Yarsanism

Yarsanism. The followers can be known as Alh-i Haqq, ‘the People of Truth’, but it is thought that this is just a mistake from the name Ahl-i Haq, meaning ‘the People of the Spirit’. This branch of Yazdanism was founded by Sultan Sahak.

Without a holy scripture as such, Yarsans have Kalam, sayings, and Deftur, traditions, to aid them in their faith. The most important Kalam is Saranjam, meaning ‘Conclusions’. In Saranjam are the sayings of Yarsan saints, other important figures and of their founder Sultan Sahak.

   Taking a brief deviation, the Angels are believed to incarnate, and these individuals are known as mazhariyyat. Sultan Sahak’s mother was believed to be a mazhariyyat. She is also thought of as the incarnation of the leader, and the only female, Angel.

There are four qualities that a Yarsan will strive for, and these are purity, abnegation, rectitude and effacement. With these qualities, they believe that they will achieve salvation, which is completely in the control of the individual.

   It is further believed that an individual has five thousand years and one thousand and one reincarnations to reach salvation. If they are so bad that they become an animal, or if they die before they reach forty days old, then that reincarnation wouldn’t count.

   As each death is a step to salvation, Yarsans hardly mourn the dead. Also, humans are only aware of the external world during life, but during death they are aware of the internal. The internal world is inhabited by the Angels and Haq, so this too stops the mourning of death because death brings contact with the divine.

Next time will come Yazidism, where my journey started, and after that the pilgrimage of the Yazidis.

Infinity

Although this is removed from the Yazdanism theme, it has occurred to me that, along with free will, infinity is a misunderstood concept, though thankfully not to such a degree as free will. I will return to Yazdanism with Yarsanism, and then with Yazidism, and finally with Yazidi Pilgrimage, which is much too large a topic to be covered with the rest of Yazidism, at later dates.

  

Infinity.

   It goes on forever, with no end and no beginning. There are still measureable distances inside of it, however. If I were to go into a room five metres long, I could measure a metre. If I went into a room that is infinite, I could still measure the metre. In fact, I could measure many metres, and I could measure them infinitely, because the room is infinite. The only difference between the rooms is that one has a beginning and end whereas the other does not.

   Admittedly, this does seem self-evident. So why mention it? A way to illustrate infinity is by imagining an infinite library, and to find a book in row five and a book in row three hundred. Which book will you reach first? The answer to this is ‘neither, because they are both in infinity’.

   A load of nonsense, really.

   The only thing that couldn’t be reached would be the beginning and end, or the sides, or the ceiling, or the floor... Infinity cannot be contained, so the ‘containments’ can’t be reached. That doesn’t limit the different parts of the inside being reached, or affect the laws of physics. If something is further away than something else, it will take longer to reach!

   Infinity may go on for ever, but individual or connected things inside it do not.

Yazdanism

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been finding out about Yazdanism, a religion of the Kurdish peoples, and it contains two main branches: Yazidism and Yarsanism. I found out about Yazidism first. After that came Yarsanism, with the followers known as Ahl-I Haq, the People of the Spirit, or Ahl-i Haqq, the People of Truth. I shall write about these on separate occasions, so now I shall just talk about the overview of Yazdanism: the Cult of Angels.
   The first thing one finds out is that Haq, the Universal Spirit, created the world with seven good angels and seven evil ones. Both good and evil, it is believed, are necessary for the world to exist. In particular, the qualities of knowledge and awareness depend on this syzygy.
   It is also believed that Haq is largely detached from the material world, though the founders of all the religions show Haq’s continual involvement. For Yazdanis, there is no issue with other religions, or even that they don’t do things ‘correctly’. It is viewed that all religions are made up of the same elements, though religions arrange these elements differently, and religions will stress certain elements more than others.
   In reference to life after death, they believe in reincarnation. Then, at Perdivar, the Final Judgement, the righteous, i.e. those that are good, will join Haq. Those that are unrighteous are destroyed with the rest of the material world. The Yarsanis have more to say on this topic.
   Another theme is of Khadir, a being that lives in ponds and grants people wishes, who drank from the Fountain of Life. Shrines with ponds are dedicated to Khadir, and the ponds have turtles that symbolise Khadir’s long life. Khadir also has a festival in spring, although eh exact date differs according to the community, because nature is renewed.
   As these beliefs are usually quite secretive, it isn’t entirely possible to give a complete picture of this wondrous religion. Thus, there is only one more piece of information that I can share. Yazdanism has influenced, and has been influenced by, many religions, including Christianity, Gnosticism, Judaism, Islam and Zoroastrianism.

Soon to come are Yazidism and Yarsanism.

Free Will and Determinism

Free will is having the will, the option, to do something. In no way does this imply that we are free of consequences. Many falsely view that being free of consequences is intrinsically linked with free will, as 'If I had free will, I could kill and get away with it' is often cited in classroom discussions. This is vital to understand before embarking on the journey of free will and determinism, because otherwise the misconception leads people astray.

When discussing free will and determinism, people no longer discuss which one is correct, but rather whether they are compatible or incompatible. To begin, definitions are needed.
   Free will is having the will, or the option, to do otherwise. In other words, whether another course of action is possible. For example, if I were crossing the road, it is possible for me to walk out in front of the car, and it is equally possible that I would wait for the car to pass before crossing. The possibility for each action is present. Some may argue that if I were in a stable mind set, I would never walk out in front of the car, but it doesn't make the act any less possible. Less actual, yes, but not less possible.
   Determinism, on the other hand, is where genetic, environmental, physical, sexual, biological e.c.t factors mean that only one course of action is possible, meaning that there could only ever be one actual outcome. So if I walked out in front of the car, it was because I had been brought up not to bother with what goes on around me. A simplistic example, I know, but it demonstrates the concept adequately.
   Linguistically, then, free will and determinism are incompatible. It would paradoxical to say that multiple possible outcomes and one possible outcome could coexist.
   However, many view that each view provides something to the debate, so perhaps new definitions are needed. All the factors that deterministic talk about, the genetic, environmental et al., they do influence a person's actions, but many believe that there is still a degree of free will, in that we are constrained by these factors but not truly limited. So, these factors all make some possibilities more possible than others. This is called Soft Determinism. Though, maybe just because I like the idea of being morally responsible for my actions, I would like to call this 'Soft Free Will'.
   So are free will and determinism compatible? Linguistically not so, though the process behind the outcomes, that is why there is only one/many possibilities, are compatible, in that we can be constrained to a degree and yet we can still choose. Environmental factors may mean that I am more likely to not pay attention to the road, though I could still decide that it is a good idea.