Imperial Cultism
Cult of the Emperor
Structure
Even during the height of the Zamzian Empire, the Cult of the Emperor never had a unifying leader or organization, but instead served as an outlet for expressing and codifying religious phenomena among the Zamzian peoples. It has no prophets, no gods, and no specific rites or observances. The single figure of reverence is The Transcendent Emperor, the first and only man to achieve Moksha. He, along with the Divine Bureaucracy, created the Cult of the Emperor in 150 AC with the intent of spreading the ideals and concepts He carried from previous Kalpas, having learned about them from a previous Cult of the Emperor.
The lack of formal organization is one of the defining traits of Zamzian Cultism and part of why it survived in a post-Kalyugi world: With no central figure, text, or creeds, it is next to impossible to wipe it out short of wiping out the concept of mysticism or Humanity as a whole. The vast majority of Zamzians adhere to the ideals of Imperial Cultism in some way or form, but there are some who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of Moksha as the Emperor did, renouncing all worldly concerns and selfishness: These people are sadhus and sadhvis, the ones who build temples and extol the Emperor's teachings of truth and harmony. They operate not out of a sense of duty or obligation, but due to reverence of the world, themselves, and their actions therein.
Mythology & Lore
All that has transpired will happen again in the next life: This is the thought that all spiritual ideals spring from. Before there was this world, this Zamzara, there was another world - the same world, but not. One with the same people, but not. Each universe is a phase in a larger cycle, ever-repeating, and the end of the world means the beginning of it again. These phases are known as Kalpas, and it is unknown how many Kalpas have passed.
Within each Kalpa, time repeats as it did before, but with small differences. From one Kalpa to the next, a man would be born in the same place to the same people and experience, by and large, the same life as he did previously. However, his actions within that previous Kalpa affect his life in this one through cosmic causality, just as his current actions affect his next life. While this person would be similar to himself from the next Kalpa, he may be completely unrecognizable to himself from a hundred or a thousand Kalpas ago as his decisions and intent shape his progress through the universal cycles.
Since time immemorial, mankind has sought inside into their creation: From where did all existence arrive? The Transcendent Emperor teaches us that this is a false question born of ignorance: Existence was never created, because it never did not exist. That which has no beginning has no end. We know this to be true through our repeated lifetimes and experiences, as we seek the truth about our souls and true natures. As all souls are part of the greater Oversoul known as The Godhead, all things are connected in the immaterial world, and the material is an illusion born of ignorance and disconnection with The Godhead.
Divine Origins
The Cult of the Emperor was formally created in 150 AC by The Transcendent Emperor and the Divine Bureaucracy after two decades of furtive debate and codification. A calculated blend of native spiritual concepts and echoes from a previous Kalpa, it was easily adopted by the Zamzian people due to its similarities to their existing beliefs. The Emperor had never hid his true nature from people, so when he announced that he was inserting himself into the spiritual tapestry of Zamzara, it was welcomed with open arms. Given his deeds by this point, very few people voiced objection, and Imperial Cultism was born.
Cosmological Views
The Transcendent Emperor teaches that the universe has no beginning, nor does it have an end - not truly. Kalpas are merely another way people quantify the infinities of existence: into cycles of reincarnation. When a person dies, their Prana reconnects with the universal Kaprana, having been transfigured through the experiences of life into something different. When a person lives a virtuous life free of malice or superstition, then their Prana is pure and harmonic, feeding into The Godhead. Conversely, a person plagued by ill thoughts and deeds will have their Prana stained - a stain which grows to cover all of existence. When the blackened Prana born of ignorance and hate threatens the balance of the universal Kaprana, the universe becomes as a spiral that has grown too wide to stay centered: It slices off the extraneous and pares it down to the essential. Starting from a new point the spiral extends outwards again, following the same path but with different essence until it, too, is pruned.
Tenets of Faith
While the Cult of the Emperor is a wide collection of ideals, rites, and observances, there are six core beliefs that all Cultists share:
- Truth is objective and eternal.
Truth is the essence of the universe and reality clarified. All questions have answers and ignorance results from the lack of an answer, whereas arrogance stems from the lack of a question. Truth has many forms of expression, but the same underlying core. - Souls are immortal.
The essence of a person is the same as the essence of The Godhead: It cannot be created nor destroyed, only transmigrated from one Kalpa to the next. - The goal of the individual is Moksha.
The pursuit of wholeness is more vital than achieving it, for it is only in the journey that true understanding can be gleaned. The wise see the value in effort. - Apathy is death.
To deny action is to deny agency, which is to deny life. Whether it is the denial of others or the self, when one cannot or will not act, their path to Moksha is disrupted, leaving them trapped within the cycles of reincarnation. Refusing to make a choice is far worse than making the wrong one. - Through the world and each other we understand ourselves.
Subjective as they are, our experiences are the key to attaining Moksha. The world may be illusory due to our limited perspectives, but it serves as a mirror with which we examine our actions and self-truths. - The great is made by the small.
From the Empire itself to our own lives, it is thousands of overlooked peoples and experiences that united to create it. The Emperor has his place just as a laborer does, and both are vital to the continuation of the Empire. Our lives are no different.
Worship
There are as many ways to worship The Transcendent Emperor as there are stars in the sky. Each is an expression of one's spirituality and love for the man who attained Moksha and returned to guide Humanity away from distractions such as pain and happiness, and towards cosmic unity and satisfaction. Some offer sacrifices to Him, while others frame their offerings as gifts. Even more express their reverence through song and dance, or promise to act in His image, or go on pilgrimages to revered sites. The rarest worshippers believe that a life lived justly is, in and of itself, an act of worship.
Priesthood
The Cult of the Emperor has no central guiding figure - all teachings can be found within the Absolute Mantras, the tome that was issued to the Zamzian people in 150 AC by direct decree of the Emperor Himself. Prior to this event, much of the spiritual teachings of humanity was passed along through oral traditions and stone artwork or carvings. Some holy men and women resisted the idea of deifying a human being, but they eventually came around to join the Sadhus and Sadhvis that had already seen the way of the future.
To become a Sadhu is to renounce worldly possessions and affairs, instead choosing a life of contemplation and virtuous behavior. Critically, these people do not cloister themselves away, studying a 2000 year old tome in search of meaning - their pursuance of Moksha is rooted in fully giving their lives over to discovering their true selves through charity, conflict, and self-examination. Many of these people believe that by helping others on the road to Moksha, they may gain a greater understanding of that journey themselves. Taking this path requires no examinations, promises, or obligations - only conviction.
The mystery without pales before the mystery within.
Founding Date
150 AC
Type
Religious, Temple
Demonym
Imperial Cultists, Transcendentalists
Permeated Organizations
Divines
Location
The Temple of 16 Truths in Zamhita, center of the Cult of the Emperor.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Oooh, I like "all questions have answers and ignorance results from the lack of an answer, whereas arrogance stems from the lack of a question," and "refusing to make a choice is far worse than making the wrong one." I wonder how much of that is believed by the author, haha. Reads like a religion of philosophy, which, I suppose, is what religion is, when you take away the politics, which is a little ironic for something with a Divine Bureaucracy.
I know right? I love how this feels so much like a real world