Arya

Arya is the dominant and national religion of Aryez, currently part of Antica. Arya was founded by Aryezi mystics with the support of the nobility and large sections of the populace as the more ancient religion of Aralan collapsed. Arya incorporated native Aryezi philosophical ideas, some ideas from Aralan, as well as a host of other ideas. Arya means noble in Aryezi and Sanskrit and is considered a perfect religion which continues to evolve towards further perfection. Arya places a lot of values on high ideals such as purity, beauty, goodness, and truth and has contributed towards an ethic of chivalry followed by all Aryezi, especially the nobility. There are many branches and organizations as well as militias within Arya. However they all follow a general hierarchal structure.

Arya was brought to Shireroth by Aryeztur Mejorkhor.

Orthodox Arya Philosophy

Ontology: All things can be divided into three categories: matter-being, being, and spiritual being. Being represents time and space which are found everywhere and are eternal and uncreated. Matter being is everything found in the Universes, primarily matter but also anti-matter and so on. Spiritual being is non-material and permeates the Universe. Every bit of matter has corresponding spiritual material in it and the more complex the matter, the more complex the spiritual being.

Cosmology: Time and Space are uncreated, eternal, and infinite. Matter and spiritual being are also uncreated and eternal and are collectively infinite but individually finite. Within the never ending space and time countless universes (matter and energy) exist and come into being or cease to exist now and then. Our current universe did begin for the totality of all universes never began.

Theology: The universe is filled with countless spirits and beings, some of which may be considered gods as their power is greater than those of humans. However a personification of the summation of spiritual material is a super conscious being which guides the cycles of universes and law of the universe along. He may also help the process of evolution. However the ultimately reality is the impersonal summation of all, infinite and eternal, and self-existing. This reality is by nature the driving force of the entire process and is cosmic energy.

Epistemology: 1. Empirical Evidence (experience, experiment) [invalid until proven right] 2. Logic (logical derivation) 3. Intuition [valid until proven wrong] 4. Inference 5. Trustworthy authority, revelation (if revelation does not contradict empirical evidence, logic, etc.)

Ethics: Arya believes that there is a law of goodness, beauty, and truth built into the Universe and that this law is eternal and unchanging. This is correspondent to physical and natural laws such as the law of gravity. However the law manifests itself differently in various cultures and times due to differences among these different cultures and times.

Humanity’ Place in the Universe and Ideas of Soul and Afterlife: Human beings, having evolved into complex organisms correspondingly contain complex spiritual evolution. The spiritual aspect of each human being is known to each individual as his or own soul. The soul is distinct from the body, though ultimately both are aspects of the Universal Oneness. The soul and mind are one and the same as spiritual existence is pure consciousness. After death, the spiritual aspect of each human being, the soul, continues to grow. Like a seed which stays in the soil before breaking free from the soil as a plant which continues to grow, human souls use the body like a seed uses the soil. The human soul, the consciousness therefore exists “floating” around the world and universe forever in a sea of consciousness.

Within this framework, specific ethics/morals, mythology, and institutions can be worked out. Goodness and alignment with the natural law are considered desirable. Man's ultimate goal in life is to increase his consciousness and knowledge as this brings him closer to becoming "one" with reality, and by doing do enters into a state of bliss. Reality itself is objective and can be properly determined. However due to other factors, it may often only be made known to man through subjective methods. Political and social systems are unrelated to the ultimate reality; however as there is a clear ethic built into the Universe, it is presumed that well-constructed systems take into account this eternal ethic to the best of their ability. However, no particular system of government is proscribed.

Although Arya does hold to ideas of Universalism, it also holds that in the specific cultural context of Aryez, there ought to be certain particular rituals and ethics as well as an organized religious institution. Thus, Arya's belief that rules and practices are manifested through the lens of a particular time and culture is well established in the belief and practice of Arya in Aryez. There are no apologies for the particulars of Arya as practiced in Aryez.

Later, this formulation of Arya came to be known as Orthodox Arya in order to differentiate it from Neo-Arya which shared most of the same spiritual and ethical assumptions but saw theology and ontology differently. The ancient Aryezi religion of Aralan (based off of the scripture "The Marfat" vanished from Aryez a long time ago, with some of its doctrines being absorbed into Arya. The influence of the Marfat is most strongly seen in the ethics and morality of Arya, although personal morality has become deemphasized in favor of group morality or inter-societal ethics.

Neo-Arya Philosophy

The other formulation of Arya, aside from Orthodox Arya is Neo-Arya.

Neo-Arya reconciles the different conceptions of divinity by proposing the formula, One God, Three Parts, Nine Divisions will be known as the Novemty or Nine-ness.

Therefore, the conception is that there is one divine reality, which is the source and definition of all being. That one being is God.

God exists in three parts (relationship to the Christian trinity is coincidental as is its relationship to the Hindu trinity):

1. Personification ("personal God") 2. Incarnate 3. Force

Each of these 3 parts is further divided into 3 parts, thus giving us 9 divisions.

Personification: 1. God personified (fully God) 2. demigods (partially god) <-- partial in the sense that they by themselves are not fully god but have a spark of god within them 3. spirits, ghosts, etc. (partially god)

Incarnate: 1. Incarnate (fully God) 2. Sages and Saints (partially) 3. Philosophers, Prophets (partially)

Force: 1. The Force, Brahman (fully God) 2. Atman/Soul/"Holy Ghost" (partially god) 3. Principle, Natural Law, the Laws of Science, the Forms of Goodness, Truth, and Justice (partially god), physical matter proceeds forth from the Principle

Together, these nine aspects form a nine-ety that make up one god.

Although Neo-Arya's ontology and theology are different from Orthodox Arya, there are no major disagreements on other points such as the goal of human life, the nature of the soul and the afterlife, and ethical concerns.

Places of Worship

Aryaists worship in huge aesthetically pleasing buildings which serve both as community centers and places of collective worship and contemplation. The seat of the Arya Faith is the Temple of the Gods in Aryezadel.

Code of Honor (Arha)

The code of honor and chivalry is known as Arha ("the noble way").

In general, all people who follow Arha, which should include all people of Aryez, as they consider it a part of their identity to follow Arha, should follow certain actions or thought-states, sometimes called the ten virtues.

Aryezi traditional warriors (Aral) swear to follow of of these traits as well.

1. Righteousness/Righteous Action/Justice 2. Courage 3. Benevolence 4. Respect 5. Honesty/Truthfulness 6. Honor 7. Loyalty 8. Piety/Faith 9. Wisdom (recognition and contemplation of the good, the true, the correct, and the beautiful) 10. Duty