Gnostic Interpretation of Hârnic Religion
Disclaimer: This is a derivative work discussing Hârn or Hârn World, originally created by N. Robin Crossby. No assertion of copyright to Hârn or Hârn World is made by producer or the publisher of this work.
The Aim of this Write-up
The Hârnic religion and the Hârnic churches have been discussed on the HârnForum often enough to show that many think the sources fail to give a fully sensible account on what is going on in western Lythia. While agreeing that this can indeed be a great asset of the published Hârnic sources – allowing for myriad individual interpretations depending on individual needs – I will once again venture towards a ”grand explanation of it all”. In this interpretation based on Gnosticism the basic assumptions about Hârnic cosmos have to be fixed a bit. But the sources are not overruled, and the dicothomy between published Hârn and my interpretation can indeed be real in different p-Hârns, serving as a cosmic campaign hook.
Writing this I have consulted only Religion, pp. 1-2, and Hârn, p. 18. Considering the basic nature of these texts I assume the following to be intelligible and probably compatible with everything else that has been written about Hârnic religion and churches in the sources.
What is Gnosticism?
Gnosticism explains the physical world to be inherently confusing, illusonary and wrong. The world is a battle ground of the powers of Light and Darkness, and Darkness is often the stronger one. Still, every human (or living) being has a sparkle of Light in her. Kindling this Light, trying to guard and grow it, is the only meaningful reason of existence. Those who do not know or do not care about their Light are swallowed by the Darkness, leading into a futile and destructive life. Those who know about their Light have the wisdom (Greek gnosis = knowledge/wisdom) to do things right.
Gnostics believe that the powers of Light and Darkness gave battle in the beginning. Most believe Light won. Thus the true divine world is a world of Light, and all creation comes from Light. Light is the God, the Creator, the principal Order. Darkness is the force of destruction, non-being, Chaos. All living beings strive to reach the Light. (Taken to the extreme – so that living beings strive to become the Light, to be included in it – this leads to a concept not much different from Brahma in Hinduism.)
However, in striving to become part of Light, one of the entities of Light ventured to make a creation of its own. This entity is the Demiurg (Gr. demi-urgos = semi-creator) or the Demigod. His creation went wrong or at least is not yet complete. The power of Darkness got into this creation either by subterfuge or by invasion, either by disposing the Demiurg or by corrupting him (cf. Lucifer). The resulting world is a world of Darkness, where the sparkles of Light are constantly threatened by the attacks and temptations of Darkness. It is an apocalyptic world, where the last battle is constantly present.
This world is divided between good and evil, the good being connected to spirit, mind and intelligence, the evil being connected to materiality, body and emotions. To save herself, a human being has to control her body and emotions and not let the material temptations to overcome her. This is impossible without the true knowledge (gnosis) of what is right and what is wrong. While all people basically have the sparkle of Light, not all have the knowledge, and not all know equally much. Thus there are people who know more and act as teachers and priests (princes, Brahmans, rabbis, sultans, dervishes). The knowledge is kept hidden, because it is a weapon to be used against Darkness that is everywhere. Hence Gnosticism often includes secrets and hidden writs.
What is written above sounds perhaps way too on the edge. I am not proposing that Hârn should be changed into a Yashain where armies meet every day. To make a comparison, all the major monotheistic creeds on Earth owe much to the idea of Gnosticism. Gnosticism was bitterly fought in the ecclesiastical meetings of emerging Christianity, and all the major heretic movements of Christian Middle Ages harbored teachings that can be interpreted as Gnostic – as did the Muslim sects, like the chashashini (root of the word assassin). Secret or encrypted writings like the Cabala and the apocryphic evangeliums can be seen as Gnostic texts, which were believed to lead to further knowledge and salvation. The belief in the secrets of the Templars, for example, belongs to the same set of thought. While there were religious wars (Iconoclastic civil wars in the Byzantine Empire, the Albicensian crusade in Occitania) the different gnostic sects led for the largest part a quiet existence. Western and eastern Gnosticism can even be seen as two parts of the same set, as an aspect that brought Muslims and Christians closer to each other than the religious leaders wanted to admit. Both were “people of the book”, i.e. they were granted with the right wisdom.
