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.
| 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
According to Elestaarian belief the God of Good Thought is neither all-powerful nor all-knowing, but rather relies on a willing partnership with humankind to promote all that is good in the world and to strive against the evil in it. Hama Zabadi is not the only divine being in the world, only the greatest and most powerful of them, as well as the embodiment of Truth and Goodness. So while Elestaarianism is not strictly monotheistic, it considers the God of Good Thought the creator of humankind and the only god worthy of worship.
Elestaarianism takes an overall positive and optimistic view of humanity, perceiving mortals as worthy partners of the God and fully capable of overcoming evil in themselves and the world around them, even if it takes continual striving. They also believe that while the true nature of the God may be unknowable to mortals in life, they are able to fully understand the will of the God through their reason and their innate knowledge of good, which has been granted by Hama Zabadi to all people. Since each individual has it in themselves to distinguish between good and evil, and between truth and lies, each is fully responsible for their own words and deeds and therefore also for any failure to do what is right. This can make it a somewhat exacting faith and intolerant towards those who display lapses in doing what is Good, but it nevertheless holds out the hope that all those who fail are still capable of perfecting themselves.
Since the God is neither omnipotent nor omniscient, Elestaarians need not struggle with the question of why the God might permit evil to be in the world, or allow terrible things to happen even to good people. Instead, evil forces are acknowledged simply to exist in the world, and the God has created humanity to aid in combating it. Elestaarians believe that the actions of virtuous humans are necessary to the struggle, and to create the most beautiful harmony of creation.
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
History
Beginnings
Elestaarianism is a millennia-old religion that was established late in the lifetime of its eponymous founder. Not a great deal is recorded about the early life of the great sage Elestaari, but it is known that she came from a wealthy family residing somewhere in the east of the old Irzali Empire, probably in the vicinity of Nishkol. She seems to have led the ordinary life of a woman of her time and class, being well educated according to the standard of her day, marrying well, and successfully raising several children. It was only after her children had themselves grown up that she found time to reflect deeply upon matters of philosophy and spirituality. She devoted herself as a priestess to one of the many deities of Irzal, but gradually arrived at the belief that only one of these gods was truly worthy to be called God, and that others were in their benevolent aspects merely the spiritual helpers of what came to be known as the God of Good Thought.
Elestaari did not give up an active interest in the world when she became a priestess; instead, she became ever more involved in the lives of ordinary men and women and spent much of her time aiding the needy and teaching the ignorant. At the same time she gave them a sense of value and purpose by her message that, like the demigods of the land, all humans likewise had the capacity to be essential helpers of the God if only they committed themselves to doing good wherever and however they could. Elestaari became much beloved by the common people of the empire, who embraced her teachings and elevated her spiritual philosophy into a popular and widespread religion that persisted even after her death.
Official Acceptance
When Emperor Ezhul consolidated the eastern and western halves of Irzal in 1616 B.D., he was able to triumph against his rival Seshgalit only with the aid of the common people, many of whom were by the point Elestaarians. As a sign of thanks for their assistance, Ezhul adopted Elestaarianism as the official religion of the mighty new empire.
After this point the faith evolved from one chiefly of the common folk to one embraced by the noble and powerful as well. This resulted in the exaltation of the priesthood and their increasing involvement in affairs of state, and also led to a great elaboration of ritual and the spread of large fire temples throughout the realm.
Recent Developments
Many of the ancient practices of Elestaarianism have been lost due to the suppression of the religion after the absorption of Irzal into the Sirdabi Caliphate. While initially fairly indifferent towards the faith, the Sirdabi began to turn strongly against it when Elestaarianism began to serve as a focus for insurrection against the state. The practices that remain are a patchwork of the original practice of the faith, and not all Elestaarians observe their religion in the same way.
In fundamental Elestaarian dogma, the God of Good Thought struggles only against the general manifestation of evil in the world, and there is no true antithesis to the God, no divine antagonist consciously opposing him. Over time, however, it has become increasingly accepted by many practitioners of the faith that the Unbeing is the supreme evil force against which the God of Good Thought and his followers must fight. Although this is a deviation from the actual teachings of Elestaari, the majority of Elestaarians now accept this personification of the world's evil, perhaps in part influenced by followers of the One True God and their belief in the archfiend.