Cosmic Order in the Avesta and Tao Te Ching

The cosmic order has always been one of the most important phenomena drawing the attention of the scholars of all religions. Cosmic order organizes the Cosmos and governs all the events in Nature enveloped within Earth’s environment. It seems that cosmic order has received a special attention in Zoroastrianism and Taoism since the nature is to some extent a holy notion as a result of the expression of the cosmic order. In the ancient Iran cosmic order equals Āshā, enjoying an extensive range of meaning, as a principle foundation of Zoroastrianism. The term Āshā means the Truth but terminologically it denotes an eternal spiritual and ethical law established by Ahura Mazda. Based on Āshā, any action in the realm of human behavior and morality is followed by a reaction and any good or bad deed has its own specific reward. Similarly in the realm of natural rules the expression of Āshā is the order and balance of nature which is the cause of its permanence. The term denoting cosmic order in Taoism is Tao, including the natural ordering and moral order as the comprehensive rule of life. Tao is a permanent law based on which the nature moves forward and the balance dominating the world is the result of such a movement. According to Tao Te Ching, human, Tao and nature are the heads of the triangle of being and their harmony is secured by some other factors such as Yin-Yang, the two active and receiving principles of being, and the Five Elements (Wu Xing)