Kelestian Gnosticism
The Kelestian world is believed to be the result of a battle between Order and Chaos. The First Gods may represent the Order and the Chaos, in which case one could imagine there are two First Gods, a good one and an evil one. Or the First Gods may be minions or entities of a Primal Being, who is the Order. Or they may be parts or powers of a Primal Being, in which case they together are the Primal Being.
The layer between this world and the divine world is created by the action of one or several incomplete demigods. If there is only one demigod, the Hârnic deities are his followers or prophets. If there are several demigods, they are the Hârnic deities. In this latter case one could say that the peace the First Gods made is actually the demiurg, because the peace led to the creation of the present, incomplete world.
Now this is getting pretty academic and close to nonsense – which is good. Gnostic Hârn can be full of speculations and secrets about the true order of things. But for the sake of simplicity I will take the Hârnic deities to be beings of this world, creations of one Demiurg. They may even be mortals who have achieved some sort of divinity based on their knowledge, and who are able to divide their knowledge to their worshippers through bonds of faith, i.e. piety. Or they have never existed, but people have invented them as idealized focuses for different creeds.
The most important thing here is that the Hârnic deities are seen as existing inside the same order of things, representing different facets of the thruth. They are not the primal thruth itself, but represent ways to reach that primal thruth. It may well be that none of the Hârnic deities possess the full knowledge. But they are still on a higher level than any human being or any lesser god or spirit, and there can be several layers of semi-divine beings between the deities and human beings.
Gnostic Interpretation of the Deities and their Churches
The basis of Gnosticism is the logic of good and evil. No one follows a deity that is evil. All followers are followers in good faith. They believe that following the way represented by a certain deity is a way to knowledge and salvation. The human society has its moral standards, and according to these standards some deities are esteemed moral and others immoral or amoral. But the standards differ from place to place. Thus the deities accepted and followed in Rethem are good ones for the Rethemi, while the deities accepted and followed in Kanday are good ones for the Kandi.
In a given society several paths to salvation can be accepted, if the followers of the different paths can co-exist peacefully. However, no society accepts all paths/deities. Also, no path can be simply changed to another path. Even paths that co-exist peacefully are independent and seclusive. A Peonic thrall is sure that his path leads to salvation while his lord’s Laranic or Agrikan creed is unpure. Thus the Peonic thrall is inclined to serve his master while harboring thoughts taught by a Peonic priest. In a similar manner the Laranic lord is inclined to let the thralls live their lives and to tax and protect them. He is on his way to his salvation. Both parties are thinking of an afterlife where the other has no share. Both parts are living in the same society without too many grudges against each other. The important question is how to best kindle the Light to battle the Darkness.
Agrik: the path of urgency
Philosophy: The battle between Light and Darkness is raging, and we’re not doing that well. Any means to win the battle should be accepted. To guard one’s own flickering flame of Light is more important than to care for the others. The battle is a physical one. Body is the armor of the soul, it should be trimmed and used in the battle. The outcome of the battle can be vividly seen in the world every day, the doom is near, there’s no time to finesse and words. Those who don’t give their all to the battle are already lost souls. Inefficiency is a sin. The passive ones can be fed upon.
Other Paths: Individual situations are handled separately. Those that are with us are good ones, those that are silent are unimportant ones, and those that oppose us are evil ones. People who follow irrelevant paths are either stupid and to be scorned upon, or enemies.
Criticism: The rage, selfishness and physicality of Agrikans is often despised and held to be clear marks of Darkness. Most of those who think there’s something good in Agrikans also think the Agrikans have settled their principles too low.
Halea: the path of hedonism
Philosophy: Darkness thrives when mind and body are not balanced. If they are not balanced, one doesn’t feel good. Thus one should strive to feel good, both physically and mentally. The means to get to this goal are free. Feeling guilt is a sin. Thus pleasure without guilt is the perfect state and takes one closer to the Primal Light.
Other Paths: All the other paths are masks of the right path. Deep inside, everyone strives to have pleasure without guilt. Thus all creeds that build obstacles on the road to this destination with restrictive rules and unimportant goals are to be despised. On the other hand, every individual who is able to feel happiness is to be respected. Individuals that don’t feel happiness can be used to create joy in every possible way that doesn’t result in guilt.
