The Mithraic SocietyMithras is the character of a good king. This is a person who has power and uses it to benefit the people under his influence.His first role is to create good relationships between different actors for their mutual benefit and the health and well-being of the whole society. In particular this is by guaranteeing commitments that people may make to each other, so that a person cannot promise something and then not deliver it without a negative consequence. This role enables people to trust that others will keep their promises to deliver something. This ability to rely on others who may not be related to you is the essential foundation of economic co-operation on a large scale, and hence of civilization in general. Additionally Mithras wants to see that relationships between people are likely to be mutually beneficial in other ways. For instance Mithras is concerned if there is an imbalance of power between people (especially if they are otherwise strangers to each other). For if one side making a contract is hugely more powerful than another, then the odds increase that the contract agreed will not be a fair one. In a complex society, and even in a less complex one, people have roles that they take up that involve them in performing particular tasks. Mithras looks at the whole picture and sees that there are many different tasks that need doing, and he assigns roles to people so that all the different tasks get done. To perform a role properly or to do a particular job well requires a particular character. Some people are just better at doing some things than others. In part this may be down to their innate character, in part to their general life experiences and education and in part down to more specific job-relevant experiences and training that they have had. Mithras is concerned that each person receives what they need to become useful members of society. Where possible roles are allocated to people according to their innate abilities and interests so that they can do jobs they are good at and enjoy, but sometimes there will be a mismatch between what people want to do and what is required to be done. Mithras wants to see Thalia or the flourishing of people - as individuals - and their 'flourishing together' where the actions of each person impact on the experiences of those around them in a positive way, so that the actions they perform in return contribute to an ongoing progression of activity which is enjoyable in itself and shapes character usefully and provides for the basic needs of life and can be sustained into the future. Society and the Amerta SpentaMithras understands that a major aspect of a person that impacts whether they will act in a positive or negative way is their Noia or 'way of thinking' - which is the way their mind sees the world, how it categorizes things, how it sees the causes of things, how it sees the possibilities for action and their likely consequences. Not all Noia are equally good. Some Noia lead to actions that help the person and the wider society, whereas others bring negative results. Eunoia (Good Noia) is associated with a mental vision which is 'true to reality' , one that maps reality accurately in its important aspects. Akonoia (Bad Noia) comes with ignorance of what exists in ones environment, their true nature and the laws of cause and effect. Mithras seeks to spread Eunoia to everybody. Eunoia presents differently to different people, for what one person needs to see may be different from another person depending on their activities and situations they face.Closely related to Noia, but more specific, is Daena or 'Moral Vision'. Whereas EuNoia is about seeing what is around you accurately EuDaena (Good moral vision) is particularly about how you value things - how you value end results of activity and thus how you value different kinds of activity and thus also particular forms of wealth that are needed to make a success of that activity. Thus along with Eunoia, Mithras values the bringing of people to Eudaena. Coming out of a person's Daena is their Sebia or Devotion. Sebia is what you attend to, what you spend your time on, what you put your energies and efforts into. Eusebia (Good Devotion) is about spending time and energies in the most productive and beneficial way that brings good results. Naturally Mithras desires that people practice Eusebia. Thymia is a person's 'energies'. It includes their emotions, but is all the forms of energy coming out of their soul which drives them to activity. Euthymia is when a person's energies match the tasks that they need to perform. Magtas is 'mightiness'. Magtas is a person's capability to do things. A person can be motivated to do good, but they may lack the 'magtas' or power to do it successfully. Mithras desires that people have sufficient Magtas to do good things. However Mithras understands that Magtas may not always be used for good purpose. So he doesn't want people to have Magtas where they will misuse it. Kratia is 'strength'. Whereas Magtas is about a general capability to do things, Kratia is more specifically the strength to impose one's will on others. Thus Kratia can also mean 'Governance' or 'Rule'. Eukratia is 'good use of strength' or 'good rule'. Nomia is 'customary ways of doing things'. If someone has Eunomia then the typical way they behave in a situation is a good one. Usually Nomia needs to be shared among people for a community to function. i.e. people need to have shared ideas of what is the right thing to do in any situation for social life to go smoothly. So we can also consider whether a community as a whole has Eunomia - 'good customs' - a tendency to act in productive ways. Harvatas is 'health, wholeness, integrity' - it comes about when all the different components of something work together in a helpful and productive way. When applied to Society then Harvatas comes when all the different agents are working together productively for the mutual benefit of the whole. Aegrotas (Illness) may come if say some part of society are not performing the role alloted to them, if some parts of society are working for their own interest at the expense of the whole, if some jobs that need doing are just being left, if those with the Kratia or power to shape the society are not motivated by the common good or else are ignorant in how to achieve it. Naturally Mithras seeks the Harvatas or Health of the sociey. Amertas is 'non-dyingness'. Applied to society Amertas is 'sustainablity'. A society has Amertas when it is doing what is needed to keep itself going the same into the future. To achieve Amertas a society has to continually renew itself. For instance it may need to change its customs as old ones that used to be helpful may no longer be a match for current conditions. Many processes of society naturally decay, for instance a society may develop a common purpose in times of great difficulty, but with easier times then people may desire an easier life and fail to maintain their defences. To achieve Amertas requires constant effort to counteract tendencies of decay. Mertas or Frashokereti?Often the life of society goes in cycles. At the beginning of a cycle it is fresh, and people are motivated to work together productively for the common good, and the society develops and expands. However over time the society becomes less alive, more rigid, customs from the past are continued but without the spirit which initially animated them. Then decay starts to set in. Customs are gradually abandoned as they require effort and people don't know the reason for them. People lose the spirit to work for the common good but instead play the system for their own private gain. Organised crime takes a hold as there is no longer a strong enough power to keep it at bay. For the majority living standards decline and people become subject to the arbitrary dictates of those still holding the reins of power. Finally the society comes into a state of crisis.With a crisis the events can go in two directions. They can lead to Mertas or Death of the Society, where society stops working altogether. In this case usually the resources of the society are taken over by another different society. The population of the old society may then be absorbed into the new society, or else they may become slaves of the rulers of the new society, or else they may be killed off. The alternative to Mertas or Death is Frashokereti ("fresh-making") where the Society refreshes itself. In this case there may still be a partial death of the old society, in the sense there is a break with the old customs and ways of thinking, but a new vision and a new inspiration to strive for the good life leads to a re-invigoration of the population and a desire to strive for something better. June 4026 EHE |