Elestaarianism

Elestaarianism is the worship of the God of Good Thought, considered the highest and most righteous of all divine beings. It is a strongly dualist faith, with an emphasis on promoting Good and combating Evil through a combination of good deeds, correct thoughts, and truth speaking. Elestaarians have an overall positive and energetic worldview, considering themselves true partners of the God as they help It to bring about the ultimately inevitable triumph of the Good upon Avaria.

Elestaarianism

Deity	The God of Good Thought ("Hama Zabadi")
Texts	The Burning Word
Founder	Elestaari
Community	Elestaarians
Symbols	A flame set within a triangle
Origin	Irzal
Ritual Language	Irzali
Focus	Truth, good deeds, order, illumination, fire
Most Sacred Site	Nalu Hamzada, the Eternal Flame

Scripture

The Burning Word

The collection of prayers, hymns, and meditations called The Burning Word is the chief scripture of Elestaarianism. It is not a text of strict revelation like the Song of God followed by the Azadi, in which the verses were revealed in their fullness to the Prophet al-Azad and are considered directly to be the word of the One True God. The Burning Word is considered instead to be inspired -- written according to the true knowledge granted by Hama Zabadi, but according to the mode of expression devised by its mortal writers -- thus perfectly illustrating the classic Elestaarian partnership between the God of Good Thought and Its helpers.

Much of The Burning Word was written by Elestaari herself, but other portions of it were composed by her disciples, and by their disciples in turn. Its prayers and hymns extoll the Goodness of Hama Zabadi and the world It created, praise truth and good works, and exalt the necessary partnership between God and humankind. Other portions of the text describe various Elestaarian rituals, outline proper belief and practice, and tell of the ultimate triumph of Good.

Unfortunately significant portions of The Burning Word have been lost to posterity due to periodic bouts of suppression of Elestaarianism following Irzal's conquest by the Sirdabi Caliphate, and more generally due to the decline of the faith as a whole over the centuries.

Philosophy & Beliefs

Tenets

• Both good and evil exist, and they are in opposition to one another.
• The God of Good Thought is the ultimate embodiment of Good.
• Humankind has been created by the God of Good Thought as a helper and partner in the struggle of good against evil.
• Good will triumph ultimately over evil, and each good act performed by a mortal brings the victory closer to hand.
• Although there is duality between good and evil, these are not represented in any duality between the flesh and the spirit, or between the earthly world and some heavenly one. Matter and spirit are both equally important, and the earthly world, having been created by the God of Good Thought, is likewise good.
• Life is to be lived and enjoyed, because happiness is one of the greatest aspects of Good.
• Celibacy, asceticism, fasting, and self-mortification are proscribed, because these embody some manner of suffering and are therefore aspects of Evil. The only exception is during the days of purification leading up to the start of the annual Fire Festival.

Worship

The most important act of "worship" an Elestaarian can perform is to do a little good each day. Many Elestaarians see each useful thing they do as a small act of worship, and therefore see themselves as worshiping by doing throughout the course of their day.

Positive Acts

• Choosing to tell the truth over a lie
• Starting or tending a fire, especially for cooking or for warming others
• Saying a kind word to someone
• Comforting someone in distress
• Being hopeful in bad times, and helping others to be
• Tending and harvesting cropfields or gardens
• Feeding others
• Giving to the needy
• Tending to the sick
• Making medicines
• Killing snakes or vermin, including insect pests
• Feeding a stray dog
• Exposing a lie or an act of corruption
• Righting a wrong done by oneself