Criticism: The open happiness and enjoyment the Haleans show is often taken to mean that they have found something good. However, on a closer look their ways to reach that good are often selfish and physical in an unacceptable way. Most, however, are ready to accept the Haleans as a necessary evil in the world – an evil that can be moulded to make even good things.
Ilvir: the path of existentialism
Philosophy: I am. The knowledge to lead a good life is to be found instictively. No amount of reasoning or logic can explain our existence. That is why the understanding of existence must be sought through existence itself. The goal is to exist without of thinking it. To be alive without any explanations is a primal state, where both body and mind merge together with the Light itself. The more there is irrational existence, the smaller is the power of Darkness. Hence it is good to create anything that doesn’t make sense.
Other Paths: Their reasons, rules and logics are against existence itself and thus from Darkness. To take any of their teachings and make it irrelevant is the only way to converse with them.
Criticism: The total abandon of the Ilvirians is a denial of the very concept of Path. They are the utter crap of existence, to be left alone or to be disposed of.
Larani: the path of severity
Philosophy: The battle between Light and Darkness is both mental and physical, and is fought both inside and outside of one’s physical body. The principles of Light exist as good things that should be upheld, protected and spread. Light and Darkness can be separated on every occasion. A pious person always seeks this separation and tries to either guard the Light or better to destroy the Darkness. Order, justice, honor, lojalty, bravery and mercy are among the principles that keep up Light against Darkness. In the end Light is going to win and all the worthy souls saved.
Other Deities: Deities whose followers accept or at least don’t act against any of the principles of Light are worthy ones. Deities whose followers do otherwise are plagued by the Darkness to different degrees. Some of their followers can be saved, others must be destroyed. Previous deeds are always balanced with present ones, but people of other paths should also be given the possibility to do better in order to save themselve.
Criticism: Laranians are unable to follow their codes. Their mishaps cause more wrongs than they’re ever able to correct. Their logics are too lofty to be practical. However, there are situations where Laranians can combat the Darkness in a decisive way. Perhaps the best Laranian is a dead hero – a thought many Laranians themselves also seem to accept.
Morgath: the path of death
Philosophy: The battle between Light and Darkness was lost ages ago. The sole purpose that is left for the knowing ones is to fulfill the destruction so that this polluted creation ceases to be. Life itself is polluted and weak, even chaos is more divine than this pitiful sparkle of Light called spirit. The only way left to use the Light is to burn it.
Other Paths: All the others are gravely mistaken. Pitiful fools, they deserve no respect, no mercy, nothing at all. If they can be used to furthen the destruction, it makes them useful – before it is their time to go.
Criticism: A path to nothingness is no path at all. The destruction the Morgathians bring upon the world is a blasphemy. If they openly admit they want to get rid of Light, they should be destroyed as beings of Darkness. (Agrikans: The Morgathian’s understanding of death and Darkness could be used to fight the very things themselves, but not in a way that brings credit to or furthens the goals of the Morgathians. Navehans: The same as the Agrians, but it can bring credit to the Morgathians and furthen their goals as long as it doesn’t reveal us and brings something for us, too.)
Naveh: the path of deceit
Philosophy: Darkness has won, but we’re still here. To understand Darkness is the sole means to be able to exist and keep one’s Light burning. Because everyone else is a minion of Darkness, it’s better to go with the flow than to give open battle – Because in time opportunities for action will open… We are very few and very weak, so we must be disciplined and follow the orders of those who have survived the longest.
Other Paths: All the others are minions of Darkness and masters of deceit. Co-operation is a possibility only if it is necessary to future survival and if it doesn’t break our cover.
Criticism: The Navehans are minions of Darkness and masters of deceit. Theirs is no path to Light.
Peoni: the path of simple deeds
Philosophy: People are suffering, so there’s work to be done. Light and Darkness meet every moment, both visibly and inside people’s hearts. The best way to fight Darkness is to keep ones own heart clean and to help others to do the same – if one has the energy. To keep ones heart clean one has to concentrate on simple thoughts, simple things and simple goals. Nourishment, protection, sleep and healing are basic good things that keep the Darkness away. Order, justice and mercy are good values if based on the cleanness of heart. Weakness can be a blessing, selfishness is a sin.
