A brief introduction to Manichaeism

                                     


The four prophets of Manichaeism - Mani, Zoroaster, Buddha and Jesus, from the Chinese "Manichaean Diagram of the Universe".


Manichaeism was founded by Mani who was probably born a Christian in the city of Ctesiphon (now in Iraq) in the Sassanian Empire. Manichaeism incorporated the precepts of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Buddhism and spread rapidly along the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire where, along with Mithraism, it emerged as a chief competitor to Christianity. St. Augustine of Hippo was a Manichaean before his conversion to Christianity. The Sassanian emperor Shapur I (240-271) was an avid follower of Mani but after his death, the tide swiftly turned against the Manichaens. Varaharan (Bahram) I (271-274) was a devout Zoroastrian and follower and chief patron of the Zoroastrian priest Kertir who issued an edict against people in the Sassanian Empire professing religions other than Zoroastrianism. Mani was reportedly flayed alive and his skin hung at the gates of Ctesiphon. Manichaeism disappeared in the Roman Empire over the next two centuries with the rise of Christianity and probably died out in Iran and Central Asia by the 9th century AD. However, the religion had spread to China by then and survived in eastern China until the 16th century AD. But as there are some Buddhist sects in eastern China that incorporate Manichaean beliefs, it is possible that the religion might have survived clandestinely and not entirely died out at all.

Conflict of good over evil (represented by light against darkness as in Zoroastrianism), vegetarianism and celibacy for its priests (borrowed from Buddhism) were some core principles of Manichaeism. The chief Manichaean scripture was the Shabuhraghan named in honor of Mani's chief patron, the Sassanian Emperor, Shapur I.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yatha ahu vairyo ... A brief look at the history of the Zoroastrian religion

I thought of writing an article on the Parsi faith and its history. The post's title  Yatha ahu vairyo is derived from from the most sacred Zoroastrian prayer the Ahuna Vairya or Ahunwar which is as important to Zoroastrianism as the shahadah  or declaration of faith to the Muslims, Om mani padme hum to the Buddhists and the Gayatri Manthra to the Hindus. The text of the Ahuna Vairya reads Yatha ahu vairyo, atha rathush ashad chit hacha Vangheush dazdha manangho skhyothnanem angeush mazdai Kshatremcha ahurai a Yim dregubyo dadad vastarem The manthra has been translated with different meanings by different scholars who have till  now not been able to arrive at a common consensus. but the most authoritative interpretation was given by Martin Haug As a heavenly lord is to be chosen So is an earthly master. for the sake of righteousness,  to be a giver of the good thoughts of the actions of life towards Mazda;  and the dominion is for the lord (...
Read more

Archaeology and politics

  Egypt might be the only civilization with a continuous recorded history stretching back to the 4 th millenium BC. And when we come across Egyptologists reeling off third millennium BC dates with ease and with an assured familiarity, it makes us gape with awe. But does this mean that other civilizations did not count for as much as the Egyptians. Until recently, we too might have felt so but of late, discoveries have proved that there are other civilizations that might approach the Egyptians in continuity and they and the Mesapotamians in antiquity and that we had known far less about these old civilizations than the Egyptians only because archaeologists were less interested in them than Ancient Egypt or Mesapotamia. The reason for this neglect lies in our religious affiliations. Over thirty percent of the world’s population is Christian and universities with the best archaeology departments are situated in the Christian world. In fact, archaeology as a discipline originated th...
Read more

The strange case of Thodla Raghavaiah

Image
For years, I’ve been visiting the Raghavendra Temple in Raghavaiah Road, T. Nagar, that I’ve always wondered who this Raghavaiah might be. Like all roads in T. Nagar, this one, too, would have been named after some V. I. P. of the 1920s. (Or was it just another name by which Guru Raghavendra was affectionately called? Very much plausible!) But when my forays into old books helped me piece together Raghavaiah’s life I was truly surprised by the end result. I found it difficult to digest the fact that the Justice Party which was allegedly founded to fight caste-based discrimination had named one of T. Nagar’s roads after someone perceived to be one of the main villains of the Vaikom Satyagraha. Born in a Telugu Brahmin family, Thodla Raghavaiah entered the provincial civil service on completing his studies. After serving in the forest and revenue departments, Raghavaiah was made an official of the Madras Corporation which he headed as President in 1911.   In 1920, Ragh...
Read more