkness and cold belong to Druj. This total division of existence into the camp of truth and the camp of falsehood creates a morality of absolute clarity: every situation has a right side.

The Zoroastrian moral life is summarised in the formula "good thoughts, good words, good deeds" — the three dimensions of alignment with Asha. This is not merely an external code of conduct but an integral practice: the inner alignment of thought with truth, the expression of that truth in speech, and its realisation in action. Zoroastrianism has no doctrine of original sin — human beings are not born corrupt and in need of redemption; they are born capable of choosing Asha, and the moral life is the sustained exercise of that capacity.

Asha is cognate with the Vedic concept of rita — the cosmic order or truth that the Vedic gods uphold. The two traditions share a common Indo-Iranian ancestor, but they develop the concept in very different directions: Vedic rita is primarily a natural and ritual order, while Zoroastrian Asha is primarily a moral and personal one. This ethical emphasis is one of the most distinctive features of Zoroaster's religious revolution within the Indo-Iranian tradition.