Other Paths: Some are desperate, others are too sure of themselves; some have too big goals, others have no goals at all. With a clean heart one can be an example to these complicated people. Helping them to achieve their destinies in harmony with others will make the world a better place. Some, however, cannot be cured from the touch of evil. They must be protected from themselves.
Criticism: Little things and naïvety will not win the day against Darkness. But Peonians can be very helpful in supporting others to do the actual work.
Sarajin, the path of greatness
Philosophy: This is a good day to fight! This is a good day for glorious deeds! This is a good day to meet my destiny! Light? The fire of my heart is the Light; the power of my arm is the Light; the shimmer of my armor is the Light! At the end of the day, warriors gather in the chieftain’s hall to celebrate the Light! Darkness? Show me Darkness, and I’ll overcome it!
Other Paths: Companions in battle I gift with rings; men who stand behind their words I gift with trust; those who carry my shield and provide for me I gift with protection; those who give me their love I gift with mine! Where the shadows of Darkness conquer hearts I hear a challenge to arms!
Criticism: With that huzz about themselves and their gifts the Sarajians are hard to come by, unless one succumbs to their power. With battles, riches and enjoyment anybody can feel OK, but seeking only those things is not a productive code of life. The Sarajians can be a good asset, though, and are quite easily persuaded to deeds that actually cause good things to happen. Sadly, they can as easily be persuaded to furthen the goals of Darkness.
Save-K’nor, the path of understanding
Philosophy: Without understanding the world, one cannot understand the Light one has inside. And without understanding the Light inside, one cannot understand the world and see the Darkness in it. Simple things are to be problematized and complex things should be made intelligible. Deeds are based on knowledge, knowledge on understanding, understanding on the inner Light, the inner Light on the original deed of creation. The world has a meaning, a course, as does every living being in it. Understanding the world means understanding oneself and vice versa. Being able to transmit ones understanding with writing, sounds, pictures or movements of ones body is the fulfillment of understanding. Good order is a friend to understanding. Physical things are secondary.
Other Paths: There are paths that mean well but either don’t understand what they mean or don’t understand what’s good. These we help to find the needed understanding. Then there are paths that lead to oblivion and people who don’t care to understand. These are to be despised, because they represent Darkness.
Criticism: Their ordering of the world doesn’t mean that the Save-K’norians actually do something to make the world better. The Save-K’norians are most useful when they (are forced to) share their knowledge in order to help the actual doers and makers to achive real goals. They can be quite entertaining at times, though.
Siem, the path of mastery
Philosophy: The battle of Light and Darkness is a battle between spirit and body; between mastery of ones destiny and the force of circumstances; between abandoned opportunity and fulfilled need; between gentle maturity and harsh rawness; between the caring hand and the undisciplined strike. In the decision to grow a flower when one could move a mountain the power of Light is present. It is present in a tool that’s been crafted in place of a thousand tools. It’s present in a tool that has crafted one thing instead of thousand things. Light is the beauty of taking one step in place of traversing a thousand miles. Light is the shadow that hides the Light.
Other Paths: Every path leads into this one path. The loss is enormous but eventually the spring will come.
Criticism: Blah blah blah. If Siem is all paths, how can it be any path at all? The sum of all paths means no movement at all, and the beginning is long since past. To embrace everything is not the same as to take responsibility of it. When did day-dreaming and mushrooms save the world?
*Earthmasters, the keepers of the knowledge*
Philosophy: The Ancients found the true knowledge of Light and were able to transport themselves from this world straight to the divine eternity of Light. Theirs is the knowledge of the straight path, and by studying their artefacts one can learn to know this path. The artefacts themselves show that material world can be made to serve spiritual needs, while the opposite is also true. The undecaying constructions of the Ancients stand as eternal milestones to mark this path. The hidden genius of the Ancients is there just waiting to be uncovered. Actually, just going to those places may help us to remember what we always knew.
Other Paths: Other paths may lead to the Light, too. But none of them has shown their efficiency so far, and it can be that they are fakes. It is, however, not against the Ancient’s path to study these other paths. Indeed, the other paths may hide secrets to better understand the Ancient’s artefacts. Perhaps if we could bring together all the rites of the different creeds and combine them on the summer solstice of TR 723 in a yet-to-be-found-secret-complex-of-the-Ancients they will return and show us the way…
Criticism: See, there goes another one.
