Padhran religion

The Padhran religion was a faith practiced in the Hordelands and by almost all of those living in the hidden realm of Ra-Khati.

History
As written in the religious books of the Padhran faith, around −1700 DR, an Ulgarian prince named Surtava gave up his crown, his power, and his wealth and voluntarily became a beggar to seek enlightenment and wisdom.

After many years of wandering and meditation, Surtava achieved a state he called "Eaum", or enlightenment. He spent his remaining years preaching what he had learned. Surtava founded the Padhran religion, with the aid of other founders, such as Monkey. When Surtava died, he ascended to the heavens to become the Padhra.

In time, his soul was joined by the souls of thousands of other beings who also attained Eaum. They became incarnations of the Padhra, called padhrasattvas.

Dogma
The Padhran religion could be broken down into two main philosophies called the "Four Baskets of Wisdom" and the "Sixfold Path", as outlined by the Padhra's two lectures. The Four Baskets of Wisdom summarized the Padhra's basic views on life and reincarnation. They held that:
 * 1) All life was suffering, because everything that was living was also dying.
 * 2) Death was no escape from suffering, because all beings had souls that never died.
 * 3) When a being's body died, its soul was reincarnated in another body. If the soul had been virtuous, then it would be reincarnated as a higher form of life. However, if it had been wicked, then it would be reincarnated as a lower form of life.
 * 4) A being could only escape this cycle of eternal suffering by living virtuous lives. Eventually, one would achieve a body of sufficiently high form that it could achieve "Eaum", or enlightenment.

Meanwhile, the Sixfold Path was the set of principles by which a follower of the Padhra should live in order to advance to high forms of life and thereby achieve Eaum:
 * 1) Faith: One must have faith in oneself, their fellows, and in the Padhra's teachings.
 * 2) Resolve: One must resolve to live a virtuous life and resist urges and temptations to do otherwise.
 * 3) Speech: One must speak truthfully and never hide oneself with deceit.
 * 4) Action: One must act righteously and never do contemptible deeds.
 * 5) Endeavor: One must also strive to be more virtuous and oppose things that were sordid.
 * 6) Concentration: One must always follow these principles and never stray from the Sixfold Path, not even briefly.

Eaum was a state of spiritual enlightenment. In this state, a soul became one with the Great Soul of Universe and enjoyed an eternity of bliss, which they knew as "Nirvana". Those souls that attained Eaum joined the Padhra's soul and became incarnations of the Padhra, called padhrasattvas. Thousands of souls have achieved this point by the mid–14th century DR.

Paddhrasattvas
The followers of the Padhra were protected by the Padhrasattvas. Supposedly, these creatures were incarnations of the Padhra itself and many followers took specific Padhrasattvas as their patrons, much like someone from outside Ra-Khati would a god.

Texts
There were a number of religious works that told of the life of Prince Surtava and of the Padhran religion. Some in Ra-Khati were written in Susrit. Some specific works included the Padhra's Seven Baskets of Wisdom, the Thousand Lives of the Padhra, and One-Hundred of the Dalai Lama's Best Proverbs.

Magic
The spell karma curse was only used by priests of the Padhran faith.

Legends
In the Potala in the city of Saikhoi in Ra-Khati around 1359 DR, there was a group of one hundred priests who continually recited the names of the Padhra in front of ten thousand little idols. It was said that if ever they stopped, the world would come to an end. Meanwhile, a single priest had sat meditating and levitating without moving for thirty-four years; some wondered if he had found a shortcut to Nirvana.

Locations
The Padhran religion was widely followed in Ra-Khati. Indeed, the leader of the theocratic nation was the Dalai Lama, also known as the High One, a very powerful monk and cleric who followed the Padhra.

Padhran monasteries from Ra-Khati were found in Fatula Chupa, the City of Monasteries, on the Karakoro Plateau. Although all the sects in Fatula Chupa were independent and competing, the Padhrans there typically allied with the Red Mountain Sect and bore an intense hatred for the Tabotan gompas, both of which followed forms of the Path of Enlightenment.

Relations
The Padhran religion of Ra-Khati was often treated as merely a sect of the Path of Enlightenment, a faith that was widespread across Kara-Tur. The Padhrans were seen as adding the padhrasattvas to the Path as protective gods.

Notable Followers

 * See also: Followers of the Padhran religion


 * The Padhra
 * Gaumahavi
 * Tsenya Garbo, Dalai Lama of Ra-Khati around 1359