Bvarai (Pacifica)

Bvarai is a religion widely practiced by Indavrals, including their diaspora. With an estimated over 200 million practitioners, it is one of the largest non-abrahamic religions on Pacifica. It is a nontheistic religion which is based primarily on maintaining "Balance" within oneself and within the universe. Bvarai's nature allows it to coexist with other religions, making it common that Indavral diaspora syncretize it with local faiths and practices.

In Bvarai thought, the universe is in a constant state of flux between the Faikvar and the Sêlakvar, the "Violent evil" and the "Complacent evil." Bvarca, "Goodness in Balance," can only be achieved by moderating the two evils so that they are completely canceled out, thus achieving true goodness. The ostensible goal of Bvarai is to achieve "Sunranta Bvarca," or "Universal Goodness in Balance." by evening out Faikvar and Sêlakvar across the entirety of existence, therefore achieving a perfect reality that cannot be broken.

History

The practices of Bvarai seem to originate primarily below the Bivbi. When the Indavral tribes conquered them, they mixed the Bivral thought with the Indavral legends, forming the earliest forms of Bvarai. Bvarai was a generally decentralized faith at the time, and lacked some of the elements of nontheism, with some modern Sunbvarakoi being deified. Early Bvarai was less individualistic in the pursuit of Bvarca, and was more focused on the following of community attikai- priests, and especially Bvarakoi- those who had theoretically attained Bvarca.

When the Triangular Empire was formed, the three Emperors of Ikarn, Ranaras and Narus were originally considered to be the descendants of Sunbvarakoi, giving them inherent roles to help achieve Sunranta Bvarca. This was part of the way that the original Emperors maintained their legitimacy.

Ivaraadian Controversy

The largest doctrinal change in Bvarai came during the 1100s, during the Ivaraadian Controversy, where the small Indavral state of Ivaraad opposed Narus on a trade issue, and the Narussian Emperor responded by invasion that was resisted by Tzaran and to an extent other Indavral forces due to it being illegitimate. This usage of Faikvar was against Bvarai doctrine, and weakened all of the Triangular leaders' claim that by being descendants of Sunbvarkoi they had legitimacy in achieving Sunranta Bvarca. This led to the ruling by a council of Bvarakoi of several important factors to modern Bvarai doctrine, including:

• No achiever of Bvarca is a god.
• The Achievement of Bvarca is not hereditary.
• No secular ruler holds authority over Bvarai, as the Temptation of Evil related using Bvarai for state governance is too great.
• No attik may own land for the same reason.

This convention established the modern Bvarai doctrines of total separation from statehood and nontheism, both of which are conspired crucial to Bvarai identity. It also paved the way for the eventual institution of the Grand Bvarai Church.

The Malreo Assembly

The Malreo Assembly, occurring June of 1504 in the city of Malreo in the province of Past was convened by the most prolific Attiks and Bvarakoi of the time, hailing all the way from modern Losavra and even Nölvra to convene, bringing documents recording the history of prominent Bvarakoi and all of the compiled doctrines of Bvarai. Over the next 5 years, the assembly repeatedly convened to compile all of these works into one document; known as the Vbara. The Vbara was widely accepted by the Indavral community, and copies of it slowly disseminated across the population. With the widespread adoption of the printing press in the 1530s, the Vbara spread rapidly across the population of the Triangular Empire, and was considered the principle text of the study of Bvarai, becoming an important text in all Triangular schools.

Practices and beliefs

Faikvar and Sêlakvar

The primary practice of Bvarai is to equalize the amount of Faikvar and Sêlakvar in oneself, with the goal of ultimate elimination of both. While they are generally translated literally as "Violent evil" and "Complacent evil," a more accurate translation would be "Active sin and inactive sin." Faikvar is not inherently related to violence- excessive lust is considered Faikvar regardless of any violence involved. The primary difference between the two is that Faikvar is sin through extreme action, while Sêlakvar is sin through extreme inaction. Utilizing the example of lust, complete celibacy would be considered Sêlakvar, because it is extreme in the other direction.

In general, there are considered to be two primary ways to cancel out an evil. The first, "Ancas" or "Absorption", is to cancel out an evil with an evil of the same type, poised in the opposite direction. An example of this is war- when attacked, one responds to such Faikvar with their own, and thus cancels out the initial sin with force. This method is considered riskier, and is to be avoided if possible, and there are many situations- such as with addiction, or crime- when it is expressly forbidden by Bvarai doctrine to use this type of cancellation- However, in the situations it is used in, it is much easier to perform than the second method.

The second method is "Takâras," "Opposition." To cancel out an evil, one performs an action that leans towards the other section. For instance, if someone is addicted to something, an attik may prescribe a period of complete abstinence from that thing, cancelling out the Faikvar with Sêlakvar.

Spiritual veil

In addition to Faikvar and Sêlakvar in oneself, practitioners of Bvarai believe in the "Spiritual veil," the idea that the entire universe has a collective energy that leans in one direction. The seasons are considered to cause shifts in this, as well as the general miasma of the collective population, including animals, plants and humans. Summer is considered the height of Faikvar and winter is the height of Sêlakvar. This has led to celebrations on the summer and winter solstices, aimed at helping the world counterbalance. The winter festival is a festival full of celebration and jubilation, and the summer festival is a day of strict fasting and abstinence. Small days of certain worships may be assigned by the Grand Bvarai Church or local churches.

In the idea of the spiritual veil, the universe will act to correct itself in balance. If the human population is too high, for instance, infertile people or homosexuals may be born at a greater rate. if there are too many trees, a forest fire may start.

Lonas e Kvarai (Temptation of Evils)

The "Temptation of Evils" is the idea that humans specifically are always inclined to lean away from Bvarca, committing sin. Therefore, the natural state of a human is not Bvarca, and so Bvarca must be earned by extensive study and discipline. Additionally, a person is inclined to different evils by their nature. In general, it is believed that men trend towards Faikvar, while women trend towards Sêlakvar. The greatest sin in Bvarai, "Sloth," is to not fight against one's innate Lonas e Kvarai.

Sunranta Bvarca

It is debated among scholars of Bvarai exactly what Sunranta Bvarca would look like, and also whether it is strictly possible to achieve. The universally agreed points, as per the Vbara, is that "the world will be at peace- no government will have the willingness or need to start a war, there will be no hunger or thirst as there will be no gluttons. The entire purpose of the universe will be aligned, and no human shall die before the pinnacle of their potential." Some have interpreted Sunranta Bvarca to also include a complete eradication of classes, particularly among left-wing groups. Others have also considered it as the world being able to be sustained purely by spiritual energy rather than physical. Many scholars, particularly in the modern day, have also debated whether Sunranta Bvarca is achievable, especially without converting the entire human population to Bvarai- the idea being that the world is supposed to trend towards perfection, but may never actually meet it due to human nature.

Posturing

The concept of Posturing is the idea of acting a sort of way to affect the Spiritual Veil to aid in large-scale, mass events of equalization. In general, there are three main forms of posturing- Base Postturing, Warlike Posturing, and Coridal Posturing.