Piety Points
Piety points represent the quantity of Light a human being has accumulated through her deeds. Using the piety simply decreases the quantity of Light in her, so accumulating and guarding this asset is essential if one wants to ”use” it. Depending on the interpretation of the GM, following some paths may actually decrease piety. Thus if the Morgathian interpretation is chosen as the thruth (ie. the world is going to end soon, and this is a good thing), following the Laranian path may decrease piety. However, it is probably unnecessary to think that there should be one truth of the order of things. Perhaps faith itself – the belief in doing things right – increases the life-force (the Light) of human beings. In this way it is the human beings collectively who in the end will choose the future of the world. How beautiful. How scary.
Yashain
Gnosticism means believing in at least two different worlds: the eternal world of Light, and the mortal world where battle between Light and Darkness is raging. The existence of several intermediate or parallel worlds (creations of several Demiurgs) is basically acceptable in Gnostic faith. Because of this, belief in the co-existence of several worlds in the Kelestian cosmos is in harmony with Gnostic faith. The most important world, at least in the Hârnic perspective, is Yashain, the place of afterlife for most of the Hârnic faiths. As Gnosticism is based on knowledge (gnosis), Gnostic interpretation of Hârnic religion needs to define Yashain. However, my point in this article is not to give one ultimate explanation, but rather to give food for thought. Because of this, I will present three different, yet possible, interpretations of Yashain in relation to Gnosticism.
The simplest way is to see Yashain as the fulfilment of a good life. Yashain is the name for paradise, where only one (the “right one”) of the paths described above rules. The battle going on in Yashain is a symbolic one, a cyclus to regenerate Light. Implicitely this interpretation also means that only the followers of one of the Hârnic gods (the “right one”) will see the Light. In its simplicity, this interpretation is the one that leads very easily to religious fanaticism and splittering of society in the mortal world, i.e. on Hârn.
Yashain may also be a go-between world (in the sense of Nangijala in the books of Astrid Lindgren). Yashain is a world where the principles of Light and Darkness are separated, where there is no question of what is good and what is bad, where the true knowledge (gnosis) shines clearly, and is noticeable to everyone. The raging battle or the contemplative rituals on Yashain are, however, real. In a way, this interpretation of Yashain creates an active Purgatory, a go-between state obligatory to everyone, where they finally can – but also must – show their Light openly in company of co-believers to be able to reach the final, single brightness of Light. The actions taken may either be symbolic (and repetitive) or cause actual (but slow) change on Yashain itself.
In a more philosophical way, Yashain can be seen as a state of mental fulfillment, of being illuminated by the Divine Light. In this interpretation the physical world (or worlds) is what it is, a place of physicality, irrelevance and Darkness. In this world souls travel, carrying and protecting the Light and striving to increase it, to make it visible. Rather than passing from this world to Yashain, a human being can bring Yashain into this world. Yashain is the name for pure deeds of Light. At certain moments, when acting out in total harmony with the knowledge and goals of Light, pious people may find themselves in Yashain. “To have seen Yashain” means that one has lived through a moment of purity, a moment of full knowledge and understanding – been filled with Light. The eternal battle of Yashain is actually fought in this world, as for example the Hârnic history vividly shows.
It should also be noted that none of the three examples above rules out the possibility of reincarnation, i.e. the travel of souls from Darkness, through cosmos, towards the world of Light and then back into the Darkness again, to begin their cycle of life again.
Conclusion
Introducing Gnosticism does not change the Hârnic religion very much. Instead, Gnostic interpretation gives something common to all the different churches/paths, and thus helps to bring the parts better together into one system of belief – something that Hârnic religion as depicted in the sources has to my mind always lacked, even if it is the basic prerequisite of a polytheistic religion.
In a world with several different yet central churches/paths one should expect discussions about the spiritual side of life to take place. With a common ground comparisons and discussions become possible, and these can add up to the actual role-playing situations. In the end, Gnostic interpretation can also give totally new meanings to Morgathianism and Navehianism, which to my mind are too often simply seen as inherently evil creeds. In this interpretation of the cosmos they make sense to their believers and can be compared to other creeds.